Quote of the day- “You have no control over what the other guy does. You only have control over what you do.”
-A. J. Kitt

Sorry about the hiatus… Things have been hectic lately. Heres a quick recap of my last few workouts…

Thursday: 5 miles at tempo speed
Friday: 8 miles easy; abs, chest, and legs
Saturday: 16 miles @ 7:45 pace
Sunday: 6 miles recovery run
Monday (tomorrow): I have 7 miles of speedwork planned
Tuesday: OFF

Yeah so I had some kick ass runs the past few days! I was also super busy with school. This year is pretty tough but I am getting through. I just spent pretty much all weekend, minus watching the Alabama game, doing schoolwork. Sucks! I had a date on Friday night though with a new girl I met. That is for sure going to go places; I have that feeling deep down :). We went for sushi and it is my new found love. It was super expensive, but super worth it!

And how about that Alabama game… anyone watch it? We crushed Georgia and took over the number 2 spot in the AP Poll. Roll Tide! It was so much fun watching the game last night. Everyone was rowdy, loud, proud. Last night was pretty crazy… but I won’t go into details. I’m sure its self explanatory…

Toodles for now. I am going to start updating this thing more. My running is just too great to not talk about!

Quote of the day- “Exercise relieves stress. Nothing relieves exercise.”
-Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata, Animal Crossing: Wild World, 2005

So today is the first official day of fall! Yay! Its by far my favorite time of the year. Good weather, football season, comfort foods… I could go on and on. I kicked off the day with two delicious bowls of pumpkin oatmeal. The first one was so good, i just had to have another. It made for a pretty good recovery run though, about 7 miles at 7:30. I felt like I was cruising the whole time and before I knew it, I had to head to class. I also got in about 8 miles of biking. I biked to the gym this morning to try and save some gas and its only about a 15 minute ride so why not? I got in a pretty good lifting session too. Tomorrow is going to be a much needed rest day… I’m worn out from some hard runs the past few days

Friday: 7 miles of intervals; chest and leg weights
Saturday: 12 miles @ 7:00
Sunday: 8 miles progressive tempo; leg weights
Monday: 7 miles easy; core and chest weights

Like I said, I’m worn out.

Today I finally tried the peanut toffee buzz clif bar. SO GOOD. I bought a maple nut one to try within a few days. I heard that one was the bomb. I also picked up a few clif nectar bars to try. I haven’t heard much about them, but they seem pretty wholesome. Any opinions on these?

Ah, it’s that time of year again. By far my favorite time of year. Busy now, but tonight there will be an update!

Quote of the day- “It would be nice if the Food and Drug Administration stopped issuing warnings about toxic substances and just gave me the names of one or two things still safe to eat.”
-Robert Fuoss

Todays Workout- 7 miles tempo run (1 w/u, 6 @ 6:45, 1 c/d)

Ahhh I always feel great all day when I have a good run. It actually makes me feel motivated for the rest of the day. Anyone else ever feel like this?

Today was busy busy busy. I woke up, did some studying, ate breakfast and drank coffee, posted on Runner’s World, and then did my run before class. I had class from 12-12:50, then had lunch and studied, then had my math exam at 3. It went alright… I got a 92, which isn’t bad, but I made a few dumbass mistakes that cost me. I HATE that. I knew the material, but I just acted like an idiot. Tonight will be relazing and studying. After tomorrows test, I’m pretty much done for the week. Friday will be a breeze!

On the running front, I am trying out this Chi Running thing that was recommended to me on the forums. I went and bought the book and it sounds pretty interesting. Anyone done this? Or heard of it? I’m hoping it will help me run more efficiently. Running has been pretty good lately though. I am really enjoying my own schedule and not really training for anything. I can do alot of easy runs and not have to do tempo runs, speed workouts, or long rus if I don’t feel like it. I am going to take some time off from training for awhile and just enjoy the ride. I’m still improving though, so its not like I’m slacking. I’ve decided not to do the White Rock Marathon this December. Right now, school is just too busy and I don’t want to add with the stress of training right now. I am thinking about shooting for a spring marathon or a marathon next fall. I do want to do a few halfs though. Its an awesome distance and a distance I know that I can run, because I’ve run that distance several times (my longest run is 18 miles). Anyone running and races soon?

Well thats about all to report for today. I will start updating this thing more frequently; hopefully everyday or every other day. Are there any features anyone wants me to add?

Quote of the day- “A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won’t cross the street to vote in a national election.”
-Bill Vaughan

Every time it’s September 11, I just visualize in my head the day I saw the airplanes hit the twin towers. Yes, I saw it live in my 1st period class of 7th grade. We were all sitting around watching the news and saw it live. I don’t think I really knew the importance of the even at the time, but its still something that will be remembered forever. Now, I am not one who supports the war in Iraq, but we won’t get into that. Nevertheless, today is a day that all men and woman who served this country, past and present, deserve remembrance. I will say a prayer for them tonight at dinner.

Well, onto other things in the life of me! Yesterday I was suppose to do a recovery run, but I ended up doing a local 5k that was going on. I couldn’t resist owning some people. I ran it in 18:06 (2nd place) and did an easy 3 miles after to cool down. I hit the weight room after to work on my abs :). They are finally starting to come in. Yay! I did 5 miles really easy this morning at 6 am… it sucked. The run was good, but I am tired as hell right now. It’s my chill night though; I’m not doing anything but sitting on my butt and watching TV and eating.

Speaking of eating, unfortuneately, I don’t think I’m eating enough again. I keep overthinking what I am eating and what I am going to eat. Gahhhh I hate that. I just need to eat food. Alot of it. I’ll get through it though. The first step is realizing theres a problem, which I did already. Plus, girls don’t like men that look like peanuts. I will not be a peanut. Well, I’m not big though either. 5′9 and about 140lbs so I guess I am pretty small, but I’m pretty toned I guess. I think I want to put on some more muscle, which is why I have been hitting the weight room a few times a week. I actually have been noticing results and I think it is helping my running. EAT FOOD. Simple eh? I think I’ll go do just that.

Bama game Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!

Quote of the day-”Our lives improve only when we take chances - and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.”
-Walter Anderson

Anyone else hear about Lance returning? I really hope he wins an eighth Tour de France. To be honest, Lance is pretty much my hero. Heres an article I was reading earlier….

Quote of the day- “Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.”
-H. L. Hunt

I have a much needed recovery week coming up this week. I have had 3-4 weeks of heavy mileage and I think my body needs a bit of a rest. My motivation is still there, but I am a bit worn out. After this week, I’ll be ready to ramp things back up again. Here is what I have planned for the week (I did do any sort of “recovery” today… I had a good run though. It was today’s run that made me realize I need to step back this week.

Monday (today)- 7 miles tempo (1 w/u, 5 @ 6:45, 1 c/d; core work
Tuesday- Off
Wednesday- 5 to 6 miles; chest and leg weights
Thursday- Off or XT
Friday- 4-5 miles easy
Saturday- 5-6 miles easy
Sunday-4-5 miles easy

Thats about 25 miles, give or take a few, so its about half of what i normally do, and they are all easy runs. I cut out the long run and reduced mileage and intensity and gave myself two off days (I normally just have one). I think after this week I’ll be well fueled and well rested to tackle the coming weeks. How does it look?

Also, does anyone have any good dinner suggestions? I am sort of in a food rut lately with dinner. Breakfast is my favorite meal and I never get bored with it and lunch I usually eat on campus becaues I have classes. Dinner has just been getting a bit boring lately. I have been eating too much chicken, pasta, sweet potaoes, rice, ect… all that stuff. Just looking for some creative ideas! Thanks!

Email from my dad today… Its hilarious. Hope I don’t offend anyone. It was a chain mail from someone else.

“There are less than three months until the election, an election
that will decide the next President of the United States. The person
elected will be the president of all Americans, not just the Democrats or
the Republicans. To show our solidarity, as Americans, let’s all get
together and show each other our support for the candidate of our choice.
It’s time that we all came together,Democrats and Republicans alike.

If you support the policies and character of Obama , please drive
with your headlights on during the day. If you support John McCain, please
drive with your headlights off at night. Thank you for your participation
in this patriotic endeavor!”

Toodles for now!

Quote of the day- Vegetables are a must on a diet.  I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.” ~Jim Davis

Lol that quote is hilarious. Just sayin…

Sorry about the lack of posting this week. I have been so busy with classes. I technically did have the time to post, but I was just lazy. You’ll realize soon that I am one of the laziest people in the world. Really

Anyways… This has been a fabulous week of running. I just got done with a 14 mile run this morning and felt like a beast. I haven’t been doing long runs lately so I just thought I’d throw one in there for the hell of it to see if I could do it. 14 miles in about 1:40 isn’t too shabby. I’d like to cut it down by a few minutes though. Heres a recap of the week.

Mon: 8 miles tempo; full body weights

Tues: Off

Wed: 7 miles easy; core work

Thurs: 3 mile hill workout (this was a killer on the legs); chest and ab work

Fri: 5 miles recovery run (7:30 pace); core work

Sat: 14 mile long run; core work

Sun: will most likely be 6-7 miles recovery

I wasn’t intentionally try to put spaces in there, but wordpress doesn’t like me! Yar! Oh, I spent like 100 bucks on food today. Man, I have been so damn hungry lately. I went to Sam’s though and got like a ton of stuff. My fridge is packed! I love when its like that though. I also went to Super Target to get the stuff I couldn’t get at Sam’s or I didn’t need enough to feed a family of 10. Like ketchup or something. It would take me a year to eat one of those gallon sized things.

Alabama game tonight!!! I doubt I’ll be sleeping much tonight because I am for sure waking up early to watch the US Open Final. I don’t care when I get to bed but I really want to watch it. I have all day to sleep right? WRONG. Homework will be consuming most of my day. The work part of college sucks…

Todays workout- 7 miles @ about 7:30

Quote of the day- If you feel like eating, eat.  Let your body tell you what it wants.”
-Joan Benoit Samuelson

Ahhh todays run was horrible. I ran 3.5 miles to the gym, was planning on doing corework, but said screw it (I’ll do it tomorrow) and ran 3.5 miles back to my apartment. 7 miles really shouldn’t be that hard for me, but I think it was just one of those days. I felt like hell the whole way. When I got to the gym, I almost called it quits and was going to ride my bike back (I keep it locked up there to commute to and from class because thats where my parking is) but I stuck it out and finished. I was so happy to have that run done and I was actually pretty proud of myself for sticking it out. I guess we all have those days right?

i talked to my parents about giving me more money for food today. They didn’t hesitate and I feel relieved. I now get an extra $100 a month to buy food. Idiot me spent half that money today at Super Target but I have plenty to last me for awhile. I really need to just start eating out less and buying stuff on sale and it should be fine. I have a pretty small meal plan but I hate the Cafe food with a passion so I am mainly saving it for when I am on campus and there are no other options. We also get 300 “dining dollars” to use at the food court and Einstein’s and stuff but those go fast. I need to start rationing those.

Anyways, I’m tired as hell after a late night and an early wakeup so I am gonna watch some TV, do a bit of homework, and call it a night. Adios!

Quote of the day- “If the furnace is hot enough, it will burn anything.”
-John Parker, Once a Runner

And that quote is how I have been feeling lately. My stomach is pretty much a bottomless pit. I’ll elaborate more later in the post!

On to my race! I woke up relatively early for a 10k this morning. It was just a small, local even. No big deal. I haven’t actually trained for it or anything, but the 10k is one of my better distances since I think I am a mid-distance runner. I have done the long runs before, but they are not my thing, and I’m not crazy fast either. Somewhere in the middle I guess? Anyways, I did pretty well for myself by running a 38:01 for the 10k. Not bad, but I still want to improve on that. It definitely was an accomplishment though and I’m really proud of myself. I got 2nd place because some chick owned me. She was crazy fast; I give her some mad props on that speed. We were running neck and neck for about 5 miles, but she owned me that last mile.

First rant- THE PRICE OF FOOD. It cost me and arm and a leg at the grocery store today. From now on, I need to start shopping somewhere other than Publix because that place is crazy expensive. I spent about 100 bucks on food and that doesn’t even last me that long. I need to call my parents and ask for more food money and I am really dreading that call. I know they aren’t going to say no, because its not like they are going to let me starve ya know? Just makes me feel guilty. I guess I just eat too much. 40-50 miles per week plus weight training and being an active college student (I ride my bike and stuff around campus) really makes me hungry!

Second Rant- I was out at lunch today at Panera with one of my friends (who will remain nameless even though she has no idea this blog exists). Well, I finished my meal and about half of hers and I was still hungry, so I went and got a cookie. She then tells me “your lucky your so skinny and you can eat whatever you want”. Genetically, I’m not skinny. I’ll tell ya that right now. Those genes do not run in my family AT ALL. I’m skinny because I bust my ass six days a week running and I’m just lucky that something that I love has such great benefits

By the way, everyone better watch Alabama beat the hell out of Clemson tonight. ROLL TIDE!! I might be a bit too hungover for a long run tomorrow… We’ll see…