October Already?!

I pretty much say the same thing on the first of each month: "It's [month] already?!" I just cannot believe how quickly the year is flying by! As you may have noticed, I finally figured out how to change the look of my blog a bit. What do you think of the new layout?

I welcomed fall by spending time with friends and my boyfriend. On Saturday morning, I hit the gym around 9:30 AM. I save my treadmill interval workout for Saturday mornings, because I am usually antsy to get on with my day and don't like to be at the gym too long. Since I tend to indulge a bit on Saturdays, it's crucial to start my day with a calorie deficit! I love this 30 minute workout, which I clipped out of Fitness magazine about a year ago. It's always challenging and goes by quickly.



If you give it a try (and I really recommend you do!), let me know what you think!

I then met up with my friends Jacklyn, Brittney and Julie at Binny's Beverage Depot for a wine tasting. There were a few wines we sampled that I liked, but I didn't buy any of those because I was too excited to see this:



Pumpkin wine from Prairie State Winery! This winery is located about 30 minutes from DeKalb and I was introduced to their pumpkin wine a few years ago while up at NIU. I was planning on picking up a bottle when I go to NIU's homecoming next weekend, but now I'm all set! It is a sweet white wine with pumpkin (obviously!) and spices. It is unique and yummy. After the wine tasting, we were all pretty hungry so we decided to walk next door to Gordon Biersch. I love this restaurant! I didn't feel too guilty about eating all of my pulled pork sandwich - we were eating mid-afternoon and I stayed so full that I had a small dinner.

*Me & the girls at Gordon Biersch*

Then my boyfriend and I went to Oktoberfest in Naperville. It was fun to just kick back and enjoy some beer outside in the nice fall weather.





Phil had some of the food there, but I'm really not a fan of German food (hate sauerkraut...hate sausage...) so I didn't eat anything besides some apple strudel. See what I mean about indulging a bit on Saturdays?!

Sunday I had some coffee before my morning workout, which I don't usually experience because I work out in the evenings. It really did amp up my workout! I did the stair climber for 25 minutes on the aerobic setting, then another 20 minutes on the fat burner setting. After that, I did an added 15 minutes on the crossramp machine.

I have some busy nights ahead of me this week, so I am going to try very, very hard to make it to the gym Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning. We shall see what happens...

The Half Marathon

It's been one week since the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in Chicago, and I haven't really known what to do with myself now that training has ended! It feels strange to know that I don't have to go run long miles at the end of each week anymore. I must be honest - for the week after the half, I pretty much paid no mind to what I was eating, and I only exercised once with a 5 mile run on Thursday (August 18th). I had cheeseburgers, fries, ice cream, pizza and wine throughout the week. Although I know it's not the right mentality to have, I felt that I deserved it and that 6 days off wouldn't be the end of the world. Yesterday (Sunday) I got back on track. Now, to review the race!

Friday, August 12th

You had to pick up your bib number and race packet on either Friday or Saturday prior to the race at McCormick place. I was grateful that I got to ride along with my boss Lindsay who was also doing the same half, because I HATE parking at McCormick place with a passion - as Lindsay very well knows, since we were at a conference there last fall for 4 days and I got lost looking for my car EVERY day! At the expo, there were all sorts of health and running vendors who you could score freebies from. At check-in, we got a bag full of goodies and your T-shirt:


There were also a lot of food and drinks you could sample, and I made a couple purchases. The first was Nuun.



Nuun are these little tablets you put into your water that add flavor and electrolytes. I sampled the strawberry lemonade and lemon lime flavors, and they were delicious! They had a deal of two containers of 12 tablets each plus this cute plastic water bottle that has the pull top that I like for $10, so I went ahead and got it. I took it with me running today, and learned something important...tastes kind of gross when it gets warm! So I won't be taking it running with me anymore, I'll drink it post run.

The second purchase was from PR*Bar. Now, I didn't actually talk to anyone at their booth or read information, just sampled their product which tasted REALLY good and then decided to jump on their 3 for $5 deal. After checking out their website just now, it looks like they market it as meal replacement for weight loss, which I don't agree with. But, I am willing to give it a try as something to have pre-workout and then have a smaller meal after working out, which I often like to do. I got the iced brownie bar and chocolate peanut butter bar. These bars are unbelievably soft and smooth - not gritty like some energy bars are.



Saturday, August 13th

Took it easy and rested up. Knew I needed to load up on carbs and had a craving for waffles all day long, so I ended up eating them for breakfast and dinner! I did have a turkey sandwich from Spicy Pickle for lunch, which was good for protein. I went to bed at 10:15 PM - early, but not early enough considering I had to be up at 3:30 AM! =(

Sunday, August 14th - RACE DAY!
Alarm went off at 3:30 AM. My first thought? "F this." But there was no turning back now, so I dragged myself out of bed. Lindsay was coming from Aurora, and so it was easier for her to pick me up off I-88 rather than I-355 where I live, so I parked near my boyfriend's apartment. We left at 4:30 AM. The race started at 6:30, and the roads start getting closed off around 5:15, so we had to get down there to park.

Us bright and early!




I felt a little nervous, but I was definitely way more nervous before the triathlon I did last year. My wave started running around 6:40 AM. I ran pretty slow in the beginning, because many warned me to not start off to quickly and burn yourself out. The race did not go by as quickly as I was expecting. My 10, 11 and 12 mile runs didn't seem to bad, but honestly this seemed like an eternity! I didn't see mile markers until mile 4, and I was expecting it to be mile 5.

I kept trying to make up my time and was monitoring my watch between mile markers, but no matter how hard I tried to go just a little faster, my pace kept hovering around a 10 minute mile. When I saw it was only mile 4, I was like "Are you KIDDING me?!?!" By mile 8, I was really tired. Mile 10, I kept thinking "I cannot wait to NEVER run again!!!" By mile 12, I wasn't sure I would make it. Once the finish line was in sight, I had to push myself like never before. The look on my face for the finish photos shows how badly I wanted it to be over!



After the race, I got my sweet medal:



The temperature for the race was perfect - about 70 degrees - but it did rain a few times throughout the race, and that made it kind of cold. I wanted to check out some of the vendors that were at the race and snag more free stuff, plus get my two free MGD64's that I wore my darn wristband for all weekend! (You could get your ID checked at the expo to avoid waiting in line after the race, provided you wore this yellow wristband that I had to keep on all weekend long). However, it was raining pretty steadily at this point and we were freezing, so we left.

I had a celebratory breakfast with Phil, Julie and Mike, which ended up being free because poor Julie bit on a piece of glass that got into her eggs! Besides that, breakfast was delicious. I've never finished a huge breakfast portion like that, but I was ravenous! Then as soon as we got back, I passed out for a nap. That night I went to bed at 8:30 and slept until 7 the next day!

So now that it's over, I'll be training for the Willis Tower Stair Climb. However...I have come across a Naperville Half Marathon that is happening Sunday, September 11th. I would just pick up the last three weeks of my training schedule to prepare. Kind of crazy that I'm already considering another one! But it's cheap, it's close by, and best of all...it doesn't start until 8:30 AM :) I only have a couple days to decide, as I would need to get back on my training. But Phil and I were going to go to Wisconsin September 9 - 10th, provided that he gets a 1/2 day request approved at work. If we go, I won't do the race. If we don't...I'm considering it!

1/2 Marathon Training: Final Week

Just 6 days until the half marathon! I'm excited and feel ready for it. It's felt a little strange winding down my training knowing that there is still a 13 mile race ahead...last week my long run was 9 miles, this week I'm not supposed to do more than 4 or 5 miles on any given day. Part of me is nervous that my endurance will wear off, but overall I know that I've trained properly and am ready to go! I'm looking forward to doing different cardio workouts again - I'll keep up with the running somewhat, but definitely cannot wait to take a break from these running blisters!

Now that my training is almost at an end, I feel that I need to get my eating back under control. I lost two pounds during training, which isn't a whole lot, but given that I still ate fast food, cookies, cake, cheeseburgers, hot dogs here and there, it's fine by me! All the running leveled out any extra calories. I was also stuck between two clothing sizes at the start of the training, running helped me move down a size and stay there.

I purchased a Groupon for a small, private owned grocery store in Downers Grove called Lemon Tree. They carry a lot of quality produce, organic foods, and healthy foods. The deal was $12 for $25 worth of groceries, so I jumped on it right away. Here's what I got:



I bought some convenience produce that I normally don't waste money on - like $4 on pre-cut strawberries and blueberries, for example. The grocery store also has a cafe, and so the shopping area was a little cramped in my opinion - I regretted choosing a cart instead of hand basket. I might have to cough up the extra cash on a regular basis for the deli turkey and provolone cheese that I got - it's DELICIOUS!!! Melts in your mouth! Was about $5.50 for the 1/2 lb of turkey and 1/4 lb of cheese, I will get 4 wraps out of that, so not bad when you consider most deli sandwiches cost you about $6 anyway.

I have been OBSESSED with Flatout wraps as of late.



I like the mini ones (pictured above), but also bought the regular size ones today since I have so many more veggies to add to my turkey wrap I've been eating for lunch. I spread roasted red pepper hummus on the wrap, then add lettuce, tomato, turkey, cheese, and now will be adding yellow and orange bell pepper slices. So much more filling and satisfying than my Lean Cuisines I've been eating the past year!



I also really like the mini wraps for a midday PB&J snack. The package recommended trying this with fresh strawberries and banana slices with a sprinkle of granola - YUMMY!



I have been wanting to eat more eggs in the morning but am usually too lazy or running too late to do so. Since I often reheat breakfast leftovers, I realized I should just do the same thing. So I made some scrambled eggs tonight (1 full egg and 2 egg whites) mixed with feta, tomato, and bell peppers. I will try it in the morning!



After the marathon training, I'm excited to focus more on toning and strength. I'm always so concerned with fitting my running in that I haven't done a whole lot of strength training, which is a main reason why I want to start eating more healthy and fresh foods. When I started eating the wraps, I noticed that if you start looking forward to your fresh foods instead of thinking about the things you aren't allowing yourself to eat, you're a lot more satisfied overall and not tempted by the unhealthy foods as much. I am now trying to focus on wanting healthy and fresh foods - it seems to be doing the trick!

1/2 Marathon and Beyond

So, I'll be honest here: I've had it with the training for this thing! About 3 weeks left to go?! Seriously?! I'm about to create the Desiree Smith 1st Half Marathon this Sunday and run it myself and be done. The blisters are annoying the crap out of me. I just want this to be done and over with already. Nevertheless...I'm staying on top of training, and it's going well. I did 11 miles last Friday morning - took all my will power to get out of bed at 5 AM for that one. But anyway...

Last Saturday I went to my boyfriend's cousin's wedding. It was SO much fun! The area behind the church was absolutely beautiful, a stunning view of Lake Michigan. I had a great time with my boyfriend and his family. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day:











That last photo of Phil and I is my absolute FAVORITE! Love the city skyline, love our smiles in this photo. I also love that I look more toned than I have in a long time, and so this photo really inspires me to stay healthy!

I realize that after the half marathon is over, it won't be long before shorter daylight hours and colder weather is upon us again, and I'll need something new to keep me motivated. So after some careful research on training, I finally registered for the Sky Rise Chicago Tower Up! event sponsored by the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. In other words...I will be climbing all 103 floors of the Willis (Sears) Tower.

RIC provides world-class rehabilitation care to patients - children and adults - from around the globe for traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, as well as stroke and cancer. The funds raised through SkyRise Chicago will directly impact patients' lives by supporting advances in patient care and cutting-edge research at RIC.

It's pretty intimidating, climbing stairs are a different beast! I will start training about a week after the half has taken place, so I will have plenty of time to prepare. The training tips for the Hustle up the Hancock helped me decide to participate in this event - yes, I realize the Hancock is a shorter building, however, it says you should be able to easily run 3 miles regularly before participating in that stair climb - so I figure training for 13 miles makes it OK to climb the Willis Tower.

I am required to fundraise at least $100 for the event, in addition to the $50 registration fee I paid to participate. I will push this more over the coming months, but will still make mention of it now - if you would like to donate to the cause, you can do so on my Personal Page for the event. ANY amount, small or large, is greatly appreciated! If just 10 people donate $10, or 20 people donate $5, I can reach my goal. I will be honest - I hate doing fundraising, hate asking people for money. But if you could help out this cause and help me reach my goal, it would really mean a lot to me!

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 9

This is the start of Week 9 (out of 12 weeks) of training for the half marathon. At this point, I am confident the race itself will not be a problem and I'm ready for it! I am up to 10 miles at a time now. I'll run 11 at some point this week - whatever day seems to be the least horrendously humid. I just checked out Tom Skilling's forecast, and I don't think I'm going to have much luck there. So whatever day I'm "feeling it", that's the day I'll go run.

As I've moved into higher miles, I've experienced some not-so-fun things that I either didn't think about, know about, or expect. If you're thinking of training for a long distance race like the one I am, I'm going to share these with you so that hopefully you can prevent them!

Black Toenail

This is the most recent fun filled adventure I'm dealing with. As my nail polish started to wear off, I noticed on my left foot that the toenail next to my big toe looked black. After days of not wanting to face what laid beneath the nail polish, I finally took the polish off and saw that about 75% of the toenail is now black. I remembered that after my first 10 mile run, that toe was hurting me for a couple of days. So I turned to Google and read about the fun of Black Toenail.

As you walk or run, your foot slides forward in your shoe, banging your toes against the top, front, and sides with each step. Your feet also swell during a walk or run and get compressed by your socks and shoes. That pressure and impact can damage your toenail beds, or create a blister under the toenail itself. When this happens, the extra blood and fluid cause your toenail to separate from the toenail bed, or the "toenail in training" as the Jeff Galloway site calls it. The blood colors the toenail black.

I've learned that my toenail will be normal again in 4 to 5 months. Beautiful.

Blisters

Blisters, blisters, blisters! I'll be honest, my feet are looking pretty gruesome right now! It started with one blister after my 6 mile run, just beneath my right big toe along the side of my foot. It was a mild blister, so I let it be. With each run, a new blister formed on top of it. Before my first 10 mile run, I decided to use some athletic tape on the blister to prevent it from getting worse. The tape rubbing against my skin caused a NEW blister beneath the one I was trying to protect that was far worse than the first! This thing was like 4 layers deep! I put Neosporin on it every night and that helped it heal faster.

Then when I bought new running shoes, those caused 2 blisters on my other foot. It seems I have finally found a solution now: I put a large cloth Band-Aid over the blister, then wrap that bandage once with athletic tape. At the end of my second 10 mile run, all the Band-Aids had stayed in place, no new blisters, and no more damage to the old ones!

Chafing

I've experienced this along the inside of my bicep that rubs against my tank top as well as between my thighs. Chafing is simply skin irritation. Some areas have lost a layer of skin or so! I dealt with this after my 7 mile and 8 mile runs. Finally I decided to look up some solutions, and a lot of runner's blogs recommended Body Glide, so I purchased some at Sports Authority. This stuff is AWESOME! I have had no problems since then.

Dehydration

I've finally forced myself to get used to running with a water bottle in my hand. As I've moved into the higher miles, staying hydrated is more important than ever. During my first 10 mile run, I don't think I took in enough water. I felt very dizzy after the run, and on my drive home (I had gone running with my boss that day), I had to pull over at two different fast food restaurants to throw up. Learned my lesson!!! My second 10 miler this past Friday went much better, as I made sure to drink all my water along the way :)


I felt so great after my run on Friday night that a part of me is starting to contemplate a full marathon. I completely believe that I COULD do it. The question is, do I WANT to?! I don't know if I feel like putting in the time and commitment for that one. We shall see...

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 6

Alright, so I haven't blogged in awhile, BUT that doesn't mean I haven't been training! Would you like a recap of my last few weeks of training? Here it is: I ran. Haha, I'll spare you the boring details of 3 weeks worth of running memoirs.

So here we are going into Week 6 of 12 weeks of training. I have started using my training plan as a template rather than as a schedule. This means I am pushing myself beyond what the training plan calls for - nothing crazy, but I know I can do longer distances than this novice plan. However, I don't feel confident about committing to the intermediate plan, so I'm making up my own somewhere in between.

In my opinion, my Sunday runs are the most important - Sundays are my long distance run days. I was supposed to run 6 miles yesterday, but I've moved that up to 7. I've added a mile to every Sunday from this point on. A week or so ago, I ran a bit over 6 miles, so that was somewhat reassuring even though I was pretty nervous about the 7 miles ahead. I mapped out my run ahead of time so that there would be no guessing while running outside. Another reason it's important to me to plan my runs is because I hate running along the same route twice. It makes it feel like you are doing laps, which I am not a fan of.

Running truly is about mind over matter. After I planned my route, I left the house with the attitude of, "OK. Time to run 7 miles." I started off at an easy jog pace - no need to burn myself out. My momentum and stride picked up through out the run, and I felt I had a comfortable cadence the entire time.

When I'm running outside, it really helps me to compartmentalize the run. I divide everything up by street. It helps to think "OK, the Woodward section is over. The Lemont Road section is done. 83rd Street is next", etc. It takes your mind off the number of miles that lay behind and ahead of you.

I ended up running 7.4 miles - and I felt GREAT!!! There was no lightheaded, tired or weak feeling. It's so exciting that I am past the halfway point for distance. Now it's a matter of "one more mile, one more mile."

I have to remember to keep conditioning myself throughout the week so that I can have successful runs on Sunday. Last week, I was feeling great and very in shape. So by Wednesday, I slacked a little on the working out and maybe indulged in some extra ice cream. When I start feeling really good about my body, I'll start to slide back into those old habits. Then I have to remind myself, "No, Desiree, despite what Lady Gaga says you were not born this way!" Haha.

I should add some notes on the Warrior Dash, which was last Sunday. If you were thinking about participating this year, you MUST do it next year!!! If you are exercising regularly, the course is really not that hard at all. One part had a very steep hill that I could not run up. The obstacles involved a LOT of climbing structures. I would have liked to run the majority of the course, but my boyfriend did not get in the running shape that he was supposed to! He decided to sign up for this event in February or March, and I told him he had to start running regularly to prepare. Naturally, he didn't really listen :) And even though I kept telling him leading up to the race that I was going to run whether he could keep up or not, I of course felt bad doing so during the actual event and wanted us to go through it together. So, we walked 50-60% of it. The important thing is...we had a lot of fun!

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 3

Alright, so my birthday kinda ruined my training. I was on track up until Wednesday, then Thursday was a horribly stressful day at work. I met up with my cousin after work, and we had a birthday dinner at Portillo's. You cannot work out on a stomach full of Portillo's!!! Then Friday I went out with some friends, and Saturday was my actual birthday. I was hoping to run in the morning on Saturday, but by the time I woke up it was already too damn hot. Then on Sunday...well, I was too busy recovering from Saturday to be able to go run!

On Monday I went to the gym and did a light workout of weights and cardio. Last night my schedule said to run 3.5 miles; I did just that. I was supposed to run 2 miles tonight; I did my 4 mile route. What a suffocating, miserable run! I had to stop and walk a few times, but never for more than a minute/minute and a half. I really wanted to stop and turn around after a mile, but I'm glad I pushed through it!

I stayed right on track during the first week, and fell off the wagon a little in the second week. With this week though and moving forward, there is no room to be lazy anymore! There are 10 weeks to go until the half. I'm still at a point where the training is pretty easy for me - I haven't done a run yet that was beyond anything I've done before. The more challenging, longer distances start next week! Ahhhh!