Getting In Gear!

WOW! I am so excited (and slightly frightened) to start this new trek. I, along with my fiance (note picture to the right :) ), are going to be running in the Country Music Marathon! I will be running as the Lightning100 representative, helping to raise money for an AMAZING organization called the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, that raises money for research and cures for blood cancers. I have never run a marathon before, not even close. I have worked out for a good bit of my life, but the longest I've ever run in my whole life is 6 miles. And it has been a LONG time since I've done that. So, it would be safe to say I'm a bit nervous about running, you know, somewhere around 26.2 MILES. Thankfully, I spoke with a Team In Training rep, Leslie, who explained to me that the trainers help you with a specific weekly workout routine that will whip you into shape... literally.

I'll be going to an informational meeting about it either on Sat., Oct. 24th, at the Bellevue Family YMCA, or on Tues. Oct. 27th, at East Park Community Center on Woodland Street in Nashville. They have a lot more dates in a lot more places in TN, and if you are interested in finding out more information and how you can run with me in the Country Music Marathon, go to their website at http://www.teamintraining.org/tn/.

Or, if you are interested in simply donating financially to a very worthy cause, I will be setting up a donations account online very soon and would GLADLY appreciate ANY donation for them. :)

I'm going to be tracking my progress on this blog for you all to see how it works and how a normal human being can (hopefully) run a marathon. Maybe it'll inspire you as well. :)

This week:

We haven't started formal training yet (that begins in November), but to get ready for it, I am adding 2-3 extra days of cardio work (my usual work out routine is cardio + weights 3 days a week), and I am attempting 8 cups of water a day, and no more artificial sugar (I'm ADDICTED to Coke Zero), and no sugar in general, except what occurs in nature. I'm adding protein shakes and taking out processed foods. I'm eating a lot, all throughout the day, and mainly only things that occur in nature. Oohh, but it's only been a day and a half and I'm having chocolate and Coke Zero withdrawals. But apparently, this type of eating makes you run better and feel better. I'll let you know the consensus. :)