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Hello, friends!

Another Monday, another blog!

Last week, as soon as I sent my submission to be reviewed by the lovely Cristina, I remembered, “Shoot! I was supposed to write about my marathon training!” So, here it is!

A few months ago, my bridesmaid Erin and I decided that we were going to run the Disney Princess half marathon. Now, I’ve never run a half marathon before. I’ve run a good handful of 5k’s (a measly 3.1 miles in comparison to the roughly 13.1 miles a half marathon is), but that’s really it. I think my longest run before wanting to claw my eyeballs out has been about 7 miles… but that was a LOOOOOOOONG time ago.

All right, so where do we get started?

1. The running buddy: Entirely up to you! A lot of people enjoy the extra push from running with someone, but I personally don’t. For a while, Jeff and I were running together but every once in a while running with him made me… sad. He runs super, super fast… then slows down… then we’re running from the cops again… then we’re practically going backwards. So, I decided to run alone. Yes – I recommend running with a buddy, especially us women, however, I really enjoy the whole “clear my head” deal that comes along with running on your own. I do however, ALWAYS run with my iPhone and keep one ear bud out to hear what’s going on around me.

2. Stretching: I usually like to get the first 10 minutes in before I stop to stretch. It drives me nut-so when I see people doing full blown aerobic stretching before they’ve even take their first step. This is a big no-no. Muscle’s need to be warmed up in order to get a sufficient stretch which helps prevent injury and cramping. I know it feels like with the first few seconds you need to stop and stretch but you don’t. You want muscles to be nice and warm and pliable before you get the good stretch in. Don’t forget to get some upper body stretches in, too!

3. Jams: If you were running next to me and took a listen to what I have blaring out of my headphones – you’d think I was a homicidal maniac. When I run, I can’t listen to lovie-dovie, mmmbop type songs. I listen to stuff that is incredibly inappropriate for church and angry – but that’s what gets me going! A little System of a Down here, and Rage Against the Machine there, and I’ve got a fire lit under my rear. I highly recommend running with music. If you’re running alone, like I said above, run with an ear bud out so you can still hear what’s going on around you.

4. Nike Running App: THIS APP IS UH-MAY-ZING! It is the ultimate running program. It will not only tell you your distance throughout your run, but will map it for you – showing you the parts of the run where you were the fastest and the slowest. It also counts your calories, keeps track of your runs (as a total distance), and much more! Download it. Now!!!

5. Gatorade…H20!: When I was growing up, I would drink Gatorade like it was nobody's business. Playing soccer, it just came second nature to guzzle one of the bad boys down, even if I wasn’t doing anything physically challenging that day. Well, as I grew older, and wiser (and now fatter), I realized that I probably shouldn’t be drinking Gatorade all of the time. Gatorade actually has a pretty hefty load of sugar, that if you’re not out playing a soccer game, you don’t need and won’t burn off. That’s why I like to stick to plain old water. Every once in a while if I really kicked my own butt running or lifting that day, I’ll drink one to help with recovery. Other than that, I try to stay away from any sugary drinks. Try and drink as much water as you can throughout the day. I gave a rant in my previous blog about water and am still sticking by it!

Have I kind of sort of maybe gotten a little bit of your attention now? Take a looksie at the chart on this website, which shows you the average calories burned while running in comparison to other activities.

Yep, so lets get started! Here’s how I’ve been doing it:

Start off light – every other day. On your first day you should go as long as you can before you have to stop (that stop does not include you stopping to stretch). That’s going to be your starting point. Say for example, you could only go 1 mile before you thought you were going to pass out and die. That’s great! (the mile part – not the keeling over and dying part). The next time you run, you should run the mile, and then add .25 miles to that. If you have to stop and can’t make it, then that means you need to continue to work on your mile. If it got easier, then run 1.25 for the rest of the week, taking note of your time. The following week, add another .25 miles and continue with the cycle. There are going to be some days where you can add more than that .25, and that is fantastic! Just keep in mind, you want to go forward with your mileage and not backwards so don’t over-do it! If you run 3 miles one day, you’re going to want to keep up that trend for the rest of the week!

Right now, I haven’t been consistent with my running (it’s so dang hot!), so today I’m starting over again at 2 miles and working my way up again!

It’s rough to get going, but I promise you, running (sucks, yes) but is a VERY rewarding workout.

World peace and skinny jeans,

Sheri xo

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