My Half Martyrthon

Word to the wise: don't run a half-marathon when you really, really, really have to pee.


Other signs you should not get up and run 13 miles:


1. You're sick with sinus crud.
2. You're working on about 6 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours.
3. You're in mourning.


All three happened to me (plus the having to pee) and I did it anyway, which I think qualifies my first half marathon as my first 

Half-Martyrthon.

The conditions under which I ran my race were not ideal. I was sick, tired, and my family had been dealt a series of blows that had us all walking around like zombies.  So completing it in 2 hours 18 minutes felt like the hardest thing I had ever done.


That being said, I will definitely do it again.  The distance, not the family drama part. I have to imagine that completing the race when I am well-rested and not fighting a respiratory infection would be incredible, and I want that experience.  My sister and I crossed the finish line at the exact same second, and it was a huge triumph for us and a wonderful experience to have with her.


The race was tough. I train on hills, so I was excited about the flat course ahead of me.  Running without hills was a dream, it was sooooo nice.  The weather was sunny and cool, but warm near the end.  It was really great weather.  My sister and I discussed family drama, an upcoming wedding, and near the end, how much I needed to pee.  I owe her another huge hug for her encouragement.  I seriously needed to pee, yall.


I have to give 15 thumbs up for in-race fueling. I tucked a Lara Bar into my pants (I never did get any race pants with pockets sewn in so I made do with a ziplock bag with the top hanging over my waistband) and at mile 6.5 munched on that. I got a burst of energy that was amazing. At mile 9 I ate another bit of it, and finally at mile 12 I popped the last piece in my mouth.  Will definitely be doing that again.


Mile 8 is where things got really hard. We were running into the sun, the pavement was rock hard, and there was no shade to speak of.  The rest of the race was very mental for me.  Like I said, I reallllllly needed to pee. Like, I am not even exaggerating.


We came into the finish line under our predicted 2.5 hour time to our cheering family and received our commemorative half marathon finisher bottle opener.  Only in Louisiana!  LOL  It's really nice though.





All in all, it was rough. I'm not gonna lie. But I think it was outside influences that made it that way - it had been a real doozy of a week, folks.  So of course we have another one planned in December, and this time my brother is running with us.  Can we beat our time?  Pshaw!  You know it!


Honestly, thinking about all of you and your well-wishes kept me going through a lot of it.  Thank you for being such a great cheering squad on all of my adventures; it is a real blessing to have such wonderful people to share these experiences with.  


Now it's your turn - what can I cheer you on for?  What is your big experience?  


Good day!  I'm going back to bed. :)

What's in YOUR Energy Bar?

Okay okay, it's nothing new for me to be ranting and raving about how you should forget about trying to figure out this diet or that diet or whether to go low carb or high protein or low fat and just EAT CLEAN and not worry about it.

And that's what I am doing today. Today my target is energy bars, which so many people think are good for them and use for fueling in races or post-workout and which I generally get all holier-than-thou over.  And since my race fuel conversation yesterday, energy bars have been on my mind. 

I really really really don't want to eat one.  I faced this same issue during the triathlon I did in the spring: those bars just are NOT healthy and eating them just makes me feel like I am undoing all of the goodness I do for myself all day!  Check the label of your favorite bar and look for these ingredients:

1. Palm Kernel Oil
2. Soy Lecithin

3. Calcium Caseinate

4. Canola Oil

5. Malitol

6. Tricalcium Phosphate

7. Sugar Alcohols

8. Calcium Carbonate

Then read this article on www.blisstree.com about why you should not eat them. 

I went ahead and looked up the ingredients of the two fueling products I mentioned yesterday: Shot Bloks by Clif and Gu by Gu Energy. 

Clif Shot Blok Ingredients: Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Brown Rice Syrup Solids, Pectin, Citric Acid, Green Tea Extract, Colored With Black Carrot Juice Concentrate, Natural Flavor, Organic Sunflower Oil, Carnauba Wax.

Lots of sugar, but that's understandable. 
 It's called a Shot Blok for a reason.

Gu Energy Gel Ingredients: MALTODEXTRIN (GLUCOSE POLYMERS), FILTERED WATER, FRUCTOSE, GU AMINO ACID BLEND (LEUCINE, VALINE, ISOLEUCINE, HISTIDINE), POTASSIUM AND SODIUM CITRATE, GU ANTIOXIDANT BLEND (NATURAL VITAMIN E AND VITAMIN C), SEA SALT, NATURAL VANILLA, CITRIC ACID, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SODIUM BENZOATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE, GU HERBAL BLEND [CHAMOMILE, COLA NUT (HAS CAFFEINE), GINGER], FUMARIC ACID, PECTIN

Yeah I won't be eating that.

And here are the ingredients for what I ate during the triathlon and will likely eat during the half-marathon:

Banana Ingredients: a banana

Apple Pie Lara Bar Ingredients: dates, almonds, apples, cinnamon, walnuts, raisins

They served me just fine last time, and if it ain't broke, why fix it?

Please, please, I am begging you here - PLEASE look at the ingredients of the "healthy" food you eat before you assume that if there is a picture of a person exercising on the package, it must be good for you.  Or, even better, skip the packaging altogether and stick to actual food that grew in the ground or walked the Earth. 
 
Thanks @LisaBorden on Twitter for the link to this article!  Please share it - spread the word about how to REALLY be healthy!
 

Good day!