This is harder than I remember...

Training Begins!

I've started training for the Munich Half Marathon... & have yet to have a successful long run. Why? Let's talk about how badly I can screw things up.

My first LSD was only 4 miles. I completed it, but started off way too fast to sustain the pace. In fact, my first mile was 9:43 min/mi. That's bad news for me; I should've realized I was off too fast. At the 2 mile mark, I got light headed & had to stop. I also stopped my timer so I didn't have to own the extra time. I spent miles 3-4 doing a run/walk mix to be able to finish it. Not my most impressive showing, even if the average overall pacing of 10:36 min/mi was very good for me. The issue was consistency. What did I learn? Running on an empty stomach is bad & slow down at the beginning.

This past Saturday, I went out for LSD #2 (5 miles). I left my house at 0800 because I needed to give breakfast time to settle in my stomach. When I opened the door, I knew I was in for trouble. I knew immediately it was too hot to do this run outside, but I decided to tough it out. We'll call this Mistake #1. I decided to do the 15/1 Run/Walk method, thinking the minute break would help compensate for the heat. Then, once again, I started off way too fast at 9:46 min/mi. This is Mistake #2. I kept trying to hold back, but my legs kept speeding up. Again, by mile 2, I knew I was in for trouble. But this time, it was the heat I felt coming off my skin. My clothes were soaked & I could feel the sun... it felt like the heat was melting my skin off my bones. By mile 3, I was doing a run/walk in a greatly reduced fashion... maybe 5/1? By mile 4, I gave up & walked it home for an astounding 12:02 min/mi average pace for 4 miles. I skipped the last mile; what was the point? All I could do was walk... not like that's actually training my body for running.

I'm hoping for a better LSD #3 this weekend. I need one LSD to go well, just for the self esteem boost! So let's talk about some happier things, shall we?

Even has straps for my mat!

I got a new gym bag. It's the Under Armour Shatter Gym Tote & I love it! It was a bit pricey to be sure, but it's exactly the right size for a quick yoga session during lunch & full-blown gym sessions including sauna visits. It fits everything I need without being ridiculously oversized. And since I have issues with "overpacking" for everything, I wanted to find a bag to fit my need that wouldn't allow me to bring my entire fitness wardrobe. I love this thing.

I've also been cleaning up my closet & getting rid of out-of-date clothes... & clothes that are too big. This is a 100% awesome thing. Of course, then I realized a very important fact: I have a lot of gym/running shoes. And I can't seem to part with any of them, even the ones I've retired & don't wear anymore. Does that make me weird? I can't bring myself to do it. So underneath my bed now looks like this:

Yup. A lot of Newtons.

I also attempted my first protein shake. I didn't put the blender together properly, so my first attempt exploded all over my wall. And it was the last of my sugar-free chocolate syrup, so this second attempt is with chocolate chips. No, not exactly healthy. But I love chocolate protein shakes.

 And finally, I've begun preparing for one of the most important things I'll do in my life.

I'm finally going to take the LSAT. I'm registered to sit for the test in London in December. I alternate between zen-like calm & total freak out over this. I really want to do this & kick its ass. But it's a big deal & I can only [financially] afford one shot at this. So I'm studying my butt off when I'm not running or at the gym.

Because life can't be only running. :D