What do you mean I can't eat as much as I want!

So last year when I started to train for my first marathon I was also trying to loose weight....of course!  Aren't we all.  Well, all it took was one of the trainers we worked out with to tell me that I needed to NOT diet and make sure I ate carbs in the evening, if I was running in the morning.  He said a lot more but all I heard was no more dieting and eat carbs! =)  Needless to say I took advantage of this and didn't really loose any weight.  Even though I was running any where from 30-40 miles a week, I pretty much staying the same size. No bueno!

This year, I am really trying to learn more about proper running nutrition.  What do I need to eat.  When should I eat it.  And, how much do I really need.  Runners World is always a great source, so I am starting there and hopefully it will lead me to other articles, books, and forums regarding diet.
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304-310-7771-0,00.html

My Legs are Jello

I guess I am just tired from a long weekend back home with the hubs and the 6-7 hour car ride home....but my legs are jello today.  I ran 3 miles in the am and then did my normal cycle class and yoga class after work.  I almost didn't make thru yoga.  I was so worn out.  By bedtime last night I could feel the jello coming.  I totally did not get up to run this morning, because I was so worn out and walking around this morning I hardly have any legs under me.  Hopefully, by this afternoon my legs will be okay to run 5m.

Cooking with Stevia

I've been using stevia for a couple of years now but very minimally.  I might put it into tea or oatmeal and I've also tried it a a few simple recipes like banana bread and oatmeal protein bars.  Other then that, I've not really tried very hard to use it as a substitute.

I made a fresh batch of banana bread tonight and replaced the the sugar with stevia. I just sampled it.....not bad. It does taste a little different but Stevia itself has a sweet but not sugar sweet taste to it.  It's hard to explain.  I guess it's no different then the difference in taste when you use artificial sweetener.

http://www.steviainfo.com/?page=cooking_tips

I found this web-site about substituting stevia in recipes.  I'm thinking I might try a substitution a month....probably the same recipe several times in one month until I get it to the point the Hubs and I like.  I'll share my results!

Just me, my running shoes and the road....and the.......

Well....not just me but the deer, skunks, snakes, garbage trucks, etc............  Don't get me wrong.  It's awesome to get up before dawn and running in the relative quite.  It just can be a bit nerve racking to run up on a deer, inhale the odor of skunk, have to constantly be on the look out for snakes, and have those big trucks whiz by you.

First 8 mile run of the season......

My marathon training season started June 27th without a lot of fan fair.  I actually didn't have a good first week, as it is now July 7th and I am just now finishing my week one....boo.  That's what happens when you start the week of a holiday.  The July 4th holiday weekend kinda got in the way.  No biggie though.  I just enjoyed my weekend with the hubs and friends and picked back up this week.  So, rather then running my first 8 miles on Saturday, I ran in on Thursday morning before work.  It felt great to get that one under my belt!

June 6th - Hit the road running

Monday's are always great.  You wake up, hopefully, refreshed and ready to hit the road running.  I literally did just that.  I got up at 5 and was out jogging by 5:30 am.  I had a short 3 m jog scheduled then a Kettle Bell cardio workout....more on that later.  Finished up both by 6:30, felt great and burned an estimated 450-500 calories....cool.  After work I went to cycle and burned another 350ish calories.

I am shocked I don't feel miserable tonight.  Sometimes I get wicked headaches when I push to hard, so I purposely tried not to over do it today....easier said then done.  I guess I will see how I feel tomorrow.  I hope I'm not too sore or it is going to make Tuesday's workout torture.

Time to get serious again......

So I'm officially signed up....again....for the San Antonio Rock n Roll Marathon.  The race is in November, but training is going to start in a couple of weeks.  I guess it's time to get serious again.  My husband will be the first to agree with me that I have kind of half ass'd my training this Winter and Spring.  I did just enough to keep me in moderate shape. With three weeks until my training begins, I have to get focused and serious about my workouts and diet.

Here is to day 1 - 5am wake up call.  IT only gets earlier from here!