Indianapolis Monumental Marathon review ...

I'm nearly fully recovered from running the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon last Saturday.  This race was well organized and a flat course.  Honestly, I chose this particular race because it was described as flat.  After running the half-marathon for this race three years ago, I wanted to revisit the city in the state I grew up in and run the full marathon. 

The morning of the race was very cool and crisp with a small chance of rain.  As the race was starting I watched the sun rise.  The course was just as advertised, flat.  The most enjoyable section of the course was running through the indianapolis art museum grounds.  

Around mile 18 it started sleeting, then light rain at mile 20, and complete down pour for about the last mile or more.  Normally, during a marathon I would have gotten very upset and been tempted to start walking.  Luckily, I was mentally very strong for this race, which allowed me to push through.  

I finished in 4:30:13.  I'm very excited about my time and how I felt during and after the race.  

As I finished I saw a friend and Jonah waiting for me at the finish!  Being in Indianapolis allowed us to see some of our dear friends before and after the race.  

Overall, great race and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to run a flat course.  

The last 6 weeks or so in review...

A lot has happened in the last 6 weeks during my little hiatus from the blog.  Don't get me wrong the "a lot" that's happened is not dramatic just full of events.

Training for the marathon on Nov. 3 reached its peak in the past month or so.  I finished a 20 and 22 mile run.  My final long run before beginning the taper period of training was supposed to be about 23 miles, but I stopped early due to a cramp in my calf.  I'm glad I did since I ended up not having any lasting effects of the cramp.  Jonah was a great sport and came to pick me up after the cramp which occurred at mile 16 and I was at least a few miles out from home.

Last week I began a new challenge, which is the Baron Baptiste 40 days to personal transformation.  I've been practicing yoga at a baptiste power yoga studio in Cincinnati, and I wanted to go further into the practice and explore more thoroughly into the intellectual side of the practice.  Right now I'm on day 4 and things are going well and I'm hoping for some personal growth through the program.  Coincidentally, the program ends two days before my 30th birthday.  The end of another decade of life is a great time for reflection and growth.  Below are some images from a few of our adventures as of late...enjoy

Reds game

Joey Chestnut won the brat eating contest for the third year in a row at Zinzinnati Oktoberfest

Serious pretzels at the Zinzinnati Oktoberfest

Relaxing fall afternoon at a Kentucky Winery.  

The tale of two 18 mile runs ...

Two weeks ago the training schedule for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon called for the first 18 mile run.  The weather was nice and cool with really low humidity, and got up early to head out to the little miami trail.  I used cliff shot blocks and cliff shots for fueling and no stomach issues, and I had just enough water to get me through the entire run feeling properly hydrated.  After a quick ice bath, I was able to get out and do a few things for the day.

Then, this past weekend it called for another 18 mile run.  Although the distance was the same, and I was going to run it on a flat course, but in Lexington this time, this 18 miler was a totally different story.

First of all it was humid and the sun was out full force.  Luckily, the cliff brand fueling supplies agreed with me again.  I think I'll stick with this brand.  At mile 10 I had to stop and refill my water bottles, and I was already drenched from sweating.  After I ran-walked the last 4 miles, I made it home exhausted and happy to be done.  This run also added to my "runner" tan, which makes it look like I'm always wearing a tanktop and shorts and a little pink across my nose, even though I wore SPF 50!

Logically, the weather makes a huge difference in how you feel during a training run, but I just couldn't believe the contrast.  Luckily, the run two weeks ago went really well and I can reassure myself that I have the endurance built up to continue training.

This week is a shorter run of 10 miles, and we are doing the extreme rampage obstacle course in Lexington.  Then, the following week is a 20 miler.

Happy training!

Taking Yoga Principles off the Mat...

There's a sense of calm you take with you at the end of a yoga class.  Recent studies have shown that yoga helps to calm your nervous system, which is a much needed thing since we are always over stimulating ourselves with the electronic world around us.

This calm and connection gained through yoga has been following me as I leave the studio.  That's the great thing about yoga, all of the skills used in a successful yoga practice can be re-tapped into during our lives outside the studio.

I'm in a life transition right now, looking for postdoc positions and trying to finish my research project.  The hubs and pup might tell you I've been stressed, but it would be so much worse without yoga.  Deep breathing and a little patience has kept me from going a bit crazy.  I've also found that yoga has helped slow my mind so I can process thoughts and feelings better by tuning into how I feel, and how others feel resulting in more empathy.

Although it's a great work out, Yoga traditionally encompasses an expanse of spiritual principles. These small changes in my life only scratch the surface of what yoga can bring into someone's life.  I hope by sharing what yoga brings to my life in the day-to-day will inspire someone to give yoga a try and experience this therapeutic effect as well.

p.s. it's also not about being super flexible, it's about being where your body is and connecting in the moment, so don't let that hold you back.

Post Exercise Ice Bath ...

For the past few years, I've taken an ice bath after a long, hard run.  An ice bath consists of a bathtub filled with cold water and a varying amount of ice. They are taken immediately post exercise and it's recommended that you stay in them for 5-10 minutes.

Well, after hearing some controversy about whether an ice bath is actually beneficial, I decided to do a little investigating of my own.

Here's what I found out.  Taking an ice bath post intense workout will not make your muscle repair any faster from the tears created from the workout.  However,  an ice bath will reduce the physical pain created by DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).

The verdict:  I still take ice bathes so that it eases my pain and so I can get up and move around the following several days without wincing.  I took an "ice bath" after the 18 mile training run this past weekend (which felt really great, by the way).  My pseudo-ice bath was just a bath of cold water from the faucet, and it still did the job.

Don't be afraid to break the mold in sports and life...

Today I came across a commercial I had seen once or twice before, but today it really stuck with me.  Here are a few scenes from the commercial:

Courtesy of Nike

Courtesy of Nike

It's a nike commercial about women in sports.  It's hard to imagine that in my lifetime women have been kept from participating in certain sports.  

We are lucky to have a great women who pushed beyond the barriers to create the world we have now, full of potential for every little girl to do whatever she wants.  The reason this stuck with me so much today, is that I've been thinking about my career.  Women in science faced similar prejudices as women in sports.  My life would be so different if I lived in a culture where women can not participate in sports or science, since they take up the majority of my time.  

So, get out there and be happy that your life can break the mold and be an example of possibility for someone else.  

Fun in the sun ...

Good friends and good times sums up the weekend. We were able to have a lovely day on Lake Monroe with the same friends we went to the zoo with last weekend. Being around friends you've had for so long is comforting, especially since our lives are in such transition right now.

While on the lake, we tubed. I honestly have not tubed since I was a kid, an it was a blast. We were so lucky, since the weather was amazing. Even with SPF 50 I think I still got a heathy dose of vitamin D.

Then, Sunday morning I enjoyed watching the men's olympic marathon with momo and watched the closing ceremonies with Jonah in the pm.
(There's so many events I still need to watch, do its like the Olympics haven't ended yet.)

The adventures this weekend left us (including phil-dog) feeling loved by friends and exhausted from all the fun.

Using the Olympics as fitness motivation ...

As I was out doing a long run on Saturday morning in the oppressive humidity, my mind was grasping for some reason to keep going.  The thought I settled on was the Olympics, and all the incredible athletes who were competing for a once in a life time experience.  If those athletes can put themselves through a lifetime of grueling workouts, then I can make it a few more miles to complete a 15 mile marathon training run.  

From the Denver Post

Watching the fine tuned athletes compete in any olympic event has been very motivating.  Given, I'm no where near an olympic athlete, but I love being active.  Their performances make me want to be better and strive toward a greater goal.  Since I'm a runner the track and field athletes are by far my favorite of the summer games.  

Oscar Pistorius

This last Sunday was the women's marathon!  My friend Morgan did a nice summary on her blog.  We were fortunate, as friends who run marathons together, to watch two friends run a marathon together, Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan.  If the marathon isn't your event, don't worry there are tons of other runners to keep an eye out for motivation from a stunning performance.  

In the 10,000 meters there's Galen Rupp, who got the silver.  The inspirational story of Oscar Pistorius is all over the olympics as a 400 meter runner with prosthetics.  In the hurdles is the ever exciting Lolo Jones, and the decathlon is the world record holder Ashton Eaton.  

Tune into the olympics and get motivated to have a healthy, active life, and to experience some of the greatest competition in the world.  

Granola balls ...

I LOVE granola bars.  They usually combine a few of my favorite things: sugar, oats, sometimes chocolate, and fruit.  

Since so many processed foods, including granola bars, also have a lot of other junk in them as well I've been buying Lara bars and Odwalla bars.  Both of these bars and super tasty but also a bit pricey.  My simple solution is making my own granola bars, well I was inspired by the fit foodie finds blog and a recipe I found on the whole foods website for granola/power balls.  (the funny name helped too)

This week I made a small batch and here's the recipe that I used:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of almond butter (chunky)

1/8 cup honey

1 cup oats

1/8 cup coconut (shaved)

hand full of pecans

palm full of dark chocolate chunks (I know, my measuring is really precise)

Method:

Combine honey and almond butter in a sauce pan over medium heat until almond butter is melted with honey, remove from heat

Mix in oats and all the other goodies

you can mix the chocolate in here or you can wait for it to cool a bit depending on if you want it in chunks or mixed throughout.  I chose to have melted chocolate.  

Roll the mixture into about 1 inch balls (sort of like you do for peanut butter or snickerdoodle cookies) and let them cool on wax paper. 

My creation from this week, tastes very much like chocolate odwalla bars!  

Give them a try!  Add whatever dried fruit or nuts you like to the mixture to create a custom snack.  

Olympics 2012 are here!

The summer olympics combine all the sports that have captivated by attention since a child and cram them into a two week action packed block.  By far, they are my favorite of the two seasons of olympics.  Last night marked the opening ceremonies!

I celebrated by going to a friends house for an opening ceremonies party, where we all wore something to support our favorite country.  Of course, I chose USA ('Merica).

During the opening ceremonies I enjoyed the section with the kids in hospital beds sleeping and the giant villains invading their dreams, and the part where JK Rowling read a short passage from a story.  

The olympics are not only a spectators dream, since they are streaming nearly constantly online this year, but also serve as inspiration.  In the midwest, it's hot and humid and motivation to run or get out there and move is hard to find.  Watching these fine tuned athletes compete provides motivation and inspiration.  I feel a small bit of camaraderie as I'm out early in the morning hitting the road for a run.  

Are you planning on watching the olympics?  What's your favorite event?