The time is here.  Taper time!  This week’s mileage is below.  Pretty neat huh?
Tuesday-4
Wednesday-6
Thursday4
Saturday-8

The 4 miles today felt easy.  I am looking forward to the runs prior to the marathon.

A few weeks ago I purchased two skirts from Zappos.  Previously I read reviews posted by (Just) Trying is for Little Girls.  I own a few Champion skirts but don’t like them too much because the inner shorts tend to ride up.  I tried on the Brooks PR Mesh Skort II but I have big inner thighs and did not find the inner shorts to be comfortable.  There is an elastic at the bottom of the shorts but still that did not prevent them from riding up.

Today I wore the Skirt Sports Gym Ultra for my 4 mile run.  I normally wear medium shorts but had purchased a large because I read that those skirts tend to run small.  As soon as I put it on I knew I was not going to like it.  As I mentioned earlier I have big inner thighs so it was kind of difficult to get it on much less to fit properly.  I finished changing and started running on the treadmill.  The darn thing was slowly coming down.  I was frustrated and changed into my regular running shorts (luckily I had an extra pair in my bag).  Sigh. 

I am not happy.  I was really hoping that I would like/love one of the skirts.  I will be at the New Orleans Marathon expo next weekend and am hoping that Skirt Sports has a booth there for me to try on their skirts.  I like running skirts.  They look cute!

Do you run in shorts, running skirts, or both?  Run Happy!

I don’t eat vegetables.  What great way for me to have some greens than in a Green Monster Smoothie?  I made my first one today.  I had all of the ingredients at home with the exception of spinach so yesterday I went to the store to buy it.

There are several recipes online but the one I sort of followed is from Oh She Glows.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond milk, or milk of choice
• 1 ripe banana, preferably peeled + frozen
• 2 handfuls organic spinach
• 1 tbsp chia seeds OR 1 tbsp ground flax
• 1 tbsp nut butter, optional
• 1-3 ice cubes
• protein powder of choice, optional

Directions: Starting with the liquid, add in 1 cup of milk of your choice. Now add in the chia or flax and nut butter. Next, add in the spinach followed by the banana on top. Blend until smooth. Add in your ice cubes and blend some more.  

Serves 1– about 2 cups

The results?  Yummy!  I can’t wait to have another one tomorrow!!  Yes, that is how good it is.  You cannot taste the spinach at all.  I will admit that it does look gross but it is just simply delicious.

Another recipe I found is at Live Half Full and she got it from Iowa Girl Eats.  I did not use Greek yogurt for my smoothie so I guess it is an optional ingredient.  Also, the banana I used was not frozen.  I don’t know if it makes a difference.  Perhaps tomorrow I will use a frozen banana.

Go ahead a make a Green Monster Smoothie.  You won’t regret it.

This weekend I am scheduled for a 20 mile run.  I “prepared” for it.  I had spaghetti yesterday for dinner.  I picked my clothes for this morning and went to bed early.  The plan was to wake up at 6 and be at the gym by 7.  Yes, 20 miles on the treadmill.  I don’t want to run outside in the cold weather and snow.

This morning I woke up a little after 6 and instead of getting up I went back to bed.  My conscience kept me from going back to sleep.  I knew I had to get up to run.  However, I just just stayed in bed thinking if I could survive a marathon without a 20 mile run.  This will be my 5th marathon.  I may not have a fast finish time but at least I finished.

As I write this I wonder what is the real reason for not running.  Overworked?  Over trained?  Is it possible to be over trained?  I barely ran 800 miles last year compared to L.A. Runner @ Run Like a Girl, and Mean It who ran 3,056 in 11 months.  Now that girl is AWESOME!!!  She is a teacher like me and still manages to find time to run 3,000 miles.  🙂

I enjoy running.  For me it is not about losing weight but more of a challenge and stress reliever.  You’ll be surprised what a class of 26, 6 and 7 year olds can do to you.  I have a long list of races for this year.  I want to set a PR too.  I want to get and run faster.  I know I can do it.  I’ve kept up with most of my training for the marathon.  So why the blah feeling today?

The forecast for next weekend is “Scattered Snow and Showers”.  Hmm, I was hoping it would be warmer for me to do my long run outside.  Well, for now I’ve decided to rest today.  I’ll see how I feel and maybe I’ll run tomorrow but don’t think I can do 20.

Can I survive a marathon without a 20 mile run?  Have you missed the run during your training?

Run Happy!

As mentioned in a earlier post my iPod died.  I wasn’t happy about it.  That meant no running with music.  Two days I ran this week without music and it made a big difference.

I made an appointment at the Apple store to have a tech check it out.  I knew what he was going to say but I went anyway.  I had an appointment at 1pm on Saturday and it was CROWDED when I walked in.  I had to wait about 1/2 hour before someone assisted me.  The final “diagnosis” was that the iPod came in contact with water.  Really?  How did that happen since it has not rained at all in Chicago.  😀  The only option I had was to buy a replacement for $65.  Is that what I want to do?  ABSOLUTELY!!!  Only $65?  Great deal!  I paid and walked out with a big smile.  So what if I had to wait an extra 30 minutes?  I have a new iPod.  Thanks Apple!!!

Less than 1 month for my first race this year.  Yay!!