Decision of Doing a Full Marathon & Some Motivation

After the half-ironman, I lost the desire to continue training right away. I knew by committing to a marathon meant my training needed to start right away in October. So I started stressing, do I do this thing or not? So I kept up with running 2-3 days a week making one my long run of at least 8-10 miles, just in case..Plus I didn't want to start at ground 0. I really just wanted to keep it stress-free and go with the flow until I made up my mind.

I was so swamped with work and traveling for work, I barely had time for anything besides running. I started losing my mojo big time. I would be home and do some weights two days a week. It felt really nice to do something different. I took a couple spin classes, rode outside with some new biking attire (see below motivation tools). Off-season wasn't so bad.

I thought I should be in the pool since I hadn't been in one since the last swim before the half-iron. But I couldn't even stomach the pool. I went to the pool once with Nicole and I felt like I forgot how to swim. I was so slow. Usually, I am a second behind her, but this was short on ridiculous. We decided to throw in some paddle work which at least I stayed up front, but as soon as we took them off to do a 200 interval set...gone. My analogy for Nicole was like the little wind up toy. She took off her paddles and just went, leaving me 15 meters behind...that bad...

And then it happened, I had one really good run of 9 miles, felt really, really good and decided I would weigh out the options here.

The positives:

• New Orleans meant vacation to see little brother.
  
• Christine would run the marathon and Nicole was running the half.
  
• My sister would come to see my brother and they both could hold up signs.
• Focus on running and getting better AND providing a great base for next year's half-ironman training.
• If we had another hard winter I could always drop down to the half. I was paying a $5 difference. That seemed like a pretty good deal to me.
  

The negatives:

• 26.2 miles....
• Jersey winter snow storms = possible dreadmill training.

I weighed out the options and decided to embark on my marathon journey.

I have a couple stipulations to this journey:

1. I was still considering this off-season which meant if I couldn't do a long run on a Sun you just make it up on a Monday which meant LOW STRESS...
   
2. Continue with cross-training - lots of strength training (finally got my P90x...), biking, field hockey, maybe swimming...
3. Have fun!
   

In order to kick this into gear, I needed some pick me ups (i.e. shopping) on www.teamestrogen.com.

Arm Warmers - for those bikes and runs when it is a little brisk. I love these SmartWool ones.

Long Bike Pants - I need to get outside and bike more when the weather is chilly. I love Sugui and got a good price on these. They are warm and have zippers on the bottom and nice cushion for the tush.

A new Wind Jacket - I love this....It's by Skirt Sports and it has a great pocket in the back for either riding or running that you can store some things. It worked great for a 40 degree bike!

I would like to close this post with a new quinoa recipe I got off of Gluten-Free Goddess and my Fall Beer Selection...

Maple Pear Quinoa Salad
(This is a slightly off-version of the goddess's recipe)

1/2 cup of dry quinoa
1 Ripe Pear,peeled and chopped
1/2 bag of baby spinach
1/2 cup chickpeas
some cubed Yancy Fancy Champagne Cheddar
1 bunch of fresh Italian Parsely chopped
Maple syrup
White balsamic vinegar
Olive Oil

After you cook your quinoa, mix the pear, spinach, cheese and chicken in a large bowl.

In a smaller bowl mix 2 tbspn of maple syrup, 3 tablespoon of white vinegar and 4 tablespoon of olive oil. This should give you plenty to store the rest in the fridge. Great dressing. I poured about half on the salad and seasoned with salt and pepper. I served it with tilapia.


Fall Beer Selection

Weyerbacker Imperial Pumpkin Ale with a dollap (yup a dollap) of Southern Tier Creme Brulee - this is great because the Pumpkin Ale is not too pumpkin tasting, and the creme brulee adds a slight sweetness. A nice alternative to actual dessert.


Southern Tier Oat Stout - it's not sweet but has notes of vanilla, chocolate and oats...could it be healthy - just kidding...

Farnum Hill - Farmhouse Cider - I am not a big fan of cider beer but this tasted like a tart dry prosecco with a nice apple cider taste.

Mission Brewery Double IPA - it has an orange toffee flavor and is by far one of the better IPAs I have tasted in a while.


Happy Running!