7 miles + info about the Healthy Living Summit

Today there was a bit of a change of plans. Originally, my mom and (maternal) grandmother were going to take the train from NW Indiana to meet me for a day in Chicago. However, my (paternal) grandmother is still in the hospital, so my mom is going to spend the weekend with my grandparents in Mishawaka, IN. (My grandmother has been in and out over the past two days, but recently she has been doing a lot better - and hopefully she will continue to do so!!)

This week, the long run is supposed to be 7 miles, and I was kinda frustrated that I was going to miss doing the long run with the CARA team since I will be in Vegas... just because long runs are SO much easier with a large group! I was also super nervous because the weather forecast for today was for a torrential downpour, thunder, and lightning all day, plus hot temps. Yuck! And I knew there was no way that I would be able to run 7 miles on a treadmill... I am way too antsy to stay put in one place for that long!

Thankfully, when I woke up this morning, the sun was shining brightly!! I wanted to get out the door before it got too hot, so I had some coffee with soy milk (still haven't gotten caught up on my sleep yet!) and quickly headed out.

It was definitely a hot one!!! The first 4-5 miles it was super, super muggy outside. I felt especially sticky today, and I think it was partially due to the spray tan I got last night (which I love, by the way - the color is just right!) and the fact that I doused myself with sunscreen spray before I left. I was happy to find that a breeze finally started to kick in during the later part of my run, and so did my endorphins! Overall, it was an awesome run!!! This was only the second or third time I have ran that far this season, so I was proud of myself! I think it helped that I purposely tried to make myself run a bit slower than I normally would - which was probably a good idea since it was so humid outside. I was just glad that it wasn't a thunderstorm - now that I'm home the sky is getting VERY dark and formidable so I think I made it just in time!

It's so nice to know that my long run is out of the way for the weekend, so now I can go and enjoy Vegas knowing that my longest workout is behind me! I'm hoping to squeeze in at least one good workout while I am there, but who knows. In my family, even while on vacation, fitness is always a priority - at least for my dad and I - we are always trying to find the closest gym to utilize while on vacay! But Mike always thinks I'm nuts for doing this, so I'm sure there will be times when he convinces me to forgo the gym for the free drinks at the casino ;)

FYI: Find out more info about the Healthy Living Summit, which was created by some of my all-time fave bloggers (Jenna, Kath, Tina, Meghann, Heather, and Caitlin) by clicking here!

Last but not least: I would like to start doing some posts about marathon training, and everything that goes into it: training plans, pre- and post-race fueling, music, the works! Now my masters was in social work NOT exercise science, so don't take my word as gospel, but I HAVE read an abundance of books, magazines, and articles about all things running, so I will be sharing the info I have gathered through these resources as well as my own thoughts on these topics.

Question of the day:
What running-related topics would YOU like to see me talk more about during my "Marathon Monday" series?

My first blog post!

Welcome! :)

Wow, I never in a million years thought that I would be blogging!! I'm practically the "anti-blogger" as I am still one of the few stragglers to hold out against joining MySpace let alone blog for all the world to see... it just seemed too newfangled, too invasive, and I never liked the idea of making my life transparent to strangers.

BUT, things have changed, as I have recently discovered that surprisingly I LOVE blogs!!! A few weeks ago I stumbled onto some great health/nutrition/fitness blogs (Like EatLiveRun, one of my faves!) since those are some of my favorite things to read about. I am completely enthralled with how many people out there have similar interests to me, such as vegetarianism and maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle. I was hooked - and ever since, it's been a new daily pastime to check up on my favorite, bookmarked blogs.

Not only have a simply enjoyed reading the blogs - they have been a source of new info (great recipes, new training plans, new ways of thinking) - but I've realized what a great venue they are to reach out to an endless amount of people, very easily.

And.... that brings me to.... MY blog! This year I am training for the Chicago Marathon, which will be my third marathon. When I trained for the Chicago Marathon in 2007, I raised over $500 for the Afghan Women's Association International because I feel very strongly that these women often face severe oppression, violence, and at the very least, typically have a lack of basic human rights. This year, I have found another organization that I am very passionate about:

Ceasefire: The Campaign to STOP the Shooting
http://www.ceasefirechicago.org/

Basically, Ceasefire is an amazing organization that does a ton of great things for Chicago residents, but it's main campaign is to stop gang violence. As a school social worker in Chicago's inner city, I have seen far, far too many students be touched by gang violence, and frankly I've had enough. So, it's very important to me to raise money for this awesome organization. I hope to talk more about Ceasefire, and what specifically they do, in future posts.

So my plan for this blog is:
1) to have fun with it!
2) to talk about my marathon training, and the diet and lifestyle changes that take place throughout the training process
3) to raise awareness of Ceasefire and the importance of anti-violence programs in Chicago, and elsewhere
4) to hopefully raise a substantial amount of money through Ceasefire, as they are my "charity of choice" while I train for the marathon
5) I would love to also talk about other things that interest me, such as school social work...and perhaps other topics too... if anyone shows an interest!

Hopefully soon I will get this site up and running and will figure out a link to be able to start accepting donations. Please come back to the blog again soon! :)