Are You Brave Enough?

Brave? Who me?

I've never considered myself to be brave. In fact, most of my life I've suffered from anxiety and a lack of confidence. I know that probably comes as a surprise to most of you who read my blog. All those races I run? It has taken an enormous amount to mental energy to push myself to the starting line of most of them. But I realized early on that if I wanted to live life to the very fullest, I would need to put on a brave face and push myself out of my comfort zone, both on the road and off.

It hasn't always been easy but yes, it has always been worth it.

In 2014, I won a free entry to the Chicago Marathon and made up my mind to redeem myself from my disappointing first attempt in 2011. Yes, I was so demoralized by that race that it took me 3 years to get up the courage to try again. Would I have done it if I hadn't won the entry? Who knows. But I took it as a sign that it was a chance to put on my big girl running pants and conquer the beast that had been haunting me. To run the race I knew I had in me. My friend Marcia kept telling me that I had "unfinished business".

Indeed.

Prior to my 2015 Chicago Marathon, I received an unexpected gift from a Facebook friend, Teresa. The shirt, from Fellow Flowers, had "rockstar" printed across the front. Of course, I loved it. But it was the magnet that came with the shirt spoke to me:

http://fellow-flowers.myshopify.com/collections/apparel

Are you brave enough to conquer your demons? Are you brave enough to leave your comfort zone? Are you brave enough to chase your dreams? Are you ready for change?

Maybe it's the middle age talking, but I have a lot of things on my bucket list yet to be accomplished. Some are running related, some not. I'm at this point in my life where a lot of my friends and yes, my husband, are becoming content. Complacent.

I'm not there yet.

There's an expectation that with middle age comes an eventual slowing down.

Who me? Slow down?

Am I brave enough to push beyond expectations?

There are a lot of runners out there who will tell you running changed their lives. I am one of them. Crossing the finish lines of the many long distance races I've run has given me confidence, kept my anxiety at bay, and pushed me beyond expectations.

And yes, I've become brave.

Brave enough to push my pace hard to PRs and AG awards.

Brave enough to swallow my pride and enlist the services of a badass, tough as nails CrossFit coach.

Brave enough to take up cycling and yep, those dreaded clip-in pedals. Because we all know what a clutz I am. But I like to go fast. So I had to be brave.

Brave enough to push forward with this marathon training cycle, even with minimal road time and maximal cross training.

Brave enough to push outside of my comfort zone. So many times. You know what? Nothing great happens there.

And scared to stop being brave. Because what will happen when I do?

I love that I can do hard things. I love that in spite of not being able to run as much as I want to right now, I can transfer that level of fitness to other activities like cycling and pool running. I love that I can lift heavy things. More than anything,  I love that I'm crushing expectations. I'm getting stronger and I'm getting faster.

I've become brave. Both on the road and off. Because for me, it always comes back to running. Running has made me brave. Running makes me push my limits and define who I am.

Don't let the way others see you define who you are.

Be brave. Leave the comfort zone. And let it change the way you see yourself.

Are you brave? 

I'm linking up with DebRuns for Wednesday Word. Today's word is brave. Check out what everyone else is saying about the word brave!

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 9

I finally settled down into my "new" training plan for the Big Sur Marathon, which involved very little running and a whole lot of cross training. I was pleasantly surprised by the week, and I feel a whole lot more confident heading into the final stretch of my marathon prep.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: I had 8 miles on my marathon training plan. I put on my big girl bathing suit and went to the pool for some pool running. Armed with my new waterproof iPod, I "ran" around the diving well for 70 minutes. I had some company this time. There were 3 "pool noodlers" drifting back and forth across the diving well. There was also a guy hanging out in the middle of the diving well. He wasn't moving, and he was there for the longest time. Not sure what he was up to, I kept close to the perimeter of the pool. Eventually, he got out of the pool and went to the sauna. At exactly 8 am, the lifeguards blew the whistle and I had to get out of the pool. Since it would have taken me about 70 minutes to run those 8 miles, I felt like I had an equivalent workout. Minus the pounding on my feet.

Happy with my "run"! And my tunes.

Wednesday: I had hill training on my marathon plan, so I decided to do intervals on the bike trainer. I found the perfect workout on the GCN channel on YouTube. The Power and Endurance workout consisted of multiple long intervals with varying cadences. The goal was to maintain your same effort throughout each interval. Holy quads! And hamstrings. This was tough and it was good! I was so glad I had my Wahoo Blue SC cadence sensor to help me monitor my cadence as well as my miles per hour. The monitor kept me on track for the entire workout. 15.39 miles/1:04

Power and Endurance right there...

After I finished, I should have gone to yoga class but instead stayed home and did Rodney Yee's Power Yoga DVD. I've been doing this one for years, and it's a great total body workout. It was a nice substitute for my studio class.

Half Moon on the bench. A balancing act. With wind.

Thursday: It was back to the pool for more pool running. I only planned on an hour today. For the most part, I had the diving well to myself. The chatty lifeguard was there today, and he kept me company for about 20 minutes. The rest of the time I listened to my music. I felt like I finally got the hang of pool running--I felt like I was actually running, not just flailing around the pool. At the end of the hour, I wanted to keep going, but I forced myself to stop. That's a good sign, right?

Trying to take the selfie without anyone noticing...

Then I went to see Becky for some CrossFit. She hooked me up to the sled and put resistance bands on my ankles, having me monster walk across the gym. I also did sumo deadlifts, leg lifts on the GHD machine, and V-ups with a ball that I passed back and forth from my ankles to my hands. Let's just say my core needs a little a lot of work. It was kind of embarrassing, really. I finished up rowing all out for 3 minutes. Both Becky and I were thrilled to see that my pacing improved dramatically from the past 2 weeks.

Friday: Rest Day. But I couldn't pass up the amazing morning sky, and stopped to grab a high lunge on my way to work.

High Lunge

Saturday: I had 4 miles on the plan, but decided to run 5. I must have been half asleep when I looked at the thermometer because I sure didn't dress for the actual temperature. It was cold, it was windy, and yes, those are giant snowflakes in my selfie! My foot felt pretty good during the run. Even more remarkable was how great my legs felt. And yes, I've still got some speed in me. 5.23m/8:31m/m

Yes, it's snowing! It's spring in Chicago.

Sunday: I had 18 miles on the plan. Yep, it was supposed to be my long run. Although after discussing this with Marcia, I had an idea of what I wanted to do, I also discussed this workout with Becky. Interestingly, her idea was the same as what Marcia suggested. Split the run with the bike. So I planned on doing 10 miles on the run, which would take me about 90 minutes, and 20 miles on the bike which would also take about 90 minutes. I checked the weather, and it was supposed to be crazy windy--again. With the wind blowing hard out of the south, I decided to run the bike path, which is about 10.5 miles, and is a straight shot east to west. I settled into a nice easy pace, carrying my Tailwind for fuel. I felt so good that I actually considered just going for it. I knew that would be a bad idea but it wasn't without some internal struggle that I turned around at the halfway point to go home. The foot felt pretty good until about mile 8 when it started to hurt. I was starting to feel tired, and I adjusted my stride to keep from landing so hard on that foot. That seemed to help, and I got home without too much pain. I was really tired though, and not happy that I had to go back out on the bike. I knew that with those windy conditions, it was going to be a tough ride. 10.46 miles/9:04 min/mi

10 miles on the bike path

I changed out of my sweaty clothes, drank a protein shake, refilled my Tailwind, and headed back out to the bike path, this time on my bike. Between the wind and the 45 degree temps, I initially needed to do a lot of self-talk to keep moving forward. There were a few points along the ride where I thought the wind was going to blow me over. I've never ridden in those conditions before, and it was a little unnerving. The sun started to come out and it warmed up nicely. I rode to the Forest Preserve and promptly was yelled at by an elderly man who I passed on the path. Apparently he didn't hear me coming and wasn't happy about it. Why are people so angry and confrontational? Everyone else that I passed was friendly. When I got home, I was surprised to see my time: 1:25:58/20.24 miles. If nothing else comes out of this crazy training plan, I am getting faster and stronger on the bike!

This is actually the same spot on the bike path as my picture above. The sun came out and it warmed up during my ride. Super windy, though!

After this week's training, I'm feeling fairly confident about my marathon. Even though my running hasn't been optimal, I think I had plenty in the tank before I pulled back on the running. I wasn't surprised when I saw my running mileage for March was 57.68. The cycling (there was a lot in March: 166 miles) and the pool running have kept me on track. The long run today was tough, but I got it done. And Kristina promises me that we will run slow (she's going to have to reel me in) and that should help my foot a lot.

If you've gotten this far, thanks for sticking with me. It's been an interesting journey, if nothing else.

Finally THANK YOU to everyone who suggested the pool running and the waterproof iPod shuffle. There will be pool running for a while after the marathon, and I'll be using that thing for a while. I need the music to move me around the pool. Listening to my running playlist summons up those endorphins I get when I'm on the road. The pool running has been a great backup plan.

How was your week? Anyone else training through injuries? Tell me your injury success stories! Snow, anyone?

I'm linking up with Tricia and Holly for their Weekly Wrap! I love seeing what everyone else is doing. Have a great week!

This post contains affiliate links.

The Runner's Guide to the Rules of the Road

It's spring and everyone is heading outside to run and bike. It's the best time of year to be an endurance athlete. It's also the best time of year to get run down by a distracted driver. It's up to the runner to be aware of the hazards on the road. Plus now that I've completed my online driving school aka punishment for talking on my phone while driving, I'm pretty much an expert on this subject.

Last week on my epic 45 mile bike ride, I was huffing and puffing my way towards home. An unhelmeted guy on a bike was coming towards me, gesturing wildly. "Move over!" he screeched, waving me to the opposite side of the street. "You're going the wrong way!" he said. Ok, buddy. Have another cocktail. I was riding WITH traffic because bicycles must follow the car rules of the road. As if I'd take advice from an idiot riding helmetless into traffic.

source: giphy.com

Then I read this story about a runner who was pulled over by the police for running in the road with traffic. In many states, runners can use both the road and the sidewalk, but in Michigan where this story took place, there's a law against running in the road when there is a sidewalk present. If there is no sidewalk, then pedestrians have to run facing traffic. This is the law where I live as well. Since I mostly run in the road, it appears that I am a law breaking runner, although I do run facing oncoming traffic. I run past the police all the time and I've never gotten pulled over. I'm sure it's because they are on their way to ticket motorists who are talking on their cell phones.

Ok, I get the whole running on the sidewalk thing, except that where I live, the sidewalks are in questionable condition, pocked with holes and uneven surfaces. We all know that I'm accident prone. I freely admit to tripping over the curb in front of Target and face planting into the bike rack. This stunt, which bought me 5 stitches in my face and a ride to the ER in an ambulance happened a few years back when I was dashing across the parking lot to get into the store. Why I was running, I don't know. Maybe it was the day after Halloween and all the chocolate was 50% off. But it just proves my point that sidewalks are dangerous for runners.

And yet another reason to avoid the sidewalks...

Not only are the conditions of most sidewalks questionable, sometimes they are impassable. Most of the houses where I live were mostly built in the 1960s, in the days before people drove giant SUVs. When I'm running through my neighborhood, I often reflect on how some people's cars seem bigger than their houses. And many of the homes have one car garages, which is hard to fathom in today's world where everyone in the family seems to have a car. So there are a lot of cars parked in the driveways, across the sidewalks, bumper to bumper, which means I have nowhere to run but in the street.

If you do run in the road, always run against traffic. The cars might not see you, but at least you can see them coming. Cars don't always like that I run in the road, which is why I try to wear high visibility clothing. But I guess if a driver is looking down at their phone or putting on makeup, then it doesn't matter what I'm wearing--they can't see me. It's a risk I take every time I go out for a run or even a bike ride for that matter. And even when the drivers can see me, there have been attempts to run me off the road. While I hate to profile the drivers who tend to do that, it seems like most are elderly gentlemen driving very large sedans. Usually with a little white haired lady in the front street.

Everyone advises against wearing headphones while you are running. It's just common sense. Not only does listening to music make it tougher for you to hear what's going on around you (like an approaching car), it also makes you less aware. We all know I love to run with my music. Sometimes I get so into the zone--my music perfectly matches my pace--that I kind of forget where I am. If you are running in the road, that's just a recipe for disaster.

I don't know if it's a law everywhere, but where I live, cars must stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk. Even though it's the law, I can't even count the number of times I've almost been run down in the crosswalks by cars who blow the stop signs. It happens to me at least once a week. Sometimes I see the police sitting in the road to monitor them, but they don't do it during the morning rush. I recently had a really close call crossing the street to the hospital where I work. I was in the crosswalk when a car came flying down the street, honked at me, swerved around me, and gave me multiple views of his business finger.

No matter what, if you have a close call with a car, let it go and move on. As angry as you might be, don't give the car a punch or the driver the finger. Remember that you aren't supposed to be running in the road. Plus you don't want to be that a**hole runner and make things bad for all us runners. That runner in the story above? She ended up getting into a tussle with the police officer and spit on him. Do you think he's going to give a free pass to the next runner he catches in the road? I always wave a greeting to cars who stop to let me cross, even if I have the right of way. And yes, I always wave to the police when they drive by.

But he hasn't run a marathon.
Don't be Chuck Norris.

Bottom line: if you run in the road, all your spidey senses have to be engaged. Remember that story I shared a few years ago about the cyclist getting hit by the newspaper delivery man in my neighborhood? That driver was a menace. I had a lot of experience avoiding him--sometimes having to run up onto the parkway to avoid getting hit. He would drive all over the road to deliver his papers. He also drove like he was in a time trial to get his papers delivered as quickly as possible. Cyclists are more likely to be hit by cars, but we've all read stories about runners vs cars.

Be careful out there!

Did I miss anything? Sidewalk or road? With traffic or against? What do you do when you encounter an inconsiderate motorist?

I don't even know if I have 5 things here but I'm linking up with the DCTrifecta for the Friday Five! Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia host the best link up! So many great blogs to read. Check it out!

Adventurous Smoothies with Green Blender

As the mom of 2 teenage boys, I struggle to get them to eat anything healthy. Fruits, maybe, but veggies? I hear this complaint from all the parents I see in my clinic, so I know I'm not alone here. When the boys were little, I used to make fruit smoothies for them, calling them "fruit shakes", and in an effort to improve our nutrition, I've recently started making them again. It's been fun getting creative with ingredients and there are so many resources on the internet!

Recently GreenBlender approached me to see if I wanted to test their subscription service, offering to send me a box. Coincidence? I didn't hesitate to say yes!

GreenBlender is a smoothie delivery service company based in NYC. They send all the ingredients, pre-portioned, so that you can make healthy smoothies at home. GB uses locally sourced, organic produce and the ingredients are 100% vegan. Each week you get all the ingredients to make 5 different smoothies (enough to make 10 portions). The website has a ton of recipes and ideas to make your smoothies just perfect!

My GreenBlender box came via FedEx. I was excited to open it and see what was inside! I received the "St Patrick's Day Smoothie" box, and I was pleased to see that everything was cold when I opened the box.

The first smoothie I made was the Mint Chocolate Shamrock. I would never have thought to put fresh mint into a smoothie, but there it was. They also used green leaf lettuce from Gotham Greens, which is a company that grows all its produce in pestide-free, ecologically sustainable, 100% clean energy greenhouses. I've been buying this lettuce locally at Whole Foods and just love it. I was excited to see GG included in this box! It was easy to put all the ingredients in the blender because they were all premeasured. The only thing I did differently was to add kefir in place of the water that the recipe called for. We aren't vegan and my athletic son needs protein. The kefir made the smoothie more creamy and both Matthew and I gave this one a thumbs up.

Pre-blend

The Mint Chocolate Shamrock

Pre-gymnastics meet

He came in 1st out of 15 boys--could it be the smoothie? We thought so!

The Luck of the Eye-rish smoothie was orange, using orange, carrots, and goji berries, and with the addition of the kefir, tasted like a dreamsicle. I think this was Matthew's favorite smoothie.

Luck of the Eye-Rish pre blend

He also enjoyed the Lepre-clean, which contained cucumber, apple, honeydew, and ginger as well as the Emerald Green smoothie, which contained kale, pear, kiwi, and pineapple.

Lepre-clean pre blend

Lepre-Clean

Emerald Green pre blend

I didn't want to leave my oldest son out, and since he's allergic to dairy, I made the Irish Coffee smoothie as the recipe called for. This smoothie contained collard greens, pear, grapes, oats, green coffee, and coconut milk. We both thought it was pretty tasty, but I would have preferred it with the kefir. Tom would have liked more coffee flavor--we've never tasted green coffee, but you wouldn't have known there was coffee in this one.

Irish Coffee pre blend

Irish Coffee

I really liked the GreenBlender smoothies, as did my sons, and found it a great way to try smoothies with ingredients that I would never have tried before. Luckily all of us are pretty adventurous when it comes to food, and so we didn't feel the need to leave out any ingredients, except the nuts which both boys are allergic to. There were some interesting ingredients that I had never heard of like camu camu and chlorella, which was as green as you might think! I thought these smoothies were a great way to get veggies into our diets. Adding kefir or yogurt is my recommendation if you are not vegan. I liked that everything was already measured out so I could quickly whip these up in the morning before school and work. But I should also note that there is a little prep work before you blend everything together. Obviously the fruits and veggies wouldn't be their freshest if they came pre-peeled and chopped, so you do need to do that yourself.

After making all these yummy smoothies, I realized that I need a better blender if I want to continue to make creative smoothies! My old Osterizer really moaned and groaned while trying to blend everything. Tom's smoothie, the Irish Coffee which contained the oats, was a little "chewy" and not as smooth as we would have liked, and this is when I told my husband that I want a Ninja blender for Mother's Day.

Do you want to try your own GreenBlender Smoothies? Click on any of the GreenBlender links or use the code LONGWAYHOME to get 20% off your first order!

Do you make smoothies? And do you put veggies in your smoothies? Any fun recipes you want to share? What blender would you recommend I buy?

I was given a box of GreenBlender smoothie ingredients in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

I'm linking this post with DebRuns for Wednesday Word. Today's word is adventurous!

I'm also linking up with Confessions of a Mother Runner and Miss Whisk for Meatless Mondays!

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 8

I may as well just throw my marathon training plan out the window. Although my foot and hip are feeling better, they're still not 100%. Early in the week, I took the legs for a test run and it went pretty well. Still somewhat sore, I had the revelation that while I can run some, I need to modify my training significantly. In fact, I did throw that training plan out. Welcome to Creative Marathon Training 101 aka gimpy runner doesn't want to give up the dream. Feeling optimistic with the new normal, I embarked on the week with renewed vigor.

And then the plague struck...

Monday: Sore after my mega 45 mile bike ride the day before, I went to Megan's yoga class. She always starts off the class with a reading or a quote, and today was no different. Of course, I don't remember it. But trust me when I tell you it set a nice tone for the class. We worked on more twisting poses, and our peak pose was Fallen Angel. I've never done this pose, and initially, I was nervous about it until I realized that you get to put your head on the ground! 

Fallen Angel pose

Tuesday: I had 8 miles on the original training plan. It had been a week since I last ran and I decided to go for a slow 6 miles. I felt pretty good during the run. Certainly, I was aware of my injuries but I wasn't in pain. When I finished, I did my heel and calf stretches. As the morning went on, my foot began to bother me, but it was nothing like I had experienced the weeks before. At this point, I realized that a long run was not going to be a good idea. This is when I made the decision to completely modify my training plan. 

Ecstatic to have a mostly pain free run!

I am 4 weeks away from Big Sur and right now my goal is to get to the start line and finish. I've heard from quite a few people (thank you!) who've trained for marathons by cycling and pool running, and that's what I'm going to focus on. There will be some running, just to keep my legs in the game. But there will be no long runs. Marcia suggested I split the pool running with running on my long run days, which I thought was a good suggestion. 

I'm not at all anxious about this. Well, maybe a little bit. But Big Sur is a bucket list race for me and I am running it for the experience, not for time. I also don't want to be trashed after and not be able to enjoy my "not second honeymoon" with my husband. While this is not the way you want to train for a marathon, I'm at peace with my decision. 

Wednesday: the original marathon plan had hill repeats to do, so I put my bike back in the trainer and pulled up one of CTXC's interval videos. I rode hard and it felt great. Except for the 3 minutes of that EDM version of What Did The Fox Say? Not again! Afterwards, I did the SeaWheeze yoga video that I love so much.

Cobra Pose

Thursday: I had planned on a 6 mile run, followed by CrossFit. What I didn't plan on is getting the stomach flu. UGH! I had started to feel crummy at work the day before. About 2 am I woke up and the party started. I sipped on Tailwind most of the morning. Because having the stomach flu is kind of like an endurance event, isn't it? All those trips to the bathroom? The pain? The "I just want to die" feeling? And the feeling of victory when you realize it's all over? No medal tho.

Friday: A scheduled rest day, I was still feeling ill and had to call off work. I may have shed a few tears of frustration. I spent yet another day on the couch and ruminated about this marathon training cycle and all the missed running. In my Runfessions post I asked for good vibes and received a ton of them. Thank you to everyone! I used the time off my feet to write my blog posts for the week. I watched a wonderful movie, Brooklyn (more tears). I started eating again, focusing on bland but protein rich foods. I jumped into a short IG yoga challenge. Luckily, today's pose was sun salutation. The sun felt good but the pose was about all I could handle!

Sun salutation
#yogaisintheair

Saturday: A good night's sleep and a mostly calm tummy had me feeling optimistic. The sun was shining, it was 50F, and I was beyond excited to put on my running shoes to run 6 miles. I promised myself I'd go slow, and as it turned out, I had no other choice since I struggled to reach 9min/mi pace. Only one pit stop needed, and I even got my pose of the day in for the #YogaisintheAir IG challenge. 6.08mi/9:03m/m

Eye of the tiger, baby!

Crow pose
#yogaisintheair

Sunday: I had a 15 mile run scheduled for today. I hemmed and hawed over how to accomplish something that would be equivalent. My first "brick" workout (and I'm not even a triathlete!), I would have gone pool running first but the pool was closed for Easter. Instead, I decided to run 6 and bike 20.

The run again was slow--I'm still somewhat fatigued from my illness--but besides my foot pain, I felt strong. My legs felt fantastic and I lamented that my foot was holding me back. Yes, it hurt. But no worse when I finished. I consider that a win. 6.20m/9 min/mi

I came home, ate breakfast, and changed out of my sweaty clothes. It's funny, when you run you dress for warmer conditions because you heat up as you move. But for the bike, you need to dress for cooler temps because the wind resistance cools you down. Even though it was 52 when I went out, I covered my ears and slipped on my gloves. I rode to the bike path where I have done so much of my race training. The path was getting crowded with walkers and little kids on bikes. Note to self: it's that time of year. Must go earlier. Overall, it was a good ride, and I'm grateful to be able to train like this. 

There was one funny thing that happened on the way back. Part of the path crosses a busy road, and I pulled up next to another woman on a bike. I had passed her earlier on the path. She didn't acknowledge me and when we had an opportunity to cross the road, she pushed off in a hurry, pedalling furiously. What was that all about? Ohh hell no! My inner competitor woke up to the challenge, and I began to pedal strongly. She was moving pretty well but it wasn't long before I passed her up. Smokin'. I might not be able to run fast, but I've still got skillzzzzzzz....

Today's #yogaisintheair challenge pose was lotus. Which is a huge challenge for me with my tight hips. When I got into this pose, a cyclist stopped to ask me if I was ok. I laughed and told him I was taking a selfie. LOL! BTW, I love this mural, which is on a school that I pass to get to the bike path..

How was your week? Any funny training stories you want to share? Anyone else changing their marathon training plan? 

I'm linking up with Holly and Tricia for their Weekly Wrap! It's the best! And they are too!

Runfessions: March Edition

I'm spilling it. Opening up my soul. Got some big runfessions this month. Please don't judge. It's all good...

Let's start with the biggest runfession ever. Well, besides that last post about my affair. Deep breath. I runfess that I've been totally downplaying my injuries here on the blog. Trying to stay positive is my mojo. But with Big Sur breathing down my neck, I'm kind of running out of time here, and I'm feeling a little panicked. I don't need sympathy. I don't need advice. With my coach, my doctor, and my expert friends, I'm in good hands. What I do need is good vibes. Just get me to that start line, ok, maybe I'm being greedy here, but get me to the finish line of Big Sur. Let me walk away without a limp. And then let me enjoy my week with my husband.

Along these lines, I've modified my training plan significantly. I went for a test run on Tuesday, and while the run was mostly pain-free, as the day went on, my foot started to hurt and the hip was "there". Not painful but "there". You know that sensation. What this tells me is that there will continue to be lots of cross training and not a whole lot of running. I'll have time on the road because that is important. But I came to the realization that morning that a long run is not going to happen in this training cycle. And there's the truth: I runfess that no long run doesn't make me sad. At all. If this race was about a finish time, I'd be more worried. But this isn't my first rodeo, and I think know I can do this. Even with minimal running. Thank you to everyone who chimed in about this. I won't be the first to complete a marathon without much running.

Earlier this week I shared with you that I cried in front of my coach. I'm just glad she didn't make me do burpees. What I want to runfess today that I may have had a temper tantrum later that day. After I drowned my iPhone, I spun my wheels trying to get a new one. Since I wasn't due for an upgrade, I learned I would have to pay full price for a new one. I found that hard to swallow. The Apple Store wouldn't give me an exchange since my phone had water damage. After waiting 20 minutes in line behind a guy who was arguing over a $4 charge on his bill, the Sprint store I told me they only had 2 phones left, a 128GB 6S plus or a 64GB 6S. I may have uttered the f-word as I walked out of the store. Maybe I pounded my fists on my thighs as I f-worded my way back to my car. I might have hit my head on the steering wheel a few times. When I look back on it, I'm a little really embarrassed. Let's just chalk it all up to a really bad week filled with injuries, frustrations, and stupidity on my part. I've finally got a phone. I'm back on track. Life is good.

Maybe I need to change more than my training plan. All these bloggers are posting about healthy eating. Nicole's got all these yummy Paleo creations, Deborah's making vegetarian treats, and Julie posts gluten-free goodness. Meanwhile, I runfess that I'm over here eating pizza every Friday night, drinking wine with dinner, and eating chocolate all the time. No lie. But I've been trialing GreenBlender smoothies this week (next week I'll have a full review), and they've been delicious and healthy. I really need to turn it around. Some good incentive right there.

Finally, when I was in Florida with my parents, I runfess that I felt like a little kid. My mom and dad wouldn't let me drive myself to my race because they were worried about me driving by myself. To that hotbed of crime, Sarasota. Heck, I drive to Chicago all the time, and we all know what's going on there! At one point during my trip, I was sitting in the backseat of their car, listening to them bicker. The easy listening music was playing. I started texting my sister:

Some things never change...

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Another month, another round of runfessions! You still love me don't you? What do you have to share? You can link up with Marcia or just head over there to read more runfessions! This is the most fun link up around!

I'm also linking up with the DC Trifecta aka Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia for the Friday Five!