Nothing like a little cardiac in the morning!

So... Your Friday Funny for today... Hey, maybe we'll make this a regular thing! But I digress...

So, my muscle man and I were hanging out at my apartment. He was laying on the floor transferring songs from my laptop to his MP3 player for his workouts because I have better music than he does because he needed to freshen up his playlist. I was doing God knows what, all I remember is I was on the couch. We got into a discussion about what music we like to listen to while we exercise. I told him that for weights, I usually like rock of some sort, something fast with a good guitar line usually. And as he brings on a fast-paced hip hop song, I say "Yeah, I listen to that kind of music while I do cardiac." And then went back to whatever I was doing. He stops, looks at me, and says, "What was that honey?" I look at him bewildered... "What?? Why are you looking at me like that?" And I'm sitting there thinking he's crazy or deaf or something. When he sees I'm obviously not getting it, he fills me in oh-so-flippantly... "So you go into cardiac when you run? I think you're running too hard." I sit clueless on the couch for about 5 more seconds while he revels in his cleverness, and finally my light bulb comes on. Yes, apparently I cardiac every morning. Most people go with coffee to get up and go in the mornings... I say nothing beats a couple of paddles and an electric shock to the heart apparently. Yes, muscle man enjoyed this so much he updated his facebook status with it. I realllllly appreciated that one.

Ok, I lied... I enjoy my coffee as much as the next person...

Mmmmm..... Pumpkin Spice....

........

Moving on...

I have decided (or I'm 95% sure I've decided) to run a half marathon on March 4th. I did not plan to do a half marathon so soon after being injured, especially considering it will be my first distance longer than a 5K, but the "Fors" seem to outweigh the "Againsts".

For:

• I have a close friend running it, which makes it easier
• I do EVERYTHING better under pressure
• When I didn't have a race coming up, I felt like I had less direction, and therefore less motivation to push myself. I love to run, but my competitive nature comes out just like with any other sport, even if it's only against myself and my own PR's
• I still have 16 weeks to train, and my long run tomorrow is 4 miles... That's about right, right?!?
• I will admit it: I am a runner that loves bling. I am not ashamed. And for those of you that don't know, Runner's World has proclaimed that not only is the Little Rock Marathon a Boston Qualifier (obviously I'm not worried about that... pfft) BUT it is famed for having the largest medal of any marathon event in the world. And this year is the 10th anniversary, so how big do you think that sucker is gonna be?!? I'm not missing out on that, even if I have to be carried crawl walk across the finish line.

Against:

• I am coming back from an injury that took me out for 8 weeks, and muscle man as well as my mother (yes, I'm 24 so my mother's opinion still counts for something) think I should hold off
• I am very hard on myself in all aspects, so certain people I'm close to are afraid that even if I say I'm not keeping a time goal, in my head I will be and I will beat myself up mentally if I don't make that, even though it is my first half marathon.
• I'm not exactly taking the *slow* approach when it comes to running my first half. Most people said to give it a year or two to work up to it, but I don't think it would be me if I didn't start out with a bang (Metaphorically speaking God, please no banged up knee or any other kind of bang... Wait.... What??? Enough stream of consciousness........) My uncle John Morelock is an ultra runner, still running at 70, and his motto and his goodbye when speaking to anyone is "Run gently out there" as in take it easy, enjoy it for what it is, and take your time. He has tried to express this to me numerous times through our running talks.

So, I pose a few questions...

Have you ever had a slip of the tongue that people have caught onto and poked fun at you for?

What do you think about the half marathon decision? Any insight about it?

Thanks everyone, and remember to enjoy the weather, enjoy the fact that we're able to run, and enjoy the weekend! Adios for now!

PS- Don't forget to check out this awesome girl's Gymboss interval timer giveaway!!

Gluten-Free Attempt... And Gearing Up for Winter Running!

So...

I am on day 2 of my gluten-free diet (for those that didn't know, I possibly have celiac... Woohoo! Not...), and things have gone pretty well. Below is a picture of my typical breakfast- Rudi's gluten-free bread with almond butter, and fruit. It just so happened that someone in the office brought in an Edible Arrangement, so that explains the lovely array of fruit. Today was a comice pear instead of that nice, colorful collection.

So anyway... Did great until a pumpkin roll magically appeared in my refrigerator (which I may or may not have bought in the bakery at Kroger... *cough*), and I ate some of it. I pretended like the nutrition label didn't exist long enough to indulge in this lovely little ball of fall festiveness. I swear I'll be better today... It helps that the pumpkin roll is gone. Heh.

...

And NO, I did not eat it all on my own! Muscle man may have had a bite or two... :-)

Moving forward...

I've started buying my much-needed supply of winter running clothes! Just bought a new long sleeve performance shirt from Run Pretty Far. If you haven't seen her line, I would suggest checking it out. I did after reading about it from RunToTheFinish, and I loved her collections! Performance tees, good price, good quality, and super cute designs. Ladies, I would suggest checking them out! Ok, men, you can to, but if you wear one of those cute little designs, by God I want a picture. Stat.

My awesome new shirt! I'm really looking forward to having this for my morning runs.

I also have put a running jacket on hold at my local running store. If you live near Little Rock or ever visit, 1) make sure to look me up for a run! and 2) you have to check out this store. They just started carrying Moving Comfort, and I fell in love with this jacket:

Now the only thing I'm missing is a good headband to cover my poor ears in the cold. Yes, I love running in the cold. But yes, I am also a giant pansy when it comes to the cold. You would be too if you started turning into an icicle at 45 degrees. Just sayin.

So that is my slightlybriefslightlyboring update. Enjoy the weather!