{Running for Newbies} Race Day Etiquette

Hello Friends!

I am training for my first ever half-marathon May 20th and am super nervous and super excited!

I know I could learn more about running and even if you've been running awhile, you never really know it all.  So I decided to have some guest posters on the blog to help me (and maybe you) out!

Check out the other posts so far:
Long-Distance Planning
Long-Distance Fuel
Cross-Training

This post is from another friend, Brian Keiser, I met on Dailymile, a great place to log your training miles AND meet other runners.

He has a zillion blogs, but his running blog Journey of a Runner fits the theme of this post.  He also heads up Running Around Nebraska, a blog AND facebook page with local races.  Super handy for someone like me...who lives in Nebraska!

Besides running marathons, he is also a graduate student, dad, husband, Christian, and entertaining to follow on Twitter.  Enjoy his tips on how to behave in a way that won't annoy people at a race!
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Race Day Etiquette by Brian Keiser

Conservation Fusion--Saving our Earth One Child at a Time

Hello Friends!

How can I explain to you the passion I see in my friend Susie McGuire for her non-profit organization Conservation Fusion?  

Or the amount of work that goes into each project she does?  

Or how busy she is??

If you have a moment, I would like to share with you a little about an amazing and world-changing organization that I had the privilege of helping out, as well as the gal behind it all, my friend, Susie.

I met Susie working at my coffee catering job a couple of years ago. 

Me at coffee catering job.  I <3 coffee!!

She came into work on only a couple hours of sleep but with the warmest smile and the friendliest personality.  I admired how she related with customers and took every obstacle with a grain of salt.  I instantly wanted to be friends with this gal Susie.

Then I heard about how she not only had kids and this coffee job, she also had her very own company.  It turns out she had always had a passion for conservation, working at the Omaha zoo for many years, so she started her own non-profit organization, Conservation Fusion.  All I knew was that this required a lot of work and a lot of grant writing..and very little sleep.

That summer she told me she was going BACK to Madagascar.  I am not a well traveled person so this seemed crazy to me.  Seriously, I haven't even seen the ocean.  I thought this Susie must be an adventurous person to be taking many trips to Madagascar.

Conquering my Mountain

Hello Friends!

I've actually been enjoying my running for the first time ever in my life this month.

I've had fun doing some interval runs at the hotel.

I've been experiencing different weather changes...Saturday 60 and super windy, Tuesday 75, humid with no wind.  (Lots of Gatorade is needed in both windy situations and sunny, hot ones.)

My proudest moment yet, however was completing my 9-mile run on Saturday.

PINK

If you follow me on DailyMile, you will probably know that 9 miles is a lot for me.  The most I've run before that was 6 miles.

6 Mile Treadmill Interval Run

Hello Friends!

Running on the treadmill can get boring after awhile...and if you are forced to stay inside due to weather or any other pesky reason (such as it's not the greatest idea to run alone outside in the dark if you are a 5'2" lady), then you need to change up your routine.

I did a total of 7.5 miles of walking/running in this routine that happened to be after my first 10K when I had gained a considerable amount of confidence in my running abilities.

You can adjust the speeds to your liking, but this seemed like just the right amount of challenge for me...especially that last mile!

Spicy Turkey Sausage Pasta with Edamame

Hello Friends!

I got home Friday around 2pm.  Famished.

I had just finished with class and driving all around campus trying to find my advisor's office.  (Yea..I am super bad with directions and I have only been to her office once about a year ago.)

I was feeling a bit stressed, trying, as usual, to figure out what to do with my life.  

The appointment was to discuss the possibility of making my degree a double-major: Nutrition, Exercise and Health Sciences (NEHS) and Dietetics.  Well, it turns out I'm a little too late to begin on that journey as it will take me another 4 years to get through a double major.

{Running for Newbies} Cross-Training

 Hello Friends!

I am training for my first ever half-marathon May 20th and am super nervous and super excited!  I know I could learn more about running and even if you've been running awhile, you never really know it all.  So I decided to have some guest posters on the blog to help me (and maybe you) out!

Check out the other posts so far:
Long-Distance Planning
Long-Distance Fuel

I have a guest post from my new friend-in-real-life Andrea who blogs over at Life is Beautiful.  I met her in person at my first 10K, but we have been chatting on DailyMile and Twitter for quite some time now.  It's so fun to meet bloggers in person!

This fun gal has several races under her belt, including a triathalon, so she is very qualified to give tips on running.

Check out her post below on one way to not injure yourself in training. :-)

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Cross Training by Andrea Morton

{WIAW #24} Need Mo Veggies

Hello Friends!

Have you ever wondered what I eat every day?  It's okay if you haven't....

If you are, however, looking for some quick food ideas and/or a yummy granola bar recipe, this is the post for you.

Check out my WIAW {What. I. Ate. Wednesday.} today as well as my previous posts (also click the link to see why I participate in WIAW and what it's all about).

Warning: This day did not contain crazy amounts of fruits and veggies.  I know, I'm disappointed as well, however I have been out of town A LOT (I am currently blogging from a hotel room) and had limited fresh food.  If it makes you feel better, I brought carrots and apples on this trip. ;-)

Fruits 'n Nuts Granola Bar

Hello Friends!

I had the itch to bake again this weekend and I finally got to bake these savory and sweet bars on Monday.

 I already had two of these today, and two Monday...((pace yourself Amanda.)) 

What I Learned at my First 10K Race

Hello Friends!

I got to participate in my very first 10K race on Saturday, Race for Grace.

Not only did it help me meet my goal of completing a 10K race, but it was for a great cause and I had so much fun!

I also got to meet a fellow blogger and fellow Christian, Andrea who blogs over at Life is Beautiful.  (Check out her recap.)

Truth be told, I was debating on not attending the race the morning of.

{Running for Newbies} Running Fuel

Hello Friends!

I just finished my 10K race and it was amazing, but we gotta hurry up and race the tornadoes home...so I give you an amazing guest post from the experienced runner, my friend April.

She is a new blogger over at April May June July so don't forget to check out her blog when you're done reading this informative post for my Running for Newbies series!

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How to fuel before, during and after a long run

Hello Semi-Health Nut readers! I’m honored that Amanda asked me to write a guest post as part of her Running for Newbies blog series. I think it’s important to always keep learning, no matter what level we are competing at, in order to improve.  I know I am always trying to become a stronger, faster, better runner so I think this series is a great idea.

I ran my first (and to date, only) full marathon in May 2009. I finished in about 4 hours and 30 minutes. My only goal was to finish, which I did, so I was pleased. But I know now, looking back, I didn’t train properly. I missed too many runs, didn’t fuel my body properly and I think I could’ve done a lot better. So now I am running my second full marathon this May 19 in Fargo, ND. 

This time around, I have been much better about making sure I get all my runs in (I’m using this http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51138/Marathon-Novice-2-Training-Program training program, modified to include 3 days a week of strength training and only 1 day of rest instead of 2). I feel so much better, stronger and more positive about the experience of marathon training this time around and I am hoping to finish in around 4 hours (9 min mile pace). 

{Friday Five Foodie Finds #19}

 Hello Friends!

I am excited to share some yummy Friday Five Foodie Finds with you this week!

Don't forget to grab a button if you were featured!

I will have to make it brief as the kiddos I'm babysitting are eating breakfast and who knows how long I will have before they are ready to play!  (Am I complaining??  Heck no!  I'm getting paid to hang out with two adorable kids!)

Homemade Trader Joes Chili Lime Chicken Burgers by Kristin at Iowa Girl Eats

These are grilled chicken and veggie patties smothered in guac in my favorite whole wheat sandwich thins.  Mouth watering yet??  Mine sure is!

Easter Egg Wrap

Hello Friends!

I took half a dozen colorful, hard-boiled eggs off my grandma K's hands.  

I know, I'm such a sweetheart!

I hadn't had hard-boiled eggs since I flopped trying to make them (p.s. check out that post!  Made me laugh looking at it today!), then perfected the skill a couple of months ago.

But since I had grandma K's already-boiled-eggs, how easy is it to mash them up into something delightful?  I am all about turning leftovers into something awesome.

{WIAW #23} 5-Miler Fuel

Hello Friends!

How's your week going so far? 

I am back at the good ol' hotel slash my second home, keeping the BF company while he works on the railroad in small town Nebraska.

Looking back at what I ate the past couple of days makes me long for home...where I have a full sized fridge, stove top, oven and my handy-dandy toaster oven.  PLUS a place I can run outside!!

I ran 5 miles yesterday, and it is really weird to me that my week day runs are up to 5 miles, when fairly recently, 5 miles was my long-run-weekend distance.  That half-mary is coming up quickly!  Yikes!!

{More info on WIAW -What. I. Ate. Wednesday.}

I started out with my typical breakfast: Peanutbutter toast with Grandma T Jelly and some delightful coffee.

It's My Birthday and I'll Run if I Want To

**Happy Easter!!**

It was super weird being out of town on my birthday, not with my family.

But it did fall on Easter weekend so of course we have to split up time equally with both families (me and the BF).

First card is from my youngest sister Rachel.  It says "Happy Birthday and Easter!"  Love!

We went to the BF's side Friday night and Saturday, up at the farm in small town, Nebraska.

I'm not gonna lie, I was nervous about my long run that was scheduled for Saturday, since there isn't really a great place to run at the farm.

{Running for Newbies} Distance Running-- Planning 101

 Happy Easter Weekend, Friends!

Since it's my birthday (and I have homework to do), I'm taking the day "off" with an awesome guest post to kick off my Running for Newbies series (unofficially Running for Dummies...because this might be copyrighted and I don't want everyone to feel like a dummy for reading it).

I am training for my first ever half-marathon May 20th and am super nervous and super excited!  I know I could learn more about running and even if you've been running awhile, you never really know it all.

So get ready for some detailed planning talk from Adam over at Think, Plan, Run!  It is a fairly long post, so if you don't have time to read right now, please bookmark and come back!  :-)

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Distance Running — Planning 101

Hello Semi-Health-Nut gurus!!! I'm honored to share a bit on Amanda's blog and hope it is something of value towards building up the fitness and health community. 

Before you lace up your shoes and say good-bye to your family for six hours while you pound out your daily ultra-marathon training run you must realize your body has limits. 

After all, we actually tear our bodies down when we run and actually gain our fitness when we REST - so we should all just sleep all day and night to become fit, right?

Wrong.  It's a balancing act as you constantly tear down your body to build and recover it stronger than before.   

Your body is also incredibly adaptable.  So, how do you get the most out of your training, gain fitness, adapt to new stimuli, peak for high performance, and stay within your limits to avoid injury? 

Before any running takes place, a strategic plan should be developed and tracked.  Most of us are not professional athletes we balance a full time job, family life, and aren’t sponsored to run twice a day and nap.  We must be effective and get the most bang for our buck when training on limited time.   

 Below are my heavy-hitting requirements to every plan I build for myself and my athletes regardless of ability.

Keeping Fit while Living in a Hotel

Hello Friends!

Okay I may have exaggerated the fact that I live in a hotel, but it sure feels like it lately.

I am learning that it is definitely a skill to survive in a hotel room for days at a time.

It occurred to me that there are many folks out there that travel for work and may benefit from my recent hotel survival skills relating to staying semi-healthy (aka not living solely off of restaurant food and laying in the hotel bed all evening).

Here are some travel tips I've come up with:
1.  Find a hotel with a fridge and microwave.  Sometimes you can request them even if the room doesn't come equip.  This will be necessary to stock with fresh food items. 

The food station

You can also use the fridge to store leftovers if you decide to venture out to the restaurant scene, however make sure you eat them within a couple of days.

Oatmeal Bites {with Banana and Heath}

Hello Friends!

I had planned on these being a different version of my Homemade Scotchie Granola Bars, however a couple of changes to the recipe resulted in a completely different texture!

The more time I spend in the kitchen (and watching Food Network), the more fascinated I become with food science and experimenting.