Since my last run, I’ve kicked up the training a bit and this week marks the first “official” week of training for the half. On Saturday, I went to a running seminar put on by the folks that are sponsoring the marathon and learned new tips/tricks, especially as it relates to nutrition and mental training. Here’s a tidbit of what I learned…

I usually don’t have a problem eating before I run, but I am really bad with drinking enough water before I run. Its recommended that you drink 20 oz. of fluid before you exercise. And when you are drinking before/during/after your run, you should take gulps over sips. The reasoning behind this is that it enhances absorption and will also be voided by the body quicker.

When I run, I usually lose salt since I end up with salty residue on my skin. So, I need to make sure that I am getting enough salt. Recommendations they mentioned include eating pickles and pretzels (pretzels with peanut butter are my fav snack right now too) and adding salt to a sports drink. Sometimes when I run I make sure to have salt packets and use those as needed. This usually is only a concern for me during the humid, summer months. But, I’m going to keep a close eye on my salt intake to make sure it is not an issue.

After exercise, I sometimes find it hard to eat, but I really need to make sure that I eat something small within 15 minutes of exercise to speed up recovery.

And the toughest part of running for me is the mental part. Sometimes I psych myself out and don’t even try. This is something I want to get better at and I am going to work on training my negative thoughts. I am not going to give pain any of mental energy – that just gives it more energy. Instead, I am going to change the negatives into positives, ie, “bring on the pain, I can handle it.” I also tend to over think runs, so I am going to do my best to stay in the present and to simplify the runs – its just a series of lefts, rights, left, right. Easier said than done, but I really want to conquer this! If you have any mental tips, I’d love to hear them.

On Sunday, I also got my long run of three miles in. Kinda sad when you think of three miles as a long run, but I’ll be racking up the miles again shortly. I left the Garmin at home, which was both a positive and a negative. The good thing was I couldn’t beat myself up mentally for my slow pace because I didn’t know what my pace was exactly. And that was the bad thing as well. Its probably better I left it at home since the trail we ran on was icy and snowy – it was pretty hard to get any traction and I was more concerned about not falling and aggravating the pain in my glutes (which has mostly gone away, yay!) than running fast. Speed workouts come back into play this week too and I’ll share my training schedule as well.

Disclaimer: I am not a health or fitness professional and I am only sharing information that I have come across. My blog is based on my experiences and opinions, which may or may not work for you.

Lately, I’ve been letting the whole I don’t have a job thing define me, especially over the holidays when everything slows down and I need to snap out of it. The good news is things have been finally picking up (three interviews this week!) and the  half-marathon I am training for is in 109 days. So, its time to press play and unpause my life. Having a job does not define or make a person. Its easy to forget that sometimes.

On Sunday I met Julie from Wearing Mascara for a run. This was my first run in ages and I was so glad to have a running partner to tackle the 11 degree temps! I had on running tights, workout capris, two long sleeve tech shirts, a vest, a hat and gloves. I probably could have gone without the vest and the capris. After we conquered the temps, we had coffee at Caribou Coffee, which always reminds me of the summer I spent interning in DC. This weekend I’ll meet up with my running group for a run and I am thrilled that I have found a group to train with. One of my friends also signed up with me, so I am really looking forward to the experience. I have never trained for a half with a group, but I think it will be really beneficial.

My good eating habits have also gotten a little complacent. Too many sweets over the holidays and not enough water, fruits, veggies and exercise. I’ve been bookmarking tons of great recipes and can’t wait to try them all out. I just got a new camera, so I’ll share these on the blog too as I cook them all and try to balance my eating habits along with living with my parents. It has been challenging at times to say the least!

Happy New Year blog friends! I know I’ve fallen off the face of the earth in blog land, but with the holidays and job hunt, it was hard to blog. Plus, a lot of the stuff I’m dealing with right now isn’t blogging material (for me at least), but I am hoping to blog a lot more in 2010! While 2009 was not a bad year for me at all, I am really looking forward to what 2010 brings!

While I was reading everyone’s New Year post, I became inspired to write one of my own. So, here’s a look back at the past ten years of my life.

This past decade I:

* Graduated high school (and OMG 10 year reunion this year? Crazy.)

* Graduated college

* Discovered a career in P*R and learned from amazing colleagues while working with suburb clients

* Traveled lots (LA, Nashville, New York City, San Juan, Miami, to name a few)

* Moved to San Francisco without knowing a soul and lived there for almost two years

* Watched my favorite teams win a Super Bowl (Steelers), Stanley Cup (Pens) and a World Series (Red Sox)

* Became an athlete (ran 2 marathons, 2 half-marathons and countless other races; discovered I actually enjoyed going to the gym)

* Lived in Boston for three years

* Moved back to Pittsburgh

* Became comfortable in my own skin

Over the next ten years I want to:

* Travel more (Europe, anyone?)

* Get my graduate degree

* Buy a house (which means, saving more!)

* Keep running and run more races in different states

* Help others more and make more time for others

I think the next ten years will be the one of the best of my life and I can’t wait for the ride. What do you want to accomplish in the next ten? Happy New Year!