Michael Jackson

Days 11,12 and 13

I'd like to go out on a limb and personally thank Michael Jackson for the success of today's run. Without the help of his awesome 80's pop music, I would not have gotten where I am now.

No, seriously, I had a great run today. At 4.77 miles, it was longer than Friday's run in almost the same amount of time and it didn't completely wipe me out! I'm running and doing housework on the SAME DAY! It's a miracle!

So, what's different today from yesterday? I have some theories about that.

1. I'm not kidding about the music. I spent time taking some of the songs that slowed me down off my exercise playlist today. The right song carries me through moments during my run when I want to stop to walk. It's hard to give up when lyrics like "Beat It" and "I'm Bad" are pumping into your brain.

2. It's the beginning of the week. I've had two days of workout laziness to recover from last week's exercise. My body wasn't already torn apart this morning by 4 days of hard exercise.

3. I'm gaining endurance and losing weight. YAY! Yep, I'm losing weight, but I'm not going to share how much until my official weigh in at the gym in May. However, I think I can assume that the hard work and weight lost will help me make strides in how much I can do.

4. I fueled my body differently. I actually think this one has more to do with it than anything. My pre-run meal on Friday consisted of 20g carbs, 8g fat and 23g protein. Today I had 32g carbs, 8g fat and 11g protein. Both breakfasts were extremely healthy, but I had 12 carbs today than I did on Friday. Carbohydrates give your body energy. Perhaps that is what I need on days I'm working on endurance. I think I'm gonna have to test this one out.

Oh, one more thing. I really need to thank my running partner who puts up with my slowness and keeps me going. I wouldn't run as far as I do without a good buddy.