The Countdown Begins

So in just 73 short days, I'm competing in this little thing called a marathon. When I signed up for the race back in February, it seemed like I had all this time to train and prepare, but with just over two months left, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

I was sticking to a running schedule and then went on my work trip for three weeks, which definitely stalled some of my training. But I'm happy to say I started a new 16-week schedule once I returned and have stuck to it for the past month. I'm up for a ten mile run on Friday and will brave 11 miles in the Arizona heat next week, while I'm on vacation with my parents.

I would be a total liar if I said I wasn't scared to compete in this marathon. Let me tell you now, I am terrified and in all honesty have no idea how I'm going to finish it. Don't get me wrong, I have confidence in my abilities and every time I complete a long run, it's never as bad as I thought it would be, but let's get real people, 26.2 miles is a friggen long way to go.

I keep thinking about how I felt after my half marathon last summer. When I hit mile 12, I was "seeing Jesus" as they say and verbally praying aloud for God to help me finish the race. When I crossed the finish line, I remember my cousin grabbing me and yelling for one of the race officials to give my my medal. I remember her putting the medal over my neck and me just saying, "Cheryl, I hurt. I hurt a lot." My knee was swollen and not feeling too hot because of my overly tight IT band and I ended up working with my trainer for a few months after the half, just to get my IT band back to normal. I remember going to bed that night, after the half marathon, oddly enough on an air mattress (I was staying with my cousin, so real bed space was limited). I remember being in so much pain that when I went to readjust or move in my sleep, I woke up with the searing pain of aching muscles.

And thus I admit to you, I am terrified to run this marathon.

So what's my plan for the next 73 days? Well, I'm definitely sticking to the schedule. When I trained for my half, I kind of made up my own schedule and I think maybe ended up adding too much mileage each week. This will not be the case for the marathon.

I'm going to run the Lynchburg half for a second time in August, about a month before my marathon, so that should gauge how well I'll do. I'm also going to be joining the local Crossfit here in Danbury after my vacation, which should help with overall fitness and maybe help me shed a few more pounds before the race.

I'm also purchasing my very own foam roller, which I've been putting off for far too long. This means I'll be a stretching, foam rolling machine up until the big race.

And finally, I plan to overhaul my diet over the next two months, to really focus on consuming food as fuel and not simply because I like it. Although I lost 40 pounds over the past two years, I've been lazy and allowing myself one too many indulgences. Yes, I've kept the weight off, but I haven't lost anything either, and that has to change. But it's really less about the weight and more about giving my body the energy it needs to friggen run 26.2 miles. This means more veggies, more fruit, more high protein and less low fat mini cupcakes (yes they do exist), cups of cereal before bed (hate that I've reverted to that nasty habit again), and carb binges.

The good thing about all of this is that I committed, I paid the money, I'm running the race. Whether I run, walk, or crawl to the finish line, I will complete it. I don't care how long it takes me, because this is one of those moments in life, where it's all about the journey.

Let the countdown begin  . . .

The Reality of Miss Advised . . .

So it's that awkward part of summer in TV-land - the period where all the great shows have wrapped and the late summer shows have yet to begin. It's what I like to call reality-TV Hell. While I never got into Jersey Shore and always thought when you'd turn the TV off after having watched that show you were significantly less intelligent then when you turned it on, I have to admit, I have a pretty long list of reality TV taking up precious DVR space. My list of guilty pleasures includes: the Real Housewives (Jersey, New York, and Ocean County), the Bachelorette (she's totally visiting Prague next week!), Sister Wives (seriously, I can't get enough of them), Tia & Tamera, Kendra on Top, and as of 24 hours ago Miss Advised, a new show on Bravo.

I watched Miss Advised for the first time last night, the premier episode. The show, which is produced by Ashley Tisdale believe it or not, is about three relationship experts living in NYC, San Fran, and L.A. Each one has their own take on relationships and even has their own rules, but as luck and reality would have it, they have trouble actually following their rules.

As I watched the show, I was amazed at how horribly inexperienced my dating life seems to be. I mean don't get me wrong, I have some pretty good dating horror stories (yes, I'm talking about you Mr. Know It All, who said because I was smart, educated, had a good job, and understood business, it was hard to believe I was a woman), but these ladies seem to find a guy around every corner, have a date every night, and blog to tell about it the next day. It's clear these ladies didn't just move to Danbury, Connecticut, because let me tell you, the dating scene isn't exactly booming here. I digress!

I'll admit, I definitely saw some of myself in two of the ladies - Amy Laurent, a NYC matchmaker meets up with her ex-boyfriend who's in town for the NYC marathon. After meeting him for dinner she realizes maybe she's isn't quite as over him as she thought. Yeah, been there, done that. And Julia Allison who goes on a date with a guy with personality potential, but not so much looks. She even asks him to help her move boxes into her new apartment, only to let him know that evening that she really just wants to be friends - oh yes, been there too. Julia even has a 75-point checklist for what she wants in a future husband - don't we all?

I'm not really sure why I let this suck me in last night - I sometimes wonder why these dating shows exist at all...yes it's a guilty pleasure and I'm sure it's supposed to inspire women to take their dating life by the ... well you know, and find that perfect guy. Or maybe it's supposed to demonstrate the pitfalls of other ladies dating escapades, just so we can feel better about our less than lackluster dating lives. I'm not really sure, but at the end of the episode, I think it made me feel worse about the whole dating scene. I'd love to see a reality show that wasn't focused on women trying to snag a guy - is it really that horrible for a career-focused woman to be single? Is it really that awful to not have a boyfriend? Sure, sometimes it feels like it, but mostly I believe women should embrace singlehood - get to know themselves first, understand what really makes then happy, before they start following someone else's rules for hunting down Mr. Right. Just my two cents!