Green Monsters on the Loose!

This morning our Team hit their first big milestone - a one hour run! Honestly, I couldn't be more proud. For most of the participants, this was the longest run they had done - ever. So to see each one of them cruising along and finish with a smile on their face was awesome : ) It's so fun to be involved with the Team again, and to see the whole process from the other side as a Mentor. Days like today, however, remind me of early forays into the world of running. Seeing the anticipation and excitement of my girls, hearing all their questions, and watching them improve mentally and physically each week really just takes me back to my own experience with TNT, something I will always be grateful for. I can only imagine how it will feel to see each and every one of them cross the finish line this June!

Nostalgia and sentiment aside, it was a pretty good run for me. I ran 6 miles, but unfortunately had some hip issues. Like I mentioned before, I think my upper legs and hips are overcompensating for my shin pain. Hopefully with some icing, stretching, and rest I'll be good to go soon. We ran along one of the best routes in Santa Barbara, on paths parallel to the Pacific and surrounded by sand, ocean, and palm trees. Lucky for us the rain held out, although the clouds taunted us menacingly throughout the run. At the end, we had a fun little injury prevention clinic. I picked up a couple good tips in regards to stretching and strength exercises that I'm looking forward to trying.












In an effort to up my daily nutrients and get some quality energy, I've started drinking Green Monsters! Basically, a Green Monster is a 'green' smoothie that gets it's signature color from either spinach or kale. By blending the greens together with a banana, soy milk (or any kind of 'milk' really), and ice, you come up with a delicious smoothie! I swear - the only way you know it has spinach in it is the color : ) I've been drinking a Monster daily and use 1 banana, about a cup of vanilla soy milk, a large handful of spinach, and some ice. So far I love them and can't wait to see if they are as effective as all the addicts say they are - I'll let you know!

Tomorrow is my first "long" run of taper. I'm planning on 14, but we'll see what happens with the weather, my legs, etc. LA is officially 2 weeks away. Mentally for me, 20 miles is the hardest part of training, but once that's done, I feel ready for the marathon. The only thing different for me this time around is my apprehension about running this thing solo. I know I can do it, I know I can reach my sub-5 hour goal, but I'm a little nervous nonetheless. I guess that's to be expected though. My parents are both coming down for the weekend of the race, so at least I'll have see some familiar faces along the course. That all being said, I'm excited and ready to get this thing done!