Blogathon Day Two: Top Five Things I Learned from Half Marathon Training

Tomorrow, I'm going to try updating before the 11th hour. But, the 11th hour still counts as today and I'm a man of my word. So, just a reminder that if you want to blogathon to keep going, please donate to Special Kids. Let's keep the blogathon moving by bringing back everyone's favorite new series: the Top Five!

As you may have guessed by reading the subject, I'm going to be discussing the Top Five things I learned while training for this Saturday's race. Unfortunately, it's 11:40 as I write this. So I'll actually have to be succinct.

5. Never ever, ever order soda at a restaurant. For starters, it's well over two dollars for a soda at most restaurants these days so you're better off saving your money. But, on topic, hydration is essential for any sort of distance running. While getting a Nalgene water bottle has been a big help, I've found it's just as useful to order water instead of soda when I eat out. Not only am I drinking healthier and cutting out a major cause of calories, but it also prevents you from collapsing into a sweaty heap in the middle of your run. Mind you, you'll still be sweaty, but at least you won't be a heap.


4. Purple Diet Gatorade tastes exactly like Grape Koolaid. In the words of the Kool Aid Man, "OH YEAH!".



3. There are power bars which are surprisingly delicious. I was shocked by this one too. Generally, the more vitamins and useful things crammed into a bar, the worse it tastes. Point in case, Total cereal may have all sorts of wonderful vitamins sprayed on it, but it is a truly unpleasant breakfast experience. Conversely, I was directed to a truly awesome power bar: the Zone Bar, fudge graham style. While you can taste the 100% of your daily recommended dose of Vitamin E at times, by and large, it's a very tasty treat, provides you with energy and doesn't slow you down. True story, I had one before writing the blog, because I am hardcore when it comes to blogathons and marathons.


2. There are truly gigantic hills immediately outside of Murfreesboro. No, seriously. The other week I ran up and down a "hill" called Mount Horne no less than 4 miles away from Rutherford Boulevard. I lost track of exactly how many times I went up and down that hill, but by the end of it, I had new appreciation for what Sisyphus has to put up with. And that's to say nothing of the near-vertical incline of the hill at Barfield Park. For a place as flat as Murfreesboro, the hills around it are truly exhausting to climb.


1. Even when things are rough, you have to keep going. When running, there are times when you want to do nothing more than quit. It's called "hitting the wall" and I strongly discourage anyone from including Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" on their marathon mix for precisely this reason. Once when I was getting beat down by the hill at Barfield, I decided to save myself the trouble and just walk up the hill. Not only was it substantially slower, I didn't feel particularly well rested at the top either. Even if you have to slow down your pace, it's better to keep going than to give up and walk.

When blogging, it's better to throw together a Top Five list in about 20 minutes than to end the Blogathon at a streak on one day.