As you know, I ran a half marathon this summer. I ran on it on August 2nd, and I started training on June 1. It's definitely my biggest running achievement so far. It's kind of like doing an internship if the half is the internship and the full marathon is the job. If you do a half marathon and know that's your limits - just stick to 10 milers, 5Ks, 10Ks, and halves. If you think to yourself "I could do that twice", then get ready to train for a full marathon. I had that thought at the end, so looks like I have my work cut out for me. 

Of course, I picked up some tips while I was in training to share with my fellow runners. I'd love to share them with you guys through a few posts. First, I'd like to share with you guys how I ate!

Half marathons are way different than 5Ks, not just in distance, but also in fueling. Instead of making sure you carb up the night before and have your energy before the race, you have to be on a hydration and nutrition plan. 

During training: Training for a half marathon can be 2-3 months long. Staying on a totally strict diet can drive anyone crazy for that long. Let yourself have your "cheat meals" and a few alcoholic beverages, if you drink, every once and a while. You WILL run it off. I alway say I'm  in a constant state of hunger, and that's because I'm a runner. You may feel a little ravenous, but that's because you're burning way more than calories than usual. One thing I learned in exercise nutrition class is that if you don't give yourself back the amino acids you lost in training, your performance will not be as good the next day. The golden rule with exercise is carbohydrates before the workout, protein after. 

Food on a training day (options):

Pre-run: Banana | Luna bar | Belvita | Peanut butter on whole wheat bread

Post-run ( big breakfast): Egg white scramble w veggies and 2 pieces of whole grain toast | greek yogurt with peanut butter on whole grain toast | Veggies, chicken, and quinoa or whole grain pasta | meat, veggies, and mozzarella on whole grain bread

Lunch/ snack: Veggie chips | grapes | apple | cottage cheese | 

dinner: Chicken, rice, quinoa or whole grain pasta, goat cheese, veggies | whole grain pizza crust with veggies and chicken | salmon and veggies

post-dinner snack: "nice cream" | frozen yogurt | veggie chips | boom chicka pop

The night before: CARB UP! This is your pasta party. Have a pasta dish with veggies and chicken or fish. Veggies are carbs, too! Bread is also good to have too!

The morning of: I personally had a bagel with cream cheese. Some people say dairy before a race is a no-go, but I'm always fine with it. If you want to spread peanut butter on your bagel, go for it! I had this about 3 hours before my race. I drank two bottles of water before my race, too. Hydration before is more important than during. A half hour before my race, I had some energy beans.

During: In my flipbelt , I kept a pack of energy jelly beans, and a pack of energy chews. They also had gatorade, water, and BOOM! energy gels at every water stop, which was every 2 miles. I had my first boost at 7 miles. I had an energy chew. Then, at 9 miles, I had some energy gel. Around mile 11, I had some more chews. These really helped me during the last four miles.

What are your favorite foods to fuel up with?

So you've lost a good amount of weight, anywhere from 15-30 pounds, and people are starting to notice. However, when you step on the scale, no matter how hard you try, you keep breaking even! It's a let-down almost as colossal as Sisyphus felt every time he saw his ginourmous boulder roll back down the hill, after every time he's push it back to the top.  But you won't have to keep feeling let down like Sisyphus, you CAN get over your plateau! Here's four tips on how to cope with this painful milestone in dropping poundage.

1: Don't freak out!

Plateaus come at the most inconvenient part of your weight loss journey - right? Everyone is finally congratulating you on how great you look, and now you seem stuck in a sisyphus situation of no return. However, you need to realize that plateaus are totally normal and a natural part of your journey. It's actually a good thing, because it means that your body is getting used to your new healthy habits and smaller waistline. Think of it as shedding your old, unhealthy skin and cozying up with your new, probably smoother and more moisturized, skin! (figuratively, of course.) Embrace the NEW you and take on some NEW new habits!

2: Sometimes all we need is a little change.

Now that your body is used to your new habits, introduce it to even newer ones! Think of it, that's how you did it in the first place. The easiest thing to do is change up your work out routine. Do you skimp out on abs? Focus on your abs more instead of lifting as much. Do you stick to the treadmill? Try the bike, or even run and bike outside! OR try a cardio kick box, Zumba, or hot yoga class. As you can see, the possibilities are endless. If you need to switch up your eating habits, try proportioning your meals differently. For example, eat smaller meals, but snacks in between. Once your body doesn't get food for four hours, it goes into "famine mode" and everything eaten after is transferred straight to sugars. So, eating healthy, raw snacks between meals is better for you than fasting, then overindulging.

3:  Cutting carbs out?

It's a proven fact, with my experience as well, that people that eat less calories naturally crave carbohydrates more. It makes sense. However, if you want to descend off of this plateau and hit the ground running again, turn those carb cravings aside. Of course I don't mean totally cut carbs out, that would be torturous. There are many ways to cut carbs out and incorporate fresh veggies or fruits into your food. If you want noodles or rice, give yourself half the service of the pasta/rice/noodles and double up on the meat or vegetables you're putting in it. If you're going out to froyo, skip the cap'n crunch as a topping and top it with fresh pineapples, kiwis, mangos, strawberries, etc. Doesn't that sounds mouthwatering? You're already treating yourself to froyo, anyway! If you're good with these rules for 5-6 days a week, you can have one week where you go carb-o-load if you want, you earned it!

4: Track your meals like a GPS.

The best thing to do when you're watching what you eat is literally watch what you eat. There are several calorie-counting app such as "Lose It!" or "Myfitnesspal" that calculate the precise amount of calories you should eat a day considering how much weight you want to lose and in what amount of time. Just put in the food you eat, and what exercise you do. There are many encouragements such as badges for exercising consistently and hitting weight loss goals. If B.F. Skinner's idea of positive reinforcement works on you, this is a path for you! Another great app I was recommended by YouTube beauty guru clothesenounters (http://www.youtube.com/clothesencounters) is The Eatery. You literally just upload a picture of your meal, and people can rate how healthy it is. However, you can look back at your gallery any time and see how good or bad you're doing. If the last time you had a cupcake was two weeks ago, you can have another one!

I hope you take these tips into consideration when you think you've hit a dead end and see a Sisyphus future for yourself. Don't worry - it's all natural. Good luck, and work it girl!

Listen:

Love Robot/Paris "Rain" (Two AMAZING Local Bands)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_8oyrqrnOI

Sleeping With Sirens - Stomache Tied In Knots

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF19aKuF2qQ