Toughen Up Buttercup!

When I provided my first Half Marathon race report to my brother Kevin, where I related how at Mile 11 I wanted to sit on the side of the road and cry, he told me to "suck it up Buttercup."  Since then I try not to be such a "buttercup."  And Coach has even coined the expression...HTFU Buttercup.  So this morning, I woke up to 17 degrees and snow.  Still falling.  And I had a choice.  Treadmill or cold.  And I'm quite proud to say, I chose cold.  I know, some of you are thinking that 17 degrees isn't all that cold.  I beg to differ. 

I put on some long underwear, got the hand warmers heated up, and put duct tape on my trail shoes and I was off.  How bad can a 3 mile run be in the snowy cold?  It was a lot of fun.  My pace was turtle like but I wanted to be sure to not fall...and for the most part, the footing was great, especially where folks hadn't shoveled yet.  I'm happy I didn't opt for the treadmill.  Most likely I'll be on that thing tomorrow morning - highs are expected to be in the single digits.  Or maybe I'll HTFU...

Did any of you watch the Biggest Loser last night?  I love the show for its inspirational qualities.  Certainly, it is not realistic for most folks to remove yourself from society and lose 10+ pounds each week for weeks on end.  But if it inspires people to eat better and move more, I'm all for it.  Last night, they had the final four run a marathon.  And they gave them two months to "prepare."  The blogosphere is all a-buzz over this.  Some folks are mad that the portrayal of proper marathon training was lacking.  I don't disagree, the training aspect of the marathon wasn't shown and I'm not even sure they had a proper training schedule.  I think I heard one contestant say that he had never run longer than 13 miles than on the day of the marathon!  However, we shouldn't forget that these folks are conditioned more than probably most - they've been working out for three months, 6-8 hours/day.  That's a nice base to have, even if you started from ground zero.  I appreciate that they didn't make the actual running of the marathon look or sound easy.  They showed the doubt that can creep in and some of the pain that folks can experience, especially folks who haven't trained properly for a marathon.  I hope the finalists did not suffer any permanent injuries as a result of the marathon.  Can you imagine running a marathon without any crowd support?  With a police car looming behind you?  And where was the medal?  I still like the show.  I would like it even more if it would adequately discuss what "proper" marathon training is all about. 

OK, some eats.  Pre-run, I had my coffee with 1/2 c. 1% milk and 1 t. sugar.  And I forgot to snap a picture because I was trying to convince myself that the snow and cold would not hurt me.

Post-run, I had my usual breakfast.  Nature's Path Maple Nut Oatmeal, sprinkle of cinnamon and 1/2 c. frozen blueberries. 

Tonight, I'm going to a lecture titled The Scientific Preparation and Monitorization of Runners.  Sounds awesome, right?  The discussion will be around lactate testing, fat metabolism and overtraining.  I'm pretty excited about it!  If I miss my evening post, it will be because this ran late...

Have a great Wednesday!