Glutton for punishment

Since school has ended I have been searching for new ways to torture myself. I came up with two pretty good plans.

My first is to pick back up learning Spanish. This is actually more fun than torture-of course it may be torturous for those listening to my Spanish. My second plan is to start training for a marathon again. This is fun in a sadistic, painful sort of way but it's summer and a great time to get outside and exercise. I'm not implying everyone should go out and start sacrificing their weekends and obsessing over mile splits like I do but the warmer weather is a great excuse to get out and start moving. I put together a few tips that I make routine anytime I'm embarking on outdoor physical activity. Most of these come from the fact I have NOT done them at some point and ended up sunburned, dehydrated, in pain or a combo of all of any/all of the above.

1) Get some good shoes. I LOVE holabird sports shoe selection. They are so cheap and shipping is free. I prefer Saucony or Asics to run in but they have pretty much any shoe you could want and always for way less than you would pay at a retailer.

2) Sweatproof sunblock. Whenever I forget sunblock I end up looking like I tanned through a screen door because I freckle so easily but I used to forget it all the time. Living in San Diego has made me much better about applying it often. Seriously, who wants skin cancer??

3) Music. I don't know about you but I need tunes to distract me. I'm constantly updating my playlist.

4) Eat right. If you're going to be heading out for a long day of physical activity, you should start preparing the night before. Eat a diet of complex carbohydrate-whole wheat pasta, stir fry or meat/fish with brown rice- for dinner so you have a good glycogen reserve for the next day. If you're hiking, biking or something like that then pack some snacks to take with you. If you're running, I take a carbohydrate gel with me (I prefer GU gels) so I can replenish my glucose.

5) Water! Pretty much goes without saying but I can't tell you how many times I walk out of my house without my water bottle.

The marathon is September 18th. We'll see if these old bones have another race left in them. If not, look for me at the local cantina.