Personal Record? Or Personal Best?

In the last week (On September 12) on the Runner's World Magazine Facebook Page they posted this question:

Do you call your fastest time a PR (personal record) or PB (personal best)?

I have to say, the majority of the time I call mine a "personal record" - that way I get to be setting and breaking records! ;) Corny, I know, but it helps get the job done!

That said, I had my own "PR" tonight... Longest run time I've done so far (well, run-walk combo, as well as total run time), AND longest distance. 5.95 mi in 80:20 (or, you know, 6.25mi in 85:25).

I know for some people hitting up 6 miles in an hour and 20 minutes (give or take) is kinda on the slow side - heck, there was a 10K today and this 13-year-old boy took 10th place out of about 4,800 people with a time of 33:50!
Boy, 13, finishes 10th among thousands in downtown Omaha's Corporate Cup
But for me, this is monumental! I know I'm still not even to the halfway point of a half-marathon/21K, and I'm still doing this on a 0% incline on a treadmill, which has been likened to going down a slight hill... But this tells me that I have a shot at doing it! It's still September, Disney's Princess Half Marathon isn't for 5 months... I have a fighting chance, as long as I keep at it pretty consistently.

Note: consistently = more than once every week or two! Haha

We'll definitely have to register in the next week before the price goes up, though. I'm terrified that it will sell out some time soon! I don't know how long registration has been open, but the race is already over half full!

Granted, the website just says it's "51% Full", but that's still over half!


A couple days ago I posted about this lovely thing called fuel. Runner's fuel.
To Gatorade, or Not to Gatorade?
I think that for the most part I'm done with Gatorade. I've ditched the energy chews and the container I had of Lemon-Lime Gatorade powder. I had no qualms about chucking them in the trash. I did, however, keep my packets of Glacier Freeze Gatorade powder. I didn't have any problems with it. Here's hoping that holds up.

I decided to try out coconut water after quite a bit of Google searching... Yup, still not really feeling the taste of coconut-related things. I may just be duking it out with water. In retrospect, I guess that's not such an off or bad thing, as long as I make sure not to over-hydrate, and to take really good care of my body before, during, and after runs. I'd much prefer that to any horrendous stomach cramps that have me curling up in a ball for the next 12+ hours.
I read somewhere that coconut water is far better when it's cold, so I've got the two bottles and one can DH bought me in the fridge. Here's hoping that helps the flavor some.

Fun fact (for anyone who didn't know): Coconut water also comes in flavors! DH bought me a thing of chocolate coconut water. It's not bad, kinda reminded me of chocolate milk, but definitely not what I was expecting. The chocolate aspect still seems kinda weird.

I'm also working on making the switch over to whole-grain pasta. It's unexpectedly tasty. I can't tell if I really remember it being gross, or if this is just a few years of listening to DH complain about the stuff tasting like cardboard... But I had some a week or two ago, and I really really like it! Enough that I wouldn't mind just buying that from now on.

Well, there are definitely some changes afoot... They've been in the works for a while now, but actually seeing a bit of progress feels amazing.

I am... Making a change

"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten."

I don't know who originally said that, or when I first heard it, but I know when I first *remember* hearing it. I was a freshman in high school and, of all the people to say it, I heard it from my choir director. And let's be clear: such a statement goes with more than just learning how to read the music and sing what's on the page correctly.

Becoming a runner hasn't been the easiest journey ever. It was easy enough to make the decision that it was something that I wanted to do, and having it as a goal that I want to keep is pretty simple... But often the consistency just fails me.

I also realize that I, like many people, tend to do better when supported by others, and especially when I have the opportunity to run (or exercise in general) with somebody else. Often that's what's missing - not the support, but having someone there who's along for the ride (and hopefully enjoying it). Of course, I have yet to transition to running outdoors. I'm sure that a change of scenery would be good, but I'm just not to that point yet.

That said, I did make a change regarding getting a small piece of gear that will help encourage me, and keep track of what I'm doing in addition to the app(s) that I use for training as far as the run-walk-run progression.

I posted previously that I'd purchased the Motorola MOTOACTV. Well, in the end it really wasn't the watch for me. It just didn't feel... Right. So last night, after owning the MOTOACTV for less than a day, I returned it. I ended up getting the Nike+ SportWatch GPS, and this is a transition that I am MUCH happier with. I'm glad I decided to change it up, and I am super excited to use it!

Plan: Running after work today. It may very well end up being a solo run, but if this is a change I want to make for myself then I need to hold myself accountable, huh?

Here's to making a change!

(and yes, this is my wonderfully bright Nike+ SportWatch GPS, with a horribly wrong date/time that I finally got set up correctly!)

"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten."