Now, please don’t take my post title the wrong way. It’s not a lack of creativity or dedication to the cause, but rather I believe Scott must’ve read my mind when he published his last post.

My mom’s training for the ING half marathon in Atlanta, GA. She wanted to spend some quality time with me, so we went running last Saturday. Our desired distance was eight miles. I was a little nervous because the last time I ran that distance, I ended up killing myself for the sake of having a better ranking in the challenges. This has been stated before, but I really feel that it can’t be reinforced enough: while it’s good to push yourself, you definitely SHOULDN’T over train.

Around 1:30, my mom and I headed out downtown on our way to complete the long run of the week. It was truly a wonderful day for running. The sun was bright in the sky and the temperature was just right. I don’t know about the rest of our dear readers out there who have the unfortunate affliction of sweating more than the average human, but I do. Though I don’t really mind sub-zero temps while running, when the summer hits I do more laundry than a family with eight kids.

Mile four is usually where I start to give. If I can get past my “turn around” point, I don’t have too much trouble finishing my run. When I reached the fourth mile, I felt like I had only run a mile and half. By the time my mom and I got home, I was tempted to go another mile, but I remembered the advice that had been given to me and went with my better judgment - quit while you’re ahead.

After I got cleaned up, I sat and went over each mile in my head to see if there was anything I could’ve done to improve the run. Now, when I say improve my run I don’t mean time-wise, but more along these lines: Did I keep a steady pace? How was my breathing? How should I order my playlists? Should I drink more or less Gatorade?

Granted there’s always room for improvement, but I really feel I did things exactly as they should’ve been done:

1. Got a GREAT nights sleep
2. Slowly stretched for about 30-45 minutes before the run
3. Wore the right clothing
4. Drank 32oz of water and 18oz of Gatorade throughout the run*
5. Had a kick-ass power song (don’t underestimate the influence of the power song)
6. KEPT MY PACE SLOW - the most important
7. Walked for a 1/4-mile after the run was over
8. Stretched afterwards

*Note: This is different for each runner when it comes to the amount and mixture of water and sports drink. However, the most important point to pay close attention to is that you need BOTH. I have a general rule to always take water for anything under four to five miles, but anything over six, I certainly take Gatorade. Your body is being depleted of so many nutrients and sodium that you can really harm yourself by not replenishing those essentials.