May Water Challenge

How is it the first day of May already? Is it just me, or did it sneak up out of no where?

Anyway, it's MAY! Yay!

I've decided to do monthly challenges to either break bad habits or to start a good habit.

Did you know that about 75% of your body is made up of water? So you can see why hydration is very important. Here are some benefits of drinking water:

• Aids in Weight Loss - If you feel like you're hungry, it could be that you are actually thirsty. Hunger pangs are often mistaken for being thirsty.
• Healthier Skin - drinking plenty of water keeps your skin healthy by flushing out toxins to keep it clear and keeps your skin from drying out and cracking.
• Helps Digestion - It helps in breaking down food and aids in the absorption of nutrients. It also helps with, well, ya know.
• Muscle and Joint Health - Your muscle tissue is made up mostly of water so staying properly hydrated will help prevent muscle cramps. Additionally, it will help keep your joints strong and lubricated. Keeping your muscles and joints healthy will help keep you injury free too!

These are just a few benefits. There are many more but you get the idea. Hydration is uber important. So, with that being said, this month I decided I would do a water challenge. I am generally bad at staying properly hydrated, and with the weather getting warmer, proper hydration is even more crucial.

I needed to set a goal and also have a way of tracking my water consumption. I found an Android app called Water Your Body. This app will ask you for your weight and give you a water consumption goal and will also allow you to track your water intake. Added benefits: reminders, monthly graph, and daily log. My daily goal has been set at 84 ounces. Keep in mind that if you're working out, you should probably consume more water. Personally, I am not going to count the water that I drink while working out (I never have). It is very easy for me to drink 24 ounces in the course of a 45-minute spin class. And thats ok, because my body needs it.

Tips to Help You Hydrate

• Hungry? Many people mistake thirst for hunger. So, if you feel hungry, try drinking a glass of water instead of reaching for that cookie. You might be surprised that your not hungry any more and you just saved yourself some calories! 
• Fruits and Veggies are high in water content, good for you, and generally low in calories for the portion sizes. So not only will it help fill you up but the variety available should keep you from getting bored.
• Watch for Calories in your beverages! Some of these "vitamin waters" are high in calories and low in nutrients. Additionally, if you're trying to lose weight you will want those beverages to be low in calories because, I don't know about you, but I don't want to waste my hard earned calories on a 100+ drink. If you're not a fan of plain water, you can dress it up with something like Crystal Lite On-the-Go packets for about 5 calories, or a Mio Liquid Water Enhancer for no additional calories. Personally, I drink water as is.
• Keep it With You where you go. I keep a 24-ounce glass of water at my desk at all times. You can also keep a bottle of water in your purse, gym bag, or car. This will keep you hydrated and keep you from stopping for one of those high calorie drinks.
• Enjoy! Be sure that you enjoy what you're drinking. If you started drinking something and its not you, don't force yourself to keep drinking it. This should be a positive experience! :)

Question: How much water (or other beverage) do you drink a day? If you drink water, do you like it 'straight up' or do you 'dress it up'?


**DISCLAIMERS**
The opinions above are mine and mine alone. I was not paid by Crystal Lite, Mio Liquid, or Water Your Body. Additionally and more importantly, I am NOT a doctor and in no way should this be taken as advice. If you are concerned about your fluid intake, you should seek the advice of a professional.

Five Tips Learned at the Marathon

My previous post didn't include a lot of the events that transpired before, during, and after the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. I wanted to keep it about the marathon its self and not about the other things... You'll see what I mean.

Tip # 1 : Travel with Friends
If you're doing an endurance event and it requires traveling, I strongly suggest finding a friend to do the event with you or just go along for support. I would not have had such an amazing time if it wasn't for my friends. Not only did I get to travel with them but we also ran together. AND you never know when you'll need someones help.

Tip # 2 : Be Sure Your Roommate Sets Their Alarm
I always use my phone for my alarm clock. It doesn't matter if I am at home or if I am traveling. My phone alarm clock is always there and never fails. This was not the case on race day! We were to be in the lobby at 4am. Yes, you read that correctly. 4. a. m. I set my alarm for sometime around 3am, plugged the charger into my phone and then into the wall across the room (so I actually had to get out of bed to hit the snooze), and crawled into bed. I randomly woke up and hadn't heard my alarm yet so I thought I was doing good, until I rolled over and took a look at the hotels alarm clock and had the red numbers reading "4:00" peering at me. I frantically woke up gathered our belongings, throwing clothes on quickly, and ran down stairs to the lobby with shoes untied. Erika didn't set her alarm. When I asked her why she didn't she said, "well, you set yours." haha. It's all good. We didn't miss our bus!

Tip # 3 : Layout Your Gear for Race Day
This was a lifesaver for Erika and I. Because we had taken the time the night before to get our race gear together, we didn't have to worry about finding everything we needed. It was already in a pile, ready to go. If we hadn't taken the time to do that, we probably would have missed our bus.

Tip # 4 : Pack ALL the Fuel You Need
On our race course, it was said that at mile markers 13 and 17 that there would be GU aid stations. I did the math and calculated how many GUs I would need for the marathon but subtracted the two stations out so I didn't have to carry so much. Bad idea. Very bad idea. When I made it to mile marker 13 they were ALL out of GUs! I needed to take one then but since they were out, I thought they would be out at mile 17 as well so I went into conservation mode. I decided I would wait until about mile 15 to take my next GU. You might think, what can two miles really do. Well, prolonging taking the GU caused my body to start shutting down because it didn't have the fuel it needed. That is NOT what you need when you still have half the race to go!

Tip # 5 : Do NOT forget Sunscreen
So, you would probably think that a 25-year-old, pale skinned woman would know such a common sense thing: wearing sunscreen. Well, I do, I'm not blond (although I did dye my hair blondish during the summer). I guess the early morning wake up along with a frantic run for the door made me lose some logic at the same time. I had plenty of time to apply sunscreen while we were waiting in the park to line up for the race and I did apply it to my face, ears, neck, and arms. For some illogical reason I didn't think my legs would burn. I mean, they never get color in Indiana, so why would they in California? I figured my legs could use a little bit of color. Well, they got color alright, along with a few nice big ol' polka dots (blisters)! I didn't know you could custom order a sunburn! Needless to say, this cost me severe swelling in my calves and feet, blisters that were growing by the second, and unimaginable pain. I was diagnosed with second degree burns when I returned home. Yes, that's right, I flew home from sunny California with second degree burns that were getting worse. I noticed they were red in the morning when we were getting ready to leave but I didn't have blisters until we made it to the San Diego Airport to catch our flight to Denver, and even then they were pretty small. On our flight, I could feel the blisters growing and by time we got off my legs were huge, feet were swollen, and I had very large blisters on my legs. (I have pictures of what it looked like if you're interested alli dot bulmahn @ gmail dot com. I thought I would spare those that wished not to see.) Thankfully, there was a nurse on my team that was able to pop and drain the blisters, and then wrap my legs with gauze so I could get home. I was then unable to really do anything but lay on the couch for the following week. It was torture.

Do you have any pre-race day or race day tips you have learned?