How I'll Be Running My Last Mile

I have finally decided how I will be ending my journey and running mile 999 in less than 46 days!!! It's probably not the healthiest or smartest decision I've ever made, but it's going to be so fun and I can't wait. My good friend Brett will be joining me and I encourage anyone else who wants to come to Austin and be retarded with us to participate. 

It's called The Beer Mile. 

What is The Beer Mile you ask? 

According to their website (yes, there is such a thing):
"The most common format of the beer mile requires a single participant to drink a full-sized beer, run a quarter mile, then repeat the process three times. This results in the consumption of four beers and the running of four quarter miles (hence the beer mile). The entire process is timed. The total time is often used as a measuring stick of competency."

There is a complete list of rules on their website and you must follow them in order to submit your results to be included on the list of over 17,000 entries from around the world. Apparently I'm not the only idiot who thinks this is a wonderful idea. 

Now the question is, what kind of beer do I go with? 

I have 134 miles left and 46 days to do it...Let's go! 

11/15/2013: Miles run - 866 of 1000. Miles remaining - 134 of 1000

Running With The Time Change

Now that the time has changed and it's becoming darker earlier, I've had to adjust my normal running routine. My regular trail is not lit up at night and it's safe to say there are hobos that sleep on benches there. The trail is also a little rocky and uneven, so even if it was sans hobos, I would still skip it at night. 

So I've had to come up with some alternate options... 

One option is the treadmill. I hate it so it quickly got x'ed. 

My other options include running after work in my neighborhood with street lights or getting up early and running in the morning before work. I tried both out within 12 hours of each other. 

Last night after work, I rushed home, changed my clothes, and hit the pavement by 5:35. The sun sets by 5:45 and it's completely dark a little after 6. I figured I'd have about 30 minutes of some light and then I'd rely on the street lamps to guide me home the rest of the way. 

Let me just say, I'm not scared of the dark because I'm afraid I'll get attacked and kidnapped...I'm more nervous of tripping on the sidewalk and busting it (which I've been known to do before). Thankfully, my neighborhood has a bike lane, so I ran the majority of my 5 miles in the street to avoid the sneaky little sidewalk cracks. I also made sure to run against traffic so I could see any cars coming my way. 

It was a very cautious run for me and there were parts of it where the street lamps were spotty, so I was scared/nervous at times. This made me think about the morning run option, so I tested that out earlier today. 

I woke up this morning at 6:30 to see how I'd do for my first morning run in forever (it was only about 50 min. earlier than I normally get up). I can't remember the last time I ran in the morning (a 10am run on the weekends doesn't count as a morning run for me...I'm talking SUPER early morning). I checked out my weather app and it read 45 degrees. Much colder than I'm used to so I went with the following attire:

I never wear a hat on runs but I was feeling it, and it kept my head warm. My hands were freezing for the first mile or so, but I quickly warmed up. Then I realized I forgot my tissues...so mad! I'm getting over a cold this week so my nose is already runny...the cold weather didn't help and I was definitely upset I didn't have a Kleenex. 

There were a few times during my morning run where I felt a little light headed. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not used to morning runs, the cooler air, or the fact that I didn't eat anything beforehand (maybe it's a combo of a few things), but I'm hoping after I get used to early runs, I won't have those symptoms much longer.

Side story - While I was worried about getting hit by a car last night in the dark, I coincidentally almost got hit by one this morning in broad daylight. My heart rate was up the rest of my run! 

With all of that being said, I really did prefer the morning run vs. last night's run. Even though waking up a bit earlier and getting out in the cold can be tough at times, it was a great feeling completing my run for the day and having the entire evening free (to watch the Baylor game)! I also think I have more energy (despite getting less sleep) and make healthier eating choices throughout the day as well. 

11/7/2013: Miles run - 833 of 1000. Miles remaining - 167 of 1000