Two Ears One Mouth

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! I know you've never heard that before but that's why you read my blog, for groundbreaking revelations. via Seriously though, there are a lot of reasons that breakfast is important to eat. It gets your motor revved up for the day, feeding your brain early and often keeps it focused and eating early can actually help stave off cravings or excessively large meals later in the day that can leave you feeling sluggish. That said, here's a quick post about my top 3 favorite fast and easy breakfasts. *Disclaimer* These are not  the most nutritionally beneficial meals in the world. If you have time a very full and balanced breakfast with fruits and vegetables is best. But for people like me, I take what I can get. 1. Oatmeal I may or may not be obsessed with oatmeal and may or may not have paid for imported Canadian oatmeal based solely on a television show and clever advertising. Luckily, it's actually really really ...

Hey friends! I ran another marathon on Saturday! Fun, right? Yes. Let's Tarantino this and start at the end. I had a 3 tiered goal with this race as I usually do. First and foremost was to finish but this was the first time I had goals other than survival or beat the cutoff in a marathon so it was a little scary. My next goal was to beat last year's 5:42 which on one hand would be "easy" since I didn't have any broken bones this year but on the other hand, still scary because a lot can happen in 26 miles...not mention the .2. The last goal was a 5:30 or better. That was the time goal I had floating around in my head last year but not anything I was actively chasing. This year I was. I met my first 2 goals but I missed 5:30...again...by 1 FREAKING MINUTE. Another stellar performance by me (not quite  last in my age group) but more importantly, they also sent us these cute certificates we can print for ourselves. Why didn't I hit my elusive 5:3...

With a mere 2 days and 20 hours left until race time, it's time for me to update my playlist! Here's my current top 10 of must have songs but I want your input too! One of my favorite parts of road racing is the ipod playlist because you can unleash your inner teenager, give in to your guilty pleasure songs and have someone's soulful voice with you through the emotional marathon rollercoaster. 1. Taylor Swift - Shake it Off: I have no idea why I resisted this song for so long. 2. Fun - Carry On: A slow song, yes. But so perfect when I really really need to carry on. 3. Katy Perry - Roar: I hate this video. But who doesn't want to roar? 4. Kris Allen - Live Like We're Dying:  This song is good at getting me to "snap out of it!" and remember why I'm doing what I'm doing. In running and in life... 5. Katy Perry - Firework: I like Katy Perry ok? Are there people who don't visualize finishing a race with this...

Anyone who has ever "properly" tapered for a race has to know the feeling(s) I'm having right now. Everything seems off somehow. I can't keep my focus, can't make a decision and can't really answer any questions about anything other than my fueling plan. In case you missed it, I'm running the Indianapolis Marathon in 5 days and however long the little countdown clock on the sidebar says. My training got all out of whack from that little wedding and I've been quietly stressed about it for at least a month. I got in every long run (except for the 2nd 16 miler, I just jumped to 18 and went on from there) and added lots of 10 milers to make up for the mid-week runs I just could never seem to get to but I still feel undertrained and not quite ready. I'm beginning to think that's a normal feeling for anyone who races so I'm trying not to let it bother me. Hopefully writing something, anything  will help me empty out my cluttered little head...

BIG NEWS! No Meat Athlete is now in Louisville! Well, kind of. Here's the story... via Sometime last week NMA posted on their Facebook page  about their branded running groups that were developing all around the country (and the world ) and it prompted me to check out Louisville's group. With Ironman  already towards the front of my brain I'm making a big social push right now to force people into training with me without really training with me in hopes of making the experience as enjoyable as possible. What I love about Matt Frazier (the original No Meat Athlete and kind of a genius btw) is the relaxed attitude he's able to convey around a plant-based diet. I have a really hard time as a vegetarian (and had an even harder and very brief time as a vegan) because there's a lot of attitude in our community. If you know me well, you know that for the most part I genuinely don't care what people want to do with their lives, especially when it has nothing...

Hey friends! Super excited to tell you about a new thing I'm totally into and to of course, pass the info on to you! A few weeks ago I was watching tv and a commercial came on for something called a Graze Box . Somehow it managed to get my attention and keep it long enough for me to visit the website and look around. The way it works is you can order these boxes and they come with 4 portioned snacks. Since I'm always looking for ways to add variety to my incredibly boring diet I was excited to try some new things. What I really liked about this was the price ($6.99 per box including shipping) and the transparency. They provide nutrition facts and an ingredient list with every box so you have the deets on what exactly is in your box. The biggest benefit is the convenience. I'm a lazy  city girl so I love convenience so much I'm willing to pay for it. Just like I'll pay higher taxes to live in the city and not pay for trash pickup, I'll pay $6.99 for a box ful...

I can't say that phrase without thinking of that hilarious Geico commercial... Anyway, this week I've given in to the rest my body has so desperately been craving. I'm getting increasingly concerned since my runs have not been up to my standards in both quality and quantity but I also know that trying to force junk miles in when I'm already tired never ends well. Case in point, Monday...or maybe Tuesday...I was practically narcoleptic and felt pretty crummy all day. In spite of this I was determined to run because "I have a marathon damn it and marathoners push through everything!" Sometimes I'm a little dramatic. Anyway, I did  attempt a short nap between work and running both because I was tired and because it was hot and I was hoping the temperature would cool off (which it did not). It was less than an hour's sleep and I still woke up groggy, grumpy and possibly even more tired than I was to begin with. #napfail. I continued to ignore tho...

Do you follow me on twitter ? You should. I'm kind of becoming a big deal over there. In recent history some of my favorite people I've never met have tweeted and followed me and I'm not gonna lie, I put out some true gems now that I kinda know how to tweet. So, for a little comic relief or just plain confusion as to why I giggle at myself, here are my favorite tweets from myself for the month of September. When you look at the clock before dinner and realize you have to be up in less than 12 hours #runnerprobs #runnerproblems #marathontraining — Rennay Cooke (@Rnay225) September 12, 2014 Does it make me an infant if I always prefer drinking from water bottles to regular cups? #longrunthoughts #deepthoughts — Rennay Cooke (@Rnay225) September 13, 2014 @_karenbee_ @GiantLoopMoto @Rnay225 You've been quoted in my #Storify story "Pine To Palm 100 Mile Noise!" http://t.co/XsaAyBOnvD — BakoDistanceProject (@BakoDistProject) September 15, 201...