Two Ears One Mouth

Hey there! How are things? Hangover Classic 10 miler complete with my sister this morning! It was cold but the sun was beautiful, the route was right on the river and I like the cold anyway so it was perfect! Last year I did the 5k recovering from a femoral stress fracture and this year all 10 pain free! #happynewyear #2015 #roadtoironman #futureironman @ponyabands #sweatysheep A photo posted by Rennay Cooke Marshall (@rnay225) on Jan 1, 2015 at 2:59pm PST I've just been swimming and biking and running and eating and stretching and getting strong. Or at least trying. The great Swim Bike Mom wrote about the similarities between Ironman (9 months of training) and childbirth (9 months of ...uh..training?), you go into labor/race day and it's almost total misery especially towards the very end but then the moment of glory comes and you have a tiny (or huge) little (or big) baby (or medal) that makes you forget everything you just went through. Moms....is that ...

Let's Tarentino this report. I finished the swim! Our cyclist finished the ride! Our runner finished the run! We finished the race (and in less than 7 hours!) So how did it go? Let's go back...and I'll warn you, it's a long one. Much like every race report. I bought new goggles with better tint since everyone in the Muncie Facebook group who had raced before said if the sun was out it would be blinding after the second turn. I drove to the pool and did a quick 20 minutes to make sure they fit and shake out a little energy. Thursday night I got everything packed up since we were leaving Friday afternoon after my much needed massage. As usual I had a little help getting things together. But he's generally more into directing since he doesn't have thumbs.  Friday afternoon my sister and I hit the road for the 3 hour drive. We opted against using the highway the whole way since construction is crazy and unpredictable. The winding country roads kept things int...

Earlier this week I tweeted  a question to my followers (p.s. You should be one!) asking how I would spend my last free Saturday before inviting in the marathon monster. Upon further investigation I found that since I ended up changing my mind about which race I was going to do I was already a week behind. So last  Saturday was my last time to sleep in. Which I didn't do, if you'll recall that little swim I did. It was mildly disappointing but last night I decided to suck it up and spent a few minutes updating my play list so I could actually enjoy myself. What is it about new music that makes you really excited to run and listen to it? I mean, realistically I could just listen to the songs whenever I want.    source Anyway, in an attempt to do it right from the start this time I was up around 5 am so I actually had time to eat before I ran. I didn't do a great job at it today but at least being awake early will serve me well when I really need  to...

How many of you have had a training injury or a chronic injury that impedes your training? I'm sure there's some kind of statistic that says the likelihood of injury among those who participate in regular physical activity is relatively high and actually it's probably not too far off from the statistic of those who are injured performing everyday activities. Our bodies are not invincible despite their ability to endure repeated punishment in various forms. Perhaps the best part about our bodies is their adaptability followed closely by its ability to repair itself. Everyday, cells are dropping dead and even the healthiest of people are experiencing some kind of harm to their bodies whether it's just breathing in toxins or aging yet we still manage incredible feats every single day. There's no way to completely shield yourself from harm but what's more important is to not further the damage or let your ego be its cause. No athlete likes to rest. It's ...

I'm at a big crossroads. I've been debating writing about this because I tried to talk about it a few times and don't think I explained it well. Then I tried to post in a few Facebook groups I'm in and I still didn't feel like people got it. So I'm still not sure that I can get the words right to explain it, but why not pose the dilemma to the rest of the internet and of course, you guys since you all know me so well. In the first Spirit of the Marathon  movie (if you haven't seen it...I'm not sure we can be friends) Lori talks about the mystery of "zen runners" and how they can just run along with no watches, no paces or splits and just happily be at one with the world. Years ago I started with a zen runner attitude. I wore gym shorts and cotton tshirts, ran on the treadmill, sometimes with my ipod and called it a day. It was fun, it was no pressure, I just did my thing when I felt like it and that still turned out to be at least 3 days ...

Don't worry, soon I'll be back on a training plan and will be able to actually post about the things I really like to talk about. Well, at least the things I think I'm good at talking about. Training and racing is what makes me human. It's the one thing I feel that I have total control of (even though occasional injuries like to make me think otherwise) and it's my happy place. My pain cave is dark but there's great music in there. source Anyway, the point of today's blog is to talk about how to handle that pesky inferiority complex. I don't know if any of you are like me but I have a hard time recognizing my own accomplishments. I had this discussion with Miss Jessica the other day: Me:  She makes me sad that she's so hard on herself Jess:  I'm pretty sure you're that hard on yourself in some ways, so there's something to think about Me:  I'm not THAT hard on myself Jess:  Maybe not hard, but I feel like you get disap...

Good Monday Morning! I secretly like Mondays because they always feel like a do-over for whatever you screwed up on last week or over the weekend. For example, Monday morning means I get back to my normal meals and snacks and schedule which gives me a chance to detox after a weekend of 3 meals out over the course of 2 days. That's more than I ate out in like all of August. But it was well worth it, a lot of fun was had. But let's get to the point. Although I have a little degree in Communication, I still generally suck at communicating. This means that I often find myself googling things like "How to talk to *insert type of person here*" or "What to say to *insert another type of person*". I really wish I were joking but I'm not. Whether you are an avid coin collector, stay at home mom, engineer, or bird watcher, I always want to make a good impression so if there's a way for me to know ahead of time that we'll be meeting you'd better belie...