Stop stressing! Question for the marathoners out there, please help!

Monday night I attended my youngest sister's final chorus concert, as I mentioned previously.  It was absolutely wonderful!  After the concert, I briefly met up with some family friends before heading back to Orlando.  I did not get home until after midnight, then I had to be at work early in the morning.  Needless to say, I was pretty tired yesterday! 

After work, I went to meet with a Natural Health Educator who was recommended to me.  I had spoken with her on the phone previously and hoped that she could point out areas where I am deficient in vitamins and minerals in hopes that something will cure my tinnitus.  I have to admit that I was disappointed by the appointment.  Her methods of determining my deficiencies were not as scientific as I had hoped.  I did however walk away with some useful knowledge about different vitamins, minerals, and their effect on the body.  I  learned that the ridges on my finger nails mean I am deficient in vitamins and minerals.  While taking supplements of vitamins and minerals may be best by purchasing them separately, since not everyone needs the same amounts of every vitamin and mineral, I cannot afford to spend the $100+ that was quoted to me for a month or two supply of recommended products.  What I am going to do for now is purchase a good multivitamin and actually take it every day.  I am embarrassed to admit that I have not been very good about remembering to take a multivitamin daily, but I intend to change that starting right now.

The number one lesson is that I need to stop stressing!  She said she could sense a lot of stress in me, which I have to say is not uncommon.  I am usually quite stressed.  While part of this comes with being a graduate student, I do tend to worry about little things more than most people.  I am going to make a conscious effort to relax more.  Since I have very recently been plagued with poor sleep, I decided I need to really help myself relax before bed.  Last night I took a warm shower, sipped a cup of warm chamomile mint tea ,and did a 23 minute yoga video from ExerciseTV.  Then I did some extra stretching and deep breathing.  It really helped!  I slept much better than I have been! 

I think that the combination of a daily vitamin, more yoga and relaxation meditation, and allowing myself to not stress over the little things (easier said than done, but I'll work on it) will go a long way.  I would love to take all the supplements she recommended, but it does not financially work for me right now.  And honestly, I want a more scientific determination of what I am missing.  I plan to regularly take the vitamins for a month then go to my doctor for blood work to determine in what I am deficient. 

Oh yes, on Tuesday my Operation Beautiful hoodie arrived (I had it shipped to Caitlin's since she ordered one as well), along with a beautiful handwritten thank you note!  I love personal touches!  I encourage you to check out other times and to support Katherine in her effort to raise money for her 3 Days 60 Miles adventure.

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, earlier today I had my first guest post by my friend and co-worker, Caitlin.  She and her boyfriend, Ryan, ran the Warrior Dash race in Georgia this past weekend.  You can read her fun race recap and see awesome muddy pictures here.

This morning, Caitlin and I  had an easy run, since her knee was really bothering her.  I hope her knee feels better soon, because we have a 5k this weekend. 2.15 miles in 24:47.

Now a question for all of the marathoners out there.  I am running my first marathon on February 13, 2011.  I really want to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon, but the date has been moved up to February 27 (exactly 2 weeks later).  Do you think I'll be able to run the half marathon?  Registration begins in July, and if I'm going to sign up I will have to do it right away to get a spot.  But I don't want to sign up and pay for it if the odds of my running it are lousy.  I understand that I will not be running it for a record time, but do you think it will be possible to run it for fun?  I would love to know your opinions!  Thank you!

Happy Hump Day!