KW Speed and PIM (and the return of Summer in SE Texas)

Whoa.

Man it got hot quick!  While I was indeed sick of the long, cold winter we had down here, I didnt exactly mean I wanted 'normal'.  :)

I started KW speed just right at about 5pm.  The workout was to be 3x1mile repeats and for me, at 8:19 pace, with 6mr in between each.  Well I already knew that I was gonna suck ass at this so an adjustment was made.  6x800m with 1-2mr in between.  It was still hard and I struggled but my miles came out between 8:26 and 8:38.  Eh, it is what it is.  I'm overtired, underfed and sleep deprived...so in light of that, I am not going to complain about my effort.  I gave it what I had and there was nothing left out there...And I even did push ups on the bench at the 2mile mark during my 'rest'...I also got in a 1/2m warmup and cooldown...then it was on to PIM coaching duties...

My little group was to do 2 miles straight tonight.  I am always in front of our pack with the 'faster' of the runners, but tonight I only had 1 girl with me...she made it through the first mile though struggling towards the end, but I just had her slow waaaaaaaaaaaaay down and she made it.  I gave her a few to rest waiting on the rest of the group at the turnaround, then we started again.  She was struggling and I then told her about 'poles'.  Run a pole, walk a pole.  This worked!  She had more energy and it helped her confidence instead of just steady walking.  Once we hit the 2 mile mark, she and 1 other girl said, lets do one more!  Yay!  Not one more mile, but one more pole.  Eh, baby steps right?  They were very excited and that made me very excited FOR them...New runners are the best I tell ya...They just want to know everything you know...and they ask a lot of questions...so much fun!

Next week, its 3 miles straight, and I have a feeling we're gonna be doing 'poles' again...whatever gets 'em through it right?  My plan is to get them through that first mile just like tonight and THEN do poles...maybe even 2 poles run, 1 pole walk :)

Tomorrow night is first stage of Tour de Bayou!!! 

Tuesday:
40 minute run:  treadmill
45 minutes on weights
Stretching

Hospital.  And again no dinner...I know I need to eat, but good grief Charlie Brown...seems like I just dont have the time, and when I get home from the hospital all I want to do is fall into bed.

I don't know how much more I have in me. 

Tonight is KW speed and PIM.  I highly doubt I have in me 3x1 at 8:19.
At least with PIM, I get to run slow with my trainees.  2 miles straight for them tonight.  I hope they're ready :O)

How's This for an Ice Bath? World Record - 108 Minutes...

I just had my calendar out...my Runners World one that I looooooooooove and keep on my wall at work...

So I marked 10-10-10 as Marathon Day right?  For Chicago.

Then I counted back 3 weeks for 'last long run/begin taper' date.  September 17, 2010.  Fabulous.  Because you know its like 80 at 6am here in September.  No worries, I've been here before.  For NYC in 2008.  But in September of that year, at about that time, I was only doing about 17 miles, not 22.  :o)

Then from that date, I counted back 18 weeks.  Yep.  May 22nd.  D-Day.  Or M-Day. 

Official marathon training for Chicago 2010 begins on May 22nd.  In Texas.  Oy vei. 

Hotel (W Chicago Center) and flights are booked.  As much dread as there is to train again in this God awful Texas heat and humidity, I have a bit of excitement building....man I love marathon training...of course I am sitting inside a climate controlled building wearing strappy high heels, so of course, right now, I love marathon training...

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In other news, and to steal a word from Skinny Runner, my thutt hurts.  Both of them.

You know the place where your thigh and butt meet?  Thats a thutt.  And man am I sore in the thutt areas this morning.  Ouchie.  I need to be streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetched out big time.  Maybe my trainer will help with that this afternoon...He should enjoy it.  Me?  Not so much.

KW Hills

1 mile warm up
200m uphill repeats for 20 min - medium effort
1 mile (using all 4 cloverleafs) - fast

Felt sluggish during the 200m repeats, but it was OK.  My legs felt kinda dead, but I expected that. 

1 mile was indeed fast.  I only had Coachs time call at the end to let me know it was 8:40 as I dont usually bring the Garmin along on hills when I know I am going to be going 'easy' which is normal the Monday after a race.

I have to say I am so over hills...with Dallas RnR, then the next week a hilly long run, then more hills on workout and then the 8K with its hills, I am O.V.E.R. 'em!  I know I will have some to deal with on Thursdays 1st stage race of Tour de Bayou (plus its a trail run), but man I hope Saturdays long run is flat.  Flat.  Flat. Flat.

Time for abs.  Sigh.

Monday - Update on Mom

Things aren't going so well.
We had to give permission to give Mom blood this morning.  Her cultures keep going lower and lower, so it became necessary...
She's bleeding internally somewhere, but they have yet to figure out where.  More than likely in the abdomen...

Stress, Life and the Effect on a Healthy Eating Lifestyle - Sunday 3/28/10

While eating healthy while on the road for whatever reason presents its own challenges, but I tell ya, this week at home has presented its own challenges...

I have found myself opting NOT to eat as opposed to eating crap...Monday night and yesterday were a prime example of that...Monday night was finding out right after hills that Mom had had a stroke, and yesterday after the 8K race, I then raced home after spending SOME quality time with my runner peeps, to get ready to head to the hospital.  Once there, it was just one thing after another and once I finally decided to go find myself maybe a cheese sandwich or something, the hospital food court there had closed.  So having a bit of oats pre-race, to going without anything till about 5:30. 

Then this morning/today I kind of made the same mistake again...I had some cereal before meeting a friend at Memorial, then going for a coffee, and having a Kind bar...then I wanted to lay by the pool (taking a day off from hospital), and then I needed to run out and order a birthday cake...so now its after 3 and I just had some food...but at least I am cooking so that I have some things to actually eat that are already fixed...A usual Sunday...

I didnt really need any groceries, just needed some Silk, oats, trail mix and some more Oikos, so I started rummaging through the fridge for something to throw together....ooohh...2 green bellpeppers...and here is some brown rice, and look at that!  A can of black beans and some fire roasted diced tomatoes....stuffed peppers it is!!

Threw in some feta into the rice and black beans

Tastes yummy just like that!!

Into the crock pot you go!!!

Pour on some diced fire roasted tomatoes, put the lid on and gonna cook on Low for about 6 hours!

I have never made this; well I have made stuffed peppers before but always with meat...so I just hope these turn out yummy...or at the very least edible!!

Law Week 8K

The last time I ran this race was back in 2008 and I ran it in 53:06.  Today, suffice it to say was much better, but honestly not as good as it could have been...Very tired from the events of the week etc...but I managed to still pull out a decent time I think.

Mile 1: 8:50
Mile 2: 9:07 (first set of hills)
Mile 3: 9:18 (stopped for water after the turnaround)
Mile 4: 9:26 (was losing it here after all the hills on the front and back side of the course, they were catching up with me)
Mile 5: 8:33 (very proud of this!)
.08 : 8:32 pace

Garmin showed just about 1/10th of a mile over the 8K (which should be 4.97 miles) but this may be due to me correcting my position on the course to TRY and stay on tangent.

Average pace: 9:02
Garmin distance: 5.08 miles
Garmin/Chip time: 45:58
+7min PR on the distance/course

My goal was to get as close to 46:00 minutes as I could, and I would even have been happy with 47:00, again because I didnt think I was going to have much to give today.  When I made the last turn and saw the clock, knowing I had started about 10-15 sec than gun time, I scraped as much as I could at the time to bring it in UNDER 46:00.

I was really disappointed that I lost so much time in the 4th mile, but man I knew I had to slow down or I was going to have more issues once I hit the flat on the final stretch to the finish...

I am really looking forward to the 5K I have coming up in a couple of weeks.  I had thought about doing a 25K trail run up in Huntsville, but I think doing the 5K is better for me at this time...marathon training for Chicago is not far off...no need to do a long ass trail run when I've never done one before.  Going to do Tour de Bayou throughout April so that will give me some trail running (plans are to do an Ultra in April 2011)...

Now off to the hospital to visit with Mamacita!!!

Yeah, Cause Everyone Thinks They're So Perfect

One of my most FAVORITE blogs I read, over at Skinny Runner...posted this post today, with real life pics and then what not real life pics look like in the glossy pages of magazines...

Take a look for yourself...

I have to say, when I first saw the top picture, I was like...ooh...poochy tum-tum there...and is that a bit of a muffin top on Miss Perfect?  I already know how photoshopping works with the celebs and models in magazines...I just wish we could get that feature when ordering race day pictures....  :o)  Oh and the insta-tan thing on them would be fabulous too.

Just sayin'.

For the Fun of it Friday!

I know a lot of men (and women) think shes the shiznit, and I think she used to be, when she had some curves on her...not so much now.  Shes just plain skinny and no tone whatsoever...girlfriend needs a sandwich.  And some weights to lift.

As it should be.  1 strike and you're OUT!  ... Or at least, as we now know, the 1st strike being the one you found out about first (seems like he might be Tiger Squared as 4th hooch just came out to tell her tale)...wish I would have listened to that 'song' myself...

I admit, I am posting this one mostly because I adore the shoes, but also because given the horrid bathing suit picture of her from a while back, she looks good I think...but really its mostly about the shoes :o)

I am going to have to agree with this one...Vogue has a 'reputation' and at the end of the day, is a business.  If Wintour wants to keep the reputation AND its marketing dollars, she should stick to her guns...Just because someone was picked from obscurity, cast in an award winning movie, does not make one a 'model' nor someone who 'deserves' recognition in a fashion magazine.  The movie was FANTASTIC...SHE was fantastic in it...but model material for Vogue...nuh uh.

Now that I found out they have HFCS in their bread, I won't be going here unless its a necessity [read: road trip]...I do like the fact though that the offer of egg whites as opposed to just eggs is going to be an option as opposed to other fast food joints and their breakfast sammichs...

I've always thought Catherine was smart...She likes cake and thinks diets are 'scary'!!

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In personal news, and not quite so exciting as that of a celebutante, I am questioning my decision to 'race' tomorrow morning.  I am just beat down all kinds of tired for the obvious reasons and 1 thats not so obvious (you girls know what I mean)...I wish it were a flat as a pancake course, but it isnt.  At least I get to 'sleep in' for a Saturday and I am leaving 1/2 day today from work.  Maybe that will help...My thoughts are just to go out and run and listen to the body...its only an 8K, and at the end of the day, its not like I'm going to win or anything...so if I have less than a stellar day by my standards, thats all they are...my standards.

Question:  Have you ever ran a race when you thought maybe you shouldn't have due to being physically 'impaired'?  Good choice or no?

40 min run on the treadmill
weights:  chest and shoulders

Went to register for 8K; apparently website was wrong.  Will try again tomorrow or worst case will be race morning.  I did get to see some of AM's wonderful, wonderful paintings as she was having a showing at Finish Strong, so that was way cool...plus I got to visit for just a bit before having to head to Kingwood.

Drove to hospital.

They moved mom to the rehab wing today...not sure if she is ready but we'll find out.  Rehab/PT starts tomorrow.  Good news is that she CAN drink regular liquids IF she does it a certain way, which is to put her chin close down to her chest before she begins to swallow and then she has to swallow really hard and almost will the liquid to go in and DOWN the right way, so as not to have her begin choking :(  Bad news is she is no longer in a private room and she is not happy about that...however her 'roommate' who has been in there for 3 months is leaving tomorrow.  Thank goodness...she had tons of visitors coming and going and they all talked at once and very loudly.  No one is allowed to spend the night, which doesnt make my sister happy, but I think its a good thing.  This way mom will not become even MORE dependant on someone than she already is...

Junk Food? Bad. Health Food? Also Bad...Huh?

I've realized that there are two types of bad diets. The first is the kind that I see every single week in the grocery store checkout line, where the perpetrator is either completely oblivious or just doesn't care about the fact that what he's eating wouldn't have passed as food a hundred years ago.  And before I get into this post too deeply, lets cover this first:   the word 'diet' is always associated with 'someone trying to lose weight'. I like 'lifestyle' or 'WOE' better. WOE = Way Of Eating. Like 98% of the time yo. ;o)  The people in this post (who have not been harmed in the writing of this post...) are not on 'diets' by any stretch of the imagination, but falling into a deep, dark pit of clogged arteries and a vessel for chemical storage...

So...as I was saying...This guy buys frozen pizzas, TV dinners, cheese puffs, white bread (or my favorite 'white wheat') .. all things that will stay "fresh" for weeks (coughcoughmonthsyearscough), and soda in such great quantities you'd think he was bathing with it.  (and yes, the apples in the picture CAN adequately be considered 'processed' when its grown in some far away country at a time when its not 'seasonal' where you are, picked before its ready, or later...and then either sprayed with chemicals later to make it 'ripe' or made so that it 'survives the trip over' by other means so it doesnt 'rot' before it gets on the pretty shelves at [insert supermarket big box store here]...

The second type of bad eating is the well-intended kind, where a health-conscious person eats what the health magazines have told her she should eat – health food.  

She eats fat-free cheese, skim milk, low carb bread, Omega-3 fortified eggs, Gatorade, protein bars, and organic candy.  The problem is that this isn't food either.  This is techno-food.  Fit for the Terminator perhaps, but not for people.  Why are people adding shit to food?  Or taking it away?  I have said it before and I will say it again...'If you have to add shit to the 'food' to make it 'better for you' (as marketing execs would have it), then it was shit to begin with...

Now I am not holier-than-thou and have tried EVERYTHING for all of my young teen/adult life (always succeeding though when I ate better than other times and incorporated the right amt of cardio/strength)...This newfound WOE and WOL for me has peeked in and out of my life over time, but as you know (hopefully by now) that its now been um...about 7 months...and a 'diet' as opposed to a 'lifestyle' is completely different...the weight/fat loss has simply been a wonderful by-product of it all...

My guess is that if you're reading this blog, then you're either of the second type or of neither type (or the type that might be a friend of mine and you read because you're a blog stalker.  Totally kidding). 

If you're of neither type, congratulations. I was of the second type as recently as seven months ago, and I still find artifacts from the techno-food mindset in my diet.  I also am no saint, nor do I plan on giving up social time because of food choices that may or may not be available to me at [insert restaurant or bar name here].  I also still buy some things that are in a can or a box because hey, I am not going to buy tomatoes and make my own sauce (for one example) unless 'Bobby' DeNiro is coming to dinner.

Where did all this fake food (and all these fat people) come from if everything is so damn good for you?  I believe that the answer is reductionist science and the consequential practice of making single nutrients the scapegoats for our health problems.

In the seventies and eighties, we decided that since fat is called "fat," it must be bad.  It was removed from food and replaced by carbohydrates and chemicals, giving birth to the stuff I'm referring to as health food. But somehow we kept getting fat.  In the nineties we decided that carbohydrates were the culprit.  Not surprising, considering how many we ate in place of fats.  So carbohydrates were banished from health food, and more chemicals were introduced to make what no longer resembled food at least taste like food.  And, since food should probably fill us up, we added protein.  Lots of protein, to build muscle of course.  Because muscle is made of protein!  And this millenium, now that we can't possibly be just as clueless as we were before, we're adding Omega-3 fatty acids to our health food.  Hooray, we've found our savior!  Heavy sigh.  Followed by a deep sigh.

Here's the problem.  To our bodies, food isn't just the sum of its parts.  Foods have a wholeness to them, a wholeness which somebody or some force (God, evolution, whatever you want) doesn't want us to mess with.  When you take things away from foods, they aren't foods anymore.  Even when you enhance foods with what we've decided are healthy ingredients,  our bodies don't absorb them well.  Our bodies have evolved over millions of years to optimally handle the foods that occur on this earth.  When we mess with that, the results cannot be anything but bad.  And the growing waistlines and unprecedented obesity numbers that characterize these times certainly support this claim.

You can take this argument to extremes and claim that our bodies aren't really designed to handle dairy products, wheat products, or even anything cooked, since from an evolutionary standpoint these are rather recent developments.  I believe this, but for me such extremes are not practical at this point in my life.  We probably weren't designed to run 26.2 miles at once either, so I'm doing what I can diet-wise to support this unhealthy marathon habit of mine.  Snortgiggle.

We can't all be perfect, but we can do one simple thing.  Eat real food.  Eat food that doesn't come in packages, food that doesn't have a nutrition label... food that doesn't make health claims.  These ideas, by the way, aren't just mine;  I've learned most of them from books like In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in this stuff.

The good news, from my perspective, is the health food eaters are reading this blog.  And if this post has been your first exposure to the idea that health food might not be as healthy as Oprah makes it out to be (come to think of it, why are we taking diet advice from Oprah?), then I've done my job.  As for the frozen pierogi and fast food eaters, I'm at a loss.  I don't know how to reach them.  If they just don't care about what they eat, fine; that's their decision.  But if they're oblivious because they grew up eating like that and don't realize there's another way.  Or they know it and are just too lazy and come up with all the usual (and way tired) excuses of why they can't. Which means the horror scene in the grocery store checkout line isn't likely to get any better, barring a cultural change.

In response to this lament of mine, a friend reminded me to heed the advice of someone who knows a thing or two about cultural change.  As Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

And I think that's all we can do.

Ride the Bike Trainer Naked!

My creativity with blog post titles suck right now...hence the weird one, because I think it will produce some silly google search results on my statcounter :)  Do you think I rode the trainer naked?  Partially?  ;)

Today was to be a KW speed day (not a tough one though) and then my coaching duties at PIM.  I sincerely thought I was going to be able to do it.

But all day today, every time I got up from my desk to walk whereever, I just felt like my legs were just dead tree trunks.  On top of that, my body just physically feels beat down from all the goings on this week...So I made an executive decision to take it easy today.  A true recovery day indeed.

Bike Trainer:  1 hour.  While watching Biggest Loser DVR'd from last night.  And no I didnt FF through the commercials; I used those to recover from riding harder during the show.
LOTS of ab work during the commercials during the 2nd hour.  

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Update on Mom

Its all good news!  The MRI, the EEG, the other 'swallow test'...all good.  Well wait...I dont have the EEG results yet (this will show any long term damage inside)...but anyway, the rest is all good.  They are monitoring her heart still, but just as a precaution, and they have yet to determine the reason for the stroke to begin with, but I am certain they will soon enough, and I suspect it has something to do with that artery I spoke of in the earlier post.  She will still never be able to drink plain water, soda water, juice or anything like that unless its thickened somehow.  But she is able to eat, starting slowly of course, and as of the typing of this she has had pudding.  :)  Sister said she didnt really feel like eating (even though thats all shes talked about), mainly because she was just worn out from all the tests they put her through today since early early in the morning.  Understandable.  I am hoping that for dinner she eats something substantial!

I dont remember if I posted this in the last post or not, but she is able to lift both arms and both legs, with the left side being affected but its not paralyzed from the stroke.  Also her speech will remain slurred, but if she talks slow, you can completely understand her.  Its when she tries to say too much too fast that it gets hard to understand...

Thanks for all your prayers!  They're working!!!

We dont know when she'll even be close to leaving the hospital but we are moving in the right direction!  Yay!

p.s.  I hope to download photos later for various meals this week...again though, NOT the Chex Mix :)

I actually went into work today; even if on very little sleep...

I then managed to do a quick 30 min run and about 45 min of weights before heading back to the hospital.

Update on Mom:  Not really too much has changed in the last 24 hours.  We do know positively that the clearest long term effects of the stroke are her speech, her inability to swallow (brain not sending signals for all parts to move correctly which means that anything, although its just saliva right now, pools up and causes coughing).  The speech PT did a mini-test today to see the initial severity and basically the thinner the consistency the worse it makes it.  And its pretty certain for example, she'll never be able to drink a glass of water.  They did allow her to take 4 bites of a Wendys Frosty (very thick) and that seemed to be better.   They will be doing a more extensive test with different variations (using dyes and an ultrasound/radiation thing) tomorrow.  In addition to that, the neurologist came in while I was there and tomorrow there will be extensive MRI's done, especially on the brain and apparently (unbeknownst to my sister and I), back in October she was diagnosed with a corroded artery in her neck, 'but it was only a 40-50% blockage, so we saw no need for treatment'...well maybe now you will see its necessary...so theres that.

She does have movement with her left side, its just very, very slight and not being able to eat or drink anything at all, the loss of what strength she DID have doesnt make it any better...She cannot however, move her head to the right side hardly at all, but its better than yesterday...

They will also be doing some tests on the heart etc. to make sure there isnt any blockage there as well...

I am going to make my workout tomorrow with KW and with PIM as planned; unless something major comes up tomorrow with Mom.

The race on Saturday, for now, is a wait and see.  I will more than likely still do it; its early in the morning after all.  I was supposed to pinch hit at the nearby specialty running store (Lukes Locker) on Saturday, but I dont see that happening.  More than likely I will just head to the hospital after the race (or long run).  Thankfully this week is a cut back week, so I am really losing anything mileage wise...however with all of this, the recovery of a cut back week isnt really happening...

My nutrition has stayed intact, although I find myself (probably from the stress) wanting things I dont need...like french fries and a hamburger...the worst thing I have had was last night in the hospital where I had a small bag of Chex Mix from the vending machine...do you know there were 33 ingredients in that little bag?

All processed.  That was 'dinner'.

Sigh.

p.s. I have been taking pictures (food) along the way; I now keep my camera in my purse :)  You'll forgive me that I did NOT take a picture of the Chex Mix :o)

KW Hill Workout

Writing this from a hospital emergency room...

I got in 1.5 miles easy then 4 miles on hills...went and tanned...then...

I got the phone call from my sister that Mom had had a stroke...rushed to hospital, but without knowing when it happened, the 3 hour time frame had passed for any of the pre-emptive measures; she was still having the stroke when they got her into the ER...Shes resting now, but has had the stroke on her left side.  The CT Scan showed to be clear, so thats good...We'll know more tomorrow after a host of other tests...Her speech is slurred so its hard to make out what shes saying but shes cognizant even if she didnt know what year it was, but shes 83 you know?  I would probably forget what year it was too...

Monday Weigh In

I certainly didnt want to weigh this morning...I 'felt' fat...you know what I mean...but I didnt want to put off till tomorrow either, as with a hill workout tonight (progressive mile repeats which I loooooooove!), I knew my 'weight' would be up ...  always is after a hard workout or a long run ...

And guess what?  No need to be afraid little Junie!  You are now only 2.6 lbs away from goal !!!  I couldnt believe the number.  So much so that I got off.  Got back on.  Got off.  Got back on.  Then I believed it.

Seriously I was shocked.  Usually I can 'tell' by what I see in the mirror and by how I 'feel'.  I do believe this is actually going to happen...and I had just gotten use to the scale not moving anymore sans a 1/2 lb up or down...just last night I still told someone "I still have about 6 lbs to go, something like that"...

Oh and regardless of what I saw on the scale, I still feel 'fat'.  Bloaty or something.  Just not thin.  Poo.

p.s. thats not my foot or my scale  :o)

Veggie Chili! Its Whats for Dinner!

As I posted earlier I had put away 2 little containers of the vegetarian chili I made here while back.

I also cooked up a pot of cous cous today to have for the next couple of days...

I added a little can of chopped black olives to it; made it different, but yummy!

I put one cup of the cous cous on the bottom...

I sliced 1/2 an avocado on top and sprinkled with pepper flakes

Then topped that with about  (less than) 1 cup of the chili!

Sliced up 4 olives and added some feta cheese and 1 slice of a sandwich thin (50 cal) on the side

After mixing it all together it sort of reminded me of some version of tabouli!  Junie B style!

Then I had a bit of something sweet for a dessert.

1 piece of dark chocolate mint 3 Musketeers (75 cal)

In other news, I checked the mail today and inside was an envelope from my doctor at UT Physicians.

My test results from last week...

And all my levels are all PERFECT!!  That hasnt happened since I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism back in 2004!!!  With the change of meds back in late October, I have been feeling so great, but had to wait 3 months of taking them before being tested again...He also made a note that 'keep up the great work with your diet and exercise regime.  You are doing fantastic!'

Spring has not Sprung...Its REALLY Cold Out There!!!

So I figured I could blog a bit!

I managed to get out and drop off 3 huge bags of clothes to donate to Goodwill.

Did the grocer thing; although I thought I didnt need much somehow I still spent over $60 (but I did get Annies Mac&Ch for .99 a box!! whoa!!  thats incredible deal)...sigh...I thought about buying stuff to make another crock pot vegetarian chili, but then remembered I had put away 2 small containers of it in the freezer the last time!  Yay!    In other news, my most most most favorite pair of jeans, my very first pair of Lucky jeans...are just too big...Today I was able to put them on (and take them off) without unzipping or unbuttoning.  They still stay up if you dont hop around...so I did wear them anyway to do errands...I just cant bear to part with these...I figure in another 2-3 weeks I wont be able to wear them...I am going to try and shrink them again though.

I plan to get on the bike trainer at some point today and do about an hour.  Maybe... :)

Yesterday I made my first batch of sweet potato fries!

I cut a sweet potato into strips on Friday night and put them in a baggie with a bit of EVOO, salt, pepper and paprika, put them in the fridge to marinate overnight and through the day

Then I took them out and spread them out on a piece of foil on a pizza pan

But first I put them in the microwave (in the bag) for about 3 min

Baked them on 425 for about 25-30 min...You could hear the sizzling and the smell was wonderful!

While they were cooking I made myself a Black Bean burger with all the trimmings of veggies

hummus, snow peas, squash, purple onions and also spinach (not shown)

I also made a sour cream/pesto dip sauce for the fries!

It was to die for!!!  I just used fresh pesto; added it to a bit of SC to taste (depending on how much pesto you like!  I like a lot!)

It was fantastic!  The sweet potato fries were delish!  I had some left over and had them with an 'bowl' egg this afternoon on top of an english muffin.

Woke up this morning to freeeezing temps!!  WTH?  2nd day of Spring and 33 deg and high winds!  Brrr...

Nonetheless I wanted another 'green monster' to get my day started.  Such an easy breakfast with tons of what you need!

1 cup of yogurt

dash of cinnamon

1 Truvia packet

1 scoop of vanilla protein powder

1 banana

splash of Silk vanilla

About 2 cups of fresh spinach!

Blend it all together!

Obviously you can put in whatever type of yogurt and fruit you want, but this is by far my favorite!

I have also added 1/2 an avocado before, but it makes it VERY thick...but oh so yummy!
I have also added a raw egg too, but raw eggs can be tricky.

And NO you CANNOT taste the spinach!

KW Long Run

Not a stellar run, but I really didnt expect one either.  The race 6 days ago, and then between some short miles and hard workout, plus an extended run (11 miles) on Wednesday my legs were just dead.  I decided about 4 miles into it, that I was turning around at the 6 mile mark and settling for 12 miles today.  Quality (if you can call it that) over quantity.  Yeah I could have pushed through it, but why?  Also the route today was one that has a big hill (man made) it in, both coming and going, plus the rolling hills along the path down TCJester to 610...not to mention the invasion of gnats that were so prominent, people looked like they had chia seeds ALL OVER THEM..they were out in full force and made for a lot of spitting and wiping them from your eyes.  Blech.  Very humid out, so working up a good sweat was good...temps were warmer (56ish) than it has been of late..sign of things to come...

My avg pace came out to 10:30, not quite what I have been doing them in, but considering my dead legs, I count it as a win.  And thankfully just as I was finishing up, the rain started...and as of right now, hasnt stopped.

Got home, made me a 'green monster' and then headed out for the bank, getting my nails done, going to the park to see if my keys and alarm clicker had been turned in (negative), then having some work done on my car (blech.  $150+ later; I hate spending money on my car, but it needed it all, so I cant complain and at least my inspection is done as well...)

Now I am home, and just made an omelette (hybrid of tons of veggies and added in feta cheese and kalamata olives)...scarfed that up real quick like!  I was starving!!  p.s. I took a picture but havent uploaded all the latest yet...

I am going to chillax and hopefully take a little nappy nap before the evening is here before I know it and time to head out...

Thursday was a complete rest day. All I did after work was get out of my car to tan. Some of us dont get a Spring Break, and while I have had pool time (once), the weekend we will not (pouty face)...and its definitely warmer, and most people know, when the temps start getting to 60 and above, I am gonna turn into stripper pole runner girl real quick like...I dont like clothes much to begin with, but well I guess since its against the law here to go without...I am gonna wear as little as possible whenever possible... :o)

Today is a rest day as well...Hey Coach says 'its a good idea to take Thurs and Fri off' after my crazy last 5 days ... hey who am I to argue? 15 miles tomorrow...or actually 14.5 ... I had said, when asked how far I was going this Saturday, that my schedule had 15, but I might just do whatever the route is and call it a day...and wouldnt you know it? He sends out a damn route thats 14.5? Why couldnt he had picked RO for our route this week? Thats only 10 miles :o)

So I guess I stay on schedule...

I had a request and need whoever reads this to chime in...or not....

Question I was asked: Would I start posting my eats (food logs) and pictures of same again? Preeeety please?


p.s. Since I was lazy to do much for dinner last night, I opened a can of vegetable soup and in the bowl it looked kinda not interesting to me AT. ALL. So what did I do? I opened the refrigerator and pulled out the bag of spinach and after heating the soup up in the microwave for about 2 minutes, I then put in about 2 cups of spinach into it, got it all in there wet, and then popped it back in the microwave and wa-la! My soup is now interesting! Some crumbled feta cheese and just freakin slap a picture of me on the can of that soup cause sometimes I am a genius. Added a slice of soda bread and I was one happy (stuffed) woman...

Three Things Thursday

I don't normally partake in 'trends' on blogger, but this one I kinda like...so my first post on Three Things Thursday....

1. I have turned a corner.  And by that I mean a REAL corner.  Not as it pertains to running, although that too kinda, but the kind of corner where I don't feel constant regret for a specific past mistake.  I dont even really think about it anymore, except for this week when I realized I wasnt...weird huh?  But funny.  I was like ha!  I am so damn happy I cant stand it!  I chalk this up to healing as I saw fit, even if it meant shutting myself off from time to time, to my wonderful friends, both near and far, who never judged but knew the truths and loved me anyway, and who gave me my space and never questioned me, but yet allowed me to talk if and when I saw fit.  It just kinda snuck up on me...and another honest opinion, I think that so many things that are going right in my life, are due completely to the fact that I have completely turned my life around.  Its been slowly but surely evolving and maybe the last couple of years, I fell off the track to be sure, but not completely...I was still making changes along the way, it just wasnt till I had had enough that things really started coming together for me.
2. My job is like the best.  I dont discuss my job online for obvious reasons, but honestly, getting this job, regardless of stature or pay, I truly truly LOVE getting up in the morning and coming here.  I dont like to miss work either...I use to want to miss all the time...even at STG, but not anymore.  I think the only other way I would enjoy my job more is if a) I didnt have to work :o), b) I ran for a living c) was certified to coach/train/personal fitness etc.  I have been here 8 months now and it just seems like yesterday...and I still dont know everything which is completely awesomesauce!  Because it means I still have lots to learn, and I love that!
3. After more thought, I decided that I am kinda awesome.  I mean, come on...I ran my fastest half marathon ever on Sunday, drove 4 hours home, worked out and ran like a crazed woman on Tuesday, then last night I run 11 miles and honestly..it didnt FEEL like I had;...till this morning...I was just really sleepy and a little achey.  And because I am so awesomesauce, I allowed myself some popcorn today.  With butter  :o)  Honestly, since all I had was a 'green monster' last night after those miles etc., I have been extremely hungry today...well not hungry, but wanting something I dont usually allow myself to have cause its a 'trigger' food.  I have 3 of those:  ice cream, popcorn, and chips.  So today I 'rewarded' myself with one of them.  It was truly fantastic too.

The Best of the Worst

Since we all know that you, I, and generally everyone is GOING to buy at one time or another (or every single week), the processed foods off the shelves of your grocer, I thought this was cool to look at.

I get it.  I use to be you.  I was hooked on it like a bad crack ho, and hey you can't beat the cost...but if I can do it on the cheap (more or less), then you can too...it just takes practice...

Anyway, here is a segment from Eat This, Not That.  Love their site and their phone app too...Yes I have like 13 different food/exercise apps on my phone...There really is an app for that!  For everything!

Anyway, since I will be shopping for a deli meat sometime after Lent as I like a good sandwich as much as anyone, I was glad they had that on there for me to see; I was just telling someone that today actually...

In the other categories, I agree and actually purchase the following:  yogurt, rice, snack bar, quinoa and Birds Eye for their frozen vegetables.

I however do not even buy at all: Tuna (unless its fresh and I cook it myself), cottage cheese (gross), flavored water (why?) or fruit juice (I would rather eat the fruit).

And I dont agree with or actually buy their suggestions on:  Cereal, jelly, peanut butter, soup.  I have my own that I like and actually are better IMHO.

So if you must, at least you can be a bit educated, if you werent already on some of the better of the worst.

I think everyone just about knows how I feel about childhood obesity and not only what parents feed their kids (remember 1 in 3 kids is considered obese, and this has been my achilles heel for SO long; even before I started researching to the degree I have been), making them more likely to die at an earlier age than you will, but also what is freaking fed to them in the school system...Damn crack is what they are serving!!!  And besides it making kids fat, its just WRONG to put that stuff in their bodies, even if they have the metabolism of 1,426 hummingbirds...

Anyway, thanks to PBF, I have stumbled across one of the most awesomesauce blogs...a teacher who originally started a blog to document eating school cafeteria food for one year...I just started reading and just bouncing around...Crazy.  Some of the entries are from guest bloggers from either around the country or even American teachers teaching abroad giving you insight into the VAST differences other cultures approach nutrition with their kids...

ps.  In that picture and so many others like it, do you notice how everything is basically the same color? 

Thats just wrong.

On the Road Again

This past weekend was my first trip out of town in quite some time (other than going to Moms and honestly I have to do the same going there), and especially since all my 'changes' since last October...but anyway, this past weekend, I road-tripped to Dallas for the RnR.  Now this seemed easy since it was overnight and its a relatively short drive (except AFTER a half marathon...then its not so short)...What added to a bit of uncertainness was driving with someone I barely knew, especially her eating habits other than what I observe at work...

So my plan was to not stress out about anything, as I have my trusty phone app with all the information I need to get me through this and then some.  Saturday morning I figured a big green monster was in order for the start of the trip; should keep me fed and happy...and it did.  For about 2 hours :) 

Thankfully I had LaraBars; best bar out there for jam packed nutrition and NO ADDITIVES OR ICKY STUFF!  Plus I had put some PB on some bagel thins for snacks either in the car and especially for breakfast pre-race.  Now knowing full well that there would be the occasion to stop for something...I had planned that in as well.

The first rule in my book is basically this:  if they dont sell breakfast 24/7 then I am not eating there for the most part.  Unless I am off the vegetarian thing for Lent, then I would go for either JITB grilled chicken strips (excellent choice nutritionally) or the Fish Sandwich at McDonalds (other fish sandwiches at FF joints are ALL over 550 cal and fat out the yingyang! McD's is 350) another good choice for calories and fat...go figure.. however, I now know that Sonic has breakfast all day so both on Saturday on the way up and late Sunday on the way back, I was able to get a breakfast sandwich, leave off the cheese and sausage please, and I'm good.  And when given the choice between tater tots, fries or onion rings, ALWAYS PICK THE FRENCH FRIES...

As far as dinner for example, its easy to work something in that you can eat thats better than others.  In my case we went to Italian, and since I dont like to eat those carbs like that in pasta, I went for a VERY thin crust and veggies and sauce only.  No cheese.  Fabulous.  Heres what I find interesting...people who are 'vegetarian' for the most part, still eat processed (white/bleached) pasta...or make excuses to eat things that are still bad for you, and honestly will make you heavy(ier), and sometimes gain...I just try and stay away from it, unless I enjoy some Annies M&C, whole grain sometimes pasta w/ sauce or just EVOO...and when I do eat it, its smothered in steamed vegetables...and very little of the pasta...

Just remember, usually what SEEMS like the good choice isnt the majority of the time...stay away from salads unless you go naked with dresssing; stay away from ANYTHING in a 'bowl' unless its Wendy's chili, and NEVER EVER EVER BUY YOUR FOOD WHERE YOU BUY YOUR GAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Good God ... the stuff on the shelves is bad enough, but those gas stations with 'restaurants' inside?  Groooooooooooooosss...

Chances are if I had been going alone, I would have boiled some eggs, and packed some veggies and put in a small cooler and be done with it.  But since I had a passenger I allowed for unexpecteds in their WOE.  Turns out that what you see at work is NOT always the case...wow.  We'll just leave it at that. 

Now if I had been going for say, more than 3 days, still do-able, just more you're on your own and your choices sort of thing...but if you are staying longer, and I've done this, make sure you have a fridge in your room and go to the grocer ...

And I would say driving is better, so as to avoid airports.  I havent had to encounter that, but I suspect PB sammichs would be in my carry on along with bananas, apples, etc...that will be another post after a trip on a plane to some far far away place ;o)

At the end of the day, I went, I conquered in both racing and in food choices, and when I weighed on Tuesday, I was LESS than I was before I went.  So theres that :o)  Secondly I didnt feel like crap, and honestly I never do anymore because of the change in WOE. 

The only time I feel like crap is when I run too much or lift too much and I am sore as all get out!!  But thats OK!

Question:  Does anyone else plan when going out of town, do you pack some things, or just throw caution to the wind and treat it like its a vacay from your healthy eating?

KW, PIM, Lost Key and 11 miles for a Freakin' Wednesday

Long story, so here are Cliff notes.

Was to run 6 easy before PIM.  After 2nd loop I realize I lost my car key.  Run 3 more miles to look for it.  Nothing.

Run another mile to Tennis Center to see if someone turned it in.  Nope.

Run to PIM.

Do 2 miles with PIM.  Look at Tennis Center again.  Nope.

Called Toyota.  Go there first thing in the morning to get new key.

Will Nash crawled on top of car to get in through the open sun roof, unlock door, get all my crap out.  Trish brings me home.  Vic is gonna pick me up in the morning to take me to Toyota.  SteveS is gonna pick me up at Toyota and bring me back to car.

Then I can go to work.

So 11 miles on a freakin' Wednesday.  And I have 15 miles to run on Saturday.  Me thinks I wont be running tomorrow OR Friday....  :O)

I looooooooooooove all the running community for coming to my aid in my hour of need!  Now if someone who found the key would just turn it in...and hopefully my car will still be there in the morning :)

The bright spot?

I ran 11 miles on a freakin' Wednesday and TRUST me when I tell you miles 6-9 were done FAST looking for that key around that loop!  :)  Oh and I also found out that 3 of my other friends from KW are also running Chicago...gonna be a fun fun time in Chi-Town in October!

206 days.
21 hours.
43 minutes.

We're going to Chicago baby....New York (if I get selected) will just have to wait until 2011 for me to run their marathon again... :o)

St. Patricks Day and Lent

This morning I posted on my FB that its day 28 of Lent, and that on Easter, some animal was gonna meet its maker...cause I really want some meat dangit!  Even if its just a slice of bacon!

Then my friend GW said that on St. Patricks day, it is tradition in Ireland that on this day, whatever you gave up for Lent you can recapture for just this day...so that they could feast on bacon and cabbage!  How funny that I had wanted bacon and its tradition in Ireland?? 

Anyway I thought she was pulling my little leprechan's leg so I went to google and sure enough!  Its true!!!  Why didnt I know this this morning when I ordered just a plain egg taco???  I could have had a slice of bacon it it!!!!

Go ahead, google if you must:  Lent and Irish tradition on St. Patricks Day

So if you choose to do so, live it up today!  You've gone this long without whatever...but you have a hall pass on this particular Wednesday I do believe...or maybe its just if you gave up meat!  Now will I actually eat meat now that breakfast is over?  Highly doubtful.

I just made the perfect unsinful dessert!  Sorry I didnt take a picture because I was too excited to eat it!

1/2 container of Dreyers ice cream (90 cal; I had mint choc chip; vanilla or other flavor may be less/more)  Note: they sell them in 2 serving containers now
2 tbsp of non-fat yogurt (organic) (50 cal)
1/3 banana sliced on top (30 cal)
SLIGHT drizzle of choc syrup (20 cal)

This was the perfect ending to my la-licious veggie sammich!

Workout:  I did 3 miles on the WONDERFUL NEW TREADMILLS we got at the gym!  OMG they are AWESOME!!  Then I hit the weights with my trainer and called it a night.  Got email from Coach with kudos on my 1/2 marathon race and his words were:  jog easy all week.  Yay!  That means NO SPEED TOMORROW NIGHT (this kinda does suck because we have 400m repeats and I loooooooove those)!  I will just do 6 miles easy with KW and then I have about 2+ miles to do with coaching the PIMsters after that; we're doing run 6min run/walk 1min intervals.

Question:  Does anyone have any other wonderful unsinful treats you've come up with?  Inquiring minds want to know!

Dean Karnazes - 50 Marathons, 50 States, 50 Days

If you haven't seen this documentary on DVD, you must. 

I watched it last night (I had it from NetFlix) and omg it was FANtastic!  Heres a note:  If you do get it, either from NetFlix or buy it off of Amazon (which I did this morning) or something, at the beginning it gives you 2 choices on how to watch:  normal and then something else that I cant remember, but anyway the 2nd is that after each marathon segment, it pauses and shows you all the stats for that marathon.

I am still shaking my head that after the finished #50 at the NYC marathon, the very next morning he got up and started running home.  To California.  Now I cant wait to hopefully be a part of his next adventure which will be for awareness of the environment (instead of childhood obesity as in the 50/50/50) and the runs will all be done on trail.

And incidentially, when he started the NYC marathon, and they show the running part over the Verranzano Bridge, I still get chills thinking...I DID that...when you are running up it, and over it, you just can't fathom what you are actually doing till you see shots of it live...its just so awesome to 'relive' some of it watching it on several DVD's that I have about running.   Lottery applications ended yesterday...We'll know soon whether I got in again this year...

Race Photos - Dallas RnR Half Marathon 2010

 Almost there...coming up on the finish line...

You can barely see Crystal but shes back there :)  Early miles; either 1 or 2

Myself and Crystal; around mile 4ish

And we're done!

Me the happy runner!

And one more of a happy cheerleader runner!

 MelissaK and I; obviously in front of the gear check trucks!  It was either that or the porta pottys as the backdrop!

Myself, Crystal, Tracey and MelissaK at the post race party...

Becki and I; post race party

Dallas RnR Half Marathon Data

Chip time:  2:11:10
Gun time:  2:14:55
Avg pace: 10:01 per the website (Garmin obviously shows 9:53 pace for 12.18 miles)

5K: 31:10
10K: 1:02:47
7 mile: 1:10:52
10 mile: 1:40:26
Obviously all much slower than my PR's at each of those distances (well no data for a 7 mile race :) )

Mile 1:  no data
Mile 2: 9:50
Mile 3: 9:58
Mile 4: 9:43
Mile 5: 10:04 OK so I read it wrong on the course as I thought it said 11:04  :)  I guess the extra oomph I gave once we were 'released' from the paparazzi for 1/2 mile helped out afterall.
Mile 6: 9:57
Mile 7: 9:59
Mile 8: 10:01
Mile 9: 9:52
Mile 10: 9:36
Mile 11: 10:07 (Gu and Cytomax (2 cups!) stop)  Those Gu brand gels are THICK and hard to get down!
Mile 12: 9:43
Mile 13: 9:49
.18 - 8:44 pace (go me!)

Looking at these splits make me a bit angry...I know that I left something out there on the course, but whats done is done...these splits are basically what I have been running my damn training runs at...oh well...I hope for decent weather in April as I really want another shot at it before it gets too warm; plus there wont really be another chance till October...

Now to get those numbers down to 9:00 miles for 26.2 :)  I feel it in my bones...its gonna happen...I will do whatever it takes to make sure it does...

Dallas RnR - Full Race Report

Way back in 2009 several of the KreW had signed up for this race, but as it got closer it was down to 2.  Me and Dixie.  Of course I knew several other friends doing it; being from Ft Worth, Austin and even some from here in Houston as well, so it was shaping up to be a trip I was so looking forward to since I dont get to see my friends from other parts of the State as often as I would like (and how wonderful that so many of them have taken up running!)...a girl at work signed up and so we drove up together on Saturday and checked into the Hyatt which was located just 1 mile from the expo and the Start of the race...

Tracey met us at the hotel and we all walked over to the expo where I found Crystal and Becky but missed seeing anyone else...then we all went to dinner at Campisi's which was awesome!  Yummy veggie pizza for me!  Yay!  The place was packed with runners of course!  MelissaM and I retired to the hotel after getting all our gear ready and turned it remembering to set the clocks right, setting the alarm on my phone and calling for a wake up call!!  :)  The plan was for Tracey, Becki and Crystal to meet us in the lobby at 7 and we would walk over the Start.  What ended up happening was Crystal and I only as Tracey overslept and had to drive from Ft Worth, Becki got lost and Melissa upstairs as she likes getting at the Start at the last minute.

So with mile 1 in the books already :), I found gear check and checked my bag and then Crystal and I situated ourselves in corral 3 and waited.  Eventually Tracey found us but we couldnt find the others and I had checked my phone in my bag :(  I had put 2hrs down so thats why I was up front; Crystal was to be in 4, MelissaK was in 3; not sure how we didnt see her..MelissaM and Dixie in the back and Tracey was to be in 8 along with Becki if I remember correctly.

They were starting the corrals about 2 min apart is what I heard but I really didnt think about that till later on in Mile 1 and I will say why later...

My Garmin wasnt picking up a signal; I guess due to the buildings and such so I just turned it off at that point figuring I would try again once we got out of the way of those.

The usual fanfare at the beginning and we were off!  I knew going in from Aimee that this course had 8 miles of hills, 'worse than Houston marathon, but not as bad as Austin marathon' were her words...so I was apprehensive.  As we made the turn I could see the next turn and everyone barreling downhill and I thought, shit I hope this isnt like AP where we go down and THEN up...Crystal, Tracey and I together...and then no uphill!  yay!  As we got away from the buildings i turned the Garmin back on and yay a signal before mile 1 marker!  So I hit the start button right at the sign.  It was also here where I heard a guy next to me tell his friend that 'we're 5 min in from where we started'.  This became embedded in my brain and I shouldnt have listened.  The clock at the 1 mile marker said 13:58, and if I was 5 min in that means my first mile was an 8:58 and while that is doable, I didnt think I had run that...I should have done the 6 min as I intended and I would have been more accurate at the end, as at every clock I subtracted only 5 min instead of 6...this is also why when I crossed the finish line at 1:14:52 I thought I had gone sub 2:10...and by the way as I was approaching the finish I saw the time and ran as hard as I could to get under 1:15 for that specific reason...I wanted a sub 2:10 once I knew it was in reach at about mile 11.

In mile 2 was the first big hill and so it went through miles 2-8, with the largest one being in mile 8 right after your turn onto Mockingbird and out of the ritzy neighborhood of Highland Park.

2 things sucked about this portion...1 is I guess since its an exclusive neighborhood there were NO water stops through here...which I was ok but I heard plenty complaining about it later on.  The other was in mile 5, Crystal and I are going along, stride for stride and then out of nowhere this photographer wants to stop us for pictures...whaaat?  and I dont mean a picture...he was posing us, etc...so bizarre...so we take off again finally as I was like 'dude i HAVE to go' 'you're screwing with my time here!'...so we take off and then we hear yelling and I look back and hes running after us!  Ha!  'Can I just get a few more of the 2 of you in front of this house?'...it was a HUGE house...and I was like are you FREAKING kidding me? (something about for the new brochure for RnR)...I tell ya, our picture better be in that brochure!!  :)  I dont know why we did it, and when the mile split beeped and it said 11:04 I WAS PISSED....I took off to try and make up some time on the next mile, but then I remembered what Coach always says and thats not to try and make up time for a stop at the potty or whatever...so I figured it meant in this case too...and I backed off to my regular pace.

It was also in mile 5 where I took a gel and an SCap (I had taken an SCap before the start), and I knew I wouldnt need another one, so I just took it when the opportunity presented itself.

Everything was uneventful really from here on out; a few more hills (I would say miles 6.5 through 8 were the hardest as far as hills) and a LOT of wind, headwind at that...Funny signs along the way, lots of spectators which was awesome.  Actually the course really had a lot of spectators and that was really cool.  Funniest sign was once I topped the hill in mile 8 that a guy was holding up that said:  Run Like Tigers wife is chasing you.  I just thought that was funny.

In mile 9 I encountered a woman who was skipping.  Yes.. Skipping.  I thought how odd, but maybe thats her 'walk' in a run/walk or something, or maybe shes trying to get her mojo back, but she was just skipping along, arms flailing...so funny.  And I just ran past her never giving her another thought, until later when she ended up behind me to get my gear and started talking to me and I realized it was her.  She had SKIPPED THE ENTIRE HALF MARATHON...and actually did it in 2:19.  Funny.  First time she had done that she said, and we both figured she was going to have some aches and pains not normal to her recovery..She was from Louisiana and had done a full marathon in New Orleans just a couple of weeks ago.  And I do believe she was older than me, and I thought...wow.   I dont know that I could do a 1/2 2-3 weeks after a full.  She said she didnt skip in the full marathon :)

All I know is that when I saw the 20K marker that final 1K was A LONG WAY IT SEEMED... but my Garmin registered at 12.18 (remember I missed the first mile on the Garmin).

Once I made it through the Finish, I had to make my way and make it QUICK through all the maze to get to a porta potty...I had to go!!!  I felt some discomfort in mile 12 and I thought, oh hell NO...this is NOT going to happen...I made sure I grabbed a free Gu without caffeine in mile 11 that they were giving out, and I was careful not to drink anything but water, except a few times I did grab the Cytomax and it was fine.  People always say how gross it is, but I liked it better than Gatorade to be honest...

I did stop at every station to grab fluids, and walked the 15 sec or so to get it in my mouth...so as I saw the splits each mile, I thought way cool man, my splits are still awesome with the min walk to drink.  I do not regret this decision at all as I dont think it had ANY bearing on my overall time, but definitely helped me stay hydrated and upright and able to still run at a decent clip.

Once I finally got to gear check ( a loooong way away), I got my phone, then found MelK, Crystal and Tracey, and then Becki, we hung out a bit before trying to figure out how to get back...the Finish was 4 miles away from the Start...We started walking towards the DART, and this is no lie, after walking 2 more miles to get to the station, I finally had had it and was able to hail down a cab!!!  We all had enough money to more than pay for the fare back and man were we happy!  At the end of the day, we got in 16 miles, 13.1 running, 3 more walking...

I still had to wait a long time in the hotel for my roomie and she didnt make it back till about 1:30 and I was dying!!!  I had showered but I was starving and ready to get on the road because I just wanted to be home!

MelK had a FABULOUS PR run even with falling at the end and ending up needed some bo-bo bands for her scrapes, and came in with a 1:48 and Crystal beat me by about 5 minutes...everyone else came in after me...I had lost Crystal after the 10K mark as she really picked it up and I wanted to stay right where I was.  I kept her in sight for a while, but then she was just gone :)  She was going for a PR as well and really wanted it!  Heck we ALL did and we were all successful!!!  And I definitely got the negative split and thats another think Coach preaches to us faithful followers.

This race, even without the perfect weather conditions was awesome.  I dont really care for the 1/2 marathon distance when it comes to races but they might grow on me :) ...  especially when done with so many wonderful friends!  I will definitely go back next year for the same race.

The medal is awesome; nice and heavy...pleased especially since the Houston marathon medals this year were blah...small and light and big whoop that they have a swirly thing in the middle.  :)  Hopefully next year they will go back to the heavier, bigger medals :)

I am really proud of my effort, even if I am still second guessing myself today...I should have pushed when I felt like I was in great form from the beginning, but again fear kept me at arms length.  Did I do the right thing?  I dont know, and wont ever know.  I am heavily considering the 1/2 out in Clear Lake in April but it will be a week of decision for me, as it can be very warm in April and the sole reason for thinking of doing it is to get closer to that 2 hour mark...so we'll see.

I have 3 shorter distance races coming up in the next few weeks and some into May even...I find out shortly whether I got picked for NYC again, and if I dont, then the next decision will be:  Chicago or MCM.  Either of those gives me time to recouperate and be ready for additional training for Houston in January...

I had today off so I have been laying by the pool, running errands and doing some Spring cleaning...Quads have a bit of soreness but not too much...I've been rolling my soles on a frozen water bottle a lot since returning home as the plantar pain was pretty painful after the race, but this morning no pain when my feet hit the floor...obviously I havent run today and I have trainer at the gym tomorrow...I might not run then either and just do the elliptical in anticipation of a loooong day at Memorial on Wednesday with a speed workout with KW and then coaching duties at PIM...

On a sad note:  as I passed through the Finish line and gathered my breath, I heard a lot of commotion behind me and yelling of "clear the area for emergency personnel"...at the time I didnt think too much about it and continued on my way through the chutes, but then after arriving home I found out that a 32 year old man had collapsed and died after the crossed the Finish line; I am not sure if this was the same reason or not for the commotion, but still...I tell ya, even with 1 in 67000+ chance of this happening, and even if the odds of dying in regular activities are higher, it still makes you stop and just realize exactly what we put our bodies through on a regular basis that some just dont understand....and never will...

Next up:  Splits (I havent even plugged in my Garmin to see), the Good and Bad of this race and the Pros and Cons of traveling to a race (when you are as crazy as I have become about my eating patterns and choices)...and yes it is doable with planning and a bit of negotiation between your head and your body :)  How wonderful that you can travel and still be healthy and not fall victim to the horrible foods that litter the highways and by-ways of our great country!!!

Dallas Rock N Roll Half Marathon

Excellent race!
Excellent weather!
Hilly course through 8 miles; all downhill after that.  But the course was fantastic!

Smashed my PR by over 13 min ending up with a 2:11:10...thought I went sub 2:10 but my Garmin was off in the first mile and I wasnt sure; had I known exactly where I was I would have made the time up as I had played it 'safe' pretty much the whole way not knowing what lay ahead of me...had some interference in mile 5 as well, that took time off both mine and Crystals time, but more on all of it later.

I am just now home after a hard race/effort and then a 4+ hour drive home...I'm beat :)

Full race report sometime tomorrow...

Yogurt Mania | Mark's Daily Apple

Yogurt Mania | Mark's Daily Apple

A perfect post about something that I was just discussing with others last night (among other times)...That all the crap on the shelves that say HEALTHY/LOW FAT/FORTIFIED/GOOD FOR YOU/FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET/BLAHBLAHBLAH ADDED/BLAHBLAHBLAH TAKEN OUT/MAKE YOU REGULAR, heres the dealio as Mark also points out...

If they add crap to their crap to make it one of the above, then it was crap to begin with and now its even crappier...

If people would just eat like our grandmothers and beyond, people wouldnt be so uptight, and apparently constipated...

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Debbie JunieB Does Dallas

Stay tuned....

We leave bright and early tomorrow morning; so excited for the beautiful weather for the weekend and the race!  Hoping that the 'if you don't like the weather in Texas...wait 5 minutes' doesn't apply!  Looks to be perfect weather for Sunday morning up in Big D!

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p.s. You can follow me on Twitter @juniebrunner

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Eat Organic When You Can!

The highest pesticide foods known as the Dirty Dozen include: peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, imported grapes, carrots and pears.

The Clean Fifteen: onions, avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, mangos, asparagus, papayas, watermelons, broccoli, tomatoes and sweet potatoes.

Now I dont know why tomatoes are on the clean fifteen list because unless you buy them at your local farmers market, you're getting methane gas sprayed on them...I guess since its not a pesticide?  Who knows...Thankfully out of the dirty dozen the only things I eat often are bell peppers, carrots and apples.  And well on the clean fifteen, I eat ALL of that ALL of the time!  So yay for me because I totally did not know this list(s).

Anyway, just a list I thought I would post for those that care to know...

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And as a side note...as I was running at the park yesterday, in the 80 deg temps, I am always boggled by the people that wear long pants, velour workout wear, COTTON tshirts (even if its a ridiculous tshirt from some race), or long sleeves...and they aren't just all walkers, some are actually running to some degree of effort...

If you want to at least 'look' like you know what you're doing...unless its a tech/dri fit shirt from a race entry you might want to not wear it to actually run in...just my .02.  And when you're so damn wet from sweat that its stuck to you like glue and hanging past the hem of your shorts, weighing about 3 lbs extra...you'd think you would have a clue...oh and if you're not sweating in it, then you aren't running hard enough ;o)

And PS you aren't going to get thinner or fitter by sweating more because you got all those clothes on (or that astronaut looking thing you somehow found from the 70's of Lets Get Physical or something...)

KW Speed and PIM

I could barely get out of bed this morning and get ready for work, let alone remember everything I needed for speed and PIM...therefore of course...I forgot the most important thing...no not my shoes...but my Garmina...and nutrition for between workouts...I stopped at Valero for a G2 and some trail mix...

Sigh.

Therefore I had to alter my speed workout today and ended up doing 'poles'; run 3 lightpoles (about 100m each pole, then recover for 1).  I started around 4:45 and it was around 80 deg out...sigh...we just never get Spring here...I did 3 miles of poles, then stopped for fluid and spoke with Coach for a bit...headed out for 2 more miles of poles and then ran slowly back to where PIM starts.  So I got in 5.5 miles before we started with our groups, which we did 4 x R4/W1.  So I figured with walk over to Start and afterwards, I ended up with about 8 miles for the day :)  ... I will take it...

Coach told me to only run 3 miles tomorrow and same for Friday, take Saturday off...all in anticipation for the RnR on Sunday...I am skipping weights tomorrow with the trainer as after yesterdays workout, its obvious to me that I need to lay off of them leading up to a race.   Even though I dont work the legs with weights, all the lifting still affects my overall strength...I struggled at first today, could have been some of the increase in temps, but I just felt very dead legs till about 2 miles in, then I picked it up and everything seemed fine.

With getting home at almost 8, its another smoothie night...yogurt, splash of Silk, protein powder, 1/2 banana, dash of vanilla extract and a dash of cinnamon, 1/2 avocado and 1 Truvia packet...the reduction of Silk and the addition of the 1/2 avocado makes it REALLY thick...but OH SO YUMMMY!!!

Yay I only have to run 3 miles tomorrow!!!  :o)