3 miles

3.01 miles - 25:44 - 8:32 pace - same ole

8:35, 8:38, 8:18

I caught up with the running group and passed the first bunch up then passed two other runners up...the one lady i know gave me sorta a dirty look. I wasn't trying to show anyone up, but it was a good push to make myself run passed them. a little competition is good and I always pace faster when I'm running with others, I think it makes me run faster than I think I am able of doing.

Meanwhile, one of my friends from college who is training for her first marathon lives in NC - her climbs are insane! Like 150 and such..and she runs faster than me (about the same but if I were running those climbs I think I'd be much slower). She is going to rock that race, I am so excited to see her results.

I slept in...

so no run today...needless to say I will make sure I get my a** out of bed early tomorrow morning for a short run...then my last LR before the race. UGH i feel the fat just oozing in my body!

Dinner out tonight at a local pub since it was $5 night! We took the girls out to celebrate first night of soccer practice. M appears to be quit athletic :)

love bobby flay...

I do! He always inspires me to make a good dinner. On/off the grill. If I had to answer one of those 'what celebrity would you pick to have dinner with' i'd probably pick him, Ewan McGregor and Eddie Vedder. Abe Lincoln for the dead person ...ha!

anyway, dinner tonight was last minute, I diverged from my original dinner plan of the week. I grilled chicken sweet italian sausages (until my propane ran out and I had to grill them indoors), grilled corn (they were cooked before the gas outage) and sweet potatoes. I used Flay's recipe.
Cut sweet potatoes in wedges (I sliced them) and brush with olive oil and sprinkle salt. Grill flipping once until tender...mix 1/4 c maple syrup with 2 tbsp dijon, brush on potatoes and flip until crystalized and done. They smell super good. I also grilled up peppers.
Today for breakfast:
chocolate cottage cheese
lunch:
cup of left over three bean chili (yeah protein) with cheese
fiber bar
and then dinner....I'm still trying hard to be good. I like my weight it's just this darn belly. Two nights of pilates, tonight will make a third....
oh and of course tonight's drink of choice....Magic Hat #9, reminds me of Side Street (QU days)

 Running
I really like running in the mornings. When I ran at night, I'd be jazzed up and couldn't go to bed until after 11pm - that's late for kiddos that wake up at 630am and our babysitting friend coming over at 7am. Now when I run in the morning, I enjoy coffee after and then rest during the kids nap time and go to bed easily (of course I need to read before bed). But I really like it. I hope I continue.

My good friend is running the Half Marathon with me next month. It's her first and I am so proud of her! I don't think we will run together as she is trying to finish and I would like to PR if possible....I know a few others running and I hope I enjoy it as much as I did last year. KNEE don't fail me now..it's still acting crazy.

Dinner tonight...
Tonight I decided to try a new recipe since I had Chicken Apple Sausage on hand...I thought a nice potato hash would be fun. So we did this


Sweet Potato Hash
5 cups peeled & diced sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
1/2 cupcelery, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh jalapeno, seeded & chopped
2 cups granny smith apples, peeled & diced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated (Anything with fresh ginger is YUM)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons cilantro leaves, chopped

Add the sweet potatoes to a large saucepan or dutch oven, cover with water and simmer 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes; using the same saucepan, add the olive oil and bring to medium low temperature. Saute the red bell pepper, onion, celery and jalapeno pepper for three minutes. Stir in the sweet potatoes. Cook, stirring for five minutes; stir in the apples, ginger, salt, white pepper, brown sugar and cilantro. Continue to cook potatoes, stirring to evenly caramelize, for 10-15 minutes.

I browned then diced the Chicken Sausage and added in. I topped mine with Hot Sauce while the kiddos enjoyed theirs plain. It was very good. 

Of course a glass or two or three of Cab....

4.25 miles

62 degrees but 95% humid! I sweated a ton

4.25 miles - 37:07 - 8:43 pace
splits, 8:43, 8:56, 8:41, 8:32

Awesome sunrise!

Brussel sprouts and running shoes

When I first started running, I had a broken in pair of New Balance ( no idea what kind they were) that I loved...only after a few weeks of dedicated running, my knees killed! I could barely walk up the stairs to my bedroom after a run. So I decided to go for the grandma of all running shoes, good old supportive Asics 5160 with inserts. Within a week my knees were better and I loved the support they gave me. I ran my first have marathon with them.
Then my bestie called from Boston and said she had 50% coupons off at the Reebox store, did I want a new pair of the Reebox Flex. Sure, they looked cute and I was interested in trying out the new trend in flexible shoes. I really liked them and ran my second Half Marathon with them. They were not nearly as supportive as my Asics, but I liked how my foot moved freely in them and they were so light, I swear I ran faster.
They wore out quickly though and I wanted to try something new. After much research, I was interested in the Brooks new Pure Flow shoes since they were sorta minimilstis but not those ugly foot looking shoes that I personally think are just a fad. Anyhow, I ordered up my new Pure Flows and have really liked running in them so far. I had to get used to them, and they aren't as vented as with the Reebox flex so I feel my foot sweats a bit, but they really feel great when you hit a nice fast pace. I am excited to race my third half marathon with them next month.
Dinner tonight - I have to say, I have a new found love of brussels sprouts. They are loaded with Vit C, protein and fiber
Ravioli with sauteed brussel sprouts
I haven't made this in forever. I usually add in some turkey bacon but didn't have any on hand.
Boil up a pound of fresh ravioli - splash a little olive oil so they don't stick when done
Then, mince up 2-3 cloves of garlic. Sautee in olive oil then add in about 1 lb of sliced up, cooked, brussel sprouts until tender. Add in toasted pecans and raisins, then off heat, add in about 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Stir. When ravioli is done, add to the brussel sprout mixture and top with fresh parm. YUM!

3 miles

3.02 miles - 25:44 - 8:31 pace

nothing really to say, the splits were funky and said I did 7:41 and such but that is impossible...think it was more like 8:24, 8:41 and 8:24...whatever, it was a good run and I'm getting excited for Sept 9th!

ran to my 5K mix

Congo Drum

Anyone out there running the Chicago Half Marathon on September 9, 2012 - my uncle will once again be playing his Congo Drum just after the turn around point, around 31st street, at around the 8/9 mile mark when the runners head south. Last year he did it for me and stayed on about 30 minutes to cheer on the other runners. I got tears in my eyes seeing him out there supporting me and all the runners.

My uncle is my inspiration for running. He was the first in our family to go to college - University of Chicago then on to law school at University of Michigan Ann Arbor (go blue). He's a pretty smart guy ( he begged me to go to Lane Tech but I was so intimidated by its size, I opted for a private girls school - I wish I would have listened to him), but I was always intrigued with his running. His first marathon was in NYC - he ran it in 3:40! He now swims and does other forms of exercise that are kinder to his knees. But he's a pretty cool guy to have in our family :)

Look for the congo player - that's my Uncle J, attorney at law :)!

11 miles - 2 weeks to go

Saturday's long run was delayed since when I woke up A insisted that mommy run on Sunday instead. I caved in since we had two parties to go to anyhow as it was going to be a busy Saturday and I woke up later than I had wanted.Then after eating too much at Maggiano's for my stepdad's surprise 50th last night, I was looking forward to this run today!!!!!

I got up super early, around 4am and was half dreaming I was all dressed and ready to run, but I looked down and wasn't awake yet. I wanted to run at 5am but the sun wasn't up yet so I ended up heading out a little before 6am. When you have little ones at home, it's so hard to leave them to go on long runs. I always feel like my runs are rushed and i just want to get back to them. But they were with their dad so I know they were ok. Still get anxious.

Anyway, I had a really nice run, it was humid but around 67 degrees. I had thought my phone was charging this morning but it wasn't. So I left with 66% battery charge, I would have done 12 miles but was worried I would run out..as it is I came home with 9% battery.


11.02 - 1:38:23 - 8:55 pace


1 - 9:13
2 - 9:01
3 - 8:48
4 - 8:54
5 - 8:40
6 - 8:35
7 - 8:42
8 - 8:30
9 - 8:31
10 - 8:33
11 - 8:34

Now a protein smoothie -
1 scoop of protein whey vanilla
spoonful of unsweetened cocoa
squirt of honey
spoonful of peanut butter
1 banana
1 greek yogurt
flaxseed
spinach

yum!

3.1 miles

62 degrees with 74% humidity

I went out at 605 am

3.10 miles - 27:28

8:58 mile 1
8:50 mile 2
8:40 mile 3
8:03 ( .10)

Slow and sluggish run. I felt tired, my knee was very sore - felt like I had to pop it. My knees have always 'cracked' when I kneel down so I am sure I will one day need knee surgery. Until then, i run

Saw lots of squirrels out scampering...and lots of dogs being walked, only one fellow runner with a water belt so 'I'm assuming he was running double digits. He lives around the block and I have heard from another neighbor he is a 'marathon' runner...but to some people  a 5k is a marathon, haha.

Short runs are done for the week, long run this weekend.

pandora - johnny cash (thought I had on my quick mix but not so, luckily it was only 3 miles, only so much cash I can run too )

Cod dinner .... thanks Joe!

I love trader joe's - i do! The prices are GREAT and the products are wonderful. Here's what I made for dinner tonight:
fish - is always fresh and most sold is wild caught and the prices are cheap!
Tonight's dinner(all ingredients bought from Joe's except my tomatoes)
Cod (wild from Alaska)
My girls love this dish -
Sprinkle with olive oil, top with olive tapenade, chopped up (from our garden) tomatoes, capers and a little salt and pepper, wrap up in foil and grill or bake until opaque - yum!
Balsamic Brown rice - I cook it in no sodium organic chicken stock, I also put in chopped up onions, carrots and celery when I put the rice in to add flavor
fresh organic broccoli, boiled until just tender and I top with a ton of fresh lemon and fresh Parmesan.
I make this once a week and we all enjoy it!

4 in the morn

A was up in our room at 500 am this morning. I told her it's too early to get up, so I took her back to her room, rocked her and went back to bed. At 550 I woke up and C said "go run", I checked on A and she was asleep (phew) so I geared up and ran. I passed the running group I totally forgot about, running the opposite direction - think I might try to join them once a week since I'm really liking running in the mornings. Anyhow, I had a good run. Wasn't trying to run fast or any speed work, just ran how I felt.

Weather was perfect again - 55

4 miles - 34.52

mile 1 - 9:12 ( was really sore, needed a good warm up)
mile 2 - 8:43
mile 3 - 8:35
miile 4 - 8:13 (didn't even feel like I was going fast, just having a good run)

My knee is still sore and my upper thighs were sore too - not sure why. I will rest tonight no strength. Wow my evening is free again tonight after kiddos bedtime - I'm liking this and it gives C more time for his biking/gym. I hope I can keep up these morning jogs!

pandora mix: death cab, erasure, pj, stones and  counting crows

3 miles in the am

I tried something new - went to bed early and got up early enough to run before C left for work! It was nice. I normally really enjoy my evening runs, but with the darkness coming quicker and bedtimes a little later, my evenings are so rushed. We will see, and it's nice to have the run out of the way leaving more room for strength workouts tonight.

3.01 miles - 25:42

8:42
8:26
8:26

57 degrees out - I love this weather. I dressed like I would in 80 degree weather and I do great. I work up such a sweat that I don't need long sleeves. I saw another runner bundled up and was thinking "isn't he hot??"

PB granola

I'm having a love affair with peanut butter. It's so good for you and there are so many different ways to enjoy it. Via tweeter I read the Shape maganize article of 10 healthy peanut butter recipes. Of course I'll be trying them all but right away I had to try the PB granola since I had all the ingrediants AND I love granola.
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter (I use Trader Joe's Valencia PB with sea salt)
2 tbps honey
tsp cinnamon
tsp vanilla extract
1 c. oats
Mix the pb and honey, microwave for 20 seconds until melted, and mix. Add in the cinnamon and vanilla then the oats until covered completely. Pour out on parchment paper lined on a cookie sheet. Bake at 325 for 7-8 mins. Looks like a great addition to yogurt or alone! yum!

10 miles - LR

3 week:s: (2 more long runs) left before the Half. At this point I'd like to have already ran a few 10/11 miles under my belt. But with my fall it's been off.

My knee still hurts. It probably needs a good month of rest. But I'm a runner and that isn't going to happen.

The weather was perfect! I started out around 7:30am - should have started at 7am. But it was great. I did not hydrate yesterday all that much and had beer and pizza (homemade) chips and guac for dinner. Plus made these amazing flourless pb and nutella cookies that I munched on. So yeah not the best running diet night before.

I took my handheld water and that was fine. I ran on an empty stomach. I find when I run in the mornings I don't like to eat before. At night I'm fine running after dinner. That's just me. I don't drink anything but water when I run - I have tried gels but seriously feel that it does nothing.

So here are my splits:

mile 1 - 9:15
mile 2 - 9:11
mile 3 - 8:54
mile 4 - 9:02
mile 5 - 8:56
mile 6 - 8:35
mile 7 - 8:41
mile 8 - 8:36
mile 9 - 8:35
mile 10 - 8:39

10.0 miles 9:04 pace (not bad, always feel great around mile 7)
Felt great beside my knee being sore. I should ice it and rest.

Corey had girl duty this morning and took them with for playground clean up. Gives me a chance to take a nice long shower and eat my breakfast:
Chocolate Cottage Cheese (1 tsp. honey and 1 tsp cocoa powder mixed with CC) and blueberries :)

Apollo 5k 2012

I pr'd for a 5k this past May. It was hot too - upper 80's and humid! Not my favorite. But I pushed and finished in 24:55. I placed 2nd in my age group

I'm hoping to kill this time one day. Cooler weather will do this ;)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

3 miles outside - in the dark

Seriously I don't remember training last summer in the dark for the Half. Maybe most of  my runs were inside on the mill...ugh! Last night I had to run outside, even though after the kids were in bed and I knew that there were only seconds of daylight left. I had to run OUTDOORS. So I chose a shorter run outside versus a longer run at the gym! Three nights in a row on the treadmill - no thanks!

Here's what I did:

mile 1 - 8:43
mile 2 - 8:59 ( was very tired)
mile 3 - 8:35 (wanted to get home, it was pitch black and my suburb does NOT have street lights)

3.02 miles - 26:32

Weather was fine, nice but humid. Ok run. Was glad it was over!
Had some wine before my run, not a lot of water. Maybe that's why. They say to train your body under harsh conditions. I m good at that. Only on longer runs than 7 miles will I bring water. I need to get better at hydrating before long runs. I like hydrating the day before and then as Hal Higdon recommends, stop hydrating before 2 hours of the race (or else you will have bathroom issues). I've done this for all races and knock on wood haven't had to stop to use (waste time) the bathroom.  I'd rather pee myself then stop and lose time.

3 & 4 mile INSIDE runs

The past two evenings it's been raining - totally not complaining but since it's been dark and wet, I opted for the treadmill to avoid falling again.

Monday night I did:
5 min warm up @ 6.5 - 9:13
then 7 intervals (60 seconds) @ 7.8 - 7:41
with 90 seconds recovery at 6.8 - 8:47

It felt great (I think the first interval was actually 7:50 but sped up after)
3 miles - 25:44 - 8:34 pace

Tuesday I did:
4.03 miles - 35:52 - 8:54 pace
I started at 6.5 for about a mile then sped up to 9, 8:54 then 8:41 - Decent run, my knee still isn't the best. I wanted to run 5 miles but didn't want to push myself.

9.1 miles - 1 months until Half

I wanted to do a 10 miler tonight. But, I didn't realize how quickly it gets dark out now! Is it already that close to fall (so excited) that the days are getting shorter? Just a few weeks ago sunset was 8:22...now it's closer to 8:00. This makes a huge difference in my long runs. Anyhow, I got a late start around 7:10. It was around 78 degrees but very humid (it had just rained so the air was thick). I started out slow and keep pretty even splits. I felt good, a little tired (I think this can be from running four straight days then not running for a week). Considering I hadn't run that far in over a week, I was pleased. I really wanted that 10 miler but will settle for the 9.

Diet today:

Breakfast (out with my grandpa)
coffee (cream and splenda)
omelet, provolone, sun dried tomatoes and avocado (yum)

Dinner (was too stuffed from breakfast)
lasagna (homemade by me)
salad
wine and water

I did drink lots of water today which was great, I felt hydrated during my run.

100:00:0000:08:2000:16:4000:25:0000:33:2000:41:4000:50:0000:58:2001:06:4001:15:0001:23:2005:0010:0015:0020:00600 ft700 ft800 ft900 ftPace (min/mi)Elevation (ft)

Summary			09:12
It was dark by mile 8 so I slowed a bit - I did not want to fall AGAIN!			Pace (avg)
1			09:20
2			09:07
3			09:07
4			09:03
5			09:04
6			09:04
7			09:07
8			09:16
9			09:30
10			08:01

3 miles

Forgot to post last night. It was around 8:00 when I ran - 85 and very humid. I felt tired. Despite eating good all day it was a long day and walking around a water park attested to that. So my splits were

8:46
8:55
8:43

Not bad after a long day.

eating

ok I admit, I don't eat good during the day. I skip breakfast but drink coffee. I snack at lunch then eat a good dinner. After my runs I usually snack and it isn't good. I feel like if I starve myself during the day then I am controlling my weight. But I find that when I run I don't feel as energenic as I should. I feel great burning calories and sometimes I find I don't want to eat when I run. But I will snack on sugary things. So today I decided to try to eat three meals and see how I felt during my run tonight.

I always feel that if I feel like i'm starving during the day it's a good thing..i'm not overeating and i'm not gaining weight. Then when I run I burn off those calories. Sounds great but then I snack at night. I'm not overweight by any stretch. I'm just fine but after my babies my tummy isn't a flat board and I can't help but obsess over other women's stomachs. I am fine with my body really, I just would love a flat stomach. Washboard I mean! I like to stay in the low 110's so my goal is to maintain weight but tone that belly!!!

Here is my day's log:

Breakfast:
3/4 c oatmeal with peaches and drizzle of honey
coffee

Lunch (picnic style since we were at water park all day)
pbj on whole wheat
half of a cheese stick
1./4 c of veggie sticks
water

Dinner:
BBQ slow cooker chicken
1/2 corn
1/2 c sweet potatoes

I need to start up my pilates and core workouts again. Running is great and I LOVE it, but I do need to incorporate those core workouts if I want that washboard stomach. UGH!

4 mile run - 5 weeks left of training for my half!

My knee is almost all better. It still looks a little swollen and is still sore and tender when I bend it. But I have to keep running because my Half Marathon is only 5 weeks away. And the body quickly becomes out of shape I believe. So tonight I ran 4 miles at 7:45 pm. It was a bit warmer than I thought but a little breezy so that helped. I was really tired tonight, legs were heavy - it was just a long day getting things in order from our vacation and restocking the house up with food and supplies, cleaning up the yard from the big storm, etc. The first 2 miles I felt very tired, but then by mile 3 I felt better and of course in the home stretch felt great. I realized I hadn't run over 2.7 miles in over a week. So for the most part I did pretty good for this run. Again, uphill felt fine, down hill and descents were a little painful.

my splits:
8:53
9:00
8:47
8:55

4.01 in 35:58 8:57 pace...and just two weeks ago I was running my 4 miles runs in 33 minutes!

Sucks not running

My injury was worse than I thought. I had to opt out of the 10k in Coloma on Saturday. I thought I'd be better. But Saturday morning my knee was still swollen, wounds not yet scabbing and it still gave out when I tried to run.

This was my first week not running in 17 months! Mentally and physically I've been all out of whack. I need to run to stay sane!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

On the road again....2.7

I went for my first run today in a week. It hurt. Uphill felt ok, downhill hurt more. I didn't push but ran 2.7 in 23:23 so not bad. I had a fear I'd come back running 10+ miles per minute and all my speed work would go out the window. But it seemed ok. Ill try to go longer tomorrow. It sure felt great to run again. Love running around the summer house and the pretty lakes.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone