Lesson learned ...

Okay, so drum roll ... I didn't run 8 miles last night. But, I learned a VALUABLE lesson. One called, eating 1 hour before a run is NOT enough time!

So, I ate a nice healthy dinner (home made stir fry with rice) and planned to eat exactly one hour before we would run. My long runs have been on Saturday mornings and I always had a piece of PB toast and 1/2 a banana 30 minutes before the run and had good results ... so I thought one hour ahead for dinner would be ample. Well, dinner must take longer to digest. I got about 2 1/2 miles into the run and started getting horrible waves of nausea. I had no choice but to stop and walk. Robin, was feeling pretty sore and had no problem stopping with me. I thought a short walk would help me, but it didn't get better, in fact it got worse. It wasn't the flu kind of nauseous ... but still no piece of cake. My friend Triscia, who got me into this, started the run with us. She told me that for her, she gives at least two hours before running to have a meal (unless it's small like the toast before a morning run). So, I will now take that under advisement and never make THAT mistake again!

I feel okay about it. I had pangs of disappointment, but ultimately, I know that I need to listen to my body, and it was beyond my control to run those eight miles. I know that if I had not been nauseous, I would have gotten the run in. And I know, I did the best that I could to prepare for the run ... sometimes we just have to learn lessons the hard way!

So, Robin and I are planning to do another 4 or 5 mile run on Wednesday and then go for 8-9 on Saturday.

4/28 - 4.5 miles (ran 2.5, walked 2) Porter Rockwell Trail

Gearing up for 8

Okay, it's 6:18pm ... I am leaving at 6:30 to run 8 miles. I have been in my head about this for the last few hours (with doubts) and I have come here to leave those doubts and discouraging thoughts behind. I am going to the trail with confidence, strength and energy. My body is properly fueled and ready to go. I CAN do this and and WILL do this.

Getting back in the groove

So I wend for my first run since vacation last night. We did 4 miles. I honestly can't say that I didn't feel the last week of bad foods, too much inactivity, etc. In fact, I was dying for the first two miles. It didn't help that we had some major up hill inclines during that time. As bad as the start was, the last 1.5-2 miles just got better and better.

I need to go to the grocery store and stock up on more fresh fruits and veggies. I also want to make some more bread. I hated feeling so bogged down by the junk in my system!

4/23/08 - 4 miles (neighborhood - hilly) Ran most of it except for the steepest hill

Back from vacation!

So, we got back Tuesday night from Canada. It was fun, but a LOT of driving! The wedding was beautiful and the bride was stunning. The music came together like I couldn't have imagined (I played the violin). Besides having one of our brand new tires blow out (grrrr) and then getting pulled over by two cops (they were just checking things out) the road trip was fairly uneventful. Here are some pictures from the wedding:

This is Clare's mother helping her get ready ...


The church was beautiful ...


Morgan and Clare Player ...


These pictures are from the farm that Clare grew up on, what fun pictures!









Clare's parents own a chocolate company called, "Milsean Chocolate." She made the scrumptious cake (yes, it tasted as good as it looks!)

I don't know why, but half of the pictures seem to be getting cut off. They show up fine in preview mode, but hmmm ... weird. You get the gist of it!

Homemade Wheat Bread

My friend, Catherine, sent an email asking for the recipe I use to make bread. I found the same recipe online (I didn't want to type it up if I didn't have to!) ...

Foolproof Wheat Bread

I do the large batch in my Bosch machine and make about 5 loaves (not the six it says). I brush a little butter over the top of each loaf after I take them out of the pans. When the bread is lukewarm (not hot), I slice each loaf and put them in bags. Putting it in the bags slightly warm creates just a bit of condensation that keep the bread so soft (but not yucky soggy!) I freeze all but one loaf. It is definitely yummy, soft, scrumptious wheat bread!

Four Miler Monday!

So, I'm getting ready to go out of town this week to my cousin's wedding up in Vancouver, B.C. So, instead of doing Tues/Thurs weekday runs, I'm doing Mon/Wed. I know that last Monday, I was NOT up for running ... still recovering from the Saturday long run. So, while I was a bit sluggish getting up, (hello ... it IS 5:35 am!) it was totally doable. It started to get bright a little earlier than usual and was just the right temperature.

It's amazing the battle that goes on in the mind. I can't imagine not doing this with a running partner. We talk through the walls. And the most amazing thing happened, as we were finishing the last lap, I thought we had one more to go. When Robin told me we were done, I was ecstatic! I could have cried, I was so happy!!! I can definitely see glimpses of being able to just run, without thinking about how far I'm going or when I am going to stop.

4/14/08 - 4 miles (track)

~ 6 miles!!! ~

We did 6 miles on the Porter Rockwell Trail this morning and I actually ran it all! I have to say, getting started is really the hardest for me. It takes a good mile and a half to get the rhythm, breath and body to work. By mile 3 I was ready to take a little walk, but Robyn was determined to get to 4 without walking then we zoomed past 4 and she was ready to walk at mile 5. I was feeling great to run the last mile, after all the worst was over! The last 1/2 mile was pretty tough but we did it and even sprinted to the car! What an amazing feeling to finish so strong. Such a difference in comparing to the long run last week.

4/12/08 - 6 miles (hilly trail)

4 miles? Piece of cake!

Well, maybe not exactly, but I DID run 4 miles this morning, and I'm NOT about to die! Robyn and I went on our own to the track this morning, since we are slower that the others and don't have the same time constraints. We wanted to run 4, but were also knowing we needed to listen to our bodies so we don't overdo it. So, the alarm goes off at 5:25 am, and I think there is NO way I'm getting up, but I did. I'm so sluggish getting going when I don't get enough sleep (note to self: GO TO BED EARLY!!!) so it started out really slow. Before we knew it we had already run 2.5 miles. We walked one lap and then ran the rest of the way. What an amazing feeling to run for that long (about an hour or so ... like I said we are SLOW runners!) and not feel like we were going to keel over!

4/10/08 - 4 miles (track) walked .25 of it

This is for yesterday, actually ...

Yesterday I ran with Robin around the track. She and I run at the same pace (most people could probably walk faster than we run!) so that works out nicely. It was pretty hard to get going, but got better as we went on. I had hoped to do 4 miles, but it didn't happen. My shins have been bugging me and I didn't want to injure myself. I am getting bugged because I have yet to lose one pound. In fact, I put on a couple of pounds. So, I'm keeping track of my food again over at fitday.com, since this helps me stay more accountable. I am not restricting necessarily, but going for a balanced diet under 2200 calories with more complex carbs and fresh fruits and veggies. Less sugar and refined stuff. How's that for a plan?!?! I'm sure the weight will work out at some point, and I really don't want to focus on that. It's really about being healthy.

4/9/08 - 2.5 miles (walked just over .25 of it)

Now for the mindless ramblings

So I have been taking this seminar called "Self Expression and Leadership" course. I actually took it for myself in the fall completing it in January (it's a four month course) and am now in it again as a coach. I get to coach four extraordinary people. So now on Thursday nights I am there from 6pm until about 11pm, with three Saturdays that run from 8:30 am until about 11:30 pm. I was really hesitant to take it on, since it's a big time commitment and I was already feeling like I didn't have enough time. Well, I am so glad I did. It has been an amazing roller coaster. For me to be a powerful coach with the people on my team, it means that I have to deal with my crap (grin) so that I can really be there for them. Surprisingly it has actually allowed me to do more of the things that I want to do (like get up at 5:45am to run!) Here's just some of the things that I've accomplished that have been on my "to-do" list for ages:

• I'm making wheat bread (from wheat that I grind) again ... and the kids actually like it!
• I cleaned out the unfinished bathroom downstairs (it had many boxes and MISC junk) and made it a cute space to keep the toys for the kids
• I'm exercising again (duh!)
• My sisters and I have started a business and have lots of creative energy going in that area (we have talked for YEARS about doing this!)
• We're having people over to the house. Okay not that we never had people over, but we are getting to know people in our new neighborhood ... stepping outside of our comfort zone which is being the first to approach, not waiting for the invitation.
  

The other thing that has been big for me is being able to work through things when I am feeling upset or trials in my life. It's breaking things down in a way that helps me see things I never would/could have seen before. I have really seen this show up in my relationship with Taylor and with the kids. It's not like things are perfect now, but I have so much more patience and understanding.

Well, I actually have to run, but I did want to start to get some of these thoughts onto paper (blog?)

Hit 5 miles today!

Okay, so I have been continuing my training but have not been journaling here. I think I need to make a renewed effort so that I can find the right balance of diet and length to optimize my training. Here's the stats that are from memory:

5/20/08 - 2 miles (ran it all) neighborhood (thought I was going to die going up the hills, but felt great the rest of the time)
5/24/08 - 2 miles (ran it all) Track (felt great!)
5/25/08 - 2.5 miles (ran it all) track (felt pretty good, but was tired)
5/27/08 - 2.5 miles (ran it all) track (felt great!)
4/1/08 - 3 miles (ran it all!) track (felt great, even like I could do more)
4/3/08 - 3.25 miles (ran it all and that .25 makes a difference!) track (felt good, but really tuckered out for the last 2-3 laps, started getting sore in pelvic bone and started running the opposite direction for those laps)
4/5/08 - 5.? miles (ran most, but had to walk some) neighborhood (I started out very slow and my legs felt like lead. It eased up as we went further. Was a big mental battle.)

My friend, Trisha, was telling me that there are certain foods that if she eats the night before a run, she really struggles the next day. So, I am going to keep track of any meals before the run now:

4/4/08 - Dinner - Penne noodles w/ alfredo sauce from Olive Garden, fresh fruit (pineapple, grapes, cantelope, honeydew), a few carrots. I may have had a muffin and some milk later on, can't quite remember!
4/5/08 - I piece of wheat bread w/ PB & cup of tropical fresh fruit smoothie/drink 40 minutes before run