Honestly???

I am so over training for this Marathon. I want my Saturday's back and I want to sleep in instead of worrying about getting 10 miles in before 6:30 on weekday mornings! I think this will most likely be my first and last marathon.

All that said, I am committed to doing it. Most importantly because I am doing it for Team World Vision and I really believe in the cause. I have committed to getting kids sponsored in Kenya. To this point I have 3 kids that need sponsored. I have had no success at getting anyone to commit to providing for these kids. It is a $35/month commitment. World Vision does all the hard work you just have to sign the checks. You get to even hear from the kids and you are essentially saving them. Any takers? I am not asking you to do something I am not committed to doing myself. I am sponsoring a little girl named Mary from Kenya. If you are interested I can get you more details!

Vegan?

So I am reading The Kind Diet and really considering taking the challenge to become completely vegan. I have been flirting with this idea for quite a while now. We do try to eat only antibiotic and hormone free meat but I do think I still feel sluggish quite a bit and my skin doesn't look tip top. So maybe it is time to give up meat, dairy, and white sugar for good.

Are any of you other runners vegan? How has it affected your running? How has it affected your general health? If you have children do they follow vegan diets? Thoughts are much appreciated!

Sweaty Saturday

I was supposed to run 12 miles Saturday. I woke up at 6:15 AM and really felt like I could easily keep sleeping. However, I knew a bunch of runners running for Team World Vision would be meeting at the Y at 7 so obviously I should go, because there is Power in People!

I got there and ran faster than normal thanks to a 65 year old man who pushed me for 5 miles. I had very mixed emotions about running with him. Loved the company and getting to know someone and hear their story through running was exciting. Depressed that he was 40 years older than me and I thought he was trying to kill me. I was anxious knowing he only planned to run 5-6 miles for that point in our run to come so I could slow down! Yet, worried if I could finish the last half alone.

So after 5 miles he left and I took a quick water/potty break. I ran the rest of the 7 and felt pretty good and wanted to go ahead and run another 1.1 to see if I'd be close to my mini time. It wasn't record breaking but I did beat it by 3 minutes and I felt great. I really felt like I could have done 15 miles, but I didn't want to kill myself. After I was done I was dripping! My shorts felt like wet swim trunks just sticking to me. I really thought that passerby's had to think I was standing there peeing on myself. Which I was NOT! All in all I give myself an A for effort and thought the day was successful!

Food Friday

I have been loving grilling the most wonderful Indiana bounty lately. My two latest creations are the portabella burger (pictured) and grilled eggplant parm.

I marinated the portabella burger in worcestershire, olive oil, balsamic and spike seasoning. Grilled for 6 min. each side and topped with provolone, basil, roasted red pepper chutney, and a toasty bun. Delicious!

What has been your favorite summer meal?

Back from Vaca

I loved our beach vacation! It was so relaxing and like all vacations ended to quickly. I did actually get out there and run my 10 miles on Sunday. It was nice to have a new running scene. I have been running now for about 8 months and am really getting sick of the same old houses, streets, dogs, etc.

I also learned that southern Florida running feels much different than Indiana running. I was drinking way more water and was just dripping. I could have wrung out my shorts! I'm not sure if being so hot or the ocean salt water did something to my muscles or what, but I was actually less sore the day after than I am here on much shorter distances! That was nice.

I feel like between running (not as much as I needed to to) and swimming/body surfing, I should have maintained my weight. Turns out that wasn't the case. I guess all the eating out didn't help! Ryan and I ate some amazing meals. I gained 3.5 lbs. I am actually not that upset. I assume getting back in the routine will allow me to take it off pretty quickly. It was also a good reminder that this has to continue to be a lifestyle for me!

Last night I did a 7 mile run by myself (my mom /running partner got hurt) with new tunes it was a nice change. I also used my first GU not a huge fan of the texture. Flavor was okay. I did feel like it helped me finish strong, but that could have been mental. Ryan refilled my bottles after mile 5 that was nice and made me feel loved to be able to swing by the house and hand them off. I also got totally spooked last night. I ran down a road I shouldn't have in the country and had a deer run out in front of me. I was just positive a coyote was going to eat my head, a skunk was going to spray, the deer was going to come back for me, or a snake was going to come back for me. I think I ran that mile in nearly half the time it typically takes. I wasn't working on intervals either! I also forgot about a dog that sits in its front yard (it was dark) and he scared the crap out of me. He is a yellow lab but is probably the size of me so when I was running by and saw him dart out of no where I thought for sure my jaw would never come unlocked and my toenail would surely fall off from tensing up and digging it into the ground! YIKES!!!

Fallen Toenail

I ran 8 last Saturday and it was great! When I think of all the land I covered I actually can't believe it was only 8 miles. It felt great though and I felt like I could have done more miles if I would have needed to.

Unfortunately, my feet were really hurting that evening! Then my toenail on my recently pedicured feet fell off!!! YUCK! Luckily there is a toenail of sorts under there so I guess I will slap some polish on it and now worry about the nasty little booger.

I am getting ready to go to FL for a little over a week! I am really excited for a relaxing vacation and sandy beach runs. Hopefully I control my eating. I have been eating like crazy lately all the wrong stuff, particularly sweets which I don't typically even crave.

I am supposed to run 10 miles Sat. However, I will be in the car for my 20 hour trip so I plan on running it first thing Sunday. I am hoping that it will feel great after being couped up for a full day prior!

Happy Tuesday from the Cage

I had one of those mornings in my bodyfit class where I felt energized and excited about how far I have come with my strength. Things that used to seem impossible are now no problem at all. I am really hoping all the time I am devoting toward strength and core will pay off in Chicago!

I have been struggling a little with my arches being very painful like tight balls. I've heard doing more calve stretches may help so I will try to be a better stretcher. I did rub a my foot on a tennis ball and that did seem to help a little this morning. Are you a good stretcher? Any Advice? I am not, I seem to always rush through a couple stretches after my run and then feel the need to hit the shower quickly before work.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a hot one in my neck of the woods. So I am going to shoot for a very early run. We'll see how I do when the alarm clock chirps!