Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Ode to the Monster

The Green Monster that is! I have been whipping these up in my Magic Bullet after my workouts, and I cannot get enough!

1 full banana - I like mine frozen
1 large handful [2 cups-ish] Spinach. Yep. I even buy the bag kind.
1 1/4 c. Vanilla Almond Milk
Splash of Flax Oil [Omega 3s, optional]
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein powder. [optional]

Blend well. Add Ice. Blend well, again.
I swear, you cannot taste the spinach. All you can taste is Vanilla Bananas. And it is so, so good.
Would I ever lead you wrong?! NO!

Need a name...REVISED

I would really like to re-name my blog...something easier to repeat and type that is catchy and well....me! Any suggestions?!

ETA: What do you think of Gimme3miles.blogspot.com? It is a play on Gimme 3 Steps and also since I started with 3 miles as my first race...Its all I came up with so far =P

Also---hang tight, I have Dawson's eye appt results drafted up and ready to go, we are just waiting on the pics!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Race Recap-10/09/10

 Friday night I spent all night puttering around, keeping myself busy, and trying not to think about the fact of needing to get up in the morning and bust out 3 miles. I went grocery shopping and tail-gated for my high schools homecoming game. I even walked Dawson down to the parade, that he slept through. That kid, I swear! I finally fell out about 11p.

My alarm went off at 6:30 and I swear to God I jumped 5 feet in the air and was across my room and down the stairs in 5 seconds flat. I already had the adrenaline kick in at 6a. What was I going to do until race time. R and I got up and around and were out the door by 7. A personal record, not to be shadowed by the fact that I had laid all my stuff out the night before like I used to do before the first day of school. (True story, I used to LOVE school)

I went and picked up my packet and then took D to the in-laws for breakfast. R and D were going to stay with FIL, while I ran and then meet me at the finish line. Finally at 8:15a, I left to walk to the starting line.
So excited! Whoop! "Whoa! I have a bib!"

Bib# 572 baby!

Cousin was kind enough to come down and take pics and just be there for overall support, and she was with me no more than 30 seconds and knew I was just nervous. I had energy running though every limb and ounce of my body, and I just was antsy. She was great about keeping my spirits up, reminding me of my goals and why I was out there. Of course the committee was running about 10 mins behind so we did a lot of waiting.

Finally, the airhorn went off and I burst in to tears. Haha. I had planned it so my ipod was ready to start the minute the horn went off. I just was so filled with accomplishment already that I over-flowed. Seeing her there cheering for me, and taking my picture and hearing my song playing was just to much. I started out way to fast (which I was warned about) and was struggling so hard to keep a straight face and go forward, I knew I was wasting energy. I had to work on keeping myself on pace.

This is blurry, but the back of my shirt says "We Need a Cure"
About 3 minutes into it, we were coming up to the backside of my in-laws street and there is this dude standing there. He had on jeans and a hoodie, hat and sunglasses and had a camera. All he was doing was standing, watching the runners and waiting it out. I seriously remember thinking "dude, creeper!!" And then he picked up his camera and took my picture. It was R! HAH! Somehow I not only forgot what he was wearing, but I was so into what I was doing, I didn't even realize it was my husband. Whoopsie daisy!

I could already feel my lungs burning not even half a mile into it, and I knew I was pushing to hard. I wasn't going to make it, so I spent the rest of the race gambling with myself. Okay make it to that sign and you can walk. Okay at that drive-way we are running again. I was bummed at having to walk some, I was hoping I would be able to get through the whole thing and I felt like I walked more than I usually have to in practice. And then I got to the 1 mile mark and looked at my watch; 12.33. WHAT?! Trust me when I say I am usually a 15:00 pluser here people. I think I have blogged before that my best time was 47 minutes and change, so my goal for the race was 45 mins. Mile 2 I was still only at 27 minutes. That last mile was work though, my legs were burning and it was heating up, I knew I should have ditched my under-armor when the guys told me too. Ah well. The next thing I know, there is the 3 mile sign and I picked up pace a little bit.

I loved how they had the race set up, it was scenic and beautiful and I knew the WHOLE route like the back of my hand. Cake. But they had us turning a corner at like 3.02 miles or something, so seeing that finish line and those flags was so moving. And then I heard my FIL yelling and the clapping and my cousin whoop-whooping and I took off like a bat outta H-E-double hockey sticks. I wanted to be done but I could see that clock at it was only at 39 and change. Granted a very late change. but still 39!!

There was this lady in front of me that passed me about the 3rd mile and she was doing so well. But I felt so bad for her because as soon as I seen that clock I TOOK off and ran around her, just wanting to beat her. Whoops. Competitive much?! LOL I might as well just elbowed her out of the way for as fast as I was moving around her.
You can see the lady I blazed by on the right here.

So happy, with myself and to be done!

I crossed at somewhere between 40:55 and 41 mins. I took 6 minutes off of my personal best and over 4 minutes off my goal. Like, I said I was bummed I had to walk but that just gives me something to work on and for know I am just enjoying my time. 41 WHOOP WHOOP!

Next Race....13 days!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

2 more days!

I had a rough run today, followed by a lackluster night of Zumba. Oh goody, way to go out with a bang.

On my lunch I wanted to get in 25 mins of straight run time, and I just could not get there. I couldn't catch my breath and my whole body was sore. It just is really getting me down on the whole running thing. I feel like I am not getting any better and am going to totally flop this race this weekend. My lovely attitude carried over to Zumba tonight and while I was able to get some great stretching in, thats about it. I just could.not.get.there. GRR I hate those days.

Thankfully, I am a blogger. I am really getting into some Health & Fitness blogs, as well as dabbling in some clean eating blogs. Like always, my H&F (as well as an amazing peptalk from a co-worker) was able to lift my spirits a little tonight.

Stephanie heard this at spin tonight...

"It doesn't matter who has higher resistance. It doesn't matter who spins the fastest. It doesn't matter who has the fanciest gear. What matters is who has the heart to keep doing it."

Steph followed with "SO TRUE! SO VERY TRUE. Outside of spin, it just relates to everything, particularly fitness related goals. It doesn't matter if it takes you 2 years to lose 20 pounds when your friend lost it in a month. It doesn't matter if it takes you two hours to run a 5k when that speed-demon neighbor did it in 20 minutes. What matters is if we each keep going and tugging along at our own pace."

But for real, is that not a great kick in the pants or what? In the end, we will have all ran 3.1 miles, and who cares if I took 45 minutes to do it, other than me.

I am running Saturday FOR ME. And well, because Cancer Sucks!

Off to make my playlist!

**PS. I would like to add, that since June 24th I have ran 80.74 miles. Oh-Flippen-YEAH! That in itself, is making me a little pumped. I love it!!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Weight Loss Wednesday

197.6. (Total Loss 17.2lbs)

Race day is 3 days away. We start at 9am, and I am really hoping to run it in less than 45mins. My best time in practice was 47mins, so I just need my adrenaline to help me shave off 2 measly minutes. I of course, am also hoping to be able to run the whole thing. I have decided that if I can do that, Sunday I am getting a mani & pedi =) That is great motivation. You know, on top of the whole running a 5k thing.

I am taking a rest night tonight, and have a mini run tomorrow. Rest/Tail gate party for my High School's Homecoming on Friday and then off to the race on Saturday!! I have got to get my play list all ready to go, and it will definitely include this;


Maybe I'm a dreamer
Maybe I'm misunderstood
Maybe you're not seeing the side of me you should
Maybe I'm crazy
(Maybe I'm crazy)
Maybe I'm the only one
(Maybe I'm the only one)
Maybe I'm just out of touch
Maybe I've just had enough

Maybe it's time to change
And leave it all behind
I've never been one to walk alone
I've always been scared to try
So why does it feel so wrong
To reach for something more
To wanna live a better life
What am I waiting for?
'Cause nothing stays the same
Maybe it's time to change


Maybe it's hopeless
(Maybe it's hopeless)
Maybe I should just give up
(Maybe I should just give up)
What if I can't trust myself?
What if I just need some help?

Maybe it's time to change
And leave it all behind
I've never been one to walk alone
I've always been scared to try
So why does it feel so wrong
To reach for something more
To wanna live a better life
What am I waiting for?
'Cause nothing stays the same
Maybe it's time to change


And maybe it's time to change
And leave it all behind
I've never been one to walk alone
I've always been scared to try

And maybe it's time to change
And leave it all behind
I've never been one to walk alone
I've always been scared to try
So why does it feel so wrong
To reach for something more
To wanna live a better life

What am I waiting for?

'Cause nothing stays the same
Maybe it's time to change
'Cause nothing stays the same
Maybe it's time to change


Maybe-By the Sick Puppies. I am loving it, to me it is encouraging and motivating and has a good beat. It reminds me of the Biggest Loser theme song a little bit, and what better to keep my butt moving than Jillian Michaels?! My Health and Fitness forum was discussing motivation yesterday (This is a VERY big weekend for a lot of runners) and some great quotes came out;

"Faint, puke, die or Keep Walking" -Jillian, season 10. A great reminder that your BODY will do what it can, and will tell you when it can't. Other than that, it is all mental.

"Why CHOOSE Failure, when SUCCESS is an option? -Jillian, Losing it with Jillian season 1. Quitting is always a choice. You never regret the exercises/runs that you do, you almost always regret the ones that you don't!!

I am all about the motivation this week, so give it to me Readers!! And a huge Whoop Whoop and GOOD LUCK to all of the 10-10-10 Marathon Runners! You got this!

Monday, October 4, 2010