Mar 6/7 workouts

Mar 6: 7 miles (1:15:21 avg pace 10:46)  * in my old 2009s*  PLUS 25 x 4 sets push ups....
This run felt good. I kept the pace slow to ease any discomfort on that bone and it was fine the whole time! YAY!

Getting ready to start the run at dark o' thirty...

Beautiful trail 1/2 way thru my run...

upon which I saw this beautiful, totally unblemished apple. Weird. No I didnt pick it up and eat it though the idea DID cross my mind a time or two...

Lovely sunrise!

Headed over to the pond and someone was out feeding the ducks from their balcony...

Several ducks were sweeping in front and behind me to come get their share of the grub so I had to be extra vigilant so I didnt get T-boned!

More of the gorgeous God-painted picture....LOVE mornings like this

7 miles DONE and thrilled that my foot felt fine!

March 7: 4 miles (43:46-10:54 avg pace).... *wore my NEW 2009s*... also did 3 sets of planks (1:40-1:30-1:20)
This was quite a disappointment after yesterday's awesome run.  I decided to wear my new shoes since I hadn't worn them in over a week and my foot bone felt pretty good yesterday.
Well.
So I put on the shoes and was getting ready to head out the door and from the GET-GO, I knew I wasnt going to be able to run without the gloves. So I shove it in and head out. About 10 steps out the door, my RIGHT foot bone starts to hurt (I really wish I knew the name of this bone so you would know what I was talking about!!). So before I even started my run, I had to shove a glove in THAT shoe as well!! They both bugged me for the first 15 min of the run, but after that, they were fine. 

Anyway, here I am, needing to get in 15 miles this weekend for my long run and wondering what I should dress my feet with...Praying the Lord will give me guidance in this as I'm liable to just run in my flip flops and hope for the best!
=)

Anyway, enough of that. How about we talk food for a minute?  Here's some of what I've been shoveling in the ol pie hole this week...



There is an omelet with cheese wrapped up in that ham, with broccoli and cheese and some grapes on the side. Totally hits the spot and is only around 300-350 calories.

Green pepper slices and sun-dried tomato basil spread.

This spread was not only yummy with sliced raw veggies but was great on crackers, as a chip dip and in sandwiches.  Yum yum.

Homemade veggie soup ready to start a-cookin'! Trying to remember what I put in here...bag of frozen veggies (carrots/cauliflower/broccoli), sliced carrots, can of collard greens, an onion, a head of garlic, zucchini and celery. 

A cup is around 50 calories. It's a perfect lunch along side 1/2 a small sandwich (on lovely Ezekiel bread) and 1/2 an apple.

Not the healthiest dinner (below) but it sure was yummy!! I've discovered instead of dressing, I can mix a little dry ranch mix in with cottage cheese and top my salad with it and its just as yummy as regular ranch. Sometimes I sprinkle a little extra garlic salt on top to up the awesomeness.
I also made garlic bread on brat rolls (smear with a little butter, top with a little mozzarella and a sprinkle of garlic salt and then bake for 5 min at 400*. Then I topped it with meaty spaghetti sauce and a little more cheese (can you EVER have too much cheese?  Yeah. I didnt think so).

Its suppose to rain all day tomorrow and then a mix of snow/rain most of the day Sunday, so I THINK I may have to do my 15 miles on the *gulp*, TREADMILL!!!  Will I survive?  Stay tuned....

Feb 27/28 runs, Mar 2 long run and 'GU REVIEW'

Feb 27 Wed: 7 mi outdoor run in my 2009s (avg pace around 10:20)...25 x 4 set push ups....I wore my old 2009s for this run. They bugged me on my (slow) walk down my hill and then for the first 15 min or so of the run. After that, they were fine but my foot was a bit sore the rest of that day. I ran this run a bit speedier than I normally would have (for having a foot issue) as it was my little man's birthday and I wanted to be sure to be home when we got up =)
Feb 28 Thurs: 4mi run on the 'mill 2%  incline for the first mile, 1% incline for the rest of the run (42:40).....3 set of planks (2:10, 2:00, 1:50)...I decided to run this in my OLD OLD shoes (2010s) as the foot box is a little different and puts no pressure on that cheeky little bone =)  Started nice and slow (5.1) and upped the pace from there every so often

MARCH 2 Saturday: 11.1 mi run (1:54:56-avg pace of 10:21)




I was excited to get out there for this run for a few reasons:
#1: it was a lovely morning (cold, but lovely)
#2: long runs are my FAVORITE (think Will Ferrell)
#3: I've been busy eating loads of THIS after my son's birthday:

Strawberry and vanilla ice cream and just a WEEEE bit of my crock-pot Hot Fudge Sundae cake = Happy Mouth, but the need for some SERIOUS calorie burn soon after.

Got my 20# of clothes and gear ready, including some sustenance:

*Vanilla Bean 'Gu' (review further down), a small pack of peanut M&Ms and pretzels, and of course a few tissues (a necessary item for a run of ANY length for me. I think my nose hairs shut down while I'm running...*shrug*)

Starting out under a beautiful sky...(* and my old old shoes-2009s-as I want to give my fussy foot bone a break from the 2010s)

I had meant to stop and refuel 4.5 miles in but I guess I was too busy jammin' to Ice Ice Baby to notice my watch. Oops!

Gu 'Vanilla Bean' review

 Now, I normally wouldn't fuel for a run under 13-14 miles but I have a few different gels I want to try out, so I plan to utilize any run over 10 miles for that purpose.  (I know this one says 'promotional sample'. I got it during a race last September but never used it)  =)
I liked this flavor, too! So far, Gu is 2 for 2.  Way to go, Gu.  It tasted like vanilla caramel and went down the ol 'pie hole just fine. Took 1/2 the packet with about 3 oz of water and stored the rest away for later...other flavors I have bought but haven't tried: mandarin orange, tri-berry, and strawberry banana-yum!

I headed over to the lake for the next 4 ish miles of  my run...

It's hard to see in this picture, but there is a group of people at the FAAAAR end of the trail which happened to be a friend of mine and 2 of her buddies.  I couldn't pass up the invite to run with them so I flipped around and did that for about 3 miles (going faster during that time than I had for the beginning portion of my run-had wanted to keep this run around 10:45 avg pace).
A bit after leaving their company, I stopped for the 2nd 1/2 of the Gu packet

 

I debated on taking it or not. I knew I didnt NEED it, and I knew that I would be fine with this flavor if its what was offered at the race, but the weird thing I've discovered about the 2 Gu's I've tried is that about 30-40 min after taking the first 1/2 of the packet, I start to actually FEEL hungry-like my stomach growls. Is that weird? Never happened w/ the PowerBar gel I used...doesn't really bother me, just something I noticed....

Very sad about leaving the lake....or I was just looking into the sun.
Or both.

The trail that led me home...

Greeted back into the neighborhood by these friendly pooches!

I'm on tap for 15 miles this upcoming weekend. I am OVER the moon excited about it. I just hope my shoe (and foot) situation is back to where it should be!

Fri/Sun/Mon workouts and Gu 'Chocolate Outrage' review

Feb 22 Friday......4 total miles on the 'mill (and  25 x 4 sets push ups)
     2.5 mi 1% incline in my old shoes (27:20)
     2 mi 1% incline in my new shoes (20:35)

Feb 24 Sunday.....14 mi run outside (!!) 10:53 avg pace (old shoes)

Feb 25 Monday...elliptical 10 minutes (2 mi) and 20 x 4 sets push ups
     super slow and easy 1.5 mi run on the 'mill 1% incline (17:30)....**wore my new shoes but had to shove the glove into the left shoe again....  =(


So, I ran 14 miles this weekend!!!!
It was a great run. I debated on what to do as far as shoes, but I decided on my old ones and just ran SUPER slow the first few miles (high 11s). I was able to pick up the pace EVER so slightly the last 1/2 of  the run but I wanted to keep the whole run pretty slow just to be sure to protect my left foot as much as possible.  Pre-run I ate 1/2 a banana with a nice dollop of PB (roughly 25 min before I started my run)

*getting ready to hit 'start' on the watch!*  6:45 am is a blissful time to start a run

I ran a bit around my neighborhood and got over to a local lake at mile 5. I stopped at this point to re-fuel....
**this is a picture of the trail leading to the lake**


Gu 'Chocolate Outrage' review:



This was my first time to try the Gu line. I actually really liked it!  It reminds me a lot of the PowerBar gel I tried last weekend (you can read about that HERE: http://fitgirlwannabe.blogspot.com/2013/02/feb-17-13-miles-and-powergel-review.html )
It tasted fudge-like but didnt really have the 'caramel' type taste with it that the PowerBar gel did, and really no after taste. I took 1/2 of the package with 4 oz of water

 

*THE LAKE!*

At mile 10 I stopped to take the other 1/2 of the Gu packet. I like that its slightly chilly (from it being 20* outside) but I wonder how it would taste and what the consistency would be like in slightly warmer temp)...? 

*Feeling pepped up from the sugar shot!*

Still cant believe I did 14 miles!! And I really felt like I could have kept going much longer. I think the snail-like pace had something to do with that. 

My daughter took this of me when I got home. I love how their jaws hit the floor when I tell them I ran anything over 2 miles =)  They are easy to impress.
Somebody asked about my fuel belt and how I carry my Gu...
Below I have on my Spi-Belt (the pink thing-thats what I carry my camera in), under that, the gray thing, is my fuel belt. I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/Nathan-10-Ounce-Nutrition-Flasks-Medium/dp/B000KBD9QQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361822671&sr=8-1&keywords=nathan+speed+2

I have a little pouch (I think it used to be a camera bag of sorts) that I slide on to my fuel belt and that will hold a good amt of stuff (I had 2 gels and some peanut M&Ms and pretzels in there as well as some tissue)

It has served me quite well so far for my longer runs. I store a lot of stuff in my jacket pockets too.
If you want something smaller, just for gels, there is always this option:
http://www.amazon.com/FuelBelt-Gel-Ready-Race-Number/dp/B002OM65OC/ref=pd_sim_sg_6

However, I'm not about minimalism as much as I should be when it comes to running 'shtuff'...my first summer running, it was SO hot out that I actually wore a huge fanny pack with a baggie of ice in it to suck on!  President and founder of the 'How-to-Look-Like-a-Dork-while-Running' Club right here!
    

Feb 21 Chunky run

Calling this morning's workout a 'Chunky Run' is by no means a negative thing! I was just SO thankful to be able to run! After Sundays shoe-tastrophy, I didn't know if I would be able to run at all this week, but after a lot of prayer, this morning HAPPENED =)

FEB 21 Thursday workout, all on the 'mill 1% incline, broken up into chunks....
  1 mi in my old old shoes
  2 mi in my old shoes
  2.5 mi in my new shoes (which didnt bite my left food today! YAY!)
Followed it up with 3 set of planks (1:40 each)

I was super cautious with my run this morning. I wanted to avoid any pain in my left foot so I actually started this run in my OLD shoes (2010s that I cycled out last summer and demoted to just 'cross training' shoes)...did a VERY slow mile in those...then got off and switched to my current-but-ready-to-be-retired 2009s for 2 miles....then got off and switched to my new-but-sometimes-grouchy 2009s for 2.5 miles.
Here's what the line up looked like for this morning

I'm glad I'm able to run again. I need to get ahead of the calories as I just had THESE delivered to me yesterday...

Yes, a collective 'Uh oh' would be quite appropriate. I have the self control of a spring-time Grizzly when it comes to those sweet bits 'o heaven. Do they make peanut butter pattie flavored Gu? Cuz I'd be all over that like white on rice.

I've got a 14 miler on the plan for this weekend which will be my longest run yet!  BUT, we just got a whole mess of this today...

Doesn't look too bad there, but that was only about an hour in. Now we've got roughly 7 or so inches and it's still coming down and will continue thru the night! I am SO not a snow runner. I feel like I've got Fraken-feet when I have to run thru even an INCH of snow. Seven + inches would DOOM me.

SO, it looks like it might be the 'mill for me this weekend. The longest I've done on there is 7 miles so the thought of doing double that leaves me feeling a little intimidated and twitchy....
I'm trying to pick which fuel I want to try for this weekends long run...
Here is my little 'fuel drawer'...

POSSIBLE MARATHON FUEL:
Cliff Bloks, Hammer Gel, Sharkies (found them at Wal-Mart!), Clif Gel, Gu, banana blueberry Gerber graduates (perhaps I better try that one on a 'mill run-might be a little embarrassing to pull that out mid-run in the middle of town! Got a good amt of carbs/potassium and a little sodium) and dried apricots.

Here is one of my new favorite breakfast:

I make a 1 egg omelet and put cheese on it when its done and let it sit in the pan so the cheese gets nice and melty. Then I roll it up, put a little salt on it and roll it up in a piece of deli turkey meat or deli ham. And then eat it with a piece of fruit (apple, banana, blueberries etc).  Sweet and salty is a great combo to start the day!  =)

Feb 17-13 miles! And PowerGel review



Feb 17: 13 mi run (10:19 avg pace)

Started out around 6:40...23* out

 



 

Love the morning sunrise...this is just leaving our subdivision....

*At the end of the first mile. Bring it on, long run!

POWERGEL REVIEW:
So, this was my first time to ever try a 'gel'. I was nervous as I wanted the gel to be a one-way ticket type of food item. Had no clue what it would do to my innards...

Anyway. It was fairly easy to open. The size wasnt too big either so I was able to put it into my 'pouch' that I loop onto my Nathan Hydration belt (I'll have to take a picture of it sometime and post it).  I took 1/2 of the pouch at mile 4.5 with 4oz of water and then stuck it back in its baggie and put it in the pouch.  I really do feel like I had a little more pep in my step about a mile later. Could have been the car that zoomed by me outta nowhere going mach 9 though. *shrug*

I actually sorta liked the flavor too. It WAS chocoate though and you really cant go wrong with chocolate (though it would have been 9 kinds of better if they could have incorporated nuts somehow....).  The taste reminded me of fudge mixed with caramel. There was a teeny bit of funky after taste but it didnt last long.

Here I am at mile 10 when I took the last 1/2 of the gel.  Drank 4 oz of water again. My neck gaiter and hat seem to be closing the deal on eating my face. Weird.

I ran around this pond close to my house. I love how it looks like I'm wearing a long skirt in my shadow.  I'm not THAT awesome.

There were quite a few ducks! These ones behind me were all sleeping and I was like, Native-American-wearing-swaggy-moccasins kind of quiet so as not to disturb their slumber (I got 5 kids people, I'm the queen of keep-the-kids-sleeping)...

**big bullyish geese out on the pond. Probably throwing gang signs at me or something. They're not a friendly bunch....

As you can see, I wasnt quiet enough going thru the group and they popped up and starting waddling away...and apparently turned radio-active at the same time.  Remind me not to go swimming in that water....

Here's what I had to do to complete this run. If you read my last post, you'll know these are my old shoes that are supposed to be celebrating their retirement. But my left foot is still scared of my new shoes so I wore these.  A few miles in it become VERY clear that I wasnt going to be able to complete the mileage without some assistance so I had to whip off one of my gloves and shove it in my shoe again. There has to be a classier way to do this right?  I had to stop and readjust the glove a time or 5...

Here's what it looked like on the inside.  And yep, those fingers were flopping everywhere during my run just adding another flavor to my varieties of crazysauce

I was super bummed that I couldnt run with my buddies this morning (they did an awesome 14 miles out on one of  my favorite trails).  Hoping to get a run in with them in the next few weeks (we're due for a big snowstorm this week, so I hear). Rumor has it hat Jim Cantore from the weather channel is actually planning to be in our area for this storm!  Guess I better make sure to tie a rope to the barn and put Bessie in her stall (and buy lots of s'mores ingredients)...Bring it on, Mr Blizzard! This girl's ready for you!