The Cowtown 10K

Trying to put the feelings going through my head right now into words is difficult. I have so many all at once. Today I ran my first official 10K. I have only run more than 5 miles twice. So I wasn't sure how well I would do. I knew I would finish, that wasn't the question. I wasn't sure if I would finish running or walking. I am happy to report that I was running to the end. 

I was super excited as they started releasing the runners. I couldn't get the smile off of my face. That is so weird to me. I never wanted to run until a year and eight months ago. Something just changed inside of me. I became a runner. 

I knew I wanted to keep an even pace as I ran, but taking advantage of the downhill portions as best I could and when I felt a little extra energy. I did not push myself too hard. I have learned that if I do that it forces me to walk. That was NOT my goal this morning. I wanted to run as much of the race as I could without stopping unless I had to. And I didn't want to walk any of it other than through the water stations, since I prefer to drink my water instead of wear it.

There were four water stations spread out over the 6.2 miles. I skipped the first one. I did not slow my pace until we were right around the corner from mile 3. I did that only so I could drink a small cup of water. I walked through three water stations and I stopped three times to stretch my calves. It helped me to keep going and not walk. My feet did great until after I had crossed the mile 5 marker. Then they started bothering me. But I kept going. The last time I stretched my legs and my feet it didn't help my feet as much as I would have liked.

I know that will be my biggest challenge as I increase my distance for the Half in August. I am going to have to take it slowly and add just a quarter mile a week until I reach that 13 miles. I will increase my weight training so that I can get stronger and build muscle at the same time that I increase my distance.

My last mile was the slowest but still a good time. My tracker says I finished it in 1 hour and 22 minutes. That is amazing to me! I usually take a little bit longer, probably five minutes or so longer. Once I got over the finish line and stopped running my excitement returned two fold. I DID IT. I really did it. And I did it in record time, for me. 

I have signed up for a couple of 5K's, one in March and one in April but I am going to be working on training for the Half during this time. My goal is to run three days a week. Tuesdays - 4 miles. Thursdays - 5 miles and Saturday or Sunday depending on when I can run - 6 miles plus .25 of a mile more each week. I know that will take a long time to build up to 13.1 miles but I have until August 2 to accomplish it. I also plan to do weight/strength training three days a week; Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. I also want to have one day that I will be doing stretching and rolling exercises to stay limber and help prevent injury. That will be whatever day is my off day, Saturday or Sunday. I will add a walk on that day, when possible. 

My eating is something I need to keep working on. Doing more running and more weights is going to cause me to become even more hungry. So I need to feed my body healthy things that will keep me strong and not make me gain weight, only muscle. I can't wait to see the progress I will make by the beginning of summer and beyond. I just have to keep my mind focused and not get off track. 

I hope you have set some goals for yourself. We all need to be more active and eat better. It isn't as hard as we make it. One step at a time. One day at a time. You can do it!

Changing my life one day at a time. 

Hot Chocolate 5K 2014

Saturday I ran my eighth 5K. Last year this race was my very first one. I think I will call it my "anniversary" 5K. I plan to run it every year. My son and I went to pick up my packet on Friday. The hoodie was wonderful and warm. It even has thumb holes in the sleeves, a real plus since the weather has been so cold lately. The colors are GREAT, too. I like it a lot better than the one from last year. This one has a zipper and that helps the hood to stay on your head instead of fall off. Last years was just a pull over and the hood would never stay on my head.

The Hot Chocolate 5K was held in Dallas at Fair Park, again. Thankfully, the traffic wasn't as bad as it was last year. Sadly, the exits were closed off again this year so we had to find a different way into the designated parking area. We didn't arrive at 6 a.m. like they suggested. That is just too early to get everyone up and stand out there, plus I think the traffic may be worse the earlier you are since they tell you to be there at that time? We arrived a little after 7. The walk from the parking lot to the starting line was a good 15 minutes. I had to make a stop at the port-a-potty before getting in line to run. Thankfully they had a lot of them and the lines weren't too bad. But I managed to get in the line where my group was despite the fact that they had already let a few of the groups go by then.

It was 32 degrees and foggy. It was misting a little the whole race. I managed to keep my pace even the entire time and actually ran the whole time. I did not have to slow down or walk. I am super excited about that. This is my first 5K that I have been able to do it. That is progress. As I ran across the finish line I raised my arms and just shouted. I couldn't help it. It was such a victory for me.

After the race I got my finisher's mug filled with yummy goodies. It had hot chocolate, a spot with chocolate fondue for dipping, a banana, a marshmallow, small bag of pretzels, a wafer cookie and a rice crispy treat, all to dip in the chocolate. Yummy. I ate the banana dipped in chocolate but gave the other goodies to my daughter since she had been sitting in the cold with no food in her tummy while I ran. I did not sit around like many to eat. My family had been out in the cold long enough. They were there for me before the sun was up and it was very cold, like I said. We went to IHOP and had some pancakes and get out of the cold. I tried to wait awhile to lay down, hoping that I could get a nap in but was not able to fall asleep at 2 even though I laid there for almost an hour and a half. Around 5, I was able to lay down and get a couple of hours sleep. I ate something and then went back to bed. I slept all night. I can never nap after a race. I am too wound up from the excitement, I suppose. 

My next race is in two weeks. It is my Cowtown 10K. I am super excited about it. I have one 5K in March and one 5K in April. I am planning on signing up for a Half the end of April. I can't even tell you how exciting and scary that is to me. I begin training for the Half next week.

Changing my life one day at a time.

Recovery Is Important

Exercise is important but if you forget the recovery then you will injure yourself and become unable to exercise at all. I want to talk about recovery because it is going to take a lot of work for me to keep training harder to run longer distances. But with more work comes more effort I need to put in on the recovery process. The fact that my foot is having problems showed me I needed to take some time and effort to fix it quickly so that I could get out there and run again sooner. I purchased two products this week to aid me in this, a n 18" foam roller and a hot/cold foot roller. The foam roller came with a 15 minute muscle massage routine DVD. I am going to try out that video tomorrow on my rest day. 

I ran three days this week. Sadly, I didn't run last week except on the treadmill and elliptical, which in my mind really don't count as running but do count as exercise. I did some strength training but not as much as I need to. I ran two days at our park for five miles each. Today, I was supposed to have a 7.5 mile run. I was doing pretty well until I got to four miles. We went to a new park to run because it was a longer track and it has inclines. It also has a lot of downhill slopes that were very hard on my toes. It pushed my feet down into the tops of my shoes and caused shooting pain through my toes and the tops of my feet. I managed to get them to stop hurting for a short time and run another mile but in the end I only ran a little more than 5 miles. My teenage son hurt himself riding his new penny board and was in a lot of pain, too, so I used that as an excuse to stop and come home instead of running for another 45 minutes it would take to finish the 7.5 miles. 

The incline is going to be a great help in training for our half marathon in August, there will be three miles of incline. But the slopes...ouch. It is my hope that over time I can build up my strength so that the slopes won't bother my toes anymore. If not, I will have to turn around when I get to those parts of the path instead of going all the way around the park. I am going to do my long runs each week out there on Saturdays. During the week I will keep running close to home. 

When I got home from my run I had a fabulous bath in my jet tub. I spent two hours in the tub and it was so relaxing. I used the jets to massage every part of my feet including my ankles. I think that is going to be a weekly routine to help aid my recovery process since my long runs will be on the weekend. I am glad I figured out that it would be so beneficial. I will still use the foot roller. I am putting my feet up on pillows for a while in bed each night, too. After my bath I scrubbed the dead skin off my heals and put some extra emollient night cream on them and covered them with socks for the night. I massaged it into my feet to give them even more attention. 

I love my new shoes. They felt great until the slopes started taking their toll. We will see how my feet do on Monday when there is just a normal trail to run on. It has been a very good week. I am hoping for many more weeks like this one. 

Changing my life one day at a time.

New Running Shoes

Today was a first for me. I went to The Runner store and got fitted for running shoes. If you have never done this and you are a runner, I would suggest you put aside some money each week and then go buy you a really good pair of running shoes. I have read a lot of articles and talked to a lot of runners and they tell me the same thing; the type of shoe you run in matters. 

When I went in he had me roll up my pant leg half way to my knee and take off my shoes. I stood in front of him while he looked at my stance. Then I turned around and he looked at my stance from the back. He determined that I have a very low arch and I tend to over compensate by landing the wrong way on my foot. That is why my foot hurts on the side. He brought out four different shoes that help correct my problem. They have a support on the inside of my foot so that I will land more on the center of my foot. He also told me I needed a bigger shoe than what I measure for because your foot swells when you run. I have never purchased a size 9 before but it feels pretty good on. He also showed me how to tie the shoe in a runners bow. It helps the shoe to feel tighter around the back instead of slipping. 

I can't wait to run in them this afternoon. I have a long run planned, it is a training run, so I am looking forward to seeing how the shoe feels during that run. The weather is supposed to be wonderful this afternoon. It will be great to get out and get some sunshine and exercise. I am going to save up and buy another pair of shoes in a couple of months so I can trade them out instead of only having one shoe to run in. I have read that it is good to do that. It helps your shoes last longer and then you aren't having to rush and buy new shoes when they wear out. A friend has a brand of shoe she really loves but this store didn't carry, Newtons. I am going to try those shoes next. Then I can see which shoe I like the best. 

Going to spend the early afternoon with my family and then get ready for an awesome run later today. Hope you are going to spend your Saturday doing something fun, too. Yes, running to me is fun. There is nothing quite like the rush I get when I am getting close to finishing my goal and after I finish it. 

Changing my life one day at a time. 

Running Takes Work

It's true. I won't lie. Running takes work. A lot of work. It is hard. Don't let anyone try to tell you running is easy. It isn't. But think about it. The things that are the most worth while and rewarding take the most work. I have managed to LET myself NOT run off and on the past year and a half out of laziness and negative self talk. Despite the fact that I saw awesome results from running, I quit over and over. No more! My husband says he can't figure out why people quit doing what is working, why they give up. It is the metal talk that goes on inside their heads. It is bumps in the road that get us off track and it takes metal strength to get back on track. I feel that I have gained my metal strength back these last few weeks because of my time with the Lord each morning, I have been doing that since October. I am openly seeking HIS strength to do the things in my life that I need to do. It has made such a difference in my days and in my attitude. And my success. The picture isn't very glamorous, but I had just come in from running five miles and the sun went down so the air got colder. I'm OK with not looking glamorous. I am a runner. There are times to be a runner and look like a runner and then there are times to dress up. I am proud to be a runner and look like I just came in from a run in the cold winter air. Becoming a runner was one of the best things I ever did for myself. 

I feel like I am back on track because I can actually RUN the majority of my run instead of having to walk to slow my heart rate. When I am not running regularly I can't run the whole way like I can when I run on a regular basis. I build up my heart and my lungs by running more than once a week. This week I ran two 5 mile runs, so far. The first one I had to walk for short periods of time during the first three miles and then ran the last two miles. Today when I ran I didn't have to walk at all. I did walk down a slope each of the five times I went that way, which was only about 6 seconds of my time. I say "so far" because I have a scheduled training run tomorrow for 7.5 miles. 

I have mentioned it before, but during my runs I listen to contemporary Christian music and spend the time talking to the Lord or just singing to him in my heart to the music. I also spend the time encouraging myself along the way. I tell myself how great I'm doing, how far I have run, how far I have left, etc. I use the Nike+ app and it tells me how much farther I have to go. Sometimes it is easier to think about how far you have to go as it gets lower than to think of the big number. 

For me the mental battle to run and exercise is such a big one. I have fed myself lies since I was a teenager that I could not run. I sure blew that out of the water, didn't I? But each day that I get up I have to have a plan. I have to know ahead of time what type of exercise I am going to do. That sets it in my head and keeps me dedicated and accountable to myself. I have a goal to get healthier. Not just to lose weight, but yes, losing weight is something I really want to do. I know it will make me a better runner and my health will be better when I have less fat on my body. 

One thing I need to make sure I am doing is my strength training. I do that at home, on my own. So that takes planning and metal preparation, too. I see many great tips online for workouts. I just have to put them into practice. I do a full body workout two or three times a week. It is easier for me to get in two or three weight training workouts than to try to do two upper body and two lower body weekly. On the weekends I write down what my workouts will be for the week. Doing that has really helped me. 

Something new has been bothering me this week, the side of my foot starts hurting after a run. I purchased a hot/cold foot roller the other day and it really helps. I also purchased a foam roller to help roll out the muscles that get tight from my running and other types of exercise. Both good investments for a runner, I believe. My shoes are over a year and a half old so they aren't working like they should. I paid under $50 for them because I wasn't sure at the time just how much of a runner I would be. I know now that I am dedicated to running and can't wait to run more and more the rest of my life. I want to run half marathons and full marathons and who knows what other crazy running adventures I will attempt. But I am looking forward to the challenge of beating my best with each new race. I am looking forward to seeing the changes in my body that will show the strength I am gaining through the training I will be doing on a daily basis. It is my goal to continue to keep my body and mind strong as long as I am alive. My first step in that direction will be tomorrow when I go to the runners store and buy a REAL pair of running shoes that will make my feet feel great when I run. I am super excited. 

If you haven't set your fitness goals for the new week, do it now. Make a plan and then stick to it. You will feel so accomplished at the end of the week when you can look in the mirror and tell yourself "You did it. Way to go." You can do it. I believe in you. Take it one day at a time and do something. Get moving. Make a healthy food choice. Just take the steps forward to a healthier you. 

Changing my life one day at a time. 

Healthy Food Choices

On my search for healthy foods, I have been lucky to find some things that taste good and are good for you. I want to share those with you as I find them. Today I broke my fast, I did a three day cleanse, with a healthy meal before my workout. I had a piece of toast with peanut butter and jelly on it plus a banana. 

The bread I have found is wonderful. It is a local company called Heartland Bread Company. They have different types of bread and we have tried all of them. The one I had today was Grandma's Perfect White. The ingredients are so like what I use to make bread, simple. It has untreated, unbleached wheat flour, water, pure cane sugar, salt and yeast. That's it! I have searched for a store bought bread that didn't have extra ingredients in it for the past 10 years or more. I found this on at my Tom Thumb store. They have signs under products that are local, like this one. I buy three or four loaves and freeze all of them but the one we are eating. They don't have preservatives so they won't keep like the other breads that are full of things we shouldn't eat. My kids love it.

The peanut butter is Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter Creamy. It contains peanuts and less than 1% salt. I don't have to put it in the refrigerator but I do have to stir it. I am OK with having to do that since it tastes good and is better for me. I love to eat it on toast. 

I just found this jelly, Smucker's Natural Strawberry Fruit Spread. NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. YAY! It contains strawberries, sugar, fruit pectin and citric acid. It tastes really good and it comes in four flavors, strawberry, grape, raspberry and orange. I love the strawberry but I am sure the other flavors taste good, too. 

I can't wait to share more healthy products with you. I post some healthy recipes on my other blog. I just posted my bread recipe. I have made rolls with that recipe, too. 

Changing my life one day at a time.

Angelmom's White Bread

Angelmom's White Bread

Ingredients

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2/3 cup white sugar (organic)
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 cup coconut oil (soften first)
6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (organic)

Directions
In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.

Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface (or in your very large bowl.) Place in a well oiled bowl and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Rising in a warm oven (turned off) works best.

Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes and divide in half. Shape into loaves and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. I bake it at 325 degrees instead for a softer texture. I use loaf stones (instead of glass) to avoid burning the bottom on the loaves.

I have also made this recipe for rolls. I cooked it at the same lower temp and it cooked the same amount of time. I used a muffin stone for it. I don't like burnt bread or cookies.

Also, if you have a Kitchen Aid mixer use the wire whip attachment to mix the flour into the other ingredients. Then use the dough hook to knead the dough. I love my mixer. It makes baking so much easier and more fun.

Until next time...blessings to you.