9 seconds

Wednesday the 20th : Since it was rainy, Kale and I skipped our usual run. Instead, I got home, and because I couldn't help it, I went for one quick mile. My mile was 9 seconds shorter than my last! Again, this is only based on one mile, but it still feels good. After that, I headed over to a yoga class at the Yoga Room which is a little over an hour. I definitely got an amazing workout and was sore the next day.

Thursday the 21st: I wanted to try another mile again and since it was starting to get dark after I got home from class, one mile was exactly what I did. Funny thing is, I cut another 9 seconds off that mile! That would make it a 10:38 mile, which isn't amazing but a huge improvement. Since I am starting to get into that freakish, addictive workout mode, I came inside and did my Wii Zumba video.

Friday the 22nd- Today we had a new friend join us on our run and we bumped it up to 3.5 miles. We did great! It felt good to start the weekend off like this and I am confident we are on a good stride right now.

Sunday the 24th- After a weekend of too much food and drinks, I managed to do an afternoon run. The sun felt so good on my shoulders and because Redlands isn't nearly as hilly as Yucaipa, I managed to do 3.6 miles at 11:47 a mile, with plenty of energy left over.

Wednesday the 27th- Today Kale and I bumped it up to 4 miles and it was everything but easy. We tried a route where we went downhill first before going uphill. I think this may have made it more difficult because I was so out of energy and out of breath for about half of it. I should have known it would be difficult because I was tired going into it and I had a kind of off day as far as schedules go. When we finished and I saw we had managed an 11:53 minute mile, I knew we had pushed ourselves harder than I had anticipated. The good thing is that we made it but the scary thing is that we are trying another 4 miles tomorrow. Tomorrow we will tackle that uphill portion first and see how that goes.

Miles to date: 47.28 miles

Hills and Hills and Hills... Oh My!

Saturday's run went really well but it was hard as hell. It was all hill, all the time. Yucaipa is full of them. How you are able to run a circle where it seems you are just going uphill the whole time, is beyond me. It's like an episode of the Twilight Zone or a Shel Silverstein poem. Even with all the hills though, Kale and I were able to finish not only running the entire thing but finishing with about an 11 minute mile, average. I am more than ok with this since we just started again a couple weeks ago. After the run, Nicholas and I went home and had a great day which consisted of relaxing, homework, lunch, bowling, and hanging with friends. I would like to point out on this public blog that I was pretty much a professional at bowling. Ok, maybe not a professional but a 138 score is the best score I have gotten since grade school. Ego boost!

Beyond happy to be done.

Today, Kale and I took advantage of our day off work (yay President's Day!) and woke up early and went on another run. This one started off difficult because 1. I was still sore from hill day; 2. I was even MORE sore because we decided to try and dig up the jungle that is my backyard the day prior; and 3. It was damn early to be getting off on my day off. I got to Kale's house around 8am and we set out on a slightly longer run (trying 3.5 miles this week), along with her brother, Matt. I felt good after I got home as I sat on the couch eating cereal and drinking a very large cup of coffee, feeling all the aches in my thighs. I love the idea of starting my day off with a run and only wish it was something I could do every day. However, since I work at 6am, trying to run before then would require a gallon of coffee and night vision goggles. 


Miles to date: 34.17

Love is in the Air

My friend Kale and I have gotten into a routine where we are running Mondays and Wednesdays. Each time we do our loop in Yucaipa, we are able to do just a little more. Last Monday, we completed 2.75 miles straight. Today, we did the same thing but made it a total of 3 miles. This Saturday we have our 5k in Yucaipa and I am confident I will be able to run the whole thing. I am really glad that I am getting back into this and will soon be where I was before. The little improvements I am seeing each time keeps me motivated.

Also, I have been wanting to put up some of the recipes that I have tried from Pinterest or other sites. One of my recent favorites that I have made twice now is a warm lettuce wrap. I made a couple revisions to what the recipe called for but this is what I ended with:

Warm Chicken Lettuce Wraps

• 2 pears
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small head radicchio
• 2 small shallots
• 1 red onion
• 2 large carrots cut into matchsticks (I buy them already cut because it’s just easier)
• 2-3 cups of shredded chicken or turkey (depending on how much you want)
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 4 teaspoons Dijon
• 6 tablespoons sherry vinegar

First I poach the chicken, shred it and set it aside.

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the pears until they brown just a little. Then remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Heat up the onion, shallots, dijon, and sherry, in the pan for a couple minutes. Add the radicchio (coarsely chopped), along with the carrots and chicken.

Lastly add the pepper and pears back into the mixture.

I serve mine on butter lettuce or romaine (romaine is cheaper) and top with gorgonzola crumbles. I recently tried avocado on top as well and that was delicious. The bitterness of the radicchio, sweetness of the pears, and the tangy-ness of the cheese make them such an interesting and fun meal! This whole recipe serves me lunch all week long and I never get sick of it!

*The recipe also calls for walnuts and fennel and ¼ teaspoon of salt. I leave these things out, but those who like it could easily add them as well.

I thought I would also share what I did for my boyfriend for Valentine’s day. I made him a man-bouquet (pictured below) with miniature alcohol bottles and beef jerky, served in a beer mug. It didn't come out nearly as crafty as I had envisioned, but I am sure he will like it nonetheless. I also made him some chocolate sugar cookies that came out really well! With half of them, I tried an orange cream (orange zest, heavy cream, cream cheese, powdered sugar) sandwiched in between them and the other half, I decorated with royal frosting. I hope he likes it!

 Miles to date: 25.78

Hungover and Tired

Trying to get your butt up and run after a night of drinking is difficult but almost needed more than on a non-hungover day. It helps me push past the icky-ness and feel like a real human again. Nicholas was kind enough to join me this morning and although our run was very slow and kind of short (2.2 miles), it was still a run and I feel a lot better having had done it.

I am looking forward to the weather getting a little warmer and not having these rainstorms every couple weeks. Yesterday was pouring, and even snowing in some neighboring towns. Because of this, I skipped my run and did an hour of Zumba in my living room instead. My Wii reminded me that I hadn't done Zumba since November (thanks, Wii). It's nice to know that even my game systems keep me in check. After doing my ridiculous Zumba moves, I did a 5 minute ab workout. I could feel the workouts I had been doing these past couple weeks on my body by about 6pm last night. This morning, I could feel it even more. Walking up the stairs, I feel the burn in my ass from running and squats. Re-positioning in bed, I can feel the soreness in my arms from the weights I have done. I love it. All of it. I love that the reason I am in pain is because my body is getting stronger and I have done this to myself. I did some weights for my back and arms after our short run this morning, so I am sure to feel that by tonight as well.

On Thursday after class, I had wanted to squeeze in a quick one mile run before eating dinner and getting ready for bed. I did increments of 45 seconds of my standard running pace, followed by 15 seconds of a sprinting pace. It was exhausting, but I managed to do a 10:55 mile! That may not seem that fast, but it is the fastest mile I have done in a very long time and being able to do that only a week back into it, makes me pretty darn proud of myself.

Now I am off to enjoy a beautiful Saturday with my amazing man, visit some family this afternoon, and then spend some time with great friends tonight. Good day, all!

Miles to date: 22.2.

Sometimes it's just plain hard.

The end of 2012 proved difficult as far as eating habits go. The beginning of 2013 proved difficult because of this damn cold that did not want to leave my body. I was sick of feeling like a blubber face and (more importantly) my clothes fitting way too tight. Although I couldn't work out, I knew eating healthy would help alleviate some of these problems. I started watching what I was eating again and being very strict during the week and letting myself indulge a little on the weekends. It worked a little. My clothes are starting to fit better, but I am still not allowing myself to step a foot on the scale. I have a love/hate relationship with that scale. Well, more like 5% love, 95% hate, but still...All of this is fine and dandy except for one huge factor: I COULD NOT WORK OUT. 

There is nothing more frustrating to me than wanting so badly to get in shape and continue my running, than to have my body completely betray me. I fought the cold as much as possible: eating healthy, drinking orange juice, taking vitamins, cold medication, sleeping a lot. After about 2 weeks or so, I thought I was starting to feel a little better, so I figured I could work out some. It started off by me trying a couple runs here and there. They were only a couple miles each but very difficult. It was incredibly hard for me to breathe and my nose just wouldn't stop running. Then I tried a yoga class. I was doing fine until about 45 minutes into it. I started to feel dizzy and thought I would pass out right there in the studio! I positioned myself in child's pose for the remainder of the class and went straight home after. I chalked it up to my body still trying to recover (although it was clearly giving me warning signs to completely stop). Then that Sunday, Nicholas and I took a hike. It was a relatively easy hike in Yucaipa and we walked 3 miles, ran 3 miles. The second we were done, I knew I had pushed myself too far. I felt like crap from the moment we returned home and then the coughing began... This continued on for another 2 weeks. I knew better this time not to push myself, so I haven't worked out. I have just been waiting for my body to decide to be nice again. Well this week I am feeling like myself again. The cough lingers a little, as does the runny nose, but minimal compared to what it was. That, and I have a lot of my energy back. Which brings me to my running goals:

This is going to be my year. I am saying it now. I do not normally make New Years resolutions but I thought this one was fun and was shared with me by a friend last year. I am going to run 365 miles this year. A mile for every day. Now obviously I will not be running one mile every day but a couple miles at a time, multiple days a week, should do it. I ran on Monday this week and again today. So far this year (due to my hiatus), I have accomplished 17 miles. I am confident I will reach my goal this year. Another big goal I have is to complete a half marathon by the end of the year. 

Needless to say, I have a lot of runs I am planning on doing and can't wait to do all of them. The soreness I have felt this week from running has been such a motivating, amazing feeling. I am feeling like myself again, which is completely uplifting. The tentative schedule thus far is:

Mesa View Middle School 5k next Saturday (already signed up)
Angels Baseball 5k at the end of March
Run through Redlands 10k in April
Survivor Mud Run in Sept- 9 miles (already signed up)
Rock 'n Roll half marathon in November (mere days before my birthday!)

*Due to budgetary reasons, I couldn't sign up for all of these at once, but I will be signing up for the Angels run soon. 

I hope to keep track of my goals here now that I am actually able to exercise and meet those goals :P I hope to try and record some healthy recipes that I try as well. Tonight, for example, I made skinny chicken enchiladas and they were delicious! Pics to come soon...