Post race day

Yesterday was hot! I hope you all stayed hydrated and still enjoyed the weather. After the Firecracker 4 miler I could feel  muscle soreness in my right leg, and I knew it wasn't the same as the pain I had before therapy so I believe it definitely was soreness from not having run that far in so long. Anyway, I made sure to rest it by swimming in a pool and taking 2 aleve. It felt much better after the Aleve, so it gives me hope that I really am on the path to healing.
The race wasn't my best, (I did walk up the hill at mile 2) but I am relieved to make it through the race pain free. Gives me hope that I will be able to do half marathons again! After the race I was able to talk to a super awesome lady and hopefully a friend and she offered to do speed work with me (something I have been contemplating just never knew how to go about it). So, hopefully that will help me break my 30 minute time for my 5k and help me improve running overall.  I am hoping to get back to where I left off, and also do better on at least one of my half marathons this year. I really want to know what I can do without pain. I am also going to be smart, and only do the 10% rule  when it comes to increasing my distance, and I am going to still go to the gym and do the workouts they gave me at physical therapy, hopefully be able to do something like cross fit and improve my overall fitness.

Sorry for the rambling. There will be pictures later that my mom took yesterday of the babe, but for now, try to enjoy Thursday, it looks like it will be a warm one again.

Taking back..

I need to take back my me time. I keep giving it away and I need to take it back. No, mom, this isn't directed at you. I love spending my mornings with Nana, besides, sometimes she says the best things! I need to stop letting other people tell me what to do, how to spend my time, and generally make me feel like crap. I think I have gained 8 pounds since I stopped running, and quite frankly that makes me really sad. Not sad like fall into a depression, but sad none the less. I was hoping to be bathing suit ready this summer, doesn't look like that is going to happen. I just have a little while longer to hang in on 3-11 and I will if it kills me. If it means I have to go to bed sooner, to take back my me time, then so be it. I MISS running...I MISS working out. Yes, I did just say that. Yesterday, I ran a 5k. I thought it was HARD. IMPOSSIBLE even. I felt like my half marathon was easier. Maybe that is just it. Maybe I am not meant for sprinting (is a 5K even consider a sprint). I tried to run without music, that was a bust. I tried to enjoy the moment..I did until the first hill. I don't like feeling like I have given up, yesterday I feel like I did. I am not training for anything right now, so running is no longer a priority. I need to change that...I WANT to change that. So, I am taking my me time back. Starting tomorrow...I am going for an early morning run, followed by a massage. I think that is a great way to take my me time back. Hopefully, things are on an up swing. Hopefully this low that I am feeling with my IT band will pass because I love running...I love how it makes me feel, and I LOVE how it helped me lose 57#. I only have 41 more I want to lose...I CAN DO THIS!!

First race of 2012!

Today, is my first race of 2012. I am sure it won't be my first (well, I know since 1/2 marathon training starts tomorrow) and I am excited to see what 2012 has in store for me. I know it has been a while since I have written. This week has been crazy. The hubs and I have been looking for our next place to live (the lease was ending on our current rental and the space was just not big enough) and this awesome new place was opening. They gave us an offer we couldn't refuse. So, on Wednesday, we moved. My father helped the hubs all day, since I had to work. We are mostly now in our new place, with some of our stuff still at the old place. We go back and forth to move the stuff. Hopefully, soon we will have all of our stuff here. There are some boxes left, and hopefully soon they too will be disappearing. Between the move, school, being a mom and running, there hasn't been much time for anything else. I promise, a new month, I will do my best to get on here some more. Anyway, last night, in honor of my race today, I decided that I wanted to carb load. Well, as you may or may not recall, I am also on a quest to get healthier and lose some weight. I am down 45 pounds so far since May, with my first goal of 50# weight loss knocking on my door. Anyway that is a story for another day. Well, I wanted the carbs, and not the calories, so I tried this Hungry-girl recipe for Fettuccine with Clam sauce. You can get the recipe here. Let me just say, that I didn't know what to expect of tofu, but actually, it was good. To me to tasted like clams, and with only 181 calories and 20 grams of Carbs, it was something I would definitely try again. The hubs, not so much. I had to make him his version with the "normal" noodles.
On this Superbowl Sunday, may the team you want to win-win.  May you feel the love of God, and if you are racing the Superbowl 10K today, may you find the strength to get up all those hills! Have a great day!