When you make plans...

Well hello there! It is a fabulous Tuesday morning here in Charleston. I've been super busy moving, organizing the new place, and working a lot of overtime to make up for the fact that I'm leaving for Colorado on Thursday! I'm pretty excited about the trip, not gonna lie.

So here I sit, sippin' my green juice (I really need to start posting about my raw + food combining adventures , because it's going well...maybe after WWR) and I realized I had this post just waiting in drafts for y'all. So while I get to working I figured I would post this up. Don't worry, I know I still owe you a Part II of my Charleston mini-tour, and it's coming...patience my dears, is a virtue ;)

In running news, I ran a fantastic 12 miles with the team on Sunday. I wasn't going to go, seeing as we had been out the night before for drinks + dinner with Shannon and her boy at Crave and had stayed up until after 1 AM. But when the alarm clock went off at 5:45 I somehow popped right up out of bed!

We ran 1 mile intervals with a 1 minute walk break in between, and let me tell you, it was one of the best long runs I have ever had! We were managing between 8:30 and 9:30 pace while running! So our average pace came out to 10:02 for the entire 12 miles! If I can keep that up for the marathon I will be sitting pretty.

I've been learning that this time around, I do better when I just go...no worries, no planning, no serious must-stick-to-this training plans, hell I haven't even been running with an iPod in over two months! (They're all broke, boo.) And you know what? I'm lovin' it :) Guess that's a little bit off of my plan I set for myself back in May, huh?

It just goes to show that when you make plans, God (or whomever you believe makes the rules of the universe) laughs at them!
***

I was tagged a while back from Cynthia (a fellow WWR'er) in this 7 Traits thing and am just now getting around to it. Gonna try to make this 7 things you don't already know about me...

1. I am OCD. It's mostly a paranoia that my apartment is going to burn down. I check my stove like 10 times before I go to bed to make sure it is turned off. I also once had Matt drive 45 minutes back home after we were out for my birthday to check and see if I had left the iron on. Luckily (or not), I had. He is extremely sweet for putting up with me :)

2. I drive a 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse. The hood is a slightly different shade of red than the rest of it, and there's a story behind that. It's old but it's paid for baby! And it's nice that my gas is only about $30 a month. My first car was a Mercedes though, I start out classy and then downgrade apparently.

3. I'm a less severe version of a hypochondriac yet I refuse to take any medicine (including Advil or whatever) or go to the doctor. (Unless its the dentist, eye doc or the gyno.) I always think I have a blood clot or a heart condition or something else completely unlikely.

4. My parents divorced when I was in 4th grade. It was pretty bad until I left for college. My mom has since re-married and divorced + is cougarrific, and my dad has never remarried. I think he likes the bachelor life.

5. I starred as Cinderella in a community theater musical in high school! It rocked. Especially when I *surprise* slipped the Prince tongue in one of our fake kisses. He about shat himself! (This was high school remember, and I was at least two years older than him. The entire cast knew it was coming which made it even more hilarious.) I still miss the theater and think abotu trying out for community shows every now and again.

6. I sang in our schools chorus (as well as community ensemble), and was usually quite pissy if I didn't get the alto solos. Diva alert! I also was in our high school pageant. Twice. I got 3rd place the second time (looossser). It was one of the most fun things I remember about high school though.

7. Matt was/is my first real boyfriend. I never had a *real* boyfriend in high school, and dated a guy in college but he sucked so he doesn't count. I went a little crazy with guys junior year of college and decided to swear them off altogether (um, not lesbo style, just swear off for a while) until Matt and I met. We met at a bar and the night is kind of hazy...I don't remember our first kiss...how crappy is that?! But I do remember our second kiss because it was outisde of my car, and he picked me up by my, umm, bootay, and set me on the hood where we made out. It was soooo Vin Diesel in the Fast and the Furious. I was hooked then and there!
***

Anything else you want to know about me? I'm a semi-open book! Hope you have a great Tuesday and hopefully I will be back with some more fun stuff before WWR!

Where I (Used to) Run

Good morning lovelies!

Thank you for all the well wishes for us moving! It was quite the two day affair, complete with illegal pets, broken frames and even a shooting....but more on all that later.

I woke up this morning so sore from all of the heavy lifting, although I didn't go on a run yesterday (and only made 2 last week!) I feel like I got a serious workout in.

During my morning run on Thursday I took some pictures of where I have been running the past year, and I wanted to share them with y'all. I know I promised them yesterday for Photo Friday but...yesterday morning I had no idea where either one of our laptops were!

I started out early and it was still a bit dark, but the sun was right under the horizon. This is the path along the water I used to take every day coming out of my old apartment.

I love the marshes in the Lowcountry!

This is looking back, towards our old building. See the tall brick building on the right? That was us! The City Marina is on the left, and that grey building houses some yacht sales companies, an ABC store and a wine shop and further to the left is Salty Mike's, a casual bar which is frequented by boaters and sailors. Love it!

Further down that path, Lockwood Blvd. turns into the famed Broad Street. Here is a quaint little house I particularly like right on the corner. I love the red door and white picket fence.

This is Colonial Lake. It sits right above Broad Street and there are always runners and walkers there. It's small, so I don't usually run around it. But its a great meet up spot.

The sun is coming up! I love all of the houses around here, it's so beautiful downtown.


Then you get into the larger homes, I believe this one was on South Battery, but it may have been on Tradd St. Either way, it was South of Broad (anything South of Broad Street is v. nice and v. expen$ive).


The gardens downtown are gorgeous, I love peeking through the gates to see how beautiful people keep them. There are actually home and garden tours in the fall where you can visit some of the really impressive private homes and gardens downtown. I would like to look into that this year...and dream of having a home as nice someday!

I love this house! The picture doesn't do it justice, but the large expanse of old glass windows is right up my alley. This one is right across from Battery Park.

I will finish this mini tour later on in Part 2! For now, I leave you with some pictures of what we will be doing today...


Matt is up and itching to get unpacking, so hope you all have a fab Saturday!

TGIF!

Sorry that my past two posts seemed to be fishing for compliments...I didn't mean for them to sound that way! I was just excited about my new hair & then about my exam....I'm really not that narcissistic :)

Last night I had a meeting at 6 after work, and the last thing I wanted to do was go out and RUN. Especially when I was hungry and it looked like it was about to storm...Matt was even trying to convince me to stay home. But I headed out anyways and got in a nice 3.5 miler. Nothing spectacular, but a good way to get back on track. I also did some squats, lunges and whatever that thing is where you "sit" on the wall for as long as you can. I'm a bit sore today!

Tonight I'm heading out to run the bridge after work with Shannon...I love running with friends it makes it so much easier & I'm probably 99% less likely to back out of it...

Thanks for the thoughts on my venture into raw foodism. One thing I dislike about healthy living blogs is the fact that when one thing gets popular, everyone jumps onto the train just because its what everyone else is doing. I know raw foodism is "the cool thing to do" currently but I really believe in the foundation of thought behind this diet choice. Plus the food combining aspect is what really intrigues me. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm not just trying this out because I don't want to be left out. I'm trying it out because it makes sense to me on some levels.

You've seen meat on this blog and you probably will continue to see meat on occassion. I'm not a vegetarian but as Matt would say, "You pretty much are." I just don't like meat as much as veggies, and I've always been that way. Plus I am painfully aware of how inhumane the meat industry is in America, and that also plays into my veggie loving ideals.

But I also love cooked foods, so I'm not giving up on all of that just yet! I just want to incorporate 1-2 raw meals a day into my diet.

Did I bore anyone yet?!

While I'm not running out to buy a dehydrator anytime soon, and I'm probably not going to fork out the $$ for sprouted breads...I'm going to see where this thing takes me and go from there. I hope you will stick along for the ride :)

Of course, I'm also gonna throw in some running + racing here and there...that is what this blog is about, right?!

I also have realized that I want to start showcasing this fantastic Southern city of mine a bit more...so many people love Charleston and come from miles away for vacation, yet I hardly ever talk about it. I want to share with you all this city that I have come to love over the past year. The beautiful row houses, the beaches, the lush green marshes and the water front paths that I run on...so more to come soon I promise!

Hope everyone has a fab weekend, I think I've got 14 on the schedule for Sunday?

Grocery Shopping on a Budget, Part II

A few months back I posted about how our household was starting to really pay attention to our grocery shopping habits, and mentioned a few tips that I was using to do so. I was first inspired by Bobbi's post about the subject, and took her advice to heart. When we first started going to the store with a calculator in hand, adding up every single thing we put into our buggy, I was skeptical.

But that first trip when we managed to get a week's worth of groceries for $68.54, I knew I was hooked! It felt great to plan out everything for the week and then shop for the exact items that we needed to make those meals. It was even better to only spend $30 something for my half of the weekly groceries! A few people have mentioned to me that they need more help in this area, so I figured I would update you all on our process of trying to eat healthier than ever, on a STRICT budget.

Yesterday after my mom and brother left (thanks for all of the congratulations on Saturday's PR at the 10k btw!) I went on my 12 miler and then Matt and I headed to Publix for our weekly fix. We love Publix because it is clean, well organized, has great branded items, and is way cheaper than Harris Teeter (my true love).

Here is what we brought home (sorry for the blurry pics, am borrowing my moms camera (yay no more iPhone pics!) and I still don't know all the settings):

• 1 bag of Publix yellow onions (these are only $3 a bag, versus buying three loose onions for the same price. They're smaller onions but still a better deal)
• 1 can Publix brand tomato sauce (I like to make my own, but this whole jar is less than $2 so we can't pass up that deal! We still usually add veggies to the sauce)
• 1 cantaloupe (was on sale for $2.50)
• 1 large vanilla 0% Chobani Greek yogurt
• 1 container Publix brand whipped butter (Unsalted whipped butter has half the fat and calories as the real thing, plus you can read all the ingredients as opposed to the Smart Balance Light I have been using. Read up more here at Healthy Eats about the real butter vs. margarine debate. But I do still like SBL as a margarine or butter substitute. The whipped was considerably cheaper.)
  
• 1 box Publix brand whole wheat waffles
• 1 bag Publix whole carrots
• 1 carton of 8th Continent Light Soymilk (was on sale for 2 for $5, plus they had coupons for $1 off so this was only $1.50!)
• 1 bag of oranges (only $2 for the whole bag!)
• About 5 yellow squash (they were out of zucchini, usually we buy a mix of both)
• 1 Simply Apple Juice (expensive, but oh so good)
• 1 loaf Publix bakery Italian 9 Grain Bread (I don't like this bread, it's like white bread with grains! I use wraps for most of my sandwiches)
  

• 1 bunch green bananas
• 2 green apples for Matt
• 3 pink apples for me (already had some more at home, usually buy at least 5)
• 3 mangoes (these were on sale for $1 each so we bought 3!)
• 1 package Athenos Red Pepper Hummus (wanted to see how this stood up to my home made version)
• 1 avocado (ugh, $2.99 each!)
• 1 package of Publix Mexi Shredded Cheese for Matt (I usually try to get 2% or fat free, but this is cheaper and I don't eat it so I don't mind too much)
  
• 1 package of Publix American Cheese for Matt (same goes for this one)
  
• 1 head of broccoli (I think I inadvertantly got the more expensive kind)
  
• 1 large eggplant
• 1 bag of red grapes
• 1 bag of Publix frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (this will usually last us 2 weeks)
  
• 1 bags of Birds Eye frozen mixed veggies (thought they were on sale, they weren't but were still only $1.89 a bag. Much better than SteamFresh!)
  

Our grand total was $69.45!! That was pretty good considering our past few weeks have been more expensive.

But to be fair, we also had the following things at home already: 1/2 pint strawberries, a few apples and a plum, some bananas, potatoes (sweet and regular), brown rice, Matt had some yogurt, a few cheese sticks, tortilla chips and 1/2 jar salsa, Publix brand dried plums AKA prunes for my work snacks, salad lettuce and spinach, cereal and oatmeal, 1/2 jar Publix All Natural PB, 1/2 acorn squash, leftover roasted chicken and about 3 Flat Out wraps. We were pretty stocked because we made two trips last week in preparation for company. But we do usually keep most of these items on hand, and there are a few things that last us for two weeks or more (like my prunes, cheese sticks, Matt's yogurt, frozen meats).

What we forgot to buy: frozen Tilapia or some other fish, portobellos, and a few tomatoes.

Although we made a list this week, we didn't plan out each meal, which may hurt us in the long run. But we did have a few meals in our head that we were preparing for, such as:

• My version of healthy eggplant parm (will show up here soon! so good!)
• Marinated chicken (usually portobellos for me, which last for two meals) and veggies with brown rice or potatoes
• Pasta with grilled chicken and veggies
• Chicken stir fry

That's a lot of chicken! We usually mix it up with some stuffed peppers using ground turkey breast or some baked fish but like I said, we forgot a few things so it looks like it will be chicken and veggies this week!

Some healthy staples that I keep stocked:

• Brown rice (quick or regular, I use regular b/c it's cheaper)
• Canned No Salt Added Diced Tomatoes (you can easily throw these in any meal)
  
• Canned No Salt Added Tomato Sauce
• No Salt Added Tomato Paste (if you can find it)
• Whole wheat pasta (we usually have angel hair and rotini)
• Onions
• Garlic (I used the minced kind b/c I get annoyed having to chop it up, but fresh is always better!)
• Fresh home grown herbs (My balcony herb garden should pop up here soon!)
• Quick Cooking Oats
• Low Sodium Bouillion Cubes (chicken, veggie or beef are usual suspects. Hard to find veggie low sodium)
• Whole wheat or spinach wraps
• Frozen whole wheat or All Natural waffles
• Natural honey or agave nectar (I can't afford agave w/o a TJ's)
  
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Balsamic and Apple Cider Vinegar
• Low Fat or Multi-Grain Saltines (these make a quick and healthy snack, or addition to salads)
  
• All Natural or Homemade PB for me, cheapest regular PB for Matt
• Whole Wheat Breadcrumbs (you can easily make these yourself as well)
  

Some tips that I use for shopping smart:

• Always buy store brand if the ingredients are comparable (usually are) and not full of fillers and chemicals. Sometimes you have to opt for the more expensive brand to get what you want (i.e. we are watching our sodium intake, and sometimes store brand items don't offer No Salt Added or Low Sodium). I love Publix because most of their branded items are all natural or have a simple list of ingredients! But if you don't have a Publix, skip down to number three...
  
• Buy in bulk if possible: We don't shop at Costco or Sams Club, but we do try to buy things in bulk like grains and some bagged produce. I don't usually buy the bagged apples because I don't think the quality is as good as picking your own.
• Shop at Trader Joe's!! Unfortunately, we do not have on here in Chas so I have to make the smartest decisions with what I have. I sometimes pick up things at Whole Foods that are cheaper (like 365 brand quinoa which is $2 versus $5 at Publix, bulk bin items, Greek Yogurt, and Tofu and other similar items) but I tend to limit my trips there because I know I will spend too much! (There is rumor that that may be trying to get a TJ's here!)
  
• Be flexible with your list, and shop for what is on sale when possible. For example, I had plums on my list for this week but when I saw the cantaloupe on sale I picked one of those up instead. I do the same with most of my produce as well as frozen items.
• Spend more time on the outer edges of the store, rather than in the aisles. This will force you to put more healthy, fresh items (such as dairy, produce and lean meats) versus packaged processed food items into your cart. I usually do fruits and veggies first, that way I know how much more I have to spend on other items. That way I put priority on the produce!
• Take a calculator and task the boy with adding up items as you throw into cart! Seems silly, but REALLY works! We actually surprised ourselves yesterday and came in a little cheaper than what we had calculated.
• Don't buy things that you don't need just because they are on sale. Also, if something is marked 2 for $5, you don't have to buy 2 to get that price. A lot of people get confused with this, but usually most stores will give you the discount price on each unit, no matter how many you buy.
• Plan out your weekly meals and snacks, look at what you already have, and buy accordingly. Try to stick to your list and avoid impulse buys.
• DO NOT go to the grocery store hungry. This always results in a higher bill.
  
• Shop at your local Farmer's Market if in season. I try to buy local as much as possible, and usually Farmer's Market food is much more affordable and boosts the local economy! I am pumped that ours is about to open.
  

Another long post! I think that about sums it up for me and how we shop healthy and frugal. This week I will make sure to highlight a few of the meals that we made with these ingredients so you guys can get a better idea of the full process.

Do you guys have any tips that I missed? I would love to learn how to tailor this process even more! We are not always perfect at grocery shopping, and sometimes I do make a trip to buy some ice cream, or something expensive I like that Matt won't let me buy...but I try to seriously limit those! What is your grocery store weakness??? Mine is definitely too much fruit! (But can you really ever have too much???)

***
I have today off running to rest & recover, and will likely be doing some yoga/stretching tonight. My legs are so sore from this weekend! Tomorrow I will most likely be heading to the track for a nice speed workout, then Wednesday I will run an easy 8-10, then my 6 mile hill workout on Thursday. I will be off Friday to rest up for my LAST long run of my training schedule of 20+ miles.

***

WHO WILL BE WATCHING THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TONIGHT?? I'll give you one guess who I am rooting for! Go HEELS baby! Unfortunately, Matt has a lot of school work to do tonight so I think we will be watching at home! I wish we could be watching it on Franklin Street like we did back when we won in 2005, but as long as I can see the game I'm happy. Maybe I can convince him to go out...

Here is the sunset from our balcony last night. Love, love, LOVE it here in the Lowcountry :)

Happy Monday!

**Edited to add that, yes, I know the Heels last won in 2005, my sophomore year there, not 2003 the year I graduated high school. I am not a bad fan, just a simple typo. Don't start throwing 'maters just yet.

Sponsorships!

Whew! This week has flown by! I have reeeaaallly been taking it easy on the running front this week, as I have only run twice since my Sunday long run. Normally I would be freaking out about this, but I was getting to that point where my body was just so physically run down from the past few weeks that I think I needed to take an easy week to get back into the swing of things. Today and yesterday will be the first consecutive two days not running I have enjoyed in a while!

Yesterday I posted about the bridge run, and how I wasn't sure that I was going to run it just because it was a $40 fee and I run the bridge all the time. Well, I was chatting with the owner of my firm yesterday about it, they all know about my training and how I often run the bridge because they see me leaving the office in running gear (as discreetly as I can get out, shorts and tank so not approp for work) so naturally he was assuming I was going to run it. So I explained the sitch and just said I couldn't see spending the $40 fee, so he suggested that the firm sponsor me!

I was actually a bit surprised, and then I thought to myself, well crap do I even really want to?? But I figured it was free, so why not?? Then they all started joking about what I should wear to "represent" the firm...luckily all they have are golf shirts :)

So I went down to the expo last night to register and browsed the vendors. Nothing too spectacular. I did get some free samples of Sport Beans which I have been wanting to try, as well as some mini Larabars. I have only had one of those (cashew cookie) and I hated it, so maybe these will be better. I also got a free Women's Running Magazine. I like it a lot!

Yesterday was simply a day for sponsorships! I also got news that SuperFeet will be product sponsoring our Wild West Relay Team! Each member of our team will get up to two free pairs of insoles, valued at $45 each! So that was pretty cool. I hope we can find some more sponsorships as well... (hint hint)

I also got in my shipment of new running gear last night. I honestly don't know about any of the things I ordered. I was annoyed because the Nike tanks didn't really fit the way Nike tanks usually fit me, so I don't know if I am going to keep them or not. They fit around the top area, but were loose around my stomach. Weird! The shorts were ok, I can't decide if I should take the plunge and try them out on a run or just return them and get what I know fits.

This is my loot:

Nike Women's Core Reflect Long Sport Top
(Got this in pink, black and a smiliar one in white and blue to match the blue shorts below. I really like how it has two pockets on the back to hold gels)
Nike Women's Race Day 3" Short
(Also got these in black with purple on the sides)

I did try on the pink tank this morning, and kind of liked that it wasn't skin tight. It wasn't gapping at the top, which is the most important, so maybe those will work out after all. I was hoping to have a new outfit to wear for the race this weekend.

If you're looking for new running gear and you haven't checked out this site yet, you need to visit RunningWarehouse.com. It has free 2-day shipping, free returns and if you want it overnighted, it's only $6! Plus they have great deals on things and sometimes give you free stuff when you buy enough! (I once got a free Nike Dry Fit Tee with their logo on it with an order.)

Ok, I'm off to have a productive Friday! I am still planning on running 13-15 miles Sunday morning as well as the race on Saturday so I will keep you all updated. My mom and younger brother are driving down this afternoon from Charlotte, NC so I am SUPER pumped about having them here. I haven't seen my brother in a while so we're looking forward to that (he talks more to Matt than to me, and I know Matt is excited that he will have another dude around this weekend).

**I am hoping to PR this race with a time of anything under 56:00. Fingers crossed!**

Easy 8 Miler

Had a great, easy 8 miler tonight. I found a new loop and explored a bit more of downtown that I haven't run in before! About 15 minutes before I left, I ate a Lemon Zest Luna Bar...I tried to only eat 1/2, but ended up eating the whole thing. Oopsies. I think the protein and carbs helped me out though! Check out these stats:

Time:	01:19:57
Distance:	8.00 mi
Elevation Gain:	1,266 ft
Total Calories:	902 C

Avg Pace: 09:59 min/mi

Best Pace: 06:57 min/mi

Split	secondsTotal Time	milesTotal Distance	feetElevation Gain	feetElevation Loss	minutes per mileAverage Speed	minutes per mileMax Speed
Summary	01:19:57	8.00	1,266	1,273	09:59	06:57
1	00:10:02	1.00	129	121	10:02	08:08
2	00:10:13	1.00	120	150	10:13	08:47
3	00:10:10	1.00	126	114	10:10	08:43
4	00:10:18	1.00	74	104	10:18	09:11
5	00:10:32	1.00	224	309	10:32	07:58
6	00:10:38	1.00	331	224	10:38	08:00
7	00:09:40	1.00	155	118	09:40	08:16
8	00:08:20	1.00	107	132	08:21	06:57

Came home and baked some salmon and kale chips! Pics to come.

And just to let everyone know, today I have eaten 2 bananas, 1 apple, 1 plum, some blueberries, some grapes, and 2 strawberries. Plus a bunch of other stuff! I think I have definitely had my servings of fruit today.

I'm looking forward to my long run this weekend, fingers crossed it goes well!

Weekend Roundup + Monday's Eats

I will start by saying that I had a fabulous weekend, minus a few snafu's (I have no idea if that is spelled correctly or not). Saturday I set a new PR in a 5k race and then spent the rest of the day lazily studying on the sun-filled patio of our local Starbucks. Then I did some cleaning and we went to dinner at a friends house and had a great evening!

Sunday morning I got up and was lazy for a while before finally setting off for my supposed 17 miler. Last week, I had a horrible long run and I was really hoping this one would be better. It was worse.

I don't know what is wrong with me, but I could only manage 7 miles!! I turned around half way and decided that the bridge would just kill me so I whimpered home. I was experiencing horrible side stitches that I couldn't manage to shake. I was devastated, but I am not going to dwell on it because I have a plan for this week that will hopefully redeem me. I will share if it indeed does redeem :)

After this horrible run, since I wasn't as sore as I was expecting to be, I quickly showered and Matt and I picked up lunch from Saffron Bakery & Deli (one of my new faves) and headed to Battery Park to picnic! Food was great (I had the Veggie Pita which has hummus, cucumbers, parsley I think, feta cheese and sprouts plus a side salad and Matt had the Turkey Club with Potato Salad that looked fab!), weather was fantastic (in the mid 70s) and we just had a nice time.

Battery Park

We then walked around downtown for a while just enjoying our city :) We also did our weekly shopping and spent too much because we didn't plan out our week...definitely getting back on board with that next Sunday. We spent almost exactly $100!! Of course, we did have to buy some cleaning supplies as well, but I was NOT happy about that total.

Last night we made home made pizzas and watched Amazing Race!

Monday:
This morning I made a bowl of Total with blueberries and Light Soy Vanilla Milk. It was yummm mostly because I haven't been eating too much cereal lately and I haven't had Soy Milk around in forever! AND it kept me full until 1 PM today!

For lunch, I had leftover pizza and a small side salad.



On my pizza, I had:

• Steamed spinach as the base layer
• Mozzarella cheese made with skim milk
  
• Black olives
• Diced onions & peppers
• 1 tomato sliced
• Balsamic marinated tofu chunks

In my salad I had butter lettuce, leftover diced bell pepper and onion, cucumbers and a few black olives. I used Wish Bone Spirtzers in Caesar as my dressing. (This is what I use most of the time at work, when at home I make my own.)

Next time I will add garlic and more spinach! But all in all WAY better than last week's. Plus, I didn't burn it! BONUS :) Tonight I will be making more shrimp stir fry with brown rice!

As far as my running prognosis goes, I am at the very least, deflated about my performance yesterday. I had a great week in running up until Sunday, so all I can think of is that I am letting my nerves get in the way. It is now crunch time for this marathon with only 53 days away!

Hopefully I will have some good news to write on here this week regarding running...and hopefully it will be good news on something longer than 6 miles! GAH.

Hope everyone has a great Monday.

Beautiful Weather and Hooray Spring 6 Miler!

I could not be more thrilled that today is Friday. I woke up early, had time to make a nice breakfast and pack a good lunch, and even got to catch up on my reading! All before work. I am also excited because today was finally warm enough for me to wear a new dress I had been saving...PLUS, it looks like it may be warm enough this weekend for some beach time! Best time of year. :)

I started out this morning with some Apple Cinnamon Oats, only because after I started to make it I realized the only fruit in the house was one lonely apple.

Here's what I put in there:

• 1/3 cup quick cooking oats (do you guys all make steel cut oats? I am lazy and use the quick kind)
• 1/2 scoop Vanilla Soy Protein Powder
• NF milk
• Water
  
• almost 1 apple diced (munched on the rest of it)
• 1 packet of Splenda
• Some cinnamon
• 1 spoonful of Publix Natural Chunky PB
• 1 spoonful Dannon Lite and Fit Vanilla Yogurt

Yum! Next time I think I will add the PB and apple while cooking, it was kind of cold by the time I got around to eating it.

All mixed up:


I also started my day off with something other than coffee, which is kind of a shocker to me, a double dose of green tea!


Hooray for Spring 6 Miler!
RunningLaur over at When I get a little, run run run has been kind enough to arrange a virtual 6 miler on the first day of spring. Since I am new to the online running community, I haven't been able to take part in any of these so far! So I am pretty pumped about this one. Here's what she says about the race:

Here are the details, and keep in mind that I'm very relaxed on the 'rules':

• Date: Friday, March 20 - the first day of spring! Saturday, March 21 is the historic date of the equinox however, the tilt of the earth has changed, so the 21st is generally known as the traditional date. And well, Saturday is a lot easier to run on. I will also accept a race time from anytime during the first week of Spring (until Friday March 27) so that the celebration can last all week.
  
• Distance: 6 miles or 6 km. Like most real races, there are multiple distance corrals! Non-Americans, or those preferring lower mileage for any reason, may opt for the 6 km option. Let me know which one you did with your results. Note that this may be part of a longer training run if you like too. I'm easy.
  
• Purpose: To celebrate and enjoy Spring! Also, racers will compete for prizes (of a sort...), yay!
  
• Prizes: No real life prizes, sorry - I don't have cool sponsors like some bloggers, but I do have Microsoft Paint and the love of all things tacky and ugly. Winners, in various categories (not necessarily speed based), will be awarded wonderfully silly award logos that can be placed on your blog. Now who doesn't love pimping out their blog?!?!? All participants will receive a virtual bib, when printed, becomes a real bib.
  
• Registration: FREE!!! Comment with your name and planned distance. If you want to throw in a goal time too, go for it - this way you can race against yourself. My submission: RunningLaur, 6 miles, 66 minutes.

I have 'registered' for the 6 mile race, and I will probably do it sometime during the week since I will most likely be doing a long run on that weekend.

Running schedule for this weekend:
I asked for some opinions yesterday as to what I should run today (obviously I didn't get up and run this morning, so will be done after work) and joyRuN suggested I cross train, which honestly I hadn't even thought of. Since I don't have a gym membership yet, I haven't been able to get into too much cross training recently.

But I DO have a road bike that has basically been gathering dust since last February, and since it is such nice weather....I think I might take it out tonight.

I have my 5k tomorrow morning, and my long run on Sunday so I am trying to be as healthy as I can today and throughout this weekend. Especially since I ate Mexican last night.* I hope everyone has a fantastic Friday and an even better weekend! Wish me luck on my race!



* I may or may not have eaten bean dip, chips and salsa, and a spinach quesadilla with guacamole and sour cream. If I DID eat all that, my experience may have been ruined due to the four screaming snot nosed kids whose baby-talking parents were letting them run throughout the entire restaurant. Note to self: stick to restaurants downtown near the college, where it is almost guaranteed you won't run into these situations.

TGIF (and happy off day to me)

Well folks, it's been a tough running week. Monday I had a rough run over the bridge (shins are feeling much better today, thank you), Tuesday I was entirely too lazy to run (yet still managed to cook a fab dinner for the boo and I), and Wednesday evening I had a good run through the almost-dark almost-ghetto area of Chas, but managed to lose my left contact rendering me almost-blind for the runs entirety.

I was worried on Monday about my running this week because I had been out of town last Thursday-Sunday and had not done ANY exercising and had eaten way too much food (especially food that was not good for me). But now that it's Friday, I'm feeling pretty solid about my long run this weekend.

I did a short and sweet 4.5 miler last night on flat ground, and felt pretty good about it. Although lately I have been doing a great job of listening to my body and not starting out too fast, I was over-confident last night and started out thinking I could run the whole 4.5 at a 8:30 to 9 min pace--this was not to be.

After 1.5 miles I was like WHOA! slow down...which I did, and the rest of the run went smoothly. I don't have exact split times as my Garmin failed me yet again...or rather, I failed it by starting and then STOPPING it without realizing until about a mile in. But I'm going to assume I ran between 9:30 and 10:15 pace, not too bad.

On other fronts, the weekly budget of groceries has been going well! I only needed to stop by the Teet once to grab a few personal items, and I also picked up a cucumber (for Wednesday's night's salad, more below) and a package of fresh strawberries that were on sale (to add to my morning oatmeal). I also snagged a bunch of green bananas since I haven't been able to find an entire bunch of green ones in months! So all in all I would say that yes, we could survive on around $70 a week.

I haven't even eaten lunch out at all this week! It's amazing what you can do if you only prepare.

So although I am not going to post about everything I eat/make (it's just not my style, plus I am way to lazy to keep up with all that) I will share with you all a few things that I either managed to grab a pic of, or was particularly proud of.

Wednesday night was salad night (marinated portobello for me, marinated chicken breast for the BF) which I had prepared the night before, by prepare I mean I had started the toppers marinating in a balsamic/olive oil/garlic marinade. Boy was that worth it! They were delish.

I didn't get any pics of my salad but I did make enough portobello to use yesterday for a sandwich.

It was very good! I used:

• 2 slices of regular wheat bread, toasted
• 1 slice of provolone cheese
• A few slices of cucumber
• A few slices of tomato
• 2 marinated portobello mushroom caps, small ones
• Tribe roasted garlic hummus
• A small bit of low fat mayo
• A dash of sea salt

All in all a definite winner, I want to make these tasty fungi more often. :)

This weekend's running schedule:
I think I might switch it up and start running my long runs on Saturday's for a few reasons. 1) The actuaal marathon I am training for is on a Saturday, 2) This would make it much easier to go out Saurday night and not worry about drinking/coming in early and most importanly, 3) To get it OVER with!

So I am conflicted over what mileage I should run this weekend. My training schedule says 16 (my last long run was 15, two weekends ago), joyRuN's schedule that she so graciously shared for me says to do 11 this weekend and 17 next weekend, and I am thinking maybe I should try for at least 17? Input welcome! So I will be doing one of those distances, hopefully tomorrow morning.

Otherwise, I have a relatively simple weekend planned. Lots of running, lots of cleaning the apartment, and possibly a fun Charleston day with my boyfriend, complete with picinic! I have a few things on my list to (finally!) get done this weekend, now that we aren't traveling/hosting anyone from out of town:

1. Organize the area underneath our bathroom sink so more stuff stays there rather than on the counter.
   
2. Purchase and install two ceiling bike hooks so mine and the BF's bikes aren't taking up precious floor space anymore.
   
3. Finally buy some litter box liners. That thing smells rank.
4. Mop the kitchen floor!
5. Do laundry--wash all of my work pants. They seriously need it.
   
6. Buy som WIN! detergent for my stinky running clothes. I think everyone would appreciate that.
   

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Thursday's Hill Workout: Ravenel Bridge

I am extremely excited that today is Friday, for two reasons:

1) I don't have to run today!
2) I'm heading up to NC for my friend's birthday this weekend, and only have to work a half day!

A quick update on last night's run, didn't have a full hour to commit even though I was scheduled to run an hour with 4 to 6 minutes of total uphill running time, so I cut short my bridge run by a measly .2 miles....yeah that really saved me some time, I know. But I figured since running the bridge gives me, oh, about 20-30 minutes of total uphill time, I was okay with cutting the time a bit short.

Made it over and back in 5.35 miles in 52:37, with average pace being 9:50, with 8:01 as my max pace. It took me a while to get started last night, running up the first hill was pretty slow going with the first mile coming in at 10:04, and decreasing from there with last mile coming in at 9:12. I also must not have been working that hard (as I noticed while I was casually "jogging" down the first time and thought, wow I'm really being lazy and slow right now...but of course I didn't pick up the pace too much :) I felt a lazy day was in order ) because my average heart rate was only 171.

For anyone who has never witnessed the magnificent beauty that is our Arthur Ravenel Bridge...


Although I was a bit unsure about moving down here, one thing I am completely certain of is that I am extremely lucky to be living in such a beautiful and scenic place. After all, I get to witness the above every evening driving home from work. :)

This weekend's running is scheduled for 4 miles Saturday and 8 Sunday, but since I will be away that might have to be tweaked a bit. The birthday girl and I will be running Saturday morning together (my original running buddy whom I miss living close to!), and I think she wants to do 5. If we have as much fun as I think we will Saturday night, I might not be running Sunday at all, so I'm going to try to convince her to do 8 that way I won't have missed my long run. :)

Happy Friday all!

Footprints in the snow...or at least, tiny snowflakes on my nose...

Yesterday I made the comment that I really hoped it would snow here, as it was snowing literally everywhere else around Charleston, and all of my friends/family back in NC were getting a pretty good pounding of several inches.

I don't particularly love cold weather, but moving down here has made me miss cold winters with scarves and heavy coats and boots. So this past week has been pretty nice, to for once, be able to bundle up in the mornings and run outside with ear warmers and gloves.

I have always wanted to go for a run in a good snow, to feel the flakes falling on your face and to be so warm from the exercise that the cold outside seems to simply melt away...living in Charleston doesn't exactly allow me to fulfill that, but at least last night on my 6 miler I did get to run through a few flakes.

Did my first official run last night as part of my marathon training program, and for the first time in a month or so (since before the holidays and all that entailed) I felt as if I were truly a runner again. I love those runs, when you go out and you just run, without wanting to kill yourself, without thinking of all the ways you could shorten your loop, and without taking that oh-so-painful short walk break (I REALLY despise walk breaks, it makes me truly feel like a failure).

So my Tuesday evening routines are 2 miles at marathon goal pace, then 2 miles at tempo pace, and then 2 more miles at marathon goal pace. As I rounded out the final 2 miles, the snow began to fall delicately, the light from the streetlamps on the battery highlighted the flakes just so. The water in the Charleston Harbor was still and there were only a few brave souls out walking and enjoying the freak snow shower.

In a really stupid way it was kind of a magical run, and afterwards I just felt so energized and pleased with myself. I'm very glad to be back in the swing of it.

Tonight is a 3 mile run followed by 4x100's at the track. Shouldn't be too bad, but then again, I hate sprinting...

Charlie Post Classic and other local races

In doing some local running research, found the Charlie Post Classic 5k/15k run next Saturday, January 31st. I had heard about this race before, but for some reason had written it off...I think I thought it was like a 50 miler or something.

Anyways, so excited because A) I will be in town, B) 15k would be a perfect distance for me next week, and C) I might be able to convince my boyfriend to run the 5k!

Putting that one down on my calendar :)

Was planning on running a 1/2 Marathon on February 7th at Folly, the Save the Light Run, but unfortunately will be out of town on business until late that evening.

Also excited about the Bridge Run this year, which will be on April 4th. Hopefully I will have some friends come stay with us from NC for that weekend. Always a good time!

To pass or not to pass?

The one thing I have learned since I have started running regularly (roughly four years) is that the more you get into the sport, the more competitive you get. I don't know if everyone is like me, but when I'm out on a run and I see another runner, I feel the need to PASS.

(Or, in the very least if passing isn't an option (read: that runner is WAY faster than me) try to keep up with them. )

Now we all know the stipulations involving passing another runner.
1. It's completely acceptable as long as you don't do something rude like, look at them and smile that Grinch-like grin that says not-so-discreetly "You're really slow and you better move out of my way while you EAT MY DUST." (This happened to me once with a "friend" who can be credited as "My Running Nemesis" to this day and who definitely did NOT eat my dust that day. Serious pride injury.)
2. You make sure you don't come up so close behind them that you literally scare them off of their feet (this is acceptable if you're passing one of those annoying old ladies walking their lap dogs South of Broad yapping on their cell phones who won't ever move out of the way).
3. But the number one thing every runner has to consider before passing is, am I passing because I feel the need to show them I think I am faster, or do I actually NEED to pass them because I am faster?

Because friends, let me tell you, if your reasoning for passing another runner is the former, you could be in for a long sprint race after you do the deed.

A few nights ago I was running the Ravenel Bridge in Charleston. The base is about half a mile from my work, and getting off around 5:30 I just change there and go for the about 5.5 mile run over and back to my car before heading home.

Right now I'm still trying to recover from the holidays and from starting a new job last week, so my running schedule is a bit - off. I'm not as in shape as I should be and running this ginormous hill is not as easy as it used to be. But I'm slated to run a marathon (my first!) on May 2nd so I'm trying to amp up my training to actually start my training, if that makes any sense.

Anyways I'm not the fastest right now.

Long story short, after I've already went all the way over, and am on my way back almost to the peak where I start to descend to the base, I see this girl in front of me. She's about my age, carrying a Gatorade or something, and by the way she's dressed it looks like shes more of a "recreational" runner (because clearly my running tights and fancy Nike pullover make me a pro). She's running a little bit slower than me and as I continue to climb I realize that I must pass.

So, I do.

Now, I'm not wearing my iPod so I can hear her running not too far behind me, so I start to pick it up. It's only downhill, right? That's easy, I can keep this up for a while. I only have about a mile left.

She obviously is very similar to me, and no matter how slowish she was running, she did NOT like to be passed. Because by the sound of her Gatorade flip flopping up and down she was sprinting to keep up and even possibly, pass me back.

Oh, the pass back. This has to be the most humiliating thing for a runner. It's basically just saying, oh yeah you THOUGHT you were faster than me, but guess what? YOU CAN"T KEEP UP THE PACE SO I'M FORCED TO TAKE BACK MY RIGHTFUL POSITION AHEAD OF YOU. Then you inevitably slink back in shame and hate that person until they've run so far ahead you can no longer see them. I usually hate myself almost as much at that point...

So in a desperate and glute-aching fog I did what I had to do to avoid the pass back. I sprinted. I sprinted all the way down that hill and I did all I could not to tumble over. I was basically grasping for air, hoping that my legs wouldn't give out beneath me, and more importantly, hoping that I wouldn't get completely embarrassed with a pass back.

After a few minutes I started to tune out everything else, and so by the time I came to and got to my car, the girl's Gatorade flopping sound was gone. HA! I had won!!

I never did turn around to actually confirm she was behind me, but I guess that's not what really matters (besides, we all know that turning around is a no no, that's like admitting that we're worried someone is about to pass us, and we're not worried, right?).

So to this girl, whoever you are, if you were really trying to pass me back, thanks for getting me sprinting that night. Because I have been sore for two whole days because of it.

On to the training!