Beautiful Run

I can not get over how beautiful this morning's run was! We are actually having a quasi-fall, which is as close as it gets in Texas. The leaves are changing colors and the temps are cooler (although I think it reached almost 80 outside this afternoon). I had to move my long run to Sunday this week due to family pictures yesterday morning, which turned out fabulously.

These are just the ones we took with my camera.

I ran 12 miles this morning. I wasn't as fast as I would have liked, but I have to say, I'm ok with that. It's hard to explain why. I was just continually reminded this morning how blessed I am to run at all, and to get to enjoy God's amazing creation while I'm doing it? Even better! On top of that, I fit in an ice bath and still made it to church, after eating the breakfast my awesome hubby had ready when I walked in the door...and a good thing, too...I was hungry!

For the first couple of miles, my right calf felt like it was going to cramp, but luckily, it never did. I only ended up with one "injury" today...a small spot on the underside of my right arm. I guess my arm warmers rubbed it. They never have before, so that was weird. It was kind of difficult to dress for today. I wore a tank and arm warmers; I had on gloves but ditched them before I started (smart move). I also wore my BondiBand hat, but I had to move it behind my ears just a few miles in. It was warmer than it initially felt, and it kept warming up as the sun moved higher in the sky. I ended up pushing the arm warmers down.

Here are my splits:
Mile 1- 11:15
Mile 2- 11:17
Mile 3- 11:47
Mile 4- 11:29
Mile 5- 11:40
Mile 6- 11:18
Mile 7- 11:05
Mile 8- 11:08
Mile 9- 10:53
Mile 10- 10:14
Mile 11- 10:34
Mile 12- 10:35
Total- 2:13:19

Mileage Report
Weekly: 24 miles
YTD: 700.85 miles

Wow! I'm over 700 miles for this year!

Success!

It's time to celebrate! Today I met my goal of 1100km in 2011! With several weeks left in the year, including the last few weeks of half marathon training, I think I have another 100 in me still.

And more success...I've already lost a little weight! I hate to go into numbers because I know that will fluctuate on a regular basis. Still, it feels good to have my efforts pay off. All I've done is cut out sugar, watched my portions, and controlled the balance of foods (less carbs, more fruits/veggies, more protein). Amazing.

The power of setting and having goals is incredible. No, we don't always reach our goals (sub-60 10k, anyone?), but without some lofty hope or dream, our efforts fade. Sometimes the goals are less about numbers and more about the way we live. I re-read a little plaque in my classroom today, and it really resonated with me. It says, "Love fully. Live simply. Laugh often." I liked the "live simply" part, and while I was trying to find a pretty version of it, I came across this:

Even better. Time for a few new goals.

Cut the Crap

That's what I'm calling my latest trek back onto the healthy eating wagon...the "Cut the Crap" diet. Now if it could just make me millions (but unfortunately, after a quick Google search, the idea isn't completely new).

Here's the basic idea...I let a lot of crap into my body, both physically and mentally. I figure if I can cut the crap out of my diet and my mind, I'll make some progress.

So, for the mental aspect, I am going to try really REALLY hard to focus on the positive. For me that means guarding my thoughts and keeping these chronic offenders out:
1. Comparisons...of distance, speed, size, weight, style...all of the above.
2. Negative self-talk
3. Doubts

For the physical part, it's all about limiting the "crap" I put into this body of mine:
1. Sugar
2. Processed foods
3. Excess, well, anything

Food, and the preparing of it, should really be about nourishing our bodies, fueling our activities, and nurturing our souls. That's my goal...to cut the crap and get down to the basics.

I liked this quote and how it touches on the physical and mental...

I keep my mind focused on peace, harmony, health, love and abundance. Then, I can’t be distracted by doubt, anxiety, or fear. –Edith Armstrong

Fall back week

It's a "fall back" week in more ways than one. I will be thankful for the extra hour of sleep tonight, and I have to say that I am thankful for a "fall back" week in training this week. The plan said 4, my brain said 6...so my body compromised with 5. I really wanted to break that sub-60 10K, but it's just not there. That's ok. Right now is all about being ready for Vegas...in one month!

Today's splits:
Mile 1     9:40
Mile 2     10:05
Mile 3     10:05 (how's that for consistency?)
Mile 4     10:42 (oops)
Mile 5     10:20
Cooldown 18:12

I am using November to remember all that I am thankful for...and I have so many blessings to list. It's nice to have that focus and to think about all the good things in life. So, while I haven't done a great job on my Happiness Project, I think I'll use the next couple of weeks (until Nov. 18, so I can catch up) to focus on gratefulness.

Mileage Report
Weekly: 18 miles
YTD: 676.85 miles (so close!)

Three Thing Thursday

I've got a couple of challenges going right now.

1. The first is Pile on the Miles (POTM). The idea here is to pile on the miles (running or walking) instead of the pounds this November as holiday season gets started. There's a group spreadsheet to be updated before Friday each week, and there are weekly prizes. That's enough to keep me motivated to run (as if Vegas wasn't enough).

2. The second is the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge (HBBC). This one covers all the holidays, running from November 19 to January 6. It's based on points for the activities you do, as well as points for eating fruits/veggies, responding on Facebook or completing challenges. I'm all for a good challenge!

3. My very own 1100K in 2011! I'm almost there! I need to think of a reward for myself :)

Can't pass up a deal

A couple of weeks ago I saw that Old Navy's compression gear was on sale, and as luck would have it on the day I checked it out online, it was on sale with an additional 20% if you ordered online. On top of that, there was free shipping for orders over $50, so of course, like any sane runner mother would do, I had to order at least that much :)

Here's what I found:

 I tried these out this morning and loved them. Very comfortable!

This jacket has thumbholes, but you can easily cuff the sleeves and not have them over your hands at all. There's a pocket on the sleeve as well.

Wore this for this morning's run too. I love that the straps are adjustable. The back is nice because it has a vented area down the middle and reflectives stripes all the way down the back. There's also a small zippered pocket over the left hip. It is definitely compression wear though and fits snug.

I haven't tried these in a run yet, but I did try them on. They fit well. I liked that they had reflective stripes on the legs. The bottoms are zippered (although I haven't yet figured out the need for that).










When I went to our Old Navy this weekend, I also found a pair of shorts for $2.25! They hit just above the knee and had the small pocket on the back. I saw a couple of tops like the one I got, but in a size too small...and too bad! They were cheap!

I love new running clothes. They made me smile this morning during my run :)

Halloween Fun

We had three days of Halloween fun. SB dressed as Fancy Nancy, complete with a tutu I made Friday night. My lil buddy dressed as "Busby" aka Bumblebee the Transformer. For whatever reason, he couldn't get the name right. This is the first year he really "got" the whole Halloween deal, and it was so much fun!

Day 1: Truck or Treat at my in-law's church

This was a pretty cool deal. They had trick-or-treating out of trucks around their rodeo arena. Then inside the arena, they had fire pits for cooking hot dogs. Unfortunately, SB was not feeling well, so she and I spent most of the time in the car.

Day 2: Trunk or Treat at our church (and I even dressed up for this one...as a runner...what a stretch, huh?)

Yes, I had to do the karate move or he wouldn't take the picture :)

This was the first year for our church to do this...and it was huge! About 75 spots of games and trick-or-treating and tons of people...the kids had a great time!

Day 3: Our annual Halloween family soup supper and trick or treating
We've done this for several years now, and it keeps getting bigger and bigger...and I love it! We had potato soup, chili, tomato/pasta soup, and all the fixings. We actually ate first, which put us trick-or-treating in the dark, but the kids had a great time! We only had three trick-or-treaters with us, but we had 9 (leaving behind 3 adults and a baby) adults. The weather was great for the walk. Poor Ryan was so tired, he put himself to sleep.