5k!!

So Friday was 5k day. I was bound and determined to try to run the whole thing, so I knew I needed my energy!!! I started the day off right with a cup of Oikos, topped with some Cascadian Farms Organic Honey O's and some frozen organic raspberries. And... the beginning of the water overload!!!




Work was 'as usual' if you will, but I brought a special bar for my snack. Sorry Larabar... I wanted to make sure I got my greens!!! And to be honest, I wasn't even THAT hungry for it by 10:30am... which means that breakfast was doing the trick!!!



I really like this bar! It looks absolutely GROSS when you open it (yeah, it's green...) but it tastes really good. Lots of greens and quality ingredients. Any time these guys are on sale at Kroger, I stock up!!!

I didn't actually get to eat my lunch until 1pm, but that was ok. I made sure not to bring too much since the run was t minus 6 hours away. I made some whole wheat pasta and threw in some leftover veggies from the YUMMY veggie sandwich I made the day before. I paired it with half an orange, and a few bites of TJ's Dark Chocolate. mmmmm!!!!








Oh yeah, and that water overload that I mentioned... that continued....



I got home around 4:45, and wanted to make sure I had a little something in be, so by 5:15, I had made up the pre-run meal that I try to always do...



Toasted Ezekiel topped with Almond Butter, 1/2 a banana, and some organic blueberry preserves....


And a GM!!!! To celebrate the 'World Famous Pig Run' that I was about to do, I drank out of the glass I got from it last year. This GM was made out of the other half of the banana, a kiwi, a handful of spinach, 1/4 zucchini, 1 T of Chia Seeds, and a little bit of water. YUM!!!! Energy was flowing!! Oh, and more water.

For luck, I wore my favorite socks (just for my Disers)!!!



Since I was so determined to get a better time, I decided to make a new playlist on my Ipod to run to. I swear that music REALLY helps to keep me going. Here's what I programed:

Hey You- 311
Electric Feel- MGMT (great song... check this one out)
Africa- Toto
Eons- 311
Let Go- Frou Frou (another great song)
You Only Get What You Give- New Radicals
Remind Me- Royksopp
Blame It- Jamie Foxx
My Hero- Foo Fighters

That was 38:24 min of music, and YOU BETTER BELIEVE THAT I FINISHED BEFORE THE LAST SONG WAS DONE!!!!! I finished at 37:22. Last year, my best time was 39:45... in October!!! The course was REALLY hilly... which took a lot out of me. I walked a lot, but I RAN FAST to make up time. The only problem was- I had to REALLY watch my heart rate... it got up to 197 at times!!! It was then when I knew I needed to slow way down. When my heart got back down to 180, I kicked it up to a run again. I really pushed myself, but I DID IT!!

When I got home, I had to have a post-race recovery...



An egg white 'burrito' with a little bit of salsa, mushrooms, spinach in a whole wheat tortilla and 1/2 of a tomato. AND MORE WATER. It was HOT HOT HOT outside, and I was SOAKED. At the turn around, I actually got water, which I never do. It's a good thing I was drinking ALL DAY LONG!! The only bad thing was that my Mickey socks gave me a blister!! Not fun. Oh well, I had to represent!!!

I was very proud that I shaved 3min and 30 sec. off of my last 5k time (from July 4), and am ready to start training for the next one. Have a fantastic evening, all! I'm off to do some Billy Bootcamp Tae Bo.

Until next time, push yourself- you'll never know what you can do if you don't. Namaste.

5K Day- 4th of July!

Good evening all. I'm taking a break from getting ready for the week ahead... a 5 day week?! What AM I going to do?!

Well anyway, yesterday, I ran in a 5K. My goal was to run the whole thing... and run it in under 40 min (37 to be exact). I've said it before, and I'll say it again- I was not born a runner. I'm not built like a runner. Endurance is not my thing, and it never has been. I'm more of a bulky sprinter/weight lifter type person. I'm a FAST runner... but for a VERY short amount of time... and then I fizzle. That said...

In the morning, I started the day off with a piece of Ezekiel with AB and organic jelly, and water of course. I didn't want to have too heavy of a breakfast. Now unfortunately, we had to be out the door by 6:55am to get to the race site on time. YIKES! Too bad the night before we stayed up past 11:00pm... DOUBLE YIKES! But, overall, I felt pretty good, and not too tired. Yet.

We got to the race site, signed in, and pinned on my number. Number 2. Ok... weird.



My Superman pose- like I'm going to go save the day or something. So I was all rearin' to go. I had my heart rate monitor on, and my ipod was stocked with 38 min of Disney rides (haha... yeah I know.) Well, the first problem was, once the buzzer sounded to start the race, I couldn't figure out how to start my timer on my monitor! What are the odds... it wasn't until halfway through the race when I finally got it going. I was pushing the wrong buttons I guess. My Disney rides kept me company (for all of you Disers out there, I had Maelstrom, KS (the song part of the ride), EEA (the opening), RoC (whole thing), and LwtL (whole thing) ). I'm thinking next time though, songs might be a better idea just because it'll give me a beat to run to, and I'll better be able to keep track of time.

I started off the run at a slow-ish, but steady pace. I ran and ran (ok, jogged and jogged). I saw my brother in law pass me (after the turn around), then Brenton. I yelled to Brenton "I've run this whole time!!"... and then it hits. My legs did NOT want to run anymore. Yes folks, I had to stop and walk... but only for 20ish seconds to catch my breath. Then I ran again... and yet again had to walk a little bit. All in all, I ran more than I ever had before. Unfortunately, I finished at 40:26... not 37:00... but really, last year at the END of the year, I ran in the 39's, so this being my 3rd race of the year, 40:26 isn't that bad. And it's REALLY good for me. Here's me running and waving to my sister (who's taking the picture) at the end of the race:



Boy was I glad to see that finish line!!!!! Oh the heart rate monitor thing- once I figured out how to start it, I kept an eye on my heart rate... 183 most of the time!!! YiKeS!!! That's part of the reason that I had to slow down and walk a little bit. Considering my MAX is 195... not good.

The next race is sometime at the end of this month- The World Famous Pig Run at the Jazz and Ribs festival downtown. That's a toughie!!! It's at 7pm, and it's always HOT and kinda hilly-ish. Last year at that one the heat gave me and my sister a cramp.

In the meantime, I'm going to try to keep working on my endurance. Any advice would be MUCH APPRECIATED!!

Have a good start of the week! Namaste.