Hills

Today I decided that I would do The Hills by the house. My aunt and uncle live right next to the Metroparks system and in order to get to their house, you have to drive through it. The directions usually include, "turn left, go down the hill, then up the hill, turn right, then left and you're here." I did the hills today, both of them. I went down the hill, across for a half mile, then up the hill, then back down, across and back up.

I know I'm being sort of cryptic and that's okay. Suffice it to say that these hills are about 1/4 mile long, each, and are both, on average, about a 10-12 degree incline. There is one section of hill that has a short steep part, right near the crest.

Pushing the stroller up the hills is quite a glute/hammy workout. There was no running, just pushing uphill...push, push, push. Thankfully, the day is bright and sunny and lots of blue sky. We did stop to watch the fly fishers in the river catch some pretty big fish!

Very Sisyphean of me, without the rolling back down...that would have been dangerous for Littles.

Maybe later, I'll do it again.

Mission Accomplished!

Yesterday was my race, the Jog into Spring event in Independence, Ohio. The morning was pretty cold, about 35 degrees, but it was a bright day with plenty of sun. My friend Craig did come and do the event with me. We ran together the whole way, saying "Thanks" to the winning runners as they said "good job" passing us at the 1 mile / 2.5 mile mark. (The course doubles back on itself)

I finished it in 33:05, running the whole way, 3.1 miles, no stopping, no walking.

I couldn't be prouder of myself.

BUT! My back. O.M.G. My back HURTS. Not my legs, shins, calves, feet or hips. MY BACK. Ouch.

P90X Introduction

Yesterday, since it was raining quite hard and Littles would have had to join me on a run, I decided to exercise inside instead. I put in the Plyometrics DVD from the P90X series just to get an idea of what I was in for, work up a sweat and feel good about staying inside.

I did about 7 minutes of it, maybe half of that holding Littles because he was crying, before I had to stop to tend to my child. After 7 minutes of Plyometrics, my legs were sore THAT DAY.

This morning, my upper hamstrings are quite upset. I'm looking forward to this new challenge after I run my race on Saturday. I think I'll finally have the guts to put up the "before" pictures for total accountability just so that I can gloat about the 'after' pictures in 3 months.

Sun's out today. Gonna run outside!

Dairy Free Protein Smoothie

I've been meaning to post this for awhile. I am off dairy indefinitely due to my little guy not being able to process the milk proteins and honestly, I don't really miss it, except when I am eating a cookie. (I still sneak a bit of cheese now and then...)

Most smoothie recipes call for milk or ice cream or yogurt of some sort to make the smoothie smooth. Since I can't have milk products, I was looking around for some dairy free recipes and really came up kind of short. So, I made my own.

Here is my super simple, really healthy, dairy-free, super delicious smoothie recipe:

(1) banana, sliced, (small to medium for 12oz, large banana for large serving)
1/2 c rice milk
3 tbs vegetable protein powder (soy)
6 frozen strawberries
1 tbl honey
2 tsp vanilla extract

Pour the rice milk into the blender, add the sliced banana and protein powder. Mix on high for about 30 seconds. Make sure all the protein powder is mixed in and not stuck to the side of the blender. Add strawberries through hole in lid one at a time, careful to watch for splashing! After strawberries are completely mixed in, add honey and vanilla. Whip for 30 seconds and serve!

Makes about one 12 oz smoothie. Feel free to double everything for a larger smoothie. The honey and vanilla really take this smoothie over the top on flavor. Enjoy with a reusable glass straw: http://www.glassdharma.com/straws.html

On Course

Today I drove to the race course.

I downloaded the course from the website and headed over there today to get the lay of the land.

There are a few tiny hills and a spot where the wind just whips across.

Today was bright sunshiney, windy and nice, around 62 deg.

I think I ran 2/3 of it, walked the other 1/3. I can honestly say that the 1/3 I walked was into the wind, uphill with the stroller. Ugh. Serious resistance.

Since I don't know where the mile makers were, I just concentrated on finishing it running, which I did. I think about mile 2.5 I hit a bit of a wall and this coincided with the last uphill spot where the wind comes across. The last 2/10 or so is mildly downhill and I let the stroller roll on its own while I held its leash. Xavier slept the whole time. (I won't be pushing him for the race...thankfully!)

So, all in all, a good day. I felt happy with my progress and if I can keep on keeping on, the weather stays mild and I don't get another sinus flare up, I could actually do this!!

Curveballs

Okay.

Its just downright difficult for me to focus on the mental mechanics of running while pushing a fussy baby in a stroller into the wind while its raining.

I'm worried that he's not covered up or that he's hungry. The stroller is designed for running but I still have to push it. Into the wind. While running.

I'm a novice runner and darnit, that's hard!

Twelve days and counting to my 5K. I'm not feeling confident at this point

Between the dismal days, rain, clouds, constant freakin' grey skies, inconsistent eating, being depressed about my life in general and constantly interrupted sleep....this is HARD!

Lack of Motivation

I can't seem to get motivated to run again after that failed attempt. I'm not sleeping well due to the baby, I'm not eating well due to dietary restrictions for the baby. I'm having a hard time getting enough protein as I can't have eggs and I really like eggs. Eggs are my breakfast staple: two eggs each morning to give me a burst of protein to keep me going through the day.

I've been off eggs for five and a half months now. My pediatrician said to stop eating them as they can be an aggravator to the baby through the milk. Its killing me to not eat eggs. If anyone has any suggestions on protein consumption in the morning aside from protein shakes, let me know. I'm not much of a protein shakes eater but if I have to eat them to get through this goal, then that's what I'll do.

So, not having the energy or the drive to get out there and run is a bit of a problem. I can't train for the last mile unless I can get out there and do it. I'm a bit lonely here and that's contributing to my lack of motivation. I haven't seen the sun in awhile and that's a contributing factor as well. Its just work and baby and that's it. Work isn't satisfying and the baby is all encompassing...

Ugh.