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Taper Twitch...

Yep I think I got it. {twitch... twitch...}
I am so used to working out on Wednesdays, but today was a rest day. Rest... during the week?
Also, I think I'm getting to that point where I'm ready to just get the marathon done. The anticipation is getting to me. It always does. People are wishing me well. I get antsy.

Although today's weather wasn't very inspirational for running anyways..... low 50's and rainy.

But some yummy oats made it all better this morning.

BREAKFAST
-oats made with milk, almond butter, ground flax, Kashi Vanilla Island cereal & few walnuts


Unfortunately my oats couldn't hold me till lunch. I had some ww toast w/PB.

Lunch time I went to an actual Rotary meeting. Yesterday I went to an info session. It as interesting. Everyone was very welcoming.

Although when I meet new people like that, I get a bit nervous and don't eat much.
I just had some salad, small piece of haddock and some succotash.
When I got back to work I was still a bit hungry, so I had some green tea and a cookie. :-)

After work I headed home to walk Reggie. Then I waited for the hubby to get home, as we had a small art opening to go to downtown.

While I waited I admired my lovely hydrangeas I cut from my garden.
Aren't they pretty?


The art opening was great! It was a great collection of photo essays depicting local trades that are disappearing.... dairy farming, fishing, etc.

We yapped way too long with friends though. Got home around 8:30 and had to figure out dinner. When we did our Trader Joe's run over the weekend the hubby had grabbed some steak burritos, so he suggested we do those. We could have microwaved them, but I just figured that would result in mushy burritos. So in the oven they went and it took a bit longer. But by a little after 9 we finally had dinner.

I doctored mine up with some salsa & plain greek yogurt, oh and a little cheese.
Not too shabby.
I'm hoping the weather improves tomorrow.
Looking forward to getting out for a 5 mile run, see how the legs feel. Today they were a bit sore from Monday's kettlebell class. Good thing I decided to just do one kettlebell class this week, figure doing more than that would do more harm than good.

I'm putting me and my taper twitchy legs to bed early tonight.

Do you get anxious before big events/races? How do you calm yourself down?

Have a great night!!

Britt

Jar Oats and 8 year old marathoners?

Count down is on..... 5 days till NYC!!!!

Um... yep, I'm a tad nervous. You just never know what the day will bring. I just hope to enjoy the run though. I don't think I'm in PR-setting shape unfortunately..... I just hope to keep it under 3:40.

I have been enjoying sleeping in till 6:30 lately...... and well, I did it again. I really have no desire to run in the pitch dark this close to the marathon. Tripping would not be pretty.

Instead I headed to work a bit early and had a fabulous wonderful treat........

JAR OATS!!!!

Who knew I could ever be so happy about an almost empty jar of almond butter?

BREAKFAST
-oats made with milk
-1T pumpkin butter, ground flax & walnuts
-almond butter jar remnants

At lunch time today I went to a information session put on by our local rotary. A friend of ours invited me to go, so I went. I do a lot of volunteer work in the community so it seems like a bit of a no brainer for me to join. I just LOVED hearing about how supportive the group is and how ACTIVE they are in the community. Our local Rotary has done some amazing projects and has some fabulous on going programs that do so much for those less fortunate.

Plus they get stuff DONE!
(that is huge, ideas are great but action and follow through is where it is at)

So hopefully soon I'll be a Rotarian. :-)

As for the lunch portion. I didn't do photos.... felt kinda rude snapping a picture with folks talking.

Nothing fancy... they provided lunch.
Turkey on a bulkie w/ lettuce & tomato. I skipped the chips and had a cookie. :-)

Later back at work I needed a snack. I had a post work run planned and needed a little something more to keep me going.

Pita Chips.


After work I headed home and got ready for an easy 3 mile run.
I was good and iced my plantar fascia before heading out. I really do think that helps.

I had to wear my florescent long sleeved Boston Marathon shirt, the sun was starting to set and darkness was creeping in. Amazing how quickly that daylight fades away once fall sets in. Pretty soon I'll be wearing my headlamp!

My run was suppose to be an easy one...... but I felt good and was tempted to pick the pace up a bit. I did for a little bit. Just to feel a little speed. It wasn't a sprint, just a little comfortable speed.

I re-used some leftovers.

DINNER
-field greens w/ tomatoes, gorganzola, leftover salmon and some TJ's balsamic vinaigrette

I'm chilling once again with Reggie. The hubby has night two of the same work function as last night.

I was talking with a colleague earlier today about NYC.
He mentioned this article that was in the NY Times today. I found it interesting.
Back in the late 70's kids, 8 and 9 year olds, ran the NYC marathon!
And with incredible times I might add.

Of course kids that young are no longer allowed to run the marathon. Although it does mention kids as young as 12 running other marathons. Obviously there is some debate of what long term affects this would have on the child's long term health. I have friends with kids that run, however they are 8 and 9 year olds running 5K's.... not a marathon. I know one mother waited until her daughter was 9 before she could run a 5 mile race, until that age she only would let her run up to a 5K.

What do you think about kids under 10 running races? What do you think is an appropriate distance for a child that is 8 or 9 years old?

I definitely think 8 or 9 years shouldn't be running marathons.... I know how taxed my body feels after that distance, I cannot imagine what it does to such a young body. But then again, I'm not an expert. I would love for the kids I have some day to run. If they liked it and wanted to race, I would definitely consult with their doctor on what distance might be appropriate.

Hope you have a great night!

Britt

Ode To my Toes.....

(warning.... if you don't like feet, you won't like this post....well at least the beginning part)

My toes.

They are fabulous toes really.

I just expect a lot out of them and put them through a lot of abuse.

Considering what they go through they have held up amazingly well.

However, this was a rough summer for them. The Boston Marathon in April proved to be a bit much for them....although I probably should have gone up a full size instead of a half size in my sneaks. I did go see the podiatrist....it was a painful appointment though..... as I had blood blisters under both of my big toenails.

SO. FREAKIN. PAINFUL.

But then of course rather than respecting the damage I did to them, I ran another marathon in May.

By June both big toenails were gone.

So the summer of 2009 was the summer of no pedicures. Instead it was the summer of painting my toe skin to make it appear that I had toenails.

I have heard that they make fake toenails, but I could not imagine gluing a fake toenails onto my poor toes, they had already been through so much. Why make them suffer more?

However, my toenails are ALMOST back to normal. Yay!!!

My hope is that by my vacation in January I'll be able to have a pedicure once again. :)

So, here are my wonderful fabulous toes.......


They have carried me many miles.

And of course I expect them to continue to carry me many more.

Thanks guys, you are the best!


Now as for my plantars fasciitis...... get well soon. Ugh.
I'll try to remember to keep icing you and wearing my sexy blue boot to bed every night.

Now on to food. Unless I made you lose your appetite with my ode to my toes. ;-)

So I slept in this morning. Was up too late last night cheering on the Yankees.

Yes I live in NH and I am a Yankee fan.

BREAKFAST
-.5 c oats, .5c almond milk, .5c water
-toppings: almond butter, chopped walnuts, ground flax and some crumbled apple cake (mmm... good)


I ate kinda early though so I needed a little snack.
Yesterday we did a Trader Joe's run and I got the coveted PB filled pretzels.
These puppies are dangerous. Portion control is KEY.


It was a GORGEOUS day out, so I had to get outside during lunch time. So I went for a walk. Unfortunately where I work is in a boring office park, BUT it is near some conservation land so it has some pretty areas. Especially when the trees are beautiful colors in the fall!


I headed in after my walk to enjoy a tasty lunch.

LUNCH
-leftover risotto al autunno.
(which involved wonderful butternut squash which as I saw tweeted today, it scores 100 on the Nu-Val scale)

Also some left over salad of field greens, brussle sprouts, eggplant and tomatoes w/ TJ's balsamic vinaigrette.

Do you ever feel like a lumberjack the way you pack your food for the day? LOL

This was my breakfast & lunch packed for the day. I ate all of it except for some yogurt.


After work I finally got my workout in for the day. Since I missed 6:30 am kettlebell, I went to the 5:30 pm class. I'm not used to all those night time people though, I missed my early morning peeps.

WARM UP
8 minutes
2 turkish get ups each side
run around the building
repeat till time was up

WORKOUT
10 reps each side working down to 1 rep each side
-Dead Cleans
-Front Squats
-Push Press
-Snatches

I kept it somewhat light, mainly a 20lb bell. I didn't want to over due it before the marathon.

I came home and whipped up some dinner.
The hubby has a work function tonight so I'm hanging at home with Reggie.

DINNER
-spaghetti squash w/ TJ's marinara sauce


Now back to hanging with my bud, Reggie.


Have a great night!!!

Britt

Wally did it!

Wally did it! My step dad did another marathon!

This one, as I explained before, was a bit different as he has been through a lot in the past year and half. Between a head injury, recovering from that and then being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, recovering again and then having seizures. But Wally is a determined guy. He puts his mind to something, he will get it done.

While this year's Marine Corps Marathon is probably his slowest ever at close to 6 hours (did same marathon in 2006 in 4:39), it probably is one that will mean the most to him. Despite all these challenges he did not let that stop him from being the runner he is. He loves running. He loves training. He loves setting goals and achieving them.

Here is Wally in action at a race before his accident and later diagnosis.


Walter & my mom are huge inspirations for me. Walter is 63 and my mom is 64. They both are very dedicated runners, training for marathons and racing often. It is because of all that they do that I sometimes don't think what I do is all that big of a deal..... after all, they are twice my age!

I still need to remember that not every 30 year old does what I do. ;-)

But then again not every 30 year old has Wally & my mom to inspire them and motivate them.


Do you have someone amazing that motivates you?

Hope you had a fabulous weekend!!

Britt

Tracking Wally....

I'm not used to this following from home stuff. Either I'm running the marathon as well or there to cheer someone.

I signed up for texted messages, but that doesn't seem to be working, so I'm using the Marine Corps Marathon to track Walter's progress. If you're swinging by for the first time, my step dad is running the Marine Corps Marathon today! Here is the back story on some set backs he has had, which make his run even more amazing!

All of this marathon tracking works up an appetite, so the hubby and I whipped up some breakfast.

BREAKFAST
-scramble of eggs, spinach & garlic chicken sausage, provolone
-sauteed potatoes, onions & herbs

Also enjoying some coffee with milk & agave nectar.

Wally is almost to the half way point. I'm happy to see that he is taking his time. Around a 12:30 pace. It will take him about 5 and half hours, which to be out there that long is very taxing. I know from experience from running with my mom when she had a bad marathon day.... we originally had hoped to get her qualified for Boston at that race, but it just wasn't her day.

I'm also following a friend of ours who is running his first marathon. He was rocking it up till about the half and then slowed down a bit, still he is going to finish WELL under 4 hours. Maybe under 3:40.

All of this marathon excitement has me looking forward to NYC next weekend! :-)

Since I'll be out of town next weekend we caught up with some friends last night. Our wonderful friends Glenn & Aviva. They are great people and great cooks!

We were in charge of salad, so I whipped up this lovely salad......

The salad included....
-herbed spring mix of greens
-grape tomatoes
-roasted brussel sprouts & eggplant
-gorganzola cheese
-I brought some TJ's balsamic vinaigrette to go with it

I must say it was quite tasty.

Here was a fabulous dinner.

DINNER
-pan roasted halibut
-green beans
-a fabulous fennel with cream sauce & bacon.... so good.
-some un-photographed risotto that went incredibly well with the fennel sauce
SO SO SO good. What a great dinner.
We also had some yummy wine. Happy tummy.

Alright now back to tracking Wally. :-)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!!!

Britt

Rainy 5K....

Dreary day....

But I had a 5k to run! It is party of a road race series I'm doing. I had one race more to do and this was the last one, so I HAD to go if I wanted to complete the series and get my jacket.

The weather wasn't all that motivating... it was about 48 degrees and raining, at least the trees were beautiful. Ran into a little traffic while waiting to park.

I planned to just take it easy during the race. I got a nasty calf cramp while sleeping last night, so that was still a bit sore. With the rain I really didn't get much of a warm up in.

I lined up about mid-pack hoping that would force me to start out slow.

It kinda worked. I started out slow.... but then I gradually picked up the pace.

I don't know I hate taking it super easy at races. I did the first mile in about 7 minutes. At that point I figured I'd just run based on how I felt. I felt fairly well, my calf didn't like going uphill so I took it easy on those but kept on plugging. I finished in 22:07. Not too shabby. Annoying part was that I got beat out for 3rd in my age group by 4 seconds. Arg. Oh well. If I didn't have the marathon in the back of my mind I probably would have done better. Some day I'll get back to working on my goal of breaking 20 minutes, although I seem to be getting further away from that lately.

The finish was about a mile from the start. They had a shuttle but it wasn't running yet, so I just ran back to my car.

A self portrait back at the car.

I hadn't really eaten before the race. I did have some hot apple cider at the finish area and some cantaloupe. I was very happy to get home and make a warm breakfast.

BREAKFAST

-.5c oats, .5c almond milk, .5c water

-1T almond butter, 1T ground flax, some maple granola

After fueling back up I wasn't sure what I wanted to do on a rainy day. But now that my dad is gone I figured I'd enjoy a little me time and just go shopping. :-) Window shopped more than anything else though, but it was nice to just be alone for a bit and not have it involve running.

A few hours later I finally made my way home and had an appetite again. I needed something quick and easy so I heated my leftovers from Thursday night. Yum.

Now I'm catch up on a little Tivo. Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, Biggest Loser, etc. Another good rainy day activity. I think I need some tea now though, as it is a bit chilly.

I think we are going to head to our friends house for dinner tonight. At least I hope we are. They always make such great food!!!

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!!

Britt