3 miles? Nah Let's do 9!!!

That's not exactly how it happened but pretty close. We decided last week to make Thurs. our long run instead of Sundays. However, after my terrible Tues. run I was thinking a few more days of rest til my long Sunday was looking pretty good. But, as soon as we headed out last night we were all feeling pretty good and 3 just felt like...well, just 3?? At what would of been our turn around point we decided to keep on truckin. Since we had planned our long run for the week to be 8 we opted for that route(root) LOL! Teresa is our navigator(she has the Garmin) she also is great at keeping us on pace. She suggested our extended route and let's just say her calculations were a little off. At approx. a half mile from my house(the starting point) we were at 8.5!! TERESA!!! It's a good thing I love ya girl. Actually, I felt great and even said I could go farther, we sped up too. Well when we got to my house we were actually only at 8.7. I'm thinking well, that's good .7 over our goal. Oh, no. "At this point we may as well run 9." The voices of my evil running partners. I had to run PAST my house not once, but TWICE!!! It was psychological warfare. (I shouldn't of sped up at 8.5, damn my ego) Despite the fire burning in my knees and hamstrings I actually felt great. A little nauseous, but great! I got in and iced everything, took a hot shower and slept like a baby! This morning believe it or not I woke up pain free and actually looking forward to my 3 miles on Sunday.

This is my longest run ever and I couldn't have gotten through it without my running girls. Teresa the navigator(no she's not fired), Christy the motivational speaker("you love these long miles, you do") and Barb the silent weapon whom always shows up injured or not ready for anything!

Supar!

Supar is not some kind of strange Vegan ingredient. It's a typo. Omit the supar and add 1 cup of SUGAR!! Sorry ;)

The recipe for the Vegan Apple Bread!

I wasn't able to take any pictures of this bread because it didn't last 24hrs in my house. My kids loved it!

Apple Bread

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 c. supar
1 c. shredded, peeled apple(I used two apples)
1/4 c. cooking oil(I used canola oil)
1 egg( or egg substitute)
1/4 tsp lemon peel
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Grease 8x4x2 bread pan. Preheat oven at 350. In med. bowl combine flour, cinn, baking soda, powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.
In another bowl combine sugar, shredded apples, oil, egg(or subst.), and lemon. Mix well. Add the dry mixt to the apple mixt. Stir just until moistened. Fold in walnuts.
Spoon batter into your greased pan and bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes. Let it cool for about 10min before you remove it from the pan.
The base of this recipe comes from my old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I just "veganized" it. Enjoy!!

Two runs down...One to go!

Thank goodness I only run 3 days a week because I could NEVER stay comitted to a 5 day program. I'm such a slacker.

Tuesday run: Pre-run food was cheese fries with jalapenos, shrimp pita and a drink with rum! Needless to say I hadn't planned on running but the girls were in my driveway and they're very hard to say no to. I should note that is not normally a pre-run menu for me but with all the kids activities and such that evening I didn't think I'd make it home in time for my run. The plan to do 4 quickly became 2 once my stomach realized what was going on. I don't know my pace or anything that night but I'm sure it wasn't very fast ;(

Thursday was much better! We decided to run the Gasparilla 15k on Feb 9th. The only problem is we haven't exactly been training for it so for now until then we really have to up our mileage. We ran 7.56 miles in 1:14mins. Not too bad. We really tried to keep around a 10min pace, which was hard in the beginning but as we went on we were thankful for the slower pace. The only bad thing is I somehow managed to hurt my knee and I'm hoping a few days of rest will get me ready for my Sunday run. Ice and elevate are my weekend plans!

You say I run like a girl; If you ran a little faster, you could too!

That's my favorite quote these days. Teresa in my running group got a Garmin so now we finally know our pace. Tonight was a fast one and at mile 4 I was starting to feel it but we kepting pushing on.
Mile 1 was 8:45
Miles 2,3 and 4 were 8:30
Mile 5 at 8:40
I find it hilarious that at the beginning of mile 5 I said we better slow it down a bit but we actually only slowed down by 10 seconds. This was a fast run for us but it felt awesome!!!

I love to run!

I never thought I'd utter those words. However, after months of running with my good friend Barb and now my "running club" I absolutely love to run! I'd heard other runners talk about the "runners high" and the rampant hunger that comes from a long exhausting run(as if it were a good thing) and I never quite understood what they were talking about. I mean I knew the basic bonuses earned from running, being a size 2 after three kids, being in better shape than most 20 yr olds, and sleeping like a baby. Yet, still I hadn't grasped the true love of the sport. Don't get me wrong these past few months haven't been pristine but I think that it what the true "spirit" of running is really about. It's about having a crappy side-sititch infested run and then heading out two days later and having a wonderful, easy run. It's the give and take, ying and yang that leaves you wanting more. Thinking " Well, this run sucks but I bet my next one will be great." To a non-runner it's hard to grasp that concept but ask a runner and they will know exactly what you mean. So, eventhough it's not alway's a "run " in the park it's worth it!