Run with My Boys

After a super crappy day of eating and lounging yesterday, it was nice to have a fairly positive day. First, I believe every restaurant should have calories listed on their menu. I can honestly tell you that looking at the calories made me much more selective and conscience when I was eating with the kids at Buffalo Wild Wings today. I opted for the grilled chicken salad; however, I did indulge a little sharing some garlic breaded mushrooms with the kids. One of my goals is to eliminate fried food completely from my diet...still working on that one as it is proving to be more difficult than I anticipated. Part of the issue is poorly timed meals. Today was a prime example of that so goal one needs to be better planning. Dinner was at the ball park and proved to be a tantalizing selection of hotdogs, chips, and M and M cookies.

Saving grace today was a nice three mile run/bike ride with the boys. It was nice running with the boys as the slower pace allowed me to work on my form. I ran the entire run with a mid foot strike focusing on quick feet and keeping the core tight. The shin hurt a little but the calf muscle was more of an issue. How they feel tomorrow will be a good gauge of where things are at. Need more focus and support on the eating plan. Tomorrow's focus will be on strength training. Excited to try out my new lap swim suit this week!

Remember to stretch and roll out the muscles!

Olympic Coma

Today was a tough day to get off the couch as I was sucked in to one Olympic event after another. All the games did, however, inspire me to work harder at my own craft:) Leg was sore today when I tried to run so I did forego any running. Instead, I played some basketball with the kids, player tennis with my husband, went on a four mile walk, and did a glute and hip work out. Still not meeting the daily goal of fruits and vegetables. Breakfast was Total cereal and a banana. Lunch ended up being a hodge podge of things including a bowl of strawberries, a few tortilla chips with guacamole, almonds, and a handful of puff corn. Dinner was a piece of pizza, a half piece of cheesy bread, and three servings of peas. Snacks throughout the day were almonds and pretzel chips in addition to two pieces of dark chocolate. Still not drinking as much water as I was when I was training so I need to work on that. I also need to keep working at getting more fruits and vegetables into my diet. Tomorrow will be a cardio and ab day. Still hoping to run a 5K in three weeks.

Back at It

Today had its ups and downs. The biggest positive was I ran a mile for the first time in seven weeks. Outside of a little pain, my leg feels good. In addition to the mile, I biked for 45 minutes. Breakfast and lunch were combined consisting of an egg salad and avocado sandwich on an everything bagel and a bowl of honey vanilla yogurt with raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. I also had a handful of kettle chips and an ice tea. After my work out I had a half of an almond butter and raspberry red pepper jam sandwich on 12 grain bread. Then we headed to the MOA for some new running shoes. On the way, I snacked on some almonds and mustard pretzel chips with an unsweetened ice tea. I ended up purchasing the Brooks Trance mainly because I love the Brooks Pure Cadence, and Nordstrom’s Anniversary sale was too good to pass up ($70 running shoes is a steal in my book). After the shoe purchase came the downward slide. Childless for the evening, my husband and I decided to enjoy a quiet meal. Caribbean egg rolls, a mango Caribbean salad and half a piece of coconut cake later, the guilt has kicked in. The eating out is definitely a weakness and needs to be worked on. Tomorrow the goal is to strength and cardio train, drink more water, and eat more vegetables.

Starting Again

After a disappointing 4.10 finish at Grandma's Marathon, I have decided to rededicate myself to reaching a BQ. As I wait for my shin to heal, I have decided to work on reaching and maintaining a strong racing weight as well as building strength and hopefully alleviating some of these nagging injuries. My first focus is to change my eating habits by striving to consume 4-5 servings of both fruits and vegetables every day. My second focus is to strength train at least three days a week while mixing in nonimpact cardio until I am cleared to run again. I have been using the Nike Fit app for both cardio and strength training workouts mixed in with time at the gym on the bike and elliptical as well as a little swimming. Today I completed a 15 minute core workout, raced my son in the pool, and played a little two on two basketball with my husband and two sons. Eating habits are probably the most difficult for me to change. I am hoping by recording my daily intake, it will "force" me to be a little more conscious about what I eat. Breakfast was tough as we were rushing off to baseball. Unfortunately, a half of a cinnamon bagel and an iced coffee was all I consumed. Lunch consisted of egg salad on pita bread with avocado and spinach. I made the egg salad with Greek yogurt, mustard, and celery. I also had a pear and a handful of chips. Drink choice was poor as I opted for a ice tea/lemonade instead of my usual ice water. Then we were off to camp and the pool. We should have been better prepared and packed snacks. Instead, I picked up some trail mix at the store and ate a handful of that with a bottle of water. Before dinner I snacked on a few tortilla chips with organic guacamole, popcorn, two animal crackers with almond butter, and some almonds. Dinner consisted of two servings of cooked carrots, one ear of corn, and three small pieces of grilled chicken. My after dinner treat was a piece of dark chocolate with almonds. As I sit here typing this, I am craving my late night snack (a bad habit my husband and I have started). Goal for tomorrow...at least 8 hours of sleep, more fruit, more water, and a cardio workout.