Thank you so much for all of your cheers for me about actually completing a run! And also, for the many kind words you shared about my blog and also the ways you have grown through blogging as well. The comments were great to read. Keep them coming, since I love knowing why you love blogging as well.

Before getting more into this post, I would LOVE it if you all would click on over to Lisa's blog and read the guest post I did for her. It is all about how we can truly respect our bodies and the importance of doing so. It is something I really enjoyed writing and I want to share it with each of you. While you're over there...check out Lisa's own posts as well. She is one awesome chick and I have known her through the online world for a long time. From the things we have gone through and how we relate to each other, I would think we are long lost sisters. She is one of my favorite ladies!

On to the Amazing Grass Giveaway Winner! I apologize for just now posting this up. But the winner is....#1!!! I don't think random.org has EVER given a 1 as its result. How cool. So, that means Jessica from How Sweet It Is is the winner. Congrats Jess!!! I know you will appreciate this so you can have some chocolate and berry vegetables. 😉 Email me at [email protected] and I will get those to you ASAP.

Now for the Frontiers part of my post. Tonight for dinner I made a soup using a ready made soup mix that I was sent from the kind people at Frontier soups to review. I received 3 soups to try out and for the first one I decided to take the adventurous route and prepare the Indiana Harvest Sausage Lentil soup.

I have never had lentils before, so this was definitely taking my cooking to a new frontier. In a way I knew I would be comfortable with, since things I cook must be easy. 😉

The soup mix contains the following: green and red lentils, rice, onions, carrots, celery, leeks, paprika and herbs. No added salt, preservatives or MSG. Pretty good, huh? And easy too!

Ingredients

• Frontier soup mix package
• 1 T Olive Oil
• 1 lb Mild Italian Sausage (I used sweet turkey sausage)
• 12 C Beef Broth (I used 1/2 broth & 1/2 water to both save money and not have it be so "beefy" tasting)
• 3 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 28 oz can chopped tomatoes
• 1C Red Wine

Step by Step

1. Rinse, drain, and pick over lentils.

2. Crumble and brown sausage in a 6 to 8 quart pot with oil.

3. Stir in contents of vegetable packet from soup mix. Add broth and lentils to pot.

4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes.

5. Add zucchini and simmer for 30 more minutes.

6. Add tomatoes and wine to soup. Simmer uncovered 15-30 more minutes.

7. Serve and eat! And have some of the leftover red wine for a treat.

me + my sis...and makenzie too interested in the wine

Look for another Frontier soup creation making an appearance in my kitchen next week. And a formal review with more info of the products coming soon. Until then, if you want to try them out, check out their website!

***I added blogs to my blogroll, but had to go ahead and get off the computer. If I missed adding yours and you want it added please let me know. I wanted to be sure to add all of the blogs I regularly read and comment on so please don't feel bad if yours isn't up there. I simply ran out of time.

Well, since high school at least. But today I did it. I actually ran 3.1 miles! It may not have been in a race. It may have been on a machine instead of the great outdoors. But I did it. Completely unexpectedly, and it feels awesome.

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As usual on Tuesday, I headed to the gym for Power and then a 20-30 minute cardio workout afterwards. I was a little disappointed in Power because the Tuesday instructor hasn't reviewed enough of the new release to teach it and we just did old tracks. Our gym started the Spring '10 release on Saturday and I loved it so much I was sad not to do it today. Nevertheless, it was still a good workout and I challenged myself just the right amount since I like to play Goldilocks.

After class, I hopped on the treadmill planning to do the same interval workout I did last week. One interval into it I knew that just wasn't happening. My legs felt like lead hitting 7.0 and I just wasn't feeling it at all. I figured I would modify and run intervals of a few minutes at 6.0, a minute at 4.0, a few minutes at 6.0, a minute at 4.0, lather rinse repeat until I was done.

Turns out, running at 6.0 felt good. I didn't feel the need to drop back down to 4.0 after a few minutes. So I didn't. I kept going, figuring I would get tired in a few more minutes and take a break then. But that need for a break never came. And I just kept pushing on. I even got an extra wind and bumped the speed up a couple tenths of a degree every few minutes, reaching a 6.6 speed for the last 5-10 minutes or so. I was loving my run. That has never happened to me before. No joke. Running and me do not normally bond so well. I like it for a bit, but it certainly does not like me, so then I decide to make the feeling mutual and stop.

But today was different. Once I got to about 20 minutes straight of running, I knew I wanted to reach that 3.1 mileage. I don't know why it got in my head, but it did and it was a goal I was determined to get to.

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I will admit the last 1/2 mile was starting to get tough on me. My calves were hurting (from the incline, from my stride, I have no clue but they hurt!) and I was reaching the point where I thought "I don't have to finish. I've already done more than anticipated". But I kept pushing. What was my motivation? Knowing how proud I would feel to do something I haven't done in a long time. Knowing that I would regret it if I stopped. Knowing how happy you all would be for me and celebrate with me on this small triumph of mine. Having something workout related to get excited about, which sadly I haven't been able to have in my life too much recently with my "going through the motions" workouts.

It may seem a small victory, but it was a big one as well. It reminded me of the fact that I can push through and endure anything. It shows me I can get through trials ranging from finishing a run to walking blindly in faith where emotions run high. I have overcome many challenges already in my life (binge eating, depression, competition prep! ;)) and they have given me the strength to do anything else I may set my mind to. Lift up each and every victory in your life. They are around you each and every day. Be proud of them; share them; own your accomplishments. Cross that finish line waiting for you in whatever challenge you are facing. Then celebrate it. No matter how small it may be. What is your victory today? And...how can I help my calves? 😉

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