Thank you all for the wonderful comments and support on my Month 3 Progress post! I always feel a bit awkward publishing these posts, but I believe in the importance of sharing the real deal in accomplishing body goals in a healthy manner. Don’t forget to let me know in the comments of any questions you may have about how I do things for an upcoming Q + A post. I’m an open book, so ask anything. 🙂

Yesterday afternoon, I realized something that needed a quick remedy.

I also craved a burger. Thus, this beauty was born.

I marinated two portabella mushroom caps in a mixture of olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, and sodium-free steak seasoning. Then, Peter plopped them on the grill to cook for about 5 minutes per side with some additional basting action for optimal flavor.

I topped my ‘bella burger with a thick smear of goat cheese, spinach, tomato, pickles, and red onion. Only one vegetable could stand up to this fabulous dinner. None other than my all-time favorite roasted Brussels sprouts.

After that meal, sister night ensued. We can entertain each other all too easily with our random senses of humor. For example, we have a tradition that we must eat ice cream while watching The Biggest Loser. Why? Simply because the irony of it amuses us so. Plus, its tasty.

I now need to back up a bit. Before the fun of my evening began, I went out for a run. I headed to an area I could easily get around for a little over 3 miles. I wanted to do a quick run to push my pace and see what I could accomplish. 

I managed to keep my pace where I wanted (average 8:27), but I really struggled. It felt like everything was against me. I ate too close to my run. I dressed too warmly. The wind was blowing. The evil hill wanted to kill me.

For the record…it keeps going after that curve. A lot.  

It kind of stunk. But was awesome at the same time to know I pushed through. Perhaps this will make my 5K seem easier since it’s supposed to be a flat course and I learned a few things to help prepare myself better.

Did you know? My 5K is THIS Saturday! I can hardly believe my race is on Saturday! I have so much anticipation and I feel so excited for it. I also have all these thoughts swarming my mind on whether or not I will be prepared for the race. Not so much prepared physically, since I do feel ready in that aspect, but prepared with all the little race-day things I know nothing about. Here is what I have in mind for this weekend:

1. Pick up my race packet at early pick-up Friday afternoon.
2. Charge my music, Garmin, etc the day before.
3. Lay out all of my clothing, race bib, technology, etc the night before.
4. Wake up early to eat one of my tried and true pre-run meal combos.
5. Leave early to have time to get there on time and find my way around.

I have no clue from there. I hope I don’t walk around looking like a deer in headlights at the venue because I don’t know what to do. I am thankful that it now looks like Peter will manage accompanying me, which before he wasn’t sure about. That will help knowing I have someone to watch my stuff, get some pictures, and cheer me on! I also feel SO thankful that Lee will be there with me. I know she will help me feel at ease and show me what to do. Until then, I will gladly take any advice you have!

• What pre-race and race day tips can you share?
• Do you like Brussels sprouts?

I did something exciting yesterday…

I’m now officially registered for my first race! My first 5K in just 5 short weeks from tomorrow. FIVE! That will be here in the blink of an eye. It’s already been six weeks on the Couch to 5K program after all.

Over the last 6 weeks I have really grown to love running again. Yes, again. Back in high school I loved to run. I wanted to join the cross country team, but couldn’t because of cheerleading. I would even go on some training runs with friends on the team. Then, I fell off the exercise bandwagon in college and never went back to running when I finally embraced working out again. I never felt like I did it well enough.

Now, I recognize how its all about the personal challenge. I love having that sense of accomplishment with each run because each run brings a new challenge. That’s why I knew I had to get out and try something different for yesterday’s run. So, I donned my 4all by jofit jacket to brace the chill and took my run to the great outdoors!

I had very low expectations for this workout. After all, running outdoors has a lot more going on than on a treadmill. In an attempt to keep it as simple as possible, I first headed to a local greenway trail for a flat, out and back, no thinking required run. Umm, it was closed. I headed to the gym and almost just went in for the treadmill, but had anticipated running outdoors all day. So, I went for it.

Once I got going I felt so good. I actually scrapped the Couch to 5K workout plan because I didn’t want the walking break. I just wanted to run. So you can imagine my surprise when, without even trying, I ended up with 3.2 miles in 29:35!!!

Oh, ^ that ^. Someone in our house *cough cough – Peter* can’t pass up a deal on techy equipment when he finds one. So, I am the proud owner of one of these bad boys despite my original intent to wait for one. I’m not complaining. I think its going to be a very useful tool for me. Plus, its fun to see things like this:

• Mile 1 = 9:10
• Mile 2 = 9:30
• Mile 3 = 9:05
• Mile 3 – 3.2 = 1:50
• Average Pace = 9:15/mile <—I think that comes from a combo of wanting out of the chilly air and having to pee! It’s the only rational thing!

I honestly felt amazing the entire time. I think I had a cheesy smile plastered to my face because it just felt so good. I can’t wait to run outdoors again! 

Although it did make me quite hungry. I cam home and immediately devoured two of the following:

Black beans, corn, cheese, salsa, lettuce, and a bit of our cow-share beef on whole wheat tortillas. Super simple and delicious. I love taco night!

One last thing. I created an account on Daily Mile for workout inspiration and tracking of my workouts.

Click to add me as a friend! I would love to share the motivation. 🙂

And yes, I know I have clearly fallen hard for running. Don’t judge!

Question of the Day – Have you ever quickly fallen in love? How did it turn out? I think I have a good gut knowing whether or not I’ll love something for the long haul. It’s always worked for me – my marriage, deciding to have kids, passion for weight training, blogging, and hopefully now running.