Saturdays & Rice Crispie treats!

I do like Saturdays, it's nice not to have to wake up early & go to work. Instead, i woke up early and went for a run, ha!

The run went well, i did my usual 4 mile run, and i'm really looking forward to the 10k "practice" race which is 2 weeks away(June 15th). I'm even starting to think about my pre-race routine, and my night-before meal, and what to put in my little backpack.

I've got my cheering section consisting of one enthusiastic boyfriend - who would be running it himself probably if it weren't a race JUST for woman, ha! I've got my co-runner who is also the colleague who co-hosted our bake sale, and let's cross our fingers for some good weather! The route is on the seaside and goes up & down the pier, so it'll be a nice scenic route at least.

So yeah, all is well on that front.

I did however, bake some rice crispie treats today because i had some marshmellows leftover from camping and what better way to use them up then to make something that is tasty and easy to make! So yeah, made them and proceeded to chow down on half the pan of them! Ha! They are super tasty! And sorta low-fat-ish?!

I'll be giving the rest of them away, fear not Mom!

:)

The Bake Sale Yummies

Our Bake Sale was awesome! People were so generous, everyone baked, brought or bought!! I was impressed with the amount of help/support we received from our friends in the office, big thanks to everyone!!!

Photos:

The Famous Chocolate Cake

Swirly cinnamon muffins

Banana Cake
End of the day empties

Let's get started - donate here!

Oatmeal Raisin cookies

Corned-beef pie

Coffee Kisses(my new favorite mmmm!)

Muffins!(pink or chocolate!)

So there you have it, there's not much more to say except that thanks to the Bake Sale, we've both had a big helping hand in our fundraising efforts for our charities!!!

Although i'm still working off the calories from that day.....ooops!

Not a 13-minute Mile!

So, i don’t actually run a 13 minute mile after all!!! Woohoo!! How exciting to realize that i run a 10 ½/11 minute mile, and i’ll tell you how i know.....

Using a fascinating webpage, brought to my attention by a friend from work, called mapmyrun.co.uk which actually let’s you MAP & then calculate the distance of your run along your own local streets. By using this website, i found out that what is becoming my “everyday run” is actually a 4-mile route. I was pretty psyched at that fact since it was getting relatively “easy”, but NOT easy as you know it...there is an easiness scale in my mind of course, and if 10 is super-duper easy, then my route was becoming a 4 on the scale. Slowly and steadily getting a bit easier to run each time, and becoming much less intimidating to be out running for such a chunk of time.

After that mileage realization, i stopped paying attention to the fact that i wanted to run for 45 minutes as my goal, and decided to see just how long it takes me to run 4 miles. My time came in under 45 mins(depending on the day anywhere between 40-42 mins . It may seem silly to pay attention to the exact minute but it makes a difference, really!).

So yeah.....Yay me! I’m pretty proud of myself.

:)

Virus gone, hopefully?

Well then, had a little trouble with my computer for a bit there. It all seems to have been sorted now, phew! It is super-frustrating to be without computer access, that's for sure!

I've been out tonight for a run and I feel good! It's 8:30pm and still light out - it's hard to get used to the fact that it will be light until pretty late(at least 9pm) and then get light again at around 4am! We are pretty far north here in Newcastle. And it's even more light when you have rather thin beige curtains - yikes! Ha! That's where a face mask comes in handy(along with my earplugs for my noisy neighbors & my mouth gaurd for my teeth grinding - Oh my! wWhat a cutie I am at night!!!).

So i think it's safe to say that aside from the occasional cool/rainy day, it is as close to summery as we're gonna get over here. We've had a couple of extra warm days and they were lovely - everyone is crossing their fingers that those few days of niceness weren't the whole summer already been & gone, ha!

Overall it's been really nice weather for jogging lately. So nice & warm that I've had to get one of those ipod armbands in order to strap my ipod to me since it's too warm to wear my jacket which had a pocket. So i have my cute pink armband which i like to think of as a sweet little accessory to go with my other pink accents.

So yeah, nothing profound or all that interesting at all to say today - just wanted to write something to explain that my computer was not a happy-bunny and that's why i've been "silent" for a bit, but it seems to be fixed, so all is well - yay!

Oh yeah!! Remind me i need to do an entry on the FABULOUS BAKE SALE!!!!!! I'll need more time than i have right now, so it'll have to wait. But i've got some awesome photos, you WILL BE DROOLING!!!!!!

Toodles 'til next time......

It's like the escalator...

So I went for a run this AM, and it was particularly tough to do even though it was first thing in the morning, which is usually a good time for me to run.

I guess some days will just be like that, but it'd be a heck of a lot easier if stamina/endurance was steady. It's probably one of those things that will come in time as my training goes on, at least I hope! And it is only the second month of my serious training, so I can't expect too much just yet! I should be happy just to be getting out there for a run, and I am, but it's difficult when the results are slow-going. Although, slow & steady does win the race. It's like my morning escalator ride...

Each morning I choose to walk up a very long/high escalator on my way to work. If I wanted to just stand & ride the escalator it'd be way easier and I'd just stand on the right with all the others who don't want to break a sweat before their work day, and up we go!

Instead, I choose to walk up the left side of the escalator and end up huffing & puffing when I reach the top(mainly because i don't have the patience to stand there for 5 mins while it slowly, slowly crawls to the top). I just take it one step at a time, at a nice slow pace and don't look up at the tippy-top cuz then I'd fall over, but I just keep focus on the single step in front of me, one at a time....and then all of a sudden i'm at the top and off to work I go!

So, somehow that relates to my running, yeah.....one day i'll be at the top of my training and off to the race i'll go! (hopefully in time for June 15th's 10k!!)

Or something like that.....ha!

Mileage

I’ve seen some really fancy blogs detailing runs to the minute and pacing for each type of run and heart rates and whatnot……which is all pretty interesting if you are REALLY into your running. I was actually pleased with myself that I managed to set up a basic spreadsheet that adds up my total minutes and sorta does the math for roughly how many hours total that I’ve run and roughly how many miles it would equal based on my pace of a 13min mile(which I THINK is my pace – but I could be wrong and haven’t timed it recently)

So here we go:

Total minutes run in April= 395 minutes
Hours = about 6 ½
Miles= about 30


Yay!

Rhythm to run to.

I think I have found my inner rhythm, well … it’s my inner running rhythm at least. The recent runs that I have done listening to drum n’ bass tunes on my ipod have been extra enjoyable and the throbbing bass has kept my feet moving even when I really, really wanted to stop.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it(Mom!) this genre of music is very bass-heavy(thumpy) and super dance-able in my humble opinion. So it easily can be used to pace a run, or just to give enough “Oomph” to keep going. It just felt like I was “dancing” along to the tunes, bopping to the bass and actually smiling - through the tiredness which was showing on my face, when one of my favourite songs came on. It really does help to urge me to keep on runnin’ and also makes me want to go dancing! Ha!

I’ve downloaded a friends podcast of his online DnB show that he does(Thanks Q!) and this provides 2 hours of tunes to run by which is excellent! So I’ll have a fresh source of pacing regularly from him, and then of course there is my own music library to select the most bassy tunes from and create a selection that will be my back up.

As long as my ipod battery is fully charged - as well as my energy level - I’ll be ready to hit the pavement!!

Peanut butter toast....

Peanut Butter toast, miracle cure for my fatigure?

I dunno, but it happened to be my choice for post-long-run refuelling snack yesterday and i felt pretty decent for the rest of the day..... having run 50mins(non-stop, yay!!) i was ready for a too-tired-to-do-anything day, but nope!

Ok, i'm not sure it was all due to the piece of multi-grain(crunchy with all sorts of seedy goodness)brown bread with a smear of peanut butter(also crunchy) on it, it could have been that i finally managed to re-hydrate correctly or was just having a fabulous day.....OR, it could've been the cold bath(albeit for like 30 seconds) that i had instead of my usual HOT bath.....yeah, yeah, i know, i finally read about it, it's bad for recovery if you have one too soon after running. Ack! Oh well. Out with the hot baths on running days. Pooh.

I'll have my hot bath today instead since it is my rest day after all! And hot baths sure are restful. :)

So perhaps paying closer attention to the particulars of what i eat will help in the long run.....it can't hurt?!

So as i type this i have some quinoa simmering away, and once it's done i'll have it with my lentil/zucchinni/eggplant/tomato saucy stew creation that i made earlier. i think that sounds pretty healthy, and considering it's all i have in the cupboards/fridge i think it will be great!

So anyway, thumbs up to peanut butter toast and i'm going to go eat my quinoa now.....

Toodles!

Thinking about muffins...

Ok, so muffins really have nothing to do with running, except for the fact that muffins which i bake will be used to raise money in a bake sale for the charity that i am running for, so technically it is related to my running!? So there!

Muffins. Ahhhh.....mmmmmm! And of course there is the debate about how a muffin is different from a cupcake. My sister absolutely loves the smell, taste, look and probably the overall "cupcake experience." I, on the other hand, love baking muffins. Of course i do like a good cupcake here & there(more here than there really!). So i was thinking....what the heck is the difference? Is it the icing? The size? The taste? Has anyone got an answer?

I felt the need to research this difference myself. So by combining years of taste-testing muffins & cupcakes, and using my googling skills(they are getting better!)i found the following to be the major difference between the beloved cupcake and the yummy muffin...

Muffin recipes use oil and cupcake recipes use butter.

So apparently that means: muffin = bread and cupcake = cake.

So simple.

Who cares though really.....as long as i get to eat them BOTH!!!

:)

Ouch.

Well, apparently i didn't stretch enough after my Sunday run, ooops.

Ouch!

So yeah... adequate stretching is VERY important, lesson learned.

Ha!

PS......we're planning our first charity bake sale at work to raise money for two of us in the office who are running for charity this year. I have to admit that i'm really excited about the items i'll be contributing to it: My Mom's Recpe for the best ever Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Chocolate Chip Muffins & Pink(in honor of Breast Cancer Care) Almond Crescent Cookies. Well that's my plan at least, but we'll see how the actual baking goes! Cross your fingers for me! And come and buy some yummies from us!!!!!!

Morning best?

I’ve now come to the conclusion that I am best at morning runs. Yep. Best to run in the morning, nice and early before the day steals your energy. Get it out of the way, done & dusted. Tick it off the “To-Do” list.

I am referring to my long runs, not my piddly easy-run days which seem to only ever happen after work so they HAVE to be an evening thing. Mainly that is because I can not realistically see myself getting up at the crack o’ dawn to go running which would then mean I’d be a tired-runner-zombie for my whole work day….. that would not be fun!!!

Not that it’s an impossible task when it comes to an afternoon run, but I must say I perform so much better in the AM, and it’s a good thing that most races are in the morning. I bet they do that on purpose, there’s probably some scientific reasoning behind it too that I’ve just never heard/read about, hmmm….

But, on the flipside… after running on a Sunday morning I am then effectively too tired to do much else, so I don’t know which is worse…..running poorly in the late afternoon but having the first half of my Sunday to do other things, or running first thing Sunday morning and then vegetating for the rest of my Sunday until I crawl into the bed for an early night.

I guess it’s a choice all runners make: when to go on a run? Or maybe the tiredness goes away after a while and you magically can run fabulously at ANY time of day?? I’m crossing my fingers for that option!!



And just a little kitty giggle for ya!!! Too funny!

Dear Team Legs...

Dear Team Legs(aka: my legs)

How are you after our excursion yesterday afternoon? Thirty minutes, without stopping, you did well! You gave it your all when I decided to push it a bit further then the normal “easy-day”, nice one!

So anyway, I thought I would write to say that I appreciate all the hard work you are putting into all this training malarchy. You didn’t even have a choice did you, ha! But you are dealing with it well! You consistently put one foot in front of the other and trundle along with only a few aches and pains as we go, which soon disappear anyway. All part of the sport, I guess? It's all coming together though, and i bet you are reaping some rewards in your own way, more muscle less flab, etc....it's all good!

Thanks also for the support & even encouragement, which you may not have realized you were giving me. The day after I’ve made you push your limits, and you don't ache or hurt, well that’s a big “Whooppeee”! That’s as near to a shout of joy from Team Legs as I could get. That means you & I are doing something right. I bet you enjoy the stretching, probably more then the jogging itself!

Now, Team Feet let’s get on the bandwagon, I want some whooping and cheering from you too!

Love,
The Rest of the Team

The Equipment & friends

So i've now got new shoes which have been road tested for a couple of weeks now, and a funky pink hat to go along with my Breast Cancer Charity theme (pink, pink,pink!!) and a pink boa just to add color - not sure about wearing that during the race tho, it'll be hard enough to complete let alone to run it with sweaty feathers sticking to my neck, ack! Ha!

Ruti was very interested in the feathers of course, and Zoot couldn't help but have a go at wearing the hat! Let's just cross our fingers for some sun so that i need the hat to keep it off my face! (it's currently SNOWING!!!!)

Technically today is a huge milestone in my running career(albeit a very short career, ha!) today we ran/walked the mock-10k(local route mapped out in distance to practice on). I was actually pleased with the amount of jogging i did compared to the amount of walking, thought i would have done more on the walking side of things. But it was surprisingly comfy to do and i feel great now afterwards. Although i did have a nice soak in the tub to soothe my aches & pains. But i'm pleased and i know for a fact that i am "able" to run a 10k, which is the "practice" run i'm doing with a co-worker in June, and then the biggie half-marathon is in October, just one step at a time!

:)

Funny cats...

A friend of mine introduced me to this wacky page which has totally random & hilarious cat images on it....it's to funny not to share! They use silly vocabulary & real photos so it's actually quite creative for what they have. There are tons of these and they just make me laugh!

Here's a few choice ones for you to taste-test, then go check them out on the I Can Has a Cheezburger website




see more crazy cat pics

see more crazy cat pics

Now tell me you didn't laugh????

:)

Running for....

The Breast Cancer Care Charity

Yay!! I've gotten confirmation that i have a place in the Great North Run with the above charity!!!

The Great North Run is the half-marathon that takes place in Newcastle in October every year and it's really huge now! I've known a handful of friends & colleagues who have run it in the past and now it's my turn!!

Here's a little bit about the charity that i'm running for:

Breast Cancer Care is the UK's leading provider of information, practical assistance and emotional support for anyone affected by breast cancer.

Every year we give direct support to over 22,000 people with breast cancer or breast health concerns through our helpline, peer support and other direct services.

In addition, we respond to two million requests for support and information about breast cancer or breast health concerns through our publications, website and outreach work.
All our services are free.

We are committed to campaigning for better treatment and support for people with breast cancer and their families.

I've got my newly purchased snazzy running shoes(same brand/style as the ones i've had for a while but newer version - they work well for me!) and i've got a new good quality sports bra(gotta have one of those or else OUCH!) and so far so good with the training!

I've been given a lot of reading material to go through which will help me to put together my traning strategy as the date of the practice race that i've signed up gets closer. Ok, so June is a long way off but not really when you look at race training! So i've got a 10k in June(my very first ever race!!) and then the GNR in October, eeek!

GO TEAM ME! I can do it! At least i'll give it my best effort!!! And i've got a damn good cheering section on both sides of the pond!! Thanks everyone :)

Stuff

So yeah.... i've decided to start jogging regularly with the goal of doing a big road race for charity later this year if i officially get a place(they can be hard to come by) so as practice, my colleague and I have signed up for this race: BUPA Great Womans Race.

Which really is a big deal for me as well. It's a 10k run along the coast and should be a great experience and comfy since it's all woman - no speedy men to make us feel bad! Ha! So i've been jogging and slowly increasing the length of time i can do. I'm still in the beginner stages but i'm pretty proud of how far i've come. It's getting easier and easier which is something you are told but don't truly believe until it happens. The most difficult part, i'm finding, is making sure i have the TIME to do this jogging.

My runs at the moment are wrapped in a lovely half hour timeslot, but obviously i want to increase that chunk of running which means finding MORE TIME! Can we make the working week shorter, or magically produce some extra hours somehow? How do people do it?!

Also, i'm having some trouble with an ache in my hip joint, so I'm looking into that (Yay for Dr's who run the GNR and understand runners pain is for real!) and hopefully i'll be all clear soon enough, but for now it's ibruprofen and being careful not to overdue it!

So that's my story.....so far!!!

Hibernation?

Perhaps i was hibernating..... i sure put on a few pounds but i haven't had much sleep, ha!

.... it's been a while and now i'm back! Internet access is an important part of blogging for sure, and now that i have it again, let's begin.....

First, some photos from the past few months: good ol' Chicago Style Hotdogs made to perfection, the Chicago bean sculpture thing on a rainy evening, still looking great even on a dreary night - that's fantastic art for ya! A beer had on the 96th floor bar at the Hancock Building, perfect setting for a beer, and some distorted gummi bears, i wish they came in these colors, what flavors would they be.....hmmmm???

Friday Night in with the kitties & muffins!

So who says you have to go out and party on Fridays? I had a great Friday night in with my little furry pals and some muffins.....ok that sounds dumb, but basically i spent my night baking some yummy muffins, which i find very theraputic when i'm stressed, and spent some quality time with my cats, how can that be bad?

They are funny little creatures, and entertaining for sure!! I decided to take out ALL of their toys(they have their own Toy Chest full o' them) and have a cull of them, and Wow!! They do have a LOT of toys for being cats. More toys then i have, ok so i'm an adult, but you are never too old for toys! So i decided that some of their toys had seen better days and after months of being drooled on and dragged around the floor the only kind thing to do for them was to put them outta their misery, so i threw some away to get ready for x-mas when, of course, they get spoiled with new ones!!! Gotta make sure there's plenty of room for the new toys! Hahah!

Tea Party

Continuing on from the previous Belsay Hall post, i've been playing with more of the photos from that visit. It was a great exhibit! As you can tell it was most inspiring for taking photos! hahaha!

Everyone likes the idea of a teaparty.....this one got a bit out of hand i think, ha!

Belsay Hall

One great thing about England is all the historical things to visit & see. I visited a stately home called Belsay Hall near Newcastle which had amazing gardens and a crumbling castle on the grounds, but it also had the unique idea to host an art exhibit in which the artists used the stately home as inspiration for a piece.

There were some amazing things, and some weird things and it was fantastic inspiration for taking snaps! So here are some of them(manipulated a tiny bit, yay!!)!