Where in the world have you been?

Well, I'm back. Hopefully. Thank you to those of you who inquired about my health. My ear infection seems to have cleared up and I'm working through the last couple of days of antibiotics and trying to kick this cough.

My goal as of late is to continue to be a healthy balanced person. Eating as little processed (or at least not processed by me) food as possible. June was a busy month and I did lots of yummy at least partially local eating and baking. I do hope to get up some recipe specific entries. I found a local source for flour and the farmer has whole wheat and spelt bread flour. He also said he grows soft wheat on a rotation, but I wasn't quite sure what that rotation is. I also have a local source for organic (though not certified) non-homogenized milk and butter. I haven't tried the butter yet. It's hard for me to go from paying $2/lb for butter to $4/lb. Especially since I've been baking a lot.

Yesterday, I did my third 5K of the year. I'm pretty proud of the results. This was my first outing where I was on my own for the whole race. My brother and I both did the race, but as he is an actual serious runner, we don't run together. I finished in just over 42 minutes, which sliced about 3 minutes off my time. The Garmin (the gps running gadget that gives me my time and pace) and my ipod really helped me keep my time in check. It seemed like my pace was always sub-15 min miles which is good for me. I know I'm not going to be winning any awards just yet, but this was a big victory for me. Plus I was about to run for about 3 minutes at a time which is also pretty great especially considering I've not done any training for this at all.

My friend Laura and I have been doing 3 mile walks together, but definitely not at any particular pace. And I'm still struggling with that last mile. Miles 1 and 2, no problem, mile 3, omigod, when is it going to be over? My brother's suggestion for that was to start doing longer walks so 3 doesn't feel like so long. I'll have to start walking another mile or so. I'm also hoping to be able to get a heart-rate monitor soon. I think it will help. I've also been meditating and doing breathing exercises some in hopes of helping the asthma. It did seem to help yesterday when even though it was humid, my lungs didn't feel like they were going to explode.

In other news, my husband and awesome mother-in-law (and mother-in-law's "best guy" as she calls him) have gotten me a new bike for my birthday. I'm very excited to be able to ride more often (my other bike has become uncomfortable and well, is 14 years old which my husband points out is a long time ago) and hopefully to be able to bike commute at least one day a week (the issue being that there's no where to shower once I get to work. So I have to do it on days I don't care so much about being a little sweaty at work. Luckily my office is very casual). Plus, I definitely want a basket so I can bike to the farmer's market and to the grocery store for those short trips. Oh and the library. I love biking to the library.

I'm now out of battery, but I hope to get some more posts up this week about all the baking I've been doing.

It was a very nice day today weather-wise; it was about as good as you can ask for from Ohio in March. It was sunny and almost 60. To take advantage of the weather and get rid a little of my spring fever, after work I went out for a walk/run. I also wanted to see how close I could get to running since I'm supposed to be doing a 5K next weekend (It looks like I'll be doing it, but I'll be speed walking it with my sister-in-law. She and I are both in need of support for our first go round). Wow is running outside totally different from running on a treadmill. What seems ridiculously slow running outside had me winded in no time. I did do 5500 steps which according to the pedometer is approximately 3 miles. So, distance not a problem, the speed at which I do the distance is a problem. Not sure where to go from here. I guess I need to read some more about running outside.

I finally understand....

As a warm up for the work writing I need to do while I'm stranded at home in the snow today, I thought I'd update. It's cliche, but it's been too long. Things have been going fairly well. The number on the scale has stalled and I've crashed on the eating front, but have been slowly steering myself back on track and I've also stuck with the exercise. I'm very proud that I finished my first full 20 minute run yesterday without stopping. It was very good. go me. 1.9 miles. I feel very accomplished, if you ever told me I'd even come close to running 2 miles I would have called you crazy. But I did it and only marginally wanted to die at the end of it.

However, I now know why people toss their cookies when they finish a run or in the middle of a run. Last Thursday and last night before I ran I clearly had too much for dinner. Thursday was the worst, I was nearly doubled over in pain from the stomach cramps. Clearly, a burrito (even a homemade small burrito) was not the best choice before working out. I thought I was going to die. Last night when I was done I just thought I was going to throw up. I thought I had eaten a small enough dinner last night. I guess I need to try again. I'm usually fine on Saturday mornings when I run before pilates, I have just oatmeal or 1 toaster waffle and a couple of breakfast sausage.

It's both good and bad that I'm totally feeling the effects of what I'm eating. I know when I've had too much sugar by the fact that I drag all day or just feel like I have no energy. There's a world of difference when I'm eating well and healthy. I have more energy, I need less sleep and the exercise is easier. It's just been difficult for me to get back on the wagon after crashing. I know I need to, it's just better.

In other news, I updated my workout play list and that has helped keep me motivated to keep running. I'd definitely love suggestions for great upbeat songs to add, as I seem to be stuck in a music rut. Current favorites on the list are:

-Mr. Brightside and Somebody Told Me, The Killers
-Copa de la Vida, Ricky Martin
-Don't Stop Thinking about Tomorrow, Fleetwood Mac
-Shoebox, BNL
-Maria, Blondie

I need something with a fairly fast, consistent beat. It helps me feel more like I'm dancing than running. I'm totally that person on the treadmill lipsyncing along to my music. There are days where I feel like Phoebe from that episode of Friends where she does the crazy running through Central Park. I think I need a shirt to run in that says on the back "I'd rather be dancing."

Even with minor set backs on the eating front, I feel like I'm working toward my goal of being healthier. I feel like I have a pretty good picture of what that feels like as far as exercise and eating. Even if the number isn't moving, my body really is reshaping. Other than a few very stressful days last week, I've not put off going to the gym and have really begun to enjoy my pilates classes. I also get annoyed when all the treadmills are full and I have to do something else besides running. Sticking with all of it is a little harder, but I think it will come with time as I enjoy feeling better as I eat better and exercise.