Every run is different

So today is the beginning of week 7 and it feels both like it's gone so quickly, and like I've been doing this forever. On this morning's run, I was back to intervals, running five minutes, walking three, running eight, walking three and running five more. Since I'd run a full 20 minutes on Friday, I was thinking of this as an "easy" run (at least for me - Coach J ran 85 minutes one day last week, then went out for an easy 6-mile run later the same day, so I guess it's all about perspective). But it turned out that I was going to learn another lesson about running - every run is different. Since I skipped the "What I learned this week" on Friday, I'll give you my lessons today:

- As I said, "Every run is different" - Although I'd run 20 minutes and felt great on Friday, today's run felt tougher most of the way through. That's because I was running under different conditions - my body is still tired and sore from Friday, so it took longer to warm up my muscles. The weather was a chilly 45 degrees, so it was just between the "wear a fleece" and "just wear a tee shirt" temperature. I chose the tee shirt, which meant I was cold all during my warm up walk. So every day I run is going to be different, based on how my body feels, how I've been taking care of it on recovery days, what I've been eating, what the weather is like, how windy it is, etc. As soon as I realized that this morning, I mentally gave myself a break and was able to get through the intervals just fine. Good thing it only took me seven weeks to realize this.

- I really love the feeling of accomplishment I get from longer runs. Running 20 straight minutes on Friday for the first time in my life (sad, I know, but true) was a great feeling! It showed me in such a concrete way that if I put my mind to something, and put the work in, I can do anything. I love the exhausted, sick, sweaty feeling I have by the end of a run (seriously!), because it means I really accomplished something. And I'm actually starting to like running during the running intervals (instead of just afterwards), which is a first.

- I'm tougher than I thought I was. Last week, pretty much right through Friday morning, I really, really, really, really didn't think I was going to be able to run 20 minutes without taking a break. When I thought about it in an abstract way, like "oh yeah, I'll just run for 20 minutes," I thought it was possible. But when I ran on Wednesday, and the two eight-minute intervals felt like forever, and as I was running on Friday, and I really didn't know if my body could handle 20 minutes, I just wasn't sure. Getting through that made me realize how tough (both physically and mentally) I can be.

- I can't wait until 20 minutes is an easy run for me. I built it up so much, like it was SUCH a long time to run, that it seems laughable in the face of other people's ability to run long distances. So I can't wait until I'm heading out for easy six mile runs. Someday...

Back to today's run - when I woke up this morning, my body was sore, I was exhausted and it wasn't even that early. I really wanted to put off the run until tomorrow morning, but I know it will be a busy day and I don't want to get derailed. I'm glad I got up and pushed myself, and already my body feels less sore and tired. This Friday, I face 25 minutes of straight running. I really want to whine and complain about it, but now I know I can do it, so I can't get away with that! Plus, I might be starting to love running. Just a little. Let's not get too excited.

Today, I am a runner!

I AM A RUNNER!

Yeah, so I had to put that all in capitals and big letters, because I'm VERY excited that I did it! Where better to yell that out than on the internet? Especially since most of my neighbors don't know about my journey to "runner," so they might just think I'm a little weird.

As you may know, the couch potato plan called for me to run 20 minutes without stopping today. Until today, my longest running interval had been eight minutes (on Wednesday), which felt like a lot to me. So I'd been dreading the 20 minutes since I found out on Monday. Both my coach and another triathlete told me that I could do it, and should think about it as four five-minute intervals. But still. I was freaking out.

So I stretched extra. A lot, in fact. And I took Advil in the morning and before I went to bed to ease any soreness. I drank lots of water. I ate protein. I thought about downloading the Chariots of Fire theme, as suggested by my best friend, but thought it might encourage me to run in slow motion (not that you'd know the difference). I tried not to think about it.

I tried not to think about it all day yesterday. I tried not to think about it during yoga. I tried not to think about it while watching Grey's Anatomy. I tried not to think about it while trying to fall asleep. I wasn't that successful.

So this morning when my alarm went off, I pretended it was like all my other workouts. I put on my running clothes and put in my contacts. I laced up my sneaks and put on my headphones. I got out my gloves, because my dad had texted me to say it was cold and windy. Yes, that's right. Not only did I have to battle my own fear of failure and of running, but I had to deal with the cold and wind again. I figured I might as well get it over with! Plus, at 30 degrees, I figured it was alerady ten degrees warmer than some of my other runs.

I started out with my five minute warm-up and told myself that I'd do it five minutes at a time. It definitely was chilly out, but I'd dressed appropriately, so I knew I was ready. Then, it was time to run.

The first five minutes were tough. My knee always starts to hurt as soon as I pick up the pace, and my mind tells me "Ah, see, you can't do it!" But I yelled at myself (not out loud) and kept going. I told myself it was only for five minutes, while the little voice in the back of my head said "No, it's 20 you fool." But I knew that if I ever wanted to run in a 5k, I had to be able to run this 20 minutes. And if Coach J, my twitter friend, and the Couch Potato Plan thought I could do it, it probably was possible. Probably.

The next five minutes were okay. I'd run eight minutes on Wednesday, so I just kept telling myself that it was only a little bit more than that, and I would soon be turning around to head back. The wind started to pick up, which was not fun, so I turned around with about 45 seconds left to go, thinking that the wind would be at my back.

Not so much.

It was even worse heading the other way and that felt defeating. But I kept slogging along at my slow pace because I really wanted to run 20 minutes without stopping or walking. I prayed that the wind would die down and it did! So then it was just me against myself.

The third five minutes were good. I was more than halfway through, and although I was tired, I hung in there. The wind eventually died down and I was thinking about finishing strong.

But I still had to get through the last five minutes. And those were tough! I had a bit of a stitch in my side, though my knee seemed to feel fine again (thank you Advil!), and I was just tired. But so many people knew about my quest for 20 minutes that I could not picture coming back home and saying that I hadn't made it. I had to at least try.

When I hit the 2:30 mark, I knew I would make it. Only 1/8th the way to go? No problem! Short of getting hit by a car, I was going to finish running. And I'm sure the determined look on my face kept all of the cars far, far away. I even forced myself to run as hard as I could for the last ten seconds, which by that time, was not very fast. But I was so proud of myself - I did it!

I did it!

So I guess that makes me a runner now. I know a few people have said it to me already, but today, I really feel like a runner. I ran about two miles without stopping for the first time in my life! I am so excited! I am so proud! I am so...tired!

But I can't rest on my laurels, since I still have that pesky 5k to worry about at the end of April and the 18-mile LBI run in October. Now, I can't wait until I think of 20 minutes as a quick easy run instead of the hurdle of a lifetime!

Next week, I am changing up my schedule again, starting on Sunday instead of Monday because I am going to the premiere of "Brothers at War" on Monday. And Gary Sinise will be there. Seriously. Lindsay Gump and Lt. Dan in the same place - excellent!

And yes, I know I won't be at the premiere the whole day, but I like running at the beach, so I'd rather stick to my familiar place right now and switch up my days. So it's Sunday/Wednesday/Friday next week and I'm back to intervals. Sunday will be 5/8/5 running, Wednesday is two 10-minute intervals, and then Friday I have to run for 25 minutes without walking. One of my twitter friends told me that now that I know I can do it, I'll be able to do it all the time, since it's all mental. Now that I've done the 20 minutes, I think that might just be right!

So, one more time...

I AM A RUNNER!!!!!

Now I might just have to make some brownies to reward myself...

Two eight-minute intervals: OWNED!

Well, it's a good thing I'm stubborn, because sheer force of will is the only thing that got me through the second interval today. When I woke up, it was gray and dark (thank you daylight savings!) and I absolutely wanted to stay in bed and continue sleeping. But I wanted to get my eight minute interval over with. I say "interval" because when I got up, I believed I was supposed to be running 5 minutes, walking, 8 minutes, walking, and five minutes again. Fortunately, I checked because I actually was supposed to be running two eight-minute intervals, with five minutes of walking in between. In the words of the cartoon, Cathy, "Ack!"

I kept telling myself I would nail the intervals, and I set off for my warm up walk. As I set the timer on my phone to eight minutes, I promised myself that on Friday, I would only set it to five minutes and just repeat that four times to meet my 20 minute mark. I think if I had to look at the timer counting down from 20, it would just be too depressing. Both Coach J, and my Twitter friend @kimokali said to look at it as running five minutes four times. Hopefully, that works, because let me tell you, my second eight-minute interval this morning was tough. And that was with a five minute walking break!

But all whining aside, the first eight minutes went a lot better than I thought they would. It was pretty warm when I got up (45 degrees) and the wind wasn't too big of a factor for a change. I felt pretty strong, though my legs still feel tight after two days of stretching and yoga. I may start to do some light yoga on my running days too, just to really stretch out my legs. And knowing that I'll be running for 20 straight minutes on Friday is a good motivator to try to finish strong with two eight-minute intervals. Tune in Friday to see how the 20 minutes goes. If you don't hear from me, please send someone to scrape my poor body off the side of Bayshore Drive here in Barnegat. Tell them to bring ice and Advil. And maybe some brownies...

Here's comes the Annual Fear of Failure marathon!!

And week 5 begins! After yesterday's time change, I was worried that it would be dark outside this morning when I got up to run. Fortunately, it was fairly light and just misty - the kind of misty day that covers the island, so the bay looks like the sea. The perfect setting for a murder mystery novel! And a pretty good day to run too, since it was warmer when I got up than it is now. The time change had made it tough to fall and stay asleep, so I was pretty grouchy when my alarm went off at 7, which is saying a lot, since I'm not a morning person generally. But I forced myself to get up and run, because I figured that it would put me in a better mood and at least the rush of endorphins would help. It was a good thing I did, because it worked!

Today's workout was three 5-minute intervals, with 3 minute walking breaks. Since I'd already been running five minute intervals all last week, I knew I'd be up for it. I felt great at the end of the three intervals, a bit sore of course, but loving the tight exhaustion in my quads. I get a daily email from a social media guru I know, full of reporter queries, and he just got back to running yesterday after taking a hiatus because of anke injuries. His comments made me crack up - "I felt really, really, really good. Until the endorphins wore off. Ankles, though, are fine. Quads fell out of my legs yesterday afternoon, I think they're hiding under the couch. But that said, it's still so nice to be back." So I guess once you're hooked on this, you just learn to manage the pain so you can keep running! Fortunately, since my first run, my muscles have actually felt pretty great, just used for a change!

I was feeling pretty confident when I got home, and checked this week's couch potato plan just to make sure I was on schedule. That's when I found out that a) I'm supposed to run 5 and 8 minute intervals on Wednesday and b) I'm supposed to run 20 straight minutes on Friday.

Um, WHAT?!

Five minutes is about my limit as it is! I always figured I would push myself (obviously, or how to do I plan to run a 5k, let alone 18 miles!). I just thought it would come later, like closer to week 9. And I think it's weird I then go back to 5 and 8 minute intervals on Monday again. I thought I might have entered it into Outlook incorrectly, so I checked the plan online. And there it was in black and white: "Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking."

NO walking?!? Not even a little bit?

I'm dreading this already. And after my mind over matter comments, I know that I need to work on not psyching myself out. But I'm actually a little scared. Even running the mile in high school and college, when I hit my excellent 16 and 12 minute times, I walked some of it (all right, stop laughing, it's really not that funny). I don't think I've ever run 20 consecutive minutes IN MY LIFE. I guess this is where they separate the men from the boys. Am I serious about wanting to be a runner or not?

Yes.

YES.

But I'm still a little afraid. So we'll take it one workout at a time. Wednesday, I have to run an 8-minute interval, which, in light of the 20 minutes on Friday, seems incredibly do-able. So I'll start with that. And I'm already getting some positive encouragement for Friday, with my sister telling me in no uncertain terms "YOU CAN DO IT!!!" O-kay, I certainly hope so, because I still want to cry a little bit. We'll see what Friday brings...

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

Yesterday was a beautiful day to go running!  I didn't get up at the crack of dawn, since it was Saturday, so by the time I headed out around nine, it was already in the sixties!  It made me realize how ready I am for the nicer weather to get and stay here!  Yesterday was one of those days when the smell of the ocean is really strong, so I was reminded of my summers at the beach as a kid and how great it is to live in my little coastal town.  Ironically, I felt very lucky that snow had nixed my running earlier in the week so that I could go out yesterday and run!

Friday and Saturday were my first back-to-back running days and I learned that I do really need at least one recovery day in between runs still.  My body didn't feel as heavy as it had on Friday, but my right leg was definitely bothering me right from my first interval, from shin splints to my knee to what felt like shin splints in my thigh bone.  Since it's just my right leg, I have to believe that I'm overcompensating for the bursitis/tendonitis in my left hip, so I'll have to keep an eye on that.  After all my talk about the power of positive thinking, I kept up an encouraging running commentary in my head, telling myself that I could make it through each interval and finish strong.  I was definitely hurting by the time I got home though, so I'm glad to have today to rest!  Last night, I took a much-needed hot bath to relax my muscles and focused on massaging and stretching my legs, so today, I'm feeling better.

Today's weather is also beautiful, so I headed to the beach with my puppy, who's had a limp of his own for a few weeks and has been sequestered in the house because of it.  He loves all the beach  smells, so I packed him up in the car and headed up the road, which also gave me the chance to measure the distance that I run in the morning.  It looks like I'm running/walking about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 miles!  The puppy and I ran a bit up and down the beach (not too much because of his leg, and because he's a basset hound, so his endurance levels are actually lower than mine).  It's only a short stretch of beach here, but it made me think that in the summer, I could drive to the island and run on the sand when I really want to punish myself.  I can only imagine how that will kick my butt, but I'm sure it's got to be great to run by the water, especially in the early morning in the summer!

So now it's time for my weekly recap of what I've learned from week four!  

- A bad day of running doesn't stop me from liking it overall.  In four weeks, I'm already feeling stronger, proud of myself for sticking with the couch potato plan, and more capable of running in a 5k (in April, let's not get ahead of ourselves), and eventually, the 18 mile LBI run!  All of those benefits, plus increased endorphins, far outweigh my previous dislike of running, and it seems that running now helps to make me happier.  Who knew.

- I still need at least one recovery day to get my body back to where it needs to be to effectively run my intervals, and I can't take recovery lightly.  Stretching, massage and yoga are just as essential to helping me run as a good pair of sneakers, so I can't blow them off.  I can't imagine how I would have felt yesterday if I hadn't taken the time to stretch and massage my legs on Friday.

- Nutrition is also key to running, even more so than I'd thought, and making sure I get enough protein isn't as painful as I thought it would be.  I like thinking about the way food can be used to fuel my body, which is a much healthier way of thinking.  And it turns out there are a lot of proteins out there that I like already.  I've eaten about 35 grams of protein today already!

- Weather has an impact on running, but it doesn't have to put a huge damper in my plans.  Whenever I'd tried an outside exercise program before (running, walking, whatever), bad weather was always a reason to skip a day, and then put the kibosh on the whole workout.  In the past, I would have let something like the foot of snow we had on Monday keep me from running until it had almost all melted, i.e. Friday or Saturday.  But because I have people pushing me and rooting for me, I made myself get out there on Wednesday and I realized that I could safely run on the bike paths.  Who knew?  Similarly, I would have let a rainy day stop me from getting out and running.  I haven't had to face one yet, but with rain forecasted for at least two of my running days this week, I know it's only a matter of time.  And I actually want to stick to the plan and run anyway! 

- I've always known that positive thinking is important, but never have I seen it illustrated as well as when I run.  I can actually feel a change in my body when I switch my thinking from "Ugh, I am NEVER going to make it.  My body hurts.  I'm too tired.  I can't do this!" to "You CAN do this!  You'll feel great when you finish this interval.  Finish strong!"  That's been invaluable to me this week, helping me to be excited about ramping up to the next week's workouts instead of dreading them.  Well, mostly.  But, when I first started the couch potato program, I never thought I'd be able to run for 5 minutes at a time and now I can.  As long as I do the work, I see improvement, so I know that there will come a time when I can run a 5k.  And then an 18-mile run.  And even improve on my times!

So this week, it looks like I'm up to only five minute intervals (did I really just write "only??"), with three minutes of walking in between.  This, I can do!  Even scarier?  Last night, I had a dream that I was running.  My biggest worry was that I didn't have a way to time myself for my interval, but I decided I would keep running anyway.  Oh man...

Mind Over Matter

Liking running changes everything. Now I can't moan and groan when I get out of bed to go for a run. I can't want to give up after the first three minute interval. I can't think, well, forty degrees is warmer than it has been, but it could be better and doesn't my cozy bed look good?

Well, I can think those things, but it turns out that I do it less and they don't kill my motivation like they used to.

Take this morning's run for example. I've been eating more protein for the past two days (not as terrible as I thought), had a good yoga class last night, made sure to stretch and massage my legs, and it was forty degrees and sunny when my alarm went off. So, dare I say it, I was actually *looking forward* to getting outside and running this morning. Gasp. But the run today was tough and I have no idea why. My body felt very heavy and blah, it was still windy as it is EVERY day, and I was still a bit tired. The best part though? I actually still liked running. I liked pushing myself through the intervals and finding my best pace. I love the feeling I get at the end of a run when I've accomplished the morning's goal. I've felt so much stronger this week and that's really exciting. When I stretched my legs this morning as I got out of bed, I saw some muscle that hadn't been there before - all that in just three and a half weeks?? It was enough to make me sing during my post-run shower! Let's hope I feel this good after a back-to-back run tomorrow!

After my run, I read a blog post by Elizabeth Waterstraat about "finding your faith." Since she puts it much better than I would:

"Find your faith. You’re sitting at the end of a hard workout wondering if you can do it. Can you? Find your faith. Believe you can. Why not? Really - what is the risk? If you give it a try and blow up, you found your answer = not yet. Keep working. If you give it a try and succeed then you have yet another personal success story to store in your files. Neither lesson can be learned until you have the faith to try. The faith that just maybe you can do it so it is worth a try. If you try and fail, then find your faith that the next time you’ll do the right thing or the better thing. Faith in yourself that the next time you’ll try. Faith that all of these experiences day to day, both good and bad, will add up to an improvement in the future. Faith that what I do will count. That even when I struggle it serves a purpose. Or that when I make the wrong choice that serves a purpose too."

That's what I've been doing all along - finding my faith. Just putting one foot in front of the other, and believing that each run, I will improve, even if it's just a little bit. Knowing that even days when I have a tough run, it serves a purpose. Pushing myself to eke out the last minute of each interval (especially those five minute ones), believing that I just might be able to do it, and then achieving that. In my last couple of runs, during the last fifteen seconds of each interval, I've opened up from my snail's pace to a speed that human runners normally run at, and it feels GREAT. I almost don't recognize myself!

Fortunately, my body is still holding me back from having any crazy thoughts of jumping right through my training schedule. Because, I think this feeling could make you want to skip ahead, be ready for the next thing, the first race. Liz calls this "itchiness:"

"For most of us, our big races are months away. It’s easy to get sucked into the sexyness of going fast and doing a lot now because we see it all around us. The guy blowing out 800s on the track who never comes near us during a race but he’s passing us at the track? Yeah, he makes us itchy. The person that has been doing killer all out 3 hour bike workouts at their threshold 2 times a week? Yeah, that makes us itchy. Races are starting up again, the energy is building and all of it is creating this itch itch itch that maybe we are not moving along quickly enough, doing the right thing or on the right track.

"Rather than itching the skin right off yourself, relax. Find your faith. Keep working. Nothing replaces the lessons you learn in training. Those are the things that make you faster on race day. Sure, track workouts and all that other stuff is really effective too – at the right time. But when it all comes down to it the building block of success is faith combined with work. Trust combined with training. If you don’t trust you can do it, you never will. And if you don’t have faith in yourself and your training then…what ARE you doing?"

Okay, so she's a professional triathlete, and I've been running for 3 1/2 weeks, so our goals and competition are a bit different! But the idea is the same, and the advice is great. Trust in my training program and stick with it. As she said a few weeks ago "Do the work. It will pay off." And I need to believe in myself - as the saying goes "Whether you believe you can or you believe you can't, you're right." I've seen that a lot in my running, especially this week. Towards the end of the five minute intervals, especially the second one, I can hear the little voice in the back of my head saying "You're never going to make it." As soon as I start to listen to that, my legs slow and my breathing is much more labored. But when I replace that thinking with "You CAN do it and you will do it," I finish strong and feel good about it all day. Positive thinking really does have a lot of power!

With that in mind, it's going to be a gorgeous weekend here at the Jersey shore, with temperatures well into the sixties. That should make any run, even a bad one, delightful, especially since the smell of the sea is so strong lately!

Uh oh, I am in trouble! I think I *like* this running business!

Don't worry everyone, I am back and no, dear readers, I didn't quit running!  In fact, after today, I can officially say that I'm well entrenched in liking running.  Who would have guessed?

After Friday's run, I was definitely looking forward to having two days off.  My body was sore and I was feeling very beat up, so I needed the recovery time.  And I fully planned to run on Monday  morning, except, well...the weather had other plans.  Even though I live in a fairly mild climate, the big nor'easter that hit the East Coast on Sunday dropped a full foot (officially 12.5 inches) of snow on my little coastal town.  Coach J had encouraged me to run in the snow, for the experience more than the workout, but I didn't think he meant *that* much snow.  So instead, I bundled up and put in three hours of shoveling in one hour increments.  Far more brutal than my coach potato workout!  In fact, I'm still sore.

I figured I could run a Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday schedule instead, but then I heard the temperatures on Tuesday were supposed to be very low and after checking out the job they did clearing the roads and sidewalks, I thought it prudent to put off running for one more day.  Coach J thought that a Wednesday/Friday/Saturday schedule would be fine, so I was set on running today.  

Of course, when I woke up for some reason at six am and checked the temperature, it said -2.  As you may know, I don't run when it's under 20 degrees.  So once again, I planned on a lunchtime run.  Today, I was ramping up from the 90 second/3 minute intervals to 3 minute/5 minute intervals with half the walking recovery time.  Yikes! 

I started out with the five minute warm-up walk, which gave me a clear idea of how bad the ice was outside.  With a number of seasonal people living around here, not all of the sidewalks had gotten cleared, so I decided to stick to the road so that I could avoid falling or having to break my stride for any reason.  The bike/running paths are fairly wide around here, so I stuck to those and headed against traffic so the cars could always see me, and I could always see them.  

My first three minute interval was great!  I actually increased my pace a bit and didn't feel too worn out.  I was a little bit worried after a four day break, but it was manageable.  That's when I thought to myself, uh oh - I'm in trouble, because I'm really starting to like this running stuff!  The first five minute interval was a little tough, but I paid attention to slowing my pace so that I could finish it.  I ended up a little further along on my path than my last few runs, so I got to see Old Barney surrounded by snow (at a distance!).  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures though because I was running at the time.  

The sun was out, the sky was blue, and I was feeling good.  Then, it came time to turn around and head back, which was when I realized I was running into the wind.  Although it warmed up today, it was still only a balmy 28 degrees when I headed out, so I was definitely feeling the cold bite through my layers when the wind blew.  I got through the next three minute interval, and knew that the last five minutes would be the worst.  I tried to psych myself up for it (as it's 50% mental, at least, right?), but it was still pretty tough.  However, I did it!  I met my goal for the day, and that's all I can ask for!

But as I've said before, running isn't just about grabbing your sneakers and getting out there.  And for me, this week has been all about learning and tweaking.  I know I normally do the "what have I learned" on Fridays, but I'm absorbing so much, I'd like to pass that along today.  This week's tips come almost entirely from Coach J, who has really been a super source of help (and reads this blog, so I wanted to give him a shoutout!).  

- Last week, I started to have trouble with shin splints.  It's been so long since I've had them, that I couldn't remember what the best remedy was.  My sister suggested strengthening my calves with calf raises.  After talking to Coach J and checking my shoes to see if I have uneven wear patterns (which might mean my normal stride is off), he suggested that something else is going on, either with my foot, my calf muscles or my achilles - the solution?  Stretching and massage.  I've already been doing more stretching through yoga, but it showed me how important that is and has helped me to focus more on lower body yoga, especially the downward dog pose.  I've also been stretching my achilles by lowering my heels off of the bottom step of my staircase (while holding on!).  Along with calf raises, and stretching, massaging my feet and calves has made all the difference.  

- My other issue is nutrition.  For those of you who know me personally, I might have the world's worst diet (though it's improving).  My favorite foods all have sugar in them (brownies, key lime pie, cookies, Pepsi).  I'm allergic to a number of fresh fruits.  I hate vegetables, especially the green ones.  I never eat seafood (though I will sometimes try calamari).  But apparently, diet has a big impact on running (which intellectually, I knew, but somehow I hoped that would never come up).  Coach J asked me what I'd eaten for breakfast and I was fairly content with my reply of "cinnamon multi-grain waffle and applesauce followed by a piece of pumpkin bread later."  Pretty healthy, right?  Fruits, even a vegetable (I make the pumpkin bread from scratch) and whole grains.  Good for me!  But not so fast - no protein!  Now for some people, that's an easy fix - just eat eggs.  Did I mention that I also hate eggs, unless they are in a brownie?  But Coach J says protein is important because carbs burn off fast, which is great during competition and training, but proteins are a long term source of energy.  

Ugh.  Not what I want to hear.

But it does make sense - and could be the reason I still feel tired a lot after lots of sleep.  Too many carbs.  So he sent me a quick list of some high protein foods and suggested that when I think about food, I start with proteins, move on to fruits and veggies, and then whole grains.  I don't have to cut out sugar, which is key to any diet of mine, but it does make sense that I should get more serious about what I eat, if I want to be able to run.  And it might even help kick my migraines!  

So when I got back from my run, I had a fat free chocolate pudding (baby steps), and a big glass of milk.  Those who know me well also know that I'm not a big fan of milk.  Those who don't know me well are probably entirely sure by now that I'm crazy.  Or suffering from scurvy.  But I assure you, I manage to eat a lot of good food too.  I rounded out my lunch with hummus and wheat thins and tonight, will be making a beef/bean chili - now that's a protein I like!  

- A couple of the other things that will be coming up to get me ready for race day #1 (that's the Giants Draft Day 5K): weaning me off of listening to my iPhone while running, so that I don't struggle to find motivation when I get into a race and can't wear headphones; learning to love hills (why?  I hope that's a long way off...); what to eat on race day (apparently, I should just stick to my regular eating plan - the new one, I mean - so that my body treats that day like any other run); and eventually turning me into a morning person, i.e. like on days when it's going to be 90 degrees by 10am and I have to get a run in EARLY.  I'm also going to be running in the dark next week when the clocks spring forward, so that will be another learning experience - no sunglasses needed for a change! And Coach J has assured me that I will force myself to run outside when I'm in San Francisco in early June - it's a beautiful city, and he tells me that it's great for running (umm, hills?) so I should really enjoy it by foot instead of sequestering myself in a gym on a treadmill.  I would hate to prove him right, but I might have to.

As overwhelming as this might all sound, I'm actually enjoying the whole experience of becoming a runner/athlete.  I'm glad that I didn't know I would have to make these tweaks when I first started, or I would have thought of it as too much work.  But I'm seeing the benefits and enjoying the results, so I understand why it's worth it.  I'm actually very proud of myself and looking forward to that first 5K!