A Great Month

I just realized that it's been a couple of weeks since I wrote last!  Things are going along quite well.  I am running a little bit longer each time, not much but a couple minutes here and there.  I didn't do a lot of running this past week because I have been fighting a cold or allergies that have left me pretty exhausted.  I still made it out a couple of days though and felt great.  I am looking forward to this week.  The weather is going to be perfect in the morning for running.

As for new recipes I missed making one last week because I didn't make dinner on Sunday.  This week I made something new but it wasn't really a recipe.  My youngest stepdaughter, Ashlee, is a vegetarian and we were having burgers yesterday.  She said a while ago that she had used a portabello mushroom to replace a burger so that was this weeks new thing.  I made her one on Saturday when the rest of us had sausage and yesterday Adrian made her one to replace the burger.  Adrian's turned out better because he marinated it longer.  I had a taste of it and it was delicious.  I can see me using them in the future for myself!

Overall it's been a good month.  I am back to a routine of exercising and now that the weather is good it's a lot easier to eat well too.  The market is starting to get more fresh, local fruits and veggies too.  There is nothing better than good local food.

It was a long weekend here in Canada and the weather was perfect.  We got the garden all planted and the pool is almost full.  Summer is right around the corner (although it feels like it's already here) and it's going to be  a great one!

The Terrible Things Running Has Done!

It's been two and a half years since I started running and it has done some terrible things to me!!!  Okay so not really but when I started I heard all the things that were bad about running.  You know the usual "you're going to kill your knees", "People die running marathons you know?" (people die from sitting on the couch eating chips too), "My uncles, friends, cousins, grandfather ran and now he needs a hip replacement".   I heard it all.  I ignored it all and chose to hear the people telling me all the good stuff.

Last summer I ran my first half marathon.  The training was hard, long and exhausting.  I completed that half marathon in 3:17 and lived to tell about it.  I lost three toenails which have just finally grown back to looking like nothing ever happened.  I was so proud of my accomplishment and still am.  What I didn't do is keep up my distance or frequency of running when that half marathon was over.  Now I am back to short distances but building that back up.  Wednesday morning was my best run in a very long time and it finally felt like I was going to be able to get back to longer distances.  While I was on the last 500m or so I started thinking about all the things that have changed since that first hellish 10 minute run that I thought was going to kill me.  I decided to share some of the reasons I fell in love with running as well as some of the things I have learned since becoming a runner!

1.  I have become a healthier mom and better example to my girls.
2.  I have learned that the sunshine is beautiful while it is coming up at 5:30am in the spring and equally as beautiful when it is setting at 5:30pm in the cold winter.
3.  I have learned that I will not freeze to death in subzero temperature, while snow is blowing horizontally at me.
4.  I have learned that it can feel hot during the coldest days of winter.
5.  I can now run across a parking lot in fancy shoes, during a rain storm, and not be out of breath when I get inside.
6.  Running has helped me find who I am and has been a silent friend when I needed to vent.  People say that running is better than a good therapist.
7.  Running has made me a more confident person who is more willing to speak up for the things I believe.
8.  I have learned that I am stronger and more determined than I ever thought.

I'm sure the list could go on forever but I'll leave it there.   What has running taught you?

Wonderful Weekends

The weather in Canada is nothing if not crazy.  It went from snowing a couple of weekends ago to summer like this weekend.  I much prefer warmer weather because we can be outside more.  This weekend I ran early Saturday morning and spent most of the afternoon at the park with the girls.  Today we went to the Y  for a workout and swimming lessons then spent the afternoon in the yard.  The girls played and put on circus shows while I weeded the gardens getting ready for our dirt delivery on Friday and planting next weekend.  Both nights after supper we have pulled the girls bikes out of the shed and worked on riding them.  Christina is still using training wheels so she's flying up and down the road.  Anna is learning to ride without training wheels and is very nervous so her riding consists of many, many trips up and down the driveway.  She gets better with every trip and will be zooming up the street soon too.  I have a feeling I might need to invest in bike soon.  Then we will be able to ride to the canal together and watch the boats.  For now we will walk down a couple of times a week.  

Still doing well meeting my goals too.  I caved and had a small amount of pop yesterday but felt guilty immediately and didn't finish it.  That is a win as far as I'm concerned because I used to be able to drink an entire can and not even realize it was gone.  I have exercised 6 times this week and a couple of days ran in the morning and walked the dog at night.  I got up at  6am every weekday except Friday and was out the door by 6:05am.  It's easier to get up and out the door when the sun is up.

This weeks recipe went over fairly well but wasn't a favourite.  I quite enjoyed it though which is a very good thing since there is lots left over.  It was Curried Red Lentil Dhal that I found online.  I bought a bag of red lentils and searched for a recipe.  This one sounded like it would taste like butter chicken which is one of Anna's most loved foods.  It was close but not quite the same and she had a hard time with the texture.  I also made chicken fajita's today using a new spice blend that we got at the grocery store.  It was Garlic Lime  Fajita's.   Quite tasty and one I will definitely pick up again.

This weeks goal is to increase my distance a little bit.  I would like to get back to consistently running 10k but have a bit of a way to go.

May Run Everyday Challenge

One of the groups I follow on Facebook put out a challenge to everyone to run at least one mile everyday in May.  They did one a couple of months ago but I wasn't running nearly enough at that point to sign up so I didn't.  This month I have taken it as the motivation I need to get back into routine.  The past two weeks have been awesome.  I have stuck to all my goals but I know that two weeks in the grand scheme of things is peanuts.  So I clicked accept and made my own alterations to the rules.  I plan to run my usual three runs but I am going to start walking our dog every day as well. I have always wanted to be able to take her running with me but she can't walk in a straight line and I can't run in a straight line which makes for some serious tripping.  So I thought this might be the opportunity to try that again and build up slowly.  So my plan is that I am going to run on my own the three days that I would normal run and on the other days I am going to bring her for a walk and run part of that.  I don't plan to time those shorter runs or measure the distance but I think it's a good way to see if the dog and I can be compatible running buddies and it keeps my motivation going.

The other thing that is exciting right now is that I have changed my run times to early morning.  It is beautiful out there at 6am right now and I love watching the world slowly wake up.  A lot of my runs are through residential areas so I get to see lots of other people out for walks and runs, I get to see bunnies hopping across lawns and hear birds chirping happily.  It is peaceful and wonderful.  Today I took my first trip to the canal path since they re-opened it.  It was closed for most of the winter for repairs.  The amount of people out there at 8 am is amazing!  I was a bit sad to see that in their repairs they have yet to replant all the trees and a lot of the grass is gone but hopefully they will get that done soon.  I also got to see two big boats going through which is always fun.  Wondering where they are heading, where they have come from and what they are hauling.

It's really, really spring in Canada now and I'm so excited!