I did it!!!...Livestrong and Morton who??

Woooo-hoooooooooooo. I did it! I completed my first unofficial 10K!. Today I ran 6.23 miles in 1:03'43'' (10'13'' / mile). I gotta say, it wasn't the easiest run I ever did...even at the beginning it was a little tough. It was muggy out and I had a pounding headache. I was excited to get out there anyway so I took two Advil and took off!.

Wait a second....did I just say I was excited to get out there? What in the world is wrong with me!!!?. I'm never excited about working out. Yes, I know I have to do it...for health reasons and all that good stuff, but I don't actually get excited about it. So yeah, something is not normal, but I'll take it while it lasts!...or maybe I do have the marathoner genes in me after all!!

And there it is, my Nikeplus summary. It almost looks like a downward trend, but in reality I think I started to fast and then settled at a more comfortable pace. So there you have it kids, my longest distance to date...and I don't want to brag or anything, but Lance Armstrong decided to make an appearance at the summary to congratulate me. Yeah baby, Livestrong!

This was the first time I ran while listening to an audiobook (see post below). I think the book helped!. I thought maybe it would slow me down, but it really didn't...if anything it kept me from thinking about the actual distance I wanted to run. Once in a while I would drift away thinking about the run and what not, but would quickly get right into the book. So overall, I do recommend it. Specially for longer runs (this was long for me!) and specially if you have other things that may affect your run (like the thought of the awful headache!). The book, Nineteen Minutes, so far it's pretty good. It started to pick up right when my run was ending and if my foot wasn't bothering me so much I may have kept going just to see what was going to happen next!.

Now on to the not so great news. Looks like I have a Morton's Neuroma. This is not the first time I get this pain..it's just the first time I thought to ask and the first time I realize I need to go see a Podiatrist!. I get this pain on my right foot, like numbness and it feels like there is a sock all bunched up under my toes (that is exactly how I described it to Alejandro during dinner). Afterwards, I decided to go over to the Nest and ask the Nesties about it...sure enough, they knew exactly what it was...a Morton's Neuroma

Now thinking back I think I may have had some discomfort ever since I broke a toe in College. I get this numbness feeling every time we go hiking (I always thought my sucks were getting all bunched up!)..and I have felt it every time I run longer distances. I won't be able to see a Dr next week because I'm out of town, but it's my first priority when I get back!. For now, I iced it for 20 minutes and will be going to the running store tomorrow to ask some questions.

After the run I got home so excited to share, but had a less than happy husband due to a tough day at work (very very very crappy market). I needed to go get some food for dinner and decided we both needed a rewarding and nice meal (and quick!) so I went for a good, hearty and delicious menu: Grilled Filet Mignon, Baked Potatoes and Summer Salad. And of course, some vino!

Alejandro takes the award for the best griller...no doubt. The steaks were amazing! (he just adds rock salt and Worcestershire sauce and then works his magic on the grill!). I quickly got some baked potatoes, due to time constraints precooked them in the microwave and then popped them in the oven at 450F to get that yummy crust that I love!.

Summer Salad in Fall??...we live in Florida, so yes, it is still Summer here!.

Summer Salad

Organic Baby Romaine

Organic Baby Arugula

Campari or Grape Tomatoes

Strawberries

Red Onion

Goat Cheese

Dried Cranberries

Sliced Almonds...although I didn't have any this time around :((

Toss the ingredients in a bowl with S/P and balsamic vinegar and Olive Oil...that is all it needs!. Voila!

So there it is...sorry it got a little long, I guess I had a lot to share ;)

Erpapin - Te llamo manana, les deje un mensaje!! Besos!

Audiobooks

Have I mentioned I love my Ipod?. In case I haven's, I love my Ipod (birthday gift from the husband ;))

So far I have only used it to listen to music, but last night as I read through some running blogs I saw a lot of people use their running time to read!....ahh, gotta love technology. I am not entirely sure how "reading" rather than listening to music will change my running, but there was only one way to find out.

I logged on to audible.com today and signed up to be a "Gold Member". Each month (for the first 3 months) you pay $7.50 and then $13.50 after that (you can cancel at any time, no obligation). Basically this gives you access to 1 Credit = 1 Audiobook. This was a much better deal than what I had seen on iTunes (where the book I wanted was $18.95!). I downloaded my first book, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I absolutely loved My Sister's Keeper, so I decided to play it safe with my first audiobook and go with an author I already knew I liked.

Last night, I ran about 1.5 miles (on the treadmill at 1% incline and 9'45'' average pace) before my Pump Class. Today is my attempt at 6 miles. It is raining outside right now...I'm really hoping it stops because I don't think I can do 6 miles on the treadmill!.

So fingers crossed that it will stop raining, I will be able to get out there, start reading my book and break my distance record! If so, I'll come back with a full report! :)


Happy Friday!