...Back on the road and giving in...

..To the Twilight obsession!.
For those of you that don't know, there is a craze about a book series about vampires. I know what you are thinking and I feel the same way....vampires??. Everyone that reads it gets obsessed with the series and loves the book, so in between flights, I thought, why not...stopped at the airport bookstore and decided to buy a copy.

Plus I had ran out of reading material...and not really into the current book I have.

On my first flight I was consumed by my Runners magazine (always the highlight of my trips!)...and I almost finished my gossip magazine (a must have for travelling!). So I have my book, still doubting I will actually like it..but hey, I also thought I would not like running and here I am, day dreaming about being outside running!.

This weekend I was able to get out there and ran about 3.5 miles at about 9.4. Still in the 9s!! wooo-hooo!. I can't wait for my overall pace to drop to the 9s too. Another important milestone is also getting near...I'm close to logging 100 miles total!!!

This morning, I did my boot camp bright and early and plan on running twice during my trip. It's always hard during business trips but I will find a way. This weekend I'm definitely planning on doing a 6 mile run...it's no longer an option with only two weekends before the race.

Ok, off to get on the vampire wagon!.

Book review: Marley & Me (No spoilers!)

Marley & Me, by John Grogan



Since I know a few of you are reading it I won't give away anything, but will just tell you how I feel about it.

I loved it!!! I think anyone that has ever had a dog will love this book. I think maybe even people that have never had one, but I don't know that they will get it as well (I may be wrong, but there are just certain things that you don't know about unless you have had a dog!).

I usually read at night or during business travel flights. While I read in bed, I'm next to a serious reader, the hubster. He reads serious books. Military, history, you name it...serious stuff!...So, apologies to him if my reading habits interfere with his serious reading (although i think he probably just ignores me..hehe). When I read in the plane, I'm next to strangers and don't feel comfortable laughing out loud (or crying for that matter).

I have learned the hard way that there are certain books I want to read at home. I want to feel free to laugh out loud or cry like a baby. It's the best thing about reading...living emotions through characters is always healing to me. Any book that taps into my emotions, whether good or bad, is a good book in my mind.

After reading a few chapters, I knew this was a book I wanted to read at home. i was laughing OUT LOUD!. Every night while reading I would glance at Chepe and that just made me laugh harder (probably remembering similar episodes in Chepe's life).

As I was getting close to the end, I also knew this was a book I wanted to read at home. I also knew this was a book I wanted to finish alone!. No offense to my dear serious reader, but I wanted to be alone. One Saturday night, I called it a night early on and came upstairs. Got myself ready to finish the book. And well, let's just say afterwards I felt very light and slept like a baby. It's a sad but happy feeling....the best kind.

Dogs are just amazing. Anyone that has been blessed by having one touch their lives knows what I am talking about. So don't get sad, be glad and know you're lucky...and the best dogs are sometimes the "worst" dogs :)




And here is a picture taken last week of the little one that terrorizes the neighbors and dogs (big or small). Chepe is a funny character and now in adulthood there are a few Chepesisms I thought I would share,

• He doesn't know many tricks, but the ones that he knows he has mastered
• He may not know hot to heel and walk beside you "properly", but is always excited to go for a walk.
• He may not always come when you call him, specially if he's taking a nice nap...but he will come around when he is ready and finish the lap next to you.
• He is our little black bear, but is as tender as they come.
• He barks at everyone that walks by...specially if they are kids. He has a specially mean bark reserved for them....but has shown that even when my nephews terrorize him, he will just run away and not hurt them.
• He is at his happiest when his favorite humans are together in the couch.
• He is the best napping partner you will ever find and appreciates if you share the nap blanket with him.
• He likes to sleep on his back, legs up...what? is that not how most dogs sleep.

He is a small dog with a big personality, a big bark and a huge heart.

This post is dedicated to all dogs that have and for those that continue to touch your lives.

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!

Why run?

To be the fastest runner in case we ever have another Grizzly bear encounter!!!? Nope. If I know one thing about Grizzly bears is that you definitely shouldn't try to out run them. I also know that I am good at following directions in bear-related life threatening situations, so I probably will just do whatever the husband tells me to do...and he probably would not be one to yell "Run!!!".

So, why? Well, my friend Emy gets all the credit for getting me excited about trying. Here are the reasons why I have stuck with it:

• To lose the newlywed weight
  Yeah, like the freshman 15..only this weight gain nobody warns you about, and it just creeps up on you. Here I am, happy and delighted to be trying all sort of recipes to share awesome newlywed dinners with my husband. The husband...well, he happily eats them and rates them all. Of course by the time he sits down to enjoy his dinner, he probably burnt like 1,000 calories playing tennis.
  Meanwhile something was happening...yep, it's the newlywed weight creeping in....and I want it GONE!

• Boredom/ Wedding Planning blues
  A year of planning the wedding and working on all the details (and loving every second of it) is suddenly replaced with a whole lot of time to do a whole lot of nothing. Yes, I have an entire house to decorate and Alejandro and I have a lot to do...but that's not a day to day thing and I miss that. I miss all my planning, I guess I'm just a planner.
  
  No, I'm not completely bored, just a little bored. I need things to keep me busy and entertained...and depending on others for that can get very old, very quickly!. This little challenge is mine, I get to enjoy it, to hate it and to celebrate it...and I have nobody to blame or reward for the ups/downs but myself. So basically, it's me entertaining myself and sharing my results with you here (with all 3 of you :))

• Flexibility and no Excuses
  This sort of related to Number 1, but not completely. Ever since the wedding. I moved up here and my routine got all messed up. I had worked so hard to get myself into a routine for the past 2 years, but slowly started to lose it with my excuses. I started working from home (which has it's perks) but I also started travelling a little more for work. This means I had plenty of excuses of why I couldn't get myself in a routine. Running eliminates all that nonsense. You can pretty much run anywhere and anytime.
  

• Because I can
  My dad was a marathoner, so I feel like I have it in my genes (or so i tell myself). He inspires me and I know part of why he was so successful at it is because he's a planner. Hmm...sounds familiar?

Running is like no other exercise I have ever done. I was never much into sports but I can see what Alejandro means about it being all mental (he plays tennis). I would say running is 80% in your head.

You wouldn't even believe all the things that go through my head when I'm out there running. Sometimes I plan for the next day, or think of new recipes, or sing along. Other times (when the run is getting tough) I do visualizations. I visualize myself looking in top Marathon shape (even if I never actually run a fill marathon, it is still fun to picture myself!), I picture my legs strong and with effortless continuous motions...almost like they are not attached to my body and are like the wheels of a car.


Just a little update: I added two little boxes. One with my Monthly/Weekly running stats on the little box to the right and one farther on the right showing what I'm currently reading. I will be adding book reviews when I'm done (I've never been much of a reader, but it's just something else I started doing...Alejandro gets all the credit for getting me into that!!)