Rockford Half Marathon Race Recap

Today I ran the Rockford Half Marathon.  It was my fifth half marathon and my first time doing this race.  My long runs have been going okay and I thought this race would go fairly smoothly.

The weather was forecasted for humid in the morning and warm all day.  I didn't think too much of it until we stepped outside that morning.  I guess I'm use to it being cooler, living by Lake Michigan.  I knew it would be warmer inland, but I wasn't prepared for how much.

This picture is before the race.  Weirdest pose ever by me.  

The race started at 7 for both the marathon and the half which is way earlier than I am use to running!  I think I started out too fast.  By mile 3 I was having some problems.  I was way overheated and starting to feel like I was going to pass out.  I told Becky to keep going, because I had to walk.

The rest of the race was just a struggle for me.  I had Becky in my sights for a bit, but she was long gone by mile 5 (and ended up PRing!).  I ran/walked the rest and stayed by the same group of about 5 runners the whole time.

I finished at 2:55, much slower then I thought before I started!  That just goes to show, you never know what race day will bring.  And it turns out, word on the street is that this race is always really hot.  Oh, well.  I finished and that is an accomplishment in itself.

Becky had to get a shot of me with all of my food.  I was choking down a giant bagel and they were giving away whole bags of this puffed corn stuff that turned out to be pretty good.  And we got coupons for a free ice cream cone from McDonald's.

Overall, I liked this course.  The race support along the route was awesome.  There were water/gatorade stops, people riding on their bikes handing out GUs, a GU stop, a sponge stop (where I told a volunteer that I loved them), and they even had ice at the last water stop!  I don't know if I'd do this race again just because I am not good in the heat.  I hate summer races and am glad for the cool weather here most of the year.

Did you race this weekend?

Mexican Lentils and Rice Casserole Recipe

I have a couple of go to recipes that I make repeatedly.  One of them has been one I got from Runs for Cookies called Mexican Lentils and Rice.  The other day I was trying to think of something to make, when I had an idea.

I had a bunch of the lentils and rice made already.  I had corn tortillas, shredded cheddar, and diced green chilis.  I thought that would make a good combination...at least I hoped it would.

Mexican Lentils and Rice Casserole Recipe
2c. Mexican Lentils and Rice
4 corn tortillas
2 servings shredded cheddar (28g/serv - yes, I weigh my cheese)
1 can diced green chilis (I use La Preferida)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spray a 9x9 pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Dip corn tortillas in a bowl of water before placing in the bottom of the 9x9 pan just so they are wet.
Put one serving of cheese on the tortillas.
Spread the 2c. of Mexican Lentils and Rice over the cheese layer.
Then, put the second serving of cheese over the Mexican Lentils and Rice. Spread the diced green chilis over the top.  Bake for 20-30 minutes.

I counted this as two servings. This tastes as good without the cheese, half the cheese, or the Mexican blended cheese as well.

What's your go to recipe?

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I've been getting up at reasonable times the last few days despite having to close every night at work.  I finally got myself up to go for a walk in the morning, mostly because I had to return an overdue library book.  I checked out books quite a while ago and have renewed them twice, because I still haven't found time to read them. The one I had to return was put on hold by someone, so I couldn't renew it.  I thought it was a great time to walk to the book drop.  That way, I could get in some exercise and cross something off my to do list.

The weather was absolutely perfect!  It was 70, sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and slightly breezy.  Most of the walk was shaded, so I didn't even have to worry about burning.

I walked just shy of 4 miles.  I would have kept going to get that even number, but I had to get ready for work.

I also decided to try having a smoothie for lunch.  Everybody seems to be juicing, but I don't have a juicer.  I do have frozen strawberries, frozen bananas and a blender.  And I forgot that I have some protein powder.  It wasn't even expired!  Bonus!

I was full after drinking that, but a couple of hours later I thought my stomach was going to eat itself I was so hungry!  I forgot to grab a snack.  I should have known it would only tide me over for a bit.  I didn't go crazy or anything by the time I ate.  I just had some stir fry I made the other day from all of my left over veggies.  It was delicious and filling.

How did you spend your day?

Oh No She Di-int!

The last few weeks I've started tracking my food and workouts using My Fitness Pal.  I've tried using it a few years ago and didn't really like it.  After using Spark for a while, I found one thing I like better about MFP.  When I work out, they add those calories to my daily calories that I can eat.  With Spark, I just go over a ton when I have my long runs and it makes me feel like I ate too much.

My Fitness Pal

Another thing I like better is the barcode scanner.  With Spark, everything I would try to scan was something I would have to enter all the information for.  MFP seems to have a larger data base.  Everything I've scanned so far has already been entered by someone.

At the end of each day, when everything is entered, I like that it will tell me how much I will weigh in 5 weeks if I continue on the same track.  It's just interesting to see.

Tracking!

So, for now, I am on the MFP train.  I hope it lasts and I start losing some weight!  My user name is jnbrigs if you want to add me as a friend!

On another sort of related front, tonight after work, I said no to peanut M&M's, because I knew that I was already over my calories for the day. Yay me!

Here's to a great rest of the week!

Shake It Out

Yesterday I had a running date with Becky.  We had 4 miles on schedule.  I was a bit worried after Sunday's 12 mile run.  While it was a good run, my legs were still pretty tight. I was worried I would feel slow and miserable.

It was quite the opposite.  The weather was perfect.  It was around 70 and there was a slight breeze.  I felt energetic and ready to go.  We ran toward the Lake.  By the time we got there the cool breeze felt so good!

After I got home and started stretching, I got really sore!  I wore my Brooks Pure Connects and it's been a while since I have.  I don't think my body is used to the minimalism anymore!  I can't believe I thought about wearing them for the 12 miles.  I wouldn't have been able to walk!

Today, I'm feeling better.  I was really exhausted yesterday and fell asleep on the couch watching Psych on Netflix before 10.  I woke up and went to bed sometime later.

Today is another beautiful day!  I thought about going for a walk before work, but pulled some weeds and watered the flowers and the garden instead.  I still have to make food to bring with to work for lunch.  If I don't, I will buy junk food to eat.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Influenster Sugar 'n Spice Voxbox Part 4 Optic White Trio

I've mentioned before that I am part of Influenster and they had sent me a VoxBox of products to test out. I reviewed them here, here, and here.  The last products I have to write about are the Colgate Optic White series.  I received a toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouth wash to use.

I had my doubts about them.  I am a pretty dedicated coffee drinker.  I drink at least one cup a day.  And if I don't drink coffee, I drink tea.  So, to see if there was any difference, I took a before picture.

I used the system regularly for 4 weeks.  Here are the results.

I am getting amazing at showing my teeth off for the camera.  Feel free to copy these poses. They are definitely amazing!

I think they went up a shade or two.  So, if you don't drink coffee or tea, it would probably work really well for you.

The mouthwash had a weird taste to it.  It reminded me of the dentist's office.  I really didn't care for it.

I did really like the toothbrush.  I bought one for Kevin after receiving mine for free.  He likes it as well.

I probably won't buy the toothpaste and mouthwash now that mine have run out unless it's on a big sale.  While it was easy to use, I just am not that concerned about maintaining a pearly white smile and the results didn't blow my mind enough to convince me to do so.

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

Happy Mother's Day!

I worked at 6 this morning and boy, does that come fast!  My alarm went off at 4 so I could make coffee.  I laid on the couch until about 5 watching I Love Lucy.  I was pretty tired!  I finally sipped down some coffee and got ready for work.

I was actually looking forward to my run today.  It's been exactly a week since my last run and I was starting to get a little stir crazy.  The only part I was worried about was running 12 miles after working for 8 hours.  No, biggie...right?

I drank a soda on the way home to get a little extra caffeine.  I also soaked my feet in some epsom salt for about 20 minutes to soothe them a little.  I got dressed, filled my bottle with Gatorade, grabbed my phone, and took off.  It was a beautiful day for a run.

We have run 12 before and agreed to do the same route again.  I like it, because we run by the Lighthouse and have some awesome views of the Lake.

The first four miles passed pretty quickly.  I haven't talked to Becky in a week and we had a lot of catching up to do.  I felt pretty good until mile 9.  My legs started to get really tight and my feet were starting to get a bit sore.  Miles 9-11 seemed to drag on forever.

I couldn't wait to run the last mile.  There's a huge hill we get to run down before the home stretch.  The only problem with that was that a giant rock pebble got lodged in between my heel and shoe and would not move.  I was worried that I was going to be bleeding, but sucked it up and kept going.  Becky pulled ahead of me a bit and boy, was that last half mile tough!

When we were walking to cool down, I stopped to pull the rock out and I had a bloody heel. Ouchie!

It was a good run and the fastest 12 miles I've done, even with walking a few times.  Hopefully I can make my goal of a 2:30 half marathon next weekend!

I hope all of you moms had the day that you deserve!