Ready, Ready, Ready...Ready to Run!

Well, my alarm went off at 7:00 am this morning, and I only hit the snooze once! I then loaded on my layers (it was 20 degrees outside), which included fleece-lined running tights (glad I bought those back in college, even if they are a little tight, they sure are warm!), long underwear top, long-sleeve t-shirt, fleece vest, gloves, and fleece headband. I strapped on my ipod, stuck my camera in my pocket, and walked out the front door. I had this beautiful sunrise to greet me! I have always loved West Texas skies, and I usually witness the wonderful sunsets here, but not too many sunrises. I was very thankful to the Lord for the beautiful morning!

My plan for the run was to run continuously for 20 minutes. I am not worried about pace or distance at this point, just getting my heart rate up and getting a nice little workout. I began running and even thought to myself, "Man, I am starting out pretty fast here!" Well, that feeling did not last long. At one point I looked down at my watch and saw I had only been running for 10 minutes, and at that time I was thinking, "I feel like I am going to throw up."

I ran to a little playa lake by our house and it was really pretty with the sunrise as well. It is pictured below. There are a lot of geese that hang out there, so it was so pretty to see them in the water and hear a few fly overhead. At about 15 minutes, I thought to myself, "It is time to quit," but I managed to keep running. Although, running could be a relative term. A passerby probably would have thought "What is wrong with that girl?" I am sure I looked pretty pathetic. After the wanting to quit thought, near disaster occurred. My ipod froze...literally. The music stopped, I kept pushing buttons, and nothing (I guess they are not made for sub-freezing temps).

So, with no music to give me an extra boost, and only a few minutes remaining, I slowly, and bitterly plugged along. At 19 minutes I said out loud (I know, ridiculous), "You can do this," and I ran until the time ran up. At the 20 minute mark, I began to walk, and the "Hallelujah Chorus" rang sweetly in my ears.

Although my run was short, slow, and overall pathetic, I have to admit I am pretty proud of myself. I hope my brothers are reading this. They are both super fit run for fun guys (one even ran track in college). They know how bad of a runner I am, so they should be proud!

After my run, I took a nice shower, read my Bible while eating a good breakfast, then went to work. I have to admit, it was a good morning, and I felt great all day. I guess this exercise stuff is pretty good for you...who would have thought!

Today I brought a little of my Chex Mix to school for a mid-morning snack. I have heard many people recommend eating healthy snacks throughout the day to help cravings and metabolism, so I am trying to do that more. For lunch, I came home from work, and looked in the fridge to see what we had. I had some ciabatta and prosciutto left from the burgers the other night, so I put a prosciutto slice on each piece of bread, grated fresh parmesan cheese over it, then drizzled a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and basil over it. I toasted it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes. It was a good, quick lunch.

For dinner we ate out because it was a busy night. Tomorrow is the day I pack my lunch for work, so I made a pasta salad I could take to work with me. This is a good, simple recipe, and I like that I can make a large amount of it, throw it in the fridge, and have lunch all week! This is a recipe my mom gave me at one time, I think she found it in a magazine awhile back. Here it is:

• 16 oz. package shell pasta (or other pasta of your choice), I used Conchiglie from World Market
  
• 1/3 c. red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 3/4 c. olive oil
• 1 c. chopped fresh basil
• Fresh grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 c. toasted pine nuts

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, and set aside to cool, later you may want to run a little cold water over it to cool it more.
2. Combine next 7 ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.
   
3. Pour cool pasta in large bowl. Pour oil mixture over, top with basil, cheese, and pine nuts. Toss well. Keep refrigerated and serve cold (or room temperature).