The Truth Shall Set You Free

Earlier this month, I said goodbye to cookies and pie.

I said hello to Oat Bran, hard boiled eggs and the like.

The menu of an athlete in training.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday, I had a clandestine meeting with these . . .

"These" are Del Taco's Loaded BBQ Fries (my Pastor makes fun of people who take pictures of the food they eat - but a picture is worth a thousand words!). They are loaded with delightful goodness, along with one million calories and grams of fat. And they taste SO GOOD . . . so good that I kept eating them long after my body sent the signals that I was full.

And then I felt sick . . . not only from overeating, but my body was freaking out on the grease and the fat that it has been recently separated from. Poor Loaded BBQ Fries . . . I couldn't finish them all!

I guess the good news is that our bodies know what's good for us and what's trash - even when we don't. And even though those Loaded BBQ Fries were having a party with my tastebuds while I was eating them . . . I paid for it later, bigtime.

In the spirit of repentance, for dinner I ate this:

EMINEM - My Secret Weapon & Dirty Little Secret!

There are two schools of thought on the whole issue of running with music: Run with music or DON'T run with music. I understand where the people in the "DON'T" camp are coming from - because iPods, etc. aren't allowed on race day(s). HOWEVER, I am firmly in the camp of "Run With Music", because how else am I supposed to motivate myself through 6, 7, 8 miles of running?? C'mon.



On the first day of training with my Fleet Feet running group, Coach Chrissy said: "If you run with your iPod, people won't be able to talk to you - you'll kind of be isolated."

And I was thinking: That's OK, because 1) I cannot talk while I'm running, I'm just not that kind of running Rockstar and 2) I doubt whatever chit-chat my fellow runners have to share will motivate me as much as my good friend, EMINEM.








OK, OK, nobody kick me out of the Good Christian Girl Club just yet! Hear me out . . .

I know that's it's ODD that my playlist includes titles from Eminem, Miley Cirus (OK, OK, don't kick me out of the Almost 40 Club!) and Chris Tomlin. And I will further redeem myself by sharing that only ONE of Eminem's (am I the only person who thinks of M&M's when I say his name??) songs is on my iPod . . . but this song has a combination of lyrics and beat that bring out my inner WARRIOR PRINCESS with a fury and when my feet are pounding that pavement while listening to Eminem singing (and I use that word loosely here), I believe I COULD run a marathon!!

You know what song I'm talking about . . . you probably have it on your iPod too!

Lose Yourself from the 8 Mile soundtrack (good movie, too!).

I'll just share here the opening lyrics . . .



Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity

To seize everything you ever wanted-

One moment

Would you capture it

or just let it slip?

Yes, there is an obscenity or two . . . for the record, I don't sing along with the bad words. And while we're "on record", I'm also not a misogynist (that's my big word for the day). But I do love that song . . . .

It was a beautiful 6-mile run through the North Davis Greenbelt on Saturday morning.

And I enjoyed every moment of it, (OK, that's a lie - have I mentioned on this blog that I hate running??) while my motivational coach, Eminem, shouted in my ear: "You can do anything you set your mind to, man."

The Curse of the Monkey Toe . . . or Alternate Title: Ouch!

Some people have beautiful feet and toes. . . the People with Pretty Piggies.


*sigh*


I am not a member of the People with Pretty Piggies club. I belong to another sect, the Monkey Toe Tribe - perhaps you've heard of us?





After 37 years of living with my Monkey Toes, I have come to accept this affliction and even wear my open-toe shoes with defiant pride. After all, this is how my Creator made me . . . monkey toed.

The pretty blue toes would belong to my youngest daughter. The bright red monkey toes would belong to me. (Don't mention the bunions - that's an entirely different post!)

You might be asking yourself at this point, what do Sarah's toes have to do with anything? So glad you asked! I'll tell you.

Never before have my monkey toes caused me any pain beyond my vanity. Not until now. As I continue my Half Marathon training schedule, I have noticed the strangest ache (among the other aches I have come to accept). My second toe is killing me! Do you know why my second toe is killing me? Refer to the picture above and you will see how the offending Second Toe sticks out obnoxiously past the Big Toe (not really the Big Toe at all, is he? More like second fiddle in this band). As I run longer and longer distances, my toes are trapped in my running shoes for longer and longer periods of time. And my TRUE Big Toe . . . that Second Toe . . . is crammed up against the tip of my shoe and Second Toe NO LIKEY!

Now, I know what you're going to say: Sarah, you need new (by new, you mean bigger) shoes!

I have a few comments on that subject:

1. I should be able to get 300-500 miles out of each pair of shoes and I am getting my money's worth! Even if it kills Second Toe.

2. I don't need a bigger shoe . . . at least not all around. I just need a shoe that has a little extra space for my Big & Tall Second Toe. That would be a pretty funny looking shoe. Do you think they carry that at Fleet Feet?

So . . . I may give in and buy a new (and yes, by new I mean bigger) pair of shoes. We'll see - maybe the Monkey Toe Tribe is bigger than I know and there's an entire line of Big & Tall Second Toe shoes for me to choose from.

Stay Tuned . . .

Does Everyone in Davis RUN?

Dressed in layers to protect my poor lizard body from the cold, I did manage to meet up with my running group at 8:30 this morning. It wasn't pretty - or rather, I wasn't pretty.

And this is how I was feeling too . . .

But 5 miles happened at a very slow pace - let's just leave it at that. I think it was a wise decision to join a training group - the running routes planned out for you alone are worth it! Believe it or not, one of the biggest challenges for me is planning a running route. And once this training program is done, I'll still have all these routes for future runs (oh joy).

But I need just a moment here to ask a question: DOES EVERYONE IN DAVIS RUN???? There were so many people on the bike paths, on the roads, all running with their little hydration packs and talking cheerfully. They were everywhere! And as I was considering the population of Davis, CA - I'm pretty sure we have a disproportionally high number of runners. And now I'm one of them.

I'm one of them.

Zero to 5 miles . . . tomorrow!

Tomorrow morning at 8:30 am, I will be joining my comrades in craziness for a brisk morning run. A 5 mile run . . . *sigh*





Have I ever mentioned that running is my LEAST favorite discipline in the Triathlon sport?





The coaches told us that if you can easily run 4 miles, this training group is for you!


One runner asked, "What if I only run 3 miles, 3 times per week?"


One runner asked, "What if I'm running 6 miles, 2 times per week - is this group too slow for me?"


I asked, "What if I ran 6 miles 4 months ago?? Am I in the right group?"





Apparently, I am.





I hate being cold, that's the problem. I would rather run in 100 degree heat than be outside in the cold. I'm a lizard . . . I am coldblooded and I must be periodically laid out on a rock in the sun to warm up.





But anyway, this is happening in the morning. I am running outside in 50 degree weather. But remember, I swam in 58 degree water . . . so I can do this!


Of course, I'll need my wetsuit.





And the nutrition . . . oh the nutrition . . . when you are snuggled up on your couch every night of winter, you don't need nutrient rich food. All you need is food like this:

These would be my oldest daughter's chocolate mint-chip cookies. Yes, they taste as good as they look. I have eaten three tonight . . . because they're evil and call my name from the cooling rack.

But I need to go back to my dear Oat Bran with apple slices and hard boiled eggs and black coffee and lots and lots of water. I don't dislike these foods, they're the foods that truly fuel my body and make a 5 mile run possible. Chocolate mint-chip cookies won't get me around the block. But it's just hard to say goodbye to such dear friends.

Goodbye Cookies.

Goodbye Pie.

Don't worry, I'll probably be back by Thanksgiving.

Warrior Princess postponed.

OK, OK . . . I know in my last post I said that I would NOT miss the Davis Stampede Half Marathon in February . . . but it now looks like life has once again hijacked my plans.







SO! New goal . . . . SHAMROCKIN' HALF MARATHON in West Sacramento on March 13th. Yes, two months away . . . is that enough time to train for a Half Marathon? We'll see, won't we?

http://www.shamrocknhalf.com/registration

What has the Warrior Princess learned about herself these past three months? She is obviously motivated by goals, deadlines and other tools that hold her accountable.





Many of my co-workers at Vitek Mortgage Group will also be participating in this Half Marathon . . . so this should either be a lot of fun or painful public humiliation.





Stay tuned . . . .