5k VICTORY!!

That's right, I ran the 5k. I RAN THE WHOLE THING! And I feel good. I haven't suffered from any stiffness or soreness, except I was pretty stiff the afternoon of the race, but a couple of ibuprofen fixed that right up and it hasn't been back. It was amazing to cross the finish line and know that I had accomplished my goal! I was a little worried going into it. I hadn't actually made it up to a 5k distance.... my longest distance up to that point was only 1.7 miles. A 5k is 3.2. But surprisingly, the hardest part didn't come at the end of the race, it came at the beginning. As we approached the finish line, I was tired and ready for it to be over, but it wasn't anything I couldn't work through. Starting out, I think we'd gone maybe 40 yards before I realized that my muscles were killing me and that I couldn't breathe. I pushed myself forward, and found that my body evened itself out, and after I'd made it through the first half mile, I was doing fine. I'm so happy that I did it (I'm also happy that all the money went for such a good cause - Children's Medical Center), and I'm hoping to do another one soon :-)

Nutrition-wise, I've been finding it easier and easier to make good choices. I have a set list of places that I go for lunch on the two days that I work and I have some fail-safe foods at home that I can go to if I just don't want to cook or if I need a quick meal. Turkey wraps in a whole wheat tortilla are my favorite. I can load them up with veggies and a slice of cheese and they taste so good! I've also found a spinach and artichoke hummus that is a lower fat alternative to mayo, and it tastes pretty good with the turkey. I can also eat it with whole grain crackers. I think I might be an addict.... The other one that I like is what I call "healthy pizza". Did you know that you can buy whole wheat pizza crust? Well, you can! It tastes alright, but the one I really like comes in a kit where you make the crust. It's labeled as gluten-free so there's no whole wheat, but since it uses brown rice flour (as opposed to white), it still comes out okay. It's a pain in the rear to make (I would definitely recommend not using as much water as it says to) and it's a little bland tasting so I add a little salt and a lot of garlic powder to the dough. Then I put on a little sauce, a little cheese, and I like to load mine up with fresh diced tomatoes and artichokes. The only thing to watch out for is the sauce and the cheese, because of the fat and sugar content. I did take off one meal after my 5k where I got to eat whatever I wanted (helloooooo Chinese food!) and yesterday we celebrated my sisters birthday. I made the cake and the frosting, so there was lots of tasting going on :-) Today, I get back with the program. I still have ten pounds to lose this month! And speaking of that, I'll post an update on that part later.

I did get a run in this morning. I downloaded a new app to my Blackberry that uses the gps function in my phone to keep track of distance, time, pace, and mph for each run. I love it because it was free (yay!) and because it will still keep track of my stats even after I switch over to the music player. I downloaded my workout playlist to my phone so I wouldn't have to carry it and my ipod while I run. It works out great, except for every half mile, a voice comes on and tells me what my distance is, and that causes my music player to pause. I guess I need to figure out how to turn off that voice. I already know how long my route is.... I'm more concerned with pushing my pace a little right now. Today I only ran one mile. I think my muscles are still recovering from the 5k. Although I'm not experiencing any pain or stiffness when I do regular activities, running today was hellacious. So I think I might stick with one mile every day this week, and then start adding in increments. Next week, I'll shoot for a mile and a half, and then two miles after that.

And I finished a 5k! One for a great cause! I ROCK, beetches!