Half way? Already?

Can you believe it?   It's gone fast!  

This week, as I mentioned in my last post, I picked up 2 extra shifts in the ICU.  ICU work is a LOT different then flight nursing.  I'm basically on my feet the entire 12 hours and Wednesday I certainly got my butt handed to me.  Thursday was a little better because I was back on my game with charting, but I didn't go the day without learning more about being a nurse.  I really miss all the interactions I have when I go back.  

I managed to keep myself fed and fed well using Whole30.  I made steaks one night and had a leftover "Emergency Meat" with cabbage for lunch each day.  I feel that the energy I'm getting with this program really helped me get through those extra 24 hours of work.  

Today I didn't manage much but I did go to Trader Joe's after my Pilates class.  I needed to get some more cashews.  Someone finally got it right and now you can buy cashews and almonds that are dry roasted and salted.  No vegetable oil!  

BOOM!

Of course I picked up some dehydrated bananas that seriously are like a sugar cube!  I only had a couple and then hid them from everyone and myself.

Ingredients:  Bananas.

I also stopped by Whole Foods and picked up some Kombucha and a few things.  I checked out their bulk cashews and their dry roasted/salted are still more expensive then Trader Joes.

Organic HOT DOGS!  Hehehe.  

I also bought a couple of shrimp/veggie frozen dinners.  I'm trying to stay away from anything premixed but I'm exhausted and I'm sure my big prep day tomorrow will be a bit short.  I also bought some pecan and hazelnut encrusted salmon for dinner tonight.  It was delicious!

Along with some roasted brussel sprouts.  Yummy!

Earlier I made my own little mix for a snack.

Those are just dried bananas, not the candy I bought today.  After 2 days in the ICU I always have a day where I am just starving.  I'm sure I'm calorie deficient and certainly dehydrated.  I tried to drink lots of water today too.

Now, for my first Whole30 recipe tragedy.  

How can you go wrong with this? 

I'll tell you how.  Warm avocado is nasty and tasteless.  There isn't enough spice to help it either.  Maybe if I was a hot sauce person, but I'm not and I could hardly finish it.  Seems like a match made in heaven.  

Lesson learned.

Tomorrow I pick up my fruit/veggies coop basket and I plan to go to the farm that I get my organic meats.  I'll do some prep, but not an excessive amount. I have to work Sunday, maybe Monday and then Tuesday.  Friday is my little surgery.  ALREADY!  

Hoping for a little run tomorrow to warm up for the Virtual Jelly Bean race that I plan on running Thursday.  5K or 10K.  It hasn't been decided.  (Leaning towards 10K)

Good luck to the racers of the Canyonlands Half Marathon tomorrow.  One year ago today I was getting ready to run my very first Half.  Soon my half marathon friend, I'll come back to you......

Racing this weekend?

Blog on....................

Long Slow Run

Probably not my best idea.  

It's my last long run before the Other Half in Moab in a couple of weeks.  I figured I would do this run and then keep all my long runs just a mile over what my next race/relay will be.  I'm trying to run smarter and not harder to get through January and then I'm taking a break to heal up this foot.  For the most part it feels pretty OK  especially when I ice, massage and tape it everyday.  Today started out the same except around mile 5 that sorta ripping feeling (almost like an electric shock with pain) in the back of my heal started for about 1/4 of a mile but then stopped.  My husband asked if I stopped running because of the pain......oh no my sweetheart, that would make sense!
  

This morning I had some coffee and some Paleo Pancakes with butter and sugar free syrup...num num!!  Paleo Pancakes are just a banana/dollop of almond butter and an egg - all munched up with a fork and cooked in coconut oil.  Since I wasted hours laying around looking at funny websites I ate and it was almost 2 hours before I left for my run.  I had a couple of energy chews in the car.  I also had a serving of NoXplode - which is a preworkout drink with lots of caffeine and shtuff....it does give me a bunch of energy!  

I ran the Jordan River Parkway today.  It really is nice and meanders from Provo to North Salt Lake, then turns into the Legacy something or other.  There have been a few attacks, stabbing and dumping of bodies along the route which has given it a bad name.  Personally, if I'm there for the right reasons and during daylight hours it is wonderful.  Today it was busy with ton's of families, bikers, joggers and dog walkers that I was never truly alone.  

I parked my car so I could get back to it at around 6.5 miles.  It's not hot so I wasn't worried about cold water as much as refueling and peeing.  I didn't pee in my car, or around my car, but I did park at a park that had bathrooms and a water fountain.  

I started out with the first miserable mile, like usual, but after that I did OK.   Kept my pace down to around 10.5 min/miles and walked for one minute every 5 that I ran.  Like I said, around 5 miles I felt some extraordinary ripping in the back of my heel.  I stopped for a minute and then took off again trying to slowly adjust my foot strike so it didn't hurt.  It went away and I figured I ripped whatever scar tissues was there and I was golden!  (sick person I am)

I got back to the car and had another salt stick (I had one before I started), an apple/banana crusher and refilled my water.  You can get crushers from Trader Joe's and they are just like applesauce/fruit stuff that is packaged like this:

   That is not my hand, I took the picture off the Internet, but they are really good and I like the idea of those better then all the GU stuff.  

I peed and then ran north.  I was at 6.22 miles and I wanted to run to 9.5 miles then turn around, pass my car and then double back again.  I changed my plans.  I ran all the way to 4800 south which is about as north as I've ever gone.  That put me at 9.2 miles and I was OK with that.  I had a Honey Stinger Goo with me so I took that, filled up my water bottle at the water fountain, being very careful not to touch anything (ew) and started back.  But I must stop here for a minute.  At about 9 miles the ripping pain started again.  Mostly because there was some slight rolling hills, which usually feel good to my foot, but not so much today.  I walked it off and got to the next park - no, I did not stop running.  (gah!)

After I Goo'd and watered I decided to run to a park that was about halfway between me and my car.  This park has an awesome path around the grass that is about .40 miles.  OF course in my head it was at least a mile and I figured I would run around twice then head to my car.  This way I would get to 14 miles before the car.  Well, I ended up going around FOUR times, which was fine, there were lots of families there looking at me like I was crazy and I'm OK with that.  After that I was at about 12.6 miles and I took off for my car.  I miscalculated a little and ended up walking over half a mile.  That hurt like a bitch! (excuse my language)  My foot was no longer happy and I felt like my bra was cutting me in half.  I was done with a capital D.  Once I got to the car my plans for having another crusher and a salt tab were dismissed.  I felt like I was going to puke.  I tried drinking some water with NUUN in it, which never bothers me, but my stomach wasn't having it.  Luckily I had a frozen bottle of water in the car that had melted a little over half way and that was just what the tummy ordered.  

I finally figured out the GARMIN online thingy.  How cool!  I don't have to manually type it in!

My totals for the 14 miles were:
14 miles in 2:35:45  11.07 ave

Here are my splits.  Surprisingly appropriate for a long slow run.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	2:45:15.0	14.54	11:22
1	11:16.7	1.00	11:17
2	11:09.3	1.00	11:09
3	11:05.7	1.00	11:06
4	10:57.0	1.00	10:57
5	11:02.0	1.00	11:02
6	10:27.6	1.00	10:28
7	11:05.1	1.00	11:05
8	11:04.2	1.00	11:04
9	11:01.6	1.00	11:02
10	11:45.9	1.00	11:46
11	11:14.1	1.00	11:14
12	11:19.8	1.00	11:20
13	11:11.4	1.00	11:12
14	10:58.6	1.00	10:59
15	9:36.2	0.54	17:38

It looks like there is a booger on the last lap pace, but I swear it's not!

I burned over 1600 calories!!  BOOM.  I thought I would come right home and have this baby that I had in the fridge.  I feel so happy.

But no, it tasted nasty.  So I had water and a bag of popcorn while my SWEET husband defrosted and cooked steaks and some shrimpy thing and fed me while I sat on the couch icing my foot.  He also included a half of an avocado which is the perfect post run food!  

Capri's and compression socks!   Call me for your style questions!

I settled for a little glass of RumChata.  It's like Horchata with rum.  

I have no idea why I thought I needed some booze after my run, but I'm obviously a crappy drinker.  Water is really my go-to.  Shhhhhhh, don't tell anyone!

Since I figured out my Garmin Connect, I decided to add Daily Mile to my blog.  The only thing I don't like it that it doesn't add my years mileage up correctly.  After today's run, I have run 458 miles this year and that is only the outside miles, no treadmill runs included!!  

I'm not very good at keeping track of miles and I finally found an app for my iPhone that I can keep track of my shoes and their mileage. 

It's called Shoedometer.  I take a cute pic of my shoes and then I can keep track of them better then finding a stock picture.  

 I'm not even good at that.  It's a miracle this blog is going along so well!  

So after icing my foot and taking a shower I'm walking on it just fine.  I'm sure it will be tender in the morning.  It's a crazy foot, I can't figure it out!!

Do you keep track of your miles??

When you feel a twinge of an injury do you stop, collaborate and ice? (heehee)

I obviously don't!

Blog on................

Monday Funday

Monday fun stuff.

Daniel went with my brother Dave to help set up his stage and light show.  This is Dave's rig.  NICE!

Saturday I bought a free range chicken from a local farm here.  It was 5.5 lbs!!  Monday I found a recipe to cook it in the crock pot.  I wish I had a great pic of after - but by the time I got home from Yoga, the family was digging in.  That's what I get for having a late dinner.  It was super delicious and then we picked off the meat and added water, carrots and celery and then simmered it for fresh chicken broth.  

Here is a link to the recipe.  The Best Whole Chicken in a crock pot.

It's a super easy recipe with just a cut up onion in the bottom and a dry rub made with lots of spices!

Yoga with my Trader Joe's bag.  Intervention?  

I feel so....healthy and popular.

Oh look, an idea for my 50th birthday.  Mechanical Bull.  I would also have an open bar and paramedics on standby.

Blog on................