I clocked 12 miles today – my longest run so far! I also managed to maintain a 9 minute mile, and finished in 1 hour 50 minutes. This is in line with my goal of running the half marathon I’m training for next month, in about 2 hours. Today was a gorgeous day outside so perfect for a long run. Around 60 degrees, beaming sun and bright blue skies. Cold Spring (where I live) is so gorgeous around spring time, and that is what today reminded me of: spring! I became distinctly aware of how important your mental state is when running longer distances. Sure, you can think like this: “12 miles? That means TWO loops of what i normally run and I would have to pass that bend and go up that hill TWICE… ugh… ” instead of saying to yourself “let me just find a comfortable pace and see how far I can go, and enjoy my surroundings and feel grateful for being able to move about this way in such gorgeous surroundings”. The way you talk to yourself has everything to do with how well you do and how fast you can finish. Much like everything else in life, mind you. In previous long runs, I had been bothered by some pain in my lower back towards the end, but this is no longer affecting me, as I’ve really focused on strengthening my core and being aware of how I move my body. Shorter strides (which is also better for my knees, I have had about 5 surgeries total on both knees) and being conscious of my upper body/not slouching or leaning forward when I run, has helped me. My legs and knees still start to ache during the last 2 miles, but I think that’s normal for everyone. To summarize, I’m glad to report that I could comfortably finish 12 miles without much trouble, so am feeling more confident about next month and will continue to train both speed and distance with the goal of becoming even better prepared for my first half marathon!

I weighed in today at 134.8 which means I lost 1 lb since last week, could be some water weight I lost but am definitely feeling leaner and tighter in areas where I traditionally haven’t been so happy with. Finally also starting to see some muscle definition in my legs and butt – that is the hardest area I believe for women to develop so going to focus on this body part going forward. Next week I will be reporting back on some body measurements, so stay tuned for that if you care 🙂

I also wanted to post a few photos of the fabulous dinner I had last night – lamb racks with mashed rutabaga and apples wit grilled asparagus. Delicious! The night before, I had grilled mustard-crusted salmon with caramelized onions, wild rice and broccoli. Who said healthy had to be boring and bland?

MUSTARD CRUSTED SALMON, CARAMELIZED ONION, BROCCOLI AND WILD RICE

Serves 2

2 x 6 oz salmon fillet

1/4 cup nonfat or low fat sour cream

2 tbsp coarsely ground mustard

juice from 1/2 lemon

2 medium sized yellow onions

1/2 cup wild rice

3-4 heads broccoli

Mix sour cream, mustard and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Spread on to salmon fillets and let stand for 1/2 hour. Meanwhile, cut up broccoli florets into bite size pieces and place on roasting pan, spray with Pam spray and season with salt. Place in oven for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until crisp/a bit browned on the edges.

Slice onions thin, place in saute pan with 1 tsp olive oil, season with salt, and saute over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes until brown and caramelized.

Place rice in 1 1/2 cups of salted water in small pot, bring to boil, turn heat down to low and put lid on, and cook for about 50 minutes or until soft/liquid has dried up.

Finally, place salmon in saute pan over high heat and saute for 2-3 minutes to achieve crispy skin underneat, then place in oven for about 5 minutes (350F).

Delicious wild salmon from the shop my husband works at:

I think I went a bit nuts taking photos of our lamb dinner but couldn’t help myself as lamb is my favorite protein, but I don’t eat it too often as it’s a bit higher in fat than I’d like it to be. But for a Saturday night “treat” it’s definitely worth it! Lamb is best served medium, and with some sort of middle Eastern spice rub on it, in this instance we used cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, star anise and cloves.