Happy Blogiversary!!!

One year ago today I posted my first entry on this blog.  Here's to making it to two years!  Thanks for reading - I hope this continues to get better.

Eat This Now

I know the picture doesn't look like much so let me tell you what's on the sandwich that you want to eat now.

First let me tell you about Amy's burgers. I don't eat meat and I don't actively seek out things that taste like "meat" because what I really want is to eat meat. Because I don't. I like variation in my vegetarian diet. I like to eat things that are warm sometimes instead of things that are always cold and/or room temperature. I like to eat things that are filling. And most importantly, I like to eat things that taste GOOD. Amy's burgers are the best all-veggie-all-good-for-you things I've ever eaten. Yes, they're roughly $6.00 for four Texas burgers but they're so worth it. Buy them. Eat them. Love them. If you have taste buds, you will.

Now, back to the picture. R and I took these little taste-a-licious patties to a new level by adding fried egg, melted mozzarella (the real thing, not the shreds), arugula, a spicy honey mustard and tomatoes (I added sriracha to mine) all sandwiched between two crunchy pieces of lavash. Trust me, it's incredible. It's probably what you want to eat.

Do Not Give Up!

Something miraculous happened on Friday, people.

But more on that in a few.

First, I must admit that my rigorous two a days are now non-existant. I have been running consistently for the past (I'm thinking about this...) three to four months. I've been struggling. Mostly because I don't really know how to "push myself," which according to the man and the sister is essential to my running. I've been trying to keep with at least three days a week, two to three miles each outing. I must stress that I struggle with this.

So back to Friday. R & I decided to go for a run with said sister and brother in law. In our little four person running group, I'm the only one that has a hard time going the distance. My brother in law has legs for days and it appears also a bottomless pit of energy. The sister and the man are able to keep one another's pace and run about 8 miles (no big deal, right?!). And - again - I struggle through three. Friday though, Friday was different. Friday I had an attitude that I needed to do better. Friday all the conditions were right. Friday I caught the runner's high early on and rode it the whole way.

The scene: we start at the usual place in the MetroParks, the man (R) and the brother in law (A) take off after the sister who pretty much starts running when we get to the post that declares it mile zero. I walk to warm up. I get my jog on. Then I see the sister loop around and come back for me. I feel like I'm going to slow her down; that she's not going to want to stick with me too long. To my surprise, she sticks with me the entire way. And here's the miraculous part: we ran 5 miles!!!! Yes, that's right, FIVE MILES. I've never done that before. And I ran the entire time except a short cool down walk to the water fountain. Let me share with you what I learned on that first five mile experience:

1. The first mile is ALWAYS the hardest.

2. Just listen to your breathing... in, out, in, out - feed those muscles with oxygen.

3. There's a good chance around mile two that your legs will go numb. Your feet will hurt and you could have a cramp in your side (right around the rib area). The beauty of this is that your legs will become so jelly-like that you won't want to walk... in the name of comfort you'll have to keep running.

4. Having someone there to talk your mind out of what your body's doing is invaluable.

5. It felt GOOD!

Seeing R's smiling face when I made it up the hill at the end was priceless. Knowing that I accomplished something that I've never done and didn't know I could do comes in a close second. I know that without the sister there talking me through it I probably would have struggled through my standard three miles (which is what I did on Saturday). It just goes to show that the body is so much more capable than what the brain will let it do.

What am I going to do with this? Well, I learned that very valuable lesson so I'm going to keep trying to push myself. I have to learn cause I'm going to have to keep doing it. After all, in the wise words of blogger Anne P., never give up. Start running where you are - not where you want to be. And don't stop.

Goal: Run 8 miles by summer's end.