Highland Festival 5K

Well, I did it.  Ran through town with everyone in Alma watching.  It wasn't so bad; but on the way back, this cute kid kept pace with me so everyone was looking at him and commenting how cute.  Of course, the up side is that everyone was looking at him...and not me!

My time for this run was 37:09.  I'm still not sure how the official time is exactly what the clock says if time really doesn't start until you cross over the mat, but it's still 2 minutes faster than last week so I'll take it!  I have a lot more training to do before my next one...especially since I pushed myself to run the last little bit and thought I was going to lose it as soon as I finished running!

But I'm still determined to learn to love running.  I think I'm getting a little closer every time I run.

Another 5K

I have another 5K tomorrow.  It's the Highland Festival 5K...you know, the one where I have to run through town with all the parade goers gawking...  Last year I was very insistent that I would only walk.  I only registered for the walk which meant that I couldn't run even if I wanted to (which I didn't).

What a difference a year makes!  I'm still not looking forward to running in the middle of all those people (I'm not sure why I have a fear of running in front of people...), but I will be running.  Or jogging.  For the most part.

I'm revamping my playlist and looking forward to a better time than last week!

 Highland Festival 2010 (time 45:57)

Oaklawn Classic 2011 (time 39:10)

I'm in love...

...with broccoli.  I've always liked broccoli, but I never know what to do with it.  Eating frozen broccoli gets old after awhile.  My sisters and I stayed with my cousin last week, and my cousin mentioned how she'll buy a big bag of broccoli from Gordon's Food Service and have it steamed for lunch.  I found a huge bag at Sam's Club this weekend and got it.  It was only $5 afterall, and I like broccoli.

This is about 2/3 of the bag - it's a ton of broccoli!

So I brought some broccoli to work on Monday figuring I would just eat it raw.  With no dip.  That lasted for about one bite.  Then I put the broccoli back in my lunch bag and brought it back home.  Where it sat for 2 days.

Then I was looking on the Weight Watcher message boards for some ideas for broccoli when I saw that someone recommended roasting it.  I've roasted green beans before, but they were frozen and didn't really turn out like they were supposed to.  (Although I do plan to buy some fresh green beans soon!)  So I thought "why not"?  I didn't want to heat up the oven for a small batch so I used my toaster oven.  I sprayed the broccoli with Olive Oil spray and ground sea salt over the top.  Then I roasted at 450 for 15 minutes.  I was a little concerned about how close the oil was to the top of the toaster oven so I stopped it at 15 minutes.  It was really, really good.  But then I had a piece where the stalk was just a little tender, and it was excellent.

So I decided I needed to try roasting it in a regular oven.  This time I lined a cookie sheet with non-stick foil and poured a bunch of broccoli on it.  I drizzled some EVOO on top and ground sea salt over top.  Then I roasted it at 450 for 20 minutes - at which point it was smelling very, very good.  I stirred it all around and roasted for 10 more minutes.  

I think roasted broccoli may be my new favorite food.  And french fries were my old favorite so that tells you how good this is!  The tops get crispy, and the stalks get so tender and just melt in your mouth.  And the best parts are where the olive oil and salt are concentrated.  I cannot tell you how good this is!  And this picture just doesn't do it justice:

Not at all.  I love that this is a way to get my healthy oil and veggies in for very low points (possibly none, but I've never been clear on whether healthy oils count as points.  I figure you're supposed to eat them so I never count them.  But then I never really used them, either!).

So, so good.  I'm a little embarrassed at such a long post about broccoli; but when you're in love, I guess you just want to tell everyone!

Getting too small for my britches

I'm noticing small changes, and it's kind of fun.  Like discovering something new every day.

I am beginning to feel my shoulder muscles...I've never been able to feel them before.  And I'm beginning to feel the top of my ribcage. 

I have a favorite pair of pants...they're exercise pants, but I wear them to just lounge around the house.  I was noticing last night how they're longer than they used to be, and I kept tripping over them.  Tonight it dawned on me...they're too big!  Fortunately they have a drawstring so I can keep wearing them for a little while.  But it's really neat to have under-grown a size that I've been wanting to get into for a long time. 

It's also expensive.

Someday I'm going to organize a Sister to Sister sale.  Where people who have lost weight can rent table space and sell their good-quality clothing.  In the meantime, I love Goodwill, Salvation Army and garage sales!  And my sister is getting some nice clothes.

I Don't Run

I've always said I don't run.  I hate running.  When I was younger, I got shin splits and/or headaches every time I had to run for gym.  I always wondered why people would want to do something that caused so much pain.  I like walking - I can walk with no problem.  But running?  No thanks.

Last year, my sister encouraged me to do some 5Ks.  I figured, ok, it's something she and my Mom and I could do together.  They can run, and I'll walk.  The first 5K was kind of traumatic.  It was the Alma Highland Festival 5K which is an hour and a half before the parade.  I didn't think about all the people getting their places early for the parade so it was kind of a shock to walk through town with a ton of people watching me!  My time for that 5K was 45:57.

Then I did an evening 5K.  That one was at dusk along the Rail Trail.  It was nice, and under the cover of darkness I thought I'd try my hand (or legs, as the case may be) at running.  Now when I say "running", I really mean jogging...slowly.  Still, my time at that 5K was 45:27.  So running saved me 30 seconds.  Woo hoo.

Can you hear the sarcasm?

I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the line I decided to try to like running.  Or at least not hate it.  In January, I started the Couch 2 5K training program.  That's when I discovered that I CAN run more than 30 seconds at a time without passing out.  And my shin splits eventually went away.

I'm not at the point where I love running yet, but I don't hate it anymore.  In fact, sometimes I find myself actually wanting to run.  It doesn't hurt that running earns WAY more Activity Points than walking on Weight Watchers, but it's a feeling of accomplishment, too.

I ran (jogged) a 5K on Saturday.  My official time?  39:10.  I'm so proud of myself!  I didn't run it all, but I ran as much as I could.  Okay, truth be told, I could have run more.  But I also ran faster than I did when training so I still consider that a success.

I'm forcing myself to run the Highland Festival 5K this year.  Actually run (ok, jog).  Through town.  With people watching.  Maybe I'll run faster to escape all the attention.  Or maybe I'll do my best and call it good again.  And eventually learn to love running after all.

Mercy

I was almost asleep when I heard the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed, but I woke up this morning to the news and the reactions of Americans home and abroad.  I feel conflicted.  On one hand, I believe that freedom is something to be celebrated; and being free of a terrorist responsible for the deaths of so many people is definitely a good thing!  But on the other hand, I've never understood how it makes sense to make something right by committing the same wrong.  The death of Osama Bin Laden does not undo what he did...it doesn't ease the pain and heartache of the countless people affected by the events of 9-11...it doesn't make things right.

In one sense, I feel a sense of justice has been served.  But in another, I wrestle with my belief that God can change the heart of any man.  I'm just not sure what I think.  Am I proud to be an American?  Yes, I am!  But I'm struggling with the way the events of May 1, 2011 are being presented.  I don't celebrate the fact that a man (evil though he was) is gone; but I celebrate the thought that, just maybe, so many people will now be able to bring to end a painful chapter of their lives and move on with a sense of closure.

I saw two quotes on Facebook that put into words some thoughts going through my mind...

One from a friend:

"I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." MLK Jr.

And one from my Aunt:

Micah 6:8 The importance of justice is emphasized over and over in the Bible, but it's almost always linked to the equally important exercise of mercy. Here, we're told that God's desire for us boils down to simply practicing and loving both justice and mercy. Neither can exist without the other. May God have mercy on Bin Ladens' soul