Strong

I went on my first run this morning since spraining my ankle. It was hot and it was tough, but it was glorious.

There’s definitely a part of me that can still break out into “fat girl mentality.”(Note: I use the term “fat girl” negatively for a reason – because it’s a mentality that comes with a negative outlook from someone who can’t see beyond it. I believe this is a way many overweight and obese people feel about themselves. I do not condone calling people fat or using that word negatively at all.). Anybody who’s ever been overweight before can probably understand. Every time I start a run or some kind of workout that doesn’t come naturally to me (as boot camp and the elliptical trainer now do, for instance), I feel this small seed of doubt that I can actually do it. As I start the run, I wait for the point at which my body is going to tell me I’m just not capable of doing it.

Of course, this never kicks in. What does kick in is the exhilarating feeling of strength. I realize how very capable my body is and how much I can do because both my body and my mind are fit, strong, and capable of so much more than I ever thought possible.

I remember being a kid in grade school who absolutely dreaded the mile and had to walk it while my classmates lapped me with 5-minute times. Now, I’m sure as heck not running anything close to a 5-minute mile, but I can now go for miles without any desire whatsoever to stop and walk… and that, my friends, is just wonderful.

Check out the Bondi Band! This was my first time trying it (ironically, it came in the mail the day after I sprained my ankle) and I absolutely loved it.

I kept today’s run fairly easy, in part because it was my first run back after an injury and in part because it was hot, hot, hot. I ran about 3 sometimes hilly miles and enjoyed them thoroughly. I won’t lie, though – those treks uphill were harder than I remember them.

Running offers great thinking time. I made a few decisions while I was running. First of all, I’ve decided I don’t think I need to bore you all with meals made of leftovers or the really simple dinners. Last night consisted of sauteed squash and mushrooms topped with two eggs, and I don’t think those pictures (or even the recap I just gave you) are worth the wasted space on the internet. Obviously, I’m still learning how to run a blog, and this was something both my mom and my friend Claire suggested. I think they’re right.

Perhaps more importantly, I’ve decided not to run the half-marathon in October. I realized today that I don’t think I’m ready to push myself that hard in training and that I want running to be a fun release, not something that stresses me out. I’ll still be doing another 5K and I’m really looking forward to the 10K. I am going to focus on training appropriately for this 10K and I’m going to give it the attention that it deserves rather than treating it as practice for a half-marathon.

I have the rest of my life to run a half-marathon. I may run one in December and I may run one in 2011 instead. We’ll just see where life takes me.

Anyway, while I won’t be boring you with last night’s eats, I do want to share my awesome breakfast from this morning.

Inspired by one of my absolute favorite bloggers, Meghann at The Inner Workings of a College Graduate, I made an altered version of her Cannoli Cereal.

Into the mix went:

• 1/3 cup part-skim ricotta
• 1 cup cinnamon Puffins
• chopped strawberries
• blueberries
• ~ 2 tbs nut granola (recipe coming sooooon!)

A perfect, refreshing post-run meal.

Lunch, a few hours later, was another Crack Wrap.

Pictures, since yesterday’s didn’t come out.

Gooey, melty, cheesy… yummy.

Off to the winery!