Running in the Cold

Santa decided to get me a running jacket for cold weather this year. I got to be the elf that chose the jacket, so I tried it out today. (Don't worry. I'll wash it, and wrap it, and put it under the tree.) I had no idea what a difference good cold weather running gear makes. Now I know.

I walked outside and it was still cold, but as soon as I started running, I was perfectly comfortable.

Today was my best outdoor run yet. I ran much further than the first time, and really didn't walk much at all.

5K is 2 weeks away. Getting better all the time.

Oatmeal...It's not just for baking cookies any more

Breakfast is a good meal, but I rarely have time in the morning to sit down and eat breakfast. I usually pack it with my lunch and run to the metro and eat my breakfast at work. (Typical breakfast: Chobani Yogurt and a banana.) Today I took the time to sit down and eat breakfast because there is a recipe for Oatmeal that I found in Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease that I love.

Slice a banana into a bowl, cover with 3/4 cup of old-fashioned oatmeal, sprinkle with raisins. Add apple juice to nearly cover oatmeal (like adding milk to cereal). Then microwave for 1:30 minutes.

Simple enough and very good.

Getting back to normal

Running at the gym tonight was better than it has been for the last several days. Starting to think that I might be able to run the 5K again.

I was down 5 pounds when I weighed in last week. Normally I would say that's really awesome, but I think a very stressful meeting is a high price to pay for a good number on the scale. My eating habits were horrible, my real exercise was worse. I'm getting back to normal with my eating habits this week, too.

This week is going to be busy. Goals this week: Stay hydrated, gym in the morning.

1 Down, 1 To Go

Since 2006, I have been on 2 blood pressure medications: Topol XL (I took the generic version) and Benicar. The dosages on both have been reduced throughout 2011. Today I had a doctor appointment to check on my blood pressure, and my doctor dropped the Toprol XL from my medications. So now I am down to one medication. Wahoo!

Benicar, your days are numbered.

Meetings are over...

...they went well, and now it's time to get back to the gym (as in I am leaving for the gym as soon as I publish this post). I would have gone to the gym Monday and Tuesday night, but I wasn't confident that I could walk on the treadmill without falling off and hurting myself. I was that tired.

If you are also on your way to the gym, have a good workout.

Cooking...Gone Awry

Cooking a meal in a crock pot really shouldn't be difficult. I was making a straightforward recipe: meat goes in first, then a can of corn, can of black beans, jar of salsa, a few other things without high fat/calorie content...easy right? I had made this recipe in the past and it had been a recent favorite. (Maybe this is what I get for cooking with chicken again?) So I was ladling the "Fiesta Chicken" onto my plate, and thought, "This looks a little off." It wasn't supposed to be so soupy. So then I got thinking through the recipe (without looking at the recipe), and I realized I forgot to add the rice. I was glad I hadn't started to put the leftovers in the fridge yet. I added the rice, and now it will be right for all the leftovers.

"Fiesta Chicken" is good comfort food - perfect for dinner after getting home from council meetings at work this week.

I figure my brain drain from the meeting is why I missed a key factor in this recipe. As always, I'll be glad when the meeting is over.

Registered

I registered today to run a 5K on December 31. It's in Ashburn, not too crazy early in the morning, and it's timed.

30 days away.

About a month ago, I was buying some new running shoes and the guy started asking me questions to help figure out the best shoe, so I told him that I was doing the Couch to 5K running program, and that I was close to finishing it. He asked when I was going to run a 5K, and I said, "Well, my goal was really just to be able to run for 30 minutes." Then he replied, "You should run a 5K just as a celebration." The guy gave me the store copy of Washington Running Report and told me that all the races for November and December were listed in the back. It's a good thing I ran into that guy, because I would have had no clue how to find a 5K, and I wouldn't have known there were so many each weekend.

So now I'm off to the gym. Gotta get a run in since I haven't been home in time to run a single day this week. I've only been able to get to my morning training sessions.

This week has been amazingly busy at work prepping for a meeting next week. Registering for the 5K has been a bright spot. I was just getting ready to publish this post, and thought, "Oh my gosh...it's for real."