Pics from Winter 10k Classic

Finally getting some pictures in from the Winter 10k Classic. The first one is with Leonard V. and me receiving our GrandMasters awards and the second is of Nancy P. (new Gulf Coast Running Club Pres.) and Phillip W.

Good Sources of Fiber

How many of you find yourselves not getting enough fiber in your diet? Below are some good food sources for fiber.

Avocado, ½ cup—8 g
[Careful though: 17 g fat and 192 calories *4.0 (4.5)]
Blackberries and Raspberries, 1 cup—8 g
Strawberries, 1½ cup whole—4.5 g
Orange, 1 large—4 g
Artichoke, 1 globe—6.5 g
Pumpkin, canned, ½ cup—5 g
Baked potato or Sweet potato with skin, 1 medium—4 g
Thomas' Light English Muffin, 1—8 g
Spaghetti, whole-wheat, 1 cup cooked—6 g
Fiber One, ½ cup—14 g
Bran Flakes, ¾ cup—5 g
Oatmeal, 1 cup, cooked—4 g
Beans—Navy, Kidney, Lentils, Pinto, etc, ½ cup cooked—6-9.5 g

Copied from Dotti's Newsletter, Issue 86
Resource: ~~The Complete Idiot's Guide to Total Nutrition by Joy Bauer, M.S., R.D., C.D.N

YMCA Winter Classic

We ran in the YMCA Winter 10k Classic last weekend in Ocean Springs. It was a beautiful day but was VERY windy with some challenging hills...thank goodness they were short ones. The run takes you along the beach where the wind was, shall I say, a nice "breezy resistance"? The sun was warm and so pretty glancing off the cool, clean water of the Gulf. It looked like sparkling diamonds...and, you know, women LOVE diamonds! This was the largest turnout they had ever had. Running seems to be making a comeback since the big running phase in the 80's.

I've been waiting to post so I could show some pictures of the awards but haven't got any yet. So for now, the link to the results are here and an article here. I was a little surprised to receive the Grand Masters Female award. But I think the best part of that was having my picture taken with Leonard Vergunst who is one of the top Grand Masters runners in the nation!!! Shoot...where are those pictures!!! I'm sure this will NEVER happen again, so I'll gloat as much as I want to or as long as I want to (may be forever!!).

Now on to prepare for my second half marathon. I've decided to participate in the Mardi Gras Half Marathon and have a lot of training to do. As with my first one last year, my goal is to NOT walk but run the entire race. I'll worry about time when I get the distance down on a more regular basis. Anyway, I hear it is a fun one to do and am looking forward to jumping right in with the rest. Hope to see you there!

13 in 13

My husband and I were talking the other day and since I am wanting to participate in more half marathons, we thought we'd try to go to different cities to do them. I know there are those who run marathons in 50 or even 25 states, but that would be impossible for us to do. So in order to make this a goal, a health achievement AND have some fun, too, we came up with "13 in 13". That means doing 13 miles in 13 different cities...actually 13.1 miles (half marathon). Since I've only done one so far and it is within a year's time, I'm going to start with that one.

A column on the right will be updated as each half marathon is done with location and stats. It would be great to see how many would like to do it, too. There are no time limits since this is quite an accomplishment for some of us. Join me and have a good time!

What A Day!

Yesterday posed to be a fantastic working out day for me. It was also the first day I have run outside since the last race I participated in. Okay...pansy, sissy, wimp, soft...whatever you want to call me, that's okay...in this case it's probably the truth! But the weather was perfect even at 3:00 in the afternoon!!! I told my hubby that I didn't know how long or how far I was going to run...I was just going to run until I was through. So with the sunshine and warmer air, I began running. After 6 miles I was happy and called it quits for the day.

But running wasn't the beginning of my workouts for the day. I did the Stretch Max with Cathe F. on FitTV earlier. I need to make myself do more of this as I am so stiff and unflexible. By the time I got out to run, I was already feeling the workout I had done previously. The funny thing is, I could hardly do them...thank goodness! If I could have bent and moved like one was suppose to, I'd probably be REAL sore.

Then at 6:00 p.m. Core Max with Cathe F. on FitTV came on. I'm a huge fan of Cathe although I rarely do her stuff. The difficult things she does with a breeze is amazing to watch. But she is one of my inspirations to keep healthy. So, out came my large ball and smaller 5 lb. weighted ball to do deep core exercises with her. I thought this couldn't be too bad as I work on my core on a somewhat regular basis anyhow. And though it wasn't too hard, it was still a good workout. Don't get me wrong, I still couldn't follow through on all the repetitions but I did do some.

All in all, it was a good workout day and I hope to increase my mileage on a gradual basis as I want to participate in the Mardi Gras Half Marathon. By participate, I mean run it all. Don't want to have to walk any but will if I have to. There's still too much time between now and then to not be prepared.

So, this morning I'm happy to announce that I feel great. There is a little soreness in my back (I'm sure from the stretching) but everything is well. I'll be going for 3 miles shortly, then I'll be finished for the day. With rain forecasted for tomorrow, not sure I'll be able to get outside. So off I go and now it's time for you to do the same and "Run 4 It" (your life)!!

Ta Ta ...

One Week Plus Down!

I never thought I'd feel like this but I'm glad that there's a little over a week behind me on the 100 Day Fitness Challenge. I didn't realize how much I DIDN'T workout...whew!! All this time I patted myself on the back and was proud to run 3-5 days a week. Man, that's nothing compared to seven. It helped me be aware of having a better mindset on my health and fitness on a daily basis. Every day you can do something, do!! Of course, there might be some days that it is impossible. But what I'm finding out is that usually there is something you can do for at least 30 minutes every day. You do not have to run your heart out but do something. And, yeah, you can. So if you want a surprise, try this and then come back and tell me just how "easy" it was for you. It has to be constantly on your mind or you'll feel like me and say, "it's raining" or "it's too cold" or "it's too windy" or whatever your excuse might be to get out of doing a workout. What I found is that there is always something you can do each and every day and you'll never end by saying, "I wish I hadn't done that". Give it a try...and see for yourself. Keep up the good work and don't stop moving!!!

Running Log: 01-01-10 to 01-09-10

Jan. 1...1:06:39 for a PR*..Steam Whistle 12k Race-7.45 Miles
Jan. 5...30:06...TM: 2.28 Miles
Jan. 6...77:08...TM: 5.5 Miles; Abs, wts, core wkout
Jan. 7...79:06...TM: 6 Miles; Abs, wts, core wkout
Jan. 8...69:11...TM: 5 Miles; Abs, wts, core wkout
Jan. 9...43:10...TM: 4 Miles; Abs & core wkout
Total............30.7 Miles (rounded up)

*PR = Personal Record; the best for me

Beginning next week I will be posting my log once a week. Since it is the first of the year, I began with the first workout/race up to today.

2010 Fitness Goals & 100-Day Challenge

I love this quote: If you don't know where you want to go, it's impossible to get there.

In light of this, I have decided to set some health goals for 2010.

MY FITNESS/HEALTH GOALS:

Below are 5 goals I want to achieve in 12 months. This is just a beginning.

1. Run 2 half marathons
2. Exercise 4-5 days a week after the 100-Day Challenge
3. Maintain a better eating plan by evaluating it each week
4. Achieve an 8:30 mile pace
5. Make a new goal when one has been fulfilled

100-DAY CHALLENGE:

On the Pine Belt Pacers forum is a challenge to exercise and/or run for 100 days. I am sorry that I went to the site a week late. But I want to participate and will commit to the 100 day challenge beginning with Tuesday, January 5th. Once a week I will report my working out by day.

Sharing these with you is for me to be more accountable. I welcome any advice you may have. Please e-mail me with anything you want to share. Thanks!!

Happy New Year!

And "happy" it was. New Year's Day begins the year with a great race. The Steam Whistle 12k is put on by the Pine Belt Pacers (Hattiesburg Running Club) each year and keeps getting better. This year the turnout was the best yet. I ran my best 12k so far and was the recipient of 2nd place in my age category.

Though it was a cold day, it was a beautiful one. So, hats off for a wonderful, healthy new you this year!!

Here is my age group awards.


Nancy P. (1st), Me (2nd), Alice H. (3rd)

Many more pictures can be found here.
The race results can be found here.