Movin' on up...

...on to bigger and better. Follow me as I move to my new home: http://stilllearning2run.blogspot.com/

Oh... hi... um... hey...

Nearly 4 months later... I promise, I am still alive.
Been taking a break from the blogging world, thought about throwing in the towel.
But I decided not to. I miss writing.
So I am back.
Did you miss me?

I love hummus

I do a pretty good job of eating a wide variety of things, getting essential vitamins and minerals from different sources. But there are a few items that I could not live without and I can eat daily, in copious amounts.

Hummus is one of them.

I like to make hummus whenever I get the chance, but am a sucker for some good store-bought as well.

Last night, I was going to make some hummus. As I was getting the ingredients out of my fridge, I remembered I had some leftover edamame...

EDAMAME HUMMUS!

Ingredients:
-About 2 cups of shelled edamame
-Sriracha
-Lemon juice
-Sesame oil
-Garlic
-Tahini
-Olive oil

Something I am very guilty of when I cook is just "throwing things together." I don't really measure. I am the queen of "keep adding more of this and that until it tastes yummy."

Well, this turned out REALLY yummy. A very nice, healthy twist on an essential item in my diet! That is the final product there in the picture. My food processor is a hand-me-down, probably older than me, so it did not get very smooth, but it still tasted great!

Picture this...

I had no idea there was a camera guy at the finish line.
I had no idea he would be able to perfectly capture that feeling of "Dear Lord, I think I may actually die."
I had no idea I could look that amazingly awful.

Move It Memphis 10k RECAP

Saturday was my first race since the Marathon back in December, and I was really excited to get back in the game!

Me, Maureen, and Eszter before the race! This was Eszter's 1st 5k, and 1st race in the US!

As I mentioned before, this was my first RACE REMATCH. Let's go ahead and spoil the ending right away so those of you that don't want the boring details can move on with your lives:

Time: 54:31
Pace: 8:47

This is 27 seconds faster than my time last year, increasing from an 8:52 pace to an 8:47 pace.

Fantastic that I improved, definitely! And I am very, very proud of this! Buuuuuut... not the time I was shooting for. I was really hoping to finish in 50 minutes, about an 8:30 pace. Honestly, I should have known better than to set such a lofty goal. Oh well, lesson learned. And at the end of the day, while I did not reach my goal, it is still a PR for me, and that's SERIOUSLY AWESOME.

I was feeling a little bit off as the race began- my head was in a very weird place, I don't really know how to describe it. I tried to clear my mind and enjoy the race, but I was so focused on doing well that it kinda took over.

I wore my Garmin, but didn't look at it until I reached the 5k mark. (I have a tendency to obsess!) I was at 26 minutes at the 5k mark, which was awesome. But once that dam broke and I saw my potential, my mind went all spastic and I became this obsessed freak looking at the watch every 30 seconds, constantly analyzing my projected finish time. The 2nd half of the race, I was so mentally gone. Too much pressure. Really coulda used a chill pill.

Nonetheless, crossed the finish time looking like the wonderful spaz you all know and love:

This one makes me laugh. I look like a complete fool.

Another race under my belt, another medal on my wall, and another unforgettable experience!

Who wears short shorts?

If you have ever had the pleasure of watching me run, you will immediately notice 3 things:

1) I run like a T-Rex

2) I make ugly, animated, ridiculous faces

3) I wear black capri tights on EVERY. SINGLE. RUN.

(You're welcome for 3 lovely crotch shots there.)

FACT: I have thunder thighs. ITS OK THOUGH, I am fine with it, really! I know they are very muscular and whatnot. So it's really ok. Nonetheless, I like to wear capri tights to avoid anything riding up in my crotch, chafing, and wiggly legs. What are wiggly legs? Do me a favor- go put on a pair of shorts, jog around the room, and look down at your thighs. THAT is wiggly legs. And I don't like seeing it. So, capri tights are a staple in my running wardrobe.

Last fall, a friend of a friend that works for Nike got a ton of free stuff and let me dive in face first and take whatever I wanted. I got so much swag, it was unbelievable. Like, $1000 worth of stuff FO FREEEE! Killer.

With this mother load of free stuff, I got 2 pairs of Nike running shorts. I grabbed them mostly because they look cool, not because I really ever had intentions of wearing them while running. I wear them when I lay around the house, feeling all cool in my fancy running shorts as I sit on the couch and binge on an entire jar of peanut butter. True story.

Well this past week, mother nature didn't get the memo that it is FEBRUARY and sent some 70 degree weather to Memphis. I was tempted to go on a bazillion mile long run to make the most of the glorious weather, but knew I had to stick to my training schedule- espeically with the 10k coming up tomorrow. So I figured I would let myself go for a short 2 mile run, and to ensure that it would remain a short run, I would wear....

drum roll...

RUNNING SHORTS!

(Aaaaand cue LMFAO's song SEXY AND I KNOW IT.)

I felt awkward. I felt exposed. I felt windy. I felt wiggly. But what I did not feel was the dreaded chafing. The material is fantstic and didnt rub at all. A little riding up, which caused this awesome little FUPA effect. What's a FUPA? Google it. But other than that, a rather pleasant experience! I was happily surprised!

I don't see myself giving up my capri tights any time soon, but I am happy to know that I can do something other than lounge in my running shorts.

My first RUNNING REMATCH!

So it has been just a little over a year since I started running. Time flies when you're... running... for hours.... every... single... day...

Anyway, this weekend will be my first experience with re-running a race. Up until this point, every race has been a new challenge, new location, new scenery, and most have been an immediate PR for that distance. This will be the first time I will be face with a true shot at improvement.

I ran the Move it Memphis 10k last year and it was UH-MAZE-ING. I kicked ass. I ran so fast, finishing in 54 minutes, which is a 9 minute pace. Cheay. I felt like a bazillion bucks. I didn't hurt. I didn't struggle. I was like a little track star. You would have never guessed I was a complete novice to this experience.

So here it is. 1 year later. You would think that I would be in super awesome killer shape and 100% ready to tackle this race once again and blast my previous time out of the water. Ehhhhhh notsomuch. Due to my... "hiatus" during the months of November and December, and my less-than-epic return to training in January, let's just say I am not where I had hoped I would be at this point in my running career.

I can't help but set the bar high for this race and have certain expectations. However, those expectations may be somewhat unrealistic. And that is hard to face. There is a very good chance that I will not do as well as I did last year. Which sucks. A lot. This aspect of running is very new to me, and something I really did not anticipate. While I am totally excited for this race, I am also worried I may not live up to my own expectations. Sad face.

How do you handle race rematches? What do you do to cope with the pressures of gaining a PR?

Knee's Needs

Dear Knees,
I am sorry.
Love,
Amy Mary

I have never really had any major knee trouble. A few aches and pains for a day or two after a long run, a little bit of trouble with my left IT band last year, but nothing too earth-shattering. The good ole ankles hold that reputation.

During the past month of training, my knees have started feeling like the younger, neglected children in the family and are starting to rebel as their means of gaining attention away from their siblings, the ankles. My lower body is like a household with 2 young children that are constantly fighting. I am 10 minutes away from sending them to their rooms to cool off and grounding them for a month without TV or dessert.

Unfortunately, I feel I am to blame for my recent knee rebellion. I have kept my long runs to 10 miles for the past 5 weeks, which really is not a big deal for this bad ass. HOWEVER, the last time I had a good 10 mile base, I was a solid 10-15 lbs lighter. And on my little frame, that makes a HUGE difference to my joints. And I am certain that is why I look like I need a walker and take 20 minutes to get down 1 flight of stairs.

While I look at weight loss as a purely appearance-based, my knees are literally screaming to remind me that staying in a healthy weight range is so much more than looking cute in a bikini. It is essential that I keep my weight in check and avoid my knees from throwing a full-out tantrum. I have really struggled over the past 2 months with shedding these pesky pounds I gained while injured. I am hoping that, with the motivation of shutting my knees up, I will be able to really focus and get with the program. I still eat very healthy, just in copious amounts. Whoops.

So, knees, I mean it- I am sorry. Please, I beg of you, be kind to me, and I promise I will lose weight. The words of Bikram ring in my ears with every painful step I take:

You can mess with the gods, but you can't mess with your knees!

Whatcha want?

I love writing. And I love running (most of the time). And I enjoy the interaction and social "life" that comes along with blogging. I have been reading a lot of running blogs over the past few months (I got really addicted back in November when I was injured... it's like I got my running fix by reading and living vicariously through others- complete strangers, to be exact.) and have learned a lot about what makes a blog AMAZING vs CRAPPY. A few little tid-bits I picked up...

AMAZING BLOGS:
-Happy, funny, optimistic, and entertaining- yet realistic
-Share experiences from a personal point of view
-Inspirational
-Offer information you can actually use or relate to
-Relatively short posts, as to please the ADHD child in all of us
-Pictures
-Lists

CRAPPY BLOGS:
-Pessimistic ranting, leaving you feeling like you are the scum of the earth
-Poor fonts and graphics
-Boring
-Rambling on... and on... and on...
-947 posts a day

Also, I noticed a lot of overlap in the types of posts on popular sites:
-Progress updates
-Recipes
-Product reviews
-Race recaps
-Questions for the audience

SO, after doing enough research to write an A+ 5th grade book report on "Running Blogs In The USA by Amy Mary", I think I know what it takes to be a super awesome popular amazing running blogger. Get excited, because some day a stranger will come up to you and be like OMG YOU KNOW AMY?! SHE'S SO FAMOUS! And you will be all like, yea whatevs, brush your shoulder off, proud to be an acquaintance of mine. Mark my words... stop laughing...

NOW I NEED YOUR HELP! While I can read, research, and copy learn from other bloggers, ultimately, I WANT TO PLEASE YOU, my captive audience of, what 5 people? Awesome. Gotta start somewhere, right? So, please, tell me: What do you like reading about? What keeps you coming back for more? What would you like to hear more/less about? Share your ideas with me as a comment, email, or smoke signal.

Pain is temporary, pride is forever

I get it. Inspiration. Cute.

But seriously, whoever said this quote... I would like to punch them.

When googling to see what jerk originally said that quote, I stumbled upon this gem, which sums up this entire post pretty well and saves you from having to listen to me bitch and moan:

I will give you 3 guesses why I am all angry-bird-like today...

If you guessed that I got in a gang fight in South Memphis and have painful battle wounds, you are incorrect.

ANKLES! ANKLES! ANKLES!

Yea, I know, I thought we were past that old story, too. I am just as tired of writing about it as you are reading about it. Too bad my long run on Sunday brought me right back to square one.

It is frustrating because I feel like I am doing a really good job of taking care of my "dysfunctional posterior tibial tendons". I shower them with love and affection. I ice them, stretch them, buy them expensive shoe inserts that support them, and wear ugly tape all over my feet and legs to protect them. And what do I get in return?! PAIN.

Enough, ankles. In the words of Uncle Joey:

This pain... IT AIN'T TEMPORARY, yo. How can I even experience the pride associated with reaching my goals if I can't even walk?!

I did some more research into treatments for PTTD. I am doing all of them, except 2 things:
1) Complete immobilization for 6-8 weeks. I'm talking full-on cast.
2) Surgery.

Eff that.

CONUNDRUM!