Broken Internet

So the lack of a Monday post is due to the fact that we had broken internet yesterday:( John mentioned that while I was still at work and I got a little panic-y as I HAD to submit my test answers by Midnight. I made it home from work to a still broken internet and managed to finish off the test with John pretty quickly.

Dinner came from a bag as I was trying to get the test done and go to get it submitted. I was REALLY hoping to also get in 30 minutes of crosstraining at the gym to loosen up my sore legs from Sunday's 8 miles. Well after pounding my dinner, I headed to Panera to set-up shop and submit my test. I ordered a chi latte (I DO NOT recommend this) it smells and tastes pretty gross. I had read good things about them- Do not believe everything you read!!! After successfully scalding my tongue and getting the internet to finally behave, I was chugging along with my test.

I made it out of Panera just in time to get to the gym for 30 minutes of XT and catch the start of the Monday Night Pro game- I don't really like pro football but distractions are always welcomed! I did 10 minutes on the bike before I got bored and hopped on the treadmill for some hill walking. Usually when hill walking I try to keep my speed at about 3.8 and the incline at about 10, a quick walk. However, since I was trying to stretch out my legs I set it at 3.5 and a incline of 5. Slowing down allowed me to take longer strides and definately helped stretch out my tight legs and burn some calories in the process. I knew this was going to be super important for me going back to 5 days a week running after being sick and missing almost all my runs last week. I finished my cardio, went home, took a bath, stretched, and iced my knee which was giving me some trouble. I slept like a rock last night, I think all the weekend activities finally caught up with me.

I have been thinking a lot about Sunday's 8 mile run. I came out of that run pretty mad at myself, I felt like I was running really slow for what I am capable of and that I took waaaay too many walk breaks. So this morning I was on the official website for our 1/2 marathon race and was browsing some new stuff they put up and saw a link on the training page Mastering the Long Run. Being bored at work and curious I clicked and was reading something I had already read but had certainly forgotten.
It is important to slow your pace when doing a long run by an average of 2 minutes per mile and take walking breaks frequently. If you can complete a long training run like this- you will be able to complete your race in your goal time!!!!! So basically it said SHUT UP STEPHANIE you did it right and are having crazy unrealistic expectaions about being able to run 8 miles in 80 minutes the first time you ever try.

So I am happy about my 8 mile run and am excited for 9.5 in Atlanta over Christmas weekend. I have spent part of my morning with a new toy MapMyRun.com to map out some fun runs for us both here and in GA. We are going to try a 3 mile run Sunday with about half being on the beach (just like our race will be) lets see how it goes.

I also learned on MapMyRun.com today that they have an iPhone App......Can you say Christmas Present!!!!

I am finishing up my lunch break here so more later. I am trying to be very diligent with my normal eating habits this week and the holidays can be a very indulgent time and I am keeping unnecessary indulging to a minimum. I am about 1/3 of the way through my weight loss goals and would like to continue to lose the 1lb per week I have been for the last 4 weeks.
Happy Tuesday all! More tonight!