Losing it!

There are alot of things I could start my blog out with today, but because I am excited it finally happened... my toenail fell off!  I turned black after my half back in October and its just been hardly hanging on and was actually painful at times.  Does it make you a true runner when you are totally not bothered by your toenails falling off?  Although, I am putting in a request to not lose anymore over the summer - I really love my flip-flops!

So, with that exciting news out of the way... lets get down to this last weekend's long run.  I have been struggling with my stomach again as of late and I am really worried about it.  I have a 20k next weekend and from what I have been told there are no port-a-potties.  I hate to admit it but that could spell disaster if my stomach decides to act up.  That means this weekend will be a dress rehearsal of what I am going to do to prevent any problems. 

Saturday's run was about what I expected... I decided to run outside so I could sleep in a bit plus the weather was supposed to be pretty nice, mid 20s to 30s.  Some people think that is cold but its just about perfect for me!  After a quick slice of bread I was out the door by 7:30... it was beautiful out, cool and sunny.  After a pit stop at mile 3.5, I headed back out to finish my run.  Miles 4-7 seemed so easy, then my stomach started acting up again.  After my last stop at mile 9 I wanted to give up and not finish the run, but I got out there and did it anyways.  You can tell by my splits that I was struggling those last miles.  My stomach was cramping and my heart just wasn't in it, but I didn't want to regret quitting.

When I was done, I HURT.  I knew I had pushed too hard for a long training run.  I knew I would be sore, so we planned a family walk for the next day to stretch things out and help make sure I didn't get too sore.  Sunday rolled around and I wasn't feeling too bad, but it was such a beautiful day that we couldn't just sit inside so we loaded the kids in their strollers and headed out to a local "dream neighborhood" and spent between 2 and 2.5 hours walking around looking at $500k homes.  

Yes, this is one house - it has its OWN cul-de-sac!  The garage was at least a 6 car garage!  I'm imagining this one is probably much more than $500k!

We didn't take the garmin,  but when I got  home I calculated the route to the best of my ability and it looks like we walked between 5.5 and 6 miles!  A HUGE feat for my couch potato, computer loving hubby!  Honestly, I think the walk took more out of me than the run on Saturday.  If we plan to be out that long again I think I will be taking some sort of snack.  It was great to get out as a family and do something active - I hope we can continue this in the future.  The only downside - SUNBURN!   I was wearing a tunic shirt that had a v-neck in the back, so my back, shoulders, and face are all burnt! :( 

Things continue to go moderately well on the food front... I am incorporating veggies and healthy foods and reducing the processed foods.  I am so proud to say that I have basically maintained the same weight since August of last year except for a short lived bump up during the holidays.  I'm still not in love with the body I have been left with as a result of the extra weight I carried around with me for years, but I am slowly coming to grips with it.  I still would love to get to 175,  but for now, I will be happy 5-10 pounds heavier.  I'm healthy and that was my biggest motivation for this whole journey.  

I wanted to blog about a couple other things, but my head is throbbing so I need to find some tylenol and my bed.  I will try to post later in the week. 

One question for my readers:  being that I am new to the whole eating vegetable thing, I would LOVE any creative tasty recipes, do you have any favorites?