I ran 3 miles today.

So I have decided to kick my exercise routine up a notch. After watching my non-blood relatives compete (competitively) in last weekend’s marathon, I decided that I need to get my butt in gear. They might leave me in the dust if I don’t (for real, apparently I’m slow). I mean Pat ran 26.2 miles at a 6 minute 40 second pace. He clearly lived to tell about it so why do I feel like death is around the corner when I run?

I discussed the pain with my lovely cousin, Lesley, who was in town last weekend (cheering on her friend Tina and some Bradley girls). She is a Physical Therapist (well almost, she graduates in May with her Doctorate) and a runner. Can I write a sentence in this paragraph without parentheses (I don’t think so). Anyway, she was telling me that my body may actually contain more fast twitch muscles than slow twitch, hence my speediness. Maybe my cousin Shauna, who has her PhD. in PT, could give me some good exercises to build up my slow twitch muscles.  She is the expert.

My point is it’s not my fault. It’s all hereditary, dang genes. So my new goal is to be able to run 5 miles on a consistent basis before the end of June, especially now that Matty is getting back into running.  He's running another 5K in Springfield this weekend.  Maybe someday I'll run one with him.  I use the term "with him" very loosely.  Most likely I'd be the one crying in the back.

I've been going to the gym over my lunch hour for the last few weeks and this was the first time I completed 3 miles without stopping to walk. I was pretty proud of myself.  At the end of the run I glanced down at the calorie counter on the treadmill and it said 350 calories.  I wonder if those things are accurate.  If it is true I can think of lots of things I could eat for 350 calories, 2.25 star crunches to be exact.   The possibilities are endless.  I guess working out does have it's perks. 

WHAT would YOU eat for 350 calories?

Behold... pyrex

I went for a run with Izzy tonight. It felt really good to get my heart pumping.

I'm a sprinter by nature (a darn good sprinter). But I learned quickly that being fast doesn't really require skill. It just so happened that I had enough coordination to jump hurdles. Who knew?

The point is... I HATE running long distances and am very jealous of those who are naturals at it. I used to CRY on runs that were longer than 400 meters. If you don't believe me just ask Matt, I'm sure he'd love to tell you stories. In college we would run around Thompson Lake and before we were half way around the tears would fill my eyes and I'd usually have to stop and pull myself together. Matt always said that I didn't have the mental stamina, BUT I was determined to like running. Over the years I'm pretty sure I only went from hating it to tolerating it.

My cousin Lesley, a natural long distance runner, told me once that those who "disassociate" while exercising have a greater success rate. If by disassociate she means thinking about every painful step and wishing I were doing anything but this, then I am a super star. Unfortunately I don't think that's what she means. I've gotten better over time and now running a couple of miles isn't as much of a feat, but I should still learn to disassociate better.

Sorry for going off on a tangent.

A few weekends ago Matty and I went antiquing. We went to the surrounding towns and checked out all of the local shops. We weren't looking for anything in particular but I fell in love with this shop in St. Jo. The lighting was so great! I wish I would have taken more photos looking back.

This is also where I came across some reasonably priced PyREX. I have a small obsession with the stuff (and a growing collection). My mom and dad gave me the original yellow, green, red and blue nesting bowls for part of my college graduation gift. I had seen them in an antique shop with my mom and was pining after them, but they were so darn expensive. When it came time to register for our wedding, I pretty much based all of my kitchen accessories off of them (cue obnoxious bright colors). Matt tells me that I have a very "healthy" collection, which for him means it's practical and I don't spend too much money on them. This is true. I am VERY picky when it comes to my Pyrex (there is a LOT out there). I mostly like solids (I'm not into the patterned stuff) and I don't shop online. They can get pretty pricey but I hold out until I find the best deal. Sometimes I can even find them at thrift stores for dirt cheap. On top of that, I use them everyday. They aren't just decorative, they serve a purpose. Anyway I came across a set of four nesting bowls in colors I didn't have. I batted my eyelashes at my loving husband and we took them home with us. For a small fee of course.