5 Tips To Get Your Bum Out Of Bed

Workout this morning: 3 mile run.  It was HOT and I swear there was no shade to be found.  (It's going to be real fun this weekend when the highs are supposed to reach 102!)

Josh didn't end up going out because his back is messed up!  Get better, boy!

Sometimes it is really hard to get myself out of bed to go on an early run, but with Josh's schedule, and needing to be back in time to feed my kids breakfast and get them ready for the day- morning is just plain practical.

If you're not a morning person, try these tips to help you get yourself out of bed and on the road! (These are not serious tips, by the way.  Don't go calling DCFS on me.)

• Start With A Donut: It's the perfect pre-running fuel.  Not too heavy, and gives you plenty of energy.  Isn't it a super-food?
• Ignore Your Children: For years, my kids have been my alarm clock.  Now at 7 AM sharp, when I hear them calling "Mooom" from their room, I grab my sneakers and run! And when I get back, Josh has them dressed, fed, and playing nicely together...er, something.
• Picture Your Serenity:  Seriously though, one of the reasons I love morning runs is because it allows me to clear my head and think about the kind of day that is ahead.  I swear my children are all the more better for it.
• Be Prepared:  I know some people who sleep in their running clothes so they have to do as little as possible when they wake up.  Me? I am in the middle of inventing a machine that gets me into my garb, pulls my hair up, and kicks me out the door while I'm still sleeping.  Every minute is precious.
• End With Donuts:  What more can I say?

Inspirational Quote #2

Our New Go-To Pre-Running-Meal

I have never had a Rumbi Rice Bowl.

But I have heard how delicious they are, and so I tried to throw my own version together.  It turned out amazing!  Josh told me I need to make it every Friday night because it would be a perfect pre-long-run meal.  (He must have forgotten that he is supposed to take me out to eat every Friday night.  I guess we'll have to change date-night to Saturday.)

Here is my recipe that fed our family of 6:

Rumbi Rice Bowls

• 1 1/2 cups rice
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
• 7 chicken tenders
• 2 bunches of broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 2-3 green onion, chopped
• 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 bottle KC Masterpiece Caribbean Jerk Marinade

In rice cooker, cook rice in water and coconut milk.  Meanwhile, in large skillet, melt 2 tbsp. butter.  Add chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook until chicken is done.  Transfer to cutting board to rest.  In same skillet, add 2 tbsp. butter, and all of the veggies.  Saute until slightly tender, but still a little crisp.  Chop chicken into chunks and add to veggies in skillet.

To serve, place rice in bowl, top with veggie/chicken mixture, and add a little dressing.  The dressing is pretty strong, so we like to serve it on the side.  Enjoy!

Josh's First Half In 11 Years

Sometimes it's too nice of a morning to stop at 10 miles.

So I've been following a training schedule to get ready to run the Layton/Syracuse half marathon at the end of August.  I've been trying to stick with it and not over train and do too much too quick like I have in the past.  I was supposed to run a slow 10 miles (the longest I had run up to this point was just over 9).  When I got out there it was such a perfect day and I was loving running on the Rio Grande trail so much that I just decided to pass the mental barrier of having completed a half marathon while I felt so good.

Some days (very few in my case) you feel like you can just run forever.  This was one of those days.  I had some light pain on the outside of my knees the rest of the day and I looked like an old man whenever I had to go up or down the stairs but woke up the next day feeling great.

I highly recommend the Rio Grande trail for any of you North Davis County Folks.  It provides a variety of scenery from farmers fields to well manicured back yards, to wonderful trees that provide a break from the sun.  It's my new go-to long run course whether I do an out and back or talk my wonderful wife into driving south to pick me up.

On a side not, I changed my registration that day for the Deseret News 24th run from the 10k to the Half Marathon.  I'm very excited to complete my first Half Marathon Race.

Just Felt Like Running...6.3 Miles! Why Not?

It was one of those days.  

The kids were ornery.  Mom was ornery.  Dad got home, and so I just had to run.

Josh bid me farewell with some excellent advice.  He told me to turn off the voice-overs that tell me how fast and how far I am running.  My app was still running in the background, recording how fast and far I was going, but I just didn't hear any of it.  I turned up my music and didn't even have a pre-determined route.  I ran wherever I felt like running and tried to enjoy an amazingly beautiful night!

After I had run what I thought was at least 4 miles, I looked at my phone and saw that it had been exactly 3.1 miles.  Ha!  I was almost home, but decided to run for about another mile.  As I kept going, I just decided not to stop.  I ended up running 6.3 miles, and it felt GREAT!  I wasn't out of breath or tired at all.  (My legs were feeling a little sore) but overall, it was awesome!

I ran 6.37 miles in 1:08:56 with an average pace of 10:49/min/mile.  Whoah- slow!  I know.  But I don't care one bit because it made me feel incredible.  Running therapy...it works!

Becky's Got New Shoes, Pretty Pink New Shoes...

...Becky's Got New Shoes On Today!

(That was a little diddy my Mama used to sing to me whenever I would get new shoes.)

That beautiful picture on the right?  I know, gross!!  I thought it was a bruise, but when I took off my nail polish, I found out it's dried blood.  And my toe-nail is mostly detached.  Cute, huh?

So we decided it was high time to get me some new running shoes.  After talking to the experts, I found out my other ones were way too small.  Apparently, you are supposed to get running shoes at least a size bigger than your normal shoes.  It makes sense.  Your feet swell when you run, and push forward, especially when running downhill.  I tried on at least 10 pair, and ended up with the Asics Gel Cumulus.  They brought me out a purple and neon green pair.  Gag.  I asked them if they had any other colors in this style (which happened to be 20% off) and luckily they had PINK!  I know color really doesn't matter, but it does.

I am so glad I have these and am finally able to run regularly now!