Mental + Physical Muscles @ Work

Now, where do I start? I'll just go ahead. Weee, I just ran my PDR to date: 12 miles. (Twirls 3x with a BIG SMILE across my face!) Like all my long runs, this one was not planned. My mental muscles were at work on a task the entire day and I felt the need to unwind with a long run. Taking a quick break from my task, I found myself mapping a 12 miler loop. So it was decided that I was going to run a long one tonight. After work, Aki sent me a message inviting me to hang out with her and Tara. Since I was going to see them on Saturday anyway, I passed on a girls' night out for a RUN.

{Beauty About To Bloom}

When I got home, I immediately ate my pre-run fuel. While waiting for my tummy to settle, I cleaned up my pad and folded the laundry. Yeah, I even strapped on my single bottle belt while doing these chores so that I would not be tempted to back out. Haha. I also snuck in 2 energy bars in the small pocket for mid-run fuel. After an hour, off I went.

I spent the first minute adjusting and getting used to the belt. By then end of Mile01, I hardly noticed it. At Mile02, a guy passed me and I wanted to catch up but I reminded myself to take it slow since this was going to be a long one. I kept going at a steady pace and before I knew it, I was at Mile05 and about to make my turn on the loop. I also made sure to greet every walker/runner I met; I was on a high! I drank my water and took a bite of the energy bar whenever I stopped at red lights. The beauty of this loop was that the first half has a lot of trees while the second half is on the city side walk. So the route offers variety and lots of opportunity to sight see. :D Totally unlike my 10 miler! It was pretty neat passing by the dainty cafes and watching people dining inside while I felt so good about running outside. I'll have to admit though that I was tempted to take a detour at the kaiten (revolving/conveyor belt) sushi bars. That would have been insane!

From Miles06-09, I was in autopilot mode. It was just a matter of putting one leg infront of the other. At the last quarter of my route, I was getting tired. When I remembered the email I got from my youngest sister that morning, I got re-energized. She was so exited to tell me about her landing her first job fresh after graduating from university. I was imagining all sorts of fun things for her at her new job and the daydreaming helped me go through at least 2 miles. When I was around 500 meters away from my 12 mile mark, I just gave it my all.

{Worth The Wait}

I read somewhere that a long run is supposed to be enjoyed so that one should not be huffing and puffing by the end. That's what I did and didn't worry about my pace. Again, your tips helped me so much tonight. The water bottle belt and pre/mid/post-run fuel are indeed important for me on long runs. I only ate one of the energy bars mid-run and was not feeling hungry after but I knew I had to eat something. I had half a toast with beans, 1/4 banana, and peanuts. Stretched, took a cold bath, and iced my knees.

OMGOMGOMG, I think I found a race I could join. It's a half marathon at the end of November. Would you believe that last year's 1st placer (W 16-39 years old) ran the half in 1:24:38?! Is that normal? I was shocked! Any tips for speed training? I'll need Aki's help with the website translation and registration. Yay! :D

Lovely

Kelly gave me my first ever blog award and I'm thrilled. Thanks Kelly! She is super cool; she finished a sprint triathlon a couple weeks ago! Plus, she's planning her own wedding so expect more loveliness in her blog.

{Lovely}

I'm supposed to pass this award to 15 blogs. Val, Kailey, and Karena's are lovely and they've also received this one. In place of the three, I'm including Allie, Katharina, and Maya so you can check them out if you're not reading their blogs yet. I've only started visiting theirs but I'm sure to go back for more lovely reads. Hopefully, I'll have the time to update my blog roll this weekend.

Live Laugh Eat
Burp and Slurp
the whole plate
MegaNerdRuns
Healthy Ashley
Eating for England
She Runs Brooklyn
Chocolate Shoestrings
American Gourmande
Girl With The Red Hair
Angie's Appetite for Life
Katharina's Food Adventures
Running To Slow Things Down
Madison's Healthy Happenings
Living Healthy in the Real World

If you're a Lovely Blog Awardee, kindly pass it on to 15 people and let them know you gave it to them :) I wish I could give everybody the award though so I'm sending you some virtual chocolate loving instead. :D

{Bitter Chocolate With A Spicy Kick Fit For A Kitty Princess}

As the rain pours outside, I lie on the floor near the balcony. After a little rain watching, I pick up a book and lose myself in the story while nibbling on good chocolate. Dolls, tell me about a lovely thing you like doing.

Local, Organic, and Affordable Finds

It's a cloudy but hot and humid Saturday afternoon over here and I just came back from the grocery. Again, I have overstocked on fruits and veggies. Haha! Bananas, avocados, papaya, and peach. Plus, the fridge is now filled with over a dozen different veggies; I am so excited. I'm so pathetic to be excited over fruits and veggies but you understand, right? :P Best purchase of the day were these okra, eggplant, and cucumbers. I bought them at a roadside stand. These stands are unmanned and follow the honesty system. The buyer pays by simply dropping the coins in a marked box. Do you have any of these stands where you live?

{5 cucumbers, 6 eggplant, 18(!) okra}

Would you believe all of those fresh, local, and organic beauties above cost 200 Yen (less than $2)?! Insane, right? A couple weeks ago, I got the freshest beans from the same stand. They were so young I ate some of them raw. If any of you have okra recipes, please share them with me. Thanks!

Aside from veggies, my 8 mile run last night was also something to be excited about. It's the longest distance so far for me and I took it slow and easy, enjoying a light drizzle. It was my most relaxing run ever. Today's a rest day and later I'll be biking over to Rea's. I'll be sleeping over at her place so we can have an early Sunday morning run around the lake. Who is this person I've become? Getting excited over fresh produce and arranging sleep overs to fit in a morning run! It is amazing how being healthy can both be a priority and a source of enjoyment at the same time. It is not a chore but a choice.

What fun and healthy things did you do this week? I was glad to have joined Angharad's Optimum Sleep Challenge and slept well this week. Thank you. Have a great weekend!

Normal Eating

Quick post today. I just read this blog post and came across a great definition (at least for me) of Normal Eating. It is uncomplicated and complete methinks.

"Normal eating is being able to eat when you are hungry and continue eating until you are satisfied. It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it - not just stop eating because you think you should. Normal eating is being able to use some moderate constraint on your food selection to get the right food, but not being so restrictive that you miss out on pleasurable foods. Normal eating is giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad or bored, or just because it feels good. Normal eating is three meals a day, most of the time, but it can also be choosing to munch along.

{It is leaving some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow,}

{or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful when they are fresh.}

Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating. It is overeating at times; feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. It is also undereating at times and wishing you had more. Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life.

In short, normal eating is flexible and moderate. It varies in response to your emotions, your schedule, your hunger and your proximity to food."

-Ellyn Satter, 1987

I probably looked crazy nodding my head at every sentence. It also sounds forgiving and friendly. What do you think?