Strong heart +strong mind = strong body

As sad as it is to admit, I think I am injured. After I solid second week of running, the Sunday long run (nine miles) took a toll on my groin. It must be a mild pull, but I'm no medical professional or personal trainer, so I am just guessing. I'm extremely afraid to keep running because I don't want to injure it further. My biggest fear is to have to stop running! I took two days off, but I know that isn't enough recovery time. Pray for me, please. 
Conrad and I ran in my hometown this weekend, and my parents drove us nine miles from their house, and then we ran back. It was nice for once not to have to do a down and back. I am grateful for their support. Our average pace was 8:28 min/mi. Of course, I was sad that we didn't do better, but I really enjoyed the run. Conrad wore my watch, and it was nice not to check it throughout the run and just put my shoes on the pavement and enjoy it!

Conrad and I signed up to do a stage in the run that goes from LA to Boston. It is to raise money for those who were injured and who died at the Boston Marathon. It is called One Run for Boston. We are excited to participate in such an amazing cause. Please visit: http://www.onerunforboston.org
By sponsoring my run, you will be donating to this cause.

I will be in New York City this weekend and my ultimate goal is to run around Central Park. I have never been and am so excited. I am following this girl on Instagram who lives there and posts pictures all of the time..She makes it look so breathtaking. We leave on Thursday!! Yippiieee!
Anyway, we run five miles tomorrow, and hopefully I feel well. I will stretch and heat it before the run...and I'll definitely stretch and ice it afterwards. Pain is weakness leaving the body! 
Conrad and I have a new saying: strong heart+strong mind=strong body!

I kicked this week's booty...but not food-wise!

     Okay, so I have not completed my training for the week yet, but I just want to say that I am pretty pumped up and ready to rock this training program. Again, I am using the Hal Higdon Intermediate training program. For more information, or to look at the different Higdon training plans, please visit: 
Hal Higdon rocks my socks! <<<Click here
     Anyway, the strange thing about this running program is that it skips both interval and tempo training. I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing, but I loved interval training throughout both of my half marathons. I think I am going to mix it in once a week, or even every other week instead of a short run. I think it would be more effective if I did it every week though, if I want to get faster...but I have discovered something very obvious this week:
If I want to race faster, I have to become uncomfortable in my training! Go figure. Who would have thought!? :) And so, for the past few days these were my average paces for each of my runs:
3 mile run: 7:52 min/mi
5 mile run: 8:15 min/mi
3 mile run: 8:15 min/mi

I am already getting a little faster, and I am getting to be somewhat consistent. I think I was at a 7:59 min/mi average a couple of different runs last week, but if I can see a seven something once each week, I would be absolutely fine with that.

I am trying to eat healthier, but that has been the constant battle my whole life. I probably do not eat as bad as most people, but I expect more from myself for some reason, although I have never been the perfect eater. I think the problem is my self-control (I have none), and I get disappointed in myself if I eat too many sweets, or large portions.

Being a teacher is hard I have realized when it comes to having to turn away sweets. When any student has a birthday, they bring treats and they are usually HOMEMADE. I know, the hardest treats in the world to resist. It isn't just that my students bring treats, but all of the students in our building come around and offer goodies for their birthdays. So in a year, you would have to turn down a great many treats! Don't get me wrong, I do turn down some of them, but not all. Sometimes I just take the treat, and once they leave I  take a bite and throw the rest in the trash...that should count for something, right?

It is also a constant struggle when the people you live with eat differently than you do. There are temptations everywhere, and with very little self-control...I'm sunk! 

Anyway, I would like to eat better. I just want to be HEALTHIER. I want to establish BETTER eating habits. I see a new goal for February...

We have a five miler on Saturday, and eight miles on Sunday! Looking forward to it. 

“You only ever grow as a human being if you’re outside your comfort zone.” -Percy Cerutty

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<One of my favorite running songs!

and I run...

Well, it feels like it has been a while since I last posted. 
I have been running...but I can't wait to get back into MARATHON training. It has been hard without a set schedule (as usual). 
Last weekend, I only logged in ten miles (four Saturday & six Sunday). I was able to run in my hometown on both days. It is a lot flatter in My hometown than it is in Albuquerque, so I was speedy. I think I am getting faster, and it is great to see those faster times on my Garmin watch. 

Recent Times: Sunday 6.08 miles 8:18/mi

Saturday: 4.01 miles 8:29/mi

January 16th: 3.01 miles 7:59/mi

January 15th: 4.01 miles 7:59/mi

January 13th: 5.01 miles 8:18/mi :) 

My husband's family have been here for the last few weekends working on our house...so he has been unable to workout consistently (since he is helping). However, since I am not very handy with tools, I am able to still get my runs in, and I noticed that even without him I am keeping it consistent (GO ME!). 
Tonight I am going to change it up a bit and go to Hot Yoga. My friend told me about a Living Social deal, and I decided that I needed to stretch more often, so I went for it. We will see how nice it truly is. I haven't done any type of yoga in a year and half, and supposedly yoga is a good thing for runners...so we shall see. If all goes well, I will continue going once a week, just so I make sure I am aligned in all of the necessary places. :) I will let you know. 
We start training again on Monday, and I cannot wait. We already did a week of training, when our schedule got pushed back a few weeks. I am ready to go strong again. 

#runner #irun #workhardtrainhard #runner +Stephanie Miers