one of those days

i found this and it just summed up what i needed to hear today.

tomorrow is a new day!

no pain no gain?

So I have been on the "bench" this week with a leg injury. I didn't properly rest and stretch after my half, which lead to some severe pain in my right thigh, knee and shin :( I have taken the last week off of running to heal it, but I am getting so anxious! Not just because I want to get a good workout or anything, but because running really helps me with handling stress. I have been unproductive the last few days, staying up a lot later than usual and overall feeling tired every day. It's weird that running can give you so much more energy in the day, and allows me to handle stress 100x better.
I have been using this bad boy in the mean time at my school's rec center


















Hopefully I can get back on the road soon but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. Have you ever had to deal with an injury? How did you cross train/ handle the time off?

a perfect sunday morning

waking up to the sound of light rain this morning allowed me lay in bed for a few extra minutes to relax in the perfect stillness of sunday mornings. my friends think i am crazy for how early i wake up, but to me i would rather have this time in the mornings rather than being a night owl. call me a granny, but it's how i roll.
i am currently sitting at a cafe sipping on my cappuccino and attempting to get some work done. however, my new found love for etsy has taken up most of the morning so far :)

summer lovin it happend so fast

countdown

It's that dreaded time of the year again where summer is creeping up but the last few weeks of class are jammed to the max. While I am ready for summer break, I am not ready for exams to start :( So, to procrastinate a little bit in between classes I wrote a little summer wish list to get me through the next two weeks.

Summer Wish List:
Go to the farmer's market every weekend
Spend more time with the dog
Read read read read
Royals games
Try new restaurants (Esquina in Lawrence, Extra Virgin, Mr Gyro, Blue Grotto to name a few)
Start swimming again? Try biking/find a bike?
Save enough money to visit friends (chicago for lolla?)
Hospital Hill half-marathon
Start up painting again
Make my own ice cream (addiction becomes costly in the summer)
Spend time with family before heading back to St Louis for summer classes in July
Continue and improve my blog!


Oh and find someone with a lake house to mooch off of :)

java

I will put it bluntly, I love coffee. I think I started drinking coffee my sophomore year in high school and now am my own personal barista, making lattes every morning when I wake up. But, as a runner, people keep telling me that I need to start limiting my caffeine intake because it's not good for me. I am not an addict, I limit myself to only one cup a day and do not drink any other forms of caffeine so I don't really see it being that big of a deal. I researched a little bit and came across this article about coffee and running that I found interesting. It says that the extra jolt of caffeine gives you energy for a long run, and more importantly, releases calcium into your muscles to contract and relax. This is for limited amounts of caffeine, as too much can hinder an athletes performance.
What are your thoughts about coffee and running? Do you walk the fine line of too much caffeine?

Sorry for my ADD

Alright, I have been annoyed with the spelling of runin' so I decided to change the name of this blog completely. I like to think of my alias name as runnin'foodie still, but the blog needed something a little more catchy/spelled correctly.
(thank you allie for the suggestion ;) )

Anyways, today I enjoyed an all American afternoon of baseball at the Cardinals stadium. I am a true blue fan at heart, but it was still fun!

Excuse my language...

but I feel comfortable saying...I kicked ass this weekend!
I ran my first half marathon Sunday in the Go STL marathon/half marathon race. My goal time was between 2:10-2:15 and I finished at 2:09! I felt really good, like good enough where I am pretty sure my last 3 miles I was going at a 9 minute mile pace, crazy! About mile 6 my knees were starting to hurt but that went away quickly and I just felt strong. So many emotions were running through my mind as I came to the finish line and I literally almost started to cry. It has been such a difficult two years for me mentally, and this race just made me realize how strong I can be and how much I should be proud of. Yeah, I know it's only one race, but it is probably the most satisfying thing I have done in my life. This is why I love running, it pushes you and gives you a whole new oulook on yourself.
So, what's next? ...cough 26.2 cough... I'll get back to you

getting close

The big race is this sunday and I am filled with excitement and nerves! I am doing my last pre-race run tomorrow morning and doing a yoga class saturday...then I am good to go!

I am at work right now with the loudest stomach groans, need a snack ASAP! An adviser mtg ran longer than I thought and had to race over to work while eating a subway veggie sub. Needless to say did not last me long enough! I have the weirdest craving too - a smoothie! I haven't had one in such a long time but a strawberry banana smoothie sounds delicious. Weird, eh?

a glimpse into my future....

happy easter

This morning I tried a new restaurant in Kansas City. Chez Elle is a creperie and cafe located in an old movie theater in the westside. I ordered the Frere Jacques with cheese and scrambled eggs which was yummy but as I looked over the chalk board menu while I ate I wished I could re-order as there were so many options! Moderately prices and parisien atmosphere won me over though, cannot wait to go back!

After breakfast, my parents and I walked around the neighborhood a little bit - I love this part of town, very unique and I kind of like to consider the westside area my little "secret." Today was gorgeous weather, took the dog outside for a bit and played a late night game of scrabble. Not looking forward to classes starting up again...

100 miles + !!

Just reviewing my training log... 100 + miles in the month of March!

Happy Easter Weekend :)