Pain is Just Weakness Leaving the Body

This is a phrase my friend Denise Pickles used to say often - she's a great athlete and I've found this applies to all kinds of life's trials. This week I thought of it often, especially while running. I have so much to say, I can't believe it's been so long since I've written.

First, I ran the Spreckles 10K on July 4 - what a great day! I ran 4/5ths of the 6.2 miles and it felt great. I realized I'm slow but I have a lot of stamina. Now for my time...it was 1:40 - I was one of the last 3 people (but not the last!). That means I was at a 16-minute mile. I need to be at a 15-minute mile for 13.2 miles on July 25, so I need to push myself over the next couple of weeks. Regardless of how well I do, running on the Embarcadero and the Golden Gate Bridge at 6 in the morning is going to be amazing.

The best thing about the Spreckles 10K was that I ran next to strawberry fields for about 2 miles. There are few things better in this world than running next to fragrant, warm strawberries still on the plant. I was also so happy to see some of my favorite growers out there running next to (well, maybe way ahead of) me out there. They and so many more were cheering me on and giving me words of encouragement throughout the week.

This weekend I had a good 1 hour run at a 15-minute/mile pace, but I need to keep that up for a longer period. Last week I had a busy week with work and some personal challenges, but I found that running really helped to center me and helped me to pull myself out of my own perspective so that I can better tackle the issues.

Today I decided to start tracking what I eat again - I'm generally keeping to my 10-a-day, but I still snack on too many calorie-laden foods (give me a slice of kalamata olive oil bread with a slice of laughing cow, or 5!). These are the types of things I need to limit in my diet. However, I came across this great recipe (incorporating a little bread) the other day for Panzanella salad. I used large heirloom and regular tomatoes and regular basil from my garden, but it was DELICIOUS: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1995713.