Sunday 9 September 2007

Taking a break...

From making salsa that is. This is my annual salsa-making day. I went to my favorite farmer's market this morning, bought a bushel of chiles, a bushel of tomatoes, a bunch of onions, cilantro, garlic, some jars, and vinegar. Now I will work all day on this. It is worth it! I will post pictures of all the little jars lined up on my kitchen counter once I get it done, they are so pretty! The fact that I can watch the football game from my kitchen really adds to the whole ambiance of early autumn (I know it is still summer, but it feels like fall to me - 47 degrees this morning!) Now if the Broncos could only win, it would be perfect!

Yesterday I took a grueling 8 mile run. Oh, it was miserable. I looked at my heart rate and realized at several points that I really needed to walk and get my heart rate down. I chose a new route, 3 miles downhill, then 2 miles undulating but mostly flat, followed by 3 miles uphill. What the heck was I thinking? Honestly, I don't know how I am going to be ready for a half-marathon in 5 weeks.

The only good news about that run was that it was 2 minutes faster than my 8 mile run of last week. I am sure now I need to buy yet another book about adding walking into my running. But right now I have so many books on running and they all seem to tell me something different. I don't think I am going to confuse myself further 5 weeks before a race.

Yesterday was the first time I came home from a run and thought "I am going to stop running as soon as this race is over." Really - I have never thought that before.

6 comments:

J~Mom said...

I love the smell of fresh cilantro!! mmm....Dh makes fresh salsa sometimes and I want to eat it with a spoon. LOL

2 minutes off of your 8 mile time is fantastic. I shaved off 11 seconds per mile and I was happy! Any improvement is reason to celebrate!

You are going to do awesome with your half!

Tewonda!

Joe said...

The whole issue of which running "system" to buy into is not a minor one. Perhaps one that we can all go overboard on. Take some time to mull it, you'll land somewhere. There's always another book to read...but the fitness aspect of getting out there, day after day, never goes away. Don't lose the enjoyment of pure running in the pursuit of the perfect system.

And so good to just be making salsa...smells good, all the way to Indiana!!

Unknown said...

That is a LOT of salsa making ingredients. How many jars will you end up making? And will you share your recipe?

Don't quit running after the race, just ramp the mileage back down to something 'reasonable' to stay in shape.

I for one, am happy not to have any runs over 8 miles on my training plan for the foreseeable future now that this half-mary is behind me. YAY!!

Marcy said...

Am I the only person who hates football? LOL

Awesome job shaving that 2 minutes off!! WHOOO HOO!!!!

ws said...

sorry you had a rough run, but like Lisa said, any improvement is a great one.

as far as walk breaks, I don't necessarily follow any particular guidelines, but I definitely take walk breaks before I think I need them and it helps tremendously.

enjoy the salsa and the Broncos win!

Wes said...

If you want to know about the run/walk thing, Google Jeff Galloway... I love salsa (hint, hint) :-) So, cool!!