My third new thing for the day including attending opening night of horse racing at Prairie Meadows Casino. I've never been to a horse race or Prairie Meadows. It was actually a lot of fun, even though I didn't bet. What a cool and different thing to do on a Friday night, for free. Maybe next time I'll bet and win, so it's like Prairie Meadows paid me to go. That would be sweet.
On this cool Friday morning, I took on a record seven-mile run. It was hard; All but the first mile sucked. My legs were burning by the end, but I finished out strong. It's amazing what positive thinking can convince your body to do. On this day, I also took a stab (literally) at preparing wild turkey breast for the first time. Lucas shot it on Monday, it was in my freezer Monday night, and on this plate Friday. I learned turkey has a slimey membrane that must be cut off before cooking. Well, the whole thing is slimey so I thought it all had to go. I got so frustrated I thought I was going to kill the turkey for the second time. Turns out, I did it currently. The membrane is the gross fatty pooch on the side of the breast, which I did successfully detach.
My third new thing for the day including attending opening night of horse racing at Prairie Meadows Casino. I've never been to a horse race or Prairie Meadows. It was actually a lot of fun, even though I didn't bet. What a cool and different thing to do on a Friday night, for free. Maybe next time I'll bet and win, so it's like Prairie Meadows paid me to go. That would be sweet.
0 Comments
I don't know what got into me this morning, but I was able to blow my old swimming record of 5 lengths literally out of the water: 8 lengths baby!
(4.2.12) Another new record one mile run under my belt! I sliced 10 seconds off my time from last week for an 8:19 mile. That is my fastest mile since junior high - which I think was right around 8:15. Next week, I feel my lifetime best mile comin on. Stay tuned.
I also had tater tot casserole for the first time. It must not be a northeast Iowa thing. It was very good though! Milestone in the pool! I've been swimming laps now for about three months. I'm still not great at it, but man, have I come a long way. Today I was able to complete four pool lengths without stopping. When I first started, I could barely finish one lap (in a 25 meter pool, mind you). My breathing is really improving as well as my arm strength. Love it! For lunch, I headed to Cafe Baratta's in the State Historical Museum downtown. I drive by the sign every time I go to the Statehouse for work. My lunch date had never been either - I'm always glad when I can help someone else experience something for the first time too. I ordered the chicken carbonara cantelloni for $9. I was a little surprised to see only two cantellonis on my plate, but for $9 I guess I should have figured. It was tasty, but unfortunately, I walked away still hungry. Next time, we will be sitting on the amazing patio. I had no idea it was there. What great views of the city! Oh, and my date did offer a bite of her panini today. How thoughtful!
Once again, I was not feeling the motivation to run. After running for four months, one would think I would have gotten accustomed to it. Nope. I still don't like it. Anyway, I decided to beat my previous best one mile time of 8:40 set way back on 3.15.12. I did! I wouldn't say I smashed it, but I did it in 8:29. If I can keep shaving 10-12 seconds off every few weeks, I'll be a happy camper. I've never, ever, ever, in my life run a sub 8 minute mile. That is my goal by May 1.
After waking up at 2:30am to get to work by 3:30am and be on air by 5am, I think it's obvious I had no motivation to work out once I left work at noon. I knew my gym, Fitness World West, had started a new class called Group Power. I decided to give it a try since working out in a class always gives you the motivation to do better. It's an hour long strength training class. There were about a dozen women, no men. We worked our arms, shoulders, backs, abs, chests, and legs. Being my first time, I went easy on the weights, but man, I still felt it! I was really worried I'd be sore the next day, but I'm not. I guess I didn't push myself as hard as I thought. Oh well, it's still an hour of training toward the Tough Mudder and the Live Healthy Iowa 100 Day Challenge.
(3.14.12) Take that! Wow, does it feel good to say I ran six miles. That beats my previous record of five miles. In addition to running, every 10 minutes I stopped to do either push ups, sit ups, or lunges. I figure that is a good training idea leading up to the Tough Mudder considering the 10 mile mud run is stacked with 25 obstacles. I'm closing in on the two month mark until the race and am on track for training. It was also my first time running around Gray's Lake. It was alright. Honestly, nothing special though. I like the park much better at night when the bridge is lit up and you can see the city lights. For an after dinner snack, I nibbled away at an apple/almond strudel from Jaarsma Bakery in Pella. One of colleagues was in town for a story and was told by another colleague that she needed to stop at the bakery. She did and picked up treats for most of the newsroom. I have had a dutch letter from Pella before, but I'm not sure which bakery it came from. Therefore, I'll count this as my first time eating food from Jaarsma Bakery. If you haven't heard that Pella has some amazing bakeries, get the wax out
(3.13.12) I ran one mile the fastest since I was in junior high. The time is still not that great. But we all know I'm not a long distance runner. While one mile is no longer long distance for me, it's still not a sprint by any means. My time 8:40. Now, if I can keep that pace for two miles I would be impressed. That's my goal for next week.
(3.9.12) I took another new course for my run today. I finally went over the blue pedestrian bridge by Roosevelt High School that spans I-235. I don't know why, but I like bridges. Glad I can check that one off my list. I went 4.5 miles in 50 minutes. It's not impressive by any means, but I'm getting there. I am also going to blame the wind. It has been so strong this week, all of my running has been extra hard.
I also ate at the Palmer's Deli on Ingersoll for the first time. I've eaten at their West Des Moines location once. I went out to lunch with a friend and her co-workers so I got to meet several lovely ladies this afternoon. I ordered the chicken salad sandwich on a ciabatta kaiser. It was yummy! |