Running Is Hard

I know. Waaahhh.

Yesterday I tried to run for 25 minutes straight and was unsuccessful. I'm going to keep at it. Eventually I'll be able to do it. Right? Right? Right!

Maybe I started out too fast or maybe I just wasn't feeling it yesterday, but about ten minutes into the run I was pretty winded. At 15 minutes, I decided to walk for 3 minutes then run the last ten minutes. I ran only another 8 minutes. But, hey...23 minutes is the longest I've ever run. As long as I run longer next time, I'm still improving.

Stay positive, Sara.

My First 20

Yesterday morning I ran for 20 minutes. I did it! It wasn't easy, though. I nearly hit the wall at 15 minutes, but I powered through. Perseverance is one of my better qualities. I hate to quit.

This is Week 6 in our training program. Tonight we'll run 8 minutes, walk 3, run 5 minutes, walk 3, and then run 8 minutes. This is our last week of running with walking breaks. For the next three weeks we'll have to run 25, 28, and 30 minutes straight. It sounds daunting, but it always sounds worse than it really is.

The 5K is March 6th so we'll have an extra two weeks to work on improving our time. We're on our way!

Couch-to-5K

I had been against running for so long that it really surprised me when I began considering starting a running regimen. I always favored walking over running; I convinced myself that walking was better for my body because there's less impact. And while that's probably true, I was pretty tired of walking. I wanted to stay as active as I was while training for the 3-Day, but I was ready to try something new. And watching Elizabeth excel at running club was all the inspiration I needed.

Jennifer did the nine week Couch-to-5K training program a few months ago and she successfully completed a 5K race. I found a race at least nine weeks out (the Chandler Ostrich Festival 5K) and decided to give it a try. I found a training partner two doors down who was just as willing to start running. Jill and I run three times a week now. We're in Week 5 of the Couch-to-5K running plan. Yesterday we ran 8 minutes, walked 5 minutes, and ran another 8 minutes. Our next time out we have to run for 20 minutes straight. I'm not going to lie; I'm a little nervous about it. But I've been surprised at how easily my body accepts the challenges of this plan.

If you've always wanted to try running but weren't sure how to start, I recommend Couch-to-5K. The challenge to rest ratio is just perfect for beginners. Every week is different and sometimes even the days in one week are different. Your training is always changing so you don't get bored, and the difficulty from week to week might sound exponential to your mind, but it's gradual to your body. You'll see!

A Healthy Breakfast

I've been trying to start my days without cold cereal lately. This is a major change because that's what I've eaten for breakfast all my life. But ever since I read In Defense of Food--get it, read it, try your best to live it!--I've been making small changes in my eating habits that will hopefully lead to a longer and healthier life. I can't eat eggs every morning, but I do love oatmeal. Plus, it's been so chilly in the mornings that a hot breakfast sounds good. And with the exception of the steel cut variety, oatmeal is done in no time. Though sometimes I cook the steel cut oats in the afternoon so that I have breakfast ready for the next four days.

This morning I made Ellie Krieger's cherry vanilla oatmeal. It's delicious, but with sweetened dried cherries and cherry preserves, it's probably only slightly better for me than the cold cereal I'm used to eating. It's no surprise that the kids loved it!

Okay. Here we go. This is it!

Hey there. Remember me? I can't explain it, but it seems that if I get away from doing something for a while then it's hard for me to get back to doing it. So here I am. I'm back. And this time I mean it. Except...some things are going to have to change around here.

My Little Batch of Sky started as a baking blog 18 months ago, but it morphed into a little-bit-of-everything blog. When I decided to start blogging, I figured I better pick a topic because that would give me something to talk about. Little did I know how much I had to say. I don't know if you noticed, but many of my posts went off on tangents that didn't have much to do with baking. Then when I started training for the Breast Cancer 3-Day, I had to start a blog about that. Sara Walks for 3 Days is finished since the event is over, but what was so great about that blog (for me) was that it really held me accountable for my training. I didn't like making excuses in writing for all to see. Even though the 3-Day is only a memory, I would like to continue to share my fitness goals, struggles, and accomplishments.

I did realize a long time ago that it's incongruous to have a blog about baking and a blog about fitness. But I've decided to roll the two into one anyway. Life is all about the balance of good and evil, so I don't feel like I should pick one idea over the other. As long as there's more exercise than eating, I should make out pretty well. Besides, everyone deserve a treat once in a while.

Who thought of this?

Have you ever stuck a soft peppermint stick in a lemon and drunk the lemon juice through your homemade straw? No? I know it sounds terrible, but give it a try and then we'll talk.

Oh Bother

Alton Brown owes me a waffle iron.I watched the season premiere of Good Eats last week. It was all about cooking the best breakfast. I've admitted that I can't cook a decent breakfast. Which is really unfortunate because it's my favorite meal of the day. I love breakfast foods! I just can't cook them very well. Luckily, eating out for breakfast is fun and a lovely treat.

But back to my waffle iron. Alton cooked bacon on his. Now, I never cook bacon. I shouldn't say never. I think I've cooked it a total of three times. It's not because I know how unhealthy it is (although that does play a part), but it's mostly because I'm afraid of it. Cooking it produces a lot of grease. A lot of grease leads to grease fires. And grease fires rank up there as one of my biggest fears in the kitchen. So I've just tried to avoid the chance of a grease fire by never cooking bacon or frying foods. But when I saw Alton cook bacon on his waffle iron, that didn't look scary.

Well let me tell you what is scary. Cleaning the waffle iron after you cook bacon on it. I guess I didn't really think this thing through the whole way. I mean, of course it looked easy when Alton cooked it. He's on television. Nothing is real on television. When his bacon was done, he got to eat it and then went home. They didn't show the little Good Eats grunt backstage scrubbing the waffle iron and shouting profanities. They wouldn't dare. After what felt like at least an hour, I did manage to get it clean. Or so I thought. Because over the weekend, I wanted to make some waffles for my family. Only this was the only waffle I made and it's still in the waffle iron.