Fit Mama Week 9

Well here we are on Sunday of week 9. I'm supposed to post this each Friday, but I must have fallen into a time warp where 2 days sped by before I could blink.

I've been in a bit of a funk since the whole ankle thing so I've been doing some online reading and blog hopping.

I went wild and bought some new iTunes for my iPod and rearranged my playlist. It's kind of like rearranging the living room furniture...a nice, inexpensive change.

I also found a number of blogs written by other running moms who have successfully met their goals and are pressing on to new goals. I found their stories inspiring and encouraging. Then I added a blog list of the blogs I enjoyed the most.

Next I joined SparkPeople to track my calories. Even with writing what I eat in a food journal, I tend to lose track of just how many calories I've consumed. 20 potato chips is 150 calories; when I have chips and salsa for a snack, I probably eat twice that number. whoops! A bowl of oatmeal looks good in my journal all nutritious and full of fiber...150 calories for 1 cup cooked --before adding brown sugar. say what?

I should be eating just 1,200-1,500 calories per day- though I do aim more for 1,500-1,700. Those little tidbits start adding up fast!

Now I can't say that I'm going to stick with SparkPeople longterm. Their site moves very slowly on my computer. It probably has nothing to do with their site and everything to do with my computer. But still, I can only spend so much time each day keeping track of my calories.

I've also settled on the races I plan to run in the next 3 months. I had a number of races that were up in the air with no real idea of what I needed to prepare for so it's nice to have firm goals to look forward to.

So what did I do this week? I was able to run outside each time except for Saturday which is always good. I'm grateful for fresh air and singing birds; they make it so much easier to keep moving forward.

Monday and Thursday I ran 4.5 miles each, and on Tuesday I ran 3 miles. Math review: 9+3=12. That's important because yesterday I ran 8 miles making this my first 20 mile week! This is a great mental victory for me, and I feel like I've crossed a threshhold of sorts.

Another groundbreaking event is that I think I've found a solution for the blisters that plague my left foot. I have two toes that are prone to blisters, and I've tried different socks, bandaids while running and blister bandaids when I'm not running. No worky. Then I came across an article about different uses runners have for duct tape....and covering blister-prone areas is one of them. I put a bandaid over the actual blister to protect it and then covered area with duct tape. I really thought the sensation of having tape under and between my toes would make me crazy, but the only thing I noticed is that my toes didn't hurt. Success!

So that's where I am...feeling more clarity about where I'm going with this running thing and a more hopeful about actually getting there.

Head over to Denise's blog and see what other Fit Mommies are up to!