Thursday, October 1, 2009

Shaking In My Sneakers

I am freaking out a little.  I did something that I’m not sure I should have and I’m really nervous.  But, part of me is super excited.  Oh, sorry.  I guess I should spill it… I signed up for my first 5K race!  *insert collective screaming*  I know!!!  This is a huge deal for me.  I have wanted to do one for a long time, but wasn’t sure if I could with my hip issue and all.  But, it has calmed down a lot and the doc said if I pre-medicate with some Advil before the run, I should be fine.  I just feel like I have to do it.  I have to show myself that I can, push myself out of my comfort zone and cross this sucker off my bucket list.  So, I did it.  The date is October 17.  I will be totally flipping out the day before, so mark your calendars to come back for the entertainment!  More to come…

Needless to say, I was itching to get to the gym and run on the treadmill.  I fueled up before leaving with half of a banana (is it me, or does this look kinda pervie ?)…

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I got to the gym, headed straight to the treadmill and huffed out a 3.1 mile run in no time flat.  Not really.  It took me 50 minutes!  50!  That is sucky, I think.  Will all the other racers be yawning and waiting at the finish line for me???  Aaaah!

It was errands galore after that.  Thankfully, I brought an after-run snack in the car.  Banana Walnut Breakfast Cookies are yummy.  Recipe to come in Jen’s e-cookbook

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I finally made it home for a late lunch.  I made up Salmon Toasts with 2 slices of Trader Joe’s Organic Spelt Bread, a slice of Laughing Cow Light Cheese and smoked salmon.  YUM-O…

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And had a nice little side salad with Kraft Light Cucumber Ranch (not as good as the Three Cheese Ranch)…

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Since I ate so late, I didn’t feel the need for a snack.  I made it to dinner without incident, even though I made No Pudge Brownies while the daughters were doing homework :)

I was on my own for dinner, so to speak.  The husband was working late and the daughters were thrilled with mac and cheese.  I was still in a fishy mood, so I dug out some shrimp from the freezer.  I had some zucchini that was calling my name, so I paired them together for  Shrimp and Zucchini with Tomatoes and Feta.  Couldn’t be easier.  I cooked shrimp in a skillet with a teaspoon of evoo and garlic – did you know you can cook shrimp frozen?  No need to thaw.  Just saute in a skillet until done.  When cooking from frozen it makes it easier to not overcook it.  No rubbery shrimp is a good thing!  After shrimp was cooked, I removed them from the skillet and set aside.  Then,  added the zucchini and cooked until golden.  I added the halved grape tomatoes at the end and put the shrimp back to warm through.  Topped it off with reduced fat feta cheese.  It was awesome…

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Dinner in 10 minutes!  Try it, it’s so easy!

Before I go, I wanted to say a big thank you to Jenn of Watch My Butt Shrink (don’t ya love that?) for sending me this Honest Scrap Award a few days back…

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The rules of this award are to tell 10 things about yourself that people may not know, then pass it on to 10 others.  Insane!  I cannot pick only  10 – I have 100 blogs in my reader and love them all.  I feel every hard working blogger deserves this award, so if you’re reading, consider this passed to you!  Feel free to tell10 things about yourself on your blog.  You can add the link to it in the comments, if you like.  I know I’m bucking the rules, but that’s how I roll ;P

Here’s my 10 things…snore…

1.  My whole life, people have mispronounced my name.  My name is said Ma-ree-sa, but everyone says, Ma-riss-sa.  it’s frustrating!  I’ve tried correcting people, but they still say it wrong.  Now, I just answer to anything as long as it’s not a curse word.

2.  BK (before kids), I had 2 successful and completely different careers.  After college, I became a paralegal for a senior partner in a large law firm.  Three years in, he encouraged me to go to law school.  As I was taking my LSAT’s, I had a change of heart.  I came home from the exam and told my parents I was going to beauty school!  I went on to open and operate a nail and skin care salon for 6 years.

3.  When I was 23, my brother(20) was killed in a car accident.  He was my only sibling.  It devastated me and my family for a long time.  The pain of his death has lessened for me over the years and I am able to think of him with a happy heart now.

4.  I met my husband on a blind date.  He was so silly, but intense and very loving.  I couldn’t help but fall in love.  He had me at hello:)

5.  I got pregnant with our first child (big daughter) 9 months into our marriage.  It was an easy pregnancy and birth.  She was and still is a dream!

6.  When big daughter was 18 months old, I became pregnant again, however, it resulted in a devastating miscarriage.  I had 4 more miscarriages before finally giving birth to little daughter 4 years later.

7.  Twelve hours after little daughter was born, she was transported to a children’s hospital for emergency intestinal surgery.  Recovery was long and hard, requiring a 3 month hospital stay in a surgical NICU.  The husband and I still have mental scars from that time, but we learned the value of family, health and prayer.

8.  I am petrified of public speaking.  Anytime, I’ve had to do it (i.e. oral reports/presentations), I sound like I’m hyperventilating when I talk.  So pathetic!

9.  I am extremely close to my family and in-laws.  They mean the world to me and as crazy as they are, I couldn’t live without them.

10.  My career for the past 11 years has been Child Rearing Specialist (aka stay-at-home mom).  It’s a great job, but pays diddly and frankly, I should have been fired a long time ago.  And believe me, they’ve tried ;P

Have a great day, everyone!

ONE GOOD THING:  I am really learning my body’s signals of hunger and satiety.  I think I’m finally getting this!!!!

19 comments:

Brenda said...

You entered your first 5k~ You Go GiRl! I have announced to my family that I will be WALKING 5ks next summer and doing a 3K run. I have never ran a 5k, but my daughter is in cross country and runs 5k meets 2 times a weeks, so here is some advice that I know she will give...advil is a good thing for a sore hip. My daughter (a junior in HS) has arthritis in her left hip because of an auto accident last year. She takes Aleeve 2 times a day to help her when she runs. She also takes a hot bath after practice and then applies BioFreeze to her hip after. One thing she stresses to me for next year is DON'T TAKE OFF TOO FAST AT THE BEGINING OF THE RACE. Try to stay in the middle or towards the end of the pack, gauranteed you will be passing most of those that bursted off by the middle of the race. She eats a power bar 2 hours before a meet.
You will do great! Work on taking time off your 50 minutes now. Oh, and she is always on my about my stride...take long strides through the race. Shorter strides takes more energy.
Maybe I need to jump up to 5k runs for next summer, you have once again motivated me :)

Andrea@WellnessNotes said...

You signed up for a 5k!!! :) I'm so excited for you!!! (Jumping up and down right now!)

I loved to learn more about you in this post. Thanks for sharing!

A Daunting Tale of Scale Warfare said...

Yay for signing up for your first 5k!!! I think that is amazing. You'll go as fast as you can go, it's not a race with everyone else, this is something youre doing for you :) Come in first, come in last, who cares! Youre doing it lady!

I loved to read the 10 things :) It's nice to get to "know" each other better!

Di said...

CONGRATULATIONS on entering your first 5K !!!! I would try one myself but my MD has told me on no uncertain terms to even consider running because of my knee. I often debate his pronouncements, but in this case I would agree with him. You can do this. Consider all of the other difficult things you have done in your life. The strength to do these things comes from that same core place. I think it rests somewhere in the middle of our stomaches, and when tapped into we become amazing . Draw from that place and you can do it !

I am sorry to hear of your own losses. It seems that this is something so many of us experience, but one thing that we are never told about as a strong possibility. Did you know that 25 percent of all human conceptions end in miscarriage ? Statistically it means that one out of 4 women will experience one in her lifetime. Personally I believe they are not lost to us, but simply attending an extended daycare center where we will see them again sometime. I am sure mine are causing all kinds of interesting trouble while they are there !

Jen, a priorfatgirl said...

OMG OMG OMG - I'm TOTALLY jumping up and down for you right now, your first 5K? October 17th - eeek! I can't wait to see pictures, you are going to get goosebumps when you cross the finish line! AAAHHH!! I'm so excited!

Don't worry about your time, there are so many people who are looking up to you, INSPIRED because they can only DREAM of one day doing a 5K.

Those breakfast cookies look YUM! Can't wait to see the recipe!

Diane, Fit to the Finish said...

I love your ten things. I'm so glad that your daughter was okay after her traumatic first three months!

Good for you on the 5K. I'm doing one on Saturday and am looking forward to it. Just like Brenda said, just don't take off too fast in the beginning. It's much easier to increase your speed after you've taken it easy for the first mile.

Unknown said...

Yes the banana looked pervy- but they always do dont they? lol

The cookie looked SO good!

Loved the HONESTY part of your post today...reminded me that I received that and never did it! oopps :)

Cole Walter Mellon said...

I finally signed up for the 401K at work, but haven't yet managed the nerve to pound the streets for a 5K.

Good for you!

Angela Power said...

Firstly, you are going to LOVE crossing that finish line "Mareesa" :-) I've only done it twice, but the first time will always be one of my favourite moments of my life!

I always knew that we had some sort of sisterhood before, but NOW I'm shocked at some other similarities I didn't know about! I AM a paralegal and have been encouraged by my instructors in school and my employers to pursue law school. I decided against it because I knew that while I have a LOVE for law amd it facinates and fulfills me, I didn't need the pressure that the career brings to your life. I'm perfectly fine working behind the scenes and having a life :-)

You've had many huge life changing events in your life and I cannot imagine losing a sibling or having to worry about your child in that way. I'm still "BK" and I haven't yet experienced it and already I can't imagine it. You are a strong woman and amazing Mom!

lk- healthy delicious said...

good luck on the race!!! I've been wanting to do one too but I'm skeered. lol

Reen said...

Marisa.....YOU GO, GIRL! WAHOOO! And guess what. We're both running OUR FIRST 5K's ON THE SAME DAY! How funny is that?

You're doing great! Don't focus on the time it takes. Who cares how long it takes. I don't. As long as I finish, I'm happy with that. I'm running 3.6 miles now so I know I'll finish it as long as I keep running between now and then.

And plus your speed will increase. Just keep running the distance and condition your body and you'll be surprised.

Today I ran my first sprint at the end of my run. It felt really GREAT!

OldGoogleAccount said...

Mar-ees-a! I am so excited for you for running a 5K! You will love it. Being at an event like that has a very special energy about it. And don't worry for one second about your time! The important thing is that you want to do it, you will train for it and you will cross that finish line.

And I did not know you can cook shrimp from frozen! This is really good information.

Wow, you have been through a lot of heartache in your life. You're a very strong woman. Very inspiring.

PS I want your job! I know it's really hard work but what a great thing you've done for your family.

Nicci said...

Congratulations on signing up for your first 5k. You won't regret it!

thewwchick said...

BLAH!!!!!!!!! I just left a big, long post and clicked the wrong key.....which made it evaporate into thin air. Doh! [enter colorful curse words here]

Your post had me tearing up...then laughing. Your only sibling passing away so tragically. I cannot imagine. 3 months without your baby. I cannot imagine. 4 miscarriages. I cannot imagine. Woman, you are so strong. If you can make it through all of that, you can run that 5k! When we meet in person this March, we're going to run the Heather and Mah-ree-sah 5k. Maybe we can take donations as we run. That might help pay for the trip. lol

Jo awarded me this same blog award, and you have totally inspired me to post it later today.

PS...people probably WISH I had a fear of public speaking, but sadly I do not. I could talk for HOURS in front of a crowd. Large or small...it does not matter. This chick was born to speak to the masses. lmao

katecooks said...

congrats on the race! that's oh so exciting!! i want to do one as well but haven't gotten the courage yet. i can't wait to hear all about yours!!

thanks so much for sharing those ten things. i think the only one i knew was how to pronounce your name :)

Lindsey @ Sound Eats said...

So exciting - congrats on signing up for your first 5k! I've only run in one 5k and it was such a fun experience. :) Good luck! (And use the freaking out to motivate you and give you an adrenaline rush when running!)

Beth @ DiningAndDishing said...

CONGRATS on signing up for your race! You can do anything you set your mind to!

Unknown said...

Don't worry, you'll do great.

Very Exciting.

Wendy said...

great post I loved getting to know a little more about you! thank you for sharing!