37:58!!!! Back home, self-portrait.

My new hoodie sweatshirt.
Coney Island 5K Turkey Trot, November 21, 2010
11:30am, 44 degrees, sunny.

My first 5K! Wow, what a rush! More later.

***
Update
Monday, November 22

We started in a mob at the Parachute Drop on the Coney Island Boardwalk. I felt all exclamation points. We live in Brooklyn! These are our people! And talk about an iconic location. The Coney Island Boardwalk! How many people have walked on these boards? My parents and my grandparents, for sure. And my great grandparents, no doubt. And now my husband and I were about to run this together! I was so happy I pushed myself to do this. Five weeks ago, the most I had ever run was 1 mile. And now I was about to have a great experience. It was a beautiful sunny day, 44 degrees. Perfect for a run.

I felt adrenaline for the first quarter mile which worked against me -- a wave of nervousness that numbed my legs, and I just had to breathe my way out of it. And cough to get more air in my lungs. I focused on the running surface -- the boards. Which were faster? The chevroned black boards? The chevroned blonde boards? The parallel ones? No. Too uneven. Back to the chevroned black boards. Yes, those are the ones. Wow, there's sand coming through the cracks. Wow, I am running on the Coney Island Boardwalk. In a race!!

I fell into my pace at probably .75 miles and felt elated when he told me 12:06 @ mile 1. The race was small enough that they had people with stop watches personally telling you your time. It was very sweet. Then I looked at scenery and felt glad to be a Brooklynite running in Brooklyn. I ran past Tatiana, a Russian outdoor cafe right on the Boardwalk. How awesome! The timekeeper announced mile 2, 24:06. I shouted back, Alllllright! Another 12 minute mile! He laughed and cheered me on. I kibbitzed with four other runners while running along. It's Brooklyn. You have to kibbitz. Looking back, I am most glad that I made time for kibbitzing.

For mile 3 I just subdivided and kept my eye on my watch. That way I didn't let myself slow down. And I made sure to drink in the beautiful view of the Atlantic. I sped up at the very very end. It was awesome. I loved it, and I am so proud of myself. I never walked.

Yes I said 5K! My first 5K! Ever!

Sorry I've been away for so long. I've been delving into many projects, and very determined to achieve certain results, but not so much blogging. I still blame it all on Facebook, because FB is the quicky way to share an idea, and get instant feedback. From time to time, Twitter also allows me to "get all my thoughts down on paper;" however, with little or no response. It's like shouting into a tree hole. Whatever. I don't need a response. I just need to say it for myself. So here's a quickie Twitter post/slice of life. I'll come back later (I hope) to fill in the blanks.

I have to say, eating home-cooked meals has made a difference in my fitness level. I felt I reached a new strength level yesterday!

And I know it's thanks to eating Super Foods and all sorts of healthy home-cooked meals. The week's menu follows.

Sunday: spicy pumpkin soup (hubby made), quesadillas w/ corn tortillas, Mexican fresh cheese, grilled in the George (Foreman grill).

We are on a first-name basis with the George.

Mon: Spicy Peanut Noodles (I made) w. pb, sriracha, vinegar, scallion sauce, & tofu, snowpeas, broccoli, carrots, zucch, whole wheat pasta

Tues: Chili-Limi-Cashew Kale Chips (recipe: http://bit.ly/dDuE7U ) marinated oven-roasted tofu in same mixture, brown basmati rice (I made)

Weds: Black Bean Chilaquiles (hubby made) w. bbeans, carrot, celery, onion, corn tortillas, coriander spice, crumbled Mex fresh cheese

Thurs: Tofu Salad on Pain Levain (I made) pressed tofu, dijon mustard, balsamic, tomato, cukes, scallion, 1/4 avocado cubed, black pepper

So that's pretty darn good eatin' right? Super healthy. I slipped in lots of Super Foods at lunch, like quinoa.

The week's lunches included salmon/avocado sushi, salmon rice balls, green tea, spicy lentils, spicy kale & basmati rice, & more sushi.

Today, I am going to have a grilled mahi mahi taco with lots-o-spicy salsa. Yes, spicy is my friend. Tonight tofu hot-pot in K-town.

Yes, a meal out! But since it's tofu hot pot, it'll be healthy. Oh, & banchan http://bit.ly/15dc7j which'll include kimchi! Yum.