Sandstorm 800's

Pre-run lunch: egg fried in extra virgin olive oil, rice mixed with red beans and diced sweet potatoes, topped with mango, tomato, and onion salsa.
Thanks to the influence of Sarah Stanley I have chosen to cut out processed foods, such as bread, crackers, chips and cereal, and as a result I feel healthier and faster than ever. Instead of eating a sandwich and chips for lunch, I pack left-over dinner such as rice or pasta, bean soup, and salad. I have also been eating a ton of vegetables, especially carrots.

Mom added some bright yellow flowers as an eye-catching backdrop for our front-yard's landscaping, effectively making my family look like Baltimore Ravens fans.  My apologies to the Miami Dolphins, but we couldn't find any teal flowers.  

 

Me and Tina getting ready for our beach run. I wasn't wearing the most flattering/best fitting work-out attire in the world, but Tina made up for it with the tank and shorts that I gave her (Lady Foot Locker: Adidas tank and Nike shorts). The 20 mph winds made my 3.96 mile run feel like a 5 mile uphill run, and running next to the beach also added the effect of romping through a sandstorm, with the wind whipping hard grains of sand against any exposed parts of your body.

RUN
 2 minute warm-up
4*800 meters (3:35, 3:51, 4:11, 4:05)
l:30 recovery jog in between
1.22 mile cooldown (first half jogging, other half walking with Tina)

TOTAL: 3.96 miles, 40:44

My 800 meter times were a bit slower due to the wind that seemed to be trying to push me to the ground while blasting me with sand, but it was still a pretty run. Sandy, but scenic.

After running I was dying for some fresh fruit, so I decided to try the papaya that my mom bought from Bravo's. The flesh of the papaya scooped out as smoothly as ice-cream, and all I had to do was scoop the fruit into the blender with some ice and my smoothie was done.

Despite the post-run smoothie my sister continued her special ritual of finishing every snack with a bowl of cereal. I should buy her a box of Special K chocolate cereal for Christmas next year.  

Tina and I catching up with The Voice while chilling on exercise mats, followed by Fashion Star. We are usually too busy to watch television every day, so we have a lazy day every week where we plop down and watch enough t.v. to fill in the required amount of time needed to run a marathon. Which, if you are a killer runner like Lauren Fleshman, is approximately 2 hours and 37 minutes.

Tina's birthday

Gilly Hicks sweatpants I bought for the Tina. I knew that she would totally dig the green.

Told Mom to buy Tina  Nike running shoes, she's wanted a pair for ages. Choose green to match the sweatpants. 

Tina driving a jet ski with my Dad

Sisters <3

 Running hug/Attempt to immerse Tina in the water. Look closely enough and you can see my hard-earned shorts tan.


Anyhow, the first thing that I did after my family set up camp at the Beach was run. I went at a super easy pace and enjoyed the scenery. My first two mile splits were 9:31 and 9:58. Getting tired of veering around swarms of cyclists, other runners, and tourists, I kicked off my sneakers and ran two miles on the coast line. It was super awesome to feel the cool water on my feet as I ran. My splits on the sand were about a minute slower.
 I have found that I prefer wearing running skorts over shorts when I am running in places with lots of people, like the beach. Shorts are better for when I am with my team or solo. Another idiosyncrasy I have is wearing my hair a certain way depending on the workout. I think that I could write an entire book on the best situations to wear high vs. low ponytails, buns, top knots, horsetails (my primitive method of throwing my hair into a high ponytail and then braiding it), and french braids.

TOTAL WORK-OUT: 4.02 miles, 40:51 minutes
SPLITS: 9:31, 9:58, 10:31, 10:35