A Sunny Six Miles

on July 23, 2009

You want to know how to motivate yourself to get out of bed for a run? Sign up for a marathon. Seriously. Every time I want to skip a long run, I just think about running 26.2 miles and that is usually enough to motivate me to get my booty in gear.

I was SUPER excited to try out my new Poor Women’s Garmin.

AKA a $9 watch from Target.

Before I left, I had a pre-run snack:

And then I was off!

This is the longest distance I’ve run since APRIL! It’s funny because I definitely used to consider 6.0 milers to be ‘easy long runs’ and now it’s a HUGE distance to tackle.

Getting injured was such a great life lesson that I’m actually glad I went through the experience. It taught me a great deal about patience, and it made me respect every mile I can run. My injury also taught me a lot about HARD WORK. It is an awesome challenge to get my mileage back up before race season begins, and I’m actually having a lot of fun doing it.

When life stops being challenging, you’re doing something wrong!

Here are my statistics:

Duration: 1 hr, 2 minute
Distance: 6.0 miles
Calories Burned: 480

I was a hot and sweaty mess by the time I returned – my clothes were soaked!

It was awesome. 🙂

After my run, I tried to make Egg in a Hole toast, but I forgot to grease the skillet and ended up with a big mess:

The dogs were pleased! 🙂

So I heated up the leftover waffles from yesterday.

I topped the waffles with Oikos yogurt, maple syrup, blueberries, and a sliced banana. Oh, baby!

Off to SIEZE THE DAY!

{ 44 comments }

Erica July 23, 2009, 7:08 am
Glad you're enjoying your time off from work! Fabulous job on the run, I love that super sweaty feeling after a good workout!
Mica July 23, 2009, 7:10 am
Congratulations on the six miles. It's funny how distances seem long or short in comparison, depending on what you happen to be training for. Pretty soon, you'll think that it's easy and short again!
Shannon (The Daily Balance) July 23, 2009, 7:13 am
Sorry about the toast! At least your dogs were happy, I am sure 😉

Great job on the run!
lilybeans July 23, 2009, 7:13 am
I love the motto about life!

How were the knees feeling after the run?
Tyler July 23, 2009, 7:14 am
that is such a good attitude for coming back from an injury! i have just gotten back into running after being out for 2 months and its frustrating! i love what you said about being grateful for every mile and enjoying the challenge 🙂
whitsgettingfit July 23, 2009, 7:15 am
What a nice long run! I slept in this morning, so no run yet for me. 🙁
Barbara July 23, 2009, 7:15 am
Fantastic run:) Don't those long runs make you feel amazing afterwards?

On another note: I have seen a few bloggers get free garmins to try/review. Have you contacted them? I mean you DO have a very popular health/fitness/food blog…:)

Cheers

B
Red Head, Yellow Dog July 23, 2009, 7:19 am
haha i totally have that watch.

and I totally agree with your injury lesson. I was injured for 5 months (GAH!) and learned SO MUCH from the experience. and treasure/respect my body so much more now!!
Lizzy July 23, 2009, 7:30 am
how did your watch work out? I need to get one so bad! and good job on your run! 🙂
Mandy July 23, 2009, 7:30 am
Awesome run!!! I bet that had to feel like a huge accomplishment all over again for you – despite how it used to be… you'll get there again 🙂
Kathryn July 23, 2009, 7:31 am
You are doing such a great job getting back to running! I was just curious do you have to take breaks and walk or stretch on these runs or are you jogging the whole time. 🙂
redhead75 July 23, 2009, 7:31 am
I made that toast for my hubs this morning…although I used butter so it didn't stick at all 😉

Congrats on your long run today! I love being a sweaty mess!
Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point July 23, 2009, 7:32 am
lilybeans – they are being iced as i type 🙂 so far so good

kathryn – i think i took two walk breaks to fix my hair (its always getting tangled!!)
insideiamdancing July 23, 2009, 7:38 am
Congrats on the run! Enjoy your time off 🙂
Mary July 23, 2009, 7:38 am
Caitlin: This is SUCH a great post!! I have been dealing with an injury too and it is nice to know that your not alone huh? 🙂 I love the honesty in this post too!! The b-fast that didn't go so great (!) the feeling like 6 miles used to be short and how it's kind of sad, but good..thank you!
Sana July 23, 2009, 7:38 am
I agree with you about getting injured! I also got a knee over-use injury in June and I have really learned to appreciate my body. I have been taking things slow and am learning patience and how to appreciate what my body does for me.
Katie Dinterman July 23, 2009, 7:40 am
"You want to know how to motivate yourself to get out of bed for a run? Sign up for a marathon."
— I absolutely agree! Even more motivation: when you set a time goal for your race.
The Decayed Gentlewoman July 23, 2009, 7:46 am
Ooh! What kind of shorts are those? I tend to run in leggings b/c shorts with open legs tend to move around and let my thighs rub together, which is obviously no fun. But running in leggings at this time of the year is pretty uncomfortable. I've been looking for some shorts that are tighter in the leg!
Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point July 23, 2009, 7:48 am
gentlwoman – they are nike. i got them at marshalls last season though!
roseyrebecca July 23, 2009, 7:50 am
Glad you had a great run!! 6 miles seems like a really long distance to me because I only run on a treadmill/elliptical. I can't even imagine going that far outside of a gym (although I'm working on it) Your blog and a few others have made me want to sign up for a marathon!! We'll see how that goes.. And I just got yogurt on my keyboard so that's the end of this comment!!
Jess July 23, 2009, 7:52 am
haha, I have a poor woman's garmin too! Course I don't feel I've "earned" the need for a garmin yet anyways. Maybe I'll have the mileage under my belt by Christmas…that would be a sweet gift!
Amy July 23, 2009, 7:56 am
You're a hottie Caitlin! 🙂
Tyler Lynne July 23, 2009, 8:02 am
I'm having a HARD time getting myself to like the Greek yogurt. Are there a lot of benefits to eating that as opposed to regular yogurt? Maybe if I knew the benefits, I could make myself like it. Thanks!
Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point July 23, 2009, 8:06 am
tyler – TONS more protein and if unflavored, less chemicals and artifical flavors. If you aren't used to unflavored yogurt, it's definitely a change. I would try adding honey or maple syrup to it until you get used to the flavor – trust me, if you stick with it and try to reduce the honey over time, there will come a day when you cannot eat sugar/artifically sweetened yogurt. I literally gag at the sight of flavored yogurt LOL. I used the honey tactic to adjust my palate.
Deva July 23, 2009, 8:20 am
Congrats on the 6 miler! You look ready for water in your picture 🙂
foodnfit July 23, 2009, 8:21 am
That would probably be what my egg in a hole would look like anyway haha
Great job on your run!
heyitstay July 23, 2009, 8:24 am
Congrats on your 6 miles!!! I can't wait until I can run that distance 🙂 You must feel so proud!
Mel @ She Runs Brooklyn July 23, 2009, 8:28 am
Love a nice sweaty workout! Always make the rest of the day a little better.

Congrats on 6 miles 🙂 I'm in the same boat as you for that to feel long.
Niki July 23, 2009, 8:43 am
Can you give some details on the poor woman's Garmin? Is it just a watch or does it have any special features? I am deffo in need of one!
Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point July 23, 2009, 8:44 am
niki – it is literally a $9 stopwatch. nothing cool 🙂
Amanda July 23, 2009, 8:47 am
Thanks so much for being such an inspiration throughout your injury. I have had to stop running this past week due to an issue with my foot (I'm afraid it may be a stress fracture). I am currently training for my second half-marathon, and am forcing myself to stop and take a break. It is not ideal, but I would rather be able to run long-term.
Joelle (The Pancake Girl) July 23, 2009, 9:11 am
I love how positive you are.. thank you for always putting a sunny spin the aspects of life that can get us runners down and out sometimes!
Eve July 23, 2009, 9:36 am
Feeling nice & sweaty after an awesome workout is such a great way to start your day!
Bec July 23, 2009, 9:39 am
Love the poor womans garmain 🙂
just me July 23, 2009, 9:40 am
awesome run!!! I only wish my run had gone that well this morning!
Niki July 23, 2009, 9:42 am
Great run!! Glad you are having a good staycation!!
Nobel4Lit July 23, 2009, 11:00 am
How do those watches track distance? Yummy pseudo-sandwiches by the way!
Niki July 23, 2009, 12:18 pm
Haha that's awesome. Nothing wrong with that! I don't know what else I would expect for $9! 🙂
seesaraheat July 23, 2009, 12:48 pm
I have that exact same watch! Haha.
Anna July 23, 2009, 2:15 pm
Your eats are sooo yummy. I hope to swap some running tips from you. I too am starting to run again after injury. It feels so unbelievably good. My blog is http://www.lovejoyhealth.wordpress.com Check it out, i'd love to hear any tips you have 🙂
i look forward to keeping an eye on your blog!!
Amie July 23, 2009, 3:29 pm
I saw your egg in the hole and said, "Awwww…". Ha ha 🙂
ohonemorething July 23, 2009, 4:25 pm
Your waffles are looking so good and homemade! I want!! 🙂

By the way, I'm Katharina. I think the project you created is such an amazing and inspirational idea. It's refreshing to see others sneak in some positivity in people's day. Take care!
Tyler Lynne July 23, 2009, 6:26 pm
Thanks! I'm going to try it out this weekend!
Andrea (Off Her Cork) July 24, 2009, 8:19 am
What about Nike+? It will do the same thing, give you pace, distance, and so on that you can plug into your computer. 🙂 And it's cheaper than a garmin.

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