Conquered the Hill!

This morning I went for a run outside. It was a bit chilly but it still beats the treadmill. However, I think I need to turn around my attitude towards the treadmill because I think my knees and shins definitely prefer it. My run in itself was pretty uneventful. For some reason I seem to be a lot better on weekends and really struggled through a 2.5 mile run today. However, the major accomplishment for this run was that I made it up my HILL!!! If you haven't been reading my blog for now, I basically live on one giant hill. It is a real problem with working out because I cannot run or bike up it. For the past few months I've been thinking that I have to do flat running courses only because I stink at hills. When I found out my 5k had some small hills I was SO scared. Turns out, normal hills I can handle- my hill is not horrible. It's crazy. The same is true with biking. I can bike up the hill my parents live on and other normal hills, but my hill I can't do (partly because it begins at a really busy intersection so there is almost no way to get any momentum going). Today since my run wasn't going amazingly and I had to stop to walk after about 2 miles I decided my goal would be to make it up my hill running the whole time. I DID IT! Although I think I have probably strengthened my leg muscles in the past few months, I think a lot of it (like running always is) was very mental. Even though I was breathing REALLY heavy, I was determined. Luckily at the end of it I get to stop, I have no idea how people do Heartbreak Hill!
Last night for night I made a nice mix of haddock, Trader Joe's Harvest Grain Mix, carrots, zucchini, and Teriyaki sauce. It tastes delicious. It doesn't look so fancy because I just stick it in a bowl and mix it all together but this meal wasn't about presentation (most of mine are not actually haha).
Speaking of yummy food, I tried something new today for the first time. I have been into Almond Butter for the past couple of years but today I tried Trader Joe's Raw Almond Butter for the first time.
I really enjoyed it actually. It tasted pretty different from regular almond butter, but I think for some odd reason my stomach may have liked it better, which in itself is a reason to never have regular almond butter again (if it continues to be true). For those of you who have never tasted any kind of almond butter, you really should! I got into it like I got into it like almost everything else in the past few years, looking for something easier on my stomach than peanut butter (of course peanut butter is a major obsession of mine- like if I could eat nothing else for my entire life I would eat bread with peanut butter, that big of an obsession). I've found that I really love it and it's a welcome change from peanut butter sometimes. If you just want to try it, you can buy fresh almond butter in small quantities at Whole Foods. It's a bit pricey so just buy a small amount to try it. Yum.
I am trying to motivate myself to go to a yoga class at the gym tonight. I want to give yoga at the gym at least one more chance before I swear it off forever. However, American Idol is on tonight so it's definitely possible that I will end up lounging around instead. Plus I think I might be getting a cold. I think I need a break from kids so I don't have to work so hard at fighting all the germs!