April 09, 2012

Cookie sacrifice

Today is Monday, which means it's my long run day. Since this is a step-back week, my run was "only" 12 miles. My mom kept my kids overnight so that I could run this morning (the kids are off school for Spring Break). I met Jessica at 8:00 and we went to the Metropark.

I had  ROUGH night last night. I don't know if it was food poisoning or what, but I spent half the night in the bathroom. My stomach was icky and achy, and I felt super nauseous. When Jerry left for work this morning, I was crying and moaning that I was so miserable. I felt hungover, but I didn't drink yesterday, so that wasn't it. But anyway, I was really worried about my run this morning.

I didn't eat breakfast beforehand, because I wanted to keep my stomach calm. And I think that actually worked! My stomach behaved throughout the run, thank goodness. We just did a 12-mile lollipop route (which is an out-and-back with a loop in the middle of the run.

About 4 miles into the run, Jessica's knee started hurting her pretty badly. At first she was trying to run through the pain, but then we started talking about a back-up plan. We were near my aunt's house, so I told her she could stay there and I would run back to the car and go pick her up; but she really wanted to continue. After about 5 miles, she decided she needed to walk. So she started walking, but was walking so fast that I didn't even have to stop running!

Now, when we run our long runs, we go at a VERY slow pace--about 11:15-11:30 per mile. It's a comfortable pace for us, keeping our heart rates low and we're able to maintain a conversation. Which is perfect for long runs. But Jessica was WALKING at a pace of 11:20/mi!! I think the fastest I can walk is about a 15:00/mi pace, so I was blown away that she was walking so fast.

But taking a few walk breaks helped her knee a lot, and the second half of the run was much better than the first!
My knee held up well, which I was very happy about! All the rest over the weekend must have done me some good. Rest day tomorrow, then 9 miles on Wednesday.



Yesterday, Jerry and I went to his parents' house for Easter dinner. His sister and her boyfriend were there as well, and they gave us a huge cookie bouquet. The cookies were beautifully decorated, and you all know how much I love cookies with frosting!!
It was very thoughtful of his sister, but I knew I couldn't bring that into my house--I wouldn't stop eating cookies until they were gone. And with my weight being up since marathon training, I'm trying really hard to be careful about what I eat.

Since the kids were spending the night at my parents' house, Jerry and I decided to go to the movies--and I brought along the cookie bouquet. When we ordered our tickets, I put the bouquet on the counter and told the young man working there, "These are for you--and the other employees that got stuck working on a holiday." He smiled and looked very surprised. I ordered our tickets, and he said, "Just a minute..." and we went in the back room. When he came out, he told us that we were all set, our tickets were free. How cool is that?!

Then Jerry and I were sitting in the theater, waiting for the movie to start (we were the ONLY people in there) and the manager and another employee came in and thanked us again for the cookies. The manager gave us two more free tickets to use whenever we want. I was shocked, but thrilled. Not only were they happy to enjoy the cookies, but Jerry and I got about $36 worth of free movie tickets :)

We saw the movie "American Reunion". I LOVED IT!! The movie "American Pie" has a special place in my heart because it was the movie of my generation. I graduated in 2000 (Jerry in 1999) and the kids in the movie were the class of 1999. So we were the same age as the kids in the movie when it first came out, and Jerry and I saw it on a date together just after we started dating.

American Reunion was very nostalgic for me, especially the soundtrack for the movie--some GREAT songs from back then! Last night, Jerry and I felt like we were dating again--we even took a couple of pics before the movie started.

For comparison, here is a picture from 1999 when we started dating:
I know, right? LOL

The movie was everything I hoped it would be--shocking, funny, a little gross, immature, and... dare I say relate-able? I could relate to the kids in the movie in 1999, and today, I can still relate to them as they've aged in the movie.

I have another story to tell you about a Pomeranian doggie, but I will save that for tomorrow.

44 comments:

  1. See, it pays to be nice! That was awesome. All you wanted to do was NOT be tempted by the cookies- you didn't expect anything in return and look how that nice gesture was paid back! And I never saw 'American Pie.' Makes me feel old, seeing that in 1999 I had two kids under the age of 3! Glad you had a great time! Love the comparison shots!!

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  2. How sweet (no pun intended!) of you to think to bring the cookies to the theater! I would have probably just thrown them away (no, that's a lie--I would've eaten them!) Also, how great is it that you got free movie tickets?!?! Very cool story.
    Also, I want to see American Reunion so bad! Glad to hear it lived up to expectations!

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  3. What an awesome way to pay it forward! I think the pics of you two are so cute. :) Sounds like a great date night!

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  4. My husbands knee started hurting him during his most recent marathon training. He started loosely following the Jeff Galloway run/walk training and has been fine since. Utilizing different leg muscles during his training has made a world of difference. Hope your friend is still feeling okay!

    How thoughtful of you to give your cookies away! When I worked a holiday at Starbucks, occasionally someone would bring us a treat and it made our day! Hell, it made our week!

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  5. I want to see American Reunion so bad, but I was waiting until there weren't so many annoying teenagers there.

    That was very thoughtful of you to give them the basket.

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  6. That was so sweet of you to take the cookies to the movie staff. And YAY for date night. Love the "then and now" shots too. Hats off to you for getting the run done even though you weren't feeling 100%. You truly are an inspiration on SO many levels. Have a great week Katie.

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  7. No good deed goes unrewarded! How cool to get those tickets! And I have to say, I laughed at your first dating picture LOL!

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  8. i really enjoy your blog! I look forward to each post.
    That's awesome you have your mom's support to be able to run, even if the kids are out of school.

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  9. That is so amazing!! On both parts, you giving the cookies and them giving you the tickets. Very nice all around.

    I have to admit I laughed out loud at that flash back pic! Because of Jerry not you : ) I was also class of '99 so I am very familiar with that look!

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  10. I graduated in 2000 also and my husband and I went to all of the American Pie movies in the theater so we will also be going to this one.

    How nice about the tickets. You were so sweet giving them the cookies.

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  11. That was great of you to give away the bouquet. It's cool that they were so excited about it too. I don't know if I could have done that. I would have not only taken them home, but ate most of them myself. I would have felt incredibly guilty later. So, good job!

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  12. Fabulous job on your run! I've been reading along for a while now and just want to say thank you for your inspiration! I just ran 7 miles for the first time today. My average pace was 11:51. I've been running for a little over a year now and i'm able to finally start running further. I just need to get faster. Any tips?
    Thanks, Stephanie

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  13. HA! I graduated in 2001 and the hubby did in 99. He was also a "blond" when we dated back then:). I've decided that if I get down to a normal size I'm finding a pair of girl jnco's and rockin' them out. Also Sugar Ray and a BUNCH of other bands are doing this 90's music tour this year and we plan on going. Ah to be young and dress like idiots :)

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  14. That's Karma baby! Love the pics of you guys, thanks for sharing!

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  15. KATIE! That was so sweet of you to give those cookies. And the willpower it must have taken! I am very impressed. :) Great job on your run. I must say, you are convincing me, post-by-post, that marathon training is something even I could accomplish! I love the pictures of you and the hubster. It's amazing how much younger you look in the NOW picture! Yayyyy!

    Amanda

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  16. I think I would have had to given them the bouquet minus at least ONE cookie. LOL. I loved going back in time to see you and Jerry when you were first dating. So cute!

    Do you realize people no longer have to type in a spam/password thing in order to post on your blog? Just wanted to make sure you know...

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    1. Yes, I was really irritated when I was trying to comment on blogs and I kept having to type that thing--so I decided to remove it from MY blog to avoid others that annoyance ;)

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  17. Aww, that is great that people are so appreciative when others do something nice. I'm sure those people deal with some real jerks on a regular basis. I can't wait to see American Reunion! I think it's coming to the drive in so we're going to see it there! (On a Sunday night so the kiddies won't be there. We're curmudgeons!)

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  18. Seriously, you are a freaking inspiration to me!!! The willpower you must have to not eat those cookies! Those are especially my favorite kind.....my mouth is watering just looking at them.
    I want to see American Reunion so bad! I love all of the American Pie movies so I can't wait to see it. love the pic of you guys.....both of them!

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  19. Ok, I've been wondering this for a while but I finally have to ask. How the heck do you plan a route? How do you know how far you've gone? I know your Garmin tells you after you've run - but it always sounds like you have the route planned ahead of time. Hey, give me a break - I'm still a new runner! I don't know all the little tricks of the trade yet! Oh, and by the way - I think you actually look younger NOW than you did in 1999! You have really done an amazing thing for yourself! I wonder if you realize how amazing you are!

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    1. you can try the website mapmywalk.com it asks you to sign up for free but I've always used it without creating an account.

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    2. Thanks! I'll check it out!

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    3. Monica, I use www.runningahead.com. From there, I can map out my runs and save them... then go back and log all the info later (my pace, time, etc). LOVE that website!

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    4. Thanks!!! I was playing around with the site and it looks great! I'll have to check it out more when the wild ones (aka my children) go to bed! haha

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    5. omg thank you Katie! I LOVE this site! I even added it to my blog! I wish I had known about it earlier so I could see how many miles I've really done this year! Thanks again!!

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  20. are you pregnant?!!! When I feel hungover without drinking, that is usually why! :-) that was so nice of you with the cookies...very thoughtful!

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  21. Katie, you're awesome. I graduated high school in 1999, too. I do remember that bleach-blond-tip look he's sporting in that photo. You both look much better now!

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  22. That was a great idea to leave the cookies there and man what an awesome thing they did for you guys!!! Sounds like it was a win win!
    I graduated in 1999 too and feel the same way about the American Pie movies. I'm glad to hear American Reunion lived up to the others since they hold a special place in my heart as well. :)
    LOVE your before photo of when you guys were dating. You look so much younger now than you did then!

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  23. I just read in your surgery post that you made the decision not to have more kids "permanent" after your second was born...sorry if my earlier question was offensive. :-( I love your blog, btw! You have inspired me to start running. :-)

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    1. Not at all offensive! Two and through for us ;)

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  24. Glad you were ok to run! And love that throwback pic of you two!

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  25. That picture of you two is so awesome!

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  26. I love that the run was slow pace for you. That's about my normal pace. I have no idea how to get faster. I'm trying. . . slowly. Katie - running is the only exercise you really did through this journey right? I have people telling me that I won't lose weight from running. And since I've started running I'm 5 lbs heavier and I just can't seem to crack that plateau. Ugh! I'm getting so discouraged and even though I hate (love) running I want to keep at it for the 6 months I promised myself. My first 5K is Saturday! :)

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    1. Jen--Yes, running is the only exercise I've done. BUT, I didn't lose a single pound from running! I lost the weight by counting calories. I very rarely hear of people losing weight from exercise alone.

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  27. Katie, I'm skimming through the comments, and have to totally agree with your last one...that you made to Jen...about running or other exercise rarely being the cause for weight loss. I so agree. It is all in the calorie intake, at least for me. Of course I never ran much, and have walked for my exercise. I was always dismayed at how much walking you could do and the calorie burn was very minimal. At least with running you burn a lot of calories...and then of course....you run so much more than I ever walked.

    Wise choice on the cookie bouquet, but wasn't it gorgeous? I'm surprised you didn't let your kids have it over at your Mom's house, but this way you got something even better for it and your kids didn't OD on the sugar. Plus you made some theater workers very happy! (My son ushered at a local movie theater when he was in high school--I got to see lots of free movies back then!)

    Loved the comparison pictures. Not many people can say they look better when they're 13 years older, but you two sure can!

    Have you seen Hunger Games? I was thinking you said you went the other day. Hubby & I almost never go to movies--he is not a fan of going to the theater, so we usually wait until they come to HBO. We miss quite a few movies that way. We had Netflix for a while, but weren't watching the movies quickly enough, so we cancelled our membership about a year ago. I just finished the Hunger Games book (on my new (used) Kindle, and LOVED it. I'm hoping I can tag along with my son and d-i-l, as they were talking about going to that movie soon.

    Glad your knee is better. That Jessica can really BOOK IT when she walks. I can't even walk a 15-min. mile, mine take from 17-18 minutes. I feel like I'm going as fast as I can. Obviously, I'm pokey.

    Can't wait to hear the Pomeranian story. We have one that lives across the road from us--her (his?) name is Boo, and she's a yappy little thing, but cute!

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  28. Great idea for the cookie boquet...and what a nice gesture they did in return!! Unexpected gifts/surprises are really the best! I graduated in 97, and my hubby graduated in 99 (we've been dating since 1995)so we'll have to see that movie, too...I know I liked the original one(s)!

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  29. I love the movie date pics! So cute! :)

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  30. Cute pictures - I didn't really think you looked older back then - just maybe a little tipsy since neither one of you has your eyes open! LOL! Reminded me of my youth:) Great job on the cookies - I just love that your good deed was rewarded - the golden rule works!
    I hate when I get such a nice 'food' gift, but can't trust myself with it! (which would be most of the time). Oh well, work in progress:)

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  31. I read this earlier today and your cookie bouquet story at the movies just made my heart sing. :) I LOVE to hear good people be unexpectedly rewarded, and you and Jerry are definitely "good people". Glad you enjoyed your free movie and got another one, too! Wonderful, wonderful story!!

    I have never actually seen any of the American Pie movies, but I am curious to see the "reunion" movie, just because it sounds like it would be fun. I love those "get the cast together again after 10 years" films, because I love to see what happens to the characters--even if I didn't know their story to begin with, lol!

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  32. I saw that the other night and loved it - I was Class of 2000, too, and the scary part was that the guys didn't look any older... until they showed photos of them from the first movie at the end!!!

    Love Jerry's frosted tips ;)

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  33. I didn't know you dated Eminem! ha ha...

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  34. Awesome! I love the good Karma of giving away the cookies and then getting the tickets! And I can't wait to see that movie too :)

    You guys make a great looking couple then and now!

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  35. Even though your blog is titled Runs for Cookies, I am surprised that anyone would tempt you with cookies after reading about all you have done to get healthy!!! Good for you for staying strong!! That totally is Karma with the tickets!!

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  36. Love the photo comparison, awesome! I want to see that movie, but feel bad for wanting to see it cos shouldn't I be more grown up than that now? ..... Naa! lol

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