November 09, 2012

Indulgence

Like I said yesterday, I've really been looking forward to my runs each morning--but today was an exception. Today is Friday, my long run day. I like running when I have 3-4 miles to do, but I really wasn't looking forward to the 7 miles I had on my schedule today. Seven miles at a 10:24/mi (ish) pace.

I decided I wanted a change of scenery to get me through, so I went to run on the same street that I did my 20-milers on. The last time I ran on it, I remember thinking how much it hurt my knee, because the sidewalk is so uneven.

Before I left, I ate a very indulgent breakfast:
Oatmeal with caramel dip, coconut, and chocolate chips--this was SO good! This combo came from the Hungry Girl cookbook. It was 8 PointsPlus, which is more than I usually spend on breakfast, but lately I've been trying to spread my PointsPlus out during the day a little better.

After the kids got on the bus, I headed out. After I parked, I was even kind of procrastinating in my car, flipping through Runner's World. Finally, I decided I just need to do it. The first mile, I felt great. I covered up my Garmin with my sleeve, so that I could just run by feel instead of looking at my pace, trying to hit 10:24 mile after mile.

Then about a mile and a half in, I was just so tired. I think I need to re-order my runs each week, so that I'm not running a race-pace run on Thursday followed by a long run on Friday. Because by Friday, my body is tired! During mile three, I really tried to slow down to hopefully feel better. I kept imagining that I was running with a beginner runner friend, and I had to run at her pace. That worked for a mile or two, and then I actually did start to feel better.

If I went straight back to my car, it would be exactly six miles, so I had to run a little detour. I am so glad that I did! I ran on streets I never ran on before, and I actually had a couple of hills to run--actually they were bridges, but they inclined like hills :)

I was relieved to get back to the car and be done. I was pretty surprised when I saw my pace--I felt like I was going much slower than I actually was, which is probably why I felt so tired!

On the way home, I had to stop at the post office and then stop at Kroger for bread. While I was in Kroger, I decided to spend some of my weekly PointsPlus on ice cream. I got a pint of Butterfinger ice cream, which conveniently had 640 calories total--and I burned 660 on my run. It was meant to be, I think. So I ate ice cream for lunch :)

Then I spent all afternoon working on the sparkle skirt tutorial, not realizing how long that was going to take.


Q. I know you are no longer a coffee drinker. How did you switch over to tea? Was it gradual? Also, what are some good teas to try? Do you add anything to your tea?

A. I only became a "tea person" over the past year, after giving up coffee. I gave up the coffee cold turkey, and it was rough, but I felt a million times better after a couple of weeks of being coffee-free. However, I really missed the routine of having a hot cup of coffee in the morning to start my day. So I decided to have tea.

I had a ton of different flavors of tea in my cupboard from the occasional cup I would drink. My favorite coffee replacement became Lipton black tea with 1 Tbsp. half & half and 1/2 tsp. sugar. Ellen, from Fat Girl Wearing Thin, wrote about tea on her blog one day, and it got me very curious about loose leaf tea (tea without a tea bag). I e-mailed her to ask about it, and I was interested enough to give it a try. I bought the Teavana PerfecTea Tea Maker and I absolutely loved it!

I was totally intimidated to use it at first, because it looked so complicated. But it's very simple. Here's how it works:
This is the tea maker--it holds 16 fl. ounces

First, you just scoop the loose tea into the
tea maker (I usually use 1.5 tsp per cup of
water, so 3 tsp. to fill the tea maker)

Then you pour boiling water into it and close
the lid (some teas are supposed to use different
temps of water, but I don't get technical like
that--I just boil it). Let it steep for the
recommended amount of time.

After it steeps, just set the tea maker on top of
your mug or tea cup. This releases a stopper
on the bottom, and the tea pours out of the
bottom and into your cup! The leaves stay
inside, and then you can rinse them out later.

I don't know why it looks so white here,
I know I didn't use THAT much half & half!
See how easy it is? I've been trying different types of tea--and I was in sticker shock at first, because tea is expensive! I've ordered different kinds from Teavana and Tea Guys, but in the mornings, I usually stick to plain old Lipton loose black tea. At nighttime, I usually have a fruity tea--I absolutely love the Teavana Youthberry Wild Orange Blossom and the Blueberry Kona Pop. It's expensive, like I said, but it lasts a long time. If you go to a Teavana store, they have samples for you to try (that's how I got sucked into buy it--one taste, and I was sold!)

17 comments:

  1. That oatmeal looks delicious!
    I wanted to comment on your comparison post, but my phone wasn't allowing it :s you look great in both pictures! I know what you mean about looking in the mirror and not noticing a gain. I recently posted about that myself when I came across an old picture that shocked me cuz I never realizes how big I looked.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't comment from my phone either! So weird. Sometimes I read blog comments from my phone, and it drives me crazy that I can't respond.

      But thank you! And yes, pictures don't lie ;)

      Delete
  2. Your oatmeal looks so good! I am sitting here starving and was really close to giving into an urge to eat Halloween candy but now think I will go make some oatmeal and a cup of tea! Thanks for showing how to use your tea maker, I've wanted to try loose tea but didn't know the easiest way to make it. I love your blog, I look for it every night on Twitter before I go to bed. Thanks for keeping it up! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had a very sugary day yesterday--the oatmeal, the ice cream, and then I had some of my kids' Halloween candy (all they have left are Tootsie Rolls, which I love!)

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  3. It's funny that you answered a question about tea, I was just thinking about asking you how the switch over went and what you put in your tea! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I'm glad to have answered your question :)

      Delete
  4. Yum! That oatmeal looks delish!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I only drink loose leaf tea and i have a tea ball that hold the leaves. You use it just like a teabag (pour boiling water in your cup and let the ball sit in until its steeped to your liking). No mess no fuss then put the tea ball in a bowl until the next use. You can keep reusing the tea over and over again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I actually used one of those before investing in the Teavana tea maker. I wanted to make sure it was worth switching over to loose tea. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting the tea leaves into the ball without spilling half of them onto the counter! ;)

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  6. There was a really cool tea infuser tea pot on QVC. It made 5 cups and was around $15. Now I can only find one at $25. If you get one of those, you can drink the extra tea as iced tea or have enough for when the girls come by.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Teavana sells larger ones as well, but I only really need the 16 oz one. I think the bigger ones are more than $25 though--maybe $30 ish?

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  7. Hey do you use your extra points?
    I still wonder why are the extra points given.
    I stay in India hence can do WW just by all the info I have online.
    Zainab

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I use ALL of my weekly points and almost all of my activity points. The extra points are given so that you don't feel deprived--you can use them all at once on a big splurge, or spread them out through the week. I usually use them in one or two big chunks on an indulgence, like the ice cream (18 PP).

      Delete
  8. SO glad you like your teamaker. Mine has become a staple in my house. I am asking for tea for Christmas!

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  9. You've got to try vanilla tea (any brand) with a little honey and cream--it is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Reading about you being tired during your run reminded me of something I talked to Angela and Jen about this weekend. I read about the Hanson brothers (from Michigan!) who have a "crazy" training plan for marathons where the longest run is 16 miles!! It sounded nuts, but the more I read, the more it made sense. One of the brothers says, "Our program teaches your body and mind how to run your goal pace, no matter how tired you are." Sounds really interesting...not sure I have the nerve to try something so unconventional to train for my 1st, though, despite all the fantastic testimonials on the article.

    http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/new-year-new-you-way-renegades?page=single

    ReplyDelete

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