October 22, 2013

Decisions

I have been SO tired lately, but can't sleep past 4:00-5:00 in the morning. It's driving me crazy! Last night, I fell asleep on the couch at 8:15--and I never fall asleep on the couch. But because I went to bed so early, I was wide awake at 4:00 this morning.

It was very cold this morning--34 degrees, but with the wind chill, it was a "feels like" temp of 28. At first, I dressed in my Cold Gear tights and a long-sleeved shirt to run; but I took the kids to the bus stop, and couldn't stop shivering, so I went home and put a fleece jacket over it, a Bondiband over my ears, and gloves on my hands. That was much better!

I don't really have a running schedule right now, since I'm not training for anything, so I just decided to run three miles today. I figured that I could do it fast, because I'm used to running a lot farther than three miles. I started running, and when I got to the end of the street, I guessed my pace to be about 8:00/mi.

BAHAHA, when I looked at my Garmin, it was actually a 9:17 pace. I felt like I was going fast, and I was breathing hard; I guess my body is still hungover from the marathon. I wanted to push myself a little today, so I kept running (what felt) hard. I thought the run would fly by, because I'm so used to running for at least an hour; but it felt like a very long time.


Looking at my heart rate chart made me laugh. Can you tell where I encountered an unleashed black lab, who scared the crap out of me? ;)


I feel kind of lost running without a schedule. I planned to just run whenever I felt like, for whatever distance I felt like, but that isn't as fun as I thought it would be. I like knowing exactly how far I'm running each day.

So today, I made a loose schedule. I was looking back at last year's running, after I finished the Detroit Marathon. I got really fast over the winter! By February/March, I was running a consistent 8:15-8:30-ish pace, and 8:40-ish for my long runs. I was basically just running 3-4 miles, 4 times a week, and a long run of 8-12 miles, once a week.

So here is what I came up with today:

Monday- 5 miles easy
Tuesday- 3 mile tempo
Wednesday- rest or 3 miles easy
Thursday- 5 miles easy
Friday- 8-12 miles long
Saturday- rest
Sunday- speed work (3 miles)

I've liked running six days a week, per the Hansons' Marathon Method, but I don't know if I'll want to do that every week; so I'm giving myself an option on Wednesdays whether or not to run.


My sister told me about something her Weight Watchers leader was talking about in a meeting, and it made so much sense that I wanted to share it here. She was talking about the difference choices you have to make about food all day long, and how it's so hard to resist things sometimes.

She said that when you are at the grocery store, and you want to buy something that you know will tempt you, you only have one decision to make: you either choose to buy it or you don't. If you DO buy it, then you have to bring it home and you have a lot more decisions to make. You have to choose to eat it or not; choose how much to have, and how often; and it might beckon to you all day, where you will have to continue to make choices about that one little item.

However, if you choose NOT to get it while you're at the store, that's the only time you'll have to make a decision about it. Yes, it's a hard decision to make when you really want something, but you only have to make that decision that one time, and then when you get home, you don't have to worry about it anymore.

This hit home for me, because I almost always have good intentions when I'm at the grocery store. If I buy, for example, Nutella, I don't buy it with the intention of eating the whole jar in one day. When I put it in my cart, I think, "I can measure out a couple of tablespoons to put on an English muffin for breakfast each day," or something like that.

But then, when I get home, it's all I can think about! I might resist the urge to grab a spoonful for a while, but eventually, I cave in and eat way too much. But if I had just decided not to get it in the first place, yes, it would be a hard decision NOT to buy it, but then I wouldn't have to make that decision again until I was at the grocery store again. It wouldn't tempt me, because it wouldn't be in my house!

I know this information is nothing knew, but the way my sister described it to me made me think of it differently. You can make one decision in the moment, of you can go crazy by constantly having to make decisions about one little item. It's definitely helped me to think differently when I'm at the grocery store!

18 comments:

  1. I am so happy to hear I am not the only one in the post race lost zone! Having completed my half I have had no running direction. I need to sit down and come up with a plan that will keep me motivated and in decent shape.

    I like what your sister's leader had to say about decision making. Sometimes it's hard to just say no to buying something but for me as soon as I am home I've already forgotten about the goodies I didn't buy. Way easier then dealing with them in the house!

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  2. I'm new to running. Could you explain tempo, speed, easy, and long run? I know the long run is done at an easy pace. How does that differ from the easy run? What is a tempo run? How do you work on speed in your speed runs? Thank you so much for the info. Love your blog and read it daily.

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  3. Today I made it to 3.3 miles before my body began reminding me I am recovering from a marathon!! The last two runs I was tired by two miles!
    I'm signed up for a half Jan. 19 in Key West and just realized that Sunday was 12 weeks out which is what a lot of half training programs are. I'm going to wait a couple more weeks before I start doing actual training.
    I know what you mean with the decision making! I have a couple of things in the cupboard right now that I should never have bought!

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  4. Love the insight on the "decisions". How simple to break it down that way. Now, only if I could make that one hard decision instead of always facing (and usually losing the battle with) all the smaller decisions once the temptation is at home!

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  5. Oh my gosh, that makes so much sense! Isn't it funny how hearing something you already know, just phrased differently, can suddenly be a lightbulb moment? I have enough decisions to make every day, why burden myself with more?

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  6. What a great idea to help me from buying those things that I know are trouble for me at the grocery store. One decision at the store keeps me from having to make many decisions later, or from caving into temptation, which is a better way of stating it. I'm going to seriously try and use that kind of decision-making process the next time I get groceries. Thanks for sharing, and good luck on the running schedule. I wish I had an ounce of your dedication to getting out and there and moving almost every single day!

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  7. I NEVER buy Nutella! It is way too tempting and way too yummy for me. The same with ice cream, candy, and cookies. I once heard that if you were to never eat anything that started with the letter "C" you would be able to cut out a ton of the bad food in your diet. (except for carrots, of course!)

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  8. Yep yep, when I buy something and learn that I can't stay out of it I have to tell myself I can't buy it anymore. Currently on that list is anything chocolate and trail mix.

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  9. That's so simple but yet brilliant! I've never thought of it that way!

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  10. thats great advice and one of the reasons I always go to the grocery store on a full stomach!

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  11. I am pretty good about not getting things at the store (most of the time) but once it's home, I often struggle. I also will have good intentions, and then 2 days later I'm annihilating the cookies or chocolate pretzels or whatever else. I just have to keep certain things out of the house, and usually I'm good.

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  12. Love your sisters advice so much! For me it's the large bag of milk chocolate chips. Every time I promise myself, I will just bake with them, but once they get home and they've been cracked open I can't keep my hand out of them. From now on I will only buy what I need!! Yes it's more money in the end but I just can't have those bulk bags in my pantry.

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  13. I love the Weight Watchers advice. I will remember that today when Im grocery shopping.

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  14. Your three mile run sounds exactly like mine after my marathon. I thought I'd do a "nice, easy" 5k and what is a slow pace for me felt brutal and those three miles seemed to take forever (less than a week after running 26!). 17 days out and I don't think my legs are still 100% back yet.

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  15. AGREE! I have much better restraint at the grocery store than i do at home. its much easier not to buy something than it is not to eat it when its readily available

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  16. hahaha this is funny because contrary to this I always know when I am buying nutella or icecream it will be gone really fast and I will eat spoonfulls etc. The only desition for me is if I want to do that or not...but I know if I buy nutella, it won't last long. I am not one of those people that can have that kind of stuff and be moderate with it. So I either buy it and know the consequences, or don't :P

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  17. Chastity :)October 24, 2013

    I had forgotten about my Nutella. I'm usually pretty good about. I binged (well, had two spoonfuls of it) last night. Ironic.

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