December 04, 2014

13 Going on 30

First up, yesterday's food log:


I know that my diet is far from perfect, but the reason I chose to post my food logs this month is for the accountability of tracking over the holidays. I'm going to have some good days, and probably some really not-so-good days as far as my diet goes, but my goal is just to track it no matter what--good or bad. The accountability of tracking helps me not to grab a handful of almonds here, or lick the peanut butter knife there. I know there are lots of things I could do better, but this month, my main goal is accountability.

I recently reactivated my Active Link, which is why I earned an Activity PP on a rest day. I always go back and forth with the Active Link; on one hand, I love that it pushes me to be more active outside of my running, but on the other hand, I think it gives me too many Activity PP. I'm going to use it this month, just to see what happens.


Today, I had 3 miles at a hard effort on the schedule. Lately, a hard effort has been anything under 9:00/mile, so that was my goal. When I walked Noah to the bus stop, it was really cold outside, and I thought for sure I wanted to run on the treadmill. But then after walking back home, I realized it wouldn't be so bad, and it was only 3 miles. Last winter kind of turned me into a big baby about the cold! I used to love temps in the 20's for running.

I decided on my favorite three-mile route, and then headed out in Cold Gear and a fleece jacket. I always feel nervous about running at a hard effort for some reason. It's not like anyone is going to care if I don't hit my goal of sub-9:00's, but I get nervous just the same.

The first half-mile, I felt pretty good, and thought, "I can do this!" But it got hard after that. I wanted to slow down, but I knew I could make it three miles at that pace. I think the problem may have been that I hadn't eaten breakfast before my run. A couple of years ago, I would always run on an empty stomach, and I really preferred that. Then, I started marathon training, so I would eat breakfast before running. And I must have just gotten used to it. Since I was going to be running hard today, I thought I'd wait until I got home to eat; but I probably could have used some carbs beforehand.

Miles one and two were almost identical in pace--8:46.5 and 8:46.8. I started slowing down at the beginning of the third mile, and saw 8:50 on my watch. Then I tried hard to bump it up a little, and managed to pull off 8:32. I took a walk around the block to cool down a bit and catch my breath. It was a tough run, but it felt SO good when I was done! I always love the way I feel after a run at a particularly hard effort.


It feels really good to hit some running goals again! I felt like I was just getting slower and slower all year, which was deflating my confidence in running; but with a little effort, I'm getting better. And it's fun to start dreaming big with my goals again.


This afternoon, I made some tea and somehow got caught up in a movie on Lifetime Movie Network: 13 Going on 30. I had meant to sit down and read, but with the movie playing, I ended up watching the movie and then reading my book through the commercials.

I was reading "It Was Me All Along", a memoir by blogger Andie Mitchell (mine is a galley copy, but it will be released publicly in January). I'm sure I'll write more about the book once I finish (love it so far!), but it was kind of freaky at one point--I was reading along, and Andie mentioned the movie 13 Going on 30 in the book as I was watching the movie (I had never heard of this movie prior to today). Quite the coincidence!




Well, I've got to research some German desserts! Noah brought home a paper from school yesterday asking if I can send in a German dessert (because our background is German, the kids are writing reports on their backgrounds). I'm clueless as to what desserts are German, so this should be interesting ;)

29 comments:

  1. You're much braver than I am, Katie! Posting your food journal for the month of December is a bold move on your part. As always, thank you for keeping it real!

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    1. Thanks Kathy! Posting the food logs has been harder than I expected it to be, but it has certainly helped me to stay on track--so it's working :)

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  2. Try apple strudel as the german dessert! There are some easy and good recipes out there!

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  3. You and the kids night have some fun making stollen or pfeffernusse. There are several good recipes online. Also, these are often made around Christmas time.

    Thank you for posting your food journals. I also made a pledge to journal for he rest of the year -- mine don't look as good as yours. I've written everything down, but ive been waaaaay over my points. I guess I need to share it with my WW group for a snacking deterrent! Pease don't let the negative comments stop you from posting.

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    1. Thank you! Don't get down about being over your points. I just haven't gone over because I haven't had anything going on (a party or dinner out). It's going to be a lot harder later in the month! ;) I'm impressed that you've been writing everything down. That's always hard for me to do when I know I've gone way overboard.

      Thanks for the dessert suggestions!

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  4. You could also make a German Black Forest cake

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    1. I've never tried that, but it looks so good in the photos I Googled! I think I'd be better off making something in smaller pieces--like cookies--because it's going to be for a dessert party at the school. A cake would probably be difficult to serve in that situation.

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  5. Bakery type pretzels are VERY German ( I currently live here due to my husband being in the Army) and so are crepes with nutella. Delicious.

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  6. I'll add a few ideas to this very high-calorie thread of comments ;) :
    To me, the quitessential German dessert is my grandmother's Herrnspeise ("Gents' Dish"), but that contains Rum, so I'm quite sure they wouldn't be happy at his school is you sent that in.
    Though Stollen and Schwarzwälderkirschkuchen (Black Forest Cherry Cake) are both yummy, I'd be too lazy to make them for a school function because they both take hours to make. (Plus: real Black Forest Cherry Cake contains generous amounts of strong cherry liquor!)
    A simple Nachtisch (literally: after-Table, our word for dessert) that's very popular over here is Milchreis (milk rice -> rice pudding) which you sprincle with sugar and cinamon.
    We also like Kreppel/Krapfen/Berliner (yes, the Kennedy-Berliner), which are basically doughnuts without a hole in them (sometimes filled with jam).

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    1. Hm, maybe I'll make the ones with alcohol for an adult party later this month ;) I love rice pudding! I'm going to have a hell of a time trying to pronounce whatever it is that I decide to make, though, haha.

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  7. Thanks a lot everyone. Now I want German desserts for breakfast. Good thing my oatmeal is cooking or I'd be in trouble.

    Katie, I like your commitment to accountability. I always get sidetracked by how awful my choices are and then stop counting and give up. I think you're on to something -- I need to get rid of my perfectionist thinking and use the food diary as a tool instead.

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    1. I struggle with perfectionist thinking a lot! I'm always working on ways to get over it, and find a good middle ground. Tracking (regardless of my food choices) has always helped me to stay accountable. Posting it here is scary, but it's helping! ;)

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  8. I love that everyone is giving you dessert ideas and I am over here like "What!?!? How has she never seen 13 Going on 30 before!" haha Shows where my priorities lie....

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    1. LOL, I like Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo, so I have no idea how I missed that one.

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  9. A very popular dessert with kids is also "Wackelpudding", which is Jell-O. "Wackel" means "jiggle". Typically, we add some vanilla sauce. Another favorite during the holiday season is baked apples ("Bratäpfel"). The German version is filled with marzipan, nuts and raisins. It is also topped with vanilla sauce and soo delicious during winter time.

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    1. The apple dessert sounds fantastic! I love baked apples. Noah make like the idea of "Wackelpudding", if only for the name ;)

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  10. My Mother-In-Law makes an Almond cookie that is really yummy, and also a sandwich cookie with jam in the middle.

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  11. I LOVE 13 going on 30! I can't believe you've never seen it before - I hope you enjoyed it and I'm not making a bigger deal out of it than I should be (and sorry, the only German dessert recommendation I have would be streudel. I love to bake but I'm Italian and I'm sure talking about making tiramisu, cannoli or cassata cake wouldn't help!)

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    1. When I read the description of what the movie was about, I was about to turn it off; but then I just somehow got hooked. And I really liked it! I like Mark Ruffalo (and Jennifer Garner) a lot. It was good!

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  12. My grandmother used to make German butter cake. It's the best!

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  13. German chocolate cake!! Okay, so I have no idea if it's REALLY German but it's so yummy.

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    1. I actually looked this up probably 10 years ago, when my little brother had to do the same project as Noah for school. He baked a German chocolate cake, but when I researched it, I discovered it's actually an American dessert. German chocolate gets its name from a man named Sam German (who was American). Interesting, right? ;) (But I do love me some German chocolate cake!!)

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  14. I used to eat my APs first, but then realized I wasn't always sure how accurately they are tracked. Now I use WPs first and (try) to not eat all the APs so that even if it's not calculated 100% accurately, I'm not overeating points I didn't really earn. APs are such a tricky subject to me, esp. with being runners. Anywhoo...is german chocolate cake an authentic dessert? b/c it is delicious.

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    1. Wow, that makes so much sense! I use my weekly points first, also, but I never thought of it that way. Thanks! (See above comment for the backstory of German chocolate cake)

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  15. I really enjoy Andie's blog and TED talk. Please let us know how you like the book! ~ Astor

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