December 07, 2014

A run for a brownie-filled chocolate chip cookie!

My PointsPlus total was a little low yesterday, because I didn't have an afternoon snack (I was working on my puzzle, and didn't want to stop!). Normally, the day before a long run, I try to have a little more food than usual. But anyway, here is my food log:


Today was my long run, and I knew it was going to take me around two hours (for 12 miles), so I headed out as soon as the kids left to go to church with my parents. It was a cold morning--just 27 degrees. I wore my Eddie Bauer clothes, along with my Camelbak. I hadn't used the Camelbak since probably August.

Because I'm running the Santa Hustle Half-Marathon next Sunday, I wanted to keep my pace easy today. I did an out-and-back route that took me past the house where Chelsea Bruck went missing in October. She still hasn't been found, and there aren't any clues as to what happened to her. I thought about her pretty much the entire time I was running. I really do hope that she's found.

My thighs were SO cold the entire time I was running. My hands warmed up and I took my gloves off after a couple of miles, but my thighs were freezing cold and then numb. My face was frozen, and my lips were so dry I thought they were going to be a cracked mess when I got home. Aside from being cold, though, it wasn't a bad run.



I kept my pace on the easy side, 10:15-ish per mile, but it didn't feel as easy as I'd hoped it would. My plan for the half-marathon next weekend was to aim for a 9:23 pace (2:03 finish), but now I'm not so sure I can do that. I think I may aim for a 2:05 finish time, which is a 9:32 pace. My last half-marathon, on November 9th, was a 9:44 pace, so I'm hoping that the 9:32 will be do-able.

The last two miles were really tough. The farthest I've run since my last half-marathon has been 8 miles, so 12 was definitely pushing it. But I never slowed, so I'm happy with that. I really just wanted to get in a 12-miler before the half-marathon next weekend.



It was such a relief to get home. I took a hot shower, and I was a little horrified to see the bright red patches of skin from where the cold really got to me. It was kind of weird looking--a big red circle on each flank, and candy apple red thighs and butt. I put on some warm clothes, and then worked on my puzzle some more. I was hoping to finish it today, but my neck is aching from bending over the coffee table. I'm about halfway done--the whole top part is all leaves, which is going to be extremely difficult to put together. (It looks upside down in the pic, but that's the bottom I put together already--a reflection of the trees in water.)



I was absolutely ravenous all day, likely because I'd burned 1,366 calories on my run! Since I'd earned so many activity PP, I decided to get a treat from Monica's. I got a chocolate chip cookie with a brownie center--these are SO good!


They're not nearly as big as their regular chocolate chip cookies, and I weighed it to calculate the PP. It was 1.75 ounces, which is 6 PP total--not bad at all! I'm also going to have a couple extra ounces of wine tonight. I certainly earned it! ;)

Tomorrow is Motivational Monday, so if you have a photo of a health/fitness accomplishment to submit, you can email it to me with the subject "Motivational Monday" at Katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com, and I may include it on tomorrow's post! (It's helpful if you can get them to me by Monday morning, because I like to write the post while my kids are in school.)

16 comments:

  1. You may want to recheck the PP for that cookie/brownie. I guarantee it is not only 6PP!

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  2. Replies
    1. I know :( Her family has been relentless in searching for her, and they're not giving up, though.

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  3. Great run Katie! We had a women here in Lincoln, NE, who had been missing since Thanksgiving. They had arrested her husband for domestic abuse which occurred on Nov. 22, and she had gone to a center for abused women. Well evidently he found her somehow and she disappeared. Her body was found this morning. Very sad, because they knew there was abuse and still couldn't stop him from completing what he had set out to do.

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    Replies
    1. Oh, Pam, that's terrible! I hope that the husband can be convicted.

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  4. WTG on your long run! The most I've ran lately is 4 1/2 miles and I did a bit of walking in there. I've been working on the 5k-10k again and doing a low carb diet in the middle of it really messed me up! Hoping my next longer run is better.

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    Replies
    1. I tried doing a low carb diet once to drop a quick couple of pounds, but it was miserable as a runner. I need my carbs! ;)

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  5. 1. Have you considered getting windbreaker pants to put over your tights? I've found that makes a huge difference for me. They're super ugly but they keep the wind out and help trap heat. 2. How do you measure your wine to the ounce?

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    Replies
    1. I think that's what I need! I hate the sound they make, but I'm sure they would have helped during my long run.
      I measure my wine with a food scale. I use my food scale for everything--saves me having to wash measuring cups! I just set the glass on the scale, zero it out, and then pour the wine until it reaches however many ounces I want.

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    2. Does your scale measure in fluid ounces or just ounces? That may impact the points for your wine. I think the nutritional facts for most wines are labeled for fluid ounces (which aren't necessarily the same thing as "ounces" as a dry measure). How do your measurements on the compare to the volumetric measuring cup?

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    3. I checked it, and the weight and volume is the same (at least for the wine I had!) :)

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  6. That cookie/brownie looks divine! Good luck on your next 1/2, I am excited to see your progress on your half marathon goal next year, it sounds fantastic!

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    Replies
    1. I'm excited to see my progress, too! I'm hoping that I can hit a half-marathon PR sometime next year.

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  7. I'm curious... Fo you hydrate the same or different on long cold runs versus long hot runs? I'm training for my second half and I trained firmly first during summer months. It was easy to tell I needed hydration then. This weekend will be my longest runso far of the training - 7 miles. I'll need to have hydration I'm sure because it'll take me almost 1.5 hrs. Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer.

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    1. I definitely drink a lot more water on hot runs than I do cold runs. Actually, I usually don't even need water on long runs up to 12 miles during the winter; the reason I took my Camelbak on this particular run was because I didn't have my usual quart of water when I woke up. During the summer, however, I need water on any runs over 6-8 miles.

      My favorite way to carry water for shorter runs is a handheld water bottle that straps to my hand. It holds 10 ounces, which works for me. But you could also carry water with a hydration belt (a belt that has water bottles attached) or a Camelbak, like I'm wearing here. I like the Camelbak for runs over 10-12 miles.

      It's much better to be over prepared for hydration than under prepared, though. I ran out of water once or twice during marathon training, and I can't describe how terrible that was!

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  8. Puzzles are a great anti-snacking tool for me. I have a new one I want to do, but I know if I start it I will become obsessed and won't get my Christmas prep done. Look out Dec. 26!

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