February 21, 2016

Finders keepers!

I feel like it's been such a long time since I wrote, but maybe that's just because I've had a lot of random things going on over the last week or so.

As I mentioned, I hurt my knee on last week's long run. It was REALLY painful on Monday, and I was pretty upset that it would totally derail my training. I decided not to panic, and it's early enough in my training that taking some time off isn't going to be the end of the world. I decided not to run at all from Monday through Thursday. Then, on Friday, I went for a very short test run to see how it felt. It was good!

On Saturday, I ran three miles, and again--no problems. Relief! Today was my long run, and since I ran 10 miles last week, I decided to cut back today to just 5 miles. I didn't want to risk aggravating my knee, just in case it wasn't 100% yet.

We've had some amazing weather this weekend. Yesterday, it was 64 degrees and sunny! A week ago, it was just 9 degrees--shows you how much Michigan weather can change at the drop of a hat. This morning, it was a little cooler (about 40), but great weather for a run. My friend Bonnie was interviewed on a podcast recently, so I listened to that on my phone while I ran today. Bonnie is adorable--she has the sweetest Virginian accent, and she made me laugh out loud several times while I was running. (Here is a link to the podcast--Bonnie is on S2E6, from 2/19. You can read Bonnie's weight loss story here on my blog.)

My run went great! I was wondering if my heart rate monitor stopped working, because it rarely beeped to signal that I was using too much effort. It was so nice to just run, listening to Bonnie chat in my ear, and not worry about my pace. At around mile four, I spotted something on the side of the road that caught my eye--a $20 bill! That's the most money I've ever found on a run before, so I was pretty excited.

When I got home, I was happy to see that my pace was 10:42/mile and my average heart rate was 143 bpm. That's good for an easy run! (I keep my heart rate below 146).




We had a couple of exciting things happen on Wednesday. Jerry was off work, so we decided we'd better go get our taxes done--I'd been dreading it, because we've had to pay for the last couple of years instead of getting a refund (the downside of blogging). We went to a new tax preparation guy, and he was extremely helpful! We ended up getting a nice refund this year, which is awesome.

While I would love to use the money for a new treadmill, that would be rather selfish of me; so instead, we decided to plan a vacation. The From Fat to Finish Line group on Facebook is planning an event in Virginia Beach over Labor Day weekend (the Rock n Roll races and a showing of the documentary). Jerry and I decided to plan a trip there and take the kids, so we'll make a vacation out of it. I don't plan to do the race, but I would like to meet up with anyone from the group that would like to. (It's open to the public, so if you're not already a member of the group, you're welcome to join! And please let me know if you'll be in Virginia Beach, so we can meet up.)

After we did our taxes, we went to the car dealership to turn in Jerry's lease (a Dodge Dart). He's had it for three years, and we planned to buy another Patriot when we turned it in (we love our Jeep Patriot that we bought in 2010). When we got there, we checked out our options. I'm not a big "car person", meaning that I basically just choose whatever is cheapest and I don't need any of the bells and whistles. Our Patriot doesn't even have automatic locks or windows!

We saw a very cute bright yellow Jeep Renegade in the showroom. I'd never heard of the Renegade, and the salesman told us it was new. After using my brother-in-law's employee discount, and using the rebates from the lease, it ended up being cheaper to buy the Jeep Renegade than it would have been to buy a used Patriot. And even though I'm not a big car person, I fell in love with the yellow Jeep! So, we left the dealership in my new wheels ;)



I absolutely love it! And the color just makes me so happy. We picked up the kids from school, and they were really surprised (and excited) to see the new Jeep.

I finally remembered to buy a new battery for my Fitbit, so I will start wearing it again tomorrow. It's been a week without it, so I have no idea how many steps I was getting in!

21 comments:

  1. Congrats on the new car and the awesome weight loss, again! I was wondering where you got your Fitbit battery from? I lost mine about a year ago and couldn't find a replacement anywhere, the only option was to buy a new Fitbit.

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    1. I have the Fitbit Zip, which uses a 2025 battery--you can buy those just about anywhere (I got mine at Kroger). The other Fitbits may take a different type of battery, however.

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  2. Wow, your new car is SO cute!!!
    Would you ever think about doing a budgeting post? It seems like you have mentioned in the past you were working on paying off debt and building savings. Seems like you've done those things since you get to spend your refund on awesome stuff! Mine is going to building savings :( I'd love to learn from you!

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    1. Well, we still have some debt from building the garage in 2014, unfortunately. But we agreed when we got married that our tax return money would always be used for something fun--no bills! For the most part, we've stuck with that. Same thing with Jerry's bonuses at work--we split them up between the four of us, so we can each buy something we've been wanting but otherwise wouldn't spend the money on.

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    2. Jessica, you might consider looking into the Dave Ramsey program to pay off your debt. I did it a few years ago. It's very hard, but if you are committed, you can do it. I paid off student loans, a car, and credit card debt. I now only owe my mortgage. It's the best feeling in the world to not have to stress about money/bills! That and losing weight are the best things I've ever done for myself!

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  3. I've always wanted a yellow vehicle, & I've always wanted a Jeep. Awesome!!

    I'm glad you're knee is feeling better :)

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  4. I see why you fell in love...the car is adorable. I am surprised you had never heard of one before...the commercials always feature the actually song Renegade too. ;-)

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  5. We've had crazy weather in StL as well. I ran a 5K Run for the Chocolate last Sat (the 13th) and it was 14 degrees at the 9 am start. This past Sat we broke a record and topped out somewhere over 75 degrees. My run at 8am was in the 50's. Crazy!

    I LOVE the Renegade. Color me jealous! I think that thing is super cute. I wish I could lease a car. But I would blow past the mile restrictions in no time. I'd love to lease so I could get something different more often.

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    1. Yes, we'll never lease again because it's so stressful worrying about the mileage! Jerry only had a couple hundred miles left, so they let us turn it in two months early.

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  6. Congratulations on the car! I got a Renegade in November and I love it!

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  7. That Bonnie is a G.D. Delight.

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    1. She most certainly is! ;) (Trying to guess which of my Sole Mates posted this...)

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    2. I might have an idea. LOL

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  8. We spent some time in Virginia Beach last summer and we had a blast! Try to stay at one of the hotels on the boardwalk if you can!

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  9. What are your opinions on the 80/20 running format that Fitzgerald presents? Have you found that you have improved your aerobic fitness given the time you have been following the program? I've just started, but already a bit setback and frustrated. My zone 2 runs are a slow 12:30 min miles with heart rate between 136-151. I feel a bit inadequate as a male of 35 years of age, 5'5 and 130 lbs. I feel I should be capable of much more. As I continue following the program should I see an increase in performance thus allowing me to run faster at this zone. I guess my ultimate goal would be running a 9 min mile without going to much into anaerobic zone. Anyhow, thanks for the inspiration you've brought to so many people.

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    1. I totally understand your concern with it. I felt the same way! Before starting the program, I was doing my easy runs at a 9:30-ish pace. When I started using my heart rate monitor, my pace was 11:45-ish! I felt kind of ridiculous going that slow, but I realized that I really do enjoy running when I run slowly like that. My easy pace now is about 10:45 at the same heart rate, so it has improved by a minute over a period of about 2 months. And I was able to PR my 5K! I did my easy runs super easy (at my recommended low heart rate) and then twice a week, I did speed work, where I ran very hard.
      I would say absolutely stick with it, and you'll see improvement. I know it feels emasculating right now, but according to the 80/20 principle, you should reach your maximum potential that way. Keep me updated how it goes!

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  10. I live in the Virginia Beach area and would love to meet you when you are in town! The Rock and Roll Marathon is one of several marathons we have in this area - there are lots of runners and walkers. This is a great area to come visit with lots to do, not just a beach.

    The new car is adorable! So Jerry took your car and you got the new one? Lucky you!

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  11. Hi Katie! You're such an inspiration! I'm 1/4 of the way through my 40 pound loss journey and I love reading your blog.(: I struggle with running but still trying to get into it. Thank you!!

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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