Run for Dessert Half-Marathon

Today is Monday, which means... long run. Jessica and I had a 13-miler on the schedule today. I've only run that far once, and it was the Indy half-marathon last May. I made sure to plan everything out just as I would a race. I ate really well yesterday, drank tons of water, even woke up at 3:00 AM to drink a bunch of water. We agreed to meet at 8:10.

It was cold and snowy this morning when I got up :(  But I dressed warm, had some oatmeal with Nutella, packed up some stuff to bring with me (iPod, water bottle with Nuun, and some gummy energy things). I met Jessica at 8:10, and just as I pulled up, she shook her head "no" and I thought, "Oh, crap." She was on her cell phone with her son's school, and one of her twins threw up at school and she had to go get him.

Her husband was working, so there was nothing she could do but postpone the run. She said her husband should be home by noon, so we could go then. I went home and had some tea and watched last night's episode of Desperate Housewives. I didn't want to eat a big lunch before the run, so I just made a protein shake and had that at 10:30. Then I went to Jessica's at noon. We had to run from her house instead of running at the Metropark so that I could be home in time to get the kids off the bus.

I had a route all mapped out, so we headed out right away. I felt really good for the first half of the run. Our pace was faster than usual too. Usually we do our long runs at about an 11:10/mi pace, but today we were averaging between 10:35/mi and 10:45/mi. We stopped for a drink a little after mile 6, and I drank some of the Nuun. Gross!

I had never tried Nuun before, but I wasn't a fan. I had the citrus fruit flavor, and it was pretty gross. It was after that when my stomach started to feel crampy. Not too bad, but definitely noticeable. At about nine miles in, I really felt like I needed a bathroom. But I kept running, hoping the feeling would pass. We stopped for another drink at mile 10. After that, I really felt like shit. My stomach felt super bloated and really crampy and gross.

The last 3 miles were awful. I wanted to stop so badly, because my stomach was cramping something fierce. We finished out 13.1 miles (to complete a half-marathon distance, of course), and then I gave Jessica a medal I made. We were both talking about how it sucks to run a half-marathon and not get anything for it, so I made medals for us :)

Finish time: 2:20:14

I'm so glad to have this run over with. And this run made me so discouraged that I can even finish a full marathon in May (or EVER). I'm going to try switching back to Gatorade next week instead of the Nuun and see if the Nuun may have been the culprit of my stomach cramps. (ETA: I just checked, and sure enough, the second ingredient of Nuun is sorbitol--which is the artificial sweetener in a lot of foods that cause "gastrointestinal distress".)

Unfortunately, since we had to do our run in the afternoon, we weren't able to celebrate at Whole Foods. Which is probably good, because I'm going to be celebrating in my bathroom all day. You know my stomach hurts when dessert doesn't even sound good!!

Tomorrow is Jessica's birthday, so we're going to head to Whole Foods for lunch since we couldn't go today. I'll definitely get my share of dessert tomorrow.

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Reader Questions & Answers #3

On Sundays, I will answer some readers' questions in a post. If you have a question that you would like me to answer here on the blog, just send me an e-mail with the subject "Q&A", and I may include them in a future Q&A post. They don't have to be about weight loss or running--anything is game!  (Remember, I'm not a doctor or dietician, or any sort of medical professional--I can only answer questions from my own experience).

Q. My question is I know you have talked about your depression growing up and anxiety. I am prone to it because everyone in my family suffers from it at one point. Since gaining all this weight I have become more and more depressed. As you began to lose weight did you notice that your stretches of depression or anxiety became less frequent or do you still suffer quite frequently from the symptoms?

A. This is a great question! I have had clinical depression since I was about 11 years old. Despite what some people think, the depression isn't "caused by" something in my life, and I cannot "snap out of it". I don't have any "reasons" for the depression. I truly believe it is some sort of physiological thing going on in my brain. I have taken antidepressants for a long time. 

That said, the severity of my depression does go hand-in-hand with my weight. At my heaviest, I was the most depressed--probably because of the chemical issue going on in my brain, but also probably because I was unhappy with my life and how my weight affected my life. As I lost the weight, I felt happier with how I looked and how I felt, and I started doing more things on a daily basis--which lessened the severity of the depression. Sometimes I feel so good for so long that I feel like I could stop taking the medication (but I've tried that in the past and it didn't work).

Despite the weight loss, I still have periods where I feel very depressed. I know that it is only temporary, so I just have to stick it out. With the exception of Jerry, my family and friends don't really understand it, and it's hard when they get frustrated with me for my mood. The only real constant about the depression is that I have good days and bad days; and when I'm having a bad day, I just have to remind myself that it will get better. I just have to ride it out until then. But for the most part, I'm a happy person and I'm thrilled with the changes I've made in my life over the past couple of years. I have MANY more good days than bad now, where before the weight loss, it was the opposite  :)

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Q. My question is, did you ever get to a point that you considered a surgery like gastric bypass or the lap-band to help the process of losing weight? If so, what changed your mind against it?

A. I actually never considered a weight loss surgery. I knew that I was obese because of the amount I was eating and that I was eating for emotional reasons. I knew it was possible for me to cut back on what I was eating and the weight would fall off. Also, the doctors and gastric bypass patients will tell you that you have to change your lifestyle even though you have the surgery; so I didn't understand what the point of the surgery was, if I was going to have to make the healthy changes anyway.

As you all know, I love my junk food... and I wasn't willing to part with it forever. I didn't want to wind up sick every time I ate too much fat; I didn't want to cut my carbs drastically; I didn't want to feel full from a few bites of food! I wanted to just eat like a normal person. So I chose to do it on my own.

I'm not trying to say anything bad about people who choose to go the surgical route for weight loss--it just wasn't for me. I did what I felt was best for ME, and me alone.

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Q. When you use the body fat percentage monitor how accurate do you find it? For example I tend to get on the scale 2-3 times in the morning.  I want the same number twice. I use to have a digital scale that weighed differently back to back. It annoyed me. Old habits are hard to break, so I get on my current scale at least twice. Three times if the first 2 numbers were different.  The fat monitor seems to have a hard time giving me two matching numbers. 

A. I can completely understand your concern here! I have a scale that is extremely old, but I refuse to get a new one because this one gives me the same reading over and over. I could weigh myself ten times in a row, and I get the same exact number EVERY.TIME. 

Omron Body Fat  Monitor

The body fat monitor is different, however. While a scale should give you the same reading over and over in a row (there aren't any variables as to how heavy you are in a given moment), the body fat percentage is different. It's much harder to measure body fat percentage, because it has to take into account different variables such as lean tissue (muscles, bones, ligaments, etc) and water that your body is carrying. Figuring out all that information with a little hand-held monitor isn't going to be an exact science (like body weight is). 

So your readings on the body fat monitor will probably vary a little (by up to 1%) if you take different readings back-to-back. Which is why I only measure my body fat once a week, and I look for the overall trend. Is it going up week after week, or down? Don't worry too much about what the number is, just try and see what the overall trend is. 

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And now a question for all of you...

Q. What is your favorite way to spend a summer evening?

I love to sit on the back deck with Jerry, with a cold beer, while we watch the kids play outside. Jerry and I get to relax and talk without distractions, and something about the air in the summer evening makes me feel so happy and content!

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Anxiety binge eating

The boys spent the night at my parents' house last night, but I still got up at around 5:30 (which has been the norm lately). My brother Nathan came over at 6:00 to pick up Bailey (his dog). My cats finally came out of hiding--I hadn't really seen them for the two days that Bailey was here.

I spent some time this morning checking out hotels in Key West, and I took my brother Brian's suggestion to book the Southernmost on the Beach. This is for the Ragnar Relay I'm running in January. My parents said they would watch the boys, so Jerry is actually going to go with me and we're going to make a vacation out of it after the Ragnar. Our 10-year anniversary is next year, so we're going to celebrate it 7 months early ;) I'm SO excited I can't stand it!

Jerry and I are going to stay in Key West for three nights following the Ragnar. He's not running the race, so he'll be on his own for a couple of days while I'm racing.

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I picked up the kids at 9:00 to take them to swim class, and we stopped at Kroger on the way home. I was feeling really anxious and stressed and I bought binge food--a doughnut (I don't even LIKE doughnuts!), a Reese's egg, a Cadbury Creme Egg, and Velveeta Shells & Cheese (again, something I don't even like!).

When we got home, my anxiety was even worse. I am seriously going crazy without my ice! One of my stress relievers is to play solitare with a big cup of ice--yes, it sounds lame, but it works for me ;)  Without the ice, I find myself snacking constantly. I ate the doughnut, and the candy, and then I made the shells and cheese for lunch--which I shared with the kids, but I still ate a large portion of it.

After that, despite being full, I was still looking for something to snack on. I took a Xanax for the anxiety, hoping that would help, and it did a little. But shortly after that, my friend Rebecca stopped by to pick up Noah for her son's birthday party. I had completely forgotten about it! I told her that I would just drive him there (it was at a bouncer-place). I rushed to get him ready and then we left for the party.

When we got there, Noah started freaking out and crying. When I asked him what was wrong, he said there were too many kids there and he wanted to go home. I was dumbfounded, because he's never reacted like that before. I was not happy about it, but I apologized to Rebecca and we left. I had promised Eli I'd take him to spend some of his money while Noah was at the party, so I couldn't back out on that. We all went to the store and Eli picked out his toys.

I bought a couple of things that I normally cannot have in my house without bingeing. But I've been doing well with peanut butter lately, so I'm hoping that I can do it. I am making it a goal to make these last until the end of March:

I never actually tried the Biscoff Spread--but you know how much I love the Trader Joe's Cookie Butter, and it supposedly tastes exactly like it. When I got home, I tasted it, and it really is EXACTLY like the Cookie Butter. So good! But it's going to last until the end of March, I promise.

I've been making Lori's One-Minute Muffin every single day for breakfast, and I love it! I've been seeing it on her blog for a very long time, but I never tried it because it just didn't sound very good. But for some reason a couple of weeks ago, I tried it and LOVED it.

I make the "original" version she has posted, but I use 1 Tbsp. of banana baby food instead of the 1 1/2 tsp. of oil. I had the baby food sitting in my pantry (I was going to use it for baking at some point, and just never did). It didn't add any banana flavor to the muffin (which I was happy about, because I wasn't going for banana flavor). I also add about 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. I just mix everything together in a large mug (you don't even have to spray the mug with cooking spray) and then microwave it for about 1 minute 15 seconds. It pops right out of the mug.

The muffin has the best texture and is super filling. I think I always avoided it because it just didn't seem like it would fill me up. I was completely wrong. I split it in half and spread each half with Cinnamon Raisin Swirl peanut butter...

That muffin is actually the reason I bought the Biscoff Spread and Nutella. I am out of the Cinnamon Raisin Swirl peanut butter (and so was Whole Foods last time I went), so I wanted something new to top the muffin with.

Just a few words of caution: the muffin is made with 1/4 cup of ground flaxseed, which is a lot if you're not used to eating flax. I had a stomachache in the evening after I ate it the first couple of days. Now I'm used it. Maybe start with half a muffin at first ;)

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I know my body well

Jerry called me from work this morning to tell me that he accidentally brought my keys to work with him (along with his own), so I wasn't able to go anywhere today. Not that I had anywhere to go, but I at least wanted the option!

Our new refrigerator was delivered at about 8:30. When they turned the water shut-off valve, it broke off (which I guess is common if you don't turn it for 9 years!) They turned the water off with a tool, but they said we need a new valve for the ice cube maker to work. This caused me bad anxiety, because of my ice chewing addiction.

After the fridge was delivered, I had to sit around and wait for someone to come measure for our carpet. They were supposed to be here at around 1:30. We haven't picked out carpet yet, but it was free to have someone come measure, so it wouldn't hurt to get an accurate price.

At around 11:30, I decided to go to the rec center for my 3-mile run, and it wasn't until after I was dressed for it that I remembered I couldn't drive anywhere. So I figured I'd do the dreadmill with the (accurately calibrated) Garmin foot pod and see how accurate the treadmill is.

I set the dreadmill for the exact same settings as last time, before I calibrated the foot pod. I ran until the Garmin reached 3 miles, which was BEFORE the dreadmill reached 3 miles... meaning I was right. I know my body well! I was running faster than the dreadmill said I was all this time.

Treadmill says: 2.82 miles

Treadmill says: Average pace is 10:31/mi

Garmin says: 3 miles, 9:52/mi pace

So basically, when I run at 5.7 mph (10:31/mi pace) on the dreadmill, I'm actually running a 9:52/mi average. I always wondered why the dreadmill felt so much harder than running outside, and now I know. It's not calibrated correctly.

I'm not saying that the foot pod is 100% accurate, but I definitely think it's more accurate than the dreadmill. I calibrated it on a 400-meter track and it was right on. I'm glad that I bought it!

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I designed a tech shirt today on CafePress.com. That's what happens when I'm bored! I ended up really liking it, so I ordered it. This is what I wrote (although it's a different and FUN font that my version of Photoshop doesn't have):

It's that pink color (only choices were pink or white), and I put the writing on the back of the shirt. The front of the shirt is plain. CafePress is WAY overpriced, but it's so easy to design things and it was hard not to order it once I was done ;)

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Home improvements

I expected to be really sore this morning from my race last night, but I actually felt pretty decent. Which was good, because I told Jessica I'd meet her at 8:05 at the the State Park for a 6-mile run.

I told her we'd have to go nice and easy, because I had raced just 13 hours prior. It was kind of misty out--not raining, but I still felt like I was getting wet, if that makes sense. And the path was flooded in a few spots, so we had to run through the muddy grass.

We were going pretty slow, but my legs felt tired and I don't think I could have gone much faster if I tried. It was a nice run though, and I am glad to have it done. Tomorrow I have 3 miles, and then I get Saturday and Sunday off. I love my rest days! ;)

After our run, I went home and showered, then Jerry and I went shopping for our carpet and refrigerator. We finally got our tax return, and while I would love to put it toward our debt, we are in desperate need of new carpet and a refrigerator.

I already wrote about our carpet--it's nine years old and has been through hell with our kids and pets over the years. We needed new carpet about five years ago, but we've been dealing with it.

Our refrigerator has been leaking for about a year. We had it fixed once, but it's been leaking again, and it's driving us crazy. We keep finding pools of water on the floor and on the bottom of the refrigerator. So it is time for a new one.

We went to Lowe's first, and we got the rest of the blinds for our house, and we looked at carpet. The carpet is going to be more expensive than I thought, so we won't be able to do the bedrooms yet. We need 650 square feet, and the cheapest carpet is $2/sq. foot. Of course the stuff I liked was more like $5/sq. foot! I was starving for lunch by this point, and I am really bitchy when I'm hungry, so I just said forget it and we left.

We never go out to eat, but we decided to go to lunch at a Coney Island. My stomach was aching--I don't think I've ever been so hungry in my life! I ordered a patty melt, Jerry ordered a coney dog, and we shared an order of chili cheese fries. Greasy food, but much tastier than fast food like McDonald's or something. I ate way too fast, but I couldn't help it.

After that, I was easier to shop with ;)  We went to Home Depot and looked at refrigerators. We found one that we both liked, and we ended up ordering it in white (rather than the stainless steel). They are actually coming out to deliver it tomorrow morning. I wish I could be excited, but I hate spending money on boring stuff like a refrigerator!

We also made an appointment with Lowe's for someone to come out and measure, so they are coming tomorrow afternoon. It looks like I'll be home all day tomorrow between the refrigerator delivery and the carpet people coming to measure.

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We're watching my brother's dog Bailey again over night. Estelle was so funny when she walked out into the living room and saw Bailey:

I've never actually seen her puff up like that before. She was completely frozen in place--I kept calling her name, but she looked like a puffy statue. Even when I picked her up, she was as stiff as a board.

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I got my official race results from last night:
Chip time: 35:15  (8:49/mi pace)
Overall place:  149/394
Age group: 8/33

Eh, not too bad!

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Leap Year 4-Miler race report

It's 8:16 PM and I just got home from my race. What a crappy day for a race, too! It's been SUPER foggy and raining all day. I suckered Renee and Alicia into doing the race with me, so they came to my house at 5:30 and I drove us to the race.

I was shocked at how many people were there! I thought this was going to be a small race of about 50 people or so, but there were probably more like 500 people. We got our sweatshirts, glow necklaces(!!) and timing tags for our shoes and then we went to get in line for the bathroom--there was a really long line, and only ONE stall. I decided I could hold it, so I went back to the car to drop off my shirt.

Jerry got out of work at 6:00, and the race was starting at 6:30, so he actually came to watch me (despite the fact that it was raining). I had him take a picture of us before the race, but it was so foggy that the fog showed up as white droplets on the picture:

Me, Alicia, and Renee

I tried to get a picture of the back of my shirt, but that didn't work out so well...

We got in the starting line and before I knew it, the race started and we were off. It got dark right at the start of the race, so we were running in the dark the whole time. It was kind of cool (but kind of not cool at the same time). It was still drizzling rain, and there were puddles that we couldn't see until we stepped in them.

The first mile went by pretty quickly, but I felt like I was running faster than I actually was. And then the second mile seemed to take FOREVER, probably because I knew that I wasn't even halfway done. I wasn't hoping for an unrealistic time, but in the back of my mind I was thinking I'd like to finish sub-36:00, which would be 8:59/mi or faster.

My feet were completely soaked by mile three. At about 2.5 miles in, there was an out-and-back part of the route...

I love the out-and-back routes, because you can see the people who are ahead of you when they are running toward you. I was looking for Renee and Alicia (both faster than me) but it was too dark and I couldn't see anything!

That last mile seemed really long because I was trying to pick up speed, but I just didn't have it in me. When I saw my time, I knew that my sub-26:00 5K goal for next weekend is no longer a possibility. My "unofficial" time stats:

I finished in 35:17, so I was happy with that. But with an 8:54 pace, I really have doubts about running an 8:20 pace for my 5k. But judging by my heart rate today, I think I pushed myself pretty hard.

And a post-race photo (not that it's much different from the pre-race photo!):

Well, I knocked one race off my list of six in the next 12 weeks ;)  Oh, and I got my sweatshirt (which, I admit, was the whole reason that I registered for this race!)

Now, I'm going to eat some graham crackers with peanut butter and chocolate chips before bed.

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ETA: I got the official race results...
Chip time: 35:15  (8:49/mi pace)
Overall place:  149/394
Age group: 8/33

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I had to do it

I expected to be pretty sore today when I woke up after yesterday's 12-miler, but I felt pretty good. My hips are a little sore, and my problem-knee felt kind of strange, but not painful. My muscles felt a little stiff, but I like that feeling--it always happens after a good workout!

By the way, I've gotten quite a few e-mails lately asking me if it's normal to have sore hips when you first start running. As far as I know, yes, it's normal. I remember my first couple of weeks of running, my hips were VERY sore. But now I'm pretty used to it, and I only feel a little sore after a particularly long or tough run. Being sore is different from being in horrendous pain, however. If you think something is wrong, you might want to get it checked out by a doctor. But normal soreness goes away after a couple of weeks.

Anyway, this morning I took a shirt to a local sporting goods store to get lettering put on it. I found the Under Armour shirt on sale at Dunham's and it happened to be my size, so I bought it to have as a go-to shirt for races. I usually wear previous race shirts or something lame, so I wanted a personalized one. I wasn't thrilled with the one I made recently, so I decided to have it done professionally. And I love it!

I wish I had a good picture to show, but basically it's just an all black technical shirt with my website on the back (right above my butt):

They had about a million fonts to choose from, and I had such a hard time deciding. But I really like the one I chose. I'm going to wear this at my race tomorrow night.

And speaking of races, Jerry sent me a text today saying that his work offered to pay for employees and/or spouses to run the Corktown 5k (which I'm already registered for) and/or the Martian races (marathon, half-marathon, 10k, 5k)!!  How cool is that? They're trying to make incentives for everyone to get healthy and exercise. I hadn't registered for the Martian because it's expensive and I'm already doing a LOT of races... but when someone else is paying for it, I'm IN!

I was really tempted to run the half-marathon, but I have an 12-miler that week as well, so I decided to run the 10k. I did the Martian 10k in 2011, and it was a great course! And this year, they are giving out medals for the 10k finishers--woo hoo!

But check out my running schedule from here on out until the Cleveland marathon...yikes!!

I had to shuffle some things around to fit everything in, but I think it'll be okay. The only thing I'm concerned about is the fact that I'm racing a half-marathon just two weeks before the marathon--and it's the same week as my 20-miler!! But the half-marathon I'm doing is INDY, and you all know that my heart lies with the Indy 500 Festival Mini-Marathon ;)


After the marathon, however, I don't have another race until October when I run the relay for the Detroit Free Press Marathon, and that's only 4 miles. I like taking the summer off of racing or even long distances, because it's SO hot and miserable.

Other than the 5k (where I'm hoping to PR as part of my 30-in-30 list), the races are just for fun. I don't plan on running super hard to try to PR or anything. The last thing I want to do is wind up injured and not able to run the full marathon that I'm training for!

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