Miles of earthworms

Thanks so much for all the nice comments on yesterday's entry about my running anniversary! A few people asked what program I use to keep track of my runs. I use RunningAHEAD--a free website that you can use with or without a Garmin. Whenever I post screen shots about my runs, it's from RunningAHEAD as well.

I love that site! I've been using it since the day I started running (although you can backlog too, if have previous runs you want to put in there). Whenever you run, you can either upload info from the Garmin or input the information yourself (time and distance, and it will calculate your pace). You can also keep track of the miles on your running shoes, other sports--swimming, biking, and weight lifting, weather during your runs, quality of your runs, etc. You can also map out routes that you plan on running or view routes that you've already run.

It keeps track of total and you can run different reports, which is what I did to find that info and show you the graph of my running over the past 2 years. I'm a "numbers person" and I love to see all that data!

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It was raining pretty hard yesterday morning, so Jessica and I decided to postpone our long run to today. Today it was supposed to be a high of 65 degrees! We chose to go to La Pita for lunch afterward instead of Whole Foods--we figured we could do must less damage calorically at La Pita than the bakery of Whole Foods ;)

We left for the Metropark at about 8:15. This is a step-back week (meaning the mileage of the long run drops a little before picking up next week) so we only had 10 miles scheduled. I brought along one Gu packet and a bottle of water. We were running a new route today, so I was kind of excited to check it out.

It turned out to be a really nice route! A combination of the quiet natural setting of the woods in the Metropark, and then we went along some busier roads (we were on a bike path). We even crossed an overpass over the expressway.

The one thing we noticed were that were hundreds (probably thousands) of earthworms littered all along the path from the rain yesterday. It was still a little wet this morning, and the worms were all over the place. We were literally dodging worms for miles.

I was feeling really worn out and sluggish for the first half of the run. Nothing was hurting, but I felt fatigued. Jessica said she felt it too. I think I was feeling that way because normally I take 2 rest days before my long runs, and my last rest day was on Saturday (I had the race on Sunday and yesterday I ran 4 miles on the indoor track).

We did an out-and-back route, and at mile 6, we decided to eat our Gu. Normally, we stop running and take a water break, but today we decided to walk and eat and drink at the same time, while the Garmin clock was ticking, just like we will do during the marathon. (We plan on walking through the aid stations at the marathon).

I thought I brought the Peanut Butter Gu, but when I pulled it out, I saw it was the Chocolate Outrage flavor. I was a little nervous to try it, because when I bought it, I didn't realize it had caffeine in it, and caffeine makes me extremely jittery.

But I was feeling so run down that I tried it anyway, and HOLY COW--it is SO good! One of you told me that it tastes like chocolate frosting, and you were right on. That's exactly what it tastes like. I think I like it even better than the peanut butter one. Jessica happened to bring the same flavor with her, and she agreed--chocolate frosting.

After that, and maybe this was just mental, I felt a little pep in my step and I felt much better for the remaining 4 miles. It was pretty warm out, though (about 60) and I wished it was cooler. I like the 40's for running weather.

Thankfully, my stomach behaved and I felt great after the run. I'm convinced it was that stupid Nuun that made my stomach revolt during our last long run. I'm sticking with Gu and water!

After our run, we freshened up the best we could (I had baby wipes and a comb--but I still smelled like I ran 10 miles!) then we headed to La Pita. Every time I eat at La Pita, I seriously moan with every bite. It is just.that.good.

I got my usual there, the chicken kabob (this is the LUNCH portion, and it's huge):

Not pictured: the 4 warm pita breads I dipped in my hummus and garlic sauce

Last time we ate there, I ate the entire thing, but today, I probably only ate about half of it. I was trying not to get that feel-like-I'm-going-to-puke-I'm-so-full feeling. I definitely could have eaten more, but I was pretty full. So I brought the rest home with me.

Like I said, MUCH less damage than the Whole Foods bakery! That turtle brownie alone probably had more calories than this entire lunch. And Middle Eastern food is pretty healthy. I never feel sick and gross when I leave La Pita because the food isn't covered in grease and salt.

Today's long run was definitely a success. I'm going to rest tomorrow, then run 7 on Thursday. Our next long run is on Monday, and it's *gulp* 15 miles! I've never run more than 13.1, so I'm super nervous about the 15. We said we're going to play it by ear whether we go eat after the run, because we both may not feel so hot after that one...

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Running anniversary

Two years ago today, I decided to start training for a 5K race to take place the following October. I knew I wouldn't be able to run very far, but I thought since I had been training to walk a half-marathon, I assumed I'd be able to run about 1/2 mile or so.

I made it just shy of 1/10 of a mile.

My lungs were on fire, and I was gasping for air. And this was after I had just lost 73 pounds (I weighed 180 at the time I started running). I thought to myself, "There is NO WAY IN HELL I will be able to run a 5K... ever." But that short, 1/10 of a mile changed my life. I was determined to go a little farther the next time. And I did. Just 11 days after my first run, I managed to run a whole mile (albeit very slowly!).

My confidence increased with each run, and I started to feel like maybe I could do it after all. Somewhere along the way, I got hooked on running. I hated it with every cell in my body, but I loved the way I felt afterward, which is what kept me going. Eventually, I started calling myself a runner, which sounded so foreign to me. But I was so excited to be part of that "elite" group of people that I'd always been in awe of.

So today I am celebrating two years of being a runner. The past two years of running can be summed up in a small bar graph like this:

Here are some fun facts about the last couple of years...

• I've run a grand total of 1,320.6 miles in 216:40:38 (hours).
• Those miles were split into a total of 337 separate runs.
• The most I've run in one month was 106.2 miles.
• The most I've run in one week was 27.3 miles.
• The most calories burned in a month was 11,646. That's the equivalent of over 55 Mrs. Field's chocolate chip cookies.
• The most calories burned in a single run was 1,437, at the Indy Mini-Marathon in 2011.
• The longest distance I've run to date is 13.1 miles.
• My fastest mile was run in 7:45 on the dreadmill.
• I've run nine races: two 5K's, one 4-miler, one 8K, three 10K's, one half-marathon, and one Ragnar Relay.
• My current PR's: 5K- 26:57; 10K- 55:05, HM- 2:10:40
• I've run a minimum of three times per week, every single week, with the exception of my post-surgery recovery (in Nov. 2010 and Nov. 2011).
• Of the 1,320.6 miles that I've run, 301.8 were run on the dreadmill.
• The longest run on the dreadmill was 10 miles.

Things I've learned over the past two years about running:

• It is MUCH more comfortable to run in moisture-wicking clothes rather than cotton. And it looks better, because you don't look drenched in sweat.
• Running doesn't have to be taken so seriously. The first year I ran, I thought any sort of break during the run meant that the run "didn't count". Now I realize that it's totally fine to stop for some water, to tie a shoe, to take a picture, etc. 
• No matter how prepared I am, I will always be nervous before a race.
• Finding the right running shoes is critical to being a runner.
• Oatmeal is my pre-race breakfast of choice.
• Running with friends makes the mileage fly by so much faster.
• If I want to get faster, I have to do some runs alone.
• Runner's trots are a fact of running life.
• The longer I am a runner, the more I actually enjoy running. Dare I say I actually like it? ;)  (Nah, we won't go that far! Yet...)

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Corktown 5K Race Report

Let me start by saying that the Corktown 5k was NOT the best choice to try and PR a 5K. I had no idea how big it was going to be! There were 8,000 runners on an out-and-back course (meaning you can only run on half the road).

I had some goals in mind for it: My "A" goal was to finish sub-26:00. It would be tough, but I thought I could maybe do it. My "B" goal was to finish sub-27:00. My previous PR (personal record) was 27:17, so my "C" goal was to just PR with anything less than that.

I had fun getting ready this morning, dressing festively for the St. Patty's race. I wore the green sparkle skirt that I made for Jessica and me, and black running capris and a black shirt. I wore my green wrist warmers that I made, along with a headband that I made out of leftover fabric from the skirts. Oh, and Jessica sprayed my hair green:

The race didn't start until noon, so Jessica and I left at around 10:00 this morning for Detroit. We found it easily enough, and parked in a spot that worried me we'd get towed. There were already a lot of people there. We met up with my friend Renee and her husband (her husband Dave was running) and their kids. Jessica and I walked around and got a couple of pictures:

Jessica has a thing for men in kilts ;)

I made a decision at that point that if you know me at all, you would realize was just CRAZY for me. I decided not to wear my Garmin Forerunner during the race. (Insert gasp here). I know, totally insane, right? I've never done a race (even walking the half-marathons in the past) without wearing a Garmin. I've never even run outside in my life without my Garmin!

The truth was, I was really discouraged by the number of people in this race, and I had a feeling it meant I wasn't going to hit my goals. I knew that if I wore the Garmin, I would constantly be looking to make sure I hit that 8:20ish pace to get a sub-26:00 time. So by choosing not to wear the Garmin, I was basically saying that I would just let it be. I would run for fun, and if I didn't meet any of my goals, so be it.

When it was time to race, I got up near the front but not TOO close to the start line. I didn't want to get stuck with all the walkers and run/walkers, because it's hard to dodge people in a crowd of 8,000. When the gun sounded, I could barely trot, let alone run. It was super packed.

As always in the beginning of a race, my mouth went dry and my heart was racing before I even got to my "happy pace". I get so nervous, and then the adrenaline on top of nerves just makes me feel like my chest is going to explode. I couldn't stop thinking about how dry my mouth was.

The first half-mile or so was pretty difficult to have a steady pace, because people were weaving all over the place. I just tried not to fall, and that was all that was on my mind. About a mile of the course was on a brick road, and that was hard to run on. The bricks weren't very even in areas, so I was just trying to watch my footing.

Since it was an out-and-back route, at mile 1.5 we had to go around a big inflatable pole thing and run back to the start. When I got to the 2-mile marker, a man was yelling out times, and he said that it was 15:45 from the gun start. When I heard that, I thought, "Holy shit! That's less than an 8-minute mile that I'm running!!" Figuring that I didn't cross the start line until about 15 seconds after the gun time, I figured I was running about an 8:00/mi pace. I stepped it up a little there with one mile to go, but I was really feeling exhausted.

The last mile seemed to go on forever! However, at the very end, you have to go around a corner and then the finish line is about 1/10th of a mile after that turn. So the finish line kind of sprang up on me unexpectedly, which was nice.

As I got close to the clock, I saw it read 27:14, so I knew I didn't hit my 'A' goal. I almost just slowed down since I didn't reach the goal, but I realized that 27:17 was my previous PR, so I wanted to finish before that number hit. I crossed the finish line running HARD, and the clock said 27:16--it was then that I realized that I forgot to take into account my chip time, so my time was actually less than that. I knew that the 2-mile mark of 15:45 had to have been wrong. I know I didn't slow down the third mile.

And since I didn't wear my Garmin, I had no clue what my results were!

 I met up with Jessica and we found Renee and Dave. We went to the beer tent to get our free beer. It wasn't green, like I expected. It was a darker beer though, and I didn't like it, so I ended up giving mine to Dave.

We went to a bar for a little while, hanging around outside (it was super crowded). I had a beer there. Renee and Dave left with their boys, and Jessica and I walked around a little bit more and chatted with a friend of hers. We left right as the parade was starting. Even if we wanted to see the parade, it was way too crowded to see anything.

This was just one small part of the sidewalk

I looked up my results when I got home:

So at least I hit my B goal! And I can cross this one off my 30-in-30 list. But I still kind of want to strive to hit that sub 26:00 ;)  There is a 5K in September that Dave was telling me was a good one to try to PR, because it's really small and an easy route.

Anyway, here is the medal we got--it's pretty nice!

Over all, I'm pretty happy with the race. I'm happy to have met my sub-27:00 goal (barely), especially when it was so crowded.

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Reader Questions & Answers #4

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. What were some of your favorite foods while you were losing weight? 

A. I've mentioned before that I tend to go through phases with food--I try something I really like, and then I eat it day after day until I find the next thing. So I went through a lot of phases throughout my journey. But from memory, some of my favorite foods throughout the journey were: oatmeal, prunes, apples, peaches, cabbage, Caramello candy bars, tuna sandwiches, pita pizzas, a sandwich made of peanut butter and marshmallow fluff on two waffles, protein shakes (by necessity because of my surgeries), popcorn with oil and salt, chai lattes, PB2 used a thousand different ways, lentils, Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, feta cheese, Dove Promises dark chocolate...and probably some other things I'm forgetting. Almost all of my dinners are listed on my recipes page. 

As you can see, I liked a variety of things--both healthy and not-so-healthy. I just ate whatever I was in the mood for, and I counted the calories for it.

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Q. When you lost the weight, did you ever hit a plateau? If so, how did you get over it?

A. To be perfectly honest, I actually never did hit a plateau. I define a plateau as a stalled weight loss that, no matter what you do, your weight just won't budge for a while. My weight stalled a few times, but I know that it wasn't a plateau. It could always be attributed to my eating habits--maybe I binged that week, or just ate too much on a couple of occasions. 

For the most part, however, if I was following my plan (measuring my portions, counting calories, and keeping my calories within my range), I lost weight. Whether I exercised or not, as long as I counted my calories, my weight continued to drop.

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Q. Can you share a few days of what lower-calorie eating looks like, or give some sample menus that you used while losing weight?

A. I had to dig out my old paper food journals to find a few samples--these were chosen completely at random. But keep in mind, my diet wasn't perfect--not even close! Like I said before, I just ate whatever I was in the mood for and I counted the calories for it.

December 2009 (1633 calories):
Breakfast: Fiber One Honey Clusters cereal with milk
Lunch: grilled cheese with bacon sandwich, and an orange
Dinner: Turkey, black bean, and corn chili, cup of milk
Snacks: Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich, cup of milk, 1/4 cup Raisinettes

April 2010 (1497 calories):
Breakfast: cream of wheat with milk and grapes
Lunch: hummus with pretzels and grapes
Dinner: chicken and dumplings, Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich
Snacks: Nature Valley Sweet & Salty granola bar, bottle of beer, banana with frozen yogurt and honey

June 2010 (1554 calories):
Breakfast: coffee, oat frittata with PB2
Lunch: tortilla with Boca chik'n patty and Laughing Cow cheese, 1 peach, 1 kiwi fruit
Dinner: lemon lentil soup, salmon cooked with a drizzle of honey, ice cream cone
Snacks: baby carrots with peanut butter, one small bag of popcorn, 2 peaches, Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich with Hershey's syrup, PB2, and cool whip

August 2010 (1322 calories):
Breakfast: oats with almond milk and walnuts
Lunch: wrap with hummus, spinach, and turkey; sauteed broccoli; grapes
Dinner: homemade baked beans, 1 glass red wine
Snack: cashews and dark chocolate chips

So there you have it--a variety of stuff, with a variety of calories. My diet was far from perfect, but I ate what kept me satisfied mentally as well as physically, and this is all stuff I enjoyed eating.

Example breakfast:

Bran flakes with frozen blueberries and milk

Example lunch:

PB&J on a waffle with canteloupe

Example dinner:

White Chili

Example snack:

Chocolate chips and almonds

Example treat:

S'mores Pie

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Sparkly arms

Last night ended up being really fun, and the kids were well-behaved, which is always a bonus. When they got home from school, we told them we were taking them out to a surprise location. We ended up choosing Red Robin, because I knew the kids would like it (they'd never been there before).

They loved the decor and Eli was fascinated with an airplane hanging from the ceiling. Jerry and I ordered fried jalapeno coins to share as an appetizer, and they were awesome. They were just slices of jalapeno peppers, battered and fried. It was a tiny portion, so we each ate probably about 10 coins total. I didn't want to be full before my food came.

I can't even tell you the last time I ate french fries or a hamburger before last night... it's been SO LONG. I ordered their cheeseburger with the works--lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo, onions, ketchup, and mustard. I could barely fit my mouth around it, but it was delicious! I ate about half of my fries and almost my entire burger. I looked it up when I got home, and my meal was 900 calories. Which actually wasn't as bad as I thought. I burned 600 calories during my run yesterday, so I didn't do too badly.

I should have only eaten half the burger though, because I was STUFFED when we left. I hate that feeling. My stomach felt super bloated and gross, and I actually got kind of nauseous. I learned that greasy food doesn't agree with my stomach very well. But it was worth it, and we don't eat greasy food very often--like I said, I don't even remember the last time!

Then we surprised the kids by taking them to Toys R Us. They were thrilled when we pulled into the parking lot. I took Eli and Jerry took Noah to shop. Eli knew what he wanted (more Army guys to add to his collection of about 10,000). He loves those little, tiny, cheap plastic toy soldiers. So he picked out a bucket of them that came with a bunch of other stuff (tanks, helicopters, etc.)  I gave each of the kids a $40 limit, and since that was only $20, I let him pick something else. He got the same bucket of stuff only it was a Western theme instead of military ;)

Noah picked out some nerdy stuff that I knew he'd like--a little microscope, an ant farm, and a remote control rat. Yep, definitely a boy!

On the way home, we dropped the boys off at my parents' house, because they wanted to spend the night there. Jerry and I had the house to ourselves, and we wound up in bed and asleep by 8:30--hahaha. Jerry gets up at 4:00 in the morning for work, so he has a hard time staying up late.

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I'm super nervous about my race tomorrow! I can't wait until it's over and I'm drinking green beer at the finish line. I got out my scraps of green sparkly fabric from the skirt I made, and threw together a couple of headbands for me and Jessica (they look like Bondibands, but they're the sparkly green fabric); and I made a pair of wrist warmers for me (not enough fabric to make them bigger into arm warmers!)

Kind of lame, I guess, but I wanted to use up every scrap I had! At least if I don't get my PR tomorrow, I'll look cute festive while trying ;)

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A Gu experiment

I had made plans to go for a 6-mile run with Jessica this morning. At around 7:00, I could barely see outside because there was snow blowing around like crazy--but it stopped shortly after it started. I dressed warm and went to meet Jessica at the state park.

When we started running, we both mentioned that we felt stiff and just not ready for a run. After about two miles, it was really tempting to just head back to the car and call it quits. The wind was really strong, and at a couple of moments, I felt like I was running in place.

I started to feel better after about three miles. My legs weren't as stiff and the wind wasn't as bad (although it was still pretty windy!) I brought along a Gu to try out during this shorter run. I'd never had Gu before, and after the disaster of Monday's run with the Nuun, I decided I'd better be safe and try the Gu on a shorter run to see how well my stomach handled it.

I don't know how people eat that whole little packet in one shot, though--it took me about three different squeezes. It was the peanut butter flavor, and soooo good. I wanted to savor it ;)  I finished eating that, then drank a few sips of water. I did all this while running, so I could practice for the marathon.

My stomach didn't bother me one bit!! I was so excited about that. My feet are on the mend and my stomach handled the Gu perfectly. I'm going to bring some on our long run on Monday.

Both Jessica and I felt much better the second half of the run, and we finished out our six miles. We went at an easy pace today--she was using new shoes and I was worried about screwing up my feet.

After I got home and showered, Jerry and I went to the running store so I could exchange the Bondibands--I didn't return them, I just exchanged them for the plain fabric that isn't slippery (one is purple and one is blue/aqua). I bought a few more packets of Gu. Then we went to Dick's Sporting Goods so that Jerry could buy a new softball glove.

I browsed through the clothes (I was eyeballing all the Under Armour stuff, but I really don't need anything right now). They had a display of Brooks shoes, and the Brooks Adrenaline 11's (the shoes I wear) were on clearance for $70/pair since they are last year's model. Unfortunately, they didn't have my size. I buy a wide shoe, and they only had the regular sizes.

I had lunch when we got home, and I was feeling snacky after lunch, per usual. I had a Larabar and some pretzels--not great, but definitely better than half a jar of Nutella or Biscoff spread. Tonight, I think we are going to take the kids out to dinner. I've been feeling guilty because Noah asked me last week, "Mama, do you think it would be okay if maybe we could go out to a restaurant once a month or once a year?"

Basically, we NEVER eat out. I can't even remember the last time we took the kids out to dinner--but it was probably more than a year ago, and probably on vacation at that. Jerry just got a bonus from work today (only about $300) so we decided to split it and use it on something we want (kind of like an allowance). But I suggested we share the love by taking the kids out to dinner and then let them pick something out from Toys R Us. I can remember my dad taking my brother and me to Toys R Us when we were very young and letting us choose something. I thought it was so cool! I chose a realistic-looking baby doll, and I think it's still in my parents' attic somewhere.

I'm getting nervous about my race on Sunday! I keep reminding myself it's "only" a 5K, but I have my hopes so high to run a sub-26:00 time that I've gotten myself nervous over it.

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R.I.P. Nutella

Well, today I decided that my jar of Nutella had to join my jar of Biscoff spread...

I have to put the dish soap in there, otherwise I'll dig it out of the trash. True story.

My lack of self-control is starting to get on my nerves! I do really well until about an hour after lunchtime every day. I think I need to start planning some sort of activity or project to work on during that time to avoid eating a bunch of junk.

I won't be buying any more Nutella or Biscoff spread--that stuff is expensive and I totally wasted a jar of each.

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I was so excited yesterday when I saw my CafePress.com order in the mail--until I opened it and saw that they screwed it up. I ordered the shirt with the writing printed on the BACK of the shirt, and they printed it on the front. I was going to exchange it for a correct one, but I realized that the color was ugly anyway, so I decided just to return it (the only color options were white and pink--I chose pink, but it's an ugly pink):

That color against my super pale skin just don't mesh well.

So I called the company and explained what happened, asking if I could return it. They said they would just give me a refund, no need to return the shirt. At first, they weren't going to refund the shipping ($6) but I said that since it wasn't my fault they printed it on the front rather than the back, I should get a full refund, including shipping--and they agreed to do that as a "one time courtesy".

I also discovered that I'm going to have to return my Bondibands :(  The ones that I just bought are made of a different fabric than the other Bondiband I have, and they're very slippery--they won't stay on my big fat head. The fabric of my black one (a gift from a reader!) has some grip to it so it stays in place. I'd like to get a couple more that are made out of that fabric.

I'm just not having much luck with new running purchases lately... Nuun, the running shirt, and now the Bondibands.

I did, however, use my new shoes during my run today and had no problems with my feet. They're the same model of shoe (Brooks Adrenaline 11's), just brand new. It was raining outside, so I decided to go to the rec center and run intervals on the indoor track. I wore the Garmin foot pod, and I swear that the calibration must be way off. I calibrated it on the outdoor track at a an easy pace, and I think the pod is only accurate when I run at that pace. When I run much faster, it isn't accurate anymore.

It said my pace on my sprints was 8:30-8:45 min/mile... and I KNOW I was going much faster than that. My heart rate got up to 95% of the maximum, and I'm pretty sure I was running at about a 7:30-7:45 pace. When I slowed down to run easy between sprints, however, it seemed pretty accurate at a 10:30-11:00 min/mile. I have no idea how to solve this problem for the future. I like doing my intervals on the indoor track, but I don't know how to get an accurate measurement.

Tomorrow morning I'm supposed to run six easy miles with Jessica, then I'll take Saturday off, because my 5K race is on Sunday. I better get my PR, because I really don't want to have to do another 5K!

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Inadvertent intervals

I woke up this morning with high hopes that my feet would be completely back to normal and I would be injury-free... but that wasn't the case :(  My feet were still hurting in a way that didn't feel like normal aches and pains. I sent Jessica a text that I was going to take another rest day (I was supposed to do a 3-mile interval run).

I got the kids ready for school and once they got on the bus, I had breakfast. I made Lori's One-Minute Muffin (yet again), only I used cocoa powder instead of cinnamon to make it a chocolate muffin. YUM! I spread it with Nutella and it was a very satisfying (and filling) breakfast.

I had made plans to meet Andrea, who I only knew as a friend of Jessica's, for coffee at 10. Andrea said she was interested in blogging, and wanted to learn a little about it, so of course I was happy to discuss! As I was getting ready to head out the door at 9:30, I noticed that Noah left his snack on the counter. It was his turn to bring in a snack for his entire class. I grabbed it and flew out the door, planning on bringing it to the school before meeting Andrea.

Of course I forgot my laptop (which I was going to bring to show some stuff to Andrea) and I forgot my cell phone. I got to the school and ran across the parking lot to drop off the snack--and I realized that I truly was RUNNING and it wasn't very painful at all. I was really excited about that! I hope that I'm not injured after all and maybe I'm just sore.

I jumped back into the Jeep and headed to the coffee shop to meet Andrea. I had hoped that I would have enough time to stop at the grocery store and buy her a jar of Biscoff spread (a.k.a. cookie butter), because Jessica told me she wanted to try it. It was 9:56 as I was driving past the grocery store, and at the last second I turned in. I sprinted out of the car and across the parking lot, into the store, and to the back (of course); grabbed the Biscoff spread, sprinted back to the front of the store and paid, then booked it back to the Jeep. It was 9:58.

I arrived at the coffee shop at 10:01, so I was only a minute late--and totally worth it, considering I came bearing cookie butter!! ;)

I had decaf coffee, and this time I believe it really was decaf, because I felt just fine. I chatted with Andrea for about an hour and then came home. I couldn't get the cookie butter off of my mind, and the jar in the pantry was taunting me. I caved, and ate it by the spoonful out of the jar. I was mad at myself, so before I polished the whole thing off, I poured some dish soap in it and threw the rest in the trash.

I guess I proved that I can't have cookie butter in the house just yet. I'm doing great with the Nutella! And I hadn't even touched the cookie butter, until today. Oh well, lesson learned.

I think I'll be good to go for running tomorrow. I haven't decided if I'm going to do 3 miles of intervals or a 6-mile easy run. I'd kind of like to do intervals one last time before my 5K on Sunday, but I'm afraid of messing up my feet. I'm glad that Monday is our step-back week (our long run is only 10 miles, rather than increasing from the 13 we just did).

Wow--I never thought I'd say "only 10 miles" when referring to running... see what marathon training has done to me?! ;)

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Orgasmic brownies

When I woke up this morning, my feet were killing me. I was really upset about it, because the only other time my feet felt this way, I wound up in a walking cast for weeks. It was after my first time walking the Mini-Marathon in 2008--I didn't train for it at all, and got tendonitis.

After my awful run yesterday, my feet were feeling that same kind of pain, and there was a weird lump on the lateral side of my left food. I immediately thought, "Stress fracture! OMG, I'm not going to be able to do the marathon now!" But I didn't want to jump to conclusions. I took it super easy yesterday and hoped that a good night's sleep would help.

My feet still hurt pretty badly, particularly my left foot. I pray to God that it's "just" inflamed or bruised or something. Today is obviously a rest day, and if I still feel pain tomorrow, I'm going to rest as well. I'm going to ice it and keep it elevated, and hope for the best. I'm also going to switch to my new shoes (they are the same exact brand and model of shoes, just brand new).

Anyway, I had plans to go to Whole Foods with Jessica today for her birthday. We got there pretty early, at around 9:30, and did some grocery shopping. We got coffee to carry with us (decaf for me, of course) and we picked out a treat to have with our coffee. I was going to get gelato again, until I tasted Jessica's turtle brownie. It was seriously the BEST brownie I've ever had in my life!! It was really soft and gooey with caramel. I tried to get a pic after it was half-eaten, but the picture doesn't do it justice:

After that, all the desserts just weren't very appealing to me--which was good, because I usually feel like I could buy and eat them ALL. About a half hour after shopping, I started to get really jittery, and I suspected that my coffee wasn't decaf after all. I started sweating, and feeling crappy and panicky like I used to before I quit drinking regular coffee. I gave the rest of my coffee to Jessica.

After we were done shopping, we got our lunch--I had been planning on getting pizza, but when I walked past the Chinese food, I had to sample the orange chicken and was immediately sold on that. I got orange chicken, fried brown rice, and an egg roll:

It was really good! Jessica got a piece of mushroom/pesto/goat cheese pizza, and I had a bite of it--it was fantastic too:

I've never tried pesto on pizza before, but it was really good. I might have to try that at home sometime.

After lunch (no dessert, since I had dessert with coffee!) we went to pick up our race packets for our 5k on Sunday. We picked them up at a running store. While we were there, I bought a couple more Bondibands in fun colors (those things are awesome for wicking sweat!). I really wanted to get a specially-made one from their website that says "Runs for Cookies" but it's uber expensive to create your own. So these will have to do!

I forgot to mention this yesterday, but I tasted Jessica's Gu while we were on our run, because it was a peanut butter flavor. I thought that there was no way it would actually taste good, but I was in love. It tasted like really sweet peanut butter, so I wanted to get some to try out on our next long run. I bought four of them :)

Peanut Butter Gu

Oh, this is what our race shirts look like:

I think they're kind of ugly. For a St. Patty's Day race, I could come up with a better design, and I suck at designing things. I don't know if I'll wear it to the race or not. It won't look too cute with my sparkly skirt, green knee highs, green nail polish, and green flower in my hair!

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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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