Jerry's first race (guest post)

As I've mentioned (more than) a few times, Jerry's first race was today. I've been treating it like such a big deal because, to me, it IS a big deal. I was really excited for him! I asked him if he wanted to write about it for my blog, and he said sure. I wasn't expecting it to be so long, so I'll just turn this into a guest post... enjoy :)

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Hey, y'all! This is Jerry...Mr. Runsforcookies.com. As some of you may already know from reading Katie's blog, I have been training for a 10k race. Most of you may not know why. This is my story (and I'm sticking to it): A couple months ago Jen and Angela (producers of the From Fat to Finish Line Documentary) had come into town to interview Katie for the documentary.

I really enjoyed talking to both of them. Their stories were entertaining and they were genuinely fun to be around. Jen asked me a question to the effect of "Are you exercising, too?" I laughed it off and said that Katie runs enough for the both of us. Then Jen said that her husband was running and that he actually started training for a race that they could do together to surprise her. I thought that it was really awesome of him to do that.

Getting interviewed at Katie's parents' house

I started thinking long and hard about why the crap I don't run. Really... why don't I run? I'm married to the biggest inspiration in the world...and I DON'T RUN!!!!??? That can't be right. Then I realized, ultimately, that I'm lazy as fuck. Sure, I lost all this weight. But I really didn't do anything to lose it. All I had to do was eat what Katie fed me. That's the lazy way.

I still have the ol' muffin top, only it's the bite-sized muffin instead of the massive Otis Spunkmeyer. So, after that conversation with Jen, I went to work and decided then and there that I was going to give it a try and run when I got off work. I got off work at 6:00 a.m. and took off as soon as I got home--and ran three miles.

I haven't stopped since. I have learned a lot about myself during this time. I know now that my mind is the biggest mountain I have to climb. When I get over that mountain then there is nothing I can't do. I haven't quite gotten to where I need to be I am damn sure going to. That's it...my running story. Now my race report...

36th Allen Park 10k Run

So what! My first race will be a 10k. I've got it in the bag. Training for this wasn't easy. Michigan weather is so unpredictable. It rains without a cloud in the sky and the the temperature swings 30-40 degrees a day. It's 100 degrees one day and then 30 degrees the next... this isn't weather, it's malaria. The humidity is around 150% (<---fact).

Added to that, I worked midnights for most of the training. Yay, me! All is well, training went as expected. It felt like Groundhog Day. The same route over and over and over again. It felt like Groundhog Day. The same route over and over and over again. But I endured. I actually did my longest run with Katie. I loved it. Hopefully we can do one again together. 

The day of the race wasn't what I expected. I expected panic and the "poopy" kind of nervous. I didn't get there. Instead I worried about finishing.... not so much timing, just finishing. I didn't want to disappoint Katie. The kids were there and I didn't want to be a failure for them. Katie talked me down and I just sucked it up and realized that there was no way I wasn't going to finish this race. So here are some moments in my first race experience, in the order in which they occurred:

How many port-a-johns should there be for a race? Is it common for 50 racers to be waiting for 4 shitters  five minutes before race time? I was #48. Barely made it back to the line in time.

Race started and the people were going so fast to pass me. I was worried at first, but Katie reassured me ahead of time that some of these people, if not most, would burn out later in the race and they would be easy to pick off later. She was right. 

After the first mile, things just got easier. The first mile is always the point in which my mind yells "take a fucking seat, loser, you don't want to do this!" As my good friend Bobby Boucher would say, "You're wrong, Colonel Sanders!" And I pushed through. There were so many nice spectators over the first mile, people with sprinklers on (for us to run through) and cheering us on. It was a good feeling.  

At the first water station, which was after the Mile 1 maker, I remembered what Katie had told me before; take two cups--one to drink and one to pour on my head. I took only one because I didn't want to drink too much water (didn't want to risk an upset stomach which would result in me being the first man in Allen Park Race history to be running full speed while taking an involuntary shit). So 1/2 on my head and the other half went all over my face. Running and trying to drink from a tiny Dixie cup is a lot harder than it looks. FAIL.

Eli was "volunteering" by handing out water at mile three

The next couple miles was pot hole city. Hot. Hot. Hot. Thank God that there were neighborhood sprinklers were going every couple hundred feet or I don't think I would have survived. I would have surely melted.

There were a total of four (official) water stations and there was probably five more where people just took the time out of their days to hand out their own water. I was sure to thank everyone I ran past, whether or not I took water. 

I was beginning to get a little weak around mile 3 until I found a great motivator... there was this very hot, very fit woman with an awesome body and tiny little shorts with her ass hanging out of the bottom. That caught my attention immediately and I instantly thought, "You better stay behind her." I'm such a creeper. But, running behind her made the last half of the race bearable. (Jerry totally neglected to mention that *I* was also at mile three, cheering him on!)

Now the finish. I turned the corner and I saw Katie. She started snappin' away with her camera iPhone. I haven't even seen the pictures yet. Then I saw the line. I had to make a dash for it. I had to make it memorable though. Does everyone remember Me, Myself, and Irene? There was a scene in that movie where Irene and Charlie were running for a train and Charlie started running all crazy-like (elbows at a 90 degree angle and pumpin' away while high-stepping). That was me. Everyone was cheering and laughing. It was a good experience. Katie said that she didn't remember anyone else doing anything goofy to finish the race. So to do that and get a laugh out of the crowd was really fun. 

Overall, I think I did pretty good. The race was small and fun. I plan on doing another one. I am actually signed up for the Detroit Free Press Relay. Wish me luck!

Here are the "official" results:

Time: 1:01:43 (a 9:57/mile pace)

Age group: 11/14

Overall: 133/190

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Post-vacation long run

I had a feeling that my long run today was not going to go well. And I was right.

I woke up late, at 7:00 (I probably should have gotten up at 5:00 to be out the door at 5:30 to beat the heat). I didn't leave the house until 7:30 ish, and then got to the community center to park my car at 7:50. Too late on a hot day to start a 14-mile run.

It was extremely sticky and humid, and I was totally dreading the whole run. I had mapped out a route--it was a kind of T shape, starting at the bottom of the T. I started running, and I kind of wished I had brought my iPod for some sort of distraction--I could feel it would be a looong run.

I ran at what felt like my normal pace (my long run pace is usually a 10:15/mi pace). After a mile, I saw that I was running a 10:50 pace. I know that it was because of all the crappy eating and alcohol-drinking I did on vacation! I tried to pick up the pace a little, and after another mile, I was going even slower, at an 11:15 pace.

I was really starting to worry about even finishing the run. Each step was tough, and the sun was just beating down on me. I was drenched in sweat just three miles into the run. I was very tempted to call it quits at mile 5, when I could choose to keep going (the "right arm" of the T) or I could turn right and head back to the car.

I kept telling myself, "Keep running... make it to mile eight, and then if you STILL feel like crap, you can call your dad to pick you up and take you to your car." My dad works at the Metropark that I run through, and I always carry my cell phone. I've never actually gotten picked up from a run before (although I came close once), but it was nice to keep that as a back-up plan in my mind. It was SO HARD to keep going... each mile felt like forever.

I finished off my Gatorade and stopped at a water fountain at mile eight to refill my bottle. I doused myself with water, hoping to cool off and feel better. I started running again, and just felt terrible. I decided to call my dad at mile nine. I stopped running, and stopped my Garmin. I dialed my dad, and it rang twice, then went to voice mail. I tried two more times, and realized he wasn't going to answer.

I was pretty upset at this point, and tried my mom. No answer. Called Jerry's cell. No answer. I turned around at mile nine (where I was supposed to turn anyway) and kept running, starting to feel really upset. At mile 10, I tried our land line, and Jerry answered. I started crying, and told him that I couldn't make it, and I was four miles from the car. He tried calling the park office to get a hold of my dad, and there was no answer (why don't people answer their phones?!) so he said he'd come get me. I ran a little ways ahead and saw a park ranger's truck, so I waved him down.

I asked him if Les was working, and could he get a message to him. He offered to drive me to where my dad was probably working, so I went; but my dad wasn't there. So he tried calling my dad on the phone, and he couldn't get any service on his cell. Then he offered to drive me to my car himself--I was SO grateful.

So I ended up hitching a ride with him the rest of the four miles to my Jeep. I was SO relieved to see it!

 I was thinking I'd finish out the four miles on the treadmill when I got home, but I changed my mind. I looked at my training schedule, and next week is a 13-miler, so I will just do 14 instead, and go on with the schedule as planned.

I was just about to get in the shower when I remembered that I had to do my Wii Active 30-Day Challenge. I was so tempted to skip it, but I'm more than halfway done. There were tons of lunges today, and surprisingly, I don't hate them nearly as much as I used to! They've gotten so much easier over the past couple of weeks since I started the challenge.

The exercise on there that I currently hate the most is the squat and hold... you have to hold a squat for 60 seconds! That may not sound hard (it didn't sound hard to me, because I actually don't mind squats), but it is KILLER, and I still haven't been able to hold the whole 60 seconds without a break.

Workout 12/20 complete!

I stuck to my plan as far as meals go today. Dinner was amazing! I bought some tofu to try recently--I've tried it a few times in the past and didn't like it, but I'm always willing to try things over and over again until I (hopefully) like it. So I did some searching online and combined a few different methods/recipes for cooking it--I was especially inspired when I saw this.

I drained and pressed the (extra-firm) tofu. To do this, I just set the block of tofu on a flat strainer, then lay a paper towel and heavy pan on top of it for a few hours--it presses the liquid out. Then I sliced the tofu into triangles, dusted them with a touch of cornstarch, and laid them out on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. I baked them at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, I stir-fried a bunch of veggies--mushrooms, cabbage, bean sprouts, green beans, broccoli, yellow squash, zucchini, and carrots.

And I made a sauce from this recipe (2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp. honey, 1 Tbsp. chili sauce, 1/2 Tbsp. ginger, 2 cloves garlic, and 1 tsp. sesame oil). When the veggies were done cooking, I poured the sauce into the pan and let it cook for a couple of minutes.

To serve, I layered brown rice, then the tofu, and then the veggies and sauce on top. It was SO GOOD. Extremely spicy, from the chili sauce--about as spicy as I can stand--but I loved it, and so did Jerry. I was really surprised at how much I liked the tofu. It wasn't mushy at all (that's what I hated about it before). I'm definitely going to be buying it again.

I was most shocked that Jerry really liked it. I love that Jerry is adventurous and will try anything I make. Some of you asked what he thinks about vegetarian eating--he's still eating meat, just usually with his lunches (he'll take meat sandwiches to work). He really loves lentils and beans, so I make a lot of dishes with the beans and lentils for dinner. My family has eaten vegetarian dishes like that for dinner probably 3-4 times per week for a long time, so we're all used to it.

Now, I still cook vegetarian most of the time, but if they want something with meat, I'll cook it for them and then I'll have something else I want for dinner (oatmeal, cereal, eggs, etc). Or I'll cook a vegetarian dish and then make some meat "on the side" for the family--which is something I did a lot even before I quit eating meat, because I just don't like meat very much. I still hesitate to call myself "vegetarian", because I don't know if this is going to be a permanent or temporary thing. I'm just trying it out indefinitely to see how it fits into my life. So far, it's been super easy for me.

Jerry's first race is tomorrow morning--a 10K! He says he's not nervous, but I don't know if I believe that or not ;) I'm excited for him, and the kids and I are going to go cheer him on. He said he doesn't have a time goal, that he just wants to finish, which I think is great!

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Back to Routine (and a meal plan for the week)

We are back from Rockford now. The day went by so quickly! We lost an hour coming home due to the time zone change, so it feels earlier than it actually is. (The drive was about 6 hours).

Last night at the speedway ended up being a lot of fun! If nothing else, it is really interesting to people-watch. It was $1 beer night, so as you can imagine, the crowd was... fun... to watch. When we first got there, there was a race between two random spectators who wanted to race their cars. I was standing next to the fence that lines the track, and it was terrifying to watch. I kept thinking the car was going to fly right through the fence--Final Destination style.

The announcer came over to us and let the kids talk into the microphone--my kids are shy, but they felt pretty special ;) Eli was being a total sweetheart the whole night, which surprised me. He's been tired lately, and super crabby, so I was happy to see him in a good mood. He even wanted to sit next to me.

This morning, my sister had to go back to work, so I cleaned her house (my kids had totally trashed it) and then we headed out. It felt really good to get home! I actually was missing my kitties. They were really happy to see us.

Jerry and I both agreed not to get on the scale for about a week. I'm SURE we put on some pounds while on vacation (if you've been reading my blog for a while, you know it's not unusual for me to gain 10 pounds while on vacation, from all the eating out and drinks). We had a lot of fun, and I don't regret anything, but I definitely can't wait to get back to my usual routine.

I was amazed at just how sluggish and tired and gross I felt from the crappy food we were eating (crappy meaning unhealthy; not bad-tasting... it tasted wonderful!). I still managed to fit in my workouts--I ran 11 miles and did two Wii Active workouts while at my sisters (in 5 days). I'm happy with that! But I am definitely feeling the effects of eating too much junk.

So I went grocery shopping when I got home. I planned out a general menu for the week:

Breakfasts--eggs with potatoes and green pepper; or oatmeal with usual toppings
Lunches--salad (I'm in a "salad mood" again--I'm sure my body is craving the healthy food!); or homemade lentil soup
Dinners--
  Friday: tofu stir-fry with brown rice
  Saturday: pasta with olive oil, garlic, and asparagus
  Sunday: homemade pizza
  Monday: Mexican Lentils and Rice
  Tuesday: Baked Ziti
  Wednesday: Roasted Tomato & Garlic Soup with Barley
  Thursday: Whole Grain Blueberry Pancakes
Snacks: Ezekiel toast with nut butter; Larabar; fruit; celery or carrots with peanut butter
Dessert: Dove Promises dark chocolate and tea

Scheduled runs are Friday, Monday, and Wednesday; Wii Active workouts are scheduled for Friday, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week.

I am going to post a weigh-in (no matter how bad it may be) a week from tomorrow.

Anyway, we had a blast at my sisters, but I'm happy to be home and get back to my routine! Right now, Jerry and I are going to catch up on our shows on the DVR :)

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Rockford, Day 5

I woke up kind of early this morning, and just couldn't sleep. I went downstairs and the kids were sleeping in the living room (rather than the basement, where they'd been sleeping), so I couldn't do e-mail or watch TV. For lack of anything else to do while everyone was sleeping, I decided to go for a run.

Normally, I run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays--but I had to run on Tuesday this week, so I wasn't planning on running today. I decided to just run from my sister's house, so I didn't go to a trail or anything. I ran through her neighborhood, and then onto a busy street that had a wide sidewalk. I followed the sidewalk until it ended--a disappointing one mile. I was really frustrated with the amount of stop lights (probably about 5?).

Definitely a runner.

Then I just turned around and headed back, circling her neighborhood and doing whatever I could to get in 50 minutes (today's run was supposed to be 20 minutes easy, 20 minutes at tempo pace, and then 10 easy). I didn't really follow that structure, though. I ran 5 miles in just over 50 minutes--a 10:05 ish pace.

This afternoon, we went to the public pool. I wasn't sure if I wanted to swim, but I'm glad I wore my bathing suit, because it was super hot. So I ended up swimming the whole time with the kids. Eli wanted to go down the slide, and I stood at the bottom to catch him (it was 5 feet deep at that part). Then he was feeling brave and decided he wanted to try it on his own. So I stood to the slide, and he did great! He hit the water, went under for a second, and then swam 15 feet or so to the ladder. I was really proud of him for feeling brave enough to try that--normally, he only swims in water where he can touch the bottom.

I have to say, I was very impressed with the lifeguards at this pool. They were VERY attentive, and they were constantly bobbing their heads, scanning the pool. I couldn't stop watching them--I kept trying to catch one of them not really paying attention, but that was never the case. They were always looking back and fourth, and even looking like they were counting people constantly.

The pool had an open swim for 45 minutes, then 10 minutes for just adults, and then 5 minutes for just the lifeguards to swim. Then they started the hour over again. I think it's a great idea to break it up like that. The lifeguards even practiced their skills in the five minute swim break they had.

Practicing CPR

Tonight, we're going back to the speedway. The race cars are doing figure 8's, which should be interesting ;) Jerry and I are heading home tomorrow. He doesn't have to be back to work until Sunday, so it will be nice to have a couple of days at home and get back to reality.

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Rockford, Day 4

I made sure to wake up bright and early this morning to get a run in. Jerry has his very first race on Saturday (a 10K) and I asked him if he wanted to come with me. We drove to the Rockford YMCA to park, because there is a trail right next to it. I had looked up popular places to run in Rockford, and this was the number one pick.

Today on the schedule was a 54 minute run--20 minutes easy, then six repeats of (2 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy), then 10 minutes easy. However, since I was running with Jerry, we decided to just run six miles easy, and not worry about pace.

I was shocked at how many people were out! We must have seen about 40 people--running, walking, and biking on the trail. We just did an out-and-back route. I really liked the path we were on, but it was broken up by going through neighborhoods, which was kind of weird.

We did six miles total, at an 11:16 pace. It was kind of fun, running with Jerry. I think we'll do that together more often ;)

When we got back, I had to do a Wii Active workout. I finished it and now I'm halfway through the 30-day challenge!

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I made it a point to eat much better today than I have been the past few days. I had cream of wheat for breakfast, and instead of going out to lunch with Jeanie and the kids, I had a veggie hotdog and an orange. After lunch, we went to Volcano Falls, which had go-carts, batting cages, an arcade, mini golf, etc. I had some fun with the batting cages:

I did the slow pitch softball, and it was so fun! Then I had a long chat with Shawn (my brother-in-law) while the kids did the go-carts.

We went to a Japanese steak house, called Shogun's, for dinner. We usually make it a point to go there every time we visit my sister. It was fantastic, per usual. First, we started with drinks. I got a "Shogun Cosmopolitan":

I ordered the "Vegetable Dinner", and it was SO good. I got miso soup, salad, fried noodles, steamed brown rice, and tons of vegetables. It was fun to watch the chef cook our food...

I had three Cosmo's. Don't judge.

Tomorrow is our last day in Rockford, and then we are leaving on Thursday. I'm not sure what the plan is for tomorrow just yet. But I am kind of sad that our time at my sister's is coming to a close!

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Meeting Mary

What a fun day! I got up at 6:00 this morning to shower and get ready to spend the afternoon in Chicago with Mary. The plan was for Jerry and I to take the Metra train into Union Station where we would meet up with Mary. My sister lives about 45 minutes from the Metra station, so Jerry and I drove there first and boarded the train.

The train took about an hour and 20 minutes to get to Union Station. I was excited to meet Mary (and a little nervous). I've been reading Mary's blog for about a year, and we've been getting to know each other on our Ragnar team's private Facebook page, so I felt like we were already friends.

I recognized her right away and gave her a hug. She's as adorable in person as she is in her photos ;)  We walked to a bus to go to a brewery that Jerry wanted to check out.

We had a beer at Goose Island Brewery (Jerry was totally thrilled); then we walked to a restaurant called The Chicago Diner:

This is an all-vegetarian/vegan restaurant--we have nothing like this around us in Michigan, so I was really excited to try it. I ordered a reuben sandwich with sweet potato fries. The "meat" in the reuben was seitan, which I'd never tried before. The sandwich was great! I used to love reubens when I was overweight, and I hadn't had one in a long time.

After lunch, Jerry really wanted to get a picture of himself in front of Wrigley Field, so we walked there. On the way, I saw a frozen yogurt shop, and just HAD to stop for dessert. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like EVERY food blogger has self-serve frozen yogurt at least five times a week... and I've never had it! I am always so jealous when I see the pictures.

I definitely did not skimp when I made my dish... I put in three flavors of fro-yo: red velvet, french vanilla, and pistachio. Then I topped it with cheesecake bits, cookie dough, Reese's Pieces, Reese's Cup bits, and marshmallow topping. Do I even have to describe how good it was?!

The afternoon has flown by, so we took Jerry's picture at Wrigley Field and then got on the bus to head back to the train station. Mary and I said good-bye; it was SO great to get to meet her in person! She is exactly how I pictured, and just as genuine as she is on her blog. (I think I may have scared her with my love for desserts, however...)

Jerry and I took the train back to Elgin, then drove back to Rockford and got to my sister's at 6:45. I got a text message from my friend Sarah, and everything went well with her c-section today. I am SO excited! This is probably the closest I'll ever get to being an aunt ;)  I'm going to give her a call tomorrow for some more details.

I didn't end up running today like I was supposed to. I was thinking I'd run when I got back from Chicago, but it was 92 degrees--much too hot for me! So I decided I'll get up early tomorrow morning and run instead. I did, however, do my scheduled workout for the Wii Active 30-Day Challenge. That is some serious dedication, I swear. My sister and the kids were making s'mores while I was sweating it out in the basement with the Wii. But I felt good about burning off a smidge of the ice cream I ate today ;)

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Rockford, Day 2

I slept like a rock last night. It was so nice! Normally, when I'm not at home, I have a really hard time sleeping, but I definitely didn't have that problem last night.

I didn't have a scheduled run OR a Wii Active workout today. I actually brought my Wii and the Wii Active stuff with me to Jeanie's, so that I can keep up with my 30-Day Challenge. Tomorrow I am supposed to do a run and a Wii workout. Since I'm going to Chicago in the morning, I'll probably do it in the evening when I get back.

My sister has the amazing White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter, so I made some cream of wheat for breakfast and topped it with the peanut butter. It was so good! I love that peanut butter, but it's hard to keep it in the house at home--I eat it all in one day. Jeanie also had the stuff to make mimosas for breakfast. How fun!

I spent some time chatting with Shawn, my brother-in-law, this morning; then I went with Jeanie to take her dog on a play date. Yes, a play date. For a dog. Her basset hound Remy has a "friend" from the dog park, a pit bull named Peanut.

My sister kept asking if there was something we'd like to do for entertainment (she's very active and is always planning all kinds of things), but I honestly just wanted to relax while we're here. I am perfectly content to sit outside and have a few drinks and chat.

We went to a late lunch/early dinner at Old Chicago. I ordered water to drink, but while we were waiting for our food, I saw a picture of a mojito on the table--and I really wanted one. I hadn't had one in a long time! So I decided to get it, and it was fantastic!

My sister said she thinks mojitos are gross, and taste like "lettuce in a glass", but the meddled mint is my favorite part!

I'm almost ashamed to post this, because I didn't eat very well yesterday... but Jeanie ordered everyone a cookie dessert after lunch. I know I didn't need any more calories, but it was too irresistible to pass up. And vacation calories don't count, right?! ;)

That's a perfectly-baked chocolate chip cookie topped with ice cream and whipped cream. I ordered one of these before at a different restaurant, but the cookie was terrible. The one I had today was AMAZING. I was very full after lunch, and none of us was hungry for dinner.

Tomorrow I'm going to be extra careful about my calories, however. I will eat a good breakfast, but then we are taking the train to Chicago, and having lunch in Chicago. I'm going to order what I want, but I'll just be careful not to stuff myself. Especially if I'm going to have to run when I get back to my sister's house!

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In other news, my long-time best friend Sarah (who lives in Arizona) is having her baby tomorrow! Remember how I was the matron of honor in her wedding in October last year? She got pregnant just a couple of months later, and tomorrow she is having a c-section  (the baby is really big). I'm super excited for her! I wish I could go out there to meet her baby boy, but I will probably go sometime next year.

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Rockford, Day 1

Well, I am writing this from Rockford, IL, at my sister's house.

This morning, I woke up early to finish packing for our trip and to get in a Wii Active workout before we left. I finished workout #8 of the 30-Day Challenge today. I had to do the "kick ups" or "butt kicks" again--those kill my calves! But I've noticed that I'm getting better at the exercises I hate--and they are feeling a little easier, which is a good sign.

After I finished the workout, Jerry and I finished getting ready to go. I was worried about leaving the cats... normally, people can just put out a bunch of food and water for their cat when they go away, but we can't do that. Because we have FOUR cats, we have to have someone come take care of them the same that you would a dog. The litter box has to be cleaned out every single day. And it's gross--nobody likes doing that for their OWN pet, let alone someone else's!

We finally got out the door at around 9:45, and we went and picked up the kids, who had spent the night at my parents' house. Then we headed out at about 10:00. We stopped at Tim Horton's, since we didn't have breakfast at home. I got a blueberry bagel with cream cheese while Jerry and the kids got doughnuts.

The drive is about six hours, and it actually passed pretty quickly. We stopped at about noon for lunch--the kids wanted Steak 'N Shake. I looked at their menu and saw that they didn't have a single vegetarian item, and decided to just wait in the car while Jerry and the kids ate. I was hungry and irritated, and after we left, I ended up getting a Blizzard from Dairy Queen--definitely not a smart choice for lunch, but options on the Ohio Turnpike are completely limited, and I ate that out of frustration.

We got to Jeanie's house at around 3:30 (we gained an hour going there, because we are in different time zones). Jeanie ordered Chicago-style pizza for dinner, and it was fantastic!! I had a piece with green pepper and feta cheese, my favorite. I definitely ate a lot of junk today, but I don't feel guilty about it in the slightest. I do need to be careful that I don't gain a ton of weight while I'm here though!

After we had dinner, we went to Rockford Speedway. We all picked cars that we liked and hoped would win. Eli kept changing his mind throughout the race, always making sure his favorite car was the one that was in first place. But it was cute to watch him, because he got SO excited.

Jeanie taught him what the different flags meant, and he loved waving his flag for the last lap.

The kids didn't want to stay very long, so we left after about a hour or so. I'm not sure what the plan is for tomorrow yet. I'm super excited for Monday, because Jerry and I are going to Chicago to meet up with Mary from my Ragnar team!

If I happen to post at odd times this week, it's just because I'm at my sister's--but I will post when I can. Have a great weekend!

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Push-ups in the woods

Long run today. This week is a cut-back week, meaning my mileage is shorter, so my long run was "only" 10 miles.

I finished reading Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance, and I absolutely loved it! It's unlike any other "diet" book I've ever read, because it's specifically geared toward endurance athletes, rather than the average person looking to lose weight. While I find it strange to call myself an athlete, I AM training for my second marathon, which is an endurance sport. So therefore, I guess I'm an endurance athlete?

But anyway, Racing Weight lays out the plan for endurance athletes--of different sports, and different amounts of training. There is waaay too much information to go over everything, but a few changes that I plan on trying out right now are: 1) To have a high-carb snack before I run; 2) To use either a sports drink or Gu during my runs (I haven't been doing the Gu since the marathon); 3) Eat as soon as possible after I run; 4) Try and follow this as a general plan:

The book goes into a lot of detail about what foods are "high quality",
as well as the timing of meals.

So as soon as I got up this morning, I had a Larabar (almost pure carbs). I didn't have any Gatorade to take on my run, so I brought a Gu and water. I parked at my usual spot and headed out on my favorite route. My legs felt really tired! I was kind of frustrated, because I had barely started running when my legs felt heavy. I'm guessing this might be from the Wii Active workout I did yesterday, because it was a tough leg workout. I'm going to have to try and plan those better next time.

My legs finally loosened up a little after two miles. I ran a pretty consistent pace for the first half of the run. That is something that has always been hard for me--my splits are usually all over the place.

I only looked at my Garmin at the top of every mile (when it vibrated to let me know I had finished a mile). I turned around at mile 5 for an out-and-back run. I could feel myself picking up the pace, but I couldn't help it. There were a lot of people around at that point, and I always tend to go a little faster with people around ;)

When I reached mile 6, I ate my Chocolate Mint Gu. I love that stuff! It tastes like melted Junior Mints. I was fine with my water, and still had almost a full bottle, so I didn't even stop to refill. I could see a runner ahead of me by about a half-mile. At first I thought about making it a goal to catch up, but then I thought that was stupid, and I should just run a consistent pace.

I came around a bend in the path (in the woods), and I saw him on the ground doing push-ups! I'm sure he probably thought he was alone in the woods, and nobody would see. He was pounding them out though, and looked like he was in good shape. Then he jumped up and started running again--and took his shirt off. It was then that I decided to pass him. He was about a tenth of a mile ahead of me (and he still hadn't seen me), so I picked up the pace to an 8:30ish mile, and as I caught up, I said, "Good morning!"

Poor guy looked a little surprised to see me, and I felt kind of bad for passing him, so I said, "I may pass you, but I will NOT be doing push-ups up here... good for you!" He laughed, and maybe that made him feel better about being passed by a girl.

Right after I passed him, though, I thought, "Crap, now I have to hold this pace so I don't look like an ass!" I was hoping he'd turn around at the end of the park (about a half-mile ahead) and thankfully, he did. I kept going, out of the park, and was able to slow down then. I was absolutely pouring sweat. It was really humid this morning, and I was drenched when I finally got back to the car.

I assure you, I did not do a sub-4:00 minute pace at ANY point, so that
must be a little blip just before mile 5 ;)

 I could not decide what to have for a long run "treat" today. I've been having pecan pancakes from Cracker Barrel, but because the service was so bad the last two times I went, I really didn't want to go today. I decided I wanted a doughnut from the new bakery, but they were closed by the time I went. So Jerry and I went to Kroger to get the stuff to make burgers for dinner (veggie burger for me). While we were there, I got some Moose Tracks frozen yogurt to have for dessert.

The kids are staying the night with my parents tonight, so Jerry and I are going to have a stay-at-home date night ;)

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Four seconds

I was cleaning up the house this morning and discovered that I had a few things that I had to return to different stores. I figured while we were out, I would take the kids on their very first trip to Whole Foods. I knew it wasn't as exciting for them as it was for ME, but I haven't been there since probably April sometime.

We stopped at ACE Hardware for a return, Wal-Mart for a return, and then Lowe's for a return. We also stopped in a new store called Ollie's just to check it out. It reminded me of a Big Lots. I bought a 16-count box of Larabars for 7.99--50 cents each is a great price! And they were my favorite flavor--Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip.

Then we made the 45-minute drive to Whole Foods. I didn't do any shopping there, but we were going to have lunch (and a treat) and then head to Trader Joe's. All three of us wanted pizza, and I got a slice of the spinach and feta pizza...

It was okay, but I don't think I'd get it again. I wasn't crazy about the sauce.

After we finished our pizza, we went to pick out a treat from the millions of amazing desserts that Whole Foods has. The hardest part about choosing a dessert there is picking just one. They have so many that look so good! I ended up getting my beloved Turtle Brownie. The kids each got one of the chocolate peanut butter brownies.

They wanted to eat the treats there, rather than take them home. That was actually a good idea, because then I wouldn't be tempted to buy all kinds of junk at Trader Joe's. I ate my entire brownie. It was really good, but not AS good as the first time I had it. Next time I will definitely choose something else.

We went to Trader Joe's, and I picked up a couple of things--but I left thinking, "Why did I want to go there? I didn't buy anything!" I just got some wine and almond butter. Driving home was a nightmare, because there was a ton of construction.

When we got home, I remembered that I had to do my Wii Active workout. I'm on workout #7 of the 30-Day Challenge. Today it had me do "fast kick-ups" around the track two times. WOW, was that ever tough! Kick-ups are hard to describe--picture standing up, then bend one leg behind you at the knee so that your foot reaches your butt. Then switch legs quickly; keep doing that, so that you are kind of running in place by kicking your leg up behind you. My calves were killing me! But I completed Day 7...

After I showered, I decided to try and do a headstand again. And I did it!!! I was actually able to get my legs up (briefly). I tried it again, and was able to hold it for about four seconds or so--long enough for Jerry to take a picture ;)

Note: I would have changed clothes if I thought I might
take a picture that would end up on my blog!

Actually, he took a video at first... I thought he was going to take a picture. I lifted my legs up, and was waiting for the flash. I said, "HURRY!!" then I came down and then said yelled, "Damnit, why didn't you take it?!" Then he said, "I'm taking a video" and we busted up laughing. I am NOT posting that video ;)

I will say that my abs were really sore today, and I'm sure it was from trying the headstand yesterday. I'm going to keep working on it so that I can hold it longer. If nothing else, it's a great ab workout!

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