Cat tales

I hate tempo runs. Especially when they are scheduled for a certain amount of time rather than distance. (A tempo run is a run where you go faster than normal--not as fast as if you were racing, but fast enough to wear you wish you could slow down). Here is a quick rundown of the basic runs that I do:

When I do a tempo run for time (rather than distance), I have no motivation to go faster because I know I'm going to be running for x number of minutes, no matter how fast I'm going. When I run for distance, I tell myself that I will be done sooner if I run faster, so I have more motivation ;)

This morning on my schedule was a 40 minute tempo run, and I just didn't want to do it. Since I've been running most of my runs at more of a tempo pace lately (pushing myself to go faster), I decided to run intervals this morning instead--1/4 mile really hard, and then 1/10 mile walking. Repeat that for a total of eight times. Same exactly interval workout as last week.

I started with a short warm-up just to the end of my street, and then I started the first interval. I felt like I was flying! I've been wearing my Mizunos Wave Inspires for fast runs, and my usual Brooks Adrenalines for easy runs and long runs. The Mizunos are much squishier, where I feel more like I'm running on clouds (unfortunately, they give me blisters if I run more than eight miles in them, otherwise I'd wear them all the time).

Each interval I ran, I thought, "Ugh, there is no way I have another one in me." But then after my 1/10 mile walk, I somehow mustered up enough energy for another. When I finished, my lungs were burning and I was dripping with sweat--it was great!! My split times have improved again, even since last week (first number is time to complete the interval, in parenthesis is the pace per mile for that interval)

Interval 1- 1:48.2  (7:13/mi)
Interval 2- 1:42.4  (6:50/mi)
Interval 3- 1:49.7  (7:19/mi)
Interval 4- 1:47.1  (7:09/mi)
Interval 5- 1:49.2  (7:17/mi)
Interval 6- 1:51.1  (7:25/mi)
Interval 7- 1:52.3  (7:30/mi)
Interval 8- 1:42.5  (6:50/mi)

Average pace for each interval today was 7:11; last week it was 7:25; and a month ago, it was 7:40. It doesn't sound like a huge difference, but I am thrilled to see that I'm constantly improving with all the hard work!

I have a 5K race on Sunday--this is the race where I'm praying to break 26 minutes. I've done it a few times during training, but I'm the type of person that totally chokes when it comes to the race. I almost always run faster during training than I do during races--I get SO nervous to race (which is ridiculous, but I do).

To finish in 25:59, I'd have to run an 8:23/mi pace--and that's if I run exactly 3.1, but since I usually end up running a little longer than the actual course (due to weaving in and out of people), I'd like to try and stick with more of an 8:18 ish pace. Yikes!! My previous PR was an 8:42/mi pace, so this will be tough.

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My cats have been cracking me up lately, and I just have to post a few pictures. (I apologize if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, because I've been posting all about my cats lately!)

Yesterday, the boys and I were watching Homeward Bound (movie about two dogs and a cat), and I noticed that Phoebe was totally engrossed in watching the movie. She couldn't take her eyes off the screen. And then Estelle noticed too, because she started watching the movie as well. The two of them sat on their cat tree watching the movie for probably about an hour!

This morning, I noticed that Phoebe was eyeballing the Elf on the Shelf that was perched on top of the TV (my kids know that we are the ones moving the elf, but they still like to look for him every day). So I moved the elf to the curtain right above Phoebe, and she had a blast trying to knock him down.

When the elf actually did fall down right on top of her, she jumped up so high she about hit the ceiling, and she fell off the cat tree. I wish I had gotten pictures of that part!

Estelle is obsessed with boxes and anything else that she can sit in or on. She thinks we bring everything in the house just for her. I got a package in the mail a couple of days ago, and within minutes she was sitting in the box. And she stayed like that for about 30 minutes, just chillin' in a box in the middle of the floor.

(If you want to take a guess as to what was in the package, you can check out this Etsy site. It's the final part of my Ragnar Relay outfit ;) For now, I'll bombard my blog with cat photos).

Phoebe found a box of her own (Christmas stuff that we aren't using):

Chandler is so fat that he can't really fit inside of anything--but on the cat tree, there is a little platform without sides. That's the only spot that he can fit. But I use the term "fit" loosely, because there isn't even enough room left for his head...

And poor Paolo... I don't really take many pictures of Paolo, because he never does anything except for sleep. I'll try and catch him doing something picture-worthy soon.

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Virtual 5K

This morning when I woke up, I checked the weather on my phone before getting dressed to go for a run. I was shocked by what I saw!

It's December, in Michigan, and it's 57 degrees at 7:30 in the morning?!! I dressed in my UA Heat Gear capris and a thin long-sleeved shirt (which ended up being too hot--I should have worn a tank). When I stepped outside, I just couldn't believe how warm it was. Last week, it was 19 degrees during one of my morning runs.

I was scheduled to run 4.5 miles at an easy pace. I've been pushing the pace a lot lately, and I didn't want to feel pressure to keep doing that on every run, so I decided not to look at my Garmin at all. Maybe it's because I wasn't looking, but I felt like I was going SO slow the first couple of miles. When I knew I was close to the turn-around point (2.25 miles in), I looked at my Garmin just to see the distance; and I accidentally saw my pace was at 9:04/mi. I was surprised to see that I was going that fast, because I could have sworn I was running about a 10:30/mi pace.

Seeing that kind of motivated me to pick up the pace a little and try to finish with a sub-9:00/mi average. Shortly after I turned around, however, I stopped dead in my tracks because there was an unleashed German Shepherd practically right on top of me to my left (I was running against traffic, and the dog was in the yard right next to me). The dog was totally quiet at first, which scared me--and then it started barking at me and coming toward me. I darted across the street and just stopped, so it wouldn't chase me. The owners weren't outside, of course, so I just stood there for about two full minutes, debating what to do.

If I turned around to run a different way home, it would add about three extra miles to my run; but I was scared to keep running. I saw a car coming toward us, and as soon as it was fairly close, I booked it and started running--that way if the dog tried to run at me, well, the car would stop it. I could hear the dog barking, but I just kept going.

It started raining on my way back home, but not pouring rain. It actually felt really good!

I'm bummed to have encountered the dog. I've stopped running the other routes I used to love because of the unleashed dogs, and this route was new as of recently. It's mostly on the shoulder of a busy road, so I felt "safe" from dogs. I really need to remember to bring my pepper spray from now on.

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I can't believe I've been 30 for almost a year!

I made a little sign-up form for the virtual 5K next month. If you missed my mentioning it, my 31st birthday is on January 25th--and I thought it would be fun to run 5K (3.1 miles) for my 31st, and make it an event :) So, if you're interested in joining me, I would love that!

A "virtual" race is really just where you map out the distance near your home (or use a treadmill) and run it on your own on a certain date. Then I will post all the results on my blog, and have prizes. I haven't worked out the details on the prizes yet, but I definitely will have a least a few (self-funded). If there are any companies reading this that may want to donate something, please e-mail me! I'll post more about that when it gets closer.

This isn't just for runners--you're welcome to walk this, too! The prizes will be given out at random to people who finish the 5K and give me their results--so you don't have to be fast. My mom said she will try to make this her first 5K (she's still doing the Couch to 5K program), so I will most likely be doing it along with her.

Here is the form:

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Typical meals

I've been asked quite a few times recently about the specifics of what some of my typical meals are, especially since I've been doing Weight Watchers. I was avoiding this post, because I know that my diet is FAR from perfect. I probably have too many carbs, too little protein, not enough veggies, too much processed crap, and too many sugary grapes. However, this is an honest look at what I eat.

The point of posting this isn't for a "meal plan" but to show that I eat things I like and still manage to lose weight. I don't live off of salad and grilled fish. These are things I enjoy eating. I usually go through phases, where I eat the same thing for a long time before switching to something else; but these were the common things I found while going through my food journal from the last three months. I just eat whatever I feel like eating, and I count the PointsPlus in it.

Typical breakfasts:

• Healthy Life English muffin (toasted) with 1 Tbsp. peanut butter + 1 Tbsp. Nutella and a banana
• 1/2 cup (dry) oatmeal prepared with 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 cup water and 1 Tbsp. brown sugar, and a banana
• Healthy Life English muffin (toasted) with 1 egg + 1 egg white (scrambled) and 2 Tbsp. Hormel real crumbled bacon and 1 slice Kraft 2% American cheese, and a banana
• Cascadian Farms Cinnamon Raisin granola (1 serving) with 1/2 cup 1% milk and a banana
• 1/2 cup (dry) oatmeal prepared with 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 cup water, 2 Tbsp. PB2, and 1 Tbsp. chocolate chips, and a banana
• Protein shake
• 1 serving Kashi GoLean Crunch with 1/2 cup frozen blueberries and 1/2 cup 1% milk

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Typical lunches:

• 2 eggs + 1 egg white, scrambled, with 2 Tbsp. Hormel real crumbled bacon and 1 slice Kraft 2% American cheese; 1.5 cups grapes
• Healthy Life English muffin (toasted) with 1 egg + 1 egg white (scrambled) and 2 Tbsp. Hormel real crumbled bacon and 1 slice Kraft 2% American cheese, and 1.5 cups grapes
• Subway 6" ham & turkey sub on wheat bread with provolone cheese, lettuce, green peppers, onions, banana peppers, and mustard; and 1.5 cups grapes
• Healthy Life English muffin (toasted) with 2 Tbsp. almond butter; and 1.5 cups grapes
• 1.5 cups spaghetti squash (cooked) topped with 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese, 1/2 cup jarred spaghetti sauce with 1 oz. cooked lean ground turkey, and 4 tsp. parmesan cheese; 1 slice 35-calorie bread, toasted, with 1 Tbsp. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light spread and sprinkled with garlic salt
• 1 can light Progresso soup with 5 saltine crackers; and 1.5 cups grapes
• tuna salad (1 can tuna + 1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese) on 6 Dill Triscuits with 1.5 cups grapes

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 Typical dinners:

• Chili with 1/4 cup fat-free cheddar cheese and 2 Tbsp. chopped onions
• General Tsao's Chicken with 1 serving cooked brown rice
• Homemade pizza--homemade crust (1/4 of the recipe), 1/4 cup canned pizza sauce, 1 oz. mozzarella cheese, 1 oz. fat free feta cheese, 2 Tbsp. chopped bell pepper + onion, 4 tsp. parmesan cheese
• Homemade split pea soup in the crock pot
• Southwest Chicken & Beans in the crock pot
• Baked Ziti
• Pasta e Fagioli

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Typical snacks:

• CLIF bar
• 1.5 cups grapes
• 2 Tbsp. peanut or almond butter
• Fiber One Oats 'n Chocolate bar
• 1 oz. almonds
• 6 oz. wine + 1 Dove Promise (dark chocolate)
• Broccoli with 2 Tbsp. Marzetti light ranch veggie dip
• McDonald's vanilla ice cream cone
• 2 cups Kroger Butterfinger ice cream (I only have this occasionally when I earn a lot of activity points--the pint is 18 PP, so I obviously can't have this very often!) 

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As you can see, I just tend to eat whatever I'm craving at the time; and I'm happy with the way I eat. However, I do plan on challenging myself to eat more veggies sometime soon--I'm definitely lacking in that department, because I'm just not a big veggie fan (and when I do buy them, they go bad before I use them). So while my diet certainly isn't ideal, it's definitely MUCH healthier than what I ate when I was obese!

Now that I've shared, what does a typical day's food look like for you??

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Pink, yellow, and orange

I reeeeally didn't feel like a long run this morning, and was so tempted to just put it off and possibly do it tomorrow. But if I put off every run that I didn't feel like doing, I wouldn't be a runner anymore ;)

So I got up and dressed, and since Jerry was home to get the kids off to school, I left the house at 7:15. I drove to the Metropark to run, since running nine miles around here would drag on forever--I needed the change of scenery. I parked at the same spot I ran with Steph last week, and just planned to run out 4.5 miles and then turn around.

It was in the mid-30's, and I felt hot almost immediately after I started running. I was wearing two long-sleeved shirts, and I should have just worn one. I was glad I left my gloves in the car. My goal was to try and maintain sub-10:00 miles for the whole run. For the first couple, I felt fine. Mile three, I started to feel really irritated and I wanted to turn around early.

During the fourth mile, I just felt "off". My legs felt clumsy, and I just really didn't want to run! I kept going, but quit pushing the pace. Once I got to the turn-around spot, I was happy to be headed back to the car, so I started running a little faster each mile. After mile eight, I saw that I was running a 9:32/mi average pace, and I decided to use the last mile to try and get the average under 9:30. So I ran hard for the last mile, and finished the last mile in 8:41, making my average overall pace 9:26. I was happy with that!

I was really surprised to see that I had burned 916 calories! I very rarely burn 100+ calories per mile... usually more like 85. I've noticed that I've been burning more lately, since I've been running faster (obviously because it gets my heart rate up higher).

When I got home, I showered and then made a very indulgent breakfast: steel cut oats topped with 2 Tbsp. of Nutella! It was as yummy as it was messy and gross-looking ;)

After breakfast, Jerry and I went out for some errands. Our garbage disposal broke yesterday, so we needed a new one from Lowe's. I also had to mail some shirts to a couple of the girls on my Ragnar team. We finally decided on team colors!! Our team isn't going to be wearing the exact same shirts, but we're going to wear the same colors--that way we can wear whatever we like and still match.

For the first run, we'll be wearing bright pink. Run #2 will be bright yellow. And the third run will be bright orange. I have a bright pink tank and a bright yellow tank, but was in need of orange. And since all the winter clothes are out now, I was worried I'd have a hard time finding a tank to use in Florida. I ended up finding some on clearance for $4.50! They are performance tanks (moisture-wicking fabric, which is what I like to run in). And they had bright orange.

I took this picture in the fitting room to text to the rest of my team, to see if they wanted me to pick up some for them as well. Jerry was desperate to be in the picture ;)

We talked about maybe putting "our number" on the back--meaning the number of pounds we've lost. These tanks are ribbed, so I'm not sure how I will do that. Maybe with reflective tape?

I'm waiting on one more part of my outfit, and then I'll post pictures. I'm getting SO EXTREMELY EXCITED. The Ragnar is all I have thought about for days now! I cannot wait to meet my team, and run with them in Florida.

Noah went to a pool party with a friend tonight, so Jerry and I asked Eli if he wanted to do something special while Noah was gone. He said he wanted to go out for ice cream. Thankfully, all of the ice cream shops around here are closed for the season, so we went to McDonald's for ice cream, where I could get my beloved vanilla cone. That cone has become a favorite treat of mine lately! Jerry and I always look forward to seeing what our cones look like--sometimes, they look picture-perfect; other times, they look very sloppy.

A few days ago, we got one that was the sloppiest cone I'd ever seen. I wish I'd thought to take a picture! Literally half of the ice cream was falling down the side of the cone. I was a little shocked when I saw it, and then when Jerry was handed his cone, it looked the same as mine! We thought it was hilarious. The person who made it definitely needed more practice.

Today, our cones weren't very pretty, but they sure did taste good!

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Weight Watchers goal weight

As you probably know, yesterday's Powerball was big news--$500 million. Jerry and I play the lotto only once every three years or so, when the jackpot is super high like that. We know nothing about the lottery, but when everyone talks about it, we might spend $5 on tickets.

So a few days ago, I happened to have $10 cash in my wallet (I very rarely have cash), so I told Jerry to go ahead and buy $10 worth of tickets, just for the fun of it. He bought the ticket and then last night, we were looking at it for the drawing when he realized that he'd bought the wrong one!

He bought the Mega Millions ticket instead of the Powerball.

We're lucky that our numbers weren't pulled on the Powerball, because that would have been the ultimate disappointment! Not that we expected to win, but it was nice to think we at least had a shot... until we realized Jerry's mistake ;)

This morning, I had four miles at race pace on the schedule. Technically my race pace for Ragnar is 9:00/mi, but when my schedule says "race pace", I just try to run anything sub-9:00. Unlike yesterday, I really didn't feel like running today. It's always hard to get motivated to run after a day off!

I put on the Jillian Michaels' podcast and listened to that while I ran. I love doing out-and-back routes, because they seem to go buy so much faster. Once I get to the turnaround, it's just a straight shot home. I finished with a pretty good time!

Tomorrow is my long run--nine miles.

After my run, I showered, ate breakfast, and got ready to go to my Weight Watchers meeting. Last week, I drank a ton of water and wore heavy clothes before the meeting. This morning, I didn't have a lot of time to worry about that, so I just dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans, drank one quart of water, and two cups of tea.

I knew that the Weight Watchers scale would register a large loss, but I really didn't care, since I'd already done my initial weigh in. Last week, I went to the Wednesday night meeting, since Thanksgiving was on Thursday; so it was a different leader. Today, I met the leader that I'd spoken with on the phone. She weighed me in and I was down 6.4 pounds from last week (yikes). Which means I reached my WW goal weight.

To reach goal on WW, you have to have lost at least 5 pounds from your starting weight, and your goal has to be within the healthy BMI range (for me, that's between 117-144). I chose 143 for my WW goal weight, because I weigh in with clothes on, and after breakfast and all that. I wanted to have a little "cushion" in case I gain a few pounds. So today, I was 141.6, and "officially" reached goal.

My leader asked if I wanted her to present me with the sticker at the meeting, and I said no, thank you. Despite the fact that I am a blogger, and write all about myself, I really don't like getting attention. So she handed me a pamphlet on maintenance, and the sticker, and a little WW charm for reaching goal:

I was being silly when Jerry took this pic--like, "I've been on and off WW for the last almost-20 years, and I FINALLY reached goal, and look what I got!!" It's such a dumb thing to get excited about, but I worked a loooong time and very hard to get that little star!

I put it on the WW 10% key chain my sister gave me. When I was losing weight, I was still counting WW Points, but wasn't a member. I had lost 10% of my weight, and my sister wrapped up her 10% key chain that SHE had gotten from WW and gave it to me. I thought that was really awesome of her! She said I should get something for all the work I was doing...

So the key chain is old and worn, and I love it like that--because both of us worked really hard for it!

Now, the next step is to become a "Lifetime" member. To reach that status, I have to maintain my weight loss for six weeks (losing more is okay). After the six week period, if I'm at or below goal, I will be a Lifetime member, and won't have to pay for meetings (or e-tools, a way to log PointsPlus online) as long as I continue to weigh in once a month at or below goal.

I really should have thought this through before reaching goal today, because you know when my six-week period ends? The day after I get home from Key West. This could either go really well, or really badly. It can definitely help to keep me on track in Florida, but I don't want to be afraid of letting loose and having as much fun as possible down there.

We all know how much weight I can gain in a few days on vacation... it's not unusual for me to gain 10 pounds in a weekend! I think I'll be fine as far as the food goes, but it's the alcohol that I'm worried about. Jerry and I will be on vacation in Key West without kids, in a beautiful hotel on the beach... and I plan on having some drinks. Too many drinks! But I'm certainly not 21 anymore, so maybe I'll only last a day before I never want to see alcohol again ;)

Regardless, I'm not going to worry much about it. If it means that I have to maintain my weight for another six weeks when I get home, so be it! But I was a little worried about going super-overboard while on vacation, so maybe this whole WW thing will keep me in check. I don't mind gaining a couple of pounds over the week, but I certainly don't want to gain 10.

Anyway, the meeting was okay. The ladies in there were VERY friendly, and I didn't feel judged in the slightest. They asked if I was new, and I said yes; they all introduced themselves, which was nice. I didn't tell anyone that I'd lost a lot of weight or anything, so they probably assumed I was just looking to lose a few pounds. It was hard NOT to talk about that, because all the other ladies were talking about how much they'd lost--but I kind of felt like if I said anything, I would be stealing the show, and I didn't want to do that.

The hardest part was when someone brought up The Dr. Oz Show. Of course none of them knew that I had been a guest on the show, and I almost mentioned it, but didn't want to get totally off the topic of what the leader was trying to talk about (which wasn't The Dr. Oz Show!). So again, I just kept quiet the whole time. And it was actually really nice, to not have to talk about my weight loss, and just hear about the success of others.

I liked the leader of the Wednesday night meeting better, but I have to pick a daytime meeting while my kids are in school. So I'm not sure what I'll do next week--if I'll stay in the Thursday morning meeting, or switch to one with a different leader. Maybe I'll go to a few different meetings (once you pay, you can go to as many meetings as you want that week) and try out a few different leaders before finding one to stick with. But since joining, I haven't had any negative experiences this time around, so I am happy about that!

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Wearable in public

I was actually a little disappointed that today was a rest day--I wanted to go run this morning. I know, what the heck is wrong with me?!

The weather has just been so great for running lately that I want to take full advantage of it. But I ran the last four days in a row, so I took today off. This morning was my weekly weigh-in. I'm going to start just doing my weight on a weekly basis, and save my body fat and waist measurement for once a month (since the change is so minimal on those).

Today's weigh in?

Sorry for the bad pic! I need to stop using my phone for scale pics

Today I was 135, so I lost half a pound this week. Doesn't sound like much, but being this close to my goal weight, half a pound is good! I'm now just two pounds from goal, so I could get there any day now :)

I went through my closet and tried on a bunch of stuff that I haven't worn in a while--namely my dresses. I was surprised (and delighted) to find that they fit really well now, and my Dr. Oz dress (the blue one I wore on the show) is actually pretty big! I had to wear Spanx to squeeze into that dress on the show. The dress I wore in Sarah's wedding is now pretty loose as well, and I could barely zip it (even with Spanx) on the day of her wedding a little over a year ago.

I was able to move all of my jeans into the "wearable in public" pile, and even get rid of some that were too big. This time, I have to KEEP THEM THERE, and have a very solid plan for maintenance. I'm going to try and follow in Stephanie's footsteps, and continue to count PointsPlus in order to stay at goal. I'll get to add some extra PP once I hit goal, but I will still be counting.

I made a really quick and good soup for lunch today. I've been craving cream of mushroom soup, but when I make it homemade, it's only good with a lot of cream in it. And that's about a million PP. So I just chopped up 8 oz. of mushrooms, and 6 oz. of leftover turkey and added it to a pot along with a can of cream of mushroom soup and a can of milk. That made two very filling servings, at 6 PP each. I was full for hours afterward, and the soup was SO good!

On Jerry's way to work today, the minivan broke down. That is sooo not good. It's super old, and we certainly didn't expect it to last forever, but this is a terrible time to have to worry about the car (just before Christmas, and our trip to Florida...). Jerry had to call off work for the very first time in TEN YEARS. He managed to get the van back home, but there is something really wrong with it. My dad is an auto mechanic, so he's going to look at it, but it's probably not worth fixing.

Jerry would have been getting a bonus at work for perfect attendance (they do that once a year in December), but today ruined that :(  Once he got the car home, he ended up going in to work with the Jeep, but he was an hour late--so the bonus is void.

We can technically get by with just the Jeep, but then I would be stuck at home for his entire 12-hour shifts. I would go crazy! A couple of years ago, we had to go an entire summer and part of the fall with just one car. The boys and I had to get very creative with things to do. And we called a bus to pick us up at home once in a while--the boys thought that was so fun! I did not ;)

But anyway, I'm just hoping that the van can be fixed. I don't know how soon my dad can look at it (we're always at the bottom of his priority list, since his "paying" customers come first, haha).

Tomorrow morning, I'm going to run and then go to my second Weight Watchers meeting. I'm still nervous to go, but not nearly as nervous as last time!

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Results not typical

Well, Estelle has been having a blast with our Christmas tree. Last night, we didn't even have it up for 10 minutes before she climbed it...

She thinks she's being sneaky. She managed to climb up and sit for a few minutes, then climb all the way back down without knocking any of the ornaments off. That's impressive!

After getting the kids off to school this morning, I checked the weather to see how I should dress for my run. Yep, I knew it would be cold--it's Michigan, and it's November--but just look at how consistent the weather is here in Michigan...

Full sun, snow, partly cloudy, freezing rain, cloudy, and rain... see how predictable? ;)

Today I was scheduled to do an easy run, but I was in the mood to run fast. So I did. I wasn't trying to hit a certain time or pace; just run fast for three miles. I did the same out-and-back route I've been doing all the time lately, and the run was tough. I kept telling myself, "This is supposed to be an easy run, you can totally slow down if you want."

But I knew it would be over soon, and I really wanted to practice that uncomfortable feeling for my 5K race in a couple of weeks, so I stuck it out. I was very relieved to be done!

I just realized that the time is off on my Garmin. You would think that since it's a GPS watch, it would "know" the correct time, since it "knows" my location... I will have to try and figure out how to fix the time.

Anyway, after lunch, Jerry and I went to see Breaking Dawn at the movies. I really loved the Twilight books, but I didn't get into the movies very much. Jerry, however, didn't read the books but he LOVED the movies. We were the only two people in the theater for the entire movie!

The movie was bad. I cringed at some of the sound effects, and the bad acting, and the strange visual effects. I'm sure it was a difficult movie to make, though, with the wolves, and the tearing off of vampires' heads!

For dinner tonight, I cooked a turkey that we got from Jerry's work. Every year, they give all of the employees a turkey a couple of days before Thanksgiving. I usually wait until about a week after Thanksgiving to cook it, so that's what I made today. I also made mashed potatoes and roasted green beans.

Carving a turkey takes lots of time, and I was cooking the side dishes at the same time--so I was a little overwhelmed for a bit. Meanwhile, Jerry took the boys outside to play. When dinner was ready, Jerry and the boys were nowhere to be found. I was so irritated, because I'd gone to so much trouble making dinner. I just fixed myself a plate of food while it was still hot, and ate turkey dinner by myself. Jerry had taken the boys out in the woods, and they got back about a half hour after I was done eating.

I think Jerry felt bad, because he kept saying how good dinner was (even though it was cold!).

My sister (Jeanie) called me last night and said that she's doing Weight Watchers again. She just started a couple of weeks ago, and she's already lost over six pounds! She doesn't have much to lose, but I'm excited for her. It will also be helpful when we go on our trip in a few weeks--we talked about how we don't want the trip to revolve around food. We can help keep each other on track.

My mom has also been doing really well on Weight Watchers--she's down over 10 pounds. And just today, she told me that she was thinking of doing the Couch to 5K plan. I was SHOCKED when she said that! But I think that's awesome. She said that it seems like most of the people who have successfully lost weight and kept it off are runners, so she might as well give it a try ;)

It's kind of funny... when I was obese, I loved to read weight loss success stories. I would read them in magazines, books, on websites, etc. But I always skipped right past the ones where someone had become a runner while/after losing weight. I figured that since there was "no way" I'd ever be a runner, I didn't even want to read the story. I was actually kind of annoyed at the stories where someone lost 100+ pounds and then went on to run a marathon.

And now I AM that "results not typical" story that I hated! I never in a million years would have guessed I'd become a runner one day. I remember talking with Stephanie at Winers less than a year ago, and she was talking about walking for exercise. Jessica asked her, "So Steph, do you think you'll start running?" And Stephanie gave us this look that made it very clear that she wasn't interested in running--ever. She said, "No!" and we didn't ask again.

And then, less than six months later, Stephanie ran her first 5K ;)  (Here is her running story). It's so fun to see how running really does change lives!

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Muscles

This morning, I was scheduled to do speed work: 8 x 400m (which means running 400 meters, about 1/4 mile, 8 times at a very fast pace, with rest/walking in-between). I do intervals like this every other week. Two weeks ago, I did it on the treadmill; and four weeks ago, I did it on the track. Today, I decided to just run it on a normal route outside.

I set up my Garmin for intervals--short warm-up run, then 8 repeats of 1/4 mile hard, then 1/10 mile walk. My plan was to run the hard intervals as fast as I could while still reserving enough energy to finish. It was rough!! These interval workouts are hard, but very rewarding when I see my pace at the end ;)

My interval splits (first number is time it took me to run the 1/4 mile, second number is pace):

Split 1: 1:55.3 (7:42/mi pace)
Split 2: 1:54.1 (7:37/mi)
Split 3: 1:54.4 (7:38/mi)
Split 4: 1:49.2 (7:17/mi)
Split 5: 1:51.7 (7:27/mi)
Split 6: 1:43.9 (6:56/mi!!)
Split 7: 1:50.0 (7:20/mi)
Split 8: 1:51.0 (7:24/mi)

My splits improved quite a bit just over the last month--and I'm stunned I managed a 6:56 pace for the sixth split! For reference, these were my splits one month ago:

Split 1- 1:53 (7:34/mi pace)
Split 2- 1:55 (7:40/mi pace)
Split 3- 1:58 (7:53/mi pace)
Split 4- 1:57 (7:52/mi pace)
Split 5- 1:59 (7:56/mi pace)
Split 6- 1:56 (7:44/mi pace)

I know I keep saying this, but it's so exciting to see the numbers to show that I'm actually getting faster :)

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While I was eating breakfast, the FedEx guy pulled up in front of the house--always exciting! I was expecting a package that I had been wanting for over a year now.

It's no secret that I am very cheap when it comes to clothing--I almost never buy brand new clothes, because I can get them super cheap at garage sales and thrift stores (I do buy new undies, however!). When I do buy brand new clothes, I don't spend much at all. I think the most I've ever paid for a pair of jeans was maybe $25? The most expensive pants I've ever bought are my Under Armour Cold Gear running tights, which were $50.

When I saw these particular leggings online, I wanted them badly. They aren't specifically running tights, but I thought they would be so much fun to wear at a race! I was not thrilled about the hefty price tag, however. They were $75 AUD (which is about $78 USD). I didn't buy them because I just couldn't justify spending that much on a silly pair of leggings.

But every once in a while, I would go to the website and look at them some more, and even went as far as to put them in my cart; but I just couldn't put the payment info in. Jerry told me, "Why don't you reward yourself with those? Pick a goal and use the pants for a reward..." So I said, "Okay, when I get back in the 130's, I will buy these leggings."

Well, 139 came and went a while ago, but I still felt horribly guilty. But last week, I finally bit the bullet and bought them. And today, they showed up on my doorstep!

Aren't they awesome?! They look so realistic, and I think they will be super fun to wear to a race. I cannot believe I spent $78 on them, but it does make counting PointsPlus for the past couple of months in order to get my weight back down worth it. At least I feel like I've earned them!

They're super comfy (very stretchy and soft), but they require waaaay more care than anything else I've ever bought. Look at this care tag:

I'm going to do my best to make them last as long as possible.

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After lunch, Jerry and I went Christmas shopping. We spent about two hours at Toys 'R' Us, and we were done! We got ALL of the shopping done for the kids in one go, which was nice. On the way home, we got a vanilla ice cream cone from McDonald's (5 PointsPlus). I was freezing, but I still wanted ice cream, so I just cranked up the heat in the car.

We got our Christmas tree out of my parents' attic, so we're spending the evening putting that up. Well, Jerry is doing the work, and I'm sitting under my electric blanket with Estelle ;)

Jerry is ridiculously into Christmas, and it cracks me up. HE is the one who starts listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies in November. I guess that's a good thing, though, because I'm kind of a grinch--I'm not into Christmas decorations or music or any of that. We balance each other out!

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A naked egg

I actually slept in until 8:00 this morning! It was so nice, considering I've been getting up before 5:00 every day (not by choice). But I was SO warm and cozy underneath my electric blanket that I really didn't want to get up and run in the sub-30 degree temp outside!

I really did consider skipping my run today, but I didn't have a "real" reason to skip--just pure laziness--so I went ahead and did it anyway, of course. I was scheduled for 4.5 miles at an easy pace, so I did my latest favorite out-and-back route.

There was a little bit of snow on the ground in patches--I don't know if I'm ready to be running in snow yet! I feel like it went from summer to winter, completely skipping over fall. I listened to Jillian Michaels' podcast while I ran today--I've actually gotten behind on it, because I've been catching up on Half Size Me.

I have to say, I'm very excited that Jillian is going to be on The Biggest Loser again (at least for one season). I really disliked her when she was on the show before, but then after she quit, I somehow started listening to her podcast. And now I really like her!

The 4.5 miles actually went by pretty quickly, and I was back in the warm house in no time.

When I walked in, I could smell something kind of funky. It was (yet another) failed attempt at steel cut oats. I'm getting really good at this--trying a new method to cook them, and then finding out that it didn't work ;) This time, I tried this method for cooking them--you put them in a casserole dish, and place the whole dish inside of the crock pot, and then put water bath around the casserole dish. Cook on low overnight. So that's what I did, and this time, I skipped adding the sugar so it wouldn't burn.

Well, the sugar in the milk burned. So it turned a caramel-like color, which sounds really nice--but it tasted burnt. And the texture was very gummy, which I didn't like. Oh well, it was worth a try.

Water-bath-in-a-crock-pot fail

So far, the only successful attempts have been on the stove, really low heat for a long time. I don't mind cooking them this way, but I'm just frustrated that I can't cook them all the other ways that people seem to have luck! There is one more method I'm going to give a try, where you add boiling water and then cover it overnight, and finish cooking it in the morning.

This whole steel cut oats thing has become a game to me--see how many ways I can screw up the oats! ;)

Yesterday, Eli and I decided to try out an experiment that I came across on Pinterest to make a "naked egg". We put two raw eggs (still in the shell) in a glass full of vinegar. Then we let it set all night. And today, we took the eggs out. They felt very squishy, and then when we rubbed them gently, the shells rubbed right off--they had turned into a powdery substance. When we'd rubbed all the shell off, this is what we were left with:

It's still a totally raw egg--it's just being held together by the membrane part. Eli held the first one and squished it too hard, and it broke all over his shirt. It was an interesting experiment, but also kind of useless ;)

Jerry is off work tomorrow, and I'm super excited. We've been so busy lately that I feel like I haven't spent any quality time with him. While the boys are in school, we're going to do a little Christmas shopping. And we talked about possibly going to La Pita for lunch! Although I'm not sure if we'll end up doing that or not, since it's so far away.

I cannot believe that it's almost Christmas already. Everything is going so fast right now! We are going on a little three-day trip with my parents, sister and her husband, and my brothers in a few weeks. We decided to do this trip together instead of exchanging gifts this year, which I think is an awesome idea.

After our trip, we have Christmas, and then my best friend Sarah is coming to town from Arizona. Then New Year's, and THEN--The Ragnar Relay!! I won't remind you how excited I am for that ;)

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A run with Steph

I finally figured out something to sew yesterday--a cute cover for my Weight Watchers 3-Month Journal. I used my "before" jeans for the outside of it, and I made it using the same techniques that I used for the tea wallets I made. It was kind of difficult working with so many layers of fabric, including denim, but I managed, and I think it turned out cute!

Outside

I put a pocket on each inner side (that's my weigh-in booklet in the left pocket). The WW 3-Month Journal is a book to keep track of your PointsPlus for three months, as opposed to using the one-week paper journals. I have so many of these things, all filled out! My first big goal when I started losing weight was to get through an entire book without bingeing. This current one is almost done, too--and binge-free :)

Tonight, I am trying to come up with an idea to do with these:

Those are the back pockets of a bunch of jeans that I used for my quilt when I was losing weight. I saved them, knowing I could find some way to re-purpose them, but I haven't come across any ideas that really stand out to me so far. We'll see :)

The best part about getting crafty in the evenings is that it completely takes my mind off of food. I spent the entire evening working on that journal cover, and didn't want to stop until it was done--so I didn't even pause to think of food between dinner and my bedtime wine and chocolate!

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This morning, I had plans to meet Stephanie at 7:00 at the Metropark for a run. This was a step-back week for me (mileage was cut down a little), so I had six miles on the schedule for my long run. Stephanie said she ran five last week, so six would be a good distance for her, too.

I got dressed as quietly as possible, so I wouldn't wake up the kids, and then I left. It was a cold morning, but not as bad as I was expecting it to be. I got to the Metropark right at 7:00, and it was still pretty dark outside. Steph was already there, so we started running the three-mile path as an out-and-back route.

It was so nice to have the company! The miles flew by, and before I knew it, we were back at the car.

I really ought to burn that jacket. It's SO unflattering, yet I continue to wear it.

I chatted a little with Stephanie about maintenance--because she's a rock star at it! She has been doing awesome at maintaining her goal weight, and she said that she still counts PointsPlus every single day. I have a feeling I'm going to have to continue to count for a long time, if not indefinitely to maintain my goal. I'm really good at yo-yo-ing between 135 and 155; unfortunately, that isn't the ideal maintenance plan ;)

I headed back home for a busy morning. My kids were invited to a birthday party today, and we didn't get the invitation until Wednesday evening. Thursday was Thanksgiving, and I certainly wasn't going out on Black Friday to buy a gift, so as of this morning, I still didn't have a gift for the birthday boy.

When I got home, I showered quickly, ate breakfast (thankfully I still had a bowl of the steel cut oats in the fridge), got the kids ready for the party, and then we left early so that we could go to the store to buy a gift. I had asked the birthday boy's mom what he was into, and she said Legos, so that was easy enough. The kids picked out a Lego set, and I wrapped it in the car.

While the boys were at the party, I went to Meijer to browse around and kill some time, as well as pick up a few groceries. By the time I picked up the kids from the party, I was starving. As soon as I got home, I heated up a can of soup to scarf down for lunch.

Now, to work on a new craft...

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