Weight Loss Specialist

First up, I have some exciting news to share...

I am now a NASM-credentialed Weight Loss Specialist :)

I actually had no idea that such a credential existed, but when NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in taking the course, it sounded like an amazing opportunity. They told me I could take the course for free in exchange for a review--even better.

I've always absolutely loved reading anything and everything I could get my hands on regarding health, nutrition, fitness, weight loss, etc. When I first checked out the website for this course, I thought it sounded like it was just for certified personal trainers looking to further their credentials. Since I am not a personal trainer, I asked NASM about this, and they assured me that I didn't have to be a trainer to take the course.

The NASM is a very respected and well-known organization--I knew they certified personal trainers, but they have a lot of other courses that you can get credentials for as well.

I got the e-mail just after I wrote the post about what I was going to do for my "next big thing". And once I registered for the running coach certification course, this sounded like it would fit in perfectly. Anyway, I didn't mention that I was doing this course sooner, because how embarrassing would it be if I FAILED?! ;)

I was told the course would take about 15 hours to complete--in reality, it took me a little longer, because I am a very slow reader. The course is done entirely online, and consists of reading the manual, watching presentation videos about what you've just read, and then taking a 10-question quiz at the end of each chapter. At the very end of the course, there is a 100-question exam that you must pass in order to receive the WLS credential.

Things I liked about the course:

• All of the information is very up-to-date. I was really impressed with this as I read the manual.
• It is completely focused on the science of weight loss--not the fad diets! Calories in vs. calories out, and how/why exercise is very important.
• The format of the course made it easy to break into chunks at a time--I would do 1-2 chapters a day (or some days I would take a break). Each chapter was about 15-20 pages of reading, plus a 10-15 minute video, plus a short quiz.
• The whole thing is done online, which is very convenient.
• I went into it thinking that I could probably take the test and pass without even doing the course, because I feel like I know a lot about this stuff! But I did learn quite a bit, and I feel the course was necessary to pass the test.

Things I disliked about the course:

• Despite the fact that anyone can take the course, it really does seem targeted to certified personal trainers. While reading the manual, I was glad that I had taken two semesters of anatomy and one semester of medical terminology in college; otherwise I wouldn't have understood a lot of the text.
• I'm not so sure what a WLS credential can do without being paired with a personal trainer certification. If you're a trainer, however, I think clients would be drawn to that credential if they're looking to lose weight.

Overall, I'm glad I took the course. Would it be worth $499, the current cost of the program? Yes, IF I was a personal trainer (or even certified running coach), because it's a great credential to go hand-in-hand with those. However, on its own, I'm not sure how beneficial the certificate is.

(Disclosure: NASM provided the course for me free of charge in exchange for an honest review about the course. Much thanks to NASM for giving me this opportunity!).

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Speaking of certifications, yesterday I completely spaced out and forgot that I was signed up for a CPR/First Aid certification class last night! It's required to get my running coach certification next month. I panicked when I realized I missed it, because it was $90. I called them, explained that I had forgotten, and asked if I could reschedule. Thankfully, they allowed me to reschedule without charge--the woman I spoke with was SO friendly and helpful. Now I'll be taking it on the 18th.

Yesterday, while the boys were in school, Jerry and I drove up to Ann Arbor (45 minutes away) to hit up Trader Joe's. We very rarely go there, but we had nothing going on yesterday, so I thought it would be fun. We bought a lot of stuff that we didn't really need, but everything looked so good!

Jerry wanted the sushi--I'm just not a sushi fan, unfortunately. Naturally, I picked out the smiley face wine only because of the bottle. We got a few things for the kids--chocolate-covered potato chips, for one. I tasted them, and they weren't very good. The Cocoa Almond spread is amazing!! I tried it out this morning on an English muffin:

A little bit actually goes a long way, too--that was 12 grams total (about 2 tsp). The English muffin with the spread was 5 PP.
Today was a rest day, so I got up early to shower and dress before the boys got up for school. I had an ob/gyn appointment this morning for a repeat pap smear. I was supposed to go in October, but completely forgot about it (yes, I'm very forgetful, I guess!). It's also Wednesday, which means it's my weigh-in day. I was curious how I would do on the scale this week, considering I went over my PointsPlus on Saturday (but I did make up for it Sunday-Tuesday).

I was 131 on the nose again, so this week was a success! I've been at or under goal weight for almost two months now, which is the longest I've ever maintained a stable weight. I'm also on a very long binge-free streak...

I have an app on my phone that counts down to certain events. When you put in a past date, it counts up. So now I can see at a glance how long it's been--seeing that streak makes me want to continue it! I chose that cookie photo from Key West, because it reminds me that I can eat amazing food without bingeing on it.
(In case you're wondering, the app is called Countdown+ Event Reminders Lite.)

Anyone else have a long healthy streak going (binge-free, exercise, smoke-free, etc)? Please share!

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Losing weight without diet or exercise

Jerry and I had a bit of a lazy morning. Since he was off work, we sat around and chatted once the boys went to school. I turned on The Dr. Oz Show from the DVR, and was immediately annoyed with the theme he's had going on for while now with this shows: "Lose weight without diet or exercise!"

This annoys me for a couple of reasons:

1) Exercise is good for our bodies--particularly, our hearts. Dr. Oz is a cardiologist, who knows that fact better than anyone, but he still does these shows where he makes it sound like exercise is something to dread (or avoid, in this case).

2) This gives people unrealistic expectations. "Take this supplement, and you don't have to diet or exercise, but you'll lose weight!"

I used to love Dr. Oz when he was on Oprah, because you could really tell that he was passionate about telling people about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. He always got very excited when talking about it. The first time I met him, in October 2009, I still got that same vibe from him (his show was pretty new at the time).

When I met him again in November 2011, I didn't get that impression so much. He didn't seem to have that passion, and he just went through the motions on the show as it was written. I think I mentioned this before, but I wasn't allowed to talk about running while I was on the show. When I asked the producers about it, I was told that it was discouraging for the target audience to hear that I run, because that is unrealistic for them.

Um, I NEVER thought I could be a runner. When I was morbidly obese, becoming a runner was what I would label as "impossible". I like to write about running on my blog because I want other people to feel like they, too, can do what they once thought was impossible--whether it's running, or walking a race, reaching goal weight, cycling, competing in triathlons, or just being an active parent. Those are things that may feel impossible, but they most definitely are possible for most people.

Did I have any clue that I would run a marathon just a few
years after this photo was taken? Um, heck no!!

But anyways, back to the show--I watched for about 15 minutes before I turned it off. I think that there are people out there looking for a solution to their weight problem, and when Dr. Oz says it can be done without diet or exercise, it's like telling these people that they should look for an easy way out. Exercise shouldn't be looked at like a punishment, but more as a solution.

Yes, I'm the first to admit that I hate exercise--but I'm also the first to admit that I LOVE what it does for my body and how it makes me feel. I can't imagine my life without it, now that I know how much good it's doing me!

If there is one thing that I've learned while losing weight, and maintaining weight (and even gaining here and there) it is this: Exercise is crucial to losing weight and keeping it off. Period.

I've lost weight lots of times in the past through diet alone; but I always gained it back, because I wasn't exercising. Now that I'm at goal, I'm no longer working toward a specific weight--so I need other goals to focus on, and running gives me that focus. I am setting goals of getting faster, and running farther, and pushing myself. If I wasn't doing this, there would be nothing stopping me from slipping back into old habits--which did not include goal setting.

Exercise doesn't have to be as challenging as running, either. Dr. Oz could talk about the benefits of walking, which is something that most people can do. My friend Stephanie wasn't remotely interested in running, so she walked while she was losing weight. She set goals just like you would as a runner--first, to work up to walking 5K; then to walk it faster; and even though it wasn't originally part of her plan, she is now running. I started out by walking for exercise, as well:

This was in Jan. 2010, after my first walk while losing weight

On to the "diet" part... the word "diet" has different meanings, and people interpret it in different ways. Most of us think of it as a way of eating in order to lose weight. When I talk about my diet on the blog, I'm referring to the foods I eat on a daily basis--"my daily diet". Others despise the word, and prefer "lifestyle change" in regards to eating for health or weight loss. But obviously, The Dr. Oz Show was referring to what you eat in order to lose weight.

I also am a firm believer that people have to change their diets (what they eat on a daily basis) in order to lose weight. When Dr. Oz says that you can take a certain supplement and lose weight without diet or exercise, that immediately makes it sound like people can eat the same stuff they are eating as an overweight person and still lose weight. Again, very unrealistic!

I didn't mean to turn this into a rant about the show, or Dr. Oz--I still greatly respect him as a doctor and health advocate. I just wish that he would go back to teaching people about a healthy lifestyle, which includes healthy diet and exercise, rather than doing shows like this.

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Introducing Motivational Mondays

For the past month or so, I've been doing a fun "Motivational Monday" post on Facebook--where I ask everyone to shamelessly brag about something health or fitness related that they did in the past week. It's so inspiring to see all of the challenges people faced, how they handled them, the miles run, the healthy food eaten, the binge-free days...

So now that things are settling down (I had a super busy January!), I'd like to start sharing some of  the Motivational Monday posts on my blog. Here are just a few of the replies from today:

Kendall Marie, a Twitter friend, has been celebrating all week the one-year anniversary of changing her health habits--she's lost 70 pounds and has taken up running!

Check out her progress!! Doesn't she look amazing?

Anyway, I'd like to showcase some motivational stuff on Mondays, so that is my plan. You can read the full Facebook thread here--LOTS of great accomplishments! I'll do it again next Monday, so if you have something to feel proud about, feel free to share!

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Being Monday, I was scheduled for speed work today--intervals. I hate intervals! I like that they go by so quickly, but they're really hard and exhausting. I usually do 8x400 (8 repeats of 400 meters, or 1/4 mile) basically as fast as I can handle. When I do them on the treadmill, I jump off the treadmill and just rest in-between intervals; when I do them outside, I walk in-between intervals.

Today, I decided to change it up a little and do 4x800 (4 repeats of 800 meters, or 1/2 mile). That way I'd be doing the same distance, but just in longer intervals. I do my 400's at about 9.3 mph, but obviously if I was going to double the distance, I would have to go slower. I chose 8.6 mph (about a 7:00/mi pace).

It was HARD, but the whole workout went by pretty quickly because I only had to run four times (3 1/2 minutes at a time)--totaling 2 miles. I only earned 2 activity PointsPlus for it, but at least it got me out of the negative this week :)

For breakfast, I toasted an English muffin and spread it with PB2 + mashed banana. It was just so-so. I'm just not a huge banana fan.

After breakfast, I had to go to the dentist. I didn't have a cavity, but when I went to the dentist last week, he said something strange was going on with a filling that I had. Today, he said that the drilling would be very shallow, so I wouldn't need to get numbed--I was so relieved, because I hate getting numbed! He drilled and fixed the filling, and discovered that the molar had a very small crack in it, almost like it was trying to split in half.

That was scary! He checked out my bite, and saw that the problem was from the surgery that fixed my broken jaw. My upper molar was fitting into my lower one the wrong way (the surgery shifted my teeth slightly), and was trying to push it apart every time I would bite down, and it cracked.

He had these little blue tabs that he had me bite down on, and they left blue ink on my teeth so that I could see where my teeth came together while biting. It was really interesting to see just how badly that side came together! I never noticed it before.

The dentist told me that he could file the teeth (that's not the word he used, but that's how he described it) so that it would take the pressure off of that tooth. It just took about five minutes, but it made a big difference in my bite! He had me bite down on the blue thing again, and my bite was much more even. Did I mention that I love my dentist?! He didn't even charge me for what he did today.

I tried a new food find today. Jerry ate one of these at work, and told me they tasted just like an Almond Joy, so naturally, I had to try it! It's the new Fiber One Coconut Almond chewy bar:

I know people either love or hate Fiber One stuff, but I happen to love it. My very favorite are the Oats 'n Chocolate chewy bars, but these new ones may have taken the lead. It truly did taste JUST like an Almond Joy. They are 4 PointsPlus, which isn't bad at all.

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Great weekend!

What a great weekend! Friday, I went to lunch at La Pita with Renee, Jessica, and Amy. Yesterday, I had SO much fun with my old friends from high school. We went to a Mexican restaurant in Toledo called El Camino Real. They are known for their amazing margaritas, so naturally, I had to get one (okay, I had two...). I wanted to share a dinner with Jerry, but he wasn't in the mood to share, so I ordered chicken fajitas. The plates (yes, that's plural) that came out to me were enormous!

I made up one fajita, then ate some of the filling--the tortillas really aren't worth the PointsPlus to me. I ate about half of the dinner, and skipped over the chips and salsa entirely. It was so great to be able to chat with my friends! It's been way too long since we were all together.

The only problem with a rectangular table like that is that we couldn't talk with the people on the other end. So after dinner, Eric and Maris volunteered their house for all of us to go hang out. I was definitely up for that! We went over there and chatted for a long time--it was after 1:00 when we finally left.

When I got home and logged all my food, I saw that I had actually gone OVER my allotted PointsPlus for the week--I've never seen a negative number on there before, but it read -6 Weekly PointsPlus. To get it out of the negative, I just have to earn 6 activity PointsPlus before Wednesday.

This morning, I started that off by going for a run. I was planning to run 5 miles in order to earn 6 PP. It was FREEZING outside, and the roads were covered in snow, but I decided to run outside anyway. I dressed in some warm pants, an Under Armour Cold Gear long-sleeved shirt with a fleece jacket over it, gloves, a balaclava, and my shoes with IceSpikes on them so I didn't fall on the packed snow.

It was just 10 degrees outside--the coldest temp I've run in this year, I think. Anyway, I ran out to the road that I usually run on, but it was clear of snow, and I didn't want to run on dry road with my IceSpikes. So I just ran through the neighborhoods instead, because the IceSpikes work best on about a half-inch of packed down snow. Instead of running five miles, though, I just did 3.3--it's hard to run far when you're running the streets in neighborhoods.

I also learned that it's nearly impossible to get any oxygen with a balaclava covering my mouth. Shortly after I started running, I had to pull it down to my chin, which was kind of uncomfortable.

I thought my pace would be super slow, since I was running on snow, but it wasn't bad!

The tags were still on this balaclava this morning--this was
the first time I wore it, and I bought it two years ago!

Because I don't have any weekly PointsPlus to fall back on for the next few days, I have to be extra careful about what I eat. I decided to make it a mission to get in all of my Good Health Guidelines:

(source)

For breakfast, I made a protein shake with a cup of milk and a cup of berries; then for lunch, I got in some veggie servings by having spaghetti squash. I topped it with spaghetti sauce mixed with ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and mushrooms sauteed in olive oil. Those two meals alone got in almost all of the healthy guidelines today!

It tasted much better than it looks. ;)  It was so good that I'm going to have it again tomorrow.

This evening, my little brother Nathan came over to watch the first half of the Super Bowl with Jerry. I was excited for him to come over, since I don't see him too often. It was a great day!

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Beard

I had such a relaxing morning today--it felt great! First, I worked on a fun knitting project for my brother--a beard. He saw a picture of a beard hat, and asked if I could make it for him; but instead of doing the whole hat, I figured I'd just do the beard part and he could wear it with any hat he wanted. I'm pretty good at making up my own patterns, but since my brother isn't here to try it on as I knit, I figured I'd better find a pattern for it.

I found one I really liked, but unfortunately, it wasn't free--bummer! But it was only $2, so I bought it anyway. (Here is a link to the pattern).  It ended up being a pretty quick and easy project, and I was happy with it when I was done:

I made it a little big on me, so I think it should fit my brother. Jerry saw it and wanted one too, so I made him one in brown:

After I finished that, I played Guess Who and Sorry with the boys. I loved the game Guess Who when I was kid! It's not much fun as an adult, however ;)  But Sorry was a fun one--the boys were really into the game.

This afternoon, I decided that since today is a rest day, I would try out the Jillian Michaels' yoga DVD that I bought. So many people swear by yoga, and I really want to like it. I like Jillian, so I thought maybe she could get me into it.

I started the DVD, got just six minutes into it, and then called it quits, hahaha. Besides the fact that I just don't enjoy it, it was killing my knees. I'm just not cut out for yoga!

Instead, I got some activity by shoveling the snow from the driveway--twice. I could have left it for Jerry, but the snow was really light and fluffy today, so I figured I'd surprise him and do it so he wouldn't have to. It's amazing how much easier it is to shovel snow when I'm not obese! I remember feeling like I was going to have a heart attack when I shoveled it a few years ago. Today, I didn't even feel like I was working (but don't tell Jerry that, because then he'll always want me to do it!) 

I also worked a little bit on my blog today--just updating things like my FAQ's, race reports, etc. I know most everyone knows this already, but just in case you don't--there is a search bar on the right hand side of my blog, so if you're looking for something specific, you can just type in a few keywords there. It works really well--when I get e-mails from people asking questions about things I know I've written in the blog, I use the search bar to find it, and then pass along the link.

Speaking of my blog, quite a few people have told me that one of my posts never showed up in their Google Reader. I have no idea why that happened, but it was the Virtual 5K results post--so if you haven't seen it, you can check it out here. It's a list of everyone who completed the Virtual 5K, as well as the winners of the prizes. 

Well, I've got to get ready to go meet my high school friends for dinner! I'm really excited to see everyone :)

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Thirty-One

So last night before bed, I was thinking about how it would be dumb to get up at 4:00 to run before the kids woke up. Just as I thought that, Jerry had to go and say, "There's no way you'll be able to get up at 4:00 when I wake up!" If Jerry hadn't said that, I would have slept until 7:00, I'm sure of it.

The alarm went off at 4:00 for Jerry to get up for work, and I so badly wanted to go right back to sleep like I usually do, but I was determined to show Jerry that I can too get up at the same time as he does. I crawled out of bed at 4:05, and got my running clothes on.

I wasn't sure how far I was going to run. Usually, Fridays are my long runs, and I like to do 8-13 miles. But the virtual 5K last Friday kind of screwed up my schedule, and I ran 12 on Tuesday this week. So I figured I would just run a little longer than my mid-week runs, and call it a day.

I turned on Breaking Bad--that show just keeps getting better and better!--and started season two. I set the speed and incline, and just left it there for 6 miles, then called it quits.

I was only a tiny little bit into the second episode, and I really wanted to keep watching it, so I amended my rule of only watching it while running on the treadmill--I just had to finish the episode!

I took a shower, dressed, and did my hair, then plopped into the recliner. It was only 5:20, so I had gotten up SO early for no reason! I chose 4:00 thinking that I was going to run for much longer. I've been doing an online course (I'll explain more about it later, it's for a review), so I was reading the manual for that, and I kept nodding off. That never happens to me! But I was just really tired.

After I got the kids off to school, I kept reading the manual until it was time to go to lunch at La Pita. I met Renee at Kroger, and then she drove to Dearborn. She gave me my birthday gift in the car--a cute tote by Thirty-One:

I should have taken a better picture, because that one is so dark, but the bag is really cute. Anyway, it never even occurred to me the significance of it being a Thirty-One bag!! After lunch, Jessica mentioned it, and then I put two and two together (I'm a little slow)--a Thirty-One bag for my 31st birthday ;)

While it was a cute gift regardless, it made much more sense then! haha

Lunch at La Pita was nothing less than amazing, per usual. Also per usual was my meal (are you sick of this picture yet?):

I will never get sick of La Pita!

I spent the afternoon trying to get caught up on a bunch of stuff that I'm behind on--e-mail, blog reading, crafts I volunteered to make for people (my brother wants me to knit a beard to wear with a winter hat--that's a fun one!), laundry, getting the virtual 5K prizes ready to mail (I hope to get those shipped tomorrow), stuff like that.

I just took this picture of Paolo--isn't he gorgeous?

It's a shame I don't take more pictures of him, considering he's so pretty, but he's really boring. He just sleeps all day long, unless he sees me get out his brush. I've never seen an animal go so crazy to be groomed. He rubs all over me, falls over on the floor and rolls around happy as can be while I brush him.

Chandler likes to be brushed too (he's too fat to groom himself!) but Paolo gets really mad at Chandler when he comes over to me while I've got the brush out, and starts swatting at him.

Cats are so funny--I love their personalities!

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Weekend Plans and Yummy Oatmeal

I woke up this morning feeling like I could have slept another five hours. I was SO tired! But I had to get up and get the kids ready for school. Once they left, I had a very hard time talking myself into running. I kept thinking, "I could just skip it, since I ran 12 on Tuesday..." or "Maybe I'll just wait until this afternoon..." and all the other excuses that popped into my head.

Normally, I run before I eat breakfast, but I was all about procrastinating this morning, so I ate breakfast first--my usual lately, oatmeal with caramel, peanut butter, coconut, and chocolate chips. I look forward to breakfast every morning because I absolutely love that concoction!

(Since someone is sure to ask, this bowl has 273 calories--33 grams of oats (cooked in water), 13 grams of Marzetti fat free caramel dip, 7 grams each of peanut butter, coconut, and chocolate chips). I always have fruit with breakfast too, usually a banana.

I had a Weight Watchers meeting at 10:00, so I couldn't put off my run for too long; finally, I got on the treadmill at around 8:30. I chose the treadmill today not because the wind was atrocious outside, but because I've been dying to see the next episode of Breaking Bad. When I started watching that show a couple of weeks ago, it was so good that I told myself I could only watch it while on the treadmill--that way, I'd have something to keep me from dying of boredom.

It definitely made my treadmill time much more enjoyable today! I ran four miles, and it wasn't bad at all. I was still very glad to be done, but watching Breaking Bad was definitely what I needed to get through the run today.

When I got off the treadmill, I quickly showered and dressed and headed out the door. When I weighed in at Weight Watchers, my weight was up on their scale (no doubt because I was very well-hydrated this morning). Thankfully, the receptionist just said, "You're up a little this week, Katie," without making feel badly about it. 

At the meeting, I finally raised my hand to share a "bravo" of my week--the Virtual 5K! I've been so excited about the 5K, because I had no idea how emotionally involved I would get with it. I absolutely LOVED reading all of your stories and seeing the pictures you all posted, and it made me feel so good! I tried to explain it at my meeting, but I don't think anyone really understood why it was such a big deal to me.

After my meeting, I went to meet Jessica for coffee. She said that she got emotional while reading all of the 5K stories, too--it was so inspiring to see all the people do something they didn't think they could do. She gave me a birthday card saying that she's going to buy me lunch at La Pita--yum!! So tomorrow, Renee is picking me up and we are going to meet Jessica and another friend Amy for lunch at La Pita. I know I just went there last week, but I love La Pita so much that I would go there every week if I could ;)

I actually have fun plans for Saturday, too. My high school friends are having a get-together/reunion! I have no idea who planned this, but it just came about a few days ago. The group of people I was friends with in high school, and spent most of my time with, was self-named "The Kindred Klan" (some of the guys formed a band named Kindred, and the rest of us were groupies). I still see them now and then, but never together all in one place--so I'm really excited! I've never gone to a high school reunion, nor do I care to, but a Kindred reunion (at a Mexican restaurant with amazing margaritas!) sounds great to me :)

I'm going to try and squeeze in a long run tomorrow morning, so that I can have extra PointsPlus to get me through the next couple of days. My plan (right now) is to get up at 4:00 and run on the treadmill before getting the kids up for school. However, my plan may change at 4:00 when it's time to get up! We'll see ;)

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First time in over three years...

Today was my Wednesday Weigh-in, and Estelle was just dying to see how I did this week:

That cat follows me everywhere. If I lock her out of the bathroom when I'm in there, she grips the door from the bottom (hard to describe, I'll have to get a picture) and shakes it back and forth so it makes a loud banging noise. She photo-bombed four scale pictures before I managed to get a decent one.

I was 131 today, the same that I was two weeks ago. Last week, I gained 1.5 for no reason at all, so it must have just been water retention or something. I'm going to continue with the 32 PointsPlus a day, and see what happens. If I lose more than another pound or two, then I'll try adding 2-3 PP a day.

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The kids had a half day of school today, which means they were dismissed at 11:30. When I learned about their half-day last week, I promised them that I would take them to McDonald's for lunch. We haven't eaten a meal at McDonald's in three and a half years!

My kids go there with my parents sometimes, and I used to eat there all the time before I lost the weight, but the thought of eating there just brings back bad memories of guilt, so I haven't gone. I do get ice cream cones there a lot, because I never used to get them when I was fat, so I don't associate them with bad feelings. Anyway, I've been trying to let go of all that negativity, and live a more "normal" life--which includes taking the kids to McDonald's on a half-day of school.

Jerry was off work today, so he came along, too. He decided to try something he's never had before--a Big Mac! I used to LOVE Big Macs, and I couldn't believe he's never tried one. When we got there, we noticed the menu had changed SO much since the last time we ate there--the prices are nearly double what they used to be, and there are a lot of sandwiches I've never heard of.

I really didn't want to order greasy food, so I got a Southwest Salad with grilled chicken (8 PP). Jerry got the Big Mac value meal, and the kids got Happy Meals. My salad was pretty good--not completely amazing, but I would get it again in a pinch. Jerry loved the Big Mac--he kept saying he wished he knew how good it was when he was fat, because he would have eaten a lot of them ;)

I took a bite of Jerry's sandwich, and it was as good as I remembered. Then I took one of his fries, and I thought it was terrible! It was really dry and tasteless, not at all like I remembered. Jerry kept eating them and saying how much he missed them, but I would be perfectly content to never eat another in my life. I was surprised by that--I thought I would love the fries.

Will McDonald's become a regular thing? Heck no! But I'm glad we went, because it made me feel "normal" and not so strict about staying away from fast food. I really don't think their food is worth the amount of calories it contains, so I would much rather save those calories for something I really love--like cookies with frosting :)

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Thanks so much for all the nice comments on my decision to get certified as a running coach! I honestly have no idea just yet what I plan on doing with the certification. There are lots of online running coaches, but I don't know that I'd want to go that route. When people ask me for running advice, it would be nice to not have to start with, "Well, I'm not really qualified to give advice, but..."  ;) So, I have no idea what I'm going to do with the certification, but it will be nice to have options!

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A fantastic long run

I saw this on Facebook today, and just had to share:

That's exactly what I was going to write about out today, so it was perfect timing!

I've been really tired of doing my runs on the treadmill--either the kids are home and I can't leave, or there is too much slush or ice to run outside. I'm always worried that I'm going to lose my fitness ability by doing the treadmill instead of running outside--that probably makes no sense at all. Basically, since I race outside, I feel like I should practice outside.

Anyway, the past two attempts I made at a 12-miler have fallen through. On Friday, my plan was to run the virtual 5K with my mom on the treadmill, then go home and run 9 more miles. I put every ounce of energy I had into that 5K, and was completely spent, so I decided to do the 12-miler on Sunday. Well, on Sunday, I did 8 miles on the treadmill, and my stomach was cramping really badly (no doubt from all the wine I drank on Friday night!) so I quit at 8.

Even though Tuesdays are 3-miler days, I decided to go for 12 today. I really needed to see that I could do it. The snow was completely melted, and it was 40 degrees outside. The only issue was that there was a 50% chance of rain, and it was extremely foggy. Since I really wanted to run outside, I decided to chance it and go ahead.

I was feeling pretty energetic--probably from my super healthy dinner last night:

Yesterday afternoon/evening was just one of those days where I wanted to cry and tear my hair out--my kids were driving me CRAZY with their constant bickering and tattling. I didn't binge, but I definitely did make the poor choice to eat ice cream for dinner. It was really yummy, and I don't regret it. All 18 PointsPlus of it.

Anyway, my goal today was to try and run the 12 miles at a sub-9:05/mi pace, which is about what I will need to run to reach my goal of a sub-2:00 half marathon. I started out going quite a bit faster than that, but I was feeling so good that I just went with it and hoped I didn't collapse halfway through the run.

I did my current favorite out-and-back route and about five miles in, it started to rain. It wasn't the "Oh, that feels so good!" kind of rain that I like when I run; it was the "Pouring down into my eyes so I can only stare straight at the ground" kind of rain. I thought about turning around and only doing 10 miles, but I was really determined to get 12 in today.

It rained the rest of the run. My hands were completely frozen, and my shirt was soaked all the way through, and was just clinging to me. I tried to wipe the rain off of my face, but my shirt was so wet that it didn't help. But I was keeping on pace!

At around mile 9, I decided that if someone offered me a ride, I would take it. I was that cold and wet and miserable. But nobody offered me a ride, which I'm sure is a good thing, because then I had to finish. Sometime after mile 10, I felt a new burst of energy and I picked up the pace a little. I finished really strong, and was SO excited when I saw my time!!

I ran 12 miles in 1:45 (8:45/mi pace). That means that even if I were to walk the next 1.1 miles, I would come in under 2 hours. I really hope that I can pull that off at my next half-marathon!

I felt SO good after today's run! Just like the description at the beginning of this post :)

Speaking of my next half-marathon... I think I finally decided which one to do. I was trying to decide between three--Rock CF Rivers, Martian, or Glass City. It turns out, my decision was made for me: Martian. My sister is going to be in town at the end of April, and we're going to do the Glass City Marathon as a relay team (5 people).

And I have very exciting news about why I can't do Rock CF Rivers. I can't believe I forgot to write about this, among the excitement of the 5K! I've been on an RRCA (Road Runners Club of America) mailing list for about a year, because I'm interested in taking a class to get certified as a running coach. Their classes are few and far between, and they are NEVER anywhere close to my house. Being on the mailing list means that as soon as a new class is available, they send me the info. I told myself a long time ago that if they sent one that was within an eight-hour drive from home, I would do it.

The classes fill up uber-fast, within hours. But they were always so far away, that I couldn't even consider it. Anyway, the day before my birthday, I got an e-mail--there were a few new classes. Hawaii, some other really far away place, and then DAYTON, OH. I had to Google quickly if Dayton was close enough to drive, and it's only 3 hours, so I called my mom to see if she could help with the kids that weekend, and she said yes. I immediately registered for the class, and it sold out just hours later.

I was SO excited to get in! It's a two-day course (Sat & Sun), from 8-5 each day, so I'm going to have to leave before five in the morning that Saturday to get there in time, and then stay the night in Dayton. It turns out Carly, from my Ragnar team, lives just 10 minutes from Dayton, and she offered for me to stay with her... which makes the whole thing even more fun! So hopefully, after the certification class, I will be an RRCA-certified running coach. :)

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My Birthday Weekend

Yet another early morning for me today--I got a phone call from the school at 5:30 to say that there was going to be a two-hour delay. Jerry said the roads weren't bad at all when he went into work, but I was glad that at least school wasn't canceled altogether, because I had a dentist appointment at noon.

Then, at around 7:30, the phone ran again and it was the school--this time, announcing that school would be closed today. I had plans to get together with Renee for coffee at 10:30, so I had to cancel with her; then I debated whether to cancel my dental appointment. I already had to reschedule it because my hygienist had the flu a couple of weeks ago, so I decided to just go and the kids could sit in the waiting room while I was getting my cleaning.

First, I had to run. Since the kids were home, I was stuck with the treadmill yet again. Usually I do speed work (intervals) on Mondays, but today, I really just felt like running a short 3 miles without feeling like death at the end. Not sure why, but those three miles were tough! I just felt so tired, and it was hard to get through. As soon as I hit the three-mile mark, I was totally relieved.

I took a shower and got ready for the dentist, then tried to clean up the house a little. I'm SO exhausted today for some reason; it just feels like I have zero energy. I had to pick up some yarn from Hobby Lobby, so I stopped there before the dentist. The kids wanted to buy journals and pencils, and I figured that would be good for keeping them occupied while I got my teeth cleaned, so I bought those, too.

My kids are never good in waiting rooms, but they were little angels today! I was so surprised. My cleaning took a lot longer than I thought it would, because I needed new x-rays, and I apparently had a lot of tea stains on my teeth. I really don't want to give up tea, but I hate that it stains my teeth so easily!

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Anyway, the past few days have gone by so quickly, and I feel like I've been so busy! On the night of my birthday, we ended up staying home because it was snowing pretty hard outside. Jerry's and my friends, Joe and Amber, came over to visit, and we played Euchre.

Before they got here, Jerry and I were just sitting around, and he said, "Wanna do a shot of tequila with me?" I burst out laughing, because he said it so casually, but we never do shots! I physically cannot do a shot. I've tried, but I can't swallow that much liquor at once--it takes me at least 2-3 swallows, which kind of ruins the whole purpose.

So naturally, I told Jerry, "Sure!" but first I wanted to practice with water. I probably tried about 20 times to swallow 1.5 oz of water at once, but I just couldn't do it. I felt sick from all the water, and then we decided to just do the tequila shot. Because we never do shots, we have no shot glasses--I had to use little espresso mugs. Classy!

After that, I stuck with wine--I'll never be a shot-girl. We played Euchre, which is always fun, and had a great night.

On Saturday, I spent a lot of time trying to catch up on the 5K stuff. Then Sunday, I had another busy day. I ran eight miles in the morning, then started the process of picking the prize winners for the 5K, which ended up being much more time than I expected. My little cousin Kaitlin's bridal shower was at noon, so I finished getting her gift together. I bought her the bath towels she registered for, and then tried my hand at making a towel cake. It turned out pretty well, I think!

The shower was really nice. I cannot believe how much my cousins have grown! Kaitlin and I were pretty close when she was very little. She has two sisters, also, and the three of them are all grown up now.

Apparently, I was the only one NOT in the loop about a surprise gift for Kaitlin yesterday--my mom was supposed to tell me, and I guess she forgot. But all the guests were asked months ago to write up their favorite recipes, and then Kaitlin's aunt and her friend made them all into a scrapbook. The scrapbook was AMAZING, and it was a really big deal to Kaitlin. I knew absolutely nothing about it, which was awkward, to say the least.

After the shower, I spent a few more hours working on yesterday's blog post (the 5K results). Then we took the kids to dinner at Denny's. They wanted to go out for a "birthday dinner" for me; I told Jerry that you know you're a parent when you wind up at Denny's for your birthday dinner, haha! We told the kids they could order what they wanted, since it was a "special occasion".

Eli wanted steak and shrimp... I have no idea where the heck that idea came from! We tried talking him out of it, because the only steak on the menu was a 14 oz t-bone, but he wanted it so badly, we finally just said yes. His meal consisted of a 14-oz t-bone, a skewer of shrimp, french fries, hash browns, and garlic bread.

I thought for sure we'd be bringing home 90% of his meal in a box, but believe it or not, Eli ate every last bite of his steak and shrimp, ALL of his fries, and a few bites of the hash browns and bread! I was shocked, to say the least. I'm afraid to feed him as a teenager!

Once we got home, I spent the rest of the evening finishing up the results post. I had planned to do much more with it--linking to all the race reports, posting some readers photos, but at 8:45, I decided it was good enough to just post as it was--my eyes were burning from spending so much time on the computer the past few days! But the whole project was SUPER fun, and despite all the work, I think I'd like to do again next year. I absolutely LOVED reading all of the Facebook posts, tweets, e-mails, and blog comments about your experiences. It was so very inspiring to read!

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Last, but not least, the winner of the Albion Fit racerback tank giveaway is:

Susan, please e-mail me at SlimKatie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com with your shipping address, so I can pass it along to Albion Fit, and you can get your tank!
Remember, if you'd like to order something from Albion Fit, you can use the discount code RUNSFORCOOKIES15 to get $15 off an order of $50 or more.

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