ShamRock n Roll 10K Race Report (SO crazy!)

It was so nice to have pretty much zero pressure going into this race! I had actually forgotten that I'd registered for it until about a week ago, and my only *real* goal was to PR--my PR was 55:05 from April 2011. That's an 8:50 pace, so I figured a PR today was pretty much in the bag, based on my training paces.

I honestly didn't really care what my time was, as long as it was under 55:00, because I trained SO hard for that number in the fall of 2011, and I missed it by 11 seconds. Then I was marathon training all last year, and my pace got pretty slow again. After the Detroit Free Press Marathon, I started training hard to pick up speed again. And it's worked!

I slept pretty well last night, and got up at 5:15. For me, a 10K is one of those distances that is short enough to be over with quickly, but long enough to where you don't have to feel like you're dying the whole time--you have plenty of time to get into a good pace. The 10K distance has always been my favorite. Also, since this was so low-pressure, I didn't worry about eating the right fuel this morning, or getting there super early to get in line for the portapotties from all the water I would have drunk if I'd been running a half-marathon.

Anyway, my side cramp was gone, my headache was gone, and I felt pretty good this morning! I ate bran cereal for breakfast, had a cup of tea, and then headed out at 6:30. I stopped at McDonald's just before I got there to use the bathroom (better than a porta potty). Then I couldn't figure out where the parking was, so I called Ty. She was already there, and she hopped in the car with me to show me where to go--very helpful! She's also picked up my packet for me--saving me a lot of time.

It.was.freezing. I am not kidding when I say it was miserably cold this morning! The temp was 25, which doesn't sound that cold, but the "feels like" temp was 18--even that seemed warmer than it felt! Ty and I went to meet up with some Twitter/blogger friends for a picture before the race.

I thought someone was standing behind me (I'm on the far left) so I am posed awkwardly. Per usual.

Left to right: @RunsforCookies, @protometal1, @ajbgillespie, @kmjones234,

@ty_runs, @warrenri, @DetroitRunner1

The only one in that picture that I'd met in person before today was Ty. I just wish it wasn't so cold, so we could chat for a bit before the race, but after the pic, Ty and I hightailed it to the tent to keep warm.

The race started at 8:00. I was so surprised when I learned that this race had pacers! I've only seen pacers at marathons. Since I wasn't too worried about pace, I wasn't planning to run with a pacer. I got in line midway between the 52:00 pacer and the 55:00 pacer. I figured that would be a good spot to start.

When the race started, I was so glad to be running--my feet were totally numb, and I had my hands curled into fists inside of the palm of my gloves, because it was so cold! For about the first half mile or so, I could see the 52:00 pacer just in front of me, and I was pretty much keeping pace with him--and I felt comfortable at that pace.

About a mile and half in, I started to feel a little uncomfortable--I thought I'd better back my pace down to about 8:30/mi, instead of the 8:20ish pace I thought we were doing. I looked at my Garmin, and saw that the pacer was actually running an 8:00/mi pace for that second mile! No wonder I felt like it was getting harder. Since I was running that pace already, and felt okay, I figured I'd try to keep my overall pace at about 8:15. I passed the 52:00 pacer, and planned to finish just ahead of him.

When I finished the second mile, my watch said 7:48--I got scared when I saw that, because I thought a sub-8 mile would surely make me exhausted before the end of the race. So I deliberately slowed down a little, and tried to stay a little slower than an 8:00 pace. After a while, my average pace read 8:04, and I thought, "Wow, I wonder what my finish time would be for that..." so I started doing the math in my head (that always helps pass the time!)

I figured an 8:00 pace would be a finish time of about 50:00, so I thought, "How cool would it be if my time was sub-51:00!!" So I pushed the pace a little to try and keep my average as close to an 8:00/mi pace as I could.

At around mile 4.5, everything changed. I went around a corner, and I thought I saw a pacer ahead of me. I knew the only pacers I saw at the starting line were 50:00 and 52:00... so I thought, "Holy shit, is that the 50:00 pacer?! DID I ACTUALLY CATCH UP TO THE 50:00 PACER?!" My mind was blown by that realization. He was still maybe a quarter mile ahead of me, so I hadn't caught up just yet, but I started to think that maybe it was possible...

That's when I started passing people. I made it a mission to try and catch up to the pacer. I knew I'd be super disappointed to finish just over 50 minutes--because it would be SO CLOSE to 49:xx. I would have been happy with a 52 or 53 minute finish, but it would be unbearably disheartening to watch the 50:00 pacer cross the finish line right in front of me ;)

He was HARD to catch. I had to run a sub-8:00 pace for the rest of the race, and I was gaining a couple of inches here and there, but the pacer still seemed so far away. The whole sixth mile, I was focused on catching up.

At mile 6.1, I gave it what little energy I had left, and finally caught up to the pacer!! When we could see the finish line, he started encouraging everyone, "Go! Go! Finish strong!" I wanted to thank him as I ran PAST him (I was passing the 50:00 pacer!!), but I had zero energy on reserve at that point. My Garmin pace read 7:55/mi average, so I had a huge smile as I made the last steps to the finish line. I was SO stunned. It honestly never even occurred to me that I could ever run a sub-50 10K!

I checked out my Garmin, and saw that I'd done it:

The bibs actually have a QR code on them that you can scan with your phone to see your results. I wanted to get home as quickly as possible, because Jerry worked all night and needed to go to bed, so I didn't check my results until I got home.

Since I was in a rush to leave the race, I didn't get any pictures. When I got home, I had Noah take a couple of pictures of me. My face is so pale that I look like death in this picture!

Anyway, my performance at today's race FAR exceeded my expectations! I wasn't crazy about the race itself, and don't think I would do it again (the course was really boring), but I'm so happy to have this new PR :) Happy and still just completely shocked!

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Pajama day

I do not have high hopes for a good race tomorrow :(  I've had a weird, sharp cramp in my side ever since mile 11 of yesterday's run, and I developed a headache that just won't go away. I can run through the headache, but this cramp is killing me. I only feel it when I walk. Today was a rest day, so I didn't try running.

Last night, I ended up babysitting one of the boys' friends. He was here until 9:15, and usually my boys have a bedtime of 8:00 (on weekends, we let them stay awake later in bed with their iPods or a book, though). I hoped that by having a friend over (and three boys aren't exactly going to sit quietly!), they would sleep in today.

They were awake at 5:30 this morning! I refused to get out of bed that early, so I just read my e-mail on my phone and laid around for a little bit. Then when I got up, I declared that it was pajama day, because I really just felt like having a lazy day.

I did walk slowly on the treadmill to watch an episode of Sons of Anarchy (in my pajamas, though! I didn't even put on a bra, haha). Then I had to go to my mom's to feed her cat, and I wore my pj's over there. I figured I could get there without anyone seeing me, and naturally, as soon as I stepped outside, the FedEx guy was driving slowly by my house. At least I had put on a bra by this time ;)

I couldn't resist my dad's candy jar this time, but I picked something that I figured was innocent enough--Reese's mini eggs (like, the size of a Hershey's Kiss, not the big eggs). I ate three, and figured that would be 1-2 PointsPlus. When I got home, I went to log it, and those tiny little things were 1 PP each! That was ridiculous.

I think I'm out of my eggs-for-lunch phase, finally. I was eating eggs for lunch every single day for months! Normally, I'm not a salad person at ALL, but I recently discovered a dressing that I really like, and I bought some spring mix from Sam's Club, so I've been eating salad and a sandwich for lunch. The dressing is ironic, because it's made with yogurt, which is the number one food on my mental "Foods I Hate" list. Salad is probably number two.

This dressing is in the refrigerated section. It's only 1 PP per serving, and it tastes like "real" ranch. It's much tastier than the low-fat or fat-free ranch dressings I've tried.

This evening after dinner, I decided to make peanut butter cookies with the kids. To be honest, it was against my better judgement--I almost always go overboard when I bake! I planned to half the recipe, so there wouldn't be a ton, but I accidentally put in a whole egg instead of just the white, so I ended up making a whole batch (about 20 cookies). I figured I would eat about 10-12 PP worth, which was fine with me.

I was doing so well this week with measuring and counting every single thing I eat, but while I made the cookies, I kept taking not-so-little pinches of dough. And then I had two cookies when they were done baking. I calculated the PointsPlus in the recipe, and how much I'd actually eaten, and it was 24 PointsPlus!! Good grief. I used up all of my weekly and activity PointsPlus, and I'm actually in the negative by 5 PP.

The last time I baked--remember the sloppy brownies?--I swore that I wouldn't eat while baking until AFTER I'd calculated the PointsPlus in it. I guess I forgot about that today! Oh, well. I'm skipping my wine and chocolate tonight, and tomorrow I'll be running a 10K instead of my usual 4 miles, so hopefully that will be enough to make up for it. No more baking for me! To my credit, though, the cookies didn't make me feel sick at all, like the sloppy brownies did. I certainly didn't feel like I ate that much!

I really hope that my headache and side cramp go away before morning. For once, I'm actually not nervous about a race! I know that a PR is pretty much in the bag, and I'm not going to race with balls-to-the-wall effort. I'm just going to run like I do when I train, and hopefully enjoy the race!

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Incentives

My internal alarm clock is so strange. Every Thursday evening, I fill my quart-sized water bottle and place it on my nightstand. Since my long run is on Friday, I like to be well-hydrated when I run, but I don't want to have to stop and pee during my run, so I like to drink it as early as possible. When I put it on my nightstand, I think that it will be there "just in case" I wake up at 4 or 5:00 in the morning.

For the past four weeks, I've done the same routine with my water bottle; and each and every Friday morning, I wake up at 4:11 on the nose. I drink my water, then manage to go back to sleep for an hour or two. I just find it so weird that it's always 4:11--not 4:10, or 4:12, but 4:11!

This morning, I had such a hard time deciding whether to run outside or on the treadmill. As much as I hate the boringness of the treadmill, it has its advantages--at the top of the list right now is Jax and Sons of Anarchy ;)  But also, if I should get thirsty, I have water; I have access to a bathroom if needed; and I don't have to wonder what to wear or worry about extra layers of clothes.

I decided to run outside, since I did the treadmill last week. I got dressed in my Cold Gear running tights, a tank and a fleece jacket, my gloves, hat, and all of that... then I sat to wait for it to get light outside. Since I run on busy roads, I don't like to run in the dark. While I was waiting, I changed my mind and decided to run on the treadmill.

I took off all my warm clothes, and changed into my treadmill clothes. Then I set up my computer to watch SoA, and was about to start the 'mill, when I changed my mind again! So I changed back into my warm clothes, and before I could change my mind yet again, I headed out to run.

My run was bad, from beginning to end. I underestimated the wind; Jillian's podcast was incredibly boring; there was a lot of traffic on the road today; I encountered THREE unleashed dogs (separate parts of the run) and all of them scared me to death with the barking, growling, and chasing; I had to change my route due to said dogs; and I got a VERY sharp stomach cramp with just a half-mile to go. I really wished I'd chosen the treadmill after all, but at least I finished and it's done now!

I even managed a good pace, but I did stop the Garmin when I had to deal with the dogs. I showered, ate a (healthy) lunch, and then headed to Mrs. Fields to spend my activity PointsPlus on a cookie sandwich! I got the same thing I got last week (and the week before...).

It was really good, but I think I may change it up next week and get something different after my long run. Jessica got a carrot cake muffin from Panera that she said was amazing, so maybe I'll try that. In case it's not obvious, I always pick something sweet for my treats. I have such a hardcore sweet tooth, that I would choose cookies over something savory any day!

During the first part of my run today, I was thinking about how incentives like my cookie are what keep me going. Would I run 12 miles today if I didn't reward myself with a sweet treat? Honestly, no, I probably wouldn't. I love the way running makes me feel, but I feel good after running just three miles, too; running the extra miles lets me indulge on some stuff that I wouldn't be able to fit into my diet otherwise ;)

Also, knowing that I'm going to treat myself on Fridays helps me get through the rest of the week while staying on plan. Sometimes, when I'm tempted to binge, I'll tell myself that if I really want it, I can have it on Friday after my long run, when I've already burned those calories. I always use my long run day to treat myself to something indulgent.

Since we brought back Pizza Friday last week, we ordered pizza for dinner tonight. Between my cookie this afternoon, and the pizza for dinner, I used a big hunk of activity PointsPlus and weekly PP. I would much prefer to make homemade pizza on Fridays, but my kids like getting it from "the pizza store". I planned to eat two pieces, but it was so good that I ended up eating a third piece.

I should have stopped after two, because I wasn't even hungry when I had the third. Then I had a stomachache afterward--not from being full, but probably because I'm not used to eating that much cheese and grease? I think next week, I'll make my own and the family can order out. That's what I did the whole time I was losing weight, and it tastes much better than restaurant pizza!

I think that the cookie was probably the highlight of my day today--between my crappy run, my stomachache, and a headache, I wasn't too happy today. We don't have any plans tomorrow, so I think I may start a new project of some sort...

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Overnight trips

I didn't want to tarnish yesterday's runniversary post with my Wednesday weigh-in, so I just figured I'd post it today instead. I wasn't expecting a miracle on the scale, but I was definitely happy to see that the damage wasn't too bad at all this week:

At 131.5, I was definitely up from last week's 130, but my body always seems to return to 131. When I entered my weight into my WW account, I noticed a pattern...

Starting when I reached 131 back in January, my weight has gone up, down, up, down, every single week. Since I was up this week, maybe that means I'll be back down next week. But regardless, as long as I'm at/under my goal weight (133), I'm happy!

I decided to change my goal range to 130-135 (instead of 133-137). The reason for having a goal range instead of a weight is to allow for the normal fluctuations--but 135 is my top weight, so if I see that number, then I'll have to go back to weight loss mode (daily target of 26 PP instead of 32). Since my weight really likes 131, that's probably where I'll hover as long as I keep on plan. Last week, I had a lot of unaccounted for bites and tastes, so this week I'm writing everything down.

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This morning, I chose to run on the treadmill, because I knew I'd be going for a walk outside afterward. I told my mom I'd go feed her cat today, so I decided to walk there and get in some extra activity. I was scheduled for a four-mile run, so I just set the treadmill at 7.1 mph and didn't touch it until I'd reached four miles. Then I stopped my Garmin, and changed the treadmill to 3.0 mph to walk until the Sons of Anarchy episode was over. I don't know what I'm going to watch when I'm done with that show--it's got me hooked!

After I showered and dressed, I went out for a walk to my mom's house. It was a lot colder outside than I was expecting (the sun always makes it look warmer than it is). My parents only live two-thirds of a mile from me, so it was a short walk.

I was very tempted to raid my dad's candy jar while I was there, but I restrained myself--even though the Rolos were calling to me!

Yesterday, I got confirmation that I'm going to St. Louis in a couple of weeks! I've never been there, and unfortunately, I'll only be there for about 24 hours, but I'm still excited to go. As  you know, I am kind of totally crazy about my cats, and I post about them often. Purina ONE invited me to go to their headquarters in St. Louis to learn about cats' behaviors. I'm sure I'm a complete nerd for it, but I think learning about the behavior of my cats sounds SO interesting!

I know a lot of you have cats as well, so hopefully I'll learn some fun tidbits to post about, and I know I'll be doing a giveaway of some Purina ONE stuff. I'm not sure of those details yet.

Just a few days before going to St. Louis, I'll be driving down to Dayton for my RRCA running coach certification class. I'm nervous about that, but excited, too. I'm going to have to leave home at about 4 AM on a Saturday morning; class is from 8-5, and then I'm going to stay with Carly from my Ragnar team overnight. I have class again from 8-5 on Sunday, and then I'll be making the drive home. What a LONG couple of days! I'll be home for two days before heading to St. Louis. This should be interesting, because I'm not a travel-type person at all!

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I had a craving for a Cadbury Creme Egg yesterday (well, every day, really, but I haven't had one of them in probably two years!). I walked to the liquor store with Jerry and the kids, and they were out of the regular Creme Eggs--bummer. They had one caramel egg left, and about five of the chocolate ones. I've had the caramel before, and I loved it, but I'd never tried the chocolate, so I got that one.

When I got home, I looked it up and saw that it was 5 PP! That's a lot for a tiny little egg. The regular Cadbury Creme Eggs are totally worth it, so I hoped the chocolate one would be, too. Unfortunately, it was not--it was good, but not amazing, and I wouldn't spend 5PP on one of those again. Easter is a hard time of year for me not to go crazy with the candy--I love the Cadbury Creme Eggs, the mini Cadbury Eggs, and the Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs! When I was obese, I remember buying six packs of the Reese's Eggs and eating them all on the way home from the grocery store. They're so much better than the PB cups for some reason!

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Three year runniversary

I completely forgot that yesterday was a big day for me--the three-year anniversary of when I did my first run. I had lost quite a bit of weight at that point, and was feeling very confident that it would be "a piece of cake" to go out and run a mile or so.

I made it less than 1/10 of a mile.

That was very disheartening, and if I hadn't already registered for a 5K race, I would have quit that day for sure! My lungs felt like they were on fire. I finished up with a walk. A couple days later, I tried again, and made it a little farther. And the next time, a little farther... and so became my routine. I would run three days during the week, and then do a long walk on the weekends.

Once I hit 5K distance, I switched over to a 10K training plan, just to keep moving. And then a 15K training plan. I hated running, but I loved the way it made me feel--and I loved being able to do something I never thought possible. Somewhere along the way, I became hooked on that love/hate relationship.

I've run 2,583.8 miles since that day three years ago. I've run 5K, 4 Mile, 8K, 10K, 10 Mile, Half-Marathon, and Marathon distance races. I've set numerous goals and reached them--with a lot of hard work on my part!

I put together a short video of the past three years as a runner. I didn't even come up with this idea until this morning, so the video is not anything amazing, but it shows in a nutshell the blood, sweat, and tears I put into my running over the past few years!

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Fastest 5K time yet!

I changed up my breakfast a little this morning--after eating so much crap over the weekend, I just didn't want the usual oatmeal with caramel, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and coconut. Instead, I peeled and chopped an apple, sprinkled it with cinnamon, and microwaved it for a minute to get it soft. Then I topped it with Kashi GoLean Crispy! Cinnamon Crumble cereal and drizzled the whole thing with almond butter.

It was SO good, and only 6 PP for the whole thing. For some reason, I was in the mood for coffee this morning--I never drink coffee anymore, even decaf, because it makes me super jittery and I just feel sick. Even though I knew I would regret it, I made a couple of cups of decaf. It definitely upset my stomach, so I sat around for a while after the kids got on the bus, just not wanting to run.

I only had three miles on the schedule today, and I was going to do the treadmill, but I've been doing the treadmill a lot lately. I was a little worried that it was going to make me slower, so I figured I'd run outside today at a fast pace and see where my three-mile pace was at. It's been a while since I've just run three miles outside.

As soon as I started running, it almost felt like my feet were just springing up off the ground and I was running on really bouncy ground--hard to describe, but I felt like I was flying! So I just kept pushing the pace, and I saw that I might be able to run a sub-8:00 mile for my first mile.

When I heard my Garmin beep, I looked down to see I did the first mile in 7:55! I was getting really tired and I just wanted to stop running, but I thought, "Wouldn't it be cool to get TWO sub-8:00 miles?!" and I decided to go for it. I pushed hard, and that second mile felt like forever. When I heard the beep, I looked down to see 7:46!

Since I only had one more mile to go, I decided to just go all out and do my best to run a third mile under eight minutes. I knew I was running "race pace", because I had to keep clearing my throat--I always cough when my lungs are working that hard. I wanted to stop SO BADLY--it was really rough that third mile, but I was so close to my fastest three-mile time yet.

I took a short detour to add a little on to my distance. Naturally, I couldn't stop at 3 miles--I had to add that .11 to make it a 5K ;) When I finally stopped, I was gasping for breath, but I saw that I did it!!

All sub-8:00 miles, and negative splits (meaning each mile was faster than the previous). I couldn't believe it. When I first started running three years ago, I never imagined I would still be running in three years, let alone be running sub-8:00 miles! Great run today :)

The rest of the day, I had what I call my "runner's lungs"--I would cough a little whenever I took a deep breath. That always happens when I run exceptionally hard, and I like to imagine that it's my body adapting and getting stronger for next time ;)  When I first started running, my lungs felt like that all the time, but now it's only when I push really hard, like I did today.

I ate pretty well today, but I am so glad that tomorrow starts a new WW week. I feel like I ate crappy all week long, and now I'm sure it's going to show on the scale tomorrow. There were a lot of "a bite here" and "a bite there"'s that went unlogged, so I know that I went over my PointsPlus this week. Not by a LOT, but those little bites add up quickly!

My goal for next week is to log ALL of my food, no matter how insignificant it may be. I even spent about an hour today making a meal plan for the whole week. I don't really have anything going on this week, except for a race on Sunday. I totally forgot that I signed up for a 10K! My goals:
"A" goal (best case scenario)- sub-52 (8:22/mi)
"B"goal (most likely scenario)- sub-54 (8:42/mi)
"C" goal- a personal record of sub- 55:05 (8:50/mi)
"D" goal- to finish.

If any of you happen to see me at the ShamRock 'n' Roll 10K, and I look like death, I'm probably going for my A goal. In all honesty, though, I'll be perfectly happy with anything under 55 minutes. I've never done this race before, and I'm looking forward to it! I think this is the first race I've ever done by myself, and I think it will be nice :)  But if you see me, say hi!

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Motivational Monday #6

I've had a secret since shortly after coming home from Florida in January, and I've been dying to write about it--but I wanted to wait until it was 100% for sure going to happen before I said anything. My Ragnar teammate, Andrea, and I spent an extra day together in Miami before we headed home from Florida--and in conversation, she mentioned that she would like to run a marathon one day.

At the time, I thought our houses were much closer than they are, and I figured I could drive down there (Kansas City) to cheer her on and see her finish her first marathon. When I got home, I saw that we actually live 11 hours apart, which is a bit of a drive!

She (jokingly) suggested that I run a marathon with her, but I'm retired from marathons, remember? So I looked for marathons that were about the same distance from each of us, and what do you know?! CHICAGO was the perfect halfway point!

So I did what any retired marathon runner would do, and I agreed to run the Chicago Marathon with her in October. ;)

To everyone who would like to say "I told you so!"?  Touché.  ;)  

When registration opened, we both tried signing up right at noon (I was at the dentist office, waiting for my kids to get their teeth cleaned, so I was using my phone for internet). The server was down, which was irritating. I figured that after the initial rush of people trying to register, it would be back up, but I still kept refreshing the page with my uber-slow connection.

A couple of times, I even got as far as typing everything in, but then when I clicked to go to the next page of registration, I got an error message. I was really frustrated, and thought about just waiting until I got home to use my actual computer, but since I wasn't doing anything anyway, I kept at it. Finally, I put in my payment, clicked "submit" and... error.

I was afraid to get charged multiple times, so I went to my bank's website, and the money had been deducted... so I figured I was in! Even though I didn't get a confirmation. Meanwhile, I was texting Andrea, to see if she got in, and she hadn't yet. She worked on it a little longer, and finally, SHE got the confirmation.

We later found out that shortly after we both registered, the race had to close down the registration until further notice, because of the huge mess that had occurred with everyone trying to register at once. Andrea and I were very lucky to have gotten in when we did! To sum up a very long story, there were 15,000 spots left open, so they ended up having a lottery for those spots--and 30,000+ people entered the lottery!

I'm excited about this race--I'm not running to PR, but to run with Andrea while she completes her first marathon! We'll go at her pace, and enjoy scenic Chicago together.Then we'll spend all of our activity PointsPlus on some pizza, of course.

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Anyway, on to Motivational Monday! I had a very, very crappy eating day yesterday--I didn't binge, but I was snacking all day long when I wasn't even hungry. I used 63 PP yesterday, most of it on random snacky junk. Today, I made a meal plan and stuck to it, and ate very healthy all day. I'm going to do the same tomorrow, and hopefully all this crap won't show up on the scale Wednesday. This morning, I definitely needed some motivation, and you all certainly delivered!

Kimberly PR'ed a 5K race... AFTER doing a 35-floor stair climb race the day before! That hurts my legs just thinking about it. 

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Amber set a new distance record on her stationary bike--her previous record was 13.1, but she biked 14 miles one day, and even farther the next day!

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Natalie completed her very first race--the Disney Princess Half-Marathon! She's lost 68 pounds since August, and her goal for this race was to finish under 3:30--and she did it! She finished in 3:24. Here she is holding her very first medal:

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After losing 27 pounds, Jennifer completed her first 5K race! She even took a wrong turn during the race, but didn't let that discourage her--she felt so good when she was done that she plans to run a 10K soon :)

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Katie and her running partner both set personal records in a St. Patty's Day 5K! They both just started running only six weeks ago--amazing!

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Ang completed her 15th race in 15 months... but this one was special because she did it with her two sons (11 and 7 years old). They did the one-mile fun run at the boys' school. (You can read about it on her blog here).

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Lorrie has been biking to work for 10 months now, and has reached a milestone of losing over 107 pounds in the past couple of years!

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 Z was getting frustrated with the scale not budging, but when she took her measurements, she saw that she'd actually gone down quite a bit!

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Allison got back to running this week after having to take some time off due to bronchitis. She worried that taking time off was going to make her gain weight, but she said she learned to listen to her body and recover from the bronchitis. She was glad to get back to running this week, though!

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Amy has two things to celebrate this week--she ran a 5K race 13 minutes faster than she did at the same race last year; AND she reached a milestone of 50-lbs lost!

And as usual, Facebook never fails to inspire me when I read all of your accomplishments! Here is a snippet from today:

You can read the whole Facebook post for more motivation and ideas!

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ActiveLink explanation

Thanks so much for the kind comments on my post about binge eating yesterday! If there is one thing I've learned while blogging about it, it's that I'm not alone. I can see that many of you relate to binge eating as well.

Yesterday was a rest day, so it was a challenge getting in 100% of my activity on my ActiveLink. Someone asked me to explain a little about how the ActiveLink works. I don't know the exact science of it, but basically, it's a little clip that you wear on your chest or waist (I wear mine on my underwear band, so it's hidden under my pants). This is what it looks like:

The little lights on there are usually not lit up like that. Each day, my goal is to get in enough activity (any sort of exercise like running, biking, walking, etc., plus daily activities like cleaning) to light up each light to get to 100% (or more).

When the bottom right corner is fully lit, it means I've reached 25%; when the bottom right and the bottom middle buttons are full lit, it means I've reached 50%. Another light would be 75%. And the top left corner is 100%. (The two that aren't lit up are 125% and 150%). When I take the ActiveLink off and set it on a flat surface, the lights will come on to show how close I am to my goal. When I plug it into the computer, the computer shows my exact percentage and how many activity PointsPlus I've earned.

The ActiveLink isn't just a pedometer--it actually measures movement from left to right, forward and backward, and up and down. It's actually been really accurate for me so far. You can see how it might get addicting to try and get those lights to come on! (Beth from Beth's Journey wrote a better explanation of it, which you can find here).

Yesterday evening, Jerry and I had a "date night", because the kids were at my parents' house. I really wanted to go get ice cream, but I wasn't even at 50% of my goal for the day. So I suggested we go to the State Park to walk the trail (it's 3.1 miles) and then if I'd reached 100%, we could go get an ice cream at McDonald's.

So we went to the park, and it was FREEZING outside. The temp said 37, but it felt a lot colder than that while we were walking by the lake. Ice cream didn't even sound good at that point--but I knew that I'd still want it when we got back to the car ;) It took us just under an hour to finish the walk, and when we got back to the car, I unclipped my ActiveLink and watched the lights start to come on.
25%...
50%...
75%...
and then a flashing light, which means that I was at least halfway through getting the fourth light to come on (so I was between 87-99%). Bummer!

I was disappointed, but not terribly so, because I was absolutely freezing. I just kept thinking of getting home and making some hot tea to warm my hands. Once I got home, put on some warm PJ's, and drank some tea, I was in the mood for ice cream again. This time, we just went to Kroger and I got a small container of ice cream to bring home and have in the warm house.

This morning, I woke up, looked at the clock, and thought, "Holy crap, I slept in!!" and I was really excited that I got so much sleep--until I realized that we moved the clocks ahead last night. Doh! I had a four mile run scheduled today, and I wanted to get it done first thing. There was no reason not to run outside, but I chose to do the treadmill. I just REALLY didn't feel like running this morning. I watched an episode of Sons of Anarchy while I ran, then I walked a little afterward until the episode was over.

This afternoon, my boys wanted to go for a walk, and of course I said yes! I am so excited that they are enjoying going for walks. We stopped at the park for them to play for a little bit before coming home. After my run, and that walk, I'd reached 125% of my goal for the day!

I feel really puffy, even though I've been doing well with counting my PointsPlus this week. Normally, I don't eat out much, but this weekend was pretty bad--I went to La Pita, had take-out pizza, a cookie from Mrs. Fields, and ice cream yesterday. So even though I've counted the PP in everything, I just feel kind of gross from eating all that. The next couple of days are uneventful, so hopefully I'll get my food back to the norm!

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How I've stayed binge-free for six months (and counting)...

(I've written an updated version of this post in a series about binge eating in 2016. You can find the first post here.)

Today marks six months of staying binge-free.

The only other time I've gone this long without binge eating was when I went a whole year between 2009-2010. I'm determined to beat that streak! Over the past few years of losing weight and now maintaining my weight, I've learned quite a bit about my body and my mind--I've learned what causes me to binge, how to know if I'm getting dangerously close to a binge, what reaction my body has to a binge, and ways of stopping and/or preventing a binge.

I don't think I will ever consider myself "cured" of binge eating disorder. I think it's something I'll probably struggle with forever, but I'm getting much better at controlling it. I wanted to share some of what I've learned on my blog, in the hopes that some of it may ring a bell with others who struggle with it, also.

First, here are a couple of posts I've written about binge eating before:
Tips that helped me refrain from binge eating between 2009-2010
A candid post about my history with binge eating

I also want to point out that binge eating is not the same as overeating. Not all overeaters are binge eaters. The main difference between the two is psychological--binge eating happens when you lose all control, and you cannot stop eating. It's usually done in secret, accompanied by feelings of shame and remorse. Overeating is something that many people do on occasion--where you just eat more than normal, and feel full; like Thanksgiving dinner, for example. For a binge eater, however, it's not unusual to consume several thousand calories in a very short time span.

Binge Eating Disorder is characterized by (from the proposed DSM-V, due to be released in Spring 2013 (source)):

"Criteria include frequent overeating—at least once a week for three months— combined with lack of control, marked feelings of distress, and are associated with three or more of the following:

• eating much more rapidly than normal
• eating until feeling uncomfortably full
• eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry
• eating alone because of feeling embarrassed by how much one is eating
• feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty afterward"

 Over the past six months of staying binge-free, I've most certainly overeaten on occasion--but the difference between that and a binge is that I don't lose control. When I'm at a party, or go out to dinner, or something like that, I may eat more than usual and feel too full; but I don't feel guilty, I don't feel ashamed, and I still maintain control of when I stop eating.

I do fight urges to binge pretty frequently, but I've been working though those, and learning quite a bit in the process--which is what I'm hoping may help others, as well. Here are some of those thoughts:

1) I've recognized my binge triggers. There are certain foods that, when in my house, constantly beckon me. I may have good intentions when I buy them, and maybe I'll do okay with them in the house for a little bit, but eventually, I can't get them out of my mind. Those become a problem for me, and I know that I need to get them out of the house.

A few of these things are: Nutella, Biscoff Spread, chocolate chips (except for the mini ones), certain cereals, graham crackers, Teddy Grahams, ice cream and frozen yogurt, marshmallow fluff, and nuts (except for almonds and walnuts). There are more, but those are the biggest triggers.

I've learned that I simply cannot buy those things anymore, because I eventually WILL lose control around them. Other triggers are certain places--my parents' house, the mall, the movie theater, and drug stores are the biggest triggers And certain situations are triggers as well--being home alone at night, having a date night with Jerry, and being on vacation come to mind. Finally, there are moods that may trigger a binge--feeling anxious, stressed (particularly when my kids are fighting and loud), or worried.

As you can see, there are a LOT of triggers; but I've recognized them and acknowledged them, and now I can have a plan for those triggers...

I don't buy my food triggers. I try to avoid going alone to the places that are triggers--if I'm with someone else, I won't binge. I try to have a plan for the situations that cause binge urges--for example, if I'm going to be home alone at night, I try to come up with a project or something I can work on. I can't avoid the moods that cause binge urges, but I've come up with other ways of deal with those moods--which I'll get into below.

2) I've learned to recognize that point where snacking is coming close to transitioning to a binge. This usually happens when I eat a snack, and even though I'm not hungry, I'll go back for another snack. I'm still in control at that point, but after I eat the second snack, I might go back for more. Even though I'm tracking my food, when I start reasoning with myself in my head why it's okay to have yet another snack, I know that I need to stop NOW, before I throw control to the wind. So I've learned that when I keep going back for more and more, even if it's controlled, I need to find something else to do--type a blog post, go for a walk, knit or sew something, clean, whatever--before it turns into a binge.

3) I've learned that when I'm not satisfied with my food, I get binge urges. For example, if I am craving an English muffin with jelly and a bowl of cereal for lunch, I might start reasoning, "Well, you shouldn't have both of those, that's too many carbs" or whatever, and I choose to have eggs and cereal instead of the English muffin. Afterward, I will not feel satisfied at all, and I will go seeking more.

Now, I think about what it is that I really want, and I eat it. Even if it's not balanced, or it's too "whatever" in the eyes of everyone else, I choose what will satisfy ME--because that will stop me from binge eating.

4) Something that helps me to be more satisfied with each meal is that I eat a variety of foods within that meal. Rather than, say, a bowl of pasta with sauce for lunch, I would choose to have soup, AND toast with peanut butter, AND grapes, AND an orange. Having that variety of tastes and textures appeals to my senses more, and makes me feel very satisfied.

5) I eat treats very frequently--but I don't have leftovers. If I want ice cream, I'll go to McDonald's and get a vanilla cone and eat it on the way home. I feel totally happy with it! But if I were to buy ice cream from the grocery store and have a small portion at home, that container of ice cream would start beckoning me constantly until the whole thing was gone. I can't bake a batch of cookies at home, because I will binge on the batch--but I can go to Mrs. Fields and buy a really indulgent cookie and fit it into my plan. Once it's gone, it's gone, and I am satisfied.

I've also found a few treats that I AM okay with keeping in the house, and they don't beckon me. For example, dark chocolate Dove Promises. I eat one of those every single night with a glass of red wine, and I look forward to that all day. But for some reason, they don't beckon me from the pantry, so I'm fine with having them in the house. 

6) I quit worrying about what "everyone else" says is the right diet--"don't eat too many carbs", "eat tons of protein", "don't eat processed foods", "eat vegetables with every meal", "don't eat anything with corn syrup", etc, etc, etc. Sure, I would love to eat an "ideal" diet--but that's not realistic for me, and it would surely lead to a binge (as it has dozens of times in the past).

I do what works for ME--I eat the healthy foods that I enjoy, and skip the ones I don't. If certain processed foods help me to stay in control of my binge eating, then I have made peace with eating them (Fiber One bars, for example, help curb a chocolate craving--they're very processed, but I don't care, because they help keep me from binge eating). I know that eating a Fiber One bar is much better than a binge of pizza, ice cream, and Oreos (a common binge for me in the past).

7) I work for my "big" indulgences. I can fit a McD's ice cream cone into my daily diet without problem. But some treats are very caloric, and I have to work for them! So on my long run days, I'll get something that I've really been craving. Lately, it's been a cookie sandwich from Mrs. Fields--it's 23 PointsPlus, which is a LOT to spend on one small item. So when I run 12 miles, I've earned it--and I eat it, savoring every bite, and I don't feel one bit guilty for it.

Sometimes during the week, when I feel a binge urge, I make a mental note that I can have something really indulgent on Friday--my long run day--and it helps me to make it through the week.

8) I've learned that I used to use one little sentence to give up control and binge in the past--and that sentence was, "Just this once, and then I'll get on track for good." I used to tell myself that ALL the time. If I had Nutella in the house, for example, I would say, "I'll just eat it all now and get it out of the house, then I'll never buy it again and I'll get back on track tomorrow."

THAT IS A LIE. I know that now. I've learned that if I try to reason with myself over a food item, then I have to get rid of it, or it will inevitably lead to a binge. That happened to me recently with a jar of Nutella. I thought I could stay in control with it, and have it around. But one day, I found myself taking more and more spoonfuls (counting the PP's, and still maintaining control), and soon I thought, "I should just eat the rest now, and then it will be gone. I won't have to think about it anymore." As soon as I found myself saying those words, I realized that I was dangerously close to a binge. I allowed myself to take one more spoonful, and before I ate that spoonful, I put dish soap in the rest of the jar and threw it away. And I knew that I couldn't buy it again.

9) I eat all of my weekly PointsPlus and all of my activity PointsPlus, which makes Weight Watchers work for ME. If I tried to eat just my target PP every day, I would have quit and binged a long time ago. Having those extra PP gives me leniency to be able to eat treats and things that make eating enjoyable for me.

10) I've built a routine, and having a routine has helped tremendously with staying binge-free. I eat breakfast at around 7:00, lunch at around 11:00, snack at 2 or 3:00, dinner at 4:00, snack at 6 or 7:00 and my wine/chocolate at 8:00. Sometimes, just knowing that I'm going to have my next meal or snack soon helps me to make it through a binge urge. I tell myself, "I just have to make it another hour--what can I do for an hour?" and I might go for a walk, or read blogs, or clean out a closet, or something like that.

I've found that if I stray from my routine too much, I start getting binge urges. For example, if I'm out running errands in the morning and don't get home until 12:30, I'm STARVING for lunch by then. So it's hard not to shovel in food as soon as I get home, and the rest of the day feels "off" for me.

11) I have a go-to snack for when I'm not hungry, but I just feel like snacking. For me, this happens to be grapes. I adore grapes, and they are 0 PointsPlus. I eat them every day, at least once or twice a day. I think having this go-to snack helps me to stay on plan when I'm feeling binge-y.

12) Tea has been a lifesaver. I like to make a big mug of hot tea after breakfast and again in the afternoon. It just kind of reminds me that I've already eaten, so I know I'm not hungry, and there is no need for me to think about eating at the moment. Sipping the tea makes it last for a while, and the dessert teas that I bought from David's Tea are amazing!

Wow, I didn't realize this was going to turn into such a long post! Everyone struggling with binge eating obviously needs to find things that work for them, but these things have helped me to get through the past six months of staying binge-free. The longer I go without a binge, the more I learn about myself, and the more confident I get that I can maintain this weight loss!

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Pizza Friday

This morning, I woke up early again, so I was reading a book in bed. At 6:00, I could hear my kids talking to each other, so I hollered for them to come into my room. We all snuggled under the covers in my bed, and we turned on a show called Too Cute! about kittens. It was seriously "too cute" and we spent an hour laughing at how adorable the kittens were.

At 7:00, I got them ready for school, and then I got ready to run. Friday=long run. I had been looking forward to a warm day today, thinking that the high temp was going to be close to 60. But when I checked again this morning, it said the high was 41. Bummer.

I stepped outside, and it was cold! I thought I'd better dress warmer (it was only 28 degrees this morning), but once I went back in my bedroom, I changed my mind and decided to just run on the treadmill. I was really wanting to watch some more Sons of Anarchy, and 12 miles gave me at least two episodes' worth!

I ran and watched the last two episodes of the first season, and both were really good--definitely helped me enjoy the run a little more. I went at a good speed (6.9 mph for the majority of it, and the last mile was 7-8.0 mph). I finished in 1:42, about 5 minutes before the finale ended. Perfect timing!

I was SO disappointed when I saw the calories burned, though--887?! Last week, when I ran outside at an 8:44/mi pace, I burned 1,115; and the week before, I did 12 miles on the treadmill in 1:45 and burned 979. I ran faster today, but burned less calories for some reason. When I ran outside last week, it was really windy and my heart rate was up a lot higher, so that makes sense. Anyway, I'm just bitching--it is what it is!

Oddly, I was craving a salad for lunch. I say "oddly", because I hardly EVER eat salad. I just don't like it. But today, I wanted one, and it was delicious!

Spring mix with Trader Joe's oriental-something-or-other dressing, Craisins, fried rice noodles, and chicken. After lunch, I wanted to go to Mrs. Fields to spend all my activity PointsPlus earned from my run. I got the same thing as last week--a chocolate chip cookie sandwich.

It was SO good. I ran for almost two hours for that thing, and it was gone in 10 minutes. Haha, it was worth it though.

I was feeling full and a little sluggish after eating the cookie, so I asked Jerry if he wanted to go for a walk with me before the kids got home from school. We just did a two-mile walk, and it was nice get to chat (uninterrupted) with him. When we walked by the lake, we stopped for a picture...

I even did a goofy pose, because after posting the pics of me in the shirts I bought, I realized that I look the same in ALL the pictures of myself. Oh, and yes, I was freezing. Like I said, I was expecting spring temps today, and I didn't think about it being so cold, so I didn't wear a jacket. With the breeze coming off of the lake, it was definitely chilly.

For a long time, we used to do "Pizza Friday"--order or make pizza every Friday evening--and the kids loved it. We stopped doing somewhere along the line, and Noah asked if we could start doing it again. So I promised that today, we would get pizza and watch a movie together tonight. I feel like I'm blowing through all my weekly/activity PointsPlus way too fast, but I'll just have to tone it down for the rest of the week.

I haven't had restaurant pizza in a LONG time--at least six months--so I had no idea how many PointsPlus were in it. I ate two slices, and I estimated (for the pizza we got) it was 6 PP per slice.

Tomorrow is another free movie day at the theater, so we're going to go see Hotel Transylvania!

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