New ActiveLink goal

I've been going to bed earlier and earlier each day, and it's getting a little ridiculous! Last night, I went to bed at 8:15 to read my book, but I was so tired that I only read a few pages before I just went to sleep. I've been waking up earlier and earlier, too, so it's not like I'm sleeping more. If the treadmill wouldn't wake the boys, I'd get my run done at 5:00 in the morning, but my kids sleep as lightly as I do.

While I was getting the kids ready for school this morning, I was surprised to hear a knock on the door. My dad, who usually comes over in the mornings to walk with the kids to the bus stop, told me that he wouldn't be here this morning. When I answered the door, I was excited to see that it was my brother Brian! He flew in from Minnesota late last night, and he was leaving at 10 this morning, so he wanted to walk the kids to the bus stop. They thought that was pretty cool ;)

Brian read my dilemma about my race shirt quilt on my blog (the dilemma being that I'm too scared to do the quilting), and it turns out that his girlfriend Becky's mom does quilting. She has a long-arm quilting machine, and she said she'd do the quilting part for me!

Brian said if I wanted, I could even fly out there to do it myself, but I am so broke right now that even with a buddy pass, I really can't afford to. Anyway, I have to buy the fabric to back the quilt and the batting for inside. Brian will be back in town in a couple of weeks, so he can bring it home with him then.

I chatted with Brian a little after the kids left, and then I ate breakfast and got dressed to run on the treadmill. I wasn't even tempted to run outside this morning, because the wind was SO COLD. Besides, I wanted to watch another Sons of Anarchy episode ;)

I was feeling a little cocky about my pace because of my awesome race on Sunday, and I set the treadmill at 7.5 mph (an 8:00/mi pace). Yeah, um, that only lasted about a half-mile, before I slowed it down to 7.2 (8:20/mi). I bumped it up again at the last half-mile, just to get it done. Then I stopped my Garmin and just walked for a half-mile or so.

When I uploaded my run, I saw a cool trend in my pace since October...

My average pace was 10:30/mi in October, and each month it got faster--for March, the average is 8:24! It's amazing how quickly I improved with some hard work on my part.

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When I plugged in my ActiveLink this morning, it told me that I've been averaging 143% of my activity goal. It suggested that I change my goal to earning 7 PointsPlus per day (as opposed to 6). That seemed like a lot! I have a really hard time getting in enough activity on the days that I don't run, and I usually fall short. This is what the week looked like as far as PP earned, and how close I was to my goal of 6 PP per day:

The shaded gray area at the bottom is my baseline, which is the activity that I have to do everyday, and I don't earn any PP for it. Once I meet the required amount of activity to reach my baseline, I start earning PP for all of my movement. The gray line marks my goal, which was 6 PP per day.

Wednesday and Saturday were my rest days, and the only way I got as much activity as I did was from walking. On Mondays, I do intervals, and that only works out to be two miles--so that day was rather low as well.

I went ahead and changed the goal. I'm hoping the weather is going to actually feel like spring soon, and I'll be much more motivated to go for walks outside. The past few days have been unbearably cold! It's actually snowing right now--totally disheartening for being the second day of spring.

Anyway, by changing my goal, it's going to increase up to my earning 9 PP per day in about 9 more weeks. That will be perfect to get me motivated to move a lot in the summer. Also, I'll be marathon training, so with the long runs each week, I'm sure I'll hit that target. I think I might pick a week in the summer to try and earn 100 PointsPlus in a week--that's a very lofty goal!

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I was recently interviewed by Jenn from Girl Heroes--while I have to disagree that I qualify as a "hero", here is the link to check out my interview :)

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Helpful husband

A couple of days ago, I spent a couple of hours going through the boys' closets and dressers, pulling out clothes that were too small, or stained, or torn. I threw away the stuff that was stained and torn, but we had a ton of items that were nice enough to donate, so I folded them all neatly and put them in a hamper next to the door. I meant to ask one of my friends if she wanted them, but I got busy and forgot.

This morning, when I was getting the kids ready for school, they were putting on clothes that were too small--stuff I knew that I put in the basket. I looked by the door, and the basket was gone. I asked Jerry if he knew what happened to it, and he said, "Yeah, I put them away."

He was trying to be nice and put away what he thought was clean laundry that I hadn't gotten around to! I tried not to get irritated, because he was just trying to help, but why would I take the time to nicely fold all those clothes only to let them sit in a basket?! I never do that with our laundry. So, this morning, I had to go through the closets and dressers (again) and pull out all the clothes that were too small (again). I did find the whole story kind of funny, though!

Last night, after the kids were in bed for about 15 minutes, Noah came out into the living room and told me that he changed his mind and he didn't want to do his special day tomorrow (today). I asked him why not, and he told me that he didn't want his teacher to be mad at him for skipping school.

Noah is definitely a worrier, and very sensitive, just like his mom ;)  I said, "Well, what if you wake up in the morning, and you're not feeling very well? I can't send you to school like that!" and he said, "No, that would by lying."  (Again, mother of the year, here).

I said, "Well, what if I make you an appointment for something? Like, I'll make an appointment for you to get your hair cut. Then you have a reason to stay home." But he didn't feel right about that either.

Finally, I just said, "What if I get permission from your teacher first?" and he liked that idea. He wanted me to e-mail her and ask her if he could miss school on Monday. I sent her a message, and she thought it was cute that Noah was so concerned about it. So we didn't do Noah's special day today; we'll do it on Monday instead.

Thanks for the tips about Red Robin, by the way! I had no idea you could substitute fruit for the fries, or lettuce for the buns on their burgers. I still don't think the food is worth the amount of PointsPlus I'd have to spend on it, but at least there are options.

Today was Wednesday Weigh-in:

I was 131.5, same as last week. Since I'm in maintenance, meaning trying to maintain, I'm happy with that! :)  This week is going to be a challenge--Saturday and Sunday, I'll be in Dayton to get my RRCA running coach certification. They will be providing breakfast, lunch, and snacks, but I have no idea what those will be. Then Monday, I'm going out for Noah's special day, most likely to Red Robin. It'll be tough, but hopefully I'll manage to get through the week without a (large) gain!

I've gotten quite a bit of walking in on the treadmill lately. I'm SO HOOKED on Sons of Anarchy, and I promised myself I wouldn't watch it unless it was while I was on the treadmill, so I've been walking a lot. I just started season three, and I can tell this season is going to be the best so far!

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Eli's special day

On Sunday night, Eli came into my room crying because he had a nightmare. When I gave him a hug, he felt like he was burning up, and sure enough, he had a fever. I kept him home from school yesterday, and he was complaining about his legs hurting--I prayed it wouldn't turn into his not being able to walk (again). It seems like every time he gets a virus, he can't walk. But luckily, after a day at home, he seemed much better.

Today was the day I had been planning for his "special day". I had told him that if he did all of the reading I'd asked him to do, that I would let him play hooky from school for one day, and I would take him out to lunch and do whatever else he wanted to do. Since he was sick yesterday, I thought today would still be a good day to go; he was feeling better, but I wasn't sure if he was good enough to go back to school just yet.

He decided that he wanted to go to Denny's for lunch, and then go to the movies. The only kids show I could find was Escape from Planet Earth, and it was about 40 minutes from here. So we headed out to get lunch first, and then go to the movies.

The snow was blowing around all over the place, and I was kind of scared driving on the expressway, because I couldn't see very far in front of me. The roads were dry, but the visibility was terrible. Halfway there, Eli said, "I want to see Jack the Giant Slayer!" I asked him what it was about, and he told me it was like Jack and the Beanstalk. I got off at the next exit, and pulled into a gas station to look up showtimes on my phone.

I ended up having to turn around, because it was at a different theater. But finally, we got to Denny's. I let Eli order anything he wanted, and he chose the same thing as last time--a t-bone steak with shrimp. I got an English muffin, egg whites, and fruit.

Eli's steak was SO disgusting; I'd ordered it medium well, but it was definitely rare, and there was a ton of connective tissue and fat. I didn't even complain, but when the server saw it after I cut into it, she said it looked terrible, and she ended up asking the manager to take if off the bill. I took a picture, but decided not to post it because it's gross ;)

I didn't realize just how bad it was until after he'd eaten the edible parts. I just hope he doesn't get sick from it! I'm not going to let him order steak there again. You don't go to Denny's for a steak! haha

After we ate, we went to the mall for the movie. Eli wanted to get a cookie from Mrs. Fields (torture, anyone?). I said we could share one, and he chose the Peanut Butter Dream Bar. We cut it in half, so I ended up eating a tiny square for 10 PointsPlus, but it was good! Then we went into the movie.

I wish I'd researched the movie before taking Eli to see it, but I just assumed it was a kids' movie based on what he said. It was scary, and after I saw Eli put his hands over his eyes about 35 or 40 minutes in, I asked him if he thought we should leave. He said yes, so we left. On the way out, I stopped at the ticket sales counter, and said, "I totally understand if there is nothing you can do, because it's my fault for not realizing this was a PG-13 movie, but it's too scary for him, so we're not going to stay. Any chance we could get a refund?"

I expected him to say no, that I was a moron for bringing a 7-year old to the scary movie when he should be school (parent of the year, for sure), but he was very kind and refunded out tickets. I felt bad that Eli's day was turning out to be not-so-special, so I asked what else he'd like to do. He wanted to go buy a toy, and since his lunch and our tickets were refunded, I agreed.

Eli ended up being really happy with how his day went, though, and I am glad. I think he just liked getting to play hooky from school and hang out together, just the two of us. I enjoyed it, too--it's rare that I spend quality time with just one of the boys! Tomorrow is Noah's turn, and thankfully he doesn't want to go to Denny's. He wants to go to Red Robin, though, which has NOTHING healthy on their entire menu. If I'm going to spend 30 PointsPlus on a meal, it's not going to be on a burger and fries! Maybe I'll talk him into some other restaurant.

I hate getting out of my routine, like I did today--eating lunch out and then being out all afternoon made it hard for me to eat well. Not to mention impulsively blowing 10 PP on a brownie at the mall! Being the day before my weigh-in, I'd pretty much bet that my weight will be up tomorrow; not because of overeating, but usually when I get out of my routine that happens for a day or two.

This is a long post with almost no pictures, so here are a few cute ones of Phoebe:

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Motivational Monday #7

I hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day! It was fun to see how many of you raced over the weekend--lots of people celebrating by running some mileage and then rehydrating with green beer. I prefer to rehydrate with red wine, but same difference, I guess! ;)

Lots of pictures to post today, so I'll get right to it. Congrats to everyone on your awesome achievements this week!

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Mackenzie ran her first marathon this weekend! She ran the Rock 'n' Roll race in DC.

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Carrie PR'ed a 4-mile race yesterday, shaving 3:40 off of her time from a 4-mile race last month! You can read about the race on her blog.

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Carly ran a 5K under 35 minutes, earning a PR and third place in her age group! She'd never won anything at a race, and was thrilled with her results.

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Chelsea just ran her first marathon with an amazing finish time of 4:31! She says, "It was awesome and it sucked at the same time. I think that last 6.2 is literally the hardest 6 miles I've ever run!"

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Elyse is celebrating her one year runniversary this month. She has a goal to run 30 races by the time she's 30 years old, and in the past year, she's already got 9 under her belt! This photo is from a Lucky Green 5K she did this weekend.

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Katie and her husband Brandon ran a 10K on Saturday. She crushed her goal of 54 minutes, finishing in 50:36! This was Brandon's first 10K--he just started running in August, and finished in an amazing 59:05. She wrote about the race on her blog. 

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Michelle did a Lucky Leprechaun 7K with friends. Despite the freezing weather, they celebrated with green beer and cookies after the race!

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Joy has lost almost 100 pounds since January 2012! This is a comparison picture of her from last St. Patrick's Day and yesterday.

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Over 12 years ago, Melissa ran a marathon in 4:58:58, when she "got sick of running" and pretty much stopped. On Saturday, after spending the past year picking up running again and losing 40 pounds, she ran another marathon--in 4:47:58! She said it was funner and easier than she remembers it being when she was just 27.

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Nicole and her sister, Ashley, ran a marathon as a two-person relay team--each running a half-marathon! This picture shows their enthusiasm as Nicole passed the baton over to Ashley midway through the race.

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Rhonda braved the cold in Portland to run a 15K Shamrock Run! You can read her race report on her SparkPeople blog.

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Robin ran a 15K race this weekend with her "sole sisters"; the women are training to run a half-marathon in May!

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Stacey has a bucket list goal to run a 5K race, and she ran her very first race (a one-mile fun run) this week! You can read about it on her blog. She hopes to run a 5K in June.

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Stephie admits that she usually doesn't run for food, but she thought of me yesterday when she ran for cookies--I love that! ;)

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You may recognize this loud redhead as my friend Stephanie. She actually ran the same race I did--and I didn't even know it until the night before the race. She ran alongside her son--this was his very first 10K! He's been very enthusiastic about running since being inspired by his mama--and she's super proud of him!

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Sarahlyn (on the right) and her friend Nicole completed their first 5K race this weekend in the freezing cold! They must have had a blast, because they are already planning to do another to try to PR.

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Wyndi ran for pie at the Knotts Berry Farm Coaster Run! All of the finishers were rewarded with a slice of boysenberry pie for their hard work. Wyndi worked extra hard and also earned a PR!

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Kelly had been planning to run a St. Patty's Day 5K race, but it was only 7 degrees outside--and her asthma wasn't happy about that! Instead of calling it off completely, she decided to run it on the treadmill instead. She also saw the lowest number on the scale that she's seen in over seven years! She's lost a whopping 78 pounds.

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Jennifer ran her first race yesterday--an 8K, finishing in 55 minutes. She says that when she was 90 pounds heavier, she never thought she'd be the type of person to cross a finish line! (Jennifer is the one in the green wig).

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Lots of proud smiles in the pictures today--I love it!  You can read more accomplishments on the weekly Facebook post for more motivation. Congrats, everyone!! Hope you all have another great week :)

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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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