Shrimp

Today was a very long day! I almost decided not to even write a post tonight, but I just can't seem to NOT write my blog. It's a daily part of my life just like anything else! But I'm definitely going to keep it short. I want to curl up with a big mug of tea and watch Pretty Little Liars ;)

My weigh in this morning was a bust, but that was no surprise. At least I dropped a little of the water weight I'd gained the day before! But I still feel really puffy, so I know the gain is (at least mostly) water.

My diet was off track a lot this week, too, so some of that is legit. But my sister and I are going to start texting our food logs to each other every night again, which helps me to stay accountable. I'm going to have a couple of difficult days this week, because Noah's birthday is on Saturday. He's having a sleepover party on Friday, so I'll make a cake for that. I asked him what he would like for his birthday dinner on Saturday, and he said Golden Corral--blech! I've never even been to a GC, but I hate buffets. I just picture people touching the food, sneezing, and coughing around it. I'm hoping I can talk him into something--anything--else.

I spent all morning getting the kids' suitcases packed and ready for church camp. My mom brought up the idea a few months ago, and I was really nervous about letting them go to an overnight camp, but some of the other kids from church are going and my kids really wanted to go. It's only for two nights, and they'll be together the whole time.

My mom wanted to go with me to take them to the camp (it's a two-hour drive), so she picked us up at 2:00. It was a long drive through all these country roads, but we went through a few cities I've never been to, so it was interesting.

When we got to the camp, we confirmed their registration and went with them to their cabin. We talked with their counselor a little, and I wanted to make sure the kids were comfortable before we left. They were both really excited, so that made me feel better about the whole thing. But until I pick them up on Friday morning, I'm going to constantly be thinking about how they're doing!

We left the camp at 5:00, and I finally got home at 7:00--I was starving. We're running low on our basic groceries, but I really didn't want to go to the store. I started going through the freezer when I found a bag of shrimp. I've been craving shrimp like crazy for a couple of weeks now, so I decided to use it to make my favorite go-to dinner.

This bowl has angel hair pasta, olive oil, garlic, shrimp, peas, and parmesan cheese, for a total of 12 PP. It was the perfect dinner for my shrimp craving.

I think I may do my long run tomorrow instead of Friday. Since Friday is Noah's party, I have to get all of that ready AND leave to pick him up from camp by 8:00 AM. Since it's a step-back week on my running schedule, I "only" have to run eight miles.

Anyway, Pretty Little Liars is calling my name!

Continue Reading...

Track workout fail

Last night, Jerry and I went out for pizza with Sarah and Ne. All afternoon, I was hungry, and kept snacking on almonds. Then when we went out for dinner, I ate two pieces of pizza, as planned, and half an order of fried pickles. I knew those things were pretty high in sodium, but I was still totally shocked when I got on the scale this morning and saw a six-pound gain! Seriously, six pounds of water weight overnight. I've been downing water all day to try and get rid of it. I felt really puffy this morning.

Anyway, today was a speed work day. I haven't gone to the track in a while, so I thought it might be fun to go there and take the kids so they could throw around a football or baseball on the football field while I ran on the track. As soon as I stepped outside, I was a little taken aback at how humid it was. It was overcast, so from the house, it didn't look hot outside. But then when I walked to the car, I knew my track workout was going to be tough.

Instead of doing typical 400's or 800's, I decided to make it a little more fun. The kids started playing catch with a baseball, and I started a one-mile warm-up. I was sweating before I even made it around the track once! While I warmed up, I was planning what kind of workout to do, and this is what I came up with:

100 meters fast; 100 meter recovery jog (x2)
200 meters fast; 200 meter recovery jog
400 meters fast; 400 meter recovery jog
200 meters fast; 200 meter recovery jog
100 meters fast; 100 meter recovery jog (x2)

On paper, that's not a very hard workout. That's only a total of 1200 meters at a fast pace (3/4 of a mile). But my goal was really just to have fun with it and not drown in my own sweat from the humidity.

The first 100-meter sprint was actually pretty fun. I felt like I was flying (I love the bounce that the track gives). I thought I'd have plenty of time to recover from it, since the recovery was the same distance as the sprint itself, but I was still pretty out of breath starting the next one. And I had absolutely no clue what pace to run these, since I've never done 100- or 200-meter sprints before.

Turns out, it was TOUGH. By the time I got to the 400 meter sprint, I was really feeling tired. And it was during that lap that the kids started fighting horribly (they can't get along to save their souls). I got so frustrated with their fighting (and tattling while I was trying to run a sprint) that I just decided to stop there and call it a day. So I ran a total of 800 meters at a fast pace--hahaha! I didn't even do enough repeats to get my heart rate up into Zone 4.

I think the combination of being bloated and feeling very heavy, plus the heat/humidity, plus the stress from the kids just made it a bad time for me to do a track workout. However, I really did like running the shorter sprints like that, so I think I may do some other track workouts with a variety of distances like that. Not very helpful for marathon training, but the newness makes it fun!

---

For Taste Test Tuesday this week, I bought this stuff:

I've tried a lot of the True Citrus products (I even did a review of them), and because I love anything lime, this looked pretty good to me when I saw it at the store. It's just like those Crystal Light packets, only these are sweetened with Stevia instead of artificial sweeteners. (I really like the Raspberry Lemonade flavor!). But anyway, I mixed a packet of it into a glass of ice water (well, okay, as long as I'm being honest, I may have poured a little tequila in there too).

I was disappointed in this flavor. Because it's labeled a "limeade", I expected it to have that sourness of lime, but the black cherry was the dominant flavor (very sweet). I actually didn't taste any lime flavor at all. Jerry tried it, and he liked it better than I did. I didn't think it was bad tasting, but it just wasn't what I was expecting it to taste like. To be fair, I tried it without the tequila as well, and my opinion didn't change.

---

The boys' baseball game was just canceled (yet again). That's the fifth game in a row that has been canceled because of this crappy weather!

Continue Reading...

Motivational Monday #23

I hope you've all had a better eating/exercising week than I have! It was actually really hard for me to come up with something I did right this week. After the little bet I had going with my sister was over, I started snacking on things here and there without counting them, and then making bad food choices.

But, I felt AMAZING after yesterday's tempo run, and it pushed me to get back on track before I gain five pounds this week. I am proud of myself for choosing to do my tempo run outside in the humidity, rather than on the treadmill. The treadmill feels so much easier for me, so it was very tempting to do that instead of go outside, where I knew it would be a tough run. But I did it, and I was really glad afterward!

Let's see what some readers are proud of this week...

---

This is Shawn, my brother-in-law (Jeanie's husband). He didn't submit this, but I was really excited for him, and just had to share his news. Shawn started running in December, the same time as Jeanie, in order to finish the Virtual 5K for my birthday. He didn't realize it at the time, but Shawn is FAST, especially for a beginner. His first half-marathon was the same race that I flew into Chicago to run with Jeanie in May. I told him that he had some serious potential to win age group awards, and I wrote a training plan for him to focus on speed for shorter distances (which he prefers). Well, here he is after winning second place in his age group on the fourth of July! His finish time for a 2.8 mile race was 19:36--a crazy fast 7:00/mile.

---

Ashley ran her first 10K on the fourth of July! She's done a handful of 5K's and a 4-miler, but this was her longest race to date. It rained throughout the first half of the race, and she was very tempted to take the 5K turn-around, but she decided to stick it out. She finished in 1:15:45, more than 4 minutes faster than her goal time!  (Here is a link to Ashley's blog, Tales of a Slow Runner)

---

Joy just celebrated her 34th birthday, and was excited to see such a big difference in her birthday pictures over the past few years! She's lost a whopping 94 pounds (by doing MyFitnessPal and exercising--everything from Zumba and Body Pump to running 5K's). 

---

Quinlyn was never very interested in running, because she thought it was all about running laps around a gym or on a treadmill. But she thought the Color Me Rad 5K looked like fun, so she started training. She just finished the 5K, and said she had a BLAST! She thinks it's a great race for newbies, because it's such a fun atmosphere.

---

Thomas WON A RACE--as in, he was the first person to cross the finish line!  He modestly pointed out that it was a small race, but how many people can say they've won a race? When my kids ask me if I won after a race, it always makes me laugh ;)  He also set a 9-second PR in the half-marathon with a time of 1:39:40. (I'm impatiently waiting for his race report; hopefully it will be on his blog by the time this post goes live).

---

Cathy ran her first 5K (a color run), and said, "...tears ran down my face as I ran across the finish line." She never imagined this would be possible; in February, she had three surgeries, and during the last one, her lungs collapsed. She said that just trying to talk to her kids took every ounce of air and strength she could manage. When her doctor finally released her to start exercising, she started walking (losing 35 pounds in the process). At first, she was walking 26 minutes per mile; and she just finished her 5K in 54 minutes!

---

Don't forget to check out the Motivational Monday Facebook post, too, for more stories :)

---

I'd also like to announce the five winners of the CamelBak Arc Quick Grip handheld water bottles! Congrats to the following:

I've sent you an e-mail, so please make sure you respond. I'll get your info to CamelBak. Enjoy the water bottles!

Continue Reading...

A heart rate training run

I'm really enjoying heart rate training. I started doing it a few months ago, but only loosely following it; I would do some runs based on heart rate, but others, I would do based on pace, so I didn't get the full effect. But I finally decided to trust the process and just dive in completely.

The easy runs have been, well, easy. The only goal has been to keep my heart rate below a certain number (in Zone 1), even if it feels ridiculously slow. Zone 2 is for my long runs and steady state runs (a steady state run is slower than a tempo, but faster than an easy run). Zone 3 is for tempo runs. And Zone 4 is for speed work.

Like I said, Zone 1 was very easy to do. Then on Friday, I had to try out Zone 2 for my long run, and it was great. It made me a little worried about my tempo run, though. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get my heart rate high enough and sustain it long enough for the tempo run.

Anyway, today was a tempo run day, so I was nervous to test out Zone 3. I decided to just run until my heart rate reached Zone 3 (162-175 bpm), then run 3 miles in Zone 3, and then cool down until I reached 4 miles total. (So basically, three miles at tempo pace and one mile warm-up/cool down.)

I headed outside early, at 7:00, before it would get too hot. It was already super humid. When I started running, I tried not to start out too fast. It took a little less than half a mile before my heart rate reached Zone 3. I hit the "lap" button on my Garmin to start my tempo miles and tried to hold my pace to keep my heart rate in the zone.

It was a hard run! I really wanted to stop and walk, but I knew, logically, that I could make it through the whole three miles at tempo pace. Tempo runs are supposed to feel hard enough that you want to stop, but you could sustain that pace for about an hour. When my Garmin beeped after the first tempo mile, I saw that I did that mile in 7:56! I was shocked, but happy to see that I was still able to run a sub-8:00 mile after seeing my pace get slower as the days get hotter.

The second mile was a lot slower, at 8:22. That was kind of disheartening, because I was working just as hard (my heart rate was still up in the middle of the zone). During the third mile, I was tempted to try and pick up the pace to be done sooner, but it's better to have even splits, so I tried to keep the same pace.

When I hit the end of the third tempo mile, I was dying to just stop and walk, but I ran slowly to cool down until I made it home. I was pouring sweat, and I sat outside for a couple of minutes so I didn't drip sweat all over the living room. But you know what? It felt AWESOME.

It was then that I realized that I really like heart rate training. Training by heart rate gives me permission to run slowly on my easy run days (something I have a hard time with). Running slowly makes me really enjoy the runs while I'm running. The tempo run itself wasn't very enjoyable (it's hard!) but I felt absolutely fantastic when I was done.

Because I don't have a goal race right now, and I'm not working on a PR or anything, I think it will be fun to see where the heart rate training takes me. I'm going to trust the whole process and see what happens. I'm already looking forward to tomorrow's run, because it's going to be in Zone 1--which is very slow and easy.

So anyway, sorry that I've been writing so much about heart rate lately. It's been kind of experimental for me! (If anyone is interested, here is the website where I calculated my heart rate zones. I've tried other zones, calculated various ways, but I like this one the best so far.)

In other news, my eating has been really crappy this week. As soon as my sister and I stopped texting our food logs to each other, I picked up where I'd left off--eating too much, most of it junk. Grr! So I'm going to take some of the advice I wrote on yesterday's blog, and DO IT. I plan on weighing in at Weight Watchers on Friday, so that's an incentive to keep on track.

Tomorrow, we're getting together with Sarah and Ne one more time before they head back to Arizona. I think we're going to go out for pizza and then come play Euchre at my house. The last time we went out for pizza, I did really well--I ate two slices of a small, which I counted as 16 PP total. I plan to do the same thing tomorrow.

---

Sorry if you already saw this on Instagram, but I saw this funny card at the store and had to take a picture of it!

---

Don't forget, tomorrow is Motivational Monday, so if you did something that you're proud of this week, and want to share on the blog, you can e-mail me a pic and a short description (subject: Motivational Monday). I may include it on tomorrow's post!  My e-mail address is SlimKatie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com.

Continue Reading...

Tips for the slippery binge slope

I was so sore when I woke up this morning! I very rarely get sore after a run anymore, but for some reason, I was pretty achy today (in a good way--meaning, it felt like I had worked out). I was thankful that today was a rest day.

Before bed last night, Noah asked me, "Mama, what can we do in the morning?" I felt bad about that, because ever since their football and basketball camps ended, we haven't done much in the mornings at all. It doesn't help that it's been raining every day.

My mom told me about a city wide garage sale about 20 minutes away, so I suggested that to the kids. They were really excited to spend some of their money, and loved the idea. After breakfast, we headed out. Garage sale-ing is always hit-or-miss; sometimes, I find some really great stuff, and other times, it looks like someone just cleaned out his great-grandfather's garage.

Today was definitely a "miss" day. We spent about an hour walking from sale to sale, but there was mostly just junk. There was one sale that brought back some memories, though--a guy was selling tons of vintage games and toys. I saw all kinds of toys that I had as a kid. Noah and Eli each found a something at that sale that they bought, but other than that, we left empty-handed.

After lunch, I was really in the mood to continue my deep cleaning/organizing that I've been doing lately. Today, I pulled out the stove and the refrigerator and cleaned the floor and walls. I was shocked at how much dust can collect back there! Estelle was thrilled that I found three of her cat toys under the stove. I'm sure they'll be back under there in no time, though.

Oh, and speaking of the cats... when I weighed Chandler a couple of days ago, I saw that he had gained a pound since the last time I weighed him. I was bummed, because he had lost four pounds, and I was excited for him to reach the five-pound mark. I was also stumped, because I hadn't changed his diet at all, and he's been more playful than ever.

Well, when he's not sleeping, anyway ;) Yesterday, I discovered the cause of his gain. Remember how I said Chandler was too lazy to use the puzzle feeders? The other three cats use them all day long, but they aren't overweight, so it's no big deal to leave food in there. Well, apparently Chandler is now Estelle's BFF, because Estelle has started doing all the work for him. They sit together at the puzzle feeder, and Estelle uses her paws to get the food out... for Chandler! She eats some herself, too, but it's very clear that she's feeding him. I thought it was hilarious when I saw what she was doing, but now I have no idea how to get Chandler back on his strict diet ;)

I haven't answered a reader question on the blog in a while, and I got one from Michelle that I thought was worth bringing up; I'm hoping that other people can offer some advice, too! She asked: "What helps get you back on track mentally when you are sliding down a slippery slope?" (this is in regards to binge eating).

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Sometimes, I feel like staying on track is EASY; I'm totally motivated, and feeling confident in maintaining a binge-free streak, and other times, I feel like I can't stay binge-free to save my soul. I have no idea what causes the ups and downs.

But here are a few tricks that have worked for me in the past to get back on track:

• I don't try to overcompensate for a binge. Years ago, I used to binge and then try to eat as little as possible the next day to "make up" for it. What happened is that I became so hungry that I would binge again. It became a cycle. Now, if I binge or even just have a bad day of overeating, I go right back to my typical plan the next day. I don't cut way back on my PointsPlus to make up for it. I just wipe the slate clean and start fresh. 
• I remind myself that after four days of being on track, it gets much easier. This will vary by person, of course, but for me, the magic number is four days. After that, I have a good streak going and I start to feel much more confident in staying binge-free. The first four days are super tough, but I just keep reminding myself that it's only four days.
• I talk about it with a friend. Sometimes if I'm having a weak moment, I'll text my sister, or Andrea from my Ragnar team, or my friend Jessica, or someone else who knows what I'm going through and has been through it, too. Sometimes they'll say something that just clicks for me. Jerry is really great, too; if I tell him that I'm thinking of bingeing, he'll offer me a massage instead. I love massages!

Those are things have helped me. I'm definitely interested to hear from others, though! If anyone else has some advice, feel free to share in the comments :)

Continue Reading...

CamelBak Review (and a giveaway!)

I had 13 miles on the schedule today, and when I woke up, it was pouring rain. I started to think maybe I should run tomorrow instead, but then I looked at the forecast for the week:

Seriously?! It's been raining at least once a day for about two weeks in a row. So, I decided to just get it done this morning, rain or shine. Besides, I was excited to try out a hydration vest from CamelBak called the Marathoner.

Someone from CamelBak contacted me a couple weeks ago and asked if I would want to review one of their hydration packs. Since I'm just getting into the long marathon training runs, it was perfect timing! When I was training for my first marathon last year, I bought a hydration belt to carry a 20 oz. bottle of water. It worked just fine, but I really dreaded wearing it. After about 10 miles, it always makes my back ache, and sometimes it causes a cramp in my side.

So when I swore off marathons (hahaha!) I bought a handheld water bottle to carry 10 oz. of water. I like the handheld much better, but it has limitations--10 oz. of water doesn't last very long, particularly in the summer months. I would have to plan my running routes around places to refill my water.

I had thought about giving a hydration vest/backpack a try, but honestly, I had a hard time believing that it would be comfortable and not bounce around while I was running. However, I saw that the hydration vests/packs have a lot of great reviews; the people that use them seem to love them. I was excited that CamelBak gave me the opportunity to try one out.

They sent me a vest called the Marathoner, which holds 70 ounces of water. (ETA 8/2/19: The Marathon is no longer being sold, but the link above is for a very similar model). I have to admit, when I first opened the box and tried it on, I was very skeptical about whether I'd like it. My main concerns were chafing, the weight of it, and bouncing. But that's what a review is for, so I was open-minded and excited to give it a try.

I geared up in my typical clothes that I would wear for a long run. Then I filled up the "bladder" of the vest, which was very easy to do. There is a cap that you give a quarter turn, and it comes right off. It's really wide-mouthed, so you could easily throw in ice cubes (I really wish I'd thought of adding ice before I went out!). The wide mouth also makes it easy to clean.

Once I put the bladder back in the vest, the vest felt really heavy in my hands, which concerned me. But I put the vest on and tightened the straps, and it didn't feel too heavy at all! The weight was distributed very evenly, and it was pretty comfortable. Noah was nice enough to come out in the rain and take some pictures.

I would be lying if I said I didn't feel like a total dork wearing it. But comfort and convenience wins over pride any day when it comes to running ;)  Besides, I was thrilled that I was able to carry along a bunch of stuff with me--plenty of water, of course; ShotBloks; pepper spray; and my iPhone (in a Ziplock bag because of the rain). There was still a ton of room to bring more stuff, but I don't know that I needed anything else (although in retrospect, I should have brought a dry pair of socks in a baggie!).

There are two large pockets in front, as well as two small, flat pockets (the perfect size for my iPhone--it held the phone flat against my chest, so it didn't bounce). There is also a good sized pocket in the back, to tuck a light jacket or something.

The blue tube is where you suck the water out. It's held down with a little clip, easy to pull it up to your mouth.

This is the little pocket for my phone. The red thing is a safety whistle!

Anyway, I finally headed out for my run. The first thing I noticed was that the vest didn't bounce around at all, like I expected it too. The adjustable straps all held it right to my chest and back, so that it moved with me, rather than bouncing.

Also, I noticed that my arms didn't brush against the vest at all. Because the sides are so open, it didn't get in the way of my arm swing (a good thing, to avoid chafing). I was actually really surprised at how comfortable it was. I'm not going to say I forgot I was wearing it--I was always aware that it was there--but nothing about it bothered me at all.

By the end of my run, I was in love with this vest! Out of all the reviews I've done, this one surprised me the most. The vest is much more comfortable than the waist pack I wore last year, and I absolutely love how much storage it has. I didn't have a single chafe mark, my back didn't hurt, and I didn't have to stop running for even a second; it was very easy to drink while running.

My favorite long run route doesn't have a single spot to refill my handheld water bottle, so I was planning to have to find somewhere else to train; but with the vest, I can run my favorite route because I can carry everything I need. For my shorter long runs (less than 10 miles or so), I'll still use my handheld water bottle. But I'm definitely going to start using this vest for my long runs.

Overall, my favorite things about the vest:

• Tons of storage for random "stuff"
• Holds enough water for my longest training runs
• Very comfortable, and it doesn't bounce
• Easy to adjust the straps so it fits the way it is most comfortable for my body. The straps are pretty long, so the vest could probably fit many shapes and sizes.

The only drawbacks I can think of:

• I'm not sure how well it would fit someone with actual boobs; mine are so small that it wasn't an issue for me, but I imagine it may cause a problem for someone with a big chest
• I can't dump any of the water over my head, which is something I do during the summer when it's super hot

CamelBak very generously offered to give away not one, but FIVE of their handheld bottles called the Arc Quick Grip to five different winners! The handhelds hold 10 oz. of water, so they are perfect for short summer runs. To enter to win, just fill out the form below. I will use Random.org to select all five winners on Monday at 8:00 a.m. EST.  Contest has now ended. (Open for U.S. residents only; sorry, international friends!)

(Disclosure: CamelBak provided the vest for me to review in exchange for my honest opinion about it).

If you found this review helpful, and you plan to buy a CamelBak anyway, I'd appreciate your using my link to the Camelbak Marathoner Hydration Vest on Amazon. I get a small commission if you buy it through the link. I never recommend any product with the hope of getting commission, however. My review is 100% honest.

Anyway, overall I had a pretty decent long run today, minus the pouring rain. It was down pouring for a few miles, and after that, my feet were soaked. At around mile 10, my feet were really sore from running in wet socks and shoes. I was dying to get home and take my shoes off! But I kept my heart rate in the right zone the entire time, and my pace was better than last week.

Notice my bare feet--I didn't even take the time to snap a picture before taking my socks off!

Continue Reading...

Independence Day

Happy July 4th! I hope everyone had a great holiday. Today was just a typical day for us. After I ate breakfast, I started my day with a four-mile easy run. Again, my only goal was to keep my heart rate under 148 beats per minute, regardless of what pace that ended up being.

It was very humid this morning, and I almost turned around and went right back in the house to use the treadmill. But after the awesome run I had on Monday, I was actually looking forward to a repeat of that today. I set my Garmin to just show me my heart rate and heart rate zone while I was running, so that I wouldn't see my pace and let that influence me to go faster.

I had absolutely no idea what pace I was running, but I was doing really well at keeping my heart rate where it should be. A couple of times, my watch beeped to tell me my heart rate was too high, so I just focused on slowing down a little. I always tend to speed up my last mile of any run, because I know I'm getting close to home. But today, I was really focused on keeping a steady heart rate. When I got home, I checked out my stats.

My average heart rate was 143, which was great. My pace was 10:22/mi, which kind of surprised me, because I felt like I was going much slower than that. A good run!

Tomorrow is my long run, and the goal is to keep my heart rate between 149 and 162. During last week's long run, my heart rate was 154, but it was a struggle to keep it from climbing higher. So I'm guessing tomorrow's pace will be close to last week, or a little faster. I'm also going to be trying out a product from Camelbak during my run to write a review (and giveaway!) tomorrow :)

This afternoon, I found some old home videos (on actual video tapes, not digital), so Jerry, the kids, and I ended up watching them for a couple of hours. There was one of Chandler when he was a kitten, and when Chandler saw what was on the TV today, he was fascinated by watching himself. It was kind of funny!

Jerry and I were in a lot of the videos of the kids, and I was in total shock at how we used to look. It was really sobering to see just how big we were! On the video, I could actually hear myself breathing heavily, and a couple of times, when I got up from the couch, I made a groaning noise because it was difficult for me to do. The kids were really surprised to see us like that on the video, too; they don't remember what we were like before we lost the weight (which I'm happy about).

Jerry went through the closet today and pulled out all of his work shirts. He had something like 25 of them (just t-shirts with his work logo on them). He was going to bring them to work to give to his co-workers, since he's not going to be working there anymore. I was so glad to see them go! I used to live in those shirts...

When I got too heavy for my regular clothes, instead of buying bigger ones, I just started wearing Jerry's 2XL work shirts. I kept telling myself, "When I lose the weight, I'll buy cute clothes," but I went for years without losing the weight. When I finally did, I swore I'd never wear another of his work shirts again--and I haven't. It's exciting to see our half-empty closet!

I used one of the pictures Stephanie took of me recently to create another before/after photo. It feels like a lifetime ago, but next month will mark four years since I started losing weight.

Continue Reading...

Stitches

My days are so screwed up! Since I started my Wednesday Weigh-ins in 2009, there have only been a couple of times where I either forgot to weigh in or I was out of town or something and wasn't able to. Today, I had a busy morning, and was sure it was Thursday for whatever reason. Anyway, I was 133 yesterday, so I'll just count that as my weight this week.

I didn't run yesterday, because my knee was feeling funny, so I think that may have thrown me off. Usually my rest day is on Wednesday, so today felt like Thursday. But whatever, it doesn't matter!

This morning, Eli had a dermatologist appointment at 8:00, so I got up early and showered to get ready to take him. Eli totally cracks me up! Last week, he asked me if I could make an appointment for him to "get his mole cut off". I had taken him to the dermatologist several months ago to get it checked out, and the doctor said it wasn't anything to worry about.

But the mole is on his back, just above his butt, where the waistband of his pants sits. His pants rub against it sometimes, which is a little irritating to him, so I mentioned (a long time ago) that we could get it removed if he wanted. Fast forward to last week, when he asked about getting it cut off.

I asked him why, and he was very interested in the part about getting stitches. I guess his friend at school had stitches, and Eli thought it was cool, and he wanted stitches, too. I explained to him that stitches kind of hurt, but he still wanted them. I told him all about how the doctor would remove the mole, and he'd have to get a shot to numb it, and all the details--still, he asked if he could get it removed.

I figured he'd forget about it over the weekend, but he reminded me every day for four days to make the appointment. They fit him in this morning at 8:00, and he was so excited. Last night, he kept asking me, "How many more hours?" like we were going to Disney World or something!

I bet that doctor had never seen such a cooperative seven-year old patient ;)  He laid very still, didn't make a single peep when she gave him the numbing shot, and was very happy to get three stitches out of the deal.

Eli has always been a pretty unique kid, but this whole thing was pretty funny, even for him. On the way home, I asked if the shot hurt, and he said "Yes, I kind of felt like I was crying inside my eyes, but I wanted to be brave."

When I got home, the mail carrier dropped off a package at my house, and I remembered that my sister had sent me one of those peanut butter cookies! After we had talked about it before, she bought one for herself, and said it was definitely worth the PointsPlus. I told her to go ahead and mail me one. I hoped it would hold up in the mail, and it was still perfect when it got here.

It was well-worth the PointsPlus! The cookies were really moist, and the peanut butter frosting was awesome. I'm actually glad those cookies are safely up in the Upper Peninsula, so I don't have access to them ;)

---

Jerry put in his two-week notice at work. I've been wanting to write about this for over a month now, but I didn't want to say anything until after he put in his notice. There was nothing wrong with his current job (he's been there for almost 11 years, and it's been great), but he had a really good opportunity come up, and decided to go for it. He did a couple of interviews, took a bunch of tests, and was finally offered the job.

It's super scary to be making a big change like this at this point in our lives, but it should be a good thing. He'll still be working a swing shift, and the job is pretty similar to what he does now. He'll be making more money at the new job, though, and that's why he ended up going for it. The only real downside is that it's a farther drive to and from work. Anyway, I'm really happy for him--he's excited and nervous to start, but mostly excited.

---

We were supposed to go out in the boat tonight to watch the fireworks, as we've done several years in a row, but the weather has been so crappy lately that we decided to just stay home. I was fine with that decision, because I don't really love going out on the boat. We did manage to see a little bit of the sun today, which was nice!

Continue Reading...

A glorious four-miler

Sure enough, we had storms yesterday. That made (I think) nine days in a row! But luckily, I managed to sneak in my four-mile easy run before the storms started. It was PERFECT running weather yesterday morning. It was 65 degrees, but it felt even cooler than that because I was used to it feeling so much hotter; it was also overcast, and on the brink of raining.

A lot of people have been asking me about heart rate training lately. We didn't go into a lot of detail in my RRCA class about it, so I've been reading as much as I can get my hands on about it. I'll try and write a detailed post about it soon, but for right now, I'm just learning what I can. Anyway, I wanted to experiment a little with the training zones, so yesterday, I decided to try keeping my heart rate below 148 beats per minute.

I got dressed and ready to head out the door when Eli said, "Can I run with you, Mama?" Inside, I groaned, because I was ready to go; but I'd told the boys that I would run with them anytime, anywhere, so I cheerily said, "Sure!" He got some comfy clothes on and we headed outside. We ran slowly around the neighborhood, chatting the whole way, and it was SO GREAT to spend some quality one-on-one time with Eli. While we were running, he even said, "I love running!" That totally made my day, and I was so glad that I let him come with me.

When we got back to the house, which was only 2/3 of a mile, he went inside with Jerry and Noah and I headed out for my "real" run. I had set my Garmin to beep if my heart rate went over 148, so my only goal was to keep it slow and easy. About a half-mile in, I realized I was checking my watch to see my heart rate, which was annoying, so I decided to test out the alarm and make sure it was working; then I wouldn't have to look at the watch at all.

I sped up for a minute or two to get my heart rate up, and as soon as it hit 149, my watch beeped to let me know. After that, I didn't even look at the watch again. I didn't want to look, because I knew my pace was slower than usual, and I didn't want to get discouraged when I saw the pace. Instead, I focused on the scenery, the perfect running weather, and the amazing feeling of running with JOY (as corny as that sounds).

It's kind of amazing how much more enjoyable it was to run with the goal of going slow. I felt like I could run forever! At the turnaround point two miles in, it started to sprinkle, which actually made the run even better. A couple of times, it nagged at me that I could be going faster, but then I thought about it this way: I could run 4 miles in about 32 minutes and be pretty miserable the entire time; or I could run the 4 miles in about 42 minutes and enjoy every step of it. It's a no-brainer when I think of it that way!

I always say (only half-jokingly) that I only enjoy running after it's over with, but I can honestly say that I truly enjoyed the run itself yesterday. After seeing faster paces all winter and spring, it's hard to run at a slower pace and be totally fine with it (mentally), especially because I worked so hard to improve my pace. But because yesterday's run was so great, I'm going to try and do my easy runs at a truly easy pace (following the heart rate training zones), and then save the faster paces for my tempo runs and speed work. I'm not sure what it will do to my race paces, but I'll be interested to find out.

I was actually thinking that sometime this summer, I might try and go a week without using my Garmin. I know, I know, a Garmin isn't necessary for running! I've only run without it ONCE (during a 5K race) and I couldn't stand not having it. So it might be a fun challenge for myself to go without it for a week. I imagine it would be pretty freeing! Or maybe I'll start with just one day... a whole week might be tough ;)

---

Taste Test Tuesday was a bust this week. I saw a new flavor of popcorn seasoning at the store, and Jerry and I were both excited to try it. The kids really like the white cheddar one, but Jerry and I both love jalapeno-flavored anything, so this sounded really good...

We air-popped some popcorn, and sprinkled some on. Jerry ate a few pieces first, and started coughing. He said it got in his nose. I laughed and threw a few pieces in my mouth--and promptly started coughing as well. I didn't taste any sort of flavor at all, but my nose was burning and made me cough uncontrollably. It was SO strange. I've tried the other flavors, and never had this problem. We tasted a couple more kernels, but each time, it went straight to our noses. We dumped the rest of the popcorn, because we couldn't even eat it. Anyone else try this? I'm curious if you had the same experience!

---

The boys' baseball game was canceled AGAIN today. That's four games in a row that have gotten rained out! They don't have a game scheduled for Thursday, because of the holiday, so hopefully by next week they'll be back on schedule. Trying to keep two boys occupied all day indoors has been tough on my patience ;)

Continue Reading...

Motivational Monday #22

Happy Motivational Monday! I hope everyone has had a great week. I was very excited to see that I am back at my goal weight after being a few pounds over goal for several weeks in a row. I'm so glad that I caught it before it turned into the same 15-20 pounds I tend to gain each spring/summer! Over the past couple of weeks, I've worked hard to get rid of those few pounds, and it was great to see my goal weight on the scale again.

I'll jump right into the motivating e-mails I got from readers this week. Enjoy!

---

I'm going to start with my sister, Jeanie. I know I'm always bragging about her, but I can't help it--I'm super proud of her. She's worked really hard to get where she is! In the first picture below, she was 158 pounds (last summer); the current picture was taken today, at 130 pounds (check out those abs!). She did this from following Weight Watchers for her diet, and in December, she started running in order to participate in my Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K on my birthday. She got hooked on running, much like I did. This week, she was really proud to run a 10K at a 10:35/mi pace!

---

Brandi sent me this e-mail, and I didn't want to edit anything out; so here is the whole story:

"I wrote you back in February of 2012 telling you how much you had inspired me.  I was an overweight mother of two who felt fat, tired and hopeless.  After reading your blog, I started the couch to 5K program and eating healthy.  I lost 36 pounds by July of 2012 and was feeling great.  I had run several 5K's and a 10K.

 In late July I was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer at age 36.  I had a mastectomy in August, dose dense chemo from September to December, radiation from January to March, and a hysterectomy (to try and slow my estrogen feeding cancer down) in late March.  During chemo I gained back 30 of the pounds I had lost.  A combination of all the steroids they give you and as you can imagine, some emotional eating.  I was unable to run or really workout during chemo because I felt so poorly.

I did start running again during radiation to try and fend off the fatigue.  Then I was unable to exercise once again when I had my hysterectomy in March.  I am finally feeling a bit like my old self and I've lost 13 pounds since I finished chemo.

This past Saturday I reached a major goal I set for myself, I finished my first ever triathlon.  It was a super sprint triathlon, so a 1/4 swim, an 8 mile bike, and a 2 mile run.  I did it!  It was hard, and I had very little time to train, but I did it!  Exercise makes me feel like I'm showing the cancer who is boss.  I just wanted to say thank you for your blog, it encourages me everyday since I share some of your same struggles!"

---

Louise ran a 10K race on Saturday, followed by a 5K race on Sunday. Her nine-year old daughter, Katie, ran the 5K also, and Louise said "left me in the dust". Louise proudly finished the 10K in 1:15, and the 5K in 38 minutes. She said her daughter finished the 5K in 20 minutes, which just blows my mind! Great race for both of them :)

---

Here, Sara describes this picture from her anniversary cruise with her husband:

"My name is Sara and I have been reading your blog for the past two years; I look forward to reading your posts everyday! I wanted to include this picture from my anniversary cruise that my husband I just went on. We booked the cruise shortly after we got married in June of 2011, and around Christmas of 2011 I realized I had put on about ten pounds of 'so happy because I just married my best friend' weight. Well, I got serious with running / walking in January of 2012, and since then I have managed to walk/run 1,303 miles in eighteen months. Considering that I'm a seventh grade teacher (plus just finished my masters in administration and supervision) it hasn't been easy doing the walking and running, but I have been astounded with how much better I feel after a run or walk.

I just hit 459 miles for this year and hope to hit 1,000 miles by New Years Eve. The dress in the picture is actual from my last sorority formal during my undergrad (2010) and I was so pleased when it fit perfectly a weeks ago. With the consistent running / walking, I've also managed to lose 20 pounds since starting in January, 2012. I still want to lose about 10 more, but I wanted to show my progress and thank you for all of the motivation!!"

Sara, I totally understand the "so happy because I just married my best friend weight" ;)  You look fantastic!

---

Don't forget to check out some motivating posts on Facebook as well!

Continue Reading...