Hello, Winter

It was another cold morning today. It's almost like we skipped right from "tank top" running weather to "Cold Gear and fleece" weather, without my favorite middle ground (long sleeves, but no hat or gloves required-weather).

Anyway, I contemplated taking a rest day, but I actually really wanted to run, especially because it was only three miles. I've been feeling huge lately, ever since I finished the marathon. I was eating a LOT when I was marathon training, and wasn't gaining weight, but now that training is over, I'm still trying to regulate my appetite. Mentally, I want to eat just as much as I was before; but logically, I know I can't do that without gaining weight. Like I mentioned, I had a bad weekend, and ate pretty much everything in sight; and I've been afraid to get on the scale ever since.

I should probably just face the scale and move on, but because my running mileage has been cut in half, I feel like I've gained a hundred pounds. I could certainly increase my mileage, but after running 50+ miles a week for a few months, I am looking forward to a break. So after a few days of not counting (or caring) what I ate, I am back on track and hopefully after a few days of being on track, I won't feel so big and out of shape (I'm not saying I AM big and out of shape; I just feel that way right now, because I've been eating badly and not running much).

I got completely ready to run, and then took the kids to the bus stop. As soon as they were on the bus, I started my Garmin and ran from there instead of my house; just did a simple out-and-back route. Again, my shoes felt like they had lead in them. My legs just didn't want to move! I was putting in a lot of effort, but my pace was still in the mid-9:00's.

The crappy eating over the weekend probably had something to do with feeling sluggish, too, so hopefully in a few days, I'll feel perkier!

After my run, I ate a quick breakfast. I had plans to meet Renee for coffee at Panera at 9:30. I had a free espresso drink on my Panera Rewards card, so instead of getting regular decaf coffee, I got a non-fat decaf latte (unsweetened). It was really good, and definitely worth spending a couple of PointsPlus on.

I chatted with Renee for a little bit, and then Jessica and Andrea joined us. It was nice to get out and have some grown-up conversation for a while ;)  I left straight from there to go to my mom's house for lunch. My mom invited my two favorite aunts over for a Javanese lunch--one of my favorite meals (that I don't have very often). It's rice and chicken, with a ton of toppings--gravy, cheese, pineapple, coconut, sliced almonds, green onions, celery, and fried rice noodles.

It's a fun way to do a potluck with friends, because you can just tell each person to bring one item, and it makes an awesome lunch.

When I got home, I was absolutely freezing. It was that kind of cold that just goes right to your bones. And it was actually snowing outside! I decided I wanted soup for dinner--I wanted something very hot! My mom mentioned stuffed pepper soup, and I had a ton of bell peppers in the fridge, so I looked up a simple recipe and threw it together pretty quickly. I used this recipe, but I used white rice instead of brown, ground turkey instead of beef, beef broth instead of chicken broth, about triple the amount of peppers. It was amazing!

I love soup season. I think this weekend, I'll start coming up with some more soup ideas and recipes to try out this fall/winter.

Well, I better go read my book. I just got notice that my library book is due in 3 days, and I am only on page 28!

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Decisions

I have been SO tired lately, but can't sleep past 4:00-5:00 in the morning. It's driving me crazy! Last night, I fell asleep on the couch at 8:15--and I never fall asleep on the couch. But because I went to bed so early, I was wide awake at 4:00 this morning.

It was very cold this morning--34 degrees, but with the wind chill, it was a "feels like" temp of 28. At first, I dressed in my Cold Gear tights and a long-sleeved shirt to run; but I took the kids to the bus stop, and couldn't stop shivering, so I went home and put a fleece jacket over it, a Bondiband over my ears, and gloves on my hands. That was much better!

I don't really have a running schedule right now, since I'm not training for anything, so I just decided to run three miles today. I figured that I could do it fast, because I'm used to running a lot farther than three miles. I started running, and when I got to the end of the street, I guessed my pace to be about 8:00/mi.

BAHAHA, when I looked at my Garmin, it was actually a 9:17 pace. I felt like I was going fast, and I was breathing hard; I guess my body is still hungover from the marathon. I wanted to push myself a little today, so I kept running (what felt) hard. I thought the run would fly by, because I'm so used to running for at least an hour; but it felt like a very long time.

Looking at my heart rate chart made me laugh. Can you tell where I encountered an unleashed black lab, who scared the crap out of me? ;)

I feel kind of lost running without a schedule. I planned to just run whenever I felt like, for whatever distance I felt like, but that isn't as fun as I thought it would be. I like knowing exactly how far I'm running each day.

So today, I made a loose schedule. I was looking back at last year's running, after I finished the Detroit Marathon. I got really fast over the winter! By February/March, I was running a consistent 8:15-8:30-ish pace, and 8:40-ish for my long runs. I was basically just running 3-4 miles, 4 times a week, and a long run of 8-12 miles, once a week.

So here is what I came up with today:

Monday- 5 miles easy
Tuesday- 3 mile tempo
Wednesday- rest or 3 miles easy
Thursday- 5 miles easy
Friday- 8-12 miles long
Saturday- rest
Sunday- speed work (3 miles)

I've liked running six days a week, per the Hansons' Marathon Method, but I don't know if I'll want to do that every week; so I'm giving myself an option on Wednesdays whether or not to run.

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My sister told me about something her Weight Watchers leader was talking about in a meeting, and it made so much sense that I wanted to share it here. She was talking about the difference choices you have to make about food all day long, and how it's so hard to resist things sometimes.

She said that when you are at the grocery store, and you want to buy something that you know will tempt you, you only have one decision to make: you either choose to buy it or you don't. If you DO buy it, then you have to bring it home and you have a lot more decisions to make. You have to choose to eat it or not; choose how much to have, and how often; and it might beckon to you all day, where you will have to continue to make choices about that one little item.

However, if you choose NOT to get it while you're at the store, that's the only time you'll have to make a decision about it. Yes, it's a hard decision to make when you really want something, but you only have to make that decision that one time, and then when you get home, you don't have to worry about it anymore.

This hit home for me, because I almost always have good intentions when I'm at the grocery store. If I buy, for example, Nutella, I don't buy it with the intention of eating the whole jar in one day. When I put it in my cart, I think, "I can measure out a couple of tablespoons to put on an English muffin for breakfast each day," or something like that.

But then, when I get home, it's all I can think about! I might resist the urge to grab a spoonful for a while, but eventually, I cave in and eat way too much. But if I had just decided not to get it in the first place, yes, it would be a hard decision NOT to buy it, but then I wouldn't have to make that decision again until I was at the grocery store again. It wouldn't tempt me, because it wouldn't be in my house!

I know this information is nothing knew, but the way my sister described it to me made me think of it differently. You can make one decision in the moment, of you can go crazy by constantly having to make decisions about one little item. It's definitely helped me to think differently when I'm at the grocery store!

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Motivational Monday #37

I don't know what the heck came over me this weekend, but my self-discipline went right out the window, and I pretty much had a free-for-all with my meals all weekend. At the time, I just had a carefree attitude about it, but I really regret it now. Going that far off track just makes it even harder to get back ON track. But I'm going to do it!

I did go for my first post-marathon run today. I had a ton of energy... until I started running. I couldn't believe just how tired my legs felt! I thought I was flying along at an 8:00/mi pace, and then I saw it was more like a 9:30/mi pace ;)  I know that's totally normal after running a marathon. I'm just going to take it at an easy pace for a few weeks until I decide to start training again. But it was really nice to get out there today!

There were lots of people doing races this weekend! Check it out:

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Amy completed her first half-marathon on Saturday! Just a year ago, she was struggling in her couch to 5K group. She had a goal to run a 5K on Thanksgiving, and it seemed impossible at the time--but she did it. She caught the running bug, and eventually set her sights on a half-marathon. When she reached the top of a hill at mile 12.5 on Saturday, she actually started to tear up, realizing that she was going to do it. Just before reaching the finish line, she saw a big group of people from her running group who had already finished, and wanted to stay and cheer her on. She says she went into "the ugly cry" (which is when they took the photo). Over the past year, she's lost 85 pounds, going from couch potato to half-marathon runner! Definitely something to be proud of.

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Christina, and her running partner, Joe, were registered to run their first marathon on October 6th--but it was cancelled by a blizzard! As an alternative race, they chose the Rock 'n Roll Denver marathon, but were nervous they may not make the course cutoff time of 6 hours. She's very proud to say that they finished! The tail vehicle was right behind them, and even made them get up on the sidewalk at around mile 24, but they persevered and finished in 6:06!

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Dean ran his first half-marathon yesterday--the Detroit Free Press International Half! His goal was to finish under 2:45, but based on his training, he was secretly hoping for 2:35. He ended up crushing that goal with a finish time of 2:23:41! (And in Dean's words: "To top it all off, my wife and I also got to meet Runs for Cookies herself and 'Mr. Runs for Cookies',  aka Jerry, which was a blast as you all heard about from her post on Saturday.")

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Jacinda and her husband have been together for 10 years (married for 7) and had wanted to get pregnant just after getting married. Being overweight, Jacinda had a hard time and just wasn't able to get pregnant. This year, at her highest weight of 293.4, she decided to try and get the weight off in hopes of being able to start a family. She signed up with a personal trainer, and started working out regularly; she even dropped 20 pounds, and completed a 5K with her husband. She still had her struggles, but vowed to stay positive and stick it out. In early September, after seven years of trying, Jacinda and her husband found out that they are expecting!

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Jennifer, and her husband, Dennis, ran their second half-marathon this weekend--the Detroit Free Press International Half! They finished with a PR of 2:32, taking 12 minutes off of last year's time. She was proud that they were able to run the entire course, even with the inclines (the bridge and tunnel to/from Canada are tough!). She said she saw me at mile eight, and yelled to me, but I didn't hear her because there was "a really loud guy" next to me, bahaha ;)

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Kali signed up for her first half-marathon (The Detroit Free Press International Half) before she'd ever even run a mile--and yesterday, she completed it! She started training in April, and ran her first 5K in June. Since she started training, she's even dropped 25 pounds! Her best friend, Kim, ran by her side the entire way. Her goal was to finish under 3 hours, and she crossed the finish line in 2:59:45! (And that included a pit stop to introduce herself to me halfway through the course, which was so fun for me!)  Right now, she's feeling sore, euphoric, and very proud of her accomplishment.

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Kelsey just completed her first 10K race in over a year. She's training for a half-marathon, and her sister encouraged her to do this race as part of her training. She was the last person to finish, and while she was on the course, they started putting away the signs. She told the volunteers that she could just quit, but they told her to go ahead and finish. Even though she had headphones on, she heard some comments about "Someone is still on the course..." and she felt very discouraged. However, she never gave up! She finished, running the entire way, and she's proud that she kept moving.

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Lizi, and her sister, Katie, came full circle this weekend when they ran their first half-marathon--exactly a year after running their first 5K together! A year ago, they never imagined they'd be running a half-marathon this year; in fact, Lizi said she wasn't even sure she wanted to do another 5K after her first ;)  But the two have lost a combined 60 pounds over the last year, and can now cross "half-marathon" off the old bucket list! 

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Laura and her husband ran their first 10K on Sunday! She's thrilled with the improvement in her pace--in July, she ran a 5K at an 11:30/mi pace; yesterday, she ran the 10K with an 11:08/mi pace. She was nervous right up until the start of the race, but her husband kept encouraging her, and she did great!

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Don't forget to check out the Motivational Monday Facebook post for more stories!

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The Detroit Free Press Marathon spectator report

I woke up at 5:00 this morning to get ready to drive up to Detroit to spectate the Detroit Free Press Marathon. I ran the race last year, and would have loved to run the half-marathon this year, but it wouldn't have been a good idea since I just ran the Chicago Marathon a week ago. I didn't want to miss out, though, so I decided to go cheer on the runners.

I brought a couple of signs (one said, "The faster you run, the sooner you're done" and the other was my favorite sign that I saw while running in Chicago: "Remember when you thought you couldn't do this?"), as well as a couple of cowbells for Jerry and I.

We were a little late getting out the door, so we arrived in Detroit at 7:00--which is when the race started. We decided just to skip the starting line and head right to mile eight. Mile eight is just after the runners come out of the tunnel from Canada back into the U.S. We parked what ended up being kind of far from that spot, so we decided to try out the People Mover (a little train that goes overhead around the city). Neither of us had ever used it before, but it's not a complicated set of trains or anything--it's just one train a few cars long that goes in circles around one track. Foolproof, even for me.

The People Mover took us right where we needed to be. We found a  spot to hang out for a while, and as soon as we got there, the wheelchair participants were coming through--perfect timing! I was absolutely freezing by that point. I had on jeans, three long-sleeved shirts, a hat, and gloves, but my feet and hands were numb. I started bouncing around, ringing the cowbells, trying to stay warm.

Maybe it's because I just got back from Chicago, but I was kind of surprised at how unenthusiastic the spectators were at that spot. It seemed they would cheer only for the runner they were there to support, but other than that, they were pretty quiet. Jerry is great in a situation like that, because he's loud. The runners seemed to love him, and a lot of people went out of their way to go high-five him for his enthusiasm. We were high-fiving the runners, and cheering for them by name, if they had their names on their shirts. It was so fun!

Jerry later told me that the people next to him were talking about him. A woman was complaining loudly to her husband that "the guy next to her" was "too loud and annoying". He told her, "I know he's loud, we can move somewhere else." Basically, a passive aggressive way of telling Jerry to shut up. Jerry just started dancing around and yelling louder. I wish I'd have heard them, because I would have spoken up in Jerry's defense.

I think I can speak for most runners when I say that we LOVE loud spectators. Running 26.2 (or 13.1) miles can be pretty boring, and we look forward to the crowds to distract us. My favorite spectators are the ones that are super loud and kind of crazy, making me laugh. If the people next to us wanted peace and quiet, they shouldn't have gone to a "spirit zone" of the marathon, where it's supposed to be loud.

Anyway, my favorite part of the day was when a reader, Kali, recognized me (she was running the international half-marathon) and came over to say hi and take a picture with me. It doesn't happen often, but I love to get to meet readers at races!

Rather than moving on to another spirit station, I decided I wanted to stay there until the last person came through. I'm really glad we stayed! There was a large family next to us who got very excited when they saw their runner coming through, and when the woman saw them, she burst into tears and ran over to see them. Naturally, I started crying at the sight of them. She seemed like she was really struggling (she was walking, and toward the back of the pack). I later searched for her by first name on the results, because I was hoping to see that she finished. I'm not 100% sure the person I found in the results was her, but if it is, she stopped somewhere between the 8-10 mile mark of the half-marathon, and didn't finish. That makes me feel bad!

The barricade next to us was open just a little, and we actually saw a few people who quit the race at that point. We were cheering for them, and they said, "Oh, thanks, but we're done doing this," and just walked out. They didn't seem like they were having a hard time or anything, so I was surprised they would just quit like that at mile eight of the half-marathon.

When it was getting close to the point of reopening the tunnel to car traffic (and therefore, kicking off the runners/walkers that weren't meeting the pace requirement), Jerry and I were the ONLY people left on the side cheering. It was pretty sad that those people in the back of the pack didn't have a single soul to cheer them on. So we made sure to cheer for every single person, and a lot of people thanked us for staying there. One woman even said to her friend, "We have cheerleaders! Nobody ever stays to cheer for us!" and they laughed.

The last-chance pacer came through, along with a couple of people next to her, and then the road was reopened. I had plans of going to mile 19 to set up for a while, but it was a 50-minute walk. By the time we'd get there, some of our friends would have been finishing the race, so we decided just to go to the finish line. We took the People Mover back to the finish line and found a spot at the 13-mile/26.1-mile mark. My throat was so sore from yelling, so I just rang the cowbells for a while. Stephanie sent me a text, and it turns out she was there, too. So I met up with her for a minute, and she took a couple of cute pics of Jerry and me.

I saw a couple of women finishing the international half-marathon, and I loved their shirts. On the front, one of them said "50 pounds down" and on the back, it said, "She inspires me", with an arrow pointing to the other woman; and on the back of the other woman's shirt, it said "She inspires me", with an arrow pointing to her friend.

The finishers' chute is a little confusing, because there are people from the marathon, the international half-marathon, the domestic half-marathon, and the marathon relay all finishing at the same time. We saw Jerry's friend, Jason, finish the marathon; I missed Dean's finish and my friend Tammy's finish of the international half-marathon, unfortunately; I saw my cousin Julie finish the marathon; and I saw Jessica finish the domestic half.

As soon as we saw Jessica finish, we decided to leave. I would have loved to stay and cheer on the last people, but we had to get home to pick up the kids. The day was so fun, though! I absolutely loved being a spectator; Jerry did, too, and asked if there's another race we can go to soon. It was really fun to see things from a different perspective.

If you want to be inspired, I highly suggest seeking out a local race, picking up a cowbell and a poster board, and go give high-fives and yell loudly to the runners/walkers. I got a lot of comments on the "Remember when you thought you couldn't do this?" sign. Some people told me they had doubts right up until the start of the race. The most inspiring part was watching some of these people cross the finish line. Now that I've been running for a while, and have crossed a lot of finish lines, I guess I forgot just what a big deal it is to cross that line for the first time! It was amazing to watch.

I also have a whole new appreciation for the people that go cheer on the runners at races. I'm more tired and sore after spectating than I get after running! My throat hurts from yelling, my hands hurt from holding the signs and cowbells, I woke up just as early as the runners, I was freezing, and I walked quite a distance (not to mention 10 flights of stairs in a parking garage). But as a runner, I know how much I appreciate the crowd support, so it was fun change it up today!

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Meeting Dean

Well, I didn't end up running today. I was really looking forward to going for a run, but when I woke up, it was raining. Normally, I don't shy away from running in the rain, but I haven't run in a week, and I was really excited about going out in the nice fall weather; the rain was not at all what I had in mind, especially considering it was only 40 degrees.

So instead, I took a hot shower and decided to return to running on Monday (tomorrow, I'm leaving at 5:30 in the morning for Detroit). Something about my plans changing gave me a bad attitude about staying on track today. I just threw all of my good intentions out the window, and didn't track a single bite today.

It rained ALL day long. The kids went to my parents' house, so Jerry and I sat and watched a new-to-us show on Netflix (holy crap, have you seen The Following, with Kevin Bacon? It's SO good! How have I never heard of it before?). We got some snacks, and some hard apple cider, and watched a few episodes.

We went over to my parents' house for lunch, but I didn't eat much there, because we had plans to go out to dinner in Detroit. We headed up to Detroit to meet Dean and his wife, Mandy, for dinner at Hockeytown Cafe. To make a bad eating day worse, I ordered a reuben for dinner; I hadn't had one of those in YEARS. It was about 2,786 PointsPlus, not including the fries it came with :/

But the main reason we went was to meet Dean and Mandy, who are both fantastic. Dean started running in November last year to help with his weight loss (he's down 90-ish pounds now), and he listened to the Runner Academy podcast (the episode with Rik and Ada from the From Fat to Finish Line Ragnar team). From that, he visited the Fat to Finish Facebook page, and that led him to our blogs--which is how he found mine.

He ran his first 5K, and e-mailed me a photo for Motivational Monday. And he's sent a few more updates since then, both with his weight loss and his running. I thought he might like the new challenge of running a Ragnar, and asked him to join the Ragnar SoCal team. Since his first half-marathon is tomorrow, in Detroit, of course I wanted to meet up with him in person!

It sounds like quite a few readers are going to be running in Detroit tomorrow, so please make sure you say hi if you see me! I'll be hanging out at mile 8 (just after the tunnel into the U.S.), and again at mile 19 (or mile 6 of the domestic half-marathon). And probably other places, too. I'm just as excited to be a spectator as I would be if I was a runner--Jerry and I are both looking forward to it!

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Pumpkin Patch

I decided to get on the scale this morning, now that I've been home for a few days. Normally, I weigh in on Wednesdays, but I was feeling really puffy on Wednesday, so I decided to hold off for a couple of days. Better late than never! I just didn't want to get discouraged if my weight was up after the marathon. Anyway, I was happy to see that I was at 135 today.

It was really hard not to be a total pig when I went to Illinois. I stayed on track for the most part, although I did end up going way over my PointsPlus for the week. I didn't feel too badly about it, though, because I did run a marathon while I was there! ;)

This whole week has been really tough because I haven't earned any Activity PointsPlus (and I always eat my Activity PP). I'm used to earning about 8-14 PP a day, depending on how far I run. But since I'm resting/recovering this week, I've had to cut back on how much I've been eating. It's a drastic shift, to go from 50+ miles per week of running to ZERO.

Tomorrow, I return to running, and I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm not going to start training for anything; I'm just going to run when and how far I feel like it. The weather has been perfect for running this week, about 40 degrees in the mornings, and I've been missing out!

If you're squeamish, skip this paragraph... I had a dream last night that I finally lost a toenail. I've trained for (and run) three marathons, and I've yet to lose a toenail! The nail on my toe with the tattoo on it was very sore after the race. When I got back to my sister's house, I looked at it and it was pretty swollen. There was a blister under the nail, which is what causes nails to fall off eventually. I used a needle to break the blister, and the swelling went down immediately. It's bruised now, and it doesn't hurt as badly as it did right after the race, but it hurts. I keep wondering if it's going to fall off, which is probably why I dreamed about it. 

I have a 10K race a week from Sunday, but I'm just running that for fun. I don't think I'll EVER beat my current 10K PR (49:23, which is a 7:57/mi pace), and it's a Halloween race (the Wicked Halloween Run in Plymouth), so it's more about dressing up and having fun than "racing" anyway. I would like to dress up, but I have no idea what to wear. If nothing else, I'll just wear my muscle tights; they're easy to run in, fun to wear.

I have the Monroe Half-Marathon on November 10th, also, with my brother. He injured his hip, so he's been doing more biking than running to train, but he says he still wants to try doing the half. I don't know yet if he wants me to run alongside him, or just do the race and meet up later (I'm hoping he'll want me to run with him, but I'm guessing the latter).

Jerry and I are going out to dinner tomorrow night, so I'd like to earn some Activity PP for that. I'm going to be meeting Dean, from my Ragnar SoCal team, and his wife. We haven't met in person yet, so I'm excited to meet him! You may remember him from Motivational Monday; he's been losing weight and increasing his running, and has shared a few milestones. On Sunday, he'll run his first half-marathon race, the Detroit Free Press International Half! He and his wife are staying in Detroit tomorrow night, so we're going to meet up with them at the Hockeytown Cafe for dinner.

After dinner today, Jerry and I took the boys to the apple orchard so they could pick out a pumpkin. The boys had fun running through the field in search of good pumpkins, and luckily, they found two they liked. The smell of fresh doughnuts there was irresistible to me, so I ended up getting one. They were pretty small, though--perfect for a treat on a non-run day. Jerry got some hot cider, and I had a sip of that--it was delicious!

I think it's crazy that it's already mid-October. I was so focused on marathon training that the time flew by, and Halloween is almost here!

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Interesting finds

I had a better day today as far as my mood goes. I still feel like I have pent up energy and I would feel better if I run, but I'm going to wait until at least Saturday. I took a shower as soon as I woke up this morning, so I wouldn't be tempted to go out for a run.

After the kids went to school, I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I usually run! I somehow got the idea to make a shirt to wear to the Detroit Free Press Marathon on Sunday (I'm only spectating, not running). I asked on Facebook if any of my readers are going to be running the half or full marathon on Sunday, and quite a few people are! So I figured a Runs for Cookies shirt might help them recognize me.

It's going to be cold that day, so I made a sweatshirt instead of a t-shirt. I just bought a cheap $6 sweatshirt at Wal-Mart, and I used 2" stencils to trace the letters onto double-stick webbing. Then I cut the webbing and fabric together, and ironed on the letters. I sewed just on the side around each letter.

The letters look black here, but they are a dark denim from an old pair of jeans. I threw the sweatshirt in the washer when I was done, hoping the edges of the letters would fray a little, but it may take a few more washes. I think it turned out cute, and it was super easy and cheap to make!

I have a bunch of pictures on my phone that I took with the intention of writing about them, but just forgot to. So here is a random collection of this and that:

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Remember when I wrote about The Kitchen Safe that was on Kickstarter? They were looking for backers, and I pledged $25. I thought it was a brilliant idea! (It's a small safe that only opens when the timer reaches 0. You can set it for however long you'd like. There is no way to open it until the time runs out.) So my Kitchen Safe came in the mail last week. I've managed to keep Nutella in my house without even eating it. I set the safe to open each morning at 8:00, in case I want Nutella with an English muffin or oatmeal for breakfast. I haven't wanted it, so I just reset it for another 24 hours. 

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I saw this ChapStick at Wal-Mart yesterday, and had to get it. The Cake Batter one smells just like cake batter. I wasn't as crazy about the Velvet Cupcake, but it's kind of fun to have yummy flavors of ChapStick!

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The kids always want to play games with Jerry and I, but I am sick to death of Go Fish and Uno. So we found this game called Beat the Parents. The kids are on a team, and the parents are on a team. You take turns asking each other trivia questions. The questions for the parents are stuff that the kids would probably find easy, but Jerry and I were clueless about--like the age of the man in the movie Up, for example. The questions for the kids are things that the parents would find to be a piece of cake--like "What type of animal is Black Beauty?" (my kids guessed "beast" hahaha). 

Anyway, the game was pretty fun, but the kids were beating us badly. It was definitely more fun than Uno!

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While I was in Illinois, Jerry asked the owner of the corner store to special order my favorite beer. There are three well-known low-calorie beers: Miller 64, Bud Select 55, and LaBatt's 52. Well, when I was losing weight, I discovered that regular old Beck's Premier Light only has 64 calories. It's not marketed as a low calorie beer, though.

I'm not a big beer drinker (obviously, since I choose to drink the carbonated water low calorie beers!), but when I do drink it, my favorite is the beer in the green bottles that kind of smells like skunk. ;)  Heineken is an easy one to find, but even the light one has 4 PointsPlus. So I was excited that Jerry was able to get this for me--it's 2 PP per bottle, and I like it much better than the other low-calorie beers.

Somehow, Jerry got me to switch from wine and chocolate
to beer and pretzels for a bedtime snack lately.

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Noah brought home an Asian pear from my parents' house one day, and I had never tried one before. He kept raving about it, and he asked me to cut it up for him. While I was cutting it, I took a bite, and I immediately fell in love. They are SO good! They look like a giant yellow-ish apple:

And this is what they look like when cut up:

They taste very sweet, and have a lighter, fruitier taste than other pears. The flavor almost reminds me of a melon. The texture is like a cross between an apple and a pear. Actually, these are marketed at the store as "Apple Pears". Anyway, my mom ordered a tree for her house, and asked if I wanted one, too. So I'm hoping that in a few years, we'll have fresh Asian pears on our tree!

Anyone else discover any interesting finds lately? Feel free to share in the comments!

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Home Sweet Home

Yesterday morning at 3:30, I woke up the kids so we could start the drive home from my sister's house. We had to leave super early so that we could avoid rush hour going through Chicago. I went through the city at around 5:00, and the traffic wasn't bad at all. The six-hour ride home seemed a lot shorter than the ride to my sister's.

When I pulled up to the driveway, I could see signs taped to the side of the house. Jerry made a few "welcome home" signs for me:

I love the Chuck Norris one! Anyway, it was good to see Jerry and the cats. Phoebe was mad at me for a little while and wouldn't let me pet her. But later, she was very cuddly. She missed me ;)

I've been in a terrible mood all day today, and I know exactly what is making me a total bitch very irritable... today is Day 3 of post-marathon rest. Any time I go more than two full days without running, my mood changes for the worse. It's not like I'm dying to go out and run, but running has a very calming effect on me, and puts me in a good mood. When I don't run for a few days, it becomes obvious to everyone around me ;)

My legs feel 100% back to normal, and I honestly feel like I could go out and run another marathon right now (hypothetically, of course); but I really want to give my body the rest it needs to recover. I went for a leisurely walk with Jerry this afternoon, to try and get a little exercise, but it didn't do anything for my bad mood. The fall colors are gorgeous right now, though! It was so nice outside today.

I didn't do my Wednesday Weigh-in today. Ever since the race, I've been pretty puffy--my rings are tight, and my whole body just feels like I'm retaining water. Running that distance does weird things to my body, and I expected that; I was also craving salt like crazy for the past few days, so my sodium intake has been much higher than normal. I didn't want to step on the scale, see a large gain, and then feel discouraged, so I'm going to give myself a few more days of being back in my routine before I look at the scale.

It's kind of interesting, actually. In the weeks leading up to the race, I was craving carbs like crazy! I couldn't get enough bagels, pasta, rice, sweets, etc. And ever since the race, I've been craving meat and salty foods. Even the day of the race, I didn't splurge on a dessert--I splurged on a margarita and Mexican food, which is pretty unlike me. I always choose dessert over anything else! I think maybe my body was craving the carbs for the energy to run, and now protein to repair my damaged muscles.

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After yesterday's post about the Hansons Marathon Method, a couple of people asked me what marathon plan I recommend for a beginner, since I think the HMM would be a very tough plan for a newbie. I've only tried a few plans myself, so I can't say from experience what is the best one out there. But the Hal Higdon Novice plan is a good one. That's what I used for my first marathon, and a lot of people use it for their first. I did end up injuring my knee during that training, but I'll never know if it was the fault of the plan or if it was bound to happen regardless. Thousands of people use that plan with success.

Another thing people asked me was how I liked the Flip Belt. This was recommended to me by a lot of readers, and when I saw them at the expo in Chicago, I had to give it a try! I put my phone in it, jumped up and down, and ran in place, and it felt very comfortable. I was sold. I bought a black one for $25. When I got back to my hotel, I loaded it up with my stuff, and ran around the room with it. It felt great, so I decided to wear it during the race. The guy at the expo said that you don't actually have to flip the belt inside out so that the openings are on the inside; he said that even with the openings on the outside, nothing will fall out.

The first picture shows what the belt looks like without anything in it. It's a stretchy fabric in a loop that you step into and pull up around your waist (there aren't any open ends to fasten). The second picture shows the little pockets (there are four--two in front and two in back). You slide things inside (I have them sticking out halfway so you can see them, but you would put them in all the way).

For the race, I loaded the belt up with my iPhone, two packets of Gu, and two and a half packs of Shot Bloks. I put my phone in front center, the Shot Bloks over each hip, and the Gu in the back. It was super comfortable, and I was thrilled that everything fit. I left the openings facing outward, because it was easier to get my stuff out that way.

I'm actually wearing the belt in this picture, and you can see it doesn't add much bulk:

As I was running, I absolutely LOVED the belt! It was super comfy, and it didn't bounce. I didn't have any issues with it until mile 20 or so when I realized that I was missing a full pack of Shot Bloks--they'd fallen out. I was bummed, but I had enough with me, so it wasn't a big deal. I think if I had flipped it so the openings were on the inside, I wouldn't have had that problem. But the guy at the expo promised me that nothing would fall out!

I'm still very happy that I bought the belt, and I'll definitely use it instead of any other belts I have. I'll just remember to flip it--hence the name, Flip Belt. They come in five different sizes (if I remember correctly): XS, S, M, L, XL. I bought a small, which said it was for size 4-6, and it fit pretty true to size. If anything, I thought I probably could have gone down a size just to make it extra tight against my body. (This is not a sponsored review; I paid for the belt, and just wanted to share my thoughts. But here is a link to the website, if you're interested in checking them out).

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Final thoughts on the Hansons Marathon Method

When I first heard about the Hansons Marathon Method (HMM from here on out), I thought it sounded too good to be true. The longest run was 16 miles? Sign me up!

When training for my first marathon, I used Hal Higdon's Novice Program. I'd used several of his programs for other races, and I liked them, so I figured it would be a good fit. Unfortunately, after my long run was up over 15 miles, I injured my right knee. Rather than taking time off of running to let it heal, I continued to run through the pain. It got so bad that eventually, I had to start giving myself walk breaks when the pain got unbearable.

My first marathon experience was miserable for a number of reasons, but a big factor was my injured knee. I walked a LOT during the last three miles of the race. The injury, plus the heat (the heat index was over 100 that day), and stomach issues made a bad race experience, and my finish time was 5:26:14.

I was determined to redeem myself, and have a GOOD marathon experience, so I immediately registered for a fall marathon--the Detroit Free Press Marathon in October 2012. This time, I figured less running would be better to prevent injury, so I chose to do a three-days-per-week program that focuses on three good quality runs per week.

My right knee managed to heal, but once again, when my long run got up to about 15 miles, I injured my left knee. I had a very hard time with my training, but a better race. The weather was great, which made a huge difference. But once I hit mile 18 or 19, my legs just didn't want to run anymore. It was everything I could do to keep going. My legs just weren't prepared, and I had to keep stopping to stretch for a minute or two at a time.

I finished in 4:51:51, below my goal of 5 hours, but I wasn't happy that I wasn't able to power through and run the whole thing. I had to keep stopping to stretch for the last 10K or so, because my legs cramped up so badly. But I was happy enough with the time that I just decided I was done with marathons.

Jerry had to pull my pants on for me, because I couldn't move!

Then my friend Andrea mentioned running her first marathon, and in the excitement of being drunk in Key West at the time, I said I'd be happy to run it with her! We chose Chicago because it was a halfway point between our houses. I originally wrote my own training plan based on what I learned in my RRCA class. My knee, which was totally healed by then, started giving me a couple of twinges when my long run got up to about 14 miles. That's when I heard about the HMM, and considering the longest run is only 16 miles, I thought it might be good for my knees. I really didn't want them to become injured again!

I found the running schedule online, and started following that. But because it was SO different from everything I'd learned, I decided to buy the book to hopefully understand it better. The book was mind-blowing. It explained the science behind the whole method, and it made so much sense. Over the next few months, I ran hundreds of miles; I was running six days a week, 5+ miles each day.

I followed the schedule right to the letter. With the way the HMM works, you can't skip workouts or even swap your runs around. They have to be done in order for a reason. I just trusted the program, and to my surprise, I felt better than ever. I remained uninjured, yet I was running more miles than ever before (50-ish miles per week).

I started to second guess the training when "everyone else" was doing 20-milers, and I "only" had 16. But again, I trusted the program. I figured the worst that could happen was that I'd have a bad race. During the last week before the marathon, I felt like I was in the best shape of my life. I felt more prepared than I had for the previous two, and I wasn't even nervous about running the race.

To keep from being redundant, you can read my Chicago Marathon race report here.

My thoughts, now that the race is over? I think I found a winning program! My legs felt FANTASTIC through the whole race. If it weren't for my stomach issues, which I think was from eating too much during the race, I'm sure I would have finished in around 4:10; and that wasn't even pushing the pace. I felt like I could have gone faster through the first half of the race, but because I didn't have a time goal, I kept my pace on the conservative side to feel my best.

I didn't even start to feel remotely tired until about mile 19, when my legs were still going strong, but I started to feel the effects of all those miles. I'm disappointed that my stomach caused me problems for the last 10K, but I am really happy that I powered through and finished strong, even though I had to slow my pace to keep from vomiting on the side of the road ;)

The thing that has been most amazing to me is my recovery. I am so shocked at how quickly my legs recovered! About an hour after I finished, I speed-walked/ran the two miles to my hotel. I never could have done that after my previous marathons! I didn't have to take any ibuprofen, and by the next morning, the only thing that was a little sore were my hips. But I was up and moving around all day, and my legs felt great. Today, I feel 100% back to normal. (I'm still taking the Hansons' recommended 1-2 weeks off, though!)

Some things of note about the Hansons Marathon Method:

  It's very important to follow the program as-written. The runs are in a particular order for a reason, so you can't skip or swap runs.

  This program was NOT easy. It first appealed to me because of the 16-mile long run, and I thought the program would be a piece of cake. As it turned out, this was the hardest training I've ever done!

  I don't think I would recommend this program for beginners/first time marathoners, unless you are running 30+ miles per week, consistently. I ran over 200 miles in August and again in September on the Hansons Marathon Method beginner plan. That's a lot of miles!

  I would highly recommend reading the book before you start the program, because it explains in detail WHY the program is written the way it is. (Here is an Amazon link to the book, Hansons Marathon Method; if you are planning to buy it anyway, and you buy it through the link, then I get a small commission).

  It's very important to follow the pacing recommendations in the plan. If it says to do an easy run, then keep your pace easy. Again, there is a reason for this. If you do the easy runs too quickly, you won't be able to hit your paces on your faster runs; you are also risking injury. When I did my easy pace, I felt like I was going SO slow, but I just trusted the program.

  The downside of the program is that it takes a lot of time. I'm a stay at home mom, so I was able to be flexible with the times I could head out for a run; but for someone with a full-time job AND a family, it would be hard to juggle everything.

So, my overall opinion of the Hansons Marathon Method is that it's a very smart way to train. I was obviously injury-prone going into this training, but doing this program kept me injury-free through all of training and the race itself. I felt very prepared going into the race. My legs never gave up on me during the race, and I didn't "hit the wall". I also managed a 35-minute personal record!

If I was to ever do another marathon (I'm not saying I am!!), I would definitely do this plan again.

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Motivational Monday #36

It felt great waking up this morning knowing that I didn't have to run. My legs were a little sore, but within a couple of hours, I was feeling almost back to normal. I'm shocked! A lot of people have asked me if I'm going to write my thoughts on the Hansons Marathon Method; I definitely plan to, and I'll probably post that tomorrow. For now, let's check out these motivating people!

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Celeste and her husband, Al, just celebrated their 5-year wedding anniversary by running their second half-marathon! When they were married in 2008, Celeste was very happy--until she saw her wedding photos. She was a little over 200 pounds, and she was pre-diabetic, on high blood pressure meds, and her doctor wanted to put her on high cholesterol meds. She joined Weight Watchers, and through a lot of hard work on her part, she now maintains her weight at about 140 (and is off her medications!). The couple began running races together, and they increase the number of races each year. This year, they are on track to run 30+ races! Here are photos of them on their wedding day, their five year anniversary, and after finishing their second half-marathon. (Celeste's blog)

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Carly and her friends did their first double-digit run--10 miles!--this weekend. They are training to run their first half-marathon next month!

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While at the gym a few months ago, a trainer asked Danielle if she'd like to join a Tough Mudder team and run the Tri-State Tough Mudder in NJ. Danielle was excited to challenge herself, so she accepted. This weekend, her team competed at the race, and 11-mile course with obstacles such as monkey bars, fire, getting shocked by live wire, crawling under barbed wire, and lots of mud! She felt great throughout the race, and was thrilled when her team completed the course.

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Erica ran her first 5K race! Her goal was a 31:00-31:30 finish time, and she ended up killing it in 29:52! She was thrilled with her time, especially considering the very crowded course (15,000 people) and a big hill.

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Rachel ran her second 5K, and to her surprise, won first place in her age division! She's lost 118 pounds so far, and has just 7 left to go. The photo of her in the red dress was taken for a story in her local newspaper about her weight loss!

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After losing about 50 pounds with Weight Watchers, Tami (far right in photo) hit a plateau. She decided to try the Couch to 5K program to shake things up a bit. After completing the program, she ran a 5K race--and officially caught the running bug. She continued to train, and just ran her first half-marathon! She's also lost 40 more pounds, for a total of 90 pounds lost. She has just 15 more to go before she reaches her goal weight. She says she wants everyone to know that no dream or goal is out of reach. It takes a lot of hard work, not luck, to get where you want to be. (Tami's blog)

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Nicki just bought her first pair of running shoes--Brooks Adrenaline! She also signed up for her
second 5K race, which will be in January.

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Maggie ran her first marathon yesterday--in Chicago! She raised $1100 for Girls on the Run, an organization that does after-school programs for girls in grades 3-8, to encourage friendship, leadership, and self-confidence. She said the feeling she had while completing the marathon was the exact same feeling of the girls when they finish their first 5K. She was super proud to cross that finish line!

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Don't forget to check out the Motivational Monday Facebook post, for more inspiring stories!

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