A humbling track run

Lately, my cats have been like magnets to me. Even if I just plan to sit down for a minute or two on the couch, it's like they can sense it, and they come running to sit with me. It used to be just one of the cats (either Estelle or Phoebe). Lately, Paolo has been glued to my side for some reason. And then this morning, all three of them fought for space.

(Chandler was hiding under my bed, because we had a thunderstorm--not that there was room for him next to me!) Paolo looks terrible right now, because I shaved him a couple of weeks ago. His fur was still getting matted (even with the "Fur-minator", which I ended up returning, because it didn't work any better than the regular brush I use). I really need to go get him a proper hair cut, so he doesn't look so homely. My dad came over and said, "What you'd do, put your cat in the dryer?" hahaha

Since the kids are home this week from school, and we didn't have anything going on today, I decided to take them to the rec center this morning. They could swim in the pool while I ran on the track upstairs. It took forever to get everything ready to head out the door (bathing suits, towels, swim masks, extra clothes, etc). Once we got in the car, Noah realized he forgot his gym shoes at my parents' house (he was wearing boots), so after a stop there for his shoes, we finally made it to the rec center.

The boys went into the boys' locker room to change, and after I changed into my running clothes, I met them in the pool area. Just after I saw Eli jump into the pool, Noah told me that he forgot his bathing suit. He had taken it out of the bag and forgot to put it back in. *sigh* Thankfully, I have really awesome parents that live very close, because I called them and my dad brought Noah's suit to the rec center. While I waited for my dad, I ran up and down the steps of the bleachers--might as well get in some altitude on my Wii Fit U challenge ;)

The lifeguard said it was no problem if I went upstairs to run while the boys swam, so after they were happily playing in the pool, I went up to the track. I had four miles at half-marathon pace (8:20-ish) on the schedule, but after the last HM-pace run I had at the indoor track, my plan was to just run in heart rate Zone 4, regardless of the pace.

I noticed that there were some kids (maybe early high school-age) there with a coach, who was holding a stop watch. I started my run, and almost immediately, he had them start running. Holy crap, they were fast! Usually when I run at the indoor track, I'm the one passing people. I'm not uber-fast or anything, but most of the people there are walkers, and when I do come across someone running, it's usually at a pretty slow pace.

When I saw the kids with the coach, I started thinking that it would be fun to keep up--me, at 32 years old, with them, at 15/16? Ha! These kids were flying past me, and LAPPING ME every quarter mile or so. The first couple of laps, I tried to keep up with the first girl to pass me, but I just couldn't, especially when I had four miles to run.

The inside lane is reserved for runners, so that's what I always run on, but once it was clear that I was going to be eating these kids' dust, I moved on over to the middle lane, so I didn't hinder their speed ;) It was humbling, to say the least!

The only moment that saved my dignity was when one of the kids stopped to walk about a mile and a half in, and she stopped running completely after that. Then at two miles in, another girl stopped. Once they were done, I still ran, getting lapped by the remaining boy every so often. He was flying. Finally, I was the only one still running, and I finished out my four miles. My heart rate showed that I was working much harder than reflected by my pace (with the foot pod), but who knows.

Yeah, looking at those splits, and considering my heart rate was about 160 the entire time, I really don't know how accurate the foot pod is on the indoor track. Usually, that would translate to about an 8:15 pace for me. Unless all this treadmill running has just really slowed my pace this winter! ;) I guess I'll find out when I finally run outside again.

It's kind of strange--I used to despise the treadmill, but all the running I've done on it this winter has actually made me appreciate and kind of like it! I definitely miss the outdoor runs, but I don't dread the treadmill anymore. Tomorrow is my long run, so I'll be running nine miles--likely on the 'mill!

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Greetings from Mars

Wow, thanks for all the great insight yesterday about whether to count or not to count in maintenance--I'm glad I asked! In my mind, it seemed like all the people I know who are maintaining their weight do it effortlessly, and don't have to count calories/points anymore. After reading the comments on yesterday's post, I realize that a lot of people still count and even struggle in maintenance. I love NOT counting, because it's so freeing, but I feel so much more in control when I do keep a food log and track my calories/points. So today, I counted calories and logged my food for the first time since early December.

It was really difficult going back to the measuring and writing things down today. I definitely made healthier food choices! I was kind of hungry in the afternoon, which is when I've been snacking way too much lately, and it was hard not to just say "one more day" of not counting. But I felt much better at dinnertime, because I was actually hungry for dinner, instead of already feeling kind of full and then eating dinner anyway.

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I went to visit Mark today. He got a VERY unique card! He's gotten quite a few unique cards since his diagnosis, but this one just blew my mind. It was handmade out of brown paper lunch bags, which were glued together into a book in a way that made each page into a "pocket". And inside of each pocket was a card (or two or three). It was obvious that someone spent a LOT of time working on it, and I just thought it was the coolest thing. It was from a group at a marketing agency called MARS.

The pictures don't even really do it justice. I was just in awe at how much time someone spent on it. Even the individual cards that were inside of the pages were so cute and unique! Mark really enjoyed it, especially when I explained that it was from MARS ;)

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The snow has been melting all day today! It's been in the high-30's and even low-40's, which truly feels like summer, after the winter we've had here in Michigan. My kids were complaining that they were too hot in their coats today, so when we went out to visit Mark and to Sam's Club, we all went jacket-less. It was wonderful!

When we were at Sam's Club, we walked by some flooring for sale, and Noah came up with an analogy that made me burst out laughing...

Noah: "Mama, we need to get REAL hardwood floors."
Me: "Noah, it would be nice to have hardwood floors, but we don't NEED them. There's nothing wrong with the floors we have."
Noah: "Our floors are like using fondant on a cake! You shouldn't put fake frosting on a cake, and putting fake wood on our floors is just as bad."

Bahaha, I even wrote down his exact sentence immediately afterward, so I wouldn't forget. He's been watching Cake Boss quite a bit lately, so maybe that's where he came up with that analogy ;)

The whole way home from Sam's Club, I just kept marveling at how the snow was melting. There was water everywhere, so this is going to be pretty messy as the snow melts. As I was typing this, I noticed water leaking from the ceiling in my bedroom--yay. When all the snow builds up on the roof, and then starts to melt, it can pool and form a leak. Awesome. I will be SO happy when all this snow is gone. I might even be able to run my long run outside on Friday :)

The kids wanted to play in the snow when we got home, and the snow in the yard is still pretty deep. I went out to take their picture, and stepped in up to my thighs! The kids made a snowman, complete with a giant carrot nose and potatoes for eyes.

The snow was way too wet and heavy to work with. I had to help them get the eyes and nose on the snowman, because the snow was more like slush. But it's nice that the boys were out there playing in it! I'm not even going to look at the forecast beyond today, because if this is supposed to freeze over, I don't want to know ;)

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Indecisive

My kids are on winter break all this week (not that they needed it, because they've been off SO much from all the snow days). If they weren't on winter break, though, today would have been yet another snow day for them. We ended up getting another six inches of snow last night! Jerry said the roads were terrible on his way to work this morning.

Yesterday, I had a 40-minute tempo run on the schedule. Hal Higdon's tempo runs are completely different from what I've always considered a tempo run and from what I learned in my RRCA certification class. His version of a tempo run is what I would call a "pyramid" run--gradually getting faster and faster until peak speed (he suggests 10K pace), and then reducing speed. To me, a tempo run is done at a steady "comfortably hard" pace--generally, the pace you can hold for about an hour.

I don't like Higdon's version, so even though I'm loosely following his training schedule right now, I decided to just do whatever felt right yesterday. I ran slowly for 10 minutes, to warm-up, and then increased the speed to my tempo pace (8:13/mi). I'd planned to run that for 20 minutes, then cool down for for the last 10. But after about a mile at tempo pace, my shoulders were killing me! I was really sore from doing push-ups the day before, and swinging my arms while running made them ache really badly.

I slowed the pace for a half mile, and then picked it up again for another mile, but I was still in pain. So what my run up being was actually "tempo intervals"--longer intervals at tempo pace, with a short break in between. Not exactly what I was aiming for, but more effective than an easy run.

I've been struggling a lot with trying to figure out what I want to do as far as a training plan. I've changed my mind so many times since I ran the Chicago Marathon! I've started plans only to switch to something else a few weeks later. With all the ice and snow, I haven't been able to train outside at all this winter, so I feel like I'm just kind of "in limbo" as far as a training schedule. Some days, I think I want to go back to doing six days a week, like for the Hansons' Method, but other times, I think I want to cut back to three days week, just for fitness. I can never make up my mind ;)

I've been going through the same issue with whether to count or not to count--calories/points, whatever. I was doing really well without counting for a couple of months, but lately, I've been snacking more and more. It's easy to eat too much, because there aren't any numbers telling me that I should stop eating now (like when I would reach my calorie/point target for the day, if counting). Especially since I'm not weighing in all month, I'm afraid it could get out of control... so I've been tempted to start counting again. My sister was wondering if I wanted to text our food logs again, and that kind of made me want to go back to counting points. But another part of me just wants to be "normal", and not count.

Question: For those of you that have lost the weight via counting calories or points, do you continue to count in maintenance? Is it something you think you'll always have to do?

In a perfect world, I wouldn't have to count, and I wouldn't overeat or binge; but it's not a perfect world ;) I'm completely fine with my weight being a few pounds over goal--Mark's cancer diagnosis and outlook on life made me realize that the number on the scale really isn't important, as long as I'm healthy and active. I guess my fear is just that I'll gain even more, and feel just as comfortable; and gain a little more, etc.

You would think that after being in maintenance for three years, I'd have this all figured out by now! Hahaha, I'm always learning new things, always changing my goals, and always changing my mind about what I find important. So I guess it's natural that I have to change up the way I do things! Wouldn't it be nice if we could just get to maintenance, and that was it? We'd never have to worry about weight/food/etc again? ;)

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I pre-ordered the Hansons' Half Marathon Method book on Amazon, and it's supposed to be released in April. I think once I read that, I'm sure I'll get the itch to work on training for another half-marathon. The only one that I have planned for this year is the Detroit Free Press Half in October, but maybe I'll find one sooner. Summer isn't ideal for running a half, but at least I'll have more focused training.

Right now, I just wish that the streets would be clear so that I could run outside! I spent a couple of hours today chipping away at the thick layer of ice that was our driveway. I cleared about 90 percent of the ice from the driveway (and got a killer upper body workout). It's kind of funny--it was 34 degrees today, but it felt SO much warmer (the "feels like" temp was 43). My kids were outside without coats, and I was shoveling snow (ice) in just a t-shirt and yoga pants! I hope this means that spring is around the corner...!

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Motivational Monday #52

I was getting so hopeful that this snow was finally going to melt--but right now, we're getting dumped on with a ton more. This winter feels like it's never going to end!

This last week, I've tried to do some extra strength training, but it hasn't been going well. My knees hurt when I do lunges (or similar exercises), and with the trouble I've had with my knees previously, I am afraid of messing something up. My shoulders were very sore today from doing push-ups yesterday, and it made my run really unpleasant this morning. I think I'm going to go back to doing my Wii Fit U exercises, because I really enjoy those--they aren't so intense that I feel like I might get injured, but I feel like I'm getting a good workout.

Today, I bought a ton of vegetables, and I'm going to make it a goal to use them all up this week. I'm always struggling to get in enough vegetables, because I just don't like them very much. I'm going to try to make it a point to eat a fruit and/or vegetable with every meal and snack. I like the idea of taking the focus off of not eating junk, and focusing instead on eating something healthy.

Anyway, what have you all done this week to make you feel proud? I'm proud of myself for not taking home the leftover cake from Mark's party! I enjoyed a piece at the party, and then sent the rest of it to the nursing home for the staff there. I love cake, so that was hard to do, but I knew if I brought any home, it would nag at me until it was gone.

I have a short, but sweet, Motivational Monday post today... congrats, ladies, on your accomplishments!

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Ally ran her farthest run to date--seven miles! She's training for the Raleigh Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon in April, a race benefiting the Jimmy V Foundation for cancer research. She lost her dad 12 years ago due to morbid obesity, and now her mother has breast cancer. Ally knows her mom will beat the cancer, and she wants to make her dad proud when she runs that half-marathon!

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After coming across my blog last summer, Kaitlyn decided to start running. She ran the Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K last month, and finished in 46 minutes. Two weeks later, she ran the Ross Heart Hospital 5K, and finished in 39:48! She feels much healthier since she started running, and can see a difference in her body. The first photo is from August 2012, and the race photo is from the Ross 5K.

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After a bad snow/ice storm, Rachel's 4-mile race was rescheduled a week later than planned. She hadn't done a race in about two years, but she completed the soggy, partially-flooded Truffle Shuffle regardless! The finishers were rewarded with a delicious truffle at the finish line. Rachel is also very excited that she got over a plateau on the scale this week!

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

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Dean's story

Less than seven weeks until Ragnar SoCal! Today, I'd like to introduce another member of my team (Strangers to Sole Mates). I've already posted stories from Caitlin (Runner #1), John (Runner #3), Thomas (Runner #6), and Paige (Runner #8). You may recognize this next runner from a few Motivational Monday posts...

Runner #7 is Dean. Dean shared with us his first 5K, his first 10K, his first half-marathon, and when he dropped 100 pounds. You could definitely see his body shrinking as he posted those milestones, and it was really fun to watch him become a better runner and lose the weight. He's come a very long way!

I could see just how dedicated he was to his running, and constantly trying to improve, so I thought he'd be a great person to invite to join the team. Even since joining the team, he's improved so much--his pace has literally gone from an 11:00+ minute/mile pace last summer to 9:00-something pace! And regarding his weight loss, Dean definitely has the commitment and determination it takes to reach his goal.

Anyway, his transformation has been amazing... enjoy his story!

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Hello Everyone,

      

My name is Dean, and I am runner #7 on Katie and John's Ragnar SoCal team. I am 35 years old, and have been married for almost 10 years to my lovely and supportive wife, Mandy. We don't have any human children, but we have two chihuahuas and a big old kitty cat. I am the Parts Department Manager for a Harley-Davidson Dealer in North West Ohio and have been with H-D for 12 years. When I am not working or running, my wife and I love to go for rides on our motorcycle (a Harley of course). I recently got into reading novels, I love hockey and football, and getting tattooed. My story isn't a page turner or filled with personal tragedy that could be considered an acceptable reason for why my weight became such a problem. I AM LAZY pure and simple and this is my story...

Over my entire childhood I was always considered "the chubby one", a little bigger than most; but it never really got out of hand, mostly because I was riding my bicycle all over town to get around. When I hit 16, and traded the bicycle for car keys, my weight started to rise. 

By the time I met and married my wife, I was probably hovering around 250-260 pounds, and that is when the proverbial s#%t hit the fan. Before I new it, I was tipping the scales at 317, which was my heaviest weight. The years from 2005-2012 were a weight roller coster for me. I tried every fad diet in the book--from protein shakes for breakfast and lunch, to Atkins, to the HGC plan. The lowest weight I ever got down to was 247 pounds while on HGC; but the minute I stopped, and had one cheat day (which snowballed back into my old ways of candy, fast-food, fried food, late night eating and donuts) I ballooned back to 293 by the second half of 2012.

What was my "aha" moment? Well, there wasn't one. Not even after I went to see my doctor for a routine check up and he did some blood work, which came back with some red flags. He ordered more tests, and by the time all the tests were done, my pocket was $1200 lighter, and I was standing on the edge of the diabetes cliff and the need for medication. 

My doc gave me two months to try and change my diet and start exercising to reverse the damage, or he would recommend medication. So after the first month of not doing anything I did what most would do and got a gym membership. I spent the next month going 2-3 days a week to the gym, which was a huge accomplishment for me, but I wasn't really putting in a ton of effort while using the weight and elliptical machines. The gym has an indoor track and I thought that had to be better than the elliptical, so I gave jogging a try. Even though I couldn't even make it anywhere close to a mile, I enjoyed it, and for the first time felt like I had a quality workout. So, two days later, I did it again--and continued every other day.

As I start to get really interested in a topic I tend to research it to death, which is what I did with running. I came across an awesome podcast called Runner Academy, and found the host Matt to be very informative and helpful. The episode I have listened to the most and I think really kicked me into high gear is Episode #8, which was all about two of Katie's From Fat to Finish Line teammates. That episode gave me the inspiration and the confidence to lose the weight, and to do it with running. My plan was simple: to run for exercise, and reduce my caloric intake to around 2,000 calories per day. 

I track everything I put in my mouth with the My Net Diary App on my phone. I set my first goal to break 247 pounds, and to run a 5K. When I did that, I set my next goal to hit 225 pounds, and run a 10K. As I write this today, I have completed multiple 5Ks, a 10K and two half-marathons at a current weight of 205 (down 112 pounds from my heaviest weight). I have gone from a snug 46-inch waist to a comfortable 36. My shirt has gone down to an XL from a size 3X. 

My original goal was to stop losing weight when I reached 193 pounds, but I think that is still a little too heavy, so I decided that my finish line is my freshman-year wrestling weight of 173. I know I still have a long way to go, but my confidence seems to grow every day with the knowledge that if I put in the effort, and have the desire, I can accomplish anything. 

I now live with the mantra “only the committed will survive” and for me to succeed I must stay committed. Matt, from Runner Academy, always says "you never know where running will take you" and he is right! Without running, I would not be writing this, and wouldn't have been offered the invitation to participate in this great opportunity to experience running a Ragnar Relay in Southern California!! Thanks, Katie, for all you do for your readers, and I can't wait to spend time with my 11 new friends in SoCal!

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Unfortunately, Dean doesn't have a blog for me to link to, but I'll continue to share his milestones as they come :)

Don't forget, tomorrow is Motivational Monday! If you have a photo of a health/fitness accomplishment that you'd like to share, you can email it to me at SlimKatie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com, with the subject "Motivational Monday", and a brief description. I may include it in tomorrow's post!

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Mark's big day!

Today was the day that Mark had been looking forward to for several weeks... his pizza/cake party! The whole thing came about when he got a little bit of money in some of his cards, and I asked him what he'd like to buy with it. After thinking about it for a while, he said that he wanted to have a party for the residents of his group home, complete with pizza and cake.

He's been working really hard with his physical and occupational therapists in order to get strong enough to be able to walk. The group home isn't wheelchair accessible, so he had to be walking in order to go in there. The malignant tumors in his legs and on his spine made it very painful and difficult to walk, so after having radiation to shrink the tumors, and lots of therapy, he was strong enough to walk with a walker.

My parents went to pick up Mark from the nursing home, and I (along with Noah and Eli; Jerry was working, unfortunately) planned to meet them at the group home for the party. I picked up Mark's cake this morning, and I thought it was perfect for him!

I packed up Mark's gifts for the residents, the cake, the salad, and soda into the car, and the boys and I drove to the group home, where we met up with Mark and my parents. Mark was really excited for the party! My parents said that the nurses heard all about it all day today, because it was all Mark could talk about.

We went in and spent an hour or so chatting with the residents, and letting them catch up with Mark. (In the photos I post, I've blurred the faces of the other residents; I didn't want to risk upsetting anyone's family). The woman who owns the home has a couple of dogs, and you could tell they were happy to see Mark ;)

There was one man who brought out his art to show us, and I was dumbfounded at how great it was! He is very talented, and was proud to show off his work.

He said that he just looks at photos and draws them--the next time I go there, I'd like to bring him a picture of my boys and see if he'll draw them for me. He had a lot of drawings of Gene Simmons, because he's a fan of KISS.

My dad went to pick up the pizza at 4:00, and I spent some time in the kitchen plating it, while my kids took it out to the dining room for everyone. My kids are ridiculously spoiled, and I really wanted them to help out today and do something for someone other than themselves. My kids fight almost constantly, and I wanted them to see that there are 18 men with special needs living in one small environment, and they get along so nicely--and they are so happy!

Anyway, after dinner, I brought out Mark's cake to show everyone before we cut into it.

We cut the cake and passed that out, and then I chatted with the woman who owns the home for a little while. I was really interested to hear more about how things are run, and if there really was hope of Mark going back to live there. She said that in the 60's, the home was a children's home--kids and babies with special needs, many of whom didn't live very long. I had no idea, and I found that really interesting, although sad.

Mark sat and chatted with his friends for a while before it was time to go, and then we passed out his gifts. It was so fun to give them out! A few of the men were crowded right around me, waiting for me to pull out the gifts with their names on them ;)

Now that I've gotten a glimpse into their personalities, I'd love to buy them a couple of gifts for Christmas or something. Shopping for them was a little difficult without knowing anything about them, other than what was on the wish list I was given. Today, I learned a lot more about each of them.

Mark had a really good time, but you could tell he was getting pretty tired. He hadn't walked this much in the last two months combined! But he said he had a ball, which was the point of the whole thing.

There was about 1/3 of the cake left, so Mark ended up taking it with him to the nursing home and giving it to the nursing staff. Now that we've seen how well he did for his party, I'm hoping we can pick him up once in a while and take him out for an hour or two, even if it's just to McDonald's for lunch. He loved getting out of the nursing home for a little while. He's treated really well at the nursing home, but Mark has always enjoyed the outdoors, and being very active, so sitting inside all day has been hard for him.

Spending time at the group home today was amazing. I'm so glad that I got to meet all of the residents of the home, and it was so refreshing to talk with people that just don't have any complaints ;)  I'm so glad that Mark's party today went off without a hitch, too! The guys all loved seeing him, and he was so happy to feel at home again for a little while. A huge thank you to all of you that helped make this happen; if it weren't for the cards he received, he never would have even had the idea to throw a pizza party. The next big focus for Mark is to get strong enough to walk with minimal assistance, and he's ready to work hard on it (powered by Shamrock Shakes, of course)!

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Mark's visit at home

I hope everyone has had a LOVELY Valentine's Day. I made heart-shaped French toast for my kids this morning, but it ended up being a failure, because they didn't even recognize that it was in the shape of hearts until I told them halfway through their breakfast! ;) Oh, well, I tried...

After the kids went to school, I hopped on the treadmill for my long run. On the schedule was a 10K race, but since I had no race to do today, I decided to just run 8 miles at the slow end of my long run pace range (8:48-10:07/mi). Sadly, I was down to the very last two episodes of Flashpoint. I've really loved that show, and it has gotten me through many runs during this extremely cold and snowy winter. The last two episodes totaled about 80 minutes, so the timing was totally perfect for my 8-mile run.

The finale was really good, and I was happy with the way the show ended. But now I've got to find something else to occupy my mind on the 'mill. My run went well; my heart rate stayed in the very low end of Zone 3, which is good.

Just after lunch, my dad and I went to go pick up Mark. His occupational therapist was going to follow us to Mark's group home to evaluate how well Mark could handle moving around there, so she would know what to work on with him. When we got to the nursing home, Mark was very excited and ready to go! He waved to everyone as we were walking out (pushing him in his wheelchair), and he told everyone, "Don't worry, I'll be back in a little while!"

Tiffany (his OT) showed us how to get him into the car, and it went really smoothly. Mark has gotten SO much better since he started physical and occupational therapy.

Tiffany followed us in her car, and we drove to the group home. Mark got out and walked into the house with his walker... he did great!

Mark was so happy to see everyone. The residents in the home all came up to him to shake his hand, and ask him questions about where he was, and all that. Mark kept telling everyone that he was there to "take a test" and that Tiffany was his "teacher" ;)  He worked really hard at being independent, and he did great. She had him walk around and show her the house, doing the things he would typically do on a daily basis there.

I have to stop for a moment to say that Tiffany is absolutely WONDERFUL with Mark! You can tell that she really, truly cares about him and his well-being. He's her first patient of the day during the week, and she even brings him coffee from Tim Hortons--not at all part of her job, but she knows that Mark loves his coffee. She really wants to get him well enough to live at the group home again, and Mark is the best patient ever, because he will do whatever it takes to make that happen.

This was the first time I've met the other residents in the home, and I'm so happy that I got to meet them. They all had different personalities which really came through in how they talked to Mark, and I just loved seeing Mark interact with everyone. Tiffany and I laughed at how Mark told pretty much everyone he saw that he's paying for the pizza party tomorrow with his own money. He kept saying he "raised over $200" to pay for the party, and he was very proud of that. Anyway, she is so nice, and I'm grateful that he has a therapist like her!

The whole time we were there, I kept noticing just how happy Mark was. I'd never seen him smile so big! He's always a happy person in general, but today was exceptional. I really hope that he's able to go back to live there (and soon).

When it was time to leave, after Mark "passed" his test, my dad and I took him back to the nursing home. I asked if he wanted a milkshake (and of course he did), so we stopped at McD's to get a shake for him. I noticed that they have Shamrock Shakes now (!!), so I suggested that one. I haven't had a Shamrock Shake in about 5 years, but I used to LOVE them. Mark wanted to try it, and he was in love at first sip. He said it beats the strawberry shake by a lot!

When we got to the nursing home, we realized that they were having an ice cream social for Valentine's Day. Mark wanted to do that, even though he'd already eaten half of his Shamrock Shake, so my dad and I took him to the cafeteria for the social. I did my long run today, so I didn't feel guilty at all about having a sundae with Mark.

I said I just wanted a small scoop, and this is what she gave me--who am I to argue about what a small scoop is? ;) It was so good! Perfect long run treat.

We got Mark settled back in his room, and then my dad and I left. I told Mark to get a good night's sleep for his party tomorrow. The party is at 4:00, and I'm looking forward to it!

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Gifts for Mark's friends!

When I woke up this morning, I thought, "Man, why did I write that I was going to start doing 30 Day Shred? I don't wanna..." ;)  After the boys went to school, I went to the rec center to run on the indoor track. I could have done the treadmill, but I honestly wanted to go up and down the flights of stairs a few times to get a little bit of elevation for my Wii U Fit Meter! I'm so far behind Jerry that I'll never catch up.

Anyway, my schedule for today and tomorrow is technically 3 miles easy today, and a 10K race tomorrow. But since I'm not racing a 10K, I think I may just do 8 miles at long run pace tomorrow. So today, my plan was to do 3 miles at half-marathon pace (8:34/mi).

I have no idea what happened, but my pace was nowhere near 8:34. My heart rate was up to the middle of my tempo run zone (Zone 4), but my pace was in the low 9:00's mostly--and I kept getting slower and slower. I'm hoping it's just because it's so hot in there? I don't know.

After I finished running, I ran up and down the stairs about five times. My legs were tired from that! I should do that as a workout one day--just go and run up and down the stairs for 20 minutes.

When I got home, instead of doing 30-Day Shred, I decided to do Pete Thomas's ABC circuit workout. His bootcamp class was SO hard, but that's what makes me think this workout will be effective (it's the same thing we did in class, only he won't be yelling at me to go faster!). I'm not going to do the full circuit program as listed (~60 minutes, 4 days a week); I am going to do 20-40 minutes, 4 days a week, by cutting back on the repetitions of each circuit.

Basically, you start with Circuit 1, and do the "A" exercise for 60 seconds; then the "B" exercise for 60 seconds; then the "C" exercise for 60 seconds. Repeat 2 more times, for a total of 3 times for Circuit 1. Then you move on to Circuit 2, and do the same thing. And so on, until you've done all 6 circuits.

To cut back on the time, I'll just do 1-2 repetitions of each circuit instead of 3. I did 40 minutes today, and I have a feeling I'm going to be REALLY sore tomorrow!

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My parents and I have been quickly getting things together for Mark's party on Saturday, and we had the idea to buy gifts for Mark to give each of the men at the group home. He lives with 17 other men, who are basically like his "family", and they've missed him. Mark loves to make people happy, so giving gifts is perfect for him :)

My dad talked to the woman who runs the group home, and she gave him a Christmas wish list from all the men. There were a few items listed for each person, and their favorite colors/sports teams/etc., for gift ideas. They said they're always in need of toiletries, so my parents went and bought shampoo, soap, toothpaste, and a washcloth for each person. And I did the fun part--going shopping for the items on the wish list!

Looking at the list, it was going to be a bit of a challenge, but definitely a fun challenge. I quickly learned that the hardest part was shopping for people I'd never met. I wasn't sure what sort of disabilities each of them had, and where it listed "books" or something, I wasn't sure if that meant a children's book or adult book. So I tried to go with safer items that were still on the list.

Some of the men enjoy coloring, so rather than the typical coloring books, I bought these little white figurines that you decorate yourself with markers and stickers. There were a few DVD requests--war movies, cat/dog movies, animal movies. Someone requested the book The Outsiders, but I couldn't find that at the stores I went to, but I did find the DVD, so I picked that up.

Also on the list were their favorite treat foods--chips, cookies, Cheetos, doughnuts, etc. So once I bought a non-food item for everyone, I decided to get a small food item that they'd requested, too. I was really excited to get home and start packaging everything together. I bought some clear gift bags to put everything in. Thankfully, I didn't forget anything, and I think everyone will be happy with their gifts!

Tomorrow, I'm going to go up to the nursing home with my dad, where we'll meet with the occupational therapist. She's going to teach us how to get Mark into and out of the car. And, while we're at it, she's going to follow us (and Mark) to the group home! Mark hasn't been home since early December, so tomorrow he'll see everyone for the first time in a couple of months. The OT is going to evaluate how he does in his home environment, and see what they need to work on in OT and PT sessions.

Unfortunately, he'll have to go back to the nursing home for the night, but then we'll pick him up on Saturday for his big party. Needless to say, Mark couldn't be more excited about this weekend!

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Winter Wonderland

I've complained quite a bit this winter about the weather--the temps have been at record lows, and the snow has been at record highs. This has been the most "wintery" winter I've ever experienced. This morning, when it was time to walk the boys to the bus stop, it was so hard to get motivated to put on my coat and boots, and step outside, especially when I saw just how cold it was out there:

(It's actually kind of funny, though... -9 doesn't seem nearly as cold as it did two months ago. After seeing -30, the -9 doesn't look so bad!)

The boys and I walked to the bus stop, and I was completely amazed at what had happened to the trees overnight. They were absolutely beautiful! They all had little ice crystals all over them, making them appear white. I took a few pictures, but of course they were much prettier in person.

I took a few more a little while later, when it was lighter out. I actually stopped my car in the middle of the road to snap a quick photo:

My friend Melissa posted this close-up picture on Facebook, which shows it much better:

I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. It lasted all morning, but started melting when the sun peeked out for a little while. I'm glad I got to see it when I did though--it made me stop and actually appreciate the winter for a moment, instead of moan about it ;)

Today was a rest day, so instead of running after getting the boys off to school, I went to Monica's (my favorite bakery) to order Mark's cake. I tried to get Mark to be specific about what flavor cake he likes, but he just said, "Any old cake!" A quarter-sheet cake serves 20-25, and I'm guessing we'll have about 25-30 people, so I ended up deciding on a half-sheet. We're going to have a lot left over, so I figured we could bring it to the nursing home with Mark after the party, and he can share with the nursing staff and/or patients.

Thanks for all the great suggestions about what to have written on the cake! I ended up going with Jen's suggestion of "Enjoy Life", because that really does describe Mark very well. He has every reason to complain about the hand he was dealt in this lifetime, but I've never heard him complain about anything; and he enjoys every moment! 

They asked how I'd like it decorated, and I flipped through some pictures to get an idea. I ended up going with a fishing theme, because Mark keeps saying that the first thing he wants to do when he goes home is go fishing with my dad. So it'll be a marble sheet cake with vanilla buttercream frosting, decorated with a fishing theme and "Enjoy Life" written on it. I'm sure Mark will love it.

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When I was outside this morning, my face was so cold that I decided I'd start making a cowl today. I'm using a chunky gray yarn and this pattern. It'll probably take me a few days to finish it, but this winter doesn't seem to be going anywhere!

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I leave for San Diego seven weeks from tomorrow. I was thinking today that I'd like to get in really good shape for the trip! I don't want to "diet" or go back to counting points, but I definitely want to eat better and maybe kick up the exercise. I think I'm going to attempt to do Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred for 30 days, on top of my regular running. Since I've cut back so much on my mileage recently, I feel like my body is getting a little softer. 

As far as food, I want to cut back on the processed foods (not eliminate them altogether, but cut back) and eat a cleaner diet. Definitely more vegetables, because I'm always slacking on those. I'm going to cut out the wine for a little while, too. I don't think there is anything wrong with having a glass of wine at night, as I've done for a long time, but lately it's been making me feel snacky. And since I'm not counting points, it's easy to eat too much, even if it's not a binge. 

Anyway, nothing drastic, just changes that I probably should make anyway! The San Diego trip just gives me an incentive to get a move on it ;)

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Mark's party is in the works :)

It's been nice getting back to my old routine the past couple of days, with the kids back in school! Yesterday, I had intervals on the schedule-- 7 x 400 at 5K race pace, with 400 jogs. (So basically, that means I would run a quarter-mile hard, at the same pace I would race a 5K, and then jog for a quarter mile; and repeat for a total of 7 times.)

I always dread intervals, but I always feel so great when I get them done! It's a tough workout, definitely. I have no idea what my current 5K pace is, because I haven't raced a 5K in about 14 months. But I guessed about 7:45, and since this was on the treadmill, I chose to do them at 7:30 pace (the treadmill feels easier to me than outside).

I jogged a quarter mile to warm up, and then started the intervals. The pace wasn't grueling, like a one-mile pace would feel, but it was tough enough to be a good, hard workout. I just switched between 6.0 and 8.0 on the treadmill each quarter mile until I completed 7 intervals.

Since I did speed work yesterday, I decided to run at a recovery pace today. A "recovery" pace is the slowest pace to run, usually don't the day after a hard workout. I never really take advantage of doing recovery runs, but I should. I usually just end up doing "easy pace" runs. So today, I decided I was going to do the recovery run.

My recovery pace range is 9:51-10:35/mi. I decided to aim for the slow end, at 10:35. I set the treadmill at 5.7 (a 10:31 pace). It felt so nice and relaxing to run at that pace! My heart rate stayed in the 120's, which is just barely above where it's at when I walk. I remember when I was trying so hard to get under a 12:00/mi pace... and now 10:30 is my recovery pace. It's interesting how much our bodies adapt to consistent training.

Anyway, after my run, I did strength training for about 20 minutes, and then showered and got ready to go visit Mark. I picked up a strawberry milkshake from McDonald's for him, and got there a little after noon. When I got to his room, I saw that my parents were there for a visit, too! Mark was in a VERY good mood--extremely talkative, happy, and his old self. After his chemo treatment yesterday, I expected him to be very tired and not feeling well, but that wasn't the case at all.

I'm really glad my parents and I happened to be there at that particular time, because a woman came in and introduced herself as an occupational therapist who works with people with special needs/mental disabilities, above and beyond the regular OT who has been working with Mark. She did a short evaluation of him, physically and mentally, and we told her his goal was to go home--both for his pizza party, and permanently.

She told us that she'd be happy to teach us how to transport him in a car, and get him ready to be able to go to his pizza party. She was very nice, and Mark loved "proving" to her that he's ready ;)

My parents left, and then shortly after that, another OT came in (the one who has been working with Mark), and she that she and the other OT were going to do everything they could to get Mark ready to go to his party. She also said that she's pretty sure Mark could be ready to go home in a couple of weeks! She offered to teach us how to get him in and out of the car, and then she would follow us to his group home, and from there, she could evaluate the home situation to see how Mark would be getting around. She'll ask him to get in bed, get out of bed, get in and out of the shower, walk to the bathroom, etc. That way, they'll know what needs to work on in therapy to get him ready to go home.

Mark and I were both SO excited when she was telling us all this. I had started to give up hope of Mark ever going home, but I explained to her the situation (he has to be walking--no wheelchair), and she said she honestly thinks he'll do just fine. She said he's gotten much better since he started therapy there.

When I got home, my dad told me that he finally got a hold of someone from the group home about Mark's party, and we set the date for this Saturday! Mark told me today that he wants pizza, pop, cake, apple pie, and chips at the party. There are 18 men that live there, plus the workers and my family attending, so it should be a pretty big party. The OT told me that the party is all Mark has talked about for a few weeks now. I'm so excited for it to happen!

Anyone have an idea of what to have written on his cake? My first thought was, "Fuck cancer"--hahaha, but that's not really appropriate in these circumstances. Any suggestions??

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