Fun with Eli's birthday gifts

We celebrated Eli's birthday on Thursday, and he got a couple of gifts that we have had so much fun with! My sister sent him a game called BeanBoozled, which is by Jelly Belly. Basically, you spin a spinner which determines the color of jelly bean you have to eat. Each color is one of two flavors--one is good and one is gross. For example, one of the beans could be Buttered Popcorn or it could be Rotten Egg. The only way to find out is by eating it!

It sounds horrible, especially when you see the different flavors:

As a 10-year old boy, Eli thought it sounded delightful, of course, and was super excited to play it. I didn't have the heart to NOT play it with him, so the four of us sat down and took turns spinning the spinner and eating jelly beans. My first one was the Buttered Popcorn/Rotten Egg color. I was so nervous! It took all of two chews before I realized it was definitely the Rotten Egg flavor. I spit it out and then started gulping water. It was terrible, and the taste just wouldn't go away! The kids were cracking up, and Jerry was filming it, of course ;)

I lasted three rounds, and all three were bad luck for me--Rotten Egg, Toothpaste, and Stinky Socks. The kids got all gross ones, too, but somehow, Jerry didn't get any! I insisted that he keep eating jelly beans until he got a gross one, because it wasn't fair ;) He tried Canned Dog Food, and I could smell it on his breath from several feet away.

As gross as the game is, it was fun to play with the boys. Boys love that stuff! My parents were even great sports and played with them yesterday.

I always have a hard time buying Eli a birthday gift, because his birthday is RIGHT after Christmas. He mentioned something called a Wubble Bubble Ball that he'd seen on TV, so I ended up getting that for him. It turned out to be one of the coolest toys ever! Last night, Jerry was working, but the kids and I had a blast playing with the bubble/ball. It's a very lightweight rubbery ball (it comes deflated, with a pump to fill it). It's practically indestructible, and we proved that last night.

Noah was terrified it was going to pop, so he kept running to his room when Eli or I would sit on it. It's lightweight enough that you can play catch with it in the house, but it's so flexible that it can't pop. We had so much fun messing around with it last night.

(Edit: Well, so much for "it can't pop", haha. What a bummer! After I wrote this post, it got a hole in it. There is a lifetime warranty on it, which was appealing, but when I checked out the details, you have to pay $6.99 for a new one! Since it only lasted two days, we won't be doing that. That company underestimated the activity level of 10- and 11-year old boys!)

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I was a total insomniac last night. I didn't fall asleep until sometime after 2:30, and got up at 6:00. I almost fell asleep again after I ate breakfast, but I wanted to get in my long run before it started raining, so I got dressed to head out. It was 45 degrees! Two years ago (actually, it was Eli's birthday in 2014) it was 30 below zero, and the coldest day on record in over 100 years.

It was a little windy today, so it actually felt colder than I was expecting. On the schedule today was a 75-minute long run (at easy pace), so my only goal was to keep my heart rate under 146. I am loving running at an easy pace! I actually really looked forward to my run today. I didn't look at my Garmin at all while I was running, so I had no idea what my pace was; but my heart rate alert only beeped twice in the entire 75 minutes (both times were when a dog bark startled me), so I knew I was running at a very easy pace.

This was the first run in a VERY long time that I was able to completely zone out and forget that I was even running. When running at a pace that's even slightly uncomfortable, I'm constantly counting down the miles or minutes. But today, I zoned out and didn't think about the running at all. It was kind of weird, actually--I don't even remember huge chunks of my run! It was nice to not really think about anything at all. When I got home, I saw that I was probably running a little too easy (my heart rate was really low), but it was still in the aerobic zone, so it didn't really matter.

I was tired all day, so I worked on my puzzle for a long time, and actually took a short nap in the afternoon (something I never do). Hopefully I can get a good night's sleep tonight!

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Don't think, just run.

We're going to head out to dinner for Eli's birthday soon, so I just have time to write a quick recap of my run this morning. Let me just start by saying that this weather we've had so far this winter has been PERFECT for running! Today, it was 32 degrees and sunny, no wind to speak of, and no snow or ice or anything on the ground--in JANUARY. It's awesome.

Anyway, last night, when I was looking at my training plan, I realized I had accidentally screwed something up when I was transferring the plan from one spot to another, and the run I thought I was doing today was much easier than what was actually listed. The correct schedule said that I was supposed to "Alternate 10 minutes easy with 10 minutes fast for 50 minutes". I read that as 2x(10 min easy, 10 min fast); 10 min easy.

The problem here is that the "fast" pace is supposed to be "faster than race pace" or 95% of your maximum heart rate. My race pace is 7:55/mile, and I haven't run a mile (outdoors) that fast in over two years. Two years, people! And I was going to have to do 10 minutes (roughly 1.25 miles) not just once, but TWICE? Might as well quit now, is what I was thinking last night.

Anyway, this morning was going to be crazy busy, because I had all kinds of errands to run while the kids were in school. I knew I could squeeze in my run if I did it right away, instead of procrastinating until 10:30 or so. I dressed in my running clothes and then drove Eli to school, because we made a birthday treat for him to share with his class. From his school, I just went to the Lake Erie Metropark to run. Did I mention the weather was awesome?

I was nervous, but I kept telling myself that if I couldn't hold the pace, then I would just do my best. Running my best would still help me improve. I started off with the 10 minutes at easy pace, and my heart rate was higher than normal because of my nerves. Haha! I still get nervous every time I have an "important" run. I tried to run super slow, so I didn't waste any energy. 

When my Garmin beeped to start the next segment, I started running hard--too hard--and then slowed it down. It took me a few minutes to settle on a pace. I wanted to stay as close to race pace as possible, without going faster, because I didn't want to burn out halfway through. 

It was hard. My breathing during easy runs is a four step inhale, three step exhale; but during fast runs like this, it's a two step inhale, one step exhale. I was glad I didn't see many people while I was running hard, because I sounded like I was going to keel over. I was surprised that the time was going by kind of quickly. When I do two-minute intervals, the time takes forever! But I could imagine at about what point at the park I'd get to stop, and I just kept repeating to myself, "Don't think, just run" (that's going to be my new mantra). 

My pace was on target, so when my watch timer said 17:55, I knew I'd just run a sub-8:00 mile for the first time in over two years. I was ecstatic! Had to keep running hard until the 20:00 mark, and then finally, my Garmin beeped to start my easy run. I walked for about five seconds, wishing I could walk the whole 10 minutes, but I made myself start jogging. Thankfully, the jogging time went by really slowly--usually, it's the opposite when I do intervals. I think I was just so nervous about the next hard run. I really didn't think I could do it--I barely made it through that first one!

I told myself that since I was able to hit pace for the first one, I could run tempo pace (8:22) for the second one. But, I knew I had at least two minutes left in me at race pace, because I do 2:00 intervals each week. When my watch beeped at 30:00, I started running hard again. Surprisingly, I hit the correct pace right away (actually, a little fast, at around 7:45). 

I figured I'd just hold that pace as long as I could. Eventually, I was telling myself, "Think how proud you'll be if you can finish this workout!"and "Just three minutes left!" "Just two minutes left!" etc. I was SO VERY EXCITED when I heard my Garmin beep. I slowed to a walk for a good 20 seconds or so, to catch my breath. 

I did it! I had actually hit pace for both of the 10:00 intervals. I slowly jogged back to the car, stopping several times to take pictures.

It was so gorgeous! I should have plucked my eyebrows for that photo. Anyway.

I did 1.27 miles for the first 10:00 segment, which was a 7:51 pace. And for the second 10:00 segment, I did 1.29 miles, good for a 7:46 pace! These numbers totally made my day. 

I haven't had a runner's high like this in a very, very long time. Smashrun even had some fun notables for me when I uploaded my run:

Needless to say, after today's "impossible" run, I am feeling much more confident that I may actually be able to pull off my PR goal. It felt so good today to push myself to the max, and aim for a goal that I didn't think I'd be able to do--and then DO IT. Don't think, just run ;)

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Week 21 Weigh-in

It's been 21 weeks since I started counting calories, and 6 weeks since I reached my goal weight of 133 pounds. I'm really happy with how maintenance is going so far! I'm still counting calories every day, but I've been eating more than I was when I was losing weight. Today's weigh-in:

The scale said 131, which means I am down a pound from last week (and two pounds below my goal weight). My average number of calories eaten this week was 1,958 per day. I thought for sure that I would have a gain, because I felt like I was eating much more than usual, but maybe the stomach bug I was dealing with had something to do with the loss. Regardless, another successful week on maintenance!

As far as my goals for 2016 go, I did well with those, too...

Cooking a new recipe: I made this recipe for Meatball Casserole. Super simple, but that was the day I was really sick, so I just threw together the simplest thing I could find. It turned out really good, though! The boys and Jerry absolutely loved it.

Getting in 7,000+ steps per day for at least six days per week: This was a short week, since I started this goal on January 1st. But, I did get in 7,000+ steps every day except for Monday (I was sick and it was a rest day), so I'm good with that.

I've stayed binge-free this week as well--today is day 155 of being binge-free!

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I'm very happy with the way my 10K training has been going. I'm still skeptical that I'll be able to get my PR in April, but that's because it just seems like a crazy goal; I have to remember that it's still a long way out, and if I follow my training, I can do it. Here is a comparison of the paces from my two-minute (outdoor) intervals. (The highlighted pace is the average for that session of intervals)

I gave 100% effort for these intervals in the moment I was doing them. Interestingly, my average heart rate from the last two sessions was the same. (The average HR from the 12/8 session was actually 10 beats per minute higher!) That's a good thing--I'm getting faster, but I'm working at the same effort level.

Anyway, I've reduced my pace by 15 seconds without even really realizing it. I'm excited about that! I would like to do another 5K race soon, so I can compare it to my Thanksgiving Turkey Trot race--I gave 100% effort at that race, so it would be nice to see if I've improved much. My only concern with the training schedule that I'm following is that there isn't a long tempo run--I feel like I need to do at least a few longer runs at near-race pace. But, I'll decide what to do after a few more weeks of this schedule.

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Tomorrow is Eli's 10th birthday. I can't believe that it's been 10 years since I went to the hospital to be induced! Eli was huge--I was induced 10 days early, and he was 9 lbs. 10 oz. I can't even imagine if I'd waited 10 more days to give birth!  Just for fun, here is a picture of pregnant me, at 271 pounds. Eli was born about a week later.

If my "smile" doesn't say it all, I was miserably pregnant at that point ;) And here is Eli, shortly after he was born. I remember when I first saw him, I was so glad that we'd decided on the name Eli instead of Mason (his name was going to be Mason until about two weeks before he was born). He just looked like an Eli to me:

I don't know if I've ever shared that story here, about Eli's name. Jerry and I had decided on the name Mason shortly after we found out we were having a boy. When I was nine months pregnant, and huge, I took Noah (who was 18 months old) to lunch at McDonald's, and he was playing in the playscape. There was one section of it that was poorly designed, because a toddler could easily get stuck (climb down into it, but not able to climb back up). Noah was upset, and I had no idea how I was going to get him out. Right at the beginning of the playscape, there were these two padded rollers that you had to squeeze through--and even if I wasn't pregnant, there was no way I could have fit!

Anyway, there was a boy playing in the playscape who looked like he was about five years old, and I asked him if he could help me get Noah out. He was very helpful, and everything was fine. I learned that his name was Eli, and I immediately loved it. I suggested it to Jerry that night, and we decided on Eli (Elijah) instead of Mason for the baby's name. I didn't think much about it again until the first time I laid eyes on Eli after he was born, when I thought, "Wow, he looks like an Eli!"

Tomorrow, we're going to take Eli out to dinner of his choice to celebrate his birthday. He chose our favorite Chinese restaurant, so clearly, tomorrow will be my high-calorie day for the week! I'm looking forward to some sweet and sour chicken :)

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If you missed it, make sure you check out yesterday's post to sign up for the fourth annual Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K!

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2016 Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K Sign-Up

Introducing...

Finally! No, I did not forget about the annual virtual 5K. I just kept procrastinating working on the bib, t-shirt logo, and social media logo stuff (because I'm not good at things like that, and it takes forever to make the tiniest change--like the date!). Anyway, I was sick on Sunday, so I finally didn't have any excuses, and I got it done. Sorry it took so long!

If you've been reading my blog for a year or more, then you are familiar with the annual Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K. It all started in 2013, when I turned 31. I wanted to do something fun for my birthday, and you all know I love numbers--my 31st birthday was also my "5K" birthday (5K= 3.1 miles; 3.1, 31... yeah, it made sense at the time. I was probably drinking wine when I had the idea).

Random fun fact: My birthday is on January 25th, and who could possibly be a more fun person to share it with than Steve Prefontaine?! I had no idea who he was until I became a runner, but after watching the movie Prefontaine (if you haven't seen it, you should!), I read more about him, and learned that he, too, was born on January 25th. So, if you don't want to run for me, then run for Pre! ;)

I thought that hosting a virtual 5K would be an awesome way to celebrate 31 years... how cool would it be to run a 5K "with" hundreds of friends? The "race" is just for fun--to keep it free, I don't offer medals or t-shirts or anything like that. I just want as many people as possible to commit to running or walking 3.1 miles with me on my birthday!

The event will take place on January 25th (as always). This year, it's a Monday. Here's how it works: 
1) Sign up on the form below, to state your commitment.
2) Any time you'd like on January 25, run or walk 3.1 miles.
3) PLEASE take a picture to share! Not required, but so much fun to see.
4) Fill out the "finisher's form", which will be posted on my blog that day (it will ask for your finishing time--this is optional, but make sure you take note of it in case you want to share it).
5) (Optional) Upload your picture to social media using the hashtag #RfCVirtual5K, and/or post it on my Facebook page to share a little about your run.

The part I love best about the Virtual 5K is going through all the photos on social media and reading about others' experiences--people running or walking in all different countries around the globe, some running in snow, some running in heat, some using the treadmill or doing laps in their basements. It's very cool to see so many people achieve the same goal in so many different ways!

Noah did it in 2013

Eli in 2013

I have a printable bib that you can wear (or not, it's up to you). FYI, if you print this at 100% (NOT "fit to page") it will be a normal "bib-size" and not a massive 8-1/2 x 11 size.

I have a t-shirt logo, in case you want to use it to make your own t-shirt. This has a transparent background, so it's best to use this logo when printing a shirt; the other logos have white backgrounds.

Finally, here is a "social media" logo, in case you wanted to share on social media that you'll be doing the event. You can use hashtag #RfCVirtual5K if you'd like.

Sorry it took me so long to get this info up! Next year, I'll aim to get it up sooner ;) If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. Otherwise, here is the sign-up form below:

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Motivational Monday #134

Happy Motivational Monday! I hope everyone is off to a great start for 2016 :) I woke up with a stomach bug yesterday morning, and felt miserable all day. I wish I could say I was better today, but I was still feeling really weak and my stomach felt gross. So, for the past couple of days, I've been resting and recovering with lots of Gilmore Girls (how had I never found this show before? I love it!) and working on a puzzle. I really hope I'm back to normal tomorrow!

Anyway, I have a couple of motivating stories to start off your Monday. Enjoy!

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An email from Steph:

"Because of Katie's blog and all the Motivational Mondays, I was inspired. Many stories brought me to tears because I could never imagine doing something so difficult. Yet, so many people were showing up and doing these amazing races. One mile seemed impossible, but none the less, I was motivated to try. I did a 5K and two 10K's this year; but the distance between a half-marathon and a 10K seemed too scary, so I just ran a few days a week and stopped training for races. On Thanksgiving, I ran another 10K Turkey Trot and decided to take the plunge and add in more mileage. I am still doubtful that I can run that long and far, but after yesterday, I am gaining confidence. While my family was enjoying Christmas festivities, I ran 8 miles in a ton of snow. The weather was in the single digits and I had icicles on my eyelashes and hair. But I pushed on and am proud of the progress I have made."

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An email from Andréa:

"On January 1st,  I completed my third 5K in 38 minutes. A personal best by far! I made it over a mile and a half before I walked, which is a huge accomplishment for me. I have also continued to lose weight and am now at 72 pounds lost!" (Andréa blogs at The Girl Behind the Mask)

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Congrats to Steph and Andréa--great accomplishments, ladies!

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Heart rate spikes

Well, 2016 is off to a great start :) It feels awesome to start the year at my goal weight, and without any weight loss goals for the year. Since I started taking my easy runs *truly* easy (keeping my heart rate below 146), I have also felt really good about my training. I am still progressing in my speed work on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I hope that continues. But running at an easy pace the other days is actually really enjoyable!

Yesterday, I had a 30-minute easy run on the schedule. Jerry was off work, so I suggested we go to the state park--he and the kids could walk the short loop while I ran the 5K loop with Joey (Joey was thrilled with this idea). It was cold outside, but I definitely underestimated just HOW cold it was going to be.

I wore my Cold Gear tights and a Cold Gear top. I also wore a jacket, a Bondiband, and my thin gloves. In retrospect, I should have worn a much warmer jacket, and heavier gloves. And something to cover my neck.

Anyway, Joey and I started the 5K loop while the kids and Jerry did the shorter loop (I think it's about 1.25 miles).

(I wasn't trying to match my outfit to my shoes, but the jacket and shoes go well together!) It was hard to keep my heart rate down for the first mile, because Joey was all over the place. My hands were so cold that I started to worry about frostbite! I pulled my fingers down into the palm portion of my gloves so that I could make a fist inside of the glove, and that helped a little. My fingers finally felt okay about two miles in, but I never did break a sweat. I guess that's the downside to running at a slow pace--it's hard to warm-up in this kind of cold.

I was relieved to get back to the car to warm up. The kids said it was much colder than they'd anticipated, too.

This morning, I wasn't going to take any chances with my long run. The "real feel" temp was 18, so I dressed extra warm. Cold Gear tights and top, a fleece over the top, my warmest running gloves, and a hat. This was a step back week for my long run, so I only had to run 60 minutes (again, keeping my heart rate below 146).

I started running at a very slow pace, and almost immediately, my heart rate shot up to 160 bpm. I knew I wasn't pushing myself hard, but I slowed down anyway. I was barely running at a slow jog, and it was still high. Finally, I just turned off the alert because it was annoying and I knew I wasn't pushing myself that hard. A couple of miles in, I tried adjusting my sports bra a little, and making sure the sensors on the heart rate strap were pressed against my skin. That was when I noticed it corrected my heart rate right away, going from 160 to 133.

The farther I ran, the less often I had the weird spikes. As I thought about it, I think I figured out why it was doing that. I don't normally wet the strap before I put it on, even though I really should do that (it helps the monitor to get a reading). Since it was so cold outside, I wasn't sweating for a long time; and because I wasn't sweating, the HR monitor wasn't picking up my heart rate correctly. Toward the end of my run, I was sweating a little, which is why it continued to improve the longer I ran.

This makes a lot of sense to me, because it happens very often that the first mile or so, my heart rate is wacky (usually very high spikes). That's probably because I haven't broken a sweat, so the monitor isn't able to get a correct reading. To fix this, I'll just have to make sure to wet the strap a little before I put it on. Hopefully that will work!

Anyway, I felt absolutely fantastic during my run. Normally, I don't enjoy the actual running part; I just enjoy how it makes me feel afterward. But today, running at an easy pace was very enjoyable!

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The boys are staying the night at my parents' house tonight, so Jerry and I were talking about doing a date night. I'm not sure what we'll end up doing. Although, with it being as cold as it's been the past few days, I'm thinking a "Netflix and chill" kind of night sounds perfect ;)

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Goals for 2016

Happy New Year! I'm am welcoming 2016 with open arms and an open mind. The past couple of years have been tough for me in so many aspects of my life--a few things that I've shared on my blog, and a few things that I have not. While there were a lot of great things that happened in 2015, I am glad that the year is over, and I really look forward to what 2016 has in store.

I know that New Year's resolutions are cliche, and the chance of actually sticking to them is slim; but as a goal-setter, there is something so fun about starting the new year with a clean slate. I love to write goals for the new year!

Last year, I had the following goals:

-Run the Detroit Free Press Marathon
-Run a half-marathon each month
-Cut out most processed foods
-No ice cream at home

Since 2015 ended up being "the year of the never-ending stress fracture injury", I wasn't able to complete my running goals. In fact, I actually had to drop out of several races that I'd registered for because of my stress fracture.

I started the year very well with cutting out processed foods. However, I gained several pounds while I was eating "clean", and I had really hoped that I'd have been able to lose weight. I've experimented several times over the years with clean eating, and it just doesn't work well for me--physically, I have a hard time with weight loss; and mentally, I'm just not happy. So, when I started counting calories in August, I didn't make any foods off limits, and I ate whatever I wanted while counting the calories. I am much happier, and I was able to get back down to my goal weight rather quickly that way. So, while I failed at my goal of cutting out processed foods, I am happy with the way it worked out.

I did stick with the "No ice cream at home" goal, though (at least from what I remember). If I did have ice cream here, it was from a single serving container, so there wasn't any sitting in the freezer. Most of the time, though, if I wanted to eat ice cream, I would go out and eat it.

I guess one out of four goals is pretty good! The running goals were out of my hands, because of the injury. If I hadn't gotten injured, I probably would have met those.

Now, on to 2016...

I've been thinking hard about this, and here is what I came up with:

-Cook one new recipe each week. I've already created a Pinterest board with 52 recipes, so I will choose one each week to try. They aren't all "healthy" recipes--just foods that sounded good and I wanted to try.

-Get in 7,000+ steps per day, for at least six days per week. I'm using an app called Momentum on my phone to track this. On the days that I run, it should be fairly easy; but on my rest days, getting in 7,000 steps is tough!

-Continue my binge-free streak. Currently, I am 150 days binge-free!

-Do my best to PR my 10K. If not in the spring, then I'll try again in the fall. It's going to be the most challenging goal I've ever set for myself, but I'm willing to work hard to do it. I won't be upset if I don't actually set a new PR as long as I try my best. I don't want to look back thinking that I could have done it if I had given a little more effort during training.

-Finally, I want to maintain a weight of 135 pounds or less. I've been doing well with maintenance for the past month, staying between 130-133, so I'm happy with that. If I could do it through the holidays, I can certainly continue to do it. Summer is the most challenging time of year for me, so again, I will do my best.

So, there they are, in black and white--my goals for 2016. I don't have anything standing in my way right now (injuries, excess weight, etc), so I am looking forward to working on my goals! Anyone else have goals for the new year?

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Top 15 of 2015

I thought this was going to be a very difficult post to write. I thought that 2015 was the worst year I've had, and in some aspects, that's true. I dealt with a running injury for 10 months, my depression was really bad, my anxiety was the worst it's ever been, and I was dealing with a 27-pound weight gain from 2014. I felt terrible about myself, and I put a ton of pressure on myself to get it together.

However, once I started going through pictures from this year, I saw that I had a ton of really great experiences! I started flagging photos to use on this post, and when I was done, I had over 30. THIRTY experiences that could have made my "Top 15 of 2015". It was tough to narrow it down.

In the end, this is what I decided on. Here are my Top 15 of 2015, in chronological order:

1) We adopted Joey! Bringing Joey into our lives has been so amazing. I used to have a big fear of dogs, but adopting Joey and spending so much time with him has helped me to "read" dogs much better. I no longer get scared of them when I see them on a run. Joey has also changed my kids' lives--they've learned that Joey will always be their best friend, and they have a blast playing with him.

2) I traveled to Portland to visit my BFF and see the Pacific Northwest for the first time. I fell in LOVE with Portland, and it is my favorite destination I've ever visited. While on the trip, I went on my very first hike, and I couldn't have picked a more beautiful place--14 miles of the most gorgeous scenery I've ever laid eyes on. It was during this hike that I decided the Pacific Northwest was my favorite place that I've traveled.

3) In April, I ran a race with all three of my siblings for the first time ever! I'd done a race with one or two of them at a time before, but never all three. It was so much fun!

4) In May, I went to the Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini Marathon with seven of my Sole Mates Ragnar team! We had so much fun--tons of laughs, a couple of the teammates showing up as a surprise to everyone, more bonding, fro-yo lasagna, and more great memories of my team.

5) My younger brother, Nathan, and I were the top fundraisers for Justin Verlander's Wins for Warriors Detroit 9K. The money went to a charity that meant a lot to Nathan and me--it provides mental health support to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and their families. Since Nathan experienced post-war PTSD firsthand; and as his sister, I saw the effects it had; we wanted to do what we could to help. Thanks to so many of YOU, we raised more money than any other fund raiser! We were invited to attend a Tigers game in a suite, and meet Justin Verlander himself. Nathan ran the 9K, and I was a volunteer at the race. It was a great experience overall!

6) When the last person to pass by my volunteer station at the Detroit 9K, something deep inside me told me that I should walk the rest of the race with him (I learned his name was Daron). The sweeper was walking with him, but I just wanted to be there to encourage him to finish. It was an amazing experience--we were dead last to finish, but the Detroit Police were awesome in giving us an escort the whole way, and even giving Daron a bottle of water as needed. He hadn't realized how far 9K actually was, and it was a huge struggle for him, but he FINISHED!

7) In July, Jerry was able to come with me to New York, where I was going to be sitting on a panel for Prudential at the BlogHer Conferences. Jerry and I rarely get to travel alone together, so even though it was a very short trip, we had so much fun!

8) Both of my brothers happened to be in the Pacific Northwest on the exact same day for work, and naturally, I couldn't stand the thought of them being in my favorite place without me ;) Brian offered me a buddy pass to fly out there, and I was able to spend the weekend with my brothers and sister-in-law in Portland!

9) Jerry and I celebrated 12 years of marriage in August, and we returned to the chapel where we were wed so that we could take some fun pictures!

10) I coached cross country for the 2nd-4th graders at Eli's school. I absolutely LOVED coaching the kids, and I hope to do it again.

11) Thomas came to visit in October in order to run the Detroit Marathon. I was originally supposed to run it with him, but due to my stress fracture, I wasn't able to. Thomas, Jerry, and I spent a full day in Detroit, which was my favorite part of his trip--we went to Redsmoke for lunch, lost our money at Greektown Casino, walked on the Riverwalk, sampled coney dogs from the two rival Coney Islands (American vs. Lafayette--Lafayette was our favorite!), had a beer at a dive bar, and then watched the Red Wings lose. It was a super packed day, but I loved spending time with these two.

12) Jerry, the kids, and I ran a 5K together in November. It was a fun, active family thing to do together. The kids enjoyed it, and asked if we could do races together more often.

13) I did something I'd always wanted to do--a boudoir photoshoot! Even though I wasn't at my goal weight, I embraced the body I had at the moment. I had my hair and make-up done, and the photoshoot was so much fun!! I felt beautiful and girly, and the pictures turned out amazing. It was one of the best experiences of my life--honestly.

14) In November, I went to NYC with Purina. Purina hosts some amazing blogger events, and I've met some really great people at them. On this trip, I also conquered my fear of the subway system--I used Google Maps and actually figured out how to get around on my own! I even took the subway and a bus to get to the airport, saving myself about $40 in cab fare.

15) Just before Thanksgiving, I got back to my goal weight!! I switched from Weight Watchers to calorie counting on My Fitness Pal, and it was a much-needed change. I stopped feeling obsessed with food, and the weight pretty much fell right off. It happened quickly and without feeling deprived. I am thrilled with the results!

As you can see, I had a pretty awesome 2015... and I look forward to 2016!

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Some fun facts for 2015: 

• I ran 457 miles (down from 1,151.86 miles in 2014). I spent much of the year injured, which is why my mileage is down so much.
• The day of the week I ran most often was Thursday; the least often was Wednesday.
• The month that I had the highest mileage was July, with 77.3 miles.
• My average pace for the whole year was 10:31/mi (up from 9:51/mi in 2014).
• I burned 49,752 calories from running... that's equivalent to over 14 pounds of fat (or 638 chocolate chip cookies)!
• My most memorable meal was at McMenamins in Portland--I had a Chicken Caesar Wrap and Cajun Tots. Very simple, but SO very good! 

• My current favorite breakfast is a Larabar with peanut butter, and tea.
• My current favorite evening snack is a couple of cookies.
• The thing I am most looking forward to in 2016?  Focusing on the 10K distance. I'm really excited to see my potential when I work my hardest at it! 

Happy New Year, Friends!!

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Week 20 weigh-in

With the kids being off of school right now, I almost forgot to weigh in this morning. It feels like it should be a weekend! I was pleased when I got on the scale, though:

I weighed in at 132 today, which is the exact same as last week; and still one pound below my goal weight!

I thought for sure my weight would be up a little this week, because I ate more calories this week than I have since I started counting in August. My average daily calorie intake was an even 1,900. So far, maintenance is looking pretty good! I think I just have to make sure that I continue to count my calories; in the past, whenever I've tried to keep the weight off without counting, I get way off track and end up gaining.

Over the past several days, with the kids being home, I've had a hard time with wanting to snack. I know I'm not physically hungry between meals, but I get the urge to eat anyway. I started doing puzzles again, which has helped tremendously! The time passes so quickly when I'm working on a puzzle, so it has helped keep me from snacking. The current one that I'm working on is actually really difficult, which I enjoy.

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A few people have asked me what 10K training plan I'm following. I don't have to fully commit to a plan just yet, because I still have about 14 weeks until my goal race. However, I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up using this plan by Run Britain:

This is my modified version so I can run on the days I choose

As of right now, I'm following the last five weeks of that plan to see if I like it; if I do, and I think it's working well, I'll start with it in full on January 31st. The "F" stands for "Fast", and on this plan, that means faster than race pace (my race pace will be 7:55/mile or better). The "T" stands for "Threshold", and on this plan, that means 85-90% of my maximum heart rate (approximately half-marathon pace, 8:20/mile). The "E" stands for "Easy", of course, and for those, I'll keep my heart rate at less than 145 bpm.

The only thing that makes me nervous about this plan is that there aren't any segments longer than 6 minutes that are done at race pace. Even the tempo portions are just 12 minutes. I'd like to try a "test" 10K in the last week of January to see if I can break 52:00. If I can, then I'll use this plan to continue on to (hopefully) PR with sub-49:23. If I can't... well, I'll probably still use this plan, haha. Let's just hope I can run sub-52:00 by January 30th ;)

Speaking of running, I was honored to have been interviewed a couple of months ago for the Runners Connect podcast. I love their website, and I had no idea there was a podcast! I chatted with the podcast's host, Tina Muir, about everything from my weight loss, to my blog, to running, and advice for newbies. I haven't listened to it (I don't like hearing my own voice!) but if you're interested in giving it a listen, here is a link. I adored talking with Tina, and I was surprised to learn that she is an elite runner--SUPER fast! I was a little intimidated until I learned that she loves sweets just as much as I do. Anyone who will eat frosting right from the container is a friend in my book! ;)

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Dinner and bowling

Last night was the night we were supposed to get together with some of my childhood friends, like I do every year around Christmas, but we ended up having to cancel because we couldn't figure out a day that worked for everyone. I was super bummed, because I look forward to it every year!

We still ended up having a fun night, though. Jerry and I met Nathan, Kendall (his girlfriend), and Becky (my sister-in-law) for dinner. We went to Public House, a newish restaurant that Jerry and I have grown to love over the last year or so. We don't go there often, but when we do, we always love it.

I wasn't very hungry by dinnertime (I usually eat super early, at 4:00, and we had plans to meet at 6:30--so I'd snacked a little too much while I was waiting to head out, and spoiled my appetite). I ended up ordering half a Michigan salad (greens, dried cherries, candied walnuts, cherry vinaigrette, and blue cheese--I ordered it without the blue cheese, because I am not a fan of it).

The salad was delicious! I adore dried cherries, and the cherry vinaigrette was awesome. I also ate a few bites of Jerry's food, because he ordered my favorite dish on their menu--chicken and waffles.

After dinner, we went bowling. My back as been really painful lately, so I chose not to bowl (but I still like to go hang out while others bowl). I played Keno, and my numbers were doing pretty well--I thought I was going to hit all four a couple of times, but no such luck. I ended up winning $19 (after paying $20 to play, so I technically lost $1--but it was worth it, because Keno is fun!)

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After doing easy runs all weekend, I was a little nervous about today's run. I had 4 x 6:00 at "faster than race pace" on the schedule. Six minutes is a long time to run at a fast pace!

We had terrible weather all day yesterday (freezing rain all day, and then just a downpour of rain last night). I was hoping that today would be nice enough to run outside, but it was super windy--and the wind would have made running at a fast pace really difficult. Jerry went out for a run before I did this morning, and he said he wished he'd run on the treadmill, because the wind was terrible.

Anyway, I headed out to the garage to run on the treadmill. I set up my Garmin for a 10:00 warm-up, 4 x 6:00 at fast pace with recovery between each interval until my heart rate got down to 136 bpm.

I started out with the easy warm-up. I did that for 10 minutes, which ended up being just under a mile, and then I bumped the speed up to 7.7 mph (a 7:48/mile pace). I was expecting it to be super hard, like when I run 400-meter intervals, but I was surprised at how good I felt. My heart rate got into the correct zone (about 95% of maximum). It wasn't easy, but it wasn't half as bad as I imagined.

Once I hit six minutes, I switched to a slow walk (3 mph) until my heart rate dropped down to 136 bpm; then I bumped the pace up again and ran another interval. I felt surprisingly good throughout the whole run! One of the benefits of taking easy runs TRULY easy is that you save enough energy to hit your goal paces during speed workouts. So, while I felt like I was running way too easy over the weekend, I think it will pay off when I do speed work.

I did four intervals total, and then stopped my Garmin. I had done 24 minutes at a 7:48/mile pace! Even though I had three short walk breaks during those 24 minutes, I was really happy with how good I felt. Now, I just have to work on running that pace for a total of 49 minutes without any walk breaks--haha ;)

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Several people have emailed me to ask about whether I'm going to host the Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K again in January. This year snuck by so fast! It's hard to believe that it's past the time I should have posted about it. I've done the virtual race for the last three years, so it would be a shame to stop now. Yes, I will be hosting it--it will take place on January 25th, as usual. I will hopefully get all the details up this week!

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