Baseball drama and longest run in two months

Things did not go well at Eli's baseball game on Wednesday, so I spent a lot of time yesterday trying to take care of the issue. It's a long story, but basically, Eli's coach is ALL about winning. He threw a tantrum like a two-year at the second game, and then this week, he was being kind of ridiculous in his coaching methods. My priorities for Eli's summer baseball are: 1) Have fun; 2) Play ball; and 3) Be a good sport, no matter what. This isn't a competitive league--it's just for kids to have some fun during the summer! But Eli's coach's priorities are: 1) Win; 2) Win; 3) Win.

I'd been biting my tongue about his attitude... until Wednesday's game.

He wanted to walk in as many kids as possible, because the kids at this age aren't great at pitching. He tells the kids not to swing at the pitches, and bets on the fact that they'll probably end up with a walk. Walks may get them to the base, but it's not fun for either team! He told Eli not to swing at anything, and I thought that was ridiculous. Why play baseball if you don't try to hit the ball? I told Eli just to swing at anything that looked like a good pitch, and not to worry about it.

Well, Eli swung and missed, and his coach was pissed. I saw him whispering to Eli, and then Eli came over to me with tears in his eyes and said the coach told him that he has to run 10 laps for listening to me (his mother) instead of him (the coach). My blood felt like it was boiling when Eli told me that--I couldn't believe it. I told the coach that Eli wasn't going to be running any laps, and the coach said he was going to "ask Eli not to come to any more of the games" then.

The team only has 10 players, and only 8 of them regularly show up--just barely enough to play. Without Eli, they'd have to forfeit. And Eli is their best pitcher. I called Jerry, and he left Noah's game to come over (he was furious, too). He stayed after the game to talk to the coach, who told him that he was teaching the kids discipline, and he was going to make his own son run 200 laps around their house for the mistakes he made during the game.

Say what?!

It was 85 degrees outside, and these kids are 9-10 years old. I felt really sorry for the coach's son. I decided that I was going to write a letter to the athletic director (I'm better at writing than I am explaining over the phone). I wrote down everything that had happened, and I drove it to the township hall yesterday. When the athletic director read it, he gave me a call, and thankfully, he was very concerned about the whole thing.

He said that the coach isn't allowed to "punish" kids by making them run (or anything like that) and that summer ball is non-competitive and all about having fun. He also said that the coach doesn't even have the authority to kick Eli off the team. He was very grateful for the letter, and said he was going to handle everything this weekend, so that Monday's game will be a fun one. I'm really glad to have that taken care of, because it's been bothering me ever since the first game when we saw his coach's true colors.

---

Noah's coach (who I really like) has been kind enough to let Eli practice with his team, which is great for Eli. Eli just wants to play baseball, and he'll take any opportunity he can get to play. This morning, they had practice from 10-12, so I decided to go for a run while they were practicing. The field where they practice is halfway to the Metropark from my house, so I dropped them off at practice and then I went to the Metropark to run on the bike path.

The bike path is three miles, so I was going to do an out-and-back for a total of six miles. It was hot and sunny outside today (80 degrees), so I decided to just run very easy, not worrying about heart rate or pace. After the first mile, I remembered a badge on Smashrun that you can earn for doing "steady" 10K's--running a 10K or longer with a pace variable of less than 5% (they also have a badge for 4% variability and one for 3% variability). I decided to see if I could get the most even splits possible.

My first mile was 10:30, so after that, I just aimed to keep a 10:30 pace throughout the run. I wasn't sure if Smashrun looked at just the mile splits or if the variability was calculated some other way--I guessed it was from mile splits. Toward the end of each mile, I'd check my pace lap pace and adjust accordingly so that my split times were as close to 10:30 as possible. I was feeling REALLY good on the run, so I decided to add another mile on the way out, making the total run eight miles instead of six.

My mile splits were almost spot-on at 10:30. When I got back to the car at mile eight, I felt amazing. It was a really good run today! My heart rate was a little higher than normal (150 versus 146 bpm), because I usually run at whatever pace keeps my heart rate low, but today, I was focused on keeping the pace steady, and my heart rate rose during the run.

My splits were super even, though!

I was excited to upload it to Smashrun, but it turns out they look at the run as a whole and judge the variability from that--so mine was 5% (good enough to count toward one badge, but not the others). Now that I know, I'll have to try to keep a super steady pace to earn the others, and not just focus on the mile splits. This was my longest run since I was training for my 10K, and I felt really good.

Despite it being 80 degrees, I was surprised that I wasn't all that sweaty. When I looked at the weather app, I noticed the humidity was only 38%--no wonder! I never would have felt that good if the humidity was the usual 80+%.

We have a very busy weekend, so I probably won't post again until Sunday or Monday. Tomorrow, Jerry's employer is taking all of the employees (and their families) to the Detroit Zoo, so we'll be going with the boys. Tomorrow night, we're going to our friends' house for a party. Sunday, we're spending the day with Jerry and then heading to my parents' house for dinner for Father's Day. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Continue Reading...

Week 44 Weigh-in

I don't have a whole lot to say, so I'll just do a quick weigh-in and overview of this week.

As I mentioned yesterday, I had a MUCH better week as far as my eating goes. I kept my calories at a decent maintenance level (although, I still haven't figured out just what the right amount is for me to maintain--I'm going to continue to experiment). I ate around 2,100 per day, with two days being higher than that (around 3,000). My weight is down just slightly from last week.

There have been a few things this week that have been helpful in stopping the overeating. Eating whatever sounds good to me in the moment for each meal has been a major key this week. I've been much more satisfied with my meals, so I don't feel the need to go back for seconds or to snack when I'm not hungry in order find that satisfaction.

Another big help this week has been staying busy with writing running plans. I've actually found it really fun to work on, and the time just FLIES by when I'm writing up a plan. (I added a 10K plan and a base building plan on my Training Plans page.) I'm working on a half-marathon plan and a generic "stay in shape" sort of plan (without a race goal) right now. (It takes much longer than you might think--I've been keeping the 80/20 ratio of easy to moderate or hard running, so there is a lot of math to work out.)

Other goals:
I stopped wearing my Fitbit when I switched to Fat Secret instead of My Fitness Pal, so I don't know how many steps I've been getting. I found that the Fitbit doesn't motivate me to move more--I just wore it to keep track of steps--so I really didn't see the point in wearing it.

My binge-free days are adding up! I am at 316 days staying binge-free as of today. There have been several times where I felt very close to a binge, but I've still managed to hold on to the self-control before it gets out of hand.

As far as my goal of cooking a new recipe every week, I'm still going strong. Yesterday, I made a Kenyan Stew with ugali. I was sent a running memoir to read and review on the blog (I'll post it next month) and it's about a woman who traveled for a year and spent time running with people from several different running cultures. She includes some recipes in the book of things that she ate, and the Kenyans she ran with taught her to make stew with ugali. It was VERY simple, but so good! I'll post more about that on the book review.

I also started reading a book called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (Amazon affiliate link), after someone suggested it in a blog comment. It's SO inspiring to make you want to clean and organize. I started with my sock drawer about a week ago, which sounds very simple, but I can't believe what a difference it's made. It took me about an hour to organize it, but just seeing it nice and neat each morning actually makes my mood better.

This morning, I went to Lowe's and bought two long shelves for my closet (10 feet long each). I decided to fold Jerry's and my clothes and place them on shelves instead of hanging everything. Our closet is fairly big, but all of our clothes were crammed in there on hangers, and it just looked like a big mess. Again, I forgot to take a "before" picture--bummer!

I spent the morning hanging the shelves (I love using power tools!) and then taking ALL of my clothes off of the hangers and putting them into the closet neatly folded. It was definitely very time-consuming, but it was a great thing to do on a rainy day. I'm not totally finished (my back was killing me, so I'm going to finish it up tomorrow), but it already looks a million times better. I can't believe how much better everything fits when it's not on hangers. I kept just a small section for hanging up a few things--dresses and jackets.

Anyway, I've been doing what I can to stay busy all week, and it's worked out really well in helping my mindset get back to what it was when I felt like maintenance was pretty effortless. I'm really excited to be under my goal weight going into summer--I think this is the first time I've ever started summer under my goal weight! (In 2013, I was only a few pounds over.)

Continue Reading...

Journaling and speed work

I don't want to jinx anything, but ever since I stopped the no-grocery-shopping challenge last Monday, I've been doing really well with my eating. I've been eating what I really want, feeling satisfied with normal-sized portions, and my calories have been at a good maintenance level. (And interestingly enough, I've been craving fruits and vegetables more than ever this week.)

At my last therapy session, my therapist wanted me to start writing down the times where I feel urges to overeat or binge (or just eat when not hungry), and what I was doing before I got the urge. I've been doing it all week, and it's been very interesting, if nothing else!

Something I hadn't really paid attention to is how much cues from TV or books or radio trigger those thoughts. I always assumed my bingeing was from emotional eating, but a lot of the urges have come from seeing someone eating ice cream on a movie, for example. It's like an instant switch goes on inside of me that makes me want ice cream--and not just a small portion, but the mentality of "I'll just eat ALL the ice cream!" kind of thinking. Lesson? Maybe I should watch less TV ;)

I know keeping a diet or binge journal is something that pretty much every article you read about the subject tells you to do... but I've never actually done it, because it sounded kind of dumb. I never expected to actually learn anything new about myself. I already knew that stress and anxiety were triggers, but I had no idea that seeing someone eat or reading about someone eating was a trigger.

I also didn't expect that the simple act of jotting down a few notes (literally about 2-3 fragmented sentences) about what I was doing before an urge would actually stop the urge very quickly. Almost by the time I get done writing it down, I no longer feel like I'm fighting an urge. As cliche as the advice to keep a binge urge journal is, I highly recommend trying it for a couple of days--you might be surprised about what you find out!

---

Jerry started his 12-week training plan for his half-marathon yesterday. He's never done speed work before, but I included a little in his plan each week just to keep him from being bored. Today was his first interval workout, and he was SO nervous--it was funny! But I totally get it, because I get super nervous before my speed work sessions, too ;)

He did awesome! It was a mile warm-up, then 10 x 60 seconds fast, with 90 second recoveries. I knew exactly how it would go, and I even told him my predictions--he would do his warm-up too fast, because of nerves, then do his first interval too fast, because it's hard to gauge how long you can hold a fast pace. Then he would jog the first recovery, even though I told him to walk. He'd realize just how hard it was, and walk the rest of the recoveries. After I told him my prediction, he said he'd prove me wrong. Well, we laughed when he got back, because I was 100% correct! haha. When I do short intervals, I always walk the recoveries, because the intervals are much harder than they read on paper.

When he finished his workout, he said it was very difficult, but he felt really good about it. Seeing him sweaty and exhausted made me want to do a tough workout, too, so I decided to do the exact same workout. I haven't done much speed work lately, because I'm not training for anything, so I had no idea how it would go.  (I totally wasn't thinking of the fact that I just did my longest run in a couple of months yesterday--six miles--so my legs were probably tired enough.)

Well, let's just say it did not go as I'd hoped. I jogged a mile for a warm-up (too fast, because nerves); then struggled through a 6:40-ish pace for 60 seconds. (The last time I did this workout, my pace was in the very low 6:00's.) I started walking, and realized that my recoveries were set for 60 seconds instead of 90, and I really wished they'd been at 90. I made it through just three intervals before I called Jerry to come pick me up!

I was not feeling good at all. I barely got any sleep last night, so that may have been why; but it could be the fact that I haven't been training hard and my weight is up about six pounds from when I was at my peak 10K training. Probably a combination of it all. Some runs just suck, and today's was definitely a sucky one.

I don't expect to be in top running shape year-round, of course! Even elites gain about 10 pounds in the off season and slow their paces/decrease their mileage. Through the summer, my biggest priority is to keep my weight at or under 133, since that is what I have the toughest time with (weight gain in the summer). If I can do that, and I decide that I want to race in the fall, I think I'll be able to get back into racing shape without too much struggle. I think I can probably consider the low 120's my "racing weight", and the high 120's to low 130's my "normal weight"--and I'm good with that.

I'm excited to work on my Summer Running checklist this summer! It starts on Monday, and I would love for people to join me in checking off some fun runs. Amanda left a comment on the last post that I should create a hashtag for people to use when sharing their runs on social media, and I LOVE that idea! So, if you are doing the checklist runs, and you share to social media, it would be awesome if you use the hashtag #CookiesSummerRunning. :)

---

I was thinking this morning about how we've had Joey for almost a year and a half now--it's gone by so fast! He's such a good dog, and I never dreamed how much the boys would become attached to him.

The kids have loved playing hide-and-seek with Joey. Noah takes Joey into his bedroom and closes the door, while Eli hides somewhere in the house with a treat. When Eli yells, "Ready!" it's like watching a bull being released from his pen at a bullfight. Joey tears through the house, looking in each room, until he finds Eli's hiding spot and gets his treat. Then the kids switch, and Noah hides while Eli waits with Joey. It's so cute to watch!

Continue Reading...

Summer Running Checklist

I've been working on a project for the last couple of days, and I'm excited to share it with you! I was out for a run last week when I started thinking about how miserable running in the summertime can be. When it's 85 degrees and humid, the last thing I want to do is go for a run.

I tried to come up with ideas about how I could make running in the summer a little more fun. After I hit my big 10K goal in April, I didn't set another running goal. I worked so hard all winter to reach that goal, and right now, I'd rather just run to stay in shape and feel good about myself. So, rather than trying to stick with a training plan when I'm not really training for anything, I came up with an alternative: a checklist of fun runs.

It was easy to come up with 10 or 15 different runs, but after that, I really had to use my imagination. I got some inspiration from Smashrun's "badge" list, but beyond that, I just tried to think of things that would make a run more fun. I put the entire list into a PDF checklist, so that it's easily printable, and I'd love for people to join me in working on the checklist this summer! There are 49 items total. Here is the list... (click here for the PDF)

Sunrise Run	Start your run before sunrise, and end it after
Sunset Run	Start your run before sunset, and and it after
Early Bird Run	Start your run before 7:00 AM
Night Owl Run	Finish your run after 9:00 PM
RUNch	Start your run between 12 PM and 2 PM
Evening Run	Start your run between 5 PM and 7 PM
Race	Enter a race (any distance) and run it
Run in the Dark	Go for run when it’s dark outside (wear reflective gear and a headlamp for safety)
Runventure	Map a route that you’ve never done before, and run it
Multi-City Run	Map out and run a route that takes place in two cities
Trail Run	Run on a nature trail
Park Run	Go for a run in a park
Explorer Run	Run in a city you’ve never run in before
Beach Run	Find some place that you can run along a body of water
Track Run	Run on a local track (indoor or outdoor)
Scenic Run	Choose a pretty place to run, and run slowly enough to really pay attention to all the views
Hilly Run	Find a hill, and run up then walk down 6-10 times
Treadmill Run	It doesn’t have to be boring! Hop on the treadmill and vary the speed and incline for an interesting indoor run.
Bridge Run	Run over a bridge of some sort
Aqua Jog	Run in a pool or lake (or any body of water you choose)
Opposite Run	Run your favorite route in the opposite direction
Rover Run	Go for a run with a dog (if you don’t have one, call a local animal shelter and ask if you can take one for a run)
Buddy Run	Run with a friend
Group Run	Run with two or more people
Child’s Play Run	Take your child, niece, nephew, grandchild or other child for a fun run (with his/her parents’ permission, of course)
Photogenic Run	Stop and take 2 scenic photos per mile during your run
Scavenger Hunt Run	Create a list of items you must search for on your run; then take a photo of each to document your findings.
Selfie Run	Take a mid-run selfie (carefully, so you don’t trip!)
Penny Pincher Run	Find a penny on the ground while you’re running
Podcast Run	Download a new podcast and listen to it while you run
Silent Run	Run without headphones
Stone Age Run	Run without any sort of technology (not even a watch!)
Zoo Run	See if you can spot five different types of animal species on your run
Generous Run	Leave a few quarters in random places on your run for others to find (it’s always fun to find a quarter!)
Run/Walk	Do 50/50 intervals of running and walking
Rainy Run	Go for a run in the rain
Forrest Gump Run	Run without a predetermined distance—just run until you feel like stopping. Arrange ahead of time for a family member or friend to pick you up when you’re done.
Even Split Run	Run 3+ miles with mile splits of less than 5 seconds difference
Progression Run	Run 3+ miles with each mile faster than the previous
Fartlek Run	Vary the speed of your run by “sprinting to the mailbox”, “jogging to the tree”, “running hard until you see a red car”, etc. Make it up as you go along—it should be spontaneous and fun.
Tempo Run	Run slightly faster than your easy pace—roughly the pace you could hold for a 1-hour race.
Interval Run	Alternate running hard for 2 mins, then jog for 2 mins.
**Full Moon Run	Go for a run at sunset on the night of a full moon (July 19, Aug. 18, or Sept. 16)
**Solstice Run	Start your run in spring, and end it in summer (June 20, at 6:34 pm EDT, marks the beginning of summer)
**Independence Run	Run on the 4th of July. Wear red, white, and blue.
**Ice Cream Run	Map out a run that finishes at an ice cream stand—and run for ice cream on National Ice Cream Day (July 17)
**Beer Run	Go for a run on International Beer Day (Aug. 26) and finish with a cold beer (or buy one for a friend)
**Chocolate Run	Go for a run on International Chocolate Day (Sept. 13) and enjoy something chocolatey later to celebrate
**Fall Equinox Run	End your summer by running into fall at 10:21 AM (EDT) on Sept. 22.

With 49 runs different runs on the list, I could work on 3-4 of these a week for the entire summer! (Please put safety first if you decide to try these--if it's not safe to run in the dark where you live, for example, just skip that one or come up with an alternative.) Even if you're not a runner, nearly all of these are able to be done as a walker. 

Summer officially begins on June 20th, which is a week from tomorrow--so I'll kick off the summer running with the Solstice Run (actually, I'll do two runs that day, in order to get my badge on Smashrun). I think this will be a fun way to have a running goal without being so serious. The variety will make things interesting all summer long. Usually, I am following a training schedule, so this summer will be different for me, and after creating this list, I'm looking forward to it!

ETA: Reader Amanda suggested having a hashtag for the checklist, so that as people complete the different runs and post them on social media, we can see how others' do with their runs--I love that idea! So let's go with the hashtag #CookiesSummerRunning. If you post about your runs from the checklist on social media, please use the hashtag so we can follow along and get some other ideas! :)

Continue Reading...

Success Story Saturday (a possible new series)

I'll get to the Success Story Saturday idea below, but I wanted to share this first. I stopped doing the Motivational Monday series months ago, because I just wasn't receiving many submissions anymore, and I think the series kind of ran its course. I really enjoyed reading about people's accomplishments, though, and I still love getting emails from readers who tell me about running their first 5K or hitting a big weight loss milestone, etc.

I received this email from Allison recently, and since she mentioned that she had always hoped she'd be able to submit a MM post one day, I really wanted to share her accomplishment!

Here is what she wrote:

"Good morning! 

I have been a reader of your website for years. I have followed your journey and really look forward to reading your blogs and seeing your adventures!! Since finding your website I always hoped that at one point I'd be able to submit a "Motivational" post. I have struggled with my weight like so many others. I was never truly interested in fitness and ate what I thought was a balanced diet. In January of this year I had my lightbulb moment... I would be turning 35, and I decided to start a workout routine and promised myself I wouldn't give it up like I have so many times before. I have lost 19 lbs so far and am just 15 lbs from my goal weight. I have two amazing sons, 13 and 10 and I want to set an example for them above anything else.

This morning I ran my first 5K!! It was a Navy sponsored run here at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, called the Fallen Heroes 5K. I signed up weeks ago and spent this month preparing for it the best I could. Here in South Texas the month of May can we pretty brutal weather wise. I set a personal goal to finish in 45 minutes, with a walk/run. Despite a heat index of 94 degrees with 95% humidity I finished with a time of 39 minutes :) It felt great and I am already looking forward to signing up for more races and seeing how I can improve my time!"

 A huge congrats to Allison on her first 5K!

---

Allison's email reminded me of something I'd been thinking about for a while, and I think I'm ready to start it now. I would like to start a series called Success Story Saturday, which is a branch off of the Motivational Monday series. I receive a lot of emails from people who have been extremely successful in losing weight and/or fitness, and it's really motivating to read!

Success Story Saturday would be a series of guest posts that feature some of these people who have made big improvements in their lives. While I intended Motivational Monday to be centered around smaller weekly goals, I would like Success Story Saturday to be more about the big changes that have changed someone's entire life.

I won't be posting these every Saturday, but once in a while I thought it would be fun to have a guest post with someone's "success story". If this sounds like you, here is how you can submit a guest post for consideration:

• Send me an email at SSS (at) runsforcookies (dot) com with your success story (written in first person). I may edit for length, spelling, etc., but I will basically copy and paste the email to a post. 
• Include a 2-3 sentence bio in your email, so I can include that at the end of your post. If you want to include a link to your personal blog or social media, you can add that as well. (Example bio: "Katie is a stay-at-home mom of two boys and can usually be found running or face first in a pile of cookies. You can find her around the web at...")
• Attach 2-4 photos (no collages, please, but a side-by-side comparison photo would be okay).
• Please keep the story to 1000 words or less. 

Here are a few examples of stories I've shared in the past, so you can get an idea of what I'm looking for:

Andrea's story

Jen's story

Nathan's story

Paige's story

Your story doesn't have to be about a large weight loss, or about running. Maybe you overcame depression by making some healthy lifestyle changes, or maybe you used strength training to completely transform your body, or maybe you quit excessive drinking and started hiking instead, etc. I'm just looking for inspirational stories of positive lifestyle changes to share! 

Continue Reading...

Week 43 Weigh-in

I almost completely forgot to post a weigh-in today! My Wednesday Weigh-in ritual has changed a lot since I started doing the moving average weight instead of my actual Wednesday weight, so it's actually pretty easy to forget.

Like I mentioned yesterday, I have not had a good week as far as my eating goes. I was having such a hard time feeling satisfied without eating what I truly wanted (due to the no-grocery-shopping challenge). I hadn't realized how important eating what I was craving was in staying binge-free and maintaining my weight--by eating what I really want, I feel more satisfied with smaller portions, and I don't go looking for snacks between meals. When I don't eat what I'm really craving, I could probably eat everything in the house and not feel satisfied. Hopefully that makes sense.

I went to the grocery store yesterday and bought some things that I'd been craving, and it was like my mood did a 180. I felt so much better! And I had no problem keeping my calories in check yesterday, either. I was starting to get worried, because my weight has been going up each week. This week, I saw the 130's for the first time in a few months.

Last week, my moving average was 129, and today it was 130. Hopefully, now that I've figured out the issue with overeating, I'll stop seeing the upward trend. I had another good day today, feeling very satisfied with my food, and I didn't overeat at all. It's interesting, though--last night, I knew I could have anything that I wanted for a bedtime treat, and I chose grapes. Haha! I have been back on a grape kick lately (I used to eat a TON of them). I love grapes!

While I definitely do better with my eating when I plan it all out, I am surprised at how well I've been doing while running without a schedule. I've just been winging it, and my only real "rule" is that I don't go more than two days without a run. I've kept my runs to 3-5 miles, which is the distance I am happiest doing. And I've been going at all different times of the day, which is kind of nice! I used to feel like I had to get it done first thing in the morning, but since I'm not really training for anything right now, I've just been doing what feels "right".

Eli got up early again this morning to get in his run before school, and I went with him. He said he wanted to beat his time from Monday (on Monday, he ran half a mile in 6:50). So we picked up the pace just a touch, and then when we got back to our street, he picked it up a little more to beat his time. He finished today's run in 6:06.

Tomorrow, the kids have a half day of school, and then they are out for the summer! Eli is super excited, but Noah said he's going to miss seeing his friends every day. I'm actually really looking forward to them being off, as long as I can keep them from fighting with each other. I can't believe that 2016 is almost halfway over, though.

We don't have any big plans for the summer until Labor Day. We'll be going to Virginia Beach to meet up with a lot of the From Fat to Finish Line community at the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. We haven't done a family vacation since we went to Punta Cana in 2014, so I'm really excited about Virginia Beach (we've never been there, so it'll be a fun new place to explore, too).

Anyway, I have to cut this short because the kids have baseball games again tonight. Here are a few pictures of my kitties :) I've made my bed every single day since I redecorated my room, but today I was in a rush and forgot to do it. When I went in there to do it a little later, Phoebe had taken a napping spot right next to my pillow, and I didn't have the heart to disturb her, so the bed went unmade today.

And normally, Phoebe and Estelle can't stand being near each other, but they both love my bed so much that they share it--as long as they are at opposite ends ;)

And Chandler just avoids all the female drama, choosing to hang out in the cat tree instead.

Joey was totally jealous that I was taking pictures of the cats instead of paying attention to him, so I took his picture, too. This is what he does when he wants my attention. He sits right in front of me and wags his tail. He usually ends up getting a treat ;)

Well, gotta head out to the boys' baseball games!

Continue Reading...

A 5K plan and update on grocery challenge

Noah and Eli had great games yesterday! I was pretty much obsessed with this little basset puppy at Eli's games...

He was so cute! He kept grabbing a blanket and playing tug of war with himself.

---

I'm glad to see that there is so much interest in the 5K plan that I wrote! There are a ton of 5K plans around the internet for beginner runners, as well as experienced (fast) runners; but I realized there really aren't many that are geared toward experienced runners who are at the middle or back of the pack and want to improve their times. Just because some people may be slower doesn't mean they are inexperienced or aren't trying to improve their times!

So, that was my focus for the 5K plan I just wrote--experienced middle-of-the-pack runners who are looking to improve their finish times. I listed pace suggestions for sub-40, sub-35, sub-30, and sub-25... but the plan can be accommodated to other goals as well. You basically just need to figure out what pace you need to run to hit your goal (whatever it may be) and use that pace for the "key" workouts in the plan.

There are lots of pace calculators to help figure that out, including this one. Just enter your goal time and the distance (5K) and it will give you a goal pace.

Anyway, I created a page called Training Plans on my blog (which you can find in the tabs below my banner), and I posted the link to download the plan there. It's in PDF format for easy printing. I included instructions that (hopefully) explain it really well.

Even though it was a lot of work, I really enjoyed writing the plan, and I'd love to make some more. When I do, I will add them to that page. If you use the plans, please feel free to give me some feedback (good or bad) of what you thought. If there is a particular plan that you'd like to see, let me know, and I may write it in the future.

---

So... I decided to end the no-grocery-shopping challenge now instead of doing it through the end of June. It's only been a couple of weeks, but it's really messing with my intuitive eating habits. I was doing SO good with eating what I really wanted over the last 10 months, and that really helped me to stay binge-free.

Since I've been limiting myself by not buying groceries, I've really been struggling with overeating. I haven't actually binged, but I've come very close and I'm scared I'll ruin my binge-free streak soon. My weight has been in the low-130's all week, which isn't bad (still under my goal weight), but it's climbing and I really don't want it to continue going up!

I hate even writing about this, because I don't want to sound whiny, but there is no way around it--it's the truth. This time of year is SO hard for me as it is, and then when I add the no-grocery-shopping challenge to it, I think it's just too much for me. So, rather than continue to complain about it for the rest of the month, I'm choosing to end the challenge early.

I don't plan to go hog wild at the grocery store or anything, but there are some things I've been craving that I haven't eaten because of the challenge. I think what I'd like to do from now on is to shop several times a week, and only buy the things we'll be using within a couple of days. That way, I won't be buying more than we'll use, and I can continue to work on using up what we have in the pantry right now.

I'd like to try to get my weight back down to about 128 (I would love to see 125 again, but I won't push my luck, haha). At 128, I have a 5-pound cushion under my goal weight, so a splurge here and there doesn't cause any damage. Right now, I'm just a splurge away from being over my goal weight, and I really don't want that. I'm going to buy a few of my favorite foods tonight, and fit them into my meal plan for the week--hopefully that will help me to be satisfied with less food.

I did get kind of hooked on vegetable fried rice thanks to the challenge, though ;) I've been including more veggies each time, and it's SO good--I love sugar snap peas and mushrooms best, but I've included several other veggies, too. And I'm still addicted to avocado toast! It amazes me just how good two simple items are together (Ezekiel bread, toasted, with smashed avocado on top). I wish avocados didn't go bad so quickly, though--I just use half of one each time I make toast.

This is my current favorite--topped with crushed red pepper!

Anyway, the challenge wasn't a total failure--we did make a big dent in what we had in the pantry. And I discovered a few new recipes that I love (Pineapple Fried Rice was my favorite!). But I am glad to be able to eat what I'm really craving.

Continue Reading...

Quick Monday Bullets

Eli has a double-header game tonight, and Noah has a single game, so I am just going to write a quick post of bullets about the weekend. Nothing much was happening this weekend anyway!

• On Saturday morning, I went to some city wide garage sales with the kids and my mom. I haven't been to garage sales in a long time! I didn't have much luck on Saturday, other than a couple of pairs of jeans. I got a bunch of nice Under Armour sweatshirts for Noah to wear in the fall for $1 each, which was a great score. Eli found a Lego set (a 184-piece Batman set) for 50 cents (and it wound up having all the pieces included!) For 50 cents, it was definitely a risk worth taking. 

• At one of the sales, I bought a new plastic pool for $5 for Joey. I'd been wanting to buy one for him, but they're too big to fit in my Jeep. We had my mom's car on Saturday, and we managed to fit the pool in the back. When we got home, the boys wanted to fill it up right away. Joey, being part lab that loves water, jumped in right away.

• Jerry went to a friend's birthday party on Saturday night, and the kids stayed at my parents' house, so I had the house to myself. I had been up since 3:30 in the morning (insomnia), so I just stayed in and watched a couple of Lifetime movies. It felt kind of good to do nothing, but I was feeling restless when it was finally time to go to bed.

• On Sunday morning, I really wanted to have a doughnut for breakfast and have a lazy morning with Jerry; but, I managed to avoid a doughnut and go out for a run instead. I'm really glad I did! I felt much more energetic when I was done with my run. I did five miles, and it was one of those runs that just felt really good the entire time. My pace ended up being 10:02/mile with a heart rate of 144 (goal is under 146), so I was very happy with that. I stopped seeing big improvements in my pace during heart rate training, so I wasn't sure if I hit a plateau or what. But I honestly don't mind--if my easy run pace stays at 10:00 or even 11:00 forever, I'm happy with that. 

• It's really difficult to keep my heart rate from jumping when I run these days, because it's prime bird season. They get really territorial, and I'm terrified of them dive-bombing me. I haven't had any close encounters this year (yet), but each time I get to a spot where they've been mean or attacked me in the past, my heart rate spikes. I found that when I run with headphones, I'm less anxious, because I don't hear them squawking at me. I forgot my headphones the last couple of times I ran, though.

• We had a pretty relaxing day at home yesterday. I've been working really hard on a 5K plan that I want to post on my blog. It's an 80/20 plan to run a sub-30 5K (I've also included paces for sub-40, sub-35, and sub-25). It's actually been really fun to work on! I'll see how it goes over, and if people like it, maybe I'll write some more plans to share. I will get that one posted soon.

• I'm going to follow the plan that I just wrote and see how I like it. The hardest part was getting the 80/20 ratio to work out correctly. I am really happy with what I wrote, though, and it made me want to follow the schedule myself! haha. Mondays are rest days, so the first run of the plan is actually tomorrow. 

• I wrote a couple of plans for Noah and Eli to follow this summer as well. I wrote a 10K schedule for Noah, so he'll be ready to run his first 10K in October; and I wrote a 5K schedule for Eli to be prepared to run a 5K race in August. He's never actually followed a training plan, and I want him to get used to it. Our cross country practices will start in mid-August, so he'll be ahead of the game when we start, which is nice!

• Today, Eli started with his plan, and he had 0.5 miles on his schedule. He asked me to run it with him, so we got up at 6:00 and headed out right away. If we run two blocks from our house (a big square) it's exactly half a mile, so that's what we did. It was nice! I wish *my* runs were only half a mile ;)

Okay, I've got to get the boys fed and ready for baseball. Busy night!

Continue Reading...

Our own little field trip

Noah's last track meet was yesterday, so things should be calming down a bit for the summer. It was kind of crazy for a few weeks, with both track and baseball going on. I managed to get an awesome picture of Noah at his meet yesterday. If he would just wear running shorts, he'd look like an elite in this photo! ;)

He was running the 70-meter dash here, and he finished in 11 seconds--which means he was running about 14 miles per hour. I honestly don't think I could do that, even if it was for just 70 meters!

Noah said he doesn't want to do track again next year, because he likes running on the road and grass better than on the track, and he likes the longer distances (at a slower pace). I don't blame him--the track meet is a LOT of just sitting around and waiting for his events, and then it's over in (literally) 11 seconds.

Noah did say that he wants to run the Rock 'n' Roll 5K in Virginia Beach when we go down there for Labor Day. Jerry is going to run the half-marathon, so I think it would be awesome if Noah wants to do the 5K. Noah even set his alarm for 5:30 this morning so that he could get up and run two miles with Jerry before school. He hasn't run long distances in a while, so I wasn't even sure he'd make it two miles--but when he got home, they'd not only finished, but at a 10:00/mile pace!

I headed out for a run as soon as they got back, and for some reason, I decided to wear shorts (actual shorts, not my tight running capris) this morning. I've only ever run in them one time (the loose skin on my thighs makes shorts uncomfortable). I figured since I've been running really slowly for heart rate training, maybe I could wear them without any issues (less jiggling).

This was a more flattering angle than from the front! haha

Wow, you can really see the under-pronation (supination) of my left foot in that photo! It's something I'm always conscious of when I run, but I can't seem to correct it. It doesn't physically bother me, so I'm not really worried about it. Anyway, the shorts weren't too uncomfortable, but I was very self-conscious in them. I feel much better in my tight capris.

Noah had a field trip today, and Jerry was chaperoning. Eli was bummed out because he didn't get a single field trip this year (usually, they have two or three). I told him that he could stay home from school today and we would go to the dairy farm to see the animals and get ice cream--sort of a field trip of our own. We made this plan before our no-grocery-shopping challenge, so the ice cream today didn't count against us! ;)

I asked a friend of mine if she and her son wanted to join us, and they did. It was a gorgeous day to go to the farm! We got there just as a school bus was arriving (it's a popular place for a field trip). Eli and I both like feeding the goats.

We usually avoid the pond with geese when we go, because the geese can be really mean, but Eli's friend wanted to feed the fish. I had no idea there were enormous carp in the water, and that ended up being Eli's favorite part of the farm.

It was a fun day with Eli, and Noah had a blast with Jerry on his field trip. Next week is the kids' last week of school! (I cannot believe they will both be in the middle school next year--that is just crazy).

Continue Reading...

RECIPE: Ham and Swiss Bubble Up Casserole

I've been kind of obsessed with the "bubble up" casserole variations that are floating around food blogs. Basically, the only constant ingredient is biscuit dough--all the other ingredients are varied to make all sorts of different casseroles. Anyway, I had a bag of shredded swiss cheese in my fridge that I needed to use up before it went bad, and so I decided to make my own variation of a bubble up casserole... Ham & Swiss!  It turned out to be absolutely delicious (probably my favorite bubble up I've made so far).

Click here for the printer-friendly PDF


Ham & Swiss Bubble Up Casserole

2 small (8 oz) cans of buttermilk biscuits (the kind that are 3 biscuits per serving)
8 oz. diced ham
4 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 cups milk (I used whole fat milk)
6 oz. shredded swiss cheese
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese

Cut each biscuit in half, and then in half again (so you get four pieces from each biscuit) and put them in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Toss the ham into the dish as well. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add the butter. When the butter is melted, add the flour and stir until smooth. Add the Italian seasoning, and very gradually stir in the milk. Stir constantly while you add the milk, so that it stays smooth and you keep the roux from being clumpy. Once all the milk has been added, heat until it just comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the cheeses. Stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.

Pour the cheese sauce into the casserole dish, and stir to combine the biscuits, ham, and cheese sauce. (It will look like there is way too much sauce, but the biscuits will "bubble up" while baking.) Bake uncovered for about 20-30 minutes (take it out when the biscuits just start to brown on the edges of the dish).

Continue Reading...