Weekly Wrap-Up: Week 5 of Half Marathon Training

Let me start by saying that this week was everything that last week was not. Last week, I was bitter and dreaded running like you wouldn't believe. Thankfully, this week was much better!

I've made it through five whole weeks of training, and I haven't strayed from the schedule even once :)

My schedule for this week was as follows:

Tuesday - Speed work (Tempo Run)
Wednesday - 3 miles easy
Friday - 3 miles easy
Sunday - 7 mile long run

The roads were still very icy at the beginning of the week, and I was just praying that they would clear up before my long run today.

Tuesday - Tempo Run

10 minutes easy pace
15 minutes at tempo pace (hard enough to want to slow down, but not so hard that I want to die)
10 minutes easy pace

I always get a little nervous for tempo runs, because they are uncomfortable. They are the most helpful runs as far as training goes, though (at least for me), so they are necessary.

I started with 10 minutes at 5.0 mph (12:00/mi pace). Then I switched to my tempo pace--last time, I ran at 6.0 mph (10:00/mi) but I felt like I probably should have gone a little faster. So, I decided to run at 6.2 mph (9:40/mile) and see how I felt.

Surprisingly, I felt pretty good! It was tough enough that I was slightly uncomfortable, but I knew that I would be able to finish it. My heart rate was in the low 160's, which was right where I would like it to be for that run. Next time, I may try 6.3 mph.

After the tempo portion, I switched back to 12:00/mile. Finished!

Wednesday - Easy Run

3 miles at an easy pace

This run, I got fed up with the heart rate monitor. It was giving me erratic readings, probably because the battery was low. And I still have no idea how the HR monitor affects the pace on the watch (I remember reading about it a long time ago, and never really got an answer). But the pace was off as well, so while I was running, I just took off the monitor completely.

I ran at 5.5 mph (11:00/mile) for most of the run, until the end when I bumped it up just a little to get it done faster. When I was done with my run, I started looking online for a new heart rate monitor for my Garmin. I had looked before, but they are so expensive to replace! After lots of reading, I decided to go back to the old school monitor that I wore when I had the Garmin Forerunner 305.

It arrived in the mail in time for my next run! There is no monitor to snap on and off from the strap. It stays in one whole piece.

The front half (the part that goes under your boobs) of it is a rubbery/plastic material, which I find more comfortable than the newer version.

The clasp is nice--instead of sliding the elastic into a hook, you clip this in place...

The difference between the two (as far as the features go) is just that the newer model (it's commonly called the "soft strap" version) gives you readings such as ground contact time (how long your foot touches the ground when running), vertical oscillation (how high your body goes up in the air as you run), and it supposedly has an accelerometer in it so that you don't need a foot pod when running indoors.

Those features mean nothing to me--even though I absolutely love numbers and data, the ground contact time and vertical oscillation just don't turn me on. I never, ever look at those numbers. I also remembered the old school strap being more comfortable--I didn't get any chafing from it. And the battery is ten thousand times easier to change out.

As I mentioned last week, the soft strap HR monitor has four TINY screws to open the battery compartment, and it is nearly impossible to unscrew them without stripping the screws. I've "ruined" three of them that way. The old school strap is super easy--you just use a coin to turn the backing and it pops right off.

After using this again, I am so glad I made the switch! It's MUCH cheaper to buy, too--I got this Garmin strap for $16, versus $43 for the premium version I was using before. From the reviews I've read, these old school ones are better quality and last much longer than the newer ones, too. Sometimes old school is just the way to go ;)

Anyway, onward with my training...

Friday - Easy Run

3 miles at an easy pace

The ice melted!! I finally, finally got to run outside. This was the only run that I was procrastinating this week. I just didn't feel like running. I was super tired (I hadn't slept well at all) and I wanted to be lazy. I nearly talked myself into waiting until Saturday to do it, but I don't want to get into that habit of pushing my runs to the next day for no real reason.

I headed outside, and running outside was SO nice. I was absolutely freezing, though--the wind was strong, and it was really cold out. I should have dressed warmer, but it was only three miles. I stopped at my mom's house about a mile in because she asked me to feed her cat, and then finished the run.

I hadn't looked at my watch the entire time I ran, because I was truly curious to see what my outdoor pace was compared to the treadmill. I ran at a pace that felt similar to what I typically run on the treadmill. Nothing feels SUPER easy these days, treadmill or not, but I certainly didn't feel like I was pushing the pace too hard.

I was shocked, then, when I saw that my average pace was 10:01 for the three miles! I was thrilled that the treadmill at least wasn't making me get slower (not that it would, but it's hard to know how it will affect my outdoor running when I don't run outdoors for a while).

Anyway, it was a good run!

Sunday - Long Run

7 miles at an easy pace

This was my best (and favorite) run of the week! Last night, we got snow--and I was so bummed when I looked outside and saw the roads were covered. I thought I'd be doing my long run on the treadmill, and that was totally disheartening. The temps were supposed to warm to the mid-30's, so I hoped it would be enough to melt the snow by the afternoon.

I was in luck! I headed out at 1:30 pm, and the roads were clear. I really focused on running an easy pace, so that I didn't end up going too fast and hating it. I listened to a podcast while I ran, instead of music, so that I would be more likely to run slowly.

I also ran a route that I don't do very often, because I thought the change would help the mileage go by quickly. And it worked! I felt like the whole run went by so fast. I really enjoyed the run itself, which is rare for me. It felt amazing to be running outside again!

This run was a big confidence builder for me, too. When I first started training again, the thought of running even five miles was daunting. Running seven today means I ran more than half the distance I'll run on race day--exciting!

Next week's long run is eight miles, and that has always been an infamous distance for me. When I was a beginner running, it took me three tries to finish my eight-miler. When I finally did it, I was thrilled! And I have a fondness for that distance now ;)

So, the recap of the week in general is that I got in all my runs and my attitude was much better than last week. I'm going into next week with enthusiasm.

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Flashback Friday: What I Gave Up for Lent in 2010

Flashback Friday is a series I started recently where I share an old blog post--I have been writing a blog since 2000, and I thought it would be fun to go through past posts and share them here.

Keep in mind, always, that my thoughts and viewpoints have certainly changed over time. I may have written things that no longer apply, or aren't "politically correct", or whatever. I just mean these to be light-hearted posts that are fun to read and make fun of (or relate to, if it's a more serious post). These posts will be unedited, and my writing style probably embarrassing, but life would be pretty boring if we stayed the same all our lives.

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This post that I'm going to share is from April, 2010. I am not Catholic, or even particularly religious, but giving something up for Lent was a way to challenge myself--and you know I love to challenge myself! Considering Lent just started on Wednesday, I thought this was a good time to post about it.

For Lent in 2010, I decided to give up white flour. I had been losing weight for about seven months at the time, and had slowly started to develop healthier habits. I loved Dr. Oz then, and he was always talking about choosing whole grains over white flour, so I wanted to challenge myself to try it for 40 days, just to see what happened (if anything).

Here is a picture from just before Lent started in 2010...

I had always hated whole grains because they were... well, grainy. And back then, it wasn't like it is now--there were very few choices at the grocery store for things like 100% whole grain bread, bagels, pizza crust, pasta, or all of the things they have readily available now.

So, this was definitely challenging for me! When I was done, I wrote down some reflections of the 40 days I'd given up white flour...

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4/4/2010
Week 33, Day 5 (of my weight loss) -- A reflection on Lent

I just wanted to write a little about Lent. As you know, I'm not particularly religious or anything, but I chose to give something up for Lent this year. I wanted to pick something that would be really difficult, but also beneficial to give up. So I chose white flour.

I've always been very anti-whole-grain-stuff, because I just thought it tasted horrible. I ate white bread, white pasta, white rice, etc. I tried whole grain stuff years ago, and it was nasty. But since it's the "healthy thing" to do, I decided to eat only whole grains for Lent.

First of all, it's actually kind of difficult to find 100% whole wheat pasta. The name brands like Barilla have BLEND pastas, not the 100% whole wheat (where I live, anyway). The only brand I could find was the Kroger brand and also the Aldi brand. So I bought those and even after Lent started, I was really reluctant to try them. I avoided pasta for a couple of weeks because I "knew" I'd hate the whole wheat stuff!

To find healthy, low-calorie, 100% whole wheat bread is a struggle too. I finally found one that I liked that was just one point per slice, so I was happy with that.

I tried the Kroger brand 100% whole wheat pasta, and was floored that it tasted good to me! My tastes have changed a lot over the last 7 1/2 months. I can truly say that I don't miss the white pasta one bit.

The only thing I've really missed over the last 40 days is pretzels! I used to eat pretzels with mustard as a snack, and I've NEVER seen 100% whole wheat pretzels, so I just had to forget about them for Lent.

For "Pizza Fridays" at my house, we used to order pizza from a different pizza place every Friday. However, nobody makes 100% whole wheat crust, so I had to start making my own for Lent. I got a recipe for whole wheat pizza dough, and it was FANTASTIC. The whole family loved it.

I threw the ingredients into my bread machine and ran it on the dough cycle. The dough was ready and I could throw together a pizza very quickly. Jerry and I both agreed that it was much better than pizza from any pizza shop. And it was only 6 points for two slices of homemade pizza, versus 10 points for a crappy restaurant pizza.

If it weren't for Lent, I never would have given 100% whole wheat pasta a second chance. I never would have experimented with pizza dough. I would still be eating only white bread. I wouldn't use quinoa in place of rice now. Lent opened up a whole new lifestyle for me! There are a few things I'll go back to--like pretzels!--but I'm definitely going to be eating whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread and whole wheat pizza from now on!

Just a few noteables (about my current diet and exercise stuff):

DIET: Still on track with Weight Watchers. It's been 236 days since my last binge. I haven't even gone over my points in 236 days! I've been eating so much healthier than I ever imagined... without even consciously doing so. I eat mostly unprocessed foods. And I've discovered that my sweet tooth has all-but vanished :) Never thought that was possible, but it proves that you can change your taste buds. Some things that I used to love are now sickeningly sweet to me.

EXERCISE: I'm still training for the half-marathon. I walked 7.6 miles yesterday for my long walk (I was supposed to do 7 miles, but I accidentally went too far, lol). I do a long walk on the weekends, and then during the week, I do a few runs. I need to train for the Warrior Dash in June, which is 3.3-ish miles of RUNNING + obstacles. Today I ran 1.6 miles. I've been increasing a little each week or so.

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And here is a photo from just after Lent ended in 2010...

It's kind of amazing what a difference can be made in 40 (or, in this case, 50) days. This difference is not just from eating whole grains--I was counting Weight Watchers Points, which accounts for the weight loss.

I got away from eating whole grains somewhere along the line, but reading this inspires me to give them a try again. I still eat the whole wheat pizza crust, because I love it, but there are some other things I could switch up!

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Making Some Quick Cash (and Tax Refund Plans!)

As most of us parents know, kids grow like weeds. It seems like we buy them clothes and two weeks later, the clothes are too small. Right?!

This past year, my kids have shot up like rockets. This first picture is from May 2017. The second picture is from January 2018. A nine month difference!

Noah needed some new shoes a couple weeks ago, and we went to the running store. You know what size shoe he wears now? ELEVEN. (The running store had their 2017 models on clearance, so he got a pair of Brooks for $58! They were normally $120. I was pretty excited about that.)

Anyway, Eli has grown just as quickly. The boys wear the same size clothes, which is convenient, except they each have completely different styles. Last summer, I went through their closets and pulled out all of the stuff that was too small for them, and bagged it up to take to Goodwill.

Except it just sat in my garage, because I am terrible at remembering to do stuff like that.

This month, I realized that I haven't saved much of my allowance at all lately. I have been treating Jerry and/or the kids to things here and there, and when I looked in my envelope, I had less than $100. I was used to having at least $300 or so.

I started thinking of ways I could make some cash, and I remembered the Buy & Sell page on Facebook that I belong to. It's basically a page where people who live locally can list items to sell, and then people can make arrangements to buy it. Unlike E-bay, there is no fee.

The first thing I thought of was the bag of clothes in the garage. I decided to go through them and pick out the nicer things to group into lots (based on size) and list them on the Facebook page. It took a couple of hours, but I washed and sorted the clothes and took pictures of everything. I listed two lots--one for boys' size medium (10/12) and another for boys' size large (14/16).

I wasn't looking to make a ton of money on them--I figured anything at all would be better than just giving them to Goodwill. I listed the larger lot (the size medium clothes) for $65, and the lot of large clothes for $35.

I sold them both within 24 hours! I arranged to meet the buyers in a public parking lot--one the following day, and one the day after that. And just like that, I had $100 cash.

A lot of people sell clothing items individually, but that just seems like much more work than it's worth. I prefer to group a bunch of things together and just deal with one buyer for the whole lot.

Now, I've been looking through my stuff to find other things to try and sell. I wish I had starting doing this a long time ago--we've donated or thrown out a ton of stuff over the years! Anyway, if you have things lying around that you don't want, you may want to check into a local Buy & Sell page. There are tons of them on Facebook.

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My friend Andrea (the Andrea from the film From Fat to Finish Line, not my local friend Andrea) invited me, Caitlin (from Boston), and Bonnie (from Virginia) to visit her for a girls weekend in Kansas City in May. We had such a fun girls weekend at my house in 2016 that I thought it was a great idea to get together again!

Andrea, Bonnie, and me (Caitlin had to leave early, before we got a pic of all of us.)

I looked at flights, and found one for 21,000 SkyMiles... and lo and behold, I happened to have 22,000 SkyMiles in my account. So, I booked a ticket, which only cost me $11.20 (for taxes)--I love getting tickets using my SkyMiles! And now I have a fun trip to look forward to. I haven't seen Bonnie or Andrea in a long time, and I can't wait to catch up.

If you are interested in learning about the Delta SkyMiles American Express card, you can read this post. I LOVE my card! (I am not affiliated with them in any way... I just happen to use the card and fly for free frequently. If you are interested in applying for one, I would be thrilled if you would use this referral link! I believe we both get bonus SkyMiles if you do.)

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For Valentine's Day yesterday, Jerry and I had a hot date with our tax guy. (If you're local to the Monroe area, his name is Bobby Zimmerman, at Mathewson's Tax Service in Carleton, and he's amazing! He's been doing our taxes for three years now, and has been super helpful. He also does financial planning, so I think Jerry and I will go see him when we get our debt paid off.)

We're getting a large tax return again this year, which is always exciting--$4800! We usually like to use this money for a family vacation and/or home improvements. On our list this year:

Our Boston family vacation:

- Flights (I used SkyMiles, so the flights cost a total of $44.80--the taxes--for all four of us)
- Hotels (for six nights, it'll be a total of $936 including taxes and fees)
- GoBoston cards (cards that cover the entrance fees for a ton of different things to do--$424--these are already paid for)
- Rental car ($95) and gas (roughly $100)
- Spending money (Undetermined, but we'll just need money for food; the GoBoston cards cover the activities that we plan on doing)
Total is about $1600 (but a little under $500 is already paid for) + spending money

Home improvements/repairs:

- A new front porch. The one we have is very old and warped, and needs to go. So while we're at it, we'd like to make a bigger one so we can put chairs on it. The scenery is so pretty, and it would be nice to enjoy it more often. I usually just sit on the steps. This will be roughly $1000 for the materials (Jerry and my brothers can do the labor).

- A new gas range (if you remember, our oven died in the summer). We've been using this countertop oven, and I actually really like it! It preheats in about two minutes, and we can fit almost everything in there that we could put in the regular oven. I've made everything from casseroles to toasted sandwiches to pies in it. But, it's probably time we replace the range. We don't need or want anything fancy, and the gas ranges I priced out were roughly $400-500.

- The rest will either go into savings or we may knock another thing or two off of our list of home improvement projects.

I like deciding where all the money is going before we even get the return. It's nice to remember exactly what we spent the money on, instead of spending a little here and there and having nothing to show for it.

We've got some exciting stuff coming up! :)

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RECIPE: Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

I never thought I would like whole wheat pizza crust, but in 2010, I gave up white flour for 40 days, and I was forced to try new things. This pizza crust is amazing! As a fan of white flour, I never thought I'd like this, but I still use this recipe when I make pizza.

Click here for the recipe's printer-friendly PDF

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup hot water
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. yeast (one packet)

Directions:

Combine in a bowl until a ball forms and cover with plastic wrap. (Or you could use a bread machine, which is what I usually do). Let the dough rise for 15-20 minutes.

Spread out dough on a pizza pan (you may need to add a little more flour to keep it from being too sticky) and bake at 475 F for about 5-8 minutes.

Then add your toppings, and bake again until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. Makes 4 servings.

Notes: I like to divide the dough into four small balls, and then we each get to make our own mini pizzas with the toppings we like. My favorite is green pepper and feta cheese! Below is a margherita pizza with fresh mozzarella and basil.

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Weekly Wrap-Up: Week 4 of Half Marathon Training

Wow, it's been a while since I've written! Jerry was off work Friday-Sunday, so I spent very little time on the computer. I've also been doing a lot of sewing in my spare time--not making anything in particular, but doing clothing alterations (my latest "hobby", I guess! ha).

Anyway, I'm not even going to try to catch up on everything, but I'd still like to post my training wrap-up for the week.

Week 4 was a step-back week, meaning the mileage was cut down instead of increased. For this plan, I've included three step-back weeks--one every fourth week. This was the schedule for my Week 4:

Tuesday - 30 minutes easy (this is usually a speed work day)
Wednesday - 3 miles easy
Friday - 2 miles easy
Sunday - 4 miles easy (this is usually a long run day)

I wish I could say that this week was fantastic, but I cannot. We have gotten SO much snow, and then a bunch of freezing rain on top of it yesterday; I surely would have broken a hip if I tried to run outside. Actually, I almost fell when I stepped out the door yesterday.

I don't hate the treadmill. I like it, in fact, most of the time. But I do feel the need to run outside here and there (ideally, at least for my long runs).  I'm very glad that my long run was only four miles this week, but because of the weather, I had to do all four runs on the 'mill.

The schedule doesn't look like a lot of running, and it's actually not much at all in the grand scheme of things. But my mindset just wasn't where it needed to be. I need to get outside! I'm hoping that the snow will melt this week (at least enough to where I can get in a couple of outdoor runs.

Anyway, this weekly recap is going to sound whiny and annoying, but half-marathon training isn't all sunshine and flowers, so I'm just going to be honest about my thoughts each week.

Tuesday - 30 minutes easy

This run felt like forever! I think I was anticipating it to fly by because it was only 30 minutes (now that I've been running so slowly, 30 minutes would only be about 2.5 miles). I set the treadmill at 5.0 mph (12:00/mile) and left it there the whole time.

Again, the Garmin's pace was completely off throughout the run because I wasn't using the foot pod. (I could make the pace very fast or very slow just by swinging my arms fast or slow). So, I got out my foot pod and decided to try it for Wednesday's run and see if it would make a difference.

Wednesday - 3 miles easy

Used the foot pod for this run, and experimenting with that actually made the run go by quickly. This was my best run of the week, because I was in a good mood. I couldn't believe the difference in accuracy when using the foot pod!

For the first two miles, I kept the speed at a steady 5.5 mph (11:00/mi). The first mile ended up at 11:08, which made sense because I started the Garmin when the treadmill was at a stop, so it had to come up to speed. The second mile was 11:02--so, pretty much spot on where I would expect (11:00).

During the third mile, I tried speeding up and slowing down a few times to experiment with the foot pod. I wanted to see if the pace changes registered as they should when I changed speeds. Again, it was nearly perfect. I was excited to have found a solution--I really wanted my Garmin to match what the treadmill was reading.

Friday - 2 miles easy

Two miles easy... is there anything at all to complain about? Well, I surely found enough. I just did not feel like doing another treadmill run, and I was really resentful of it. Jerry and I had plans with my friend Andrea for appetizers and Keno at the bar and I really needed to dye my hair because my roots had gotten bad--my random gray hairs were no longer subtle.

I didn't want to get sweaty and then dye it, but I also didn't want to dye it, shower, and then have to run. So I basically just procrastinated until I couldn't any longer, haha. I decided that I'd run, then dry my sweaty hair, and then dye my roots and hope for the best.

I was feeling so resentful of having to run at all that I just angrily got on the treadmill and ignored that I was supposed to run "easy". I didn't watch anything on my iPad or listen to music--I just stared at the screen and increased my speed to get it over with.

I got notifications that both my heart rate monitor and my foot pod had low batteries, which just added to my great mood. Surprisingly, the two miles went by pretty fast despite not having anything to distract me.

When I was done, I tried to replace the battery in my heart rate monitor, and I accidentally stripped two of the screws. Ugh! The screws are SO SO SO tiny and very easy to strip. I used a size 000 screwdriver, which is the correct size, but after stripping the screws, and therefor not being able to remove them, I wasn't able to get the back casing open. And now I have no way to replace the battery.

(From what I remember, there is an accelerometer in the heart rate monitor, so maybe that is why the pace was so incorrect without using the foot pod. Just a thought.)

Sunday - 4 miles easy

A "long" run of four miles? Again, what could I possibly complain about?

I procrastinated all day long. Jerry did his run in the morning, and I was even annoyed at his good attitude about it. He said he likes to get it done early because it puts him in a good mood for the day. Sometime last year, I became a night owl and definitely NOT a morning person. Which is so odd, because I've always been a morning person!

So, I've been doing my runs in the afternoons or evenings. Seeing Jerry do his in the morning made me feel like I should have done it then, too. A little before 4:00, I finally made myself get ready to run. I was cold, and even though I knew that I would warm up quickly when I started running, I dressed in long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. I also didn't turn on the fan before I started running.

Out of spite (for what, I don't know) I didn't distract myself with TV or music or anything. I covered the console of the treadmill with a towel, and just ran. I knew I was running too fast for an easy run, but I didn't care. And again, the time seemed like it went by so much faster than it does when I watch a show on my iPad, which is so odd.

When I finished, I was SO hot; I went outside and sat on the porch steps, which were coated in ice. Jerry had been cleaning the garage, and he came in just then. So I talked to him, and after a few minutes, I was in a much better mood. I finished up with one of my physical therapy stretches for my back.

So, I got my runs in this week. While my attitude sucked, I did feel much better after each run. I wish I could bottle that sort of enthusiasm to open when I really need it.

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Just to add a little positivity to this whiny post, the kids had a snow day on Friday, and we got even more on Saturday. With the temps being fairly decent (in the 20's), Jerry, the kids, and I played outside in the snow. I hadn't really played in the snow like a kid in years! We had so much fun.

Joey LOVED having the kids chase him. And it was impossible to catch him!

Jerry and I always joke about that scene in Forrest Gump where Forrest and Bubba sit like this while it's raining, and Bubba says, "I'll lean against you and you just lean right back against me... this way we don't have to sleep with our heads in the mud." We were reenacting that scene here, haha. 

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Actual Weight Talk

Sometime over the holidays, I stopped doing many Weight Loss Wednesdays. It's hard to come up with new weight loss topics, especially when I feel like I've said it all before. But now that I started running again, I think it would be helpful for me to at least keep tabs on my weight (again).

It's been about a year since I stopped counting calories, Points, or anything else to lose/maintain my weight. It actually wasn't even really a conscious decision--I just sort of fell away from those things, and when I saw my weight was dropping the pounds I'd packed on through my depression, I just kept doing what I was doing.

I wrote recently a timeline of my weight ups and downs, and while I was doing that, I noticed that my weight frequently parallels my bipolar phases--I gain weight when depressed, and lose weight when hypomanic. I tend to maintain for a little bit when I'm not in either extreme.

...Which is where I am now. I was feeling a little depressed through the holidays--nothing like my past depressive episodes, but definitely not my happy self. I didn't want to do much, I lost interest in the things I usually enjoy, and my emotions were very sensitive. During that time, my weight started climbing up after having been very level for months.

A few weeks ago, I had an appointment with my psychiatrist, and I told him what was going on. He made a slight medication adjustment, and within a week, I was feeling better. Not hypomanic, either--just happier, with a nicer outlook on things, and more interest in the things I enjoy.

And now, my weight has been very stable ever since. I wish that I was back at my goal weight before leveling off, but I'm still within my "happy range" (I want to stay under 144, which is the highest weight in my "normal" BMI range). I had been staying between 131 and 134 for a long time until I started feeling a little depressed, and gained a little each week.

Today, my weight was at 142.6--so I'm up roughly 10 pounds (I've been hovering in the low 140's for about four weeks now).

Thank God it's not the usual 30-ish pounds I gain when I have a depressive episode! And I feel pretty confident that this is the "peak" for me this time--I'll probably either stay at this weight for a while, or I'll start losing again.

I noticed that when I was feeling kind of depressed over the holidays, my appetite went up a lot. My hunger level was also up, and I felt legitimately hungry all the time. And once my mood leveled off, my appetite and hunger did, too. I find it so interesting that I never saw the pattern before!

It really helps me to know what's happening and why. I used to just beat myself up for "losing control" and gaining so much weight. But now that I see the patterns, I don't feel like it's completely my fault. Also, I now know a little of what I might expect to see happening in the near future. I also realize the importance of keeping my mood as stable as possible.

In addition, I started running again three and a half weeks ago, so that may play a part as well. One of the biggest things I've noticed since I got back to running regularly is that my body composition is changing. My clothes fit better and I can see a difference in the mirror (nothing major, but definitely noticeable) compared to a couple of months ago, even when I was at a lower weight.

The best part is that I feel good about my body again. Remember when I wrote about how I was feeling fat at goal weight? Now, I'm 10 pounds over my goal, but I feel much better about my body because I'm running. Running regularly makes me feel more confident and happy that I'm doing something good for myself!

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Speaking of weight patterns, I completely forgot to post the winners of the Happy Scale code giveaway! I meant to post it last Wednesday--I'm so sorry. Anyway, I used Random.org to choose four winners, and these were the winning commenters:

Congrats! Please send me an email at Katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com, and I will send you a code for the premium version of Happy Scale! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)

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Weekly Wrap-Up: Week 3 of Half-Marathon Training

Three weeks down, 10 more to go!

This week's schedule:

Tuesday - Speed work (intervals)
Wednesday - 3 mile easy run
Friday - 3 mile easy run
Sunday - 6 mile long run

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Tuesday - Intervals

10 minute warm-up jog
6 x (1 min hard; 2 min walk)
5 minute cool down jog

I was kind of dreading doing this, because the first workout I did for this training schedule was this exact same workout, except I just did five intervals instead of six. It was really tough when I did it a couple of weeks ago, so I was hoping it would be better on Tuesday. Thankfully, it was.

I did the warm-up jog at 5.0 mph (12:00/mile). Then I did my hard intervals at 7.6 mph (a 7:54/mile pace). Walked at 3.0 mph (20:00/mile). I think I probably should have done 7.8 mph, or maybe even 8.0, because my heart rate didn't get very high like I would have expected. That could be because the intervals were so short, though. Next time I do intervals, I'll be doing 2 minutes at a time, so I'll see if I can do 7.6 again.

It's kind of interesting that my hard intervals were 7.6 mph--when I ran my goal 10K in 2016, I ran that same speed (7:54/mi) for the whole 10K! It's so hard to imagine that there was a time when that was my race pace. It seems SO far off now. But I worked super hard to get to that point, and right now, I'm a beginner again. Being a beginner is fun! I'm actually seeing the progress from run to run.

Wednesday - 3 miles easy

I was able to run at 5.1 mph for a little bit while keeping my heart rate low, but then I dropped it back down to 5.0 once my heart rate increased. I'm still not strictly following heart rate training, but I've been paying more attention to it and adjusting my pace a little as needed.

My hamstrings were SUPER tight the first couple of weeks I was running, and I decided to start stretching after my runs. It's made a huge difference! The first day, I tried to bend over and touch my toes, and I was probably six inches away. After a little stretching, I was able to bend over and actually touch my toes.

I was really sore for a few days after I started stretching, but now it feels really good to do it after my runs. I usually do it on the treadmill as I cool off; and the treadmill is still warm from my run, so I love to sit down on the belt as I start to feel cold.

Friday - 3 miles easy

This was a pretty plain, boring run. I just set the treadmill at 5.0 mph (12:00/mi) and watched The Shield while I ran. My heart rate stayed in the 140's, which I was happy with.

I forgot to take a picture--I've been trying to take a photo after each run.

Sunday - 6 miles long

I was really dreading this one, because I had hoped to do it outside. We got a ton of snow today, though, and it was the heavy, wet snow that I didn't even want to attempt to run in.

I've also realized that running so slowly takes up a lot of time. I know it seems obvious--slower equals longer. But I had gotten so used to using 10:00/mi as a rough estimate of time spent running (6 mile run will take about 60 minutes, 4 mile run about 40, etc. Simple math.)

So, when I think about my runs, I still tend to think that way. "Oh, I have a 3 mile run today, so I have to get on the treadmill by this time so that I'm ready to leave by that time." But to plan for today's 6 miler, it wasn't a 60 minute guesstimate. It was 12:00 x 6 miles... 72 minutes. That's a big difference! So, I need to get used to planning for a longer running time.

I felt really good during the whole run, so I was grateful for that. I covered the treadmill screen with a towel so that I wouldn't have to watch the mileage/time slowly ticking by.

I did notice that when I changed speeds (I moved between 5.0 and 5.5 several times), my Garmin didn't register the change by more than a few seconds per mile. I was trying to figure out why that was, and after some experimenting, I saw that when I would move my arm really fast, my Garmin showed I was running a 6:00-something pace, and then when I moved it very slow or held it very still, it showed a 20:00-something pace.

So, the Garmin is definitely not accurate on the treadmill. If I want the Garmin to be accurate, I'll have to use the foot pod again (which isn't calibrated). As my runs get longer, I will probably want to do this, because that little indiscretion will make a bigger and bigger difference.

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Anyway, I'm psyched to be done with three weeks of training! I haven't missed any workouts, and I feel really good about that. On to week four...

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Flashback Friday: The Day I Hit 60 Pounds Lost

As I mentioned last week, I'd like to start doing a "Flashback Friday"--where I post an old (probably embarrassing) journal entry. I cringe when I look through my old journaling, because the writing was terrible and I said things that I completely disagree with now; but it is what it is, and it's kind of interesting to see what I was thinking/feeling way back when.

I will not edit any of these journals, as tempting as it may be. I'm not posting them in any specific order, either. I just pick a random place in my journal and read a few posts before deciding what to share. (And one day, maybe I'll be cringing at my current blog posts! haha)

This post was kind of fun to come across... it was the day I reached 60 pounds lost! Interestingly, it was on February 3, 2010--so it'll be 8 years ago tomorrow. Where has the time gone?!

(This was the quilt I made out of all of my too-big-for-me jeans when I was losing weight)

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February 3, 2010

Finally... the big 60-pounds mark!!  

I was SO SURE that I would only lose about 1/2 pound this week, simply because I lost 3 last week, 3 the week before, and 2 the week before that. I'm overdue for a "bad" week :) My average weight loss to date is 2.56 pounds per week... pretty good, right? 

But anyway, I'm psyched about it. I'm thisclose to being in the 180's, can you believe it?! My lowest post-pregnancy weight was 184, so getting to 183 will be a huge milestone for me. Then I'll finally feel like it's all downhill from there. Right now, I'm still losing what I gained back a couple years ago. 

I finished my second Weight Watchers 3-month food journal. (Each 3-month journal is 12 weeks). I remember thinking how it'd be impossible to actually finish ONE journal without having a page with "BINGE" written across it in bold letters, followed by lots of blank pages because I "gave up" again.  

Now I have TWO complete journals without a single binge. I've gone 24 weeks without a single gain. This has become sheer habit for me now, and the urges to binge are few and far between. I recognize the mindset now, and I take care of it before it turns into a binge. 

Accomplishments this week: I went on a 3-day vacation with my family and managed to stay on track. I counted points the whole time, brought food to the hotel to eat instead of going out to eat, and for the first time, made my vacation about the actual activities rather than food. I used to look forward to vacation because of the food and dining out all the time... seriously. That's disgusting. 

Goals for next week: I want to start writing daily entries in my OD again... so my goals is do write at least 5 daily entries with food journals. I have a few new recipes to post too, so maybe I'll get around to doing that.

Starting weight: 253
Last weeks weight: 193.5
This weeks weight: 191.5
This weeks loss: 2 pounds
Total weight lost: 61.5 pounds
Total percentage of weight lost: 24.3% 

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I love that I was so excited to get to the 180's. As I'm at around 142 right now, it makes me not feel so bad for being up 10 pounds over the last couple of months. (My appetite is finally decreasing to what it was a few months ago, though, and I think it's because I completely quit drinking.)

I remember how exciting it was to weigh in every Wednesday, because I knew I had followed my plan all week and that I was getting closer and closer to an ideal weight. My original goal weight was 185. I never dreamed I'd one day be in the 140's, 130's, and certainly not the 120's.

Looking back at posts like these is actually really nice--I am so hard on myself sometimes, and seeing how happy I was for these milestones makes me stop and realize just how far I've come. I haven't weighed in the 190's in EIGHT YEARS now. I never would have guessed that when I started losing weight, I'd get to a "normal" BMI or maintain the majority of my weight loss for a year, let alone eight years!

I bought this shirt to wear as a joke for Jerry, because I despise football--but I'd promised him that I would learn the rules of football one time, and I'd read a couple of books about it ("Football for Dummies" kinds of books). Then, I was ready with this shirt for Super Bowl Sunday. Even after learning the rules, I hate it! The curse of being born on Super Bowl Sunday I guess ;)

I'm looking forward to this Sunday because of This Is Us, though!!! Can't wait.

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January Budget Update

I really should have been updating on our get-out-of-debt progress each month, but it doesn't really seem like there is much to say--everything is going very well! So, this will likely be a short post (although, I say that all the time and it ends up being way too long--so we'll see.)

To recap in a nutshell, back in June 2017, we had about $14,500 in credit card debt. The story of how that came to be is on this post: Budgeting to Pay Off Debt (on a Varied Income).

Since our income varies SO much week to week and even month to month, budgeting has always been difficult for us. Whenever we got a paycheck, we just spent it wherever it was needed at the moment. It always felt like we were broke--but now that we've been budgeting for eight months, I see that we have quite a bit of extra money we never knew we had.

So, we started a "zero-sum" budget, something I read about when I was trying to find a good budgeting solution for us (such a varied income). And it has worked wonders. Truly. (I went into a lot more detail on this post: Zero Sum Budgeting)

After writing up the budget, I couldn't believe that it actually works! My stress level dropped immediately, because we were actually ahead on our bills for the first time in our lives. I didn't have to worry about paying bills when when they came in, because the money was in our account already.

I had my own spending money (we call it "allowance", even though that sounds juvenile), so I could buy whatever I wanted and not feel guilty for it. Jerry and the kids found it very easy to stick to as well (thanks to allowance).

In the post I linked to above, Zero Sum Budgeting, I explained exactly how it works, but basically, we have a "bare bones" budget each month that will cover all of our bills, food, gas, medical co-pays, and allowances. Whatever we earn on top of that bare bones budget gets paid toward our credit card debt.

There are always things that come up where we need to spend extra (this month was Joey's vet bill--updating all of his vaccines--$188!; also, Eli's birthday was this month, so we spent some extra for that).

Anyway, after all was said and done, I was thrilled to pay over $1000 this month onto the card:

This brings our debt down to $3,150.89... almost under the $3,000 mark! 

When we started this budget in June, I was super overwhelmed looking at $14,500 of debt. I thought there was no possible way we could pay it off with the amount of money we make (we later realized that we have more than we thought; we just didn't realize it because we never saw exactly where it was going). 

I have to say, a HUGE part of sticking to this budget is that we each get our own allowance. This way, the kids pay for their own things and I don't get suckered into buying them stuff whenever they ask. And it keeps control over how much Jerry and I spend on things we don't really "need". 

I got an email recently asking me to write more specifically about our allowances--how much we get, what we use it for, etc. So, here goes...

Jerry and I each get $100 per month. And the kids each get $40 per month. We budget everything by the month rather than the week, so on the first of each month, I withdraw $280 for allowance (this money comes from our "bare bones" budget). This amount may seem like a lot or it may seem like a little, depending on what is deemed necessary to people.

As for the kids, they have to use their allowance for any non-necessity they want. We obviously pay for their food, clothes they need, field trips or other school-related stuff, gifts for other kids' birthday parties, etc. I don't think our kids should have to use their allowances on that stuff. 

But when Noah goes to the movies with his friends, for example, he has to use his own money. After his first time, he came home a little shocked at just how expensive movie theater popcorn is, haha. He had no idea the value of a dollar before this; but now that he has to use his own money for things, he is much choosier about what he really wants. 

The kids use their allowances on anything that Jerry and I don't deem necessary. And $40 seems to be a good amount for kids their age. Usually, they don't spend it all, and it's nice that they have been saving up a little. They have a little extra set aside for when we go to Boston next month.

As for Jerry and me, our allowance goes toward anything we want that doesn't fit into the budget. When it comes to food/drink items, if it's something that only one of us eats/drinks, then we have to use our allowances for it. Jerry's craft beer, for example, comes from his allowance rather than our grocery budget, because he is the only one that drinks it. And likewise, I buy tea with mine, and the fruit snacks I was eating so much of all year (I just recently got out of that phase).

We have joint bank accounts, and have always shared our money. It seemed so odd, then, when we started doing allowances, because we each have our own spending money. So, if we decide to go out to dinner (a rarity), one of us typically "treats" the other to dinner (usually, I treat--Jerry has always let money burn a hole in his pocket until it's gone, haha).

Other than food items, we use our allowances for clothes, travel (when we went to Portland, for example, we used our own allowances for spending money), going out with friends, and other things like that. Again, I think $100 is a good amount for what we use it for. We don't feel deprived of things we really enjoy, but we definitely think carefully about what we choose to spend our money on.

It has helped us so much in sticking to the budget! And by sticking with our budget, we've paid off well over $11,000 in eight months. I'm super excited to make the final payment--hopefully in March, if all goes well, but likely in April. I can't remember what it feels like to not have any debt ;)

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RECIPE: Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I've been making this soup for years when I don't have a clue what to make for dinner, and everyone is starving. I always have a bag of diced potatoes in the freezer, and we have gotten creative with toppings for this--from the usual things like bacon and chives to things like diced ham, cheddar cheese, and broccoli. This recipe is for the potato soup base, and then you can add what you like to it.

Click here for the printer-friendly PDF

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:

2 tsp. olive oil
1 (32 oz) bag frozen diced potatoes
4 cups of chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup of milk
8 oz of sour cream
Toppings: shredded cheese, bacon, chives, green onion, etc.

Directions:

Heat soup pot over medium heat and add oil. Add the onion and cook until onion is soft.

Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a colander and run under hot water to thaw a little.

When onions are soft (not brown) add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer until potatoes are soft. Add the milk and let it heat through on medium heat (don’t boil the milk, to avoid curdling it).

Sometimes I puree the soup with a stick blender at this point, but you don't have to—it just depends on the texture you’d like.

Stir in the sour cream and warm through on medium-low heat (again, don’t boil it).

Ladle into bowls and add your toppings.

Notes:

After adding milk or sour cream, just make sure you don't boil the soup--boiling it will make it curdle.

You can use a stick blender to make it completely smooth, or just leave it with small chunks of potatoes.

I've used skim milk and fat free sour cream in this, but I much prefer the high fat stuff! Besides, if it's richer, you'll be satisfied with less of it anyway ;)

Wait until the end to salt it, because I find that the broth adds enough salt. And then adding bacon and cheese on top of that will make it even saltier.

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