Hopeless

Last night, Jerry and I were chatting and drinking a glass of wine, when he got a text message from a friend, telling him that Robin Williams had died. When he relayed the message to me, I literally gasped out loud and covered my mouth in disbelief. A lot of times, when celebrities die, I have to Google them to see who they were; not Robin Williams.

Source

I was so shocked, and then when I read that it was a suicide, my heart just broke. I had just been talking to my kids earlier in the day about how people who have a lot of money aren't necessarily happy (the kids assumed more money = happiness). My kids have seen a few of Williams' movies, so I told them what happened, and it helped confirm what I'd told them earlier.

I know firsthand just how debilitating depression can be, and how hopeless it can make one feel. It's a terrible thing to go through, even when you have all the resources to help. Whenever I hear about a suicide, it just makes me feel so sad for that person, and that they had lost hope. There is nothing worse than feeling hopeless.

Anyway, the world lost a great comedian and actor yesterday, but I really hope that it brings more awareness to what depression can do to people--even people who seem to have everything going for them!

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A few weeks ago, I got a notice in the mail from my bank stating that soon, they were going to start charging a $7 monthly service fee for their "free" checking accounts. That did not fly well with me! I have two checking accounts and one savings account there, and I've been a customer for about 15 years, but I decided to switch banks so that I could have a truly free checking account.

I had no idea just how much work it was going to be to switch banks! I decided to use a local credit union, so I went there to open the accounts, but because Jerry wasn't with me, I had to open the accounts in just my name (later, I'll have to take him with him to add him on). We have a lot of automatic deposits and withdrawals, so I have to notify all of those companies and change them all over to the credit union.

This afternoon, I had to go to the bank (which is actually now 20 minutes away, because the branch nearest to us closed a year or two ago). I closed out my savings account, but had to leave the checking accounts until everything is switched over, which could take a few weeks. I ran into several other issues, but won't get into the boring details here. Basically, changing banks takes a lot of work!

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I'm still doing well with intuitive eating. Last night, I ate too much, but rather than beat myself up for it, I used it as a learning experience. I'd had a couple of glasses of wine (one glass was just fine, but I shouldn't have had the second), and then I started thinking I was hungry (logically, I knew I wasn't). So I snacked on a few random things, which ended up being too much.

On Weight Watchers, if that happened, I would have used up way too many points, and then I would have tried to restrict my eating today so conserve what points I had left. That's a slippery slope, because it's basically a set-up for a binge. Instead, I just went right back to intuitive eating today--I ate breakfast when I was hungry (a couple of hours after I woke up), and followed my hunger cues throughout the day. It felt nice to just move on without much thought at all about it.

Because of all the running around I did for the bank, I didn't have a chance to go to the store to pick up anything for dinner. At around 4:30, I was starving. My stomach felt like it was going to eat itself. I thought about taking the kids out to dinner, but nothing really sounded good (which was odd, because I really was hungry). I was at the point that I really didn't care what I ate (Cereal? Sure! PB&J? Great!). The kids weren't thrilled about the idea of cereal for dinner, so after some digging, I found the stuff to make meatball stroganoff.

Stroganoff always looks so gross, but it tastes so good!

When I first started the intuitive eating, there were very specific cravings that I had, so it was easy to choose what to eat. For the past few days, though, I've had such a hard time deciding, because nothing really calls out to me. It's not a bad thing, but just something interesting that I noted.

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I've had a hard time getting outside to run lately, because of Jerry's work schedule. I've done a lot of treadmill running, but it's been hard to make myself do more than three miles on the treadmill. Jerry's schedule is going to change again soon, so I should be have more free time to run outside. I want to get in at least one more long run of 10-12 miles before going to Punta Cana.

Speaking of Punta Cana, we leave in less than two weeks!! I'm getting SO excited :)

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Motivational Monday #73

Happy Motivational Monday! It's been an interesting week for me with the intuitive eating, but I've been doing very well with it. I'm very proud that I haven't binged at all, and I've really been listening to my body, even when it tells me weird things (like craving olive tapenade yesterday!).

I've also been doing really well with my August challenge, which was to eat only at the dining table, nowhere else. A lot of times, I find myself wanting to eat when bored, but when I remember that I have to eat at the table, I change my mind! ;)

What have you done this week to make you feel proud?

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Last September, Jessica was proud to announce that she'd completed her first half-marathon. It was a tough time for her, because her father had just passed away two weeks before the race, and she considered not even running it. Her training had taken a backseat to taking care of her father as he was ill. She chose to run it anyway, and she finished in 2:42!

This year, Jessica was training for her second half-marathon, when she had a seizure that landed her in the emergency room. She was diagnosed with Stage IV brain cancer! She underwent surgery, radiation, and chemo to fight the cancer, and was told she couldn't run for four months. She started back to running a couple of weeks ago, and went back to the gym yesterday. She is proud to say that she was able to run two miles yesterday!

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My friend Adam posted this on Facebook, so I decided to sneak it onto my blog ;)  Adam is not only on Day 8 of not drinking soda, but he decided that he "might as well" just run a half marathon on the treadmill today! Several weeks ago, in the hopes of keeping Adam motivated to keep exercising, I told him that I'd make him a deal--I would pay for his race registration for the Monroe Half in November, AND run it with him, if he commits to training for it. So come November, he'll be running his first "official" half-marathon :)

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My sister texted this photo to me today, because she was excited to tell me that she did her very first run in the rain! Jeanie is normally a treadmill runner, even in good weather, because she likes to be able to run next to Shawn, her husband (and they run very different paces). Like a lot of people, the rain was just another reason to run on the treadmill, but Jeanie chose to run in the rain today--and she said it was great!

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

If you have a photo you'd like to share for Motivational Monday, just email it to me (subject: Motivational Monday) along with a short description, and I may include on a future MM post!

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Running for My Life

I spent all. day. long. reading a book yesterday, which never happens. I had borrowed a Kindle library copy of a book a few days ago that had been recommended to me by a reader (thanks Rose!), called "Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games" by Lopez Lamong. I have to admit, when I first read what it was about, I wasn't super interested. But the reader had really raved about it, so I decided to see if my library had a copy, and I was able to download it to my Kindle.

I let it sit on my Kindle for a few days, and then yesterday morning, I woke up at 6:30, and the kids were still sleeping, so I decided to start reading it. I didn't put it down until lunchtime, where I quickly ate lunch and then ran four miles on the treadmill. I picked it back up and kept reading until I had finished it! I haven't done that with a book since I first read The Hunger Games several years ago.  I'm not a very fast reader, so it takes me a long time to get through a book--but I could NOT put this one down.

The book is a memoir of Lopez Lamong, who was taken from his family by Sudanese rebels at age six when they were at church in one Sunday. He endured a lot by his kidnappers, and several of the kids who were taken died of hunger or illness. He escapes to a refuge camp, where he lives for a about a decade, and there, he starts running long distances in order to play soccer with the other boys (one of the "rules" is that they have to run 18 miles around the camp before they're allowed to play--EVERY day).

As the title gives away, he eventually winds up in the Olympics--a completely farfetched dream come true. The entire story gave me chills, and I cried several times through the book. It made me want to adopt all the lost boys in Kenya! While reading the book, I was reminded about just how lucky I am to live in America.

The whole time I was reading the book, I kept thinking, "I want my dad to read this! He'd love it!" and as soon as I was done reading it, I decided to drive to the nearest Barnes & Noble (45 minutes away) to buy a copy. Normally, I don't like to buy books if I can get them from the library for free, but a portion of the book sales go toward Lamong's 4 South Sudan project, which supplies clean water, education, health care, and nutrition to Southern Sudan, so I didn't even wince at the cost. I gave the book to my dad, who (jokingly) groaned about it, but I know he's going to love it.

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I didn't do a long run this week, and it made me realize one of the drawbacks to intuitive eating--I don't necessarily get to eat more for running more! ;) When I was counting points or calories, I would use my long run days to treat myself to something I ordinarily couldn't fit into my day's allowance. That was a big incentive to me to get out there and run long distances!

With intuitive eating, you eat when you're hungry, stop when you're satisfied, and eat what you want most, so there aren't any "treat" foods anymore. Running farther would probably make me a little hungrier, but that was really the only effect it would have on intuitive eating. So without that food incentive, it's hard to make myself want to run long distances. I'm disciplined enough that I CAN make myself do it, but I just thought it was interesting to note! ;)

Speaking of running distances, I think I've decided not to run the Detroit Half this October. I mentioned that I'm doing the Runner's World Half & Festival 5 & Dime (5K and 10K on Saturday morning), and then I was planning to fly home that afternoon, pick up my race packet for Detroit, and run the Detroit Half the following day. The biggest problem with that plan is that I'd have to pick up my packet in Detroit by 7:00 pm on Saturday; if I do that, I'd have to leave Bethlehem much earlier than I'd like to.

I would really like to stay for the pasta dinner with the RW editors on Saturday (the dinner before the Heartbreak Hill Half was where I really got a chance to talk with and meet some of the editors and other bloggers). If I stay, I can just arrive home late, and then go cheer on Nathan at the Detroit Marathon in the morning, without worrying about picking up a packet or running the race myself. I haven't decided yet, but it would make more sense to skip the Detroit Half and not have to worry about being back in time for packet pick-up.

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I had the weirdest craving today for, of all things, olive tapenade. With this intuitive eating, I truly ask myself what I want MOST to eat at that moment, and today, it was definitely olive tapenade on bread that was calling to me.  It ended up being a pretty expensive lunch, because I remembered that my food processor broke a while ago, so I had to buy a new one! But I needed it, so I'm glad I got one. The tapenade recipe is the one that I used for the Oscars party I had in January 2013.

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/2 cup pitted green olives (I just used fresh-cured green olives, because they are so mild tasting)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. capers
1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary (this was the only thing I changed from the original recipe, which calls for 1 Tbsp--I thought it was a little strong with that much rosemary)

Pulse in the food processor until it's as chunky or smooth as you'd like. I ate mine with some thin slices of a baguette.

I certainly thought that, given the choice to pick anything I want to eat whenever I'm hungry, I'd always choose sweets--but that hasn't been the case. I've had a few sweets, but nothing like I thought I would. I'm still binge-free and feeling good :)

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An intuitive eating experiment

My August goal is to eat only at the dining table, and not anywhere else in the house--and eight days in, I'm still going strong on it. This was a tough one for me, because I usually eat while reading email or blogs, reading a book, or watching TV. We eat dinner together as a family, but the rest of the day, I'm on my own, and I find it really hard to just sit at the table at eat, without anything else going on at the same time.

It just so happened that the day I started doing the August challenge, I got an email from a reader who suggested a book to me called How to Have Your Cake and Your Skinny Jeans Too, by Josie Spinardi. It's a book about intuitive eating, which didn't appeal to me at first--I've read probably a dozen books on the subject, and I've tried intuitive eating several times in the past, but was never successful with it. I started reading some of the reviews, though, and because I was doing the eating-only-at-the-dining-table-challenge for August (a common intuitive eating practice), I figured it wouldn't hurt to read it. So I bought the Kindle version on Amazon and read it right away.

I was very pleasantly surprised to see that it was completely unlike all the other intuitive eating books I've read. It doesn't just explain what intuitive eating is--eat when hungry! Stop when satisfied (not full)! Eat what you want most!--it explains HOW TO DO all of those things. By the time I was done reading the book, there was almost no reason NOT to give it a try, because it made so much sense, and there wasn't any question about, "But how do I know when I'm satisfied? How do I trust this process?" etc.

I had been counting Weight Watchers Points, but I hadn't been 100% on-board with it. I would count for a few days and then binge, or just be very unhappy with having to measure and count everything. But, we all know, I'm not good at NOT counting. That's the only thing that's ever worked longterm for me before! But obviously the counting and bingeing wasn't working either, because I would lose a couple of pounds and gain them right back, so my weight hasn't really budged in several months.

I started doing the intuitive eating techniques right away after reading the book (actually, the day of Noah's birthday party), and I finally feel like I "get it". The book explained it all SO well. In the past, when I tried intuitive eating, if I would binge, then I'd say, "See? It didn't work." and I'd quit. After reading the book, I discovered that if I binge, it's likely because I either didn't eat what I really wanted, or I was unknowingly restricting food (even eating to just slightly less than satisfaction could cause a binge, because I'd still be hungry).

In the past, I found that all I wanted was junk food when I gave myself permission to eat whatever I wanted, but the book explained that it's normal at first to eat all the things you typically restrict. Eventually, you'll stop craving them, and your body will start craving healthier foods, but at first, you may want nothing but ice cream and pizza.

I discovered the strangest thing--I haven't wanted ice cream even once since I started this whole thing. It's probably because when I do binge, it usually includes ice cream, so I really never feel "deprived" of ice cream. I've had some unusual cravings (homemade fettuccine alfredo, which is something I NEVER had on Weight Watchers, because it contains approximately 739 points per half cup*), and I've fed them.

*That's an exaggeration, but probably not too far off ;)

I've really been paying attention to how I feel after eating a particular food, too (the fettuccine alfredo was SO heavenly tasting, but it gave me a stomachache for the rest of the evening). I've also been noticing that a lot of times when I think I really want something, I actually don't want it at all. When doing Weight Watchers, I (now) notice that I did a ton of what the book calls "Eating cuz I ate"--meaning that once I ate something off-plan, I'd just start eating a bunch of things that I restricted because I had intentions of "getting back on track tomorrow". But now that I've given myself permission to eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I want, I don't feel like it's super urgent to have it now. I actually haven't eaten ice cream at all in the past week, because I haven't really wanted it.

I am giving this 100% effort to see how I do with it. I really hope that it works for me, because so far I really like this way of eating. It requires SO much less thinking and planning than counting points or calories. I've only been doing it for a week, but already, my jeans are looser and I haven't binged at all. I've eaten whatever sounds good to me, and I make sure to eat until I'm truly satisfied (or even a little over, so that I don't under eat, causing a binge).

One of the main reasons I wanted to try this now is because in Punta Cana, I don't want to have to be worrying about counting everything I eat; but I don't want it to be a big week-long binge, either. I'd like to try the intuitive eating techniques on vacation, and hopefully not gain any weight while I'm gone.

I'm not claiming that this is it--I'm doing this forever!--because we all know that things and situations change. But for now, at least until after I get home from Punta Cana, I really want to give this intuitive eating thing a second eighth tenth shot ;) The worst that can happen is that I find it's not for me, and I'm back to square one. I've been so unsure about writing about this whole thing, because what if it fails? But my entire reason for starting this blog back in 2011 was to document everything--all the good AND bad, the successes AND failures, to see what works and what doesn't (for me). So we'll see how it goes! :)

Do any of you regularly practice intuitive eating? How do you like it?

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A morning with Oliver

I had absolutely nothing to write about yesterday. I feel like I'm always just saying the same things over and over again, so I decided not to try and come up with something just for the sake of writing.

Today, Jerry was off work, and we decided to go for a walk this morning. Jerry had gone for a run through the woods on the access road that I've written about before, and he told me that it had gotten really overgrown again. He said the path was very narrow, which I just couldn't believe. Last time I walked out there, in the spring, it was really wide. So I wanted to go check it out.

We obviously didn't leave the kids at home, so all four of us headed out on the trail. Jerry was right--it was very overgrown with weeds, which was a bummer. 

We headed down by the water and saw a TON of snails, though--from teeny tiny ones to really big ones. I've never seen so many snails in my life. It was interesting to watch them.

We kept going on the trail, and I told the kids that the trail would end near Oliver's house. Oliver is a Brittany Spaniel that we got in 2007, when we were stupid enough to think we could manage two toddlers, two cats, AND a dog. We had him for three years, and he was the most hyper dog you could ever imagine. He used to jump all over the place when someone would come over, peeing as he jumped. Hahaha, I think I was the only one who really liked him. 

Here he is modeling a scarf I crocheted

Anyway, we found a great home for him with a man who reminds me of Cesar Milan, in that he's AMAZING with dogs. He told me he'd love to train Oliver, and he lives about a mile from us, so we could visit anytime. Oliver was really happy there, and trained pretty well within a month of living there, so we knew it was best for him to stay. 

I've seen him a couple of times over the past few years, but the kids hadn't seen him since he left; so I was surprised today when they said they really wanted to go see him. I didn't want to just show up unannounced, but I figured we could walk by and see if Ollie was outside. And sure enough, he was! Along with his "brothers", an enormous Great Dane and a Siberian Husky. Oliver got really excited when he saw us, and ran over to us. His owner was outside, so we chatted with him for about half an hour. 

When we were ready to leave, he said that he was just about to take Ollie out for a run on the path we'd just walked, so he came with us, along with the Great Dane. I couldn't believe how well Oliver listened to his commands. He was off-leash, and he stayed right at the left side of his owner until he got the "okay" to run. He took off through the weeds and marsh, chasing after the Great Dane (and vice versa). Every time his owner whistled (one short whistle), Ollie would be back at his side in three seconds flat. I was completely amazed. 

It was so fun to watch the dogs running through the super tall weeds and grass in the marsh, because you couldn't actually see the dogs--just the weeds moving around. It reminded me and Jerry of Jurassic Park, when you can see the trees rustle when a T-Rex is moving. Then suddenly, one of the dogs would pop out into the path. 

I love this pic of the Great Dane jumping out of the weeds and grass

We stopped at the water for about half an hour and chatted while the dogs played and got completely soaked and muddy. It was nice to see Oliver have so much fun!

I loved hearing about how he managed to train Oliver. Sometimes I really wish we had a dog, because I'd love to take a dog with me for a run (or just long walks), but right now, we have too many cats to think about ;) Oliver's owner said if we ever do get another dog, he'd be happy to help us train it. 

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When I got home, I spent quite a bit of the afternoon folding origami out of dollar bills. I took out $300 in ones from the bank to take to Punta Cana for tips, and I thought it would be fun to fold them in different shapes. I know how to make a few of them by heart, and they're pretty simple (like a frog, elephant, ring, and bow tie). But when I started looking up other instructions for more complicated things online, my head was starting to spin. Most of the instructions weren't very explanatory! 

Elephant and frog

A collared t-shirt

I think this is supposed to be a bull...?

I'll probably just stick to the ones I know well and fold a bunch of those!

When I was a kid, and my family would go out to a restaurant for dinner, I remember my dad always used to fold the tip into a bow tie. The servers got a big kick out of it, and I always thought it was a fun idea. Before everybody started using credit and debit cards, and I actually paid with cash, I used to continue the tradition, and fold a bow tie tip at restaurants. At my parents' house recently, I found a book of dollar bill origami that I'd bought as a kid, and had the idea to fold different shaped tips for Punta Cana. 

We leave in two and a half weeks!

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Stepping out of my comfort zone (and Runner's World race discount codes)

Poor Noah has bronchitis. It started as just a hoarse voice when he got home from camp, and I figured it was from yelling and playing at camp. But the next day, he started coughing. A couple of days later, we took him to the doctor, and it turned out to be bronchitis and a sinus infection. I had bronchitis a few years ago that lasted a long time--about 5 weeks--and it was awful. My kids have had it before, and it doesn't last nearly as long with them, so I hope he's better soon.

This morning, the kids had basketball camp, but Noah obviously didn't go. I decided to get in a short run before taking Eli to camp, so I ran three miles on the treadmill. It felt harder than a couple of days ago, but of course I felt great when I was done.

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I have some big news that has me about to burst with excitement. Runner's World has invited me to the Runner's World Half & Festival this October! It's very similar to the one in June that I attended in Newton, MA., only it's held in the city of Runner's World headquarters, Bethlehem, PA.

I absolutely loved my experience at the Heartbreak Hill Half & Festival, and I am doubly excited about going to Bethlehem. I remember reading about other bloggers' experiences at the RW Half last year, and I thought, "I really want to do that next year!"

When I discovered that the RW Half is the same weekend as the Detroit Marathon, I was bummed, because my younger brother, Nathan, is running his first full marathon in Detroit this year. Of course I want to be there for him, so I was thinking that I'd have to make a choice between the two. But I came up with a solution--it's going to involve a very busy weekend, but totally worth it!

I'll head to Bethlehem on Thursday, as planned, and instead of doing the Hat Trick (5K, 10K, and Half Marathon) like I did in June, I'll do the 5 & Dime (5K and 10K on Saturday morning). Then I can stay for a couple of seminars before heading home on Saturday afternoon. The seminars were one of my favorite parts of the weekend at the Heartbreak Hill Half! If you are in the area for this race, even if you're not running the races, you should definitely check out the (free) seminars. Bart Yasso's "My Life on the Run" is fascinating--I could listen to his stories all day long!

If all goes according to plan, I'll be back in Detroit just in time to pick up my race packet... for the Detroit Half the following day (so essentially, I am doing a Hat Trick, just in two difference cities). Race packets have to be picked up in person by 7:00 pm on Saturday. I'd like to run the first half of the marathon with my brother, then go cheer him on at around mile 20, and see him cross the finish line. So, the race weekend in October is going to be crazy, but definitely the good kind of crazy. I can't wait!

Like last time, Runner's World gave me some discount codes for anyone to use for 10% off the race registration:

Once again, I'm going to take it easy and run these races for enjoyment, not a PR. I love that this race is in October--gorgeous fall colors and perfect running weather. If any of you are going, and would like some company during the 5K or 10K, just let me know! When the time gets closer, I'm going to try to create a specific meet-up plan, also, if anyone is interested. Now that I know what to expect, hopefully I can come up with something more specific than "I'll be wearing a bright orange shirt" ;)

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I've been thinking about something for a while, ever since reading an article called "I Wore a Bikini and Nothing Happened", and today, I finally decided I'm going to just do it. This may not sound like a big deal to some, but for me, it's huge--WAY out of my comfort zone! Today, I bought a bikini. My first bikini.

I am in no way delusional enough to think that my body is even comparable to those in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, but I'm tired of being so self-conscious of my flaws. There are tons of people who have loose skin, stretch marks, and other things that I feel self-conscious about (including being 15 pounds over my goal weight right now), and I see them in bikinis all the time.

When I was younger, I always wanted to wear a bikini just like all my friends, but I was too self-conscious of my weight. Then in my late 20's, I lost the weight, but was conscious of my loose skin and stretch marks. I even had skin removal surgery from my stomach, but I still can't imagine wearing a bikini. So, buying a bikini is a way for me to get over it already.

I love the title of that article, "I Wore a Bikini and Nothing Happened". I don't know what I expect to happen--people averting their eyes, pointing and laughing, or talking behind my back? The truth is that most likely, nothing will happen. Nobody cares what I look like in a bikini!

I'm not brave enough to post a photo here (yet). I'm going to wear it in public in Punta Cana, and hopefully I'll see that it's no big deal. Then maybe I'll post a picture here ;)

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Motivational Monday #72

I hope everyone has had a great week--it's time for Motivational Monday! The thing I am most proud of this week is that I recognized that there was a problem with my knee, and instead of running through the pain, I took time off until I was 100% back to normal. In the past, I would have continued running, hoping the pain would just go away (and instead, it would have gotten worse--which is how I spent all of 2012 with knee injuries!). So as odd as it sounds, I am proud of myself for NOT running for three days :)

What have you done this week to make you feel proud?

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After an on-again-off-again bout of running over a few years, Jen decided to get serious this summer, and signed up for three local races. The first was a 5K, and she was very nervous going into the race--it was in the evening, and she was used to running in the mornings; it was humid and rained on the way there; and the terrain was on a trail, so the rain + dirt = mud. She was filled with self-doubt throughout the entire race, and just before the finish line, a woman came up to run with the older man behind her. The woman (presumably his daughter) ran with him, encouraging him the whole way. Jen thought it was awesome to witness, and at the very end, they sprinted past her. After the finish line, the man went up to Jen and said, "I watched your butt the whole race. I thought I would never catch you!" ;) While it came out sounding a little odd, she knew what he meant; and despite being filled with self-doubt, she'd motivated him to keep going! (Jen's race report)

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After losing 70 pounds on Weight Watchers, Jenn just completed her first 5K race! She followed a Couch to 5K-like program for about eight weeks, and her only goal was to run the entire race (no walking). She reached her goal, and celebrated by buying a treadmill! She enjoys running outside, but didn't want to have any excuses not to run during Oregon's rainy months.

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On Saturday, Lisa (second from left in photo) stepped WAY out of her comfort zone to do the Boston R.O.C. (Ridiculous Obstacle Challenge) race. She was really nervous, and afraid of getting hurt, especially when she saw it was cold and rainy the day of the race. She was pleasantly surprised to see that some of the obstacles that intimidated her the most turned out to be the most fun! She and her group of friends were freezing, but they had a blast, and got to play like kids at the finish line foam party.

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Sarah is very proud to announce that she is an IRON(WO)MAN! She completed the Lake Placid Ironman triathlon (a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run--to be completed under 17 hours in order to be considered an Ironman). The photo below shows Sarah before training for the Ironman, and then at the finish line--she lost 55 pounds during training for this race!

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

If you have a photo you'd like to share for Motivational Monday, just email it to me (subject: Motivational Monday) along with a short description, and I may include on a future MM post!

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Treadmill vs. outdoor run comparison

Last night, the kids ended up staying the night at my parents' house, so Jerry and I had an impromptu date night. We've had free movie tickets for the longest time that we just haven't used, so we decided to go see the movie Lucy.

First, we had dinner at Olga's in the mall. We joked about how old we've become, because we were out to dinner on a Saturday evening at barely 5:00, and then we went to a 5:45 pm show. We were probably the youngest people in the theater. ;)  Our theater recently got new seats, and they are AMAZING. They recline, so you can put your feet up, and they're really spacious. They're seriously as comfortable as watching a movie on the couch at home.

Unfortunately, neither of us liked the movie. I wish I'd have asked whether it was worth seeing, because afterward, I heard from several people that it was bad. Oh, well, they were free tickets and we had a good time!

When we got home, it wasn't even 8:00 yet, so we decided to walk to a bar that is about half a mile away to have a drink and play Keno. Normally, I have beer, but beer is so easy to have another and another, and before you know it, you've consumed hundreds of calories worth. I wanted something I could slowly sip the whole time we were there, so I didn't do too much caloric damage. I decided to try something new to me: a gin and tonic. I really liked it, and it lasted me through 20 drawings of Keno. I think that will be my new go-to drink when I'm out. We didn't have any luck at Keno, but we laughed a lot and had fun!

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This morning, Noah was sick with a head cold, so he didn't go to church. Instead of waiting for Jerry to get off work so I could run outside, I decided to dust off the treadmill and get in a quick three-miler. I hadn't used the treadmill in a couple of months. I had the idea to try to imitate yesterday's outdoor run so that I could compare the two. I was curious how my heart rate and other stats compared between running on the treadmill and running outside.

It wasn't at all a scientific comparison, but I tried to mock the same pace each mile from yesterday. The splits weren't perfect, but they were very close. Overall, though, I ran the same distance in the same time, so my overall pace was nearly identical (I stopped my Garmin one second too soon). Here is a really nerdy comparison chart:

Running on the treadmill always feels much easier to me than running outside, so I really expected my heart rate to be lower on the treadmill, even though I was running the same pace. (It's probably worth noting that the incline was at 0% today). I was VERY surprised, then, when I looked at the comparison, and just how similar the two runs were! In addition to the distance, time, and average pace being the same, the calories were only off by 1, my average heart rate was identical at 155, my average cadence (steps per minute) was identical at 170, and my average stride length was identical at 1.02 meters.

The biggest relevant difference was in my maximum heart rate, which was 165 on the treadmill, but 170 outside. That was probably due to sprinting across a street, or a dog barking at me, or something like that. Even though this was only three miles, it made me much more confident in treadmill running--even though it feels easier, my stats were pretty much the same. I just found it really interesting!

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Don't forget, tomorrow is Motivational Monday, so if you have anything to submit, the sooner you can email it to me, the better!

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Empty Glass City

Last night, Jerry and I told Noah about Paolo. The kids at the party kept asking where the fourth cat was, and I just kept changing the subject. Once all the kids went home, and we settled down for the evening, we told him what happened. He was very upset, which is what I expected. Noah takes after me in that he's really sensitive, and he really loved Paolo. We talked about it for a little while, and he's okay now.

This morning was pretty relaxing, which felt good after all the chaos of the birthday party yesterday. It was thunder storming all morning, so I read a book for a while, and then I really had the urge to go for a run. It was perfect running weather (for August, anyway)--65 degrees and overcast. Yesterday, my knee felt completely fine all day, so I decided to try an easy three-miler.

I stayed close to home, just in case my knee gave me trouble. I started running, and my knee felt 100% back to normal! I was so excited.

I was surprised to see that my first mile was 9:23, because I was expecting to see 10:30-ish. I decided to aim for negative splits without trying too hard. Second mile was 9:20, and then third was 9:09. My knee didn't give me any trouble at all, and I felt fantastic!

I always write about how I hate running (only half-jokingly), but the truth is, I would be lost without it. After only three days, I was really itching to go for a run! I love how good it makes me feel, and when I'm taking it easy, it's actually enjoyable. It took a long time to get to that point, though--I was running for about a year before I felt like I was hooked on it.

I used to think it would be detrimental to my training if I took time off, which is why I stupidly kept marathon training when I had a knee injury in 2012. On Tuesday, when I knew something was wrong with me knee, I decided to take time off of running until it felt back to normal. Luckily, that was only three days! If I had kept running on it, I'm sure it would have taken much longer.

This afternoon, we went to Sam's Club, and it was CRAZY in there. People were leaving the store with carts piled high with bottled water. We saw one person who had an entire U-Haul van packed full of cases of water. There were people rushing to the back of the store, where the water is shelved, shoving past people, and practically running us over with their carts.

It turns out that Toledo is under a state of emergency with an alert not to drink (or use, in any way) their water, because it's contaminated (and boiling it would only increase the toxins). I live about 20 minutes north of Toledo, and there were a few cities just south of us that were affected as well. Luckily, our city isn't affected, but that could change, depending on what the cause of this whole thing was.

All of the stores around here are completely sold out of bottled water, because it just flew off the shelves. Sam's Club is about 30 minutes north of here, and there were people driving up there to stock up. Sam's had a TON of water, but at the rate people were buying it, they'll probably sell out today or tomorrow. I was just in awe of the whole situation at Sam's. Hopefully the issue doesn't last long--I can't imagine not being able to use any tap water! I feel bad for the people in Toledo.

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4 Minute Mile, and Noah's party

The past couple of days have been so boring that I really don't have much to write. I haven't been running, because I want to make sure my knee is 100% back to normal before I try running again. Yesterday, I could still really feel it, but today it seems a lot better, so I'm hoping by Monday it will be good enough to go for a run.

I've been trying to rest it as much as possible, and consequently, I haven't gotten much activity at all since Tuesday. On Wednesday and Thursday, I only had about 3,500 steps each day, and today, I'll only have about 6,000. I'm actually really itching to go for a run!

Jerry didn't have to get up early for work today, so last night, we watched a movie called "4 Minute Mile", which was available OnDemand. I hadn't heard of it until I saw a tweet about it by Runner's World. It's a movie about a kid who runs track, and he's super fast. He had a troubled childhood, and his brother is into the drug scene, which he tries to avoid. He starts training to run a sub-4:00 mile under a pretty tough coach, and running becomes his "outlet". It's a really good movie, and made me want to go for a run!

Source

It really reminded me of the movie "8 Mile" with Eminem, right down to the fact that Kim Basinger plays the mom; only instead of rap, the main character uses running as his outlet. I think it's supposed to be available in select theaters starting today, but usually the closest theater to me that plays "select" movies like this is Chicago, a five-hour drive. So Jerry and I watched it OnDemand, and we both really liked it.

This morning, we got everything ready for Noah's surprise birthday party. I found a bunch of water balloons in a cupboard, so we thought the kids would have fun throwing them at each other. Jerry spent a good amount of time filling up two big tubs full of water balloons. A couple of hours later, we noticed that they had ALL popped in the tubs! They were old balloons, and I'm guessing being in the sun didn't help.

Water balloon fail

I didn't want to make a cake, because I usually screw up cakes somehow (even from a mix), so I figured cupcakes would be safer. I made red velvet cupcakes, and Eli added sprinkles.

Once everything was ready, Jerry stayed at home with Eli to wait for the kids to show up, and I went to the church to meet Noah, who was riding home from camp in the church van. Once he showed up, and I got the go-ahead from Jerry, we headed home. Noah said he really missed us and the cats while he was gone, and I didn't want to tell him about Paolo until after his party.

When we got home, he walked in the door ahead of me, and his friends were all hiding behind the couch. They jumped out and yelled "Surprise!". Noah had no clue they were here, but his reaction wasn't quite as exciting as I'd been picturing. I think he just wasn't sure what to make of everything. Once he settled in the house, though, our house became as loud and rambunctious as you'd expect a house full of 10-year old boys to be ;)

All 10 candles on his cupcake

The party turned out successful, and Noah was happy. It's nice having him home--that was the longest we've ever gone without being in contact.

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I didn't realize until this morning that it's August 1st already, and that means a new monthly goal. For July, my goal was to give up ice cream for the month. I did pretty well--I made an exception on National Ice Cream Day, because, well, it was National Ice Cream Day! I can't really say that giving it up for a month killed my cravings for it completely, but I definitely don't think about it constantly like I did all of June. I actually passed up on the ice cream at Noah's party today, because I was full from dinner. That never happens!

I had a hard time coming up with a good goal for August. We're leaving for Punta Cana on the 24th, so I'm only going to keep my goal in effect until then, but for this month, my goal is going to be to eat all of my meals at the dining table. I tend to eat breakfast and lunch in the living room, and I'd like to get out of that habit. I can still eat snacks elsewhere, but all of my meals will be at the dining table.

Anyone else have a goal for August?

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