Motivational Monday #69

Happy Motivational Monday! Hopefully, everyone has had a great week. The thing I am most proud of this week is that I'm still going strong on my no-ice-cream-July challenge. It's been 14 days, and I still haven't had ice cream! I craved it like crazy for a few days at the beginning of the month, but now I honestly don't really think about it much. That really surprises me, because ice cream is my very favorite treat food. This week is going to be tough, because Eli is going to church camp for a few days, so I'm going to have to entertain Noah in ways that don't involve food.

The Five Days of Giveaways ended this morning, so I used Random.org to pull the winners. There were over 700 entries on each item, which blows my mind! If you won something, I already sent you an email to get your shipping address. Here is a list of the winners:

New Balance FreshFoam 980 trail runners- Alma
Two pairs of Balega socks- Valerie
RooSport pocket- Kathy
Fitletic hydration belt with Clif fuel- Karen
Camo Running Skirt- Maegan
$100 gift card to RunningSkirts.com- Britney

Congrats ladies! Hope you enjoy the goods. I think it's funny that whenever I email someone to let them know that they won a giveaway, they almost always respond, "I never win anything!"  It doesn't hurt to throw your name in there. ;)

Now, on to Motivational Monday... what have you all done this week to make you feel proud?

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Jodi just completed her first duathlon on Sunday! She started running in 2012, to take part in a local fundraiser 5K. Over the last two years, she's shed 60 pounds! The duathlon she completed was a 5K run, followed by a 20K bike ride, and finished with another 5K run. She's already thinking about how she can speed up her times for next year's race.

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Christy was a little hesitant to share this, because she said it's not an "amazing story" like most of the other Motivational Monday submissions. But that's why I love it--MM is about celebrating what YOU are proud of, regardless of what everyone else is doing. Christy is proud that, over the week of the fourth of July, she ran 8 miles Sunday, 3 miles Wednesday, a 5K on Thursday (which she PR'ed), and 4 miles on Friday!

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Celeste has had an amazing few years--and she just recently completed her 100th race! She and her husband, Al, started running in 2009, and racing in 2010. They had started running to help lose weight and keep it off. Together, they've lost 100 pounds (Celeste lost 60, and Al lost 40) using Weight Watchers and running. The two of them have now checked off their 100th race! (Celeste's blog)

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Don't forget to check out more stories on the Motivational Monday Facebook post! If you are feeling proud of an accomplishment, and have a photo you'd like to share for Motivational Monday, just email it to me, along with a brief description, at Katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com, with the subject "Motivational Monday".

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Portofino Run for Art 5K

I was SO tired all day yesterday. On Thursday, my friend Sarah from Arizona (and her husband) came over, and we played Cards Against Humanity until after midnight. I went to bed at around 1:00, and I had plans to meet Jessica for an eight-mile run 6:45. It was REALLY hard to get out of bed Friday morning, but I did it--I went to Jessica's, and we ran eight miles (doing the 9:1 run/walk ratio). It felt really hard--probably because I was so tired and I'd had my share of wine the night before.

Last night, I ended up falling asleep while watching a movie at around 8:30. Thankfully, I slept really well, because I had another early run today--the Portofino Run for Art 5K with Audrey! I had already told her that I attempted to run her planned pace of 8:50 on Thursday, and failed, so I wasn't going to be able to keep up. In my mind, I made a goal of just following Audrey, and keeping up with her as long as I could.

I got to Audrey's at around 6:30, and we waited there for her cousin, Karen. Today is Audrey's 40th birthday, so while we were waiting, I made a little sign for the back of her shirt that said, "Today I run for my 40th-birthday cake". When Karen got there, we headed over to the race. I was so surprised that there weren't many people there. It was 7:15 (the race started at 8:00), but there were probably less than 30 people milling around.

The race start and finish took place at Portofino, an Italian restaurant. They had the restaurant open to the runners to use the bathroom before the race (awesome!), and there was a free pancake breakfast in the banquet room there after the race.

While we were waiting, Audrey's two running buddies showed up to surprise her for her birthday! When Audrey asked them to do the race with her for her birthday, they told her they couldn't; but they had been planning to surprise her all along. Audrey had no idea, and was thrilled to see them. We headed over to the starting line.

There were a lot more people there by that point, but it was still a pretty small race. The race started, and I was trying to get past people. There were walker and people with strollers who had lined up near the front, so it took some weaving to get around them. I saw Audrey way over to my left and just slightly ahead of me, so I made it a mission to just stay as close to her as I could.

I was right behind her, and from right behind me, I could hear a woman say, "Oh, look, it's her 40th birthday" (she had obviously noticed Audrey's shirt). Then the guy she was running with said, "Oh, who cares?" I was shocked to hear that--what a jerk. I turned around and said, "Wow, that's really rude!" then I ran up next to Audrey, tapped her arm, and asked how she was feeling. I just wanted that guy to know that I heard what he said, and that I was with Audrey. I hoped he felt like an ass. Whenever I see people with things like that on their shirts, I get excited for them, and usually encourage them in some way.

There was a short segment of the route that went along the Detroit River, and it was really pretty!

You can see Audrey on the left, and the guy in the yellow shirt was the "who cares" guy. Audrey didn't know I was behind her all this time, though. I was tempted to tell Audrey what the guy said, so she could try and pass him, but I didn't want to mess with her pace. My first mile was done in 8:38. Audrey seemed to be going strong, so I kept pushing to keep up.

The second half of the race goes through a golf course. When we were approaching mile two, just before the golf course, Audrey started to slow down a little. I was tempted to slow down, too, but I knew she wanted to PR, so I had a different idea. I decided to pass her, tell her that she's on course for a PR, and hope that she would kind of latch on to my pace and "chase" me, or even pass me.

I didn't look back for a while, because I assumed she'd be right behind me. The sun was KILLER. It was beating down, without a cloud in the sky. I finally glanced back, at about mile 2.25, and I didn't even see Audrey then. I probably could have pressed on at that pace, but there was no point--I was there for Audrey, so of course I didn't want to pass her and then finish ahead of her!

I kept jogging slowly, so that Audrey could catch up (and I could catch my breath--it was so nice to slow down!!). When Audrey caught up, I picked up the pace a little, and ran at her pace for the rest of the race. I told her that it was just a really sucky day for a PR, because mid-July is so hot! Audrey said she was running her very best, and she was happy with that.

I waved her ahead of me at the last minute, so she could finish first, and then we both chugged some water and stood in the shade to catch our breath. Her running buddies finished about a minute behind us, and Karen finished shortly after that. My "official" results:

We headed inside for the pancake breakfast. I was so hot and after running hard those first two miles, pancakes didn't sound at all good to me. I just had some orange slices and a banana (and a big cup of water).

They did the awards ceremony while we sat, and in between the awards, they drew names for door prizes (lots of gift cards, mostly). I didn't win anything, but I thought it was a really cool idea!

Despite the heat, I thought it was a nice little race. I was definitely reminded of why I don't like to race in the summer months, but I felt really good when I was done. I used to despise the 5K distance, but the more I do it, the more I like it!

Anyone else running a race this weekend? Tomorrow is Noah's birthday--he'll be 10!

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Five Days of Giveaways--last chance!

I think I forgot to mention that I'm running a 5K this Saturday with my friend, Audrey. Audrey is the friend that I ran with for her first half-marathon this spring, and she turns 40 on Saturday. She thought it would be fun to run a race on her birthday, so she chose the Portofino Run for Art.

She said she'd like to set a new PR at this race, which would be 27:35. Until this summer, I would have thought that would be no problem at all for me to pace her to! But this weekend, I'll be finishing behind her, I'm sure of it. That's about an 8:50/mile pace, and I've been running in the mid- to high-9:00's, and even in the 10:00's lately. I think it's a combination of the extra weight, some bad eating habits that I've been working on, and, of course, the heat/humidity.

Today, I drove the kids to their Camp 9-1-1, and then came home to run. On the way home, I was thinking that maybe I could do an 8:50 pace for the race. I decided to try a practice run today, and see how I felt. If it was close, I'd go for it; but if not, then I'd just plan to run for fun, at a slow pace, on Saturday.

It didn't seem too hot on my way home (easy to say when I was in the air conditioned car). It was only 63 degrees, with the humidity at 83%--not horrible, but not ideal, either. Regardless, I was going to try to aim for 8:50-ish per mile.

Surprisingly, I was a little sore today from my walk with Jessica yesterday! I wasn't expecting that at all. But anyway, I headed out for my run, and as I ran down my street, I was just trying to focus on not going too fast--I concentrated on my arm swing, my posture, etc. Halfway down the street, I glanced at my watch, expecting to see 9:15 or something, and I saw 7:35/mi. Damn! I started too fast, which almost ALWAYS means I'll crash and burn later, even if I don't run very far at that pace. My best races (and training runs) have been with negative splits--starting slower and building up speed gradually.

A quarter mile in, I wanted to quit. I had gone out too fast, and couldn't breathe very well. I really wanted to just stop my Garmin and walk home. But then I told myself to try and get in ONE sub-9:00 mile. I made a deal with myself that if I got in a sub-9:00 for the first mile, then I could just jog the next two miles. That helped me to keep pushing the pace. I was trying to stay as close to 8:50 as I could, but I was still running a little too fast.

When I hit mile one, I saw that I'd finished it in 8:41, so I immediately slowed my pace to a jog. I wish I could pace Audrey on her birthday race, but I just don't want to stress about it, so I'm going to run it for fun. I was glad that I still managed one sub-9:00 mile, though ;)  The sun was beating down, and it felt so much hotter than it actually was. The sun makes a huge difference in how I feel when I run. I do much better on an overcast day.

I spent the entire second mile catching my breath from the first mile. I picked up the pace a little in the last mile, but only because I was dying from the heat and wanted to get home.

My friend Sarah is in town from Arizona, so she and her husband, Ne, are coming over tonight. I'm making pulled pork sandwiches for dinner, and we'll probably play Euchre or Cards Against Humanity. First, though, Jerry and I have to go pick up the kids and see their "graduation" ceremony from Camp 9-1-1 ;)

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So today is the final day of my Five Days of Giveaways. A quick recap of what I'm giving away:

New Balance FreshFoam 920 Trail Runner shoes
Two pairs of Balega socks
RooSport pocket
Fitletic Hydration Belt and Clif Bar fuel products

Finally... I have a giveaway from Running Skirts. When I was at the Heartbreak Hill Half & Festival, there were a couple of reps from Running Skirts there for a demo. I wrote about how they had us do a fashion show (and I literally wanted the floor to swallow me up--that was SO FAR OUT of my comfort zone, I can't even describe it!).

They had tables of their products (not just skirts--they have lots of tops, arm sleeves, sports bras, headbands, etc.) and we tried on a bunch of stuff and put on a "fashion show" in front of a video camera. We were told that the winning team would receive $100 gift cards for us bloggers, as well as an extra to give away on the blog. To show how much I love and appreciate all of you, I strutted my stuff on the runway the best I could, despite wanting to just die on the spot, and scored a gift card for y'all! ;)

In addition, we were allowed to take home the clothes that were worn. I picked this cute camo skirt (it has sewn in shorts underneath).

I didn't realize it was a little too big until after I'd gotten home. It's labeled a Running Skirt size 3, but that translates to a women's size 8 normally (so if you wear a jeans size of 8, it will likely fit; and I think it's a little on the loose side, so maybe 8-10 would work).

I'd like to give away the skirt as well as the $100 gift card, and because the size of the skirt may be prohibitive to a lot of people, I'll do the two as separate drawings. There will be one drawing for the skirt, and one drawing for the gift card. The skirt is only open to the U.S. (sorry!), but the gift card will be open to anyone (it will be emailed to the winner).

To enter the drawing for the camo skirt shown above, just fill out your name and email address in the form below. I will pick a random winner on Monday, July 14th at 9:00 AM EST.


To enter the drawing for the $100 gift card to Running Skirts, same thing--just fill out the form below with your name and email address, and I'll pick a random winner on Monday, July 14th at 9:00 AM EST. (And yes, you can enter both giveaways)


Running Skirts also gave me a discount code that is good for 15% off! Just use the discount code "RUNWAYSKIRTS" for the discount when checking out.

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Well, I hope you've enjoyed the Five Days of Giveaways! I will pull the winners on Monday, and announce them on Monday's post. This has been so much fun for me... I don't like to post a lot of reviews, but it's nice to be able to give some cool stuff away! A HUGE thank you to Runner's World and all of the sponsors who gave away some fun products to try out. And thank you all for reading! If it weren't for you, I never would have been invited to participate in the RW Half & Festival, which ended up being one of the best running experiences I've ever had. Good luck to all who entered the giveaways! :)

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Trail walk with Jessica

I decided not to run today, because I had plans to go for a walk with Jessica this afternoon, and I felt ready for a run break. My kids are doing "Camp 9-1-1" for two days, which is a day camp that I would have loved when I was a kid! They tour an ambulance, learn CPR, visit a local emergency room, learn about safety, and learn about careers in the medical field. Such a great idea, and totally free!

Eli's surgery on the 22nd will prevent him from going to the camp that is closest to us, so I had to sign them up for the camp that is a pretty far drive. It started at 9:00 this morning, so we had to get up and get ready first thing this morning. Eli slept in my bed last night, because he a nightmare--which meant I didn't sleep a wink all night. That kid sleeps like the hands on a clock, turning in circles. Sometimes his hand was over my face, and other times his feet were kicking me in the head.

Anyway, I drove the kids to camp and dropped them off, and then headed home to get the laundry done. On the days of their baseball games, I always forget to make sure their baseball shirts are clean (and they never are), so I end up trying to wash them 30 minutes before we have to leave. Then they have to wear slightly damp shirts to the game. Please tell me I'm not the only mom that does that...?!

After lunch, I went to meet Jessica at a park. I used to run this park during my long runs a couple of years ago, but I got tired of the drive out there, so I hadn't been there in a while. There is a gravel path around a bunch of soccer fields, and some paths that go back in the woods. I've never ventured into the woods there, because I'm afraid of getting lost (and it looks a little sketchy to go there alone), but it was perfect to go on a walk with Jessica.

We came across a ton of tiny little toads on the path, a couple of snakes, and all sorts of bugs. I'm not really afraid of any of those things except for spiders. I'm deathly afraid of spiders! The trail wound a couple of miles through the woods, and it was a fun walk. We added a couple more miles to and from the car, so we walked 4.5 miles altogether. I got in over 12,000 steps, which was nice for a day that I didn't run!

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So, I haven't mentioned this because I'm always afraid of jinxing a streak, but when I set my July challenge, I had a second challenge in the back of my mind. The first, that I wrote about on my blog, was to only have two alcoholic drinks per week. Um, I failed at that one pretty quickly. We had people over the the fourth, and after two drinks, my intentions were just gone.

However, the other challenge in my mind was even harder for me--no ice cream or Monica's for all of July. I ate way too much ice cream in May and June, so I wanted to break that habit. Even if it was a McDonald's cone for 170 calories, I just wanted to stop having it all the time. Monica's is a local bakery that always calls out to me when I go past. I usually do well at avoiding it, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to give up that as well for the month, especially so I wouldn't go there to avoid the ice cream--haha!

So, today is the 9th--meaning I haven't had ice cream (or Monica's) in 9 days. That's pretty good! The best part is that after about three days, I stopped craving the ice cream. Between this challenge, and the fact that I'm trying to get back into my old (good) habits, I feel like I am going to start seeing some progress on the scale soon. I hope so, anyway! ;)

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Today is Day 4 of the Five Days of Giveaways. Sunday was the New Balance trail running shoes; Monday was Balega socks; Tuesday was the RooSport pocket; and today, I'm giving away some fuel/hydration items! In our welcome bags for the Runner's World Half & Festival was a hydration belt by Fitletic. I know a lot of people like belts, but I prefer my CamelBak, so I'm happy to give this to someone else who will use it! Clif Bar also hooked me up with some of my favorite running fuel, but I will never use all of it, so I'm including a variety of that as well.

The belt is a S/M size, which says it fits from 24-36". There are two water bottles and a pouch to hold some of your fuel, your phone, etc.

To enter the giveaway, just fill out the form below with your name and email address (U.S. only, please). I'll select a winner by random draw on Monday, July 14th at 9:00 AM EST.

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Frogger

I went swimming with the kids yesterday. This is kind of surprising, because I never swim. I hate swimming! But I wanted to get in a run, and with the kids being home from school, I have to get creative with fitting in my runs when and where I can. I decided to take them to the rec center to play basketball while I ran on the indoor track. Then, afterward, I said I'd go swimming with them.

I mostly hate swimming because you have to change clothes, and bring a ton of extra stuff (towel, fresh clothes, etc). But I packed all of our stuff up into a couple of bags, and we headed to the rec center. I decided to run three miles on the track. There wasn't a single soul on the track other than myself, so I took a selfie. It was obviously so blurry because I was running so fast. (not really)

I wore my foot pod, and my Garmin showed that I was running something like a 10:30/mi pace. That just did NOT seem right to me! According to the "rules" of the track, 12 times around the inner lane is 1 mile. According to my Garmin, it's about 12.5 times around. I'm not sure which to believe. Just for the heck of it, I used the stopwatch on my phone to see what my pace would be if I was doing 12 laps per mile. It would have been an 8:30/mi pace. According to my Garmin for that segment, it was 9:45/mi. Does it really matter? No. But I like to think I was running 8:30 ;)

Anyway, when I was done with the three miles, the kids and I changed into bathing suits and went swimming for a little while. When I swim, I don't really swim swim. I just tread water, and doggie-paddle around. Even though I don't like being in the water, it felt awesome after running on the track! Until I got out, and had to deal with being wet and soaked with chlorine. 

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There is something very odd going on near my house this year! Last year, the state land across the street from us was (deliberately) flooded from Lake Erie, and turned into a marshland. Since then, there have been all sorts of new critters around, and it's kind of fun. We've had ducks, and tons of turtles. The turtles have been laying their eggs all over the place. And like I mentioned recently, there are now frogs.

Over the past 11 years that Jerry and I have lived here, I've seen a few frogs each summer, usually when doing yard work or something. But over the past week, our entire street has been littered with dead baby frogs. They hop across the street from the marsh, and get run over by cars. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of frogs smashed on the street. 

Today, when I went out for a run, I was shocked at how many frogs there were! My run was really, really tough. I felt like I was running SO fast, but my watched showed mid-9:00 range. This humidity messes with me every summer, and every summer, I stop and wonder what the heck is wrong with me. I need to learn that I have a summer pace and a winter pace, and the summer pace is much slower. 

Anyway, a mile in, it started to rain. It felt AMAZING, and I was so glad to have the rain cool me off a little. When I got to my street, it pretty much came alive. There were hopping frogs everywhere! I felt like I was playing hopscotch to avoid stepping on them. It was so awesome--which I know, many people would be grossed out, but I love frogs. Once I got home, I turned around to go back and take some pictures. Here is a short video clip on Instagram--the frogs are tiny, so those things that look like grasshoppers? Yeah, they're frogs.

I took the kids outside to play in the rain and try to catch some of the frogs. They couldn't believe how many there were.

I've sure been selling Michigan by writing about the fish flies and now these frogs, huh? ;) 

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If you missed my last couple of posts, I'm doing Five Days of Giveaways this week--giving away a different (running-related) item each day. On Sunday, I posted New Balance trail running shoes; yesterday, I posted some Balega socks; and today, I will be giving away a RooSport pocket. I'll be honest--when I saw this in our welcome bags from Runner's World at the Heartbreak Hill Half, I had no idea what it was! But then I saw the demo at the expo, and I thought it was pretty smart. 

I'm completely obsessed with my FlipBelt, however, so I wanted to give the RooSport pocket to someone who would get some use out of it. Here is what it looks like:

If you go to their website, you can see how it's used; but basically, it's a pocket with a really strong magnet that holds it onto your pants. You set the pocket just inside of your pants, and then the part with the orange tab goes on the outside, and using the strong magnet (trust me, it's REALLY strong), holds the pocket in place. It can fit a few small items in there--Gu, keys, driver's license, etc. It's a clever way to turn any pants into pants with a pocket!

To enter to win the RooSport pocket, just fill out your name and email address below. I'll randomly select a winner on Monday, July 14th, at 9:00 AM EST. Available to U.S. friends only--sorry, international peeps!

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Motivational Monday #68

Happy Motivational Monday! This morning, I got an email from Heather at Half Size Me letting me know that my interview is available for listening now. I love the Half Size Me podcast, and I'm honored that Heather invited me back on the show. I was interviewed the first time in fall of 2011, and a lot has happened since then.

On the podcast, I discuss the effect of Mark's illness/death on my weight maintenance, how maintenance has been going in general, and things I've learned throughout, as well as the From Fat to Finish Line documentary in the works. I felt super comfortable during this interview, so I hope you enjoy listening :)  Here is the link--I'm Half Size Me episode 126.

In the interview, I mention the trailer of the documentary, and how I can't even watch it without crying. I've posted it here once before, but it's very fitting for Motivational Monday, so I'll share it here again:



Even I get inspired watching that, and I'm in it! Hahaha

Anyway, what have you all done this week to make you feel proud?

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Amy just ran her first 10K on the fourth of July! She was very nervous leading up to the race--she'd lost 30 pounds, but still has about 130 pounds to lose, and wasn't as consistent as she would have liked to have been in her training. But, at the world's largest 10K (the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta), she found the crowds energizing enough to make her go for it. Her goal was to finish under two hours, and she finished in 1:47:01!

She mentioned something special about the last part of the race that she wanted to share: "We had walked to a Jason's Deli along the race course for lunch after the race.  As we were finishing up, we noticed people eating outside start to stand, cheer, and shout. The entire parade route was giving the final race participant a roaring standing ovation.  We rushed outside to cheer her on and several of us (myself included) were in tears. She had a police escort on motorcycles and looked truly done-- but she finished!"

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Jenna is thrilled to announce that she is finally within a healthy weight range! She started at 211 pounds, and just recently weighed in a 145. Her journey was long and very tough, however--she actually spent 6 months at 150 pounds, just 5 pounds away from a healthy weight for her height! She said that the plateau was actually where she learned the most about herself, nutrition, and living an active lifestyle. She wouldn't accept a "failure" when she was so close to the end, so she pushed on out of sheer determination, and got past her plateau. She still plans to lose a little more to get to her personal goal, but she is very proud to be in her healthy weight range now! (Jenna's blog)

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Remember when I met Yvette at by chance at a grocery store? Well, she'd mentioned that she was going to be in Woman's World soon, and her issue is out right now! It's the July 14th issue, for sale July 3rd-9th.

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As always, you can check out more stories on the Motivational Monday Facebook post.

Like I mentioned yesterday, I'm doing 5 Days of Giveaways right now, to share some of the love (i.e. cool running stuff!) that I received at the Runner's World Half & Festival last month. Yesterday, I posted the New Balance shoes. Today, we'll stick with the "feet" theme, and I'll give away some awesome socks!

With the Hat Trick registration, runners were given a pair of Balega socks (along with a hat and race shirts). I fell in love with the socks, and wrote Balega to say thank you. They sent me a couple more pairs, along with two pairs to give away to one of you! These socks are so comfy that I've been wearing them just as fast as I can wash them. I've never been a brand snob when it comes to socks, but these ones may have changed my mind ;) So anyway, I have two pairs to give away, in a size medium (women's shoe size 8.5-10.5).

To enter the giveaway for both pairs of socks, just fill out the form below with your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win). I'll randomly select a winner on July 14th at 9:00 AM EST. I'm so sorry, but because the shipping costs more than my car the socks themselves, I have to restrict this to U.S. residents only. Good luck!

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Early morning run, and five days of giveaways

Last night, the kids stayed the night at my parents' house, and Jerry had to work all night, so I had a pretty quiet night to myself. I went to a couple of stores looking for the Wii EA Sports Active "More Workouts" game, but it's an old game, and I couldn't find it anywhere. I want to do another strength training challenge, and I loved doing the EA Sports Active 30-Day Challenge a couple of years ago.

I have a couple of other games--The Biggest Loser and Nike + Kinect game, but I don't like those ones. Even though the EA Sports Active game is old school, I really like it! I just wanted to get the "More Workouts" version to add some variety. I'm going to order it on Amazon.

When I got home, I ended up putting my pajamas on super early. I made some tea and sat outside on the front porch, just enjoying the weather.

I had gotten in a shipment of David's Tea--I ordered three new flavors: Cotton Candy (rooibos), Root Beer Float (black), and Caramel Corn (herbal). I made the Caramel Corn last night, and it was decent, but I don't think I'd order it again. This morning, I tried the other two. I hated the Root Beer Float, and the Cotton Candy was pretty good.

Jerry got off work early this morning, so we made plans to meet up at a park for a run. It was the park with the infamous hill that I wrote about before, where I chose to crash in the grass on my rollerblades instead of flying into the river ;)

It was humid this morning, but not too hot, so it wasn't bad. I love the park that we went to!

I wish the path around the park was long enough to run, but it's only about 3/4 of a mile around, so we started there and then ran the connecting path toward the Metropark. I told Jerry that it was either two or three miles to reach the Metropark, I wasn't sure which; so we decided to just run the length of it and turn around at the Metropark.

During the first mile, I felt so stiff! I'm not sure why my body has felt so stiff lately when I run, but I still felt like we were running around a 10:00/mi pace, maybe a little faster. When I heard my Garmin beep at one mile, it said 11:00/mi. I was shocked--even on my easiest runs, my pace is faster than that. We obviously weren't trying to run fast, but I was surprised that it felt kind of difficult at that pace.

Anyway, we reached the Metropark at mile 2.1, so we turned around, deciding on a 4-miler. My legs really started to loosen up at mile three. Mile three seems to be the magic number for me! I tend to feel really stiff and clumsy for the first couple of miles, and then I loosen up. When we hit mile four, we stopped the Garmin and just walked the short distance to the car, enjoying the scenery. The park is kind of far from home, otherwise I'd run it more often!

I really like that Jerry has been running with me sometimes. I feel like I'm getting spoiled, running with Jerry, Nathan, Jessica, Stephanie, and anyone else I can recruit. I enjoy running so much more when I run with a partner; I'm always bummed when I run alone now ;)

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I have a pretty awesome giveaway today! When I went to the Runner's World Half & Festival last month, I was given some sample products to try out. Some of the things I really like, and I decided to put together five days of giveaways (giving away a different item each day for five days).

First up? Shoes! There was a New Balance rep at the Festival to show us a new shoe line, the FreshFoam 980 Trail Runners.

They sent us bloggers a pair in the mail to try out for ourselves, which was so generous! Admittedly, I've never run on a trail before, but I am excited to try it, and testing out the shoes makes it even more fun. The first pair of the Trail Runners I received, even though they were my size on the label, fit much too small. New Balance sent me a size larger, and told me to give the others away on my blog!

The shoes are the ones pictured above--women's size 9.5. Now, in my normal street shoes, I wear an 8.5. My Brooks Adrenaline running shoes are a 9.5 wide. These shoes are a 9.5, but my toe was hitting the front of the shoe, and the toe box was too small for me, so I ended up with a 10.5. So, if you want to enter the giveaway, it's just something to keep in mind when deciding whether it's the right size for you.

To enter to win the shoes, just fill out your name and email address below. I'll select a winner by random drawing on 7/14/14 at 9:00 AM EST.



I have some other great stuff to give away, so check back over the next four days for that :)

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Getting back into old habits

Yesterday's get-together ended up being so much fun! I think we need to have people over more often, if only to get motivated to clean our house ;)  Jerry did most of the outside work, and I cleaned the inside, and it was good to go.

For being a last-minute plan, everything came together well, and I think everyone had a good time. It was SO nice outside. Not at all humid, and the temp was in the 70's. We sat outside, under the tree, and I kept looking up at the sky because it was so pretty.

We had dinner (beer brats and chicken sausages, cheesy potatoes, coleslaw, and a couple of salads). Then we built a fire in the backyard and sat around chatting while the kids went through about 10 boxes of sparklers ;)

I didn't get to bed until nearly 1:00, which is MUCH later than I'm used to staying up. But it was a very fun evening!

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Contrary to what the title of this post may make you think, I'm not talking about getting back into my old BAD habits; but rather, getting back into my old habits that I formed when I was losing weight. I've realized over the past few years of maintenance, that I've slowly started to drop some of the good habits I picked up when I was in weight loss mode.

A few examples: I've started using white rice again instead of brown; I've been eating white English muffins instead of the low calorie whole grain ones; I've been eating premium ice cream instead of light ice cream or frozen yogurt; I've been going out to eat a lot, and I harder ever ate out when I was losing weight. Stuff like that! It seems so small in the moment, but when added up, it's probably making it much harder for me to lose this 15 pounds I've put back on.

When I was losing weight, my tastes changed a lot. In the beginning, I would put two whole tablespoons of brown sugar in my oatmeal, because that was the only way to make it palatable to me! As I lost weight, I cut back on the sugar, and after a year or so, I was able to sweeten my oatmeal with just a banana or a teaspoon of maple syrup.

Oatmeal with one teaspoon of sugar... I used to use six times
that much sugar when I first started losing weight.

I remember a specific time (two months after I started losing weight) that I made warm cinnamon apples in the crock pot, and I followed the recipe as written, which included 2/3 cup brown sugar. The apples were delicious! I thought they were perfect. Then, a year later, I made them again--and I couldn't even eat them, because I thought they were way too sweet. I cut the sugar in half the next time, and it was much better, but still on the sweet side.

I used to work at Lonestar, a steakhouse, in college--and one of the side dishes they serve is a baked sweet potato with butter and cinnamon sugar. I used to order them and pile on the cinnamon sugar, completely coating the entire thing. I avoided eating sweet potatoes much when I was losing weight, because I knew I couldn't afford to use heaps of sugar on it, and they just didn't taste good plain. One day, I decided to try one with just a small amount of sugar. Before I added the sugar, though, I gave it a taste (completely plain)--and I loved it! I couldn't believe how sweet it was without the added sugar.

Anyway, the whole point of this is that my tastebuds changed while I was losing weight, and I formed new habits because of that. Plain sweet potatoes, cutting back sugar in recipes, using whole grains where possible (except pasta--I never did get to the point where I enjoyed whole wheat pasta, but I did like the Smart Taste pasta, which is white with added fiber). Healthier habits.

Over the past couple of years, however, I gradually started losing those habits. I was at goal, so I could afford to do that here and there (or so I thought). But what I didn't foresee was that I would develop a TASTE FOR the unhealthier version. Sweet potatoes don't taste as sweet anymore, light ice cream isn't nearly as rich, vegetables taste bitter, etc. My taste buds have changed once again--for the worse.

So I'd really like to focus on getting back into those old habits: whole grain bread, brown rice, light ice cream, plain vegetables and fruits, naturally sweetened foods, smaller portions, dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate, etc. I know that it will take time--it didn't happen overnight before, and it won't happen overnight this time--but I'm willing to be patient.

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Fourth of July long run and get together

Yesterday, when I sat down to write a blog post, I realized that I had absolutely nothing to write about. My day was so boring! So I didn't write.

I looked at what the weather was supposed to be like this morning, and it was supposed to be as perfect as it could possibly be for a run (in July in Michigan). I decided to plan on doing my long run in the morning, about eight miles. When I got up this morning, it was 60 degrees and the humidity was only in the 50% range. The humidity has been in the 90-100% range for a while, and it's been miserable, so I was thrilled to see the temps this morning.

I spent about a half hour trying to figure out where I wanted to run, which was a big waste of time. I finally decided to do an out and back from my house--10 miles total. I brought my handheld water bottle because I didn't think I'd need much water with the low humidity. And I decided to run a 9:1 ratio--run 0.9 miles and walk 0.1 mile, and then repeat. Almost as soon as I started running, I just felt "off". My legs felt so heavy and clunky!

I had planned on running in the low- to mid-9:00's, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. My first running portion was a 9:37 pace, and even that felt tough. At around mile 1.75, I was really having a hard time. I decided that I'd finish out the run portion, and at mile 1.9, I'd call Jerry to come pick me up. My whole body just felt so tired and clumsy.

When I started walking, I pulled out my phone to call Jerry, and then had the thought that I'd give it one last effort to keep going. I really wanted to finish, because we're having friends over tonight, and I wanted to earn some activity points! So I gave myself permission to run as slowly as I wanted, even if it was a 12:00/mi pace. That seemed to help, because once I slowed it down for mile three, I felt like I could at least keep going.

When I reached mile three, I started to feel much better, and my pace dipped back into the 9:00's. I wasn't trying to push myself at all--I just ran however I was feeling at the moment. I was so surprised to see how few cars were on the road. Usually, it's a pretty busy road, but today, there were moments where there weren't cars coming from either direction--it was almost eerie. Normally, I would be too embarrassed to take a selfie if there were cars, but nobody was around ;)

When I hit mile 4, I debated briefly whether to turn around there or to keep going another mile, to get 10 total. I was feeling good in the moment, so I decided to keep going. I took it easy on the running, and took a 0.1 mile walk break at the bottom of each mile. At mile eight, I was thinking about calling Jerry for a ride again, but I knew I could finish. So I just kept going. At mile 9.25, my mom drove by with my kids--she was taking them to a parade. I was so glad to turn onto my street.

It definitely wasn't what I would call a "good run", but I am really happy that I stuck it out and didn't quit at mile two, like I'd wanted. I felt good when I was done, and I'd burned a lot of calories for our get-together tonight :)

We hadn't been planning to have a party or anything, but a couple of days ago, we ended up inviting one of Noah's friend's family over, and then invited one of Jerry's co-workers and his daughter, and our next door neighbors. We never do anything on the fourth, so I'm glad we decided to have people over.

As soon as I got home from my run, I didn't even change out of my sweaty clothes. I just started cleaning the house, and I made coleslaw. I've never made coleslaw before, but figured it'd be a good side for the craft beer brats we'd bought to cook on the grill. I chose this recipe (a copycat KFC recipe), and when I got out the ingredients, I realized that I had forgotten that I broke my food processor the last time I used it. So I had to chop all the cabbage by hand--to the size of a grain of rice. Hahaha, it took a while, but it worked out. And the coleslaw turned out really good!

I spent a couple of hours cleaning the house, and then I finally was able to take a shower. I was bummed when I realized that my boobs had chafed from my sports bra during my run! I had planned on wearing a sundress (which was pretty low-cut), and when I put it on, you could totally see the boob chafe.

Because I'm classy, I still wore it, despite the chafe. We have a cooler full of cold drinks, so that's all that matters anyway, right? ;)

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Kids' first 5K!

I was thinking about taking today as a rest day, but I was feeling kind of lazy toward the late morning. I decided to take the kids to the State Park, and let them do a "practice 5K". Eli has been begging me for a couple of years now to let him run a 5K race, but I always tell him that he has to train for it. I don't think he realizes how difficult it will be. He doesn't have the discipline to train, so he hasn't done one yet.

There is a lollipop route at the park that is a perfect 5K distance, so I figured we could do a run/walk method and they could get a feel for how far a 5K actually is. I set my Garmin up for run/walk intervals--a feature I'd never used before. It's different from doing intervals, because it only keeps track of your 1-mile laps, but it will alert you when it's time to run and when it's time to walk. You can specify the time or distance of each run/walk segment, so I set the run for 1:00 (minute), and walk for 1:00. I figured that would be a good place to start with the kids.

I told them we were going to take it very easy, and do a light jog for the running part, because I was nervous they wouldn't be able to finish. We filled their water bottles with ice water, and left them in the car, and then headed out on the path. The first 4-5 running segments went really well.

Noah, my almost-10-year old, doesn't like to run, so I was expecting him to complain the entire time. And I was expecting Eli (8 years old) to be pushing us to go faster, because he wants to SPRINT the entire distance ;) But Noah said several times that he felt really good to be running and he was glad that we went.

Eli found a long stick on the ground during one of the walking segments (barely a half-mile into the run), and he started running with it. I told him he can't run with a stick like that, because he'll trip. He didn't listen, and within a few seconds, he tripped over the stick and flew onto the pavement. He scraped his knees and hands. Normally, he's a pretty tough kid, but he started crying and then being really dramatic.

We stopped for a few minutes to figure out what to do, and he wanted to turn around. Noah was really excited to do the whole 5K, and I didn't want to disappoint him. I knew Eli was fine, that it was just a couple of scraped knees and they would hurt whether we turned around or kept going forward. So, I bribed him--I told him that if he could suck it up and keep going, I'd let him get something from the corner store later. Between sobs, he agreed. That's when I knew he was fine, and he was just being overly dramatic ;)

But, we had to listen to Eli cry for the next mile and a half. He was pretending to hyperventilate, and double over with pain, and all the other dramatic things I remember doing as a kid. Noah, meanwhile, was loving every minute of the run.

He said he was getting tired, but he was excited to finish his first 5K. At the halfway point, Eli insisted that he had to sit down and rest, so we stopped for a couple of minutes.

Finally, around mile two, Eli stopped crying while he ran. I think he was enjoying himself, but didn't want to admit it. I pointed ahead and told Noah that was the finish line, and he was really excited. When we hit 3.11, I told them that they'd done it--they ran their first 5K. Noah said, "YES!" and was SO very proud. Eli said he was never going to run a 5K again. Hahaha!

The best part of the whole thing was that I could actually do something like this with them. Five years ago, I couldn't even teach Noah how to ride a bike because I couldn't run down the street. And today, I got to help them run a 5K! Noah asked me a couple of times, "Is this super easy for you?" And I told him the truth: "Yes, but it will get to be super easy for you, too, if you keep practicing."

On the way home, I heard Noah ask Eli, "Eli, did you think that was fun? I thought it was so fun!" and Eli muttered, "Yeah, a little bit." So maybe he'll change his mind about one day doing another 5K ;)

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I watched Extreme Weight Loss this morning (recorded from last night) and I LOVED the episode. (Don't worry, no spoilers...)  The woman on the show lost her husband to suicide due to PTSD after he went to Afghanistan. It really hit home for me, because my younger brother has PTSD (after serving in Iraq). I don't know how much he'd be okay with me sharing, so I won't get into specifics, but there hasn't been a single day that I haven't worried about him since he was discharged from the Army several years ago.

That's one of the reasons I've been so excited that he's gotten into running. I've noticed such a change in him, and I love that I'm getting to spend more time with him because of the common ground we share. Anyway, seeing the woman on the show just broke my heart. After her husband's suicide, her young son was diagnosed with PTSD due to the suicide of his father!

It's such a scary disorder, and I love that the show was bringing more awareness to it. Even when soldiers come home and seem like they are totally fine, they may have all kinds of things going on that you can't see. I didn't really comprehend that, or think much about it until I saw this photograph series about a veteran with PTSD. Seeing the photos and reading the captions blew me away, and I started to read more about post-war PTSD to gain some insight on what my brother may be going through.

I love the TV show Parenthood, and Zeek, the grandpa on the show, said something one time about war that I thought was so dead on that I paused the show to write it down:

"War is a place where you lose who you were. And then if you get back, you don't have any idea who you are. And you're scared to death of what you might become."

I obviously can't speak from experience, because I've never been to war; but from what others have told me, and what I've read, it sums it up so well.

Anyway, the Extreme Weight Loss episode was a really good one, so if you haven't seen it, make sure you try to watch it!

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I don't think I mentioned this Monday, because it was Motivational Monday; but Eli's baseball coach put him in as starting pitcher at Monday's game! He did REALLY well--they are only allowed to pitch for three innings, and out of the nine outs in three innings, EIGHT of them were strike-outs by Eli :)

My brother, Nathan, is coming to the game tonight. Eli surprisingly doesn't get nervous under pressure, so I'm sure he'll do fine!

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The joy of the three-miler

I think I have found the joy of running. It was in a three-miler all this time! ;) After all the miles I've been running for about a year now, very few of my runs have been less than 4-5 miles at a time. After the Heartbreak Hill Half & Festival, I've done several three-mile runs, and I'm starting to remember why I got hooked on it.

I remember when I first started running, and three miles seemed IMPOSSIBLE. I couldn't even run down my street, so the thought of running three, or even ONE mile was a foreign to me as climbing Mt. Everest. But over time, I obviously continued to add mileage and I started seeing three-milers as "just" three miles.

"Oh, good, I only have three miles on the schedule today!", as if it was a rest day.

Eventually, I was fast enough that I could do the three miles in less than 30 minutes. And because I'd always heard that you should do 30 minutes of intentional exercise each day, I decided to do 4 mile runs, to hit that 30+ minute mark. I started to have the attitude that a three-miler wasn't really worth my time, because it takes me that long to get ready to run (okay, that may be an exaggeration).

I was just looking at my training log, and from June 19 through October 21, 2013, I only had ONE run that was less than 4 miles. I got so used to running 4+ miles for marathon training that a 3-miler didn't even cross my mind anymore.

After the Heartbreak Hill Half training, I was feeling burnt out and tired of running so many miles, so I did some three-mile runs. And it felt great! At first, I felt kind of guilty that I was "only" doing three miles, but I'm totally over that now. I am feeling excited about running again, which is what I was hoping to accomplish. I don't have any races on my schedule until the end of October, so I have several months of just running how I feel like running--and that will include lots of three-milers!

It's been ridiculously humid for the past week or so, but because it's "only" three miles, I don't dread going out and running in it. Yesterday, I was drenched in sweat, and fish flies were sticking to me, and a bird even pooped on my arm--but I still felt happy to be out there. And today, I did another three-miler... in 100% humidity. Yep, when I headed out this morning, I checked the weather, and the humidity was at 100%. I could certainly feel it when I stepped outside, too! But I knew I'd be done in 30 minutes (give or take), so I just started running.

I have no idea why, but my entire street is covered in dead baby frogs. They're really tiny, and just look like splotches on the road until you get up close, and then you can see that it was a frog. I think they've all been run over by cars, which is odd because our street doesn't get much traffic. Anyway, I just thought it was so weird to see all the frogs--poor little guys!

I carried my phone with me, and took all sorts of photos while I was running. It helped me to not think about the humidity for a little bit. I did stop a mile and a half in to take a picture of the lake, though.

At one point, I thought I was taking a mid-run selfie, but when I got home, I realized that the camera was pointing the opposite direction. I ended up getting a pretty cool picture of the sunrise!

I was surprised to see that my pace wasn't too bad, either. Because of the humidity, I expected to see my pace in the mid-10:00 range, but I finished the run with negative splits and a 9:11/mi average pace. I'm very happy with that!

It ended up being a little over three miles today, because I changed my route a mile in so I could run by the lake. But that's another thing I like about not having a schedule--I don't have to do a 3-mile or 4-mile run, I can do a 3.39 mile run, and not feel like it's odd ;)

I didn't intend to turn this in a post about three-mile runs, but I guess that's what came out when I started typing. If you're feeling burnt out from higher mileage, I suggest changing it up--do some three-milers!

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Motivational Monday #67

Happy Motivational Monday, Friends! I hope your week is off to a great start. I'm so glad that today is the last day of my June challenge. If you don't remember, I set a goal to get in 12,000 steps per day for all of June. It was hard!

I managed to do it every single day until the 21st. That was the day that Jerry and I drove up to northwestern Michigan, and I just wasn't even close to getting in my steps that day. After breaking the streak, I wasn't so motivated for the last week or so, and there were a few more days that I didn't hit 12,000. However, I did get 12,000+ steps for 25/30 days. So I didn't hit my June goal entirely, but I am happy with what I did.

I really like doing monthly goals like this. It gives me something to focus on other than the stupid scale (which is NOT my friend right now). So I'm going to pick a new goal for July: Stick to two alcoholic beverages per week. Summertime always makes me think of sipping cold beer or margaritas on the deck (which likely leads to snacking...). I don't want to cut out ALL drinks, but I think two drinks a week is a good goal. Maybe I'll get creative with some mocktails made with club soda ;)

Anyway, what have you all done this week to make you feel proud?

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Kayse ran a half-marathon... on her birthday! She ran the Mayor's Half Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska, and even with the pouring rain, wind, mud, and moose, she had a blast. Her sister made her a shirt that said, "Today I run for cake"which was a great conversation starter during the race. Next year, Kayse plans to run the full marathon the day before she turns 30! (Kayse's race report)

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Tiina just completed her second marathon--shaving 15 minutes off of the finish time of her first! She ran the Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, and despite being June, there was actually a hypothermia risk because of the temps that day. She met up with a blogger-friend at the starting line, and the two discovered they were going to run about the same pace, so they decided to run together. It was a tough run, but they kept moving forward, and finished in 6:07:26. A PR for both of them! (Tiina's race report)

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In October 2013, something snapped (literally) in Krista, and she made some serious changes in her lifestyle--and has since lost 50 pounds! She had just gotten home from vacation, and was heading to work with a little bounce in her step. She stepped off the porch, and heard a snap, and then felt shooting pain in her calf. It turned out that she had torn a tendon in her calf, and it was likely that her weight had played a part in it. She immediately changed her eating habits, started counting calories, and working out 4-6 days a week. As part of her workout routine, she's been walking 2.5 miles 2-3 times per week, and is just starting the Couch to 5K program!

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Jennifer just finished her THIRD marathon in eight months! She just started running 18 months ago, and wants to continue as long as she is able. It's been fun "watching" her on this journey. She started running at the time when I was in Key West for Ragnar! :)  (GREAT finish line photo!)

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Rebecca is celebrating all kinds of accomplishments, and she has every reason to be. She's lost 131 pounds! She started running in September, and today she ran her farthest distance yet--nine miles. As of this morning, she's logged 93 miles for the month of June!

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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 next week, you can email it to me at: Katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com, with the subject Motivational Monday, and a brief description. Remember, it doesn't have to be a race or losing a ton of weight--any sort of health/fitness accomplishment that makes you feel proud is worth celebrating!

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