Week 23: Day 5

Good morning!! 

First things first, my new socks AND shoes came in!!  I will highly recommend Zappos.com to anyone who's looking for shoes...that was some darn fast shipping!  I have exactly one very small issue, however. 

I had no idea the shoes were two different colors?!  I even checked the website again and absolutely NOWHERE is it mentioned...luckily, I don't hate it.  :)

They are growing on me.  Now, the socks pictured go up to my knees and are all-around awesome.  I felt super cool...kinda like a school girl who was pushing the rules.  :)  If I had ever gone to private school, I can guarantee you I wouldn't have done that then.  BUT, as an adult, I have some confidence...and lack of consideration for what others are thinking about me.  It's kinda nice.  Ha, ha.  These socks came in a "set" of 6, all with the black stripes, but the other colors are purple, green, orange, yellow, and red.  Then I got another set of six striped knee-high socks, but those are multi-colored.  I cannot wait to have a little extra money and buy some outfits to go with these combinations!!!  Building my "race wardrobe" is going to take some time, but at the end it will be SO cool.  These shoes are truly the ultimate "minimalist" shoe.  Very thin, VERY light...I was nervous that I may have overlooked their description and maybe they are more for wrestling or walking on the beach, but when I went back to double check they are definitely for running.  Specifically "cross country" running, so to my relatives in California - I may make it there yet!

Dieting wise, I'm going to go out on a limb and anticipate a drop very soon.  I think I said I would weigh on the 27th?  Yeah...the numbers should definitely be down by then.  Something has occurred after being missing for a couple months...I'll stop there, sorry to any boy readers.  ;)  I will also take my measurements that morning, just in case the scale doesn't obey.  I have to mention that the kids have been messing around with it a LOT (I moved it to the kitchen so I wouldn't be so tempted every morning in the bathroom just to sneak a peek)...it's not an excuse, just sayin'. 

Also, I was doing some Googling last night and have found another training program I like!!  I feel like I have only been half following this 10K training...mainly because I'm so excited about the half marathon, I have been increasing the distances even though the training doesn't call for it.  Basically, I'm planning to start Hal Higdon's "Novice-1 Marathon Training" program on August 1st.  It is a plan for training to run a FULL marathon, but at the end of 8 weeks, he recommends doing a half!  August 1st will have me 8 weeks out from the Women's Half Marathon.  WOW.  That is coming up fast!!  I have signed up to do the Tomato Fest 5K, so I will definitely be running in that, but since it's only 3.1 miles and I'm supposed to run 7 that day, I was considering running a couple miles before the race starts.  Not at "race pace", but just jogging or walking a bit as a warm-up.  OR, I could do the race twice!  Ha, ha, ha.  I may be getting ahead of myself.  Since I am actually running this one as a RACE this time (against my time of 28:20 last time), I may be pretty worn out at the end. 

The rest of July's running plan is this:

Friday	Saturday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Cross	8 miles (run at least 4)	3 miles run	Cross	3 miles run	REST	Cross	9 miles (run at least 4.5)

Sundays are still REST days.  In the new training, I will rest on Sundays and Thursdays.  It's very, very similar (same trainer, after all), but only one day of Cross Training and I will start attempting a different tactic on the long run days.  Maybe.  We'll see how the next two Saturdays go.

"Cross" training for today has yet to be determined.  I really wanted to get out and run with my new shoes this morning, but Zoe woke us up screaming at 3:30 and then 4:30 came way too quickly, so I allowed myself to go back to sleep.  I am considering a zoo trip which will count...otherwise, I may just hit the Y when Shaun gets home and do some elliptical or biking.  Or a combination!  Tuesday I plan to take Zoe swimming for our last Tuesday alone together.  Awwww.  Then, next Friday I will PLAN to take the kiddos to the pool again.  I realize these are not your traditional "cross training" activities, but I really focus on keeping my body moving and playing with the kids and raising my heart-rate a couple of times at least...I figure it's better than sitting on the couch or a bench and watching them play! 

I ran into a little snag with shipping all of the promised goodies to Canada (cost of shipping to there is crazy!), so Bonnie is now trying to find out how much everything will cost her there so I can send out a check.  Unless any of my friends in Michigan are planning a trip to Windsor very soon???  :) 

I have one last thing to mention.  Last night for dinner I had the yummiest meal.  I mean, it was crazy simple, but it was SO tasty!!  I was browning some sausage to make spaghetti for the kids and Shaun, but I didn't want to make a whole box of spaghetti, so I browned a full pound of sausage and removed almost 1/2 before adding the sauce.  This half I added to half of a package of Steam Fresh Whole Grain Rice with Broccoli and Carrots.  The "broccoli and carrots" ended up not being as many veggies as I thought it would be, so I used a whole bunch of celery instead of a spoon to scoop it up and eat it!  Yummmm. 

That is all for now.  I will probably post tomorrow after the long run, but may not post again after that until the weigh in on Wednesday. 

Hey Erin, could you weigh LJ that morning, too??

xoxo - ALSO, PLEASE CLICK THE BANNER AND VOTE FOR ME AGAIN!  You can vote once every 24 hours.  I am dying to be in the top something or other.  I'm #5 on the Health and Fitness list, but #160-something on the main list. 

Week 22: Day Three

Good morning!  In case you were worried about me yesterday, I did end up getting that thing done I had forgotten to do.  Yeehaw.

Well, I have lots to share, but I am sitting at the table with my kiddos and may have to get up several times to retrieve things.  They are a needy bunch...and I very recently (yesterday) started banning television between the hours of 7 am and 5 pm.  They are going crazy.  I was allowing them to turn into total junkies, staring at that darn thing for hours!  It was bad.  Yesterday was fine, but I do have to mention they were at school from 9 to 3.  :)

This is a nice segue...while the boys were at school, Zoe and I visited a friend and her son for a morning play date!  We had a great time and I got the chance to do lots of catching up with someone I hadn't seen in a few months.  She also gave me a book that has led me to drop Weight Watchers!!  I know it is a great program and I am so happy that WW works for so many people who are close to my heart.  I love you all for wanting my success and recommending the plan.  Unfortunately, I'm not disciplined enough to follow the points system.  Maybe later, for maintenance?  Right now, though, I just find it way too easy to eat bad stuff and track it...then some part of my brain thinks we have "cheated" and just feels like we might as well keep going!  I'm not saying this is the right way to think...believe me, I wish I had some sense of portion control and moderation and all those great things.  I'm just not there yet.

The book is by Jackie Warner and is called "This is Why You're Fat (and how to get thin forever)".  Some of you may have watched the show on Bravo called "Work Out", Jackie is the owner of the gym.  She is tough and has a super hot body.  SO, her food plan begins with a 2 week jump start and I have started this today.  It is not about what you can't eat, but she tells you 7 things you MUST eat.  I have written each item on a piece of paper to cross off each day over the next 14 days.  Smart, right?  :)

Here's the added foods!

Eggs (2 daily) - hard-boiled, soft-boiled, poached, or scrambled, but without added fat.  (**the only way I have ever eaten eggs is scrambled)
Oatmeal (1 cup daily) - she doesn't specify if this needs to be a certain kind of oatmeal, but she has a "tip" below that says "I keep packets of instant oatmeal on me at all times."  This leads me to believe I am fine with the Active brand of weight management oatmeal.
Hormone-Balancing, Detox Vegetables (2-3 cups daily) - veggies listed: artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, collard greens, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, garlic, green beans, kale, lettuce (all varieties), mushrooms, mustard greens, onions, parsley, peppers (all varieties), radishes, scallions, spinach, summer squash, Swiss chard, tomatoes, turnip greens, watercress, yellow wax beans, and zucchini.  (**wait, what?  the list says "garlic"???  a vegetable????  awesome.)
Fresh Fruit (2 servings daily) - apples, apricots, bananas (underripe), berries (all varieties), cherries, citrus fruits (all varieties), kiwi, guava, mango, melon (all varieties), papaya, pear, peach, pineapple, plum, pomegranate, and watermelon.  A serving generally equals one piece of raw fruit or one cup of chopped fresh fruit.
Water and Lemon Juice - so, she says lemon combined with water is a "bile thinner" and it prevents cravings.  I have no issues with getting all my water in each day, but I will be adding at least one full 8-12 ounces of water with fresh lemon squeezed in each day.
Whey Protein Shake (8 ounce serving daily) - We have some whey protein for Shaun, so I just mixed one scoop with 8 ounces of water and chugged it down.  It wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting.  Ha, ha.
Herbal Teas - I am going to type exactly what she has in the book about this and ask for your input.  "To satisfy oral fixations (most late-night snacks are really about oral compulsions), have one packet of decaffeinated green tea with one packet of herbal fruit tea every evening.  Green tea contains L-theanine, a chemical that increases dopamine and serotonin in the brain, two chemicals that regulate appetite, mood, energy, and cravings.  It also contains compounds that block fat storage.  Ther herbal fruit tea gives green tea a delicious flavor."  Nevermind.  I was thinking I wouldn't do this, but after fully reading the description, I believe I will. 

 And that's it!  She literally says she doesn't care if you eat fried chicken or pizza or whatever, just make sure you eat these things also EVERY DAY.  I'm sure I will, at some point, be too full of these things to worry about eating other things, but this morning that has not been the case.  I'm thoroughly enjoying toast with honey.  I've eaten my fruits today already and had the whey protein drink one hour after my run.  I am taking my instant oatmeal to Bible study and planning to eat eggs when the kids lay down for quiet time/nap.  I will still stop eating by 6:00 pm and do my apple in the mornings.  Although, I am considering giving up my coffee.  Maybe not during this next two weeks...the coffee is actually NOT the problem, but I was reading her info on the sweetener I use and it's probably not the best thing for me.  I have never tried black coffee, so I guess it's not fair for me to say I don't like it, but I don't think I like it.  We'll see!

My run this morning was great.  Truly great.  I discovered a "track" about a 1/2 mile from my house that is just over a 1 mile around.  There used to be a great mall in town, but it went down several years ago and is now just an empty building with a Sears leftover!  The drive circle all the way around the perimeter is my new "track".  In order to not get "bored" or accustomed to my runs, I will be switching it up quite a bit, but this was really great to discover.  (Obviously I always knew the mall was there, but I never thought about running around it.  Plus, it was cool to learn the distance is doable and can be done a few times to rack up the mileage!)  On my 10K plan today I was supposed to do 2 miles and then strength train.  I didn't get around to any strength training this morning, but I have a couple of ideas for things I could do this afternoon.  Yesterday I went to the Y and did the elliptical for 30 minutes as my cross training.  I was going there for a Body Pump class, but I was late and I am incredibly shy when it comes to stuff like that. No, really...i am shy!!  I just fake it sometimes.  :)  The elliptical was a nice change. 

So, tomorrow is "rest" day and I sure am going to be RESTING.  Some friends and I have a "girly day" planned...pedicures in the morning and laying out by the pool afterwards.  Lunch ordered in and trashy magazines galore.  Ahhhhhh.  Jealous??  You should be!  :)  We have been looking forward to this for a couple of months now, and I cannot believe the day has come! 

Another note, since I'm not doing WW anymore, I will resume weighing on Monday mornings.  We'll get back to the original tracking method of trying to reach 80 (88.5) pounds in 40 weeks.  I cannot believe almost 23 weeks are almost done!!  Exciting.  :)

xoxo

Week 22: Day 2

Good morning!!  I said I would post last night.  I didn't.  It happens.
Aaaannnnd now my husband just reminded me of something else I completely forgot to do last night.  UGH.  What has happened to my super-smart brain??  I forget everything.  This is no exagerration.  Oh, except I can totally remember stupid things that happened years and years ago.  Awesome.

Moving on, quickly.  Yesterday I set out for my day one of my 10K training and supremely failed.  It was hard stuff!!  Might have been just a mental thing, but I was supposed to run 2 miles (did it, felt great), then 4 one minute aerobic intervals (uh...tried it...felt good for about 20 seconds), then run another 2 miles.  I mean, I get that "running" doesn't have to always mean full out running, but I just cannot figure out how running slower can feel any better?  It's like hopping or bouncing.  Something like that.  I cannot find an "easy" pace.  Except my normal pace.  I appear to be averaging about a 9 minute mile, so I realize I could slow down a tad and still not be going super slow, but then I find it hard to even balance!  I hope someone else out there shares my feelings on this.  For my first 2 miles, I had run from my house to the track and did one extra loop on a cul-de-sac, so after my failed aerobic intervals, I chose to NOT do the extra loop and instead just ran home which ended up only being 1.09 miles.  Fine. 

When I got home I looked up another 10k plan my friend had sent to me that is 8 weeks long and it looks much more doable for me.  I promise to STOP switching plans at this point...I will follow the "Hal Higdon" Novice 10K plan for the next 8 weeks.  Same friend is one I am doing the half marathon with in (eeek!) 11 weeks.  WHAT!?  We discussed "strategy" for completing the half yesterday and, as of today, I am planning to walk a few miles in the beginning, run as many miles as I can, then walk until the final sprint over the finish line!  I just don't think intervals works for me.  I will try it over my final couple weeks before the actual run, however, and I may change my tune at that point.

Here is the *new* week plan:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
2.5 miles	30 min. CROSS	2 miles + strength	REST	40 min. CROSS	3 miles

I have no idea what I'm going to do for my 30 minutes of cross training today, but every Friday I will go to the YMCA and find a fun class to do. 

Contest bonus question for today:
If you could eat anything for one meal and the calories/fat grams, etc would not count - also assume you wouldn't get too full - what would you choose to eat?

I think my answer would have to be greasy, deep dish pizza with extra cheese and ham and pineapple.  4 pitchers of beer.  Finished off with a banana split.  Ahhhhhh.....

xoxo