Mmmm peanut butter

Tracking:  Every morsel - YAY me!
Points eaten:  24 / 21
Activity Points Earned:  4
Hunger level:  varied
Morning Weigh-in:  down 0.4 ... that's better

Tracking successful once again!  Yesterday morning I woke up FULL.  No way I could have eaten breakfast before work.  So I brought it with me to work and waited to feel hunger.  It was after 10:00 before I even felt an inkling of hunger, and really I probably could have waited an hour or so longer.  This led to a late lunch and then a bit of a time crunch to eat something before I exercised in the evening.  I knew if I tried to exercise without eating I'd get super hungry, but yet I didn't want to eat much or I'd feel gross.  Ended up having my latest favourite dinner (corn on the cob with a grilled zucchini - YUM!).  After I exercised I did have some cravings.  I wasn't really hungry, more I just felt like eating and I really wanted toast with peanut butter.  I had room for it, but after I ate it I felt kind of full and realized I really didn't "need" it.

As I was getting ready to go, both kids asked for rides in two different directions, then my husband came home and said his truck was almost out of fuel and he had to go to an appt which it was just more logical for him to drive the Jetta to.  Yes, I could have gone and said to heck with everyone ... but honestly it was stupid humid out last night and I was seriously questioning my ability to get in a decent run.  Plus my hips were feeling pretty tight (I'm figuring it's my IT Band that's tightening up so I'm doing specific stretches for that).

In the end I drove my daughter to her friends, gave the car to my husband, and asked my son if he wanted to bike ride to go get what he wanted.  It wasn't a great night for running, but it was awesome for biking!  We rode to town and back (26 Km/16 miles) and afterwards I think my hips actually felt better.  So even though I skipped my planned run, I still think I got in a pretty good workout.  Plus, I'm thinking that I should be doing more biking as cross-training. 

Keep Active!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Sweating Like a Pig (actually, pigs don't sweat)

Tracking:  Every morsel
Points eaten:  24 / 21
Activity Points Earned:  6
Hunger level:  comfortable
Morning Weigh-in:  up 0.2 (what the ???)

I did great with tracking yesterday.  We rushed out right after dinner and I didn't get it written down, but after we got home (within minutes of crashing into bed) I still finished writing out the day.

Was disappointed to not see the scale move in the right direction this morning.  Usually it moves a little bit, or at least stays the same.  But I'm not giving up.

Last nights run was TOUGH!  I did 5 miles, including 4 hill repeats.  It's been a bit cooler lately so I left for my run at about 5:30 and it didn't feel so bad.  But I quickly realized how humid it was.  It was one of the hardest runs I've ever done.  I struggled the whole time, my feet hurt and felt like swollen sausages.  I had to stop frequently and when I got home I was completely drenched.

To be honest, I'm not completely certain how hill repeats are supposed to work.  I've "officially" done them once on a drop-in session with the Running Room.  My "plan" called for a .15 mile / 250M hill.  On the route I took, I had the choice of a hill that length, but a fairly low grade ... or a steeper hill that was almost half the recommended length.  I chose the shorter steeper hill because I thought that would be better.  Just flying by the seat of my pants!!!

Before I started the hill section, I kind of thought since it was a shorter length I would maybe do more repeats than planned.  But by my 2nd time up, I honestly didn't think I could do much more.  Maybe it was the humidity, maybe I'm not in as good a shape as I was ... but either way it was difficult and I just stuck to the 4 repeats.  Hoofed it up as fast as I could, walked for about 10 seconds, slow jog down ... then repeat.  After the last one I felt like collapsing.  I also didn't have water with me.  I'll be sure to take some next time.  I'm interested to see how I improve over the weeks.

After the run and some dinner, I went with my husband and daughter for a walk at Crescent Beach.  I found this blog entry which has some great pictures of the area.  I'd love to get out here for a run, maybe in the fall when there aren't so many people.  Last night was so serene though.  And the sunset was amazing.  We have alot of smoke in the outlying areas due to some forest fires (not anywhere near I live, but the smoke blows our way).  While it makes for dismal looking skies, it also makes amazing bright red sunsets.  Too bad hubby still has my camera held hostage. :(

Tonight I'm considering going down to the free drop-in with the running club.  This is really out of my comfort zone to do something like this alone, without a friend ... but that's kind of the whole idea.  We'll see if I actually do it. 

Keep Active!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Wake Up Call

Yikes.  I've had a wake-up call over the last few days.  For most of the past year my weight has held steady around 147-148 lbs.  I'd love to be a little less than this, but for whatever reason seem to hover around here.  It's hovered there for so long that I haven't been weighing daily like I used to. The other day I was feeling kind of 'chunky' so I weighed myself at night and was substantially more than I normally would be in an evening.  This morning I weighed again and I was 151.8 .... that's a number I haven't seen in a very, VERY long time.  Well over a year.  150 is my do or die number.

My eating hasn't been stellar the last couple weeks, but it hasn't been horrible either.  I've just come off a 21 day dose of penicillin and my body is definitely not normal.  My tummy has been off (common side affect) and last week for about 4 days I was insanely itchy, especially my feet.  One night I had to get up and dunk my feet in ice cold water to stop them from itching.  I also noticed that I was retaining water like mad.  Had some socks on for less than an hour and had a deep groove from them - whereas I typically get barely a mark.  Even one day I turned back after less than a 1/2 mile into my run because my shoes were digging into my ankles, which NEVER has happened.  But, even if it has something to do with the medication, I'm taking action now!

I've been half-assed tracking the last couple of days but keep getting sidetracked.  Yesterday it was free ice-cream for BC Day, a glass of cooler and munching on nachos late in the evening.  I'm tracking the good stuff and when I go off course I stop tracking.  Today it all STOPS!  I'm going to track EVERY bite AND keep it healthy.

Sunday I had a horrible run too.  My hips have been feeling achy and then my legs were super stiff.  I had to stop a few times to stretch, especially my calves.  Monday morning when I got out of bed I could barely even put my heels on the ground.  I've been stretching lots after my runs, but maybe I need more.  I'd like to avoid having to go to the Chiro if necessary.  Yesterday I finally broke down and took one Advil.  I don't like to take them unnecessarily.  I'd rather let my body heal and not mask the pain which may lead to working out when I shouldn't.  Though since I had that one Advil I am feeling better.  Tonight I have hill training on the agenda.  We'll see how that goes.

Lately I'm feeling a little bored on my runs.  I don't mind running alone most of the time, but it's been quite a while since I've ran with anyone.  My running friends aren't running as much and our schedules have been conflicting, plus my husband has been swamped and hasn't run in over a month.  I like to run with someone at least once a week.  Maybe soon I'll have to meet up with the running room group ... even though I don't know a soul there.  I can't join any clinics, but maybe I'd find some enjoyment just going on the practice runs with them.

This weeks training plan:

Sun - 7 miles (done @ 9:05 pace)
Mon - rest (went for a casual 1 mile walk)
Tue - 5 miles incl. 4 hill repeats
Wed - 4 miles moderate pace
Thu - 3 miles easy
Fri - rest
Sat - 3 miles fartleks

So here's to getting back into action and keeping myself accountable.  No more half-assed tracking.  No letting things slide.  Back to tracking everything and daily weigh-ins.  This works for me.

Keep Active!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Jeffrey!

Yesterday did not work out as planned!  I had an eye appt after work and due to a little mix-up it ended up taking alot longer than anticipated.  Unfortunately this left me with a time crunch and I chose to swap my planned run yesterday with my planned rest day for today. 

Truthfully I COULD have fit it in .... but I really wanted to watch the results show for So You Think You Can Dance.  Glad I did as I was pleased with the results.  Also, after having run the last 4 days in a row, I kind of needed the rest day.  I'll get that easy run in today.  I have to, I kind of have to reach my mileage goal for the month.

Let me introduce you to Jeffrey ....

Jeffrey (as named by a friend's daughter) is our resident moose on our new property.  He comes visiting from time to time.  I'm thinking he's quite young.  Usually he comes early morning or at dusk, and apparently he likes to drink from a hole we dug that gathers water.  Our dog & him seem to have an understanding where they just ignore each other.

On the July long weekend, when we went up to our property, our very good friends from Washington state came up with us.  This is his "unit".  It's a sort of custom motorhome that he uses for business.  That "little" trailer at the back held an SUV, 4 quads, 6 mountain bikes, and a ton of other bits & pieces.  The motorhome section sleeps something like 12 people comfortably, more in a pinch.  Now THAT'S camping!  That little blip in the picture is my 16 yr-old son.

(the boys getting ready to take out the toys)

It's another long weekend here for us - provincial holiday on Monday.  Not sure what's on the agenda but definitely some running today, tomorrow & Sunday.  Monday is a scheduled rest day but I wouldn't mind doing some biking or something else casual.

Have a great weekend and Keep Active!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Keep 'er steady

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm finally learning how to use some of the features on my Garmin.  As this is the first time I've really followed a training plan, there are certain workouts I'm following where I need to pay attention to pace, distance, intervals, etc.  The Garmin is REALLY coming in handy for that.

Tuesday I was scheduled to do a tempo run of 3 miles at 8:20/mi.  I had planned to do it in the morning, before it got hot, while still on vacation.  But I slept horribly that night and when I finally woke up I knew it would be way too hot for me.  So after driving home, I emptied the car as fast as possible, threw on my running gear and was out the door.  I knew I had to boogie to finish before it got dark. 
I've never really understood pacing too much.  You hear people say you shouldn't go out too fast.  When I go for speed I often go out fast in hopes of creating a "buffer" for later on in the distance.  This is exactly what happened on this run.  I flew out and the first mile went by in just under 8 minutes.  I manage to do the next 1/2 mile at almost the same pace.  I knew though that I couldn't, and shouldn't, maintain that pace.  My goal was 8:20 and I was going too fast and would have needed a rest if I kept at that.  I need to learn to trust the training program!

Then ..... I remembered the special features on the Garmin.  I set the alerts on it to let me know when I was going too fast (over 8:10) or too slow (under 8:25).  I wanted to stay around my goal pace.  This worked wonders!  And I found it so much easier to maintain a steady pace rather than going all out then having to slow down and recover.  I will definitely use this feature more often.

Last night I had a moderate run and due to tummy issues I opted to run on the treadmill ... and of course I was fine.  Just wasn't a risk I was willing to take, but I definitely missed doing an outdoor run.  I did learn however that I made some mistakes in setting up my training plan.  I adapted it off a plan I found and just realized yesterday that it was set-up to achieve a 45 min 10K.  That's a bit beyond my reach right now.  So I'll be doing a little more adapting.  No wonder I was finding the moderate runs a bit hard for being labelled "moderate".  I was starting to wonder how I'd ever reach the faster paces as the program went on.

Finally got a few pics loaded from the wedding we went to.  Here's my hubby & I.

(ain't we cute????)

The bride & groom

The groom's parents are our next door neighbours, and the groom & his new bride live in the small town that we will eventually be moving to.  This was just the wedding reception ... the actually wedding was in Ontario the weekend before.  860 people were at the reception (1000 were invited & paid for).  Isn't that crazy???  We only had about 60 people at our wedding.  Of those 860, the bride didn't know at least 700 of them.    We briefly met the bride at the reception and she seemed very overwhelmed when we spoke to her.  However, last weekend the newleyweds came to visit us on our new property and we got a chance to speak with her.  Nice girl, VERY pretty!  He's pretty cool too, funny guy.  The family is pretty steeped in tradition, but him not so much.  He told us it is custom for the new couple to go to dinner at each member of the family who attended the wedding as soon as possible after the wedding.  He estimates they need to go to approx. 100 dinners! Given that most of the "family" lives 3-4 hours away from the couple, that's a lot to cram in whenever they come down to visit.   How's that for a social schedule.

These lovely ladies let us take their picture (no idea who they are).  So many BEAUTIFUL Saris.  Bright colors, lots of beading.  So pretty!  Our neighbours tell us that they usually attend at least 1 function per weekend, often up to 3 or 4 throughout the summer months when there are lots of weddings.  Honestly I don't know how they do it.  This wedding alone lasted 3-4 weeks with all the parties.  I think they said it was about 10 parties in all.  The final party, after the reception night, the groom's parents invited 100 people to their house.  70 showed up and their caterer made a mistake and provided food for 150 instead of 100.  They had ALOT of leftovers, which I found massive containers of in my fridge the next day.  The kids & I don't eat much in the way of Indian food, so my husband and FIL ate it for almost a week straight and we still threw out at least half of what they gave us.

Tonight I have an easy run on my schedule.  I'm very much looking forward to that. 

Keep Active!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Another great mini

I'm back from another great mini-vacation.  4 days in the Okanagan.  Weather was absolutely wonderful - hot with a little breeze.

Managed 3 out of 4 days running.  Saturday we drove up there but before we left I lazed in bed in the morning instead of running.  By the time we got there it was much too hot and I went to bed fairly early after a long day.

Sunday morning I went out and did 5 miles.  Had planned to do 7, but arranged to meet my sister at a time I figured I would be finished my run, as is typical of me, I didn't get out early enough and ran late.  It was SUPER hot by the time I met up with her.  I had water, but really needed a refill.  My sister is just beginning running so we did run/walk intervals.  I was very impressed with her pace. 

Monday morning I chose a different location to run, one that had ALOT more shade, and was also close to a bathroom and my car (which had more water in it).  I also FINALLY discovered the power of my Garmin.  So far I only have used my Garmin to tell me distance, time & pace.  But after playing around, I learned how to set it for intervals.  YAY!  I wouldn't have to glance at my watch constantly.

I had set it for 1 min fast pace, 2 min slow pace x 15 intervals.  I also indicated I wanted to do a warm-up & cool down.  Not knowing how the warm-up worked, I ran ... and ran ... and ran, waiting for it to beep and let me know the warm-up was done.  Figured it would beep at maybe 5 minutes, or 1/2 a mile .... or 10 minutes ... maybe 1 mile?????  Then I questioned if I even set it up properly so ignored it for a while and just ran.  Then a little light went off in my head and I thought ... hmmmm, may I have to press the LAP button when I was done my warm-up and ready to move on.  I had run 1.7 miles before that lightbulb went off.

Having done a much longer warm-up than planned, I figured I wouldn't bother doing all 15 laps of the intervals.  But ... I ended up scooting around town, checking out new things, and before I knew it I had completed 9 of the 15 laps.  I didn't know how to reset the # of laps mid-run, and really wanted to know what happens when you're done.  So, I stopped and refilled my water, then really pushed it through those last 6 laps.  It was hot and I was tired, so some of my slow paced intervals were very slow, even a walk - but I was OK with that.  At the end I did a nice, slow cool down.  What a COOL feature!  If you have a Garmin and haven't yet played around with the workouts you can create, I highly recommend it!

Afterwards I found a nice shady spot on the grass, over-looking Okanagan Lake.  There was a wonderful breeze coming across and it just felt like this was my reward for completing a tough training session.  Pure bliss!

Running schedule this week:

Mon - Rest (did 6.68miles incl. 15 x 1:00 fartlek w/2:00 recovery)
Tues - 3 mile tempo run @ 8:20/mi  (done)
Wed - 4 mile moderate run (2 miles at 8:40 / 2 miles at 7:40)
Thur - 3 mile easy run @ 9:40/mi
Fri  - rest
Sat - 3 mile easy fartleks
Sun - 8 mile @ 9:10-9:20/mi

It sure is nice to incorporate exercise on vacation.  Somehow it just makes you a little more focused on eating healthier ... or at the very least it balances the indulgences a bit.

Keep Active!

Heidi

♥♥♥♥♥

Sweaty and Sweet

Last night I had scheduled to run 3 miles - 1.5 miles at 8:50 pace (13:15) and 1.5 miles at 7:30 pace (11:15).  The plan I'm following suggested splitting your moderate runs so that you do the 2nd half of your run 2-3 minutes faster than the first half.  Not sure if I've worked it out properly ... but boy, oh boy, was that 2nd half tough ... and fast (for me).  I wasn't sure if I could finish it and did have to stop once to catch my breath and give myself a talking to.  But I made it through.

At the end I was a big sweaty mess.  I ran on the treadmill because it was much cooler in the gym than outdoors, but it was still very muggy.  This is a good 15 minutes after my cool down.  Right after my run I had so much sweat dripping from my eyes, I looked like I was crying.

Half way through my run I thought, gee, my feet have been awfully sore lately.  Since I haven't been doing a ton of running this kind of surprised me.  Then I thought .... DUH ... I have at least 500 running miles on my shoes, not to mention walking/cycling and the odd fitness class. 

So, I decided it was time to break out the back-up pair I've been storing in my closet.  Ahhhhhhhhhh, what a difference!  As soon as I put them on I knew the old one's were shot.  The second half of my run felt SO good, at least for my feet/legs, otherwise it was pure hell.  I'll have to switch these new one's out a little sooner I think.

Just a little difference here

While I was running, I had these babies rising

RECIPE

Cinnamon buns - from scratch!  I had a small one after my run.  Not bad.  Way too sweet for me though.  I'm going to seek out a different recipe and probably skip the icing next time.  My friend's husband makes the most amazing cinnamon buns ... and without a recipe.  They turn out huge and fluffy every single time, but he just throws a bunch of stuff together and never measures a thing.  That man has a serious talent!

Tonight I have an easy run scheduled.  Kind of looking forward to that.  Not sure when I'm going to squeeze it in.  May have to be late.  We're planning to go watch the opening ceremonies for the summer games tonight and I just found out my cousins daughter is in the games as well, so maybe we'll see her there.

Have a great evening

Keep Active!

Heidi

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