Easy day of workout/run.  Stressful day at work just drained me.

50 min:  treadmill
25 min:  upper body weights

Home now cooking up a storm so that I have lunches and dinners made for the next 3 days.  I start coaching PIM again tomorrow night (gonna be a long evening with over 400 registered; at least I am coaching an experienced runners group this time around! but then I have to run  my run and do as much of the speed workout as I can) and with work stuff I just have to be on my game to stay focused where food is concerned.  Today I finally ate around 1:30pm and basically ate my sammich in about 10 min.  No afternoon snack...banana mid morning, and had eggs and grits for breakfast...so I guess it wasnt all that bad but having to rush lunch really put me in a tizzy! 

The weatherman tonight hinted that Friday night/Saturday we may be rewarded with another 'cool front', and they show the low at 72.  From his lips to God's ears.

I sure could use that for my 21 miler.

Fartlek...Such a Giggle Word

Today I actually paid closer attention to my schedule  (2 weeks ago I didnt and missed the actual workout of the 6 miles.  Oopsie.  6 miles including 7 x 2/2's.  Which means 7 x 2 min fast/2 min slow jog.  That time went by FAST!  Legs felt strong today...probably because the long run was a cut back and I didn't run yesterday. 

Oopsie again!  :)

I really pushed the pace on the 2 min fast because well...you can anything for 2 minutes right?  Yeah.  Today I could.  :)

Less than 3 weeks from taper baby!  Bring on Chicago!

Right now I am looking so forward to dinner... MK's version of home made baked sweet potato fries and a veggie burger on a sandwich thin!  My tummy be HONGRY!!

Making Weight

I was not very good on my eating this past weekend.  I was out of my comfort zone (i.e. mi casa) first and foremost.  Being at mom's I knew, would be challenging.

At least my breakfast shortly after my 11 miler on Saturday was good.

Then it kind of went downhill after that.  Although I DID have some really good vegetables at Mom's thanks in part to raiding my sister's house which is right next door.  I also ended up eating a teeny bit of briskit.

Then on Sunday I didn't eat until around 1:30 that afternoon.  And then I only ate a small sandwich on Sandwich thins, with a bit of sliced turkey.  Now you see?  I ate meat 2 days in a row.  Blah.  Not a lot to make me feel bad on the inside but still.

Then came the invitation to go to the movies...which is really why I only ate that little sandwich because I knew I would want popcorn.  Opting out of one for the other.  And well, thats what I had for dinner.

Popcorn.

No wonder I woke up famished this morning!

Yes I could have eaten a meal once I got home since it was fairly early, but my stubborness to make sure I didnt add any more calories for the day...Ummmm...Whaat?  You had a teeny sandwich and popcorn.  I don't think I needed to worry...but eh, it is what it is...

Lets address the meat thing...bottom line is that I am certain that from now until after the next 3 long distance races (5 months of continuous marathon training, not to mention 2 marathons and 1 half marathon) I am going to have to have some protein in the way of lean meats at least once a week.  My body is craving it badly, and the cravings dont go away so I know my body wants it. 

So for now, we're reverting to 'flexitarianism'.

And yes, its a real word.  :o)

I am still going to keep it to mainly fish, but lean ground turkey will be making a reappearance since its so versatile.  Looking back I realized that my dairy consumption had dimished some so I need to put some of that back as well.

Now...to the title of this blog entry.  "Making Weight"

Yesterday while standing in line at the concession stand at the theatre, I was having the 'small sandwich = its ok to have popcorn' conversation, and we inched closer to the counter, I spotted the pretty yellow bag of peanut m&m's.. then the Reeses Pieces...and then the Butterfinger Bites...it was the Butterfinger Bites that triggered a childhood (high school) memory.  So I was telling the story...every day my last period at school was basically 'gym' because we started Drill Team practice during that time and then of course on into the afternoon after school was officially over.  And every single day I had the same thing in between.  A Dr. Pepper and either a Baby Ruth or a Butterfinger.  And then on the weekends of course I would barely eat because on Monday, during practice, was weigh in.  You had to 'make weight' if you were going to get to dance on the field on Friday night.  Every girl, depending on height had a 'weight' they had to 'make' or otherwise you sat in the bleachers.  You didnt practice, and you got replaced with an alternate.  And yes the alternates had to 'make weight' as well. 

I am 5'2 and I had to weigh in at 108 or less.

And every single week I did.  I never missed a game, or a dance.

Add to eating disorder much?

Nowadays and for some time though...I see that is no longer a 'requirement' ... Is it good?  I have mixed feelings on it.  Instead I see girls on the field who are overweight, and I am not talking by a little. It would appear high school cheerleaders still maintain a healthy body weight, and I bet its either because of restrictions set by the coach or just good old fashioned peer pressure to be thin/athletic.

I think 'health goals' should still play in part in whether or not someone gets to dance.

Good grades are mandatory, why shouldnt good health?

Anyway, just another memory of the long term effects of body image/eating disorder situations can have on a person you know?  My friend asked "I wonder how much that played a part in eating disorders to so many girls?"  Um. A lot.  I know of a few of my friends back then that were way worse off than I was when it came to 'how' they 'made weight' every Monday.

Which brings me to this morning.  I haven't weighed in quite some time.  Because I knew that I wouldnt like what I would see because since full on marathon training started I was no longer as 'thin' as I was that last time.  This morning though...feeling very comfortable with what I was seeing in the mirror the past few days I was indeed curious.

SSSSSCARRRRRRY!!!

So out came the scale from under the bed where I had hidden it.

I placed it on the kitchen floor, touched my toe to it to turn it on and saw the big fat 0 there flashing.

And up I went...wait...wait...wait...

And then the result.

Eh...about 3 lbs more than I was...not so bad really.  I was still happy that it was under that 'imaginary' number I dont want to ever see again though...1 lb away from it.  So the bottom line is that I have 4 lbs to lose in about 5-6 weeks.  I just want it to be a number that I feel certain will bode well on October 10th in Chicago.

And so it begins...the quest to get the lbs off...without harming myself or any animals in the process.

:o)

Kenyan Way Long Run - Cut back Week - 11 miles

Awesome run.
A bit cooler temps (75) and lower humidity (68%)

Average pace: 10:08
Last 3 miles at 9:24 pace

11 miles.

That's all I have time for now.  Gotta scoot to breakfast then off to take care of Mom this afternoon/night.

Marathon Training Woes - Part 1

In my short running 'career' I have learned a lot over the course of 5 years and going on marathons 5 and 6 within the next few months...things that somehow I forget about for a short period of time...till I am reminded.

The first one being:  You get REALLY  REALLY hungry...

Now this is, as I have mentioned before the first time not only did I NOT gain or remain more or less even, I actually lost weight/size/fat.  Was easy enough to do.

Up until starting this past Sunday.  After the 19miler, I wasnt that hungry, never really am for quite some time, and honestly I was fine up until about oh...2pm on Sunday.  Thats when it hit me and its been smackin' me around ever since.

So I have eating a bit more, if I look back.  Eating actual dinners at night...and then yesterday I felt like crap.  Bloated.  Fat.  Gross.  All day.  I havent cut my mileage so its not that, but I have just been eating more I guess?  I have been 'trying' not to, but I guess...well...

So...What just days previously was plenty of food, has left me wanting more...my stomach feels like its in a constant state of hunger...hard to describe but ... you know like its just empty and kinda crampy because you are so hungry?  Yeah that...

So back to yesterday...because I felt so awful, I...who NEVER does this unless its a bad day ...wore a full length shirt on my run!  And it was about 93 deg out.  WTF?  And honestly I could 'feel' the difference in my short 3 mile run too. 

So its back to reality Little Red Running Hood...you cannot eat until your stomach thinks its had enough.  Because then you will end up like you did before that first marathon...gaining...

Last night after the run, I did eat about a cup of leftover orzo and that was it.  I had said I wasnt going to eat at all...which I guess to some, that cup of orzo doesnt constitute eating dinner.  I went ahead and made my breakfast to bring to work so I didnt splurge in the cafteteria like I had been all week for breakfast...made some scrambled egg whites, spinach, mushrooms and a bit of cheese. 

This morning when I woke up sure enough I felt a bit more like myself.  Yes after my breakfast I still wanted more...so I had a packet of grits.  No mid-morning snack (which lately has been a cookie or something)...because for whatever reason I am CRAVING oatmeal raisin cookies...or any cookie for that matter..

Bottom line is that I had forgotten how excruciating the hunger pangs can come at you full force...and exactly how difficult it is to ignore.  Because honestly I am eating enough...I know that I am. 

Fighting the desire to eat is overwhelming at times though. 

As I child I never had to 'go to bed hungry', was never even threatened with that (although it couldnt have hurt back then)...but here as an adult...a grown woman with perfectly good sense in her head...I am sending myself to bed hungry pretty much every night...

Its 6 weeks to race day in Chicago.

Gonna be a looooooooooooooong 6 weeks...for those of you training for your first marathon...get ready...not only is it bad during the last 4 weeks of training, but the taper? 

Oh good Lord...the taper-worm is just around the corner...

Brrrr....

We had a 'cool' front come through!  Which means when I started on my run tonight it was 28% humidity!  Yeah it was 93 deg out still, but only a feels like of 94!  Thats over 10 deg cooler than I normally run in in the evenings!  That lower humidity made for me being covered in salt at the end but at least it wasnt covered in dripping sweat and even my shorts were dry!  Whaaat the whaaat???

6 mile loop from my house to Rice, around and back.
Paces were between 9:40 and 10:26.  2 were in the 9's, 2 were around 10:08 and the other 2 were 10:20 and 10:26

I also finally downloaded Saturdays 19 miler and the average pace was 10:36...now THAT is something I can get behind!  I told you it was a good day out there on Saturday.  :)

Time for a smoothie!

The bottomless pit which is my stomach...