Thankful Thursday: Hills #runchat

Yep. Today I'm giving thanks for hills. Now, if you know where I live you know it's pretty freaking flat.  However, lately I've been trying forcing myself to run some hillier routes. Partly it's because they tend to be the plowed roads and sidewalks while my beloved paved trail won't be clear until all the snow melts.  Anyhoo....This was my route yesterday:

Check out that red line - that's the elevation change :)

And this was my time:

Hills really do make you stronger!

Now, I have another hilly run on Saturday.  8 miles are on the schedule and I'm running somewhere I've never run before.  Thankfully, the run is NOT on the mountain bike trails like I originally thought but still on hilly roads.  While I'm liking all this hill training, I'll also be thankful when I can have a nice, easy, flat long run.  But for now, I'm embracing the hills. 

Is it flat or hilly where you live? Do you welcome some route changes every now and then or stick to your familiar paths?

Weigh-in Wednesday: and I was doing so well

This was NOT what I wanted to see when I stepped on the scale this morning. (Caution - don't read if you don't like f-bombs.)

Starting Weight (11-28-12): 153.6

Last week: 145.4

This week: 146.0

Change: up .6

Total change: down 7.6

I could make a ton of excuses: I was at a conference on Saturday and Monday and ate what they served for lunches (but didn't snack which for me is huge), I went out for dinner a couple times this weekend, did more snacking at home (but on almonds and these fancy raisins that don't taste like the gross little black raisins), I didn't work out hard enough.  Whatever.  The fact is, I gained this week and it fucking sucks. And before anyone goes "but it's only 1/2 a pound" take a look at the last two months and you'll see I've only lost about 5 pounds and just over ONE pound in the past 4 weeks.  That, my friends, is bullshit, when you are really trying.  For Christ's sake, everyone on Biggest Loser this week lost over 10 pounds in two weeks WHILE AT HOME and I can't lose a single pound. (For shit's and giggles, I calculated what I would've needed to lose to be safe at the "5% in 2 weeks" challenge at it would've been 7.25 pounds - basically what I've lost since fucking NOVEMBER!)

The graph looks all pretty with it's nice downward slope until you look at the numbers on the sides.  That's pretty fucking pathetic, IMO (and before you blast me for being upset about weighing 146 pounds, keep in mind I'm just over 5 feet tall - this is NOT a good weight for me).  If I'd shown you a screen shot of the past month it would look even worse.  I have people criticizing the amount I'm eating and saying I'm not getting enough calories. Obviously that's not true if my weight is either maintaining or going up. I'm pissed.  I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong and why my body hates me so much.    

Bayshore Half Marathon Training: Week 7

This week was supposed to be a cut back week, but I went a bit off course so to speak.  Sadly, I'm paying for that with some really achy legs (to the point of keeping me up at night), but I'll live.

Monday 2/25/13 - Plan: RUN easy 3 miles at 11:12 pace.  Did: RUN - I took advantage of a very gorgeous day here in West Michigan and just ran.  I picked a hilly route and didn't really watch my pace but I felt fantastic and ended up running 4.25 miles in 41:31 (a 9:46 pace).  I really surprised myself.

Tuesday 2/26/13 - Plan: CROSS TRAIN.  Did: BIKE/STRETCH - 45 minutes on the basement trainer and then a 15 min stretching session.

Wednesday 2/27/13 - Plan: RUN easy 3 at 11:12 pace. Did: RUN - the weather turned to shit again so I hit the dreadmill and it was AWFUL. Did 3 miles in 31:55 (10:38 pace). I just kept upping the speed to try and fight boredom, so yet again, I blew the "easy" run.

Thursday 2/28/13 - Plan: RUN easy 3 at 11:12 pace.  Did: BIKE/RUN BRICK - I had planned on running at the gym right after work and then going to a "bring your own bike and trainer" spin class, but the spin class fell through.  Decided to do a brick at home instead.  BIKE inside on trainer 10 miles in 46 min then RUN outside 3.32 miles in 37:28 (11:17 pace). The run felt like crap and I could never get a rhythm due to all the snow piles and ice I had to jump over at every intersection.

Friday 3/1/13 Plan: CROSS TRAIN. Did: REST - Had to work the carnival at my school and then I went out to dinner.  Decided a rest day was in order because my ankle and calf were very sore and tight. 

Saturday 3/2/13 - Plan: RUN "long" run of 6 miles at 11:12 pace.  Did: RUN - I had a conference for work to attend during the day, so my run didn't start until around 3:30 in the afternoon.  The good part of this was that it was still sunny and had warmed up a bit.  By "warmed up" I mean it was in the mid 30s with the wind chill in the 20s.  I wore my jacket but was so warm within the first mile from the sun that I took it off and then froze in my t-shirt.  I'm actually following 2 different training plans and one had me going 3 today and the other 7, so I sorta split the difference because I need my long runs to be more than 3 miles, step-down week or not.  I picked another hilly route (only because it was free of ice and snow) and busted out 6 miles in 1:02:09 (10:21 pace).  I definitely have an issue with finding an "easy" pace.

Sunday 3/3/13 - Plan: CROSSTRAIN. Did: BIKE/STRETCH - rode one of the spin bikes at the Y for 50 min while I watched the end of the Wings game and my girl ran.  Finished with some running stretches with my girl.

I'd say it was a pretty decent training week, but I think I should have tried to follow the plan with regard to the easy runs.  My legs are feeling pretty nuked this week - especially after the back to back run days.  But...I'm really loving my Newtons - all those fast runs have been in them.  I don't know if they improve my gait and my run is more efficient/strong or if it's all in my head, but I'll take it. 

Yesterday, my girl came home with the track and field schedule.  Practices start the 11th and there are already race conflicts - the one Saturday meet falls on a day I'm running a half marathon and she was going to run her first 10k, and if she makes an invitational meet, that happens to fall on the day of the Bayshore Half - which I've already paid for and have non-refundable hotel reservations for.   My son is also in the spring musical and has rehearsals 3-5 days a week.  Neither of them are driving solo yet.  Now I'm panicking about how I'm going to get in all my workouts and what to do about the races I have scheduled.  The fact is - I'm not going to get in all my workouts and because of this, even if I still run the races, my performance is going to suffer.  No matter how much I try or how much mom guilt I have, I can't be in two places at once.  I can try to move more of my workouts to before school - and I'll need to do this next week because I also have parent-teacher conferences (FML) but history has shown that pre-dawn workouts really only work once or twice a week, otherwise I turn into a raving bitch from lack of sleep. Missing meets is hard for me.  What if she gets hurt? What if she has the meet of her life and I'm not there to see it? Mom guilt on top of control issues really sucks.

I'm not really asking for advice but just need to vent a little. My girl has already told me to run the half that she's missing the 10k for.  If I run REALLY fast, I might be able to make it back to where the meet is before it's over, but I probably won't see any of her events.  Sigh.  Can I just say I hate this time of year?

Meal Monday: Chicken Caprese Pasta

This was Sunday night's dinner, and while certain members of the family didn't rave about it, I thought it was pretty darn tasty.

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts
1 box (12 oz) bow tie pasta
1 container grape tomatos, halved
8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into little squares
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste


1. Grill or sauté chicken until done & cut into bite-sized pieces.
2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta as directed on the package.
3. Make the sauce by cooking the oil, balsamic, salt & pepper over medium to low heat until it reduces a bit.


4. Put chicken, pasta & tomatoes in a large bowl.
5. Add sauce & toss to coat.


6. Add cheese & basil right before serving.


7. I served this with some broccoli and oven baked "fried" mushrooms. Very yummy.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thankful Thursday: hope

Today I'm thankful for the occasional day like this past Monday:

That reminds me of this:

And that gives me hope that this:

Will eventually be gone.

Are you as sick of winter as I am?

Weigh-in Wednesday: a whole lotta nothing

Starting Weight (11-28-12): 153.6

Last week: 145.4

This week: 145.4

Change: down zilch

Total change: down 8.2

To say I'm disappointed in myself would be an understatement.  This is the first week since the beginning of January that I haven't lost at least SOMETHING - and to me, maintaining when you are trying to lose is just as bad as gaining.  It means I fucked up this week.  If I was logging everything correctly, staying under my calories, and working out enough I would've lost weight. I worked out a ton (cardio 45-90 minutes on 6/7 days last week).  According to MFP, I stayed under my calorie goal on 5/7 days and the days I went over it was only by a very small amount.  

So what does this mean?  It means I'm not working hard enough at tracking, which in turn means my calories haven't been as low as I've thought.  I've never been one to log every morsel I put in my mouth which is why I always try to end the day a good 100 calories below goal to account for the little stuff I don't log.  I don't write down things like ketchup, mustard and pickles on my veggie burger since I consider it enough of a punishment that I'm eating a nasty Boca burger while the rest of the family is eating real burgers. I don't measure everything.  I pour my creamer into my coffee and I pour dressing on my salads.  I don't weigh my food because I want to feel like I'm a normal person.  I know this week I grabbed a few tortilla chips and chocolate chips here and there and I'm sure I didn't remember to log every chip.  I'm not perfect and this simply proves that.  The sad thing?  I don't think I CAN be perfect in this without making myself completely crazy and if I'm not perfect I feel like a failure.  It's a horrible loop to be in.

This is what I hate about tracking. 

However, I'll continue to track and try to be as close to perfect as I can be, because it's obviously working on more weeks than not.  My dress pants are getting loose (I wish I could say the same for my jeans) and some of my skirts are falling off my waist.  I know that is more important than a number on the scale, but I need to see those numbers.  

I just hope this isn't the start of a stupid plateau or a trend in the wrong direction.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Bayshore Half Marathon Training: week 6

How am I into week 6 already?? Holy cow, time is flying!  Hopefully this (and all the giant potholes in West Michigan) are signs that spring is on its way.

Here's how this week played out....

Monday 2/18/13 - Plan: RUN easy 5 miles at 11:14 pace.  Did: RUN very easy 5 miles at 12:31 pace.  My daughter wanted to run with me and had never run more than 3.1 miles.  We ran a hilly route and I'm so proud of her for sticking with it (granted, she really had no choice since we had to get back to the car).

Tuesday 2/19/13 - Plan: CROSS TRAIN.  Did: BIKE - We had yet another snowday so I hopped on the trainer for an hour and biked a slow 13.3 miles.

Wednesday 2/20/13 - Plan: RUN tempo 4 miles with 2 mile temp at 9:26 pace. Did: RUN - got my tempo done on the dreadmill before work because I knew the afternoon would be crazy. Completed 4 miles in 41 minutes, including w/u, c/d and 2 tempo miles at 9:19 and 9:24. Been running my indoor runs in my Newton Running Gravity's and they've been treating me well :)

Thursday 2/21/13 - Plan: CROSS TRAIN.  Did: CROSS TRAIN - went to the barefoot conditioning class I've found at my gym.  Lots of lunges, squats and balance work left my legs fried.  Finished with RUN - 1 mile on the indoor track in 9:43.  

Friday 2/22/13 Plan: CROSS TRAIN. Did: BIKE - tried to push the pace a bit and finished 10 miles in 39:48 (15.1 mph).  This is pretty fast for me on my trainer, so I'll take it.  

Saturday 2/23/13 - Plan: RUN "long" run of 6 miles at 11:14 pace.  Did: RUN - hilly and slushy 8 miles at an 11:18 pace (1:30:25).  This was mentally a very tough run for me, with a mini breakdown in miles 5 and 6 because I'm so sick of slipping and sliding but I pulled my shit together and kicked ass on the last 2 miles, running them in 10:49 and 10:32.  

Sunday 2/17/13 - Plan: BIKE Did: REST - the rest day wasn't entirely intentional, but life just got in the way. This is what I wrote on my dailymile post: Beer me! Aside from church this morning, I have not sat down all day. Multiple loads of laundry, an hour-long trip to the grocery store, house cleaning & a trip to the mall. After all this? 3 1-minute planks & 10 modified triceps push-ups, just so I could say there was some real exercise in there. Did I burn any calories today? Most likely, NO. But sometimes you just need to say "screw it" and pass the bottle opener. It's 5:00 somewhere.


Life is definitely about balance and sometimes you just need to say "f*ck it" and take the day off.

So, the running is going well.  I'm loving my Newtons (and really hope the weather gets decent so I can wear them outside - they don't have any stability or much traction so I'm worried about the slushy streets).  What's missing?  Strength training - I have been seriously slacking in this department and I can tell.  My weight is coming down, but I'm soft and my back is sore after my long runs because my core strength is GONE.  I need some help getting back on track with the lifting.  Hold me accountable...m'kay?