#TBT Happiest Places On Earth #rundisney

Before the 2012 Wine and Dine Half at Walt Disney World

Before the 2012 Tinker Bell Half at Disneyland

Any guesses where I wish I could be right now?

Maybe someday I'll get to run another Disney race.  

Have you RunDisney?  What was your favorite race?

#WIAW Good Paleo-ish Substitutes

In my effort to be paleo-ish, I'm definitely missing some foods.  Thanks to some friends and the wonders of the interwebs, I've found some nice substitutions.

This weekend, I was introduced to these amazing gluten free pretzels.  They are available on Amazon but my friends who brought them over said you can find them in some stores as well.  Not paleo, but good for a snack and the calories aren't crazy high like some gluten free snacks I've found (like a cookie I got that was 320 calories for one cookie!).  I even think they taste better than regular pretzels.  Plus, I finally have something to dunk in that Dirty Bastard Stone Ground Mustard from Founder's Brewing.

I can't remember if I've posted about these Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chip Strussel Topping before.  Danielle Walker is the blogger behind Against All Grain and her recipes are so good.  These muffins are moist and delicious, plus they are gluten free, grain free, and paleo if you use paleo chocolate chips (I don't go quite that far).  My family even loves these.

As for my weigh-in this week, it was fine.  I'm trying to switch my focus to training and eating to train, so I won't be posting weigh-ins here for awhile.  If you are friends with me on My Fitness Pal, you'll still see me logging my food most days and tracking my weight because while I know losing while marathon training is becoming unrealistic, I also don't want to swing back the other way and end up gaining again.  

Do you have a favorite gluten free or grain free baked good?

Training Tuesday: Detroit Marathon week 10

As far as workouts go, this week was both awful and amazing.  It just went to prove that one bad workout doesn't need to affect the next one.  I need to hold onto that, because I'm sure I'll need that little tidbit of information later.

Monday 7-21-14 LIFT 90 minutes. I'm almost to the end of July and this lifting program. I really hope coach mixes it up again for August.

Tuesday 7-22-14 RUN 3 miles easy (10:58 pace).  This run felt like my legs were running through mud.

Wednesday 7-23-14 LIFT 90 minutes. Bad workout and got called out for bitching about it. #tribelove #justtrollin.  Then BIKE 9 miles at a snails pace with a local bike group.  I won't do that again. I hate biking around that many people and in traffic.

Thursday 7-24-14 RUN 6 miles with 3x1600.  It was a blessedly cool morning and I nailed this run.  Averaged a 10:02 overall and a 9:34 on the miles (just shy of the 9:18 goal).

Friday 7-25-14 REST

Saturday 7-26-14 RUN long 20 miles!  I averaged an 11:18 pace using a 5 minute run / 1 minute walk interval.  I felt great through about 18 miles and it was a great redemption after how I felt running in Chicago the week before.  It occurred to me right before the run that this is only the 4th time I've run this far.

Sunday 7-27-14 REST and RECOVERY.  I woke up feeling really good.  Only some aches in my achilles and back.  The rest of me felt pretty darn good.

Looking forward to my step-back week and "only" 16 miles on my next long run.

Motivation Monday: Are you crazy too?

source

In about 2 weeks, I'm running my next race - the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail 200 Mile Relay.  I can't wait to run through the day and night with Team Screaming Thunderboxes!

Are you crazy enough to run a relay?

Thankful Thursday: blessings

Just a quickie today because I have house cleaners coming in 10 minutes and I need to clean my house first (don't laugh).

1.  I'm thankful for mid-50s mornings on days I have speedwork.  This morning's run would not have gone nearly as well had it been in the 70s.

2.  I'm thankful for sprinklers at mile 5.5 of a 6 mile run, even when it's in the 50s.  Yes, I ran through some random dude's sprinklers this morning and it was AWESOME.  Then I stuck my head in my own sprinklers when I got home.  I'm sure the neighbors think I'm nuts and I'm totally cool with that.

3.  I'm thankful I get to write for The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.  Today I'm posting over there on my experience of using the Run/Walk/Run method during Rock n Roll Chicago Half and some of the pros and cons of run/walk/run.  Check it out if you are interested.

What are you thankful for today?

Weigh In Wednesday "progress"

I posted this question to a closed group I belong to on Facebook because I'm super frustrated right now.

"Why does MFP call the weight and measurement tracking section "progress"? There's no progress here unless you count moving in the wrong direction this entire month. How is it I can run almost 30 miles last week (incl an 18 miler on Sunday) plus have 2 almost 90 min strength sessions and still gain weight?"


I'm sure people are going to come back and say I'm not eating enough but I don't think that's it.  I have my calories set at 1330 and I eat back most of what I burn exercising. I'm not hungry when I go to bed but I'm hungry when I wake up.  I'm eating paleo at least 85-90% of the time which means lots of protein and veggies, very little refined crap, and minimal sugar.  I've started to add back in some dairy and occasionally a grain like corn because frankly, I like those things and they don't seem to mess up my system. Or do they?  Is that why my weightloss completely stalled after my trip to Savannah?  Do I need to cut those foods back out?  Or is this simply going to be the way it is while I'm marathon training?  I joked after my 18 miler that my goal the next day was to "not eat all the things" but it really wasn't a joke.  I'm trying very hard to find the balance between refueling and overeating. In the summer I crave salty foods after runs because I sweat so much but I'm trying not to go nuts with salt because that just makes me retain water. It's not easy.

If you have an answer to my question that isn't just "eat more" I'd love to hear it.

Detroit Marathon Training Week 9 and a winner!

First off, a quick "THANK YOU" to everyone who entered my "Run the D" giveaway for an entry to the Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k.  Rafflecopter did it's thing and we have a winner!  Congratulations to Patti W - can't wait to hear how your race goes!

Now onto the training recap portion of this program.

After a pretty miserable week 8, I really stepped things up for week 9.  Looking back at my DailyMile stats, this is the most miles I've run in a week in longer than the bar graph goes back and if I hit all my runs for the rest of the month, I will come in with just under 100 miles.  I'm not even sure I ever hit that in a month on my first round of marathon training.

It's no wonder I'm tired and feeling a little stressed by the whole thing.

My workouts went pretty well this week and were capped off my a long run/race that was quite memorable.

Monday 7-14-14 RUN 3.1 in just under 31 min (9:51 pace).  This was supposed to be an easy run but my legs decided otherwise and I pushed the pace a little.

Tuesday 7-15-14 LIFTING

Wednesday 7-16-14 RUN TEMPO 6 miles 60 min and change (10:02 pace).  The 4 tempo miles were more of a progression run and the only reason I hit the average goal pace was because of the last mile.  It was really quite cool outside, so I'm disappointed I didn't run faster.

Thursday 7-17-14 LIFTING

Friday 7-18-14 RUN (a bonus workout). I was feeling antsy so I did 2 miles plus 1/2 mile of strides (ave 9:44 pace).

Saturday 7-19-14 REST but it really wasn't because I walked around an expo and then downtown Chicago for hours.

Sunday 7-20-14 RUN 18.23 miles in 3:32:xx (11:36 ave pace). I ran the first 5 miles as a warm up to the Rock n Roll Chicago Half Marathon.  It was hot, humid, and kind of sucky but a good way to get in a supported training run.  You can read the race report here.

I'm feeling pretty decent since the long run on Sunday.  Even Monday morning I felt good enough to go lift for 90 minutes.  It's nice to see I'm recovering fairly quickly from these longer runs.  Now, if it would just cool off some so I could actually hit my long run paces, I'd appreciate it.  It's not looking good for my 20 miler on Saturday - in fact, storms are in the forecast so there is a chance I may be doing 20 miles on a treadmill (or multiple treadmills because of the stupid gym rules about how long you can use a machine).  Pray for a dry, cool Saturday morning.  Or at least no lightening.

Rock n Roll Chicago Half Marathon #racereport #rnrchi

So I ran this "little" half marathon yesterday - the Rock N Roll Half in Chicago as part of my weekend 18 mile long run for Detroit Marathon training.  I had won a free entry from Megan and managed to convince my almost 17 year old daughter to make it a girl's weekend and run the 5k. The promise of bling is what got her (she is her mother's daughter after all).

*warning - this post is picture heavy and will be a bit long, kind of like the 18 mile training run. You might want to grab the beverage of your choice*

The Expo

The expo was held at McCormick Place - a huge convention center on the lake.  My twitter/DailyMile friend, Angie M, was staying with us, so we hooked up with her when we got into town and grabbed lunch. Since we were staying a few miles north, we navigated the CTA bus to get there.  You had to walk about 3 miles inside McCormick to get to the expo (we joked they should've held the 5k there in the AC, running back and forth down the massive halls).  The expo was quite large, with all the usual booths. We spun some wheels for giveaways, collected water bottles and chapstick. Crap like that.

Obligatory staged finish line picture with my girl.

We were just walking around the expo, checking things out, and then this happened....

OMG that's Dorothy Beal!

Dorothy Beal (aka @mileposts) noticed my I Run The Body shirt and waved me over.  She asked to take a picture with me :)  Talk about fan girl freak out.  She was super sweet and very adorable, and even commented on my instagram of the picture.  Definitely the highlight of the expo for me.  We left after walking around for an hour or so, and then did more walking.  My girl wanted to walk to Navy Pier and then we walked some more to find dinner.  For the record - I do not recommend this the day before running 18 miles.  Luckily, our bus passes got us the almost 2 miles back to our hotel in time for light's out at 9:00.  

Sun starting to go down behind the skyline.

Race Day

Angie and I got up at the butt crack of dawn (actually 3:45 is much earlier than the butt crack) to run 5 miles before the half marathon.  Let me tell you, there are a lot of very interesting people on the streets of Chicago at 4:30 in the morning.  I think my favorites were a really stoned guy without shoes on asking if he could run with us and the 2 girls doing their walk of shame and one commenting "OMG, they are already out running".  Yep.  We are badass like that.

5.13 miles along Michigan Avenue and Lake Shore Drive in 56:47 (11:04 pace).  Being bad bloggers, Angie and I did not take a post 5 miler selfie.

We got back to the hotel and I helped Kaylee get ready for her 5k.  Then we walked the couple blocks to the starting line. (Note - if you plan to run this race, the Congress Plaza Hotel, while being the #1 most haunted place in Chicago, was ideal from a location standpoint.)

Beautiful sunrise over Grant Park.

Awake and ready to go!

There were 36 corrals, which is simply insane.  Kaylee was in 17 and Angie in 16, so hugs and off they went while I joined the mid-pack people in corral 21.  It took almost 30 full minutes for my corral to get to the starting line with the wave start format, and even with that it was still pretty congested.  

Once I finally started (remember it's been about 90 min since I finished the first 5 miles) it took awhile for my legs to want to get going.  I had decided to run 5 minutes/walk 1 minute for the 13.1 but in the first 2 miles I just ran to try and get away from the crowds.  I was also a little pissed to see how many people from corrals 34, 35, 36 had already started as I passed them in the first mile (you could tell corral by the first numbers on their bibs).  I get that had they started in their actual corrals they probably would not have made the cutoff times, but really? What's the point of having corrals if they aren't enforced?  

Chicago Theater and the "L".

Saw my girl with her bling outside of our hotel at mile 6.

The race snaked around downtown for about 7 miles and then headed south to Bronzeville and out to the lakeshore.  For a Rock N Roll race, it was very quiet.  There were some pockets of great spectators but there really wasn't any on-course entertainment until after mile 5.  I think there were some magicians or something before that.  The bands were all really good but you only saw them for about 5 seconds as you ran by.

I was very happy to see the water around mile 10.

We ran through the underground tunnels at McCormick Place, where I saw one girl fall (it's very dark) and my Garmin got all screwed up.

Fun inflatable outside McCormick's tunnel.

I was sad that we didn't stay along the lakeshore longer, but the lake trail does move back toward the city just south of Soldier Field. The trail was also very congested with walkers at this point and I was trying not to piss people off when I would pass them to run and then do my walk breaks.  (The run/walk experience should be it's own blog post.)

Sun's out/Guns out! Soldier Field is just beyond the trees.

I had managed to drink about 60 oz of Nuun/water during the course of the 18 miles.  I even stopped a couple times to refill my bottles during the race and I'm glad I remembered to bring an extra Nuun tablet with me. The heat and humidity really kicked my ass and I was getting discouraged.  I was also mentally DONE at about mile 8 during the race (mile 13 for my run) so knowing I could walk every 5 minutes became a lifesaver.

Done!

I finished the half in 2:34:48, which was an 11:49 pace average and as races go, one of my worst.  Over the course of the 18 miles, I averaged an 11:36 pace, which was a little bit slower than my prescribed training pace (I was supposed to run 18 at an 11:29 average).  Considering the heat and humidity, I need to just be ok with this.

Finish Festival

There was the usual assortment of gluten-laden items at the finish line, so I grabbed a banana and a chocolate milk.  The ice-cold wet washcloths were heavenly and a very nice touch. (There had been wet sponges around mile 11, too, which was awesome.)  I met up with Kaylee and Angie and we hung out in the Westin VIP tent for awhile (Angie had scored us passes).

Neither Angie nor I wanted to fight the lines for Michelob Ultra (and Kaylee wouldn't have been able to get into the beer tent area anyway) so we held off on beer until lunch.  Before we left, I had to get a picture with these guys though.  They had been on the course and were actually really funny and super enthusiastic.

Stilt guys!

Overall Impressions

Honestly, I was disappointed in the race itself (not my run but the overall race) and unless I scored another free entry I would not run this one again.  I had really high hopes for Rock n Roll but I thought it was kind of boring.  There weren't enough bands/entertainment for all the hype and while the course was ok, after awhile the city all just kind of blurs together (this coming from someone who really loves Chicago and running in the city).  The HM race shirt is nice but the 5k shirts were unisex.  Had I know this, I would've gotten Kaylee and XS because the small is really big on her.  The medals are really cool, though, and bling definitely matters.  My girl managed to PR her 5k by almost 3 minutes, but said it was very congested for the entire 3.1 miles and it made it hard for her to hit the goal she really wanted.  I'm still super proud of her for getting outside her comfort zone and racing.

It's not a Chicago race unless there is a bling pic in front of The Bean.

Did you race this weekend?  Have you ever run Rock n Roll Chicago?

Friday 5: #rnrchi indecisiveness

This weekend's 18 mile long run will be done in conjunction with the Rock n Roll Chicago Half Marathon. I've never done a Rock n Roll race so I'm really excited for that piece.

The other 5 miles?  Not so much.

The past couple days have been punctuated by indecisiveness.  It's kind of gone like this..

1.  It's going to be hot so I'm going to wear my usual Athleta running skort.

2.  Every time I wear those skorts I chafe in some nasty areas, so I guess I'll wear capris and suck it up in the heat.

3. If I wear capris, that means I get to sparkle!

Pretty sure this is flat Bari - ignore the unmade bed.

4.  Should I run with music or just have fun with the on-course entertainment?

5. Who am I kidding? I'm not running 18 miles without music.  I even figured out a way to wear my shuffle that doesn't bother me or make my headphones fall out!

Ignore the sweaty post-run nastiness.  Note to self-don't forget the sunscreen.

Are you running Rock n Roll Chicago?  Want to join me for an extra 5 miles at 4:30 am?  Seriously. If you do, message or tweet me and I'll let you know where a few of us are meeting up!

Thankful #TBT: Vacation Exploration

Two years ago I was in DC for some girl time & me time. I had a beautiful watchless run along the Potomac and Arlington National Cemetery. I love when TimeHop reminds me of days like these.



I've had some nice vacation runs since I became a runner. DC, Savannah, Charleston, Orlando, Chicago.  The list goes on.  Running is really one of the best ways to explore a new city.  What's the last city you explored?

Before you leave, have you entered my giveaway for an entry to the Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k? Go here to enter - you can use the entry for either the actual or virtual race.

WIAW and a Weigh In #justtrollin

It would appear maybe I've been a bit to "ish" on the paleo-ish eating habits since vacation.  Why is it so difficult to get back on track?  I gave myself some leeway while in Savannah and was rewarded with a nearly 5 pound gain.  I've only managed to lose about 1/2 a pound of that since I got back (and this week I gained .2 pounds back).  To say I'm frustrated would be an understatement, but I also know it's totally my fault.  I didn't run much at all last week because I screwed up my hip.  It's better now, but not having those 600+ calorie runs a few times a week means that's 600 less calories I should be eating each day.

While I've done a good job making paleo meals this week, like this awesome Shrimp Scampi with Zoodles (just saute shrimp in a little olive oil and garlic, add baby spinach leaves and cherry tomatoes, then toss with zucchini noodles and fresh basil leaves)...

...I've also gone out to eat.  We've been to Red Robin (where I "splurged" on the 200 calorie gluten free bun with my burger and ate fries) and a local hot dog place (where I felt gypped because had my dogs without the best hot dog buns in town).

I also discovered the best gluten free beer - Omission Pale Ale.  I probably shouldn't have even tried it because even though it's gluten free, it's still 175 calories a bottle.

All of this - not exercising enough, adding some grains and potatoes back in, and splurging on foods that taste good but really aren't any good for me - has resulted in a complete halt in the weight loss department.

This graph should be continuing to move down, not up.  Yes, I'm still at a net loss (and there's a good chance that 144 at the end of June was a fluke) but I'm not where I should be or want to be.  

I need to do better this week.  I need to somehow figure out how to eat in Chicago this weekend while I'm there to run Rock n Roll Chicago (plus extra miles) as my 18 mile long run without blowing my progress even more.  Yep. Paleo in the land of deep dish pizza and the best popcorn on the planet should be fun.

I think I need to get back to no grains at all (this means no popcorn, tortilla chips or corn tortillas, or gluten free breads/pizza crusts), no regular potatoes, and no more beer - even if it's "fake" beer.  No cheat days. Is that realistic?  Probably not but what else can I do? Giving myself some #justtrollin #tribelove.

I'm not looking for advise.  Just trying to wrap my head around how I can successfully marathon train, lose weight, and eat paleo most of the time.  I'm extremely proud of myself for sticking with this as long as I have but I have to say, it hasn't been easy and now that the scale results aren't showing, the motivation to stick with it isn't really there.  It is what it is.

Before you leave, have you entered my giveaway for an entry to the Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k? Go here to enter - you can use the entry for either the actual or virtual race.

Race Preview: 2nd Annual Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k #giveaway

Back in April, I ran my first women's only half marathon and I was HOOKED.  I was working as an ambassador for Another Mother Runner at the Gazelle Girl Half Marathon here in Grand Rapids, MI.  I met so many first time half-marathoners at the Expotique that I knew I absolutely had to be a part of running in this environment.  I signed up for the race at the expo and ran with only a 7 mile long run under my belt (do as I say, not as I do - I've run lots of halfs and had a plan to cover the distance).  Seeing women I'd met at the Expotique while out on the course and the camaraderie and encouragement everyone was giving was infectious.

Fast forward a few months.  I have been given the opportunity to again partner with Another Mother Runner as their AMR Ambassador at the Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k September 20 and 21, 2014!  In addition to rep'ing AMR at the Expotique on September 20th (please come see me at the AMR booth!!!), the wonderful women behind the Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k have partnered with me as one of their featured bloggers.

The Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k was a huge success in their inaugural year last year and they have even more planned for 2014. Having outgrown their space, they are planning a bigger and better Expotique at Cobo Hall with tons of fun exhibitors, an incredible swag packet, pampering, and a shake-out run hosted by Fellow Flowers!  The Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k have chosen Go Red for Women, an initiative designed to empower women to take charge of their heart health, as their charity partner.  They are profiling women Heart Heroes on their website because they are so passionate about women's heart health.  In addition to telling their story, women selected as Heart Heroes receive complementary entry to the race of their choice.  If you would like to apply to be a Heart Hero, please visit the Heart Hero page for more information.

I'm so excited to run the half marathon on beautiful Belle Isle, which is now a Michigan State Park, as a tune-up race to the Detroit International Marathon!  But what if you can't make it to Detroit the weekend of September 20 and 21?  In addition to the race on Belle Isle, this year women can register to run the Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k as a virtual race!  All virtual racers will receive the same "swag" as race day participants, including a super soft t-shirt, bib number, virtual swag bag, and the coolest medal in the D!

Bling sneak peak! IT SPARKLES!

What does this mean to you?  It means one of my lucky readers is going to get to run the Detroit Women's Half Marathon or 5k too!  They have offered one race entry for me to give away to one of you.  Are you SQUEEEING yet???  You will have your choice of the half marathon or 5k.  (If you are not within a reasonable distance, I can make this a virtual race entry but would STRONGLY encourage you to run the race with me on Belle Isle.  The winner will be responsible for any transportation or lodging needs.)

So how do you get to be a part of Women Run the D?  Just enter the handy-dandy Rafflecopter contest below!  I hope to see you in Detroit!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The contest will run from Tuesday, July 15, 2014 to Monday, July 21, 2014 and is open to anyone.  Winner will be announced by July 23rd and will have until the 26th to confirm or I will select another winner.

The legal mumbo jumbo: I was provided with a complimentary entry to the Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k as well as a second entry to give away.  Winner is responsible for any and all costs related to getting to the race and lodging.  If you choose to use the winnings as a virtual race, please let me know.  The Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k, myself, and Live Laugh Run Breathe are trusting you to train and run responsibly.  No claims may be made against us for injuries that may occur during the event.  You know what you are getting yourself into when you sign up to run.  You'll be signing the waiver when you register and all that stuff applies here too.

Movement Monday: Detroit Marathon Training Week 8

Normally, I'd recap my marathon training week tomorrow, but I have an INCREDIBLE giveaway planned so you get the recap a day early.  Just make sure to come back tomorrow - you won't be disappointed!!

Now onto the recap....I labeled this post "Movement Monday" but there really wasn't as much movement as there should have been, or at least not the right kinds.  I guess if you are going to do something stupid and injure yourself, it's best to do it on a step-back week.  Because of my dumb hass, I only ran once this week.  Next week I'll have to do better since I have an 18 miler on Sunday (Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Chicago plus and extra 5 miles before the race - holdme).

Monday 7/7/14 - WALK 90 minutes (about 4.25 miles) and SWIM about 500 yards.

Tuesday 7/8/14 - LIFT 50 minutes. Couldn't do any lower body stuff.

Wednesday 7/9/14 - BIKE 8 miles.

Thursday 7/10/14 - WALK 100 minutes (about 5.25 miles) and LIFT 75 minutes.

Friday 7/11/14 - Nothing formal. Went on another college campus visit so there was some walking and lots of stairs but I didn't track it.

Saturday 7/12/14 - RUN 6 miles in 1:06:xx (10:56 pace).  Felt good to run again but I was discouraged by all the parts that had stopped hurting but now hurt again because I had too many rest days.  The good news was my hass didn't hurt.

Sunday 7/13/14 - WALK 35 min (2 miles).

So, in retrospect, for a week with only one run, I still managed to get in a decent amount of activity.  I just have a hard time counting walking as exercise since it burns between zero and zero calories for me (yes, I know we all burn about 100 calories per mile no matter how we cover that mile, but I also know my heart rate doesn't get up at all on walks so that 100 is probably cut about in half).

Captain Jack sums up marathon training, don't you think?

Next week starts the week where I really consider myself marathon training.  The 18 mile run is what shows you are going way past a half marathon or 25k because who else in their right mind would run 18 miles for fun?  Now, in the words of Captain Jack Sparrow....I will "try not to do anything sssstupid" this week to re-injury myself.

*don't forget to come back tomorrow for a great giveaway!*

#TBT: a gentle #tribelove reminder

After yesterday's post, it was nice to get a little #tribelove reminder about how far I've come.

This one came in the form of a tweet thanks to my girl, Kirsten, and timehop.

4 years ago I was trying to decide whether or not to sign up for my first half marathon 

(and apparently doubting myself as usual).

Now I'm training for my second full.

Like Kirsten said, sometimes you have to "look at how far you've come" to see where you are going.

Where are you going?

A Little Tough Love #justtrollin #tribelove

source

Two weeks ago I was headed to Savannah for the FitBloggin'14 conference.  This post isn't about a session I attended, but rather one I missed.  The wonderful Sue O'Lear (aka Mrs. Fatass) and Steve Grey led a session on FitBlogger Tough Love.  The session was about being accountable for our own goals and the hashtags #justtrollin and #tribelove were agreed upon as a heads up to call each other out (from a position of love and support) when we see someone doing something that isn't in line with their goals.

At the end of the session, Steve and Sue gave the attendees some homework. Their assignment, as I understand it, was to call ourselves on our own bullshit.  To really get to the heart of what might be holding us back.

So that's what I'm doing today.  Even though I didn't attend the session, I'm doing the homework.  I'm calling myself out for two behaviors that are preventing me from moving forward.   I'm giving myself some tough love and I welcome any of you to do the same.  Call yourselves out.  Call me out.  I know there's lots more I could talk about than what's in this post.

So here goes...#tribelove...Stop the Negativity and Feeling Sorry for Yourself

One of my very bad habits is to judge all of my progress (or lack there of) by a negative I perceive in the moment.  By one weigh in. By one workout. By one run.  I start feeling sorry for myself and this spirals out of control and begins to affect the next workout, weigh in, run, etc.  I don't see I'm doing this until someone points it out to me.  I commented yesterday to a very close friend that I felt like I'd fucked everything up (I hurt myself this week and haven't been able to run since Saturday and I'm still up the nearly 5 pounds from vacation).  I was frustrated.  Honestly, I still am 24 hours after that statement.  My friend said, "I understand, but nothing is fucked up. You always judge by today."  I was asked to stop feeling sorry for myself because it was going to affect the workout I was literally sitting in the car dreading.

Did it sting to hear that? Yes.  But my friend was 100% correct and the words were not intended to hurt me but to give me that kick in the butt I needed.  I'd woken up in a good mood and based on a couple little events, was spiraling and literally crying in the parking lot of my YMCA an hour later.  It wasn't pretty, folks.

This isn't the first time I've done this.  My "poor me" attitude has gotten called out before.  Sometimes it's on DailyMile. Sometimes on Facebook. Sometimes through a text.  It's a recurring theme.

I'm calling myself out on the negativity and self-pity.

I need to recognize that one bad *fill in the blank* does not need to define the rest of my day (or week, or training cycle, or whatever).  Feeling frustrated is fine.  Emotions are fine.  Continuing to let that frustration negatively impact me and ruin my tomorrow is not.

I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and look for the positives.  I ran farther on Saturday than I have in about 2 years and I finished with a smile on my face.  Missing some runs this week isn't going to completely destroy my ability to have a strong run at Detroit in October.

I'm still down 10 pounds, even with the little slip-up in Savannah.  I'm making progress in the right direction and will continue to do so provided I get myself back on track.

I have friends who love me and aren't afraid to give me some #tribelove.  I need to hear and be reminded of my own BS so this post is giving you permission to call me out.  Too many check ins on Untappd? Posting pictures of food porn or #notpaleo or #totallyworthit?  Bitching about a bad workout?  Call me on it.

From time to time, I need to dish out the same to myself.

#justtrollin

Training Tuesday: Detroit Marathon week 7

Well friends, I made it 7 weeks into my training plan before I managed to hurt myself.  Nothing serious (I hope) and it wasn't totally running related, but it's already caused me to miss a run. GRRR.  Anyhoo...until I managed to just fall over and hurt my hip, my training was going pretty great.

Monday 6-30-14 : REST.  Actually, tons of sitting as I traveled home from FitBloggin' (I have a quick take-away post here and I'll be writing more about other aspects of the trip later).  Sitting in a car, airport, plane, and car for pretty much the entire day was actually as tiring as a long run.  After running 14 miles the day before, I probably needed the rest but if anything I just got stiff and sore.

Tuesday 7-1-14: LIFT 75 mins - started a new lifting program and it kicked my butt.  RUN 2.6 miles in 31 minutes (11:37 pace) at the GR Marathon Beerrun.  A horrible run caused by travel, time of day, heat, humidity, and overall just kind of not sucking it up.  I'm pretty much past it but it's still awful when runs like this happen.  I wasn't even planning to drink after because I really need to detox from FitBloggin' but I was so frustrated I had a beer AND two boneless wings (read: lots of gluten).

Wednesday 7-2-14: Didn't log anything but I did spend about an hour walking around another college campus with my daughter.

Thursday 7-3-14: TEMPO RUN - this run KICKED ASS.  I averaged a 10:04 pace for the 5 miles with my 3 tempo miles at 9:17, 9:41 and 8:31!  This run needs to get bookmarked on my desktop so when I have another shitty run and can look back and remember that I don't always suck.

Friday 7-4-14: LIFT 90 minutes.  I like my new lifting plan except for how long it takes me.

Saturday 7-5-14: LONG RUN - 16 miles baby!  It took my about 3 hrs and 10 minutes (11:48 pace), which was 10 min slower than I wanted to run, but with all the hills and some eventual heat and humidity, I'm very happy with the run.  Another bonus to the run?  NO BRA CHAFFING!!! I ordered a new bra (this one) and while it's definitely more padded/heavy than I would like, it kept the girls contained and I didn't end the run bloody, so I ordered another one.  I also got one last run with my friend Bre before she moves away to Alabama to start her new job.  That made this run even more special.  I'm super proud of all she's accomplished and I'm going to miss seeing her a few times a year.

INJURY: After getting home from my run and feeling really pretty good (other than some major dehydration and tired legs), I managed to get tangled up in my clothes getting dressed after my shower and I fell.  I should have hit the ground instead of trying to stop myself because my piriformis is really screwed up.  Dumb.

Sunday 7-6-14: Very slow, 2 mile walk to try and loosen up my hip.  Didn't really help.

Week 8 on my training plan is a step-back week and at this point, I'm afraid I'm going to have nothing to write about.  I'm taking it easy because I have the Rock N Roll Chicago half on July 20th (technically 18 miles that day) and that's my priority right now.

How was your week?  Any July 4th themed runs or workouts?

Meal Monday: Cranberry and Kale Turkey Burgers #recipe

This is another great recipe I found on Ziplist.  You can find the original recipe from Love and Zest here.

Since I didn't really change the recipe at all, other than leaving out the shallot because I didn't have it, I'm not going to reproduce the whole thing.

I cooked our turkey burgers on the grill and they definitely took a good 8 minutes per side.  I'm fine with a medium rare hamburger, but for turkey I wanted it cooked through.  They might have been a touch overdone though.  Maybe next time I should use a thermometer.

Since I'm still not eating breads, I had mine plain with a knife and fork, but Mike put his on a bun.  The kids wouldn't touch them so the first picture shows basically 1/2 a batch.  The original recipe says 6 burgers but I ended up making 4 with a 1.25 pound package of ground turkey.  If you make it into 4 burgers, they are around 300 calories each. I served the burgers with a side of roasted sweet potatoes (cube and roll in coconut oil and minced garlic and roast at 350* for about 30 min turning a few times) and kale chips (not pictured).  Yummy and healthy.  If you are trying to stay more paleo, you could leave out the blue cheese and I think they would turn out fine.  The cheese definitely added a nice flavor though.

Do you have a great turkey burger recipe?

#TTT: 3 Take-aways from #fitbloggin

I could go on and on about how incredible the FitBloggin sessions were, how great Roni is, about the camaraderie and support from hanging out with like-minded people.  But I won't.  You can find tons of FitBloggin14 recaps here and they all rock.  When I attended FitBloggin11, I attended as a relatively knew blogger and felt like I needed to attend all the sessions, eat all the food, take all the fitness classes, and party until all hours.  This year, I was much more relaxed.  I was still exhausted by the time I returned home, but I was more selective in what I chose to do and my head wasn't spinning quite as much.

Instead, here are 3 little take-aways from FitBloggin14.

1.  You MUST #takealltheselfies (or recruit people to take your pic).

Melissa, Monica (Bang), Arian Foster
Thea, The Tribe, Thea/Heather/Christy/Me
Dubyawife, Alan, Jeff Galloway

There are so many other people that I wanted to see or I saw but didn't take a picture with.  I sat in sessions with bloggers ("pros" and newbies, some who don't even blog yet) who are at every point in their own journeys.  Each and every one of them inspire me on some level.  

2.  Savannah is incredibly beautiful.

Some of my favorite FitBloggin14 memories took place outside of the conference rooms: walking through the squares on my way to the conference from my hotel, strolling along River Street on it's historic cobblestones, watching the water and the enormous ships, discussing running and blogging while out at dinner or in the lounge with old and new friends.  All of those events are also FitBloggin.

3.  If you are going to run 14 miles while at FitBloggin, it's best with a support crew and incredible scenery.

10k, bridge-running, rockstars. Yah, that's Jeff Galloway in the middle.

I seriously had NO IDEA how hard it was going to be to run my weekend long run in Savannah.  I have heat and humidity in Michigan, but nothing like that.  Running through the squares, on the bridge route with the 10k group, and then the River Walk added enough different scenery that it helped break up the run.  But those weren't the biggest keys to making it through my long run.  If I didn't have friends encouraging me - especially going up and over that bridge TWICE - I don't think I would have finished.  Encouraging and supporting others is what really makes the FitBloggin community so special.  

I may write another recap, but in all likelihood, this will be it.  Instead, I'm enjoying reading everyone else's posts while I miss them all deeply.

I'm hoping against hope to make it to FitBloggin15 in Denver.  Will you be there?

  

#WIAW and a Weigh-in: Keeping it #fitbloggin real

I just spent 5 glorious days in Savannah, GA for the FitBloggin conference.  (More on the conference later.)

If you know anything about Savannah, it's not the healthiest place to eat.

I mean, they deep fry EVERYTHING!

From their tomatoes....

to their Moon Pies.....

for the record - it was TO DIE FOR

Savannah even has this neat little law that allows you to walk down the street with booze.

I know, right?!?!

Needless to say, as hard as I tried to stick to "paleo-ish", there were a lot of things I ate and drank that did not fit the bill.  One session I went to at FitBloggin pointed out that we can "choose to fail".  Last weekend, I chose to allow myself to "fail" without punishing myself for doing so.  My body punished me plenty after the one day I drank 4 beers (over the course of the day, but still).  Lesson learned at 1 am.

My indulging rewarded me with an extra 4.8 pounds on the scale.  Now, I KNOW I did not gain 4.8 pounds of fat this weekend and the majority of this is water from eating carbs and drinking booze.  I'm choosing to not stress too much about this.  Hopefully the extra pounds will be gone next week though because I'd hate to think I blew 8 weeks of healthy eating and weightloss in a single weekend.  But if I did, then I need to accept that.

Training Tuesday: Detroit Marathon Week 6

Oh my goodness...how am I through 6 weeks of marathon training already???  Guess it gets drawn out when you need to re-build your base vs just jumping right in to a 10 mile long run.

Looking at my Daily Mile report from this past week, it would appear my workouts were a bit light.  They were.  I traveled to Savannah, GA this week for FitBloggin so the structured workouts I would have done were pushed to the side for fun with friends and learning.  Because I was worried about what one of the fitness sessions might do to Saturday's long run, I skipped those (except a couple minute long HIIT burpee session).  I will say, there was a ton of walking on the three empty days up there.  I'll touch on those in the recaps.

Monday 6-23-14 RUN 4 miles as WU, 2x1600 with 800 recovery and 800 CD.  Nailed this workout (averaged 10:13 pace but my 2 intervals were 8:51 and 8:58).  It poured rain the whole time and I'd forgotten how fun it was to run in the rain.

Tuesday 6-24-14 LIFT 50 minutes.  Good session even though most of the equipment I wanted was not available.

Wednesday 6-25-14 RUN easy 3.2 miles (semi-watchless averaged 11:05 pace). Humid. Soup.

Thursday 6-26-14 WALK - I toured an old rice plantation and walked around the property for about 90 minutes.

Friday 6-27-14 WALK - My hotel was 1/2 a mile from the conference hotel, so I figure with walking back and forth several times I probably walked at least 3 miles.

Saturday 6-28-14 WALK - ditto Friday.

Sunday 6-29-14 RUN Long 14 miles as a 4 mile run (45:27), 6.2 mile run (1:12:20 - this also acted as my Shrinking Jeans virtual 10k), and 3.8 mile run (46:39).  Savannah is humid as f*ck, people.  For reals.  I think I drank well over 40 oz of fluids on this run and I can only imagine how much my sweat loss was.  All in all, I averaged an 11:44 pace, which considering the heat and humidity, I should be happy with.  To be honest, I hope this weekend's 16 miler goes MUCH better.  I have a friend who is willing to run with me and I'm sure she'll keep me going.

As for FitBloggin - I'm not quite ready to write a recap.  So many thoughts are in my head and I haven't quite made sense of them yet.  It was inspiring, fun, energetic, much more than I could have asked for.