Category Archives: 5k

Thanksgiving blogger 5K and stray kitty progress

Bye-bye warm weather!  It was so warm the last few days and today it was rainy and cold in the low 40s.  I was telling John that I wanted to go lower carb or grain free today, but I really wanted cream of wheat for breakfast.  He told me just to have the cream of wheat – and so I did.  One of the few times I actually did something John told me to do  😈  I made pumpkin cream of wheat with egg whites stirred in, topped with pecans and a tablespoon of maple syrup.

That hit the spot!

I hit the ground running with work today.  Busy, busy, busy.  Which is good.  I was glad because I didn’t want to go out for a run until after it stopped raining, so I was glad there was work to do.  Speaking of running, anyone who is interested can sign up for Alissa’s Thanksgiving virtual 5K. She is offering a lot of prizes as well for doing a 5K  (run, walk,  elliptical, etc) on Turkey Day!

I had the munchies big time today.  I broke for lunch a little early so I wouldn’t keep munching.

After lunch, the mail came and my paycheck arrived a day early! Yay!  One of the few companies left that does not direct deposit.   The weather cleared up this afternoon.

That meant I would go to the bank for my run today.  It’s about 1.25 miles each way, so a good run – and functional.  My legs felt so heavy, though. Definitely was not feeling this run at.all.  One of those “why do I bother with running?” types of run.  Ugh?

Looks nice out, but it was pretty chilly.  John made me one of these when I got back.

Anyway, temps tonight are  going to be 18 degrees.  Now that I have fed Billy and he likes me, that means I have shouldered some responsibility for him. So, he comes in to the shop tonight.  Not sure how he will take it.  He followed me in there today and looked around, so I think he will take it much better than Boo did at first, but who knows?

Here is Billy in the shop tonight.  He came right in, but wasn’t too happy about the door closing behind him, although he got over it pretty fast.

This cat hated people this summer.

He is a very friendly guy now and quite a loud purrer.  I had no idea how friendly and lovey he would be.  He is quite mouthy, though.  He meows a lot. Anyone who wants a kitty, let me know!  :mrgreen:

We will see if he tries to get out tomorrow when John is out there.  At least tonight the kitty won’t be making any little Billies that will find their way to me…

Blood donation and chilly run.

Woke up this morning and it was again 32 degrees!  I was going to run outside as I don’t like to drive to the gym just to run unless it is precipitating horribly outside.  So, I made some fantabulous oats for breakfast and got right to work:

oats

40 grams of oats, 1 medium banana (part cooked in, a few slices for garnish), blueberry jam, peanut butter.  (Note  it was dark out when I made these, too early).  So freaking good!  Some days food tastes even more amazing, and this was one of them.  Maybe because I was hungry, but not starving like after a workout.

Worked until 10:30 and saw the temp was getting close to 40.  I knew it probably wouldn’t get much warmer, plus we had afternoon stuff scheduled, so here I was contemplating the thought of being cold!

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….. nice camera……

I am just a wuss, because the cold only lasts about 10 minutes, then I get hot and sweaty when running, even in almost freezing weather!  3.2 miles of sweaty goodness, although I should have snacked before I went out.

Had a fun lunch of Total Blueberry Pomegranate (love this stuff!), lowfat vanilla yogurt and a chopped kiwi.  I have never had kiwi on my yogurt cereal mash before, and I liked it.  😀

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After more work, we took a break to donate blood.  It was lickety split because no one was in line, and my veins were really fast today.  I don’t even think it took 1/2 hour from start to finish at the snack table.

My iron was at 15.4  – Broccoli and chicken rock!!  My iron was higher than John’s LOL.

Afterwards,  I had a bottled water and 1 Lorna Doone (my favorite post donation cookie).

dooneDidn’t want the whole pack because we went out for a latte at Cool Beans, where I spotted my pink item:

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I chose a skim latte and it was tasty.

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Not too hot, either.  Most times, coffee shops make the lattes hotter than the sun and I burn myself.

Did more work before dinner and then wanted more fall-themed goodness:

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Chicken on wheat bread with Cabot reduced fat cheddar topped with cranberry sauce (toasted).  Plus more broccoli – go iron!!

I’ll be working late tonight since I flexed time to donate blood and have coffee.  Plus I have to make more soap.  Busy!  Sitting here snacking on some unpictured cashews while busting out this post.  I admitted them back into the house after being banned for a while and maybe it was too soon.  I’ve eaten too many today.  Think I will put them in the freezer.

PSA:  Don’t forget to donate blood if you are eligible!  It’s a little inconvenient, but you can save up to 3 lives with each donation.  I hope that whomever gets my blood will get a little bit of radiance. 😀

I also found out that it takes 5 days for your body to replace the red blood cells that you donate.  Ooopsss… I have a race on Saturday (weather permitting).  Might be a little slow – or at least that is my excuse and I am sticking with it!

Tomorrow is biking to bagel day, hopefully.  Catch you on the flip side!

John did a PR!

Just a quick buzz by – John did a PR for this 5K  race (hills and all)

26:24!!

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He rocks!  Done by a person with asthma, too.  I’m so proud!

Going out for a bike ride now because his time makes me feel like a lazy butt 😀  Catch you later….

Girls on the Run

So, I was feeling okay this morning and we decided to go ahead and do the race. I made the mistake of checking the temperature before leaving the house. 15 degrees!! Oh my gosh was it cold!! I wore my technical turtleneck (my new best friend), a sweatshirt, and a fleece jacket. I barely broke a sweat until the very end. It was sunny at least. And Dave – I had a paper towel for my nose, I realized a tissue wasn’t going to cut it, and I was glad to have had it. My nose ran like a sieve after the first mile or so.

My niece did great. There were a lot of Girls on the Run participants there. The run had probably around 300 people participating, at least 1/3 of them young girls. Anyway, she ran a whole mile before she wanted to walk some. I kept pace with her and my sister for almost 2 miles, then I started to feel really tired and just wanted to finish, so I just kept jogging instead of slowing down. I was quite slow, and didn’t do a sprint near the end. I don’t recommend jogging in below freezing weather when you are sick. John thought it probably wasn’t a good idea, and he’s right LOL! (Don’t tell him I said that).
Anyway, all of the girls got medals – I got to see them cross the finish line running and was a proud Auntie! And John finished, too – proud of him as well!

I am now at home under a blanket with some tea, and starting to feel pretty crummy.

Another race tomorrow.

I must be nuts. It’s going to be in the 20s tomorrow morning at 9 am, and I am going to be running a 5K (provided my cold doesn’t get worse).
My 9-year-old niece did a running program to build them up to a 5K, and the race they were aiming for is tomorrow. So, my sister, John, and I are going to join her on the run!
I won’t be going for time or anything, just to run with her and finish with her.

I have this little sniffly thing going on, though. My throat is a touch sore and I have a bit of a runny nose. I’ve been snorting the Zicam, which is either really helping – or this is just taking a long time to develop. Will see. If I feel as I do now tomorrow morning, then I will run.

Awesome Race!!

What a gorgeous day for the race. Sunny, 45-50 degrees, no wind. Absolutely beautiful fall day. It made me happy just to be out in this weather!
There were not a lot of runners at this race, maybe 150 tops. It’s the 2nd annual, about 3x the turnout they had last year.

So, we lined up on a bridge facing a hill. They started us going uphill!! I am so glad I was hill training just for variety’s sake!! We started and a lot of people booked up the hill. I just kept a steady pace, knowing the town that this was not likely to be the only hill, and I was correct. This was a very hilly course. Of course, a lot of people got tired and I passed them further on down the road. I just kept up a steady higher pace throughout, figured that’s what I did my interval training for. I was cooking along, but quite sure that with the hills I would not beat my last race time.

I was wrong! The clock said 30:21 as I crossed the finish line! That is a 9:47 mile, I could not believe it! The clock was only off about 5 seconds from my chronometer (which I started a few seconds late), so it was accurate! After I cooled down a bit, I actually got a little weepy with happiness about how far I have come since April! Such a goof 🙂

Of course, I have proceeded to not eat really well today LOL! Anyway, I don’t know how I am going to beat this time in my next race in 2 weeks! Maybe if it is a flat course……

Oh Yeah!!

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My race today was fabulous! Beautiful weather, not really cold, but cool, sunny, no wind.
Started the race with my sis, and then I went ahead and got up to pace. I felt great at the start, so I knew I would do well. Checked my time at the first mile marker and was under 11. I thought the mile marker was wrong or something LOL. I pushed a bit, felt good, so I kept the pace. Luckily I had trained intervals and hills, there were some hills on this run. Not huge ones, but I passed quite a few people on the hills – which I found interesting.

One last hill at the end, then 20 yards of flat. I had legs left, so I sprinted the last 20 yards and crossed the finish line in …… 31:39!!! 10:12 per mile pace. Last race July I did 44 and change.
I am totally stoked! Funny how I think the course was short or something 🙂
My sister did well as well, and had a new PR. We hung around and cheered on the 1/2 marathoners, and half talked about doing it next year in our delerium.

We are going to do another race in October. Now I have to push even harder since I totally blew away my own expectations! Yay!!

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Sore legs today.

Good thing that I moved my jog to coincide with the shapeover workouts this week. My legs are killing me! I took a short walk today for a little cardio. I have a few days to recover before Sunday’s race.

Yesterday I did a 3 mile jog in 33:39, about my usual pace now. I am shooting for finishing the 5K in 37 minutes. That gives me some leeway with an unfamiliar course and such. It will be fairly chilly Sunday morning, too! Yesterday it was 45 degrees when I was out. I wore sweats, but my short-sleeve wicking shirt. I was really sweaty, but then kind of clammy cold. Ick.
After that jog, we walked to breakfast – so I got another 30 minute walk in, then did my lower body workout. I was ravenous for a lot of yesterday.

I did try the 1 minute muffin with pumpkin today. I just subbed all of the oil with 2 tablespoons of canned pumpkin. I cooked it a little longer than a minute. It was yummy and more moist than the oil version. Go figure. John really liked it, too.

Tried another batch of protein bars with oats, will post that recipe and pics when I get a chance. A little more filling than the cookie one, but less calories and less protein. Lucky for me DH is willing to try all my experiments!

Silk & Satin 5K

Today was race day! Jogged the entire 5K. Came in near the end of the pack, but that’s all right – not the very last anyway. My sister and I ran together. 1st 5K for both of us!

Before race:

During:

End:

Plateau??

Well, I have been checking the scale each day, and I think I might be going into a plateau. My weight at the beginning of July was 148.8 and today it is 148.

I do believe there will be some inches lost, so maybe this won’t be a true plateau like I had a couple years ago. I am concerned though, because the last time after months and months of plateauing I just gave up and gained back 30 pounds.

I really need to sit down and make sure that I am not sneaking in stuff that I shouldn’t be, or eating more on those days that I do harder exercise. Maybe I need to knock off the weekly frozen yogurt? Is it the running 3.25 miles 3x per week along with my other cardio? Do I need to eat more or less? Or do I just need to quit worrying about it?

I jinxed myself when I said 3-4 months to goal LOL!

Tomorrow is the big race day! The race starts at 8am, and we need to be done with registration by 7:30. So, going to bed early tonight. I hope to get there by 7. I registered for this race on May 8th, and I can’t believe a: that the day is finally here and b: that I am actually running a 5K!! I still can’t get over it.