Tag Archives: jogging

Brick and TBL thoughts.

Don’t forget to check in with the challenge! I woke up wondering what the heck happened to me and then said, “Oh yeah, NROLW and the matrix”. Owie!!! I was super hungry and munched on a snack while I decided what to do.

snack

I decided that I felt okay enough to try a brick for duathlon training. It was a reverse from triathlon training, since the duathlon is run/bike/run. So I did a 2 mile jog first. My legs were complaining a bit at first, but after I warmed up they felt okay. I was going slower for sure. Then I jumped on my bike and did a 9 mile ride. It definitely felt different than doing bike/run. I have never gotten on the bike *after* running. I am not exactly sure how much of what I felt was the result of lifting yesterday versus the new order. It was definitely easier than going to running after biking, but I didn’t have a lot of push for hills. In fact, I kept the gear much lower than I normally ride in because it felt better.

Sign of fall – the Virginia Creeper is starting to turn!

leaves

Came back to my patented oats and blueberry sauce. Oats instead of oat bran today.

oats

I tried a new brand – Silver Palate, since I had a BOGO coupon. I really like these – they have more oaty flavor, plus nice and chewy. It’s a bit of a thicker cut of oatmeal.

Am I the only one that truly dislikes Biggest Loser? I have barely watched even a snippet of it, but the whole thing just bugs the crap out of me. I don’t like number competitions and the booting of people off who don’t lose the most. That just isn’t constructive, you know? These people lose incredible amounts of weight at each weigh in and seem so disappointed! Not to mention having a trainer in your face berating you when exercise is supposed to be enjoyable and something you will want to continue with forever. They sure don’t make it look like any fun. Maybe this is why the majority of the contestants gain weight back after the show. And does this really inspire everyday people to lose weight in a healthy manner? I ask this seriously and I hope someone will comment that it has helped them. I just think a lot of people imitate what they see on TBL and then quit because it is too intense and not enjoyable to keep up.

It’s called reality TV. However, it is anything but reality.

I tried something fun for lunch – adding PB2 to plain yogurt. It was really good! Made the yogurt really thick, though – check it out! Spackle anyone?

yogurt

I added some cereal on top of this for crunch. Will definitely be doing this again 😀

Had a latte and Special K bar for an afternoon snack.

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I was really hungry. I can’t quite get bars out of my life, even though I would like to. What I need to do is make more of my own. It’s not like I haven’t done that before LOL! I’m just lazy…..

Omelets for dinner! With feta cheese. I so love feta cheese in egg dishes (or on pizza). This was 1 egg with 2 servings of liquid egg white – makes good volume and protein for lower calories!

dinner

You can really tell fall is coming. Once the sun starts to set, it gets pretty brisk. We took the scooter out to Starbucks tonight – dang that was cold! Had to warm up with a yummy latte (it was decaf 😀 )

latte

Have a great night! I am going to try my hand at a Wordless Wednesday tomorrow. Should be fun!

5 miler and football!

I am surprised at how many of you actually eat (and like) brussel sprouts! Yay! Makes me wish I had bought more.

Run day today and since school has started, I don’t run on the track in the mornings. I don’t think they would appreciate a sweaty woman skulking around the school yard. I thought about waiting until evening, but then I remember tonight is opening night for FOOTBALL!!!! Yes!!!

Anyway….. preworkout munch:

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Pumpkin bread. Delicious.

I decided to do a hill route, as I have not done that in months. Whew! 2 miles of flat, then a 5K hill run. There are a couple levels of hills, one tiny one to get started, then down a big hill, which is really hard on the legs to not go bum over teakettle. Then back up a hill, smooth for a tiny bit, then a long gradual hill. My legs were a little rubbery by the time I finished the 3rd one. Finished in 57:00, which is slower than I would have liked – but I ran up all the hills, so that was good! Listened to the entire soundtrack to Planet of the Apes (Elfman). Fun to run to.

Came back and bumbled around the kitchen making breakfast. Do you have those days? It seemed to take me forever, but part of that was J and I both making breakfast at the same time.

In celebration of kickoff tonight, we had cafe au lait in these cups!

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Plus protein pancakes.

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My precious blueberry stash is getting lower. Just a couple pounds left. Did I seriously think these would last into the winter? Duh….

Had a craving for something salty for lunch – think it was the run and sweating, so I made another flatout pizza.

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I’ll be working late tonight. With the holiday week, it’s slow so files haven’t come in until later.

So, it was time for a snack!

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And some freeze dried apples. Crunchy yum!

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It’s feeling like fall out! More truffula trees. This clematis just won’t quit – it has overgrown onto the porch. I’ll have to take a picture of that.

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Grilled up a bunch of chicken for easy meal prep. I made another stirfry, but this time with carrots and broccoli to bulk up the meal. That’s 3 veggies on the day (cucumbers at lunch)!

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Now it’s fasting time as I have blood work to do tomorrow. Doesn’t that make me want to eat LOL! I decided to make a morning of it – early for blood work, then John is meeting me for breakfast, then library and a little consignment shopping, then the mammo (the draw and the mammo are both at the same place). Probably I will sprint to the nearest coffee shop for a caffeine hit once that’s over, too!

Have a great night!

Question: Football?? Which team?

Beautiful bowl of oatbran and giant feet.

Normally Friday is the start of my weekend, but it was so slow on Sunday that I am picking up some work today. Not a full day, but just doing bits here and there. I went for another foggy run this morning. The temp was perfect – mid 50s. Dates and nutbutter fuel. I ate the last of the dates this morning. Dates are a food I never knew I loved so much!

dates

I decided on a 4 mile go around. Felt quite good, although the first mile my legs were pretty stiff from yesterday’s workout. Finished in 43:36. My standard pace. I have not been all that motivated to push the tempo that much. Guess I should have made that my September challenge 😀

Feeling like fall a bit, and John ate the last banana, so I opened up the big can of pumpkin (be warned there may be a lot of pumpkin items coming up!). This bowl just screams fall and deserves a large photo:

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40 grams of oat bran
1 tsp brown sugar
cinnamon
1/2 cup pumpkin
10 grams craisins
18 white chocolate chips

So good. Foodgasm.

Oh, and my nice muscular thighs? Turns out they could be my key to long life!

Picked up Pixie today – so happy to have her home. I thought her feet looked big before, but they are swollen today and are like clubs!

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Doesn’t this look like some kind of alien being? LOL. Poor kitty.

Cold mornings, but the days have been warming up beautifully. I did work outside including mowing the lawn and string trimming. It was hard to make myself sit inside and do work, so I haven’t done a whole lot. We were trying to decided whether to bike for yogurt or dinner, and dinner won out! That meant lattes at home:

mocha

We went the back way around the bike trails, since the pizza place isn’t too far from our house and we wanted a longer ride. Of course, the back way includes some really long hills. Good thing I have those big thighs – they help immensely!

Arrived at Arthurs after going 6 miles where I had a side salad:

salad

And the most wonderful pizza. It’s like a pan pizza, but the dough is not oily at all, soft inside and crispy outside.

John and I shared a small cheese with feta. These pieces look bigger than they are in real life. I ate my half – I was so hungry from all the exercise today!

On a whim, we biked to visit my parents, as they are only a mile or so from Arthurs. I didn’t realize I would get way laid by chocolate chip cookies! Oops. They were good, though. 😀 Thanks Mom!

Relaxing tonight. I am a little tired from all the calorie burn today. We are trying to decide on a hike or a bike ride tomorrow. Weather is going to be mid to upper 70s and sunny. Could it be more perfect? I think not!

September challengers – have a great weekend! Weekends can be hard, but stick to your plan!

Question: Favorite pizza?

7-miler, new doctor and chilly weather.

Woke up this morning somewhat early as per usual. Wanted to sleep more, but it was not to be. Checked temp – it was in the low 40s! So chilly. I wore a jacket over my trisuit. It was also very foggy out, so I nixed any street running in favor of the safer track. Fueled up with this:

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I love these. I only get them when we shop at Price Chopper, since that is the only place I can find them, but we only go there once a month, maybe.

I also took some coconut water with me. This stuff is absolutely amazing!

coc The plan was 6 miles. I was going to do 3 and 3, but I was in a groove after 3 miles, so actually ran 4 before taking a break. I drank 1/2 the coconut water and did 2 more miles. Then I drank the rest of the coconut water. It was like a shot in the arm and I decided to go around 1 more mile (I must be nuts). So, 7 miles down today. I don’t know how long it took as I didn’t wear a watch. Probably 1:20 or so.

It was still cold enough to see my breath walking back home and I wanted something warm for brekkie in my favorite bowl:

brekkie

Oat bran made with a bit of brown sugar and topped with blueberry sauce. I actually layered it in the bowl with sauce on the bottom, then oat bran, then the rest of the sauce. It was so good!

[insert much working here]

Had a quick lunch before my doctor’s appointment:

lunch Chobani low fat (not FF!) plain yogurt, strawberries, and Kashi Cinnamon Heart. This is new and tasterrific!

So, I met with this doctor for the first time. I also found out that I am not 5’2″, but 5 1-1/4?? WTF??? When did that happen? I don’t think that is right, because John said he was about 3/4 inch shorter than he thought, too.

Anyway, I was discussing with the doctor about how I had lost some weight and was having some trouble getting off the last 10 pounds. She basically interupted me and said “Exercise more.” Hmmm…. So I started to say that I did already exercise a lot and she cut me off with “No, you must exercise more.” I was really irritated at that point. Especially as I had run freaking 7 miles this morning! So I asked if I could tell her what I did for exercise and listed everything. She was writing it all down and then said “We’ll check a thyroid.” Not that I really expect anything to be up with my thyroid, but it won’t hurt to have it checked. It just irked me that she automatically dismissed my efforts as not enough. Helloooo…. I trained and did a triathlon! Then we actually talked about how much weight I have already lost and she was very surprised (and impressed). She actually didn’t say I really needed to lose any more weight, but she didn’t discourage me from it, either. She was just happy that I have kept off 100 pounds for more than a year, as she said how that was the real accomplishment. She also said that eating healthy, maintaining my weight loss, and exercising were better than any pill could be to stay healthy!

So, with the initial exam over, now I get the over 40 treatment in the next month: Bloodwork, mammogram (squish), Pap, skin check – the works! Wheee……

Dinner was like a little clam bake in spirit. Grilled corn, clam strips and broccoli!

dinner

The corn was a little immature and not the best.

Going to my sister’s house tonight for a little get together for my niece’s birthday. She is 10 today – a tween! Look out world! Need to maintain cupcake control tonight. Wish me luck! That’s a way to start out the September challenge LOL!

Humidity gone!

Finally, the humidity and heat is gone. It was in the upper 50s when I got up and I was actually looking forward to going out for a run! Snacked on a couple dates with PB.

date

Trundled on outside and started jogging. The plan was to go 4 miles, but that didn’t happen. My thighs were so tired that I had to keep taking walk breaks! I was not out of breath or anything, but the legs just didn’t want to go. Ever have days like that? It tends to happen to me when I do squats the day before (like I did yesterday). I ended up doing 3.25 miles and called it a day. It was so nice out, too!

Breakfast was banana oat bran topped with some PB2 that I did with a little extra water to make it more of a sauce (with cafe au lait!).

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Got an early start to work, which means finishing early – yay! Lunch break was another X-box omelet.

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1 egg plus 2 egg whites and some feta cheese. It comes out so fluffy and perfectly cooked. Guess I do like this machine LOL! I really should use it more.

Pixie usually sleeps at my feet, but today she sacked out on the couch. It almost looks like she is on a cloud and she looks so comfy!

sleepygirl

John made me a latte this afternoon plus one of my whole wheat biscotti. latte3

Ended the work day on a bummer note. I try not to let my work affect me, but sometimes the stories are very sad. My very last file I did was about a man who was just diagnosed with late stage lung cancer. He had no idea he was sick, but had an upper respiratory infection with some shortness of breath, so they did a chest x-ray and found out he had lung cancer. No symptoms. And he had just gotten married in February this year. The doctor spoke about how she counseled the patient that curing his disease was unrealistic, but they could try to delay the progression. Ugh. I just felt so bad. You just never know.

I almost wish I could work a little more to not have that be my last file, but can’t do overtime.

Dinner was kind of lunch-like. Chicken wrap with some laughing cow cheese and spring mix. I really love spring mix in wraps – it is so much better than iceberg or romaine. Lovely strawberries!

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I have my post weeding snack all ready to eat. Just wanted to take a picture and upload, so it is unwrapped. This is a Special K chocolatey pretzel bar. Pretty good. 90 calories. It is a little dinky, though 😀

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Hmmm….. most of my pictures are blurry today. What is up with that?

I am going to go out and enjoy this gorgeous evening in the garden!

My running progression

Woke up to a cloudy and rainy morning. Think it was the remnants of Hurricane Bill bands going by. Still kind of humid! We went for bagels and I forgot my camera! Probably a good thing because we had some difficulties with service and ended up leaving where we went to go to Panera Bread. Not a good start to the day.

I just thought I would give a history of my starting to run to getting to 8 miles for those that weren’t with me a year ago. I have always loved biking, but jogging was one of those things that I thought I hated because I had tried it in the past and just didn’t enjoy it *at all*.

I was also scared of running a little bit and had the dislike for it from past experience. Way back in high school (20+ years ago :O ), the very first thing we did each fall in PE was to run 3/4 miles one day, and the next gym class was running 1.5 miles. Well, you can imagine how horrible that was to an overweight child and of course I tried to run fast, hyperventilated and was made fun of by other kids. The gym teacher made everyone wait until the last person finished (usually me), so you can imagine how that did not make me very popular with those kids. It was the most miserable thing to start each year with.

Fast forward to adulthood. Well, it turns out that the all-or-nothing mentality I had at one time gave me problems. When I tried running a few years ago, I tried the couch to 5K program, but ran too hard and too fast during the running segments and quit after a couple weeks because it was too intense for me and I hated it. This reminds me of Diane’s post on exercise the other day.

I am one of those people who doesn’t like to admit defeat, so the idea kind of nibbled around in my mind to try again in April 2008.

With some wisdom about how to train, I realized that I didn’t have to sprint during the running segments (seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it?). That was the biggest revelation to me. I did the C25K program again, this time with this mindset:

1. I would just jog a comfortable pace during the running sections. Being slow is okay.

2. I would repeat weeks if necessary and it was okay.

3. It would be okay if I could not run 3 miles in 30 minutes after 9 weeks.

Finally, I got somewhere. I did not need to repeat weeks, but I think that was because of #1 and #3 above. I gave myself realistic goals. <—— key point there, people.

Here are a couple of the posts I made during the training last year:

Started Week 3 of C25K today. I had no problem doing the 3 minute jogs. Maybe I don’t give myself enough credit for all the work I have been doing to get into shape. Curious as to how far I could actually go, but I want to make sure I train properly.

Today was Week 5 Day 3 of C25K. That means 20 minutes non stop of jogging. I did it!! And I wasn’t even out of breath. I went 1 3/8 miles, so that is about a 16 minute mile or so. I will take it!! I really, really think I can do the whole 5K.
Started Week 7 of C25K. That was a 25 minute jog. I am getting used to it. I still think the first 1/4 mile is the hardest part. I did 1.5 miles in the 25 minutes.
Started Week 8 of C25K. Was supposed to jog for 28 minutes. My Mp3 player ran out of juice about 3/4 of the way, so I didn’t know exactly how long it took – but I went jogging for a full 2 miles!
I really never imagined myself doing that. It’s crazy!

I was able to run 5K after the C25K program, but it took me almost 50 minutes to do it. Now I can run a 5K in under 30 minutes. I owe it all to small, incremental goals.

I started thinking of longer distances around June of this year, I think. That was when I tried 4 miles. I think I may have figured out how to push myself just enough, but not too much to progress without failing. I also wanted to make sure I didn’t get injured. I am very lucky that I have not suffered any serious injury over the years, which I owe to cross training. You will almost never see me do the same thing 2 days in a row, except maybe for biking.

I have now done 8 miles twice, and could likely go farther. Yep, it is slow, but the feet keep moving and I am not hating every minute of it!

I don’t think I will do the 1/2 marathon this year. Part of that is because my niece wants to run the 5K portion of the same race and wants to run with me as my sister can’t do it, so that race is out. I am happy that she wants to run with me! Maybe I will set my goal to do one next year, as I already did my big fitness goal this year of the triathlon.

So that’s my running story. From nothing to 8 miles at a time, all with slow, patient steps. I may not be the fastest runner on the block, but I am the one with a smile on my face 😀

8-miler and a day of shopping

It was supposed to pour rain today, so we didn’t think we would be biking and I decided to go for a run. I left a note for John to meet me at the track as I would be running longer (he usually does 3 miles). My plan was to go 6 miles.

Pre run fuel – mini whole wheat bagel:

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I took an opened bottle of POM juice with me as well and a bottle of water. Jogged for 3 miles, had water and a little juice, then started on the 2nd set of 3 miles. I finished 6 and John hadn’t arrived, so I drank the rest of the POM juice at started to go home when John arrived at the track ready to run! I thought, what the heck and told him I would go for another 2 miles. We didn’t run together, because at this point I was going pretty slow LOL! Finshed up a total of 8 miles! I was so sweaty, as it is still pretty humid around here.

Had a wonderful breakfast in front of the fan:

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Banana oats with PB2 cooked in topped with chocolate chips and a sprinkle of coconut. This is one of my favorite combos.

I won a $100 Dicks GC at Miz Fit’s site and it arrived by FedEx.

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Yay! We decided to go to the Saratoga mall because the Dick’s is bigger there. Isn’t it funny how when you have the money to spend, you can’t find anything to buy? There is no hurry to buy anything. I was looking at some workout clothes, and possibly some bike shorts, or a jacket. Dick’s doesn’t sell road bikes, or I would have put it towards that. Thinking maybe for next summer to have both my hybrid bike and a road bike.

Stopped at the food court for lunch. There was a special at one of the chinese places for 2 entrees and 2 side dishes. Of course, this was meant for one person! But John and I decided to split it and each choose a side and entree:

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My choice was chicken with broccoli, and a side of steamed broccoli. Pile on the veggies! Chicken with broccoli is actually a good choice to get for chinese food. They steam the dish instead of wok cooking it here. I had a couple bites of John’s rice. I knew that I was going to be getting a treat later, so decided on a veggies side dish. It’s all about choices!

More shopping ensued (I love that John goes with). Made a stop at TJMaxx and they had some great sales on workout clothes! I got a long sleeve, hot pink technical top and black workout pants for $18! I loves me a bargain. I’ll have to take a picture of them.

After we got shopped out, stopped at The Fortunate Cup (which you may remember from last Saturday) and I got a skim latte:

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Plus a cranberry orange cookie.

It was delicious! After my run, I think it’s a good treat 😀

This place has a wonderful build-out. You know it’s kind of sad when a coffeehouse has a better bathroom than you do at home.

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Watched some of Tour of Ireland on tv. Isn’t this a cool logo?

The biker shamrock! Love it!

Low on food, so it was omelet time for dinner. I forgot how fluffy omelets are in the GT Express. This is 2 eggs with some feta cheese. I decided on no veggies since I had so many for lunch.

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Went grocery shopping tonight and stocked up. I have to say I am pretty beat right now. Pixie is beat, too – and she wanted to show all of you her giant feet!

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After all that, it didn’t even rain today.

I am so tired I can’t even think of a question. LOL! Have a great night!

Go Glamour!

Woke up to cooler weather this morning, so thought I would do a 5 mile run. My legs are actually a bit stiff from yesterday’s strength workout, and I won’t even talk about my upper body and abs (thank you plank!).

Preworkout snacky: Mini wheat bagel.

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My goal was to finish in under 55 minutes. Did 3 miles pretty easy, then realized it wasn’t so cool after all and the sun was out. Actually, it wasn’t all that hot, but it was still kind of humid. I took a water stop after 3 miles then proceeded with the last 2. My time was much faster for the last 2 miles as I pushed it to come in under 55 minutes, as I was not going to make it based on my time after 3 miles. However, I managed to finish in 54:33!

I was soggy when I got home. I am getting so tired of having to wash my exercise stuff every day – I need to buy some more things! I just love jogging in my trisuit, though – best.purchase.ever.

I saw John had some coconut out for his waffles, which gave me an idea for breakfast:

oats1

40 grams oat bran
dash of coconut extract
small banana
20 dark chocolate chips
2 tsp peanut butter
sprinkle of unsweetened, toasted coconut.

Tasterrific! Those chocolate chips were 1/2 of a serving (which is 1 tablespoon), so about 35 calories. That is almost 2 calories per chip. Pretty scary, huh? Love them, though!

Got right to work. Lots of files today. I have to say that I do not like my backup account very much. The account rules are almost the opposite of my main account, so I have to really slow down to do those files.

Stopped for a yummy lunch:

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Fried egg sandwich on a toasted Arnold sandwich thin spread with Laughing cow. Nummy!

Props to Glamour for putting this woman inside their magazine:

Isn’t she fabulous?? This is what real people look like, and it is so refreshing to see someone ‘normal’ grace the pages of a magazine dedicated to glamour! And how happy does she look? This photo got such a positive response, that I can only hope that it becomes the norm and not just an attempt at creating a buzz. I’d almost (maybe) buy the magazine if it didn’t go against my too-much-paper ideals. Annoyance factor that she is considered plus size….. at size 12.

What we need is for teen magazines to start putting pictures of real women and girls in their issues to help stop eating disorders and body dysmorphia before it starts!

It almost gives me hope.

Back to the food now! I made the most yummy salad for dinner:

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Grilled chicken with a chopped apple and some feta cheese on a spring mix base. Dressing was a POM wonderful vinagrette that I have made before. This was fresh and yummy. Sort of my home take on a fuji apple salad from Panera.

Football is on tonight! WooHoo! I may bake some biscotti and play with a new recipe to hopefully post tomorrow.

Question: Would you rather see real woman in magazines and on TV, or do you like to escape reality when you read or view the tube?

8-miler, running thoughts and ice cream

Well – last night was ice cream at Friendly’s! I got a happy endings sundae with butter crunch ice cream and peanut butter sauce.

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It was very good and I enjoyed every bite! Plus it was nice just to get out of the house for a while.

So, this morning was the 8-mile jog! Here is me fresh as a daisy before going out.

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Well, maybe not so fresh 😀

I fueled up with the other Odwalla bar that John got me before I went out. This was tasty. I packed along a POM juice, a bottle of water, and a few dates with cashew butter to have during my run.

odcc

Went down to the track to do 32 laps (snore!!!). Luckily, it was cloudy for 1/2 the run. I did 4 miles straight, then stopped and drank the POM juice. I got an instant rush from that (it is straight juice, after all!). Then I continued on. The sun came out after that and it started to feel really humid. I felt like I was running even slower, which wasn’t true, it just felt like it. Did 2 more miles (6 at this point), then stopped for a date and some water. I had to really charge myself up for the last 8 laps. There were maintenance people there working on the football field inside the track and on the school roof – they probably were getting a kick out of hearing me talk to myself. The last mile was fairly hard, more from the point that I just wanted to be done. Finished in 1:35:15. Just about a 12 minute mile pace (or 5 mph). I was so soaked in sweat when I was done, I literally could wring out my trisuit (yuck!!).

Check out the GoWear fit – it gave a calorie burn of about 1000 for this run. Even if I knock 10% off of that just for fudging sake (mmmm….. fudge…) that is still 900! You can see where I took the 2 stops.

gwf And yes, I do eat more on days like this.

It got me really thinking about whether I want to do a 1/2 marathon or not. I know I could probably finish it, but I don’t know if the desire is there to, and that is very important. When I was training for the triathlon, I wanted to do it and I was excited for it, even though I was kind of scared. The 1/2 doesn’t feel that way. I need to mull it over. I told myself I would decide when I had done an 8 mile, but maybe I need more time.

Had a fabulously refreshing shower and made a late breakfast of chocolate banana oats!

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40 grams of oat bran
1 small banana
4 grams of dark cocoa powder
spoonful of cashew butter.

Work is really slow today. That’s the downside of doing transcription. No files = no work.

Lunch today is a tuna/hummus wrap (last of the hummus) and the last pear. We really need to go grocery shopping!

lunch7

Neat online giveaway!

Run to the finish -It’s Amanda’s birthday and she is giving away a ton of stuff to a lucky reader!

(Teaser, look for a giveaway on my site next week!)

Lucky me that John fired up the grill and got some chicken going. He used some Emeril’s seasoning that I got to sample for being a Food Buzz publisher. The afternoon got busy!

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The last of the blueberries, and this was a frozen veggie mix. Down to the dregs now of everything!

Preseason football tonight. Are you ready??

Question: Do you watch football, and if so, what team? Go Broncos!

Blood donation Day and 4-miler

It was pretty hot and humid this morning, so I decided just to do 4 miles instead of 8 (later this week). Fueled up with that yummy toast and jam like yesterday. I could eat 6 pieces of this! Last of the hazelnut butter.

toast1

I was going to shoot for 10:30 miles and I did that for the first mile. After that, I was sweating copiously. The sweat was literally flying off of me (gross!). I noticed my time slowed considerably to an 11 minute mile for 2 and 3, then I picked up the pace for the last mile and finished in 43:45. I was totally soaked when I finished. I definitely do not like running in humidity. Lots of water drinking commenced.

Decided to continue the jam and nut butter combo with some oat bran topped with both of those! Like a PBJ in a bowl.

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Today was blood donation day! PSA – they are really short on A+ right now. You can visit the Red Cross site to find a donation happening in your area.

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They had an interesting snack available at the snack table:

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Raisins! They had the usual cookies and cheez-its, but I decided on the raisins. Normally I get Lorna Doones, but the pack size is now up to 6 cookies, which is more than I want. So, decided on raisins.

Did you know that raisins are high in iron? 1 ounce gives you 8% of your RDA. Broccoli is also high in iron, and you all know how I eat it pretty much every day. My hemoglobin test was 13.9 – how about that? Yay me! Higher than John’s. I need to get him to eat broccoli (good luck with that….)

Note the Friendly’s coupon for donating this month. A free 1/2 gallon of ice cream – d’oh!!

We went out to dinner afterwards to Panera Bread. I got the Fuji Apple salad, which has chicken, dried apples, gorgonzola cheese, and pecans. It is quite good!