Random Thoughts on Cravings and Hunger...

And why I eat a fairly monotonous diet most of the time.

First, let me say that I am not a foodie.  Sure, I ate a lot of food when I was overweight, but it's not like it was gourmet...I got fat on fast food (hello Taco Bell and McDonalds), convenience food (hello pizza delivery), junk food (the three C's - candy, chips and cookies), and, of course, quantity - back in the day, I could pack it away like no one's business.

These days, I am pretty boring, and I know that what I eat would drive some of my friends crazy, because I tend to have the same things over  and over.  Why do I do this?  Well, because it's easy.  I don't have to think about it - and quite frankly, I don't want to spend a lot of time focusing on food.  For me, when I do that, food becomes FOOD.  And as you can see by my "before" pictures, I had a lot of years where FOOD was a huge priority in my life.  No more.  Most of the time, it's just something to stop my hunger.  Sure, there are great meals, but I prefer for them to be few and far between.  I've (mostly) lost my obsession with food - it no longer has the hold on me that it once did.  And as with other addictions, I've accepted that it's a daily reprieve, which becomes evident when I do eat something that sets off my cravings and brings the actions of the "old me" back.

One thing that is almost always guaranteed to throw me off my path is sugar.  I get more crave-y when I have sugar.  Dark chocolate doesn't do it to me as bad as milk chocolate, but eating much of anything that's sugar-laden sets me off.  I know some people can work that kind of food into their daily diet based on calories, but I have to consider the consequences, too...and most of the time, setting off cravings is just not worth the internal battle for me.

Also, if food is too good, I will actually avoid it.  Jeff and I have even said, while eating something particularly delicious, "this is too good - we can't have it again" because we both know how easy it is to go down that path of overindulgence.   Yes, this may sound crazy and abnormal to many of you, but after all of the struggles I've had with my weight over the decades, I'm probably not normal.  Then again, who's to say what IS normal, right?  All I'm doing is muddling through this lifestyle the best way that I can, figuring out what works for me, and, in the process, maintaining my weight loss.

And for me, that's enough.

Friday Mishmash

You guys just CRACKED ME UP with your comments on my Cranky post...I'm so glad I'm not alone, and also?  I'm glad that we can look at ourselves and our situations with a grain of salt.  Thanks so much for playing along with that post!

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This week has been wonderful, because it's Spring Break and the students are gone from my town.  The streets are so empty that I would have gone joy-riding, just to enjoy the lack of traffic, except that gas prices are a bit on the high side to do that.  Oh well, when I did have to go somewhere, it was a real treat.  Jeff and I made sure to go out to dinner as well - empty restaurants are a nice change, too!  Life will be back to normal here by Monday, but each year, this is my favorite week to live here.

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Did I just mention how nice it is in my town this week?  Then the fact that I jumped ship yesterday and hitched a ride with Jeff to Austin would seem crazy, right?  Especially since A) we had to leave at 6:15 am; and B) there's this little thing called SXSW going on, where every musician known to mankind AND all kinds of hipster fans have invaded the town.  But, the lure of a trip to a running store convinced me, so after he gave a speech to some environmental association, we both got new shoes!  Matching shoes at that, although thankfully they come in different colors for men and women.  Now we BOTH can run faster and jump higher!

Newtons - Gravity model.  Purty.  

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SQUIRREL!  Every morning this squirrel jumps onto the roof and looks in the window at me while I'm sitting at my desk.  I don't know if she's checking up on me or what, but it always makes me laugh.  Of course, it makes Paco insane, and he tries to bark her away, but she's got his number...as long as he's on this side of the window, she doesn't move.

She's watching me...

Eventually she moved even closer, to the tree right outside the window, where she leisurely ate her breakfast.  I wonder if I'm like her "television" - hmmm, I should try to be more entertaining for her!

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Sit and Knit diet has resulted in a finished ducky washcloth, a finished cherries washcloth (that is currently drying - no picture yet), nearly half of my "adventurous" scarf completed (I set that one aside to work on some other projects, but I'm back at it now), and also, my purple skort from last summer is fitting looser.  OK, that could be from the running...or a combination.  Either way, I'll take it!

This would be cute paired with some baby wash as part of a shower gift...

And here's my next ambitious project - I'm going to try and make a version of this baby hat (minus the extra bumpy yarn, plus pom poms at each corner) using these chunky double-pointed needles.  I'll be knitting in the round, which I've never done.  Stay tuned...this could get frustrating interesting!

 

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Here's my running outfit for last Saturday - I hope that this is the last time I'll be showing you multiple layers, gloves and long tights!  It was cool and rainy, but tomorrow is supposed to be warm and dry - hurray!

Since I've described everything in detail several times, I'll just tell you about my gloves - they came in a two-pair set from Target that were originally $2, but were on clearance for 60 cents...yes, 30 cents a pair!  Quite nice, since I often start out wearing gloves but take them off after a couple of miles, and it's too easy to drop one without noticing.  This way, I won't feel so bad if I lose one (and yes, I bought several sets).

Remember when I showed you my colorful bands for my Road ID?  Well, Coach Dale brought us some USAFit bands - woohoo, now I have gray, which matched my shirt!  It's the little things that make my day. :)

We have 4.5 miles on tap tomorrow - with warm and DRY weather forecast.  Should be a nice run in our new shoes!  Have a great weekend, and don't forget to wear your green on Saturday for St. Patrick's Day!

Wednesday Workout Update - Forward Momentum

You know, I'm not the brightest bulb in the pack.  Sometimes I get into such a rut routine that I don't even stop to consider if what I'm doing is still working for me, or if there might be a better way.  Such is the case with my running lately.  I started from zero in January, doing intervals, just trying to get used to time on my feet and move my ankle through the hurting phase.  As the intervals progressed from mostly walking with a little running to more running than walking, I've kept them up, because I get so winded when I'm running.  Plus, whenever I run up a "hill" (I realize that our hills are nothing compared to what many of you face, but to me they become mountains) I practically slow down to a walk...or I DO walk.  Throw in wind, and I'm a mess.

Last week, during our run for Red Mango, it was windy.  And there was a bit of a hill during part of the run.  I was feeling pretty bad about myself because I just couldn't seem to get myself moving, much less keep moving, until we hit a straight part.  Then, running was perfection.  It felt like I could go on forever.  Of course, the wind was at my back, which helped as well.  But as we reached the end of that part and turned back into the wind and toward the hill, it dawned on me that I could get that same run - nice and flat, with no wind - on a treadmill.  And hello, the gym where I go to swim has treadmills...in fact, they have all sorts of machines!  You'd think that would be obvious to me, but please see the first sentence of this post...I go to the gym to swim.  Period.

Long story short (I know, too late), I went to the gym for my Thursday morning run.  Remembered to bring my headphones so I could actually hear the TV.  I figured out how to get everything started - it's been over a year since I've been on a treadmill, so that was quite a feat for me.  Anyway, I ran.  Nearly a mile before I walked.  And then I ran again - close to another mile.  This was exactly what I needed - it restored my confidence in my running ability.  I really can run!

Cut to Saturday.  We had four miles on the schedule.  I set Ricky Bobby for 4:1 intervals - run for 4 minutes and walk for one minute.  Jeff ran with me, and we decided ahead of time that once we hit the 3 mile marker, we'd run the entire way to the finish.  We set off and sure enough, I was feeling winded and ready for each and every one minute break.  Honestly, I wasn't happy about that - where was my conditioning?  I thought that after a couple of months, my cardio would be better than this!  I made it to the 3 mile marker and we ran.  I didn't care about my pace - my goal was to just run an entire mile without stopping.  And I did it - even put on a little competitive burst at the very end to beat Jeff, lol!  Afterward, he pointed out that all the stopping and starting I do with the intervals seems to make my tempo really jaggedy, and that's probably why I get so winded - I'm not running long enough to settle into a nice even pace...I'm just speeding up and slowing down constantly.  Huh.  When did HE become the running expert?  (I can't be the only married person who has these thoughts, right?)  Anyway, after I thought back to the times I've felt really good about running, it was always when I WAS running for a longer period.  Dang it, he's probably right!

So my theme for this week is "forward momentum" - all I want to do when I run is to keep running.  No more intervals.  Pace is not important right now; I can go as slow as I want, but I have to run, period.  Yesterday I went to the gym with the specific goal of running as close to two miles as I could before I had to stop and walk...I figured that since I'd run a mile outdoors, I could do more on a treadmill.   And?  I ran 2.05 miles (had to get in a little extra at the end - apparently I'm competitive even with just myself)!  I watched TV, I changed channels a bazillion times, I sweated up a storm - but I kept running.  And I felt fine!  I wasn't gasping for air the whole time and my legs felt really good.  This was a major mental milestone for me.  MAJOR.  I now realize that for the most part (jumping still hurts) I'm over my ankle injury.  I've recovered from it.  And I can be a distance runner once again.  Hurray!!!

Faux Cranky Old Lady

(This is written tongue-in-cheek, as I do not seriously believe that I'm A) Cranky; B) Old; or C) a Lady.  Wait, scratch that last one - I can be a lady when I need to (and does anyone else hear Jerry Lewis screeching "hey lady!" in their head when I write the word "lady"?).  But some days, I swear I've morphed into a Cranky Old Lady, so I thought I'd share and see if I have any Cranky Companions out in blogland.)

There are some things that I get a little cranky about.  Things that make me feel like shaking my fist while simultaneously tucking my Kleenex back into my sleeve as I yell at the neighborhood hooligans to get off my lawn.  Really, it's not actions that bother me, it's money.  Big ticket items don't usually do it - I expect some things to be expensive.  Most often, it's cost of the smaller stuff that bugs me.  And I discovered that I'm not alone - a couple of weeks ago, my pool buddy Nancy and I went on a verbal tear as we kickboarded up and down the pool, ranting (and laughing at our cranky selves), as we bemoaned the things that aggravate us. 

One thing that makes my Cranky Old Lady come out is the cost of postage stamps.  Stamps!  Back in the olden days (read: the early 1970s), I remember that it cost me (well, really my mother as she was the one who actually bought the stamps) eight cents to mail a letter.  By the time I'd gotten a pen-pal, it cost 10 cents for a stamp.  Once I became an adult and had to buy my own stamps, I got a little stingy with them...god forbid anyone ask for a stamp from my stash without a very good reason.  Bill paying made me extra cranky, because not only was I having to write out checks to pay bills(!), but I had to use a stamp to mail each bill(!!) - I cannot tell you how happy I've been ever since online bill pay became available.  No check writing, and no stamps!  Also, the "Forever" stamps make a difference to me, because there is no monetary amount on them...somehow not seeing that number helps me to forget how much I'm spending to mail something.  Don't get me started on the cost of cards now, either - just know that if you ever receive a store-bought card from me, IN THE MAIL, well...you're someone very special.  Jeff thinks that I am insane when it comes to stamps and tries to keep his own stash on hand, so he can mail something without getting the third degree from me.  I know...it's quite unreasonable, my issue with stamps.

And another thing that bugs me is the cost of a locker at my gym.  I haul a huge tote bag crammed with swim fins, a kickboard, swim paddles, goggles, swim cap, ear plugs, lap counter, towel, shampoo, makeup and clothes into the gym every time I go swimming.  It would be nice to leave most of that stuff in a locker, so I checked to see how much more it would cost each month to add a locker to my gym rate.  Do you know, they wanted nearly $10 extra A MONTH???  That's ridiculous, right?  Of course I didn't get one - I'll keep schlepping my big bag of crap to and from the car.  But here's where my Cranky Old Lady is not doing me any favors - I'll be damned if I'm going to pay THAT MUCH for a locker, but I have no problem getting an iced latte from Starbucks several times a month, on my way home from swimming.  Which adds up to more than the cost of the locker.  But I need want my treat after swimming!  My priorities amaze even me sometimes.

Nancy confessed that she turns into a Cranky Old Lady when she has to pay for parking.  Especially when going to a doctor's office - not even a hospital, mind you, but a regular doctor visit.  Now, she used to live in Houston and that's where she encountered that issue - luckily we don't have very many "pay" parking areas in our little town, except for on the campus of A&M.  But yeah, I totally get her crank about paying for parking - because usually you're going to spend money by either shopping (or paying the doctor), and that extra charge to park just seems wrong.

What about you - what turns you into a Cranky Old Lady?  C'mon, spill - I can't be the only one out here with these crazy pet peeves!

Friday Mishmash

This may be more disjointed than usual, because I just finished my "Fixing Boo Boo's" knitting class and my brain is fried.  I did learn how to fix some things, but honestly, I just couldn't quite see the reasoning behind everything...I think that's because I'm still a new knitter and a lot of this stuff is a little foreign to me.  However, I did discover what I'm doing when all of a sudden I look at my piece and see a diagonal stitch - I've picked up the ladder/leader/straight piece.  Crum.  Can't remember the term, but I can picture it, and now I know how to fix it, which is good as I seem to do that every couple of days or so.  Also?  We practiced how to TINK, which is KNIT spelled backward...and that's what you do, knit backward.  Or unknit what you've done.  Any case, I can go back to the knitting store if I run into any problems - the teacher encouraged us to isolate the "offending stitch" (that term cracked me up to no end, that an inanimate object is offensive, but really, it's a great descriptive when you think of it) and come in so she can help fix it.

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Fran wanted to know what circular knitting needles looked like, so I took this picture of a ducky washcloth that I was making Wednesday night.  I got to row 40 before I had an offensive stitch - pretty good for me!  Had to stop for the night, but fixed it myself in the class.  Go me!

The needles are connected by a cable - I like them because they're shorter than regular needles, and I don't feel like my work will unintentionally slip off the needles.

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With my return to running, I've also returned to drinking coconut water after a sweaty workout.  While I love my VitaCoco coconut/pineapple drink, I have also been enjoying Zico's chocolate coconut drink - I tried some at the expo in Austin and liked it enough to buy some when we got home.  It's not cheap, so I only drink it if I've run for at least 45 minutes...but it makes for a nice reward!

Much tastier than Gatorade!

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Speaking of running (oh, WERE we???), you might have heard me lament our lack of running stores in this area.  We have to drive about 90 minutes to either Houston or Austin to get to a running store, which makes getting fitted for shoes a hassle.  No more.  We're not only getting a running store, we are getting three.  Yes, THREE.  That is crazy.  While I think this area can support one, I have my doubts about three.  Time will tell.  The exciting thing is that we've met the owner of one of the stores, and it looks like we'll have a home for our running club!  It will be great to have a "home base" to meet at, run from (and back to), and have support items available (along with shoes! and clothes!).  We've been given t-shirts with the store's very cool logo on it...now if we could just speed up time and get it opened already!

Brazos Running Company, you are a welcome addition to our town!!!

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You already saw my outfit for last week's run, since I wore it at the Armadillo Dash.  But here it is again:

I love the bright orange shirt, but made a last-minute change on Saturday afternoon by hitting the clearance rack at Academy for a white long-sleeved tech shirt - I didn't want to be so "Halloween-y" with the black/orange combo.  Of course Jeff said I looked like a Creamsicle with the orange/white top, but that's OK by me.  Loved that they put our names on the bibs for the race this year, too...it's the little things that thrill me!

The proofs for the Dash just came online!  Here's a few - Jenny and I were having a really good time, and it shows.  (btw, I used to work for a professional photographer and know that print orders are what keeps them in business...I will most definitely be ordering prints of these (and maybe of Jeff, too? lol))

On the home stretch - about half a mile to go here.

Woohoo!!!  Crossing the finish line!!!

Two very happy runners!!!

Tomorrow we have 4 miles on the schedule for running club, and naturally, it's supposed to be cold and rainy.  I'd love to break out my running skirts, but at the moment, the only way I'll get to wear them is if I layer one over some capris...which I just might do. 

Thanks for all the ideas about Jeff's medal hanger - if you have any more, I'm still not fully committed to one, so leave 'em in the comments, por favor.

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday Workout Update, and Creative Help, Please

Now that Jeff has amassed three hard-earned half marathon medals, I want to order him a medal hanger.  Mine came from Allied Medal Displays and I love it.  LOVE IT.  So naturally I want to get him one, and customize it.  Problem is that I don't know what to put on it.  When I ordered his Road ID, I put "enjoy the ride" on it, but that was when he was only biking.  He said it would be fine for his medals but it seems a bit lacking to me.  So I'm appealing to all of you creative types out there - can you think of a fun slogan or short phrase for his hanger?  I appreciate any suggestions - thanks!

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Last Thursday, I was curious about how long I could run without having to take a break.  Jeff and I went out before dinner to run at scary statue park, where I surprised myself by running the entire loop on the statue side (there is a soccer field side as well) - no stopping!  It was half a mile and took me about 6ish minutes.  I walked for about 1:30, and then ran the loop again.  And again.  And then?  I decided I shouldn't push it any further, considering the race on Sunday.  I was really pleased to have done that - I feel like I'm getting there with my running.  One thing that was interesting, though, is that the next day?  I was feeling that run, not only in my ankle (it stings), but my legs as well - and that was only just over 1.5 miles.  I've done several 3.5 mile runs at 2/1:30 intervals and felt fine - weird that running continuously like that made such a difference.  I was a little worried that I'd done too much before the race, but I felt fine on Sunday, and after, I wasn't any more sore than I was after Thursday's run.  Slowly but surely, I'm reclaiming my running.

I know I probably sound like a schoolgirl crushing on running, and I am, in a way - but it's still quite the challenge when it comes to me vs. myself and getting out there.  If I have a date with a running buddy planned, it's no problem.  I set my alarm, lay out my clothes, and go to it.  But if I know it's just me, myself and I, well - that's a battle.  And yesterday morning, as I was laying in bed, trying to talk myself into getting up and out the door for a solo run (Jenny had to cancel and let me know the night before), I read my email on my little iPod Touch.  Lo and behold, there was a message that our track workout for that night was changed to an easy 2.5 mile Red Mango run (meaning we park near RM, run a couple of loops, and then decamp for a treat).  Whew!  I get to run with people, my favorite...and also get frozen yogurt, my other favorite!  Love it when things work out like that.

Armadillo Dash 5K Recap!

I am beyond thrilled to be able to write an actual race recap for one that I ran - don't get me wrong...it's been great watching Jeff run his half marathons, but I have really missed being a participant as well.  No more, as it's official - I'm back!

Before I get to the race recap, I also have to note that this weekend marked the two-year "meet-iversary" of when I met Kelly in person!  She came here to do the Dash in 2010 - here's a flashback picture of the night we met:

And a shot after Saturday night's dinner:

Funny - my pose never changes, and Kelly really likes red (so says Captain Obvious)

As usual, it was a fun dinner with Kelly and Chuck - we carbo-loaded with pasta, but didn't stay out too late as we had a very early morning wake up call for the race.

So, about that race.  A couple things have changed since I ran it in 2010 - and the most critical one is that Jeff - my pit crew, my photographer - is now a runner...so there aren't a ton of pictures of ME before, during and after the race.  I know!!!  So rude.  However, Jenny and I hammed it up for the photographers on the course, so once those go online I'll snag a few for posterity.  Anyway...Jeff was up at 4:00 am to get ready, while I slept in until 4:45.  We were at the park, which is literally a mile away from my house (I Google mapped it and the thing suggested I walk there, no joke), at 5:40 am.  For a 7:00 am race start.  But with a road closure for the race leaving only one entrance to the park, we knew (from experience in 2010) that traffic would get backed up like crazy, and didn't want to stress about that, so we went early.

We met up with some of our running club peeps, and took a slightly blurry picture (blame the bleary-eyed photographer - me):

 Posed for a couple more shots:

Jeff carries my old purple water bottle - it was too heavy for me, so I got a smaller one, but he thinks the purple gives him good luck.  Or else he's thrifty.

Yes I flashed the camera...sort of!  I had to show our new running club shirts - "will run for ice cream!" is our theme this season since the Blue Bell 10K is our goal race.  Bright orange so we can be seen - and it sure made it easy to spot each other in the crowd!

And then I put the camera away so we could head toward the start line.  Which was a little stressful for me, as my running buddy hadn't arrived!  Jenny was texting me - they were stuck in traffic getting to the park.  A friend of hers had her bib and shoe tag, so she sent her to find me (not too hard - didja SEE our shirts?) and hand over the goods.  Finally Jenny got close enough to the park that she could jump out of the car (her husband was driving) and run in, probably at least 3/4 of a mile, to find me.  I tagged her shoe while she pinned on her bib and then we hustled over to the start line...where we waited.  And waited.  And waited some more.  The race was delayed about 20 minutes for the half marathoners to start, and we didn't end up starting for another 10 - 15 minutes after that.  CRAZY.  As it's a chip-timed race, they should start it on time...the people who were there early had shed their outerwear and were shivering, waiting for the start.  It was 41 degrees - fine when you're running, but not fine to stand around in.  Also, they stressed over and over, from their web site, Facebook page, and packet pick up, to get there early because of the traffic.  So it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone at that point.  //rant over

Kelly had her cell phone so we got a couple of pictures while we were waiting:

 

Nope...we're not cold here.  Not at all! ;)

Team Jelly - back in action!

My plan for the race, after doing practically all of my running up to this point in intervals, was to just run until I needed to walk, walk fast, and then run some more.  Jenny was on board with this, so off we went.  Oh, my secondary plan was to finish in 40 minutes.  More on that in a minute.  We ran for a half mile and then walked a bit...ran, but walked when we came to the first "hill" - I reasoned, we're gonna be walking at some points anyway, why not walk the hills?  So that's what we did.  There were a lot of people in this 5K - many walkers and young kids, which gave us several opportunities to dodge and weave to get by them.   I was feeling pretty good, ankle-wise - sure, it twinged, but nothing horrible - but my cardio was lacking, and I was huffing and puffing!

Just after the 2 mile mark, we walked, and decided that once we reached a certain sign in the distance, we'd run the rest of the way in.  I glanced at Ricky Bobby (my Garmin), when we started running - we were at 2.3 miles.  We figured we had 3 or 4 minutes left, and reminded ourselves of what Brad, our trainer, used to say - "you can do anything for XX minutes" (usually that was burpees, and I respectfully disagree, but whatever...that saying stuck with us!).  When we finished the race, Ricky Bobby read 3.17, so we ran for close to a mile without stopping!  Although, when we were probably 100 feet from the finish line, I was SO READY to walk.  Thankfully, Jenny pushed me along and we crossed the finish line as runners! 

And our finish time?  Officially 40:13!!!  Ricky Bobby said 40:17, but I think I started him just before I crossed the starting mat.

Average pace was 12:44...two years ago, while I was in better shape and more conditioned, I ran this race in 38:10 and my average pace was 12:14!  I'm pretty pleased, all things considered!

Kelly and Chuck came in a few minutes later - we all got water and Gatorade, and then walked over to my car for our traditional after-race passing around of the Motrin.  Found an armadillo wandering around and got a picture with it - it wouldn't be the Armadillo Dash without a mascot, right?

Then we headed over to the finish line to wait for Jeff to finish his race.  He was wanting to PR (set a personal record) of running under 10 minute miles, which meant he needed to come in before 2:10.  We could spot his bright orange shirt a mile away (ok, maybe it was half a mile...).  He had three minutes to spare according to the clock, however I didn't know how far back he was when the race started.  We were hollering for him but he didn't hear us at all - I could tell that he was spent.  This was the most exhausted I've seen him at a finish - and for good reason - he PR'd with a finish time of 2:08:24 - HE DID IT!!!

 

 

 

 

 Tired, but happy!

We are a two-racer family now.  And I have a touch of medal envy...

Such a Texas medal!  Love it.