The Week I gained 5 Pounds and Was Still Proud

Usually, when I gain five pounds, I feel miserable. My self talk is horrible and my sister has to listen to hour after hour of me whining about how easy it is to put on weight and how difficult it is to take it off. But this past Monday when I weighed in and saw that the scale had creeped up, I felt relieved and proud. The relief was mostly because I had a friend in town and we had eaten out pretty much every meal. And then followed up the meal with a beer. Or two. Or three. Okay, who's counting anyway?? After all of that, I only gained 5 pounds. Trust me, I felt the beer bloat and the sodium retention and had the Texas BBQ goodness on my lips, and I was extremely relieved that I had only gained 5 pounds and not the 8-10 I felt like I had gained.

But proud? I don't think most people would be proud about gaining 5 pounds. Especially someone who wants to lose 25+ pounds. And really, I don't know if I'm honestly proud to have gained 5 pounds; more like I'm just okay with it. I'm zen. But why, you ask? (Which, of course, I know you are DYING to know!)

Because I made good decisions most of the time and I exercised. I will admit that my awesome husband (who turned the big 3-1 while our friend was in town) helped remind me of my good eating intentions. Like when we went out for supper at Spoons on a kid-free night, he encouraged me to share my pimento cheese and jalapeno sandwich and (super huge, incredibly large, didn't know it was going to be 6 layers) piece of strawberry cake with strawberry frosting. This helped me get to celebrate and enjoy the yummy treats, but not completely overindulge. It felt good! Like I always tell my kids, sharing is caring!

As for exercise, I got up and did tempo runs, early morning runs through my neighborhood, and also my weekly running group run. I'm actually quite proud of that running group run. Because I ran 13.2 miles as a training (!!!!) run. By the time I finished (in just under 3 hours), it was 86* with a million percent humidity and I was literally baking in the sun. I wore a hat at least, so I don't think my face got too sunburned.

The downside of running 13.2 miles, though, is that this week my mystery leg pain started up again. I talked with some running friends, and they recommended I get new shoes. You are supposed to replace your running shoes every 200 - 300 miles (more often if you have a little more junk in your trunk - or muffin top in my case - I wish I had even a little junk in my trunk!!). I thought that there was NO WAY I had ran 200-300 miles since I got my running shoes in April. And then I looked at my marathon training schedule. In the past 4.5 weeks, I've run 87 miles. And that's not counting the indoor triathlon, 2 5k's, and half marathon and the training I've done from April to now. So I'm probably actually due for a pair. And maybe that's why my calves have started having pain again. Guess it's time for new shoes!

a sick SAHM

I started feeling a little crummy on Wednesday night: sore throat, headache, stuffed up nose. Danny and Derek both had this a few weeks ago, so I guess it should be no surprise that it is my turn now.

Being a stay at him mom (SAHM) is a hard job on a regular day; being a SAHM while you are sick is just extremely difficult. I think my darling children somehow know mommy is sick and lacking in patience and have been going hog wild the past few days. Piper has been refusing to nap, eat her lunch, and has just been a little defiant - well, a little more than her usual sassy self. Danny has been running, screaming, making fake fart noises (yes, we have entered that sacred part of boyhood where farts and burps - both of the real and fake variety - are hilarious), and causing general chaos. I find myself looking forward to bedtime. I'm just SO tired!

It's just exhausting taking care of two kids when you are sick. Hoping this sickness passes quickly so I can get back to my normal self. I miss being able to call in sick!!

Vineyard 5k Recap

Yesterday was the Vineyard 5k out in Grapevine, TX. I carpooled with some friends and after a few twists and turns through the construction on 121, we made our way to Delaney Vineyards where the race was held. The Delaney Vineyards was pretty interesting because it was a small little vineyard right in town. It was neat to see the bustling suburbs juxtaposed with the casual atmosphere of the vineyard. It was a peaceful little get-away from everyday life!

The cool thing bout this race is that post-race, you get to sample various wines produced from the vineyard. Running and wine: a fantastic combination! The race itself was a pretty hilly race. And I was not expecting that! It was pretty brutal! I have been working more and more hill workouts in, but this course took my breath away. At the Big D 5k I participated in a few weeks ago, I was able to get my time down to 27:40. I was so happy with that time because my goal had been to break 30 minutes. I went into this (unknowingly) hilly run with the hope of getting my time down to 27:00. I knew it was a lofty goal, especially after the first hill!! My friends and I had been told that the last mile or so had decent downhills. So as the mile markers ticked off, I kept telling myself that a big downhill was coming. Just over the next hill, it was all downhill the rest of the way. I must have passed three hills telling myself this. And after that, my legs and lungs were just toast. I had started out fast (rookie mistake, I know) and I think my lungs were struggling to regulate my breath after that first mile. I did do a 9 minute mile for my first mile, and then I think I had like a 9:40, 9:30, and a pretty quick .1 mile (there was wine beckoning!). Overall, I finished in 29:21 and ranked 20th in my age group. Even though it was not a PR, I was still happy to have a sub-30 5k on such a hilly course.

The wine afterwards was pretty tasty. Although, I wish it would have been a half cup of wine rather than a third of a Dixie cups worth. Or that they would have poured a few tasters at once for each person rather than having to jump back in the line afterwards to get another. I had a muscat that was delicious and a blush that was so-so.

The company that puts on the race was having some technical difficulties and we didn't get the results until late today. That meant that no awards were given at the race. I obviously didn't qualify for an ae group award, but two of my friends won first place for their age groups. Would've been nice to be able to clap and cheer for them.

Overall, this race was okay. Will I do it next year? Probably not. Did I have fun with my friends? Absolutely! And that is what counts!!

Hello 2013

So, it's been quite a few months since I last posted (okay, okay, half a year. Whatevs.). I ran my marathon on 12/31/2012 in 5 hours, 46 minutes. It was cold, rainy, and kind of miserable, but I did it!  And the next day I walked a 5k and started to eat clean. I've kept up with the clean eating (for the most part!) and have kept up my running. I ran a 27:40 in a 5k last month (the Big D 5k). That was a huge PR or me. My goal for this year has been to become a little faster and to run more days per week. I've already registered for my next marathon: the San Antonio Rock n Roll in November. I don't start my actual training plan until July, so I have until then to ramp up my speed.

Here are some 2012 running/fitness goals:

1. Run at least 3 days per week and one long run on the weekend. 
2. Get my 5k down to below 30 minutes. (Which, I totally crushed this one!!)
3. Get my half-marathon time to 2:15 or below.
4. Get my marathon time down to at least 5:30. 
5. Do at least one triathlon (scheduled for 6/23/2013).
6. Start lifting some weights. (I've been slacking on this one!!)
7. Continue to lose weight. (Since starting weight watchers back in October, I've lost 25 pounds).