Marathon Training Day 1

What I find funny about my 1st day of training for a marathon is that I didn't run at all. I am following The Rookie Marathon Training Plan by Runner's World. Mondays will be cross training days. On these days, I plan on doing any of my Jillian Michaels DVDs, riding my bike with the kids in the trailer in the back, or the StairMaster. I did Jillian's No More Trouble Zones DVD today. I've done this DVD 4-5 times now and it never gets easier. It's a killer and that's why I love it.

On a completely different subject, my 8 year old son had a sleep over on Saturday night. Unfortunately, many things happened at this sleepover that I don't necessarily approve of. For example, they had a scavenger hunt where they went door to door to strangers houses asking for obscure things. Also, the mom took a mini van full of them to tee pee peoples houses until 2 am. When I picked him up I could see he had stuff on his face. I asked what it was. He said, "We had smores for breakfast." Ugh, really? Are you kidding me? So it made me feel really good when we got home that he and I made a really healthy brunch for the family. We made flax pancakes, eggs, turkey sausage, and fresh fruit on the side. Both the hubs and child are very picky eaters, so I was nervous about the pancakes. It was the first time I made them. Both of them loved the pancakes! I got the recipe from the back of my Milled Flax that I buy in a big tub at Costco. Also, I have never had a meal sustain me for as long of a time as this one did. We ate brunch at around 11 and I didn't want to eat again until 5:30! My boy definitely needed some fiber and protein. In fact, it's 10:30 where I love and the poor kid is still sleeping! That's not like him at all. Good thing we're off for summer break!

Scared but Willing to Try

It's not quite official, but I printed out a new training guide for a marathon. A MARATHON!!! This from a girl who said she'd never run. This from a girl who used to say she'd rather get stabbed in the eye with an ice pick than run. This from a girl who said she NEVER had the notion to do a marathon. A marathon was beyond my scope of comprehension. Well, since I've done 2 half marathons I started thinking, "Maybe I actually CAN do this." Never say never right? I am completely terrified. Even though I've been running for about 2 years, I still feel like a newbie that knows nothing.
I have had several people message me about how I started running. I had lost all but 10 pounds of my weight when I really took to the gym. I started with the elliptical, then the ArcTrainer, and the rowing machine. The ArcTrainer and Rowing machine really got my heart rate up and made me sweat (which I like in a workout). I never really got sweaty or out of breath on the elliptical unless I had the resistance up full blast. I started reading my Weight Watchers books about how long it would take me to earn 4 daily activity points. If I did a moderate exercise, I would need to do it for 90 minutes to earn 4 pts. Now I am a mother of 3, 2 of which are twin toddlers. I don't usually have 90 minutes a day for cardio. Then I looked up what Weight Watchers considers High activity. This included jogging and running and to earn 4 activity points I'd only need to do it for 35 minutes. That I can handle. So my sister-in-law, who also used to be overweight, took up jogging and it really slimmed her down. Plus I watched Biggest Loser contestants running so I finally thought I'd try it. I started at a really slow pace, probably 4.8 and would try to run for 5, walk for 5. Then I'd bump it up the next time to maybe 7 minutes running, 5 minutes walking. Eventually I was up to 35 minutes. Once I could handle that time for awhile without feeling like I was going to die, I gradually increased my speed. I ran at the gym at first one summer. Then of course school started and I quit running because I let that be my last priority. Not healthy I know. Then for Christmas I bought a Treadmill. That was money well spent. My hubs and I run and it still to this day. Now that I've run outside though, I definitely like it better. I don't stop running when I'm outside. I seem to find excuses to stop and start a lot when I run on the Treadmill.
My hubs, who I love but is cheap, cheap, cheap, told me that a friend of his whom has run several marathons loved the Portland marathon. He said it's not too hilly and the crowd is fantastic. I like the fact that you can run with your Ipod. I can't believe some races will disqualify you for running with music. I couldn't do it! I need my tunes for motivation. So that's the marathon I am going to train for. I have 15 weeks which makes me a bit nervous because they recommend 18 weeks. I haven't really been doing much exercise since my half. I will officially start on Monday. I hope to truly make a commitment but next month!
Any of you runners out there have advice for me on training for my 1st half? I printed out Runner's World Marathon guide for beginners. Any one try that plan? How often do you eat during your long over 13 mile runs?

Has it been that long???

Holy moly I can't believe my last blog was in April. If anyone will still be reading this and has read before, I get consumed with stress. The beginning and end of the school year just hammers me. My hubs just doesn't understand. I was at work on Tuesday from 8:30 until 7:30 just to have everything ready for the last day of school. He thinks if it's the last day of school I should have no more work and just be able to walk out the door. It does not work that way.

So I have still been struggling with maintaining my weight. It was so easy for me the first year. I probably was almost cocky about it. I didn't understand what was so hard. You plan your meals, track your food, stay within your points, exercise. As I type it it still sounds simple. But ever since my surgery last summer I have been up 10-18 lbs. above my lowest weight. I try to ask other people who have lost weight, "When you lost, did you get down to your lowest weight, and then bounce up a little to where your body wants to be?" No one seems to answer me. They either don't understand what I'm asking, haven't had that experience, or think I'm talking about plateaus. I mean when I was in the midst of losing I dropped down to 117. That's my lowest weight. Last year I had a tummy tuck and seemed to instantly gain 10 lbs. That still seems weird to me. I had a pound of skin removed, I should have dropped to 116 but instead I bounced up to 127. Lately my highest weight has been 135! I feel like crap at that weight. When I was 117 everyone told me I needed to gain 10 lbs. Well I gained that and then some and I don't like how I look or feel. I don't like that ALL my pants are tight. I don't like that I can feel back fat when I sit. I don't like it. So I am back to no longer trying to maintain but trying to lose again. This morning I weighed 129 and normally this would frustrate me, but I haven't seen a 2 in the tens place in awhile and it was a welcomed change. Here is a quick recap of the last 2 months:

• I ran a 10K April 19. I ran it in 51:21.
• I ran a 12K May 3. Finished in 100:02.
• Ran my 2nd 1/2 marathon and got a PR! Finished in 01:47:04.5. This time I raced I felt great afterwards. My first race I had to lay in be for 6 hours due to rotten gut! I'm pretty sure it was eating GU with caffeine that hurt my tummy. I had GU this race plus Imodium before my race and it helped tremendously.
• Went to a family reunion in Atlanta with my husband and oldest son to meet family I'd never met. It was amazing.
• Signed up for a 12 person relay race that's 190 miles long. I did not think it all the way through. It's a 2 day race which means I could have a leg at 2:00 in the morning! Well it will be an experience.
• I am trying to eat more clean. Not that I eat bad, my I find myself snacking off my children's plates. I need to stop eating as many crackers and thing like that!

So have any of you lost weight but your body couldn't maintain it and you gained a little bit more? Maybe it's just me. Everyone keeps telling me this must be where my body wants to be but I don't receive that well.

Back at it!

Well I am finally feeling better but still am not completely 100%. I went back to running a week ago. It probably was not the smartest thing I've ever done. I had only run about 3 1/2 miles in a week and a half and then I decided to try my long run. I ran for 8 miles in 71 minutes. I was extremely happy with this time after not running much. So now I'm back on my 1/2 marathon training schedule. I need to add some hills into my workouts, so I mapped a few new routes. I happen to work on a long hill, so I will run up and down it at least once a week. The hill is about 2.5 miles top to bottom!
Also, I bought Jillian Michaels' 30 day Shred since I saw so many bloggers talk about it. It is a pretty good workout. I don't sweat or anything, but it combines weights, cardio and abs. It's just 20 minutes, but you work the whole time. She has 3 levels. I think I'll do one more week on level one since I have a weaker upper body than lower body. This is a main goal for me...not to just do cardio. I really need to add strength training to my workouts. Last year, I was 10 lbs. lighter, but I ran hard everyday. Though I was as small as I've ever been, I know this is not good on my joints or knees so I don't run every day anymore. I am up to 4 times a week now, but I need to workout more than that. The off days is where I will be strength training. I still like to do my Wii Fit, but it's more resistance than strength I would say. I have been using my new marathon stick to roll out my muscles after running. I love it! My sons love it to unfortunately so I have to search for it each time because they run off with it!
I was very happy that the Easter bunny brought healthy treats to my sons. They got new soccer balls, a goal net, soft bats, soft baseballs, and pitching machine, and a jump rope. They got yummy naughty treats too, but they went out side in their jammies this morning to play baseball and soccer. I love it! My 3 year olds always want to exercise with mommy. The funny this is, they are usually naked when they do it. It's hard to do Pilates when I'm laughing at my naked 3 year olds lifting their legs like mommy! They are also always picking up my hand weights. I'm worried they are going to drop them on their toes one of these days! But hopefully my active lifestyle is rubbing off on them!

Workouts-
Last Sunday- Ran 8 miles 71 minutes
Monday- Level 1 30 day Shred
Tuesday- Ran 3.5 miles
Wednesday- Level 1 30 Day Shred
Thursday- Ran 1 mile warm up, 5 miles tempo, 1 mile cool down
Friday- Ran 2 miles with hill work
Saturday- rest
This Sunday- Ran 9 miles in 79 minutes...Need new shoes since knees are starting to hurt!

Feeling the Love

Wow you blogger buddies of mine really know how to make a girl feel loved. First, my blogger friend Purple Moonflower nominated me for this award:I have to name 7 things I love and then 7 blogs I love. So here they are:

1. I love my family (husband, kids, and mom).
   


2. I love my job.



3. I love Weight Watchers and how it's helped me be a healthy person.



4. I love running until I'm nice and sweaty.



5. I love to dance and music that makes me want to dance.
   


6. I love a nice hot bubble bath.



7. I love our Wii Fit Sports.

Now for bloggers I love. I have some new favs that I'd like to share the love to:

Marcy @ I Signed Up for This? for her humor, love of running, and all things trashtastic.

Lauren @ Weight Watchers Changed My Life for her tips and inspiration.

Sheryl @ *Bitch Cakes*: A Neurotic Glamour Girl's Weight Watchers Experience and Fitness Adventures for more Weight Watchers tips...especially if I miss a meeting she has a summary every week!

Annette @ Annette's Awakening because she's lost 85 lb.s so far completely on her own and she is so positive!

Natalie @ Lil Runner because she's a new mom and just an awesome athlete! She ran throughout her pregnancy and is doing the Boston Marathon soon and she just gave birth in Feb.!!!

D10 @ Just Running For Fun because she runs marathons just for fun!

Miz @ MizFitOnline because we all love and want to be her!

Second, I am currently being featured as an inspirational story at

Fitago.com. This is an amazing fitness site full of exercise, health, and food tips. It is run by David and his wife Cara. Hop over there and check out their site! I also want to give a shout out to David's personal weight loss blog. I love that I have followers that are male. We all have our issues right!?!

Thank you all and I am appreciating the love on this particular day. I still am sick and pushed myself too hard again Mon-Wed. So today I just feel blah. It's probably due to the lack of sleep I've had the last 2 nights thanks to my cough. I hate the way I feel waking up from NyQuil, but I guess I'm going to need to keep taking it since that has been the only way I can sleep lately. I moved to my couch last night to try and elevate my head, but I still didn't sleep soundly. TOM and lack of running doesn't help my energy level much either!

One more thanks and that's to you friends who gave me the tip on adding flax in the morning. I forgot that I bought a giant tub of it at Costco awhile ago. I think I gave it up because I thought it was adding to my tummy problems. Both yesterday and today I had some on my cereal. I am amazed to say I did not have a giant munchfest last night even when I drank a few glasses of wine (which I hardly ever do on week nights but I took FIVE kids to Chuck E. Cheese's by myself and I needed it). Maybe it's that morning full o' flax! Thanks all and much love to you!

Breakfast

So if you didn't know by now, I am an elementary school teacher. When I have students who constantly repeat the same behaviors that get them into trouble, I give them this little analogy: Let's say I'm building something and I need a hammer and nails. When I go to hit the nail, I miss and hit my hand. I say, "Ouch that hurts!" And then without making any adjustments, I go to hit the nail again. BAM! Right on my hand again. "Ouch again." Do you think I would continue this on and on and on? No! I'm going to move my hand, or watch what I'm doing, or reposition myself. I am going to make some sort of change so I don't keep hurting myself over and over and over. So now when I see them doing the same naughty behavior I ask them, "Why do you keep hitting yourself in the hand?" Well I need to ask myself that same question when it comes to breakfast.

I am a HUGE believer in eating breakfast in the morning. My problem is that when I'm in a hurry I don't eat the right kind of breakfast and it's basically the same as no breakfast at all. The days I don't eat a good breakfast are the days I notice my afternoon or late night snackfests. Yesterday, I slept in because well I'm sick and on spring break so I can! Since I slept in, I didn't have much time after getting all 3 of my boys their breakfasts, and milks, and juices. I was going to the dentist and wanted to eat something before leaving so I made a quick smoothie. In the past when I've made smoothies they are amazingly filling. Yesterday, I wasn't thinking and I mixed together a WW chocolate smoothie pack, 1/2 a banana, 2 tbsp PB2, 1/2 cup ice, and a 1/2 cup water. The water was my mistake. It's more filling when I mix it with fat free milk. Needless to say, it did not take long before I felt hungry and I was kind of that way the rest of the day. I know it's important to have a good mix of protein, carbs, and fat. I think I am doing better and trying to check the amount of protein I'm eating, but I don't think I have enough fat. I've heard good fats and good for you, but they are a lot of points! I have a hard time mentally wanting to eat a handful of nuts for 3-4 points or 2 tsp. of oil for 2 points when I could eat real food for that amount! Typical breakfasts for me are:

• 2 packs of Weight Control oatmeal (6 pts)


• 2 packs of Lower sugar oatmeal + 1/2 a banana (5 pts)


• 1 1/2 cups of Protein Plus Special K w/ 1 cup milk (noticed tummy issues so I stopped but very filling) (4 pts)


• 1/2 cup Grapenuts w/ 3/4 cup FF milk and 1 cup strawberries (4 pts)


• 1 bottle of no sugar added Carnation Chocolate milk (this is questionable since it's made with Splenda and that may be another food I need to eliminate) and an oatmeal pack (5 pts)


• 1 cup frozen berries, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1 banana, 1/2 cup FF milk, and 1/2 cup ice (this is from week 1 Eat Wisely book from Weight Watchers) (5 pts)

All of these are quick to make and eat. For awhile when I'd been running late I'd eat a Clif Bar or Zone Bar, Luna Bar, etc. Bars for me are both not filling and usually have Chicory Root, inulin, or soy which I'm finding are all hard on my stomach. Oh which reminds me, I just found this new coffee by Folgers called Simply Smooth and it's supposed to be gentle on your stomach.

So far I notice a difference. This might be my saving grace. I love coffee but it may be another thing hurting my stomach. I did go one week without coffee to see the difference. Oh I do NOT want to do that again!! I did not notice a difference, but I was also eating other foods that upset the belly. Sorry to go off on a tangent but my tummy problems are just annoying! Anyway, today I had my Grapenuts w/ 3/4 cup FF milk and 1/2 a banana. I'm drinking my coffee so we'll see how the tummy does. As for yesterday, due to having a light breakfast I noticed a box of CheezIt's sitting next to the computer last night. Needless to say, half of them are now gone. So today my plan is to NOT HIT MYSELF IN THE HAND! How about you?

Sick not Lazy

I have not done jack diddily squat today and I feel like a bum. The funny thing is, this is how my Saturdays always used to be. Lay on the couch with my hubby and watch movies all day well eating junk food. We were literally couch potatoes. It was pretty sad when my mother had to take my son outside to play because I was too tired and needed a nap. I just need to give myself permission to chillax. I'm not being lazy, I am really sick. I can't even laugh without coughing up my lungs!

Right now, I'm doing nothing and it feels weird. I know my body needs it to get better, but it still feels weird. So my day has been like this:

• Kids woke me up so I got them their breakfast
• Read my Facebook
• Watched my kids play
• Ate breakfast
• Talked on the phone
• Laid down to watch a movie but fell asleep
• Blog, blog, blog

I ate two egg sandwiches this morning with a cup of strawberries. I forgot how much I love those. It was 8 points for 2 eggs, 4 pieces of toast, and two pieces of WW cheese. That combined with the strawberries was quite a good meal. In fact, I haven't wanted to eat anything else until about an hour ago. That could be because I was sleeping though! LOL I was told by a friend today to take Vit C and Garlic pills every hour to kill my cold. Every hour? Won't I stink? I'll try it though since my Zinc lozenges aren't helping anymore.

Any other tricks or remedies for colds and coughs? What are your go-to's for feeling better?