Weekly Workout Recap (10/22-10/28)

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” -Theodore Roosevelt

 

Weekly Workout Recap (10/22-10/28)
Monday, 10/22- Spinning Class (60 min.)
Tuesday, 10/23- 60 min. elliptical & 60 min. elliptical
Wednesday, 10/24- Spinning Class (60 min.) & 60 min. elliptical
Thursday, 10/25- 60 min. elliptical & 20 min. elliptical & Spinning Class (60 min.)
Friday, 10/26- 45 min. elliptical & 15 min. stationary bike & 60 min. elliptical 
Saturday, 10/27- HALF MARATHON RUN!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, 10/28- Rest/2 mile-ish short walk with Hubs 

Totals for Week (10/22-10/28)
13.1 Miles Run 
3 Spinning Classes 
0 Signature Strength Classes
365 Minutes on Elliptical (aka: 6 HOURSish... aka- WAAAY too much!!)
15 Minutes on Stationary Bike
1(ish) Rest Day

I am OVER the elliptical. O-V-E-R.. Like, could not be more over. It DEFINITELY doesn't help that the wireless at my gym has been acting crazy and I can't even watch Netflix Instant while doing it. LUCKILY, while my real gym's internet's been acting crazy, the wireless at my work's gym (yes, I actively belong to 2 gyms... but, to be fair-- 1 only costs $40 for an entire semester!) is actually working now! So, I do get to watch stuff then. THANK GOODNESS. I don't think I'd make it if it weren't for that.

I cannot wait to have this knee officially "better" and be able to run when I want again. I don't even care if I don't have a training plan or don't log crazy miles... I just want to be able to run when I feel like it! I MISS RUNNING. Badly. I feel like I'm on the verge of recovery though. So, that's amazing. I won't curse myself and say I am "recovered", but I'll say I'm on the path of recovery.

Oh, and for the record-- this week I intentionally focused on getting two-a-day's in every work day (except Monday... just didn't have the time) because for the upcoming week there will be like NO workouts and WAY TOO MUCH food (more details about why after the week's over). Life's all about moderation, right? Workout hard last week, gorge myself with everything in sight this upcoming week. Perfect plan. :)

Things I'm Loving Right Now...

Nashville on ABC

I wasn't sure if I'd like this show, and haven't actually caught one on the TV, but thank Goodness for abc.com because I'm loving it! There's been a hole in my life since Friday Night Lights ended and now that Connie Britton is back, it's filled. It's even worth stomaching Hayden Panettiere. That's saying something.

 

 

This Recipe

http://www.rachelcooks.com/2012/03/28/slow-cooker-salsa-chicken-taco-slop/

I actually haven't even tried it yet, but it looks YUMMY and EASY. 2 of my favorite words when it comes to food.

 

 

G-Chat and Friends Who'll G-Chat

Even better? Friends who ASK me about running and such... makes me feel like I'm MUCH less obsessive for constantly bringing it up.

 

 

Two Words: TAYLOR SWIFT

I am DYING to get this CD. I've got a FIRM date to hit Target up after work on Friday to get the CD so I can put it on my iPod for the half marathon. If you get it at Target, there's a few extra tracks! CANNOT WAIT!

 

 

New Necklace

The Hubs got me this for our anniversary from etsy. Not sure the exact site. I remember emailing him a link MONTHS ago saying I liked this style/idea and he SAVED THE LINK and got it for me now. I had forgotten all about it! Best Hubs (and gift) ever! LOVE it.
 
 Groupon (or similar) Type Deals

The Hubs and I love this Mexican place, so I snatched up a few of these. Luckily this time I checked the expiration date. We accidentally just bought FORTY DOLLARS worth of pizza place groupons (to equal EIGHTY DOLLARS OF PIZZA!!!!) and the stupid things expire in 3 weeks! Eck! Guess who ordered pizza last night and will be once a week for the next month?? The Hubs is in HEAVEN.

I'm also loving chocolate chips, Christina Perri, Revenge, cinnamon flavored coffee, slate grey colored nail polish, Ben and Jerry's frozen Greek yogurt, Target, stalking the weather, day dreaming about running again, brown rice, our iPad (best purchase ever), checking books out of the library, this blog and wearing heels again.
 



WIAW - 10/24

 

 

I'm gonna guess you already know what time it is! Another exciting round of WIAW...

 

 

Breakfast:

Chobani Greek Yogurt & unpictured coffee

Snack:

Litttttle, itty, bitty box of Milk Duds (literally had 4 pieces in it... aka- NOT enough!) and water

Lunch:

3 small pieces of left over buffalo blue-cheese pizza from this weekend. SO, SO, SOOOO good.

& a delicious honeycrisp apple

Snack:

2 small (a little bigger than the size of a quarter... I just realized they look huge here!) white chocolate chip pumpkin cookies I made this weekend. They were OK. Not fabulous, but OK. 

 

 

 

Snack:

Unpictured

2 more small white chocolate chip pumpkin cookies

 

 

Dinner:

Really boring. Pasta with a little pesto. I just wasn't feeling anything else. Flavored water to drink.

 

 

 Snack:

 Air popped popcorn with a side of Revenge on Netflix Instant. ADDICTED.

 



Advice Needed!!!

I need advice.

I mean, I pretty much constantly need advice-- but, this time I need it about 1 thing in particular.

Remember when I ran a marathon? No, you don't? Seeing as how I haven't run more than 4 miles at a time or more than 9 miles TOTAL in 16 days (not that I'm counting... at ALL), I can understand. But, I did. I ran the 2012 Chicago Marathon. Really. I did.

Let me refresh your memory...

Yup-- official race pictures are here!! Get excited.

Clearly SOME of these pics were from the first half of the race...

Check out that CHEESY smile. I was SOOO happy to be running!! Little did I know in a few short miles I'd be in a world of hurt.
 

Maybe not smiling, but still feeling (and kinda looking) strong. Reminder, that didn't last.

 

 

While others, are CLEARLY from the second half (aka: death)...

Thoughts in my head at this point: I WANT TO DIE. THIS SUCKS SO BAD. I HATE RUNNING.

Wow. I look like I might legit be dying in this pic. Wowza.

 Oh, you didn't believe that I really finished? 

Yup, that's the BEST pic the PROFESSIONAL race photographers could manage to get of me crossing the finish line of my FIRST marathon... ya know, NBD or anything you'd want photographic evidence of. Whatev. 

There! See- I have a metal and a space blanket thing. CLEARLY I finished. 

So, yes- I did in fact finish my first marathon. We got that.

Now... that advice thing I mentioned...

Obviously, moments after crossing the finish line I was already contemplating my next marathon. I'll admit it-- I'm out for redemption. I want to break 4:15. There, it's out there.

Days later, the feeling didn't go away and I began frantically scouring the web for a possible #2. Unfortunately, I live in northern Indiana and there are NUMEROUS marathons like RIGHT NOW and then not again til Spring. Bummer. Spring it was. That decision brought 2 contenders:  Kalamazoo Marathon or The Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon.

Well, I decided.

 

The Illinois Marathon won out. Why? It's at my Alma mater, it's flat, it's at my Alma mater, it's not TOO hard for friends and fam to go to if they want to, it's at my Alma mater, there's a 10K race as well that my FIL might decided to run and IT'S AT MY ALMA MATER! Did I mention it's at my Alma mater? Ultimately, the whole running across the 50 yard line of the football stadium I cheered many a games at and seeing the city I spent 4 glorious years in tipped the scales. Oh, and the whole LOTS OF HILLS part of the Kalamazoo kinda hurt its case. Just being honest.

So, there's that. 1 decision done.

That was easy. And, to be honest-- I decided that a while ago. I'm not really ever sure it was THAT much of a question.

Then, I ran again. And there was knee pain. And so I rested a bit and tried again. Again, pain. And we repeated that cycle once again. Wash, rinse, repeat, right? BLEAH.

So, that's where we are today. I'm resting it and hoping things turn around for this weekends half that I registered for before the marathon. We'll see.

This is where I need your advice.

Do I register for the Illinois Marathon, even though I'm currently injured? It's $80 and goes up to $85 next week... so, basically if I'm gonna register I'd rather register now and save the $5. The Hubs says I'm crazy and it's only $5 so it's not like I HAVE to decide right now. I get that... but, I feel like if I don't register now it's like admitting defeat to this stupid knee. The race isn't til April... SURELY I'll be healed enough to do training for that. I mean... right??? (Note: SAY YES or I'll likely cry.) But, I don't want to be STUPID and register for a f-ing MARATHON when I can't even run TWO miles right now without pain. I am WAY over thinking this. I know.  I already got the OK from my boss to take a half day on day before this marathon, so nothing's stopping me from pulling the trigger on that end. And, it's only $80, which is pretty cheap for a marathon. I mean-- I spend WAY more than that on a pair of running shoes! So, what if I register and can't do it? I'll only be out $80... and, I could always just drop down to one of the shorter races, if needed. Right? But, why register NOW if I can't RUN at all right now? Isn't that asking for trouble?

Do you SEE just how crazy my brain can be? These thoughts have been occupying a solid 85% of my brain capacity for several days.

So, help a nutcase girl out... what do you think? Any advice?
 

The 5K That Wasn't

This weekend was SUPPOSED to be my come back to running.

I successfully ran the Nearly Naked Mile Race Thursday and was SO READY for my 5K this Saturday.

I was ready to run it nice and slow. I was ready to run it with a HUGE smile plastered all over my face because I was GETTING TO RUN!!

Didn't happen.

The Hubs and I started the "race" (I say "race" because it was a VERY small, family-friend planned event with about 30 runners total, aged 1o-60ish. VERY informal.) together. The Hubs! RUNNING! He wanted to see if he could run it and I was SOOOOO excited to have the company and knew it'd stop me from pushing too hard.

It did, which is great.

We took off and I was easily maintaining about a 10:30 pace. My legs felt GREAT and I was easily chatting the Hubs ear off, trying to distract him from the fact that he was running. I felt GREAT. The knee felt GREAT. I was SMILING and LOVING it.

Then, we hit mile 1.5ish. I started feeling the knee. It didn't hurt at first.... just felt off and very noticeable in every step. I felt like I could FEEL my knee more than usual. Makes no sense, but I can't describe it any better. Never had any sharp pains. The odd feeling just slowly kept getting more intense and transitioned into a painful feeling.  

We knew we were looping near our car at mile 2 and I told the Hubs I needed to stop when we got there.

The Hubs did great! We ran the first 1.25 miles without stopping in a 10:30 pace. Then, we walked a few seconds (about 20), kept running, walked a few seconds (about 30), kept running and then stopped. The last .75 miles ended up being in a 11:30 pace to average out to about a 11:00 overall pace. 

We stopped at mile 2. 22:00ish. I DNF a freaking 5K.

Now, to be fair-- the "race" started late, so the Hubs and I were planning on stopping at mile 2 before we even started because we had other plans and didn't want to be too late. So, I had already planned to not finish, so the DNF isn't hurting my mental state TOO much. In fact, I'm not REALLY even counting it as a DNF. But, let's be honest, I very may well have told the Hubs we were gonna finish it and just be late if I hadn't had the knee issues. I mean... this is ME we're talking about here. I guess we'll never know and it doesn't much matter.

What does matter? That stupid, stupid knee.

My lungs felt great. My legs felt great. I can tell I haven't lost much fitness... but, that damn knee.   

Ugh.

I'm frustrated. And pissed. And sad. And annoyed. And pissed. And terrified. And pissed. And over dramatic (shocker). And just PISSED.

I want to be healed. I want to be 100%. I want to RUN.

I want to run. Simple as that.

BLAH.

So, what am I doing from here?

Well, clearly I didn't run Sunday. Even though it was PERFECT outside and even though I planned to and even though I WANTED to. Instead, I gym-ed it. 60 min. elliptical and 10 min. bike. BORING. Ah. Over it.

Today, I went to spinning. Tomorrow, elliptical. Wednesday, spinning and ?. Thursday, elliptical and maybe spinning. Friday, elliptical and maybe yoga.

(note: I'm trying to workout pretty hard this week to make up for next week's no-workouts.)

As you can see-- NO RUNNING. No 1-mile test runs. No easy runs. No I-just-wanna-see runs. NO RUNNING. AND, no walks. For 1 whole week. BLAH. Not happy about it.

I am SOOOO hoping one more rest week will do the trick. Give it a little more time.

Next Saturday I'm going to TRY to do the half I registered for before the marathon. We'll see. I'm going to listen to my body and if it hurts, I really will DNF. Whatever will be, will be. I reallllly want to do it, though. I'm going to do all I can this week to help that happen.

IF it still hurts at the half, I'll give it 1 more week (more because I'm naturally not working out next week than because I want to). If it still hurts after that--- to the doctors I'll go.

BLEAH.

I'm not happy. I'm grumpy about it and pissed about it.

Luckily, other amazing things are happening in life, like my wedding anniversary today, to take my mind off it. When I think about the stupid knee in the same thought as our anniversary, it seems so small and insignificant. Does it matter to me? Of course. But, there's more to life than running. So, this week, I'm going to try to focus on those things. Saturday'll be here before I know it. Whatever will be, will be.

In the meantime, I have an anniversary to celebrate, work to complete, papers to grade, bags to pack, a house to clean, and life to lead. And, it's a pretty damn good life too.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is the Hubs and my first wedding anniversary.

 

 

 

 I can't believe it was just a year ago we said "I do" in front of all our friends and family.

 

 

Seems like both SO much more time has passed and, at the same time, like it was just yesterday I was walking down the aisle toward him.

 

Cheesy? Yes... but, the last year has honestly been the happiest of my life.

 

We compliment each other in everyway I can imagine.

 

1 year ago my life forever changed and I can't imagine it any other way.

 

 

To The Hubs-- thank you for being the best husband I could ever imagine or ask for. I feel beyond lucky to have you in my life and as my partner in life. The past year has been everything I could have dreamed of and more. I can't wait to experience all the rest life has to bring our way with you by my side. You're the best man I have ever known. I love you more than I could ever explain.

 

Happy Anniversary!

Weekly Workout Recap (10/15-10/21)

"Running has the power to change your life. It will make you fitter, healthier, even happier."

-Selene Yeager

Weekly Workout Recap (10/15-10/21):
Monday, 10/15- 65 min. elliptical & 5.6 mile walk with Hubs
Tuesday, 10/16- Signature Strength class & 40 min. elliptical & 15 min. stationary bike
Wednesday, 10/17- Unexpected rest day. Boo.
Thursday, 10/18- 60 min. elliptical & 60 minutes elliptical (again-- BORING) & 1 mile run
Friday, 10/19- 50 min. elliptical & 60 minutes elliptical (again-- BORING)
Saturday, 10/20- 5K 2 mile run
Sunday, 10/21- 60 min. elliptical and 10 min. bike & 5.6 mile walk with Hubs

Totals for Week (10/15-10/21):
3 Miles Run 
0 Spinning Classes 
1 Signature Strength Classes 
395 Minutes on Elliptical 
25 Minutes on Stationary Bike
1 Rest Day 
11.2 Miles Walked

In case you haven't done the math, that works out to about 6.5 hours on the elliptical. BORING doesn't even being to describe.

I am BEYOND ready for this knee stuff to subside so I can run again. BEYOND ready. Not sure how much more elliptical-ing I can take.

I mentioned to the Hubs yesterday that I haven't worked out since the marathon! He reminded me that I was saying that the same day I went to the gym and did an hour on the elliptical, 10 minutes on the bike, and went on a 5+ mile walk and that all of that WAS WORKING OUT. DUH, Meagan. I mean-- I KNOW that... but, none of it FEELS like running felt. Still, I KNOW it's good for me and it's keeping my fitness level up and it will make the transition back to running SO much easier. I know that.

Weekend plans

It's FRIDAY!!! So excited for the weekend. We've got some big plans going on in this neck of the woods.

Well, the Hubs and I are certainly starting off our weekend on quite the exciting foot. 

 

I swear... we are constantly doing laundry. We just did 2 loads on Tuesday. It's FRIDAY. How? How do we still have laundry to do?? I honestly do not know how we physically managed to only do laundry once a week before we had our own washer and dryer. Mind = baffled.

 

Hint for washing sweaty workout clothes: add a big splash of white vinegar, a spoonful of baking soda, and Tide with Febreeze while your washer is filling up with water. Then add the sweaty nasty clothes. Sit back and drink a glass of wine. Hang dry. Be amazed. Works wonders every time.

 

In addition to our exciting laundry filled Friday night, we're also gonna do some grocery shopping AND some house cleaning.

 

It's funny because it's kinda true. Danger.

 

Saturday is when the REAL fun starts... first, we have a local, small, family run 5K that we're doing with my in-laws. And, the HUBS is going to RUN!! SOOOO excited! This'll be good for 2 reasons: 1. I get to run with the Hubs! My two favorite things in the world, combined! 2. He'll stop me from running too fast and hurting my knee any more. God knows I can't be trusted to not run faster than planned on my own. Remember?

 

I'm also SUPER pumped for this 5K because I'm going to try out my new shoes on a longer-than-one-mile run!  

 

Seriously- I'm WAY too excited about this. Whatev. Don't judge.

 

Post 5K (and, unshowered-- you're welcome in advance, friends), we're heading to meet some very good friends at a pumpkin patch for our annual friends & fun filled fall day (yes, the day has a name!). CANNOT WAIT. Pumpkins! Cider! Doughnuts! Hay rides! Corn mazes! CAN'T WAIT!!! Seriously-- I'm beyond excited.

 

Then, Sunday the Hubs and I are celebrating our 1-year wedding anniversary (which is technically on Monday). VERY excited to spend the whole day just us. Vomit, I know. :)

 

I'm also secretly hoping that if Saturday's 5K goes well I might be able to get in a semi "long" run of like 6ish miles on Sunday morning while the Hubs sleeps in. FINGERS CROSSED!

 

Hope all you have a fabulous weekend too! I'll leave you with a little Pinterest stolen inspiration...

 

 

 

ONE mile

1 mile.

That was the goal.

Just ONE mile.

Seems so silly after running 26.2 2 short weeks ago.

Regardless-- one mile was all I could think about. all. day. long.

Did I have hopes to MAYBE keep going and get a few more? Ok, fine. Yes. But-- whatever. The GOAL was one mile. One glorious, non-pain-filled mile.

 

SUCCESS!! Ok, technically the garmin says .98, but 1- that's close enough and 2- I forgot to hit start til a few steps in, so I'm sure it was a full mile.

How'd it feel?? GOOD. GREAT. AMAZING. PAIN freaking FREE. I couldn't have been happier.

I KNOW it's a bit faster than I wanted. I was going for a 10-minute mile. Honestly, it would have been even faster, but I was running with someone and wanted to stay together. Thank goodness for her because I'm sure otherwise I would have gone crazy and tried some sub 8:00 pace and been STUPID MEAGAN. As it was, I ended up being semi-not-so-smart Meagan. I'll take that.

Post-mile I had to pick up my neon-orange race shirt (love it!) and was SOOOO tempted to do 2 more to see how it kept feeling, buuuuut-- I didn't! It was pretty chilly and I only had on a t-shirt and shorts. Plus, I was carrying this extra t-shirt now and I didn't have my iPod. PLUS, my friend didn't want to run anymore. So, I decided to listen to everything telling me not to push it and stopped at 1. Good thing too, since it started raining about 3 minutes later.

Anyway- 1 glorious mile down. The smile across my face was outta control.

On the walk back to my car, I'll admit-- my knee started feeling a little... odd. Not hurting. But, not normal either. I can't much describe it, but it was a very faint feeling, but noticeable. Now, I think that might have a teeeeny, tiny bit to do with my mental state. Ya know... the post-injury crazies where you think EVERY LITTLE twing is a full blown down-for-the-count injury? Yeah. Those. The kinda "off" feeling was gone before I even got home.  Regardless, I iced when I got home and stayed off it the rest of the night. 

Today, it feels FINE. And, believe me-- I was SOOOO tempted to return to good ol' treadmill and test it out more... but, I resisted. ME. Woah. I decided I'd rather rest it again today and then see how the 5K goes tomorrow. WOOOOAH. Did I just make a SMART decision? Don't worry, I won't make a habit of it.

For now, I'll continue to bask in my post-ONE MILE runners high glow. Fingers crossed tomorrow's 5K just adds to the glow!

Today's the (not so) Big Day

Well, today's the big day.

WOW-- I feel SO ridiculous even saying that. Is someone getting married? No. Am I going to a funeral? Nope. Am I up for a promotion or is there some big event at work? No. Another marathon? Nah. Not even a half marathon! Shoot, not even a 5K.

Today's the big day because I'm going to test out running again.

1 mile. That's my goal.

The college I'm working for is having "The Nearly Naked Mile" race.

It's totally for fun... there's not chips or timing or anything. I'm HOPING this will make me be a little less competitive and not try to be an idiot and sprint the whole thing.

Let's hope I remember typing this come 5:30pm tonight when I'm laced up and at the start line.

My legs are just ITCHING to run. I legit had a DREAM I was running last night.

I KNOW I'm making too much of it. I know that. My HEAD knows that. In my HEAD I'm like:
-Ok, even if it does hurt-- that still could just mean you need a little more time off. It will not automatically mean you're doomed to never run again or that you have some life-altering injury (side not: Clearly, I'm not at ALL dramatic).
-Ok, even if it doesn't hurt-- that could just be because it's JUST a mile and the last few times it took til mile 2-3 to hurt. So, don't go celebrating yet. Baby steps.

In my head, I know I should be at least semi-rational.

Then, about 5 seconds later, my mind goes to:
-OMG! If it hurts even a SMIDGE it's the end. of. the. world. INJURED. Officially out for like the rest of your life. You'll never run again. Hope the 1 lame marathon was worth it. Forget 26.2 redemption. You'll never get 1.2 redemption.
-Ok, even if it doesn't hurt-- you're prob still injured. Let's be real. You ran a marathon you were CLEARLY not prepared for so now you're being punished. That'll teach you. Even if it doesn't hurt now, it'll hurt the next time. You'll see.

Clearly, this picture has nothing to do with anything, but it is of me RUNNING... you know... just to remind you I can run. In theory.

Yeaaaah. Crazy. Right here.

I'm trying REALLY hard to stay in mind-set #1 and to just remind myself it's just ONE run. The world will not end. Professional athlete's have been MUCH more injured and have come back. Run of the mill, recreational runners have too. I might be injured. It might be. But, I don't KNOW that yet. And, even if it does hurt today, I still won't KNOW that. And, if I am-- it'll heal. People are resilient. It won't be forever.

I'm going to really try to go into today's run thinking it's just a trial 1-mile feel-out run. I'm going to try to remind myself nothing that happens today shapes the rest of my running "career" and that it certainly doesn't change ME.

So, that's that. I'm nervous and excited and I CANNOT wait. HURRY UP, 5:30pm!!!

On a (semi) unrelated note: I also randomly ordered new shoes from runningwarehouse last week.

I've ALWAYS been a Brooks' girl, but saw these on SUPER sale (less than $50!) and they sounded like a semi-similar shoe (though lighter and not meant for crazy long long-runs) and they were kinda cute in an off-beat way AND they had my size, so I went for it. Enter the Mizuno Wave Precision 12's. They're a neutral performance shoe... I usually go with bit more control and stability, so it'll be a change. I'm wondering if maybe some of the above knee issues might be solved from a change of shoes (though, I should note my current Brook's do not have too much mileage or anything like that and I have LOVED them up to now).

I've been DYING to run in them since they came in the mail Tuesday, but have been a good-runner-girl and have waited patiently. I'm SO excited to try them out tonight. I put them on and walked around in them for a few minutes and LOVED the way they felt. Just thinking about it is getting me runner-geeked-out right now.

I also ordered a LS-tech shirt, but it didn't fit. RANDOMLY there was also a sports bra in the box... I didn't order or get charged for it. SWEET! Or at least that was my first thought. Yeah. It's a 36A. NOT EVEN REMOTELY GONNA HAPPEN. I gotta send the shirt back, so I guess I'll send the bra back with it? It's so random!

On an even more (semi) unrelated note: If you're looking for an inspiring book to read and wanna be just as big of a runner-geek than I am, check this book out:

Dean Karnazes is CRAZY. Like, ran 100-miles at once crazy. Like, runs "at least a marathon a day" most days-- in a row-- crazy. Anyway, it's a really interesting, quick read. He's incredible. Crazy, but incredible. I really enjoyed the book and plan to read it again sometime I need some inspiration.


Ok... back to counting down the day...

WIAW - 10/17

 

 

It's that time again. Time for another not so exciting edition of What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW). Brought to you by this girl.

 

Lately, I've been doing weird WIAWs like post-marathon, sick day, long run day, etc. I figured for this one, let's just do a normal, run of the mill weekday. B-O-R-I-N-G, I know. So, below is from Monday. Just a typical, run of the hill Monday.

 

I started my Monday off with a BORING 65 minutes on the elliptical.

 

After getting to work, I usually sit right down and have breakfast by 8:30am, but this morning a few meetings got in the way. By 9:30am, I was starving!

 

Breakfast (around 9:30am):

Pineapple Chobani & about 1 serving of Special K mixed together. Unpictured coffee. About 280 calories.

 

 

I teach on Monday's and Wednesday's, so while I like to eat lunch a bit later, around 1:30, today I had no choice and had to eat earlier. I was surprisingly not starving for lunch, which I'm sure had something to do with the late breakfast and early lunch times. Still, I'm usually starving by lunch, so it was a nice surprise.

 

Lunch (around 12:20pm):

Left over crock-pot chicken taco chili (based closely on this recipe), a medium pear, a Diet Coke and a handful of gummy bears. About 350 calories.

 

 

Lunch left me STUFFED. I made that chili in the crock pot last night for dinner and the Hubs and I both had it for dinner (the Hubs went back for seconds!), I had it for lunch today and there's still at least 3-4 meals worth left. Super easy. Super quick. SUPER YUM.

 

 

Snack (around 4pm):

Couple handfuls of almonds. About 180 calories.

 

 

Dinner (around 6:30pm):

Left over chicken, spinach and garlic pizza. Around 450 calories (Note: total estimate, but based on other take-out pizza places with same toppings.).

 

 

After dinner the Hubs and I went on a 5.6 mile walk around the Notre Dame campus and to get the below dessert.

 

 

Dessert (around 7:45pm):

FRO YO! Sorry for the crappy pic. It took all my self control to even take the time to snap the pic and the Hubs and were walking back to our house and it was SO DARK outside. It is what it is. Anyway-- it's FF vanilla fro yo with 1 pump hot fudge, a squirt of whip cream and some almond slivers. About 200 calories.

 

 

"Snack" 2 (around 8:30pm)

Mug of Hot Chocolate. Hits the spot every time. I put a smidge over a serving in, so I'd guess about 30 calories.

 

 

Total: 1490.

 

I've been TRYING to get the food intake under control now that I'm not burning 1000+ calories more days than not. Damn, I miss that about marathon training! The training-hunger hasn't fully gone away, but I can feel it slowly getting back to normal. I did OK today... I'm trying to stay around 1400... so I was over it, but not TOO bad. Argh! It's SO hard! Food is just TOO GOOD.

 

 

Return to Signature Strength!

 Well, it's Tuesday.

 

 

Is it just me or is this week already SO long?!?! I walked into my office this morning mentally thinking about what I was going to teach in class today and then I realized it's only TUESDAY not Wednesday, so I don't teach today. Ah! I really thought it was Wednesday too. Crap. It's never good when you're thinking it's a day later in the week than it actaully is. Never.

 

Anyway-- I'm trying to get back into my 5am gym routine. It has definitely not been easy after over a week of sleeping in til the glorious hour of 7am. So far, I've forced myself up reminding myself that it takes 2 weeks to form a habit. Right? Or did I make that up? Either way, it's been working so far.

 

So, Monday I dragged my ass outta bed and made my way to the gym. I was PISSED to discover the spinning teacher just didn't show. PISSED. I already don't like this chick and now this? ARGH! Luckily, I had a book to keep me company on the elliptical. Bleah. 65 boring minutes of intervals, done.

 

After work last night the Hubs and I went for a walk. It was cold and got dark SO early! BOO!!! We covered 5.6 miles in 1 hour and 43 minutes, including a pit stop for fro yo! Unfortuantely, after a full day of NO knee pain... it started hurting about 4.5 miles into the walk. NOOOOOO. Luckily, immediately after finishing our walk, the pain went away. I iced and rested it til bedtime.

 

Ugh. I am SO discouraged! I am CRAVING running like nobody's business. I was to slip on my Brooks and hit the streets! The weather is PERFECT. All I can think about is a casual, pace-pressure free 10-mile jaunt. Stupid, stupid knee. I'm starting to get significantly worried. I'm trying to remain calm and remind myself I just RAN A MARATHON and my body might just need some time to repair.

 

Today I again woke up and got the gym before work. Two days in a row! I went to Signature Strength for the first time in over a month. WOOOOWZA. First, I can't stand the teacher. Apprently in my adsence the instructors changed. I loooved the old instructor. She was BA. The new instructor is all rainbows and sunshine. Over that. The new lady is tough still, so that's good... but, I definitely miss the old instructor.

 

Anyway-- in today's class I REALLY noticed just how beat up my body is still from the marathon. Squats and lunges that used to be SO EASY (granted, they'd leave me mega sore the next day, but still) were SOOOOO TOUGH today. I had to not go as deep and slow down a ton. My legs were FEELING it before the first set was over. Luckily, we didn't just focus on legs today and my arms and abs got a pretty good workout too. I'm SURE I'll be sore tomorrow... and, honestly-- I'm kinda looking forward to it. I MISS that "OMG! I'M SO SORE!" feeling. I miss feeling like I can TELL my body's getting stronger from a good workout.

 

So, I'm still on Dr.Hub's direct no-running-til-Thursday orders. UUUUUUGH. But, I'm determined not to sit and pout... I'm going to keep up the cross training and some strength. Hopefully Thursday's run feels good. Fingers crossed.