San Diego Women's Half Marathon

So yesterday a jog/walked the San Diego Women's Half Marathon. I LOVED this run!! 

This was my first non-Disney half marathon and I have to say I enjoyed it so much! It was only a couple thousand runners. So there were enough people to have the air ignited with the excitement of the event but it wasn't insanely crowded like a Disney run. It was well organized and staffed with scads of volunteers who did an amazing job. 

There were Race Guards running the course and just making sure that everyone was okay. One of my friends is a race guard and we walked together and chatted for a bit until my timer beeped and I started jogging and he jogged off to encourage other runners. 

The course was flat and scenic, running along the San Diego harbor area. The course had ample water stops with some having Gatorade and Gu gels. One volunteer even had packets of salt which was a godsend at mile 10ish when my legs wanted to cramp. 

I did the run by myself. I left my house at about 4:45 after assuring Vern that there was no reason for him to come out and stand around for hours to cheer me on. I arrived about an hour before start time parked and found the porta potties :) Then I found my friend Mary Joe (Joe's wife) at the race guard tent and got a hug and some encouraging chit chat before making my way to the start corrals. I watched the sun come up while waiting to start. 

I'm always struck by the hush that falls over the crowd when out national anthem is sung, and it always makes me cry...this time was no different. 

And then we were off!! 13.1 miles of awesomeness. I ran my race. I chatted with a few ladies along the way. I met a gal from one of my Facebook groups. She was faster and the course criss crossed back on itself in several areas so we saw each other several times during the race, high five'ing each other each time. 

I ran my intervals. I thought about my mom and dad. I thought about a lot of things. I stopped to take a couple of photos. I enjoyed the scenery and the warmth of the sun on my face. I even enjoyed the ache in my legs as my muscles worked. At mile 10 it became tough. My legs started to cramp and I realized I forgot to stick a mustard packet in my pocket....that won't happen again! A sweet lady at a water stop asked me if I wanted a salt packet and I almost hugged her!

Those last 3 miles, Jeff Galloway was in my head saying "Just get through it one walk break at a time" and that's what I did. 

My finish time was a personal best for me. 3:11:05....finally under 3:30 and heading toward under 3 hours!! I am sore this morning but my heart is full and proud. 

Next race is St Patricks Day weekend....1/2 marathon. 

Impromptu Saturday

Whew! Saturday was a busy day! I went for a seven mile "run" in the morning. I say "run" because I was playing around with different walk/run intervals and how they affect my pace. I really don't care so much about being faster. I just want to be able to keep under the pace requirements for races and still have fun and be healthy. So anyway....seven miles in the morning. 

We planned on working yesterday but after an hour at the shop we decided to postpone work until today and head up to Disneyland. I wasn't really prepared food wise for an impromptu outing so I had to wing it. I was mindful in my choices and I tracked everything. I used 11weekly points but I earned 14 activity points. I'm pleased with how I did. 

So today I need to fit in a few hours of work, a few loads of laundry, a bit of grocery shopping and some food prep....lol. No sweat!

I have two buttons in my bowl :)

Saturday Check In

I'm adding a button to my dish for each day that I stay on plan. I finished the week with 7 buttons in my dish. I lost 1.8 pounds at weigh in. I'm back!!

This was dinner last night. How did I go my entire life not knowing about the amazingness of nutritional yeast!?!

Having a successful week under my belt has motivated me and boosted my resolve to keep going. I'm looking forward to this next week :)

Here I go again....

Okay....here I am. Confession time. I haven't posted here because I've been so off track! 

Friday was a turning point (again) for me. I am tired of feeling crappy about my choices. I'm done making excuses. I'm ready to lose this weight and have a healthy body. 

Yes, the past couple of years have been a huge struggle for this emotional eater. Watching my parents' health decline and not only losing them but then dealing with the family drama that ensued as people's' true colors were revealed has been one of the most difficult seasons of my life. But there are always going to be difficulties to face. There will always be seasons when it's one step forward and two steps back ....it's life and I am determined to pick myself up, brush myself off, and continue on this journey to a healthy life. 

So I'm back, doing the plan (Weight Watchers) like a newbie as of Friday. I have decided that I am worth it. 

Splenda...

An interesting thing happened yesterday. We stopped at Starbucks for a latte after our run. I thought I ordered a nonfat regular latte but it was vanilla when I got it. Vern said he heard me say vanilla so I thought, "What the heck? It's one latte so I'll just drink it this way."

Apparently, it was the sugar free syrup because by 8:00 last night my legs were aching so much I could barely keep them still. They ached all night and are still achy and sore this morning. This is a different kind of sore than you get from working a muscle. This is like the bones are aching. 

I don't know why my body reacts this way to Splenda....but it does. No more for me!!

We're trying to get back into the swing of things at work while also getting ready to take a couple more days off next week for The Tinkerbell Half Marathon weekend at Disneyland. I didn't think this schedule through very well when I planned our holiday time off! So, it's a bit chaotic. But I'm excited about the upcoming runs!!

I'm planning to pack our ice chest with some healthy food choices for me. Planning food choices, planning costumes for the runs, planning what else to take.....eeeeek!! 

Food choices have been on again, off again....mostly on. 

I need to get serious again about working through my devotional and getting my head in the right place in my relationship to food. 

So much  to do. So much to think about....maybe if I didn't need sleep :)

Update for Saturday 1/4/2014

Started the day with a 10K training run. The Tinkerbell Half Marathon weekend is in 2 weeks!!!! Eeeeeeek!!

Before going out for my run I had a smoothie made with Weight Watchers Creamy Coconut smoothie mix, skim milk, a banana and a few chunks of mango. 

I have recently realized that a latte is the perfect recovery drink for me. The combination of milk and caffeine recharges me really well. So after my run I made myself a latte from skim milk and a couple of Starbucks Christmas Blend Via packs. I ate two Cutie Oranges while I waited for the milk to heat. 

Our car is still in the shop so later in the day we walked over to the shopping center to find some white basketball shorts for my costume for the half marathon. Found them for $6.88......SCORE!!

I made myself a late lunch of steamed sweet potatoes topped with a lentil/vegetable stew that I made and had in the fridge. I added a couple of wedges of laughing cow cheese to give it a creamy texture. So yummy!!

My evening snack was a bowl of frozen banana and mango chunks blended wit a splash of skim milk to the consistency of ice cream :)

Day two of Simply Filling back on track....Done!

My Fitbit showed a total of 19,428 steps, 9.1 miles, and 17 floors climbed. 9 Active Link Points. 

Happy New Year 2014

New Year, fresh commitment, here we go

Update for Friday 1/3/2014

I was up 2 pounds at my WW meeting. No surprise there. My WW meeting always feels like the start of a fresh new week and a new beginning. This one was no different. I'm ready to put the holidays behind me, to leave 2013, and all of the stress of losing my Mom, in the past..and move forward. I'm ready to embrace a new year , renewed goals, and a fresh commitment to a healthy lifestyle. 

We're 3 days in and I've hit my goal of at least three miles a day and 10,000 steps each day. Yay!!

I've embraced the idea of the "Simple Start" plan that WW rolled out for the new year. I'm not strictly doing Simple Start as it's just a bit too restrictive for me. I am, however, using the premise and the materials as resources as I do "Simply Filling," the plan that Simple Start is derived from. 

So here's my meals and tracker for Friday:

I had coffee and a banana before my walk. 

For brunch I sautéed some onion and pepper and added kale and 1/2 cup cooked brown rice. When it was ready to eat I made a hole in the middle, added a bit of water for steam, and cracked 2 eggs into it. When the eggs were poached I transferred it all to a plate and added some fat free cheddar cheese. It was so good! I had an orange to finish with something sweet. 

For dinner I made a pasta sauce with 95% lean ground beef, onions, black beans, yellow squash, diced tomatoes, and spaghetti sauce from a jar. I served it over 1/2 cup of whole wheat spaghetti and broiled eggplant, with fat free mozzarella grated over it...it was so yummy!!

My evening snack was cutie orange segments. 

My portions were bigger than they really needed to be....today I will work on that. I am going to try and be very intentional about recognizing and honoring that moment when I pause, take a breath, and realize that I'm satisfied and it's time to stop eating. 

I tried on my running skirt for the Tinkerbell half marathon and I could REALLY see the weight that I've gained when I looked in the mirror...talk about fresh motivation!!! :)