Slow start to the year.....

So much for posting more frequently in 2015. I put my lap top next to my bed so I would be more tempted to post when I crawled into bed to escape the coldness of the winter. But I've been reading quite a few books this year, so the laptop has been ignored.

Another downfall to ignoring the laptop is I haven't been logging my (almost) daily weigh-ins. I've been stepping on the scale for the most part (and mainly horrified with what I saw - more on that later) so didn't feel the need to record it. My laptop takes a while to get logged on, so I would do it while the kids were eating breakfast. So back downstairs the laptop will go.

Yes, the eating has been pretty horrible so far in 2015. I continue to be very busy at work, which has resulted in numerous all day meetings - in which breakfast and/or lunch are brought in, or we get a break for lunch and I am so mentally drained that I want to buy lunch instead of eating what I brought. Last week I bought my lunch FOUR times, and that included a regular 12 oz Coke each day! AND I was going home and snacking heavily while making dinner.

Needless to say, the scale was awful last Saturday - like into the 190s awful. But I went to Weight Watchers AND I got on the scale. I am continuing my promise to go to WW as many weeks as I can this year and step on the scale every time. Running on Saturday is no longer an excuse not to go to WW.

I have told myself that I want to run at least 2x a week and run at least 10 miles a week.

Jan 1 I did my 10K, so I ran 3.8 miles on the treadmill that Sunday. I got the Gilmore Girls series for Christmas, so 1 episode is 43 minutes. So it will be nice to see how the distance I run in 43 minutes may change, though I am pretty much a treadmill wimp. I can't run as fast on it as I can outside.

Last week I planned on getting up and running and just couldn't bring myself to get out of bed, even though everything was laid out. Finally for Friday morning the running group was doing 4 miles, so I jumped in. Sunday I knew I had to do 6 miles and the bike path is now iced over, so I had to do it in our neighborhood. Most of the streets around me are narrow and windy, so I have to do some backtracking - I fit in 6 miles, but I will need 7 miles as well so adding in an extra mile will be serious backtracking. Mental toughness!

This week was more of the same - bed was just too inviting. I did get up at 4:40 am Thursday but there was a coating of snow and ice outside, so I bailed on the group. And I went back to bed....for 2 hours.

I forced myself to get up this morning because I wanted to stick to my 10 miles. I did 3.8 on the treadmill. So I will do a 10K distance, at least on Sunday. It is supposed to rain, but I will be out there!

Eating has been a little bit better this week, not perfect. I did bring my lunch downstairs to eat with a friend, and I ate sensibly when she and I went out yesterday. I didn't weigh myself this morning, so not sure what the scale will be like tomorrow morning.

A New Year

Bye-bye 2014. Not sad to see you go!

We had fun celebrating on New Year's Eve, but I didn't stay up until midnight. I was tired and I had 6.22 miles to race the next morning.

 

I have done this race before, last year and 3 years ago. But I hadn't done the 10K before. A year ago I decided that I should do the 10K. I knew it would be mentally tough because it is 2 loops of the 5K. And half of the race is a long a river. On January 1st = cold and windy!

I got there very early because last year there was a ton of traffic and parking isn't right close to the venue. I had drunk a ton of water before I left because I had a lot of salty food on NYE, so the chilly port-a-potties were needed. 

After getting my bib, I walked back to my car to get my FlipBelt and my headphones, and to grab a Gu. I had forgotten my waffle and PB sandwich when I first got there and now it was too late to eat it (I had had one when I woke up 3 hours before), so I was glad I had the Gu.

Even before the race, I was wondering if I would not do the 10K and stop at the 5K. But I knew I had to decide before the race started so I knew what pace to run. The 10K it would be.

I passed the 5K finish around 32 minutes, so I would have had a course PR but not a 5K PR (which I wouldn't have been expecting), and I kept on going. Yes it was mentally tough, but I kept thinking it would just be another 32+ minutes.

I wasn't 100% sure what my PR was - I am pretty sure it was 1:13 for the Heartbreak Hill 10K and 1:09 for a flat 6.22 miles on the bike path during training. I ran yesterday in 1:07:29 so a PR definitely!

I felt great after the race!

Last night I spent time thinking about potential running goals even though I said I wouldn't have any. I thought about doing a 1/2 over Memorial Day weekend so back tracked to see when I would have to start training - I figured I could start at the end of March as long as I was consistently running 6-7 miles over the weekends - which would mean I would have to run additional for my 3-part race (Feb 22, March 1, March 8).

But I wasn't overly excited about the thought of training. Right now the race is $85 so I didn't sign up. I may sign up before it goes up, but may not be 100% committed to doing it.

And then waking up this morning and hobbling to the bathroom reminded me even more about why I may not/ should not train for another half. My foot usually hurts for a couple of days, which is part of which prevented me from running more times a week.

So right now I am not going to think about a 1/2 or even running more. I am going to do my own thing. I can't run with my running partner because she is training for a full in May, and I can't run a lot with the running group because they run Saturday mornings and Monday mornings and I need to go to WW on Saturdays and do my long runs on Sundays (and thus want to rest on Mondays).

So back to my true immediate goal: Get rid for the 5-7 lbs I have gained since the end of September.