Happy Easter!

Easter isn't a big deal in our house. When it is later in the season I do go out, but March is just so early (thankfully it wasn't the 22nd, the earliest it can be). We had some reason unseasonably warm weather earlier in the month, but not lately. So I was just not feeling it. I just wanted the day to be over so I could concentrate more on the trip!

 I spent a good amount of time in the kitchen on Saturday (everything we do serve is cold or room temperature) so I could get out and do this on Sunday morning. Last year I waited for the kids to get up and open their baskets before heading out, but they've been sleeping in more so I didn't want to wait. I had 6.27 miles to run (the random number would bring me to a whole number).

I chose a rail trail near us. It isn't completely flat - it rises 100 feet over the 3.14 miles I ran - but then you lose it on the way back!

This is the rail trail I ran 13.1 miles last spring 5 days after my dad died. I hadn't been on it since. I've lost so much stamina since then, but my legs were tired from the hilly 5 miles I did on Friday. So now I am at a whopping 43 miles for the YEAR - last year I ran 51 miles in January alone.

Next weekend I am going to do 7 miles around town and then the weekend after I may do the hilly 7 miles from my house. Then I will be ready for the runDisney 10K!!!!

Once I got home, it was go, go, go before my mom and brother came over. The kids enjoyed their egg hunt, and didn't eat any of their lunch, except dinner.

But Easter is over and the trip is 17 days away!!!!!

Less than 3 weeks!!

I can't believe that the trip is less than 3 weeks away. The bad part is TOM came on Tuesday which means I will have it for the majority of the cruise. But I won't let it get me down!

This week has been an odd week. The basement did start - horray! They worked on the framing Monday - Wednesday, but couldn't do anything more until the HVAC guy comes - he is coming Saturday.

I was supposed to run Wednesday morning but the 1 person I was going with bagged out at 4:25 am. Grrr.... But I did get in 5 miles this morning - in daylight because the kids were at my moms for the night since they don't have school today, Good Friday. I am hoping to get out for some miles in Easter - not sure how many since I don't know how my legs will feel since I haven't run in almost 2 weeks.

Eating has been pretty awful this week - I haven't even looked at the scale. I will got to WW in the morning, but may not weigh-in. Once Easter is over, I sware I am not eating sugar until vacation!

I signed up for another race(s) this week. Runner's World announced another runners weekend - 2 years ago I did the 10K which was on Heartbreak Hill (a portion of the Boston Marathon race). It was my first 10K. Everyone was hoping they would come back last year and they didn't. This week they announced a weekend in mid-July at a college near me - so no trudging into Boston. I signed up for the "5&10" which is a 5K at 7 am and a 10K at 8:30...in mid-July. I am a little crazy. If closer to the race I don' t feel ready I won't do the 5K.

So my "upcoming" races are:
April 16 - 10K in Disney
April 22 - 5K in Castaway Cay (so I can say I've done an International Race (ie the Bahamas)
May 29 - 5 miler Run to Remember - Boston
June 26 - BAA 10K (need to sign up for in early April)
July 3- Finish at the 50 - 5K
July 16 - 5K/10K
August 6 - Beach to Beacon 10K

After Labor Day I will decide if I want to do a 1/2 in December

Happy Easter!

Hanging out in bathing suits.....

It has been far from a great week and with TOM on the horizon, the week shouldn't really be shaping up, but once it arrives I always do feel a lot better.

Last week was full of a lot of work stress, excitement (and disappointment) regarding our basement project, and looking forward to 1 1/2 days of at the end of the week to go to Great Wolf Lodge and celebrate my son turning 7.

After a beautiful weekend last weekend, the weather turned raw and nasty and brought everyone's mood down. I worked from home Tuesday - Thursday and ate like crap! And because I have no real junk food, I was creative - like dark chocolate bits, and lots of peanut butter crackers.

So by the time we left on Thursday afternoon, I was definitely feeling bloated and gross, but I wasn't going to let that get me down. We had all been looking forward to the trip for a long time and I knew I wouldn't be the biggest person there, so I was just going to put on my tankinis and act like a kid and that is what I did!

We all got to try out our 2 new bathing suits for the cruise. I loved how they felt. I can NOT wait to be swimming in the waters of the Caribbean in just a few weeks. We've been waiting for this trip for SO long!

The 1 night trip did remind me of some things - we didn't eat dinner until almost 8:30 and by 10:00 I was in bed - my body does not like that! I am used to eating fairly early so I woke up at 2:00 with a really sick feeling stomach and didn't sleep well for the rest of the night. I need to be reminded of that before our trip to not eat so late! Thankfully we are in the early seating for dinner.

One thing that didn't happen at all this week was running.  It was drizzly and cold last week. And while I laid out my stuff for a 6 mile run on Sunday morning, when my alarm went off at 6:30, it was 23 with a feel of 17. On the first day of Spring. I just don't want to risk bronchitis so close to the trip. We had plans to go to my mom's to work on her house, otherwise I would have gotten the run in later in the day.

We were "blessed" with snow this morning. The first full day of Spring. A lot of towns didn't have school today - thankfully we did. Otherwise, 1 more snow day would have brought up to the last day of school on a Monday - no one wants that! And the snow didn't stop the contractors, because they actually started our basement project today!!!!!!

Race series complete

The third race, a 5-miler, was today so the series is complete.

I did not adhere to my "night before a race" protocol - I went out to dinner (though not Mexican like 2 weeks ago) and even though I drank a ton of water, I still felt really dehydrated during the race. It was almost 60 degrees (I didn't wear the top below, I actually wore a tank top).

I had a lot of negative thoughts during the race (like 'What makes you think you want to sign up for all those races'). But I trudged through and finished in 1:01:44. It was the first time I had run over an hour in a 5 mile race :(

But I have a ton of improvement I can do by next year!!

On to the next race - a 10K in Disney. I did get into my 10K in Maine in August, and in early April I will register for a 10K in June.

Now I just need to continue running to prepare for the 10K - 6 flat miles this coming weekend. I was hoping to get out Tuesday morning but it is supposed to be raw and raining, so maybe not!

Gaffe

2016 Races (???)

I keep trying to think about 2014 when I loved running and what has happened since then to change my mind. Some thoughts are:
1) For the most part I was running on completely flat ground (rail trail)
2) Training for my 1st half meant new distances to look forward to
3) I was 30 lbs lighter
4) I was running on my own - no one to answer to
5) I wasn't waking up at 4:30 in the morning which meant more sleep (which can have an effect on #3)
6) I ran a ton of races, most of which included bling, so I had things to look forward to

2015 brought more weight gain, of the few races I did not many had bling, and I had to drop out of too many races, and I was running actual terrain (which is harder anyways, even harder when you gain weight).

But it is 2016 now, 2 months in. Losing weight isn't happening, but I CAN do something I enjoy. I can run more races, those that have bling, and I can try to have more control over where and when I run. I can't do that during the week because I am not going to run in the dark on my own. But I can take ownership of my long runs on Sundays (which were severely lacking after mid-May when I ran 13.1).

1) 1st Run 5k - January 1, 2016 - DONE
2) 3 Miler - February 28, 2016 - DONE
3) 4 Miler - March 6, 2016 - DONE
4) 5 Miler - March 13, 2016 - coming this weekend

Then I will continue to 6 miles and do 6-7 miles per weekend, even if it is flat, to prepare for my 10K

5) Star Wars 10K - April 16, 2016
May do a 5K on the Cruise
May run a local 5K the day after we return
6) 5 Miler Run to Remember - Memorial Day Weekend
7) BAA 10K - June 26 - I needed a June race and since I am not around for the BAA5K, I'll try it - It doesn't go on the Boston Marathon course, but still will be fun
8) Finish on the 50 5K - July 3, 2016 - This ends on the 50 yard line of Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots - I've wanted to do this for a few years, but it has been on a weekday the last few years and hard to get to after work with holiday traffic - this year is a Sunday so I figure this is the year to do it
9) local 5K I've done the last 2 years - mid-July
10) Beach to Beacon 10K - Registration is this week and sells out in 4 minutes - I hope I get in! If not, I may forego an August race
11) local 5K - September
12) 6.66 race - Salem, MA - end of October - I've had 2 DNS with this race - I really want to try it!
13) turkey trot - day after Thanksgiving
14) ??????1/2 Marathon in early December - I won't decide until the summer or later - I'd need to up my mileage in September, but not drastically so until October. It is a hilly course, but has a nice late date to allow minimal summer training.

I was supposed to run this morning - I went to bed early and when I woke up a few people had bailed at 4 am so I expected the 1 remaining person (who acknowledged at 4 am she knew they were bailing but never said what she was going to do) bailed too - after all I was a definite to join. So I am planning another early bed hour.

2 races down, 1 to go

The 4 miler is done. The last mile was rough and slow, even though it was completely flat. I was full of self doubt and was ready to through in the towel and never run more than 3 miles at a time. But I got through it and I bolted to the finish line and loved every minute of getting my latest medal.

I was definitely was better prepared this week:
-I had pasta for dinner (albeit at a restaurant), not Mexican
-I didn't wear my running group shirt, which isn't very foregiving
-I remembered my sunglasses
-I didn't have keys or my ID in my FlipBelt, so I wasn't worrying about anything falling out

I do wish I had worn a short sleeve shirt. It was chilly at the start even at 11 am, but after 48 minutes the sun was beating down on me.

And by the evening I was plotting out my race schedule for the year, which may or may not include another Half Marathon (this would be in early December, on a quite hilly course, so I wouldn't even up my mileage until after Labor Day).

But for now I need to concentrate on re-building my endurance because it is GONE :(  Next weekend is the 5 mile race and then I will up to 6-7 miles and continue that until we go on our trip during which I have a 10K.

I just need to get back my running mojo I had in 2014 and to me that means more races (though in 2016 I had to have DNS on just as many races as I did start).

But I also need to get back in the habit of losing weight and I don't have success doing that when I am running a lot.

But I feel like it has been a big circle - I haven't wanted to run because I am not running as well because I've gained weight and I haven't been eating well which doesn't allow me to run as well, but I also haven't been compelled to lose weight because because I haven't been running and I am not constantly being reminded of what a hindrence my weight-gain has been on my running.

I did got to WW on Saturday. She said I stayed the same when I knew I had lost 2 lbs, but I forgot the previous week I had taken a non-weigh in because I knew I had gained 2 lbs the week after my 3-day cleanse.

1 race down, 2 to go....

The struggle continues and continues - While the pre-dinner/dinner eating is fairly under control, it is only because it has been replaced with afternoon (or even morning eating) which is even worse because those times I am not hungry, it is all stress.

I had a race last Sunday. It was a 3 mile race, and the 1st race of a 3-part series. I did this race 2 years ago. I was supposed to do it last year, but the snow postponed 2 of the races to April.

I ate like crap the week before and went out for Mexican the night before. I usually never go out the night before a race, even for pasta, because restaurant food is so salty, but we had a family night planned so that was the choice of the family.

I also hadn't run at all - like none since February 3rd. But I figured it was only 3 miles, I didn't have to race it, the weather was supposed to be beautiful, and there were a bunch of ladies from my running group going, so I went.

I ran 1:40 slower than I did 2 years ago which I am okay with. There were more hills on the course than there were 2 years ago, so I am okay. What I am not okay with is the post-race picture. Ugh. It comes close to my "before" picture from November 2012 when I was 20 lbs heavier than I am now. I do realize I am squinting in both pictures, but all I can think of is my eyes are smaller because my face is so heavy.

But did I use the picture to do better this week? Not so much. I came home mid-day Monday and had too much to eat. I had brought my lunch Tuesday but had lunch with a friend and bought instead (including a 12-oz soda). I didn't run at all this week. Here I am working from home and hoping to eat normal. And I will have pasta Saturday night for dinner, even if it is at a restaurant because I've got 4 miles to do on Sunday.

This past weekend was nice (hence the short sleeve shirt in the race picture) but this week has been cold. But Spring looks like it will be re-appearing next week, so definitely something to look forward to.