Am I Goofy or What? Week #16 Training Recap

This recap is brought to you by…
My Favorite Christmas Tradition!

Most people things it doesn’t look good, but I love it!
Or at least, our families version of it. This meal was made my aunts and cousins. My grandmother and mother used to make it every Christmas Eve since I can remember, and I can’t wait to learn how to make it myself because I want to keep the tradition as a part of our family. It is homemade flatbread, pinto beans with spices, sauerkraut with dumplings (or mushrooms!), and mashed sweet and regular potatoes. We also had cranberry sauce, prunes and delicious spiced red wine.
This Eastern-European dinner is traditionally a meatless feast whose preparations begin early on Christmas Eve. It is a solemn meal that brings the family together, sometimes from hundreds of miles away. Dinner doesn’t begin until the first star of the evening is sighted, a job customarily given to the young children of the household to keep them occupied while dinner is prepared. Prayers are followed by a blessing with a clove of garlic dipped in honey. The head of the household dips the garlic in honey and makes the sign of the cross on everyone’s forehead as a reminder to keep Christ foremost in their lives. Yes, we still do this every Christmas Eve.
 
We were all pretty tired after that:
Grace & her favorite Christmas present.
Last week you will remember, I came up with a plan. And I’ve been on track with that! As for weight loss, please see the above tradition and know that I did not lose any weight this week.

Am I Goofy or what?! My Weekly Training Recap:  
  • SAT 12/24 – MIT Ugly Sweater Holiday Run – 4 Miles in 54 minutes; 13:32 pace
  • MON 12/26 – 20 mile run in 5 hours 20 minutes; 16 minute pace

I’m kind of bummed because my Garmin died at Mile 19. I wanted to see my splits. I have to charge it to recover the information that is hopefully on there through 19 and I haven’t yet. From what I remember, Miles 1-4 were difficult (as usual) and I was wondering how the heck I was going to run 16 more. Miles 4-8 were awesome and I got into a rhythm of running. While thinking, I worked out a strategy that if I could run/walk/crawl four miles an hour and feel okay, I will make it under the seven hour time frame for the full in Disney. I still felt pretty good for Miles 8-12, but was starting to feel tired by Mile 12. Thankfully, my Dad and sister met me at my car with a banana and – to my surprise – my sister was dressed to run! She ran Miles 12-16with me and I was struggling by this point (did I mention that the first two miles of every four mile loop were uphill). I figured I would take it from Judiand play big or go home. And yes, Judi, I wasat Ohio Health. So, by the times I ran Miles 16-20 I was pretty much spent and did a lot of walking, which worries me a little since I slowed down so much. I was so happy to finish! I am feeling confident about the Goofy now. Surprisingly (and oh-so-thankfully) my knee is fine today, but my foot and quads are really hurting. Since when did I get a foot issue?!
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas! Did you race or run? How did it go? 
Until the next mile marker, 
 


Am I Goofy or What? Week #14 Training Recap

This recap is brought to you by…
The Spirit of Christmas Train!

Yesterday, I was happy to visit the Byesville Scenic Railwayin Guernsey County. The excursion, which is manned by a completely volunteer staff, was like taking a step back in time. The train was trimmed throughout with lights, evergreens, Christmas decorations and carols – including a visit from Santa himself for the youngsters – but, I actually enjoyed the historical aspect of the trip the most. At one time dozens of deep coal mines existed south of Cambridge, employing thousands of miners. The route of the Byesville Scenic Railway was originally built as the “Marietta & Pittsburgh” Railway during 1871-1873. The main purpose for the building of the rail line was to haul coal from the once numerous deep mines south of Cambridge. The original line was 103 miles long; originating in Marietta, Ohio. In the early part of the 1900’s, these mines generated hundreds of carloads of coal every day for the Marietta Branch. There were a total of twelve deep mines located along the 3.5 mile route we travelled.  Along the way, you can still see several roadbeds of the tracks that once switched away from the mainline and went to the now abandoned mines, as well as more of the Ohio countryside.
On the ride, we learned about what Christmas was like over 100 years ago, which I found particularly fascinating. We take so much for granted today. Back then, a child would have treasured a rag doll (for a girl); a wooden carved airplane (for a boy) or even an orange or pear. These items would have been cherished for a lifetime and passed down to future generations. The Christmas tree was usually an evergreen branch cut from the forest and simply decorated with popcorn strands, old rags and paper stars dipped in wax. People back then, coming from Communist Europe, grew their own food in gardens (that they could keep for themselves) and only ate meat on occasion when a pig or lamb might be slaughtered, especially during the holidays. The minors survived on mashed potato or baked bean sandwiches, always leaving a portion of their lunch to carry home in case of a cave-in. 
We also visited the Charles Dickens’ Victorian Village in Cambridge and did some antique shopping, which was really fun.  We also captured this gem:
 



 And that, my friends, is where you may want to stop reading this recap. The rest is not happy at all!
Am I Goofy or what?! My Weekly Training Recap:  

I didn’t run this week. Not at all. After my 18 miler last week, my knee has been tender and I have developed some new pain on the bottom/side of my left foot. I’m afraid I might have to check in with doctor on this one. I don’t want to mess up my ability to run the races in January. I thought resting would help and it has my knee, but not my foot. This is partially why longer runs are such a struggle for me. My knee (and now foot) makes it difficult! So, no HBBC points for me. Although, I think I did get some vegetables in last week! That counts for something, right?
So, remember those 4 lbs I lost last week? Yeah, they came back pretty quick, I’m afraid:
My Weekly Weight Loss:
 
Sometimes I just want to give up on weight loss. Be happy with who I am. But I know I can do this. 
Until the next mile marker, 
 

Am I Goofy or What? Week #13 Training Recap

This recap is brought to you by…
Laurie and Me!!
After what was a horrible training week for me, Laurie and I ran-walked-moved for 18 miles on Sunday! It was a PDR for Laurie and she reached a 1,000 moving miles for 2011 – go congratulate her on these amazing accomplishments! For me, it was a huge confidence booster to run-walk for 18 miles, even though it was a little slower than I had hoped. We finished in 4 hours and 44 minutes. I was feeling good until about 14 miles when I hit a wall and every step started to hurt. Laurie really pulled me through by keeping my mind off what we were doing and talking to me about anything but the run. It was so helpful. I think it is funny that our halfway point was so close to the car (Mile 9), but we turned around and went all the way back instead:
It was definitely a fun and eventful run. At ½ a mile Laurie had to wade through mud puddles while I jumped over a ravine (awesome for Runner’s Knee, of course) and we both got freaked out by live sheep and a dead deer – in the same area. We stopped in the Westerville Rec Center on the way out and back to refuel and relieve too. Then, also in Westerville, we ran into the Holiday Parade and even saw Santa. He waved at us from atop his floating sleigh. Here are some scenes from the parade (sorry, I couldn’t stop again to get a picture of Santa!):
Horses.
Corvettes.
We were the only parade-goers in running clothes that I saw. We should have just joined in at the end for our return trip!  
Am I Goofy or what?! My Weekly Training Recap:  
  • TUES 11/29 Run for time; 1 mile in 20 minutes; Stopped due to knee pain.
  • SUN 12/04Ran-walked 18 miles in 4 hours 45 minutes; 15:44 pace per mile.

 AND…

I am very pleased to announce that I have reinstated my Losing It column as a means of getting back on track with weight loss. Not to mention, the HBBC is helping to hold me accountable for eating healthy! Drumroll please…


My Weekly Weight Loss:

YAY! I’ve been tracking what I eat with FatSecret because it is really easy to use as a mobile app, watching portion sizes and consuming a lot of water! So very excited about this!

I hope you all had a beautiful weekend. Did anyone participate in a holiday run? 


Until the next mile marker, 
 


In Case You Missed It:

Tired of the same old music, weather and traffic on your morning or evening commutes? Check out my weekly reports on Pace Per Mile Radio a station created for endurance athletes! In case you missed my introductory post, you can read it HERE. Stay tuned for this week’s report coming soon.





Am I Goofy or What? Week #12 Training Recap

This recap is brought to you by…
 
The Ohio Theatre! 
 
 
The Theatre was my favorite place to visit as a kid. It was always so beautiful to me as a child – and still is! Although, it is a little smaller than I remember. Still, it has that Olde World charm and prestige that just makes me smile
 
Vist http://capa.com/venues/ohio-theatre for more photos and info.

My father got us tickets to see Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. I have seen this play a few times as a child and it has never ceased to be a source of wonder for me. It is probably my favorite Christmastime play. And, it did not disappoint me this year. I loved it and enjoyed getting to see it again, this time with an adult perspective. We had awesome seats, about the third row and pretty much dead center. Michael and I went to the Spaghetti Warehouse for dinner afterwards, which was really good and a nice change from leftover turkey. Thank you to my Dad for a wonderful day. We really enjoyed it!
  
 Am I Goofy or what?! My Weekly Training Recap:
  • THURS 11/24 Flying Feather Four Miler in 53 minutes 19 seconds; 13:19 pace per mile.
  • FRI 11/25Run for time, 2.66 miles in 45 minutes on Treadmill. 
 
Not exactly a spectacular training week, I must say. I don’t feel good about it at all. I know I overate this holiday too, which doesn’t help any. This is a new week, though, and I will get back on track! I just want the holiday season to be over, honestly, I am not good at resisting temptation and laziness! And, I really need to work on those healthy eating points for the HBBC Challenge! 🙁
 
How are you all staying accountable this holiday season? Tell me in the comments!
 
Until the next mile marker, 
 

 

HBBC Challenge 2011 and A (nother) Winner!

The holidays are [rapidly!] approaching – we are already into the second week of November! I don’t know about you, but I am not ready for the holidays at all. And, I don’t really feel like I will be into the holiday spirit this year. To think that Christmas (Yikes! I said Christmas on my blog!) is just over a month away is kind of freaking me out.
I feel like I might be a Scrooge this year….!
The holidays pose several challenges for me year after year, particularly relating to health and fitness. It seems like it is a never-ending stream of parties, get-togethers, socials and other happenings. There is food – and not the healthy kind – and drinks. Sweet treats, rich dips and cheeses, lavish spreads and more choices and dishes than I can handle. I overeat at the holidays and if I don’t gain a few pounds (the average American gains five pounds every holiday season), I certainly do not lose any. I have a problem with self control, I guess.
Not to mention, my running and workouts take a hit too. It seems like around the holidays, everything else comes first. This is not to say that family, work and friends’ parties are not important, but they quickly become the priority and I don’t get out and run – or get out and anything, for that matter. Combine that with all the food and drink and voila – more weight, less run. I can’t do that this holiday season with the Goofy coming up in January! I needto stay on track.
Enter the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge 2011 brought to you by Run to the Finish:
Here is what Amanda at Run to the Finish has to say about the Fourth Annual Challenge:
I love this challenge because it provides added incentive to find time for workouts, find room for veggies and feel good through the holiday season. We’ve all seen the reports that the average American gains and maintains 5lbs every holiday season…that is not the gift that I want to receive or give! Amazingly a lot of people find that with this challenge they end up being MORE active than before because what you measure you change…and suddenly measuring your activity really gets you going!

I did it last year and while I didn’t win any prizes, it was still a lot of fun to track my progress and rack up the points! It definitely helped hold me accountable for eating smart and staying active. And, a little healthy competition keeps us all motivated when the going gets tough. The best part? It’s free and anyone can participate! What are you waiting for? Sign up today! The challenge runs from Nov 19 to Jan 6 so you are covered for all of the major holidays.  
Unfortunately, the original winner of the DivaCup did not respond so I picked a new winner this evening. Let’s hope this one goes better…so, per the Random Number Generator…
CONGRATULATIONS TO…
Rachel!
Who said:
Email me please, Rachel, at sara@wordstorunby.com by midnight on Sunday, November 13, 2011 and I will put you in touch with DivaCup to claim your prize! Congratulations!
I hope to see you all at the HBBC Challenge 2011!
Until the next mile marker,