So this diet thing...

...is back on the rails again.  Well, I hope so anyway.

And I hope this dress isn't too Star Trek TNG-y

Since my spring marathon in April I have been taking some gastronomic liberties, adding back food that can only be described as "crap" into my diet because, after all, marathon training cancels all that out, right?

Nope.  This seems to be a weight-loss lesson that I am doomed to re-learn over and over again: eat crap, gain weight.  I gained back about 4-5 pounds that I had lost for my spring marathon....whilst training for a marathon the entire time, mind you.  (This is why the "you run so you can eat whatever you want" line never works with me.  Ever.) But since I had still been monitoring my weight daily by stepping on the scale every morning at 3:30 AM (!), I knew that this was happening and, once I came out of denial ("something must be wrong with this scale!!"), decided to do something about it.  Below is a list of those decided somethings:

1) Take myself off store-bought treats.  I freaking love anything sugary, especially if it comes in chocolate form, and I was hitting that stuff way too hard. (FYI, the dogs are also off store-bought treats, so we're in this together.)

2) If I wanted any kind of treat, I had to make it myself so I could make it with known non-weight-gaining ingredients.  Example: this ugly but edible pudding pie below that looks like it's just chocolate but really has vanilla, banana creme, and chocolate sugar-free jello layers in it and is freaking amazing.

3) Re-establish my love affair with my crock pot.  I had been making casseroles for lunch and dinner that really weren't all that healthy, so I decided to go back to crock-potting it with simple, good ingredients.  Example: Steak tostadas with enough jalapeno peppers in them to set your eyes aflame just looking at them.

YUMMO

Since making these changes, I am happy to announce that I have lost 3 of those previously-lost pounds...and did it without being on Medifast as well.  I did have about three days of sugar withdrawal symptoms that were not unlike quitting smoking...which reinforced the addictive nature of that sweet stuff and why it was a good idea to cut myself off from it.  While my goal was to lose 5 pounds by the time the Dallas half marathon came around (next weekend), I'm still pretty happy with these results.  My ultimate weight loss goal right now is to be down to the weight I was in the picture below by the time I end my next marathon training cycle...not because of getting healthy, but so I can PR the crap out of my spring marathon.  Priorities, people.

1st Half Marathon WHAAA

That means I have about 15 more pounds to lose by the end of April.  I'd say that's doable...and I'd say I have a lot of work to do.  Time to stare down that work and get it done.

15 pounds and a marathon PR...
I'm coming for you. *STARE*

It's also time for a gratuitous pic of one of my animals and the list of nonlearning learnings that signals the end of a blog post:

You read her post...now imagine having
to live with this woman.

• Eat crap = weight gain, no matter how much you're running.  That's one of my universal weight loss truths.
• Those tostadas were fantastic.  Really.
• That jello pudding pie is also fantastic, and easy for someone baking challenged such as myself to make.
• Have I mentioned how awesome those tostadas were?
• Yes, I really can lose 15 more pounds.  Don't make me show you where all the fat is on my body.
• Tiny dog there has to watch me running in just a sports bra three days a week...she can tell you where all the jiggly fat parts are I need to lose.
• Tiny dog has also obviously been irreparably psychologically harmed by having to watch me work out in just a sports bra.  You can see it in her eyes.

Upcoming workouts: Just a bunch of easy 3-milers this week...Dallas Half Marathon is on Sunday!

My Long Run Logistics

Saturday is my long run day.  Why?  Because trying to cram in a 2.5-3.5 hour run on a Sunday when you leave all your work and housecleaning until Sunday requires a day that is longer than 24 hours long.

During the summer I get up pretty early to get the run done before the heat becomes too obnoxious, and today was no different.  Large dog and I headed out the door at about 6:30 AM and got nine miles in before I could no longer stand the fact that he kept trying to pull me sideways into the ditch with him while I tried to stay moving in a roughly forward direction.  After dropping him off, I slammed out the last 8 solo, feeling pretty good even though by the time I finished it was nearing 10 AM and the sun was all out and starting to blaze.

My God I just want to run without having to counteract his sideways pull.

WHEE 17 hot miles

I honestly didn't feel that bad for the last 8 miles in the heat, as it wasn't humid and there was enough shade along my route to get some relief.  Also, I think I'm getting acclimated to the heat now that it's August and temps will start to cool soon.  Of course.

Anyhoo, a lot of people ask me how I can run all these crazy miles every Saturday.  Most often this question is phrased as "are you NUTS you run that far for fun?!?" but I'm sure they really mean "Gee, Terie, how do you prepare to run all of those miles each weekend like the badass you are?"  Well, to answer the latter, here's the lowdown on my long-run logistics:

1) Make sure you have good shoes.  And by "good" I mean "shoes you pulled out of the back of your closet and decided to run in since you haven't worn them for awhile and they're only 2 versions back from the current brand and model you wear."  In my case, I grabbed a pair of Brooks Launch 4s that looked like they could have used some fresh air.  Tiny dog seemed to approve of this choice as well.

2) Make sure you're wearing comfortable gear.  This means making sure you have clothes on that don't chafe but yet make a definite statement to all of the cars that pass you during your run.  The statement my gear made today was "It's hot and I'm fat and don't give a rat's arse what you think of me running around in just a sports bra and shorts because it is glorious that a shirt is not sticking to me--GLORIOUS I TELL YOU"

My gear apparently had a lot to say today.

3) Never ever ever (ever) forget to bring toilet paper with you on a long run.  I actually bring it on every run, tucked away in my running belt all snuggled up in a plastic bag so my sweat won't destroy it.  Because Mother Nature has the WORST timing for calling me.

4) FOOD.  MUST BRING FOOD.  While I always throw down a banana before I leave the house, I bring my two favorite flavors of gels with me that I buy by the case because I can:

If you're running long, you have to have some nutrition with you or you're going to be in a world o' hurt after about 90 minutes or so.  I may or may not have made this mistake and ended up curling up into a ball on the side of the road once. *ahem*

5) I back off the pace for the first mile or four.  I don't really know why this works for me, but I find that if I just run in the 10s for the first few miles I am pretty much banging out the last few miles well above my planned pace and feeling fantastic while doing it.  This was the case today as well:

Betcha can't tell which miles Mother Nature called me, can you?  Actually, I bet you can.  Glad I had that toilet paper.

6) I plan for my post-run recovery.  This means jumping into a bathtub full of ice-cold water and using my foot massager as I blog about all my running nonsense.

"NNNNNNGGGGHHHHH COLD"

While the ice baths are NOT PLEASANT AT ALL (and occasionally a curious cat falls in the tub with me), they have really helped my sore hip and the sore top of my right foot that had been plaguing me for weeks.  In fact, my hip and foot didn't bother me at all, unless you count when some insect-ish critter had crawled into my right shoe during a Mother Nature stop and then proceeded to bite the hell out of the top of my foot.  Stupid nature.

Speaking of stupid, this post is now over.  You know that because you're about to read about tomorrow's workout below.

Tomorrow's workout: Some spin and some upper-body weights; gotta keep working on the guns, after all.  Oh, and rest my legs or something.

New Shoe Review: Saucony Kinvara 10

If you know anything about me as a runner, you know that I am die-hard Brooks fan.  However, I just sacrilegiously bought a pair of Saucony Kinvara 10s.  Don't tell all 5 of my pairs of Brooks Launch about this, okay?

Oooo purple!

Since I've been experiencing foot and hip problems, I decided to explore some other shoe brands and styles because it's definitely not that I'm running too much causing my running issues, right?  Right.

Anyhoo, let's get back to those Saucony Kinvara 10s.  Because these shoes have a much lower heel drop than I'm used to (a 4 mm drop, compared to the 10 mm drop of me beloved Brooks Launch 6s) and they say you should transition slowly to a low-drop shoe, I went for a 14 mile run in those bad boys because don't tell me what to do in my own shoes, people on the internet that do running for a living and know way more about this than I do.  And let me tell you, 14 miles is enough miles to get to know a shoe.  So, what did I learn about the Kinvara 10?

• I learned that you can tell your heel is much, much lower than normal in this shoe.  I could definitely feel that my heel was lower than normal, but the forefoot of this shoe had ample cushion.  It felt weird at first, but after the first mile I didn't notice the heel lowness, but I did feel the cushion with every step.
• I learned you can have a cushy shoe that is still lightweight.  These shoes never ever felt heavy, unlike my Brooks Ghost 11s which often feel like bricks tied to my feet at the end of a long run.
• I learned that those weird little bumps on the back inner heel of the shoes designed to do...something...with your Achilles feel weird at first.  I don't know if those are on the shoe as some added sales gimmick, but I thought they were going to be a deal-breaker when I first put the shoes on.  Who wants something rubbing against the back of your heels during a run?!?  But I completely forgot about them after the second mile and didn't feel them again.
• I learned that running in a lower heel drop does make your calves kinda way more tired by the end of 14 miles.  My calves were whinier than normal by mile 12, and I kept hearing them whine when I was walking around the county fair later that night.  Maybe I should listen to those internet people from crazy sites like Runner's World saying to ease into low-drop shoes slowly...
• I learned that the roomy feel of this shoe made the top of my foot NOT hurt for once.  I've been having pain along the tendon extending from the big toe, but there was none of that pain yesterday.  It was kind of nice.  And speaking of pain...
• I didn't have any hip pain, either.  I don't know if the shoe was the cause or the profuse icing I did of my hip the night before, but just thought that the lack of pain should be noted. 
• I learned that while these felt light, I didn't get that "fast feet feeling" I do in my Brooks Launch 6.  I like to feel like I can fly in a pair of shoes...while the Kinvaras are light, the push-off wasn't as nimble as I like it to be.  Contrasting the feel to the tempo run I did the other day in my fave pair of Launches, the Kinvara weren't really up to snuff.  They weren't slow-feeling, just not as fast as I'd like them to be.  
• I learned that the white and purple color scheme matched my nonmatching running outfit theme of the day.

What else do you expect when I'm up at 5:30 AM on a Saturday trying to make my brain pick out something in which to run?

Overall, I'm actually pretty pleased with the Kinvara's performance on this run, but my feeling whilst running in them was that I wasn't overly wowed by them.  I would definitely run in them again, but maybe alternate long runs in them or wear them for easier paced shorter runs.  I still prefer the quick pace and pickup feel of the Brooks Launch 6, but the Kinvara 10 still has a place in my running shoe rotation.  Besides--they're purple; I can't NOT wear them.

Tomorrow's workout: Speaking of quick, tomorrow there shall be speed.  But only a little in the form of 200 m repeats.

Sports bras, half marathons, hip pain, and Dr. Google.

I know I say this every time I start blogging again, but I really mean it this time:  I am going to post more regularly from now on.

Even if it's just a picture with one stupid little sentence from the deep recesses of my brain, like this pic from yesterday's 16 mile long run in the heat:

When the dog slobbers all over the front of himself during the run just as much as you sweat....


So expect a lot of what you just saw on here kids.  My sanity these days depends on having some sort of fun and creative outlet, and, unfortunately, you all are going to bear the brunt of my bad sense of humor just so I can maintain the blogging habit again.

But I do have a bit of a longer post planned for today, seeing as some recent running things have happened in my running life:

• I ran a half marathon race in a sports bra and shorts, and
• My right hip has been nagging me with soreness for the past two weeks.

The half marathon was last weekend, and of course it was on a day where we had dangerous heat.  The course had very little shade and, even though it was well-supported, I knew that trying to use the race as a tune-up half to run marathon pace just wasn't going to happen.  So I made my goal just to run my first race in a sports bra instead.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.  Really.

I kept the pace slow (ran it in 2:18...a very slow race for me), but not just because of the heat--I was also running slow because my right hip capsule has been sore for weeks.  And by "sore" I mean "a deep pain would happen trying to hold the gas pedal down while driving" type of soreness.  A soreness whereby I was testing daily to see if it was really a stress fracture in my femur level of soreness.  A soreness where sitting down in a regular position on the couch was painful.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that my hip was really really sore.  And it was very concerning.

But of course I kept running on it, and then complained about my hip being sore.  I finally did what any other normal runner would do to see if could get some relief from the discomfort--do some research on Google. (What, did you think I was going to go to a doctor? Crazy talk.) After exhaustive and extensive research on the internet and a lot of jamming my thumb into various parts of my hip and glutes to see where it hurt the most, I diagnosed myself with a pain in the piriformis caused by weak hip and glute muscles.  This made sense to me, especially since during my last marathon training cycle I did absolutely no lower body strengthening whatsoever.  It seems that the muscles in my glutes and hips responsible for motions other than forward propulsion got all weak and stuff and then all of a sudden it's hurting to drive a car.

Since I made my own expert diagnosis using Dr. Google and my thumb, I have been trying to strengthen those weak glutes and hips with these exercises from Strength Running:

And by doing these plyometric workouts from Cathe because they involve a lot of squatting and lateral hip exercises: High Intensity Interval Training, Plyo HiiT 2, and Crossfire.

Are they working?  Well, remember that 16 mile run I did yesterday?  My hip didn't bother me once.  And while it was a little sore when I woke up today, I am happy to report that I can sit, walk, and drive a car normally.

Now if only I can get that nagging pain on the top of my right foot to go away.  So, if you'll excuse me, I have to go consult Dr. Google again.  Until that time, enjoy the non-learning learnings meant to summarize this post but really are just a list of nonsensical random thoughts I couldn't find a way to coherently put into the post above:

• I do really mean it this time - a pic a day at least on this blog.  Contain your excitement, kids.
• Feeling like someone is grabbing the top of your femur and squeezing while you're driving is a weird feeling.  Very weird.
• Cathe's workouts are full of jumping, and jumping is fun, ergo plyometrics is fun. 
• I'm glad my hip didn't bother me yesterday on my run because then I could really focus on just how miserable I was in the heat and how much my bra was chafing.  Good times.

Upcoming workouts: More plyo and some weights today, and a crazy amount of 1200s for tomorrow's speed session on the 'mill.  Even more good times.

Saying Goodbye to Sticky Shirts

In my last post, I talked about my running and eating goals.  But I have other goals as well, like having my husband earn enough money so I can just run and exercise and sleep all day; buy all the puppies, and finally getting around to finishing that Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time game I started in 2002.  While all of those goals are heavily idealistic, there is one running-related goal I would like to accomplish before I ruin my knees like everyone says I will with all this running I do: run a race in just a sports bra and shorts.

And socks and shoes too...duh.

Why the serious look in that pic above?  Because I am dead serious about accomplishing this goal, even though I have a waist that was built for Mom jeans rather than for sexy low-rise ones.  This is something I have this strange compunction to do to make myself feel more comfortable in my own skin--getting more comfortable in my skin by showing more skin, with a huge emphasis on the comfortable.  I wish I could say this goal of mine was part of a greater plan to inspire other women to take back all of the shame we're made to feel about our bodies if they're a different shape and/or size from what's considered beautiful....but really this is just about my comfort during a run.  Really.  I'm just really really tired of having sweaty shirts stick to me and outline the contours of my belly fat rolls.  I mean, c'mon--I'd rather just people see those rolls in all their super not-tan-ultra-white-blinding glory than have a shirt stick to me for the 20 out of the 26.2 miles of a marathon.

I know you're jealous of my arm tan gradient.

But if this does inspire you to throw off the shackles of sticky running clothing and society's obsession with unrealistic body images for women, then I'm totally down with that.  I know I was inspired to do this by other runners who aren't afraid to be seen in their own skin...and I decided it was more than time for me to ditch this body image hang-up.  (And not have shirts stick to me...buh)

Anyway, when will this sports bra-and-shorts-only race take place?  Well, I have a tune-up half marathon scheduled in the middle of July in a nearby town...and since it will be, you know, July in Illinois, it's going to be hot.  So I thought that might be a good goal race to bare my belly to the world in all its sweaty glory.  Will I be glad I stepped outside of my comfort zone and got this goal accomplished? Of course.  Will I be free of sticky running shirts?  Yep.  Will I be afraid to look at my race pics afterwards?  You betcha.  But I'll probably be too busy worrying about my race time to even remember I have no shirt on.

But remember the learnings?  Here they are:

• I know everyone was probably worried about this, but I will most definitely blog after that tune-up race.
• And yes, I will include race pics.  That actually show me running, and not other people.
• You know what sucks about having a Mom jeans waist?  Any running shorts you have on pulled up to your natural waist makes it look like your shorts are trying to also be a sports bra.
• FYI--just having a Mom jeans waist sucks in general.
• I'm going to apologize right now for the blindingly white belly you're going to see in those race pics so I don't forget to do it later.

Upcoming workouts: Tempo runs and speed at paces way faster than what I think they should be...more on those later.