I lifted some weights this morning and surprised myself.

This morning's workout of choice was Cathe's Lift It, HiiT It: Back, Biceps, and Shoulders.  Again, I'm not a fan of repeating exercises three times in a row, but this is a workout that kicks your back, biceps, and shoulders in ways they have never been worked before, and those body parts will be sure to tell you the next day what those ways are.  My workout supervisor would agree with my assessment of the workout if he had been awake at all during it.

I did the pre-mix that threw in ab segments rather than do the "finisher" sets after each exercise like I've been doing, because I am definitely finished after each set of three and don't need another exercise to finish me.  And let me tell you something about those ab exercises...

"Flying snow angel?"  More like "let's see what dumb pose they'll
do this time"

...they're effective but completely ridiculous.  I do them because I do whatever is on the TV screen in front of me.

But one thing happened during the workout, kids, that has never EVER happened before when I have done a strength workout involving biceps:

ZOMG PEOPLE I LIFTED A WEIGHT

I did bicep curls with a 20 lb dumbbell.  Your amazed amazement is palpable--I can feel it.

Before this morning I thought I would never be able to do that.  I thought 15 pounders were my limit for bicep curls, but today I grabbed that 20 pound dumbbell just like Cathe did without even thinking about it and slammed out 3 sets on each arm.  And it was only during the last set that the ZOMG hit me and I got to start the day with an LOOK AT ME I CAN DO ANYTHING attitude.  And that's a good way to start the day, let me tell you.  Especially since the rest of my day was spent cleaning and staining all of the doors and baseboards for my new house.

While I was immersed in my world of wood staining, I began thinking about other little "fitness milestones" that have occurred since I began to take my fitness seriously.  None of them are particularly earth-shattering since a of other fit people have done them, but they represent major breakthroughs for me:

1) My first run ever.  I had been doing workout DVDs for years before I took my first run.  Made it 2.5 miles...and then ran my first 5K two weeks later.
2) The first time I ran 10 miles.  Something about the number 10 was magical to me, and when I was training for my first half marathon it was the longest run I would do in training.  It was a horrific run plagued with gear and gastrointestinal malfunctions, but I remember still screaming to my husband that I had run 10 miles when I staggered back into the house.  And then he asked me if I needed a paramedic.
3) The first time I made it through the Tae Bo Advanced original workout video without wanting to puke.
4) My first obstacle course race.  Signing up is one thing...being confronted with muddy water with my knowledge of how many bacterial infections may be lurking in there is another.  But I made it through and happy to report no post-race sicknesses.
5) The first time I ran a sub-2 half marathon.  I also screamed at my husband that I did it at that time, too, but he was asleep downstairs and didn't even hear it.  Because he sleeps like the dead.
6) My first marathon.  I didn't die.  It was a win.
7) My first triathlon.  Again, I didn't die.  It was a win.
8) My first ultra marathon.  Still didn't die, but I ran it through a cemetery where a lot of people were dead.  Still a win.
9) The one time I ran a 50 minute 10K.  For a 40+ slow runner person such as myself, I almost fainted dead away when I got my results (those were the days before I had a GPS watch).
10) The first time you pass someone in the last mile of a race that treated you like crap before the race started because they were faster than you.  Most runners are awesome...a few aren't. 


Like I said, nothing particularly earth-shattering.  But these small wins (and sometimes snarky ones, in the case of #10) need to be remembered on your way to your bigger goals.  I know I'm going to remember my 20 pound barbell win from this morning...mainly because I'm an idiot that took a picture of it.

And the learnings are below in case you forgot where they were:

• I had to do my ab workout around that dog this morning.  Who snored through it.
• I'll try any dumb pose that's on the workout DVD.  Including ones that just involve laying on a mat...I'm looking at you, corpse pose.
• I almost dropped that 20 pounder on my foot when I realized what I had just done.  Which would have been bad because, you know, I need my feet for running.
• Wouldn't you be glad you passed a runner in the last mile who told you that you looked like you needed all the luck you could get just to finish?  I know I was.

Tomorrow's workout: Speed, baby.  4 x 800 delicious meters.

A lazy short post about a not-so-lazy 13 mile treadmill run.

Hubbs has canceled all outdoor running for me as long as it's below zero.

He is so unreasonable; he acts like it's all chaos out there just because it's cold.

But it's not.  It's just an increased risk of a little frostbite.  Hubbs always overreacts.

Anyway, since I couldn't go outside and run and I had a ton to do today, I decided to get up at my normal wakeup time and get those miles in on the treadmill at 5-ish AM. 

5 AM SUCKERS.  Only I'm really the sucker.

The animals were a little weirded out.

You're going running instead of playing with us at 4 AM
and waking up Dad?

Weirdo Hyooman.  Go back to bed.  It's Saturday.

But I didn't let freaked out animals stop me from getting my first long run done on the training plan.  My strategy was the same as last weekend - do one easy mile followed by 2 faster miles.  That way my brain can split the workout into smaller chunks (4, to be precise for this morning with a mile easy as a cool down) so it can fool itself into running in place for 2 hours without realizing that's what it's doing.  It worked well, especially since I popped in a good movie (Hidden Figures) to watch during the run.

Afterwards, I was pretty impressed with myself-not only for making it through all the miles, but getting up that early on a Saturday and, you know, not farting around for hours before actually doing the run.  Although full disclosure:  I promised myself Starbucks if I finished all 13 miles.  And I always keep my promises.

I was so impressed with myself about this run that I let Squiggy (our female judgy cat from the picture above) know I had done all 13 miles:

The big one-THREE baby

But she was busy and couldn't be bothered.

Learnings?  Yeah, here are a few:

• It was a busy day of running and errands and working on my new house, so a few pictures and sentences are all you get today.
• I was impressed that I did that entire run-and I only had to stop two times for pit stops.
• I had to re-take my "one-three" picture after I realized I was really making a "three-one" for everyone instead.
• Squiggy needs a lot of rest because, after all, she has to deal with this stupid human all day.

Tomorrow's workout: Upper body weight-lifting goodness!

The weight loss lessons I have to learn every time I want to lose weight.

Today I did Cathe's Total Body Giant Sets, and finally got a chance to use my beloved barbell this week.  Please excuse my laundry hamper in the background; for once it was not guarded against large dog's pilfering because I have been home all week.  And I was too lazy to take a different picture.

Barbell: DEEElicious!

While you don't use the barbell for upper body in this particular Cathe workout (she has others where you do), the upper body portion of this workout is nice because it gives you a set of these:

kerBLAM kerBLAM

Large dog was very surprised to see those guns, because they've been hidden since fall began.

He's not really surprised.  He just wants treats.

Female cat, as usual, was unimpressed.

Hyooman. Take your guns and leave.  Sleeping here.

What you should be impressed with is my eating today; it was good all around and I didn't succumb to any of the crap in the hubbs' junk food stash today.  That's because I was too busy working on work stuff today to even go downstairs near it or even think (fantasize) about what chocolately or salty goodness was in there.  And that's a lesson I've learned--and had to re-learn--over and over again concerning weight loss: if it's in the house, I'll eat it.  So what are some other lessons I've learned, you ask?  Well, below are a few of my favorite weight-loss lessons I have to learn every time I realize my pants aren't fitting anymore:

• If I stop weighing myself, my weight loss stops too.  I know they say you shouldn't weigh yourself every day, but if I don't get that daily feedback (with an understanding that it's the trend over time you need to look at, not the day-to-day fluctuations) I tend to be all, "Hey! I lost weight!  I'm good!" and then slowly begin adding back junky food bit by sneaky bit.
• For me, "I can eat out all I want as long as I watch my calorie counts" is a complete and total lie.  Most of the take-out stuff is junk, and I eat too much of it, and then the weight creeps back on.
• Eating 30 health bars a day doesn't mean you'll lose weight.  I have a tendency to overdo it on the health bars, especially now that I'm in a more sedentary job.  I have to switch out "health" bars for carrot sticks (VEGGIES BUH) so I can mindlessly snack the day away without guilt.  
• "I can eat what I want as long as I work out every day" is another complete and total lie.  I worked out every single day for 45 minutes for an entire year, didn't change my eating habits, and consequently didn't lose a single damn pound.  Only when I started eating right did the pounds start coming off.  Exercise makes me feel good; eating right makes me look good.
• If you have a bad eating day, just start again tomorrow.  If you don't give yourself another chance, you'll start spiraling down into the vortex of "I CAN'T DO THIS" and then, you know, you won't because you've told yourself you can't.  And then you will lose no weight whatsoever due to mental self-sabotage.
• View food as fuel, not a reward.  About every 3 nanoseconds I have to remind myself that I eat food to fuel my workouts (and, you know, live), not to give myself a nice hit of sugary crack to make myself feel good every hour.
• Know that your weight doesn't define you.  I grew up with a very warped "if you're skinny you're happy and liked and accepted" idea.  Now that I'm in my 40s and have tons more life experience that the teenager that used to think that, I realize that skinny is nice, having awesome guns and muscles is even better, and knowing who you are no matter what you weigh is literally the best.  Oh, and winning the women's race at an Olympic distance duathlon a full 30 pounds heavier than you were at a size 2 helps you remember that, too.

OK, before this post gets way too serious, here are today's learnings:

• Man did I miss using my barbell.  If I start talking about how much I missed it this post is gonna get way too weird.  Well, weirder than it already is, at least.
• Another lesson I learned today is to keep my hands busy with work (ugh) so they will not reach for food.  
• Or at least check my email a few times a day, because that always makes me want to pull my hair out and my hands will be busy doing that rather than picking up bad things to eat.
• As long as you chart your daily weight over time and see a downward sloping best-fit line, it's all good to weight yourself every day.  If you obsess over normal day-to-day fluctuations, you should weigh yourself once a week to retain your sanity.
• Nothing tastes as good as lifting a heavy barbell feels.
• kerBLAM....whoops.  One of my guns must have misfired.  Sorry.

Tomorrow's workout: 13 mile run.  Seeing as it's going to be a high of 7, looks like the treadmill for me.

Doesn't everyone have an "I was so hungry I was about to eat my own fingers" snack?

If you haven't been outside lately in the eastern half of the country, you may not know that it's cold.  Like, super cold.

I sucked it up and went outside and did the same amount of miles as degrees on the thermometer - three.  I was not excited about having to wear my balaclava.

Suspicious runner is suspicious of cold weather.

I'd like to say at this point that I went outside and the run was more awesome than I thought it was.  But I won't because that's not true.  It was cold, I found it hard to breathe at a 10 min/mile pace with all that cold air, and my right big tow didn't warm up until after I got into the shower afterwards - and it freaking hurt while it was warming up.

I look OK, but cold.  So cold.

The silver lining of this run is that I will be better prepared to run in this cold winter suck in the future.  I did manage to try out these super duper thin base-layer leggings I got at Target (C-9 brand) a few years ago; wore these under my fleece-lined tights and managed to stay pretty warm.  I now officially approve of them for running.  (They are also good to wear under bike shorts on those chilly spring mornings when you're going for a ride and you don't own a pair of cycling tights and are too cheap to buy any.)

Super thin and super purple.  So much super
the cat can't even look at it.

So that sums up my workout for the day; what about the eating?  Below are the highlights:

• Breakfast: scrumptious oatmeal doctored with PB, bananas, and cinnamon with coffee.  Yummo.
• Snack: Nutrisystem muffin and a handful of nuts.
• Lunch: BUH VEGGIES and a hot dog. And a small piece of peppermint bark because hubbs told me he had some so of course I had to eat some because I knew it was in the house.
• Snack: Nutrisystem muffin (apparently the "high fiber" label on those suckers doesn't scare me) and more nuts.
• Post-run snack: Even more nuts...and an apple.
• I was so hungry I was about to eat my own fingers snack: A small bowl of the hubbs's potato chips because I found the bag when I was looking for the peppermint bark in the spot where hubbs hides his crappy food from me
• Dinner: Veggie tots, shredded chicken sandwich, homemade sugar-free PB pie.  Yummo.

A few stumbles, but not too bad overall.  I have managed to lose some weight since I started this mess; around a pound.  One thing I've learned about weight loss is that it took a long time to gain--and it's going to take time to lose.

The other thing I've learned recently is that the hubbs needs to find a new hiding place for all of his junk food.

And now even more bonus learnings:

• I better get used to running in the cold.  Because winter.
• I'm going to attempt a 13 mile run in 9 degree weather on Saturday.  Wish me and my right big toe luck.
• Doesn't everyone have an "I was so hungry I was about to eat my own fingers" snack?  Everyone should if they don't already.
• Anything purple is automatically super--just so you know that for future reference.

Tomorrow's workout:  A total body workout of some kind...boot camp sounds like a good idea.

Today's tempo run rating: Buh. And some pictures of food.

I had to do my tempo run (2 miles @ 8:30 pace) on the treadmill and my nose kept running the entire time.  And nature called right in the middle of the 2 miles at tempo pace, so it turned into mile repeats.  Oh well.  It was better than nothing.  Methinks I'm going to just suck it up, brave the cold, and do these outside from now on.

Today's tempo run rating: Buh.

The only good thing about that run was I got to try out a new pair of Feetures! socks that I got at the Dallas Marathon Expo.  How fun are these?  Very fun, that's how much fun.

They just scream AWESOME

Even though I am really tired of eating raw nature I managed to saute another load of veggies, but I wasn't happy about it.  At all.

Useless fact: My stove is an old home economics stove we bought
from a school district when they remodeled their home econ areas.

Besides dishing up some veggies, I am happy to report I made my first attempt at slow cooking an entire chicken.  I don't know if I've ever talked about this before, but I don't cook.  I'm that person that, when asked to bring something to the office potluck, goes to the store and buys the first thing she sees and hopes like hell it's actually edible and then hopes people will actually eat it and not leave it on the table like the last kid picked to play dodge ball in PE class. Cooking is not what I do, and it's not what I'm good at.  However, I got a slow cooker and found that there are some pretty easy and tasty recipes that can be made in that little miracle of lazy cooking technology.  So...I'm trying out some slow cooker recipes, and this chicken one was very ambitious for me because, you know, entire freaking chicken.  I even rubbed it first, which is not as naughty as it sounds. 

It's still cooking as I write this, so I'll let you know how it went tomorrow.  If I remember, that is.


Speaking of remembering, here are some learnings:

• I did every freaking tempo run during my last training cycle because I did them outside.  It's going to have to happen that way again; today's tempo performance just isn't going to cut it for a 4:05.
• I wish my fun socks could actually be seen while I was running a marathon.  Those need to be shared with the world.
• Veggies.  Buh.  Again.
• That chicken smells wonderful.  I just hope it's actually done cooking so I don't get a nasty infection of some kind that would stop me from running.

Tomorrow's workout: An easy 3 mile run OR this cardio circuit workout I found when I was rooting around in my DVDs...we'll see.

Some weights, some eating wins, and some useless supervisors.

Got my Cathe Ramped Up Upper Body on this morning, and since I haven't done this one in awhile I forgot how challenging it was.  I was struggling a bit on the shoulder presses during the workout.

Literally sucking it up, buttercup.

But it was a good thing I had my workout supervisor there to pull me through it.

What?  I'm sleeping.  You're on your own, Mom.

So my workout went fine, but my eating today could have been better.  Here were my eating wins and "whoops, shouldn't have eaten thats" for the day:

The Wins:

• I ate my veggies.  First round was sauteed veggies, and the second round was some baked veggie tots I found in the freezer section that were basically compressed sweet potato-cauliflower nuggets.  I'm a rabid fan of veggies disguised as something bad for you.  I wasn't so much a fan of the sauteed veggies, though, as is usual.

GAWD VEGGIES

• I ate nuts rather than my usual "health" bars today.  Unlike veggies, I can throw down nuts and legumes all day, especially the NUTrition wholesome nut blend.  You just have to be careful with overeating these little nuggets of nutrition, though, because they are pretty calorie dense.
• I turned my leftover chili into a chili dog for lunch, with a Hebrew National dog and a whole wheat bun.  Because you can only have a bowl of chili so many times this week.

• I really, really, really wanted to go get a Starbucks Refresher full of sugary strawberry goodness.  This was the original plan for the day, seeing as I had to pick up my groceries at Walmart and there is a Starbucks conveniently located right freaking next to it.  But I resisted the urge, especially after checking the grams of sugar in that drink online and being completely shocked by it (40 grams!!  Insanity).

Whoops, shouldn't have eaten thats:

• I located a stash of Xmas chocolate the hubbs had stowed away and I am sorry to report that about 6 Russel Stover candies are no longer with us.  RIP.
• The hubbs also has this ham and cheese and cracker tray thing in the fridge and I have been pilfering the crackers out of it and putting way, way too many in my chili when I have it in a bowl and not on a hot dog.

More wins than whoops-es, but my need to eat all of the carbs I come across if they are sweet or some sort of bread-like substance is still rearing its ugly head.  That's going to have to change if I'm going to lose the 9 pounds I gained during my last training cycle and get faster.

And my blogging supervisor had the best ending for this post, but he fell asleep on the job before he could tell me what it was.  My supervisors are useless, it seems.

Hyooman...you on your own ending this post.  *Snore*

Looks like you'll just have to settle for these learnings:

• I got told today that I shouldn't lift weights if I was serious about running.  I told them I couldn't hear them over the sound of my guns going off in their face.
• I'm off work for the week so it's been hard not to go into "free range eating" mode.  I'm trying.
• However, being off for the week and not driving by Starbucks twice a day is teaching me that I don't need to go there and consume excess calories twice a day.
• Hubbs usually does a better job at hiding junk food in places where I can't find it.  Because if I know it's in the house, rest assured I'm thinking about eating it.
• And, just in case it wasn't clear enough: Veggies.  BUH.

Tomorrow's workout: A little tempo run - just 2 miles @ 8:30 pace.  Let's see if I suck it up and go outside or wimp out and jump on the treadmill.

On the 1st day of 2018 I did two things I really hate: mile repeats and eating veggies.

Welcome to 2018, everyone!

As you can see, I started off my 2018 on the treadmill because, you know, freaking below zero temperatures and wind chills outside.  Well, I really started off the day by complaining about how cold it was all morning, putting on 3 layers of clothing, and then swearing under my breath every time the dogs told me they had to go outside--which was about 3,000 times today.  And then I did a lot of online shopping for winter running gear which eventually turned into finding a marathon to run that I haven't ever run before. And then I finally got on the treadmill, in-between taking the dogs out.

So what workout did my training plan call for?  My most favorite workout ever, and by "favorite" I mean "the one I hate the most:" mile repeats.  Here's how I felt about that:

Mile repeats.  Ain't nobody got time for that.  Except me.

But I got three of those little bad boys done, and then noticed that all my animals were nowhere to be found.  Until I went upstairs, that is.

I'm glad they decided to keep my bed warm for me while I was running downstairs.

Anyway, let's talk about how the eating went today.  You'll be glad to know that a) I ate and b) I ate reasonably well.  Did my oatmeal, homemade chili leftovers, and added nuts for snacks to replace some of my snack bars.  I also managed to keep my twice-a-day vegetable promise, but for some reason I simply cannot get excited about eating them.  I can't even get used to eating them.  As soon as it's lunch or dinner time, at first it's all YAY TIME TO EAT but then it's all GAWD I HAVE TO EAT VEGGIES FIRST.  I don't know what my mental block is.  Unless it's the fact that my body has to get used to so much real food again instead of the processed "health" bars that I have been eating for the last few years...and my mental whining is just a withdrawal symptom.

Who knows.  All I know is that I always feel good after (never during) I eat a bowl of veggies instead of wracked with guilt like I did last night after eating that red velvet cake. So I guess that's my main food resolution for this year - eat food that makes me feel good and leaves me guilt-free afterwards. If that's your food resolution as well, below are some helpful tips on how to to stick to that resolution.  And by "helpful" I mean "only marginally helpful because these are mainly written for my own amusement."

• To ensure that you will eat vegetables, it is helpful if you actually purchase them and keep them in your refrigerator.  If you use Walmart grocery pickup like me, you can even get someone else to pick them out for you in the store and throw them in the back of your car.
• After placing said veggies in your refrigerator, it's best if you use them before they spoil.  
• I find that sauteeing a whole crap-ton of them in a little olive oil and garlic is a nice way to make them more palatable and not feel like you're eating raw nature.
• I am told Pinterest has a lot of ideas for adding some variety to your veggies.  This is a fantastic idea.  However, I haven't verified this yet simply because if I get on Pinterest I will do a search for "humor" and then lose a good 2 hours in there before I even get to any veggie stuff.
• If green and orange things just aren't your style, add other real foods like nuts.  Just make sure they don't come with lots of little chocolate pieces or you're kind of defeating the purpose.
• People keep suggesting kale chips to me.  While these may be guilt-free, I find that they are just as bad as Ny-Quil tastes.  

I know that eating more veggies/real food is sucking for me right now, but I'm hoping that it will develop into a habit over time and I won't notice the suck so much.  I instead hope to notice a 4:05 marathon time in April.

Learnings?  Where are they?  Oh there they are:

• One of these days I'm going to a post of all of the horrible selfies I take before I get one that's usable for this blog.  (Believe it or not there are worse ones than the ones I slap up here)
• I got through those mile repeats by telling myself the lie that the first one is the toughest one.
• The only animals that braved the downstairs while I was on the treadmill were the cats.  I now know who my real athletic supporters are.
• If this "eating veggies" thing doesn't translate into faster marathon times, I will be a tad upset.

Tomorrow's workout: An upper body weight workout of some kind.  Haven't decided which one yet...