Off dairy again and the stuff that goes along with it

Several weeks ago, during the time when the little guy wasn't sleeping at all, we also noticed he had some tummy issues. I did some research and found that moms consuming dairy whole nursing can affect their little ones. That was the only thing that had changed about my diet. I had limited dairy while trying to lose the baby weight and it seems to give me more energy too. Well after the baby weight came off and I was running more, I added dairy back in for the calories. I was able to maintain my weight, but the little guy didn't approve. So now I am back off dairy, and I thought this would be a good time to try veganism (so no eggs either). I got the book (from the library), Veganist. I read it cover to cover in just days (that's pretty good when you don't have a lot of free time). She doesn't think eating soy is bad for you (something a lot of vegans and vegetarians have opposite opinions on). She also has some sample menus which included a good bit of fake meat (another controversial topic). It appears to be her way to get the protein you need.

So I have been doing the vegan thing for the past several weeks (a couple of slip ups), but for the most part, I have done pretty good. I am pretty hungry and have a difficult time getting that full feeling. Thing were going ok, until this week. I had serious troubles with my run on Tuesday and was sore for 2 days, aka not recovering well all of a sudden. Also, some of you may know that after you have a baby, your hair falls out, well mine has been falling out still. I was reading a post from Matt at No Meat Athlete about protein consumption. He mentions hair falling out and having a hard time recovering from workouts. Now I am concerned I am not getting enough protein to sustain my lifestyle (nursing my son and running 20-25 miles a week, cross training 1-2 times a week). I am getting so much conflicting statements, do I eat soy and fake meat to get my protein up, and how much protein should I be eating? Any good tips on foods with proteins that are easy that I might not be eating? I know there are people more active than me that have a vegan diet and perform well.

I hope to get a lot of comments and advice.

Food log from 7/26/2011

Here is another day of food logging.  This was on Tuesday, which is a day that I am at home and not working.  You will see how it differs from last week's log when I was in the office. 

Breakfast

Tropical smoothie

1 small peach

1/2 frozen sliced banana

3/4 cup almond milk

1 T rolled oats

1/2 T coconut oil

Half caff coffee with almond milk

After a little play time, we headed out for a run to the park (5.36 miles total).  I was famished after my run (not usual), so I grabbed a snack to tied me over until lunch.

Snack
Nutri-grain bar

Lunch
Open faced sandwich
Toasted pumpernickel bread
pesto sauce
a little extra sharp cheddar
red onions
kale

Oh She Glows -  Apple Sandwich
Apple
PB
Dried cranberries

2nd water for the day (first was during my run)

Snack
My big salad via No Meat Athlete's advice for an afternoon snack
Spinach
Romain
Tomato
Red bell pepper
Cucumber
Spanish olives
Homemade lemon vinaigrette

Dinner

Spaghetti and "meatballs" with nutritional yeast sprinkled on top

I am not a huge fan of fake meat, but it has been really difficult getting meals on the table these past few weeks.  The little guy is not sleeping well (advice?) and I am exhausted as well as not getting enough protein in my diet, so I had about 3 oz. of veg Italian sausage, the hubs had pork sausage meatballs.  This particular brand is very lean and tasty.  I had had in the freezer forever, so I needed to use it anyway.

Snack
Turkey Hill Choco Mint Chip Ice cream (I had a coupon, not bad ice cream, but not great either)
Dark Chocolate Chips

I ran so I get ice cream.  Yeah!!!  It is one of my 2 vices.  Unfortunately, I was hungry all day long but we were so busy that I didn't get a chance to eat enough.  Since coming back to my pre-pregnancy weight, I don't need to be cutting calories anymore, and I am running more, so I actually need more calories.  When I plugged this into Sparkpeople, I was only to 1700+ calories.  That is not enough if I am running and nursing. 

And I was still hungry to after the kids were in bed, I ate a small bowl of dry cereal (Kix) and a handful of Kashi crackers dipped in cottage cheese (not pictured).  That got me very close to 2,000 calories so I called it a day.  I didn't want to eat too much since it was so late.  If I am too full at bedtime, I don't sleep well. 

Daily Totals

Calories:  1,994

Carbs:  306 (61%)

Fat:  65 (29%)

Protein:  73 (10%)

I know I need to get my protein up.  Any advice?  I think I will have to start incorporting more cottage cheese into my diet to help me. 

Finally getting my workouts back

Well we still have a lot to do around the house, but I am finally able to get some real workouts in. Here is what I accomplished last week:

Monday - Ran 4 miles with jogging stroller

Tuesday - 70 minutes Yoga X

Wednesday - Ran 4 miles (treadmill)

Thursday - 1.5 hours tennis (practice)

Friday - Ran 4 miles with jogging stroller

Saturday - Rest

Sunday - Played singles tennis match (1.75 hours, and I won!)

My new neighborhood is very hilly so 4 miles with the jogging stroller is a lot harder than my last neighborhood. My legs are definitely feeling it. Also, playing tennis in the middle of the day when it's 95 degrees may seem a little crazy, but actually, I love it. The heat does not bother me as much as it does most people, so I know I have an advantage.

My next race coming up is the Peachtree Road Race (10k). I don't feel like I am in great shape since I took so much time off for moving, but I think if I can keep up this schedule and with all the tennis I have recently added, I might have a decent time. We will see though. I do have to travel for business in a couple of weeks, which used to be a good thing because I could workout every morning before my day started. This time is different though. Little Miss Hope is coming with me. :) Along with some assistance from family. I have to travel the entire week, and Adam wasn't sure he could tackle working and watching Hope for that long. Also, Hope has gotten extremely clingy with me so I am not sure what she would do if I was actually gone for the whole week. So when I am not in a meeting I will have Hope and no jogging stroller. I am not sure how many workouts I am going to get in, so we will see. Although, it could be a good taper time for me.

This mommy is pumped!

I went today to get my bib for the race and got to go down to the Expo. I hadn't spent much time at the Expos in my recent races with Hope but today was so nice, I planned a nice little day for us. Lucky for me, Hope slept in (yeah) and then we went for a 5 mile run (easy). Then after lunch, we hit the Georgia Aquarium, Centennial Park to run around in, and then the ING Health Expo. The weather today was beautiful (unlike the weather on Sunday). We had a great time and I enjoyed walking around the expo. It really got me into the racing mood. I was looking at some really cute shirts when Hope had a meltdown so I had to get out of there ASAP. A little bummed I didn't get a shirt, but do I really need another shirt? Probably not, but I enjoy the running mommy shirts. :)

So now, I am so excited for the race on Sunday. Even though I am not in the best half marathon shape of my life, I can't wait to race. It's also a little sad because I don't know when my next half marathon will be. We are winding down on marathon season and I don't know what the future holds for me. So I will definitely let myself enjoy this race as much as I can. The weather is not looking good, but I am going to go out there with fighting spirit nonetheless. I think I might get Hope a raincoat tomorrow just in case. :)

What does everyone eat the night before a race? I usually end up eating cereal, so I would be interested in what everyone else eats. I can't do pasta before a race, sorry ladies.

Good luck to the other INGer's this weekend. I hope we all get PR's!!!

Work - getting in shape

So my work is doing this "Around the World" thing and is basically to help people get into shape and lead a more active, healthy lifestyle. I told a friend I would sign up with her and help her out. Well it started last week. Since I was sick on Monday and didn't do much the rest of the week, I totally missed out on last week's goals. So I am starting with this week's goals. I thought I would share in case anyone else wants to see what they are and feel free to log your own.

Goal #1 - Workout for at least 30 minutes 5-7 days this week.
Goal #2 - Eat 5-9 servings of fruit and vegetables 5-7 times this week.

Of course, I will aim for 7 days and then we will see where I fall. I think the exercise goal is every week and then the nutrition goal changes every week. The tour is 6 weeks, so I will let you know each week what the different goals are.

So far, I have had 2 servings of fruit and vegetables. My plan is to run 3.5 miles today and do some core.

Rain, rain, go away!

I feel like every time I want to run, it rains. It is awful! It has actually stopped raining, I think. I am giving it another 30 minutes and if there is still no more rain, I think I am going to take Hope out for a quick run (3 miles or so). The rain is just bad when you have a little one and no treadmill. I can't wait for our next house, we have already decided we are getting a treadmill. We both can't wait!!!

Eating and Exercising - 2/5/10

Another day and I decided to log my food for y'all again. Basically, I have gained a few pounds since I have stopped breastfeeding, and I want it off. And, I feel guilty that I haven't posted since Monday.

So this morning, Hope only ate about half her breakfast (oatmeal), so I ate some of hers (not pictured) then I ate a grapefruit sprinkled with a little bit of sugar.


And of course, my cup(s) of decaf coffee with skim milk. Yum! Best part of my morning.

For lunch, I made a bean burrito with refried beans, monterey cheese, and chiptole pepper. I put this burrito on a salad plate and my tortilla was a 7 inch, so I kept it small.

Couldn't decide what to eat after my burrito, so I had some honey greek yogurt and pretzels. It's a great way to end a meal with something sweet and it's high in protein too.

It rained all day and was very yucky outside (38 degrees and rain), so instead I did a 30-Day Shed of the the tv (Exercise TV from Comcast OnDemad) and I bought some Finger Paint and let her made Adam a birthday card.

I did not have an afternoon snack for 2 reasons. I had to make some pasta salad for Adam's tennis match tomorrow, so I did eat a little of it while I was making it (have to taste as I go because I don't measure things like this).

I also had a small bite of guyre cheese while I was making dinner.

Here is the salad I had for dinner. Now this is on dinner plate. I had planned on having both my salad and the rest on the same plate, but the casserole took a little longer to bake, so I ate my salad first. Mixed greens with green bell peppers, celery, and tomatoes with a light italian dressing.

Dinner - Rosti casserole with baked eggs (Cooking Light magazine)

My portion - one egg and maybe a little extra of the other stuff. It was ok. I think my portion had a lot of turnips in it and the flavor was a little strong for me. I had a little of Hope's and it was better. Not sure this recipe will be on my every week recipe list, but it was pretty good. If you like turnips, then you will love it I am sure.
Ok, so I was supposed run 5 miles today but it was just too yucky outside, there was no way. I didn't even want to go to the gym and run because I would have to take Hope outside and she is still battling a cold. Because of that, my goal is to not have dessert tonight (Adam's birthday is tomorrow and you won't believe the cake I bought for him). I will do a quick post tomorrow, to let you know if I was able to fight off dessert (if you know me, you know dessert is my weakness).

Half marathon training starts this week!

So Monday was the start of my 8 week half marathon training plan. I like to be in training mode. It gives my runs a purpose. I am using the personalized training plan like I always do. I love it and highly recommend it if you are planning to train for a big race. Unfortuantely, I wasn't able to run yesterday, since our jogging stroller was in my husband's car (which was at work by the time I realized it). This week's goal is 16 miles (2 2-mile runs, 1 5-mile tempo run, and 1 7-mile easy run). I did 2.52 miles on Monday and today did a HIIT which got me to 3.13 miles, so I have already checked off the the 2 mile runs. I plan to do the tempo run on Friday. My problem is the 7 mile run. I would normally do it on Saturday, but now I have a tennis match so I am wondering if I think I can do it on Sunday or if I need to suck it up and do it on Saturday before the match. I am thinking Saturday, but then I won't be 100% for the match and it's playoffs. Should be a busy Saturday for me now. At least Adam is off for tennis (his team got a bye for the first week of playoffs) so he can take Hope to her swim lesson. I am glad he will be able to go (his first) but she is so darn cute in the water, I will be thinking about her the whole time.

A day of eating . . .

So I have noticed more of more health blogs have incorporated what they eat into some of their posts. I thought I would do the same for today. So for breakfast I ate 1 cup of Wheeties, skim milk and decaf coffee with skim milk for breakfast. Hope had organic Cheerios and whole milk.


Hope was napping during lunch, so I made myself a spinach salad with 1/2 apple, some tomatoes, orange bell peppers, lowfat no salted added cottage cheese, a little goat cheese, and Newman's Own Lite Italian dressing. I had already gotten out dough from the freezer so I knew we were having pizza for dinner. When I have pizza or pasta for dinner, I like to have a salad for lunch. It doesn't always work that way, or I forget, but when I remember I try to balance out my day.

After lunch, I was needing a sweet so I grabbed some leftover Christmas candy from inside the fridge (3 hershey kisses and 1 chocolate covered cherry).

After my dessert, Hope was up and I fed her (I ate a piece of her banana and a couple bites of her cream cheese and jelly sandwich which is not pictured). After that, we went for a 5.5 mile run and played at the park.

I had planned on making a veggie pizza, but then realized that we were missing spaghetti sauce, so I had to change my game plan. I had already cut my olives, so Hope and I ate them instead. I was starving after my run, but it was too late for a snack so I just started dinner early.

Hope and I both love broccoli and I have a great roasted broccoli recipe so I made that since I needed to get rid of the broccoli. Hope and I both ate this with a little leftover for Hope's lunch tomorrow. Yummy!

Here is my buffalo chick'n pizza. My half has morning star chick'n strips and Adam has rotisserie chicken. It turned out well. We got a pizza stone for Christmas and the pizza was good both times. Since I decided this morning to make pizza, I grabbed a frozen sourdough loaf from the freezer. I can't stand the Pillsbury pizza dough, so I usually make my own, but when I do, I do 1/2 whole wheat. We have had that for a while, so I bought a big bag of this frozen dough and Adam loves it.

This is my piece. FYI - it's on a salad plate, so it looks bigger than it is.

So I don't know what my calories are for the day, but I know it's not enough. I usually have an afternoon snack which I ran out of time today. Hope is transitioning to 1 nap a day which is really hard so I ran in the afternoon instead of the morning. So by the time I showered, it was 5:00pm and time to start dinner. I am sure I will have dessert tonight (maybe I will take a picture for you) :). Maybe some cheesecake from the bridesmaid luncheon that I some how got the extras of. Or it will be ice cream, but I am thinking cheesecake. Good night and hope you enjoyed a day in the life of my eating. :)

On the Move . . .

Well the weather is starting to break and today's high was 39, so I was able to take Hope out for a run today. We only did 4.54 miles, but I don't have another half marathon until late March, so I figure just stay active. I hate training in January because it's so cold. So with this half marathon I don't plan to start "training" until 8 weeks before the race. I plan to do the Runner's World personalized training guide as usual.

But this title has a double entendre. We are getting our house ready currently because we are planning to move. Yikes!!!! I so don't want to leave this house. I love this house! This is the house that Adam and I bought 3 months before we got married. This is the house that we brought Hope home to. But this house is a little on the small side (1,000 square feet). I tried to see if we could just expand this house so we could stay, but with the housing market so low, it's more economical for us to move instead. So I have spent the last month going through the house and packing up boxes and taking them to storage. This week we have someone coming to the house so we can get the last of house ready and then I plan to call 2 real estate agents to "interview" to list our house. I found a website that has a good list of questions to ask potential agents. I am starting to get a little excited because we will be moving to newer, bigger, nicer house and that's exciting, but I don't know how we are going to be able to live with our house on the market. I have a toddler and a dog. This is not going to be easy. I am hoping to get the house on the market by the end of January and hope to have a contract before the end of April (so the new owner will be taking advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit). That is really what is pushing us to get our house on the market. This house is great for a first time home buyer. So it's bitter sweet, but I am trying to stay positive.

Shhh, don't tell anyone, I went to the gym. . .

Yes, I went to the gym yesterday. The high was 34 degrees and I just couldn't take Hope out in that. I like to do my workouts in the mornings or very early afternoons, and it was still going to be in the 20's so I decided to go to the gym and run on the treadmill and put Hope in the daycare. Surprisingly, I didn't have too much mommy guilt. I rationalized it by saying, she would be sitting in the stroller by herself playing with other kids and being stimulated while I was running. I had just finished my 4.5 miles (didn't want to push it too much) when I heard my name over the PA to find out that Hope had started crying. No stretching for me. I went in there and she was fine, just getting tired (we are transitioning from 2 naps a day to 1) and she has bad diaper rash again, so I changed her diaper and we headed home. I was glad I got the work out in. I was really joansing for a nice sweat; one that only a run would produce. Some of you may be asking, "What about the Your Shape you got for Christmas"? Well, neither my laptop or my desktop had the minimum requirements to support the progam. I am very disappointed. My dad is going to see if it will work on his old computer and give us his. If not, we will probably be buying a new computer. We could use a new computer, but I was planning on waiting until we moved (later this year) before we got a new computer. Oh well, I will keep you posted on that.

Well this week is shaping up to be very busy. Yesterday was my sister's birthday and Saturday is her wedding, so I have a lot to do. I am also the matron of honor (no maid of honor). So I am trying to get my workouts in when I can. I am really hoping to get a workout in on Friday, but we have the bridesmaid luncheon and the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner, so if I want to work out, it will have to be early. Here is what I am thinking for this week:

Monday - 20 minutes stairmaster, 20 minutes elliptical, abs, arms

Tuesday - Ran 4.5 miles on the treadmill

Wednesday - 40 minutes elliptical or HIIT on the treadmill, abs, back

Thursday - Rest (I am getting a mani/pedi and a spray tan that evening with my sister)

Friday - Video workout (probably on Comcast On Demand)

Saturday - Rest, wedding

Sunday - ? We will see how I am feeling, but I am thinking no workout

My new way to run

So it has gotten pretty cold in Atlanta this week and I thought it would be difficult for me to get Hope out of the house. She has been pretty healthy, but I fear taking her out in the cold. Yesterday my future brother-in-law was off work (a big runner), so he came over so we could all go for a run. He is much faster than me, even when he is out of shape, so he is in charge of the jogging stroller, and I just run beside him. I am usually also in charge of the route. He wanted to do roughly 5 miles, so I have a newish loop that I do that is 5.4 miles.

So here is Hope before we get ready for the run. She is sporting a sweater because the high yesterday was only in the mid 40's (yes, that is cold for us). She is also sporting the plastic spoon that goes with her new kitchen she got her Christmas (her favorite toy).


Step 1 is to get the mittens and hat on her which is very difficult to keep on her. She tries to pull the hat off as soon as I put it on her. Same with the mittens.

And thank goodness her grandmother (Adam's mom) got her a snow suit like thing from LL Bean. The hands and feet actually roll over to cover her up completely. It's awesome! One of my favorite gifts Hope got. I feel much better taking her running when she is covered up like this.

So now, I have her in the jogging stroller and it was pretty sunny, so I thought she could sport her shades too.

And finally, a blanket over her. She was ready to go now! She sang and talked almost the entire way, so I guess that means she was pretty comfortable. Her new thing is counting. I know she doesn't know what she is doing, but I will say "One" and then she will respond with "Two." We showed off for Uncle Eric for over 5 miles.

She was an angel which made mommy very happy. I have been able to work out as much as I would like with all the Christmas stuff and have been eating very heavy meals, so it felt great to get out and pound the pavement.

Christmas presents

Well Christmas at our house was full! We did Christmas morning at our house instead of my dad's house because he doesn't have much furniture because he is remodeling. I thought that would be great because then I wouldn't have to get Hope up and ready, but it was still a lot of work. Hope got up at 4:30am and she doesn't even understand the whole Santa thing yet. So we finally got her back down at 7:00am and I slept for another hour. Then I was up to make some cinnamon rolls. My dad sent me a text at 9:00am (when he was supposed to be over) that he had either a stomach bug or food poisoning and wasn't coming over.

So it took some time to get all the troops over but once we did, we opened a lot of presents. It was crazy. There were boxes and paper everywhere. Adam and I decided to clean up some before heading to our next stop. We were very late, but we didn't expect to have so much to clean up. Yikes.

We continued the Christmas holiday with brunch at my grandmother's and then it was off to Adam's mom's house for the rest of the day. We had a fabulous time but were exhausted by the end of the day.

I am happy to report on the health and fitness side, I received some new running tights and the Your Shape for my laptop. I also got a subscription to Cooking Light and a new vegetarian recipe book. I am hoping to try out the Your Shape this week. I wanted to get it for days when it is raining or too cold to go running and still want to get a decent workout in. This seems to have a lot of variety so I am hoping I do not get bored with it.

On the not to health and fitness side, Adam and Hope got me an anniversary band to go with my engagement ring and wedding band. I was so excited (although I did pick this one out so I knew it was coming). I am so happy with it. :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday as well.

Holiday debates

Well, I finally got all my wrapping done yesterday. I am usually really good about wrapping up gifts early, but this year, I am down to the wire. Adam and I are in a debate on the Christmas thing with little Hope now involved. At my house, we had presents from mom and dad and then from Santa. On Christmas morning we would come down and there would be presents galore (not kidding, my parents went crazy with presents, it was AWESOME). Obviously there was wrapping paper I hadn't seen my mom using, because that was what Santa had brought us. Well in Adam's house, his mom never got him any presents; they all came from Santa. Santa also had one wrapping paper just for Adam and one just for his brother. So when they went down to see the tree, they knew which ones were whose. I didn't like that idea, but Adam thinks it's so cool, so I am going with it. But when I said, can we have some presents from us to Hope and the rest can be from Santa, I had to go into a huge debate about it. I think Adam is just someone who likes to debate. He is not willing to give up his view in the beginning (I am thinking he should be a lawyer now). So finally, it is that Hope will get a few presents from us (as of now) and some from Santa, but the ones from Santa will be in a wrapping paper just from her. I still don't like it. I liked seeing a big present and not knowing who it was for. Call me crazy!

As far as working out goes, it is not going so well. Hope had a cold, so I couldn't take her out running in the stroller, then it got crazy cold for the ATL, then it rained on all my running days. Last Saturday Adam had to go out to do some shopping for me, and I convinced him to take Hope to have some bonding time. He did and I got to hit the pavement. It was very cold so I couldn't have taken Hope with me, so it was good she was with her daddy. :) I only conquered 6.5 miles, but I don't like running in the cold like some people do. I would much rather run in 90 degree heat. Yesterday, it was much nicer, so I decided to 4.5 miles with Hope and the stroller. Boy, taking 3 weeks off with minimal exercise and very little running showed. My time was terrible!!! But I have decided to take it easy. I have signed up for another half-marathon, but it's not until March. January is always the coldest time to run in Atlanta, so it will be nice not to think about getting in too many runs in while it's cold (well cold for me and Hope). I plan to get back into the swing of things at the end of Jan. I plan to do an 8 week training plan from Runner's World. You can create your own personalized training plan there and I find them very helpful.

Planned Exercise for week Nov. 2-8

So the weather is nice again and I can get back into the swing of things with me, Hope and our jogging stroller. Yeah! I also saw a new ab routine in last month's Shape's magazine. I couldn't find the routine online, but it is the 4 week ab makeover that has 8 exercises and Jennifer Love Hewitt is on the cover. I thought I would give it a try and see what it does since I am always trying to change things up. Here is what I am thinking for this week.

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - Run 5 miles with jogging stroller, new ab routine

Wednesday - 30 minutes on elliptical, push-ups

Thursday - Tennis practice

Friday - Run 6-7 miles with jogging stroller, new ab routine

Saturday - Tennis match

Sunday - Run 9-10 miles - this time without the jogging stroller

I hope I can get it all in. I am thinking by Sunday, running is not going to be the first thing on my mind, but I do have another half marathon coming up on Thanksgiving morning, so I need to get some long runs in.

Training/Exercise - 10/19

So after completing my first half marathon since Hope was born, I have been running, but haven't really been following a specific training guide right now. I am basically just trying to run when I can. It has been a busy Oct. for me so far, so it's harder to get my runs in. And the rain on top of that, makes it even harder when I have to take the baby jogger with me 90% of the time. So this week, here is my plan.

Monday - I was going to do the elliptical but I might just rest today. Hope had me up most of the night last night and I am pretty tired.
Tuesday - Run 6 miles, abs
Wednesday - 30 minutes on the elliptical if I don't get to it on Monday.
Thursday - Tennis practice
Friday - 9 miles, abs

Half Marathon Recap

Well, I survived to tell the story, so I guess that is good. Actually, the race went really well and I am very pleased with my time, despite the lack of training I have had in the past 2 1/2 weeks. My day started Sunday morning at 5:30am, pumping in the living room, while watching Sports Center. I made my usual pre-race snack, one piece of toast with a slather of lowfat no salted added cottage cheese with a sliced strawberry on top and a bottle of water. I headed out the door by 6:05am (wanted to leave by 6:00am, but that didn't happen). I got to the race and parked in plenty of time. From there, I headed straight to the porta potty line. It was chilly, not even 60 degrees yet. I was sporting my current race outfit (light pink LiveStrong cotton dryfit short sleeve shirt and lime green nike running shorts, easy to pick me out of a running crowd). After that, I did some stretching and got in line. I put myself at the 1:50 flag. My PR was 1:55, but I knew I had been running well, so I was hoping for 1:52. I had my Garmin Forerunner 405 and had put my virtual partner at a 8:32 minute mile pace. That would put my finish right at 1:52. At my last 10K race, I averaged 7:59 minute miles, so I thought 8:32 for a half was doable.

Finally, I was off. It was still pretty dark, so it was hard to see my watch and I wasn't thinking clearly to put the back light on (hey, it was early). I knew my first mile was good (ended up being 7:59) and my second mile was pretty good (8:21), but I didn't see the exact time on my watch. I knew I crossed the start/finish line about 11 or 12 seconds after the gun went off, so I used the clocks they had on the course at the beginning. The course was pretty good, but not totally easy. A lot of little hills, but at least it was even. I felt like I went up as many as I went down. I was watching my virtual partner and I was quickly 1:30 minutes ahead of my time. I thought, Wow! I am going to break 1:52 for sure. Do you think I can break 1:50? Oh crap, I had it in my head to break 1:50 now. I was scared I was going to push myself too hard now and have nothing left in me by the end. I did happen to look up what I needed to average to break 1:50 and it was 8:23 minute miles. That has been my goal for a while, to break 1:50, but because of my lack of training, I was scared that was too ambitious, so I put my watch on 1:52 pace.

Adam was going to try to see my at 4.5 miles. He ended up missing me (I guess I was too fast for him).

At mile 9, I went ahead and had my gel pack. I usually only consume one for a half marathon. Sometimes I have one right before the start of the race, but I think the bread with cottage cheese and strawberry is enough for my tummy that early in the morning.

Adam did see me at 9.5 miles (which was my slowest mile at 8:54). So after my gel pack and a "Go honey, go" from Adam, I was ready to finish the race. So I hit the mile 10 mile marker and knew I only had 3 little miles left. I tried to just focus on a 5K. Then I hit 11 miles. Wow, I thought. 2 miles is nothing. You can do this! I was up to 1:44 minutes ahead of my virtual partner. I dug deep and really pushed myself. Once I hit mile marker 12, I said it's now or never. My goal was under 8:00 minutes for this last mile. I knew if I did that I would break 1:50. It was a hilly mile. I wasn't looking at my watch much now. I was jamming to my iPod and focusing on going as fast as I could. I saw Adam and Hope right before the finish and started sprinting (well I call it sprinting, but after 13 miles, I am sure it was pretty slow). Well I still had more to run than I thought. I could see the finish line, but the course took me away from it first before heading back to the finish line. I started to slow up because I was dog tired, but then I saw it again and gave it one last push. I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch. I had finished in 1:48:55. I couldn't believe it! Now only had a finished in under 1:50, but had broken 1:49. That wasn't even a thought in my mind. I actually surpassed my unreachable goal of 1:50. I now have a new PR and don't even know what my goal will be for the Thanksgiving Half Marathon.

I was very happy and very tired. I grabbed my stuff and got a hug and kiss from Adam and Hope. Hope actually wanted me to hold her so I did. Adam said he got her to wave at all the runners that passed them while they were waiting for me. I am sure she helped a lot of runners at the end with her smiling face and waving hand.

So, I did it! I completed my first half marathon since Hope was born. There is a 15K race that I might do, but plan to do the Thanksgiving Half Marathon. I totally have the bug again for racing. I am so happy with my finish. I do have to thank Hope though for my training. Pushing a jogging stroller is a lot harder than you think, so pushing Hope for 6-10 miles at a time is probably a lot harder than I think. :)

A busy husband + rain = Super Mom with no training

So for everyone that doesn't live in Atlanta, we had some pretty bad rain which led to flooding. Luckily, our house was not affected by the rain/floods, but it makes it difficult to get some of my runs in. What didn't help was my poor husband was swamped with work so I had to take on a lot of the things he does around the house and had little help with Hope. One day I did end up at the gym and did the elliptical for a while and kept Hope in the daycare at the gym. Of course I felt so guilty about it that I didn't get to enjoy my workout. It's very hard. I have a severe case of mommy guilt. I feel guilty doing anything that is not about Hope, and doing something that is selfish, oh man, that is the worst. I know I need to take time out for myself, but it's hard. I hope I can overcome this issue I am having.

So while I have not had a lot of time to run, I have been active, which is good. I am a little nervous about my half marathon on Sunday though. I wish I had gotten in more runs and hope I can stay strong throughout the race. It's less than a week away. Yikes! My PR is 1:55, and would like to beat it. Well at least 90% of my runs include pushing a jogging stroller so I get a double workout each time.

Yes, Adam has been crazy busy with work, so I have had to pick up the slack at home. So let me paint you a picture, me with Hope in her Baby Bjorn and our lovely 55lb. black lab on a leash (who has never been good on a leash) pulling me into the vet office on Friday. It was a sight to see, but we all made it through and Elle was in great health.

So my plan for this week is to get in 2 runs and some time on the elliptical before the race on Sunday. Wish me luck!

Training from last week and for this week

I didn't get a chance to post this last week so I need to update you on my training. It's going ok, but it's very hard to get all my miles in and being a super mom to Hope (she deserves it).



Week 5 Projected/Actual
Tuesday - 3 mile easy run, abs / 3 mile easy run, abs
Friday - 6 mile tempo run, abs / 6.65 mile tempo run, abs
Sunday - 12 mile easy run / 12 mile easy run



Total Mileage: 21.65 miles



The 12 mile run was awesome! I loved every minute of it. The problem was that Hope did not want to take an afternoon nap so I didn't get to rest myself. I was tired the rest of the day and felt guilty that I didn't play with Hope as much as I should have. I am currently rethinking my marathon training to possibly just a half marathon. It's sad to think about, but I have to do what best for Hope.



Week 6 Projected/Actual

Tuesday - 7 mile tempo run, abs / 7.66 mile tempo run
Thursday - Tennis practice / Tennis practice
Friday - 2 mile easy run, abs / 7.54 mile easy run
Saturday - 14 mile easy run / 10.01 mile easy run
Sunday - Tennis match / Tennis match



Total mileage: 25.21 miles



So as you can see, I didn't get to do my 14 mile run this week all at once. Adam was rafting on Saturday so he left the house at 6:00am and I had a tennis match on Sunday so I decided to combine my Friday and Saturday runs and get the mileage in the best I could. Hope did not sleep well at all last week and on Wed. night she got a stomach bug so her and I slept together Wed. night. Poor little girl. I felt awful for her. It was the first time she has gotten sick like that, which is nice because she is 11 months old (today, actually). So we are very lucky that she has been so healthy, but I felt so bad for her. I didn't sleep well for 4 straight nights. I was exhausted so my runs were terrible. I am actually surprised I got all my runs in. I went out on Friday and it was awful. I had tennis practice on Thursday so my legs were not as fresh as they normally are. I had fallen asleep during Hope's morning nap and when she woke me up, I felt like I had been hit by a mack truck. I powered through my run but was not happy about it. On Saturday, when Hope usually naps, we started out for our 10 miler. As soon as I started, my legs felt awful again. Of course, I had just run over 7 miles the day before so they would be tired, but I hated this feeling. I had to take the jogging stroller with me on Friday and Saturday since Adam was not around, so 17 miles in 2 days with the jogging stroller, that's gotta equal a marathon, right?!?! During my run, I started thinking that this might just not be working out. As much as I love running those long distances, I need some down time afterwards and Hope is not a great napper, so I am never guaranteed a good afternoon nap. I feel guilty laying on the couch while Hope is playing with her toys. Adam's schedule is unpredictable and now he has started tennis too, so he plays on Saturday mornings. Hope and I also plan to do some weekend getaways while Adam busy and we have some family weekend trips planned too. How am I going to get all these runs in??? So for now, I have decided that my longest distance is going to be the half marathon. I am sad to write this, because I really wanted to run the full, but I don't think I can be the best mom and train for a full marathon. I know I could finish the marathon, so it's not something I have to prove to myself, and I know one day I will do a full marathon and maybe Hope will be old enough to really cheer for me at the end. So now my training is a little different. I still plan to run one tempo run a week (usually on Tuesdays) at either 6 or 7 miles. On Fridays (or Wednesdays if need be) I will run an easy 3-4 miler. And then on Saturdays I will run a longer run (8-12 miles). This will be easier since my schedule is getting so full and I don't feel bad taking Hope on a 10 mile run if she is napping part of the time. So here is what I have planned this week.

Week 6 Projected/Actual
Tuesday - 6 mile tempo run, abs
Wednesday - 3 mile easy run
Friday - 8-10 mile easy run
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Tennis match

This will be considered an easier week, but last week was pretty tough. Hope and I will be traveling to Charleston, SC on Thursday evening (Adam has a busy weekend) so I thought it would be nice to visit one of my closest friends in the world and her daughter (4 months older than Hope).

Training - 9/1

So I have completed week 4 of my training program. This past week was an easy week and I was ready for it. This week I will run my farthest training run ever (12 miles). I can't wait!!!



Week 4

Projected/Actual



Tuesday - 5 mile easy run, abs / 5.44 mile easy run, abs



Thursday - 5 mile easy run, abs / 5 mile easy run, abs



Saturday - 6 mile easy run / 6 mile easy run



Total Mileage: 16.44 miles



We went to my mother-in-law's lake house over the weekend, so my Saturday run had some different scenery, which is always nice. It was a nice easy run, but there are a lot of hills, so it gave me a workout, but the weather was cooler, so it wasn't too difficult.



Week 5

Projected/Actual



Tuesday - 3 mile easy run, abs / 3 mile easy run, abs



Friday - 6 mile tempo run, abs



Sunday - 12 mile easy run



This week my runs are on different days and I switched up a few of the runs. I have plans Tuesday afternoon, so I have to change some things up. My goal (for this week and every other week) is to just get my runs in. I am not picky about when I do, or if I run on non-consecutive days. I just want to get the run in.