Best run ever

Today I had 4.5 miles on the schedule. I thought about possibly waking up and running first thing, but hubby needed to be somewhere by 9:00. I could have made it if I really got moving early enough, but I really didn't want to rush it. I try to enjoy my long runs and take them as slow as I need to. I didn't want to spend the whole run worried about whether or not I would make it back on time for the hubby.

It worked for me to run just as little lady was having lunch. I rushed out and was really feeling it. It was perfect out. I did my warm up and then started running. I was listening to some music I loved in high school and it sort of helped me get lost in thought. Just as I was hitting the two mile mark I passed an older man (late 60s) and he put his hand out to high five. I thought it was awesome! I ran a quarter mile further and turned to head back. I couldn't believe how well I was feeling. On the way back I crossed paths again with the older man and exchanged another high five. For some reason this made my day!

As I was hitting the end of the 4.5 mile run I still felt amazing. I actually didn't want to stop. The road that connects my house to the trail has a few hills on it and since I am starting to hear that the 10k I will be running is quite hilly I decided to keep running until I got home and just cool down at home. I told myself that I could stop whenever I needed to but shocked myself at not needing to! I checked my route when I got home on mapmyrun and it looks like I ran 4.86 miles! Without stopping! In 57:30! That is less than 12 minute miles. I was so happy with myself. As much as I hate pushing little lady while running I do think it really helps me appreciate my solo runs.

I did manage to take one picture of my trail just as I got to it today. It is so pretty in person.

Friday figures

I did it! I did it! I did it! I am officially in the 160s. I have been dying to get here all summer, but obviously the lack of consistency didn't help me out. I don't care now though because I am here now!

I saw first saw the 160s on Wednesday morning and was so afraid it was a fluke or I would eat my weight in snacks before Friday and not get to share the good news. Thankfully I kept doing what I have been doing and stayed in the 160s for three day now. This is especially impressive for me because I have slowly been allowing foods into the house that can be tempting for me.The husband has been taking lunches to work again and I have a hard time resisting little packages of cupcakes. I am happy to report the whole box (minus one from last week's binge day) made it in his lunches. I even have a box of mini muffins for his lunch that aren't even open. They have been in there since Tuesday- new record for me!

Last night we had taco night and I bought a bag of tortilla chips at the store. I normally don't buy any chips when I am trying to lose weight because I can seriously inhale an entire bag of chips in one sitting. We opened them at dinner and I got by with two small handfuls. (I tried for just one handful, but couldn't resist that second.) I was worried those chips would show up on today's weigh in, but I wanted them and managed to control myself. There is still more than half a bag in our cupboard and I don't feel tempted. (Chips, please do not hear me bragging about my lack of attraction to you and start calling to me.)It feels really good to know I could survive and enjoy a delicious dinner without going overboard.

Rising and falling

So along with what seems to be everyone else, I love fall! It is absolutely beautiful here. A friend and I had been waiting for the leaves to changes so we could do a fall bike ride and enjoy the leaves. Today was finally the day. We met for breakfast and then headed off to a trail that she has ridden a few times with her boyfriend. I don't usually ride trails other than the one near my house because it is such a pain to fold up little lady's bike trailer, put the bike rack on my car and load my bike up. The husband helped me put the bike rack on so I can't really complain to much. I managed to fold up and load the trailer and my bike without to much difficulty. I was excited for this trail, she had told me it was a little hilly. I don't get to ride hills much because my trail is part of the rails to trails program so it is pretty flat. I only ride up one hill on the road to my house. This trail definitely had some hills! I feel pretty used to pulling little lady but she felt like a ton of bricks today. My bike seemed off too. I don't know if it needed to be oiled or it just had a hard time shifting gears with so much weight pulling back on it. We survived though and it felt like a really good workout.

It's sort of funny, the friend that I rode with used to be a drinking buddy. We would go out to the bar after work and share some food and drinks. It's so funny to me that now we do fitness fun days and talk about our health. I feel like it is a friendship that has grown with me and it's weird to see where we are now.

I also had a 2 mile run on the schedule today. I was driving home around lunch/nap time and was trying to come up with a plan for the run. Little lady had fallen asleep on the bike ride for about a half hour. Whenever she does that she will fight her afternoon nap (which is usually a 2-3 hour nap) so I quickly decided to just run when I got home and then get her ready for her nap. It worked out perfectly but I could feel that bike ride in my legs. My run took me just over 25 minutes, but I did it and am on track this week. 4.5 miles here I come!

I did take a fall picture of the beautiful tree in front of our house.The colors right now are amazing and I am hoping to snap a few pictures of the trail when I run this Saturday.

I love this tree!

I was also successful in my first bread making adventure (hence the rising). The bread was delicious and I got to make hubby some sandwiches for lunch on homemade bread. I am hoping he liked it.

You had to roll the dough out and then roll it together. This is it before rising.

Here it is all baked up. I didn't get a risen picture before baking.

I am enjoying my time in the kitchen and actually using self control around all these yummy homemade treats. I am amazed at my new ability. I can guarantee that not to long ago I would have inhaled that whole loaf of bread. Last night I had one slice with dinner and then sliced up the left over bread and put it in the freezer for future sandwiches. I hope this new self control stays awhile.

To much time in the kitchen...

But in a good way!

Ever since the hubby and I made our homemade pierogies we have been sort of toying with the idea of making our own bread. (I don't think we will do it all the time, just occasionally when we do have the time. I am not against store bought bread or anything like that. I wanted to make it just for the fun of it so when it stops being fun I will stop making it.) I wanted to make bread last week, but forgot to buy yeast when we were grocery shopping. I finally picked some up during yesterday's trip. Now let me say now that I am not an amazing cook. I did not grow up with home cooked meals and learn all sorts of tips throughout my life. I am finally picking up things here and there (and by that I mostly mean the internet). I have also finally gotten to the point that I can make up dinner every day and hubby eats it without to much complaining.

Now I don't know what went through my head but I saw a picture of homemade English muffins and became obsessed with trying to make them. I think it's just that I have been eating an English muffin with peanut butter every morning for breakfast. I made the dough during little lady's nap and messed with it until the evening when they were ready to go. I actually had fun and would think about doing it again. Thankfully, I made 26 muffins so I should be set for awhile.

I shaped the dough and let them rise.

I actually cooked them on the skillet.

They actually look like English muffins. I am so proud!

So what is next on the agenda? Here is a sneak peak of this evenings activites...

I have some bread dough rising.

I am excited to see how this bread will turn out. I have always been afraid of working with yeast so I haven't experienced with it much. Maybe my new hobby will be baking. (That could be bad for the waist line. yikes.)

On to the good stuff...I have been feeling super healthy lately. I have even been cooking actual lunches lately. Usually I just eat a salad or turkey sandwich, but I sort of burnt out on those options and wasn't sure what to do. I ate soup for a week, but never feel satisfied with just soup. Low and behold the answer to my problem was in my freezer. For some reason whenever I thought about eating healthy I would buy a pack of frozen fish fillets and plan on eating them, but never really would. Last week when I grew bored of turkey sandwiches and was panicked for lunch one day I saw my frozen tilapia just sitting there. I had bought some dill mustard and decided to grill the tilapia and make a sandwich with it and the dill mustard. I didn't have very high hopes but figured for 100 calories worth of fish and 100 calories worth of bread that it was worth a shot. I actually really enjoyed it and ate that lunch every day until I ran out of tilapia. Monday night I was searching through the freezer in preparation for Tuesday's grocery shopping and found some salmon that was still good. I wasn't sure if salmon would work in my sandwich creation (to be fair, I don't know how to pair many foods together) but figured I could at least eat it for lunches this week to save some money. Thankfully, I didn't have to try it as a sandwich because I found a salmon recipe on Budget Bytes (just found this blog and love it, I think I found the english muffins here too!) that morning and had everything to make her teriyaki salmon with sriracha mayo. When lunch time came I was actually really excited. I made some rice to go along with my salmon and couldn't believe how good it smelled while cooking. OMG it tasted amazing! I ate it today too and have one fillet left for tomorrow.

On a physical fun note I took a long walk again today with my new mom friend. Of course it started sprinkling just as I got to her house, but we toughed it out and walked for about an hour and a half. We went about 5 miles. It was fun but a bit cold with the rain. Of course it stopped raining just as we got back to her house. Tomorrow I am supposed to go on a bike ride with a friend. There is a chance for rain again so we will see. 

Closing note here, I was very happy when I stepped on the scale this morning. My fingers are crossed that I don't go overboard soon and can share my good news on Friday!

I might be losing my mind

Today I had a 3 mile run on the schedule. I was debating with myself about when I would get it done. I really miss being able to get up, drink a cup of coffee, get my run out of the way and then enjoy the day. With the weather changing I just can't run early with little lady. This morning I drank my coffee and was thinking about just running this evening once the hubby is home. Then I realized that little lady and I had absolutely nothing official on the schedule today so there was no reason not to run before her nap. We did have to go grocery shopping so we eventually got dressed, out of the house and bought our groceries. Once we got back I was secretely hoping it would be to late to run, but no of course we had over an hour until lunch time so I couldn't back out. It was beautiful out but I just hate pushing the jogging stroller lately.

I dragged myself out there though. I jogged for about 2 minutes and just wanted to quit. There was only one time that I actually didn't finish a run that I started and I was feeling similar to that day. I decided that since I am really struggling with the jogging stroller again that I would let myself do intervals and not feel bad at all about it. (It was either that or quit and I just couldn't quit.) I stopped jogging at 3 minutes in and walked for a minute. I told myself that even if I just kept running for 3 minutes and walked for 1, I would count this as a 3 mile run. My next running spurt I felt a bit better and decided to do 4 minutes of running before stopping. I decided to then do 5 minutes and work back down to 3 minutes again. When I started what would be my 5 minute running period I felt better and decided to just go for a bit. I don't run with anything to tell me how far I have gone, but from when I borrowed a Garmin I sort of know around where to turn. For example, in order to run an out and back for 3 miles I run until the 3rd street and then turn around. For some reason today I never remembered crossing the 2nd street. During my 3rd running burst I told myself to run until I crossed the 2nd street then I could take a walking break. It was taking me forever to get there. I looked down at my watch and was shocked to see it was almost 20 minutes. I could not believe how slow I must be running. In my mind it hadn't even been a mile and it had taken me almost 20 minutes. I was so frustrated. Little lady was starting to whine so I decided to just run until 25 minutes and then turn back wherever I was at. I got to what I thought was the second road and stopped. I was pretty sure this was the 3rd street that should be my turning point. I stood there awkwardly for a minute trying to decide what to do. Since little lady was fussing and I thought it looked like the 3mile turn point, I turned and headed back. I was pretty sure that I had cut my run short and was coming up with plans to work with my training schedule. I have a 2 mile run and strength training for Thursday and I thought about switching them around. Just as I was deciding to just count this run as my 2 mile run, I ran over the 2nd road. I had some how not noticed crossing the second road, I was on track for 3 miles! I also ended up running the whole way back without walking breaks thanks to a sweet group of ladies that ran past me. I love our trail and the people that run on it! These ladies had passed me coming towards me and had yelled out a, 'keep up the good work mama!' and then must have turned at some point and came up behind me and passed again. They yelled out more encouraging words to me. It was so nice and definately needed. I could hear people coming from behind me and I figured once they passed, I would walk again. When it was these ladies and they were cheering me on I some how felt like I couldn't let them down and just kept running. I must have been emotional because I also teared up a bit. I ended up finishing my 3 miles in 37:39. I only ended up walking 3 or 4 of those minutes. I am definitely not breaking any records out there, but I am pushing a stroller. :)

I am feeling much more positive since my run too. I have some fun news to share. It's here! It's here!

 

I am so excited to hate this thing!

We picked up the treadmill from the hubby's brother last night since hubs ended up being super busy all weekend. I sort of hounded hubby because I was afraid his bro would think we didn't really want it and get rid of it. The hubby didn't mention that it was broken when his brother offered it to him so I was slightly upset at first. However, I am married to Mr. Fix It. Before he even brought it in the house he had it fixed! I am excited. It's nothing fancy but it works (now) and hopefully I will use it this winter. I almost thought about running on it today, but I know I will be bored on it so I want to enjoy the nice weather while it lasts.

Weekend Recap

I am feeling much more positive after this morning's weigh in. I am still glad that I posted Saturday's weight. It helps me to stay honest and realistic. I just get frustrated at times because I feel like I am losing so slowly. I did see 171.8 this morning though which is what I was seeing a lot last week. I just wanted to undue the damage from Thursday night's eat feast. I feel back in the game and ready to inch closer to the 160's. I have been waiting all summer to see the 160's. I guess they wanted to spend the fall with me, which is fine as long as they get here soon.

Somehow I had an amazing weekend and kept my weight in check! I am making huge strides in having fun without overdoing the eating and drinking. I went to my mom's house on Saturday afternoon (after running 4 miles again on Saturday!) My mom's house used to be a huge binge place for me. I obviously overate when I lived there and for some reason whenever I would visit I would raid the cupboards and pig out. I have gotten so much better with controlling myself and it is almost easy for me.

We got to my mom's house just before 3pm. It was just little lady and I, the hubby had to stay home to work on a bunch of things that just become hard to do with a little one running around. My mom got called into work so the little lady tore through the house while we waited for Nana to get home. As we waited (and I controlled my snacking) I realized I forgot little lady's lovey. The only thing she likes to have when she sleeps. I am so lucky with little lady though, she is such an easy going kid. I figured she would be fine without her lovey for the night, but I knew my mom would be putting her to bed and wanted to have things as close to usual as possible. Once my mom got home from work we all headed out to find a new lovey. I found her one that was close to what she used at home and she seemed to love it so we were all happy. We got back to my mom's and they had dinner while I got ready to head out. For the second weekend in row!

My best friend had recently bought her first home! I hadn't seen it yet so I had given the hubby a free weekend and planned to check out the house. I left little lady with her grandma and headed over to see the house. It was beautiful! She has already got so much done on it and I am so excited for her. We decided to invite another friend to join us and we went out to dinner and for a few drinks. I had a grilled chicken sandwich with pesto. I love pesto and felt that I had eaten light enough all day that I could enjoy it without feeling guilty. I did and I am glad. We had a drink with dinner and then headed over to a Speakeasy. I hadn't really heard of it before but it was really cool. If you didn't know it was there you probably wouldn't ever see it, which I guess is the point. It was dark and had "rules." The few that I liked and remember were everyone must be seated, so if there isn't a seat for you you have to wait outside until there is space. There is no cell phone use, they want you to enjoy the company you are there with. It was really cool, but expensive. All drinks are made with quality liquor and all juice that they mix with is fresh squeezed. Drinks are all $10 each so we each just got one and enjoyed it. It was a fun evening and I enjoyed having a girls' night with my friends.

On Sunday I brought little lady over to my friend's house just to see the house once more and visit a little longer. I decided to stop to outlet shop on the way home too. The hubby is not a big shopper and we pass a huge outlet shopping area right along the freeway on the ride home. The hubby and I have only stopped once. I love a good deal so I figured I would check it out without him complaining the whole time. Little lady is a great shopping buddy! We wandered for awhile and actually didn't buy anything. I realized then, around 3pm that I hadn't really fed her lunch (oops) and we still had a two hour drive left to get home so we headed to the food court. Previously I would have found what sounded the best and ordered it and enjoyed it all and then would have felt guilty about it and ate more to try to feel better. They only had four restaurant choices and none of them looked that great. One was called "Grill it" so I decided on them. I ordered just a plain grilled chicken sandwich. It was honestly a chicken breast that I watched her cook on a grill and put on a grilled bun. Little lady got the kid's meal, chicken nuggets, fries and a drink. I ended up just eating the chicken, no bun. Normally I would have eaten the bun but I looked at it and the bun just didn't look that appetizing. It looked like a plain bun I could easily pick up at the grocery store. Since the bun wasn't special, I decided to just enjoy the chicken and a few of little lady's fries. I felt good after eating and didn't feel like I missed out on anything! Huge success for me.

This has turned into a huge post that isn't very focused (or interesting) so I will end it here with an update on my working out. I walked little lady to the library for library time this morning so I got in a little cross training today and am going to do some back strengthening now. My back has gotten much better but is still a little sore. I am thinking maybe spending one of my strengthening days each week focusing on my back will help a bit. I also hope it doesn't make it worse. We will see.

Friday figures

I know, it's not Friday. After a rough morning on Friday, I did weigh in on Saturday morning. I wasn't thrilled with what I saw, but it wasn't a gain either.

So I lost .3 lbs. I would be happy with that except that I saw a 170 one day last week. Oh well, I will get there.

I will recap my weekend tomorrow. I just got home but I wanted to post that weigh in before I deleted it and tried to use Monday's weigh in for last week.