Half Marathon Game Plan

The final run of my half marathon training plan is D-O-N-E!

Ahhh!

5 Mile Stats

I must say it feels so good to be completely finished with training.

I am not a naturally good runner. I don’t just fall into a comfortable stride immediately and breathe effortlessly as I run. Running, for me, is work. Though it is tough for me, I do enjoy the way my body feels after a good run and the clarity of my thoughts during a run. (You may read my running story here.)

That being said, it sure will be nice not to feel like I have to run on certain days after this race on Sunday!

I like working out in the morning, but I also like doing what I want to do to get my heart rate up. Without a half marathon looming over my head, I’ll feel much more free to take a spinning class, swim or complete a challenging interval workout.

Clearly I’ve missed the variety in my cardio workouts! Variety, after all, is the spice of life! 😀

Half Marathon Game Plan

As I was running this morning, I started to think about my game plan for Sunday’s race.

Initially my training plan had me completing a 12 mile run last Saturday, but since my training was derailed for a couple of weeks due to some serious pain in my heel, my long run only ended up being 10 miles. I actually felt pretty wiped out after the 10 mile run, so I am going to be sure to listen to my body during the half and take breaks when I need to.

Though I was never planning to run for time, I did have a little goal in the back of my head to run the entire race without stopping like I did during my first (and only) half marathon back in 2007.

Well, I’m officially scratching that goal. I am going to embrace breaks if I need them. In fact, I am planning to stop at the five and 10 mile mark for at least a full minute to refuel and stretch.

My new goal is to seriously enjoy the race. I will be running it with four of my girlfriends and want to have a great time before, during and after the race.

Of course I will put forth serious effort to get to the finish line because I can’t just breeze through 13.1 miles, but I am excited to run a race for fun and not worry about anything other than enjoying the race and the people I’m running it with.

And that, my friends, is my new game plan. 😀

I really wrote all of the above content to sort through my own thoughts, so I apologize for those of you who are drooling and falling asleep at your computer screens now. How about we move swiftly into breakfast to tantalize your senses and bring you back to life?

Breakfast

Why is peanut butter so good? I mean seriously. Why?

Why can’t broccoli taste like peanut butter so I could eat buckets and buckets of it every day?

Obviously peanut butter made a stellar appearance in my breakfast this morning in the form of a peanut butter and peach sandwich.

PB + Nutmeg

After spreading a copious amount of peanut butter onto half of a whole wheat sandwich thin (and eating a peanut butter finger in the process), I placed peach slices on the other half and dusted the sandwich with nutmeg for a little extra flava-flav.

Life's a Peach

The Goods

It's Not Okay to Look That Delicious

I was still a little hungry after this sandwich (running will do that to ya!), so I also enjoyed a creamy cup of Chobani plain Greek yogurt with a squirt of honey.

Yog

Breakfast is easily my favorite meal of the day!

Questions of the Day

• Are you a competitive person? Were you competitive growing up?
  
• If you’re a runner, do you run races for time or run them for fun… or a mix of the two?
  

Unsolved Mystery

I know I’m in the middle of a deep sleep when the alarm goes off and I’m mid-dream.

I really wanted to finish my dream, but I had to get up to make it to BodyPump, so my dream ended up being an unsolved mystery.

(In case you were wondering, in my dream, Sadie was a human baby and was missing! By the time I woke up I was pretty convinced she had been abducted. I attribute this dream to the stupid show on E! last night about the top women murderers of all time. There are some creepy ladies out there!)

Workout

Despite feeling like I had an unresolved issue looming over my head, I managed to have a decent workout. BodyPump was a great challenge, and I finished up my workout with 25 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical.

Breakfast

Breakfast was a tasty pb & p sandwich!

I made my peanut butter and pear sandwich using a fresh, juicy pear I bought at the farmer’s market yesterday.

Farmer's Market Pear

You know I just had to have a peanut butter finger while making this sandwich. 😉

Monday Morning PBF

I spread creamy peanut butter on half of a honey wheat Arnold sandwich thin.

PB

I topped the other half with thin pear slices before smooshing the two halfs together.

Pear + Peanut Butter

Peek-a-Boo

Breakfast is Served

This really is a great way to satisfy a peanut butter and jelly craving without all the sugar! Fresh fruit = aweeeesome.

Question of the Day

Do you typically dream about people you know?

I always dream about people I know.

Managing Mindless Eating

My work’s fridge has several containers of Einstein Bros. Bagels schmear (aka cream cheese) leftover from a bagel breakfast last week, so I took full advantage of the remaining goods and spread a thick layer on a multi-grain sandwich thin for lunch today.

I added several slices of zucchini that I roasted with garlic salt last night to round out my sandwich.

Zucchini and Cream Cheese Sandwich

Roasted Zucchini

On the side I nibbled on steamed broccoli and sugar-free Jello. YUM!

Wednesday's Lunch

Ways to Stop Mindless Eating

I think we’re all victims of eating mindlessly. How many times have you finished a meal and thought to yourself, “Whoa, where did that go!?”

I read such an interesting article on Jessie’s blog (Graze With Me) that she posted from Prevention magazine and wanted to share the little tips and tricks from the article regarding how to stop mindless eating:

1. Create Stop Signs: Portion out a snack on a plate or in a plastic bag and leave the rest in the kitchen, so when you’ve finished your portion, you’re “done.”
   
2. Ignore the Health Halo: Bypass claims hailing products as “low fat” and head straight to the package’s nutritional information for the important information.
3. Fixate on Fullness: Most people will stop eating or slow down when a bowl is almost empty or when most of the food on their plate is gone. Don’t rely on the amount of food left on your plate to signal when you’re full. Instead, listen to your body’s cues.
4. Leave the Mess: Unless you can see the damage, you’re not going to remember how much you ate–and you’ll eat more. Simply leaving the shells from the peanuts you ate  in a bowl in front of you can serve as a reminder of how much you’ve already consumed.
5. Hide Your Treats: Keep small amounts of your favorite treats in the house, but hide them out of sight and out of easy reach–in an opaque container on a high shelf, at the back of the pantry, or in a distant room.
6. Pour Smarter: We tend to perceive objects that are tall as larger than short, squat ones. That means you’re more likely to fill a low, wide juice glass to the brim but stop about halfway for the tall highball glass, even if they hold the same amount of liquid. So replace any short, wide glasses with tall, slim ones.
7. Know Where You Overeat: You may be more influenced by where you are (at the movies), what you’re doing (sitting in the dark, watching an engrossing flick), and what the people you’re with are doing (also chomping away) than by the taste and quality of the food in front of you or your own hunger.
8. Serve Small: Stick to serving bowls that hold just 4 to 6 cups of food. And scale down everything else: Portion out the food with a tablespoon rather than a much-larger serving spoon and switch to salad plates in place of Frisbee-size dinnerware.
9. Rate the Taste: Imagine you’re a restaurant reviewer and critically examine the flavor of whatever you are eating. If you don’t care for the dish, don’t finish it.
10. Keep Snacks Simple: Use variety to your advantage. Keep seven or eight different kinds of fruits and veggies in the house rather than three or four. Look for prepackaged produce that offers variety. But when it comes to high-cal, high-fat treats, keep choices to a minimum.

Which tip do you think would most benefit you?

I really like the “serve small” tip (# 8), and often serve myself dinner on a salad plate or my oatmeal in a smaller ice cream bowl. I love feeling like I am digging into a plate of overflowing food and this is a great way to achieve that without breaking the calorie bank.

We Got It!!!

We got the apartment!!! HOORAY!

Sign Here, Please!

I actually think the place is more like a “mini house,” as it is a stand-alone building, with a fenced-in backyard. The house is actually about five houses down from our current place!

Ryan and I are thrilled and will be meeting with our new landlord tomorrow or Wednesday to officially sign the lease.

What is something you absolutely need when looking for a place to rent?

I need a washer and a dryer. That’s a must for me.

Here are the aspects of the house that really attracted us to the place:

• WONDERFUL location (safe neighborhood and within walking distance of our gym)
• Fenced in backyard
• Washer/dryer
• Dishwasher
• Large master bedroom, plus two smaller bedrooms (one will be made into an office/study)
• Great price

We will officially move in April 1, but since it’s ready right now, our new landlord said we can start transferring stuff earlier if we want. That should make the whole moving process a lot less stressful!

Work out

Unfortunately our alarm was still set for 6:30 a.m. from Friday, not 5:30 a.m. as we typically do on Monday mornings so I can make BodyPump and Ryan can get a workout in before work. We woke up a little before  6a.m., but Ryan still missed his workout. 😦

I was able to get to the gym and did a modified cardio/total-body weights workout. Not too shabby!

After a quick walk with Sadie and a hot shower, I headed to my orthodontist’s office for an Invisalign appointment. I have about two months to go, and then we’ll do “refinement” to get my teeth exactly the way I want them to look. I’m happy to be on the tail end of this process!

Breakfast

I was excited to dig into my hot breakfast sandwich today since it’s still so cold outside. I made an easy sandwich with cheese, Canadian bacon and a whole wheat sandwich thin.

Breakfast Sandwich

It was hot ‘n’ yummy.

Happy President’s Day!

Presidential Seal

Half Marathon, Here I Come

Guess what I did today?

I signed up for the Chicago Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon!

Run Baby, Run!

The race isn’t until August 1, so I have plenty of time to not train before race day.

I’ve only run one other half marathon, which I completed with Ryan in December 2007. Our official time was 2:14.

OUC Half Marathon, Dec. 2007

I was not running for time (I never do). My goal was to run the whole thing, and that’s exactly what I did. No walk breaks!

I basically followed Hal Higdon’s novice half marathon training plan, and made sure to stick to the long run distances. Unfortunately I got sick two weeks before the race, so my longest run was 9 miles before the big 13.1 mile race.

It was definitely challenging, but I really enjoyed the experience. Ryan’s support was so amazing and I really appreciated having a running buddy with me. He didn’t train at all and stayed with me the entire time. While I was totally fine the next day, poor Ryan was sore for about a week! I guess that’s one of the benefits of training…

For the Chicago Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon on August 1, I will have several running buddies! Five of my girlfriends from college will also be running.

If you’re a runner, do you run for time? What’s the longest race you’ve run?

My goal for this race is simple: to have fun! I never get bent out of shape about my race times anyway and am one of the least competitive people in the world. I will not be focusing on a time and I plan on taking it nice and slow and enjoying the sights of the city. I’m so excited!

Lunch

Though my lunch was not quite as exciting as my half marathon news, it was still quite delish!

I enjoyed a Swiss cheese and artichoke sandwich on a whole wheat sandwich thin.

Swiss Cheese + Artichoke

I also munched on carrot sticks and enjoyed a sugar-free orange jello on the side.

Tuesday's Lunch

Also, for your viewing pleasure, please enjoy the lil’ pic of my mid-morning snack!

Gingersnap Yogurt

Around 11 a.m. I dug into Greek yogurt topped with two small Gingersnap cookies and chopped pecans.

Yummmmmmy!