Weight loss for Wishers and becoming Leaner Meaners!

[jeanneg]

Hello Mean Leaners.....'member me???

I'm so sorry I have not been posting, but life has been crazy.....mostly good crazy but still crazy nonetheless. I haven't forgotten you guys....I just haven't had the time to post. OK let's see, since I last posted I did the DL half and met up with a whole bunch of other WISHers. I did a 3:07:59 -not a PR by any means, but fairly respectable since it ended up getting VERY hot and there was no shade to be found. Not to complain though, it could have been sooooo much worse but luckily the morning was somewhat overcast and we were spared that scorching California sun for most of the race.
I came home to a huge backlog of work and then threw myself full force into training for NYC. Life threw me a little curveball and I ended up with some crazy bada$$ medical issues which fortunately seemed to disappear as quickly as they appeared......knock on wood. Then just last weekend my daughter and the Greek came to visit and we were busy, busy with wedding stuff. NYC is getting very close....thank goodness! I have my 18-miler tomorrow and it's going to be boring! Then, in 2 weeks, I'll be doing 20 miles on a really neat trail that I especially saved for the occasion and I am actually looking forard to that one. Then, it's taper, taper, taper and.....SHOWTIME!!!!!! I'll be so glad when this over.

I have been scanning most of the postings but may have missed some things here and there.....you know I love you all even if I fail to address your individual issues. :hug:

Mandac: Welcome!
Deb: sorry about your internet problems. How awesome that the filming took place so closeby....any celebrity sightings? Please give DOOD a big congrats from me for his race!
Beth: Thanks for keeping us on track and WTG on your PR in Philly!
Maria: congrats on getting your proposal through and for always being so upbeat. So happy you're losing your toxic co-worker!
Cindy: I really admire you for avoiding the pizza party. I could NEVER do that and would rationalize some cockamamie excuse to be there and EAT! WTG for being so disciplined.
Vicky: Bikinis? I am so jealous! I can barely work up the courage to be seen in a grandma suit! :lmao:
Wendy: so sorry to hear about your mom. Hope things are looking better and sending lots of pixie dust your way. If I had known that you and Jackie were in the same Galloway, I probably would have signed up for it also. But since I have only 2 more long walks to go, I won't be joining this year. Are you also doing OBX? John plans to do it and I will either volunteer or use the spectator shuttle to me a one-person scream team for both of you.
Jackie: you have been soooo awesome with your training and are gonna rock thr Richmond marathon!

[MouseDogMom]

Gonna try this again - had one LONG post typed - dog stepped on the mouse and lost the ENTIRE thing. ARRRRGGGGGHHHH!

Jeanne - Come join us any time. Galloway is always guest friendly, so you're welcome to come run/walk with us for any distance. They only frown on it if you run for several weeks without joining! Where are you doing your 20 miles? Hope the medical problems stay gone. Sounds like you've been crazy busy. You're going to do great in NY!

Wendy - Sorry to hear about your mom. Been there, done that, know what you're doing through. My mom was in Winston-Salem, but my siblings were in Roanoke and San Francisco, so I was the "local" one. We'll miss you the next 4 weekends - good luck on all your races! I'm particularly envious of the trail marathon - that's when I'm doing my 23 mile run.

Cindy - Did you get to the chiropractor? Hope your back is feeling better. Good luck with the weather for the race. We had a half marathon here last year where almost none of the volunteers showed up due to bad weather - ask Jeanne about her experience with that one! Hope you have better luck!

Beth - GO TO THE DOCTOR!

Maria - Congratulations on all your work news. Between the co-worker leaving, and the proposal coming through, you had an awesome week!

Vicky - I do gels every 5 miles. I had to laugh at Cindy's tale of stuffing them everywhere. I wear a fuel belt with a couple of pouches, and during the marathon last year I swore I looked like a pack mule. I had so much food on me I probably could have survived for a couple of days, but when I did my 20 miler with Jeanne and Wendy last year, I discovered that I needed solid food in addition to gels, so I carried 5 or 6 gels, pretzels, and a Luna bar!

As for me - I dared to step on the scale this week, and I was back down to a 5 pound total loss. Apparently my body doesn't want to lose more than 5, even though I want to lose 15. At least I'm at 5 instead of 0 now, so we'll see if we can go from there. I did make my first trip to the grocery store since Annie left for college (I should be embarrassed to admit that!), so I've cooked a few times this week and we are generally eating healthier.

I also have good news on the work front... we thought that with the sale of the company that we were going to have to do a complete wall-to-wall inventory next weekend, which was going to take at least 2 complete days, but we found out on Thursday that we get to do our usual inventory where we only count a portion of our warehouse, which usually takes us less than 1 full day. We can start Thursday morning, which means I won't have to work late Friday night before my 23 mile run Saturday. Good news all around. I also won't need 2 full weeks to get all the info entered in the computer afterward - can probably do it in a couple of days instead!

Did 10 miles with the Galloway group this morning - for the first time all season considered bagging the run and sleeping in. Have a really bad case of poison ivy and am on prednisone; didn't sleep well, had the beginnings of a migraine at 2:00am along with a slight case of nausea, and just didn't feel like it. Drug myself out of bed anyway, and ended up having a great run on a mostly hilly course. Love knowing that I'm making serious progress!

Jackie

[Creativebeth]

Good afternoon Meaners! Nice the weekends here!

I have been completely lazy today. Did get some errands done, but have'nt run yet.

Penn State is on tonight, so we will be 'tailgating' for dinner. We are cooking a pork shoulder on the grill all day. We did that once before and the pork was really good!

I made a 'healthy' bake bean recipe that in the oven for 3 to 4 hours. We'll see how that turns out....not sure about it yet. Seemed like alot of water! If it comes out ok, I will post it on my new dinner thread. Has anyone stopped by yet? What do you think about it?

I plan on at least an hour on the TM today, since it's raining. Finishing lunch right now, and will see have I feel in an hour or so.

Jeanne: Welcome back! Glad to hear that you are better! I was worried that it was your gallbladder! Hope it's all going ok!

Wendy: Welcome back again! Always glad when you come back to check in. Sorry to hear about your Mom. Hope she is healing now!

Jackie: Good job getting your miles in today. Wish I had already done mine too. Your Galloway group sounds fun!

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

Hey Meaners!

Back from a wild weekend -- we went to Foxwoods Casino in CT yesterday for DH to see Alice Cooper. DS and I swam in the pool and relaxed. We also went over to Mohegan Sun Casino so I could eat at the Margaritaville. It's my favorite restaurant, and I'm trying to visit all I can get to...I was less than impressed. I found both to be entirely too smokey for me, and not particularly kid-friendly (not that I would expect them to be!). I also had a small (not so small) pistacchio gelato, which was quite yummy. I think yesterday was not great or even good for eating, but at least I'm back on track with a WW deli meal today for lunch. We aren't going to discuss the Dunkin Donuts coffee roll and vanilla chai I had for breakfast :rolleyes1

Friday night we hosted the good SIL, and had a great time. She was off to the airport at 7 AM, so I hopped right on the TM and did 5 mi. I seem to have really nailed 13 min miles, which is a huge improvement for me! I was so afraid I would be swept the first time I did the WDW Half, 16 min miles were a challenge. I have come a long way, and I know as the pounds come off I will get even faster! :thumbsup2

I've got us completely unpacked and started laundry, now I'm finishing up a few important things before the Pats play. I am looking forward to a nice, early night tonight and early morning on the TM.

Beth -- I'm going to have to check out your new dinner thread, it sounds like a great idea! :idea:

Jackie -- I sympathize with you on the scale. I had a whopping .2 loss this week. It's like my body (actually I think it's my mind) can't handle the milestone I keep creeping up to and then missing. I am determined to put Saturday behind me and work hard this week to finally get there. I am sick of weighing what I do!:headache: But you are right, I had a fabulous work week! :woohoo:

Jeanne -- So great to hear from you! I'm glad the wedding plans are going well, but concerned about your health -- take good care of yourself, you have alot going on right now! :hug:

Wendy -- I hope you enjoy BL8. It is a great motivator, especially when you see your name on the biggest loser list for the week, which I'm sure is in your future! :goodvibes So sorry to hear about your mom, I wish her a speedy recovery and you some quiet time to focus on yourself!

Cindy -- How did the road race go? I hope your back is feeling better. Trust me, I'd take a 1.2 loss this week, remember, we're in this for the long haul! :lovestruc Brookline is very like Boston in appearance, but so different dealing with the beaurocracy. They are so pleasant out there, I love it when I can do a project. Thanks for putting that dessert into perspective, we do plan to share, but I may limit myself to a few bites. :eek:

Debra -- I have my own movie filming a block from where I work! The principal actor is Ben Affleck, they have been shooting for about four days. It's very interesting to walk by and see all the equipment. I have no idea what this one will be called, I tend to not enjoy his films...:confused3

Shoutouts to Manda and Vicky! :wave: I hope you're having a great weekend!

Ok, off to see my beloved Pats...:cheer2:

Maria :upsidedow

[Creativebeth]

Just a quick shout out to all of you! Good morning!

Maria: What a breakfast! Sorry, I will live through you! I never have time to stop for anything in the morning(((I pack my breakfast everyday))))....so I am envious! Good job on theTM!

I am still working on that pound (or now is it two?) and the weekend wasn't the best eating! Oh well, it's Monday, and time to get back to it!

Gonna be a busy day today!

Beth

[mandac]

Hi All!

I must admit that I am so impressed with all of you. I am so glad I found a group of people that can inspire me so much! I mean really - getting up and running even though you are getting a migrain! I wish I had that kind of determination. I am working on it, but not there yet.

My new goal is to track my food intake for 3 weeks (ambitious, but I can do it) and make sure I get at least 2 hours of REAL exercise in every week. Baby steps to start. Hopefully after 3 weeks it will be a habit.

This weekend was BAD for eating. DH and I went to the Circus on Friday (so much fun) and he REALLY wanted a pizza after. I was only going to have a piece or two, but ended up eating half the pizza. Then on Satuday I went to the Killers concert with my sisters. We stopped at Chipoltle before the show - I think the burrito I ate had over 2000 calories, but boy was it good :-)

I was having a hard time fitting in my exercise this weekend. I was going to go out right after work on Friday, but my hubby bought tickets to the Circus! So we had to head out the door. I managed to get a half hour in on Saturday. That was my first day jogging again in at least 5 years. My knees just don't like it, and I have been slacking on the PT I should be doing to get them back into shape. But time for slacking is over! Sunday was dinner at my parent's and I didn't get home early enough to get miles in before bed (but somehow had time to watch the Amazing Race, obviously my priorities are still a little mixed up!)

Thanks all for your inspiration!

Manda

[Creativebeth]

Manda: We all get the life taking over! I have to say, it is difficult at times to get the exercise in.

To start my exercise off I spent 6 months getting up every day before work and walking on the TM for 30 minutes. I didn't know it at the time, but it was the best thing I could have done. It made exercise a habit......I get my time in every day despite my stupid schedule! I have to. For my sanity, and for my physical well-being.

Getting up is really hard in the beginning, but I found that if I get my miles in the morning, it is so much easier. It's less time away from the family (they are all sleeping!) and I get it done and don't have to worry about it the rest of the day! It's now alot easier to get up......it's a habit! I even wake up before the alarm anymore, so I know I am just used to it.

If you wait to get exercise in later in the day, too many things can come up. Not saying you can't get it done then, just a little harder when the family can interfere with your schedule.

The eating thing is tough. I just had to stay away from places with alot of temptations. I gave up fast food a long time ago, so it is much more helpful now to stay away from the bad food. Portion sizes are out of hand in restaurants, so I suggest packing up 1/2 of your dinner selections to take home for lunch the next day.

I know how hard it is to get started.....hang in there.

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

Hey Lean Meanies!

I popped up and did my 5 mi on the TM this morning, which felt great. I'm doing ok with food, I'm just really hungry. I'm going to have to work on eating more filling foods for my WW points. I guess it would help if I'd open the Filling Foods list on the website :rolleyes1

My spaghetti and meatballs is already pre-portioned for tonight, so I just have to stick to what is prepared for me. I just seem to need more points than I'm allowed. I guess that's not strictly true, but I'm trying not to use the weekly points or exercise points. I may have to change that and eat a little more. I'm reluctant to do that because I'm afraid I'll stop losing altogether...:eek:

Manda -- I completely second what Beth said. If I didn't get up before work and on the TM, it just wouldn't happen. I'm so tired at the end of the day, I have nothing left for me. I have to take care of me first (like the oxygen on an airplane), and then I can take care of my family and work. I'm going to bed at 9:30, but it's worth it. If there's something I really want to see on tv, I Tivo it. I can watch much faster speeding through the commercials, anyway! :thumbsup2 It's ok to walk before you jog, that's how I started. Your knees might appreciate it, and you might be glad you built up your strength and ease into exercise.

Beth -- That was a very untypical breakfast for me, and only because we were on the road and eating at Dunkin Donuts! I normally have oatmeal or cream of wheat with a banana or an apple, or scrambled egg whites and veggies, and hot tea. I do make myself eat breakfast. I'm trying to eat more earlier in the day so I will be less hungry later. I'm not sure how well it's working, but it's supposed to help.

I agree, it's Monday and let's get back to it!

Maria :upsidedow

[Creativebeth]

Maria: There isn't any reason to excuse yourself for the breakfast!!! I totally am there. My whole thought process over the weekend was donuts! (((I LOVE donuts.......I miss them :guilty:)))) I am going to have to break down soon enough and have myself a donut. I love Chai tea too. I am committed to weight loss, but I certainly have my detours along the way. This 'healthy' lifestyle is something we have to do, but that doesn't have to be 100% of the time. There is plenty of room for a few endulgences.

You are hungry because of the consistent workouts. You might have to think about added a few points R/T your exercise time. I have been there. If you don't increase the food a little, it may lead to binges because you are hungry ((((remember the Oreo story? I couldn't stop eating them!)))) I know what you mean though, when do I stop fueling? It's difficult. We can talk about all that on the dinner thread! I am really trying to broden my world of eating to healthy, fresh, and natural foods.

You are doing so well! Keep it up, I am proud of you!

Beth

[bunnyfoo]

Happy Monday Lean Meaners!

Wendy - pixiedust: for your mom! I hope she gets better soon! I loved that your co-worker's comments about the jeans!! We're right here cheering you on! Good luck with the BL challenge!

Debra - How goes the star watching? Anything interesting happen while you were watching them film?

Cindy - Congrats on the 1.2 lb loss!! Fantastic :) How did the Road Race go? Was it lots of work coordinating the volunteers. I hope the weather cooperated and things stay dry.

Jeanne - WTG on your DL time!! Hope the medical issues weren't anything too serious! Keep us posted on your NYC training!

Jackie - pixiedust: Hope your poison ivy itch is gone soon. I saw a lot of people stuffed with gel packs at my race this weekend so you aren't the only one. One guy had a fuel belt with several bottles and then his pockets were filled with gels. I did managed to get my gel down nicely while walking!

Beth - How did your bean bake turn out? It sounds interesting - I'll check out your dinner thread once I'm done posting here.

Maria - The casino weekend sounded like a lot of fun! I love taking mini vacations :) WTG on your 13 m/m pace!!

Manda - I looooove Chipotles! They recently opened up a location not too far from work - but far enough that it would take too much time to go there on my lunch hour. I agree with Beth about working out in the morning. I recently started doing that and it was hard because I'm not a morning person but it's a good feeling to know that you've gotten it out of the way for the day.

AFM - I ran my half marathon this weekend and had a PB of 2:15:48. I showed up pretty late to the race and by the time I got out to the corrals, the first three had already cleared - there were only 4 corrals. D'oh! I had to dodge around a lot of people in the first little bit. I never did manage to find the 2:15 pace bunny - I had hoped to run with that group since I didn't trust my Garmin in the downtown core. The course was mostly flat which was nice but the weather was a lot more humid than I would have liked. I felt like I had a hard time getting in enough air sometimes. Overall, it was pretty fun! Plus I got to see Kim and DH quickly before I got to the start :)

Have a great day everyone! :wave2:

[jeanneg]

Just a quickie post to say: WAY TO GO, MARIA!!!!!!

Those 13 min. miles are awesome! You rock!:worship:

[Creativebeth]

Good morning Lean Meaners!

Vicky: WTG on the PR! Nice time, even though you had to run and dodge! You have worked really hard for that.....you deserve it!

Jeanne: Glad you are back to things! Hope marathon training is going well!

Wendy: How's your Mom? Hope things are better for her, and for you!

Maria: Did'ya get your morning workout in today?

AFM: Well, I am now officially trying to get 2 pounds off. I am not sure where the second pound came from.....maybe the over-endulgence on Saturday?????(((((how easy is it to forget our indiscretions???? :confused3))))

I am shocked that I am waking up before my alarm everyday. My body is really getting used to the early morning workouts. I am tempted to get up for the early morning run even when I don't work. My days off are the hardest to get my workout in.....why is that????? Maybe those darn kids!!!! ((((and their busy schedule))))

I did get an evening "Jillian" workout in last night too. My dh took the kids to baseball practice, so I did a workout while they were gone!

I made a pork chop recipe last night that was really good. Check out the dinner thread......I'll post it.

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Morning, Lean Mean Brigade!

Fresh from my 5 mi this AM, and still feeling good! Today is my "super workout" day -- TM, yoga and weights during BL. I can't just sit and watch that show, I feel too guilty :rolleyes1

I persevered through my hunger yesterday, and reduced my intake by one ww pt. I remember hearing somewhere that as you get close to a lower pt amount you should reduce so it isn't so stressful. I'm getting close...actually, this is the point where I usually fall apart, but not this time! I'm sticking to the weekly menu (fish sticks and steamed veggies tonight), and reducing by 1 until Friday. Then we'll see how my weigh-in looks :flower3:

Beth -- I wake up before my alarm every day, too. I actually don't even set it. It's nice to feel like you got all the rest you needed. :thumbsup2 The pork chop recipe sounds yummy! Sorry about the 2 lbs -- maybe they like to come and leave together, and now they're buddied up they'll take a hike :thumbsup2

Vicky -- Congrats on the PR, that is awesome! :yay: I miss Kim, hopefully I'll see her (and you!) at the Pop Meet in Jan.

Jeanne -- Thanks for the encouragement! Are you feeling well-trained and ready to tackle NYC? :cool2:

This fueling business is tough. I think as long as I can control the pre- and post-dinner snacking, I'll be ok. I have a healthy breakfast, only eat what I brought for lunch, and also have a healthy dinner. It's the snacks that are killing me, so I just have to learn to say no to myself. I think going mostly organic has really helped. The yogurt is more filling, the fruit and veggies taste better, and I know I am carb-sensitive, so I'm definitely having less of those avoiding most pre-packaged cookies, candy, etc.

Ok, back to more testimony. It seems to be alot of what I do these days, I'm hoping I can get by with just handing this one in, but we'll see...I hate public speaking :headache:

Maria :upsidedow

[Creativebeth]

Good morning Lean Meaners!

Maria: Had the big 'BL' workout go? The Biggest Loser has already driven me crazy, but I continue to watch! :confused3 I think that Tracey is the new Vicky.....this year's villian! She now has a target on her back! She'll never make it out alive. She can't even workout like the rest because of the heat stroke. She's gonna have a hard time.

It's funny.....you are working out watching, and I have an extreme craving for ice cream watching it! I am lucky we didn't have any ice cream in the house, cause it would have been history last night. I substituted a bowl of Fiber One raisin bran.....just not the same. :sad2:

AFM: I started back to making a menu for the week. I was going to the store every day again....that just costs me a fourtune! So, Sunday I made a menu, and haven't gone to the store since getting everything on Sunday. That is a recent record for me! I will probably have to go tomorrow, to refill the drink situation (milk, tea, etc) Each small trip would cost me like $50 a time.....the money situation was out of hand. I do much better with one trip.

I posted a soup recipe on the dinner thread.....what do you all think of the dinner thread? Should I let it die? I don't know if people are getting anything out of it or not.....

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Morning, Lean Meaners!

Today is my rest day, and in some ways that's harder than the workout days...I feel like I should be doing something, but when I don't have a rest day I get so sore I can barely move, so it's necessary. ::yes::

Remember how happy I was the co-irker is leaving? Guess who gets to pick up some of his tasks? I'm hoping it's temporary until they hire a new person, but you never know...still, I'd rather do it myself than have to deal with him.

Beth -- I agree with Jillian, Tracy needs to buy a clue. She is clearly not the brightest bulb in the pack. She definitely has a bullseye on her back, not a good move. She made her move way too early. I just hope she doesn't take Coach Mo down with her. Why do you think I schedule weights during this show -- it's so I can't spend the entire show eating! :lmao: I just do them for half an hour, then I relax while I watch the rest. Good for you eating cereal instead of ice cream!

Menu planning is key for us. We usually do it Friday night or Saturday, and then shop for the week. We eat out Friday and Saturday nights, so it's just 5 nights of dinner. We try to do something in the crockpot on Sundays, and then have the leftovers Monday. The meal planning helps us get in a better variety of foods, making sure we vary our proteins. We're trying to do fish twice a week, but that's a work in progress. Our local grocery store has one 5% off your order coupon per week, so shopping once also saves us $. That's not to say we don't run out of things (milk, etc.) and have to go back, but we try to set ourselves up for the week.

I was so hungry yesterday, I "accidentally" ate a bag of microwave popcorn. I have no idea how many ww pts that is, because I've never measured the cups of popcorn. At least it was "light butter"...I know I was starving because I missed my afternoon snack. I'm finding it's not pretty if I don't eat something regularly :eek: I had to go to that hearing (I did have to speak :headache:), and so I couldn't really sit there and eat.

Today should be much better. I don't have any meetings, and I'm going to walk to the main branch of the library (about half an hour) at lunch. I accidentally sent books there for pick-up, so I have to go there to get them. I normally send them to my local branch, but I was asking the library to buy these books, and I missed the part when I had to say where I wanted them sent if they did purchase them.

Ok, I'd better get going on more testimony. I am a writing machine! :cool2:

Maria :upsidedow

[bunnyfoo]

Hi Lean Meaners! Just quick fly-by today ...

Beth/Maria - I just started watching BL this season. Are the episodes usually 2-hours?

I kind of see where Tracey was coming from - she's missed a week's worth of workouts and is limited in what exercises she can do because of her heat stroke so I don't blame her for playing the game and winning the challenges. I did think she should have talked to Coach Mo before taking the 2 pounds but she was right in that someone was eventually going to have taken the 4, 6, 8 pounds etc. I didn't care for the pink team - if they couldn't promise not to vote for Tracey, why did she have to make promises to them? That said, I agree with you guys about the bullseye on her back. I don't think she's going to be around long. I felt badly for Coach Mo when Jillian was chewing him out. And how cute were Antoinne and Alexandra :)

I do wonder which teams would have been below the yellow line if both persons' weight were counted.

AFM - I'm still packing and getting last minute things together. My hamstrings on my right leg is bothering me a little. I had a cramp in the gym on Monday. How embarassing was that? :blush: I guess they were still overworked from Sunday. I hope to keep my eating check while I'm gone but I can't make any promises.

Have a great day everyone :wave2:

[Creativebeth]

Vicky: Yeah, Biggest Loser started running 2 hours last season. I think it used to be 2 different days, with elimination being on the second day. But, now they just run it for the 2 hours on Tuesday.

Every season, the show portrays someone as the 'villian' just to keep us 'entertained'. I really hate the editing sometimes though.

This temptation was really stupid, so early in the game. Tracey was not thinking clearly when she decided to 'play the game.' It is too early, and a team is going to be eliminated anyway. Right now it's to early to know who will the the biggest threat. So no good could come out of making enemies so early. The power she had was pointless, except for making enemies. I would be surprized to hear that Tracey ever watched the show before. If you watched other seasons, you can bet she wouldn't have done this temptation.

Now, if that temptation lead to immunity.....that's another story! I would have been eating cupcakes if it was possible to be immune to elimination for the week.

She really did seem to pick team members for weigh in just to make them mad! She is REALLY lucky that she lost enough weight to avoid the yellow line. I don't know if she will be that lucky next week, with no workout ability. I think the house will be a better place without her. Right now she is TOXIC, and I feel sorry for Coach Mo. He is going to be going down with the ship I think.

As you can tell, I am way to into this dumb show. I get so mad at myself for watching (AGAIN) every season. But, it is what it is!

Beth

[Cindylou]

Hello Everyone,

Vicky: Great job on your 1/2 marathon. Always nice to get a PB. Good thing you got to the start on time. Good luck with the packing. Have a great trip. I haven't seen this week's BL yet. I do think they edit it to try to make it more interesting. I still haven't picked a favorite yet. I see you posted somewhere that you are staying at the Poly for marathon weekend. We will be there too (I think). What dates? We are 1/8 to 1/15. I say "I think" only because the $$ is scaring me. We did get the buy 4 get 3 deal, but I could also get that at POR for 1/2 the price. I'd really rather stay at the Poly for the convenience of the monorail. Just have to clip a few more coupons over the next several months to ease the conscience.

Maria: I think rest days are hard too, mostly because I can't eat as much since I haven't earned activity pts. I do eat almost all of my activity pts, just try to stay away from the 35 extras. Sorry you are going to get more work, but it's good that it's worth it to you. I don't think the popcorn was too bad. The light butter popcorn I have is 1 pt per serving and there are 3 servings in an entire bag. There are much worse things to accidentally eat. Like the buttered popcorn which is 3 pts per serving or 9 for the bag. I think dinner time snacking is really hard. I try to save a few pts so I can have a planned dessert. That way I can sometimes stop my pre-dinner eating knowing I have something to look forward to.

Beth: That's great that you are able to wake up before your alarm. I can on days I don't work, because the alarm is set for 7. On days I work the alarm goes off at 4:20. I usually don't wake up before that. I think the dinner thread is great. There have been 140 views, so someone is looking. Maybe try to keep it going for a little while longer and it will catch on. I'll try to post a few more recipes too. How was that potato soup? I do like the idea of spinach in there. I don't usually have the rice a roni or mashed potatoes in the pantry, so I might have to make a few substitutions. I will try the pad thai, but need to buy fish sauce.

Manda: I had a lot of trouble with my knees until I lost weight. Stick with the exercise and healthy eating and that will help a lot with your knees. Also, do you take glucosamine Chondroitin? That's supposed to help with joint pain.

Jeanne: Hope the training is going great.

Wendy: Hope you are well.

Debra, Amy, Jackie and all the other Lean Meaners: Hope all is well.

I only tracked pts for 4 days last week, but it's better than I had been doing. I didn't necessarily eat poorly on the other days, I was just too busy to write every thing down. I ran 20 miles on Monday and felt pretty good. The thing that I am most excited about is that I tracked pts the entire day. I counted out how many pretzels and sports beans and gels I had and added it into my pts for the day. It was eye opening to say the least. I earned 20 activity pts by running plus I get 21 pts each day. I ate 11 pts during my run then 2 more with my recovery drink, so really I had only an extra 7 pts for the day. Normally when I get back from a run I graze all afternoon and I'm sure I eat more than 7 pts. Now there's no surprise why I normally gain weight while training for distance races.

I am starting to feel run down as if I'm coming down with a cold. I'm going to try to drink lots of fluids and take zinc and echinechea and vit c and get lots of sleep. I really don't want to get sick before the marathon.

Have a great day everyone.
Cindy

[Worfiedoodles]

Cindy -- How do you count your activity points for running? I do run, but since I'm slow (I average 4.6 mph), I've been putting it in the ww tracker as treadmill walking, which it register as 3.0 -5.0 mph. Should I be counting it as running instead? I assumed it had to do with the speed I'm able to achieve?

Great job on tracking your points! I need to make a better effort at that. It is eyeopening when I realize how easy it is to have a ton of points from a little of this and that. The popcorn we have is Orville Redenbacher Natural. DH bought it, next time I'll make sure we go back to the organic. I do think it tastes better.

Thinking about dumping everything and just reading tonight. I may not even turn on the tv...

Maria :upsidedow

[Cindylou]

Maria: I kind of make up my own rules. I figure a mile is a mile whether you are walking or jogging or running. I calculate 1 mile = 1 activity pt. When I use the on-line tracker it tells me I earned 9 pts if it was moderate and 23 pts if it was high intensity. I don't know if I was running at moderate or high??? I'm not sure that overall speed is necessarily a good indicator. My sister who weighs more than me can run much faster than me, so for her a 10 minute mile would be a very light effort, but for me it would be at least moderate if not high. Since I'm trying not use my 35 pts, I figure if I'm estimating wrong it can come out of there.

Enjoy your night reading. I'm hoping to hop in bed early and read for a while myself.

Cindy

[MouseDogMom]

Manda - Start slowly. Walk and add in jogging/running for just a few seconds at the time (maybe 30 seconds for every 5 minutes). As your knees adjust, you can alter the ratio to more running. As for the migraine, I have such a chronic problem with them that if I didn't go on with my plans I'd never get anything done!

Vicky - Congratulations on your half! What a great time! Good job getting the gel in.

Beth - I've read recently that the budget experts strongly recommend only one trip to the grocery store instead of daily trips for that exact reason. It's way too easy to spend $50 every time you go in. Much less expensive to make a weekly budget and get it all in one trip. I try to alternate between Sam's and the regular grocery store - that way I can buy milk and OJ at Sam's where it's cheaper and supplement at the grocery. Fortunately, with just DH and me now, we don't need much of either!

Cindy - Joining you in coming down with something. I think mine is just allergies, but I felt really bad on Monday and actually left work early to come home and go to bed. Slept for about 4 hours, but I've been really stuffy ever since. Hope yours doesn't develop into anything serious!

DH and I ran Sunday night, and had planned to run Monday, but I obviously slept through our run. Still felt really run down on Tuesday, but was determined tonight to run regardless. Managed 4+ miles, but I could tell I'm not anywhere close to 100%. Had a really hard time breathing the last mile, but I'm still glad I got out there and was active. I've been mostly good with my eating habits - we did break down and go to our favorite fast food burger joint after the run tonight - have NEVER EVER had a bad experience there, but tonight's burgers and fries were HORRIBLE. I think there may have been a message in there somewhere...

Jackie

[bunnyfoo]

Cindy - I'm going to be at the Poly from Jan 6-14. Even though it's the 4/3 deal, I still don't want to think about the money. :scared1: I keep telling myself that it's value season so it's not really that bad. :laughing: But I also don't want to have to deal with DF complaining about the race bus etc. :rolleyes1

pixiedust: for your cold! Good luck on your marathon!

I'll chat with everyone in a week and a bit! :wave2:

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Morning, Meaners!

Posting from home today -- I have a meeting at my project site in lovely Brookline, so I'm taking the subway to get to it a little later. It's nice not to have to go into the office first thing, especially since I accidentally slept until 5 this morning. I was really glad I had the extra time and could still get my 5 mi in.

Vicky -- Have a fantastic time! We want at least a mini TR when you return! :goodvibes

Jackie -- I'm proud of you for sticking out the workout, even though it wasn't turning out like you'd hoped. I'm having Wendy's for dinner tonight. I'm counting points but it will be interesting if it still tastes as good...:confused3

Cindy -- Did you get to go to bed and read? I finished a murder mystery I was reading, and then I started Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I didn't even finish the first chapter before I decided this version was not for me. Very disappointing after all the hype. ::yes:: Debra was so right about this book. So, I started Winds of Dune. I've read the whole series, so it's nice to have a book that covers a period of time that previously was not detailed.

Beth -- If I had put as much effort into weight loss as I have into watching the various BLs, I'd be at my goal by now! :lmao:

So, I just can't hold this in -- my official weigh-in is tomorrow, but today the scale says I've made it to Onderland! :woohoo: I am so psyched. I always said if I could do that, I could make it the rest of the way -- so here I go!

Shoutouts to Jeanne, Wendy, and Manda! :wave:

Maria :upsidedow

[Creativebeth]

Good morning Lean Meaners:

:wizard::wizard::wizard: For all those getting/are sick. I feel your pain! My cough is improved, still have a little congestion, but on the whole feel alot better! I only had a fever for a short time, so I was able to maintain my workouts pretty well. I kept to one workout a day though.

My plans to do the RnR Las Vegas has fallen through.....by choice, but still not happy with that. It was going to cost us a fortune, taking the whole family even with a couple free airline tickets. I can't justify spending money we don't have on it. :sad2: My kids don't know yet, they will be upset. They have been looking forward to that trip. I hate to disappoint them, but just can't see spending thousands on a long weekend trip.

I was counting on one more race this year though. I think we decided on Richmond. The timing is good. The boys have a 1/2 day that Friday, so they wouldn't miss anything at school. The race is on a Saturday, which is nice. And it won't cost us much. We can drive (only about 3-4 hours away) and use hotel points for the room. So much more economical!

I share my race shirts with my boys. Alex got Philly, and so Adam will get Richomond's tech shirt. I have so many, and they are thrilled with a 'real' race shirt! I just have to keep track of what sizes to order, with each race!

Maria: I agree with Cindy. A mile is 100 cal burned, no matter the time it takes to get done. So, I would count 1 activity point for each mile done. I know I am a bit heavier than what they figure for that, so actually it's probably more than 100 calories, but it's easier to figure that way.
*****edited to add....we were posting a the same time, but YEAH on one-der-land!!!!!
You did it!!!!!!! I am so proud of you. Enjoy the rest of the ride.....it's easier from here!

Cindy: Great job with counting your points! And, also GJ on the 20 miler! Isn't it nice to get done, and not feel like dying? You are in great shape!

Vicky: Have a great time!

Manda: Start by walking to get a good base. Your knees will thank you. It takes awhile for your body to catch up with your intentions. If you run before your body's ready, it will shut you down.

I have a day off......not so much off, just not working for money! I have the laundry today....and a quick run to the store for drinks!

Beth

[Cindylou]

Good Morning Everyone,

I stayed home sick today. I am on my way for a nap. I'm hoping to nip this in the bud, I just can't afford a long drawn out illness right now.

Beth: I hope you get a lot done today. There are several WISHers doing Richmond. It's on my list to do someday. I've read good things about it and it's only an hour from where my Mom lives, so I could work out a visit with her too. Sorry about the disappointment of cancelling Las Vegas. Maybe another time. That's great that you give your boys your shirts. I'm sure they love that. My son tried claiming my marathon medals - no way!!

Maria: Enjoy your trip to Brookline and JJ Licks. I hope Wendy's still tastes good. It would be a shame to spend all your pts and not enjoy it. Huge congrats for making it to one-derland. Let's hope you never go back!! I did read a bit, but bath time for the girls took a little longer than planned, then homework with DS then I finally got to bed. I finished reading all the recipes in Food Matters. I was hoping to find a few more that I could use. He claims that if you are eating whole healthy foods that you'll loose weight so you don't have to count calories, but I can't help think that any recipe with a cup of nuts and honey is not going to fit into my pts for the day. He did have a recipe for fruit and cereal bars which I am going to calculate the pts for. I am looking for something to substitute for my Nutrigrain bars that doesn't have so much sugar.

Vicky: Have a great time in WDW!!!

Jackie: Sorry your dinner was such a disappointment. I guess it will be easier to avoid the place in the future if you keep the memory of the disappointing food in mind. Hope you are feeling better. Good job for getting out there even when you weren't feeling good.

I skipped my lunchtime run yesterday since I wasn't feeling well. That made it hard to keep in my pts for the day. I was counting on the extra 5-6 activity pts. I ended up going over, so I'm going to try to be very diligent today so I have a good weigh-in tomorrow. I definitely feel like I have to feed a cold so I'm trying to choose only healthy low pt options and not the comfort carbs I am craving.

Have a good day everyone,
Cindy

[deekaypee]

FINALLY! A chance to get back to normal. I'm picking up a new freelance writer gig and it's been taking a lot of time to set up. It's not the writing is difficult, per se, but it's a different style than my wordy academese. :rotfl: That and the technical learning curve is killing me. Anyway, I'm not going to make any money on the gig but I can write on the topics I want and build my portfolio. So you can guess what I'll be writing about....hmmm, movies, books, and Disney. :cool1:

Anyway, it's been a long, long time since I've been on the DIS regularly--except for the codes & rates board for January--so I'll just hit the highlights. Hopefully I'll be back regularly from here on out, now that the application process and initial editorial review of my work is done.

Beth: Hating DOOD a bit, too, with this internet thing. It affects my writing AND my social time. It's been a rough semester in the household. Things are tense, as he goes up for promotion this year and needs to get his materials in soon (then wait 6 months). The process isn't quite what they told him during the hiring process. :sad2: But (whine), why does that need to affect ME? :lmao:

Love that you've started a new dining thread. I'll have to add it to my list of subscriptions. I regularly make some of the recipes you suggest, and DOOD finds them comfort food. (See, I don't really hate him...) I'm a fan of the bulgar and lentil soup, and am trying to get used to quinoa, expand my horizons a bit. Just never been able to get into couscous.

I find it interesting that you can get up without the alarm clock. Perhaps the exercise has helped you reset your natural sleeping cycles? Is that possible? I'm sorry about your plans for the Las Vegas RnR falling through--but you know it's for the best because you'll be able to see Jackie in Richmond! :cool1:

Maria: Can NOT believe your SIL? Are most ILs just crazy, or is it me? As for celebrating your co-irker's demise (errr, departure), heck, I'll have a piece of chocolate cake in belated celebration. Co-irkers are the cause of soooo much stress... Alice Cooper? Ah yes, I think I remember you and Dennis are fans. About Pride and Prejudice and Zombies--you're so much smarter than I was, as I finished it. Still bitter.

Snacks are of the devil. Enough said. And walking to your main library--two healthy things in one (mind and body)! About running and activity points: I'm not a WW expert, but I agree with Cindy and Beth. I made similar decisions with SparkPeople, gauging by effort. 10mm for me is FAST, so it takes more effort. Hang what the template says. But obviously you've got a handle on things. Yay for ONEDERLAND!

Manda: WTG with your DL half and taking care of your knee! Even better, you're motivated to do it again and take the weight off. That's a true WISHer! :worship: (Oh, and I believe the 50 pounds. I gained the same in two years when I moved to Fargo. Of course, I was depressed and figure you were probably just nesting and enjoying relationship bliss--which unfortunately leads to weight gain with me, too.) Tracking makes a huge difference for me, as does regularly getting on the scale (daily, if I can). And a lot of us experience knee problems, so feel free to ask any questions. :thumbsup2 FWIW, DOOD and I take glucosamine chondroitin and it seems to help us.

Oh, and I'm another one who finds exercising at the end of the day difficult, if not impossible. I'm better if I can work out even a little in the a.m., because then I'll feel like I HAVE to finish it later that day. (Not quite Beth's double dipping, but I'm working on it.)

Cindy: You've been doing WONDERFUL with WW! (Very alliterative, that.) Seeing several posts all at once lets me see your progress tracking--WTG! That, and all your good running, have to have you feeling good! I think your weigh-in is great, even though I also know the feeling of "how long is this gonna take?!" You're doing the smart thing in slow but steady. SOOO sorry to hear about your back--been there. It's awful. Are you feeling better in that area? I'm sending your PD for your cold/illness. :sick:

Wendy: Hugs for you and your mom. :grouphug: I hope she's doing better. I also hope your trail marathon went well--after DOOD's ultra, I'm a little leery of such things... I love the story about your co-worker who has faith in you. That's the way every workplace should be--she sounds like a gem.

Jeanne: I've been missing you here and on 'Ohana! I had no idea about your medical issues, and am glad to hear they've disappeared. After all, your time is already booked with the wedding(s) and the NYC marathon. You ARE going to share you bib number with us, right?

Jackie: I'm utterly in awe of you and your Galloway runs, especially the hard ones like your recent 4 miler. You're really going to rock Richmond. I'm glad I got a chance to be with you on last year's Disney marathon course, because there's no way I can keep up with you now. :worship: It sounds as if work is getting more manageable for you, too, and that's worth celebrating. The weight loss will come, I'm sure.

Vicky: WOO HOO on your 1/2 and PB. You're just another one who's leaving me in the dust. That's okay, just know that I'll have your back in January. Any bears chasing us and they'll get to me first. :rotfl2: You did exceptional given the humidity--on race day I thought of you (after looking at weather.com) and said, "Ugh." How's the hamstring? Is your PT looking out for you post-race?

As for me: Well, yes, I saw some of Love and Other Drugs in production--didn't see Jake Gyllenhaal, though. I'll see if I can chase him down in a couple of weeks when he's back in town (this time Anne should be with him). My former landlady and her new DH have been cast as extras. I'm so jealous...

Good news is that we booked for marathon weekend at POR with the 4/3 deal. We were worried that we were going to be offsite to save $, and DOOD would still like to be off-World at a cheaper price (because he doesn't care about being on-site). But I think I had a hissy fit. I say I think I had one because I've blocked it from my memory. :rotfl2: Anyway, we'll be there from 1/6-1/13, then we've got to get back. I wish I was at the Poly...:cloud9:

Lean Meaner news...down 1.5 in the last week. Finally! It helps that last weekend I ran my 7/14 b2b Goofy training. This week is a cutback week and I just hope I don't gain anything back.

For you movie buffs, a picture of Josh Gad, who's co-starring in Love and Other Drugs. And one of DOOD, from his Youngstown 50K trail run.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/deekaypee/Pittsburgh/Love%20and%20Other%20Drugs/CIMG1718.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/deekaypee/Running/Youngstown%2050K/CIMG1669.jpg

[Worfiedoodles]

Hallelujah!

A lovely, long post from Debra...I'm going to savor it and pretend I don't have to finish my work today...ok, I'd like to, but that won't fly. I'll catch you guys tomorrow AM!

[B]Debra[B] -- we're at POR, too, with BIL and SIL, and SBIL and SIL. I promise I won't push you out of the way at the Make Your Own Pasta station! We're there 1/7 - 1/10, then we're moving to I-Drive for a couple of days. DH is getting off of Disney property as soon as he can. He wasn't willing to stay even with a free room for 3 days...He is the Alice fan, not I. This was his 23rd concert. I think that's extremely creepy on some level, but he puts up with my Sci Fi love, so I guess it's even.

Maria :upsidedow

[mandac]

Hi All

Beth and Maria (actually Everyone) Thanks for the advice on the knee. Most people I talk to have some trouble or another with knees. The sad thing is I know what I should be doing to help it (went to PT for a few months for the thing, until I couldn't afford it anymore). I will look into the Glucosamine chondroitin - anything that can help.

Vicki - a late congratulations on the PR.

Sorry I have been a posting slacker. I am still trying to get to know everyone, but thanks so much for the welcome.

AFM: I have been working on the treadmill lately, it is more springy for my knees. At the advice of my DH I dropped my running pace to more of a jog - at least until I get used to adding that. I have been a pretty serious walker for the past 5 years, but the running/jogging is still pretty new to me and my body doesn't totally know what to do with it. I think the hardest thing for me is going to be taking it slow. I tend to want it NOW! I want to be able to run after a week of jogging, and it isn't going to happen. I know I don't want to hurt myself, so I will have to be careful with that.

Sadly I was up about half a pound this week. I guess pizza and burritos will do that to a girl. So I am being even better this week. I have set myself a goal to track all my food for 3 week - if I do it I get a prize (probably a pedicure, not sure yet). So hopefully with the tracking and some additional exercise I will have a better weigh-in next week.

[Creativebeth]

Happy weekend Lean Meaners! Where did everyone go?

Yesterday was really busy for me.....errands and laundry! :scared1: But, I got smart yesterday morning and jumped on the TM for 5 miles at 5:45 am, even though it was my day off. It seems my day off is the hardest days to get my run in. I have to get up to get the boys up for school anyway, so I figured I would crank them out like on my days to work. It worked out great....I was really grateful they were done, since the day took off and I had no time later in the day.

I got my LR in today....10 miles on the Rail Trail. The first half flew by, and I was running 10 min miles! :scared1: They caught up to me for the last 5 though. I am not 100% yet after Philly, and 10 min miles were too much for me to maintain. I was not thinking.....and it seems that I tend to go to 10:30 min miles naturally now ((((can't quite believe that!!))))). I went alot slower on the way back, and took some walk breaks for my poor quads! They got done though....!

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

Hey Beth!

Yesterday just wasn't happening for me on the DIS. I worked in the AM, and ds had a half day, so I never had time to get on the computer at home.

I did my 5 mi on the TM this morning. I've now held onto Onderland for 3 solid days, and it just keeps going down. I am trying really hard to build a cushion so I don't see it slip back over for TOM. Intellectually I will know it's temporary, but psychologically that would be really hard.

After ds finishes his reading, we're going to get out the indoor Halloween decorations and bake cookies. We are having a rain-a-palooza, so the outdoor stuff will have to wait.

I am in the bittersweet position of realizing I need a smaller bra. The rest of me is getting smaller, too, but that area (not the biggest to start with) is seeing the greatest shrinkage the quickest :eek: I wish I could make that happen for my hips...On the bright side, I believe I've found my waist! Can my collarbones be far behind?! :yay:

Maria :upsidedow

[Creativebeth]

Maria: I know what you mean with the new bra situation! I just did the same, and needed to be fitted for it. I spent money on it this time, to get a good fit money needs to be used!

I am now a 36 C.....started off as a 40 DD. I had a significant loss at the chest with the last 10 pounds. ((((To my dh dis-satisfaction!!)))) I am happy with the 'full C' the lady measured me for.

Hopefully, this loss will be the last on the chest! Now your body can lose the hips! :thumbsup2

We had a beautiful day here today....sorry you saw rain! :guilty: I hope we have nice weather for the double header tomorrow. I will try to get my run in early, since we will have 5 hours of baseball! :sad2:

So, on my run today, I must have looked pretty bad at mile 9. Some lady on a bike doubled back to 'check on' me. Geez, really? I was walking, just because my breathing was off course from the cold....but I must have looked bad to her! Ten miles today wasn't a good plan I guess.

Beth

[Creativebeth]

Just thought I would bump up our thread. Anyone there? :confused3

I never like posting back to back, so........waiting to hear from anyone!

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

Another crazy-busy day at work -- hoping for more posting time tonight. Did my 5 mi on the TM this AM, and I have a good eating plan for today.

I'm planning on waiting until I'm alot closer to my goal before I buy really "good" bras -- but maybe I won't! I need a reward for my next milestone, and that's sounding like a good one!

I hope everyone has a great week -- we're not sure exactly what this one will bring. DH is calling this morning to set up his surgery for his knee. Definitely a torn meniscus. He met with the surgeon Friday AM. We're hoping it will be this Thursday -- more time to heal before he has to go back to work due to Columbus Day -- but we will see...

Maria :upsidedow

[jeanneg]

Just a quickie....again! I'm back from NYC and swamped!

Maria: Congratulations! I'm so happy you made it to One-derland (and just a tad jealous!) What is it like? I'm afraid at this point, I'll never know! No, actually I'm very close...almost there...but I keep hovering around 203-205 and it just won't get any lower. I really would love to be under 200 for the marathon and will continue to try, but am at the point right now where my body needs fuel more than it needs to diet. But so, so happy for you. :cheer2::cheer2::cheer2:

Can we puhleeze not talk about shrinking b-o-o-b-s?!? Once you hit the big M they seem to take on a life of their own. I would give anything to be a "petite" DD! In fact, I can't even buy my underwear in stores. :eek: For the first time in my life, I am seriously thinking of doing something about it...it's just hard to pick up the phone and make that appointment. Most people seem to think insurance would pay for most of it in my case.

Beth: so sorry you won't be able to do Vegas.:sad1: It would have been nice to see you again. John and I decided (well actually I decided and he went along with it!) that we were going to renew our marriage vows during the race so we could do the whole wedding chute thing with the Vegas showgirls and Elvis impersonators. It doesn't cost anything extra (unless you need a real marriage license) and it puts you in an earlier corral with all the other couples renewing or getting married. It sounded like so much fun I thought alot of the other WISHers would take advantage of it, but they don't seem as excited as we are about it.

Deb: good to see you posting again even if it is somewhat sporadic (oh no, it's like the pot and the kettle!) We miss you but respect the fact that you do have a life beyond the DIS. I think my bib # for NY is 62607. It was posted for all of about 2 hours a month ago and then they took them all off the site. There are 63 different start times/waves/corrals for able-bodied runners and I am in the very next-to-the-last. There are 3 waves 20 minutes apart. Each wave has 3 different starting routes. Then within each of those groups, there are 7 different start corrals with letters A thru G. They anticipate it will take a minute to get each letter over the start. My wave starts at 10:20 and I'm an F, so that means I will have a cushion of exactly ONE MINUTE! :scared1::scared1: If everything goes as planned, I should begin at around 10:25 - 10:26am and finish somewhere between dusk and nightfall (remember, the clocks will have gone back.) Anyway, I'm assuming that is still my bib# and will confirm it once they put them back up.

Ooops, gotta cut this short....more later....

[Cindylou]

Good Morning Everyone,

Sorry I didn't post over the weekend. I was too busy eating. I just don't know what to do with myself anymore. I had a 0.6 lb loss this week for BL8 weigh in which was just short of getting me back into the 130's. I was going to use that as motivation to stay on plan this week. Somehow I just started eating and haven't seemed to stop until this morning. It is TOM, but still. I'm going to try to eat well the rest of the week to at least maintain what I had lost, then will work to maintain next week until after my race.

Jeanne: I hope training continues to go well.

Maria: Good luck with your busy work week.

Beth: That was nice of someone to check on you during your long run. I'm sure you didn't look that bad.

Manda: Keep at it. It is hard to wait for the results you want, but that's the only way it works.

Debra: My back is back to it's normal low back pain, but I'm used to that and can deal with it. I'm glad you were able to convince DOOD to stay on site, even if it possibly took a hissy fit to convince him. We've started making plans for ADR's and I'm very excited.

Have a great day everyone.

Cindy

[Cindylou]

This thread was getting too close to the bottom, so I'll post again.

I have 1 entire day of eating well so now I'm hoping to make it 2. I'm still sore from my run on Monday so I'm moving my run to tomorrow instead. It's supposed to rain all of today, so that might have gone into my decision. Just 11 more days till my race. I'm very excited for it and just wish it was here already. My plan is to do a lot of stretching in the next week and a half, but for some reason it never seems to happen.

Have a great day everyone.
Cindy

[Creativebeth]

Cindy: I think you have done really well with your weight with marathon training. I put on so much weight during my marathon training, it was ridiculous. You have kept yourself in check.....and of course you are eating! You have to be starving! Don't judge yourself so harshly.....you could have done much worse! I hope the cold is better....what is it with a upcoming race and getting a cold? Some scientist must be studying that, somewhere! It happens all the time!

Jeanne: Nice to 'see' you! How was NYC? What took you there? Family ok? How's training going? (((((so many questions!))))) I am glad to hear that you are close to 'one-der-land'!!! Keep up the good work! You'll see it soon!

Maria: How is your crazy-busy life? Getting your morning workouts in? I actually saw an Angel episode I hadn't seen before, this morning. I made it 5.5 miles in 60 minutes!

AFM: Ok, time to be honest. These 2 pounds are hanging around....I can't seem to budge them. They are stressing me out completely, but I have to wonder "why?" I have to stop and evaluate things sometimes......I might have to journal what I am eating again. That always seems to help. It might be snacking again.....those darn Lorna Doone 100cal pack cookies.......a few extra "100 cal" packs can make a difference!

Anybody watch Biggest Loser? I had it on, but I really wasn't paying alot of attention to it. My kids were really into last nights episode, but I really wasn't. I think I need the 'field' cut back a little....to many people to keep track of!

I am getting my workouts in. Yesterday, I did 30 minutes of speed work and then 30 minutes of running. I have one more 1/2 marathon this year......but not looking for another PR! Just want to run for the heck of it!

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

Hey Lean Meaners!

Sorry I've been MIA, way too much going on with the co-irker leaving. I had to go to a meeting with him yesterday morning, then out with a group for a farewell luncheon for him (Good Riddance!), and then catch up on everything I should have been doing while I was out with him.

Today I get to sit at my desk and work, which is a huge improvement. I have a ton of paperwork to get to, so I'm pleased to be staying here, especially since it is a rainy, nasty day.

I made it on the TM Monday, but not yesterday or today. Today is supposed to be my rest day after staying up late to watch BL. I may do a quick few miles when I get home, just to help with the guilt. TOM is rearing it's ugly head, and that had me eating too much yesterday. It didn't help we went to the Cheesecake Factory for his lunch. I had half of a weight management salad (about 300 cals), but of course I followed that with a carrot cake cheesecake (cals unknown :scared1:). Then I got home, and I couldn't settle. I ate 3 bowls of Cheetos...not my best day by a long shot.

I had egg whites and veggies with an apple for breakfast, so I'm back on track this morning. I'm going to call yesterday an aberration. I think so much was going on, I just freaked out. His goodbye party is Thursday (then I shouldn't have to see him again), so I'm just going to get through that and try to eat sensibly.

Beth -- 5.5 miles in 60 min! That is awesome! You are a Rock Star! I'm getting frustrated with BL, myself. There are too many people, and I'm getting tired of the poor choices...and if I have to watch Tracy win one more thing...she is getting on my last nerve. She's the girl who was always tossing her hair in high school I couldn't stand, I can just tell...

Cindy -- I think Beth is absolutely right, you are so hungry because you are so active! Please don't beat yourself up! It's so hard to find that balance, I know I'm still struggling with it. :hug:

Jeanne -- My assistant had that operation. She was a "J", and so it was "medically warranted", and cost her about $15 for her co-pay. It is seriously major surgery, and took her quite awhile to recover. She is so excited to walk into a regular store and buy her bras now...the surgeon got her down to a D, and she's very happy. You also get a "lift" included, because they have to do it. So, another little perk. ;)

Onderland...I'm flat out not getting on a scale until TOM goes. I know I went back over, I always gain 3-5 lbs, and I just don't want to see it. I am going to work hard to stay here and keep going down. I'm just starting again today, as yesterday...yep.

Ok, enough procrastinating, I have to get back to work!

Maria :upsidedow

[mandac]

Hi All

I am back, a week later and sadly about a pound heavier. My cold turned to the flu last week and I was hiding from the world since Thursday. My DH is great and wants to take care of me. He does this by bringing me tons of food. And I ate it. I am glad that I only gained a pound, since I wasn't doing any exercise of note either.

Maria - I am sure it will be great when he is gone. I have one of those types at my job, but unfortunately he is my boss. He wasn't my boss when I started at this job, but somehow was promoted over me after I was here about a year. It has totally changed the dynamic - and I blame that for more than ten of my new pounds.

Cindy - Good luck on your race coming up.

Beth - I am still working on my goal to track my food and see why I am gaining instead of losing. My goal was to go for three weeks, I did about two days then fell off the wagon. I am back today. So day one! Good luck with your last 2. Too bad stressing doesn't make them go away.

I am thinking of signing up for the Palm Springs Half Marathon in February. It should be a relatively cheap trip, since DH's grandparent's live there and it is a holiday weekend, so no days off of work. We will see. I wish I could do another Disney race, but all the vacation money is going toward a trip to the Caymans with my family (boo hoo, right?) So I am looking for cheap races. But apparently I need to be training for something or I am just not motivated at all!

Have a great week!

[deekaypee]

Hey folks! Taking a little mental-health break to catch up with DIS doings. Tomorrow (and for the next few days, knowing me) I put in my ADRs for the January trip, and I'm both excited and freaked out! The food thing at Disney always gives me some anxiety between scheduling the right times, the tendency to eat big meals instead of smaller meals throughout the day, and trying to balance good-tasting healthy veggie far with DOOD's desire to eat meat (and lots of it). Any suggestions are more than welcomed!

Maria: Is the Make-Your-Own Pasta a good eating choice for a quick meal? We've never stayed at POR, and am so delighted you'll be there. Your lovely extended family will share you with us, won't they? Pretty please? I thought it was Dennis who's the big Alice fan, but didn't want to exclude you!

Again, congratulations on ONEderland! Your push for the cushion in order to win that psychological battle is a smart strategy. And with the scale and TOM. We all know our weight fluctuates quite a bit over a week, but it's so hard to accept. Good for you! I always, always lose from the chest first, and the toddlers really don't need to go on a diet anyway! :rolleyes1 I do have to admit that one of the joys of a smaller bra size, though, is you can buy the cheaper running bras!

Oh, thanks for the update on Dennis' knee. I asked on 'Ohana. Let us know how it goes--DOOD had that surgery a few years ago.

Man oh man, that co-irker had to get one last shot in, didn't he? True, it was a farewell luncheon and reason for celebration--but it worked against your best plans for you. :headache: But look at you, how quickly you got back on track. I love egg whites, as they're so filling.

FYI everyone! Starbucks has an egg white, spinach, feta breakfast wrap--if you're in a pinch--that's only 280 calories. I had it for lunch with a latte last Friday post-workout and wasn't hungry the whole afternoon!

Manda: I think moving slowly to a run is really the way to go--your body does need time to adjust without injury or the frustration of doing too much, too soon. Walking and running are almost two different skill sets, IMO. Have you see the Couch-Potato-to-5K program? It's got quite a following here on WISH (the main boards) and I swear by it. Very user-friendly IMO.

Your plan to do another half-marathon, and a cheap one, to keep you motivated is something we all understand, I think. The combo of no vacation days, free housing with the GIL (I assume) and the location sounds like just the thing. Not all races can be Disney--more's the pity--but Palm Springs sounds lovely.

Beth: I love Rail Trails! :goodvibes Not just because they're flat, but because I love the scenery and the shade. Especially nice this time of year, I think. My long, long, long-term goal is to get to 10 mm, following in your footsteps so to speak. I can hit 10mm pace but I do a RW interval which cuts into that pace quite a bit. It seems to me that your natural 10:30 pace was something you've worked quite hard for--and that you've reset your natural pace by quite a bit. Run for the heck of it? What's that? :rotfl2:

About your biker checking up on you: I had something similar happen on my 8 miler this weekend. I was on our bike trail on a circuitous out-and-back and had miscalculated the distance, so I had to go back out for a mile to get my distance in. So I passed a scenic walker three times. The last time, she asked me if I was going back in because I wasn't feeling well? No, I just always look like I'm dying after the first mile. :rotfl2:

Those last few pounds are stubborn, aren't they? My last few pounds have become a few more these days. You're so right--it's the little things, like 100-calorie packs. (Pretzels for me, or an extra latte.) You're so wise to evaluate now, unlike this little black duck.

Jeanne: Oh my, I didn't know about the fun time with the Vegas race. That definitely needs to go on my list of must-dos! (Beth, maybe we could coordinate a year?) I got married at JOP, so showgirls and an Elvis impersonator would be classing the whole thing up. Maybe your DD and DS should consider this option for their upcoming nuptials? :lmao:

Thanks SO MUCH for your bib #. I had no idea there were that many different start times. I'll be watching out for you, long distance unfortunately, and sending you virtual PD. It'll be a long day for you, esp. with such a late start, but soooo worth it!

Cindy: I've been having out-of-control eating as well, so no advice, just empathy and hugs. :hug: What I admire so much about you is that you continue to work on streaks of good eating and tracking. (I can so easily just throw in the towel for an entire week--forget about a weekend. Not sure what's going on myself. :confused3) Like Beth and Maria said, though, you've done a great job not gaining during your training and your activity level affects your hunger. One of the many sports nutrition books I read said endurance athletes in training should attempt to lose between .3 and .5 pounds a week and no more than 1 pound. Anything more and your training is affected, your energy level flags, etc. Of course, I try to lose more than that, but I think it sets up a self-defeating cycle for me.

As for me: Let's see.....Did a 5K this weekend. But I'd mixed up my dates and so had already completed my Goofy b2bs on Friday and Saturday. So I did the 5K on Sunday a.m. Felt a little like Beth and a double dip. It wasn't a PR for me, but I did all right. It was the Pgh Zoo Fun Run (called ZooZilla) and a hilly course for 3.1 miles. I did okay and had a lot of fun afterwards when we got into the zoo "free" with our race entry. It turns out that early October mornings are a great touring time. For the first time I heard a lion in captivity roar! And there are tons of babies at our zoo now, with the elephant and sea lion being very cute! :thumbsup2

Still working on weight loss. Up a pound. Ugh. Need to focus on my post-Goofy goals and see the marathon training as one step in a much longer journey. Easy to say, hard to do.

In family news, I got an email from my MIL asking if we'd be willing to rent a two-bedroom condo off-site this January. Apparently they STILL think they're going to Disney with us. Arrrrghhhhhh. DOOD said he'd take care of it, but he's been saying that about a lot of things recently & stuff is still falling between the cracks. (In his defense, we spent 3-4 hours this weekend just organizing some of his promotion materials. That was the two of us; I can't imagine how time-consuming the rest of it is.) Anyway, I'm of the mindset they can go to Disney whenever they like. *I* have reservations for POR and I don't need to see them. The World is a big, big place and I'll hide out in Space Mountain if I have to. :rotfl2:

[Cindylou]

Good Morning Everyone,

Debra: Why does that MIL have to muck up the plans? Stay at POR!!! Good job on your 5K, especially after your b2b. Your own little Dopey. How did you feel after running 3 days in a row? I'm actually looking forward to doing the b2b once Nov. starts. I'm curious to see if I can. I have it in my head that I can't do it because I'm too old and my knees are wobbly, but I might just be making that up. I'm thinking that if Beth can run 200 something days in a row, maybe I can do 3 in a row? That's one of the reasons I really love these boards, you do get a different perspective on things. I was really stressing last week about the ADRs for January. It's silly to be so worked up about it, it's just dinner!! I asked for my DH's input which took a lot of stress off me. I was surprised how responsive he was. I'm not sure he's 100% into this trip because of the money situation right now. I was pleasantly relieved that he had some suggestions. His major request was that not every meal be a character meal. I think that sounds reasonable. Our choices for January are: Friday night either Kona Cafe or Captain Cook's at the Poly, Sat night we are going to the Olive Garden off site, Sunday Chef Mickey's, Monday Cape May at Beach Club so DH can have a clam bake. Tuesday Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast, Wednesday Crystal Palace for dinner, Thursday Tusker House for breakfast and Ohana for dinner. Everything else will be decided as we go. Thanks for the advice about the .3 to .5 lb per week. That really makes a lot of sense. I'm just not sure I could control it that precisely. I do think that if I could limit my out of control eating to just one day a week I could probably get close to that. After this race is over in October I'll give it a try.

Manda: Sorry you were sick. So nice of DH to take such good care of you, even if it did involve a lot of food. Hope you've gotten back to tracking your food. The Palm Springs race sounds like a good choice for you. Feb is so far off though, is there a local 5K or 10K you could sign up for to keep you motivated short term?

Maria: Good job on eating just half the salad at CCF. Carrot Cake Cheesecake sounds wonderful. Cheetos are tough to resist. Next time be sure to read the ingredients with all those chemicals, maybe that will help you to pass them by. Thanks for you kind words about finding balance. That really is the key. I loved your comments on the BL8 thread about woking on your masters and giving up on everything else. You really can't live your life like that.

Beth: Thank you for your kind words. It's amazing how harsh we can be with ourselves, but would never say these things to others. To have made it through marathon training with little or no gain is a big switch for me, I've never done it in the 5 previous marathons so I guess I should be proud. Just too much of that mountain out of a mole hill thing. I have read some reports of your immune system being suppressed after running a marathon. I'm thinking it also occurs after really long runs. That and the additional stress of the upcoming race and all the other day to day stresses we live with just all pile up right before a race and that seems to lead to a cold. I am feeling a bit better. I still have a cough but I'm hoping that goes away in the next 10 days. I'm trying to remember to take my vitamins and extra vit C. So sorry those 2 lbs have taken up residence. I think this time of year our bodies naturally try to pack on the winter stores. When/where is your next race?

I postponed my run from yesterday until today since it was going to rain. Instead it cleared up and was gorgeous. I really wish I hadn't wimped out because now I'm trying to figure out how best to fit my remaining workouts in over the long holiday weekend so I can leave 2 rest days before the race and not have to do back to back runs since I'm not used to that at all. I really shoud have run yesterday. Oh well, it'll all work out I'm sure. I have managed to stay on plan with eating for 2 days now!!

Have a great day everyone.
Cindy

[bunnyfoo]

Hi everyone! Just sneaking on the computer before we head out to the parks! The weather here is fantastic - a little hot but definitely lots and lots of sun :) This was our first time using the dining plan and it was waaaaay too much food. I ran a couple of times around the Boardwalk and at CSR and went to the gym a couple of times. I doubt it cancels out anything I ate - especially since we have birthday cake in our fridge. :laughing:

Cindy - We picked some of the same restaurants for January too. Good luck with your upcoming race!

Debra - Congrats on your 5K! Especially on a hilly course after b2b runs! Yikes on MIL wanting to come along in January... I would have suggested that we all get a suite at the Poly. That would have scared my ILs away :upsidedow

Manda - Palm Springs sounds like fun! With the cheaper races, you may find something really cool!

Maria - Congrats on Onerland! :banana:

Beth - I went to a supermarket here and found a lot of the cool sugar free stuff and other low cal snacks you had mentioned. There's just not enough room in my suit case :sad2: When's your next 1/2?

Ok, I'll catch up more when I get back in a few days! Take care everyone!

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Morning, Lean Mean Brigade!

I've fallen off the exercise wagon. Just haven't been able to get up early since Monday. I'm turning over a new leaf Saturday. Tomorrow is dicey, so I just decided to firmly commit to get back to it Sat., when I'll have more time and better focus.

One more day of the co-irker, and then my long, national nightmare is over...;) We've found that it may not be that easy to round up people for his going-away party. We've had some flat out refuse to attend. See, it's not my imagination! :sad2:

Things are really humming along at work, so that's a blessing. I think he's a little stunned there isn't more wailing and gnashing of teeth. :rolleyes1

DS has a school rollerskating event tonight we forgot about, but I think dh is going to take him -- which means I might finally catch up on Heroes, I'm 2 weeks behind.

Cindy -- It helped that I didn't have much of a life while I was in grad school. I was single, in my early 20s, and lived alone. I lived about 1.5 hrs from home, so I'd go home frequently and do my laundry. I worked as an intern about 5 blocks from my apartment. My university was a 10 minute drive away. It was pretty easy to put everything else on hold when there wasn't much else going on! But I should not have done it. The only exercise I got was that walk to work. I could have used the school health club, got out and moved, etc. Hindsight and all that...

Debra -- I am a huge fan of the Make Your Own Pasta! You choose your noodles, sauce and protein, then you can add as many of the other items as you like. My favorite is a fettucini noodle with shrimp, adding in pine nuts, kalamata olives, and other goodies. I think you would just skip the protein, if I remember correctly shrimp and chicken were the only choices. Of course that may have changed, it's been awhile. This is going to be an interesting trip. I need to call and see if we can add another night to the front of our trip. I want to come in on Wed., now. Of course the family will have to share me -- I'm going to the Pop Meet, no matter what! Much like you are not staying with MIL -- No Matter What! ::yes::

Manda -- I am so sorry it's your boss who's annoying, it's really hard to deal with that. :hug: I agree with the others, the Palm Springs Half sounds perfect for you! :thumbsup2

Vicky -- Sounds like you are having a blast, continue to enjoy the warmth and ride Soarin' for me! :yay:

[/B]Beth[/B] -- Forgive me, but I've forgotten --are you doing the WDW races in Jan.? I am really hoping to give the new, skinny you a hug at the Pop Meet! :grouphug:

Good luck to all of us trying to track our food -- Again, I'm starting in earnest tomorrow. I definitely lose much more when I actually enter it on the computer. :rolleyes1

It's going to be an interesting weekend. Saturday we need to get ds a new sleeping bag. It seems he is far too mature to continue sleeping with Stitch :sad1: We have to make it to church Sunday AM, we're going to miss next week. Sunday night we're taking ds and two buddies to "Howl and Scream" at a local amusement park (Canobie Lake), and then they're staying overnight since I'm sure it'll be midnight before we get home. Yes, I'm spending my Columbus Day recovering.

DH is having his knee surgery sometime next Thursday. We won't know exactly what time until they call the day before. It's quite aways from our home (on the other side of the City), so I'm going to have a long drive home.

Ok, back to my tasks...

Maria :upsidedow

[mandac]

Maria --It must be a nice feeling to be almost done with the co-irker. Just think of the going away party as a celebration for all the people that will be more happy now that he is gone. It reminds me of that saying (which I will totally mess up) That everyone brings happiness into our lives. Some when they come into it, some when they leave. Good luck starting over on Saturday, and have fun at the amusement park. I am excited for the Monday holiday – I think I will spend it recovering also.

Vicky – Glad you are having fun! I have yet to keep myself in track on a vacation, but then again, I usually don’t try.

Cindy – We are all way more harsh on ourselves than we are on others. That is why I love these boards. When I get down on myself I can air that out here and everyone tells me that I am being silly. I love that! I was so happy to find out that I am not the only one that gained weight training for races. I thought I had to be, because everyone else looks so good! It is great to have friends.

Debra – Great job on the 5K. Sorry to hear about the MIL, but I do have to laugh a little. There is a lot of value in staying in a different place than the MIL. I don’t mind spending time with the whole family, but it totally turns into a production when that happens.

AFM -- I finally got back in the shoes today. I only did 3 miles, but I was proud of those. I have a cold/flu and my lungs are not where they should be. I set out to do 4 miles, but at about 2 I knew I wasn't going to make it. So I settled in the middle for 3. I am walking 3 minutes and jogging 2. It seems to be working for me. It gets my heartrate up, but since I am new to jogging, it is a nice start for me.

[jeanneg]

OK, I'm here to officially kick Maria's butt and get her back on the exercise train! :cool1::cool1::cool1: (I'm kicking it, I'm kicking it!) Ha,ha you'll be in a much better frame of mind to exercise when that snarly co-worker is out the door for good. So funny about his party....:rotfl:

Deb: Phooey on your inlaws for messing up your marathon week plans. Since I seem to be in a fighting mood, please let me know their precise location and maybe I can get a member of the Greek mafia to "fix' the situation....either that or one of my New York cousins (real, not the Ohana variety) Ha,ha my daughter was trying to put together a guest list the other day and the topic of the "cousins" came up. Jenni was worried someone from his side of the family would call the police if they actually showed up since they don't look like your typical wedding guest. We'll invite them, just to keep peace....... and then keep our fingers crossed they won't be able to make it!

Vicky: enjoy your time at WDW....I'm so jealous! Glad to hear the weather is cooperating.

Cindy: don't be so hard on yourself. I also hate it when I miss my workout because of the forecast. One thing that seems to work for me when the weather is iffy is to schedule a long walk very close to home and make sure I am not wearing my best footwear. That way I can usually head back home quickly if it really starts to come down and if my shoes should happen to get soaked it's no big deal. (I always keep 2-3 older pairs just for this reason) The day I did my 8-miler the forecast called for storms and it was overcast the entire way so I didn't think I'd be able to get much in. It actually didn't start to rain until i was back for nearly an hour so I was very glad I didn't just bag it at the beginning.

Mandy: You may have mentioned this before but I might have missed it.....are you signed up for any of the WDW races in January?

[Creativebeth]

Good morning Lean Meaners!

The week just flew by!!!! I guess that's good for some......(Maria!).....Good bye to the co-irker!

Maria: Truly glad that the co-irker is soon gone. We just don't need that kind of influence on our lives. They just drag us down!

I will not be at WDW in January.:sad2: Nancy and I work together, and we are the only two doing our job at the hospital. We have to rotate with vacations. She is the Disney fan, and January is her vacation. I then work full time while she is gone. We both couldn't be off at the same time. It's ok....most of my time off is when the kids are off school anyway.

My next race is Richmond in November (i think it's the 14th). It's the substitution for missing Vegas. That will make 6 for the year. That's the most I have done. I usually do 5.

Jeanne: I love that you can have family 'fix' any situation! Sounds like the Sapranos! (to funny :lmao:) The wedding plans seem to be progressing!

Cindy: I am proud of you, and it is a BIG accomplishment to maintain your weight during training! It is VERY difficult to do at all, but during training it's almost impossible! You did very well, and I am patting you on the back! :worship:

Debra: Good job on the 5K! And, after the BtoB! That is great. And, hard to do! You should be proud of yourself too!

The MIL situation.....:sad2: Why must there always someone around to suck the joy out of the things we love? Those people are selfish......so it's time we become selfish too! We need to stop allowing people to ruin our fun....there isn't enough of it anyway! I would refuse to stay with her. They can stay somewhere else.....ANYWHERE else! It's bad enough that they are going at all! YE GADS......you are going to get away from stress, and then they come along. I don't eny you.

Not to bring up a sore subject.....but how it the internet thing going?

AFM: The workouts are going well. Doing some speed work here and there....running in the morning.....the 2 pounds refuse to move. I am actually trying to make 'friends' and forget about it. I feel good, the clothes fit, and it is only 2 pounds.....what the heck. I will continue doing what I am doing and hope for the best!

I am noticing that the carb intake is more than usual. I am not sure why that is. I am not craving them so bad, just eating them anyway. Maybe that is the reason for the 2 pounds.....Something I need to keep in mind.

Beth

[MouseDogMom]

Beth - Are you doing the half or the full in Richmond? We'll have to say hi sometime during the weekend! It's the first race in my 4 consecutive months of races - what was I thinking? :scared1:

Maria - Hooray on no more co-irker! You know it's bad when people won't even attend the going-away party, but obviously it's not just you who's glad he's leaving. Friday was a day of celebration for me as well. The last of my two nightmares ended - not only is the coworker I'd been covering for back at work, but inventory is over and all the paperwork submitted to corporate. I dropped the package at UPS on my way home Friday. Monday my job should return to what I'm actually paid to do on a regular basis, albeit waiting to find out what that will be once the merger happens... Oh, CONGRATULATIONS on one-derland!

Manda - Great job on the 3 miles. I'm impressed that you could do that much if you're sick. Good job deciding to alter your original plan when you realized it just wasn't going to happen. W3/R2 sounds like a good interval, too!

Debra - Despite all the speedwork, my plans for the marathon this year are to take as much time as I want (as long as I finish well ahead of last year's time!:rotfl2:) Even DH says he wants to hang with the back-of-the-packers and do a leisurely full - he's aiming for a 2:00 half, so plans to not have a lot left to give on Sunday. Richmond and Myrtle Beach are my time goals - I'm still not sure what part of my brain signed up for this Goofy thing! :confused3

Weight this week actually dropped below 135 for the first time since I started trying. Then TOM arrived. :sad1: I peeked at the scales yesterday, but only because I had my annual physical. I'm not going to count anything until after I run again Monday night. Don't know if that counts as denial, or is just being realistic. DH and I went to Whole Foods for dinner last night and I was being really good, until he picked up the pecan pie... :rolleyes1 (We did buy the small one instead of the full size one - at least if you're going to be bad, be just a little bit bad? :thumbsup2) But I did do 3 really good runs this week, and I haven't been able to say that for some time, so that's a good thing both on the weight loss front and the training front. Our group is scheduled for 26 miles next Saturday, so I have to coordinate midweek runs and meals around being ready for that, plus DD will be home from school for a couple of days. Always new challenges to overcome...

Jackie

[Creativebeth]

Jackie: I am only doing the 1/2 marathon. It's the preferred race for me! I will not do another marathon for a very long time!

I hear ya with the pie. I have been sabotaged by my own chocolate chip cookies. Why did I make them????? Oh, why????? They hit me hard!

Beth

[MouseDogMom]

Jackie: I am only doing the 1/2 marathon. It's the preferred race for me! I will not do another marathon for a very long time!

Beth

That's what I said last year BEFORE the WDW marathon. I was sick of training, and miserable during the half I did in November. Then I had a lousy marathon time, and decided I needed to do ONE more to see what kind of time I could do. That's how Richmond came about. Then I signed up for the 2010 WDW Half, and suddenly it seemed the entire WISH team was going Goofy... 'nuff said. So I'm doing 2 more marathons after the only marathon I was ever going to do. I really believe that after January 2010 I will only do half marathons. Feel free to shoot me if I sign up for another full!

Jackie

[Cindylou]

Hello Lean Meaners,

Jackie: Great job on getting below 135. Sorry TOM messed it up. I'm getting a bit tired of all the training for marathons. I'm thinking Halfs might be my race in the future, once this Goofy thing is over and I've qualified for Boston and then run Boston. Glad the job will be returning to normal. Yum Pecan Pie!! Good job getting the small one.

Beth: Thanks for the pat on the back. I truly appreciate it. Sorry about the 2 lbs sticking around. Could definitely be tied to the extra carbs. I think as the days get shorter and colder I just automatically eat more carbs. I made a delicious chick pea stew the other night. I'll post it on the dinner thread. Sorry your cookies got the best of you. I've been avoiding baking anything lately so I'm not tempted.

Jeanne: Hope the training is going well. I'm so excited for you to get your finish line photo. You had a good plan for getting out when the weather prediction is bad. I should have been so smart.

Manda: Hope the cold is better. Great job getting 3 miles done when you're not feeling well.

My weigh in this week went really well. I was down 0.8 lbs. After all my belly aching. I should just quit whining about it. That loss put me back in the 130's. I'd really like to stay there for good, but I've decided I will eat what I think I need to this week to fuel myself for the race next Sunday.

I've been craving apple pie lately so I finally made one tonight. I made the crust with whole wheat flour and ff sour cream instead of some of the butter. I added just a little honey instead of sugar to the apples. It came out OK, but not nearly as wonderful as the pie I was craving. I'm thinking I'll make myself another pie as a post-marathon treat. Of course I also have a trip to Dunkin Donuts planned and some candy corn stashed away. I have to remind myself it's only 2600 calories I'm burning.

Have a great weekend everyone.
Cindy

[Creativebeth]

Cindy: It's funny.....sometimes it's ok to have a substitute, and other times, not so much. I try to make all my 'treats' so I can lower the calories, fats and sugars, but sometimes I need to eat the 'full-octane' versions to get rid of the craving. I hear ya with the apple pie. I say have the version you want after your marathon, because you deserve it! You've done well, and the 130's is great! Wish I could get there......:confused3

Jackie: I have to say that I am running way more miles right now then when I was marathon training! Someday, I might try again, but I will wait until the boys are older. Training took it out of all of us! But, the experience will probably make me smarter. I think putting in longer miles every day has helped me. When marathon training, my basic run was probably only 3 miles. Now I am up to 5.5 to 6.0 most days with a couple of double dips in there too! I am over 40 miles a week now, and way more than I used to run.

Doing what I am doing now, and adding longer runs on the weekend, just might do it! All, with the family not missing much of me b/c I do most of them while they are sleeping!

I shouldn't be considering this now.....your fault Jackie!!! (I will throw you under the bus if my dh hears these thoughts) :rotfl:

AFM: My ds#2 is sick. He has a double header today, and he wants to play. He's been up since 4:00 am after throwing up.....I don't know if I can talk him out of playing, but he shouldn't! They are playing their arch nemesis today, and he wants to win badly! Oh, these are hard days being the mother. I'll make him stay home, and scar him for life OR let him play and he throws up all over the place..... I am not going to win either way.

I didn't run yesterday :sad2: I did get a weight workout in, so the streak remains intact, but I really wanted to run. The boys had baseball lessons, and I was to run......I cleaned up the house instead. Not happily, but it needed done. I kept meaning to get on the TM, but it didn't happen.

Now, I must try to run.........

Beth

[bunnyfoo]

Hi Lean Meaners! Hope everyone is doing well!

Beth - Hope DS is feeling better! pixiedust: Did he end up playing today? Sorry to hear that you're not coming in January :( But WTG on all the half marathons you've done this year! I think that's awesome!! About your carb intake - could it just be the time of year? There's heavier foods around because of the cold weather?

Cindy - Congrats on the 0.8 lb loss and for getting back in the 130 range. I know it's a hard one to get into and stay there. I'm with Beth - I think you should have the real apple pie after your race. You will have earned it!

Jackie - WTG on making it to 135 :) Count me in as someone else who goes to Whole Foods and buys sweets and junk too. I always tell myself at least it's organic :rotfl: At least it's a small and you're sharing!

Jeanne - I :laughing::laughing: at your mafia/cousins comment!! How goes your training for NYC?

Manda - Take care of yourself! I hope your cold/flu goes away soon! Don't push too hard when your body's recovering (I know easier said than done) :goodvibes

Maria - So glad the co-irker is gone! Good riddance! I can only imagine how difficult that person must have been to work with/get along with if people were refusing to attend the goodbye party. I mean people usually show up whenever there's free food... sheesh! Did ya get your workouts in this weekend? :upsidedow (I'm just bugging you)

Debra - Any news on the MIL/Disney marathon weekend front? I'm hoping she'll back off and it will just be you and DOOD. :yay: I can't remember but are you strictly vegetarian or can you eat pesco-vegetarian? The Wave, Yachtsman, Tutto Italia and Kona have some great seafood entrees as well as meat entrees. For counter service, I really liked Sunshine Seasons and the Tangerine Cafe :) I should say that I've never had their vegetarian meal, but I do enjoy a lot of their sides which make up the vegetarian platter.

AFM - It's back to the real world *sigh* but it had to happen sometime :upsidedow Overall, the trip was really great! There wasn't much I can say went wrong - I did get searched at the airport by security on the way to Orlando. I'm going to be controversial for a moment here and say that I think "security" at Toronto's airport is a joke. I've been stopped and searched almost every time I go through there. I was wearing yoga clothing and - while not super skin tight, it's pretty easy to see if I was hiding something underneath. While giving me a pat down over my shoulder and arms, "security" asks what I have underneath there :confused3 Huh?? I was tempted to say "My giant muscles...":laughing: My theory is that they're looking for someone who's easy and isn't going to complain. But it makes you wonder, while they're searching me - what or who else is getting by? Sorry end of rant...:cutie:

I'm a little embarrassed to say that DF and I made it through 90% of an 8 inch cake and I managed to finish one of those giant sundaes at B&C myself. So while I did manage to get in a few 3 milers, gym workouts and laps at the pool (CSR has a pool with lanes)... I don't think they made much of a difference. I did my first workout with my PT today since coming back and we went harder on the intensity and heavier on the weights. I told him I needed to get rid of as much stuff as possible before my 10K on Saturday (yeah, right!). I think I'll just race for fun and not time :)

We stayed at BC and CSR this trip. Both resorts were great and I didn't realize they were practically down the road from one another. I have to say that the staff at BC were fantastic. I had forgotten to ask them about my running shoes that I had shipped there when I checked in. I only remembered at about 10PM when I realized I wouldn't have shoes to run in the next morning. The front desk sent someone down to their business center to get my package even though it was closed. The CM wouldn't accept a tip after she delivered the package either. I felt a little funny about that.

Phew that was a long post! Have a great night everyone :wave2:

[Creativebeth]

My Vicky, that was a 'Debra' post!!!:rotfl: I can tell you were gone, you had alot to tell us!

I am glad you had a good time! And yeah, customer service isn't dead! I am glad you got your shoes in time for the race! And, don't worry about the cake....I am sure the calories were removed (all about customer service, you know?) ;)

The thread is lagging.....I am glad Vicky is back! Where is everyone else?

AFM: DS#2 is still sick. I believe we have the first case of the swine flu here.....but I can't be sure since his peditrician REFUSES to see him. The treatment is to be early anti-virals, but you would need a doctor to prescribed them and they won't give him an appointment. I am really mad at that. He is high-risk since he has asthma, but that doesn't seem to matter. We called the office three times yesterday, since he started wheezing bad, but they don't care a whit about that. So, I am lucky to have off yesterday and today....but who knows what I do about tomorrow? Nancy is on vacation (going to WDW) starting tomorrow, and I am to work for the next two weeks. I hope he is better/and I don't get it!

I ran in fits and starts last night. I got a 1/2 hour in, and the boy needed soup. No canned soup to be had, so I had to make chicken noodle from scratch (which is easy, but took time). By the time it was done, so was he....he felt sick again and couldn't eat it. So, got 5 more minutes on the TM and ds#1 needed homework help. So, off again to do that. By the time I got back on the TM, I felt done too! Got another 30 minutes in......ugh.

Beth

[Cindylou]

Good Morning Lean Meaners!

Beth: Sorry your son is sick. I can't believe your Dr. won't give him an appt. I hope it's not the flu. I'm trying to find flu shots for my kids, but there seems to be a shortage. Way to get your workout in around your family life. I would have given up.

Vicky: Sounds like you had a great trip. Yum bday cake. Now was that for your birthday? If so, happy belated birthday. That's great that security was worried about your "guns". I guess all that weight work is paying off. How was the race? I heard it was very hot in FLA.

Hope everyone else is doing well.

I have 4 miles scheduled for today. Just one more run after that before the race on Sunday. The early forecast is for temps in the upper 30's and lower 40's which is OK as long as it's not raining or windy. I guess there's nothing I can do about the weather, so I'll have to take what we get. I'm still desperately trying to stay healthy. I still have a bit of a cough, but it's not getting worse. I have to say I'm enjoying not counting pts this week, but I'm afraid I'm taking advantage a little bit. I don't want to put all the weight back on that I've just lost. I checked back at my weight for this race last year and I'm about 4 lbs less this year. Let's hope that translates into being 8 seconds per mile faster.

Have a great day everyone.
Cindy

[bunnyfoo]

Good morning everyone! Lots of catching up at work but I thought I'd sneak in a quick post or two :)

Beth - I can't believe that your doctor won't see your son! Are they allowed to do that? Can you take him to a walk-in clinic and see a doctor there? pixiedust: that he gets better soon. WTG on squeezing in the running in between all of the craziness!

Cindy - Drink lots of fluids and hopefully you'll be able to flush out any bugs. When I have a sore throat I like hot water with honey and lemon :) Yeah, it was my birthday last Tuesday but I try to be low key about it. I did get a nice compliment from the V&A server. She asked if I wanted any champagne or sweet wine for a toast. I said no and she pushed a little and I told her I didn't drink. So she left and when she came back she asked which birthday I was celebrating. I asked her why and she said she thought I might not be old enough to drink. I laughed and told her I passed that birthday a long time ago!!

The temperatures were about 92-95F. I'm not sure if that was with or without the humidity but I think when it's that hot, it probably doesn't matter :) I heard they were record setting for October.

AFM - Whoops! My 10K is this Saturday (Oct 17). I really tried to stay for RFTT but the change fee on my plane ticket would have cost more than the ticket itself. I read the rumour about the 1/2 planned for next October but I'm not sure I would go after experiencing the heat and humidity last week.

I tried to wake up early this morning to go running but it was raining so I went back to sleep. I'll go back out after work. At least it will be a little warmer with the sun. I'm also going to try and quickly watch the BL episode from last week so I'll be caught up for tonight.

Hope everyone is having a great day! :wave2:

[jeanneg]

Hi guys....just popping in to let everyone know what's happening. I basically did a cut and paste from another thread because I am being stretched to the limit right now.

First the good news: My daughter Jenni (the one who is marrying the Greek) just ran the Chicago marathon in under 4 hours!!!! She has been trying to break the 4 hour mark since doing 4:01 at WDW in 2007. She called a little after the race and said she was close to making her goal but felt pretty sure that she just missed it again. Well the results are now up and SHE DID IT! 3:59:58, but it's still under 4 hours!

Now the bad news: I had a stonker to end all stonkers on Saturday. I just saw Jackie's post about the weather and maybe that had something to do with it because I had no idea it was going to be that warm. I was more concerned that we were going to have a major downpour and prepared for that. I was determined that nothing was going to keep me from getting all 20 miles in. I don't know what happend but around Mile 6 I hit the wall and could not get past it. I struggled for 9 miles more but when I reached my car at around 15.2miles and finally got some more water, I was too dizzy and nauseated to continue. Same thing happened to John. Originally we thought we would just turn off the Garmin and get the miles in regardless of our time, but neither of us could muster up the strength. It probably didn't help that we ran out of water and actually had to beg for it from people who were finishing their run at other openings on the trail. My tongue was so dry it felt like an emery board. It really bums me that I didn't finish what I set out to do, but in this case I was truly afraid my health was in jeopardy. I will NOT have another opportunity because we will be out of town the next 2 weekends and my body is screaming taper! Both my 16- and 18-milers were very strong, so I am going to try to carry the memory of those into the NY race. Wendy says you will always have at least one major stonker every season and up to now, I have not. I guess it's better to have it now than during the actual race. I just wish I knew for sure what caused it so I can prevent it from happening again.

I am also actively looking into the surgery I previously mentioned and am finding that it is not so easy to get it covered by insurance. They want paperwork, x-rays, evidence of weight loss, 90-day trials of other alternatives, etc etc before they will justify surgery. I have an appt. with my gyno. tomorrow to see what we already have and what we still need to do. Wish me luck.

I am also going out of town on Friday for a week of much needed rest and relaxation....aka taper! Nancy and I (along with our husbands) are finally going to take the cruise we resheduled twice already. I would have actually preferred it was after the marathon, but this was the best alternative. I just have to remember to eat healthy and seriously curtail the booze. :scared1:

Running around a little bit like a crazy person this week trying to tie up all the loose ends......

[mandac]

Jeanne: I am not signed up for any WDW races. I did my first DL half this year, and by the time I decided I actually enjoyed it, I didn’t have the time or money to sign up for January. Maybe next year. Sorry about your stonker. I guess it has to happen, but it is never fun. Enjoy the taper! I love cruises, enjoy.

Beth: Congrats on being down to 2 pounds. I still have about 20 times that. If the clothes fit, don’t stress too much. I know with the changing weather I am craving carbs like crazy! I can’t believe the doctor won’t see your son. How are people supposed to get better? ARGH!

Jackie: 135! I couldn’t hit that if I wanted too (I am too tall) but Congrats! I love the idea that if you are going to be bad just be a little bad. I give myself too much credit sometimes. When I REALLY want something bad for me ( like the zingers they have stocked in the candy machine at work – yummy) I tell myself that those zingers are equal to more than 5 miles on the treadmill (which takes me more than an hour). So if I don’t eat them, it is like I have exercised! Or something like that.

Cindy: Like I told Jackie, 130’s is something I will never see, so Congrats on getting there! Too bad that healthy food isn’t always as good as the unhealthy alternative.

Vicky: Too bad you couldn’t stay for the race. It is crazy what the airlines charge for changing tickets.

AFM: I took it pretty easy this weekend, but I think I finally beat my flu! Time to get back to it. It was a nice holiday, and I did go golfing with the DH and his grandparent's on Monday. I am not a good golfer, but can still have fun. That was the extent of my activity this weekend. Hoping to start a Couch to 5K program today. DH is worried about my knees, so I have to convince him I will take it slow.

[MouseDogMom]

Beth - Go ahead and blame me...;) I'm only doing Goofy this year because the rest of the WISH team is. Nothing like a little peer pressure! And even though I just finished posting that after January I'm only doing half marathons, while I was running yesterday I started thinking about Richmond - there are 4 of us from my Galloway group doing it together, and we really want to finish together, but I've been working really hard on speedwork, so what if I'm capable of a faster time than they are? Do I stay with them so we can finish together like we've planned, and then do ANOTHER marathon to see what my true PR is? There's no way Disney can be a PR after doing a half the previous day, so that would mean a 4th marathon. ARRGHHH! :scared1:
This whole swine flu thing is out of control. Anti-virals help, but only if you get them quickly. No one will see you because there's not really that much they can do for you, and no one wants sick people around to infect others. They're pushing the vaccine, but there are limited supplies and only certain people can get it. How is anyone supposed to know what to do?

Vicky - I always get spoiled by the service at the Disney resorts. Then I forget when I'm in the "real" world that not everywhere is like WDW and am constantly disappointed. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip.

Jeanne - Good for you for stopping when your body said "enough." Saturday was dangerous, there's no question about it. And to run out of water - oh my gosh! I'm forever grateful for the numerous water stops that Galloway provides for us, and there was even one day this summer that one of them ran out and it got a little scary. I've alternated this season on my LR's - good run/stonker run. If the pattern holds true, Saturday's 26 miles should be a good one; if not, I'm not going to do the full 26. If it weren't for the experience of doing it with my Richmond buddies, I wouldn't do it at all. I'm sure that you're going to be fine - you've done all the other mileage, and this isn't your first time. Plus, you've added running this year, so you have an added bonus. Have a great vacation and relax!

Manda - Glad you're finally past the flu. Now it's time to get back to the exercise! I've been driving my co-workers crazy with the statistic that it takes a mile of running to burn off 100 calories, so for everything that we consider eating, I put it in terms of miles. 5 munchkins from Dunkin Donuts is 3 miles. Not worth it!

AFM - I said I wouldn't look at the scale until I ran again, and I didn't. 2 big accomplishments rolled into one. I went out and ran in the rain for the first time last night. Left work and it was cold and rainy, and DH convinced me that we were doing our Monday track workout anyway. Did 6.5 miles with 7 1/2 mile laps at race pace, or a pace that turned out to be much faster than my projected race pace. Then I got on the scale this morning and saw 133 for the first time in many, many months. Made it all worth it! THEN got to work and my boss had brought in a fabulous dessert that his daughters made last night... I ate 2 pieces before we found the recipe online and saw the 409 calories per slice. So I need to run 8 miles? Not happening!

Jackie

[Creativebeth]

Jackie: WOW! Congrats on the weight! I will never see those numbers, but I am glad you did! Great job on the workout too! You should have never looked for the calorie count on that dessert.....ruins it, doesn't it? I am of the theory to eat and not tell!

Manda: I am glad you are feeling better!

Cindy: I think you will be happy with the weight loss when your are racing! I really felt a big difference with all of my races this year. Just easier effort, and lighter feeling on my feet. I am now running much faster on a daily basis, without a big effort. I do feel the difference!

Vicky: I am glad you had a good time on vacation......and also glad that you jumped right back to your workouts! Gotta keep the 'guns' up!

AFM: Well, I am hoping that both kids are ok in school today. DS#2 has been fever free since Monday morning.....so, he went to school today. He is still not 100%, but now he is just whinny with not specific complaints. I am taking that as a good sign. So, I got to work today.....waiting to hear what becomes of kid #1. I picked him up at school yesterday for an 'upset' stomach, but I believe it was just "mom is at home, and I want the day off too" complaint. He never really showed signs of an upset stomach, and never developed a fever or any other complaints.....so off to school he went today......I am hoping for the best!

I did get 6 miles in yesterday on the TM, and 6 more today......I figure I will get more miles in while I can......never know if the flu is headed my way or not. My husband is traveling now, and I believe has fallen victim to the flu too. He had a fever last night at least......I guess I will hear about that today sometime. UGH....I hope it is over soon!

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

Just a quick post today -- I read everyone else's, I'm just to pressed for time to reply. I'm cramming my entire work week into 2 days, and I have to go to a meeting this morning...

DH is having knee surgery tomorrow, we'll know what time after 1:00 today. The hospital is on the other side of the City, and not easy to get to. I'm probably going to have to drop him off, take ds to school, go back to the hospital, come back to pick ds up from school, and then go back to pick him up. It's going to be much easier to have him home recovering -- even if he is in the room with my TM, so no workouts 'til at least Saturday when he can probably go up the stairs.

I did 3M last night and 5 this AM in anticipation of zero until Sat.

I'm hoping to still be in Onderland Saturday when I weigh, but TOM is kicking my butt...I just have to remember if I'm over, I could be under in a few days.

Maria :upsidedow

[mandac]

Jackie – Congrats on both accomplishments. I can’t wait until I am able to look at the scale and be happy about what I see. I also can’t even fathom miles that fast! I am just getting into running (jogging) from being a walker for 5 years. I top out at about 5 ½ or 6, though 6 is pushing it, and that is on the treadmill. I have a LONG way to go.

Beth – Glad to hear the kids are back in school, sorry about DH. Sometimes having a sick husband is worse than a sick kid :sad2:.

Maria – Good luck with DH surgery and your running around.

AFM - I was true to my word and got back out there yesterday. Well, actually I got on the TM, but it counts. I did the first day of the first week of C25K. It wasn't too hard since I had already been trying to ease myself into running (jogging). I use the TM to take advantage of the springs and let me knees get used to it before I try pounding them on the pavement. It was a compromise with DH who doesn't think I should be trying to run at all. We will see how it goes. But it was nice to get some time in. I was going to do the perscribed 25 minutes and then add on an extra half hour of just walking, but I was wearing the wrong socks and I could feel some rubbing and didn't want to put my feet out of commission, so i stopped after about 35 minutes. Oh well. I am disappointedly only down about half a pound since last week. I feel like I have been doing really good with my eating, so it is frustrating. But hopefully now that I can get back to exercise things will speed up.

[bunnyfoo]

Hello Lean Meaners! What a busy day at work! I'm still playing catch up but think everything will be okay by tomorrow afternoon. My group will be out of the office at meetings tomorrow so it will be nice and quiet!

Jeanne - Congrats to Jenni on a fantastic time!! I can only hope to run that fast! Sorry to hear about the stonker run - I have at least one every time I train for a race. If your body is asking for a taper, it's probably better to start it early since you already had a couple of good LRs. Enjoy your cruise! :)

Beth - Hope DH feels better soon! Nothing worse than travelling on business and having to deal with a flu on top of everything else. pixiedust: that you and DS#1 can avoid the flu.

Maria - I like your thinking about being over one day and then under the next. Oh, I hate TOM too!! It disrupts my sleep schedule and I always feel waay too bloated (even when my eating is under control). I hope everything goes well for DH tomorrow!

Jackie - Congrats on reaching 133! That's fantastic!! And also on all those laps at a speedy pace!! WTG! Office desserts always get me too...

Manda - Before I started running, I never would have thought twice about what socks I was going to put on my feet but funny how something that seems so trivial can make such a big difference. WTG on your 1/2 pound loss!

AFM - I didn't get out for my morning run today again - I always have such a hard time getting out of bed in the morning whenever I have my TOM. Even though I have been running in the mornings for very long, I miss it since I haven't been getting them in lately.

Eating has been going pretty well too although I'm finding it harder to drink water. We have a filter at work and the water comes out very cold so I end up letting the water sit for a while before drinking it. I have been getting in lots of green tea but I know it's not the same thing.

Have a great day everyone :wave2:

[MouseDogMom]

Maria - Good luck to Dennis on his surgery. More luck to you in dealing with him while he's down and out! You will definitely have the harder end of the deal. My new theory in dealing with TOM is to just ignore the scales during that week. The weight is going to go up, so we just have to accept that. It should drop within a few days, so there's no reason stressing about it until it's returned to normal. It may not be true, but it made me feel better!

Beth - Hope you can stay flu-free. It sounds like the odds are stacked against you, but you should be in relatively good shape and that's in your favor.

Manda - Half a pound is a good start. The increase in activity should help. Believe me, I'm still having a hard time adjusting to the mileage totals and the speed that I'm able to report this fall. This is my 4th year running, and only in the past couple of months am I seeing real improvement. Not by coincidence, I've been running with DH the past couple of months. :rolleyes1 They say if you want to run faster, you have to run faster, and apparently it's really true. He slows down to run with me, but I still have to speed up to keep up with him, and it's really paying off. I never ever thought I could run a sub-10:00 mile, but I saw that number Monday night for the first time!

AFM - I'm VERY depressed today. Got the lab results from my physical last week. 5 years ago my cholesterol was over 200. Last year it was 135, and I attributed that to the running and just generally being healthier. This year it was 192. My boss very pointedly reminded me that if we didn't go to our favorite burger joint so often that it would probably help, but I'm still really disappointed that the number isn't better than that. And to add to the misery, I went to the eye doctor and asked to try contacts again for the first time in 7 years so that I can run races without having to decide between being able to see and wearing sunglasses, and I'm perfectly miserable tonight while trying to adjust to those. My glasses are bifocal, but she's trying me in single vision contacts for now, so I can't see anything up close (including the computer screen! :confused3) This aging thing is for the birds! :sad2:

Jackie

[Cindylou]

Jackie: Sorry you are down. It does seem surprising with all your exercise that your cholesterol would go up. How rude of your boss to point at your burger consumption. Is your doctor concerned with the increase? Hope the contacts get easier. I have been blessed with good eye sight. I don't need glasses, but I can definitely notice that I don't see as well as when I was younger. There are definitely some bad things about getting older, but I'm sure you are also much wiser than you were when you were young, so that counts for something. Good job on running in the rain. It's the best way to be sure you are prepared incase you get rain on race day. Congrats on the 133. Hope the dessert didn't make that a fleeting visit.

Vicky: Good luck at your race this weekend. Glad eating is going well. I hope you get back into the habit of your morning run. Our water here at work is also too cold for me, but luckily we have a hot water filter too, so I just add a little of that to my water bottle to warm it up a bit.

Manda: Great job of getting W1D1 completed. Congrats on the 1/2 lb. It's something and it will add up over time, so keep at it.

Maria: Best WISHes for DH today with his surgery. Good luck to you with all your running around. My DH had 3 knee surgeries a few years ago, and I agree with Jackie, it will be harder on you than him. Good luck for staying in one derland this weekend.

Beth: Hoping you continue to stay healthy. Good idea to get the miles in while you can. I ended up putting the stewed chickpea recipe on the Healthy eating for runners on the go thread. It really was yummy.

Jeanne: Sorry your 20 miler was so awful, but I agree that we all have at least one of those. I'm sure dehydration and the heat played a big part in that. WISHing for nice cool weather for Nov. 1st. Congrats to your daughter for breaking 4 hrs. Just 2 seconds to spare, that's great. Enjoy your cruise, but remember not to blow so many months of training with unhealthy choices. There will be other cruises, but this is your best chance of accomplishing your goal at NYC.

I continue to worry about whether I am catching a cold or not. I feel a bit of congestion in my chest and my throat seems a little sore. It's not getting worse, so I'll continue to battle it with my vitamin C and Airborne and hot tea. I'm trying to get some extra sleep, but that just doesn't happen in my life. I have one last run scheduled for today then the race is 8 AM on Sunday. Right now the weather forecast is for 40 degrees and raining. I love the 40 degree part, just not the rain. I keep reminding myself that I ran a marathon in February while it was raining and that truely wasn't so bad. It's not an excuse to not run my best.

Have a great day everyone,
Cindy

[Creativebeth]

Cindy: Here's hoping for no rain for the race!!!! :wizard::wizard: I hate to run in the rain.....b/c I have to wear glasses! ((((but my eyesight has been bad since I was little, no not really age related))))) If it wouldn't be for the glasses, I don't think I would mind the rain as much. You are in terrific shape for this marathon, and I hope you knock it out of the park!

Manda: I am glad you seem to be on the mend!

Maria: I hope your husband's knee surgery goes well! :wizard::wizard: I am with everyone else.....it will be harder on you than on him ((((isn't it always? :laughing:)))))

Jeanne: Have a good vacation! I wouldn't worry about the stonker 20 miler. It was bound to happen, and the other long walks went well. Don't overdo it on vacation, and try to eat healthy! It will be better for your race if you don't overeat!!!!

AFM: Well, I am not sick yet. I am hoping since I haven't gotten the flu yet, that I won't! I keep waiting for it, and it doesn't happen. So, time to move on with things! I am getting more miles in though (((in case!))). I got 3 more in last night for a total yesterday of 9 miles. I got 6 more in this morning!

Eating wasn't so hot yesterday. I don't really know why. It's weird. I am craving junk food. I hate that. I will do better today!

Beth

[mandac]

pixiedust:Vicky: I always find it hard to get out of bed in the morning. As for water, I am good when I sit at work with a water bottle, but I have trouble getting hydrated on the weekend. I usually pay for it with a headache on Monday.

Jackie: Sorry to hear about the doctor news and thanks for the encouragement about running. I will work at it for 4 years if I can get sub 10:00 miles! I had glasses and contacts since I was a little kid. I never really wore my glasses – because of the sunglasses issue. Then a few years ago I had Lasik. That was awesome! I am sure I will have to go back to glasses someday, but for now I am loving being able to see with my eyes :cool1:

Cindy: I am sending you my good wishes that you don’t catch a cold. I swear by Airborne to fight off a cold, so I am sure you will be OK. pixiedust:

Beth: Glad to hear you are fighting off the flu. Hopefully you make it through this time. I am impressed with the miles. I never get out TWICE in one day. Very impressive!

AFM: I did W1D2 of C25K yesterday and added an extra 20 minutes of walking on the end. I think I will have to just walk today, my knees were complaining at the end of the running yesterday. I will listen to them and give them a day off of running. I am feeling better about my half pound loss. At first it had me very discouraged – to the point that I wanted to forget about it and head to the candy machine (which I unfortunately have to walk past to get water at work – Evil). But I didn’t give in and I feel better for it. My DH has decided he is going to try and eat better. He wants to look good on the beach too. Hopefully it will make it easier for me to eat well when he isn’t asking for pizza all the time. I am going to try and stay positive when he loses three times the weight I do – I know it is going to happen.

[jeanneg]

Popping for a quick hello....and goodbye! Trying to get everything ready for our cruise. We fly out tomorrow afternoon and will spend the night in a hotel. Thanks everyone for the good advice and words of encouragement. On my honor, I solemnly promise to not blow all my months of hard work and discipline by eating and drinking with abandon while on the cruise......so help me God! :thumbsup2

See you all soon.

[mandac]

Jeanne: Have a really great time on your cruise, you deserve it!

AFM: I had a really hard day yesterday. Work has been killing me. We have the Federal Examiners in doing their annual audit - and somehow I have been elected to be their gopher. What a pain. The biggest problem is that I am expected to get my work done also. Sure - why not? So I am pretty stressed and, unfortunately, that always really makes me want to feel sorry for myself and eat. I got home from work yesterday and DH wanted to go for a walk with me (I was taking a day off of C25K to let my knees rest). So I went out with him, which meant I was doing 16-17minute miles instead of 13, so I didn't get my heart rate up where I would have liked. Then I just wanted junk food. There were no two ways around it. So I got in the car, drove to the store, and bought them out. I did OK in only eating about 200 calories out of the thousands I bought, but I still felt guilty about it after. Plus it is now at my house waiting for me when I get home.

Today is "Boss' Day" (why they need to have a boss' day is beyond me) so the poor underpaid employees are going to pay for lunch for the fat cat bosses. I dont' think this is something I can ditch, so I am going to have to try my best to no "eat my share" of what I put in. But tonight after work is my last day of W1 of C25K. Pretty exciting!

Have a great weekend everyone!

[Cindylou]

Jeanne: Have a fun and safe trip.

Manda: Stay tough. It's hard when everything seems to go wrong. Just remember, you can't always control what is going on in your life, but you can control what you eat. Congratulations on making it thru week one of C25K.

Beth: Hope you are having a great day.

Vicky: Hello to you. Good luck this weekend.

Maria: How did DH's surgery go? Hope you are doing well.

I had a slight gain this week, but still am in the 130's. I'm not really too surprised by the gain since I cut way back on exercise. The forecast for Sunday is not looking good. 40 degrees, 80% chance of rain and 10 mph winds. The combination of all three has me so bummed. I'm just hoping we catch a break and maybe it's only a light rain. I'm still trying to figure out what to wear. For my race in February I dressed too warmly then regretted that, so I want to be sure not to have too much on. I'd like to wear shorts since that's what I've done all my training in, but am worried that the wind might be too much. My capris will cover a bit more, but they are tights and I've never worn them on a long run and probably shouldn't start now. I'm sure I'll have it figured all out by Sunday morning.

Have a great weekend everyone.
Cindy

[bunnyfoo]

Happy Friday Lean Meaners! Even though it was a short week, I'm still looking forward to the weekend.

Jeanne - Enjoy the sunshine and warm weather! Safe travels :)

Manda - I was walking by the card store and saw cards for Boss Day. I guess Hallmark will do anything to sell more cards :) Sorry to hear about your tough day at work. Don't be too tough on yourself! You made it through the first week of C25K - that's a great start!

Cindy - Same weather forecast here without the rain and same clothing dilemna. I'm thinking of a running skirt or shorts and long sleeved top. I always try not to overdress but I hate the feeling of freezing when you're waiting for the start of the race.

Maria - How's DH doing? Hope things haven't become too stressful or hectic for you.

Beth - :wave2:

AFM - I didn't get in as much of a workout at the gym yesterday. My PT asked to watch me run and my form was looking pretty bad or robotic as he said. We did a lot of hip/glute activation exercises which I have to do before my race. He had me running after 15 minutes of doing a circuit of three exercises and my running form was completely different. Yeah, I'm pretty bad at warming up :blush:

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll check in tomorrow afternoon :wave2:

[Worfiedoodles]

Just stopping in quickly to say y'all were right! This is harder on me than DH!

He is doing great, the surgery went as planned, so now I just wait on him while it heals. He's in the basement, and I've been working from home on the 2nd floor -- I'd like to think all those stairs are helping me. We're having Wendy's tonight. That's all I can manage. I made brownies for dh and ds, and have not touched one -- but I do plan to have one later. All pointed out -- I'm dipping into my weekly pts today, just a little.

I did my strength workout, and I'm definitely getting on the TM tomorrow for 5M. I keep sneaking peaks at my weight, and so far so good. That's helping with the lack of brownie consumption!

I hope Jeanne and Nancy have an awesome cruise!

And I am so proud of Cindy -- She was the big winner of the Challenge of the Week on the BL thread! Best of luck with your race. The weather may not be great, but you will still have a great time, in more ways than one!

Vicky -- Warming up? What's that? I do about 4 min. at a slower pace, then I just start up. I do try to stretch a little after, but I know it isn't really enough.

Manda -- I agree, audits are a pain! I'm sorry you have a mandatory "Boss's Day". If you don't want to do it and don't like it, it's no fun. Don't beat yourself up too bad. We all have those times. Remember my and the Cheetos last week? Just let it go, and bundle up the junk food and put it where it's not for you, but dh and the kidlets can have at it. I am not above sending it to work with dh, just to get it out of the house and away from me. I figure I already spent money on it either way, and I'd rather send it to someone else's hips than mine!

Beth -- So glad the flu is not getting you yet! I'm getting my flu shot at work Tuesday. An ounce of prevention and all that.

Jackie -- Sending hugs and pixie dust! Our bodies do funny things, and sometimes we can't always control them. I am so proud of you for your weight and speed! Think of how strong you are! You can't measure everything in numbers, but when some of them are so good, it makes you feel better about the ones that aren't exactly where you want.

Ok, gotta get the evening going -- after I feed them I'm going to bed with a book for awhile. I deserve a few chapters to myself before the ice bag changing, medicine taking, snacking, pillow fluffing, etc. round begins again!

Maria :upsidedow

[Cindylou]

Hi Everyone,

I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be for this race tomorrow. The latest forecast is for 39 degrees at the start with a windchill of 31. It will warm up to 41/35 by noon. There's a 70% chance of rain/snow to begin increasing to 90% by the end. They are predicting 25 mph wind gusts. I guess there's nothing I can do to change all that, I just hope they're wrong. Heading to bed now to read for a while then I'll get up at 5:30 to get ready for the race. I'll try to post once I get home tomorrow afternoon.

Have a great night.
Cindy

[Cindylou]

I'm back from the race. It was tough, it was cold and rainy and windy and at about mile 22 I was really ready to quit, but since I realized that would just mean I'd have to walk the rest of the way back I kept on and the misery eased up a bit. I am so happy to report that I finished in 3:59:12 which qualifies me for the Boston Marathon. I got all teary at the end when I realized I had done it. Fifteen years of trying for that one. Yahoo!! Off to sit on the couch and watch football for the rest of the day. My DH and kids were so awesome to be out in that cold wet weather to cheer for me. I'm so blessed.

Cindy

[MouseDogMom]

Cindy - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!! :banana::cool1::dance3::cheer2::banana::yay: WAY TO GO!!!!!!!! :banana::dance3::jumping1:party:

I thought about you when we were out shopping and saw one of the football games being played in the snow and thought "oh no, please don't let Cindy's race have snow!" Sorry the conditions were so miserable, but YOU DID IT! :cheer2:

Jackie

[bunnyfoo]

Hey Lean Meaners! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Cindy - Congratulations!! :cheer2: :cheer2: I was thinking about you this morning and keeping my fingers crossed that you would have good weather conditions. I'm glad that you pushed through the wet stuff and BQ'ed on top of it all!! WTG!! :cheer2::cheer2: I didn't realize you had been working at it for 15 years! I think that's really inspirational!

Maria - pixiedust: I'm glad to hear that you're still managing a little me time in the middle of everything. I think you deserve a brownie or two. :hug:

AFM - I did my 10K on Saturday morning. Definitely not as exciting as Cindy's race. The course went through the Toronto Zoo, there were a lot of little hills (totally manageable) but a lot of turns which I don't like. Even though it was cold and it was early, I only saw the zebras and elephants out. I talked to some of the other runners who said they didn't see many animals either. :confused3 It was a chilly morning - I think about 40F. I wasn't brave enough to wear shorts but I ditched my jacket before we started. I got a PB at 1:00:24 and ran negative splits. My last 3 miles averaged 9:35 m/m so I'm closing in on 9:00 m/m. Actually I wasn't expecting anything on Saturday because I hadn't been training as much as I could have during my vacation. I do wish I had looked at my watch once at the end, it would have been nice to get my time under 1:00.

I found some knee/thigh high boots that I had bought two years ago. I'm happy to say that they now zip up! :goodvibes But I think I just made it... It makes me wonder how some ladies are able to wear skinny jeans tucked into those boots. I wish I could do that but I have enough trouble finding boots that fit my big calves anyway.

I'm over at DF's house for dinner tonight. His mom is ordering Chinese :headache: I'm going to have to watch what I eat very carefully - she loves anything fried so there won't be too many healthy items to chose from. Plus there's apple pie for dessert :eek: I managed to talk them into sugar free ice cream though. Phew!

Have a great night everyone!! :wave2:

[Creativebeth]

WOW Cindy!!!!! I am so happy for you. I knew you could do it, and do it you did! Even finishing would be an accomplishment, but BQ????!!!!!????? Just wow. Enjoy this feeling.....you deserve it. We are proud of you.

Beth

[mandac]

Cindy: WOW! Congratulations! That is amazing. I am just in awe. WOW!

Vicky: Congrats on the 10K. A race through the zoo sounds like fun. I am impressed with your times. Glad the boots are zipping. You are doing so awesome. Hope you made it through the Chinese food. I am taking the examiners out for lunch today – that is always hard. I hate to blow it all on lunch.

Maria: Glad you DH is on the mend. It is hard to stay good when you are playing nurse all day long.

AFM: The weekend was better than I thought it would be. I did GREAT on Saturday. Went out for my last day of W1 on C25K. Then I decided to stay out and walk some extra miles. I ended up doing just over 6 miles in 1:20min. For me, that is awesome! So I was on a high about that for a while. I was all the more excited when it didn’t kill my legs and I was able to go out to a football game later that day. I am ready to start on W2 today. Very excited.

[bunnyfoo]

Morning Lean Meaners! I went out on the weekend and bought a few sweaters and what happens this week, the weather warms up! Figures! But I'm not complaining... :)

I went out for my 3 miler this morning! Even at 7AM, it's still dark. I saw a couple of runners with blinking lights. I hope mine arrives soon - I'm going to stick to the sidewalk until then.

I worked out at the gym last night with a different trainer. We did speedwork exercises and plyometrics. I didn't think it would be too different than my usual weight routine but it really kicked my butt! And being my usual klutzy self, I managed to knock a medicine ball into my chin. D'oh :)

Manda - Congrats on getting the 6 miles in! I think that's a great time too! How's W2 going so far?

Beth - How's DS doing? Hope you haven't caught the flu or anything like that.

Maria - How's DH? Are you holding up :)

Debra - We miss you!

Have a great day everyone! :wave2:

[mandac]

I had a good night yesterday doing D1 of W2 of C25K. I am still probably running too slow during the running portion, but at least I am running! That is a good start. I am going to work on my endurance now and worry about speed later. I added an extra mile of walking onto the end of the training, so that got me about 3.25 in. Not too bad. I was in a really bad mood when I got home from work, and I didn't want to do anything but eat and be grumpy. But I remembered that running usually makes me feel better, and that I at least wouldn't have that to feel guilty about. so I changed and got on the TM. And, amazingly, I felt a ton better after. I am finally figuring out that a good couple miles makes me feel better than a brownie - even when I really want a brownie!

Vicky: I am not good at going out in the dark. I just get creeped out. That is why winter has turned into my Fat season for a few years. But I have a treadmill and no excuses. I have seen the flashing lights on runners when I am coming in to work. They do let me see them.

Now I have heard that it is better for my knees to run on the asphalt of the road rather than the sidewalk. Is that true? I don't see how much difference it could make, but maybe just a little give is enough for a big impact on knees. I am still trying to keep the running to the TM. Maybe DH and I will go out to a high school track and give that a shot.

[Cindylou]

Good Morning Lean Meaners.

Manda: You are absolutely right to work on endurance first. Speed will come later. Congrats for getting out there for W2. Great wisdom in realizing that the running will make you feel better than the brownie. Good choice!! I have also read that the asphalt has a little more give than sidewalks. I try to run on the grass next to a sidewalk whenever possible. The track is a good alternative, but so boring to just go 'round and 'round.

Vicky: Thanks for buying new sweaters, I am enjoying the warm up. Any plans to buy a new winter coat, maybe next week? Thanks. Be careful running in the dark. The blinking light will help others see you, but there's still pot holes, etc. In my neighborhood, I'm more concerned with coyotes and skunks. Good job working out with a trainer so soon after your race. It is good to mix it up a bit with someone new. Sorry about the chin. Great job on your race and PB. I think the negative splits are fantastic. Any race you can do that with is a victory, no matter what your overall time. I'm glad you are able to zip your boots. Those girls who can tuck the jeans into them just don't have calf muscles, there's no other way.

Thanks to all of you for your kind words and thinking of me on race day. I posted a race report on the RR thread. I'll try to post a link here. http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2309831

Most of the soreness has gone away. I'm going for a massage tonight and that should take care of the rest. I did end up with a cold, but that's not a surprise to me. I could only fight it so long. I'll continue to take this week off from running then maybe go for a few easy runs starting next week. Just 11 1/2 weeks until Goofy, so I can't take too much time off.

Have a great day everyone.
Cindy

[Creativebeth]

Good morning Lean Meaners. I haven't had much time to get on here.....Nancy's cruising with our Jeanne, and that leaves me working like a dog! It's been busy at work with only me here..... I miss Nancy :sad1:

Cindy: Marvelous job on the marathon. I will go back and read your RR later. Glad you get a massage out of the situation, and sorry about the cold. I hope you feel better soon.

Vicky: I am also voting for a new coat next week.....Murphy's Law and all! ;) Sorry about your chin......you sound alot like me, not very cooridinated and never was!

AFM: I have been doing so well getting up every morning, but it didn't happen today. :sad1: I had to be to work super early to see a pre-op patient, and had to bring ds#2 with me. He doesn't get the bus until 8:30 and it would have been too long for him to be home alone. So I had to get him up, dressed and ready for school at 6:00! He wasn't happy! I did set my alarm to get up at 4:45 to run, but it didn't work. I am WAY tired right now.....to much going on at home with the boys, dh is away again, and work has been crazy. So, I didn't get up.......now I am sad I didn't, but if I had I would be paying for it with being super tired. I will get on the TM tonight.....I promise!

Beth

[bunnyfoo]

Hey Lean Meaners! Not much of import to report ... It's a rainy day here. Figures since I had been planning to do some speedwork at the track this evening. I guess I'll just wait and see.

Beth - Someone else at work asked if I would be going winter coat shopping too! I figure if it will keep the mild weather around for a while, why not :) Actually, my winter coat from last year is too big and I was told it would cost $70 to take it in. So I'm debating it... Sorry to hear that your run didn't work out this morning, 4:45 is really early so I understand. Hope things work out for an afternoon run and work isn't too crazy!

Cindy - Enjoy your well earned massage tonight! pixiedust: for your cold! I can't believe it's less than 12 weeks to Disney! Did you decide to stick with the Poly? Ok, I'm off to read your race report!

Manda - I'm not sure about the road vs. sidewalk. Most of my knee problems are the result of a lack of core strength, tight hips and using my running shoes too long. I know my RMT and PT have both told me that if I run on the street, to try and come back on the same route - because of the slants in the roads.

That's all for me! I'll try to check back in later! Have a great day everyone! :wave2:

[Creativebeth]

Vicky: I personally wouldn't spend $70 bucks to take in a coat. But, then of course ALL my coats are big on me. I really don't mind them being to big.....especially if I am wearing sweaters underneath. I am sure it doesn't look to attractive though......even the sleeves are to long! Why does that happen anyway? I am sure my arms didn't shrink in length! :lmao:

AFM: I did get on the TM last night, but only to walk a mile. My legs are tired, and I can't remember the last day I didn't run......so I took a break, walked a little and then did some weights. Got a workout in anyway. My legs felt much better this morning too, for my 6 miler! :) It was a way different run than I had on Tuesday!!!! (((((that was just drudgery))))) I think I needed a little break!

Motivational thought: I was a little down on myself this week. My weight hasn't changed (good and bad to that) but I wasn't eating as well as I could have been, and missing my run yesterday.....had me in a funk. Mylie Cyrus's song "The Climb" was on the radio this morning (I did post the lyrics here before) and the message was inspirational again for me. It really isn't how fast we get to where we want to be with our fitness and/or weight loss.....it's what we learn during "The Climb". There is so much we need to learn about ourselves, our eating, our fitness, our triggers......we have to take each step along the way to learn all of that!

It wouldn't do any of us any good to lose weight quickly. Take the BL for example.....those people are dropping weight by the TON, quickly with hard work. But they are not learning how to do that in their regular lives. We don't live in a bubble, that we can work out 8 hours a day, with a fully stocked kitchen (that we don't stock or pay for). Those people are not adjusting their schedules around work, family, kid's activities, money, grocery shopping, etc........That's what we are learning here. Healthy habits don't just fall out of the sky! There is no one else to do these things for us. We have to adjust our workouts to suit alot of different factors. That's the Climb folks. Don't wish your weight away......work for it.....every day.....with thought and integrity. When we stumble and fall.....we get back up to face the next mountain. That's the Climb. It doesn't matter how long it takes us, as long as we keep going forward, learning as we go. Take every day with gusto......learn what we need to, to get where we are going. I am proud of each and every one of you for your own Climb! Keep up the hard work.....it's worth it.

Beth

[bunnyfoo]

Good morning Lean Meaners!

Beth - The only reason I'm thinking it over is because the coat cost me $70. And if I buy a new one maybe I can keep this mild weather thing going ...:laughing:

Sorry to hear about the stubborn pounds :( I wonder if it's because of all the stress you've had lately - DS, work etc. But I'm glad to hear you got in 6 miles this morning and that they were great too!!

I heard The Climb on the radio the other day and thought of you :) And I totally agree with you on the BL - I recently read an interview with a contestant from a previous season and it talked about how she's still struggling with her weight. So I'm definitely with you on the one step at a time approach. And speaking of... on the last episode, how come no one brought their calorie books with them when they went home? It seems like a couple of people were struggling when they went out to eat (thoughtless spouses aside). Weren't they all yelled by Jillian for not bringing the books to the Mexican restaurant? Oh well...

AFM - I did some speedwork at the track last night. I was suppose to run one lap at 5K pace but decided it would be fun to see how fast I could go if I went all out. Managed a couple of laps at 8:30, 8:11 and one at 7:47! If only I could keep that pace up for 13 miles instead of just 400 meters! Ha! we made French Onion soup for dinner last night. Not the best thing calorie wise but it felt really good after being outside in the drizzle and damp weather. I'm planning on heading to the gym tonight for a 1/2 hour.

Have a great day everyone! :wave2:

[Creativebeth]

Bumping up the thread.....anybody out there????:confused3

[Worfiedoodles]

Ok, now I had a post, and now it's gone -- I'm still here and I'll be able to post more next week after a big deadline -- 8 applications due next week.

Hangin' in there on weight loss and working out. Did 6 mi yesterday for my first LR training for my Half. I averaged 4.8 mph, which is a new record for me. 6 mi in under 75 minutes, and so at least that was good!

I already did my strength training for today, so I'm psyched to relax and watch my Pats.

Keep it Lean and Mean!
Maria :upsidedow

[bunnyfoo]

Hey Lean Meaners! I'm still here! Ok, I bought a winter coat yesterday so hopefully the weather gods will be nice to us :) I probably shouldn't have but it was 50% off plus it will keep the economy going! Ha!

I sat around today not doing much. I think I pulled my Achilles on Saturday so I'm trying to take it easy. Kind of disappointing because I had a great 5.3 mile run (did it a few seconds short of my 10K race pace). Anyway, I'm going to have my PT look at it tomorrow. DF's friend was over yesterday and I was sort of hoping he could give me his opinion on it, he's a doctor - no such luck. I think his card game was a little more interesting. He basically identified the muscle, gave me a pat on the head and sent me on my way. Gee thanks. :rolleyes: I skipped my 3 miler today to be safe.

Maria - WTG with your 6 miler! Good luck with your applications! Btw, how's DH doing with his recovery?

Have a great night everyone!

[Cindylou]

Just wanted to say hi. I hope I'll be back tomorrow to catch up and post more. Have a great night.

Cindy

[mandac]

Hi All -
Just a quick fly-by to check in. I had a really bad week, trouble with the boss that led to a LOT of stress at home too. It really knocked me off track.

But hopefully I am hopefully back on track and ready to get going again.

Luckily I didn't gain any this week, just stayed the same - which is amazing given what has been going on!

[Cindylou]

Hi Lean Meaners.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Manda: So sorry to hear about your work troubles. Almost to the weekend. Hang in there.

Vicky: Thanks for buying a new coat. I did hear we are expecting 70 degrees on Saturday. That should make for some pleasant Trick or Treating with the kids. Hope the Achilles or what ever it is gets better soon. What did the PT say? Annoying doctor friend!! Nice pace on your quarter mile repeats. At least you know you are capable of that speed, now to extend the distance a bit. Try a quarter mile at a time, don't jump right to 13 miles!! :laughing: Yes, I am still at the Poly. Very excited for it.

Beth: I assume Nancy is back at work by now. Has that made things less stressful for you? Glad you took a break when your body needed it. Hope you are back to feeling full of energy.

Maria: Congrats on being the COW winner last week. Hope all your applications are going well. Way to go with sticking to the workouts.

I still haven't run since the race. My plan is to get out there tomorrow with good weather predicted. I've been eating a bit too much and not nearly enough veggies, but I'm hoping to fix that soon. Just after I eat lots of Halloween candy this weekend.

Have a great day everyone.
Cindy

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Morning Lean Mean Brigade!

How is everyone this fine day? The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the rain and wind have stopped howling -- all in all a lovely autumn day in New England.

I won't go into how this has been a non-workout week for me, or how scary my eating has been -- suffice it to say that like Cindy, I am having a fresh start after Halloween! Starting Nov. 1st I have 25 days to do well before ds and I go the Universal for our Thanksgiving trip. I like having a short, focused time to really work and lose 10 lbs... Ok, I may not actually get there, but I'm going to work on it! If I look at it that way, I can hold it together and make myself do what I should even if I don't want to. pirate:

Cindy -- Saturday is going to be glorious! I almost wish I hadn't bought this great shaped puzzle (like a witch, with cool scenes) to do all day. I thought we'd be in, so it would be a great family activity. I'll still work on it, but I think it may not get done Saturday. :rolleyes1 I don't remember if I told you this, but I thought of you as I heard the wind and rain when I woke up on your race day, and really hoped you'd be ok -- and then you go and qualify for Boston! I couldn't be more proud! Very impressive! :yay:

Manda -- So sorry you had such a stressful week! The beginning of my week was totally nuts, but thankfully it's calmed down now. I hope you have a very relaxing weekend so you can recover. :hug:

Vicky -- How is your achilles feeling? Dennis is doing great with is recovery. He's had PT three times so far, and the exercises are kicking his butt. That's a good thing! :thumbsup2

Beth -- Thank you for the inspiration, you always know just what to say! I think we're all feeling a little worn these days. The changing weather is not helping. I'm looking forward to getting back into a normal routine, getting used to Daylight Savings, and planning for a great holiday season, which I consider ends with WDW marathon weekend, since I don't really work a full week between Christmas and MLK day!

I know I will have a gain this week from not doing what I should. I'm hoping it's just a couple of pounds, it could easily be more. Yep, the Cheeto bag and I bonded....I wish I could quit you, cheesy goodness... ::yes::

Shoutouts to Wendy, Julie, Jackie, Debra and our other lost leanies!

Oh! I almost forgot -- ds has his first 6th-8th Grade dance tomorrow night. I asked him what he was wearing and he looked at me like I was crazy -- so I guess it's different for boys than girls :confused3 I was going to offer to get him a new shirt, but I guess he thinks his wardrobe is sufficient. We'll drop him off at 7 and pick him up at 10, I really hope he doesn't tell me it was "Fine" when I ask how it was...:sad2:

Maria :upsidedow

[jeanneg]

Hello mean leaners....just a quick pop-in before I leave for NYC tomorrow.

Not a whole lot of time to mention everyone, but.......

CINDY: you are AMAZING!!!!:worship::worship:
Boston Qualifier......WOW!!!!! congrats!


Maria: 6 miles in under 75 minutes? I do believe you are turning into a gazelle! way to go, girl! :cheer2::cheer2::cheer2:

Beth: I sent you a PM before I left. Hope you saw it. I had my appt. today and the insurance lady was not in. The doc seems to think it's going to be easy to justify medically, but he said he has to run it by the gal in his office first. I brought along my journal from marathon training....20 weeks total! About 8 weeks involved that biggest loser competition we did and so I have all my water, fiber, etc. etc. documented. I need something that says it was under the guidance of a medical person and an RN is considered acceptable. Either you can compose something or I can do it, email it to you and perhaps you can put it on letterhead of some sort. Please let me know.....I can get it to you early next week if you agree to it. If you didn't get the PM let me know and i will provide you with all the details....thanks!

[Cindylou]

Best WISHes Jeanne. I look forward to seeing your finish line photo!!!!!

[Cindylou]

Jeanne: I've been tracking you all day. Please tell me that 6:31:08 will get you your finish line photo!! In any case, great job. You finished!! I hope you enjoyed it.

[Worfiedoodles]

That's our JEANNE! :woohoo:

I knew you were going to do great! Congratulations on a job very well done!!!

There's gonna be some celebratin' tonight!

Maria :upsidedow

[Creativebeth]

Way To Go Jeanne. An amazing time too! Did the picture get taken?????

Beth

[Cindylou]

Good Morning Lean Meaners.

I hope everyone did better than I with the Halloween Candy. It was scary!!

Maria: It was such a nice day on Saturday, did you get outside or stay inside for your puzzle? Trick or Treating was wonderful with the warm weather and witching winds. We had just finished up at the last house when the rain started, so we stayed dry. Just 24 days until your trip. Stay motivated!!

Vicky: How's the Achilles? Could you buy some more warm weather clothes please? It's getting pretty chilly around here.

Manda: How's C25K going? Hope the work stress has all gone away.

Beth: Hope all is well. Have you found your energy?

Jeanne: Looking forward to hearing all about your race.

I have not done much in the way of exercise over the past 2 weeks, but that was my plan after the marathon. I ran 2.5 mi on Saturday and did 6 today. Now I am officially in training for Goofy. Just hoping to stay healthy over the next 2 months. My eating has been bad, but I'm planning to reign that in now too. Only nutritious fuel for this body (with an occasional piece of chocolate).

Have a great day everyone.
Cindy

[bunnyfoo]

Hi Lean Meaners! I'm hoping my snacking improves this month. My eating was okay in October but the snacking was waaay out of control. Too many Halloween treats and other goodies hanging around. I was a little bit embarassed to post especially since I hadn't been running much because of my muscle pull. Anyway new month, new start :)

Cindy - DF is going to get his snow tires put on tomorrow. Maybe that will keep the snow away. It turns out it was my soleus (the muscle between my Achilles and calf) that was bothering me. It seems to be doing better now :) Of course, I wake up this morning and my back feels all out of sorts. Sometimes I feel like I have the body of a 100-year-old :rolleyes:

Jeannie - Congrats on your race!!! WTG! Let us know if you have a RR or any pics you'd like to share!

Maria - How did DS enjoy his dance :)

AFM - Tonight's a stretch and gym night. I think I must have slept in a funny position because now I seem to have lower back pain that came out of nowhere. :confused3 I feel like I always have one kind of bump, bruise or pain :laughing:

Like Cindy, I'm trying to get my eating back on track and stay healthly until January. I'm also debating whether or not to enter a 30K race at the end of March. Last year, I took a break from running after the 1/2 and into February to give my body a rest. I'm working towards the 2011 marathon (my first) so I want to do higher distance races next year. I'm undecided because I think the break would be good but there aren't very many 30K races either (the next one I know of is in August).

Have a great day everyone! :wave2:

[Creativebeth]

Good morning Lean Meaners! I am sorry I have been MIA. While Nancy was away work was extremely busy, and I was working around being home with Alex who had the swine flu. It was crazy, and so was I!

Vicky: Thank DF for buying snow tires! Maybe that's all I need for nice weather! Sorry to hear about the aches and pains......that is my life too. When I get up in the morning, I swear I creak! :scared1:

Maria: How was Halloween? It rained around here, but we still had fun!

Cindy: Goofy training! Good for you! I don't think you have much more to do! You are in great shape!

AFM: The other day (last Thursday to be exact!) I was running my typicial 6 miler, but I was outside.....when I got home it was only 5.95 miles on my Garmin.......so, I decided to go around the corner to get to 6 miles even (((((who really cares about .05? Me, in my OCD ways!)))))) So, any way.....there was a couple of watermen (from the water company) looking down into a hole in the street.....and I am more interested in what they are doing, or seeing......and I do a MAJOR face plant on the sidewalk! How embarressing! They came over to help, because I really couldn't get up right away.....from hitting my chin on the sidewalk in a major way. I hurt my knee really bad, my Garmin broke and took a huge chunk of flesh with it, ripped my tights, and was dazed and confused! The poor water guy ended up putting his gloves under my head, cause I wasn't getting up! Man......that's the worse fall I have taken in my whole adult life! My knee bruised up and was really swollen, so I couldn't run the next day! Still a little bit of an issue, but I did run today 5 miles. Yesterday I ended up just walking on the TM, since my knee was killing me! Now I wish I had just gone in the house at 5.95 miles! OMG! :scared1::scared1:

Eating has been it's own issue too......what's with this time of year? I feel like I am starving! And, my self control has taken a vacation! I am eating crap I haven't eaten all year! I think I need some help!

Hope everyone else is ok!

Beth

[bunnyfoo]

Hi Lean Meaners! :wave2:

Beth - OMG! :hug: What a story! I'm glad you're okay! Good thing the water guy was there to help you out. pixiedust: that all the scrapes and bumps heal quickly. I have to admit that I'm the same way - if my Garmin comes up short, I'll do a quick jog around the block to even up the distance.

AFM - I worked out at the gym last night and there was a new PT who was observing my session. I always feel a little uncomfortable at first but it's kind of neat having "two" physios :) He couldn't find anything wrong with my back and we think it might have something to do with a sneeze - so I was shown the correct way to sneeze - face forward, into my sleeve. Don't hold it in and don't turn to the side.

I'll check back in later! Have a great day everyone! :wave2:

[mandac]

Hi All. Hopefully I am back and ready to start (again) being healthy. The immediate stress from work has backed off a little. My boss had told me that, due to politics, they may have to hire someone new for my position. I was so stressed about that that I spoke to his boss (a risky move) and asked what he knew about it. He laughed and told me that there never was an issue and he didn't know why my boss even told me. So I don't have to be as worried about losing my job, but I am still stressed, because my boss is still a jerk.

So with that, I had another pretty bad week. I did manage to finish W2 of C25K and I started W3 of C25K yesterday. I have to say that 3 minutes seemed like forever for me to be running! It probably sounds bad to all of you that are actually able to run marathons, but I was totally happy to hear the little beep at the end of 3 minutes that meant I could walk again. :laughing: Transitioning from walking to running is a lot harder than I thought it would be. But I will keep plugging along. I am signed up for a 5K on Thanksgiving (I won't be ready to run the whole thing yet, but I will be a lot closer) so I have some inspiration to keep getting out.

My eating has been horrible! I can blame Halloween or something, but I know it is my own fault. I had planned so well, we even gave out toys to trick-or-treaters instead of candy so I wouldn't have it all over my house. But I still managed to eat way too much and I am up a couple pounds over last week. But it is a new month, and that is a wonderful time to start over!:yay:

With my new resolve in place I will hopefully be checking in more often. I noticed I was staying away because I knew I only had bad news to report. So if I am gone for too long - come looking for me! Sometimes I need the help :)

[jeanneg]

Jeanne: I've been tracking you all day. Please tell me that 6:31:08 will get you your finish line photo!! In any case, great job. You finished!! I hope you enjoyed it.

Yes, Cindy.....not only did I get my finish line photo, but it was still daylight!!!! (I think....I haven't seen it yet!) With the clocks going back, I was so sure I'd finish in the dark. I actually talked to the photographers at the Expo and they said they would stay until the finish line officially closed which was 8 hours after the gun start of the race. So my only concern was having the street open up to traffic while I was still on the course. Towards the very end the pace car was right on my tail, but I got into Central Park before they opened up any streets. There's a small stretch at the end of the race where you exit the park and go back into the street again and that was still closed to cars, so I did it! Thanks so much for asking.
I intend to write a huge report....there is SO MUCH to tell....I'll post the link here when it's done.

Beth: so sorry about your fall.....take care of yourself, Pleeze!

Thanks guys for all your support.....I swear I could feel the good vibes coming my way.

[getnthinr]

Thanks so much for asking.
I intend to write a huge report....there is SO MUCH to tell....I'll post the link here when it's done.

I can hardly wait to hear all about it! (And I want you to know, your dedication and hard work inspired me to enter the NYC lottery for 2010. :thumbsup2 )

[mandac]

Jeanne: I forgot to say Congrats on finishing the race! I read an article about all the people that cheated and cut the last few miles off. That is no good. I look forward to reading about your race.

AFM: I stuck with my exercise goal for yesterday. It was a small goal of half an hour, but I did it. I just walked yesterday - trying to only run every other day for now - but I cranked up the incline and had a good time. It still made me pretty tired. Eating was bad. My mom had her first appointment set up with the oncologist (sp?) today so we took her out to dinner last night to take her mind off it, or at least give her a break from cooking. and going out to eat always means too much food. So in my weigh in this week I am up 3 pounds from last week! REALLY?!?!?! But it is my TOM and I did eat a lot last night, so hopefully I will be able to bring that back down quickly.

[MouseDogMom]

Beth - OMG! I'm so glad the watermen were there to help (even though if they hadn't been there you wouldn't have fallen in the first place... :lmao:). I think all of use who are OCD about our mileage should take this as a sign that it's really OK to stop when the Garmin says 5.95. I'm another one of those who jogs around the parking lot until it says 6.0, all the while telling myself it's really all right to round up!

Jeanne - You absolutely should have been able to feel the good vibes - between the WISH boards and FB, the internet was purely alive with "Jeanne tracking" on Sunday! I think Tracy must have updated every couple of minutes - no one else needed to! Bill finally quit asking "what?" every time I let out little squeals when you passed a new timing point! Even he got caught up in the excitement.

Manda - February will mark 4 years of running (did I really just say that? :eek:), and I'm just now beginning to be comfortable with that 3 minutes of running consecutively. My Galloway group does a 2:30R/1:00W interval, and it's way too easy to do that on a regular basis. Just recently DH and I have started 4R/1W, and every now and then I'll skip a walk break just to try to condition my body to running longer periods of time. You're doing GREAT!

Vicky - I have to admit, I giggled at the idea of being shown the correct way to sneeze! But it makes sense...

There will be no mention here of eating. Suffice it to say that I need to join the rest of you in re-committing to better habits. My marathon is in 10 days, and I'm 10 pounds from where I wanted to be. Nothing to do about it now, especially since it's TOM week. Once Richmond is over, then it's on to Goofy training and trying to be good during the holidays, while dealing with the company being sold and all the nightmares of that transition!

Jackie

[Worfiedoodles]

Hello, Meanies!

I didn't actually fall off the face of the earth, it just feels that way..unlike poor Beth! :hug:

I'm hitting the workouts so far this week, but my eating is improving more slowly. It seems I have to wean myself back off of so many carbs.

Jackie -- I think TOM just loves us all at the same time. At least now I know why I was so hungry and gained 2 lbs overnight :eek: Hang in there with your work. It seems like there's always something on that front...

Manda -- Hugs for you and mom, this is a hard time for everyone. So glad you are able to be there for her! And sometimes, it doesn't matter how long or short the exercise goal is, it's the consistency that will get you there! :thumbsup2

Wendy -- Totally awesome to hear from you! How are the kids? :goodvibes

Jeanne -- Can't wait to read your huge report! Have you come down from :cloud9: yet? I wouldn't blame you if you hadn't!

Vicky -- I would be sweating bullets with 2 people watching me! It sounds like you got great advice, though! :teacher: DS was actually not feeling that hot and skipped the dance. There will be another one in December, so it's not too bad. He really looked and sounded exhausted, so I'm glad he stayed home.

Beth -- You know I sympathize with you on the fall -- just be glad it wasn't during a race, that would be really embarrassing :rolleyes1 (for those of you that don't know, I did a serious face plant at the WDW Half last year, just going through the Magic Kingdom entrance toll). I hope everyone is back to being healthy and stays that way. DH is panicking because we waited too late to get ds a flu shot, and now there are none to be found. I think he'll be ok, he's never had the flu before...but I am a little miffed this was his responsibility and he blew it...:headache:

Cindy -- Nutritious fuel is a great idea! I've been increasing that and decreasing the junk. I can't believe we leave so soon! DH informed me he plans to order a couple of large pizzas and just eat on them while we're gone. The weird thing is, he is our chef :confused3 I guess he doesn't think it's worth the effort to cook for just himself. I told him we will be sick of restaurant food by Sunday, and ready for a nice, home-cooked meal. popcorn::

I need to actually eat my lunch and get back to work.

Let's all try to make one hard choice and avoid something that isn't good for us today -- just one, progress not perfection!

Maria :upsidedow

[Cindylou]

Good Morning Lean Meaners.

Hope everyone is enjoying a nice weekend.

Maria: Hope the workouts continue to go well.

Jackie: Hope the taper is going well. Best WISHes in your race.

Manda: Good job with staying with your exercise goal. Best WISHes to your Mom. Best WISHes to you too, I'm sure it's very difficult.

Jeanne: I loved part one of your RR. I'll have to go check to see the rest. I am so happy for you and can't wait to see your finish line photo.

Vicky: I can't believe you were done in by a sneeze. Life is so weird sometimes. Hope the back is feeling better and the leg too.

Beth: Sorry about your fall. I hope you've recovered. I hear you about eating this time of year. I hope you've managed to get it under control. I can't and it's almost as if it's not my choice. I feel so completely out of control. I'm heading to WW tomorrow, so hopefully that will help. It dawned on me that it is entirely possible to gain all my weight back if I choose to do nothing about this unlimited eating. That would make me so sad.

I have started training for Goofy. My runs have not felt stellar. I think I've been fighting a cold for a week so I'm a bit run down. Hopefully I'll get my energy back soon.

Have a great day everyone.
Cindy

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Morning, Lean Meaners!

I have had a heck of a weekend -- way too much stress, and none of it self-inflicted. I've been pretty good about not crawling into a bag of Cheetos (ok, I ate them all last week, but I didn't buy any more...). Anyway, I did do my 6 miles yesterday (keeping up a 4.7 mph pace -- I was thrilled!), and I didn't have dessert at the Cheesecake Factory yesterday. We had intended to go to Johnny Rockets -- we got to the Mall (we go about once a year), and it wasn't there anymore! So, we found the Cheesecake Factory and I had a chicken salad sandwich. Well, half of one, these are huge!

Since we were out and about yesterday, I have lots to do today -- laundry, decluttering, cleaning -- plus my Patriots and helping ds study for a test on Mesopotamia. Gotta brush up on my Nebuchanezar (I know I spelled that wrong!). I also need to plan out this week's "getting ready" activities. I started Christmas shopping in earnest yesterday. I got most of the gifts for my nieces and Cinderella and Prince Charming dolls for dh's cousin's dd4. We have a family party where we buy gifts for all the kids. The dd4 is the easy and fun one for me, since I get to go to the Disney Store. I still have two boys 8 & 5, and a tween girl and boy 13 to buy for.

My SILs that are doing the WDW races are getting hats from me. I think they are going to be stunned by how supportive everyone is! dh's sis is doing the Half, and his stepbrother's wife is doing the 5K. We've told everyone how much fun it is and how you don't have to have the body fat of a nymph (hey, it's a goal!), and they've decided to check it out.

I'm working on Wednesday, so this should pretty much be a normal week. Actually, that could be good. It might be very quiet, and I might be able to either get alot done or write some long, lovely posts on the DIS. I guess we'll see if my boss is working :rolleyes1

Cindy -- I know it's hard, but can you take a day or afternoon where you just give yourself permission to relax, take a nap, read, just do something for you and not think about training, or eating? Sometimes it just becomes overwhelming and I need a break. Can you take the girls to the park and just play? Or sit down and watch your favorite Disney movie with them? Just something to take you out of what you usually do. DS has outgrown Scooby Doo, but every once in awhile we watch a movie and chuckle over the familiar things. It just puts my mind in a different place. Then I can think clearly, and make a new plan. I like following rules and plans, and nothing gets me more into it than making a new one. But that's just me :flower3:

Ok, I'd better get started on all those things I said I'd do today. I need to use the DIS as a place for breaks, not what I do and then take breaks from! :rotfl:

Maria :upsidedow

[dsnyfan21]

Sorry for the hijacking of this thread....


If you are attending the January WISH meet and would like a nametag (just like the ones I did last year) please follow the link below, read the first post for more information on how to get one.

Here is a list of nametags that I still have in my posession from last time and from people who recently asked for one. If you see your name on this list and you want yours, please see instructions on the first post of the Nametag Thread. Thank you so much.

Erika-3DisneyKids
Kristi-Aladdinsgirl
Arelys-ArelysAdriana
Ed-BamaEd and his wife April
Vic-Big Vic and his wife Marilyn
Bryan-bubba73
Cecilia-Cruella de mom
Chris-DisneyFan06
David-Disneyrunningnut and his wife Colleen
Shannon-Florida_Girl
Harvey-GoofysGoofy
Henry-HanktheTank
Kim-Hockeychic
Jen-Jen117 and husband Paul
Joanna-Joanna71985
Kirs-Kira G and family
Kirsty-Kirsty Leigh
Cindy-luvdis2
Michelle-MiaBanda
Stephanie-Nucpharm29 and husband Scott
Stacie-postesf and husband Matt
Anne-Rpsemont
Jeanette-RunningGoofy09
Scott-Scoolover and wife Kathy
Steve-skfulkers

I have 2 people on the wait list for nametags and I need some more names so I print more out. Christine-IMGONNABE40! and Stan-goofy57.

(I have had people ask, donations are a very nice gesture, but are not required.)

Thanks again and now back to your regularly scheduled postings....

-Tracy

[bunnyfoo]

Hi Lean Meaners! Just checking in quickly! Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! The weather up here was amazing - it's always great to be able to wear shorts in November! If only things could stay this way until January....

Cindy - Yeah, it's always the little things that get me - a sneeze of all things :) My PT and I also figured out that it was the swimming I did during my trip in October that might have aggravated my Achilles/soleus. He said I was probably doing too many flipper kicks. pixiedust: for your cold! I hope it goes away soon. Make sure you're drinking lots of liquids - I've found that helps to flush out the germs (or so I'd like to think).

Maria - Wow! You've got a big group coming with you in January! Very cool that they're all participating too :) Are they first timers or experienced racers?

Jackie - Good luck with your marathon! I hear ya on the transition in the workplace. We're undergoing one too - a new building which should be nice but there are a lot of new rules - no eating at your desk, no pictures or personal effects in your cubicle, no visiting friends between floors - sheesh!

Manda - How did your mom's apt with the oncologist go?

AFM - I haven't been able to get my eating under control. I see something and I eat it :( I thought it was just the Halloween candy but it's everything! I have no idea what's wrong with me, I feel like I have no control. Maybe just TOM. Anyway, I'm going to start keeping a food journal and maybe that will help.

I'm still exercising regularly so that's a good thing :) Did a 6 miler and a 5K this weekend and had some fantastic splits and times! Got a few of the splits in the 9:20-9:50 m/m range. The Garmin said I had one split today that was 7:43 m/m but I don't think that's correct. I've got a 10K race coming up in two weeks so I'm hoping to get that one in under an hour.

Have a great night everyone :wave2:

[Creativebeth]

It seems that we've all been bitten by the 'eating' bug. I don't know what to say. I've tried to control myself.....but it isn't working. It seems you all know what I am talking about. I am out of control. I have put on 5 pounds.....ugh...... Today, is a new day. I am going to try to get rid of the diet soda for a week. I am going to eat good food, healthy food, and avoid the processed crap. That is my goal. UGH. Is it the weather change? I am not sure what is going on......

My left knee still hurts......that darn fall caused me all kinds of grief. I have had to cut my mileage somewhat.....hence the 5 pounds I think.

I have a 1/2 marathon this weekend, and I am not expecting a stellar showing. My knee is to much of an issue right now.

Listen to me complain......ugh. :sad2:

Maria: Glad to see you are back, with good workouts posted. I hear ya with the stress and eating....right there with you!

Cindy: Again......I know what you are saying. Keep trying to do what you can with the eating.....one of those attempts will stick!

Vicky: Glad to hear of your good weather! Makes things so much nicer!

Hope everyone else is ok!

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

Hey Lean Mean Brigade!

Well, my eating should be back on track today. I had egg whites and veggies with an apple for breakfast; I have hummus and veggies, and yogurt for lunch; grapes and Babybel for a snack; and we're having swordfish and veggies for dinner. I'll round that out with a dark Ferrer Rocher, and call it an eating day. I also have enough extra points for a Kashi TLC bar if I get hungry later in the day, so there's a little wiggle room. popcorn::

Unfortunately, I did not get up and on the TM this AM. So, I'm committed to running when I get home from work while dh makes dinner. I've decided to shake up my schedule a little bit. I'm going to start running 3 mi on Monday and 5 on Tuesday, reversing my current goal. Wednesday is my rest day, and for a lot of reasons it's easier for me to do 3 on Monday (one of which is I just have a hard time with it psychologically, I don't know why Tuesday just isn't as daunting!).

Beth -- I know exactly how you feel! I just can't seem to pull it all together in the same week! I really think trying to be as normal as possible is going to help. And like you said, just keep trying until it sticks :thumbsup2

Vicky -- My SIL and BIL doing the Half are first-timers, my SIL and BIL doing the 5K have done many before. It should be interesting to see who is wiped out on Sunday. I'm approaching it that we're all going to do our own thing Saturday afternoon, because I just don't know who will be up to what. Saturday night we'll have dinner somewhere -- probably off-site since they're not big Disney food fans. I have to make reservations for 4 of us Thursday night. I wanted to try Artist Point, but dh thinks it's better if we go to Boma, since everyone can find something to eat. I'm also not sure which if any of my nieces are coming -- so it may be a different trip if we have a 10 yr. old! :goodvibes

Hang in there!
Maria :upsidedow

[MouseDogMom]

Beth - Where are you staying in Richmond? We're at the Commonwealth. We're driving up early Friday morning and plan to hit the Expo sometime Friday afternoon. We're considering pizza Friday night (my boss swears the world's best pizza is in Richmond and we may give it a try, but we're not committed yet!) Hope your knee improves so you can have a decent showing!

Maria - I just got off the phone with WDW Dining. I booked Thursday night dinner at Portobello. Know absolutely nothing about it other than that it's Italian and we've never eaten there. We're saving Artist Point for our post-race celebration on Sunday night, complete with a bottle of wine. :drinking1 We're having breakfast Friday at Boma, and I'm really bummed that I can't find time to do dinner there, but we don't want to eat there the night before a race and we ran out of nights!

Vicky - No personal effects in your cubicles? And no visiting between floors? I thought it was bad when they took all our personal photos off the computers! I'm just crossing my fingers that I don't have to throw a tantrum to get my vacation time in January... :confused3

Cindy - I'll start Goofy training with you next week. My runs have almost disappeared the past couple of weeks. I'm claiming that I'm tapering, but the truth is somewhere between lazy and burnout. I did have a really good 10 mile run on Saturday, but that's the only run I did last week.

Not only is my eating out of control, and my running non-existent, but I bought a new scale Saturday night and gained 7 pounds! :eek: I've known for a couple of years that my scale and my doctor's office varied by about 7 pounds, but I always claimed that it was because it was the middle of the day and I was fully dressed. Apparently that wasn't the case, since when I got on the new digital scale, I weighed almost exactly what I do at the doctor's office. Ouch! :scared1: I know it's all numbers, and I've still lost (or gained) the same thing, but it still hurts!

My goal for the rest of this week is to eat enough to be ready for the marathon on Saturday, and then re-commit to healthier habits to be ready for Goofy in January. (I write this as I just finished off the 5 munchkins that DD left here when she went back to school. Couldn't throw them away, which would have been the responsible thing to do. And they were stale, which makes it even worse that I sat here and ate them!)

Jackie

[mandac]

Jackie – How is the re-committing going. I am planning on re-committing to re-committing soon.

Maria – Hope the workouts are still going well. I can’t believe you were able to make it out of the Cheesecake Factory without eating Cheesecake! But it is true, they have crazy large portions there. Really? Christmas shopping already? I haven’t even started thinking about it.

Cindy – I am still just in awe of the group doing Goofy, but at least you are in great company. Hope you have your energy back and are having a good time training.

Vicky – Congrats on the good times. I go under a few bridges on my route and usually the Garmin tells me I have a really good top time, if only it were true! I still have to learn all the other great things I can do with it. My DH gave it to me for Christmas last year, and I had just used it as a timer. I am now programming the intervals for C25K in it. Oh the fun.

Beth – Sorry the knee is bugging you. Good luck on the half! I think that any showing in a half marathon is a good showing!

AFM – Thanks for all the hugs to my mom. She went in and was given a long list of options – ranging from not doing anything and seeing what happens in the next few months, to surgery. She is leaning toward surgery to just remove all the problems and hopefully not have to worry anymore. I think it is a good choice for her. I don’t know any of the other details, but I am newly inspired to stay as healthy as I can, since my family seems to be very genetically inclined to cancer. :(

I have done fairly well in exercising. I was scared to DEATH by week 4 of C25K. I have to run 5 minutes straight! The fear of what was coming helped me to push it in week 3. I did D1 of W4 yesterday and was awfully proud of myself that I could still walk after running two sets of 5 minutes! :woohoo: My knees and calves are a little angry at me today, so today will just be walking, but I was happy to be able to do it. We will see what happens tomorrow, then hopefully I can do a long day on Wednesday (I am off of work!). Did I mention I am probably signing up for a 5K on Thanksgiving? My DH is planning on getting back into running with me, now that I am actually running. He didn’t like walking with me, so he is going to pick up on C25K with me. He was a runner already, but has taken a lot of time off – since the DL half.

Eating has been crazy – as it seems to be with a lot of us. I had been trying to log my eating on fitday.com – but it is not the most user friendly web program – it is just the one that came up on the google search first. Do you guys use anything to log food and exercise? If so, what works and what doesn’t? :confused3 I need some seriously help in this area.

:wave:

[Creativebeth]

Well, I guess it can't be the weather since we all are experiencing the 'eating binge' and we all have different weather! Part of my problem was that I was SO focused during the spa challenge.....when it was over, I needed a break. What a break though.....geez!

Yesterday went well though. About 8:30 I started wanting food though. I didn't eat anything, but the craving was terrible! Mostly for ice cream, which is weird since I havent had any for awhile!

I did drop a 1.5 since yesterday......water weight and all, but I will take it anyway. Felt good to have a little success, but that's over probably. The rest of it will take forever I am sure.

Things I have changed up:
1. I haven't had a diet soda for 2 days.
2. I am making a smoothie after running in the morning. I did use a little
protein powder this morning to help the hunger issue from yesterday.
3. I am not eating anything processed for a couple of weeks.
4. Staying away from sugar and highly refined carbs.
5. Drinking my water (which I always do, but had trouble with it over the
weekend)
6. I am not eating after 8:00 pm.
7. Increased my intake of fruit (mostly bananas for some reason).
8. Got back to my Pilates class last night!

I am giving myself a two week window with all of the above. We'll see what happens!

Manda: Good work with the C25K plan! Hope things go well for your mother.

Maria: How's it going? Did you get on the TM last night?

Cindy: How was WW? Are you having success taming the eating bug?

Jackie: I have no idea where we are staying in Richmond. My dh does all that for me, and I will find out when we are driving up to it! Good luck with your race!

Vicky: Thanks for the good weather over the weekend!!!! :thumbsup2

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Morning Lean Meaners!

Last night I did get on the TM and do 3. I felt like I could keep going, but mindful of my goals for today, I stopped. This morning I popped up and did my 5, no problem. I also ate exactly my ww pts yesterday. Off to a great start!

I'm going to be mixing things up with my workouts a little. I decided that since 3 is so easy for me, I'd make my light day 4. I'm also changing that to Monday, and keeping 5 on Tuesday. I traded strength and rest days on Wednesday and Friday, and I'm adding a 1/2 hour on the exercise bike to my strength days, so I'll have a full hour of exercise. Hopefully this will be just what I need to get my scale moving. I was down 2 this morning since yesterday evening, so just thinking about it and making a plan seems to be helping! :goodvibes I still need to lose 3 lbs more to have a good loss this week, so I'm going to really have to watch my food. I'm motivated, though. Still trying to get that shopping trip to Miss Vickie's -- 3 more lbs...

Beth -- Another great fruit to help with hunger is an apple. I usually have one with breakfast every day. I think your plan looks great, I should live like that every day! :thumbsup2 I agree that after a focused period, we do need a break. It's just hard to end the break and get back into it, but we are doing it! :yay:

Manda -- We host a family Christmas party every year, and I never know when it will be in December. My dh books it, but he doesn't know what will be available until he calls (we go to a restaurant that's centrally located). We buy gifts for all the kids, so I like to start getting them in November. My nieces also live in FL, so I like to have their stuff ready to ship and avoid the crowd at the post office. :crowded: I also seem to spend less when I spread out the buying. It keeps me from going into a frenzy! :rolleyes1

Jackie -- You are an athlete who needs a :hug: ! I think your goal for the rest of the week is a good one. Just do what you can to get yourself ready for your race, then re-evaluate, and tackle :goofy: We've all had those stale munchkins moments, the bright side is that moment is now over. I can feel a groundswell of good will, we are all recommiting and tweaking to move forward -- and that is really all you can do! :cheer2:

Vicky -- How is your food journal coming? I don't enjoy doing it, but I have to say it does work for me. Very sobering to see what I'm eating...:eek:

Cindy -- How is your Goofy training coming? I'll be upping my LR to 7 miles on Saturday. I've been able to keep my pace, today I even ran at 12:30(a new record for me!), so I'm hopeful that maybe I can run the entire WDW Half for the first time. Actually, if I can keep running until mile 11 I'll be psyched. I just seem to stop at mile 10. :confused3 Not that I'm "running" very fast at that point, but I'm doing more than the slow walk I start at that then. :rotfl:

Jeanne -- :worship: I won't tell your news, but suffice it to say someone is earning some serious mileage for Team Ohana!

Ok, I have an interview later this morning. I'm hiring a contractor for my rehab (yes, this is work), and it is very interesting. It's me, our male architect and our male facilities director. At yesterday afternoon's interview, the candidate barely looked at me, and was a bit condescending. The architect even commented on it afterwards. If this morning's candidate makes eye contact with me, I think he's getting my vote...;)

Maria :upsidedow

[Creativebeth]

Maria: Good work my friend! Yes, the re-committment is the hard part....then staying away from the treats is the next! You are getting it done though......keep on trucking!:thumbsup2:hippie: Good luck with the interview! What's with people anyway.....what was the problem that the guy wouldn't look at you? Jerk, and wouldn't get my vote either!

Manda: You could try Sparkpeople......seems easy enough. I started it, but of course haven't kept up on it. It's free and fairly simple.

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

Ok, second interview over. What a completely different experience! This guy made eye contact, and spoke to me just as he did everyone else.

I really think the first guy's problem was he thought I couldn't/didn't understand construction since I'm a woman.

And guess what?! Mr. Nice is also the low bidder, and he's getting the $250,000 contract. See, it pays to treat anyone and everyone with respect.

I'm off to yoga in a few minutes. I haven't been able to go in weeks, so I'm really looking forward to stretching out those hams in downward dog!

Maria :upsidedow

[deekaypee]

Do you think if I slink back in here no one will notice how much weight I've gained? :tiptoe: I'll wear an oversized shirt...

I cannot believe how long it's been since I've been here! :scared1: To answer your first question, yes I've fallen off the wagon. Big time. Gained four pounds this month, which is UGLY. Like many of us, I took a break (didn't deserve it, but took it) and need to recommit.

On the upside, internet in the house again, just in time for me to have overcommitted with work. It's been a long month, will be a long stretch until the end of the year, but I hope--fingers crossed--I'm back. I've missed my Lean Meaner stories and support. :hug:

So much has been going on in your lives! I can't catch up. Just a few highlight shout-outs!

Good luck to Beth & Jackie for Richmond! :banana:

Jackie: Great job with the weight loss--incredible numbers, despite a recent scale setback--and your successful LRs and speed work. I know some of them have been hard, so double yays for you. Post-marathon those extra pounds will drop off, I'm sure. After all, you're having a very successful training season this year and the momentum will carry you into January, I'm positive. Plus, you're gonna love Goofy this year. Promise. Um, about the best pizza being in Richmond...tell your boss it's in Pittsburgh. Two blocks from my house. The pizzeria's number is on my speed dial. :rotfl2:

Sorry to hear about the cholesterol--mine, too, is high. Higher than yours. Cheeses me off because I'm a vegetarian (no fish, Vicky) and eat the way I should (most of the time), and I exercise, and it's still borderline. :confused3

Beth: Sorry to learn your kids and DH got hit by the flu--it's a lot of pressure on you to stay healthy just so you can be the caregiver. ;) Do you think all the running and overall exercise you do helps keep you healthy--not that your kids and DH aren't healthy--just that it helps your resistance?

Loved your motivational/inspirational post about The Climb. I'm not a fan of Miley Cyrus music myself, but your take on it is just about enough to convince me. :thumbsup2 And ITA about the BL--it's one of the reasons I barely watch it any more--it makes me impatient to see quicker results in my own journey, to work harder and with a short-term mindset. My problem, I know, but it's best I not watch it.

I was even more sorry to read of your face plant on the sidewalk--it sounds like something I would do, as I'm easily distracted. Was your Garmin permanently broken? :hug: I'm so sorry your left knee hurts, forcing you to cut back on mileage. The pain probably contributes to the eating bug, even if you're not consciously in a lot of it. (And I hope you aren't in a lot of pain.)

I love your list of changes you've taken. They're like action steps. Need to take some of them myself.

Cindy: Again, big, big congrats on BQing! You deserve it--all that hard work and 15 years of planning and moving toward your goal. Heck, it makes me a little teary-eyed to think of it. :worship: You are one heck of a runner. And I don't just say that because of your BQ marathon, but the months and years that went into it, the fact that you listen to your body and rest/recover when needed, and then get right back into the swing of the things (like your training for Goofy). You're an all-around, running is part of my life, runner.

Jeanne: What can I say?? NYC and another marathon less than a week afterwards. Wowsa! And congrats to DD on breaking 4 hours at Chicago. I love how your RR included all these details on the event. Made me want to be there, so like Wendy I'll be entering the NYC lottery next year.

Vicky: I'm so glad you got to go to WDW--I think everyone deserves a trip now and then. (And Beth, you too, in January--even though I know that's Nancy's time of year.) I'm very impressed with how you and your PT work together so well--it really seems like you've made a good match. I mean, to notice your "robotic form"? Most of the PTs I know (socially) don't even look at their clients all that much, let alone continue to challenge them. And you do all the hard work, of course! Not quite sure I get the "correct way to sneeze," though??

Yay for closing in on 9mm, btw. You've gotten quite a bit speedier in this last year, I think. How's your Achilles? And did you sign up for the 30K? I'd never heard of that distance, believe it or not, and think doing a distance like that is a good, structured way to build to a marathon. I'll be crossing my fingers for a sub 1:00 10K in the next couple of weeks. :goodvibes

Manda: Hugs for your mother, your family, and you! I have a history of ovarian cancer, so your mom's situation speaks to me. I went the surgery route, btw. :hug:

WTG with the C25K groove, or should I say C25K Plus? :woohoo: I think it's very cool that your DH is supportive and motivated himself. It makes things a lot easier. Your mileage and time have been just great! I'm with the school of people who believe the asphalt is much better for you, but traffic scares me so I run mostly on the sidewalk if I can't get to my local running-biking path. When I'm on my food-logging game, which isn't recently, I use SparkPeople. I like it better than FitDay.

And I think 3-5 minutes+ of running can be forever--I run with RW intervals, and manage to do marathons, so don't sell your accomplishments short! Your challenging yourself and progressing--that's what matters.

Maria: Good news on Dennis' surgery and recovery. I agree that it's harder on you than him--DOOD went through the surgery when we were in the first couple of years of our relationship, and I thought that would be the end of him. Like me, he's a much better caregiver than patient. I'm so glad your DH had you there for him, and I'm sure Dennis is ever-so-grateful for all you did.

Excellent work on your training for the January half! So gratifying to see those longer distances seem shorter the more we work at it. And to get faster, too! You've been very dedicated to hitting your goals. :yay: I, too, have a hard time with Mondays and schedule shorter runs then; it sounds like mixing it up is working out for you. And I loved learning your SILs will be getting hats from you--yes, they'll see a wildly supportive group.

SO glad you're hiring Mr. Nice (non-sexist) guy! He deserves it!

Oh, and in silly questions--you ready for your Universal/Thanksgiving trip? :rotfl2:

As for me: Up four pounds in the past month, but been keeping up (sort of) with my Goofy training. I did 10/20 mile b2b last weekend. I've lost some speed, though. *Sigh* It's probably because my mind hasn't been on my training. Too much work/life/relationship stress at the moment. ILs aren't happy I'm not planning to visit over the holidays--DOOD is welcome to do as he pleases, but they'll blame me if he doesn't show.

On the upside, just posting here is like a promise to get back on track with things fitness and nutrition. :woohoo: AND I'm pleased to report that I still haven't had any soda--it's been somewhere between 6 weeks and 2 months since I had any. And during that time I haven't had caffeinated coffee either, just decaf.

Now if someone could just convince me to step away from the chocolate.....:lmao:

[bunnyfoo]

Hi everyone! Here's hoping for some more good weather this weekend! I found an older cashmere coat and decided that it was too nice to give away so I went to a seamstress to have it taken in. I have a 10K next weekend so I'm hoping that everything stays mild, dry and non slippery until then :) I'd settle for January but that might be pushing it.

Beth - Good luck on your 1/2 this weekend! How's your knee doing? Hope its well enough for your 1/2 this weekend. Thanks for the reminder about not eating after 8PM - that's one I could definitely use. I noticed they used "The Climb" on a recent episode of BL.

Maria - The food journalling is coming along... it's definitely made me more aware (again) of what I'm eating. So I have skipped a couple snacks. Yesterday I really wanted something sweet but didn't want to write down donut or cookie so I just stuck with a coffee (which I really shouldn't be having in the afternoon but that's another story :) ) Glad to hear the second interview went well!

Manda - I was using Lose It! for a while. It's an app for the iPhone but they probably have one for the PC. Even though it was really handy - keeps track of your exercise, how many calories you should be eating, fast food calories etc. I just couldn't keep up with it. I think I just like pen and paper better. Good luck with week 4! I'll bet that running 5 minutes will seem like a piece of cake in no time at all :)

Debra - We missed you! :hug: I'm glad to hear you have Internet again! WTG on your B2B runs of 10/20 - not sure I'd be able to handle that. I'm usually pooped after 10 and power nap afterward. Sorry to hear about the IL drama - I'd tell them to where to ... go ... but I'm just confrontational :D Are they still planning to come with you and DOOD to marathon weekend? PS - put down that chocolate ;)

I think the correct way to sneeze is just to sneeze straight instead of turning your body away from someone. Just make sure you use a tissue or bring your arm up to cover your mouth/nose :) Or if you're with your ILs... haha! I'm just kidding.

Jackie - Yeah, I'm trying to keep my big mouth shut at work too. The new set up doesn't leave anybody here with much privacy but I suspect that's the way they wanted things :( Good luck with your marathon this weekend!

AFM - I'm not quite as brave as everyone else here. I don't want to get on that scale because I don't want to see a high number. But I think I'll just do it this weekend so that I'll get an idea of where I am and how much work I have to do.

I skipped running this morning. I woke up and felt awake but my body just felt exhausted. I don't want to catch anything so I figured it would be better to give myself a rest. I may do a 1/2 hour on the TM tonight after training as long as we don't go too heavy on the weights.

Have a great day everyone! :wave2:

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Morning, Lean Mean Brigade!

I'm pleased to report I did my new strength workout yesterday, and also 5M this AM on the TM. I'm so pleased I've already worked out for the day...it wasn't easy getting up this morning, but then I thought about running 5M after work, and up I got! ;)

I've also stuck to my ww points this week -- which is getting easier each day, but was really hard at first. When I go off and eat a ton, I seem to have to ease back into eating less. Lesson learned -- don't go off and eat a ton! :thumbsup2

Vicky -- When you wake up and feel that tired, you should give yourself a break. Some days I just need the sleep more, and I do honor that. It's not worth risking illness or injury! :goodvibes

Debra -- I am getting so excited about our trip, I'll be waking up in Universal just two weeks from today! DS gave us his "plan" for our departure day this morning at breakfast. He thinks we should go out for a family lunch before we go to the airport. That was his way of using my phrase to get another meal out. We'll see. Our flight leaves after 4 and I want to be at the airport by 2, and he doesn't get out of school until 11:30. The "family lunch" may be at the local diner! This is not a sit down for a long lunch kind of day.

Don't let the weight gain get you down. We all go through those times, and getting back to what we do normally just makes it easier. Now you've got the Meanies with you, the weight will just melt away! ::yes::

Beth -- How are you doing this week? Is everyone pretty much back to normal? Are you ready for your race? You are such an athlete! :cool1:

Jackie -- Ditto to you, athletic woman! I know what you mean about limited dining times. Friday night we will eat early at the POR food court, and Saturday I have to leave open, so all I have is Thursday :headache:

Manda -- Running for 5 minutes can seem like it will never end. My secret is to have a really great song ready to go on the i-pod. If I'm really into it, the time just flies! :music:

Cindy -- How are you feeling? Is that nutritious fuel I see entering your body? I know this weather is odd, but I'm pleased it hasn't turned cold yet. I'll be happy if it stays this way, well all winter, but that's certainly not going to happen! :rolleyes1

Jeanne -- How are those tootsies feeling? Once you can stand it, there should be a pedicure. You have certainly earned it! :)

Ok, I'm going to get back to that pesky work. The piles on my desk are getting smaller every day. I feel so lucky I can have my personal effects around -- I like being comfortable and sympathize with those of you who have been stripped of your goodies. It wouldn't be my desk without :figment: sitting on top of my computer core!

Maria :upsidedow

[jeanneg]

Yay.....Debra got her internet back! :cheer2::cheer2::cheer2:


Good news for me: I got my surgery approved by insurance.....not exactly a co-pay, but definitely alot cheaper than having to pay for it all out-of-pocket. So when you see me in January, there should be less to love! :lmao:

This will ba a quickie post....I am off and running...AGAIN. Since the end of September we have only been home ONE weekend! Headed to MI for a big fat Greek engagement party...OPA!!!!!

Hugs to you all!

[Creativebeth]

Just a fly by to let you know that Richmond went well! I PR'ed for the third race in a row...... 2:16:58! Catch up later!

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

Beth -- So very proud of you!!! I knew you were going to rock it!! Now go enjoy your moment! :woohoo:

Maria :upsidedow

[Creativebeth]

Thanks Maria!

I looked back at my races this year, and here's the breakdown for my 1/2 marathons:

Cesar Rodney (3/15) 2:35:58
Lehigh Valley (5/4) 2:28:38
Chicago RnR (8/2) 2:26:00
Va Beach RnR (9/6) 2:22:44
Philly Distance (9/20) 2:18:30
Richmond (11/14) 2:16:58

I took 22:00 minutes off from the beginning to the end of the year! I am really happy with that!

Yesterday was raining and cool. I really didn't feel that it would be a good race. I got held up in the porta-potty line......really bad. No toilet paper.....not a good scenerio. My knee hurt most of the race, but I tried not to focus on that.

I had the pacing for a 2:15:00 race on my arm....not with much hope for that though. I actually ran pretty fast in the first miles. I actually had a cushion of 1:30 by mile 4 for the 2:15 pace. I knew the later miles would chew that up. I was at perfect pace at 9 miles with 1:32:41. By ten miles, I was a minute behind. I tried to keep up, but I couldn't. I hate mile 10 to 11.....it's close, but still 3 miles away. I saw my family at 10, and that kept me going......I struggled but kept running (slow). By 11 - 12 I saw that I still had a pace for a PR, so I picked it up. I finished pretty strong with the downhill.....for a new PR! I took a moment to celebrate that! and then had to find another porta-potty!

The course was hillier that reported. We went through a park with alot of rolling hills.....I wasn't happy with that.....it killled my pace! But I kept things rolling!:cool1:

I am really happy ( and a little proud) that I accomplished my goal for the year (a few times!) My new goal next year is not to fade in the later miles!


Beth

[bunnyfoo]

Hey Lean Meaners! Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Mild weather here continues... I'm hoping it sticks around one more weekend so I can get my 10K in. That would be great!

Beth - Congratulations!! That's an awesome time, especially because of your knee! I'm so proud of the amazing improvements you've made in your 1/2 times this year! You rock!

Maria - You know, I never thought I'd like running in the morning. Getting up is still tough but like you when I think about running when I get home from work, that gets me up pretty quickly!

Jeanne - Glad to hear that your surgery will be partially covered. Do you have a date set up yet? Btw, I read your RR and loved it! I felt like I was right there in NYC with you!

AFM - The past week has been kind of meh - not too thrilled about our new office and the training runs have been stonkers. They've all been sloooow but I guess that's just the way it goes sometimes. It does feel like a little bit of a let down after a couple weekends of really great runs.

Eating wise - well, it's a new week so a new start, right? :blush: Maybe that's why the running's been meh. I guess I can't put junk in the bod and expect great performances. So here's to a new week and a new start of clean eating :)

Have a great day everyone!

[jeanneg]

Beth: Congrats on the PR........That is an awesome time! :worship::worship::worship:
How did Jackie do?

Vicky: yes, I do have a date....towards the middle of next month :scared1:
I should be in pretty good shape by Christmas and just about totally healed by WDW marathon weekend. Glad you enjoyed my race report :thumbsup2

[MouseDogMom]

Beth - CONGRATULATIONS! And yes, there were a few hills. And what about the lack of toilet paper? I've told everyone that it was truly the best run marathon I've ever run, except for one "small" detail - NO TOILET PAPER! Awesome time though. That downhill finish did wonders for everyone's time.

Jeanne - 5:53:45. Felt great for miles 1-12, then hit a low point and decided I was going to drop out of Goofy and just run the half. Passed the 13.1 mark and wanted to stop. At 19 a coach for one of the local training teams gave me a Peppermint Patty and truly saved my race. At 22 some of the locals were handing out Yuengling, and I had a couple of sips of that and started a whole new race! The two friends I was running with thought I was on my last legs; then they couldn't keep up with me. I looked at my Garmin during our last run segment on our way to the finish and it said 8:36 for the pace!

I'm still evaluating Goofy...

Jackie

[jeanneg]

:cheer2::cheer2::cheer2:
WAY TO GO, JACKIE!!!!!
:cheer2::cheer2::cheer2:

I knew you were going to rock it....AND YOU DID!!!!!!

Gotta remember the Yuengling advice!:thumbsup2

[Creativebeth]

Jackie: Great race! I hear ya about the beer......I had some too! Never had beer during the race, but I was feeling really bad about then.....so what the heck, couldn't make me feel worse! I actually think it picked me up mentally....and helped me finish strong! I always hate miles 10 to 11......that's when I feel bad. To close to quit, but still 3 miles away! Next year I am hoping to start training longer distances to help that problem out a little.....or that's what I am thinking now, who knows? :confused3

Glad you finished strong! Yeah, the Goofy's a whole other story.......!

Beth

[MouseDogMom]

So I got on the scale this morning. My official post-Richmond weight is 141.3 (new scale number.) I've put it in writing for you guys. If I'm going to do Goofy - note I'm still saying "if," although I am riding that post-race high and not on that mid-race low, we have to get that number LOWER before January 9th!

BTW, DD called me while I was in Richmond and asked me what the dates were for marathon weekend. It just hit her that we were going to be at WDW for her birthday (the 9th), and she'll be back at school! Last year we celebrated her 18th during marathon weekend, but we're not taking her this year. I won't repeat what she said to me, but it's safe to say she was not a happy camper! :furious:

Jackie

[deekaypee]

Vicky: I love that you're going to have a coat tailored for you. That's commitment to a quality coat--and your sleeker body. I'm also impressed with the food journaling. I've been bad, bad about that. You're so right about eating junk food and getting junk results. I know that's a part of my mood and performance issues, so it's good to get the kick-in-the-booty reminder from someone else who's thinking about her training and life.

What's your upcoming 10K? And what's this about a new office--seems like I've missed SO much.

Maria: Wait, wait, wait! DS goes to school the day you leave for Universal? Oh I so couldn't concentrate. I'd have to have a consolation lunch to make up for the indignity. :lmao: Then again, I love diner food as much as it loves sticking with me. How is your workplace every going to survive without you? I just don't see it!

Jeanne! YAY for having your insurance approved. That can be the biggest hurdle. Less of you to love = more concentrated love in what's left. Right? How did the engagement party go? Any stories?

Beth: Yet another PR! Wow. I'm so happy for you--and impressed. You've earned every second shaved. Or should I say minutes. You've gotten A LOT speedier. I'm glad your family was there to cheer you on, and that you can say you've PRed this season under some very challenging conditions (not the least of which is rolling hills). And PRed so often! I need a picture of you on my inspiration wall.

The no toilet paper thing is one of my race fears, btw. Ugh.

Strange that you're thinking about longer distances--that's what I'm trying right now. Next year, though, I'm going to focus on the half distance and speed. The Goofy is hard to love (so I understand Jackie's feelings, really, I do.)

Jackie: You can't drop out of the Goofy. Just think, you'll do the half on Saturday and be so deliriously tired on Sunday right from the start that you won't hit the wall. You'll be carrying it. :upsidedow Right along with me. And wowsa--that's a smoking hot last segment! You've definitely got those runner's legs that will carry you through marathon weekend.

Oh, that's right about DD's birthday.And you simply couldn't top #18 anyway, so she might as well not go. We all love the Mouse, so I would be a little upset too. But then again, maybe she can celebrate #19 with DBF and new college friends. Certainly that's got to be better than a family trip. :rolleyes1

As for me: DOOD hit a deer Thursday night, or rather, the deer swerved in the same direction he did to avoid it. Our new (used, but new to us) car. Yay for increased insurance. I had a lackluster running weekend--just one LR of 10 miles (as my scheduled called for). I keep getting slower and slower as training progresses. Too many b2bs, I think.

The good news is that I'm rejiggering the schedule and my diet to find the missing motivation. Of course, that's because I caught a rather unattractive glimpse of myself in the mirror. :rotfl2: Still, whatever it takes, right?

[MouseDogMom]

The no toilet paper thing is one of my race fears, btw. Ugh.

Jackie: You can't drop out of the Goofy. Just think, you'll do the half on Saturday and be so deliriously tired on Sunday right from the start that you won't hit the wall. You'll be carrying it. :upsidedow Right along with me. And wowsa--that's a smoking hot last segment! You've definitely got those runner's legs that will carry you through marathon weekend.

Oh, that's right about DD's birthday.And you simply couldn't top #18 anyway, so she might as well not go. We all love the Mouse, so I would be a little upset too. But then again, maybe she can celebrate #19 with DBF and new college friends. Certainly that's got to be better than a family trip. :rolleyes1



I forgot to add that after I got back to the hotel room and unpacked my fuel belt, I discovered that I had not one, not two, but FOUR tissues stuck in various places that I had very carefully packed on Friday night. COMPLETELY forgot about them when I was whining that I would kill for a tissue to blow my nose and/or use for toilet paper... :rotfl:

As for DD, I am SO going to forward your comments to her. She's skipping coming home for Thanksgiving to spend it with DBF and his family, so why would we expect that she'd want to spend her birthday with us anyway? :laughing: And you're right, we can never top #18 (she even said so last year), so there's no reason to waste our money trying.

Count me in as one who is ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY, after January, concentrating on the half marathon distance for 2010. I'm tired of the training for 26.2, and I'm tired of hitting a wall around mile 16 that lasts for miles. I want to enjoy the distance, and I can do that with 13.1.

Jackie

[mandac]

Beth – I looked at sparkpeople. I haven’t really committed to it yet – but it looks like it has a better database of foods than the last site I tried to use. That was the hardest part of tracking was when I actually had to enter the nutrition information. Too hard.

Maria – That sounds like a great Christmas party! I am getting really excited for the holidays.

Debra – Hi again! Welcome back to the team. I am very impressed with the soda commitment. My DH was trying to convince me to drop the Diet Coke since I get migraines and other headaches whenever I stop. But I have a hard time committing to that. I just love my diet coke.

Vicky – Sorry the runs haven’t been great. Good job on starting again!

Beth – congrats on Richmond. I found out my cousin flew out from Utah to do the race. She said she had a blast.

Jackie – Congrats to you too! Glad to hear you had fun!

AFM - not much to report. It has been slow going the past couple days. It snowed all day Thursday, and then again on Saturday, so there was no going outside to run. I did finish Week 4 of C25K. That was with two segments of 5 minute running. Today I start Week 5 - which will be R5W3. I think I will like that. My DH is coming with me. I get a little frustrated, because he actually slows me down a little. But it is probably good because then I don't die by the end. It is nice to have someone to run with too. He was a runner when I was a walker, so we could never really go together. I am hoping we can stick together for our 5K next week. We won't break any records (though it is both of our first 5K, so I guess we get PRs) but it should be fun!

My mom went in for surgery this morning. Everything went well. We will find out the results of the tests later. The new rules at the hospital make it really hard to visit, so I will probably not check in on her until tomorrow. They can only have 2 visitors at a time!

Hopefully I check in sooner than later! I hate posting when I only have bad news to report.

[bunnyfoo]

Hi Lean Meaners!

Debra - Scary stuff about the deer! Hope DOOD is okay - what happened to the car? I think the journalling only works if it's going to make you aware of what you're eating. I journalled an Angry Whopper and fries last Friday so...:rolleyes1 The new office has been in the works for a while. Our company decided to move most of the head office employees into a single building. I'll have to send you an email about that one ;)

Yeah, my running is getting slower and slower too. Go figure - is that a sign of over training? I don't think that can be my excuse since I'm only training for the half.

Manda - How are things with your mom? I love that you're now faster than DH - very cool!

Jackie - I've also got to get things under control so I can lose a little more weight (or inches) before January. This part of the year is tricky - Halloween, cold weather, Christmas, New Year's... I guess it's all about staying focused :) I figure if I can lose some more weight, I'll reward myself with a trip to the outlet mall when I'm there.

Cindy - :wave2:

AFM - I decided to change things up a bit this week. DF isn't around until Friday so I'm going to give running in the evenings a shot. Maybe the change will help improve my pace.

My order of winter running stuff came last night. Naturally, the temperature is going to be 10C (50F) tonight. Believe me, I'm not complaining about that at all.

Well, that's about all for now! Hope everyone is having a great day! :wave2:

[Creativebeth]

Good morning Lean Meaners!

I haven't been able to catch up since the weekend news......

Vicky: I think the training we do wears us down sometimes. There are days that my runs are sluggish....but then I usually will have a speeder day later. It isn't good to run at the same pace all the time anyway. I change this up on purpose. My LR's are usually slow......just getting the mileage in...... So, I don't think you have to worry. I didn't think I was in PR shape this weekend either.....didn't even consider it until I was out there running!

Debra: Oh no! The 'new' car damaged already! Those PA deers are wrecking havoc to all of us. There are too many of them again. I hope all is not lost.....and I hope that your DOOD is ok. I am glad that you have internet again!

Maria: How's it going? Miss you!

AFM: I am back at it today. Yesterday was a loss for diet and exercise. I couldn't get out of bed to save my life. I was way tired......so I didn't run before work. I drugged myself around all day yesterday.....no energy at all. I was eating everything within my sight to boot. Oh, vey! My running this year was fantastic, but I think all the training and 1600+ miles caught me unaware! So, I took the day off.......!

Today, the hunger bug has me, but so far staying on track. I ran 5 miles this morning (working around the major case of chub-rub from the weekend's race) in an hour. I am still tired and run down, but feeling better than yesterday.

Hopefully, things will get better!

Beth

[Cindylou]

Good Morning Lean Meaners.

Sorry I've been away so long. Things are starting to get very busy for me lately. I'm trying to get most of my Xmas shopping done in the next week. Not sure that will actually happen since I just have no idea what to get some people.

Beth: HUGE CONGRATS to you on your latest PR. To have taken 22 minutes off this year is AMAZING!! I'm so glad you are being rewarded for all of your hard work. I'm glad you took the day off on Tuesday. Your body probably really needed it. Hopefully you've gotten back on track with your eating. Just one day of non-stop eating is OK, it's when it's 3 weeks or so, like me, then it's a problem. Your list of healthy changes are great. It's a good reminder that weight loss/healthy living is not a complete mystery. There are concrete things we can do to have success. I hope you've gotten back to it.

Vicky: I'm sorry to hear about your new work environment. I am so lucky to have a boss that thinks as long as my job is getting done well, the rest doesn't matter. I have pictures plastered all over my cube. I hope you are able to enjoy your alone time this week without DF and benefit from the change of routine. Thanks for buying all your winter wear, because it's really helped with our temps down here too.

Manda: I'm glad your Mom's surgery went well. I hope the test results were good. Snow? Already? I hope it won't keep you from your runs. That's great that your DH is running with you, hopefully he'll improve quickly and stop slowing you down.

Jackie: I hope you decide to go for the Goofy. Just remember that it will probably be an extra fancy medal since it's the 5th anniversary. And once you've done it one time, you'll never have to do it again. You'll have so many WISH friends to run with you that it shouldn't be miserable. I think you'll regret it if you change your mind. Congratulations on your finish. 8:36 pace at the end of the race is fabulous. Sorry to hear that you had a tough time. Way to go sticking with it and catching a second breath. Sorry to hear you've gained a few lbs. I'm with you on that one. It's a tough time of year to be losing weight, but it can be done. Good luck to you.

Debra: Love the rejiggering word. Hope you've got the schedule all fixed now. I should do some rejiggering myself, but I think I'm going to go with the flow for January. I'll train, but I'll figure out what to do as I go. It takes a lot of the stress off. I may regret it in January, but we'll see. Hope the car situation is fixed. Glad that DOOD wasn't injured. Great news on the internet being fixed.

Jeanne: I'm glad you are able to have surgery. It sounds like it will be a speedy recovery.

Maria: Sounds like you are still doing well with diet and exercise. Good for you. Hope work is easing up a bit. Getting very close to your trip. I have been thrilled with our weather lately. I really hope it lasts right up till Christmas, then we can get 4 inches of beautiful white snow, then moderate temperatures until Jan 8th. Then I need it to be moderate again for Feb, March and the first 3 weeks of April. Then what ever. Not too much to ask, is it?

I have finally gotten the out of control eating out of my system. I'm actually eating like a normal person for now. I'm not necessarily staying within my pts, but at least I'm not eating everything in sight. I've decided to try to do at least 1 hour of exercise each day. That will give me a few more calories to eat so I'm not feeling so deprived all the time. It's going to be tricky to fit that into my day every day. On Tuesday I got out for 20 min of swimming at 5 AM, then after work I got the kids dinner and tried to do a Jillian Michael's DVD. The change in their routine just made the kids goofy so they were all fooling around instead of eating. My DH was working late, so that didn't help either. I'll have to try something different, since I don't really like giving up the family dinner. They all like to do the DVD with me, so maybe that will be our pre-dinner routine.
I haven't made it back to WW for a while. Things keep coming up in my schedule. I'm really hoping to get there next Monday. I'm going to the Patriots' game on Sunday, so that will involve tailgating. It's going to be hard to eat reasonably with all the temptations there. Then of course T'giving next week too, another temptation fest. But after that I'll have 4 solid weeks before Christmas to buckle down. Last year during December I lost 5 to 7 lbs, so I'm really hoping to do the same this year. It really made indulging at christmas more enjoyable because I really felt like I had earned it.

Have a great day everyone.
Cindy

[mandac]

Vicky – I would love to feel 50F again. I high is going to be about 30! Yep I said high – below freezing, and it is only November. I feel a long winter coming my way.

Beth – Good to hear you got the miles in this morning. I wish I had advice for staying away from the food. But I don’t! I give in way too much. Just remember that it won’t make you feel better. I tend to want to eat when I am tired and run down. My brain knows it doesn’t help, but my stomach and mouth are very persuasive.

Cindy – Impressive that you lost weight last December. It is sort of the dreaded month for me. Well it used to be, lately every month has been dreaded! You will have to let us know how you manage to fit the hour in. I don’t have kids and I still have trouble finding time.

As for me – like I said, I am having trouble finding time to exercise. I haven’t been able to wake up because I just haven’t been sleeping. I was up all night last night and almost just gave up about 3:30 and hit the treadmill, but I figured any more sleep would be a good thing. We went to visit my mom again last night. She is doing well (thanks for the hugs and WISHes). They think she will get to come home today – but no one would give us a real answer. The results haven’t come back from the lab as to the tumor, but the surgeon said he believes it was benign, so we are hoping for that. It would be a good start to our holidays to have her home and healthy!

The plan is to go out again tonight with DH and do W5D2 of C25K. We are planning on running outside for the last time in a while. The Forecast is freezing and snow again this weekend. I was hoping to go out for some extra mileage on Saturday, but with a high of 30 and snow, I may have to do it on the treadmill. Much less fun.

My weight has stayed about the same for the past couple weeks. Time to kick it in again. I am tracking my eating (using Sparkpeople – thanks for the recommendation) again. I just seem to fall off track when I don’t write it down. The habits are not in place yet. Hopefully that will happen someday.

[Worfiedoodles]

Hey Lean Meaners!

Sshhh. Don't tell anyone -- I've been coaching on the BL thread this week (using virtually all my DIS time, Sorry!), and today is my last day. I should be over there encouraging everyone, but instead I have to get a post up to the Meanies! :grouphug:

Manda -- So glad to hear your mom is doing well! Sometimes we need a break to refocuse and get used to a new weight, and then are bodies are ready to tackle more. It could be you've been taking just such a break, and now your ready to move! :cool1:

Cindy -- Good for you with the Christmas Shopping! I'm done with a lot of the kids, but haven't even started on my own :rotfl: I have another trip to the Mall this weekend, and then I should be able to start on ds and dh. I'm glad you've got your eating where you want it! I am losing all motivation. We leave in six days, and that's pretty much where my mind is :rolleyes1

Beth -- It sounds like you really needed a day off. Sometimes you have to listen to your body and go with it, so I'm glad you did! I have a list of things to do before the Thanksgiving trip and I'm working on it, but I feel like I'm missing something big. I don't know what it could be, maybe it will come to me...:confused3

Vicky -- Let's keep ordering that winter stuff and keep it at bay! I need some long underwear, so I'll order it when I get back. That should be good for another week of warm weather! ;)

Jackie -- I'm sorry I haven't made it here sooner to Congratulate You on Your Fabulous Race! I read your report and cheered, and I should have posted then. The tissues aer something I would totally do -- and trust me, they will be stashed all over the place before I do Donald! :goodvibes

Debra -- So glad to hear DOOD is ok, even if the transportation has had a mishap. I know what you mean about switching things up. I just knew last night I wasn't going to get up and workout this morning, and of course I didn't. I stayed up until midnight (unheard of for me), and I just felt out of it all evening. I'm having a hard time focusing, I think I may have to just give up (other than my 7M Sat.) for this week. Sunday starts a new week for me, so surely I can commit to 4 workouts before I leave! ::yes::

Jeanne -- We want details on the engagement party, it sounds like just the event for you! :dance3: And so glad you have a date for your surgery, I know it is going to go great! :flower3:

Ok, so this has not been my best week. I did my workouts Monday and Tuesday, but yesterday and today have been big busts. I just want to go home and sleep -- and then I don't want to get up early and run. I had a massive (for me) loss last week of 3.8 lbs, and now I just seem to have no motivation. I'm sure when I get on the scale Saturday it's going to be up. Maybe not a lot, but I know I didn't lose anything this week. :sad2:

I seem to have lost my focus on weight loss. I was letter-perfect last week, and I just don't seem to have it in me this week. I am considering this week over after my 7M Sat (I'm committed to doing those, even if I walk or go slow, I need to do the distance). I'm giving myself a fresh start on Sunday. :angel:

Maria :upsidedow

[Creativebeth]

Hey Meanies,

Coming to you from the road. On the way to the Baseball Hall of Fame with the family. We are going to a sleep over at the Museum tonight. The boys are thrilled, me not so much. I don't think it will go well for me sleeping on the floor. I think the family forgets that I am OLD!:confused3

Maria: Christmas shopping? What's that? I never start before Adam's birthday on the second of December. I try to start thinking about it around Thanksgiving, but nothing ever comes of it.

Manda: Hope all the results from your mom's surgery goes well.

AFM: I am back at it. I actually ran Thursday on the rail trail with my friend Heidi. We were going at a pretty fast clip for 5 miles. I think a little faster than 10 min miles. My legs were still pretty tired, but they held up ok. I got 5 miles in this morning before we left.

I am eating some better, but not perfect. I am sure the weekend won't be either.......I will be back at it on Monday!

Ok, the latest news......I am pondering a marathon in 2010. I know I have said I am done with the 26.2 mile distance, but it keeps coming up in my head. My marathon in 2007 just wasn't stellar. My time was bad, I was heavy, and it was very uninspired. I want to look back at the marathon with some success.......anything better that the 6:22 I ran in Toronto. I would love to do one in 5 hours. I am probably dreaming, but that would be the goal.

My plan for next year is to train longer for the 1/2 marathon distance and try to break 2:15, a 5K in less than 30 min ( I think that is very doable right now), and maybe the marathon in the fall. We all need goals now, don't we???

Beth

[bunnyfoo]

Hey Lean Meaners! Happy Monday! (Is there such a thing?) Well, here's to a new week!

Beth - How was the sleepover? I can totally see you breaking the 2:15 mark and then some for a half. If you do a marathon next year, which one are you thinking of?

Maria - Sorry to hear about last week. You did get in workouts on Monday and Tuesday so that should count for something! Recently I've been having trouble getting up to run in the morning. I moved my running to the evening and that seems to have helped with my motivation. Maybe a change in your routine will help to shake things up? :)

Manda - Hope things are well with your mom? Did you have nice weather on the weekend or were you on the TM? How are you doing with the increase in running/walk intervals?

Cindy - Christmas shopping? I haven't even thought about that yet but I guess the one month mark is closing in. Good for you for getting it out of the way - hopefully that will mean less stress next month. Glad to hear the eating is back under control as well! Yay!

Jeannie - How was the engagement party?

AFM - I did my 10K race yesterday. The weather couldn't have been more perfect! I think it was about 10C (50F) and super sunny! The race itself was great - a flat course through the waterfront and some residential neighbourhoods. There were three races being run at the same time - 5K, 10K and a 10 miler. My only complaint about the race was that some of the markers were geared towards the 10 mile racers. I had a panic attack when I thought I was going the wrong way. Naturally there were no race officials or anything like that around and all the markers were in the opposite direction with mileage higher than 10K. I did eventually find the turnaround so all went well. I PB'ed at 58:07 which knocks 2 minutes from my 10K in October. DF and I went to celebrate with brunch afterwards - I thought I was pretty good, scrambled egg whites, fruit cup, 1 whole wheat pancake ... I did use sugar syrup and eat bacon but whatever :)

Also got an email from a weight loss tracking site that I had forgotten I had signed up with back in 2008. It said I weighed 151.4 when I first joined. It was a nice reminder of how much weight I've lost even if it has been slow. It was nice to see the bigger picture rather focusing on the usual weekly ups and downs.

Have a great day everyone! :wave2:

[MouseDogMom]

Vicky - Great job on your 10K! I would have been terrified that I was on the wrong course. Good for you for sticking with your instincts. I'm doing an 8K on Thanksgiving and hoping to finish in about the same time as your 10K time - that will be a PR for me. DH and I ran 5 miles Sunday in 56:30, so I'm hoping for that or better on Thursday! My dilemma will be deciding whether to run it with my Galloway buddies who will be there or go solo and see what I can do. :confused3

Beth - Since you started... half marathon in 2:30, 5K without walk breaks, and MAYBE, just maybe another marathon to see if I can do it in 5:30. Maybe OBX or Kiawah? Flat would be nice...

Manda - Any news yet on your mom? :hug:

Eating is going relatively well. Went to 3 grocery stores yesterday, so I should have a variety of food available (and yet I still didn't pack lunch for today! :confused3) Thanksgiving will be very low key. DD is going with the BF, so DH and I are doing the Turkey Trot and then hanging out on Thursday, then having dinner with the inlaws at a friend's house Friday. I'm doing most of the cooking, but I refuse to go overboard. I'm making a pecan pie for DH, but no other baking.

I ran 10 miles on Saturday, then followed it up with another 8 on Sunday in preparation for Goofy. I have a half in 3 weeks, but it's very low key. LOTS of hills, so we're treating it as a training run instead of going for time. I still should PR, since my previous 2 halfs have been after injuries and are really slow, but if I don't it won't be a big deal. There are 4 more on the calendar already!

The scale is down 1.5 from last Monday. One step at a time.

Jackie

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Morning, Lean Mean Brigade!

I am bouncing off the walls, ready for my trip and not caring about the work I should be looking at right now...Hey, it'll still be here when I get back, it's not like someone else is going to do it :rotfl2:

Jackie -- Pecan pie is one of my favorites! I would show up if I weren't going to be taking in the FL sun! It sounds like you have a great plan for Thanksgiving, and your runs are coming right along. Good job sticking with it! :thumbsup2

Vicky -- I could definitely use a change in my routine. I'm getting a little one this week. I did 5 Mon., 3 today, and I plan to do 3 tomorrow, Thurs., and Sat. The last two workouts will depend on how motivated I'm feeling, but just doing 3 seems like enough to get me energized without completely exhausting me before I spend the days running around theme parks. :cool1:

Beth -- I like to start the shopping early so I can mail to my nieces in FL. I guarantee my SIL will have the pkg for our family in the mail the day after Thanksgiving. She is amazing :rolleyes1 Your goals for 2010 sound great! I haven't given it any thought yet. I'm not ready for a full, but I do hope to actually do some races other than WDW. That would be a big step for me, since that's generally all I do. I know there are 5Ks around, and I'm starting to get a little smaller so maybe I won't completely stand out...I keep thinking in 50 lbs this will be more doable. ;)

I gained 2 lbs last week, which is not how I wanted to start this trip. I'm still 5 less than when I last flew in June, so I guess that's something. TOM is also stalking me, I'm not sure he's going to catch me but I know he's coming up fast. I'm hoping the rides and plane seat will fit a big better. I fit ok, but I'd like for there to be room to spare... I can't wait for the day when I can walk to the bathroom on the plane and know I can easily get through without touching anyone. It seems like even as I get smaller, people hang out into the aisle more...maybe that's my imagination :confused3

Howdy to everyone else -- Wendy, Debra, Cindy, Jeanne :wave:

I am wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Be careful if you are travelling and enjoy your treats in moderation! :teacher:

Maria :upsidedow

[mandac]

Maria – Have a great trip! Enjoy the sun.

Beth – Hope you had a good vacation. A marathon!?!? You are amazing.

Vicky – Thanks for the race report. No fun to feel like you are lost on the race, but it looks like you pulled it off anyway.

Jackie – Sounds like a good thanksgiving for you. With my mom down this year I think the number of pies arriving at our dinner will be less than usual – and that is a good thing. Have fun at your Turkey Trot.

As for me – My mom is doing much better. DH and I went to her house to cook dinner on Sunday and spent some good time with her and my dad. We also watched the MSL Cup Final (Congrats REAL Salt Lake!!!!). Thank you all for your concern. I appreciate the love and support. We have yet to get any results. But they did find a grapefruit size tumor. Still just waiting to see if it is the bad kind of tumor.

I was pretty bad with my exercise this weekend. It did get really cold and wet. I was waiting for DH to go to the gym with me rather than just hopping on my treadmill at home, and that was a mistake. We never made it on Saturday. I felt so bad about missing a Saturday workout that I actually had a dream where I was being yelled at by a personal trainer (I don’t have one!). So no more of that! We did manage to go last night, and I made it running for 20 minutes. As I was going around the little indoor track I was thinking that this is the longest time I have run probably since high school, and maybe before that! I have never been a runner, but it felt good. For now I love running with DH, and we are trying to find a speed and interval that will work well for us. I know the longer we run without a walking break the slower we go. We are both doing a 5K on Thursday. Hopefully it will be fun. The weather is forecast to be good, so I will keep hoping for that.

I big HI to everyone else. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[Worfiedoodles]

Manda! -- So great to hear from you! I'm glad to hear your mom is doing better, and crossing my fingers for good news. Have a wonderful time at the 5K on Thursday, you will feel great eating your meal knowing you burned some calories! :woohoo:

Maria :upsidedow

[Cindylou]

Just a quick post to WISH everyone a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving. I hope to have more posting time over the weekend.

Cindy

[bunnyfoo]

Happy Thanksgiving Lean Meaners! Hope everyone is having a relaxing day off :) No holidays for us further up North unfortunately. Our Thanksgiving was back in October.

Jackie - Good luck on your 8K! Sorry I didn't have a chance to post until now. How did you end up doing? Did you go solo or with your running buds? WTG on your 1.5 lb loss!!

Maria - Bring us back some sun!!

Manda - Glad to hear your mom is doing better! That's fantastic news! And congrats on running 20 minutes :) Btw, I'm starting to think that trainers who yell at their clients only do so for TV ratings.

Beth - You inspired me to start thinking of races for 2010. I've got 2-30K races, a 10 miler and a 1/2 so far. And by planning this early, I can also save a little bit on race fees too :)

AFM - Unfortunately I'm at work today :( Though you'd think it was some special kind of holiday here. People have had donut bits, pizza, dessert trays, hot chocolate... I've managed to dodge everything so far. I hope it doesn't make me seem too antisocial. I'm back at the gym tonight for a 1/2 hour workout and will probably run on the TM for 3 miles afterward. I was up this morning but it was raining out.

Oh I almost forgot to mention that the airline we're flying down on was having a seat sale. I was able to change our tickets for just the change fee of $105 (total). Then I added a day onto our stay at the Poly by downgrading room categories and using the 40% PIN code. It worked out to being only $10 more :) So hooray for an extra day in WDW - especially in January!!

[Creativebeth]

I AM in planning mode!

I signed up for 2 1/2 marathons so far. $65 for VA beach and $55.00 for the Lehigh Valley.

I am looking at marathons right now. San Diego in June? A little early for me...wanted more October/November. The family wants a destination marathon.....we'll see.

I am also looking at the National 1/2 marathon in March.

My goals refined....

1. Beat 2:15 for the half.
2. Then aim for 10 min/miles for about 2:10 finish.
3. Marathon in 5:30.
4. Lose 10 pounds.

There you are!

Maria: Have a great time!

Vicky: Good goals!

Manda: Glad mom's doing better.

Beth

[MouseDogMom]

Good morning Lean Meaners! Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend. Ours was very low key, but really enjoyable. Ran a 5 mile Turkey Trot Thursday morning, then got a spontaneous invite from a couple there for dinner that afternoon. Had a fabulous evening with new friends, then had dinner on Friday with the inlaws. I cooked and took all the food to a friend's house, and we had a quiet afternoon with a nice walk between the meal and dessert.

Vicky - I started the Turkey Trot with two of my running buddies. Around mile 3.5, one of them said he needed to walk earlier than the scheduled walk break. I never looked back. Just kept on running, and even picked up the pace. Lengthened the run intervals, and finished about 3 minutes ahead of them. Felt a little guilty, since one of them is the same friend I left during the Richmond marathon, but a race is a race. I was determined to PR this course. I'm a little disappointed that I only beat last year's time by a little under a minute, since I was really sick last year and couldn't breathe, but I'm justifying it by saying I spent the first 3 miles with my friends and could have run faster. Next year...

Beth - Great goals! Big Sur Marathon in November?

VICTORY! I got on the scale this morning, and it's EXACTLY THE SAME as it was last Monday. I made it through Thanksgiving, through the Tasting Party at church yesterday (LOTS of yummy goodies), and TOM is due this week, with no weight gain. No loss either, but it's still a victory.

Jackie

[jeanneg]

Hello there, mean leaners!

I am very sorry but life has been so crazy lately that in order to post, I have to resort to doing a C&P job from the Ohana thread. I truly apologize to those who subscribe to both threads, but I think you'll agree I've been a little busy......

I know it's been ages since I last posted, but my life is a little crazy right now. Our trip to MI was great and the engagement party was a hoot....straight outta the movie for sure! Aside from my daughter, we were the only non-Greeks at the party. In some ways, it was a little overwhelming, but they are such a warm, loving family we soon felt at ease. My favorite was the uncle who made a point of coming over to tell us that we "looka lika nice people!" Unbeknownst to us, it is tradition at an engagement party for the bride-to-be to receive gifts of fine jewelry which she must immediately wear for good luck. My daughter was walking around looking like Mr. T....she had more bling than a Disney marathon junkie! Quite a nice surprise....

We also got her wedding gown that weekend. It took all of an hour! We are very pleased. It is simple, but very elegant. Of course it was the first one she tried on, but then she had to try on another 8-10 just to be sure. That is a major item to be checked off. If anyone is interested, here is a link:
http://sophiatolli.com/dresses/?coll...20Bridal#i3005
(Hers will be in white, not ivory.... and don't look at the back view on the website because it's not the same dress!)
Then this past weekend, she came home for Thanksgiving and we picked out the bridesmaids dresses and ordered the cake! So little by little, everything is falling into place.

As if the weddings aren't enough to keep me busy, we are in the process of closing down my husband's business. He has accepted what he hopes will be the job of his dreams in a neighboring state and we have decided that because of the upcoming weddings, we won't move. So we need to get him a small apt. and move in some bare essentials so he can stay there midweek. Our health/dental insurance will also be changing and I have been scurrying around trying to get all my important tests and exams in. Last week was a colonoscopy, which is never fun, but very important since I have a family history. Also had 2 old fillings replaced.....again, not fun, but necessary. This weekend, John and I have the R&R HM in Las vegas...complete with mid-race vow renewal. We come home on Monday, and I go in for my surgery on Wednesday. It will be a 2-3 week recoverery so I am trying to take care of all my Christmas stuff this week before I leave. Over Thanksgiving weekend the kids all pitched in and we put up both the tree and outside lights. Plus, the inside house is pretty much decorated. You can see I've been busy!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Our December hollidays will be here before we know it....and after that, marathon weekend! Can't wait to see everyone again!

[Cindylou]

Good Morning Lean Meaners,

Jeanne: You have been busy. So glad it's mostly good stuff (colonoscopy and dentist excepted). Best WISHes in Las Vegas. How wonderful to do a vow renewal. Good luck with your surgery and recovery. I tried the link to the dress, but it didn't seem to work. I'm sure it's beautiful.

Jackie: Fantastic news about your weight staying the same over Thanksgiving. That's no small feat. Congrats on your PR. I don't blame you for not staying with your friends. I would have done the same thing and then felt guilty too.

Beth: Your goals sound challenging, but achievable. Good luck with them. How was the Hall of Fame. I love that place, but don't imagine sleeping on the floor was very nice.

Vicky: Glad to hear you've extended your trip in January. I would have loved to stay longer, but as it is my son is missing 6 days of school.

Manda: Glad your mom is doing well. Still hoping for good test results. Sorry your weather has been cold and snowy. We've just enjoyed the warmest November in years. I know cold weather is on its way, but I'm enjoying this while it lasts.

Maria: Hope your trip was wonderful. Let's hear about it. Great job on losing 3.8 lbs in a week.

Debra: Hello.

I made it to WW yesterday for the first time in nearly 2 months. I was up 3.8 lbs. since the beginning of Oct. It wasn't much of a surprise since I had a long stretch of poor eating and decreased exercise. I didn't eat well on Thanksgiving or the day after, but decided to get back on plan for Saturday and Sunday. It helped that we didn't cook and I had no leftovers.

I'm really going to try to be consistent with exercise this month. It's way too easy to skip it because I have so many other holiday related things to do. I have to make it a priority. The leader at WW suggested we take a calendar page for December and write in our schedule. Fill in dentist appts, meetings, work, planned exercise, parties, Christmas shopping. Then figure out which days will be challenging and see how many days it should be easy to stay on plan. I think this will really help. I can see I'll have 4 or 5 days that have parties or Christmas celebrations. If I can eat reasonably the other 26 or 27 days I can make it through December without a big gain.

I did my first back to back runs for Goofy this weekend. I ran 6 on Sunday and 12 on Monday. It really wasn't too bad. I was worried it would be too hard on my knees. I feel fine today. I love knowing I burned an extra 1800 calories in 2 days. I made a point of not consuming all of them either.

Have a good day everyone.
Cindy

[Creativebeth]

Good morning Lean Meaners!

Jeanne: You have been a busy little beaver! You are forgiven for not visiting us here, and for the copied post! No problem! I am glad things are coming together for Jen's wedding......I love the Mr. T 'picture' in my head! Fine jelewery is always acceptable! Good luck in Vegas! I will miss not being there. My friend Heidi is running the 1/2! I was to be there, but the finicial part got in the way!:mad: Then good luck with the surgery......I am sure you will do fine! You will be a new woman!

Cindy: The Hall of Fame was fun.....not fun sleeping on the floor, but the kids had a blast! They did a nice job with it! We then spent Saturday night in NYC......the people from the parade were already there, and very obnoxious! It was nice just walking around though. We were right by Times Square!

AFM: So, my plan for 2010 is always changing......We might decide to do an early marathon than I wanted to. The Rock and Roll San Jose is only a 1/2 marathon (looking for a marathon). So, the boys would love to fly somewhere.....they have only been on a plane once......and they would 'prefer' California! ((((((Like I care!))))). But, looking at the RnR schedule.....San Diego looks interesting. I hear great things about the city, but the only drawback is that the marthon is June 6th. The boys last day of school in June 4th......so that would work.......I would just have to train over the winter months.....meaning alot of the TM. I don't think it would be much different later though, since most of my running is in the morning on the TM anyway....... So, I would have a 1/2 marathon in March and April, a marathon in June, and then I could do the VA 1/2 and Philly 1/2 in September. I could probably still get another 1/2 in in the fall sometime.

I printed two schedules out.....Runner's World and Hal Hidgen's intermediate schedule. It looks doable. Runner's World has more pace, tempo, and speed work involved. I might have to tweak them a bit.....we'll see.

I am kind of excited......I never was going to do another marathon, and now here I am thinking about it! I will not gain 25 pounds again though......it's been to hard getting it off!

Beth

[jeanneg]

Cindy: I just tried and the link doesn't work for me either even though I tested it several times last night. In fact, their entire website is down right now so that may be the problem. I'll check back later and revise if necessary.

[Creativebeth]

Bumping this up. How about a role call today???? Who is out there lurking?:confused3

[Worfiedoodles]

Hey Leanies!

I promise to check in later and chat about my trip. I just made a doctor's appt. for about an hour from now, so I have to get going. I've had these bumps on my arm for a long time and dh and my sm have been bugging me to go, but I'm such a baby...and I for some reason I got to work today, pulled out telephone list and just made the call. I figured they wouldn't see me for a month or so, turns out I can go in this AM.

The weigh in alone usually keeps me away. I've lost 20 lbs so far this year, but I know I'm still going to get a lecture...but I guess I'll just go with it. I know I've worked hard for what I've done, and I'll keep doing it next year, too. I am going to be so glad when this is over...I just know there will be pain involved. ::yes::

I'm still here, and ready to get back with a great report...can you tell I don't want to get up and go to the doctor?

Maria :upsidedow

[Cindylou]

I'm here. 4 days in a row eating well. It's amazing that it only takes 4 days to feel so much better. I need to remind myself how much I like this feeling when the next temptation comes around. I think that will be tomorrow night when I go to a friend's house for a Pampered Chef party. I'm not sure if I'll decide to have just one treat or for go all the goodies. I have a big challenge on Saturday as I'm going to a baby shower during the day and a party at night time. I think I will try to avoid treats tomorrow night and save some pts for Saturday.


Beth: You certainly have the base to do a marathon in June. The winter running will be a challenge, but as you say, you already do the TM quite a bit. As long as it's not icy, running outside in the winter is manageable. It is possible to not gain weight during training - not that I've ever done it myself, but if you are aware of it and are diligent about counting calories in vs. calories out you can do it. I think it will be a great idea to have a good marathon experience to look back on. Good luck to you.

Maria: Looking forward to hearing about your trip. Good for you for getting to the doctor to have your arm looked at. It will be a wonderful relief when it's all over.

Have a great day everyone.
Cindy

[Creativebeth]

Cindy: You are exactally right.....I want a good marathon experience, not just "I finished!" The desire is coming earlier than I thought it would. I thought I would wait until the boys were in high school or something. I guess I feel like I am in the best shape of my life, my weight is OK, and why not do it now if I can do most of my training on off times. Most of my running is early in the morning before the family is awake, and my long runs can be on Thursdays or Fridays when the boys are in school. That might even be better than training in the summer when they are off school. The idea is improving as I think about it. That would eliminate the time lost to the family which was a bigger deal in 2007. The family might not end up hating me!!! My main goal is not to gain weight!

Good luck to you on the challenges coming up. I know we all have them lumming in the future due to Christmas, but your's are hitting you earlier. I usually try to go into something like that with a game plan. If I am letting myself have treats, I do. If I don't want to endulge......I stay away from all of it. Even the good stuff. When I start to eat (or drink) I lose the resolve. I keep it to diet Coke, and try to eat something ahead of time so I am not hungry. I can stay on target better eating nothing. I hope you make it out ok!

Maria: How was the doctor's appointment? Hope it isn't to painful for you. Please do tell us about the trip!

AFM: It was really hard getting up today (all week actually) My schedule got screwed up after being sick last week, and not getting up. It was not a stellar run this AM, but it got done. Felt like crap, but the miles are put in!

Eating was ok yesterday, but boy I was hungry! Hopefully better today!

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

Hey Lean Meaners!

I'm back...and Cindy was absolutely right, it feels wonderful to have that over with. Although I've been referred to a dermatologist for a 2nd opinion, the doctor believes it is nothing to worry about at all, and should be cleared up with a steroid cream. She didn't prescribe anything so the derm can see it as is, but assured me it is definitely not skin cancer. Whew! I did get a lecture about how I need to have a physical, mammogram and pap. I'm going to think about it after the Half. If I schedule anything now I'll just worry about it the whole time I'm in FL. I am the world's biggest weanie. I still believe I only gave birth because there was no other choice at that point! ;)

Beth -- I'm sorry last week was not so fun. I'm really glad you are feeling better -- and up to tackling a marathon! I know you can come through it without a weight gain, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to! :thumbsup2

Cindy -- That's a lot of food challenges all at once! Mine come next weekend with the family Christmas party. Just me and dh's uber-thin family -- you know, the one where the cousin's girlfriend (yes they have 2 kids, but who needs marriage? :confused3) tells her oldest son not to eat too much so he won't get fat while glancing pointedly at me every year. I don't eat too much during the party (or at all, really), but I tend to hit the pantry running when I get home. I'm going to try not to do that this year. I have lost 20 lbs since they saw me last year. I think I look smaller, and I know my clothes fit better and are smaller, too. But I'm nowhere near these folks -- my sizes are so still in the double digits, and I think their's are not over 4, so I will still look like gargantua next to them. Anyway, what I was trying to say was -- Eat a little something if it will make you feel too deprived and eat way too much later. It's better to have a little bit of something you really want, and avoid the binge!

So, onto trip highlights (mostly a cut & paste, sorry Team Ohana):

We had a fantastic time at Universal Orlando. We had plenty of time to do all the rides (the Simpsons 4 times in one day -- not my idea, but ds loved it), the Express access made a huge difference. Even when lines were long and crowded, we skated right through.

My Thanksgiving dinner was a whopper. Again, not my idea...I think ds was afraid I'd make him eat turkey if we ate some place that resembled a restaurant. I splurged for the holiday and had it with cheese and all the trimmings.

We went to the Animal Actors show for the first time at US. We were both impressed, very cute if you like animals. We also saw the Beetlejuice Graveyard Review twice, once on Thanksgiving and once on Saturday. Let's just say most of the A Team clearly had the day off for Thanksgiving. It was the same show, but the performances were quite different.

The Harry Potter castle is coming right along. I'm looking forward to going back and experiences Hogwarts.

No water rides for us. Yes, they were open. No, we weren't up for it what with some people wearing gloves, hats, boots and parkas. Not us, 60 degrees isn't quite that cold to us -- but too cold for a soaking.

Friday night Megadeth played at the Hard Rock Live. Saturday night David Cook played at the same venue. I don't think they have any of the same fans, judging by the lines we saw.

I managed to get in 2 3M workouts, so I was pretty happy with that. I did 4M yesterday and 3M yesterday + yoga, so back on track with my training.

We stayed at the RPR onsite, and had a gorgeous view of the pool and lake. We were able to watch the boats dock and take off, so that was fun. DS got in the pool once, then thought better of it. Too cold for me by far!

I can't tell what I gained -- TOM has hit me with a veangance, and so I'm not sure. It doesn't look too bad overall. If I'm where I was before I left after TOM, I'll feel very good about it.

Feel free to ask any questions...

Maria :upsidedow

[Creativebeth]

Maria: The trip sounded like fun! I am glad things went well! And, I have a different mentality with vacation......I eat what I want......and will work it off later! I traveled alot in November.....alot of 'vacation'! I am up a little, but I am not really too stressed about it. I am back on plan, and it will come off! So, just keep doing what you are doing.....it will all work out!

I am not so obscessed with the scale right now......I do want about 9 pounds more off.....maybe by my birthday in Feb (around the same time marathon training would start). Then I want to maintain it for the duration!

Beth

[Cindylou]

Good Morning Lean Meaners.

Maria: I'm glad you had a great vacation. When you said you had a whopper of a thanksgiving dinner I didn't realize you meant it literally. Aren't you a great Mom for letting DS choose. Good for you for getting your runs in. You are right about having a little treat to avoid the binge later. That does seem to be my problem. Remember, DH's family may be thin, but he didn't get to choose them, he chose you. That's far more important than your dress size. And congrats on losing 20 lbs. We all know how hard that can be.

Beth: Good job being back on plan. If you stick with it those next 9 lbs will go away. The June marathon does sound good. You'll get all your LRs in before the super hot weather gets here.

I am up to 5 days of healthy eating. I'll get on the scale tomorrow to see if it shows there, but I can tell my jeans aren't quite as tight as they were last week. I got out for 5 miles of running yesterday. We have been blessed with very nice weather recently. I know it will change, but I'm glad to be enjoying it now. I made it to the gym this morning for a swim. It really feels so good to start the day off that way. Hopefully I can walk at lunch time to burn a few more calories.

Have a great day everyone.
Cindy

[mandac]

Hi all.

Sorry I have been MIA. It has just been a crazy couple of weeks with the holidays. I am afraid it shows in my weight, but I have been pretty consistent in exercising, so things should be going well. I did my first 5K and it was a blast. We did run/walk intervals and had a good time. I actually beat my SIL by about 30 seconds, and she ran the entire time. I think I like the interval thing. We also did 5 miles that weekend, so things are moving well in the exercise department. We lucked out and had a really nice weekend. Not looking so good for this weekend. Today it was about 14 degrees when I came to work. Too cold for me!

I will come back when I have more time and read what everyone has been up to. I just knew if I didn't check in I would slowly fall away - and I can't afford to lose you guys!

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Afternoon, Lean Mean Brigade!

I didn't make it up this AM for my 5M. I went to bed at 9:30, so I think I really just needed the rest. I am determined not to miss any more workouts. The closer I get to Christmas the harder it will get, so I need to hold the line now while it's still possible. :eek:

Manda -- So glad you enjoyed your first 5K! I agree, 14 degrees is too cold! It's 60 here today, so Cindy and I have great weather, very unusual for December!

Cindy --Sorry for the confusion. I did indeed eat a Burger King whopper as my Thanksgiving dinner. You are so sweet, and so right -- dh would not choose most of these people! :rotfl: If he had wanted a teeny tiny wife, he could have married one! I know 20 lbs does not sound like much for a year...but it's better than gaining! And I know that I can lose more next year. I have a better sense of how to apply myself, and I'm committed to increasing my workouts. I'll keep working on eating better, and maybe next year I'll lose another 30 lbs! That would get me to goal, and make me very happy. :woohoo: I'm still hoping to lose 10 more before we leave for the Half, but I know that's pretty unrealistic considering it took me 3 months to lose 7...:confused3

Beth -- With your workout schedule, I'm sure the 9 lbs will melt off! Ok, maybe not melt, but you will get there. And just in time to kick in the marathon training! What an exciting goal. I have no doubt you are going to do great things in 2010! ::yes::

Ok, let's hold it together for another weekend -- it's time for us to get our tree, get ready for the family Christmas party, get ds's H1N1 shot, and fill out an application for a "Plan B" school for ds. I have to answer essay questions as well -- What is my child's most endearing quality? Seriously?!

He's definitely changing schools next year. If he doesn't get into our first choice (he took a test and has straight As, but it is extremely competitive and we won't know until March), we need backup schools. Did I mention we also need to shop for the Angel Tree at church, go to church, figure out a dessert to bring to the family Christmas party, etc.? I am going to be worn out when I go back to work Monday! I also need to run 8 miles Saturday. :cool1:

What about you guys? How busy are your weekends? Anyone baking anything superlicious? Got any special activities or fun workouts planned? I know there are some Goofy B2Bs out there!

Maria :upsidedow

[getnthinr]

Hi, Leaner-Meaners! Just wanted to say "Hi". :wave2:

Just got back from the Space Coast Marathon (report here (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34554780&postcount=20)) and a great little one-day visit to WDW for Christmas (photos here (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018955&id=1563361142&l=66d20a26e4)). This weekend I'm wrapping up my Galloway Group training with our last run and group party, then preparing to visit with WiSHers Pat and Anne as they join me at the end of next week for the Kiawah Island Half (for them) and Marathon (for me). Space Coast was a beautiful race -- never saw so many dolphins -- but I almost had a PW pace. I'll blame it on not enough sleep and move on. (No point in dwelling on a less-than-stellar experience. <pardon the pun>) I am struggling with consistency in my healthy eating. I love hearing about the renewed determination of the folks here -- and admire those of you who have kept the weight off! Good luck as you all plan races for 2010! :woohoo:

Kiawah will be my last "training marathon" before Goofy, my 4th marathon in 3 months, and my 34th marathon since I started this silliness 10 years ago. My 5th Goofy looms ahead, and I am alternately terrified and excited.

So, that's my drive-by/check-in. I keep thinking life will calm down and I will be on the boards more regularly, but "there's always something." :)

[bunnyfoo]

Hey Lean Meaners! Happy Friday! Sorry to have been MIA - My eating has been good but I haven't gotten on the scale in about a month. So I really have no idea if it's all that "good". Clothes aren't getting tighter so that's a good thing :)

Sorry, it's just going to be a quick drive-by for me today. Lots of work at work and I definitely don't want to stay late on a Friday.

Wendy - That's an amazing amount of marathons! If I can keep running for 10 years, I don't think I'd even have half as many as you. :worship: I'm off to read your race report as soon as I'm done posting.

Maria - Welcome back! I'm glad the doctor doesn't think there's anything seriously wrong with your arm. Btw, I'm a big chicken at the doctor's, dentist etc. too That's an interesting question to ask a parent. When will you find out which school DS gets into?

Manda - Congrats on your 5K! I forget are you coming to marathon weekend in January?

Cindy - WTG on the 5 days of clean eating! :cheer2: I find it's hard to get back on the wagon somedays but each day that I'm on, it gets a little easier (no sugar cravings).

Beth - I know what you mean about the winter training. I have a 30K race at the end of March I'd love to do but keep waffling because I don't want to run in January or February. But I guess it's better than sitting my butt on the couch...

AFM - Still having a little trouble with the old knee. This year, my right side is weaker than my left side. So same issue just the opposite side. Go figure :rolleyes: I have a suspicion that the knee pain this time might be related to the new chairs at work (I thought Herman Miller chairs were suppose to be great :confused3) - I asked my PT when I first complained about the knee pain and it was about a week after we moved in. We're ordering new chairs but I have no idea when they're suppose to arrive. Anyway, I skipped running on Wednesday and Thursday to give my knee a break. I've got a LR of 9 miles tomorrow so I hope it goes well. I can't help but feel like I'm wasting all of this good weather :cutie:

Have a great day and weekend everyone!

[Creativebeth]

Hey Meanies! How's it going?

Manda: Glad to hear you enjoyed the 5k!

Vicky: Sorry to hear about the knee......weird that things 'switched' up on you. Why is it that our whole body can't be 100% at one time???

Maria: A whopper for Thanksgiving! Love it! I bet that ds will remember that forever! He will have a great memory of that Thanksgiving, and good for you for giving it to him. Sometimes we have to make sure to 'ease' up and let some sontaneous things happen......kids need those kind of memories for when they are 'old'!

Cindy: Our weather has been crappy. I am using my TM heavily! I have to say though, it is ok! I love my TM! Good that your jeans fit better than last week. That is the only measurement you need! Even if there is no weight loss....better fitting clothes means that everything you are doing is working!

AFM: Well, things were going fine......until today. For some reason I have lost my 'mojo'. I am eating to much......AGAIN. I swear it's the weather......but whatever the reason, I need to get a grip! I did run 90 min last night on the TM, and didn't eat very much yesterday. I woke up this AM starving! I took a combo class this morning of Pilates/Yoga. It was a good class, with alot of ab's and stretching. I will try to do that one once a week if it works out!

Beth

[Creativebeth]

Many of us aren't posting around here lately......things on the WISH boards are not really friendly. I know there is alot of personal grips right now, but it is discourageing for me for so much negativity. I am so 'up' right now especially coming up with plans for 2010......it's a bummer hearing so many negative people.

Let's keep the Lean Meaners free of the conflict. I am here to support each and every one of you with your endeavors. We are people of intregrity.....athletes like no other. Keep your heads high Meanies, and don't let those others to bring us down. I hope you all are having great weekends!

Beth

[MouseDogMom]

Thanks for the comments, Beth. It is very discouraging on most of the WISH board right now, so it's nice to know there's a safe place to go where people are friendly!

Had a great run this morning. Ran the second half of our 10 miles at a MUCH faster pace - left me feeling like my 2010 goals may be doable!

Jackie

[bunnyfoo]

Hey Meaners! Got my knee checked out my PT on Thursday - well actually he ended up looking at my glutes and hips because he says that's where knee problems usually start. He didn't find too much except for slightly tighter muscles. He gave me two exercises to do before I run. I had planned on doing a 9 miler this morning but I had a night cramp in my calf last night so I figured a 4 miler pace run might work out better. No knee pain so to speak of and I got my pace back up to 10:30 m/m! Hooray! I guess the real test will be to see how it holds up tomorrow on my 9 miler.

Beth - What is with all the drama on the boards lately? I feel like I missed something. Actually I've just been away because my new office set up makes it difficult to surf. I suppose that's the idea. Yeah, I think the eating is weather related - I find myself craving "heartier" foods. The combo yoga/pilates class sounds like fun!

Jackie - WTG on the faster pace!

Have a great weekend everyone! :wave2:

[Worfiedoodles]

Hi Guys!

I just pretty much come here, to my Team thread, and to the BL thread, so I guess I'm missing out -- but it doesn't sound like on anything good.

I did my 8M yesterday, I used those cliff blocks at mile 4 and six (black cherry, yum!), and it really helped. That's something new I'm adding to my training, I usually just use them during the race. I'm going to experiment until I get it right, so by the time I'm actually "racing", I should know when to use them.

We accomplished a ton yesterday, 8M, ds's H1N1 shot, got our tree (decorating today!), finished shopping for the family party (I'm making oyster crackers in a seasoning, quite good!), Angel Tree shopping, and watched a family movie. I was exhausted by 8pm.

We have church in a little while, the Pats play at 1, we have to do another application for ds, and I need to start preparing the family party gifts. Somewhere in there I think we have to make chili, too...It's a good kind of busy, I hope you all are having similar days!

Theoretically I'm going to work some strength training in there, but honestly, that will be the first thing to go...

Maria :upsidedow

[Creativebeth]

I pretty hang here and that's it. I made the mistake going into some 'new' threads, and all it was was bashing on each other. I don't know what the conflict is, but it seems pretty petty on all sides......so I am sticking to the Meanies and not 'surfing' around any more. I feel safe here! Hopefully those having the conflict will avoid us!

I feel good right now, but eating is still out of control. I must get my head back in the game!

The yoga/pilates class was good, but I am still sore! It amazes me how 'hard' it is when there isn't much 'action' in the class!

Beth

[Steffwalks]

HI Guys! A safe haven!! :love:

Haven't been around in a long time. That's because I can't seem to lose weight. I am going to be one of those older, healthy, heavy types at Marathon weekend! Could be worse, I could be older and sick and genuinely obese!

Beth, isn't it amazing what Pilates do? I swear while I am doing them (back after a long vacation from them) I think, this is no big deal!!! And then the next day.......:confused3 How does that happen???

Maria, I do my race fuel differently than most. I use gels because I don't have to spend any excess energy chewing! I can't walk and chew at the same time, anyway! :rotfl: But I can't do a packet of gel at once. Without giving TMI, i gag on it! So, I put several gels in a gel flask and use it every half hour. Keeps me fueled, no bad reactions, and I don't fall down! :banana:

I will back around more often. I am trying to lose weight, but once the Goofy is behind me, I think I will just do ordinary, regular, Biggest Loser, exercise for a while and see if that helps. I figure once I get the Goofy under my belt, a half marathon will just be a nice little walk! :woohoo:

Vicki - Glad to hear you don't have a serious problem. But those nagging ones....Yuck!

See ya

[Steffwalks]

I guessI killed this thread. I'm sorry.

[Creativebeth]

Nah, Connie, you haven't killed the thread! I am usually the one to do that! :lmao:

Glad to see you back with us......yes, a safe haven from the judgemental! I will do my best to keep us positive!!!!!! I have to say I am surprized at the turn on the WISH, and the people participating in it. Hopefully, maybe they have grown up a little in the mean time.

Okay, I am committing to losing 5 pounds by the end of the year. Geez, the eating thing has taken on a life of it's own. I mean.....I spent the whole year doing so well, but when I fall off the wagon......LOOK OUT! I swear I have 'endulged' every whim I have had for about 2 weeks.....I am not happy with that! I woke up today with a new resolve! I am not waiting for New Years Day to get back to it. I start today to get a head start! Weight Loss is NOT a resolution for the new year......it's a day to day struggle! My year did actually start out with a New Year resolution last time......but I maintained it pretty well all year long.....now I just have to get it back! I've got 10 pounds to lose before my birthday in February......when my marathon training starts!

Connie: I have been doing more classes, cross training, and doing less running miles and I have to say it's a nice change. I feel guilty every day though, that I am not getting as many miles in, but it's good for me. I need the weights and stretching, that's for sure. December to the beginning of Feb is my training 'break'. I did stay in great running shape this year for the 6 1/2 marathons I did, but the strength training really wasn't maintained. It's hard to get over 40 miles in a week running, and fit in the weight training too. My resolve for the next couple months is diversity!

AFM: I did get 2 days in last week of long runs (8miles each) for a total of 35.5 miles.....not too bad. I added in stretch class, Pilates, a 1/2 and 1/2 class with weights and cardio, and then a fusion class of Pilates and Yoga. I have to say I am sore! I need to try to get in stretch a couple times a week. It really does help to stretch out the sore muscles! :thumbsup2

Here's to a great weight loss week!!!!! :cool1: Who's with me???????

Beth

[MouseDogMom]

Here's to a great weight loss week!!!!! :cool1: Who's with me???????


Me, me!

I was so happy last Monday when the scale showed no weight gain for Thanksgiving week. Fast forward a week. 4 pounds heavier. UGH! Apparently I felt immune to weight gain, and TOM, and I'm paying for it now!

Short-term goals:
-Lose the 4 pounds I gained, quickly
-Lose an additional 4 before Goofy (should put weight right around 135) I'd love to be lower, but I'm going to be realistic.
-Focus on exercises to strengthen the feet and ankles between now and Goofy, recognizing that they're the weak link in distances 16 miles and above. If I'm going to survive Sunday, the feet are the key.

DH and I have been talking with more experienced runners in our group, and have revised our Goofy strategy. I think we're both going to take the half easy, and shoot for a good time during the full. :ssst:Sshhhhh - don't tell anyone else, but I'm going to have as my super secret goal to maybe hit my full goal for 2010 during Goofy, even though I know that's completely unrealistic to do on a day after I've already run 13.1 miles. But maybe, just maybe, I can still PR.

We registered yesterday for the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon in May. DH, DD, and I are all signed up. That makes race #5 for me in 2010!

Connie - Welcome back! We're the nice guys!

Beth - I have to figure out when to work in the weights and Pilates too. I used to be really good at alternating days, and I got up early and did weights before work. I skipped ALL of 2009. It would be nice to take some time off from the running, but with 5 races on the spring schedule, that's probably not such a good idea... :confused:

Vicky - Hope the knee pain subsides. So many pains actually start somewhere else - it can be really tricky! Take it easy and listen to your body.

Jackie

[Creativebeth]

Jackie: Welcome to my great weight loss week! I am going to be strong......I hope! 4 pounds is a great goal....I will attempt the same with you! Off to a good start today!!!!!

Beth

[Steffwalks]

Hi guys! :grouphug: than goodness I didn't kill the thread!

Beth, your plan sounds great! I will try to lose 5 pounds too! Although, I have to admit that I have only lost 5 pounds all year! I didn't do well on cross training this last year. After the rotator cuff surgery, I hadn't felt comfortable with it. I think you call that FEAR!!! I never want to do that, again!


MDM and Beth, thanks for the warm welcome back. I don't know what's up with the boards, either. But it's warm and fuzzy in here! :hug: We need to come up with a new thread though. This one is getting up there in numbers. Maybe something like, Weight loss for Wishers - Biggest Winners! or something else POSITIVE!

I am definitely looking forward to doing some ordinary training. I am NOT going to ever do a Goofy or even a marathon again. This is too much work! I love the half and will be sticking with that! It alllows me plenty of time to train and plenty of time to play and weight loss....I hope!

I am feeling under the weather today, but I hope everyone else is doing well. At least I don't feel like I need to quit WISH, here.

[Creativebeth]

Connie: I am glad you are back, and never fear coming here! We want to support you! I think that you did great for such a challenging year. At least it's five pounds less than last year! I see the good things as they come!!!!

Yeah, I guess we need a new thread.....we are up in the numbers! Anyone else agree??????

I continue holding strong! (((((who knows what going home will bring!)))))

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

Hey Lean Mean Brigade!

I did my 4M this am. I actually had a great workout, and then I stepped on the scale. It seems that no matter what I do, my extra eating is killing me. I'm so tempted to just go with it. It's so hard to keep it together, do the longer distances, get all the extra holiday stuff done, go to bed at a decent hour, and get up at 4:30...plus the days are gettin' mighty short! I have a million excuses, and not much motivation. I'm motivated to keep running and do everything, but I'm also motivated to eat fudge, Lindt balls, and cookies!

Beth -- If you post a new thread, I will follow! Just let us know if you change the name too much -- like you I wouldn't gravitate to check out a new thread :thumbsup2 It's funny how I have all kinds of willpower in the shower after my workout, and by 4 pm, it is all gone...:confused3:rolleyes1

Connie -- Please hang out with us, despite the name of the thread, there are no meanies here! :hug:

Jackie -- It sounds like you've put alot of thought into getting the most out of your Goofy! This has to be the hardest month out of the year to lose weight -- or even maintain it. We'll just keep plugging along and make whatever progress we can. I have to remember I definitely won't make my goals if I stop trying. At least with trying, you never know! :idea:

Vicky -- How is your knee? Have the exercises helped? :goodvibes

Wendy, Manda, Cindy -- Time to check in, we know you're out there! :wave:

Maria :upsidedow

[Cindylou]

Good Morning LMers, yes I'm here. I always have good intentions of posting during the weekend, but I never seem to find the time.

Connie: Welcome back, it's great to see you here. I hope you are feeling better today. I agree that training for Goofy sure takes up a lot of time.

Beth: I just came across some of the meanness on some of the other threads and was certain I was misinterpreting it because I couldn't believe it was happening. I'm not sure where or how it started, but it sure seems very immature. Good luck with your weight loss this week. You CAN do it. It's not easy, but it is possible. Stay strong.

Maria: Good job on getting your 4 miles in early. It is surprising how quickly motivation can wane. Don't give in. Those Lindt balls will be there next week or next year. You don't have to have them now. I am quickly becoming overwhelmed with all the holiday tasks in addition to our regular daily activities.

Jackie: Sorry to hear the scale went up. Good luck with your weight loss goal. I think it's a reasonable goal. Might not be easy, but you have to keep trying. I'm hoping to be at 135 too by Marathon weekend. That means 7 lbs for me. We will see. I love that you have a super secret goal to PR the marathon. How cool would that be after running 13.1 on Saturday.

Vicky: Sorry you're not able to surf as much at work. Can't believe they want you to work all day!! How is your foot feeling? Did you figure out what the problem was? Glad the knee held up for your 4 miles. Hope it did the same for your 9 miles.

Eating this weekend went well because I planned ahead. I had a party to go to on Thursday and 2 on Saturday. I managed to do well on Thursday saving my calories for Saturday. On Saturday I went to a baby shower and ate only one reasonable plate of food and a piece of cake. Then I ended up missing the Saturday night party because my DD had an ear infection. I volunteered to stay home with her and sent DH with the other kids to the party. My main reason for skipping it was to avoid the food and drink I knew I would consume. I was rewarded with 2.8 lb loss this week at WW. I know most of that was first week water weight, so I can't expect that again this week.

Plus I've lost a bit of my oomph that I had last week. I was really energized last week about eating well and exercising a lot, but this week I just feel tired. I'm hoping to stick with it anyway. I missed my swim this morning because my car is in the shop and I had to get a ride to work. I'm hoping to get out for a nice walk at lunchtime. I should have gotten up and done a DVD, but I was too tired. It's such a tricky thing trying to balance sleep and exercise and everything else.

Have a great day everyone.
Cindy

[Creativebeth]

Cindy: I hear ya about being tired. I am beat! It doesn't seem like sleep helps though.......I only did 4 miles this morning and it was brutal! I didn't even think I could finish them! I don't know what my problem is.....I am going to try to get a couple more tonight.....unless I am too tired. If I am tired, it would probably be better to rest instead.

I got stretch and Pilates class in last night! I need to be careful though....I tweeked my back a little (probably Friday's Pilates/Yoga class).

Sorry to hear about the ear infection......bad time of year! Good for you though with the weight loss last week! (((((I love the first week on plan....can't get better than that! Who cares if it' 'water' weight.....the scale is still down!))))))

Maria: Good job on the early morning workout.....I always think about you when I am up at 5:15 AM! It's hard to get up 2 hours before the rest of the family! It does take a toll on me at night......couldn't even stay up last night for the new Ray Romano show on TBS. I am bummed......wanted to see it. Hopefully there will be repeats this week!

Connie: I am glad to have you back......I was just thinking about you the other day......you had started this thread way back when.....and I always see your username when getting on the thread. I wondered how you were, and glad you are back to tell us!

Jackie: The scale is a pesky thing......so fickle! Your weight loss goals are doable.....not the easiest thing, but doable! Hang in there......I will be 'hanging' right there with you!

AFM: I tried a Vitamuffin today.....not my favorite. I will probably not eat any more of them. I try to stay away from alot of process stuff, but thought a muffin would be nice. It was chocolate......and TOO chocolately for me. I will stick with my scrambled eggs from now on!

10 pounds seems like more trouble than the 70 I already lost......why is that? It's dragging me down.....I need to get it done already! I need you all with me on this!!!!! I have to have back-up people!!!!! I am glad you are all here!

Beth


****What should we call our new Thread???? Give me your ideas!

[Cindylou]

Beth: I've never found anything that was too chocolatey. I like the vitamuffins more as a dessert though. The blueberry ones were an OK breakfast. I do like that they are all natural.
Sorry you hurt your back. Hope it improves. Mine is bothering me as well. It was probably the 28 boxes of Christmas decorations I brought down from the attic on Sunday.
I agree with you the last 10 lbs are miserable. Stick with it. That's the only way they will go away.
I don't have any ideas about naming the new thread. I'm not very creative. I'll try to think of something.

Cindy

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Morning Lean Meaners!

I got up and did my 5M this am. I really didn't want to, but dh's alarm was going off and waking me up, so why not? DH has to work the election today (special election primary to replace Ted Kennedy), so he had to be out the door by 5:30. Anyway, by the time I finished I was glad I'd done it, I felt good. The scale was slightly responsive...I do have to eat better, though! :idea:

Beth -- I know exactly what you ate! I have them as dessert, not breakfast. They are like chocolate cake to me. I really like the fruit muffins. The sugar-free banana nut ones are not as sweet. My only idea for naming the thread is something like, "Happy and Healthy Movers!" I agree it should be positive -- I don't really want something with "Losers", and I think we should get away from being "Mean" (apparently there is plenty of that on other threads), although lean is always good. ;) They say the last 10 lbs are the hardest...but I know with your determination, you can do it! pirate: My yoga class was cancelled today, so I'm a bit bummed. Now I won't get to go until the end of the month, for the "nap" class. The last class of the month is "total relaxation", which = lay down and I'll help you relax each part of your body, if you actually go to sleep you have succeeded. :rotfl2:

Cindy -- Don't forget to vote today! :teacher: And I think you made good choices with the baby shower and staying home. Who doesn't want Mom when they're sick? I'm sure DD was quite happy to have you with her. This time of year is extremely hard to balance. I have literally given myself one or two holiday tasks to do each day, and when they're done, I don't stress any more. There is only so much time, and if I'm faithful about the runs and sleep, something's gotta give. For me it's the Tivo :sad1:, I'm sure I'll get to it eventually. On the bright side, not seeing alot of new episodes of my favs, so the ones on Tivo are precious :rolleyes:

I have to leave work early for ds's parent/teacher conference. His grades were fantastic, so this shouldn't be painful. I'm planning to get his school photos ready to go in the Christmas cards, and bake cookies this afternoon. I can have 2, that's 3 pts. Now if I can just stick with counting today! :cheer2:

Maria :upsidedow

[Creativebeth]

The new thread title is Working on Weight Loss and Getting Lean! Find us over there everyone!

Beth

[Worfiedoodles]

The new thread title is Working on Weight Loss and Getting Lean! Find us over there everyone!

Beth

Yea!:yay: We will still be Leaners! Awesome title, Beth!

Maria :upsidedow