Roxymama's 5k to Marathon, Time to Collect Another Castle

[garneska]

Good idea....Disney is a diet free zone!!!! Where are you feasting on Monday?

Victoria and Albert’s, hoping to go to DATW before that. Good thing I am running 26.2 on Sunday, Monday will be a calorie beast day.

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

Personally, I'm a fan of Starbucks dark roast.
Then again, most people think Starbucks tastes burnt, so ... I'm not sure you can trust my opinion.
(Don't go with Dunkin Donuts, because their coffee actually is burnt half the time)

Starbucks dark is usually a good safe choice...it is fairly consistent wherever you go.

If you find yourself in a Starbucks that has a Clover machine try one of their Reserve coffees on the Clover...delicious.

 

[roxymama]

Personally, I'm a fan of Starbucks dark roast.
Then again, most people think Starbucks tastes burnt, so ... I'm not sure you can trust my opinion.
(Don't go with Dunkin Donuts, because their coffee actually is burnt half the time)

Fishes starbucks giftcard out of xmas present pile and sets aside for the weekend

Victoria and Albert’s, hoping to go to DATW before that. Good thing I am running 26.2 on Sunday, Monday will be a calorie beast day.

V&A is my all time #1 favorite meal of all time...OF ALL TIME! We went on our honeymoon and there's things I can still taste in my mind. I had a much higher tolerance for getting tipsy back then in my youth and I remember being quite sloshy and giddy by the end...so pace yourself And ask for coffee with dessert...I won't spoil how it comes out...unless they don't do it the "cool" way anymore. It was 10 years ago (EEP)
Can I fly out and crash your celebration????

Starbucks dark is usually a good safe choice...it is fairly consistent wherever you go.

If you find yourself in a Starbucks that has a Clover machine try one of their Reserve coffees on the Clover...delicious.

Immediately googles what a clover machine is.
Immediately googles where there are Starbucks with a Clover machine.
Immediately puts Starbucks gift card in my pocket.
Immediately writes out note to barista "don't let me order cream or sugar, even if I say it out loud"

Mini Update:
Item 1) So I went like 478 calories under budget yesterday. Turns out I need to eat more, especially when running or when stuck in meetings. So now I know. I want to get to the grocery store again soon so I can stock up on calorie fillers that are tad more healthier than some of my current choices.
I've been 161 lbs since yesterday. So either I weighed too heavy last weekend or whatever...I'll take it. I need to pick a specific date and time for my real #. I'm thinking this Monday morning. I can include it in my update.

Item 2) I'm at 70% of my fundraising goal for the marathon in 20 days since I filled out my registration. I'm shocked and shocked. We are checking to see if my husband's work does corporate matching, thinking if we just pay out of pocket what I would have paid if I got my lottery acceptance and they matched it...I'd be right there. I don't know what to say. I love my people in my life.
Now I need it to be spring so I can start up my volunteer portion of this fun thing.

Item 3) Minnie medals....I want the minnie medals...give me your minnie medals!

 

[jennamfeo]

Turns out I need to eat more

I am struggling with this too. Turns out, vegetables have less calories than my normal snacks. Who knew?

 

[roxymama]

I am struggling with this too. Turns out, vegetables have less calories than my normal snacks. Who knew?

Ok so kale has like no calories...so I better not eat anymore of it.
(Am I doing this wrong?)

 

[garneska]

Don't buy chips (like i just did, but i did have a race today) instead buy carrot chips (raw carrots that are sliced) then dip them in hummus. Carrots will hold up to being the fridge for more than 2 days, the hummus fills you, and the carrots have a LOT less calories. I also switched to red pepper sticks.

 

[SarahDisney]

Ok so kale has like no calories...so I better not eat anymore of it.
(Am I doing this wrong?)

Kale has 1000+% of one of your daily vitamins. I can't remember which one. But it gave me endless amounts of trouble with my final project at school (we were making a bar graph of the vitamins and minerals in a food and kale just kept giving us issues).

Also ... safe snacking is the hardest part of trying to eat better. The healthy food doesn't have enough calories and the junk food is bad.
(Personally, I'm a big nut fan, because nuts have lots of healthy fats which give them calories, but ... I know that nuts don't work for everyone)

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

One of my favourite healthy-ish snacks that I really don't make often enough is guacamole. Plenty of good stuff in it, especially for us runner types.

The only problem with guac is the added calories of the Tostitos & margaritas...

 

[jennamfeo]

The only problem with guac is the added calories of the Tostitos & margaritas...

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Item 1) So I went like 478 calories under budget yesterday. Turns out I need to eat more, especially when running or when stuck in meetings. So now I know. I want to get to the grocery store again soon so I can stock up on calorie fillers that are tad more healthier than some of my current choices.
I've been 161 lbs since yesterday. So either I weighed too heavy last weekend or whatever...I'll take it. I need to pick a specific date and time for my real #. I'm thinking this Monday morning. I can include it in my update.

I am also balancing the "how much to eat" thing and, full disclosure, I may have googled "is it ok to be hungry?" Let us know what you come up with for snacks! Especially if they are easily portable.
(PS How often do you weigh yourself? I wish I could do 1x/week, but I think I am going to stick with daily... not weighing myself daily got me to this position.)

Item 2) I'm at 70% of my fundraising goal for the marathon in 20 days since I filled out my registration. I'm shocked and shocked. We are checking to see if my husband's work does corporate matching, thinking if we just pay out of pocket what I would have paid if I got my lottery acceptance and they matched it...I'd be right there. I don't know what to say. I love my people in my life.
Now I need it to be spring so I can start up my volunteer portion of this fun thing.

Yay!! This is awesome news!

Item 3) Minnie medals....I want the minnie medals...give me your minnie medals!

Yes. I am drooling over them... especially the ribbon.

 

[roxymama]

I am also balancing the "how much to eat" thing and, full disclosure, I may have googled "is it ok to be hungry?" Let us know what you come up with for snacks! Especially if they are easily portable.
(PS How often do you weigh yourself? I wish I could do 1x/week, but I think I am going to stick with daily... not weighing myself daily got me to this position.)


Yay!! This is awesome news!


Yes. I am drooling over them... especially the ribbon.

Well generally I weigh myself about 7-8 times total a year when I remember a scale exists in my house. Or when my kiddo finds the scale and tells me to get on (she is excited about getting bigger as she should be)
So this once a week will be new behavior. And I only have been weighing myself more this week because I'm being impatient which need to stop!

Ok I'll weigh in on snackage as I figure this out!

 

[jennamfeo]

How often do you weigh yourself?

I also weigh myself pretty much daily. I do it first thing in the morning before I put my running gear on.

 

[garneska]

I am the same as jennamfeo, daily in the morning before I get dressed to run.

 

[evre13]

I weigh once a week (Friday because it keeps me in line going into the weekend and gives me time to bounce back from no calorie Sunday).

A few favorite snacks: healthy French onion dip with veggies, apple and peanut butter, string cheese.

 

[jennamfeo]

gives me time to bounce back from no calorie Sunday

I used to do Monday-only weigh ins and OMG why would I ever do that to myself?!

 

[roxymama]

It's 10:30pm, I just finished me 5x800 grind fest at the gym (I know it's Friday night, but you gotta do what you gotta do)
I'm somehow -438 calories under budget because of said treadmill grind. So nows the time for pre-bed chocolate fairlife milk? Yup think so.

Oh and @CheapRunnerMike I was gifted chips and guacamole from my hubs tonight but no margarita! Which is probably for the best because of previously mentioned late night speedwork.

 

[roxymama]

WEEKLY UPDATE: THE NEED FOR SPEED


Hi All! If you haven’t heard from me for a little bit it’s not because I’ve been hibernating (but wouldn’t that just be the loveliest way to spend the week ever?) Roxymama has been a Busymama. Which is ok because when work is cranking that only means good things…stressful and hard things at times…but good. Hey that kinda sounds like training sometimes.

So this will be short meat and potatoes kinda update (mmmmm….meat….) but I find when I don’t update then I get a little lost on what day of the week it is and what I have to look forward to with training.


Last week I knew there was no way I could get one of my scheduled runs in. Hubby had an important work thing and I was on mom-duty. Since Coach was deep into his pursuits of excellence at WDW I called in my assistant coaches for help picking how to alter my week and Asst. Coach @camaker and @mommaoftherocker both agreed that dropping the Sat. Easy paced run made the most sense. It’s what my gut said too, but it’s good to have some assurance. I think all the running around after the kiddo provided the proper fatigue in the legs for endurance purposes anyways. Didn’t realize until a day later that camaker was having a tough go of things and so it was really nice of you to take time to weigh in on my week. CONGRATS to you all and everyone who woke up early and completed some impressive mileages this weekend in Disney. I’ve been having a lot of fun reading all the updates.

Waiting impatiently for race recaps


I spoke a little about my speed workouts with x400 and x800 intervals (something I’ve only done a few times prior to this)

But this is the first time I’ve had them consistently built into several weeks of my training plan. Some thoughts.

1. I am surprised I can hang at 7+ mph on the treadmill. It’s fast feet turnover for sure. Since I’ve been forced to run on the treadmill (thanks a lot darkness my old friend) I’m trying to see the positive in basically no outdoor running. At least it’s keeping me from over-striding (you just really can’t on a treadmill at those speeds) and the old eyes forward/head up/just go is easier when you aren’t making sure you won’t slip on a errant ice chunk.
2. X800 was hard. It just was. I did it though. I did “have to” dip down into the 6.5ish range at one point because my mind was just like (nooooo) but I talked myself out of it nearing mid-way. Then I forced myself to just start at the 7.1 again on my last interval and it sucked but I knew it would.
3. X400 are my sweet spot. X400 all day. (but not really, 80/20 right! They are only fun because they aren’t everyday!)
4. I WANT TO RUN OUTSIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I may just suck it up and run in the dark with a headlamp on Thursday. So my body can at least acclimate a teeny bit back to being outdoors.

OK so rest of this week….kind of a mini-taper/race/recover situation.

TODAY – I’m OFF…It’ll be 53 today and RAINY (womp womp) but then the temps go down and down and down again.
THUR – 4 mi EB

FRI – OFF

SAT- Race! 5k near my house. I live about the exact distance of the warmup so I’m thinking I’ll be talking roxyhubby into driving the warm car to meet up with me in the parking lot and I’ll run from home over. Here’s the big question mark…how will I perform in 14 degree weather since I’ve been a treadmill hermit during this little mini-cycle? Will my breathing be weird (5ks at full effort usually equal some lung burning afterall)? Will my body just love being on the road again and it ends up being a good thing? Will I turn into a popsicle-toes?

Lots of what ifs.

I guess my goal is just to go hard and I believe I can push myself for 3.1 miles – and to just see what happens? I know where my fitness was during my 10k last year but that was after A LOT of training. So I’ll be happy with myself if I just TRY and not have any “give-ups” or “hold back” moments.

Sun – 3mi EA


Then Official Half training starts! (already?....ok, let’s go!)


Calorie Counting/Weight update. Starting point 165 about two weeks ago, End Goal 145 by Fall.

I weighed 159 on Sunday.

The next day I was 164 again. But why? There was no big change in calorie intake and I hadn’t just drank a gallon of liquid or anything. This was the readout three times in a row.

The following day 161. And then back to 159 again today. 159.4 to be exact.

My scale may need new batteries as it is a nice one that was a bit spendy that hubby has been using for a while now. Any scale users with tips on how to keep accurate readouts so you can trust the numbers? Do you gotta go with the exact same spot on the floor at the exact same time of day?

I think 155ish is where my body likes to be so I can see getting to that point being easy but dipping below it will take the most work.

I’ve been making good eating decisions, but I’d say the biggest change in my behavior is not eating extra things when I’m bored or just sitting doing work or for no reason. I still eat when I’m hungry and for all my normal meals…but I’ve cut way back on the “just because it’s something to do” snacks.

I also am being way more mindful of days I run vs days I don’t. That my body has different needs and that I shouldn’t just eat a ton for running on days I’m not running. But also if I run late at night and wake up really hungry..those are the mornings to have the bigger breakfasts…not just random days.

Work in progress!!!


Final thing:

Seeing everyone’s reports of expo madness and early wakeups and Flu bugs, etc makes me want to hard nope the Disney marathon weekend.

And then seeing everyone’s pictures and “I did it” moments and triumphs and GAAAAAHHHHHH FOMO!!!!!!!!!!!


Disclaimer: I am incapable of a short and sweet update apparently even when that is my goal. Even my disclaimers end up being long winded.

 

[FredtheDuck]

Good for you for rocking those treadmill workouts! Also, you're much more experienced running/racing in the cold, but do you have something you can put over your mouth for the race? Scarf/buff/something like that? Even that generated excess heat and moisture for my last race, and that helped with the whole lungs burning thing.

Also, what app are you using as your calorie counter? Thinking I should be paying a bit more attention, too.

 

[roxymama]

Good for you for rocking those treadmill workouts! Also, you're much more experienced running/racing in the cold, but do you have something you can put over your mouth for the race? Scarf/buff/something like that? Even that generated excess heat and moisture for my last race, and that helped with the whole lungs burning thing.

Also, what app are you using as your calorie counter? Thinking I should be paying a bit more attention, too.

I actually haven't experienced too bad of a lung burn in a while. I haven't really been ALL OUT 5k-ing either though.
My 10k wasn't really lung-burny. I'm just preparing myself mentally that this one could be because sometimes short races+GO HARD turn out that way + the cold, etc. I think the buff is a good idea. I have one I wouldn't care about shoving in a pocket or just pulling down to my neck if need be. I think Thurs night outside may be key (if we don't get any cold rain.)

I am using LoseIt app, the free version. The hardest thing for me is being accurate about servings. Not used to thinking about food in terms of a cup or 1/2 cup or whatever. But that's not the apps fault.

 

[KSellers88]

Regarding the scale, I do not own one personally (LOL) but use my parents when I go to their house weekly for dinner. I think the thing is possessed because in fluctuates around 12 pounds up and down week to week. I mean I ate a lot of popcorn and Mickey bars this weekend, but not 12 pounds worth! I have no tips, because this thing is reading wrong in the same spot each week. I prefer the one at my gym that's the old school doctor office one, it seems to be more accurate because they calibrate it.

Great job this week, and I am cracking up over the short and sweet update comment, I struggle with that as well!