Pi Day 5k

Oh my goodness!  I just found a Pi-Day 5k in Columbus!!

As a math teacher and runner, this race was made for me!  I am so excited about this...maybe even almost as excited about the Canton marathon in June!

And, yes, the race is 3.14 miles run the weekend before Pi Day (3/14).  The only thing that would make this better is if it was run ON 3/14 at 3:14pm!  :)  A girl can dream!

weeks 2 and 3 of clean eating.

The last couple weeks have gone pretty well.  I have lost another 4 pounds, putting me at 9 pounds since I started this 3 weeks ago.  I feel pretty good.  The weight is coming off.  And I am eating a lot of food...no calorie counting necessary!!

The last couple weeks have brought their challenges.  The whole family had a Monday off, so we decided to go see a movie.  Of course, everyone in my family wants popcorn, candy, pop, and icees.  I had to be proactive and brought a snack with me: dry roasted peanuts and dried cranberries.  For a drink I got a bottle of water.  It was actually more satisfying than I thought it would be.  Then, they wanted ice cream after the movie.  I just had to use some self control and not get any.  That was tough, but I was proud of myself for resisting!

The last couple of Fridays, we have gotten pizza.  Instead of eating pizza, I have ordered a salad.  This past Friday, however, I tried a small bite of pizza....and boy did I regret it later.  My stomach was terribly upset with me.  I have learned my lesson!

Here are some of my favorite meals/snacks so far:
~I LOVE yogurt with blueberries and a little granola. I have discovered a love for blueberries that I did not know I had.  Yummmy!!  Love how they POP in your mouth.  :)
~ Natural peanut butter on ANYTHING!    (especially apples and/or bananas)
~ Wheat germ.  It adds a nutty crunch to anything.  I tried a whole wheat tortilla with sliced apple, peanut butter, and wheat germ today...it was AMAZING.

~Making my own salad dressing. It's fun, and they are very flavorful! I have made a red onion poppyseed dressing that was my favorite so far!
~Dove dark chocolate covered almonds.  Before I began clean eating, I did not like almonds or dark chocolate!  Now, I look forward to my 3-5 almonds each day!

What do I miss the most? Two things, ice cream and pop.  I totally expected to miss ice cream.  The pop came as a surprise.  Hopefully, that will diminish, but sometimes it's all I can do to resist!

Pro's
~ Eating fresh food makes everything taste better.  Not to mention, I have lunch for the next day.  Leftovers are so easy to pack.
~ I am more deliberate about what I eat when I go out.  I ate at Panera.  I had to think carefully about what I was going to eat there.  I ended up getting a pick two with a Fuji Apple Salad (no pecans or cheese) and a bowl of chicken noodle soup with a side of an apple.  I also went to Bon Vie one night for a GNO, and got a Grilled Salmon salad.  Except for the dressing, it was as clean as you could get.

Fuji Apple Salad

Grilled Salmon salad

~ I don't have to count calories!
~My sweet tooth has become easier to handle.  It's funny, because I never really liked blueberries before (they didn't taste sweet enough for me)...now I can't get enough of them!

Con's
~The family not doing this wholeheartedly with me makes it challenging at times.  But I am getting used to it, and I know that in the long run, it's for the best.
~ Fueling for a long run is tricky.  Still trying to figure that out.  I would really like to find a "clean" alternative to gels.  Does anyone out there have any suggestions?

I want to say goodbye to these!  

I found a magazine at the checkout line the other day called Whole Living.  I am considering subscribing to it.  I have also looked at a couple of cookbooks on Amazon.  Any suggestions?

week 4 in pictures

Sunday:  Went out for my first real run in over a week.  of course, the weather did not want to cooperate.  The slush made it difficult to get my footing.  However, it made me go slowly, which is what I needed to be doing!

Monday:  Our last day of exams was today.  The hallways were empty early on in the day....and my night was spent grading exams.  Not my favorite way to spend a night, but an absolutely necessary evil!  

Tuesday: My little love bug Lucy is never far from me.  And if I am not paying enough attention, she will give me those puppy dog eyes!  And I finally ordered a Garmin 405.  It came on Tuesday!  I was so excited to use it, but I had to wait until Wednesday!  

Wednesday: Homecoming week was this week.  The tiara arrived for the Queen.  It is tradition that I try it on...so here it is!  It made me feel a bit nostalgic, so I dug out my Senior T-shirt.  I had all my friends/classmates sign it with puffy paint.  It still looks good for being 18 years old!  

Thursday: My cute kitty, Oscar can be so adorable sometimes.  Caught him mid-yawn.  

Friday: As I was leaving school, I was surprised to see the car parked beside me was the same as my first car.  Thought it was kind of ironic.  So here is my current car, and my first car side by side!  Later that night, I was going to bed and I found three sleepy girls in my bed.  Couldn't resist the opportunity to snap a pic!  

Saturday: Went for my longest run in a while today.  Surprisingly, it felt really great.  My foot seems to be getting better!  YEA!!  As I was running at my favorite metro park, I noticed how fast the water was moving in the creek.  It's hard to tell from the pic, but it was moving FAST!    We have had a lot of precipitation.  

It has been a long week, and I am glad that it is over!  Hope everyone out there had a great week!!

week 3 in pictures

week 3

Sunday:  I helped out with the children's worship on sunday.  The lesson was about how thoughtless words can cut like a sword, but kind words can be healing (like a bandage).  As part of the lesson, I wrapped myself up in bandages!  It was a blast!!

Monday: I had the day off work, so I decided to start planning for my training for The Canton Marathon.  I am using Pfitzinger's 18/55 plan.  I spent a bit of time working on my training calendar.  I love planning things!  :)  

Tuesday:  I still have my Christmas decorations up...please don't judge me.  :)  One of my cats enjoys spending time in his little box under the tree....and I really love my 26.2 and 13.1 ornaments.  

Wednesday: Woke up to a light dusting of snow, and I thought the dogs' footprints on the steps was kind of cool!  Later on that evening, I was working on something on my laptop, and Sadie decided I had done enough for the night.  Who am I to argue with that cute little face??

Thursday: Today was a busy day!  I ordered some things to help me make my own homemade salad dressing.  My carafe (with recipes on the side) came!  I was totally excited!!!  The weekly challenge was to run a flight of steps up AND down 20 times.  I took a pic at the end!  It was fun...and boy did my calves hurt the next day.  :)  Then I caught a pic of Kayla flipping her grilled cheese sandwich.  She was so proud!  

Friday:  This was a work day for us as teachers...we had no students.  So, since we had the time, we went to Panera for lunch.  I walked into one of the stalls in the restroom and saw what I felt was very ironic!  What do you think?  

Saturday:  Got to go out for a ladies' night with a group of my female runner friends.  We went to Bon Vie.  I tried to eat as "clean" as possible.  I think I did pretty well with a grilled salmon salad.  I asked for the dressing on the side, but didn't get it.  Otherwise it was perfect!  We had a blast.  A couple of the ladies even took a ride on the lazy susan in the middle of the table.  

What was the highlight of your week??

week 1 of clean eating

Last week I bought a book on eating clean by Tosca Reno.  I read the first couple of chapters and decided to dive right in.  I did not throw away all of the junk food in my house....mostly because I want to do this, my family is not totally convinced.  The main premise of this way of eating is two fold: 1. avoid processed foods and white flour as much as possible.  Eat whole foods and/or organic whenever possible.  2. Eat 6 smaller meals per day vs. 3 meals.  Each meal should consist of a lean protein and complex carbohydrates.  Smaller portions, more often, with unprocessed foods.  

I dove right in and went to the store to stock up on the right foods.  Here is an example of one day's worth of food for me: 

Breakfast: 1/3 cup oatmeal  (with flax seed and wheat germ) with a portion of frozen berries and 3 egg whites and 1 whole egg scrambled with hot herbal tea. 

Morning snack: an apple with 2 tbsp of natural peanut butter. 

Lunch:  a nice portion of salad with dressing (I am starting to make my own) with leftover chili-lime chicken and brown rice from the night before. 

Mid-Afternoon snack: 1 cup of low fat plain yogurt with frozen berries. 

Dinner: Salad with dressing, whole grain pasta with sun dried tomato chicken

Evening snack:  1 cup cottage cheese with berries. 

Throughout the day I am constantly drinking water and/or herbal tea.  

my breakfast one morning!

I am finding that I am not really hungry...I may sometimes think I am hungry, but it is usually just boredom or my mind playing tricks.  I try to drink a glass of water and that normally helps.  The  fact that I get to eat every 2 1/2-3 hours usually helps with any "hunger pains".  Here are some pro's and con's that I have found after 1 week. 

Pro's: 

~I cook extra with dinner every night and that becomes my lunch for the next day...so no eating out!

~I get to eat every 3 hours or so!  

~I am eating fresher/organic/whole foods more often. 

~ I feel good!

~ I have lost about 5 pounds this week.  (More on that later.)

~I am experimenting in the kitchen...(this could probably be a con once in a while too.  :))

~My kids are eating better...still could change some things, but I am seeing improvement.  

~No calorie counting!  

Con's: 

~Making dinner every night.  

~Packing my food for the day takes a little longer and more planning. 

~If I don't eat when I am supposed to, it can throw me off for the rest of the day. 

~Breakfast takes a little longer...but it is still manageable!

~There are some things I just will not eat!!

I truly believe the pro's are outweighing the con's at this point.  For the last 6-8 months I have steadily seen my weight climb....and it is not muscle.  I have been very frustrated by the fact that I am very active and try to eat healthy for the most part.  I did not feel like I should be gaining weight!  The fact that I have seen this kind of weight loss already, is a big motivator for me to continue!  I am also taking part in a challenge for the first 4 months of the year, and would really like to see my body fat percentage come down to the lower end of acceptable, rather than the high end!  

I will try to post once a week or so with how it's going!  

week 2 in pictures

sunday: went for a run around my friend's neighborhood while our girls played.  love my glove...and got a great shot of the sunset.

monday:  got to school early and saw a brilliant full moon.  had to try to take a pic.  this was the best one i got.  

tuesday: went to my first boot camp class..really intense but really great .  when i got to my car, i had a message that my sis in law was going to the er with severe stomach pain (she is ok now!).  so i went over to their house and took care of the kiddos while mom and dad were at the hospital.  when i got home, i watched my favorite show on TV...NCIS!  

wednesday: got home that day and my package from my blog exchange had arrived!  through no fault of her own, my blogger secret santa's gift got lost in the mail, so she sent me another package!  (too sweet!) and it was the perfect gift for me...all things to help with my PF.  i have already tried the KT tape, and i love it!  the chocolate is really good too!  

thursday:  this was a big day for the high school at which i work.  the vice president of the US (yep, biden!) visited to talk to the seniors and juniors about college affordability. the first pic is of a group of students waiting by the windows to see his motorcade arrive.  very cool moment!  i got to see the motorcade coming and going.  pretty cool!! the second is a snap of him leaving. 

friday: had our first real snow storm of the winter come through beginning late thursday night into friday morning.  i got a snow day!  the girls did not.  the winds were crazy (check out the flags...they were like this non stop).  and we even saw a car in the ditch.  craziness. 

saturday: i decided to brave the snow and cold and go for a run.  it was chilly (less than 20 degrees), and lots of snow on the ground.  i dressed warmly enough, and my shoes (brooks pure grit) did really well.  but i definitely need some warmer socks.  :)  took it really slowly and just took in the sights.  the girls played outside as well!  gotta love the first snow of the winter.  

thankfully, it is supposed to be warm again next week!