The answer to resolutions? Annabelle and Teresa, of course (an invitation).

Hey there!

Where do you think you're going?

Tomorrow, Teresa and I are starting up another round of our holistic-healthy-living-email-chain (which doesn’t have an official name…it’s still a baby). Let me know if you are interested, and we’ll include you in the welcome email going out tomorrow (it’s ok to join in late)! As before, you can participate as much or as little as you want/need, and you can set your own goals, we’re just there to shape, share, and support.

We’ll be providing some daily and weekly goals and challenges, as well as trying to keep things organized and helpful.

We did a round between Thanksgiving and Christmas, which I mentioned, subtly, here. It turned out to be an incredible experience. I was very pleasantly surprised at how open-minded, supportive, caring, and genuine everyone was!

Some great issues were raised and discussed, tips were shared, and progress toward personal goals was made.

So, if you would like to join us, either leave a comment below that includes your preferred email address, or send me a message privately at annabellewinters@me.com

Happy New Year!

-AB

Your Favorite Junk Foods, and How Long it Takes to Burn Them Off | Traci D. Mitchell

Your Favorite Junk Foods, and How Long it Takes to Burn Them Off | Traci D. Mitchell.

I want to share the post above. It has a chart, and a really clear guidelines. Both of which are superb things.

Yesterday was my last day working on the crisis team and now I have two weeks off until I start my new job. I really haven’t even started to process this transition. I recognize that transitions are hard for everyone, I find them nearly intolerable.

I will share about this experience a bit later, also, maybe we can talk about the HALF AN APPLE PIE  that I ate last night!

For now, I am off on a relaxed 10-miler with some podcasts, then flying to San Antonio for Christmas!

-AB

10 training weeks done, 17 to do.

This past week is the time when a first cluster of runners begin training for the Boston Marathon (18 weeks out as of last Monday), next Monday will the the most popular starting point (16 weeks out), and then at 12 weeks out you’ll get some of the more experienced marathoners ramping up.

I started early, if I have learned nothing else about myself, it’s that I do things at my own pace (ask my poor parents).

10 weeks sounds like a lot. It feels like I just started thinking of running Boston as an inevitability, like, days ago. Not months…

That is, for what seems like the entire expanse of my memory, I have thought of the Boston Marathon as a sort of lofty aspiration (something that I can now admit I felt even last year as I trained for it, and ultimately had to bail out), not something I would realistically have the ability and patience to train for and actually strategize about. Somewhere within the ideal picture of my adult-self when I was a teenager and even in college and throughout most of my 20′s, was a person who  got up, every day, and ran and trained with a singular goal in mind.

Now, I may not be hitting the mark on many other aspects within that portrait of the overall-something-beyond-weekend-warrior-but-below-olympic-hopeful athlete/professional/awesome person, but I suddenly feel like I am a whole lot closer.

Some marks of this progress: I am being diligent in my patience regarding building mileage (yes, patience, for me, takes a great deal of effort). Additionally,  I am trying to put rest and proper fueling above cross-training and weight loss (also, not without constant effort)…but I am confident it’s all going to pay off. As I look at my comparison charts of different training efforts, and I look over my training run splits. I am slowly realizing that I might just be onto something.

What kind of something?

A 3:15 marathon finish kind of something.

Maybe not at Boston (can you say distracting atmosphere and weeeeiiird topography?), but I spent a few obsessive hours reading reviews of a slew of marathons for next fall, and I know I can hit it.

That, among other things, has been greatly on my mind this week.

Here’s the good stuff:

17 weeks to go training re-cap:

Monday: 6hrs Sleep, 5 mi Run, Lift: 20min total body, 30mins Stepmill

Tuesday: 7hrs Sleep, 6 mi Run, Lift: back/core

Wednesday: 7hrs Sleep, Spin Class

Thursday: 7hrs Sleep, 6 mi Run

Friday: ?sleep, no workout (Jorge’s Graduation (with honors!) from Roosevelt University!)

Saturday: 5hrs Sleep, 14 mi Run

Sunday: 8hrs Sleep, 5 mi Run, Spin Class, Body Blast Class

Total: 36 miles

In a stroke of genius (note: sarcasm) this morning I realized that I could grind flax seeds in my coffee grinder, this is after buying a HUGE bag of brown flax seeds a while ago, then getting really mad when I was told they don’t digest whole (yes, I am simplifying)…my green breakfast smoothies just got an anti-inflammatory boost!

mmm, nutty.

-AB

Why being nice is generally the way to go.

I was explaining (not so successfully at first) to someone the other day, that generally punitive measures will not result in positive behavior change because the link between the undesired behaviors and the “punishment” will likely be really murky to the person you are trying to influence, and they’ll just think you’re being mean.

For example (and I am making this up), you are watching a friend’s 5 year old  kid, and they are being super whiny and in general not listening to directions, thereby really driving you nuts. You have to run some errands and you take the snotty ankle-biter along with you.

As you stand in line at the bank, one of the bankers hands the kiddo a lollipop and the brat’s face lights up with glee. You are still urked at the stress you’ve been caused so you take away the lollipop and say “No way, kid! You’ve been bad all morning, you don’t get candy now!”

Whoops. Now you are really screwed. Enter: tantrum.

Take a different scenario: you woke up in a shittastic mood, your hot water was out, you broke a coffee mug, saw that gas prices had gone up, and then spilled red jelly on your shirt (again, making this up…if anything I go for Boston Creme Donuts), and you’re generally snippy at everyone. Then, as you are standing in line to get lunch (at Panera, maybe? mmmm) you bump into a colleague you haven’t seen in ages and she/he says something like “Wow, you look great! I hear you’ve been (insert super awesome idea you launched). Man, you are such an inspiration!”

Suddenly you feel less stressed, you are able to pull the trigger on the delicious salad you really wanted in the first place, you remember what you were supposed to email a friend about, and the rest of your day goes by far easier.

Monday's are Panera Bread day...this week I had this. It was excellent. I took a picture.

Sometimes, when something good happens, and it is unexpected, it can turn around not only a persons mood, but their behavior as well (technically speaking, mood IS a behavior…but I will let that slide for now).

Now for the opposite, a case study:

I’ve had a rough few days when it comes to not being too hard on myself, taking care of my digestive health, and remaining mindful and accepting of life’s little speedbumps. This morning, with some coaching from my sister-in-law, I started fresh, I got up in time, coffee was brewing (so I can be all peppy for my spinners, hehe), I  made myself a healthy breakfast smoothie for post-spin, packed a colon-friendly lunch, and was on my way…

Kale, Spinach, Frozen Berries, Orange Juice, and a Banana...it was really good!

Everything was great, until I stopped at Starbucks on my way to commute to the office,  and locked my keys in my truck, engine running. Oh, boy, not only my mood, but my tone of voice, my posture, and my attitude about the day ahead did a 180.

I got to work 90 minutes late, grumpy (again), and $80 poorer (I haggled the locksmith down from $185, can you believe that!)

I had missed leaving with a co-worker for a full day of on-site visits, and really couldn’t figure out what I should then work on (there is plenty, but I was still so frustrated!).

I have taken some breathes, cleaned my desk up, and decided to spend the day catching up on some research I have been meaning to do in order to finish up some transitional tasks (I am moving on to a new job over the holidays).

In the end, though, it’s pouring out and I would certainly rather go snuggle with my girls:

This is probably exactly what they look like right now. I would put money on it (if I hadn't given it all to the locksmith).

-AB

 

What is the single best thing we can do for our health?

Pete Larson shared this on his blog: www.runblogger.com (highly recommended for anyone interested in the science of running).

A great video, answering an important question.

Take 9 minutes to watch it.

A consistent 9 weeks in the bag.18 more until B-day.

B-day. Get it? It’s lies somewhere between a pun, and an ironic statement.

I haven’t been posting much, I imagine I’ll pick it up this week (or next), and I will keep this one brief.

New addition to the family...hopefully the girls don't eat him. So far they have unwrapped 3 gifts and eaten much of the paper. Also, they ate one of my favorite shoes and pooped on the couch. Guess they don't like the Holiday season.

29 weeks out, re-cap:

Monday: 7hrs Sleep, 5mi Run

Tuesday:5.5hrs Sleep, 7mi Run, total Body strength session

Wednesday:7hrs Sleep, Spin class

Thursday: 6.5hrs Sleep, 7mi Run

Friday: 7hrs Sleep, 3.5mi Run

Saturday:8hrs Sleep, 12 mi. Run

Sunday: 8hrs sleep, Spin Class, Blast Class

Total: 34.5 miles

I did better on the sleeping and energy management front this week. Still not getting in the strength sessions I want, grr.

I have lost 2.5 pounds since Thanksgiving though! The goals I set for my self-challenge (which I convinced a few near-and-dear to try with me) for a Junk-Free Hollydays, are probably about 75% in tact. I have drastically reduced the frequency with which I over-eat, and my junk intake is lower, I did have a pretty sloppy, touch and go few days between last Wednesday and yesterday. But overall progress is really great! I’d love to drop another 2 or 3 pounds before Christmas. That would mean a total loss of 10 pounds since week 1 of this round of training, and that, I like.

-AB

 

Week 8. 19 more until Boston.

It seems like a fitting time to do my weekly training update because about an hour ago the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon (and marathon a bit earlier), kicked off. Three bloggers (among many others) that I do not personally know, but I have been reading for the past year or so are running. So here’s to” Beth, Janae, and Ali!

So far the “strength” portion of this periodization marathon training plan is in no way measuring up the the idea. That is to say, I again this week found myself crossing out more things than I was checking off. I also, again, missed a run. An 8 miler this time. This week my goal is to get more sleep, and try to bring down my baseline stress (or level of frazzled-ness). I have some idea’s for that, we’ll see how it all pans out.

I might scrap the periodization method entirely, because the frustration I feel when I miss workouts, even if they aren’t runs, far outweighs the benefit of slugging through them at this point.

It’s still open for (mostly internal, admittedly) discussion.

Week 8 re-cap:

Monday: 5hrs Sleep, 4mi Run, Upper Body + Core Weight Lifting

Tuesday: 6hrs Sleep, 6mi Run

Wednesday: 5.5hrs Sleep, 5mi Run, Spin Class

Thursday: 6hrs Sleep, stayed conscious all day (which felt like an accomplishment)

Friday: 6hrs Sleep, again…pretty good for nothing.

Saturday: 8hrs Sleep, 12mi Run (the middle 3.1 were the SANTA HUSTLE)

Sunday: 7hrs Sleep, 2 Spin Classes, Body Blast Class

Total: 27 miles

To be honest, I felt horrible about taking two days off in a row, but now, I am pleased with my mileage, I am still 19 weeks out, and I know that I need to build carefully because my foot is still pretty touchy and I have never been able to really sustain much over 35 mile weeks. Also, I felt pretty relaxed on Saturdays run, and I wasn’t tired while leading 3 group classes in a row at the gym this morning!

My long run was a little unorthodox this week. I ran 4.5 miles to the Santa Hustle 5k starting area,  then ran the race (though I didn’t speed up much), then I ran back home. I paused my Garmin between each section, so there is some rest in there (and potty stop – wink).

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:33:10.7	12.00	7:46
1	7:46.7	1.00	7:47
2	7:46.2	1.00	7:46
3	7:34.6	1.00	7:35
4	7:38.6	1.00	7:39
5	7:35.9	1.00	7:36
6	7:07.9	1.00	7:08
7	7:15.2	1.00	7:15
8	7:22.7	1.00	7:23
9	8:01.3	1.00	8:01
10	8:05.9	1.00	8:06
11	8:51.0	1.00	8:51
12	8:03.5	1.00	8:04
13	:01.3	0.01	4:08

It was a nice way to do it though, especially since I ws feeling pretty unmotivated to get out the door . A benefit of living in a big city is races ALL THE TIME, so I might try this strategy again sometime.

Surprisingly (I suspect many people bailed because it was raining pretty hard all morning), it turns out, I placed 3rd in my division at the race, and would have collected a nice Santa Medal. Had I stuck around. But dammit, I didn’t.

I’m sad because I like medals, I don’t have a lot of them, and I LOVE novelty medals.

This is NOT from my race...looks like its in Europe? I didn't even look at the website it's from. I am a rebel, I just stole it. You're welcome.

In other news, because I know this post is a nail-biter:

My stomach/entire digestive system has been bothersome all week. Subtly and annoyingly so. It hasn’t seemed to matter what I eat, I just get nauseous whenever I eat (I feel like I have said this already…but that may have been in a “junk-free hollydays” email.

Strangely though, I seem to have an unlimited capacity for air-popped popcorn and those canned La Croix fizzy water drinks. Doesn’t seem like the most reasonable mix (um fiber overload?), but it’s nice to have a snack option that doesn’t leave me angry.

So here’s to a great week full of: sleep, running, fizzy water, popcorn , and hopefully some new playlists for Spin class (I have been using the same 15 for like a year)!

-AB

Beards a go.

Lucy was not-so-patiently waiting for me to throw her soccer ball.

• As it happens, I have the right bone structure to support a nice beard.
• I also am very comfortable wearing a beard and a skirt, at the same time.
• Theme races and running in costume make me happy.
• 5k of 5,000 runners in Santa hats and beards tomorrow morning will be entertaining.
• Me running alone, for the 4 miles to the race, and the 4 miles home, in the above get-up, will hopefully make other people happy, or concerned.
• I love to itemize, especially with bullets.
• Week one of the junk free hollydays did not go so well for me. I feel pretty sick actually. BooHooBuckets.
• I missed a 8mile training run and feel guilty, but I was soooooo sleepy. “buckets of rain, buckets of tears…”
• Had a total of about 8 failures this week, maybe more. “life is sad, life is a bust. All ya can do is do what you must.”
• It’s never to late to start fresh. Starting, now! “you do what you must do and ya do it well”
• Apologies. I am not sure why I am spouting Dylan lyrics.
• Tonight I will succeed in some R&R.

 

True to disorganized form, I am reading 7 books right now. I borrowed this one from a co-worker, and it has become the top priority on my list.

-AB