Weight Watchers Week 2 Recap

No change is a good change.

Billy and I are great entertainers - when people come in town, we always take them out to eat. However, when we do, I tend to throw caution to the wind and eat and drink like I'm getting ready to hibernate for the winter. However, I am very pleased to report that I acted pretty responsibly this weekend: I watched what I ate. I didn't get anything covered in cream sauce. And I kept the beer to a minimum. Pretty good for me, huh? Now I just need to get working on making this a habit!

So here I am at 170 for the second week in a row. And I have no problem with this.

This Is, After All, A Running Blog

So, let's talk about running, shall we?

My long run on Saturday ROCKED! I was a little afraid of 10 miles, since I had been feeling overtrained, but a week off of boot camp and cross training definitely helped me. I even did one of my favorite courses, but I had no idea how crowded it would be! I started out at 1st Place Sports, ran down along San Jose, to Beauclerc - I had forgotten how long it was from there to Forest Circle! But at least I saw a water fountain along the way that someone had put in their front yard. Nice! But at that point, the CamelBak was still full. I had an Espresso Love Gu (too runny) on the way, so I was electro-lit up and feeling pretty good - just wondering when the heck I would get to Forest Circle! When I got there, I did the 1-mile loop (total real estate run) and ran into the local FBI (First Babe In, for every single local race) out doing laps. I did a slingshot out of the loop, then down Scott Mill following the Jax Bank Marathon course. Down quiet Scott Mill Lane, looped around Plummers Cove, and when I got back onto Scott Mill, it all of the sudden got incredibly crowded! There were a hundred or so cyclists riding by for the MS 150 Summer Saturday Training Series. After seeing lots of Florida Gator cycling jerseys, I found a bright spot - a guy in full-on Auburn Flyers gear! Well after a break in the bikes, there came a few runners with the local Team in Training - I had no idea this route was so popular! I did another lap around Forest Circle, and that's where the "lead legs" started to hit - I had reached my lactate threshold and started pushing it. After munching a few cola Clif Shot Blocks (not too bad), I realized I just had to keep on keepin' on. Down Beauclerc, back to the aforementioned water fountain - I needed to wet down my Chilly Pad to keep cool (it was about 830ish by now), and it was an easy shot back to 1st Place. Stretched, went on home, and went about my Saturday.

All in all, I was incredibly pleased, and not nearly as stressed about being tired and sore - comes with the territory. Pain is temporary, pride is forever, and that marathon finish line is definitely attainable.

Overtrained?

I can tell a major difference between the way I ran last year and the way I am running this year at the same mileage marks - and it really isn't a good difference. My long runs are feeling okay, instead of great, and my short runs are feeling long. Also? I am constantly feeling like I am dragging, and between Friday night and Monday morning, I sleep about 30 hours. That's all I do all weekend. I come home from my long run, nap all day, piddle around the house, eat, and go to bed. Get up Sunday, work out, nap, church, eat, piddle, sleep. This can't be that good for me.

So I started examining the reasons behind why I am so tired and my runs are dragging. The difference between this year and last year is that now, I am actually cross-training. I do boot camp twice a week, yoga once, and I try to swim and bike at least once each per week - on top of two training runs and a long run. Boot camp lasts only one more week, fortunately, but at the same time, I almost feel like if I am not working out so much then I am not going to burn as many calories and get to eat what I want, and I'm not going to improve my cardiovascular endurance and my muscular endurance. Am I give out because I'm not in good enough shape, or am I give out because I'm trying too hard to get into good shape?

Then there is also this interesting "exercise-induced inertia" - if I keep moving working out, I'll keep moving in other areas. For example, last Saturday night, I could not sit still. If I sit on the couch, I'll fall asleep. I had to get up every five minutes to clean something. The upside is my house is spotless, but the downside is here I am scrubbing the cooktop at 11 pm when I should probably give it up and get in bed.

Somehow I need to find a balance. I'm hoping that boot camp ending will help a little, but I need to get it into my head that I am a runner, and I run. I can do a little bit of other things to cross-train, but not to the point of derailing my running. I know in the back of my mind there's a triathlon spirit, pushing me through breathless swims and grueling bike workouts so that when my triathlon comes - and I hope it will - I'll be ready. But right now isn't the time to stress the biking and swimming, because it's not important to my running, which is the main focus here. It's 144 days until the Vegas Marathon, and if I'm tired at 8 miles, then I'm going to fall over before I see the finish line. We can't have that.

So how much is too much and how much is not enough? Where do I draw the line between cross-training and overtraining?

Weight Watchers Week 1 Recap

Week one went pretty well, actually - I was totally committed to it, even making sure I counted on the weekend and knew when I had earned activity points. I knew a couple of days I would be going over my allotted 22 daily points, so I made sure I either exercised or knew how many points I was going over so I could subtract that from my weekly 35 bonus points. When I looked last night, the end of my week, I still had 13 weekly points I could use!

As for actual weight loss, I was trying to lose the last 20, but my official first weigh in had me down 1.5 already. So, the true total for the week was 3 lbs down, which has me 4.5 down towards my goal already. I'm not going to get used to losing that much in a week - some weeks are up and some are down - but it's always good to get a great start!

A quick check of activity points for last week: 42. And to think, the first time I did WW, I only got like 12 a week total!

This week might be a little tougher - the in-laws are coming in town! We tend to go out to dinner when they are here and throw caution to the wind (and towards the dessert tray). So, to combat that this time, I am going to make sure that I work out on the days I know we'll be going out to eat, and try to keep track of what I put in my mouth. It'll be a little bit of work, but definitely worth it.

A Few of my Favorite - New! - Things!

I already blogged about the new shoes, but that's not the only thing I have gotten lately...

Injinji Toe Socks
I had heard a few mixed reviews on these, but when I finally found them in my size at Phidippides in Atlanta, I had to go ahead and get them (plus, I had figured out the day before why I felt like I had less socks - Darcey stole my second pair of purple ones!) I get a blister where two of my middle right toes rub together, so I thought toe socks might be a good solution. Turns out, they were so comfy, I forgot I had toe socks on until I got home from running and took them off! I wouldn't go so far as to say these things were life-changing, but I really did like them.

Camelbak Rogue

The more I think about how dry Vegas is, the more I know I need to carry my own hydration. Granted, I never run without a water bottle - even for a run around the neighborhood or a 5k. I've tried to just do the water stops but I still get too dehydrated. So, I started looking into Camelbaks. This one is for biking, but it still works very well for me. I don't even mind the "slosh, slosh, slosh" that follows me around when I run. It sure beats getting dehydrated!


PowerBar Gel Blasts

I am always a little wary of anything PowerBar makes. Admit it, PowerBars are so tough you could probably build a house out of them, and those nasty gels they make would probably do well as mortar. But, they do make great recovery shakes so I figure I would give their newest product a shot. I am also wary of anything cola flavored, but what the heck, the guy at 1st Place Sports said he loved them and that I could come beat him up if I didn't love them, too. I could take him, so I figured it was a worthwhile bet. Turns out, they are AWESOME! Not nearly as gummy as Cliff Shot Blocks so they don't get stuck in your teeth, you really don't need water to get them down, and the "blast" of cola in the center isn't nearly as liquidy as I was expecting (which is good, because if you've ever had Freshen Up gum, you know how the liquid is a little weird when it first comes out). And it's not an overpowering cola taste. The bottom of the little gummy is almost kind of marshmellowy, like the back side of a peach ring. All in all, I love them - I just have to eat through the massive amount of Shot Blocks we have around here in order to get more!

Eat This Workout

Weight Watchers works wonders, when you do it right. And unlike just about every other nutrition plan I have ever heard of, they actually make it easy for you.

1. Eat whatever you want, within reason. (And you can't make your own definition of "reason" here).
2. 35 Weekly bonus points, optional, to use however you'd like.
   
3. Activity points - You can work out to actually gain points and basically eat more.

Number 3 is something I try not to do - I like to think I am working out to supplement my nutrition plan, not so I can eat more. Twenty-two points is plenty if I eat the kinds of things I should be eating (healthy food, not junk). But over dinner Tuesday night, Billy and I got to talking about how many points we had gained from our 45 minutes on the bike, and how many points I had spent by getting a 20 oz regular Coke with my lunch. Answer? I earned 4, but I had spent 5. It's almost shocking to look at an item of food and think about how much you have to workout to consume it. And that's just a soda - imagine like a Krispy Kreme donut or a slice of deep dish pizza. Ouch! I think this is why trainers always tell you that cutting back on your food intake is easier than working out when you're trying to lose weight.

Fireworks & Resolutions

At lunch today, my friend Gretchen and I were talking about fireworks and resolutions, how they happen twice a year, six months apart. And she said that while watching the Independence Day fireworks she decided she didn't have to wait for a new year to make some resolutions. She isn't the only one. I think we could all use a six month stopping point to reflect on how we're doing this year, and whether we're halfway to meeting our goals or just now getting started.

Not long into the beginning of the year, I decided to lose 30 pounds. And I did really well with the first 15, losing it before my cruise in April. However, I got off the boat and off the wagon, and since then have gained about 5 pounds. I don't know how much of it is boot camp muscle or Zaxbys and beer, but either way, I still have 20 lbs to go. It's pretty jolting to get a body assessment and realize you are carrying around 46 lbs of fat! And imagine the stress that puts on my joints when I run - and it'll only get worse as I age and my bone density isn't what it is now.

So, that being said, I'm back to the Weight Watchers and keeping the crappy food off my plate. And if you don't mind, I'd like all of you to keep me accountable. I can always use a double shot of willpower. :o)

Peachy Keen

Okay, so I am a bad blogger. But I promise I have a lot to say in this post!

Last weekend was somewhat eventful. After my 6ish mile bridge run downtown, I had a little calf pain on the left side, so I decided this was a good opportunity to get some new shoes: Nike Air Pegasus. I had always been under the impression that they only came in the trail model, but these are actually pretty sweet road shoes...

Also, I did a brick workout last Sunday - 750m of swimming followed by 40 minutes of biking (while watching Wimbledon - so happy Nadal won yesterday!). It was a pretty good workout that I would have liked to have followed with a run, but the rain and possibly my legs weren't going to allow that. But it was good to feel the transition from using my swimming muscles to my biking muscles. Overall, a very good workout for a Sunday afternoon!

Monday was boot camp, a nice strenuous workout followed by yoga, both of which were good for the craziness that was my work week. But I know nobody wants to hear about that. So I'll skip to the good stuff:

The Peachtree Road Race.

It was definitely the experience I was told it would be. And experience is definitely the word. The spectators were amazing - not just the folks working the water stops, but people with signs, posters, tshirts (including my mother and sister!), costumes, handing out watermelon, Flavor Ice, donuts, beer... and the really inspiring part was running up Cardiac Hill (which no matter how they bill it is nothing compared to the Hart Bridge from the Gate River Run) past the Shepherd Spinal Center and seeing everyone in their wheelchairs lining the road and cheering us on. They are the real heroes and incredibly inspiring. They had tons of sprinklers set up, and by the end of the race I was soaking wet! They even had an Episcopal priest sprinkling holy water! I made sure to cross myself just in case - I hadn't gotten to Cardiac Hill yet, I wasn't sure I'd make it! My time wasn't my best, but the experience was amazing! (Check out some aerial views here from the AJC. My official pictures are here.)

The weekend in Atlanta was great, too - I got to eat at some of my favorite places (Varsity and Henry's) and hang out with some of my favorite people - My mom, my sister, my stepdad, my brother, and my in-laws. Not to mention my very first trip to IKEA! (Words truly cannot describe its awesomeness...) And even though they lost, I still got to see my Braves play. (I promise that as soon as someone - anyone! - sends me some pictures, I will post them!)

So, that's my first post today. Now let me get some work done and I'll put up something that isn't in past tense!