Sad that the race is near
Update: Aron is right – the Chicago Marathon is now closed. Funny thing is – it was open this morning when I checked it. Total bummer. Steven wanted our first full to be local – time to look into Wisconsin!
Earlier this week, a coworker (who is also a runner) asked if I will be excited when the May 2nd Half Marathon is over.
No way! I will be SAD when it’s over! I am having so much fun training. I love being on a schedule. I love having a race to look forward to.
And yes, I am a little bit worried of keeping my mileage up when I am NOT training for something specific. I feel great when I get at least 25 miles in a week.
My guess is, I will spending most of May 3rd convincing Steven to sign up for the Chicago FULL Marathon before it’s too late. (Wait, is it a good idea to give away my reasoning for signing up? Ha ha.)
Related story: On Saturday, after I got my medal, Steven said to me, “That medal is pretty cool. A lot better than a block of cheese.”
Ha ha. Yes, the Kenosha Half Marathon Medals are blocks of cheese:
And… today is the first day that weather.com is showing the forecast for race day. Let the worrying begin! I have absolutely NO faith in weather predictions. But I still look at them, and somewhat plan my life around them. Why? I am not sure.
Looks good so far…
Grazing gone wrong?
Even though I’ve been losing weight, I’ve still been struggling with some food issues. I forced myself to think about it and try to get to the root of the problem. And I think I actually began to figure a few things out.
I am afraid of hunger. I am afraid of being caught unprepared. I am afraid of the unplanned.
What does this mean? I worry about becoming hungry, I am scared I will be unprepared and have to eat something unplanned. I am afraid of the unknown. I hate being out of control.
So here’s what happens. I always have a ton of healthy snacks with me. I stick to my grazing plan and eat something almost every 2-3 hours, sometimes more frequently, especially at work. I never let myself feel hunger. I worry about fueling before a workout, so I always make sure I have something in my stomach. I try to prevent hunger.
It’s not a super big issue. The snacks are usually healthy, I never feel full to the point that my stomach hurts, and I’ve only had a few out of control moments (more the last few days).
But still – what’s the deal? Why am I not listening to my real hunger signals? I think I’ve lost touch with hunger, and it’s time to try to find it again.
Glamour photo gone wrong?
I think that this photo of Data requires a caption and submittal to icanhascheezburger… I just can’t come up with anything clever? Can you? (diane, I’m looking your way!)
What to do with super ripe bananas
How ripe do you prefer your bananas?
I am a #7 – I like my banana a bit brown and lightly bruised. I think Steven is more of a #4 or #5. So at the beginning of each week, we buy about 15 bananas in different stages of ripeness. Every once in awhile, we end up with some “leftovers” at the end of the week that are even too ripe for me to eat (although, I probably would have eaten one of them in the photo below).
I usually make banana bread or banana donuts when we have leftovers, but we were already using the bread pans to make granola bars and it was too late in the day for donuts, so I decided to try Jen’s Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I’m pretty new to the idea of mixing bananas and chocolate, and I’ll admit, it’s taking me awhile to get used to it. BUT, I thought this recipe was cool because it’s fairly healthy (no added sugar!).
Waiting to go in the oven…
Finished! They didn’t change shape at all while they cooked!
I tried one right away when it came out of the oven, but the chocolate had too strong of a taste and was too hot. Even though I put less chocolate in it, I still think I put in too much. Next time I make them, I will probably add a bit more cinnamon, less chocolate, and try some without chocolate completely.
Jeez. I can’t believe I am complaining about too much chocolate. What has happened to me? Ugh. After not eating sweets for so long, sweets taste too sweet.
The cookies did have a nice chewy texture, and a yummy banana flavor! If you are into the chocolate/banana combination, they are worth a try! They are pretty good for a “healthy” cookie.
See the recipe in the extended post below.
More Rainbow Cake Photos: I thought I would share the photos of the inside of Christina’s Rainbow Cake with you! It’s so colorful and fun!
I found the perfect swimsuit for me!
I need to buy some new swimsuits this year. I haven’t been actively looking yet, but Steven keeps forwarding me emails from swimoutlet.com and I finally clicked on their link today.
And found my dream suit.
Behold, the “Splish Meow“:
What do you think? Buy it? Don’t ever mention it again? I made a little poll below!
[poll id=”3″]
10K numero uno: Take a Step for Kids / Jillian Michaels Radio Show
I ran the Take a Step for Kids 10K today in Libertyville, IL – my longest race to date! So of course, that means I set a new personal record by default. Yay!
The weather was absolutely perfect – clear blue skies, sun and 60° F by the time the race started at 9:00 (it later warmed up to 75° F!).
Originally, Steven and I were going to run this 10K together, but his ankle has been bothering him all week, so he thought it was best if he didn’t run it. Please send some good thoughts his way! We want to be in optimal condition for our half marathon on May 2nd!
I ran the first three miles of the race at 8:00 minute mile pace. Then I slowed down a bit when the course went from asphalt to dirt (see photo below) and I began to encounter hills.
It was nice to see Steven halfway through the race. Of course, I just had to be messing with my MP3 player in the photos!
My fourth mile was around 8:30. And I think the last two were around 9:00 or 9:25. Boo! But I finished with a time of 51:00 which was much lower than my goal of 54:00, and I also came in second place for my age group!
Sprinting to…
… the finish line!
Posing with my medal. Such a shameless poser.
One of my favorite restaurants, Sweet Tomatoes, was a sponsor, so they had tables set up with their yummy muffins as well as bowls of pasta and salads! I passed on the food, but did stop to pose with the giant tomato (who looked like the Kool-Aid guy to me!).
As if this post wasn’t already long enough, I have to mention: I have actually been listening to some of Jillian Michael’s Talk Radio Shows, and I am shocked to admit… I am really liking them! I feel like she is upbeat and inspiring, but real and relatable (not a word?) on the show. And I love the segment where she answers listener’s questions.
During the 4/12 show she talked about methods for managing stress. Even though these methods may seem obvious to you, thinking about trying them really gave me hope that it would help with my anxiety. I’ve put the methods in an extended entry below. I know #3 is a huge help for me!
Friday Question #64
When you bake or cook, do you follow a recipe?
According to this article, most people DO NOT follow a recipe. But I almost always DO. I’m not confident enough in the kitchen not to!
Steven, on the other hand, only uses recipes and cookbooks for inspiration. Sometimes when he wants to try something new, he’ll look at a bunch of recipes for ideas, then write his own. But sometimes, he just improvises! He’s a true chef.
Some administrative stuff: On Saturday, I put up a poll asking where recipes should be posted, and the majority voted for a new recipes category, so I am adding that today. In it, you will find Fruit Pizza, Swiss Apple Pie, Banana Donuts, Granola Bars (re-visit the comments section for an update on the recipe!), the Pad Siew teaser and Christina’s Rainbow Cake. Most of the recipes for these items are posted in the comments section or in a link in the post. In the future, I will post the recipes in an extended post.
I’ve also been bookmarking a few recipes to try in the future: Denise’s Pumpkin Spice Muffins, Chocolate Covered Katie’s 24-Carrot Cake Muffins, Nicole’s Cinnamon Bun Muffins and Cathy’s Gluten-Free Brownies. Yes, I like to bake sweets! And I love to share them with my coworkers or Steven’s, so we don’t eat them all.
This man can read my mind, part ii
A cute little bonus story for you:
One night a week, I stay late at the office so I can exercise in the gym with my coworker. I don’t get home until around 8:30, by which time Steven has usually eaten dinner, unless we decided beforehand that we would eat together.
The last three weeks, something very strange has happened.
When I got home the first week, I started toasting an English muffin. “I am really craving an egg sandwich!” I said. “That’s what I had for dinner too!” Steven replied.
The second week, I got home and made a peanut butter sandwich. “I had a peanut butter sandwich too!” Steven told me.
Last night, and this is really weird, I called Steven when I got off the train. After teasing him a bit, I randomly said, “Pizza?” “What did you say?” he asked. “Pizzaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” He responded, “How did you know I am heating up the oven?”
Isn’t that weird? Steven can STILL read my mind. I almost wish we were always on the same “food wavelength,” because we struggle with it when we aren’t. Sometimes we end up making two different things, but we don’t really like to do that!
I want a solution. NOW.
I visited the doctor yesterday for a myriad of issues. Her diagnosis? Your metabolism is all messed up and your body is confused. So try this for awhile and tell me how it goes.
Gee, thanks.
Okay, okay, what more did I expect? Some sort of miracle solution? She couldn’t give me that.
I’ve just been so IMPATIENT lately. I want to know NOW if something is going to work. But that’s impossible. She doesn’t think my metabolism will stabilize until my body weight stabilizes… which I told her may take awhile since my body is so “confused,” and I am kind of letting it do its own thing. So I must continue to wait.
I was thinking about my anxiety during my awesome run outside last night. I was trying to focus on why I’ve been so anxious. I was trying to get to the root of it all. But I can’t for some reason. I have a hard time even thinking about it. Part of me just says, “go back to the doctor and ask her for anxiety medication like you used to take.” But I really don’t want to do that. I want to keep trying on my own. I have an inner dialogue going on constantly telling myself to calm down, breathe, ignore things, blah blah blah.
And I don’t feel unhappy! In fact, I may be the happiest I’ve ever been. I just feel anxious A LOT of the time.
My Office’s Biggest Loser Challenge FINAL Update: Week 12
I don’t know what is wrong with wordpress, but the first two times I tried to post this, the comments didn’t work. Here we go again…
My office’s Biggest Loser Challenge ended today. It began on January 21st and 22 people participated. There was a $12 entry fee, and $2 fee per missed weigh-in and per each pound gained. In the end, the money pot was $428! Do the math on that one!
First place received 55%, second received 25% and third received 20%.
I came in second place with a total loss of 14.17% and won $107. First place was 14.54% and third place was 13.99% (very close!). I stayed in second place almost every week of the competition, except for a week in third, and a week in first (after I was sick).
Now it’s time to stuff my face again!
Just kidding.*
Participating in this was interesting. It brought on a lot of comments and questions about my weight and appearance, which is not something I am used to. I felt uncomfortable at times, just because I was unprepared to react to that kind of attention. I wonder if that will all stop now, that it is over?
Overall, I think the Challenge was helpful with keeping me on track with my healthy eating. I didn’t feel restricted by it**; it was kind of like a friendly reminder. And I’ve mentioned a few times how this made my relationship with the scale so much better – it taught me that the periodical ups and downs don’t mean that much – you have to look at the big picture!
*Although, I did save myself a homemade cookie to eat on my lunch break, and I was kind of “meh” about eating it. I thought it would be orgasmic or something, after not having sweets since 2/25. Guess not!
**Although a few times, I did ask Steven if we could not eat out.
Overwhelmed but grateful
I am ridiculously overwhelmed at work. The details don’t matter. Just imagine being super busy all day long and never catching up, even though you are trying SO HARD to do so. You’ve probably experienced what I am talking about.
It’s going to be like this for awhile. I’m really trying to fight the anxiety and stress it’s causing me.
Even though the day wasn’t great, I still left the office feeling good. I was able to come up with a list of things I am grateful for, and that cheered me up:
- My supportive husband: I called Steven around 8:30 am because I needed to share my stress. He gave me good advice, “You can only take it one day at a time.” That’s what I needed to hear. I am going to break it down even more. I can only take it one hour at a time. Even though the hours are flying by… Later he wrote me a very encouraging email, telling me he knew I could do it, and to break my workload down into tasks, and to modify my “personal work system” to accommodate the changes at work. What a sweetie.
- My awesome coach: I have a coach at work who oversees my work and guides me. We work on all of our projects together and get along wonderfully. I am more and more grateful everyday to be working with such an awesome teammate.
- After raining all day, it stopped during my walk to the train station this evening.
- Fencing class: I am going to be releasing some frustration tonight. Sorry, classmates. But it’s gonna feel good.
Hi! I’m Kim, a 40-something-year-old living in northeastern Illinois with my husband Steven, and our cats, Khaleesi, Apollo, Starbuck, and Eddard aka Ned. My current main hobbies are running, painting rocks, flying, reading, and eating. I follow a vegan lifestyle and work in an account management role. I write about a variety of topics and consider this a “life” blog – a place I can share anything that’s on my mind. Please visit the “About” page to get a better idea of who I am! 🙂
