Fartlek

I learned a new word tonight.  Fartlek. 

fart·lek [fahrt-lek] 

noun

a training technique, used especially among runners, consisting of bursts of intense effort loosely alternating with less strenuous activity.

Well, actually, I knew the word - just never experienced what it truly means.  Until tonight.  I've discovered that ignorance really is bliss.

The same friend who introduced me to Advocare put me through the worst workout ever tonight!  Track workout, she said.  That didn't sound so bad.  I run around the track often.  Speed workout, she said.  Okay, that sounds a little intimidating; but surely it can't be that awful.

Famous last words.

A slow mile warmup (4 times around the track).  11:15 pace or so.  Easy peasy.

Then came half miles.  Run half mile at your target 5K pace.  For me, that's a 9:30 mile (so as to break 30 minutes).  First quarter mile wasn't bad - second quarter mile was.  Did half mile in 4:30 or so and then a quarter mile cool down (by far my favorite parts of the night were the cool downs!).  Then we did it again.  Ugh.

Then came quarter miles - once around the track.  I believe my exact words were "once around is going to be a piece of cake!".  Someday I'll learn to just not speak.  4 times we did those.  All at the target pace of 9:30 - for me anyway.  The two of them were faster.

Then 6 100's.  I managed to knock out 4 of those before feeling like I was going to lose my dinner.  And then I did another 50 (meters, I think).  REALLY felt like I was going to lose it at that point.

And then we got to run for a half mile cool down.

By far the worst workout ever.  And I'm thinking that it was probably by far the most effective workout ever.  2 weeks, I get to do it again.  Can't wait!

So a summary of tonight's workout:

5 - number of miles ran/walked
10 - number of times I wanted to quit
10 - number of times I changed my mind after I heard my running mates cheer me on
2 - number of times I wanted to vomit
0 - number of times I actually vomited
100 - percent glad I am that I went tonight

24 Day Challenge - Day 8

Day 8 - No catchy intro today, but I have pictures!

30 Minutes before breakfast: Fruit Punch Spark, ProBiotic Restore Ultra

Breakfast: Egg sandwich (whole grain english muffin, baked egg, coconut manna)

(Coconut Manna is "a delicious whole food, made of pure, dried coconut flesh. This tropical "melts in your mouth" treat contains 12% fiber and 9% protein and nourishing fats."  I like it on my breakfast sandwiches because it gives it a tropical flavor, but it doesn't melt very well if you put it on a toasted bun.  So this time I melted it first and then spread it on - worked much better!)

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Salad (romaine lettuce, walnuts, craisins, chicken, lite honey mustard dressing, hard boiled egg), carrots

Before Exercise - Catalyst and Fruit Punch Spark

Dinner: Orange, MorningStar Farms Spicy Black Bean burger (I forget how good these are!) on a whole wheat sandwich thin with advocado, 2 Omegaplex (which, as I pointed out yesterday, is 1 serving)



Snack: not sure I'll need a snack tonight.  If so, probably the strawberries and honeydew melon I didn't eat at work today

Bedtime: Nothing!  No more horse pills!  (But 2 more days of Fiber Drink...)



Today was such a nice day.  I went for a run...went a little further than I originally intended


Definitely not my best time, but not too shabby.  Something's going on with my knee so hopefully that works itself out soon.

I love the view on the rail trail that I run.  There were lots of butterflies today...and these (my favorite)

In other news, I went a little cracker crazy tonight after my run.  I don't know why I can't seem to get it through my head that I should not go to the store when I'm hungry!  I also bought grapes.  Mmm.

I told you I had pictures :)

24 Day Challenge - Day 1

A friend recently introduced me to Advocare which is a company "specializing in health and wellness, weight management, vibrant energy and sports performance".  I started reading about the 24 Day Challenge and decided to "take the challenge". 

A lot of people have said that they have increased energy after the 24 days, in addition to losing weight and inches.  I'm hoping for all 3 :)

Day 1

30 Minutes Before Breakfast: Mandarin Orange Spark

Breakfast: Fiber Drink (I am NOT looking forward to this tomorrow!), banana

Snack: 1 cup strawberries, hard-boiled egg

Lunch: Salad (romaine, baby bell peppers, cucumbers, Bragg's Raspberry vinaigrette), grilled chicken, baby carrots, hummus
The dressing is supposed to be sugar-free, but I just can't eat that again.  So...I'm going to cheat and use Newman's Own Honey Mustard from now on because I think the salads will go down a LOT easier!

Snack: Apple slices, natural peanut butter (no sugar added)

Before workout: 3 Catalyst
Workout: Ran 2 miles

Dinner: Rotisserie chicken, brown rice, salad (with Newman's Own Dressing!), 1 Omegaplex

Bedtime: Herbal Cleanse Tablet

Nothing earth-shattering today except that all the water I drank went right through me.  I've been drinking at least 64 oz of water most days for the past 3 months, but today it was like I just started drinking tons of water.  That and the fiber drink - YUCK!  Although, I guess if the cleanse does its job in ridding my body of toxins, then it's a price I can afford to pay. 

Another thing I noticed was that running was a little easier.  I'm not getting my hopes up in case it's a placebo effect, and it was only 2 miles because I had things I had to do.  But I'm really excited about running getting easier as I lose more weight, and today was a little taste of that.

Monday, October 24

I'm watching a movie called Spirit of the Marathon - it's about the Chicago Marathon.  They just said that several runners have PRs of under 2:07...wow!  I'm nowhere near even THINKING about a marathon, but this is pretty inspiring.  They panned the runners - there must have been thousands and thousands of them!  35-37,000 people, they just said - I can't even imagine the energy that must have been in that crowd...

Anyway, craft show season is in full swing; and it's getting really busy!  I am part of a small family business that makes various handmade items (click here to see our website!), and I also make paper crafts and altered items (click here to visit my Etsy shop!).  From the end of October to the end of November, every weekend is spoken for by craft shows.  Of course I don't make it easy on myself by making my items ahead so every night is spoken for by crafting!

The good news is that it keeps me busy.  The bad news is that I'm not a very good planner, and I don't like to take much time out to do necessary things like making dinner, doing dishes, etc.  So I tend to eat poorly.  Last year I didn't even try to eat healthy.  This year I see myself slipping back into old (bad) habits so I need to figure out how to get out of the rut I've been in.  I get 29 Weight Watchers Plus points/day.  Some days that seems like a lot...most days it seems like hardly any.  Especially when I get the munchies.  I ordered a microwave chip cooker from a Pampered Chef show yesterday - I'm excited to get it.  Hopefully that will allow me to have crunchy, low point snacks.

Today's Menu:

Breakfast (5):
(3) Special K
(1) Milk
(1) Coffee w/SF Peppermint Creamer

Morning Snack (5):
(2) WW yogurt (apple pie ala mode - yum!)
(3) animal crackers

Lunch (10):
(7) Enchilada, tamale, Spanish rice (frozen meal)
(0) grapes (they were weird tasting)
(3) Sensible Portions veggie straws

Midday Snack (0):
(0) apple

Dinner (11):
(7) Meatloaf sandwich
(4) Italian bread (the bread part of the sandwich)

Total: 31
But I still have the munchies!

So I made some crafts, packaged up an Etsy order, checked Facebook while watching my marathon movie and decided to blog.

This and that

I'm becoming a connoisseur of tv dinners.  I like to cook, but not just for me.  It's much more fun to cook when I know that someone else will enjoy it, and I won't have to eat the same thing for the next 5 days.  Plus it's so easy to just grab a meal to take to work.  And this is a pretty busy time of year for me so when I don't want to stop working to eat, I can convince myself that it will only take 15 minutes!

The up side is that I get a wide variety of meals that I wouldn't normally eat.  The down side is that it's all processed food.  I figure if Nutri-System works, it's basically the same thing but much more expensive!  I won't bore you with the rest of my frozen food theories...

Insert segue here...

I was thinking today that this is the first year I'm not looking forward to winter because it gives me an excuse to not exercise.  I don't want to lose the running momentum (small though it may be) that I've built this year.  Fortunately my sister has lent me her treadmill until the spring.  I don't normally like running on the treadmill, but I know it will come in handy on snowy, icy winter days.  And, I'm hoping that I can use it to train myself to run faster.  We'll see.