I am on a roll. It feels so good to be in this place, how I wish I could always be motivated and inspired as I am now. Haven't figured that out yet, but that's ok, I'm just happy to be here now.
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| A map of my long run |
Note to self, when running in a wetlands area after rain, expect mud. Miles 4 and 5 were especially muddy, I almost slipped a couple times even and my shoes were soaked when there was no avoiding stepping in puddles. I listened to Pandora (for the first time on a run), Rihanna station. I only know a couple of her songs and don't regularly listen to that genre of dance-pop/hip hop/house-type music so almost all the songs were new to me. That turned out to be an unexpected source of fun, really kept me entertained and I didn't hate any of the songs, even the Nicki Minaj one (I only know it was a Minaj song because she kept saying her own name in the song). A lot of female empowerment stuff too, which I particularly liked.
Anyway, the weather was gorgeous, a bit breezy at times but that balanced nicely with the warm sun, and I just cruised along, happy to know I would run the 8 miles I'd hoped for.
As you can see I averaged an 11:44 pace but I wasn't paying attention to my speed. I just wanted to enjoy the run, and I did.
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| Happy post-run smile |
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| Muddy calves, muddy socks, muddy shoes |
Sunday was a rest day. Unfortunately it was also an eat-too-much-junk day. I didn't plan well and ended up having lunch at a kids' party - pizza and cake. That wouldn't have been so bad - I had one slice of cheese pizza and a very small piece of cake - but coupled with some evening snacking, I got into a hole with my Points (even with the 16 APs I'd earned the day before).
But I woke up on Monday determined not to use the slip as an excuse to stay down. I knew I wouldn't get out of the hole by Wednesday but I didn't want to dig an even deeper one. So I stuck to my daily Points both yesterday and today. And I exercised.
On Monday I went for a run around my gym, including a big hill. I used to run this big hill route when I didn't have enough time to run 3 miles. But I've run it a couple times now as part of a 3-mile route and I think it's gotten a tiny bit easier. Still, it's a big friggin' hill!
But what really got me excited was how fast I ran that last mile. While running down the other side of the hill I thought, "Wow, I'm really moving, what if I try to keep this up when I'm back on flat ground?" So that's what I did. I just kept going with long strides, pushing hard, running! 9:16, roughly 6.5mph. I was running that pace back in the spring, but since the surgery, not really. It felt good. And fast.
After the run I did back/biceps core. I ate a healthy dinner and got to bed at a reasonable hour. No evening snacking. Win! Today started with me getting my period. I've been off-and-on crampy for at least a week so it was about time. My cycle is so unpredictable these days. But at least I'm not having hot flashes at the moment. And, by the way, I have a stellar excuse if I'm up at tomorrow's weigh-in. Not that I need an excuse. No, not me, never.
On to today... I went to the gym after work and rode the upright bike for 25 minutes. I'm back to being able to push myself without it being painful, which is nice. I did chest/triceps/core after the bike, was there for an hour. I left the gym feeling on. my. game.
So there you have it. Weigh-in is tomorrow. Thanksgiving follows. I'll take whatever the scale says in stride, and then eat to my heart's (and stomach's) content on Thursday, and then get back in the groove on Friday. Sounds like a good plan, right?
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