Getting Back on Track

I have let myself go for TOO LONG. I'm currently 13 pounds heavier than I should be, and I can feel it.

I remember the day I fit into single-digit size pants; I promised myself I would never go back. Well, I can still wear those pants, but they don't fit well. The worst part is I've fallen into the feel guilty--eat to feel better--feel guilty about eating to feel better-trap. How did I let this happen?

Things need to change, Peeps; I need to change.

With this in mind, I've set some goals for myself.

Goal #1: This is the most important goal. I need to go back to logging my calories. I lost the most weight when I logged into My Fitness Pal, and I was able to maintain that weightloss for a long time. Then I got away from it, and I am in a Pit of Despair.

This is EXACTLY how my Pit of Despair looks. Don't go down there.

What kept me from logging my calories for so long was the idea that I knew I was going to go over my limit, so in my head, I said, "Oh well. No need to log those calories. I'm going to screw up anyway." Well, guess what? Now my rule is that I have to log all calories every day, and I'm not going to beat myself up when I go over my limit. This is a small goal, and for now it is enough to recognize honestly what and how often I am eating. No excuses.

Goal #2: Remember that Hunger is my friend. That's right. This was my mantra when I first lost the weight. Don't get me wrong; I do not deprive myself. I allow myself all the calories right up until the set limit. My problem is that I am constantly hungry. I was that way as a kid, too.  Is this some sort of psychological problem? Maybe, but the solution is the same; I need to remember that it is ok to feel hungry. I don't have to feed myself every time my stomach turns into Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors.



Goal #3: Be patient. It took me over a year to regain this weight. I can take that long to lose it again as long as I keep my eyes on the prize.

Lastly,

Goal #4: Be forgiving. I beat myself up more than any other person can. I have high expectations and when I don't meet them, I punish myself. It's time to love and accept myself. Honestly, this will be the  most difficult goal.

Oddly enough, none of these goals directly involve running, but they will have an incredibly positive effect on my running. If I treat my body and my mind with more respect, both will provide better results than what I've been getting.

What are you struggling with? What will it take for you to treat yourself with love and respect? How is running part of the process?


Hey, pssst.  Are you thinking about signing up for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k or Challenge? Have you been following my friends, the Ambassadors, for your chance at a free entry? WHY NOT???? If you aren't crazy about giveaways and you still want to run with me (or waaaayyyy ahead of me, more likely), click here to register for your race(s), and use my code, SICLE10, for a 10% discount!

Pam

Andrew

Jessica

These friends encourage me to be happy with myself while still striving to be a better runner. It's a delicate balance. How's that balance working for you?

Whatever your situation, I hope you run happy, Peeps!

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I'm Handling It (The Taper). I Am.

As many of you know, "tapering" is when an athlete cuts down on workouts in both length and intensity to recover and prepare for an event.  Usually I pretend to taper before a race, but I don't really do it.  This year, because I have been actually training for the 8k/Half Marathon Challenge, I thought I should do it up right.  I decided to cut down the mileage by about 1/3 and replace my intervals with a slow and easy run.

It figures that the week in which I cut down on mileage and intensity is an incredibly stressful week.  Of course.

This is EXACTLY how I look on the outside when I am stressed out. 

I often joke that there is no problem that food and booze can't cure, but runners know this isn't true.  I NEED running.  I NEED intensity.  When I get restless, I want to hurt people.

This is EXACTLY how I look on the inside when I'm stressed out.

  It's difficult to take part in a two-hour meeting knowing that there will be no run to shake off the negative vibes.  It's difficult to shelter students from an irate parent in the parking lot who has just pulled a gun (true story--my Friday) and then come home to. . .no run.

Yoga just doesn't take care of that.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I'm de-stressing after school.  I look great with blonde hair, eh?

One thing I have done to take off some of the pressure is to stop logging my calories in My Fitness Pal.  I am a wee bit obsessive about it, and because I live to eat, it would be too difficult for me to think about those calories that I'm just not taking care of as efficiently as I could with running.  I'm still trying to make good food choices, and I'm still counting in my head, but I am also telling myself that there is only so much I can handle during this time.  I weighed myself once, and I've dropped two pounds, but that could be water weight.  I'll probably start logging calories again after the half marathon.

Today I ran with Shelby; we did nine miles in the sun on the Towpath.  Running with a friend is the BEST way to handle a taper.  I am able to bitch and moan to Shelby about everything going on, and she knows the best way to pretend to listen to me.  I love you, Shelby.

I'm going to end today with my traditional Mother's Day video.  A word of warning: If you are offended by Mike Polk or the word MILF, well, why are you reading my blog?  Anyway, DON'T click on this if you are sensitive.  It's hilarious and you might not be able to handle it.

Happy Mother's Day to all my Mother Peeps.  We are all MILFS to somebody.



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Join me at the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, Peeps!  Click here to register or volunteer.

It's a Beautiful Day!

I have FINALLY experienced a sunny Sunday long run!

For too many weeks now I have seen gorgeous Saturdays, and I wake up on Sunday morning for my long run to this:

I am so stinking tired of Ohio winters.

Today was a glorious ten miler with my favorite running peeps.  Debi stuck with me from beginning to end, and we were able to run a bit with Teresa and Deidre.  It was almost like old times, except I wasn't complaining about my husband (love you, Mon Petit Chou!) this time.

My legs ache in all the right places.  I look forward to recovery yoga tomorrow (love you, Rodney Yee!), and I plan to do the legs-up-the-wall pose later today when I think it will most embarrass my daughter.

Even better, MyFitnessPal tells me that I will have room for a Candy-Bar-in-a-Cup, otherwise known as some sort of mocha java thing, when I meet my friend for coffee later.

Candy Bar in a Cup!

For those of you who are wondering, "Where the hell is Stephani?  Who is this cheerful person?" just remember that I am under the spell of the runner's high, which I explain in this post.

I love you, Man.

Have a great week, Running Peeps!

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Thin Starts in the Kitchen

Today I ran just over eight miles!  I am so happy because I am on my way to beating that train in my 10-miler coming up.

Now that I am increasing my mileage, I am starting to feel the soreness of the legs that comes from the long run.  When I got home today, I did my favorite recovery pose:  Legs up the Wall.





Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman are my heroes.

Tomorrow I will do some recovery yoga, courtesy of Rodney Yee.

Ooooh.  Stretch it, baby!

One thing that ticks me off about yoga (and this is perhaps the only thing) is that I can't get more calories than a hundred or so on Myfitnesspal.com.  Do you know about My Fitness Pal?  It is a calorie and exercise-tracking website, completely free.  I joined it when I joined a subset of The Ohio Runners Network.  Our goal is to lose five percent of our group's bodyweight.  

I do a great job with exercise:  running, dancing, Zumba, kickboxing, light weights, and yoga.  My problem is my mouth, and this time I'm not talking about how I run my mouth.  I'm talking about what I put IN my mouth, which is anything edible.  All the time.  

Ten years ago I dropped forty pounds, and I did it by logging everything I put in my mouth.  It was hard.  It was painful.  I hated it.  

I'm doing it again.

My Fitness Pal lets me set a goal, and it gives me a number of calories every day to reach that goal.  If I exercise, I get more calories, but the problem is that the REAL calories come from cardio.  I love cardio, but I'm smart enough to know that I've got to do the other stuff, too.  This is where I hate My Fitness Pal.  It gives me very few calories for yoga, and it gives me NO calories for strength training.  Boo.

Nevertheless, yoga is what I must do on recovery day, and strength training is very necessary to maintain good muscles and a strong core, so I will suck-it-up-Buttercup and eat less tomorrow to maintain my calorie goal.

But I won't like it.

Do you use My Fitness Pal?  How do you deal with hunger?

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