It's a little late but I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! I was the recipient of this beautiful bouquet, which made my day:
Love my hubby so much!! I hope your day was also happy and full of love!
This past Wednesday was the start of the Lent season, and this year--for the very
first time ever--I decided to give up something for Lent: sweets. For a while now I've been wanting to get out from under sugar's thumb for health and fitness reasons, but truthfully have not been giving it much effort. And since joining our church this past fall, I've been wanting to learn more about and immerse myself more fully in Christian traditions, so for spiritual reasons I knew going into Lent that I wanted to give something up. For those combined reasons, it seemed like the perfect time to take the plunge and work on eliminating sugar, starting with the complete elimination of sweets for 40 days.
A few years ago, when I finally started making a real effort to lose all the weight I had gained during pregnancies, I dropped sweets nearly 100% from my diet and really didn't miss them at all. I indulged on special occasions, but we didn't keep sweets in our house and I was very mindful of limiting the intake when I did indulge. Luckily, no one at my old job brought in anything like cookies or brownies or doughnuts to share, as is common in office settings--so I never had that it's-sitting-out-right-in-front-of-me temptation. But somehow over the past 1+ years, instead of indulging occasionally I have begun to consume sweets on a pretty regular basis. (I could blame the candy bowl at my current job and the fact that I have some very talented and generous bakers as co-workers--but that wouldn't be fair because ultimately I am responsible for my own decisions and actions...and it's not their fault I have terrible willpower when it comes to sweets!) And let me tell you, the vicious sugar cycle is hard to kick! I put sugar in my coffee and drink multiple cups of coffee per day; if sweets are in the break room it's guaranteed I'll be in there; every evening I eat a handful of chocolate chips as my late-night snack. Not good, people--not good at all! Once you fall into this pattern, it is hard to break. My hope is that I can make it through these 40 days without sweets (which I am defining as chocolate/candy, cookies, cakes/cupcakes, ice cream, pies, muffins, sweet breads, etc.) and then work on cutting way back on added sugar from other places (like sweetener in my coffee).
I must admit, these first five days I have been feeling doomed. The first day of Lent I came to work and there was a Valentine bag on my desk containing chocolates and candy hearts. The second day of Lent, I had volunteered to bake four dozen cookies for Soups On Us and thus had a kitchen full of fresh-baked cookies in my house overnight. The third day of Lent my husband and I ate dinner at Shaker Village where they have
the best pies for dessert. The fourth day of Lent I found myself staring down the leftover ice cream cake my son's teacher had sent home from the class Valentine's Day party. The fifth day of Lent there was a luncheon at my church with tons of delicious-looking sweets available for the
scarfing down taking, including some chocolate chip-filled raspberry meringue puffs that looked absolutely divine. And, not to mention the fact that my daughter is selling GIRL SCOUT COOKIES throughout the entire month of February. I can do this, right?? If I survived that onslaught the remaining 35 days should be easy, wouldn't you say? (Well, I did
accidentally eat
one cookie for Soups On Us, as a taste test--I swear I didn't mean to! I'm blacking it out and moving on.)
Thankfully, the past week's training went way better than the start to Lent. All three of my running workouts were great. My only regret for this training week is that I didn't make it to the pool for cross-training and that I didn't get in a lot of strength/core. But overall I'll call the week a success. Here's how it went:
Monday - Cross-train
30 min. strength/core
35 min. spin
I slept straight through my alarm for swim practice so had to go with plan B. I would have preferred more time on the bike, but between having to go to the grocery store after work and making dinner, I ran out of time and had to take what I could get.
Tuesday - Speed workout
Prescribed: 3 x 1600 @ 6:51 w/ 400m RI
Actual: 1 mi warm-up, 3 x 1600 @ 6:49 w/ 400m RI, .5 mi cooldown
I had to do this workout on the treadmill because the track was only partially cleared of snow and had some icy patches. The pace on the treadmill was either 6:53 or 6:49 so I opted for slightly faster rather than slightly slower. I spent the day at home with my kids (it was a snow day) and dreaded this workout all day long (I know, I say this every time, but it's true--I'm going to do a separate post on speed workouts and why they are scary to me). But, it went very well. Maybe it was because I was in a hurry to knock it out--my husband didn't get home from work until 5:30 and I had a 7 o'clock meeting--but each speed interval felt manageable and strong.
Wednesday - 45 min. strength/core
Normally I do a long swim on Wednesdays, but it didn't work out this day. I desperately needed to spend some time cleaning house, and an unplanned/last-minute trip to school to deliver some papers for my son that turned into me staying 45 minutes for lunch put me behind schedule. I wasn't going to have time to do both my strength/core workout AND go to the pool, so I opted to spend a little more time on the strength and core and nix the pool. (Plus, it was freezing cold outside, and the idea of going out into the freezing cold, getting into the freezing pool--this pool is for real cold!!--taking a lukewarm shower after being freezing cold, then getting back out into the freezing cold to go to work, simply was not appealing and that line of thinking may have had some real influence on my decision-making.)
Thursday - Tempo
Prescribed: 2 easy, 3 @ 7:23, 1 easy
Actual: 2 easy (8:29, 8:28), 3 tempo (7:09, 7:14, 7:01), 1 easy (9:01)
Total miles = 6 @ 7:55 average
This run started out a little sketchy. It was very cold, and as I was doing my easy miles I was finding it hard to be motivated to run fast. I kept thinking there was no way I was going to be able to dial it up to 7:23 once I hit mile 3. But when mile 3 came, I dialed it up to the 6:50s--oops! So I pulled back and vowed to run at a "comfortably uncomfortable" clip and not worry so much about my watch. When the first tempo mile came and went, I didn't look at my watch to see the pace. But I broke down and checked it toward the end of the 2nd tempo mile because I was going uphill and I wanted to make sure I stayed on pace. I was rather dismayed to see a 7:39 pace, despite the fact that I felt there had been no decrease in effort. I tried to pick up the pace but to my utter dismay the pace fell to the 7:40s! This particular hill is my little nemesis. Every time I run it, I always have a hard time recovering from it (even though it's really not that big of a hill--more of a steady incline over a quarter-mile or so), and once it evens out you end up running into the wind for about another quarter-mile before hitting another quarter-mile patch that is both uphill AND running into the wind. So this particular section is a little rough even without trying to maintain a tempo pace, and it always messes with me mentally. When I saw the pace slipping right there at the end of the 2nd mile, I almost lost my resolve. It took a minute or so, but I was able to get it together and get back on pace. Once I got through the uphill and wind, I knew it would be a lot easier the rest of the way in. And sure enough, without making much more effort the pace picked up even more. I didn't want to run full out to finish the last tempo mile, but I felt I had more than 7:23 in me and decided to just run on feel and see how it turned out. I was pleased with my physical effort but even more so was I pleased with getting back on track mentally after my slight panic between the end of tempo 2 and the beginning of tempo 3. When I checked my splits later I was really surprised to see the first tempo mile of 7:09--I knew I started out too fast but thought I had gotten more on pace; there was some downhill in that stretch which perhaps contributed to the faster pace. I wish the first two tempos had been more aligned pace-wise, but I'll take it.
Don't mind the crazy plaster wall in the background--I'm peeling wallpaper in the foyer
at our house,lovingly referred to as the "Ramshackle Reno"
Friday - Cross-train
3K elliptical (approx. 23 min)
So this workout was so short--in terms of distance AND time--that I probably shouldn't even count it. But, here it is for what it's worth. I usually do 10K on the elliptical, but I couldn't work out after work (one kid had a basketball game and it was Parents Night Out so we had dinner reservations as well) and had to run some errands during lunch, so I fit in what I could. Since I only did strength & core on Wednesday, I hated to have a day where I didn't do ANYthing, especially since I knew Sunday would be a rest day by default due to church/kids activities/work. I should have made more of an effort to get up early...but I really struggle with waking up earlier than I have to! This is something I really need to work on.
On another note, Friday night was DATE NIGHT! My husband and I went out to Shaker Village for their Friday Night Fish Fry.
Not what I'd usually eat the night before a long run, but I couldn't resist! I ate every. single. french fry (in the name of carb-loading, of course), and of course the fish and hush puppies didn't have a prayer; but I did lay off the coleslaw.
Saturday - Long run
Prescribed: 18 @ 8:57
Actual: 18 @ 8:35 with last two miles fast
This run was COLD!!!! Due to having to be at work by noon, I had to do this run in the morning before it warmed up (and I'm using the word "warm" VERY loosely here, because the high was only 24 degrees). It was 14 degrees when I started, so I bundled up: two pairs of socks (a thin base pair under a thick Smart Wool), thick leggings with a pair of shorts over the top, a long-sleeved base layer with a short-sleeved shirt over the top, my winter running jacket (lined/windproof/waterproof), two pairs of gloves (a pair of standard "throwaway" gloves under my mittens), and a balaclava over ear warmers. Because I was bundled up so much, I did not want to also wear my water (it was too cold to drop water--it would have frozen--so wearing a water belt or water pack was the alternative if I wanted to have water along the route)--so instead of doing a long out-and-back, I set out to do a six-mile loop three times and put water and Nuun on my front porch, which would act as my fuel station. (I packed three GUs in my jacket thinking they would stay warmer there close to my body--they didn't. I actually had to chew the GUs!!). After a quick breakfast of bagel with coconut oil and a glass of Nuun, I was out the door by 8:00 a.m.
I went into this run planning to go as steady as possible at a comfortable pace, even if that meant I would be faster than the scheduled pace. The first few miles were frigid and I thought my fingers were going to go numb, but after a few miles I warmed up and it really wasn't that bad. I was very grateful that it was sunny out and that, despite a fairly windy forecast, there was not a lot of wind (except for in the park, which is always windy). Nearing the end of the first loop, I realized I would be very bored if I ran the same loop two more times, so I ended up breaking it up into three different parts: from home down to and through the park, back towards home and through the cemetery, then home (7.xx miles); from home back through the cemetery, through an adjoining neighborhood, and back home (4.xx miles); from home through the college campus, out towards the park, turn around and come back same route (5.xx miles). This allowed for two fuel stops during which I ate a GU and drank half a bottle of water and half a bottle of Nuun at each stop. (Opening the GUs was a little awkward with half-frozen fingers.) After stopping for a few minutes to take fuel, I would be cold but it only took a mile or so to warm back up. However, the front of my balaclava around my neck and across my cheeks and mouth was frozen solid! Around the 3rd mile I kept hearing this crunching sound, and I was looking all around trying to figure out where it was coming from--only to realize it was coming from my face! I guess where my neck and face were sweaty, the moisture on the balaclava froze. At my chin there was a big chunk of ice! Trying to get the balaclava pulled back into place after pulling it down for a drink or to get some fresh air was a little tricky.
You might remember that last week I whined and moaned about my feet hurting and my legs being tired and my back being sore after my long run. I am happy to report that there was none of that this run! I felt strong the entire run and not once did I reach a point where I didn't want to be running anymore. Maybe the cold just numbed my legs to the pain?? I decided to go for race pace (8:12) for the last two miles of the run, and ended up with 7:58 and 7:39 for miles 17 and 18. Overall the run was 22 seconds faster than the scheduled pace. I was very pleased with this long run!
I had to be at work within an hour of finishing my run, so this was me immediately following work until bedtime (which was at like 8 o'clock--ha!):
Sunday - Rest
Any other Sunday I would have done some light cross-training or at the very least done some strength and core, being as how I sorta/kinda had a rest day throughout the week (with Wednesday being only strength and core and Friday being a very short cardio session), but this particular Sunday was busy with church in the morning, a lunch at church, and working the evening shift. So I threw in the towel on trying to fit in a workout and enjoyed a day of rest.
Anyone else giving up anything for Lent? Or given up sugar/sweets for another reason and want to share some tips for surviving sugar withdrawal?
