Weekly Weigh-In: Down A Bit

Leave a comment May 10, 2016 Dot2Trot

Down 1/2 a pound this week. Just need to keep up the momentum. Exercising outdoors helps with that. Hopefully I’ll be able to run tomorrow with weeks of rain finally ending.

I’m down slightly this week. Or as I like to look at it, I dropped 2 sticks of butter from my thunder thighs. That’s half a pound baby. Not too bad considering I devoured a yummy strawberry short cake during mom’s birthday celebration.

Exercise Nil All Last Week
Hopefully the rain will finally stop so I can start running again. Or even go for a walk. We’ve had rain for nearly 2 weeks straight. So anything outside was a non-starter. Which means when the weather finally turns for the better I have to start my interval training from the beginning. Ugh!

Now I’ve run during sprinkles before. But this was cold, windy and sprinkles mixed in with heavy rain. Oh and puddles. Lots of big, deep puddles. Not fun if your shoes behave like a sponge.

Unfortunately I own gear for two particular seasons — freezing cold winters and hot humid summers.

I think it’s time to invest in running gear for the spring and fall rains.

Fearless In The Kitchen
This week I spent quality time working on some new recipes, including an awesomely tender pulled pork with homemade mustard sauce (with no sugars!). The husband went bonkers for it. Pictures and recipe coming later this week along with my sausage-egg bake. A casserole that the hubby enjoyed hot or cold.

I’m also working on some new recipes using my new Dutch oven as well as testing older recipes that my slow cooker ruined. With the Dutch oven I can control the cooking temperature. With my slow cooker, not so much as the “low” temperature is really “hot.” Unfortunately you can’t leave the house when cooking with a Dutch oven.

With summer around the corner I’m busy this week working on tasty, low carb breakfast smoothie ideas. I do miss smoothies. Unfortunately my favorites are loaded with carb-heavy fruits. So I’m noodling with ingredients like cacao and protein powders, avocado, coconut milk, coffee, green tea, cream, jalapenos, berries, cherries, leafy greens, flavor extracts, nuts and fresh herbs.

A lot can go wrong, but that’s part of the fun of being fearless in the kitchen.

Marcellus Wallace Was Right. Pride Only Hurts.

Leave a comment December 2, 2013 Dot2Trot

Marcellus understands how pride never helps you…it only hurts!

I just finished up the long run part of my 5K interval training, and I completely screwed the pooch by not pacing myself.

I started off great – a nice slow pace – for the first ½ mile. My intervals are set for a 20 second run and 40 second walk. Am I going to set records at that pace? No, but I am a newb when it comes to running.

For some reason, I started thinking (first bad sign) that it was too easy and I wasn’t pushing myself. I could go faster. And I did.

By the half way point I felt great and I wasn’t out of breath. Then I turned the corner and realized my mistake.

The rest of the way home was uphill.

That, my friend, is pride screwing with me. I didn’t think about the back half of the trail. I used all my energy and reserves before I hit the hill.

During the climb my legs felt like lead. I was huffing and puffing. Each 20-second run felt more like 20 minutes.

At the top of the incline I hit a wall.

Exhausted and desperately trying to catch my breath, I ended up walking during the last 3 20-second intervals.

Marcellus Wallace was right — “Pride only hurts. It never helps. You fight through that sh#%.”

Fun At The Color Run (And Ran My Best Time)!

3 Comments November 18, 2013 Dot2Trot

Before the colors fly! So happy a few minutes before The Color Race starts.

Yesterday I did my first Color Run 5K in Baltimore. If you’re thinking about doing a Color Run, do it! It’s known as the “happiest 5K on the planet,” and it is. Everyone is happy — the volunteers, the 25,000 runners (dang!), the staff. Even the cops providing security on a Sunday afternoon were having a blast.

After we arrived, I could tell my husband started feeling a bit envious that I was in the race and he wasn’t. Although he perked up when he spotted the La Cakeie cakemobile. He quickly ordered and devoured the (aptly named) Ribbon Cake.

He did promise to run with me next year.

Covered in color! I wiped my face a couple of times during the run and I ended up looking like a hot mess! But it was worth it.

How Did I Do?
The Color Run is not a traditional 5K — it is not timed. It’s all about having a good time while exercising and raising money for local charities. I did this race for the experience and not with the idea of setting records.

I still made a point of looking at my phone for my start time — 1:46.

This was my first race without any inclines. The whole route stayed around the Camden Yards ballpark — home of the Baltimore Orioles. An easy route, my pace started faster than normal, usually meaning I won’t finish strong. But I had such a great time during the race, I ended up with my best race time yet.

When I crossed the finish line, the time on my phone read 2:34. Holy cow…48 minutes!

My last 5K, The Goblin Gallop, I ran/walked in 55 minutes. Wow!

Why was this one quicker? For the Goblin Gallop, my interval training lasted only 1 mile. During The Color Run, my interval training spanned the entire race. I’m not sure if it was the sensory overload or the sheer amount of fun, but I never felt tired.

In fact, I can’t believe to cross the finish line when I did. It didn’t feel like I just ran/walked 3.1 miles.

Of course, I paid for that great time when I got home. My right knee and left ankle started swelling. This morning I woke up to very sore legs.

Thankfully today’s muscle workout helped to relieve the stiffness. I plan on an easy walk this afternoon to help with the soreness.

Some Color Run Advice
If you want to do a Color Run, here are some tips for you:

This is not the race for designer tracksuits! The color is just powdered cornstarch and does come off…mostly.
Keep your phone in a plastic bag. Trust me, the color gets everywhere!
Ladies, before the race, use leave on hair conditioner or spray coconut oil in your hair…you’ll thank me later (especially if you’re a blonde)!
No makeup! Just makes it easier for the color to come off in the shower. Plus, why would you exercise wearing makeup anyway?
Regardless of time of year, always wear white. It’s the best way to proudly display your colors.
Arrive early! The crowds are huge — 25,000+. Runners are released in waves. I was in the second wave. The last wave of runners started as I crossed the finish line.
Prepare for the color zones. Along the 5K route, I ran through five color zones – yellow, orange, purple, green and blue. When you hit one of these zones volunteers squirt you with the colored cornstarch. I wish I had my sunglasses on to protect my eyes from the powder. Some people wore bandanas over their nose and mouth. But that means no multicolored tongue!
If you want a lot of color on you, run on outer edges of the color zones. The volunteers will nail you! Less color? Run straight down the middle of the zone.
Stay for the after party! The Color Run is one big party with a 5K in the middle. It has a DJ, Zumba class, food vendors, and lots of color!

It’s Going To Be One Of Those Days

Leave a comment November 12, 2013 Dot2Trot

Today is going to be a lazy day after yesterday's intense workout.

I’m too sore to care…kitty gets a free pass today!

I woke up this morning to a cat in the sink. I left him there. Today is a lazy day.

Why? I’m soooo sore. Yesterday’s muscle workout and 5K training wiped me out.

Sure my workout with my trainer was hard, but I didn’t think anything of it. I started feeling sore about 4 hours after. What did she do to me?

I did 3 sets, all starting off with a very fast walk on the treadmill.

Since she learned I hate push-ups, for the last 4 sessions she’s included push-ups, in some form. However, yesterday I discovered an exercise I hate more than push-ups — the Jack Knife! Wow those kicked my butt.

I thought my arms took the bulk of the punishment. Ha! Just a few hours later my legs, abs and lower back started feeling it — damn you Jack Knife!

About 5 hours after my muscle workout I started my 5K interval training. I ended up repeating my first long run (1 mile) since I thought the app malfunctioned by not tracking my distance. I ended up going over 1.5 miles.

After checking out my Easy 5K app, it turns out my iPhone was the culprit. The app works perfectly fine. I upgraded my phone’s operating system a day before my first attempt at the long run. The upgrade shut down my GPS function. So the app couldn’t track my distance. Curse you upgrade!

After “fixing” my GPS, I happily started to run.

AAAUGH!!!! My iPhone’s upgrade messed up my Easy 5K’s GPS tracker. I ended up running close to 2 miles.

Roughly 40 minutes later I realized something was wrong…again. According to the app, I ran zero miles. AAAUGH! GPS fail…again!

Turns out my iPhone settings didn’t save. Good grief! I started feeling like Charlie Brown and my iPhone was Lucy with that damn football.

I stopped after running close to 2 miles. I had a slight headache and my heart rate was too high. I made the mistake of waiting for the app to tell me to stop instead of listening to my body.

Won’t make that mistake again!

I walked across the street to Starbucks, ordered a green tea, sat down for about 20 minutes and began working on my phone.

Feeling better, I tested the GPS on the walked home and hit the shower.

With my GPS fixed, I plan to attempt my app’s long run training Wednesday afternoon. Should be a piece of cake.

Other than doing 30 minutes of yoga and getting my hair done, today’s gonna be a lazy day.

Kitty can stay in the sink as long as he wants.