Accountability Tuesday: 10/17/17

Hello there!

It's been quite a few weeks since I've posted here; work has been pretty hectic over the last few months so lots of stuff in my life has been neglected, including this space.

But! All the "big" stuff at work is done, Matthew and I just returned from a relaxing three-night vacation in Cape May, and the Runner's World Half and Festival is this weekend! Online registration closes on Wednesday- use the code "SPARKLYRUNNER" at checkout to save 10% on any race. I can't wait for 26.2 miles of trail and road races!

Training
Saturday: 3.04 ocean-front miles, 36:45, 12:06 pace per mile
Sunday: 3.55 mile walk with Matthew and my Mother-in-Law, 5 mile round-trip bike ride to Beach Plum Farm

Two things learned from this year's fall Cape May trip: 1. Running along the beach will never get old. 2. Beach Plum Farm is a must if you ever find yourself in the area. It's a 62-acre, 300-year-old working farm complete with self-guided tours of the kitchen gardens, a beautiful barn and market, and no shortage of instagram-worthy scenery. Matthew and I had such a good time there- we can't wait to go back next summer!

Fall at the farm is gorgeous- I can't imagine how beautiful it is in full, summer bloom!

There were a TON of monarchs on the remaining flowers in the gardens and fields. 

We also found some sunflowers- and bees!

Beach running is always better in a pair of Altras.

Best Run
Obviously, this week's best run is this week's only run, lol. It actually rained on Saturday morning but it was still pretty magical running by the beach and in the sand. And by magical, I mean really, freaking hard- have you ever tried running in sand?! It's insanely difficult! I only ran on the sand for a bit before returning to the promenade- way easier and less crap gets in your socks. 😜

Bravo Moment
I ate and drank what I wanted this weekend (including wings, beer, and pizza!), tracked it all, and stayed within my daily and weekly Smart Points- on vacation. This is a huge bravo for me. It's always been a challenge for me to stay on track during a weekend or week away from home. Less control over what I'm eating, the mindset of indulging and relaxing during time "off," and lots of meals out usually leads to me eating and drinking more than I should or more than I planned. However, I packed snacks for this trip, tracked my food diligently, and chose meals that fit within my daily points budget. I won't say that I'm excited to weigh-in this week, but I'm not totally dreading it. That's a win in my book.

Carefully reading about the beer choices I made for a flight at Cape May Brewing Co.

Breakfast at George's Place, highly recommend for breakfast in Cape May.

Margherita Pizza at Louie's Pizza, highly recommend for any meal in Cape May.

Quote of the Week
Because we just got back from the beach, this seemed appropriate:

Have a great week, friends! 

A Very Patriotic Accountability Tuesday

Good morning, friends!

To those of you reading in the US....

I am writing today from the most beautiful beach town in America, Cape May, NJ! We are here celebrating the birth of America and the birth of my fantastic husband (a smidge early)! So far, we've had fabulous weather and I'm only -4 smart points for the week- a small miracle considering being away from home/routines is really tough for me.

I got cleared from my doctor to start some light walking so this morning Matthew and I will be participating in our very own little Independence Day Fun Run [Walk]. The race we usually do this time of year, the Wildwoods Beach 'n Boardwalk 5k, was cancelled for 2017 without any explanation. Which is a shame because we love this one and have done it the last two years in a row.

What do you do when your favorite 4th of July race is cancelled but you couldn't compete anyway because you're recovering from pneumonia? You plan a patriotic outfit for tomorrow and intend to walk a few doctor-approved miles anyway to celebrate the USA. 󾓦🎆🚶

A post shared by Sarah (@sparklyrunner) on Jul 3, 2017 at 3:46pm PDT

Anyway, here's what's been happening in my world in the past week:

Training
Wednesday- 1 mile walk with Matthew and our pup, 20ish minutes
Sunday- 3.25 mile bike ride while Matthew ran, 34:29
Monday- 60 minutes of bike riding (maybe 5-7 miles?) all around Cape May

Best Run
N/A. Though yesterday's bike ride was pretty fun.

Bravo Moment
Y'all, I have two bravo moments this week!

1. As a way to save money- and eat well while on vacation- Matthew and I brought groceries down to the beach and have been making our breakfast and lunch every day. Not only does this help us keep more cash in our pockets, but it also helps me budget my points for the day much easier than if we were dining out for every single meal. We've been making overnight oats (oats, blueberries, PB2, vanilla soy milk, and cinnamon) and chicken salad sandwiches (canned chicken, spicy brown mustard, light mayo, and 647 bread) to stay on track and stay on budget; both points-wise and money-wise.

2. I posted a candid picture of me in a bikini on Instagram. I had actually made Matthew take a posed shot that I wanted to use on the blog (oh, the life of a social media/blogger spouse!) but he took some candids that I actually liked more. Mainly because they are more accurate of what I look like, weight-gain and all. I re-read this post recently and it really resonated with me. I've noticed myself shying away from the camera and only posting/sharing pictures where I look "thin" in the last few months- basically since my weight has gone up and not come back down. But really, who gives a crap that I've gained weight? I still wear a bikini in public and feel [mostly] comfortable when I do. And honestly, this is what I look like right now, in the summer of 2017. I don't want to look back on this summer and only have pictures of the beach and the waves; I want to have pictures of me and my amazing husband enjoying the surf and the sand and making memories together.

A post shared by Sarah (@sparklyrunner) on Jul 2, 2017 at 9:46am PDT

Quote of the Week

truth. 

Enjoy your Independence Day, friends!

Accountability Monday: 10/17/2016

Hello from Cape May, NJ!

Matthew and I are still on vacation for one more day so here's a short and sweet Accountability Monday post!

He's my favorite. Cape May, NJ is a distant second :-)

Training:
Monday- PT knee/strength workout
Sunday- 4 mile walk
Monday- 17 mile run, 13:28 pace

Today's 17 miles felt AWESOME. So much better than the first long run we did a month ago (13 miles). We kept the pace slow and steady, hovering between 13:30 and 13:45 for the first 13 miles and then picked up the pace for the last four: 13:12, 13:03, 12:53, 12:09. I am so proud of us and our progress this training cycle!

Celebrating 17 miles with post-run beer and pool/hot tub time!

Food Find AND Non-Scale Victory
Eating at restaurants has always been a challenge for me. I find that the desire to overeat is strongest when I'm out instead of eating at home. Last Thursday, Matthew and I went out to eat at Carrabbas and I was nervous about finding something within my point range to eat. Surprisingly, I found their six ounce sirloin to have nine Smart Points (looked up the nutritional information online) and I chose to have it with steamed zucchini, no butter. I did also have a glass of wine and a cup of soup bringing the whole meal to 16 Smart Points. I left the restaurant feeling confident and in control, instead of bloated and irritated with myself. I call that a huge win :-)

Sirloin and zucchini from Carrabbas.  

Weight:
+.2 this week.

After a big loss last week, I'm totally ok with a little gain!




Have a wonderful week, friends!

Five Things Friday

It's finally Friday!

I don't know about you, but this week has been draaaaaaaging!

Here's five things that are making me happy and looking forward to the weekend:

1. We leave for Cape May in three hours!

As a reader of this blog, you know we adore Cape May, NJ. It's a beautiful, historic seaside town with tons of shops, wineries, and festivals. We are headed down for an extended weekend with M's parents and can't wait to explore all the off-season fun at the shore. We've also got a 17 mile run on the calendar so we are looking forward to running somewhere other than our neighborhood.

We love Cape May.

2. StrideBox sent me a fun package to review. 

The super awesome folks at StrideBox sent me a cool box filled with samples of running products that I will review in full next week here. I can't wait to try out some of the bars they sent this weekend on our long run. Look for the full review coming soon!

All kinds of goodness.

3. We've got another awesome trip coming up- Dublin, Ireland!

Matthew and I are crossing the pond very soon to visit a place that's been on my list for years- Dublin! To do while we're there: drink authentic Guinness, tour Trinity College, and sing along to some jaunty Irish folk song in a hole-in-the-wall historically old tavern. Can. Not. Wait!

The Ha'Penny Bridge at sunset. Source

4. My running and weight loss story is being featured in a book: "Run Your Fat Off" by Jason Karp, PhD!

About a year ago on Instagram, I connected with a fellow runner and writer, Jason Karp, who was looking for runners who had lost weight while running to profile for his upcoming book. Well, the book is finally being published! You can pre-order the book on Amazon here. It will be published in March 2017. Jason has written a ton of other books about running and healthy living; I'm sure this new book will be full of information and inspiration like his others :-)

Can't wait to read it!

5. Fall is the BEST season for running.

Cooler weather + leaf-changing = best training runs of my year.

As seen on our usual running route.

What five things are rocking your world this Friday?!

Accountability Tuesday: September 6, 2016

Good afternoon, friends!

I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend full of relaxation. Matthew and I rode out Tropical Storm Hermine in beautiful Cape May, NJ. We ended up not getting anything except a little bit of wind and rain. Overall, we had great (but cool) weather. 

At one of our favorite spots- Cape May Brewing Company

Training:

Tuesday- 2.27 miles in 30 minutes, 13:16 pace

Saturday- 9 miles in 1:57:35, 13:04 pace

Monday- PT knee strength workout

We also biked all over the place this weekend at the beach. That's one of the reasons we love vacationing in Cape May- it is very bike-friendly. After all the biking and the nine mile run this weekend, my knee feels pretty good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that is stays that way throughout the longer mileage weekends in the next few months.

Eventually my pant leg fell down and got caught in the bike chain. #whompwhomp

Food Find:

Though it's not quite fall yet, I've been already looking for good fall-like recipes. This morning, I tried out my own little concoction that I'm calling "Choco-Pumpkin Overnight Oats:"

1/3 old fashioned oats

1/3 cup light vanilla soy milk

1/4 canned pumpkin

1 tbsp mini chocolate chips

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Layer the oats, pumpkin, and chocolate chips in a mason jar. Add cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice to the vanilla soy milk then pour over the layers. Refrigerate overnight; heat and serve in the morning. Simple, delicious, and filling! 

I expect I'll be experimenting more with pumpkin this fall as it is one of my favorite flavors. I've already got some freezing so I can try it out in a smoothie :-)

Weight:

-2 pounds from last week.

I can't even remember the last time I had a two pound loss in a week- feels pretty awesome!

My thoughts exactly :-) 

Non-Scale Victory:

At the bar this weekend, I almost ordered a margarita (15+ Smart Points) but settled for a summer shandy beer instead (5 Smart Points). Sometimes vacations can wreck havoc on my weight loss/maintenance plans but this weekend I was happy with my choices. 

Have a great (short) week!

Race Recap & Review: Wildwoods Beach n' Boardwalk 5k

During our vacation in Cape May last month, Matthew and I ran the Wildwoods Beach n' Boardwalk 5k. We had been looking for a race to complete while we were on vacation and this one was just a few miles north from where we were staying.

Sunday morning, July 4th, we arrived at the Wildwoods Convention Center and paid the $15 required to park. We could have tried to find free parking, but it was just easier to park right at the start and not have to worry about searching for a parking spot.

We signed up for this race ahead of time online so the packet pick up process was fairly easy. It was an overcast and humid morning- not the best kind of weather for running.

Before the race, the organizers had us gather for a group photo. We had a moment of silence to honor all of our service men and women and then the race started. After a quick little jaunt on the boardwalk, we headed out onto the beach.

Photo credit: Wildwoods Wall

Now, this race was advertised as running on the boardwalk AND on the beach. However, almost 100% pf the course was on the packed sand on the beach. If you've ever run on sand before, then you know that it's not the easiest thing in the world. Couple that with some crazy headwind and you've got the recipe for a slower than usual pace. But Matthew and I plugged away at the miles, reaching the turn around point, and then heading back towards the finish line.

The looooooooong stretch out to the beach.

Windy and overcast.

I swear, there is an organized race happening here... not just random people on the beach!

Matthew and I crossed the finish line somewhere around 37 minutes. I don't know the official time and it hasn't been posted so we'll go with 37ish minutes. After the race, we hung around because they were giving out awards to the best dressed/most patriotic family, child, and adult. There were only a few adults dressed up so I figured I might have a shot at an award. But, it wasn't my day. The guy that won best dressed in the adult category wore an American flag shirt, a pair of American flag shorts, and a pair of American flag socks. I felt like at least my cape should have gotten me a few extra points ;-)

Sad day for Wonder Woman.

Overall, this was a fun start to our fourth of July holiday. Running on the beach during a race is a unique and challenging experience and you should definitely try it out the next time you visit the shore. And if you happen to be racing on July 4th, make sure to pack your patriotic wear. Even if you don't win the costume contest, it's still fun to dress up. :-)

Have you ever raced/ran on the beach before? Do you like running in the sand?