AM: 11/24/14

Good morning and welcome to Thanksgiving Week!

If you follow me on social media then you know that Matthew and I were in Philadelphia all weekend as he raced the 8k on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday. Matthew lived in Philadelphia when we were first dating so it was fun to be back in the city and visiting some our old haunts. And, Wawa coffee is truly the best thing on earth and I am depressed that the closest one to where we currently live is like 80 miles away. Sadness.

Tomorrow night, we will be traveling again- this time to visit both of our families over Thanksgiving weekend. All this travel makes it hard to stay committed to my fitness and nutrition goals but I'm just trying to plug away at them and take it one day at a time.

Here's last week in review-

Training:
Monday- 30 minutes on the bike, light weights
Tuesday- balance exercises (from the PT) and some light weights
Wednesday- rest day
Thursday- rest day
Friday- 2 mile walk on the treadmill, 1.81 miles, 16:34 pace
Saturday- 1 mile walk outside, 15:11 pace
Sunday- balance exercises, planks, push-ups, squats

I went to my PT on Wednesday to inquire about a plan to help me get back to running- I'll detail that in a post later this week. In short, he recommended that I do 3-4 balance sessions a week (basically balancing on one foot for a minute at a time, 10 minutes total) and start to incorporate other core-strengthening exercises into my routine. Hopefully, this will all be helpful as I start running again- when that will be is a little more of a mystery as it all depends on my level of foot pain.

I also finished the ActiveLink assessment period and will start the ActiveLink Challenge on Wednesday- my weigh-in day. The challenge will basically take where I am now and encourage me to earn more activity points each day. According to the assessment, I currently earn seven PPV a day. Which is insane because I NEVER would have thought that I was that active during the day. For the next few weeks, that number will increase as it encourages me to earn more than seven each day.

Honestly, I'm still a little skeptical that I am actually earning all these points. And I have a tendency to eat ALL of the points I earn which could end up hampering my weight loss in the long run if I'm eating more points that I have been since starting Weight Watchers in January 2013. But I am willing to try this out and not make any judgment calls until it's been a full month of using it.

Apparently, I'm pretty active.

Nutrition:
I'm not going to lie, I have definitely NOT been as disciplined as I should be with regard to my nutrition habits these last two weeks. It is amazing that I lost seven pounds in six weeks when I was laid up but now that I've been walking for the last two weeks, I've lost .8 total.

I know that I must be more diligent about what I'm eating- even when traveling. I managed to lose every week while I was in the boot AND we traveled at least four of those six weeks. This upcoming week will be challenging as I won't be in "my" spaces because of the holiday. I've got to remain focused and stick to the plan that will get me to my goals- return to running, and 50 pounds down by January 1.

Matthew eating a ginormous piece of pizza in Phildelphia. We split it :-)

Weight-loss:
146 as of 11/19/14 weigh-in
-.4 from last week
-44.4 since January 2013
-56 since HW

Have a fabulous Thanksgiving!

QOTD: Do you find it hard to stick to fitness/nutrition goals during the holiday season?

AM: 9/15/14

Hello and happy Monday!

Last week was a doozy and I'm just so happy to have a new week. It's time to hit the reset button- especially with my grazing, out-of-control eating patterns that re-emerged this week. I am stressed at work and stressed about my foot. And because my foot has been acting up, I haven't been as active as I was all through the summer. I am hopeful that the MRI this Wednesday will shed some light on what's going on, how to fix it, and how to lessen the pain. I ran the Divas Half Marathon DC yesterday and it did not go as planned- but we finished! And it was Jen's first half! Stay tuned for the recap later this week.

Training:
Monday- Rest day
Tuesday- 45 minute run
Wednesday- Rest day
Thursday- 45 minute run
Friday- Rest day
Saturday- Divas Half Marathon with Jen
Sunday- Rest day

Total: 20.4 miles

Nutrition:
Panera Chai Tea Lattes, beef brisket, pulled pork, Nutella milkshakes, cereal for breakfast, french fries, wine, Starbucks coffees, KIND bars, and smoked chicken thighs. That's all I have to say about #eatallthefoods week.

BUT! I will say that I did pretty awesome during Thursday Night Football. Football games are pretty tough for me as they typically revolve around food. However, I made a huge plate of fruit, veggies, and cheese with a few greek yogurt dips to snack on in addition to the turkey chili Matthew and I made for dinner. Though I ate more than I usually do on a Thursday night, it's nowhere near what I used to eat during a football game.

Skinny Vanilla Latte, Special K Cereal, Veggies galore, crazy-good carb loading before Saturday's half.

Weight-loss:
155.2 as of 9/10/14 weigh-in.
-.4 from last week.
-35.2 since January 2013.
-46.8 since heaviest; 202 in 2005.

A new week starts today! Let's get after it!


QOTD: What's your favorite part about Monday?

Accountability Tuesday: 9/2/14

Good morning! Welcome to the post-Labor Day accountability check-in!

I hope you had a great holiday and are ready to make it an awesome September. I'm a little sad that the summer is officially over but I'm looking forward to the fall for many reasons; cooler weather, pumpkin flavored everything, and lots of fun half marathons on our race calendar.

So, how did this week go? Well, better than last week. I was back to my regular routine and felt like I could better control my eating and the spaces around me. That is...until I went home for the weekend. We went to a winery, had two cookouts, and went out to eat multiple times. I tracked all but Labor Day- and I just grazed all day long (I entered 30 PPV for the day). I'm starting this week with -11 PPV. And I'm ok with that. It's been a slightly-off weekend but I am happy to be getting back on track this week.

Training:
Monday- Walked 2.27 miles
Tuesday- 45 minute run
Wednesday- Rest day
Thursday- 45 minute track workout
Friday- 10.42 mile run with Jen
Saturday- Walked Color Vibe 5k
Sunday- 4 mile run with Dad

Total: 27.08 miles

Nutrition:
This week I did so much better with fueling for the long run. Since I was running 10 miles with Jen on Friday night after a full day of work, I knew I needed to eat well throughout the day. For lunch I went to Panera and got a Mediterranean Flatbread Sandwich and Chicken Noodle Soup. The sandwich is a little higher in PPV than I usually eat (11) but I knew it had a great mix of protein and carbohydrates that would keep me full without making me feel too stuffed. I also had a salad from Wendy's (Apple Pecan) about two hours before the run. The result? I only had a handful of sport beans 30 minutes before the run and didn't get hungry for the over two hours we were running. Success.

Apple Pecan Salad, obligatory vineyard shot, doughnuts involved in the "grazing" day, and Panera goodness.

Weight-loss:
156.2 as of 8/27/14 weigh-in.
-1 from last week.
-33.4 since January 2013.
-44.6 since heaviest: 202 in 2005.

Update on August goals:
As part of the instagram #TeamrunDisney August photo challenge, I set out some specific goals for the month.

PS- You can follow me on ig @sparklyrunner :-)

So... I met one of these goals. I actually ran 90 miles in the month of August. :-)

I lost 4.4 pounds and ran my Akron Marathon leg training run (3.9 miles) in 43:42. But September is a new month and I'm confident I can set and accomplish some new goals for fall... whenever I figure out what they are.

By the way, summer has historically been the worst season for me in terms of weight-loss. I have ALWAYS gained over the summer- featuring all my favorite foods and the mentality of being on "vacation," summer has always been a struggle for me. BUT, this year I actually lost 10.6 pounds from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Here's to hoping the fall season will be just as fruitful!

QOTD: What are you most looking forward to about the fall season?

AM: 8/11/14

Happy Monday!

This was a great week so let's get right to a dose of accountability!

Training:
Monday- 5.13 mile easy run
Tuesday- Speed workout at the track, 4.28 miles
Wednesday- 30 minute Pilates DVD
Thursday- 45 minute easy run, 3.87 miles
Friday- Rest day
Saturday- 10k race + 2 miles
Sunday- 2 mile walk

21.5 total miles

It feels GREAT to have a week above 20 miles again! I think I'm ready for Goofy Challenge training to ramp up!

Nutrition:
After having a slight gain last week, I wanted to change things up a bit this week. I went back through all my old Weight Watchers recipe books and tried a few interesting dinners that turned out pretty well. Even Matthew liked them :-)

Stuffed Tomatoes, Balsamic Glazed Salmon, Curry Pork and Pineapple, Southwest Sloppy Joes. Yum.

Because we had a race on Saturday, I tried to properly fuel and hydrate on Friday. Enter Panera's Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich and Garden Vegetable with Pesto Soup. I'd never had the chicken salad before and absolutely loved it. It might be my new favorite!

Weight-loss:
157.8 pounds as of 7/30/14 weigh-in.
-2.8 from last week.
-32.6 since January 2013.
-44.2 since heaviest: 202 in 2005.

I'M UNDER 160! :-)

FYI- I haven't been under 160 in at least 10 years so this is exciting. I even ordered a Sparkle Skirt to reward myself- it's the one I posted about here. I had been waiting until I was under 160 to order the skirt- in fact, this was one of my goals that I wanted to reach by the end of summer. In the past, I would reward my weight loss with a cheat meal- usually fast food. How bizarre is that? To reward yourself with food for losing weight? But, those patterns are slowly fading away as I have been rewarding myself differently this time around. I can't wait to try out my new skirt this weekend! This feels so much better than rewarding myself with food :-)

All smiles after reaching a weight-loss milestone.

QOTD: How do you reward yourself when you reach a goal?

AM: 7/14/14

Happy Monday! 

Welcome to the second edition of Accountability Monday: a short post recaping my week with regard to running and healthy eating.

I hope you had a great week- I absolutely did.  We actually had an exciting weekend- we rescued a kitten from a storm drain in our neighborhood! During a walk Friday night, we kept hearing a kitten mewling but couldn't figure out where it was. We had heard that some of our neighbors got evicted and just let a momma cat and her four kittens go. Eventually we figured out it was coming from the storm drain. Long story short- we called the fire department and little "Buster" spent the night with us once out of the drain. He is currently living with another neighbor until we can get him (and his siblings) to a no-kill shelter in the area.

Top- Buster, after being rescued from the drain. Bottom- Buster (far right) and his kitten siblings.

I also had a great week with regard to training, nutrition and weight-loss. I finally got in some cross-training and I survived a weekend with family without feeling like I over-indulged.

Training:
Monday- Jillian Michaels "Ripped in 30"
Tuesday- 45 minute run
Wednesday- Pilates DVD
Thursday- 45 minute run
Friday- 50 minute walk
Saturday- 4 mile run
Sunday- Rest day

14.5 miles total


Nutrition:
I've been trying some new foods this week. I bought Chocolate PB2- oil-free, powdered peanut butter- and spread it on waffles; amazing! Buddy Fruit has come in handy before my workouts- they are 1-3 points a piece and are super yummy. I also tried the grilled watermelon and kale salad at Longhorn Steakhouse- I'm not a fan of raw Kale. And I might have had a Sam Adams Seasonal at the Harrisburg Senators game :-)

Weight-loss:
162 pounds as of 7/9/14 weigh-in.
-1 from last week.
-28.4 since January 2013.
-40 since heaviest: 202 in 2005.


QOTD: How was your week? What keeps you accountable?

Friday Update: Team Panera!

Happy Friday!

Normally, I don't post on Fridays but I have some awesome news that just couldn't wait until next week!

You may remember that I'm running the Akron Marathon Relay with some of the coolest people around- Jeff, Lauren, Chelsea, and Steff as a part of Team #4PrincessesandaFrog. You might also recall that we interact with Akron on social media so much that at the Pittsburgh Marathon Expo, they had left us a little gift- #runAkron stickers.

Well, a few weeks after Pittsburgh, Andrew (communications guy for Akron), invited us to be part of a partnership between Panera Bread and the Akron Marathon as official "Team Panera" bloggers!

Racing AND Panera?! What could be better?!

So, what does being on Team Panera mean? It means that I'll be sharing more about my love of all things Panera here on my blog- specifically, how their menu assists in my training. I have been a long time fan of Panera due to their yummy food and great low-point options for Weight Watchers.

They also have a great menu and training program set-up for Akron, though you can follow it for any race. Side note- their training plans are based on some of Jeff Galloway's and Hal Higdon's plans and you know how I feel about those gentlemen.

I am thrilled about this opportunity and can't wait to share more of the nutrition side of my training with you.

QOTD: What's your favorite menu item at Panera?

Accountability Monday: 7/7/2014

In an effort to keep up with the goals stated in last week's post, I present a new Sparkly Runner series- "Accountability Monday"- a quick recap of the last week with regard to Goofy Challenge training, nutrition, and weight-loss.

Training:
12.8 miles this week.
Three workouts- 3.7 humid, gross miles on Wednesday, 5k on Friday, 10k on Saturday.

Nutrition:
No long runs yet so no new experiments with food.
Finished the holiday weekend with 9 Weekly Points remaining which is pretty damn awesome. (If you're unfamiliar with how the Weight Watchers method works, you can find out more here.)

Weight-loss:
163 pounds as of 7/2/14 weigh-in.
-2.2 from last week.
-27.4 since January 2013.
-39 since heaviest: 202 in 2005.

Overall, it was a great week. The races were super fun and I managed to negative split the 10k- which is a goal I've been working on for what feels like forever! The weather has also been pretty cooperative and strangely cool these last few days- low humidity and temps in the mid-70's. However, it's supposed to creep back up into the 90's this week so that may affect my running and force me onto the dreadmill- yuck!

QOTD: How was your holiday weekend? 

The Best (And Worst!) Time of the Year

Hello from Corolla, North Carolina! I am currently vacationing for a week in the northern part of the Outer Banks, affectionately known as OBX. Matthew's family has been vacationing here for 20 years and I've been lucky enough to accompany them for the last few years.

It is breathtakingly beautiful here. Matthew and I look forward to this vacation each year. As some of you may know, we travel and race A LOT so it's nice to have a week where we get to relax.

Sunrise over the ocean? Yes, please!

But here's where the issue arises: vacation week  in OBX means lots of hot weather and loads and loads of food. I'm not a hot weather runner- I hate being sticky and sweaty only a few minutes into my run. And the food thing- don't even get me started. I love food and being on vacation makes it easier to rationalize all the goodies that are available.

This is the SNACK table. Just the snacks.

So, how can I stay on track with my nutrition and my training? One part is a little easier for me- training! Matthew and I have been getting up at 5 or 6 am just to get a few miles in before the heat of the day starts. Unfortunately, this means no sleeping in which is tough; especially when it's the one time of year that I can afford to sleep in every day.

We also signed up for two races: we completed a five mile obstacle race- on the beach, in the freaking sand!- on Sunday and on Friday we'll participate in a 5k. Races are much more motivating to me than just training runs- there is more to look at and I generally have more fun at a race. While the running part is a little easier to manage, the food part has me stumped.

After Storm the Beach!

On an early morning run. Thanks to Matthew for the action shots!

I am really struggling with this amount of food being available all the time. I manage my spaces (home, work, car) very, very closely so that I don't have junk or high-fat foods around. I am a creature of habit- I have the same thing for breakfast and lunch almost every day and I love my routine. On vacation, there is no routine. There are awesome snacks, amazing home-cooked meals, and lots of wine- all which are troubling for me. The past few months of weight loss have been very successful for me: since the Dopey Challenge I've lost 13 pounds (via Weight Watchers). I don't want all of my hard work to be jeopardized by vacation but for some reason it's incredibly challenging for me to stay on track with healthy eating.

As one potential solution, I did find a Weight Watchers meeting today at 10 am and I will be attending. While it's a bit of a drive from where we are staying, anything that can help support my weight loss efforts is a win in my book.

So I need to hear from you! Comment, tweet, email, whatever- what helps you get through tough times with food or training?

QOTD: How do you handle vacations or disruptions to your normal schedule? Do you find it hard to keep training/eating healthy when you're away from home? How do you stay motivated and on track?

Unexpected benefits to marathon training

When training for a marathon, there are certain benefits that most people think of:

1. Weight loss. (ha!)
2. Increase in stamina and physical endurance.
3. Improvement in general fitness level.
4. Build muscle.
5. Increase in mental toughness.

I'm sure there are plenty more, but that's kind of what I expected when I started training for the Dopey Challenge. What I didn't expect was for this journey to totally change how I think about my body.

Now, if you really know me then you know that I've always struggled with my weight. And unfortunately, marathon training has not lead to a decrease on the scale. But I am no longer so focused with whatever numbers show up on the scale or what size clothes I'm wearing. Training has made me realize what my body was built for- movement- and how to best prepare for an awesome performance on race day. My body has become something so much more important to me than what I weigh and I'm taking better care of myself (in many areas!) as a result.

So what does that mean? For me, it means doing really simple, healthy behaviors that I have neglected for far too long. Here's what habits have changed and why:

1. Drinking water- a lot of it. Why? To stay hydrated, especially during race week. I LOVE diet soda but have replaced much of what I used to drink with water. 
2. Taking a daily vitamin or Emergen-C. Why? To keep myself as strong as possible to fight potential infections. Running is not fun when you've got a cold or something worse. 
3. Flossing more regularly. Why? See above- I want to minimize my risk for any type of infection. 
4. Eating balanced meals. Why? To feel awesome before, during, and after a run/race. It's amazing what proper nutrition can do!
5. Sleeping at least seven hours each night. Why? Getting enough sleep helps me feel energized and rested after a long week of running.

What's even more surprising is that I came to all picking up these habits on my own, out of a genuine desire to stay healthy through training and the racing season. It didn't require a doctor breathing down my neck about what I should or should not be doing. I've made improvements to my health because I wanted to for me. And not to improve my weight or how I looked, but to be strong and healthy and fit. My goal for all future races? Finish upright, smiling, and stronger for the next one :-)

What's the biggest change you've noticed since you started training?