A really big reason for a post!

So I know, I know. It's been a really long time since I've posted here. What have I been up to? Coaching, racing, working, training, training and more training.

My Rammets went undefeated yet again and took home a 9th straight sectional championship. My level 4s took home a trophy bigger than (most of) them at the biggest meet of the year.

I PR'd at two races.

Amish Country 1/2

Reindeer Run 5k

Ran a Marathon Relay.

Visited Philly.

Turned 24.

Celebrated my youngest cousin's Bat Mitzvah.

 
And oh yea, signed up for my first 1/2 ironman distance triathlon.

Oh! I also baked/cooked a bunch of stuff you should try!
Pumpkin Bread (loosely based on my banana bread, I added choc. chips and pecans)
Pumpkin Pancakes
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Pumpkin Cheesecake (sensing a theme?)
Pumpkin Curry Soup
Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup
Cocoa Thumbrints (I used Candy Cane Kisses in the center)
Carrot Cake Cupcakes (this one's mine. I'll share it soon)
Carrot Ginger Bisque
Tomato Basil Soup w/ Orzo

I'm thinking now that I have my Big Goal squared away and paid for I'll actually be blogging more. Maybe I'll make it my New Year's resolution ;) I'm going to need a training plan, too!

So yea, I've been busy. How have you been?

Habits

It's time to talk about that mission to eat a little healthier I talk about in my bio.

It's not something I worry about constantly. I don't count calories, apples are my favorite food, I can't stand fried food (to the point it makes me nauseous just to smell it), don't eat red meat or pork, love veggies of all kinds and even tofu. Plus, although I like to bake cakes, I don't like the texture and rarely eat them.

Yet, I still have some really bad habits that I slip back into every once and a while that just make me feel gross. Namely, my snacking habits. I go through phases where I just feel like I'm constantly eating. It's been worse since I made the move home about three weeks ago. Just because there's more food in the house in general, plus the stuff I never bought myself that's here because I have a 16-year-old sister.

So after about a week of hating myself for the way I was treating my body, I finally sought out some advice from the one person I can tell these things. And what she had to say really made me stop and think. But as usual, she was right :)

I want to be clear about one thing. I wasn't given diet advice. I wasn't asking for diet advice. I still have no intention of counting calories or completely abstaining from anything I love. It's about being sensible and thinking consciously about the fuel I'm giving my body to get me through long days or work, coaching and working out. I wanted to form new habits before the old ones became a problem.

It turns out I wasn't eating enough at the right times, hence the snacking and the bloating feeling.

So I'm adding more protein and carbs at breakfast and lunch, so I'm fueled up for coaching and my workouts (which have had to move to the afternoons during the fall). Hopefully it'll also mean that I can eat a little less at dinner and not snack before bed. Which, in turn, I'm hoping means I'm not as hungry in the morning when I wake up.

I started this Thursday morning, by having egg whites, lettuce and salsa in a whole wheat tortilla. Oatmeal at 10, since I wake up too early to make it all the way to lunch without a snack. Lunch was greek yogurt, granola, grapes and an apple (which I know is not enough but it was what we had in the house!). Grabbed an apple and a half of a PBJ on my way out the door to coach. Dinner was this awesome kale, butternut squash and gnocchi dish that I have to share the recipe for. It was only one day but I definitely feel like these are habits I can stick with.

And I felt great. I wasn't hungry at work, and I had a great run. It just feels really good. I know this was all stuff I knew, but getting a reminder makes it easier to make smart decisions. Hopefully it sticks! I really don't want to fall back on those old habits, but that's why I'm putting it out here for all to see.

Fall Favorites...And Did Someone Say Marathon?

Things I love about fall: crisp mornings giving way to warm afternoons, bright blue skies, temps that call for runs in tights and long sleeves, pumpkin anything (lattes, muffins, you name it) and soup bubbling away on the stove on a Sunday afternoon.

It’s always a crazy time of year for me but I love being busy. It’s taking every ounce of willpower I have to fit 6 days of running in a week. Wait. Willpower is the wrong word. I want to run, and I’m full of fresh inspiration to get my miles in now that I’m set on this Marathon thing (and I’ve just decided that from now on that word should always be capped).

On another Marathon note…Tel Aviv Marathon? Sounds perfect for me. Flat, fast, in one of my favorite places in the world. But if I’m going to travel do I want to go somewhere I’ve never been? Or is the comfort factor a good thing?

Ok. Sorry about the tangent. This Picking A Marathon thing is consuming me. It seems like Such. A. Big. Deal. But really, why does it feel that way? I don’t think I’m being very picky, I’m fully committed to doing it, but nothing feels “right.” I keep thinking if I just keep looking I’ll find something better. But really? Better is anyone’s guess at this point. It’s too far out to know if the weather is going to be ideal, and everyone’s race experience is so different. One person’s too crowded could be another’s lonely.

Oy. So anyways. Back to the reason it’s been difficult for me to squeeze my runs in. (Difficult yes, impossible, no. I haven’t missed one yet. Success!) I’m up at 5:15, at work by 6:30. Leave the office at 3 and head over to the high school. Coach from 3:30-5:30. Monday and Wednesday I like to go to Boot Camp at 6. So I can squeeze in the first 10-12 minutes of my daily run between practice and Boot Camp, then I count the time we spend running during class, then I head out from Inertia at 7 to make up the rest of the time. Home by 7:30 to make dinner, shower and crash. It’s not ideal but it works.

It also means that I’m going to be floating my rest days around based on our meet schedule. I got really used to speed work Thursday, rest day Friday, long run Saturday and loved how I felt rested and ready to run on Saturday. Last week was perfect since we had an away meet on Friday. I’m hoping I might be able to fit 40 minutes in before our home meet this Thursday since it’s not till 5, which will mean I still get to take Friday as a rest day. So it’s all good. I’m learning about flexibility and there's no pressure right now since I'm not officially training for anything. It also makes me glad that I'll have from November to January to slowly increase my daily minutes without increasing my long runs. Then come January it’s officially Time To Get Serious, a.k.a. Marathon Training Time! I can’t wait!