You've probably noticed that when you wear the clothes that are now too big you mask your losses/look the same as you always have. When you suddently wear new clothes that fit you can be deluged by comments on your weight loss.
Not that I am getting deluged with comments.
Wendy I wanted to stop by and tell you congratulations on your race! I love your description and it is awesome that six weeks of that program had you slashing your time by a minute. I am really excited to see your peak race in six more weeks. You are going to do incredible!
thanks pauline!! I am really trying to push myself, but not so much that I get injured. delicate balance!!
ok scale 150.5
burned 2360
eaten 2248
deficit 112
am just not having a lot of dieting mojo lately. yesterday it was a serving of organic cottage cheese and frozen cherries before bed. a wonderful pre-bed snack that nourished my tired running and lifting muscles, but it did destroy the deficit that I was building all day.
I hear you. Today I ate 3 of those shitty shortbreadish cookies with fake choco coating at lunch. Not sure why. They tasted like crap. Sooooo.... 150 of my 1100 calories, gone. I may end up going slightly over tonight, since I feel deprived without my greek yogurt/cottage cheese combo before bed!
lisa, I have had it work both ways--sometimes the huge clothes make me look skinny and sometimes they mask my hard work. I just need to get after some new clothes. way past time
thanks leah, my fellow runner!!
tina, we were on the same wavelength today. I decided to buy these crap andes mint cookies out of the vending machine before a boring meeting--they sucked, so I stopped after not even 1/2 of a serving--130 cal. threw them out. if they had been good, I totally would have eaten both servings 260 cal.
just polished off cherries and cottage cheese again. I am sure I won't be in deficit today either. I am just really hungry lately. biologically hungry.
oh, and went to a physical therapy clinic for runners. I have weak hip abductors and week gluteus minimus. I am going to see him for a more thorough evaluation. harvey suspected this but isn't a PT and so doesn't do rehab. explains some of my issues with form in the squat. this guy can prescribe some strengthening exercises for home and the gym. so glad I went. I need all the power I can get to haul myself across that boston qualifier marathon finish line in 4 hours or less!
just not feeling the deficit lately. figure after 6 weeks of dieting and training, maybe my body is telling me to do maintenance this week. I am HUNGRY.
tonight I will be at a faculty recruitment dinner, so small portions of wine and dessert will happen. good thing I don't make my living as a professional runner. it would totally suck to have to be this diet focused constantly.
Oh 6 very cool miles! 1 easy warmup 1 easy cool down and 4 very fast mid tempo pace miles. Perfect heart rate data. Saturday is 8 miles at long tempo pace. I LOVE to RUN !
oh, and went to a physical therapy clinic for runners. I have weak hip abductors and week gluteus minimus. I am going to see him for a more thorough evaluation. harvey suspected this but isn't a PT and so doesn't do rehab. explains some of my issues with form in the squat. this guy can prescribe some strengthening exercises for home and the gym. so glad I went. I need all the power I can get to haul myself across that boston qualifier marathon finish line in 4 hours or less!
I'd definitely be interested in what strengthening exercises he gives you... since this is precisely my problem and my squats suffer because of it.
Also, I think I remember you were doing PN previously... do you think it's a good investment?
Kara I will def post in my log the results of this consult.
Re pn, I found it to be awesome for maintenance , for fat loss there wasn't enough structure for me. I think the materials are well worth the money, and I got a lot out of the online coaching. They are big on nutrient timing for athletes which I believe is part of why my performance has been so good lately
Oh 6 very cool miles! 1 easy warmup 1 easy cool down and 4 very fast mid tempo pace miles. Perfect heart rate data. Saturday is 8 miles at long tempo pace. I LOVE to RUN !
Ooh another clothes story. So for my business trip to Philly in nov, I found a cool tahari pantsuit at the designer outlet/ separates. Pants size 10, jacket size 12, top size large. Fit perfectly then,all pieces. Today, the jacket and top still fit perfectly, but I totally need a size 8 in the pants in this line. I love that I am wearing a 12 jacket and 8 pants! I am taking this to mean that my broad shoulders and back (not to mention the b00bs) are staying, and the waist is shrinking! My waist is 30 now! I can't say enough good stuff about weightlifting. Will continue the heavier upper body stuff during running season, this is the kind of size mismatch I enjoy!
Makes shopping for fitted dresses interesting though.
I wear a 4/6 (S) in pants and a 10/12 (L, occasionally M) in tops cuz both my bewbeez and my oh-so-muscular arms () are bigger... I can't ever buy a suit unless it comes as separates...
lisa, I have had it work both ways--sometimes the huge clothes make me look skinny and sometimes they mask my hard work. I just need to get after some new clothes. way past time
thanks leah, my fellow runner!!
tina, we were on the same wavelength today. I decided to buy these crap andes mint cookies out of the vending machine before a boring meeting--they sucked, so I stopped after not even 1/2 of a serving--130 cal. threw them out. if they had been good, I totally would have eaten both servings 260 cal.
just polished off cherries and cottage cheese again. I am sure I won't be in deficit today either. I am just really hungry lately. biologically hungry.
At least hold out for girl scout cookies if you need at sweet cookie fix!
thanks tina. decreasing girth is a good thing (sometimes)
ahhh tom, I get it. I'm a bit slow sometimes.
hey bytsi, glad I've got some company in the mismatched top and bottom dept!
mmm greg. girl scout thin mints. mmm thin mints
ok, so had a wonderful penfold's shiraz. ahi tuna. but then had to have this decadent chocolate cake. brought half home to my husband. enjoyed every single damn calorie!! oh, and this thai shrimp appetizer over risotto. watched portions on everything, shared liberally with my table mates. all is well!! eating out feels natural to me. am totally ok with decreasing portions, but could never be ok with cutting this kind of evening out entirely, even for this year that I am training to qualify for boston. also not ok with ordering dry chicken breast and steamed broccoli at a restaurant of this quality. my athletic goals are important to me, but I refuse to be a food recluse. I am certain that I have found a wonderful balance between living my food intensive lifestyle in a body that still supports my athletic goals.
off to swim practice. bigger deficits ahead for the weekend. I know the scale is artificially elevated today because of last night. this daily scale thing is really interesting! every time I do a period of daily measuring, I realize how random it really is. but for right now, I am glad to have the data. I think once TOM starts in a few days, this tendency to need to eat at or over maintenance will subside and I will be right back at my small deficit. don't believe I will reach 142 on my scale by arnold, so it looks like I am going to be benching 90 pounds for reps!! I simply cannot diet any harder than I already am-seriously think I would be flirting with badness if I pushed the envelope. I feel really good at this weight, I am running really well. I am recovering really well. muscles feel good. feel like I have enough glycogen to run longer without bonking. tomorrow is an 8 mile, fairly fast run. am PSYCHED, weather is going to be cool and perfect.
am definitely up for reaching the low 140's on my scale by the end of may, which is much more reasonable than getting there in 5 weeks. onward!!!
That dinner sounds awesome!! And it's so great that you have found a balance!
Quote:
I feel really good at this weight, I am running really well. I am recovering really well. muscles feel good. feel like I have enough glycogen to run longer without bonking.
Yes - a balance is important. I love going out to eat and when I am with girlfriends seem to have a better time controlling my portions probably because I am talking so much! I think we should all strive to find a balance to enjoy food and the time with family/friends while still being fit people.
Enjoy your run tomorrow! In college my 8 mile run route was an out and back on this deserted county road and hardly a car would come by the whole time. It was so peaceful and made the running all that better. It was horribly unsafe looking back. My Mom would probably pass out if I told her I did that a couple times a week!
thanks tina. decreasing girth is a good thing (sometimes)
ahhh tom, I get it. I'm a bit slow sometimes.
hey bytsi, glad I've got some company in the mismatched top and bottom dept!
mmm greg. girl scout thin mints. mmm thin mints
ok, so had a wonderful penfold's shiraz. ahi tuna. but then had to have this decadent chocolate cake. brought half home to my husband. enjoyed every single damn calorie!! oh, and this thai shrimp appetizer over risotto. watched portions on everything, shared liberally with my table mates. all is well!! eating out feels natural to me. am totally ok with decreasing portions, but could never be ok with cutting this kind of evening out entirely, even for this year that I am training to qualify for boston. also not ok with ordering dry chicken breast and steamed broccoli at a restaurant of this quality. my athletic goals are important to me, but I refuse to be a food recluse. I am certain that I have found a wonderful balance between living my food intensive lifestyle in a body that still supports my athletic goals.
hey tom, yep trending is the way! learned that after way too many years of not doing that.
yep tracey, trying the balance
thanks bree!! yeah, we take some risks on the road sometimes, but I still think it is safer than cycling. I have had a few near misses with cycling. never with running
oh, yeah. that was a good meal greg. worth every bit.
Today I discovered that there are different kinds of Pain Caves. Those who have been following my blog know that 2009 is the year of the Pain Cave for me. I am learning how to reach for my athletic dreams by pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and into higher levels of performance.
So far so good! My run this morning completes 7 weeks of pushing myself into higher levels of fitness. My resting heart rate of 52 as I sat in the car today preparing for my run, as well as my recent 5K personal best are two strong indicators that my adventures in the Pain Cave of Performance are paying off in a major way.
I am happy to report that today I learned how to exit the Pain Cave of Perfection. Let me explain. Runners, as a general rule, are perfectionists. We are hardworking. Even obstinate. We will pursue our addiction despite injuries that should cause us to rest. We make liberal use of denial, and convince ourselves that a nagging pain in our knee is just a little strain that should be pushed through and endured. I have run through pain numerous times during my decade long love affair with running.
So being the good little time-obsessed runner that I am, I naturally had a goal for today’s training run. 8 miles, at sub 10 min mile pace, at an easy heart rate. No worries. Have done 7 before, what’s another mile? The weather was perfect. At 9 in the morning, the skies were cloudless and blue, the wind was chilly, and strong enough to provide some natural resistance training. The temperature was low 40’s and incresing. The sun was slowly rising in the sky, providing just enough heat to balance the bite of the wind.
I started out on the wood bridge that spans the salt marsh, and noticed that my muscle effort seemed kind of challenging in order to get my heart rate high enough to get some training effect. My pace was fast, 9:20 minute miles, and I still couldn’t get my heart rate to approach 158. My breathing was easy and controlled, but I felt like I had to increase my cadence, my foot speed, and my toe off to get to a place where I felt challenged. I finally got somewhere close to 158. I decided I didn’t want to push my muscles any harder than I was already doing. I settled into a nice 9:30 pace that felt way too easy windwise. Whatever. I settled into my pace and focused on running tall, pulling my shoulders back, keeping light on my feet. I felt great at the 4 mile turnaround, and headed home. As I rounded a corner, I felt powerful! I was channeling my inner Kenyan as I rounded the corner and headed out for the final 2.5 miles toward the wood bridge. And then I felt a tight pulling in my glute, with some referred pain down my iliotibial band, the stretch of connective tissue that runs from your hip to the outer aspect of your knee. The last time I had this, I proceeded to push through the mild pain, complete my prescribed 14 mile run anyway, and blow my marathon season because I had to rest for 8 weeks.
I had a decision to make. Continue in the Pain Cave of Performance or exit the Pain Cave of Perfection? The competitor in me wanted to report my 8 easy miles in less than 80 minutes. I was temped to keep running. After all, it was only 2.5 miles, a cakewalk at this stage of the game. But I stopped. I put my GPS on pause and I stretched my glutes and IT band. They felt better. I ran easy for a couple hundred yards, but I could still feel the twinge, particularly in the glutes.
I decided that competitors also need to know when to reel it in. sometimes being a pain wuss is the right thing to do. So I switched off my GPS and turned off my ipod. As I removed my earbuds, I was treated to the sound of the rough ocean waves. I walked along the creek toward the salt marsh bridge, preferring the sounds of the sea to the beat of my techno mix. I looked up at the sky and saw the robin’s egg blue closest to the marsh gradually melt into the darker azure blue near the zenith of the sky. The sea birds were singing. The sun was warming my face. As I took a deep, intentional breath, the smell of the ocean breeze removed any sadness I felt about not meeting my training goal.
As I walked along the wood bridge through the salt marsh, I watched in envy as a snowy egret procured his breakfast of fresh mullet from the creek. I suddenly became acutely aware of my own lack of breakfast at such a late hour. Luckily, I had less than half a mile to walk to my car, where my post workout protein/chocolate peanut butter bar awaited.
As I sit here typing, I am aware of the slightest ache in my right glute. I am fortunate that massage therapy was already scheduled within a few hours. I have no doubt that exiting the Pain Cave of Perfection was the right call today. With a little luck, a professional massage and a lot of foam rolling the next few days, my guess is that I will be at track Tuesday night ready to rip.
So I can’t report to you that I met my intended goal of 8 miles in less than 80 minutes. But I can tell you that I am gradually learning how to balance the rigors of hard training while simultaneously respecting the limits of my body. And I have a feeling that learning this lesson moves me one step closer to realizing my athletic dreams.
NICE RUN!!!!! And an intelligent run too. That ability to drop the ego and kick back is what will keep you progressing forward. I don't have to tell you that I would have run through that pain and potentially injured myself.
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Smart decision, Wendy. Sometimes it's harder to stop ourselves when we should than it is to push through--a few years ago, who knew we'd be saying something like that?
) are bigger... I can't ever buy a suit unless it comes as separates...
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