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White Chocolate Wonderful

Back to Reality

June 11, 2012 by Kristy 12 Comments

All good things must come to an end.  This is true of vacation-palooza.  Kauai, London, and Paris were all amazing in their  own way.  Kauai was active, scenic, and refreshing.  London and Paris were about exploring, strolling, and marveling.

But now it’s back to normal life and checking back into it.

My body seemed to be revolting a bit on Sunday.  Too many nights of drinking made my stomach churn.  Too little water during the day (coupled with numerous beers at night) made my head ache from dehydration.  I feel squishy too.

I’m making a conscious effort to eat better this week and stay away from this:

425px-Speculoos_Pasta_van_Lotus
Evil (via)

Matt went to the grocery store in Paris to pick up wheat bread and PB so we could have a cheap and easy breakfast each morning.  He came back with Speculoos; it was the only “PB” available other than Nutella.  Oh my god was is delicious.  We killed the entire jar in 4 days, mostly because of my compulsive need to eat spoonful after spoonful.  Turns out this is available at Trader Joe’s (thanks to Jen for this finding)!  I’m trying my best to not make a pit stop at TJ’s and pick up a few jars.

On Sunday I’m making a return to barre to take care of the squishy side effects of vacation-palooza.  My last barre class was a few weeks before Boston and I miss it so much.  Squishiness be gone!

I do feel really good about where my running is at the moment.  I’m hoping to hit the mid-40s mileage-wise this week – nothing fast, just running whatever pace I want for that day.

Have you ever tried Speculoos or TJ’s Cookie Butter?  It rivals PB & Co.’s White Chocolate Wonderful, which I affectionately refer to as crack.  What would we do without PB or specialty butters?!

Cherry Blossom 10-Miler Race Report

April 4, 2011 by Kristy 16 Comments

Matt and I made it back to Philly safe and sound, albeit a little sore from yesterday’s race.  We had a great weekend in DC and realized how much we miss living there.  Thankfully, we get to visit quite often!

I loved this race and would definitely do it again.  Fast and flat course, much like Philly’s Broad Street Run.  Well organized with the exception of numerous locked porta potties pre-race.  Apparently no one had the key either so race officials had to literally hammer the locks off.  Nice.  The weather ended up being perfect too; just a little cold at the start.

The only goal I made known to the blog world was to PR (beat my 1:23 time).  I was pretty sure I could do this.  On the way down to DC, I told Matt that I wanted to break 1:20.  Lofty?  Yes.  I knew exactly what that entailed – maintaining a sub-8:00 pace for 10 miles.  I wasn’t sure if I could do that…but I needed to try.

My strategy was to start out slow (always the best way to go) and then pick up the pace to just below 8:00 and keep it there.  We had to check in our bags pretty early so we were left hanging in the cold for almost a 1/2 hour.  My body was literally trembling and my muscles were getting stiff.  I knew I needed to take the first mile easy to allow my body to warm up.

Mile 1 (8:14): right on target.  This is exactly what I wanted to do.  We started by running down a small hill and I heard someone say that we get to come back up the hill at the end of the race.  I was hoping he was wrong and they had somehow changed to course.

Mile 2 (7:51): a little fast but my breathing was nice and controlled.  By this time I had completely warmed up.

Mile 3 (7:43): this is where I committed to running a sub-1:20.  I felt good and I wanted to give it a shot.  I figured if I crashed and burned at Mile 6 I would probably still PR.  I just had to try.

Miles 4 and 5 (both ~ 7:49): I missed the mile marker for Mile 4.  Saying that I was glued to my Garmin would be an understatement.  I must have glanced at it every 10 seconds.

Miles 6 (7:49) and 7 (7:50):  a beautiful section of the course.  We entered East Potomac Park and were running between rows of cherry blossoms along the river.

Miles 8 (7:49) and 9 (7:48): I start to get tired and I have to really push to maintain pace.  I kept thinking back to my last marathon and how I felt like slowing down at Mile 23 but didn’t allow myself to give in.  There was no way I was going to work my butt off for 23 miles and then slow down for the last 3?!  That just didn’t make sense.  I used the same thinking here – you came this far, do NOT give up.

Mile 10 (7:42): Remember the slight hill I mentioned during Mile 1?  Well it reappeared during the last 1/4 mile.  Fun.  I plowed up it and then saw the finish line.  I can’t believe I ran the last mile in 7:42!!!!  I wanted that sub-1:20!!!

Official results:
1:19:12 (7:56 pace)
age group:  135/1857 (woo hoo!)

This is so helpful mentally with a marathon less than 4 weeks away 🙂

Matt’s results:  1:42:57 (10:18 pace).  Matt doesn’t train at all.  Literally rolls out of bed and pulls 10:00 min/miles outta nowhere!

Now for the fun stuff – pictures!  I was a good blogger and made sure I snapped a few along the way…

Foam roller doubles as a tripod. Can you spot the White Chocolate Wonderful in the background?!
Sun rising over the Washington Monument

Post-race...so pretty!

I have to provide some background for the next picture.  Matt has these gloves from a race he did a few years ago.  They say “one more mile” on them.  Every time he puts them on he says to me, “You know me…just one more mile.  That’s my mantra”.  If you know Matt, this is hysterical.  Remember, he doesn’t train.  One more mile is torture to him.  After I took this picture, I almost peed myself.

One more mile!

I hope I didn’t bore you to tears!  Thank you for your kind comments on my PR.  They meant a lot to me and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them!

Weight Gain and Marathon Training

March 29, 2011 by Kristy 27 Comments

3/29/11

15 miles

2:13

8:52 avg pace

Nothing too remarkable about this run.  It was cold (again) and my hands were cold (again)…even though I brought a change of gloves.  I’m really sick and tired of this cold.  Spring, get here and stay here!

I wanted to address weight gain and marathon training.  I have gained 5 lbs this training cycle.  This isn’t uncommon for me; it has happened before.  My clothes aren’t tighter and I don’t feel that much different.  I don’t weigh myself religiously – just every now and then (that’s how I found out I was +5).  And no, this weight gain is not muscle…I can assure you of that!

It’s more common for runners to gain weight during marathon training than lose it.  It seems hard to believe that you can gain weight while doing all that running but it happens.  Non-runners ask me all the time how much weight I can lose when training.  You should see their faces when I tell them my weight remains the same or I even (gasp!) gain weight.  Training for a marathon should never be used for weight loss.  Your appetite is out of control, to put it mildly.  If you have every been around me during training, you know how much pizza I can put away!

My issue (and probably the reason for my weight gain) is my out of control sweet tooth.  This began around Christmas (which I think is normal; everyone overindulges in sweets during that time) but it has not gone away!  Coincidently, I started training for this marathon during Christmas.  I often use sweets as a “reward” for training.  And that is where the problem lies.  I really shouldn’t be rewarding myself with a DQ Blizzard after every long run!  Totally unnecessary.  The cravings for sweets are so strong that I just give in.  We can’t have sweets in the house – they are gone instantly.  I’m not one of those people who can have 3 Hershey Kisses to satisfy my sweet tooth!

So my solution is to cut out ALL sweets until after the marathon.  I gotta do this cold turkey.  I think by taking a drastic approach (i.e., total withdrawal) I can “calm” my never ending desire for sweets.  Ugh, it’s gonna get ugly around here 😉

Funny thing is these extra 5 lbs don’t make me feel sluggish when I run!  I feel so strong.  Odd, huh?  And no, it’s still not muscle!

Yesterday I went to Whole Foods to pick up some more crack White Chocolate Wonderful.  I was about to also pick up Dark Chocolate Dreams but then realized that would be too close to a sweet.  Chocolate + PB = Reese’s Cup.  Maybe after May 1!

Stocking up. Taking a picture of your cart is normal. I don't think anyone saw me.

Do you reward yourself with treats during training?  Ever gain weight while training?

Friday Favorites

March 4, 2011 by Kristy 5 Comments

Happy Friday, friends!

I’m opting for a lunchtime yoga class instead of some easy miles.  I got an 18-miler on tap for tomorrow and I think my legs will benefit more from a good stretch today versus an easy run.

Now onto the fun stuff…Friday Favorites!  Today’s list is just as random as the others…

Peanut Butter/Nut Butters
I eat PB/nut butters every day.  I think if I was stranded on a deserted island one of my must-haves would be PB.  Here’s my current rotation (missing is Almond Butter which is at my desk at work):

yum

See the guy all the way on the left (White Chocolate Wonderful)?  AMAZING!  This stuff is listed on my Favorite Things page.  I have to restrain myself because I can easily eat a jar a week.

Dancing
I love to dance.  I fight the urge to get up and dance during Glee.

Getting down at my wedding

I like a prop too


Dexter
Probably one of the best shows on TV, in my opinion.  How can a serial killer be so likable?  If you haven’t seen this show yet, just watch Season 1 and I promise you’ll be glued to the couch watching for 12 hours.

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