Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Have I Completely Lost My Marbles?

I picked up a book we've had sitting around the house for a while now. It's the Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer. When my husband was reading it about three years ago, it didn't pique my interest but I started thinking.......Why NOT?

Actually, there are way too many reasons why I shouldn't consider running a marathon. Training takes time. I hate to run. I'm not all that fond of exercise. I can't imagine running when it's cold or rainy. I've never run more than one tenth of a mile at any time in my nearly half-century of life.

I guess the better question to ask is WHY? I need to get in good shape. It would provide some accountability once I tell everyone I'm doing this. It would give me the opportunity to accomplish something I never dreamed I could actually achieve (and still have my doubts). It would help to whittle off those last 20 pounds while I'm doing the prelimary training in advance of the real training. It would provide long stretches of time with not a whole lot to distract me from praying or memorizing the Word. (I used to memorize while walking on the treadmill)

Right now it's kind of the "manana marathon" as in "tomorrow I'll start training." Just like the dieting, though, once I open my mouth about it and start blogging about it, I think I might actually do it.

The Detroit Free Press Marathon is October 21st, 2008. I have a book with lists of marathons all over the country and when they are held. If anyone else is interested, we can train 'together' via blogworld and run in our separate marathons all over the country. Maybe this is a little bit crazy but there are a few projects in my life that I want to get started on and completing a 26.2 mile race might just give me the dose of confidence I need to tackle other feats or dreams that I thought were out of my reach.

There is no time like the present. I'm going to get my sneakers on.



**************UPDATE****************

I just got back. I covered two miles.....almost all walking ....but threw a few short runs in there! At least I got started!

Correction: The Detroit Marathon is October 19, 2008.

Friday, November 16, 2007

I'm back!

There was just no room to bring the laptop with us without risking damage to it so I just plugged in all my Weight Watchers points this morning. I weighed myself first thing last night when we arrived home. I lost weight this week. I stuck to the plan and ate well. I almost choked when I looked up my breakfast choice yesterday. We were in a hurry to get on the road so I ordered a reduced fat blueberry muffin at Dunkin Donuts. Mind you, I usually only eat a 1-3 point breakfast, NEVER more. I looked up that muffin and it was EIGHT points. Oh well. It still did the trick and we made great time coming home.

I am way too tired to post much today. I'll be back tomorrow.

Karen

Friday, November 9, 2007

I'll say it again...

.....nothing tastes as good as thin feels. Nothing.

We went out last night for my Dad's birthday. The detroit area has the highest concentration of middle eastern people anywhere in the United States. This makes for some fantastic restaurants. We ate at one of them last night. I was able to feast on tabouleh, hoummus, fresh pitas, and lamb shish kabob. It was wonderful and I didn't go over my points. I ate probably half of what I usually do when I go there but I was plenty full. It probably helped that I drank about 6 cups of their wonderful tea. Mmmmmmm.

It was nice. The celebration was about the birthdays we were celebrating, not the food. There is life outside of a food-centered existence.

Hanging in there (with a lot less lard),
Karen

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Chip, Chip, Chip

Slowly but surely, I am chipping off those extra pounds. Only one pound came off this week but I certainly won't complain. It's still going in the right direction.

Tonight is son#4's birthday and, of course, it is the tradition to make the favorite meal of each kiddo on his/her birthday. Dave's choice is Spicy Shrimp Fettucine Alfredo. I will make myself a lame version made with skim milk and a hint of a hint of a hint of cheese, thrown over some whole wheat pasta. The version I will serve him and the rest of the family would use up my daily points for the next week and a half. I also will have to make yet another version because son #3 will end up in the hospital if he eats shrimp. A day in the life of a mother.

The house is a little out of control right now, but I'm getting on top of it. I need one day with NOTHING else going on to get some of this stuff done completely. Thursdays tend to be my afternoon to do that but this week I have to run all over the place. Our trip home from NY will be through Canada and I have never gotton a copy of #5's birth certificate. I also need to pick up a few maps.

Back to reality.....

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

You know tomorrow might just be Weigh-in Day....

...if you had three bowls of Extra Fiber All Bran for your midnight snack.
.....if you have your alarm set at 1-hour intervals all through the night to get up and go to the bathroom.
..... if it's January and the clothes you've laid out for tomorrow consist of a lightweight t-shirt and a pair of bike shorts
.....you wear a double layer of sweats to bed and turn up the heat in the house in hopes of sweating off a little extra weight.
.....if you actually thought about making an appointment to get your hair cut in the morning before you weigh-in
.....if you trimmed your fingernails and shaved your legs and refused to wear any make-up so as not to add ONE OUNCE to that scale!

Social Sushi

Today I had fun dieting. I discovered something fun I could eat and not kill my Weight Watcher's points all in one sitting. Son#1 is my food expert. He has worked in a restaurant since he was about 14, first washing dishes but then working as a sous chef. He likes to cook but loves to eat. He likes to be adventurous with his food. I love ethnic food but he always takes it to more of an extreme and it's a lot of fun. Today he asked me if I wanted some sushi. I sprung for lunch but told him to pick out whatever he thought I should try. We had barbecued eel, some marinated but uncooked tuna, and some other wild combination. I am somewhat blissfully unaware of exactly what I was eating rolled up inside that seaweed. What a trip! There's something exhilarating about the kick you get from the wasabi paste hitting you in the back of your brain. Intense!!! Wow!! It was delicious, weight-watcher friendly, and a lot of fun all at the same time and it provided some nice time with my eldest! I ate a quick bowl of soup ahead of time and had three cups of green tea, so I didn't have to eat much to fill me up. This is good news as I was hoping to still be able to have enough points left so that I can actually eat dinner tonight.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

I'm not going to eat any leftover candy. I'm not going to eat any leftover candy. I'm not going to eat any leftover candy.