Thick, Luscious October

October is my favorite month! I love the dark beer cooling temperatures and the gorgeous reds, oranges and yellows of the changing leaves. Not to mention dark beer my husband and I got married in beautiful October. All the little beasties get to morph into even scarier beasties and trick or treat til their hearts content. Then there's all the dark beer pink. I get so excited to see what comes out in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Last year I bought a pink Swiffer. So far I haven't found many cool pink clothes, shoes or accessories, but I did see dark beer pink dishwasher tablets at Sam's yesterday.

Did I mention that October ushers in a whole new venue at my local grocer and nearby brew station? No? Oh yes! Have I ever mentioned how much I love dark beer? I'm not a big drinker in the summer anymore. When I do partake, I like something like Corona or rum and pineapple juice. You know, yellow, like the sun that's beating down on me. But fall's the time to get serious. It's time to hunker down, stoke the fire and stock the beer shelves. It's good to be prepared. You never know when a hard winter is coming.

There are at least four different Octoberfest varieties available and that's just for starters. There will be pumpkin ales, lagers and deep, dark porters to try and I can't wait. Oh, and when the fall brews are winding down, the holiday ales and winter sampler packs await. Tis the season to be jolly and all that.

You might be wondering how all this beer factors in to exercise and eating well. Weeeelll, you know how there have been all those studies about red wine and the good effects of resveratrol on heart health. Turns out, beer ain't just a social lubricant. Check this out, Jack. Did you see this part:  " if you like your beer dark, richer concentrations of xanthohumol occur naturally in dark beer". Here's another one. Yeah. You might also be wondering why I'm thinking about beer at 10 am on a Saturday. I'm blaming Big Clyde. I joined his challenge and have had beer on the brain ever since.

So enjoy October. Build a fire, kiss someone, run fifty miles and have a brew or two. If you;re already a dark beer lover, share your favorites. If you try something new, tell me all about it.

Chickity Check Yo Self

I'm finally ready willing to talk about what went wrong last week. Monday's run went off without a hitch, I was still adhering loosely to my training plan. I say loosely because instead of run/walking for thirty minutes I've extended my route to three miles and run/walk however long it takes to finish.

It took about 36 minutes. That is a long time to run three little miles. Let me do the math for ya. That's a twelve minute mile. My great-granny can run faster than that. And she's dead.

I was feeling slow. Discouraged. Very frustrated. I told myself that it was all psychological. That I was afraid of failing and that fear was holding me back. See, I found and signed up for a last minute 5K that's two weeks earlier than my planned 5K on Oct. 16. I figured it would be no big deal and I wouldn't even really mention it to anyone. Just a "try it, before you buy it" kind of thing to test the waters to see if I was ready.

Until the very moment I mailed that check, I never really cared about my time. I was perfectly happy to be running the prescribed amount of time on my plan. Suddenly, all this doubt started creeping in and visions of crawling to the finish waaay after everyone else had moved on to other Sunday afternoon activities played in my mind. Instead of making me feel good, running had become my overlord.

At the same time, I was reading Ultramarathon Man. Then I watched this amazing video. So inspired, I started thinking...if Dean Karnazes can run all freakin' night and eat a pizza and a cheesecake while he's running, I can run THREE miles in less than 36 MINUTES! If Ben can start running weighing over 350 pounds and finish an Ironman in a year's time, surely I can manage to shave a couple minutes off a three mile run. I mean, c'mon!

My ego mended (and maybe a tad overconfident as egos tend to get sometimes), I set out Wednesday believing that I could run...fasterish. And I did. Only it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. I imagined that I would run my first two miles at slug normal pace then kick it into high gear for the last mile. Instead, I made it to the mile mark in 10 min. and some odd seconds - almost a full two minutes off my normal time. Wow, ow, ow, ow.  My right knee was screaming in pain. Awesome. I walked a little, then tried to run. No go. I walked some more. A lot more. Knee started easing up a bit, so again I tried to shuffle run. Not happening. I limped home.

The pain was in the same knee but different than before. This time it was right on my kneecap. I iced it, which helped and the pain subsided somewhat. When I got out of bed the next morning it hurt. A stiff, must be going to rain kind of hurt that I imagine people with arthritis suffer. Walking down the stairs was excruciating. Down anything was bad. Interestingly, going up almost felt good. Sitting for any length of time was painful too. Having my knee bent was not an option here. After searching the internets, the only thing I could come up with was runner's knee, which made me laugh. I run less than ten miles a week and I have runner's knee? WTH?

So I didn't run. I did some HCC and baked some cookies and ate some cookies and all the remaining chocolate chips because I was certain it would make my knee feel better. Too bad I hadn't seen this post first. Who knew?

I'm running again, happily. I'm not worried about my time. I have plenty of time to get faster. Why rush things? Why wreck myself?

Pumpkin Pancakes and Randomness

I've been tagged by Mr. Smooth and Fresh himself for 10 random things and also for my pumpkin pancake recipe. So, here goes:

1. I love peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches.
2. I learned to shoot a handgun when I was five.
3. I have a freckle on my bottom lip.
4. I know my way around a hula hoop.
5. I make kick-ass Halloween costumes.
6. I would love to have chickens, but our city keeps telling me no.
7. I hate being told "no".
8. I bake so much during the fall and winter months that I have to special order 50lb. bags of flour.
9. I used to run a craft blog.
10. Had I been a boy, my name would have been Matthew. I sure am glad I'm a girl.

I'm pretty late to the party on this one and I'm not sure who all has been tagged but I'd love to hear some randomness from:
Allie
Anne
Jamoosh


On to the carb love.

Blogger's flaking out, otherwise there would be a picture of a stack of pancakes here.

Pumpkin Pancakes
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. rolled oats
1 T. baking powder
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. groundcinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1 egg
1 1/4 or more milk
1/2 c. canned pumpkin

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Mix milk, egg and pumpkin together in small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix til combined. You may need to thin batter with a bit more milk. Use a 1/2 cup measure to scoop batter onto hot griddle. Cook til you see air bubbles. Flip. Smother in pure maple syrup. Enjoy!

I did not count calories last week. I haven't run since Wednesday. I've had some sort of stomach bug for the last few days that makes just leaving the house an adventure. We lost a pet.

Good times, good times. I'll be in my room wrapped in a big, thick blanket and watching Weeds if anyone needs me. Somehow watching a make-believe, drug-dealing mother neglect her children comforts me.

Into the Woods

Today was an excellent start to the week. The husband and I had coffee in bed this morning and watched The Runaways. Later I made pumpkin pancakes.

 Then we were off to explore the trails.   

We got friendly with some of the locals...

 

 I even got a little running in at the end. And yes, Tucker is about to bite my leg.

We made it home just in time to grab some lunch and head out for a baseball game.  I love days like this when we get to spend time together doing stuff we all love to do. The woods were so calm and peaceful...everyone covering their head to avoid being hit by hundreds of falling acorns. The smell of the woods always makes me feel so happy. I spent a lot of time in the woods growing up - just running around and exploring. I forget sometimes how fun it was as a child and that my kids don't have the same opportunity that I had to just head off to the woods anytime they want. We actually have to find woods and take them there. I think we'll make this a regular Sunday expedition. It'll be nice to watch how much the woods change in the coming months.

 See how happy this makes them?

As far as last weeks stats go, I am so behind. I initially planned on posting them day by day to keep myself motivated and accountable but that didn't work at all because last week was crazy. I'm going to try to post the previous days stats the next morning because after I get the kids tucked in, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of the computer.

Tuesday: HCC, a rather pathetic 1 set of arm exercises with weights
Calories: 1451
Wednesday: Run/Walk 2 miles (not sure what was going on here, just wasn't feeling it), 1/2HCC (trying new moves), X train 12 min.
Calories: 1535
Thursday: Xtrain 12 min. Walk 20 min., HCC
Calories:1472
Friday: Run 3 miles 17run/1walk, repeat, HCC
Calories: 1963 too much pizza and OMG someone bought candy corn...boo!
(despite my overindulgence I managed to lose one pound but I have a feeling that its back since I ate pancakes for breakfast, didn't keep count at all today and am drinking my second third black and tan as I type)



So, what did I learn this week? I need to work harder- stick to my plan and not slack off. I need to really watch my evening snacking. I thought that my portion sizes were too big, but what I found out is that I tend to eat great all day then grab little bits of things to snack on while I'm cooking or after dinner which is doubly bad because I run in the morning. All that crap is sitting around in my gut all night. I also need to go back to regular weight workouts at least for upper body. I have some bicep definition and my shoulders look okay, but I'm carrying a lot of extra (loose) tricep around and it's very unflattering.

Oh, and if I'm going to drink black and tans I should probably cut back a little during the day, right?

This week's fitness goals:

Run 4 days - 30-35 min.

Strength train 3 days - 2 upper body, 1 lower

Yoga at least 1x

HCC 3x

Keep calories between 1200-1500- lose 1-2 lbs.

Fashion Friday: Athleta Rocks!

I've been busting at the seams to tell you a secret. AM over at Goals for the Week had a super deluxe awesome Athleta  giveaway a few weeks ago and....I WON!!!! I've been waiting so patiently for the UPS man to bring me my goodies so I could show you what I got.

Okay, what I didn't get was any good close up pictures. I was either squinty, eyes closed or doing something really weird with my hands or making ugly  faces at my photographer for making me squint in the sun. So, these action shots will have to do and I'll just tell you about my loot.

  I got the Hana Run Shorts in rosey red and black (they're on back order till waaay past my first frost date) and two bra Top Cutout Camis in black and rosey red. I looooove these shorts. They fit fantastic and they're not all poochy like most of the running shorts I've tried. The length is great and they have a drawstring and a little pocket for your key or what have you. The liner is really thin and gauzy, so not sure if I'd really trust that pocket to hold much, but I don't pack much when I'm running. I'm not even upset the black ones are on back order 'cause I know I can wear them over tights later and look just like the girl in the catalog good. The tops are great too. The fit is very flattering and they have a built in bra that is supportive enough (for my girls anyway) to run in and they even have a little padding...which never hurts.

I had never even heard of  Athleta until I started reading Anne Marie's blog and found out she gets to model the clothes to see how they will be photographed (lucky girl!), but I will be shopping there again. The quality is fantastic! I've got my eye on the long sleeve twist top and the ready to run top, ooh ohh and look at this rockin' tattoo top with matching arm warmers!!!  Their website is easy to navigate, the clothing is well described and photographed, but what helped the most is the comment section for each item. I wasn't sure which size to get the short in and after reading a few comments from women with height, weight and build similar to mine, I had my size. Easy,peasy.  A huge thank you to AM for such an awesome giveaway!!!

Hope everyone had a great week. I'll post my stats for the week tomorrow...after my pizza gut goes away.