Rain and weekends

Gifts from loved ones

My husband loves me.  Not only did he come with me on my first half marathon last weekend, but he gave me a charm to congratulate me for my efforts:

I have it on my gold necklace which also has: a winged foot, a 5K charm, and a horseshoe. I have a silver runners necklace, gift from my sister when I first started running years ago, which has a female runner figure and a sneaker.  I’ll put my MARATHON charm on that one. When, where, how has yet to be determined.

Rain

It’s inevitable.  The weekend arrives and so does the rain.  Shane and I had a great run today even in the rain.  We took it easy and enjoyed the …. RAIN!   I ran 6.6 on the T/M and went outside for 6.6 more.  Shane hasn’t run any distance with me over 7 in a few weeks so I didn’t want to take him for the entire 13 miles.  I’ll work him back up to 12 which will be his max.

There are benefits to rain: 

1. You can run over 6 miles and not know if you’re sweating or just wet from rain. *my mother would insist that ladies perspire NOT sweat.
2. you don’t feel too bad about doing inside chores when it’s crappy outside
3. you don’t feel guilty about going to a wine and chocolate tasting in the middle of a Saturday afternoon. 

Utica Auditorium is hosting a Wine and Chocolate Event.

Ted has been working crazy hours for the last couple of weeks and is ready for some “heavy lifting”…of wine filled glasses that is.

Speaking of wine…and SUGAR … the other night, we participated in a call with Ted’s daughter, Pam who is a Health Coach.  The topic was “Sugar Blues” and found it very informative. Here is a recap of some interesting facts about sugar:

• Most Americans consume three times the recommended daily allowance which is 10 teaspoons a day.  That means we have about 30 teaspoons of sugar daily. AHHHH!
• Granulated sugar lacks the nutrients found in natural sources of sugar (such as rice, beans, grains, fruits, vegetables) and is harder for the body to digest.  It causes fatigue, depression, and mood swings.
• Did you realize sugar is addictive?  Eat a small amount and you want more.  We can suffer sugar withdrawal such as headaches and cravings.

For Starbucks Frappuccino lovers (written by Joshua Rosenthal of Integrative Nutrition):  “16 oz Starbucks Frappuccino contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar which is about the same as eating 3 donuts.”

So much to learn.

In regards to running nutrition, for the run today I tried the following:

When I woke up at 3:45, I ate the brown rice bread with 1 TBS peanut butter.  I went back to bed.  At 6:00 I woke up and drank 1/2 of the Isopure then ran on the tread mill.   I did choke down 1/2 a GU before heading outside with Shane for my final 6.6. 

Did I feel any more energetic or fueled than normal? No.  In fact my stomach felt weighed down.  I think I’ll try the banana and peanut butter when I wake up 3 hours before I exercise with the Isopure right before exercise.  Instead of GU, I may opt for the E-Drenaline. My body seems to like that and it really makes me feel alert.

About last night….Packy’s Pub in Washington Mills.

Believe it or not, I used to eat chicken wings. Yes –me. I actually used to eat meat and LOVED wings. I would go to Packy’s every week and eat 3 (ONLY 3) wings plus a small tossed salad.  Last night, there were no chicken wings on my plate.  There was the following food items and it was good.

The special Friday Night Fish menu. The regular menu with SO MANY items is also available.

A crisp, fresh garden salad with oil and balsamic vinegar topped with bleu cheese crumbles.

The warm rolls.  A little dry but any bread will work for me.

Haddock Romano:  Baked haddock, scampi style, over greens and pasta. I asked for the scampi sauce on the side and, because it was so greasy and garlicky, decided only to stick my fork into the sauce before taking a bite of the haddock.  I only used about 2 “fork fulls” of sauce then decided I’d rather top the dinner with grated Parmesan instead.  It was a good dish.

Ted decided on the fish fry and smothered that fish with tartar sauce.  He also ate half of a meatball sub that he ordered with every intention to take it home for lunch.  Well, he has half of it for lunch anyway.

Packy’s in Washington Mills.  It’s casual and it’s fun.  The food is good and the price is right.

Have a SUPER SATURDAY!

Joanne