Dev on Running

Exciting things happened on Monday! Do you notice how I never blog on Monday nights because I’m too busy watching The Bachelor, and then I go to bed immediately afterward because 10:01 is past my bedtime?

Of course you don’t, but now you know.

Anyway, my new calorie-counting, Paleo-eating ways were put to the test yesterday when we had SUSHI for lunch. Our catered lunches are served buffet-style, and everyone goes nuts for sushi. I usually pile my plate as high as I can get it until I start feeling bad for the people behind me in line.

It took willpower, but I was a little smarter this time. I grabbed my very favorite items — salmon and tuna nigiri — and tossed the rice, so I got to enjoy the best part of sushi (sashimi) without the extra stuff I didn’t need.

I also made a big spinach salad with peppers and avocado and, later, had a  fat, juicy burger (that I brought from home) with a lettuce wrap and lots of mustard. Yum.

My jeans are so delightfully loose at the moment. It’s amazing.

I also woke up 30 minutes before my alarm today (5:45) and was just AWAKE and ready to get up. Unheard of. Cut the crap and the carbs and you get boundless energy, apparently.

Back to yesterday. I upgraded to a standing desk at work!

Quite a few of my co-workers have standing desks, and the wait list to get one is pretty brutal, apparently. You can jump to the front of the line if you get a doctor’s note that says sitting for long periods is bad for your health, but a co-worker in a nearby office ditched this desk yesterday and the office manager said I could have it. #winning

Unfortunately, I don’t have the corresponding chair yet… and it could take a while to get one. I may regret this decision because, you know, I run. A lot. And race. This weekend.

But my boss-slash-officemate has a standing desk and the proper chair, so she agreed to trade off use of the chair with me if I absolutely need to sit. We shall see.

Last but not least, here’s my run from last night:

Four miles in almost exactly 36 minutes at exactly 9:00/mile.

I LOVE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS.

Two more runs to go before the race!!!

I’m three days in, and I’m loving MyFitnessPal!

Aaron and I are both using it, and we have fun inputting our food items, scanning product barcodes with our phones (weirdly really, really fun), and comparing notes. We’re both stubborn, overachiever types who like to stick to our goals, so MyFitnessPal is working really well for us so far.

It’s so helpful for me to wrap my head around how many calories I should be eating in a day so I can choose healthier foods that fill me up, rather than waste 500 calories on treats that’ll only make me crave sugar and still feel hungry.

I looooove how I can input my exercise and “earn” extra calories to eat, like the 1261 I burned ‘n’ earned from my 11-miler yesterday. It’s such good motivation to stick to my training plan and actually do my workouts!

That’s not to say I’ll eat every last calorie every day just because I can; for example, the “goal” that MyFitnessPal gave me for yesterday was to eat 2,821 calories, and I only ate 2,484. I ate whenever I was hungry until I was full and comfortable, and then stopped. That’s the real goal — to learn how to do that!

On the flip side, I will never let myself go hungry if MFP sets my “goal” for fewer calories than I feel comfortable eating. I’m about to start training for a marathon; if I’m hungry, I’ll eat, regardless of what MFP says!

Aaaanyway. Today I actually did my cross-training after Aaron’s race!

On the spin bike:

• Time: 45:20
• Distance: 11.20 miles
• Average speed: 14.7 mph

As tempting as it is to just rest my legs the day after a double-digit run, I always find that my legs feel fresher and faster on Mondays if I cross-train, stretch, and foam roll on Sundays. Funny how that works!

Only three more runs to go before my half-marathon.

Four miles Monday, three miles Tuesday, two miles Wednesday, rest, rest, RAAAACE!

Yo, yo, yo. I felt like I was dragging during today’s long run, but I actually ran 11 miles 36 seconds faster than I did two weeks ago.

If that’s my “dragging” pace, I’ll take it!

At about mile 6.5, I heard a text message come through on my phone and read this from Aaron’s mom: “Aaron took a spill. Nothing broken.”

NOT. AGAIN.

Luckily, he just suffered some gnarly road trail rash all down the right side of his body after turning a corner too sharply while mountain biking.

He’s still fit to compete in his second mountain bike race of the season tomorrow. Woo-hoo!

Meanwhile, I started sniffling and sneezing right after my run, and I’ve been blowing my nose all day. I’ve got Wal-born (the Walgreens version of Airborne, gangstaaaa), water, and tea all lined up in front of me, and I’m eyeing an early bedtime.

I feel sorry for this cold that has chosen to mess with me a week before my half-marathon. IT SHALL RUE THE DAY.

It’s March 1! And I decided last night that I would buckle down this month with my eating and try to get rid of the last few pounds that won’t allow me to wear my favorite jeans.

February was very stressful, with my mom discovering she was sick and starting her treatment, and I often found myself mindlessly snacking on candy and other treats at work, plus just generally caring less about making healthy meal choices.

But I want to get back into the habit of making good choices and being mindful with my food intake. I want to use food to enhance my half-marathon and marathon training, not sabotage it.

And so this morning I weighed in, as I will on the 15th and the 31st, to keep track of where these healthy choices take me, and to eventually (but probably not this month) get back to my marathon-running fighting weight of 138, and back into the beautiful, expensive, languishing-in-the-bottom-drawer jeans I used to be able to wear with ease.

March 1: 145.6

(Ignore the body-fat percentage, which is calculated based on my height, age, and weight; I think it’s highly inaccurate.)

I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app this morning and have been having fun tracking my food for the day. Of course, today would be the day that this obscene setup appears in the lobby at work:

I like how Theresa takes photos of things she would loooove to eat, but then says “No, thank you,” to them, so here ya go. No, thank you, Krispy Kreme!!!

My breakfast kept me full all the way till lunchtime at noon, and I’m still trying to finish this massive salad as we speak:

Hard to tell, but that is a big ol’ bowl. This is so yummy, and freeeee — all ingredients were found in the food-packed fridges and cupboards at work.

A lot of the work-provided food is really unhealthy (candy, chips, soda), but a lot of it is wonderful, fresh, good-quality food. It’s all about making the right choice!

Here’s what my day looks like so far in MyFitnessPal:

I’ve never really tracked calories before, so it’ll be interesting to see how many calories I need to eat at each meal to feel satisfied, and to see how many grams of carbs, fat, protein, etc. I actually eat.

I’ll also be sticking pretty closely to a Paleo diet, as my recent forays back into the world of processed carbs have been delicious but highly unsatisfying (see: not feeling satiated, having more sugar cravings, bloating).

Does anyone else use MyFitnessPal? Let me know if you have good tips!