I have finally realized that the reason I am drifting recently is that I don’t have a plan. Other than “stay this way for the rest of your life.” Which is not a very realistic plan. My last race was the beginning of September, and my next race is not until the end of October. I want to set one training goal and one diet goal from today until October 21st, the day of my 2nd 10k.
Week 4 of LIFETIME and I feel like I am gambling.
Of course, the goal and the whole point is that I want to make THIS my lifestyle. I want everything I do to be liveable and reasonable.
Well, with really exciting and wonderful plans, and the return of college football, I have sort of stepped outside the boundaries. I have been tracking less, and drinking more. Working out less, and eating more junk. I feel like I am not making the best decisions all the way around.
And what’s been consistently happening? I have been losing weight. Nothing significant, nothing noticeable, nothing major, but this has potential for DISASTER! It’s not that I want to gain, it’s that I expect to gain and when I don’t, I am really afraid that it’s mentally green lighting bad habits…
Continual work in progress, learning new things every single day.
I’m not entirely sure where the original recipe for this came from, but it’s one that I wrote down on an index card ages ago, and when I can’t find it, I get anxious that it’s lost forever. The weather has been getting cooler, and as the seasons turn I think of comfort food. Comfort food does not often lend itself to healthy eating, but in this case, I can make an exception. Because it is just so tasty.
Last name Ever. First name Greatest.
Best Beef Stew Ever
1/2lb stew meat (original recipe calls for 2lbs. I bought the cheapest, smallest package at the grocery. You can certainly add more, but may affect PPs)
1 10oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 10oz can french onion soup
1/2 lb carrots, chopped
1 lb red potatoes, quartered
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup red wine
Add soups and wine to slow cooker. Stir together. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
In the Weight Watcher’s Tracker, this adds up to 6PPs per serving. I estimated it at 6 servings, but until it’s finished, I’m not sure how many servings there actually are! All I know is that every time I make this recipe I am really happy, and sharing it with friends is even better.
I’m serving it with crusty bread and a side salad.
Monday 9/03 ~ Worthington Kilbourne High School Cross Country Labor Day 5k
Time: 31:19 ~ 5k 10:07/mile pace.
Labor Day PR! Woo Hoo! I have to admit, I’ve been getting a little… well, not lazy, but I haven’t really been challenging myself much recently. I’ve been enjoying the summer, and have managed to maintain my weight, but I am ready for a new challenge!
I spent Labor Day visiting my family. Saturday was a GREAT day in Ohio Stadium watching my Buckeyes beat Miami, OH. Started off the morning with a humid 4ish miles, but finished that run with a stop to see my BFF at his job at DK Diner. (DK stands for DONUT KITCHEN.) SO yeah, we had donuts for breakfast, followed by tailgate beers.
The rest of the weekend went in a similar direction; I spent Sunday night at my brother’s house and we enjoyed a great cook out and cocktails. My decision to run this 5k was last minute, and am I glad I went for it.
The race started at Worthington Hills Middle School, which is about 1.4 miles from their house. Registration started at 8:00, so I got up and headed out the door. Sometimes if you think about these things, they just won’t happen! Walked past a family setting up a hydration table in their front yard and they were filling cups from their lawn hose. I LOVE NEIGHBORHOOD RUNS! That was just the cutest detail for me, I loved it.
Neighbors!
I finished 123 out of 208 participants. 207 other people, aged 8-80 showed up at 9am on a holiday to run. To walk. To enjoy their neighbors. To support a team. To be friendly and have fun. I LOVED it. And I pushed myself hard and enjoyed this flat course and earned my PR.
I almost got a ride back to the house in a golf cart too, but I told the driver I needed to keep walking to stretch my legs. 🙂
Over the summer (I am just realizing how bad I was at keeping up with my summer posts), I trained with CARA for their Summer Six Series. The Summer Six trained me to run right after work, and enjoy a beer right after my run. 🙂 So obviously, Beer and Burgers 5k was the perfect goal race.
I asked a few friends if they wanted to do this one with me, and got to do spend some QT with my BFF. It’s rare that I do a race where I stick with someone I know, so this was fun. We walked the course and kept a pretty nice pace!
#WINNING
The volunteers were fantastic. Incredibly friendly, encouraging, and everything went smoothly. A smaller crowd, and EVERYONE wanted a burger after! The food was great, and all in all, I really liked it! This one is on my list to run next year!
Also, I always think about how hard it is to be a “slow finisher” or to cross a finish line to weary volunteers and people wandering all over the course. When this man crossed the finish line, everyone cheered. I LOVE runners.
Running makes me ____________! 