26 Days

Twenty-six days. Twenty-six days until the Soldier Field 10 Mile. I ran a couple of days this week, but not enough to be on a consistent training schedule. I have a training schedule, I just haven't been following it. It's not that I don't like running. . .even though I don't feel like it sometimes once I start I'm glad I did. Just been hard trying to fit it into life lately. I know, I know, you have to make time for it. I just haven't been that good at it lately.



But, with 26 days until the Soldier Field 10 Mile, panic is starting to set in. That's a good thing for me because I tend to become more focused with panic and a looming deadline.



On Saturday, I'm running the Chicago Police Run to Remember 5k. Not worried about that one although I would like to get a fairly decent time and not come in at the end of the pack. The Race has special meaning as my dad is a retired Chicago cop. My uncle is a retired Chicago cop and my cousin (and mile sponsor) Kevin is a homocide detective. So I guess you can say the Chicago Police is part of our family. So support the cops ok?



Speaking of support, thank you to my friend and co-worker Judy Anderson and her mom (and cancer survivor!) Heidi Liebig for their donations to the American Cancer Society. More motivation exactly when I need it!



Favorite Running Song: "Walking with a Ghost" Tegan and Sara

Not Good

Not a lot to say and none of it is good . . .

Gained 1.2 pounds at my JC weigh in.

That's what happens when I don't run and eat ice cream for dinner. Just one night, I was stressed out last week!

It's taken me awhile to realize, but I clearly have a pattern of dropping off the running schedule and piling on the eating when I'm stressed out. Need to get that into check . . .

Expect to be back within the next day or two with some running activity on the boards.

In the meantime, go ahead and read some poetry from my husband. Yes, poetry. (He's not too thrilled about it.)

Hello Again

Been awhile since I've posted. Crazy busy at work, so instead of blogging and reading other blogs after the kids are in bed, I've been on work email. So, a couple of updates:

Down 4.6 pounds my first week at Jenny Craig. Not bad.

Been running, although not as much as I would like (of course) Last run was a lot better than the miserable 3 miler I had time before that.

Somehow spent $60 on sushi tonight. Yes, $60. I realize sushi isn't a cheap dinner but geez, this wasn't even a dinner out with friends. Between the cell phone connection and my 6 year old begging for a Happy Meal and the waitress' heavy accent and trying not to get in an accident on the road, I ordered the wrong thing and ended up with $60 worth of sushi. For one.

I'm not sure which will come first . . . Mike checking the bank account online and noticing that I spent $60 on sushi . . .or Mike checking this blog entry and reading that I spent $60 on sushi. Or, there's always my sister-in-law reading this blog entry and calling Mike to tell him I spent $60 on sushi. This is the same sister-in-law who told Mike what a haircut and highlights at Mario Tricocci really cost. Thanks.

No, sushi isn't on the Jenny Craig menu. Shut up.

In running news, Mike and I are both participating in the Shave Your 5k Challenge, hosted by Half-Fast. The basic idea is to see who can shave the most time off their 5K time during 2008, so everyone will run a 5K at the beginning of the year and another one at the end of the year. The winner is the person that shows the greatest improvement. My strategy was to run incredibly slow up and down the hills of Lake Geneva so my time can only improve. Brilliant, don't you think?

Congrats to Mike on his Best Blog of the Day Award!

On Schedule

Ran three miles on the treadmill last night, the worst three miles ever. Can't figure out why I was so sluggish. It was late, but I've run late before . . .wondering if it was due to the lousy 1,200 calories a day that I'm on with JC program. Although, even though I ate more before, it certainly wasn't like I was eating the right things. I finished (woo hoo, I finished three miles, doesn't that sound pathetic?) but I really had to push myself to do so.

Four miles on deck for Wednesday.

Today's Favorite Running Song: "Beat It" Fall Out Boy with John Mayer

Maybe I need more motivation . . .any family/friends reading today? How about a little donation to the American Cancer Society?

Status Update

A few updates:

1) Thank you to my friend and mile sponsor Anita for her donation to the American Cancer Society. I'm over the $500 mark now . . . please keep those donations coming, $2,500 to go!

2) Jenny Craig meals are better than I expected, but limited to 1200 calories a day sucks more than I expected. My friend (and JC inspiration Marina) asked me how I was doing the other day and I said "Hungry." Been sticking to the plan for the last four days with the exception of a Portillo's run at lunch today. I ordered the chicken sandwich instead of two chili dogs with cheese or instead of a cheeseburger with everything, so I'm still calling it a minor victory. Ok, I stole a few fries from the kids' plates, but still doing much better than my usual eating activity.

3) Training plan as I prepare for the Soldier Field 10 Mile on May 24:
This week: 3 miles, 4 miles, 3 miles, 5 miles
Week 2: 3, 4, 3, 5
Week 3: 3, 4, 3, 6
Week 4: 3, 4, 3, 7
Week 5: 3, 5, 3, 8
Week 6: 3, 5, 3, 10
Week 7: 3, 5, 3, Soldier Field 10

Training plan is based on the Non-Runner's Guide to Marathon Training, which I used last year to train for the Chicago Marathon.

Just realized that the Half Marathon I'm signed up for is a mere three weeks after the Soldier Field 10, but I'll just keep the training plan since I'll already be at 10 miles.

Just need to stick to the schedule, stick to the schedule, stick to the schedule.

A Fresh Start

Inspired by my lackluster performance at the Shamrock Shuffle, I am declaring a fresh start -- on my running and weight loss efforts. When I started running last year at this time, it was a way to finally lose the "baby" weight. (My kids are um, 6 and 4 years old) And I did lose weight, was just under 20 pounds down come Marathon day. Only problem was that after the Chicago Marathon last October, I took a brief break from running, then winter began, then the holidays, then the brief running break turned out to be a long break. All the while I continued eating pretty much like I was logging 10 and 12 mile runs. Oh, and there was a little bit of stress eating involved too. Bottomline, the weight started creeping back up. Or in my case, sprinting back up.

So, with a training run calendar developed for the Soldier Field 10 Mile and a new attitude (also some inspiration from my friend Marina) I joined Jenny Craig. I'm not about to bare down to a bikini on Oprah, but being able to wear a bikini before I'm 40 would be nice. A goal recap:

1) Complete the Chicago Marathon before I'm 40 (on track with two years to spare)
2) Raise $3,000 for the American Cancer Society
3) Lose 35 pounds (and back to pre-babies, wedding day weight) by Marathon day

Wish me luck!