The start of LiveFit

Yesterday Jeremy and I started Jamie Eason's LiveFit program.  It is going to be a challenge for us, since we both like to eat.  Just trying to find certain items in the grocery store was an issue.  There seems to be a lot of food on this, especially in the beginning.  It's just that it's not food we normally would eat.  Where's the cheese and dressings??

The program consists of eating clean, eating every 3 hours, and lifting weights.  During the first 4 weeks, you did little to no cardio, instead you lift weights.  You should have a ratio of protein, carbs, and fat of 40%, 40%, and 20% each day. 

After the first 4 weeks, you continue to lift weights but add the cardio back in.  The theory is that you have added muscle and the added muscle will burn fat quicker and thus you will slim down and lose weight.  We shall see. I do have a friend that did this in the winter and had a lot of success.

Yesterday was our first day in the weight room.  I had more realistic visions of what I could lift, where as Jeremy was thinking of what he did for football in high school and that he could still lift close to those weights..... Not so much anymore! Sorry babe!

The food consists of lots of protein, as in 5 egg whites for me and 8 for Jeremy.  Yesterday I tried scrambling them, but that makes SO many eggs and they are SO bland.  Thankfully, my friend sent me a recipe (she had tried 16 different ones) for an egg white shake that she actually liked.  I made it up last night for this morning and it was actually pretty good!  I can tell almond milk will be my new friend!

Last night I cooked some  turkey meatloaf muffins 

and banana oatmeal muffins 

these have chocolate chips (yay)

for our mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks.  The Banana Oatmeal muffins are quite tasty.  The turkey muffins have some spice that is very overwhelming.  Need to figure out what it is, so I can leave it out next time!

Anyone have any good clean eating recipes they are willing to share?

5K recap and Memorial weekend fun

On Saturday I did a 5k with my sister in law. She had finished couch to 5k a few months ago but due to her work schedules hadn't participated in one yet. Jordan was also off so they came down and were able to run. Unfortunately jeremy had to work and wasn't able to run in the 5k.
Anna wanted to break 45 minutes, jordan wanted to break 20 minutes. I just wanted to finish!

It was very hot and humid. At 8:30am it was already over 80 degrees. Anna was also going to push Andrew in the stroller during the 5k which made it even harder!




Ready to start the race!




As we were running his hair was cracking us up!




Passed out asleep by the end of the 5K.


We ran and walked the 5K. We finished under 45 minutes with a time of 44:40. In two weeks there is another 5K at the same place and I am going to run with Anna again. Next time she won't have the stroller so she can see what her time would be without pushing it!

Jordan was winning the 5K overall and was a good quarter to half a mile ahead of the second place person but took a wrong turn at the end and ended up finishing 4th overall. He was very upset and disappointed. He would have broken 20 min easily.




You can see Jordan but the rest of the runners aren't even in the picture he was that far ahead within the first half a mile.

Thankfully he will be able to do the race in a couple weeks as well, but it has a bigger turnout than this one does. Which means he most likely won't be the lead runner, but hopefully won't get lost!

The best part is that because it was such a small race, less than 60 runners, we all got an award in our age group! I have never placed in a 5K, so I was super excited about it. I had thought the awards were by 10 years, but turns out they were by 5! When Anna got an award for her age group, I thought I might have a chance to get one for mine too and I did!!

Saturday night Jeremy and I went to Cincinnati with my college roommates and their husbands and one of our high school friends who was kid free for the weekend. We ate dinner and went to a Reds game. We had so much fun!! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!! It was great getting together with them and remembering the funny things we did in college!












Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I forgot...

how much I love biking!!  Yesterday, I went on my first bike ride of the summer. Jeremy got my bike down from the garage, filled the tires, and put the bike rack back on my car.  I got my helmet down, which had also been hanging in the garage.  To my dismay, two spiders had taken up residence in it!  I got rid of them but was worried the whole ride there were others that I hadn't gotten that were going to bite me!

The ride was great! I went with a former swimmer, who is now in college.  We had a great time catching up and did around 15 miles.  During the ride I noticed that my legs weren't getting tired, unless we were at the very top of a hill and even then it wasn't every hill, only a few.

Today, so far, my legs are not sore.  I can't say the same for my butt however, as I will have to get used to riding on the tiny bike seat again.  Anyone have a donut cushion I can borrow for a day or two?

I also apparently forgot that I said I wasn't going to do any more 5k's for a while.  I told my sister in law I would do one with her this Saturday.  I'm not sure if she is planning on walking or running or a combo of both, but I will be doing it with her.  I also have signed up for the Warrior Dash at the end of June.  But that's obviously not for time and is just for fun! 

Cleveland Rocks!! Cleveland Half recap

We had a great time in Cleveland this past weekend, especially when it's primarily free, who wouldn't?! 

Friday: We left Danville and drove the American Greetings (AG) minivan. Which is sort of funny, since we don't have kids we aren't used to driving something so big!  We drove to World Headquarters at AG, where they gave us a tour and fed all the raffle winners a pasta dinner.   We got to see Taylor Swift's reserved parking spot. She has a line of cards with AG and apparently does go to the headquarters. 

After the tour and dinner, we checked into our hotel room which was fabulous.  We had a corner room and a view of the Cleveland Browns Stadium (aka the start and finish line) and Lake Eerie.

view from our hotel room

Then we walked to Hard Rock Cafe to get my souvenir t-shirt.  We counted I have 16 total from different cities.  Then it was early to bed.

Saturday:  We got up and went to West Side Market, which was very cool.  There were vendors selling mean, seafood, baked goods, vegetables and fruit.  We ate at the cafe there and Jeremy also got a gyro from a place that had been on Man vs. Food. 

After we went to the market, we took a shuttle to the expo where Joan Benoit Samuelson was speaking.  We were just in time to hear her. 

Jeremy bought a "stick" which as been getting a lot by both of us since Sunday.  I decided not to change my event from the half to the 10K, although I was VERY tempted.   After the expo we went back to the hotel, rested, and watched t.v. for the rest of the day/evening. The hotel was having a pasta buffet for the marathoners so we decided to do that for dinner.

Sunday - RACE:  We woke up about 5:30am, got ready, and walked the 3-4 tenths to the stadium.  It was already warm, around 63 at 7AM.  I wished Jeremy good luck and we parted ways to go to our starting areas.  There weren't corrals, but they did have signs up that stated pace times.  I had initially thought I would try to keep up with the 5:35/2:42 pace group, but quickly realized that wasn't going to happen.   After the race started I was walking within the first mile.  It was so warm and humid that I knew I wasn't going to PR or even get close.  I just wanted to finish and to mark Ohio off my list.    I walked probably over half of the half.  At the water stops the volunteers had hoses and were spraying the runners and they had pitchers to refill water bottles.  Best thing ever was getting sprayed and  a little relief from the sun and heat.   I had put a lot of body glide on my legs so my shorts wouldn't rub. This worked brilliantly. I'm not sure whether it worked bc I had applied so much or bc I walked a lot during the race, either way I was happy.  Til I got back to the hotel and realized that my shorts had rubbed my stomach above my belly button!  Oh well, at least it didn't bother me during the race. 

The race went by Cleveland Indians and Cavalier stadiums which was cool.

Indians field

Cavaliers stadium

Browns stadium

After I finished, I walked around for a bit killing time before Jeremy was to finish. I had tracked him on my phone so I knew about when he should be in.  He had worn a water bottle belt for the first time ever during this race. He had told me before it that if the belt bothered him he would toss it.  I had hoped he wouldn't and in fact he said afterwards he definitely needed it bc it was so hot out.

right before the finish line

in front of the AG tent

After the race we walked back to the hotel and rested for a bit. Then we walked to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and toured that. 

Monday: We woke up early and drove home.  Neither of us were very sore that morning, but after sitting and driving for 6 hours were much more sore once we got back home. 

The run that wasn't....

If you read my last post, you read about how I bought a new pair of heatgear shorts for Sunday's half marathon.  I was super excited about them bc they are longer and I didn't think they would rub.   From the title of my post today, you can tell they didnt work out. 

I put them on this morning to go on a run with Lesley.  We had planned on running 3-5 miles but after Jeremy texted and said he had to take lunch early I knew it would be more like 3 miles.  I walked out the door with my new shorts on and they were rubbing already!!!  Not in the same spot but right around the seam at the bottom of the shorts above my knee was not tight fitting and every time I took a step I could feel it rub on my leg. 

I went in and took them off and put on some body glide for my old shorts that don't have compression.  The weather today was about what it is going to be for Sunday.  Sunny and in the 60's at the start, high of 80.  We took off and after the first mile I could tell I wasn't going to make it very far.  It was humid and I hadn't taken any allergy medicine thus my nose was all stopped up.  At 1.5 miles I looked at my phone to see what the temperature was. It said it was only 61!!! ONLY 61???  Seriously?  It will be like this at the start of the race on Sunday and only get worse from there.  How can I do 10 more miles??  We ran another half a mile then walked and talked the last mile.I have had serious thoughts of dropping down to the 10K today. 

I have to decide which is worse: Dropping down to the shorter race and then wishing I had done the half after all OR stay in the half and be disappointed that I added an enormous amount of time to the half by having to walk a lot?? 

Jennie Carol 5K recap and new shorts

This is the third year I have done this 5K. The race is in memory of a teacher who choked and died a week after finishing the KY Derby mini-marathon.    Jeremy was going to run this race with me and try to pace me, as he was running 15 miles before the race started.

I wanted to try to PR at this race because it's one of the faster courses around.  I was going to have Jeremy keep me around an 11:00 min pace.  Knowing that my second mile is always incredibly slow, I was going to make up a little time during mile 1 to compensate. 

My first mile was 10:38, a little slower than the previous week but not far off and it still was under 11. 
Mile 2 was 11:40.  Faster than last week, but slower than 11 obviously and I was over my 11 min average pace.  Which meant mile 3 would have to be 10:30 or faster. I knew it wasn't going to happen. Jeremy told me I was going to have to pick it up but there was nothing to pick up. I ended up finishing 1 minute exactly slower than last week. :(  I just lose it in mile two every time and can't recover.  I don't know what it is..  Both miles one and three are faster than mile two. 

at the finish line

Last night we took my mom and dad out for Mother's Day. We also stopped at Dick's to look at their heatgear.  I ran in some capris that I had on Saturday but knew they would be too hot for Cleveland.  (The low is supposed to be 57, high of 76).  I wanted some longer shorts or capris that wouldn't hit where my previous chaffing occurred.  I found some UnderArmour Heatgear shorts that hit right above my knee. They feel great on!  I will of course wear running shorts on over top of them bc I dont' have the body not to! I'm so exited to have shorts that won't chaff me (hopefully)!!


I have decided after the Cleveland Half, which is next Sunday that I'm going to take a racing "break".  I have had 4 in four weekends and to be quite honest I really don't like to race.  I am too competitive and just dont have the running skill or speed to do well in races.  I'm sure losing the 30+ pounds I need to lose would help.  After Cleveland Jeremy and I are going to start LiveFit and start eating "clean". I'm hoping this will jump start our weight loss and thus will help with my running speed.  I'm sure I'll race again but at this point in time I'm not sure when that will be. 

Do you use a Pace Group?

I have been looking into the Cleveland Marathon that is in two weeks and have been contemplating signing up for a pace group.  I am only doing the half, the race only has pace groups for the full. But the half and full course are the same through mile 11-12. 

The slowest pace group they have (5:25) would put me finishing about 7 minutes faster than my PR time from West Virginia and 10 minutes faster than my half at the Derby last week.  Can I keep up is the question?  I run 9 minutes, walk 1 minute and was ahead of the 5:30 pace group at Derby til mile 8 when I started to fall apart.  They passed me right before the full course split off.

I'm wondering if I go slower at the start, will I have enough in the tank at the end to still keep a steady pace and keep up with them OR will I still hit the wall and then have an even worse time because I went slower at the start and still died off at the end??

Any suggestions or experiences that you can share with pace groups and what works best for you would be much appreciated!! 

Derby Stakes 5K recap

Friday night we went up to Lexington to stay with Jeremy's brother and family so that we would not have to get up super early to race on Saturday.  We ate Japanese. I had sushi which doesn't bother my stomach as much as hibachi.

We woke up about 4AM to the sounds of storms and feared the race might be cancelled.  Luckily the rain and storms subsided by the time we got to the race.  We picked up our packets and found Jeremy's dad who was also running. 

Jeremy did the 15K, while his dad and I did the 5K.  My first mile was great and I ran it in a 10:15, which is super fast for me.  The second mile though got me and I had to walk twice during it.  Jeremy's dad and I were side by side through mile 1 until I had to walk.  He kept running and although I could see him in front of me I never could catch back up to him. He ended up beating me by a minute. I finished strong for the third mile and was able to get a new PR. (I have decided I'm not going to count the 5K time from the indoor tri, since it was with my foot pod and I'm not exactly sure how accurate it is indoors.) 

I have a lot of excuses for this race: it was hilly, super humid from the rain that had just ended, the temperature was in the 60's already at 8:30am and my new skort started rubbing my legs right on the spot where they were already chaffed from the Derby Half.  I'm hoping they wont bother me in shorter races, that it was just because I was already chaffed.  Either way I'm going to have to find something different to wear for the 5K and the Cleveland Half!!   I'm disappointed I wasn't faster but I am still happy I got a new PR.  I feel that the race this upcoming Saturday will be better because it's got several downhills which are always good! 

The race gave away a lot of door prizes and we walked away with a free pizza coupon, a pound of Goetta sausage (which is delicious if you haven't had it before), and a coupon for $15 off a RoadID.  Since Jeremy and I already have a RoadID we gave that coupon to his dad. 

Jeremy had a good race and made the statement afterwards that he enjoyed running again.  He had really been down and out about running since the marathon last week. He is going to do the 5K on Saturday with me, since he is running 13 or so miles beforehand to get in a last long run before Cleveland.  I'm hoping he can help pace me so that I can get another PR. 

Three Things Thursday

1.  Jeremy and I are attempting to grow a small garden this year.  In the back of our yard the previous owners had built 3 beds for planting.  Last year we just let them grow uncontrollably and found we had asparagus and raspberries.  This year Jeremy tilled them up and so far we have planted tomatoes and cabbage in one of the beds.. 

1 of the 3 beds

In the other two beds we have onions ready to plant. We are going to buy some peppers and carrots to plant as well.  I'd like to plant some cantaloupe but I'm not sure we have enough room. 


2.  My favorite new thing is French Vanilla Iced Coffee for K Cups!!  Love it!! Yesterday I discovered that coffee-mate doesn't dissolve in a cold beverage and had to dip out the curd looking creamer.  Today, I tried it again with Agave nectar and it was fantastic!

3.  I ran for the first time since last Saturday's half.  I have biked the past two days but hadn't run yet.  I have a 5K on Saturday so I tried seeing how I felt going "fast".  The first 1.5 miles felt really good. Then at about 1.6 my right hip started hurting and I decided to walk the next .4. By the end it seemed to be feeling better but I didn't push it and go any farther.