a life beyond running shoes.

i think the magic was that i took the pressure off of myself to get any runs in while at the lake house.... in that case, when i woke up if i wanted to go i would. i got 4 runs in. i had great company and it was beautiful scenery.... did i mention the hills. yup... all hills. long run: 6 miles. ran with my mother-in-law (she logged a good many miles with me the last two weeks) and we did the 3 miles route twice. down a hill (third of a mile) then a mile up-hill then a third of a mile down.....then reverse. it is hard! but we did it. week total: 15 miles. ALL HILLS!!!! VICTORY: i did not gain any weight on vacation!!! this is huge, major, massive, awesome. i can see god working on my self-control and discipline. a thousand choices all day long in an attempt to glorify him.... yes, it is food and weight, but god is giving me victory in something that is always a struggle. the running helped..... a lot! he is stretching me and helping me see the sin of justifying my want to be in...

running in florida is different than running in new york. they are both hot and both humid, but somehow it is different. long run: 12 miles. it was 74 degrees at 5:30 this morning when we started. thankfully, i had a bunch of company. my mother-in-law & her running group for miles 1-5. continued on with m-i-l and picked up my mom's fiance (who is visiting in florida with my mom). there was not a dry spot on me AND i have renewed my love for propel... so tasty in the middle of 12 miles! week total: 19.7 miles ARGH!!! i almost had 20 - it would have been my first week to reach 20 miles. so close!! i managed two other short runs, one being a speed work out (by myself... that was hard). and i did my 30 min yoga dvd twice! i have low expectations for the next two weeks considering i will be in vacation mode! let's see if i can get in some short run plus a few yoga sessions since i brought my dvd with me.... and let's see if can manage to not undue the hard work i have trie...

well this week the weather was not cooperating. i got one short run in on monday. wednesday's was canceled, so i did my bootcamp workout with bob from the biggest loser . working out those arm muscles... or at least trying to. i hate push-ups but i have officially moved from my two pound weights to the five pounders! long run: 8.5 miles. conditions: 77 degrees; 6:15 am. not as humid as last week which made a huge difference. also, picked up stef half way through run....another BIG difference. week total: 11.5 miles weight loss: zero pounds

mark bittman's book includes 75 recipes. i started dog-earring the ones i wanted to try...... then stopped when it was every other one. food matters: a guide to conscious eating . in the same vane as michael pollan..... re-thinking consumption. discusses our nation's over-consumption. gets into the issue of gov't involvement. "healthy" ingredients. sane eating. what i love is that he starts his book with the supposition that we don't eat healthy. and when he actually changed the way he ate (as described and proposed in his book) he actually lost weight, lowered his cholesterol & blood pressure. one of the ways he does this is by eating vegan during the day..... then consumes meat & wine & cheese at dinner. he is a self-proposed glutton at dinner. while i am not sure i could do the vegan-thing so strictly, it did make me consider how many meat products i consume on a daily basis. i mean, would it be so terrible to have vegetable or lentil soup (...

we made valentine day cookies. that is how we deal with ice after the snow. as with most things.... this is not helping weight loss. baking being my downfall...... but it helped get through the morning of being inside. frosting colors: peanut - purple. little bit - jungle green (total heart day color). mommy - raspberry. side note: little bit has worn that basketball tee all week. i finally had to bargain with him in order to wash it last night.

that losing weight is hard? i know.... duh. i guess baby #3 is reminding me that it doesn't just happen. it seemed to just happen after the other two. or at least a little bit easier. so.... i have called in for back-up. that famous "meeting" group.... that i am doing on-line (how could i get to a meeting once a week?) ...... the good 'ole WW. i love it. a friend gave me a cookbook and i tried the chicken & chickpea chili. YUM!!! (i couldn't even taste the three bell peppers) AND my family ate it. i have also discovered a zero point soup..... basically vegetable soup.... and i add barley and use olive oil.... so make that a 2 point soup but again....YUM! (another friend recommendation) there is a whole WW sub-culture. people who have done.... are doing it...... love it. i have to admit that signing up was a huge ego thing. to admit that i could not do it on my own. but i am so capable, smart, we eat healthy.... and i have done this before. but i wasn't h...

a week ago, i was bemoaning the fact that i had not lost a pound. this week, i feel like a million bucks. what changed? who knows.... my head, my heart, my runnings, my waxer....... p.shivers had a reality check and here was mine: personal waxer (for unmentionable areas that are affected by swimsuits) from the ukraine named olga (seriously, i could not make that up...i guess i could, but i did not). o: you need wax for bathing suit? vacation? k: yes, i swim for exercise. o: you wear one piece or two? k: oh, a one piece, of course. o: no, of course. you young. wear two piece. old, fat people wear one piece. k: well, i had a baby six months ago and i am still getting into shape. o: no...well.... in ukraine, i wear two piece. in america, i wear one piece but i not fat in ukraine. you no look like baby six months ago. you, no wear one piece. old and fat wear one piece. you wear two. you look like me, you wear one piece. you look like you, you wear two piece. and there you h...

for heaven sakes, it is one week. but, it was a week that i thought i was being "good." okay...except for the cookies on monday....but a good week of eating spinach & grilled meats and salads and only half a peanut butter sandwich but a whole apple & strawberries fresh picked from new jersey. i hate going and checking it at the scale, standing there in my bathing suit and realizing i lost nothing this week. i know in my head that it okay....but for a moment there.... well, let's just say i went nuts-o. i starting creating the scenario that i had hit my plateau and that this was the end and i was not going to lose what i wanted to by my dad's wedding and blah, blah, blah. i admit that i have crazy moment... this was one of them. i have to talk sense into myself....first, stop weighing every week. two weeks is a good time frame. for those of you who hate the scales...i have to make sure i am not loosing too much because i am still a nursing mom... which t...