Whole30 Day 6 - Daily Mile stats, I'm a winner and Eating on the run

Yesterday I got my 'year in review' stats from Daily Mile. Are you on Daily Mile? If you're not you should consider signing up. It's free and like Facebook for fitness. I really like it as a place to record my mileage and workouts because it's super user friendly and they provide you with weekly and yearly stats. It's a nice thing to keep.

Here's my year in review: 

749 miles, an average of 14 miles per week, 234 workouts and 22 pounds burned. 

Funny but I thought I had looked up my running stats for my yearly 'round up' blog where I discuss what my goals were and how I did. One of my goals was to cover 722 miles in 2013 and I must of read my workout details wrong because I thought I had fallen really short but actually I didn't! I did 749 miles in 2013. Which means I have to cover at least 750 miles in 2014. Some of the miles were probably recorded as biking miles but I don't care - miles under the belt are miles under the belt and I'm counting them. 

Oh and this is some cool news. I'm an Active Advantage member and every month they do a bunch of giveaways - I just found out that I won a $25 gift card to REI! I love that store and I'm so psyched! 

Yesterday was Day 6. 

I started the day with my usual breakfast of eggs, sweet potato and a little avocado. For lunch I had some "turkey picadillo" with plantains fried in coconut oil that hubby whipped up that morning. (Ground turkey, chopped onions, garlic, salt, pepper, pepper flakes and chopped green olives and green peppers).

It was the coldest day on record in years. Here is NJ the temp read 5 degrees on the thermometer but felt in the negative numbers due to wind chill. Of course this would be the day I picked to go into the city for some work I needed to do with an editor. Oy.

I decided to drive in and park which costs a fortune but I decided it was worth the money and better than waiting outside for a bus in the cold. 

Aside from the cold, eating was on my mind. The session started around 1 and ran until 8PM. Typically, somewhere along a day like this, food is ordered and unhealthy snacks are had.

I packed a small baggie of cashews and a cashew cookie Lara Bar (cashews and dates) to have in case of emergency. (I know, I know, cashew overload. Better than a bag of chips though).

I ate both and was glad I had the snacks - they definitely helped me stay in control. Especially when the guys working next to us brought in a giant, amazing smelling pizza from one of the best pizza places in NYC. Not that I could eat it even if I wasn't on Whole30 thanks to the gluten issues but it still made me super hungry.

On the way home as a treat I thought I would pick up Chipotle for hubby and I. It was late and I didn't feel like cooking. 

If you are doing the Whole30 plan this is what you can have at Chipotle: A salad bowl (no dressing) topped with carnitas, tomatoes, salsa and guacamole. And that's what we had. You cannot have the veggies or the other meats because of certain non-compliant reasons. The veggies are sautéed in soybean oil for example. The carnitas are the only meat that is braised with no added non-compliant ingredients.

Truthfully, I guess Chipotle is OK in a pinch but I wouldn't go out of my way to do it again. They automatically charge extra for guacamole and without all the other toppings I felt $10 per bowl was just too expensive. It also was not super delish to me. Just OK. A bit bland. I can make carnitas at home for a fraction of the price and have them for the week! Plus even though the ingredients listed are compliant  - you still never know. When given the option I'd rather be in full control of my food.

I still haven't had real 'withdrawal' and have been feeling pretty good. I still wish I could have a glass of wine at night. Hubby is doing great and has already lost some noticeable weight. He's getting into his smaller shirts and feels good. 

How are things with you? How do you handle eating out?

XO

Jen

Facebook and running - Perfect together

I love Social Media. I admit it I have an obsession, addiction, appreciation for Facebook and Twitter.

Social Media has played a HUGE role in my running success. In fact I can easily say that I would be a whole different person with a whole different set of friends right now if the computer and all of its offerings weren't at my fingertips during this journey.

When I first started running I used this blog and Facebook to help keep me accountable. In those early days, the support and Facebook "likes" really motivated me to keep going.

I also found that the minute I started posting about my running - running friends came out of the woodwork to offer sneaker shopping recommendations, ideas about where to run in my town, training programs and so much more.

Looking back on the last three years I use social media DAILY to keep me motivated, to gather information, and yes - even (especially) to brag. For better or worse, many a long run was fueled by knowing that I was going to get to show off (just a bit) about that run!

Yes, Facebook, Twitter and this blog has been crucial to my success. I'm not sure where I would be without it.

Consider this - Thanks to social media:

• I have found some of my closest running friends both in Jersey and across the country
• I got an invite onto the 'Fat To Finish Line' Ragnar team that we're making a film about
• I figured out a way to run multiple half marathons and one full
• I became a top five finalist for Progresso Soup's "Souper Me" contest back in 2010
• I found a way to keep track of my good days, bad days and all those miles! What would I do without Nike+'s social media and Daily Mile?
• I got hooked up with Moms In Motion and many more friends
• I was inspired to do yoga
• I was motivated to try Facebook Challenges like this one I'm doing for March

And so much more.

Who doesn't get a little pick-me-up when a inspirational running quote scrolls past you on your feed?

Thank you I <3 a="" run="" to=""> for daily inspiration on FB!

I can't count how many times I've posted or tweeted running-related questions about countless things: Nutrition, foam rolling, pantsing my poop, suggested play lists, hydration systems, races, etc to get varied answers and feedback from runners across the globe. It's amazing. 

I honestly don't know if I would've stayed on this path if it weren't for social media, this blog and the wonders that come from my computer. I have to give it a lot of credit.

It also warms me to say that thanks to my own Facebook sharing, I've inspired a few others to get out there and give running a shot - it's a wonderful thing.

What about you? Do you think that Facebook, twitter, the computer age has helped your fitness / running?

XO

Jen

I could run 100 miles

With a few half marathons right around the corner I've been trying to get more miles under my belt and the mileage has added up.

I was excited to see on DailyMile that I've had this epic week of logging 30 miles!

I haven't had anything close to 30 miles since my full marathon training. Even for my Spring halves the longest weeks I reached were 24 miles or so - So I'm pretty thrilled.

In fact the whole month has been pretty epic:

24, 26, 24 and 30 mile weeks… Note the last time I came close was a 24 mile week back in January right before my February halves.

And those epic weeks all added up to one epic month for me:

109 miles!! Woo hoo. I'm so excited about this month -- and you'll notice it's nearly double the miles of most of my months since January. 

This week, I'm tapering down and will keep my miles relatively low in preparation for my half this Sunday in Long Beach, CA. 

I'm not shooting for a PR - I'm actually shooting for a conservative 2:30 or so since I'll be running another half in just a 2 weeks I don't want to over-do anything. But we'll see how I feel on race day ;-) 

Are you training for any upcoming races?

XO

Jen

PS:  Still time to support the From Fat To Finish Line documentary film project and snag your DVD copy and other goodies for doing so!! Click here for details.

A year in miles, Saucony rocks and other things to be grateful for

I've been feeling really great lately. Running has been on point even with my little trip from the other day. Luckily my ankle has been fine. I have a wee bit of soreness in the arch of my foot and knee but it doesn't really hurt to walk or run so I don't think it's much concern.

I've been feeling super grateful lately. I am a lucky girl in so many ways and for so many reasons.

Tonight I ran pretty speedy (ahem… trying not to say it…for me) and it felt great. 2 miles in 19:20 which is 9:39 average. When I first started running my average was 12:30 - 12:40 with impossible DREAMS of a 11:30 or less.

And what made it even more satisfying is it didn't feel like I was 'racing.' Yes, it felt harder than my long run pace but it was only slightly - medium harder than a comfortable pace. Does that make sense? I still felt I had more in me if I wanted to crank it up or were racing. It's just awesome to be able to look back and track the progress.

Also I really do love daily mile. I love that when Nike craps out (like tonight) I can manually keep track of my miles and pace. Here's my yearly report - not bad.

Finished the year strong!!

And what else do I have to be thankful for?  Never mind a running streak - I'm on a winning streak!! This week I got an Email from Saucony, which I assumed to be the standard Email of thanks for entering our contest blah, blah, blah or advertisement… No what I found out was:

Hello Jennifer,
Thank you for participating in the Saucony Find Your Strong in 2012 Giveaway on our Facebook page and referring friends! I'm reaching out to you because since you referred two or more friends you were eligible for the Grand Prize and were selected as a winner! The Grand Prize is $500 of Saucony Gear!!
Congratulations on being the grand prize winner in the Giveaway and I look forward to hearing from you!

WHAT! GET OUT OF TOWN!!  You know I love Saucony - I mean how many times have I posted my own Saucony sneakers:

Saucony: My very first pair of 'real' running sneakers

And I loved them so much, I bought them again.

And then I got these.

Saucony carried me for my first full marathon

And most recently I got these - current sneakers...

So, needless to say, I am one happy Saucony wearin' winner!! :)

I'm the luckiest and so grateful. $500 smacker-roonies.  I'm going to pick out a great pair of running sneakers, treat myself to a good pair (or two!) compression socks, and then get some other gear.

Want to see some of what I might pick out? Visit Saucony.

And see my name in "lights" on the Saucony Facebook page.

And on a sad note -

I'm also grateful that I've been safe and sound after all of my runs. I'm heartsick and praying for missing runner Sherry Arnold who went out for a run on Saturday morning and is still missing.  SUAR is closely related to her - read more about it here.  It's a reminder that we are vulnerable out there.  Be safe my friends.

XO

Jen