Triumphs and Defeats

As much as I like a holiday weekend (especially a three-day one!), I tend to break out of my habits and get a little thrown off by the relaxed schedule. This was especially true this past Memorial Day weekend. I had every intention of getting out on Saturday or Sunday for my long run (three miles), but unfortunately my back was all screwy after a stint in the painting studio that morning – I rose from my chair, and my lower back screamed in pain. It's safe to say that it was the worst backache I've ever had.

While it was at its worst on Saturday, I still didn't feel super great on Sunday or Monday and just decided to call it a vacation from most activity, period. I didn't even walk – the most I did was cook dinner and do a little bit of yard work.

I also ate a lot more than usual. I resorted to not the best behavior, that is, I ate emotionally like crazy. Being in pain made me feel like I somehow deserved to eat whatever I wanted, and that is basically what I did. Pizza, ice cream, Doritos, chocolate, beer, donuts, too-big portions. I guess that didn't make me feel any better, either, huh?

One thing I realized was that I used to eat like that on a regular basis. I really did! And no wonder why I felt so shitty all the time. On the plus side, it was nice to know how much progress I really have made in the past year, even if I still have episodes like this from time to time.

So that obviously ended my streak of no "obvious sugary stuff"; I made it 11 days. I must admit that I don't think it had much of an effect on anything other than I was able to fit more other food into my days. Calorie-dense, that stuff is – it takes up a lot of room! So instead I definitely ended up eating more and better foods, and I noticed that I wasn't snacking as much.

It was my intention to start a new streak of that today, but I'm afraid that I succomed to some of the remaining candy I had in my desk today – a single piece of orange chocolate sponge candy, and a serving of jelly beans. I really ought to toss the jelly beans. I'm going to do it right now.

There. Done.

I also put out the bag of midget Tootsie Rolls I had for the rest of office to eat. (I had my fingers in the jelly bean bag, else I'd have done the same there.)

Hooray!

Speaking of streaks...

You'll notice that I have a new badge at the top of my sidebar! I decided to do the Runner's World Running Streak, Summer 2015 edition. I just found out about it today, so I'm starting a day late but will make up the day at the end. I love challenges like this and I really like how it's made into something totally doable – just one mile each day is something I can easily manage, and maybe it will help improve my running!

Maybe by now you're wondering about what triumphs I am talking about in the title of this post? So far I have only been talking about how all the things I didn't do well over the weekend. There really weren't any triumphs. Until today (and yes, even with the candy thing earlier).

This morning I had my usual debate while laying in bed: To get up early, or not to get up early. Of course, I'd get up early so that I can fit in my exercise. I'm happy to say that getting up early won, and even though I had a lot of trepidation about what I could get done, I geared up and went out anyway, with the intention of sticking to my Galloway 10K training schedule. I missed my long run over the weekend and I didn't want to get any more behind than I was.

It wasn't easy, but I finished two miles of running plus five-minute warm-up and cool down walks. The running was a bit of a struggle and at some points I really didn't think I'd be able to complete my intended goal. But, I did it. As always, it felt great to finish and I've carried that feeling with me all day long. No, it wasn't my fastest run ever, but it was about on par to what I have been doing since I started racing at the beginning of the month, low 15-minute miles, give or take. I'm happy with that for now.

On Thursday I am going to participate in a Fleet Feet group run called the Pub Run – should be fun! They offer a two- three-, or five-mile route, and I am aiming for the three, possibly to make up for my lack of a three-miler over the weekend (I guess I am kind of obsessing about it!). We'll see, though. That distance is still quite challenging for me, so I guess anything between two and three will be good.

And I've added another 5K race to my schedule! It's the Gay 5K coinciding with Pride Week in Buffalo. My running pal Amy F. got me a registration for it for my birthday, the sweetest thing ever! (Thanks, Amy!) It should be a very fun time, and of course ever challenging... I really, really want to feel like I conquered the 5K distance, that is, feel comfortable running it the way I feel about two miles.

The only way to do that is to do the work. Like I said, hoping that the Streak will help me with that, too.

Looking ahead to continued efforts and learning from both my successes and my not-so-successes.

Excelsior!