Exercise and thriftiness

A friend of ours repaired and tuned up my bicycle. I have gone out several times in the past week or so to try it out. This area has lots of nice bike trails and parks. In addition to biking for leisure, I plan to begin commuting 1 or 2 days per week to work. I will combine cycling on the roads and a short distance on a bike path for a total of about 9.25 miles each way. I have done trial runs on the commute breaking it up into 2 halves for the purpose of testing it out.

This will save us gas. I can cut out the driving to the YMCA for the 2 days a week. I had been going to spinning classes. Plus I will save by cycling instead of driving the car to work 2 days per week. I used www.fueleconomy.gov to figure out that each day commuting by car costs me about $3.50 in gas. By commuting 2 days and not driving to the YMCA to "cycle" we can save almost $10-12 a week. This may not seem like much but we are pinching every penny and this will mean about $40-$48 a month. That is a week's worth of groceries!

Plateau ~aaarrggh!

For the past few months now I have been on a plateau and struggling back and forth with the same 5 or so pounds. Last weekend and this weekend when I weighed in at Weight Watchers, I was disappointed to learn that in these 2 weeks I have gained a total of almost 5 pounds. I am considering switching to Core but I am apprehensive because I feel like I need the accountability of Flex with point counting plus I need to study up on Core a bit.

I am perplexed as to why I am having these difficulties. It maybe it is because Mack has been totally weaned for 3 weeks now (I have adjusted my points accordingly.) or maybe it is because I am only getting 4-6 hours of sleep a night (too many tasks to get done at home and for work). I think I also need to get back to strength training to build more muscle mass. If it is not one of those I will have to do some serious reflection.

Lentil Soup ~ Tasty, Healthy & Frugal

This is one of my favorite recipes to make especially on chilly days. It is originally from the 1st edition Moosehead Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. I have doctored it a bit to make it thriftier.

Servings: 8
Points per serving: 4
Cooking time: all day
Cost per serving: Less than $ .40
Goes well with: Grilled cheese sandwich(see recipe below), any sandwich

Ingredients & Directions:

Simmer for 4 hours covered:
1 lb raw lentils, rinsed
8 cups of water or stock
2 tsp kosher salt

Saute in 2 tsp of olive oil. Then add to simmering lentils.
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 c. onion, chopped
1 c. celery, minced (I substitute celery leaf or even celery seed if I am out of celery.)
1 c. carrots, chopped

Add these last ingredients about 30 minutes before serving:
black pepper
1 can of diced tomatoes (or use fresh tomatoes--sometimes for a change I use store brand "rotel" tomatoes)
2 Tbs lemon juice
1.5 Tbs brown sugar or molasses
1 Tbs wine vinegar

Hints: Thicken it up by decreasing the liquid slightly or by letting it simmer longer. I cook this all day in the crockpot.

2 Point Grilled Cheese Sandwich
2 slices of nature's own double fiber bread
1 slice Borden 2% cheese (counts as one milk serving)
Spray bread with nonstick spray and grill!

Personal note: This soup was part of the first meal I fixed for my husband when we were dating. I was a strict lacto-ovo vegetarian back then. My body was used to the amount of fiber, but his was not. We ate this meal together, then he got in his car to make the 2 hour commute back home. We dated long distance for that first year. Needless to say it was a bit of a painful drive home for him that trip. :)

Frugal posts ~Stretching a dollar

My friends have been persistent in their requests for how I save money. My husband has threatened to start sitting at my side and taking notes so that he can answer their questions. Therefore, I am going to begin trying to post on this blog some of our frugal practices. My future posts on this blog will include:

1.) my running and training, (It IS my addiction that gives me energy to do everything else!--If you are not a runner, just skip these posts.)
2.) my couponing practices,
3.) grocery shopping techniques,
4.) frugal, healthy recipes,
5.) my CVS mega savings scenarios, and
6.) other general frugal practices.

Back to normal ~ Recovery

This week I finally feel like I am back to "normal" with running. The first week after the 10 miler, I had numerous general aches and pains and my legs felt like they were made of lead which made running more of a chore than a joy. That week I could hardly get in 10 miles total. The following week we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with a get-away trip. Between the get-away (which was delightful and made me wish we had days and days alone together-but that is another blog entry in itself) and the rainy weather I did not get to run for several days---to boot I forgot to pack my running shoes.

With a delightful 7.5 mile run this beautiful, autumn morning, I am back up to a little over 25 miles for the week --plus 2 cycling classes. I feel refreshed and invigorated again. Running and exercise is truly an addiction for me. I feel grumpy and slow when I miss my workouts. Physically,I am still struggling with a tight left hamstring which I have not been able to shake. Also, speed seems to elude me a bit, but working back in speed work in the coming weeks in order to cut my 5K times is my goal. Plus, I have been battling the same 5 pounds off and on since APRIL!

I had hoped to reach my weight goal by taking off my last 30 pounds by now. I considering switching to Core with weight watchers...I just haven't figured what to do yet. It does not help(calorie wise) that we are weaning our 2 year old. Weaning this time is tough for me, since I want to hang on to every last bit of babyhood with our last child. If money was not an issue I would love to have 1 or 2 more ~ plus having a girl would be nice. Children just grow up so fast. ~sigh~

Not last!

Race finished....not last....mission accomplished! The 10-miler was more and less than I expected. There were many more participants than I had envisioned. Starting a race with more than a thousand people was something I had never experienced before. It was humid, it was hard, but I did it. I finished in 2 hours, 2 minutes and some change.

I met my goal of keeping my own pace in the beginning of the race and I managed to not get caught up in the excitement of running with others faster than my pace. As it turns out, my beginning pace was the pace (about 12 minute miles) I maintained throughout the remainder of the race. I was not fast by any stretch of the imagination. I had hoped to finish in under 2 hours --but now that's my goal for next year's race.

I expected to have to pull out all my reserves in the last 2 miles of the race but unexpectedly I struggled between miles 1 and 3 as well. In training, I enjoy getting into a groove on longer runs and getting lost in thought, however, this is hard to accomplish when there are so many other people around and bands playing loud music every few miles or so. (I like my own MP3 selections.)

The spectators and volunteers were great! There were more groups than I could count. I saw quite a few familiar faces and for once I was not concerned with what I looked like as I passed by them.(frazzled, exhausted, red-faced and sweating like a pig) One of my coworkers, who is a perpetual cheerleader in life, was on the sidelines encouraging me onward both times that I passed her on Rivermont Avenue. The students in front of Randy Mac were awesome. One group formed a line and high-fived me as I passed by-I needed that at the 6 mile mark!

My favorite encourager by far was my 6 year old son. He stood just inside the barricades, a few yards before the finish line. Before crossing the finish line, I went over and high-fived him....I wanted him to run with me across the finish line but I wasn't sure if that was against the rules.

I had victory in finishing and reaching my goals. (Also, I had victory in the last 1/4 mile as a gentleman, who I surmise was in his 70s, started to pass me and I gathered every bit of strength I had left to "sprint" and keep ahead of him--my husband referred to this man as my "Octogenarian nemesis." My husband blogged about the 10-miler from his point of view. I could not have gotten this far without my husband's support and encouragement--he is truly my greatest cheerleader!

My legs felt like lead for the rest of the Saturday and Sunday. They were sore when I ran a short 3 miles this morning....but the addiction continues.

My goals for next year's 10-miler:
1. Finish in under 2 hours
2. Train for heat and humidity
3. Lose 30 lbs

My goals for the next 6 months:
1. Work on mile times to work towards 9 minute miles
2. Do more speed work
3. Run in some 5Ks to work towards goal #1

No rain delay - running in the rain

When I heard that the remnants of hurricane Hannah would bring us rain, I saw it as an opportunity to try my first run in the rain. Although this was my first "rain run" it was not my first foul weather run. When I was in Boone this past Christmas, I enjoyed a 2 mile run on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the sleet and snow.

I ran the 10 miler course again today with the temperature in the mid 60s and a nice, steady rain. The first 4 miles were not bad at all, although I warmed up more slowly because normally I am warmed up 1 mile into a run and today it took 2 miles. I added only a visor to my regular running attire. I did make sure to wear my smartwool socks, knowing that wool wears better than cotton when wet. (I learned that lesson backpacking in downpours in the back country in Denali Park.) I also applied vaseline to known and predicted friction spots.

Things I learned today:
1) My rain soaked shorts "grew" longer after 5 miles.

2) My inner upper arm is a friction spot --I will remember next time as pain creates change.

3) I prefer running in the rain to any running on days with temps over 70 degrees.

4) Trying to avoid puddles is not worth the extra effort especially after 5 miles.

5) Running in the rain requires less water than hot days but more nutrition. Although I drank 2 liters of fluid (1 propel & 1 water) after finishing, I was jonesing for food after 6 miles.

6) I missed my MP3 player, but it was not as bad as I thought.

7) Running with a partner is a good practice in rain or shine.

8) I ran slower in the rain.

9) It is best not to run until there is at least some daylight.

9) I can do this!