4 weeks to Shamrock half

It's a bit fascinating that I am still the same weight considering all the running and calorie watching these last few weeks.

As far as running, finding my strength and resolve back. I felt pretty good running a 9:46 pace in the Sweetheart 4-mile race last Sunday. Confidence booster.

Today is 5 miles, followed by a 2-hour or 13 miles tomorrow (MCM Half course which is tough).

Looking forward to rest on Monday.

Two days in a row of running...

yesterday 6.5 miles;

today 90 min - zone 2 - ~8 miles.

Food - I need to start recording my food consumption again with Lose It.

Starting again....

2 beers and a glass of wine

...and a big prosciutto pizza, chips and nuts - calories from this afternoon. I was doing well given it's a Friday, until 5:30 came and at this time everyone assembles at a place called the Sports Centre in our office in La Hulpe. The sports center is just that - a gym with a restaurant and a bar. It's the happening place, and yes I indulged - my favorite Hoegaarden Rose!

No exercise on Thursday and Friday.

Saturday is redeem day. Here's sticking to the plan tomorrow.

Cheers!

I have lost nothing!

I'm losing it with LoseIt. It just got so confused when I changed the time on my computer to EST to Brussels time. Now I have to reenter 2 days worth of data and be reminded that I have been over calories for 2 days in a row.

I really could exercise more discipline in ordering less food - I have to stay away from ordering food combos that are tempting but with many more calories.

It is now 2 weeks - and not a pound lost.

God help me!

Week 2 Summary and start of Week 3

Week 2 ended with a big bowl of Spaghetti Bolognese and a glass of red wine. So it can be interpreted as either good or bad. Good because this is my favorite (of all favs) food combination and it was like an exclamation point to end the week; or additional calories that I could have lost down the road. Did I need Spaghetti Bolognese? Calorie-wise - no; and yes-since I am all by my lonesome. It felt like getting a hug.

Start of Week 3:

Monday, 17 Jan in La Hulpe, BE

15 min - walk / run

30 min - stretch and strengthen

Not too bad. Now off to get ready for work and ah before that breakfast buffet at downstairs (of hotel at Dolce La Hulpe).

Off I go....

Week 2 of Shamrock half-marathon training starts

Monday, 10 Jan - I was very good. Calories under the goal level. Even attended a very interesting yoga/pilates class.

Tuesday, 11 Jan - Bad day.over by 240 calories. Missed the 3 mile run. It must have been the 1-11-11 - oh well, had to blame it on something. As soon as I got home tonight, I was excited to make a shrimp thai curry dish. The dish was yummy, and we have left overs for tomorrow.

Wednesday - I redeemed myself. Still having hard getting up in the morning to begin my run, but I did start my day with a 30-min meditation. As soon as I got home, got on the treadmill for a 30 min tempo run. I ran a 9:13 pace for only 8 min instead of 15. The night is still young and I still have 53 calories more I can spend.

Week 1 Shamrock Half marathon training completed!

I have been doing very well I must say, thanks mostly for the exercise.

Exercise:

This week - Mon-Sun, I ran a total of 23 miles. All but 8 were on the treadmill. Today, I actually ran 8 miles/1.5 hours at Chancellor battlefield with my running buddies and had a blast. A bit windy and cold but so refreshing to be running outside. This is the longest run and first outdoor run since October 2010. So this is a good milestone to have.

Diet:

I am now on Day 3 recording my food intake in an app called Lose It. The goal is to stay at 1222 calorie per day. It is really cool how the calorie intake count is adjusted to give points to the exercise so technically I can consume more food.

On Fri, my intake was over the calorie goal for the day and that was such a big eye-opener. Yesterday was pretty good and today is looking even better. I already calculated how much dinner I will eat and because of the run this morning I can actually have a glass of red wine with dinner.

I am totally psyched!