I've prepared well for this one. All my runs are done, and I've even started to add in hill repeats to my regular routes. It seems like so many of the articles I've read over the last year in Runner's World magazine have touted the importance of hills and speed work in becoming a faster, stronger runner. So, I figured it was time to start adding some of that stuff in. So, training-wise, I'm good.
As many of my friends and family know, I'm a Weight Watchers member in addition to being a runner. I have to say, my diet has not been the greatest lately. I don't know why really. I know the plan. I know what I should do. Heck, I've been a Weight Watchers member this time around for over 4 years and the first time around for a few more years. I am very good at sticking to the plan all week, but lately when the weekend hits, something in my brain flips and I just go bonkers with food. Maybe it is the "holiday" mode we've had lately...Mother's Day, Memorial Day. I know it is no excuse, but on both of those occasions I pretty much ate everything that was within a 300 foot radius. Ugh. It is so silly because I know I'm not going to feel good eating all that junk, but for some reason I do it anyway. Live & learn, I suppose. The good news is that I am back on track this week, and I'm feeling good for the race next weekend. I know I'll have a good food weekend coming up because I'm running. Maybe I just need to race every weekend to keep me on the Weight Watchers straight & narrow...
It is funny because a woman who is in a Facebook group that I am in posted recently that she was struggling with her place in Weight Watchers as she sees and hears from so many "perfect" WW members in her meetings. Her post has stayed with me for more than a week. None of us are perfect WW members, and the plan even builds in "imperfections" to a degree; we have to be accountable to ourselves and at the end of the day, to the scale. We all need the support, ideas, recipes, guidelines, tricks & tips that the program and meetings offer, and that is why we all still go there. It is a place to feel success and to share struggles. It is a place to get your head back where it needs to be. That is going to be my focus in the coming weeks.
I know that I need to stay focused after the VT race is over though, too, as I will be running two races within one week this coming July. About a month and a half after Vermont, those races come in to play, so no slacking for me the early part of the summer! I'm actually glad for that, as I hope to stay more focused on a healthy diet. The summer should be a good time for that. My husband has planted a huge and wonderful garden for us, and we are both so excited to have our own fresh produce this summer. Included in the garden are peas, green beans, various lettuces, beets, scallions, radishes, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, carrots, parsnips, corn, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, yellow squash, zucchini, pumpkins, and I still have yet to start my herbs. It will be a great bounty if everything comes up. We can't wait!
I will write again after the Vermont race is over. It should be a beautiful run.
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| The humble beginning of what will hopefully be a bountiful summer garden. |
***This just in...As an addendum to this post, I weighed in at my regular WW meeting the day after I posted this, and to my great astonishment I was down 1.4 lbs. I was flabbergasted and overjoyed, as the resulting weight is my ideal racing weight. Somehow, I got lucky this time. No more crazy food days before the next race!
