Life After...

Life after the marathon.  What can I say?  It's been a strange feeling.  I was working out minimally the first week.  I didn't run.  Personal training was light.  My eating was still not stellar.

For me, working out is a stress reliever.  It puts me in a good mood.  If I've been grumpy all day, I kick my butt in the gym or running and I feel 10x better! 

But I really wanted to work on recovering so I didn't want to push the activity.  But...

Minimal activity + less-than-stellar eating = depressed Mandy! 

Yes, I like to use my nickname when I talk about myself in the 3rd person.

After talking with my personal trainer Mike (more on him in a minute), I was complaining about my lack of self control with my eating/snacking.  He always preaches about eating good.  So I finally asked him, "What did you eat today?"

Mike's menu: Oatmeal with raspberries/blueberries, Fiber One Bar, Turkey Sandwich on Whole Wheat Bread (loaded with veggies), yogurt, veggie burrito bowl from Chipotle (no cheese/sour cream, light guac and brown rice).  What!?!  Brown Rice?  Apparently they have brown rice now!  Sweet!!  lol.

Anyway, the moral of the story.  First of all, that is one healthy menu!  Secondly, it sounds delicious to me!  I love all that stuff.  That's the way I ate (mostly) when I lost all my weight in the first place.  And it sounds better than the crap I've been eating that I don't really even care for or like that's high in fat and calories!

So I was completely inspired.  Funny how one thing can turn your whole thinking around.  It just made me remember that it is possible!  Granted, our daily lives are different because he is up all day and has no time to snack, whereas I sit at my desk all day where I can snack whenever I want!  But I'm still inspired.  So, today has been a good day so far.  And I'll make it continue all week.

I really need to focus on my eating right now since I'm not running as much as I was!  I went from running 35-40+ miles a week plus personal training plus another day of cross-training to maybe working out 5 hours a week! 

But I did have an awesome weekend.  Oh wait, the rest of the "Mike" story.  He's leaving my gym.  I still have PT sessions left for a few months.  He does want me to come to the new gym (of course) after I'm done and will give a reduced rate from their normal session price.  But I'm not sure I will do that.  So he is recommending I get the trainer, Megan.  I've seen her workout and she is pretty good.  I think it will be a good change for me to work out with a new trainer.  I think Mike came into my life at the perfect time, right before marathon training, to help me prepare for the marathon (since he is a marathoner).  But I am getting a little tired of some of the sessions, so even though I was sad that Mike said he was leaving because we get along great (sarcasm and back and forth banter), I'm looking forward to a change in my sessions.

Ok, last weekend. 

First, my dad's restaurant had a charity chili eating competition between the Chicago Fire Dept and the Police Dept.  It went to the charity of their choice.  2/3 to the winning team, 1/3 to the losing team.  The Police Dept won.  It was a fun competition and the local news channels were there.  You did see me on a clip of a few of the news casts but not much.  I ended up helping pass the bowls of chili to the firemen when they needed more. 

I'm in the green shirt (putting my waitressing skills to good use).  My dad is in the back standing up in the black chef's coat.  My mom you can barely see, but she is on the upper right, near the doorway looking at the guy with the camera phone.

Anyway, the other part of my weekend?  A trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan to see my friend Kelly run the marathon.  She was the one that ended up not finishing in Chicago the other weekend because she threw up.  She wanted to finish a marathon and signed up for Grand Rapids.

In a nutshell, I think she started this marathon out too fast.  I saw her at mile 7.  I ran with her from 17-18.  Then at mile 22, she told me she threw up after mile 18 and couldn't continue running.  But being determined to finish, she walked from 18.5 to the finish (I walked from 22-finish with her).  She threw up at least another 4 times.  I felt really bad but just tried to stay encouraging.  She was really grateful I went to help her along.  I was really glad too because I wasn't sure if I should or not.  But it ended up being only a 2.5 hour drive, and considering the rough time she had, I'm glad I was there to try and help her through it.  And she got her medal!

Kelly and I after the run!

Congratulations Kelly!  Never gave up!

So, that's life after the marathon.  A little dull.  A little exciting.  Now I just really have to find new goals to work towards.  Right now, it's getting my eating in check.  And getting ready for my vacation in November!  It's a cruise!  Nice!!!