cherokee harvest half marathon and 5k

so last year i ran the half marathon, you can read about it here if you'd like. this year i signed up for the half again, but i didn't train properly. soooo, 5k it was.

cherokee is about an hour away, and honestly, there aren't many 5k's that i'd drive that far to run. but this one is well worth the [beautiful] drive. the leaves were all changing and the weather was perfect.

they started the race with a prayer just like they did last year and i really liked that. the course itself was pretty flat, very scenic.

check out all the swag we got:

long sleeved tech shirt, nike N7 tshirt, and a recover brands hoodie that is SO SOFT.

isn't that a pretty medal?

i was pretty happy with my time, all things considered. although i feel like i've been saying that about my running ever since the marathon. which was 7 months ago if you're keeping up. too long ago to still be an excuse! i'm excited to actually prepare for a race and give it my best effort. right now i'm looking ahead to the runthebluegrass half and the flying pig. not sure what race/races i'm doing in Cincinnati, but hopefully i'll get that figured out soon. the last thing i want to do is sign up for too much/too long and do half assed training because my heart's not into it.

so anyways, i HIGHLY recommend this race. either one, they're both great courses and they give out great swag. i always appreciate races that put the racers first and they do everything to make this an A+ event, and a great experience for the racers.

i wore this shirt for the first time and it was bittersweet. i bought it last year when sherri was still with us and planned on wearing it and sending her a picture. i know she's smiling down on me, but man i miss her a lot.

it's almost holiday bootie buster challenge time!!

it's that time again!! it's time to sign up for the holiday bootie buster challenge (HBBC). i've participated in this challenge for the past two years and i can't even begin to tell you about how wonderful it is (but i'm going to try).

Amanda at Run to the Finish hosts this challenge and this will be the 6th year that she's hosted it. If you don't follow her blog, you're seriously missing out. She's fun, informative, down to earth, and just plain nice.

Basically, HBBC is an eight week challenge (right during one of the toughest times of the year). You get points for working out, eating fruits and veggies, drinking water, etc. You're competing against others in the challenge (but you can pick what intensity level you want to join) and it really motivates me to get out there and do something! And you're competing for over $3000 in prizes!! (some prizes are random and some are for points).

Here's a link to Amanda's HBBC post if you want all the details. I hope you'll join me, you will not regret it!

yesterday was quite the roller coaster

so yesterday started off with a bang. i didn't oversleep but was late heading out the door to my 830 am pure barre class. i literally had no time to spare. well as i'm on my way i get a call from brad to say he thinks his keys (car keys, pharmacy keys) are in my car. awwwwwwesome. turn around, missed my class.

best part of it? the keys weren't even in my car. so i decided to kill time at starbucks. the green tea was great, trying to get on the internet was not.

45 minutes later i headed back to pure barre. they kicked my butt all over the place then i headed for my second round of pain... dentist. i figured it'd be fine since i actually had the hard part done two weeks ago (root canal). but no, it couldn't be that easy. apparently my dentist nicked my cheek at some point and a nerve in there got a little mad. it hurt, let's leave it at that.

next stop? appointment at the blood donation center. yes i like to squeeze all my painful things in one day :) it's really not that bad, i think the finger stick is worse than the actual arm stick.  my technician was great and so were the snacks!

the day ended on a great note though. last night i tried a new recipe and it was AMAZING! y'all have to try it! i made skinny taste's butternut squash and spinach lasagna rolls.

tell me something good that happened to you yesterday!

summary sunday [on a monday, no less]

monday:  pure barre
tuesday:  ran 3.5 miles
wednesday:  rest
thursday:  pure barre
friday:  rest
saturday:  cherokee harvest 5k
sunday:  rest

this is after class on thursday with my awesome friend/pb instructor lindsay. Pure Barre is hosting a challenge this month on FB and everyday they give you a prompt for a photo. this was for PBFF.

i picked up an extra shift this week so between working 50 hours and preparing for a visit from the in-laws, i was pooped.

i had a mixed experience at my WW weigh in this week, that i have to share with you all. okay so i go to weigh in and i lost another 4 pounds. of course i was ecstatic but the person weighing me was not. she gave me a very long talk and explained that if i had another week like this i'd have to get a doctor's note. i'm trying to be objective, but i'm not really sure what to think of this. here are some of the thoughts i'm having...

• yes the program is designed for 1/2 to 2 pound weight loss per week but it even says in the getting started book, that it might be more during your first 3 weeks (this was my second week). 
• my first week i did not eat all my extra weekly points (they encourage you to), but the second week i did (anniversary dinner, ate out a couple of times, etc.) so i'm following the program. 
• WW gives 5 pound stickers out for every 5 pounds you lose, she didn't give me my sticker :(
• now i'm scared to death to go weigh in next week. i've OBVIOUSLY still got weight to lose but i don't want to get scolded again. part of me wants to weigh myself during the week to make sure i haven't lost too much. but that's just dumb, i'm following the program and weighing myself everyday is not good for me. 

what do you all think? 

i still went to get a celebratory diet coke afterwards!

why i decided to head back to weight watchers and a bit of background on my weight loss battle

so as i mentioned yesterday, i rejoined weight watchers last week. i put a lot of thought into this decision and i really do think it's the best one for me.

some background... i have fought to control my weight for pretty much my whole life, but seriously after i graduated high school. i did weight watchers the summer before i started pharmacy school and had a lot of success. unfortunately, when i went to school i quit going to meetings (i'd been going with my mom and grandmother at home), so i never got lifetime status, and i gained back the weight. i've done various things between then and now and i'd definitely classify myself as a yo-yo dieter. food is my achilles heel for sure.

as i shared on here last year, i worked with a guy who made a workout plan and an eating plan for me. it helped me to lose a little more than 20 pounds. for reasons that i don't really want to get into right now, i gained pretty much all the weight back.

so here we are again. i did a lot of thinking and spent some time trying to figure out what's important to me. i kept coming back to weight watchers.

here are the major reasons why i chose weight watchers over all the other options:

• it's tried and true. they've been around for 50 years and they're constantly updating the program to incorporate new research. they know what they're doing. i have personally done weight watchers twice before (here's hoping the whole 'third time's a charm' thing rings true here also) and when i work the program, it works for me. 
• i am sick of being so extremely restricted in what i can and cannot eat. while i had great success losing weight with the clean eating approach i followed last year, maintenance was very hard for me. i mean, i couldn't eat a peach for goodness sakes. and unfortunately, i'm very much the type who thinks once i eat one thing that's not on the plan i've messed up the whole day, week, etc. i'm not saying it makes sense or is rational, i'm just saying that because of that, my previous plan was no longer an option. plus the guy who made my plans had no idea how to help me fuel to run. NONE. 
• i like the accountability of weight watchers [weekly weigh ins + going to meetings with friends]. 
• my OCD self loves tracking points and looking at spreadsheets/charts (WW has seriously stepped up their online tool game). 
• i want something that helps me to keep the weight off, instead of abandoning me when i've worked so hard to lose the weight. 
• i want something live-able. 
• i enjoy cooking, and i really like that i can try new dishes and cook some!

anyways, i just wanted to share. i'll keep you all updated!

summary sunday

october 7-13

monday:  pure barre

tuesday:  pure barre

wednesday:  rest day

thursday:  ran 3 miles

friday:  pure barre

saturday:  rest day

sunday:  whoops, another rest day

i'm feeling a little under the weather (just stuffy nose/headache) so i took it easy this weekend. my parents were also able to run over for a quick, last minute visit so i'd obviously rather hang out with them than go run! i also got in touch with the cherokee harvest race director and i'm dropping down to the 5k next weekend. i hate to drive so far for a 5k, and i thought about just deferring. But this race has the best swag, and i do want to show my support because i think it's a great local race. you get a lot of bang for your buck, it's a beautiful course, and they really put on a great race. 

friday was our 5 year anniversary and brad stepped up and spoiled me rotten. we both had to work all day and saturday, but we went downtown to eat a really nice dinner at limone's. we discovered it during our staycation week and wanted to go back (short rib nachos... i die). i have got to start doing posts about all this great food in asheville. it's a small miracle that i don't weigh 300 pounds. 

in related news, i sucked up my pride and re-joined weight watchers last friday. i had my first weigh in this week and i lost 4 pounds. i'll have a post tomorrow discussing more about why i decided to do this. 

i hope you all are having a great weekend, i'm off to do some grocery shopping and food prep!

summary sunday

september 30 - october 6

monday:  AM - pure barre  PM - ran 3 miles

tuesday:  rest

wednesday:  overslept my AM pure barre class, ran 3.5 miles in PM

thursday:  PM - pure barre

friday:  AM - pure barre, PM - walked 4 miles

saturday:  ran 3.5 miles

sunday:  pure barre

so 4 PB classes and 10 miles of running. wow that doesn't seem like a lot of running at all. my knee has been giving me a little bit of trouble (ever since the downhill at dawn half marathon), so at this point i think it would be very unwise to run the half marathon in 2 weeks. achey knee + lack of preparation probably isn't the best formula for a good day. we'll see.

i did start rotating in a new pair of wave riders to see if that helps my knee any. i bought these on sale at the expo for the asheville marathon and have been dying to wear them because i LOVE the colors.

do you buy running shoes in advance? i have had this pair in my closet since march, i won a pair of 16s in july that i have, and i also have a pair of 13s that i bought at tj maxx like a year ago that i haven't used yet. might be a little ridiculous, but i don't like to pay full price for shoes! i know the style works for me, so if i find them on sale i usually buy them!

speaking of buying shoes, the awesome guys over at kindrunner sent me a tech shirt and some new socks to try. i've never tried feetures but they worked really well for me during a short 3 miler. i'll be testing them some more over (hopefully) longer distances and i'll let you all know how they do.

kindrunner has a great feature on their site called the confident runner price... if you know your style and size then you can forfeit free return shipping for a discounted price on your shoes (you still get free shipping to you and free shipping of any shoes you're donating). add that to their kind cash rewards and you've got a pretty sweet deal on your shoes, LOVE THEM!

i am a kindrunner ambassador but all opinions are my own. this is a company that i am happy to stand behind, they're amazing!