Intervals: Take 2, and an Eye-Opening Dinner

I did my second set of intervals today.  It actually went pretty well, all things considered.  And when I say, “all things considered,” I’m specifically referring to the fact that I got about 5 ½ hours sleep after spending my evening processing tomatoes.  😛

I definitely wasn’t feel 100% this morning, but although skipping it was tempting, I knew there wouldn’t be another day this week I could get in an interval run, so I just swallowed my laziness and stopped hitting snooze, and out the door I eventually went.  The good news is, it was chilly this morning—like, chilly enough that I debated putting on a sweatshirt!  I knew in reality that I would warm up fast, so I left the sweatshirt at home.

My warm-up run was good, and I did indeed warm up fast. (Ohhhhhh, that’s why they call it  a “warm-up” run…! 😉 ) Before I even started my intervals, I decided I would not push myself as hard as I did last week, because I just didn’t feel invigorated.  I did push, though, and the first interval was going really well until…once again!!…I got stopped right at the end by a vehicle on the main road! Argh!  This one was a semi-truck, though, and it was a close enough encounter that I came to a dead stop (instead of trying to divert at a 90 degree angle) so as not to get flattened.

My remaining intervals were okay, but gosh, they were challenging.  I have to say I really wasn’t feeling it the way I did last week, but I did plug along to the best of my ability (thankfully my second trip across the main road was uneventful).  On the last one, I vowed to run as fast as I could without killing myself, and I also vowed to not look at my Garmin until it beeped, signaling the end of the quarter mile.  Well, I almost made it. 😉 I finally looked with .03 miles left to go, because I swore the damn thing must be broken because I SHOULD BE DONE BY NOW!!  (Yes, I was totally screaming that in my head.)

When it was all said and done, and I had dunked myself in the pool (Ha! From needing a sweatshirt to jumping in the pool! Did I mention it was 65 degrees?!?), I discovered my run really wasn’t that bad.

Honestly, my interval times weren’t much worse than last week.  I would actually venture to say that they were, on average, about the same.  And I was happy with that, considering how I felt!  Note that I did get my interval splits figured out so that I have the full run on one table. 😉  And, equally as pleasing to the eye, was my timing chart…

So pretty to look at.  Except for the blip where I stopped and cursed the semi-truck. 😛

Okay, enough about running.  I have another post I have wanted to make for a week, but I’ve been so behind I haven’t been able to.  It’s a post about food, which I don’t mention too often, because I try not to focus on it too much.  But, clearly, I do still like it.  A lot. 😉

I mentioned in my race report from the Wood Duck Dash that I had a special use planned for all the activity points I earned at the race. That Saturday happened to be the 20th anniversary of mine and my husband’s first date,  and to celebrate, on Saturday night, we went back to the Mexican restaurant where it all began.

I love Mexican food, and this place is great.  I will say that one thing you can get in the Detroit area is good, authentic Mexican. 😀  Since I’d taken a nap after my race instead of having lunch (lol), I had lots of Weight Watcher points left, not to mention 9 activity points from running a 10k!

We were worried when we arrived, because it was hard to even find a parking place, but we were lucky and got seated immediately!

I had been looking forward to this meal for several weeks.  I ordered chicken and steak fajitas, and I even allowed myself chips and salsa ahead of time (I usually skip those to save on points.) I ate beans, rice, and even a little bit of guacamole.   I had only eaten half my meal before I got full, and although the temptation to eat more was strong, I made myself stop, because I knew I wanted dessert.

While I was eating, I took the time to log my food into my eTools tracker on my phone. This is where things got eye-opening: there was a part of me that thought I shouldn’t bother to track my food, because, besides the fact that I’d skipped lunch, I had JUST RUN A 10K!! And that seems like a license to eat to me. 😉

Before I tracked it all, I would’ve told you that I had hardly made a dent in my points with my dinner, but once I logged it, I was shocked to find I not only used up all my dailies, but dipped a bit into my activity points! And that was without dessert! *thud* It is truly amazing how those points add up.  I was glad I took the time to track it, though, because I might have tried to finish my food, even though I was full, and that would have put me way over the top. Instead, because I stopped when I felt almost full, I was able to enjoy a delightful treat…

Ah, fried ice cream.  Is that really even Mexican?? I don’t know, and I don’t care, because I love it.  I split it with my husband, and it was as awesome as I remember.

We went to the mall afterward (we are so lame…we couldn’t think of anything else to do while we were kid-less!).  Mrs. Field’s tempted me, but every time I walked by, there was a line, so I took that as a sign to stay away.  I didn’t really want to buy anything at the mall, but it has been about 4 months since I bought my current pair of jeans, and I felt like I was needing a smaller size, so I tried a few pairs on at Macy’s.  I was positively ecstatic to find that size sixes fit—not just one pair, but FOUR pair of them.

Then, on the way out the door, I found a really cute pair of Tommy Hilfiger jeans that I decided to try on.  For kicks and giggles, I took not only the sixes, but also the fours.  About 2 minutes later, I came bounding out of the dressing room, practically jumping up and down in my excitement as I exclaimed to my husband, “These are size fours! And they fit!!!”  And then of course I pretty much threw my cell phone at him and demanded, “You have to take a picture of me!!!” Because I’m completely humble like that. 😉

Did I buy them? Heck no!  There’s no way on earth I’ll spend $70 on a pair of jeans. 😛 But just knowing they fit had me smiling for the rest of the night.  And then, to top of my night, I found something delightful when we stopped for gas on the way back to get the kids from my sister’s:

Aha!  Mrs. Field’s found me. 😉  I dutifully checked the points before I tore it open (it was hard, trust me), and when I discovered that the entire cookie was EIGHT points, I chose to only eat half and then shared the rest with the boys.  It was worth the four points for sure, but really, that taste was all I needed to satisfy my mental need for a Mrs. Field’s cookie.

I have not been posting as often as I’d like, but I have been very busy with tomatoes.  I processed 68 pounds of tomatoes between last night and tonight, for a total of over 130 pounds since the beginning of the month. They are ripening at a rapid pace these days, so if I’m not around much, don’t despair–I’ll be back when my tomatoes are gone!! And I’ll probably even have some pictures to share. 😉

Thanks so much for reading!