Tedy’s Team Group Run – 12 Miles (1/3/15)

This run would be mentally tough. I knew that going into it. Last week's run was emotional as it marked the 2-year anniversary of my Grampa passing away. This week would be more of a mental game. I was tired when I woke up. I opted to run 5 miles and do an intense Flywheel Spin class the night before today's 12-miler. What was I thinking? I was thinking I need to push myself to get better. Plus, the class was being taught by my Tedy's Team teammate and friend Melinda. She would also be running 12 miles today. If she could teach the kick ass class then I could take it... and come in first on the Torq board! ;)

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I made sure to sleep in my Zensah compression shorts and socks last night to help the legs recover for today's hilly 12-miler.

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That's right folks! It was time to face Heartbreak Hill for the first time since June.

I made sure to dress up for the occasion and rock my Comic Book Sparkle Athletic skirt.

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I would have the pleasure once again of running with Page. I was worried I would slow her down today due to tired legs, but she was feeling under the weather so we decided no matter the pace to stick together.

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It has been great having the accountability with Page to get me through our #FridayFive runs (5 miles every Friday morning) and these last couple training runs. Usually Page works on Saturday so from here on out she will miss our group runs. Darnit!

After stretching and foam rolling inside Joint Ventures in Kenmore Square, it was time to buck up and hit the road for some miles.

While it was cold (real feel 18 degrees), the sun was out and there wasn't any snow or rain. So really nothing to complain about on that side. It is winter in Boston of course it will be cold.

Instead of the normal out and back, we would be heading out Beacon Street for just under 6 miles, taking a right on to Centre Street in Newton, taking a right onto Comm Ave (hello Heartbreak) then a final left on to Beacon Street. All told that loop is roughly 11.6 miles. So you know I would be making Page add on a little extra at the en to get the 12. :P

Mile 1: 8:33 Mile 2: 9:15 Mile 3: 8:59

Boy those inclines/baby hills during Mile 2 get me every week. I always think we are running faster in mile 2 than mile 1, but the splits never measure up with that. :P

Just after making it through Mile 3 at Coolidge Corner, we have a quick break at our first water stop of the morning.

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And Margaret and I can take our weekly selfie! 4-for-4

While we headed towards Boston College, I knew another hill would be ahead of us. Yes this route is hilly all over the place. ;)

As we buckled down and pushed up the hill, I could feel the previous night's Spin class! I tried to use it as fuel rather than an excuse to slow it down. I wanted to push myself up the hill, but save some in the tank for Heartbreak.

Mile 4: 9:00 Mile 5: 9:07 Mile 6: 8:50

Can you tell where I celebrated the downhill?

We headed through Newton center, passing other runners along the way and took our right on Centre Street. We took a quick moment to grab a pic of cool street art.

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I appreciate running with Page since she doesn't mind stopping for pics along the way. I know it can be annoying to run with a blogger sometimes... or rather this blogger! I know there is a difference. ;)

After a quick run down Centre Street, which offers cute shops, beautiful church and a little incline, we were ready to take the right on to Comm Ave.

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Since we were meeting Comm Ave at Centre Street, we weren't getting the full tour of Heartbreak Hill today. For those that don't know, the historic Heartbreak Hill isn't just one hill - it is about three miles of rolling hills with the toughest at the end. So yes we were getting the biggest beast today.

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It's so awesome seeing so many runners out on the course. Lots of head nods, smiles and high fives along the way. I mean we are all out there grinding away so folks feel your pain.

2015 will mark Page's fifth Boston with Tedy's Team and my third so it is great to swap "war stories" or memories while running on familiar terrain.

Mile 7: 8:51

It is a great sight seeing BC again because you know the hill is over and a water stop is ahead.

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Long runs with Tedy's Team means that Swedish Fish are back in my life! :) I can't express how excited I get seeing these at Mile 20 of the Boston Marathon. It is the little things in life sometimes.

After a quick snack break - Gu for Page and mini Luna Bar for me - it was time to crank out the final few miles.

We made our way back to Beacon St and the final stretch.

Mile 8: 8:36

One final water stop awaited us just before Mile 9 so we stopped one last time to catch up with our amazing Tedy's Team support crew: Margaret and Lauren.

And we had a surprise visit from our teammate Lisa, who was out on her own 16-miler.

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It was an awesome pick-me-up.

Apparently these Saturday morning runs aren't all about chatting and laughing with folks, you actually have to run. Page and I bid adieu to everyone and went about finishing this 12-miler.

Mile 10: 8:42 Mile 11: 9:03

After pushing up and over the final incline/hill into Kenmore Square, Page and I opted to add the final .4 to hit 12 on the dot. Since we were both looking forward to some Dunkin' Donuts coffee, we figured out the route to drop us right in front of Dunks. Winning!

Mile 12: 8:45

Yes hilly 12-miler in the books! First run-in with Heartbreak - OWNED. I won't lie and say that entire run felt awesome because it didn't. BUT it felt great to push through the hills and finish strong.

Each run I learn I am stronger than I think I am.

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These training runs are so inspiring. I love getting out learning more about why my teammates are running. It's also motivating to see so many runners out on the course getting in their work early in the morning.

While enjoying our coffee and getting some stretching/foam rolling in...

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... we enjoyed a talk by some of the folks at Marathon Sports. They were sharing tips on finding the perfect running shoe and winter running apparel for you.

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It was a great little clinic and I walked away wanting to spend all my money on new winter running gear. Shocking right? ;)

Week 4 long run done and next week we do our first Riverside Run. What is that you ask? We take the green line to Riverside stop and run the 10 miles back to Kenmore Square - all on the marathon course.

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Week 4 Workouts:

Sunday, December 28: 4.5-mile run Monday, December 29: 5-mile run Tuesday, December 30: 45-min Spin class (The Handle Bar), 45-min walk & 5-mile run Wednesday, December 31: 6.1-mile run (4 in AM & 2.1 in PM) Thursday, January 1: 5k run & 5k walk Friday, January 2: 5-mile run & 51-min Spin class (Flywheel) Saturday, January 3: 12-mile run

Okay the Spin classes had some strength training elements to them - so improvement - but I am looking for even more. I reached out to the Tedy's Team coach to help me write up a detailed training plan with specific strength training exercises. I'm much better at following a plan than trying to wing it!

***

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Wicked pumped to be $85.60 away from goal!

Face It Friday: A Gain, 100 APs & Recipe Builder Lesson! 1/2/15

I did it. I faced the scale. I didn't want to. I thought of 1,000 reasons not to.

Then I got a text from a friend saying she would be facing the scale every Friday no matter what and that I would be her accountability buddy.

Fiiinnnee universe. I will take that as a sign to just get it over with.

Also, I made the promise in last week's Face It Friday post (read here) that I would continue to weigh in AND after a holiday just to stay connected.

The number on the scale does not measure success or failure for me, but rather feedback. Yes I would love to stay at a certain number, but if that numbers goes up I will no longer say I failed. I will look at my tracker, reassess what worked and what didn't and move on.

So today I got up and faced it.

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I knew it wouldn't be pretty. I had a heavy point day the day prior, I drank 2 beers (which I never do the day before weigh in) and got my period. Lucky me, huh? :P

Plus I hadn't weighed in since Christmas Eve morning and had a ROUGH week foodwise.

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While I tracked it all or estimated as best as possible, it wasn't good. I indulged too much and didn't have enough fruits/veggies.

But I owned every decision.

And the scale read...

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Ick! I was hoping to at least stay in the 150s. Oh well. I got my feedback and today started a fresh clean week.

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Boy I love the look of a new week.

I followed two weeks of losses with two weeks of gains, not okay for my goals.

Now my immediate reaction was to shy away from posting about the gain. But you know what folks gain. Heck I gained that 20 lbs back in the Spring. I wasn't happy about it, but I am human. Sharing about the struggles are par for the course in this tricky world of maintenance.

So I am working past the negative comments in my head and focusing on the positives of this past week:

^ Faced the scale when I didn't want to or could've taken a NWI

^ I've kept the streak alive for hitting goal on my activelink - 27 days and counting

^ I earned 100 APs this week. Also the gain proves that you cannot out workout a bad diet!

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^ I extended my tracking streak to 56 days. Not every PPV entered was exact, but I estimated as best as possible.

^ Set a course PR at my New Year's Day 5k!

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It was the fifth-straight New Year's Day I kicked off with a 5k.

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^ I used recipe builder even though I wanted to pretend the homemade cookies from my dad were less PPV than they were.

So my dad makes these delicious cookies with raspberry jam and this gooey glaze. I was counting them this past week as 2 PPV since I could eat them in 2 bites (tiny cookies). But I knew that had to be low. I asked my dad for the recipe and he happily gave it to me. Okay he gave it to me after saying: "I don't think you want to know how many points these cookies are!" Oh dad, that is exactly when I do! :)

I proceeded to enter the recipe into recipe builder and got the PPV of the whole recipe. My dad said the recipe should make 36 cookies, but his batch is usually around 30. I put 36 cookies into the builder and got 3 PPV per cookie. THEN I looked myself in the mirror and said put in the actual number - 30 - which turned it to 4 PPV each!

OUCH!!!!!

But I went back into my tracker and correctly tracked the cookies.

I was proud of myself for 1) not pretending the cookies were less PPV than they were and 2) taking the bull by the horn and saving the recipe/PPV in my tracker so I am prepared for the next time I come face to face with those cookies.

***

While this week wasn't ideal, I am still proud of the things I learned and truly did enjoy ever PPV I used. Facing the scale can be scary, but it doesn't define you as a person:

See the number, accept it and learn from it!

***

How do you face the scale when you don't want to?

My quest to 1,000 Miles in 2014!!

2014 Total Mileage To Date: 1,111.1 January: 90.0

February: 73.9

March: 106.1

April: 104.2

May: 94.8

June: 53.0

July: 79.0

August: 57.2

September: 74.3

October: 100.0

November: 121.6

December: 157.0

Happy running!

Inaugural Star Wars Weekend: #RebelTweetup, Course Maps & Costume Sneak Peek

T-minus 17 days until the wife and I pack our bags and head to Disneyland! Woo! This will be the first trip to Disneyland for both of us and the start of our Coast 2 Coast medal goal for 2015.

Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend Makes Its Intergalactic Arrival at Disneyland Resort in 2015

For those that don't know, the inaugural Star Wars weekend will take place in Disneyland from January 16-18, 2015! I will be taking part in all three races: 5k on Friday, 10k on Saturday and Half Marathon on Sunday. My wife will be taking on the #RebelChallenge, which is 10k and Half.

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I can't wait to walk away from the weekend with four of these amazing medals. If only I could pass off as young enough for the Kids Race. ;)

Now I don't just take these trips for the medals (shocking I know), the wife and I will be hitting up the parks and trying to soak in as much as possible in our four days in Cali.

I keep hearing that Disneyland is more laid back than Disney World, which I can already see with fewer parks and no magic bands. It'll be like stepping back in time? :P

In addition to racing and parks, I'm wicked excited to see as many friends as possible. So you KNOW a meetup would form! Linzie from Sharp Endurance and I will be hosting the #RebelTweetup on Saturday, January 17 from 1-3pm PST at Trader Sam's.

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Sharpie and I hosted a meetup together with Kat from Katrina Elle for Dopey Challenge in January and had a blast.

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We WILL once again have some sweet prizes to hand out, but really want to get together and meet some online friends in real life for once AND pass on some sweet high-fives.

So please feel free to join us, tell your friends and RSVP here on Facebook to add it to your calendar! :)

We look forward to seeing you then!!

***

Now thanks to the interwebs I was able to check out the course maps ahead of time.

5k

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10k

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Half

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Since I've never been to Disneyland, it really doesn't mean anything to me (right now), but they look like similar to how they work at Disney World. Am I right? More out of the parks for Half.

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My favorite parts of Disney races are the character stops, medals, and costumes!! One can run a Disney race without wearing a costume, but I like to go with a theme.

The Star Wars theme has proven a little more difficult for me. I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan so choosing must-do characters is tough. Thankfully the wife is a huge Star Wars fan - yes the reason we are doing the races - so she is trying to help me out.

While I am still working on 5k and 10k - last minute I know - my half costume has been decided: an Ewok.

Here is a sneak peek at the cute tank/hoodie we got.

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I mean amazing, right? I love it. It is super comfortable too.

First and foremost a costume must NOT interfere with my running. I need practical costumes over cute ones. There are a lot of miles being run here.

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But I cannot wait to make this trip happen. I am looking forward to every minute of it.

Are you going to be at the inaugural Star Wars weekend?

Merry Christmas To Me...

I can admit I am not a huge Holiday person. I don't know why, but they usually give me a lot of anxiety. So this year I was wicked excited to learn we would be staying home. Well my parents and I would be. The wife would once again be heading home to Chicago to see her family. :/ The pups and I miss her.

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I was happy to be staying home since my alarm is set for 6:15am on Friday morning so I can get to work by 7am. Woo... not! :P No I am happy to be subbing for a friend since I need the money. The problem will Thursday holidays is I miss out on 4 meetings worth of pay, which stinks.

After my Wednesday Noon meeting in Newton, I took to the highway to get home... and sat in traffic. Oh the holidays. ;) I was a little jealous of the people in the other cars heading out of town for a long weekend, but the traffic wore the jealousy off quickly. Haha.

Once I did some last-minute errands, I was ready to be home and away from the masses. I had planned to get in a second workout (had run 4 miles before work), but after surviving traffic and people - I opted for a beer. ;) Smart choice, right?

Around 6pm the pups and I headed upstairs to my parents' place to start our Christmas Eve tradition: Chinese food, wine and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Oh oh and PJs. Thank you comfort.

It was great to just kick back and relax for an evening. I am not good at putting away work (both for Weight Watchers and the blog) and just be. It is a sweet treat.

I was wicked excited about my parents' gifts that I made them open them Christmas Eve so I could set them up.

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Yup I got them Fitbit Ones! I'm ready to compete against them already. Feel free to friend me on Fitbit if you want (email above on the pic).

Oh and my dad made these little devil cookies!

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I am waiting for him to give me the recipe so I can actually calculate the Weight Watchers PPV.

Since I would be waking up early for a couple of run dates, I headed downstairs around 10pm. Not that I would go right to sleep, but I was ready to be laying down in bed. Thanks wine. :P

I bounded out of bed at 7am so I could get the pups ready for the day and myself clothed for my run. The game plan was a 5k run with my dad biking with me at 7:30 and another 5k with my friend Lori at 8am. Great way to get 6.2 miles in before 9am.

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It was downpouring the entire time, but we felt badass for getting out there and getting it done.

Yes that is Lori and I drinking a Slumbrew (Porter Sq Porter for me and Happy Sol for her) at 9am. It was part of the main reason why she agreed to run with me. Lori and I went to high school together and are both part of the Slumbrew Happy Soles.

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Lori is training to run her first marathon - Boston Marathon 2015 for charity. Amazing and so great to chat with someone training for their first marathon.

After Lori headed home to spend the holiday with her family, I was on my way to find an open Dunkin' Donuts. Yes priorities folks.

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#DaniRunsOnDunkin

It took two stops, but I found an open Dunkins and was ready for the day to continue.

We did a small gift exchange. Well the parents had already opened the gift from me the night before and they just went to Universal Studios for a few days as their gift to each other. Sooo it was really me opening gifts.

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Oh it was a great haul.

I received:

* Dunkin gift card AND two pack of French Vanilla K-Cups

* $75 in gift cards to Disney, which paired with the ones Tori and I received means we have $275 for our trip to Disneyland in January (YYYAAAYYY!!!!)

* Some minions - plush and plastic - from their trip to Universal

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* Two sweet new Alex and Ani bracelets. I have a runner one so now I just need them to create a swimmer

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* A sweet picture frames from the pups

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* A Visa Gift Card (also will use at Disney)

* Replacement pair of sparkly black TOMS since I wore mine so much they have a hole in both soles

* Some great office supplies for my new standing desk

All in all a great and practical haul. I am big on practical gifts. ;)

Once I was finished with gifts it was the pups turn.

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Yes they had identical stockings.

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Inside they sniffed out: a stuffie, 3 tennis balls and two snacks. Molly immediately devoured her two snacks. She is not one for portion control.

After hugs, thanks and puppy kisses, we turned on Madagascar 2. I somehow had seen 1 and 3, but missed 2. So it was great to finally see it. Super cute.

As the morning went on, the weather improved. At 1pm the weather was sunny and warm so I had to get back out there and take advantage of it. Yes I went out and did a third run.

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I squeaked out 2.8 miles to round my daily total to 9 and hit 1,075 miles for the year.

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It was a great way to spend some time while my parents and the pups were all napping.

After I got back, it was really time to relax: Zensah compression shorts and socks, Harpoon beer and Puss In Boots on TV.

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I could really get used to this "relaxing" thing. I should make it more of a routine.

My dad was experiencing some grill issues so dinner was delayed from 2:30 to 4:30. Fine by me since I was perfectly content on the couch.

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We were able to have a low-key dinner: steak tips (delicious Hawaiian Cowboys from Dom's), green beans, carrots (with honey, brown sugar and orange juice) and mashed potatoes.

This is the first time I've had real mashed potatoes since probably last Christmas so it was an awesome treat.

Mmm mmmm mmmm! It hit the spot and was the perfect way to cap off a relaxing day with the family.

So now I will tuck myself in on the couch, finish tracking all of my Weight Watchers PPVs and watch How To Train A Dragon before calling it an early night.

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I want to remind everyone how thankful I am for your support on this journey. I love every like, comment, email, tweet, Facebook message and hello at a race. It truly means the world to me.

***

What was your top gift from Santa this year?

Dani Dishes: I'm A Closet Eater

On this episode of Dani Dishes It's time to get real with myself and admit that I am a Closet Eater!! It's true.

Hi! My name is Dani and I am a Closet Eater.

It is a tough thing to admit, but I have and will continue to work on recovering from it.

Can you believe this guy said only "fat" people can be closet eaters? Sooo not the case.

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So what is helping me work through my closet eating?

1) Buying pre-portioned foods. There is something about opening a second bag of something that makes me second guess the decision.

2) Track. Honestly facing the choices I make when in that mindset has helped lessen the closet eating incidents over the years.

3) Share your struggle. If you can't find someone in your personal life to reach out to, please know I am here. There are also therapists, overeaters groups and folks on social media available.

4) Eat on a schedule. Since some of my closet eating will happen when alone during the day while working from home, I try to eat during a schedule. Keeping myself satisfied throughout the day can sometimes help the secret eating stay at bay.

5) Try not to feel alone. It is when I start feeling lonely that it can really come on. So if no one is physically home - besides the pups - I will call, text or tweet a friend that would understand my situation.

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These are just a few of the avenues I have been trying with some success over the years.

If you are someone who suffers from closet/binge eating, how do you handle the urges?

Weekend Wrap-Up: Wine, Early Christmas & Hockey

I live for the weekends. I know I am the only person out there that does that so you should all catch up on this train. Mmmmkay? ;)

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Friday kicked off with a very happy weigh-in! Finally back in free Lifetime range. Yay! :)

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I was wicked stoked to see a number 22 lbs lighter than that on June 11. Back to a good weight.

With a big smile on my face, I met Page for our Friday Five - our weekly 5-mile run.

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It is a great way to start the weekend and it is always fun catching up. Page and I are on Tedy's Team together.

After my final Weight Watchers meeting of the week, it appeared to be present time for this girl. The WW meeting I lead on Fridays surprised me with a Dunkin' Donuts gift card. It's like they know me! ;)

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And Kohl's surprised me with a sweet little relaxation present.

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I am in LOVE with the running headband. What an awesome color!

Final delivery came in from Special K. Time to taste test the new snack bars that will hit the shelves in January 2015. Each bar is 3PPV.

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My triplet cousins - 12-year-old girls - were staying over with my parents so we all went out to dinner before tucking in with some wine to watch Muppet Family Christmas. My absolutely favorite Christmas movie.

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The girls picked out the snacks so I had the opportunity to try 3 of these chips for 4PPV. In my opinion, too chocolately (like thick chocolate and thin chip) and not worth the Weight Watchers Points. I like sweet and salty combined, but would rather chocolate with pretzel combo.

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I had to call it an early night since I had a long run the next morning. But before I hit the sheets, I found out I was selected as a #RockNBlog RnR blogger for the second-straight year. Woo!!

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I cannot wait to meet up with my fellow bloggers at some races in 2015.

On a runner's high, I bound of bed on Saturday morning to meet up with the Tedy's Team crew for 8-sunny miles through Boston.

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With the wife heading out on Monday for home, I wanted to soak up as much time with her as possible. So while she ran errands including a haircut, I hopped on the old bike trainer to get some extra activity points.

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Gotta love multi-tasking.

With two pups and two people in bed, we all snuggled in to enjoy some Twin Peaks on Netflix. Boy that show is odd, but we are sucked in to watch the entire series (just 30 episodes total). Have you watched this show? It was a night-time soap opera in the early 90s. So the cheese factor is high. ;)

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I put the Kohl's mug to use right away with my hot cocoa (2PPV).

Sunday morning started out with an awesome 6-mile run with my friend and fellow WW leader Heather.

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She is also training for the Run Disney Princess weekend so it is great to run together. Plus I love running with folks - whatever the pace.

After the run, I needed a good post-race beverage (following my water, coffee and chocolate milk of course) so the wife and I headed over to Slumbrew's American Fresh at Assembly for a beer and some christmas carols.

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Oh and we even ran into our friend Kim! :) Slumbrew Porter Square Porter for me and Attic & Eaves for Kim.

It was the last afternoon with the wife for six days, so we got in a little extra snuggling.

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Do you think she is tired of my selfies yet? I was trying to capture her new haircut, but it didn't work. You can take my word that it is cute.

Since the wife would be away over Christmas, my parents wanted to do an early Christmas with her. She got some sweet gift and one of the awesome joint gifts we got were $100 gift card for Disney for each of us. Yes! These will come in handy in Disneyland next month.

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Do they know us or what?

With holly and jolly in our hearts, it was time to make the trek to the wife's hockey game. Look at me attending two games in a row. Go me. :P

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I tested out my first Special K bar for a snack and it was nice and chocolately. It also wasn't as tough as some other snack bars can be. Does that make sense?

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It was a tough 3-1 loss for the Sharks, but the wife did great in goal.

I successfully used the time during the game to pace around the rink to 1) keep warm and 2) get in extra activity. ;)

I also got to experience a role reversal and play Sherpa for her.

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Like my stick? :P

The smelly lady and I hit up a late dinner before heading home to snuggle with some pups.

Overall it was one sweet weekend. It was weird not to race, but I think I still did enough activity. What do you think?

***

Did you enter my $100 Visa Gift Card Giveaway? It ends December 24 at 5pm EST! Enter here.

***

How do you get active on the weekends?

Tedy’s Team Group Run – 8 Miles (12/20/14)

So remember that time (last week) where I promised to start doing strength training? Yeeahhhh I dropped the ball on that! Big time! I need to make it more of a priority this week and stop finding excuses not to just because it makes me nervous.

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But I am looking to a new week and feeling confident I can make it happen... as long as I make it a priority.

This morning called for an 8-mile run with the Tedy's Team crew. Meg (my teammate and weekly ride) wouldn't be in attendance so I needed to be my own accountability to get to the run. My lovely wife offered to drive me - Thanks Babe!

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And of course I was running late, but I made sure to remember my Garmin. Success! We got to Kenmore Square with just enough time to get in a quick foam rolling session before the run began. Phew.

I layered up, threw in some extra dynamic stretches and headed out. Most of the crew had already left so I would be flying mainly solo for the run. Now there are always folks along the sidewalk as we do an out and back route for the 8-mile run so I wasn't really alone alone.

It would just be me and my thoughts... scary!

I clicked Start on my Garmin and was off. As I mentioned before, I love the familiarity of running the same streets and routes for the third year. I can truly zone out and not worry about taking a wrong turn. Well let's revisit that again when the distances start getting higher than 14. ;)

Overall my body felt good under the shining sun, but my stomach was angry. I ate too much last night - not following my normal Friday night routine - and I was paying the price. It was a little reminder to not let others sway me from the plan I had set. Now I could say they were being food pushers, but really I wanted the Pizzeria Regina food. I hadn't been there in months. So I have no one to blame, but myself. Lesson learned - moving on.

Mile 1: 8:34

Oh first mile was a little faster than I wanted. I was hoping to keep the run at an even pace in the high 8s/low 9s. I have learned that when left alone I am not good at pacing myself. I need a buddy to keep me in check.

My legs were feeling a little heavy as I made my way through Brookline. It was only that one mile though. It was odd.

Just before Mile 2, I hit the water stop. It is always a great sight to see familiar faces waiting for you.

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Oh hey Margaret!

Mile 2: 8:50

After a quick pick-me-up from some great folks, I continued on. For some reason the mind wasn't in it today. I knew I needed the run, but the mind wanted to just skip it. I also knew that I would be happy I did it once it was over, but in the moment I was having a tough time motivating myself.

So I refocused on WHY I was out there and pushed through putting one foot in front of the other.

Mile 3: 8:33

Once through Coolidge Corner, we continued by the Reservoir towards BC. The turnaround point for our 8-mile is an entrance to BC. As I headed around the Reservoir, I was brought back to June when I was there last for the Heartbreak Hill Half weekend with some amazing bloggers. Those memories made me smile and pick up the pace.

Mile 4: 8:25

Just before I turned around, I was running in the bike lane and got angrily honked at my a passing car. Ummm hi lady I was right in the middle of the bike lane and nowhere near you so simmer down. <>

As I ran back towards the Reservoir, I had a mini celebration in my mind over being 22 lbs lighter than when I was here in June. Yay! I wish I never gained that much back, but such is life. I am happy I was able to retake the reigns and move forward. Being in this area in June was awesome, but I was uncomfortable in my own skin. Today I ran those same roads with confidence and pride.

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Mile 5: 8:23

I passed back through Coolidge Corner and was almost taken out by a woman and her dog. She didn't look where she was going before stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to put her dog down. I had to do a sweet little turn to get around them without tripping on the dog leash.

Unfortunately the crowds are a tricky thing to navigate on the back part of the route since more folks are out heading to brunch or to the store than when we start the run. It becomes a lot of bobbing and weaving unless you want to run in the bike lane. I selectively choose the bike lane since I don't like to be in the way of the bikers either.

I stopped back at the water stop. I stopped to chat with Lauren, Sr Director of Tedy's Team, and ended up being there for a good 5-10 minutes. I finally turned to Lauren and said: "I should probably finish this run. Only at 5.69 miles." Ha. Oops!

So off I went...

Mile 6: 8:25

With two miles to go, I was feeling great besides the pain in my left hamstring, which I have grown accustomed to since May. The Tedy's Team coach and I are going to work on strengthening the hamstring to help lessen the pain.

I'm not sure what happened during Mile 7, but I was feeling magic. I was also picturing myself crushing my goal for 2015 Boston Marathon and that might've affected my pace.

Mile 7: 8:04

The final mile of this run is along Mile 24-25 of the marathon. Now this incline on it's own wouldn't be so daunting, but at that point in the race it looks like a mountain!

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Flashback moment to Mile 25 of this year's marathon when Christine, Tom and I powered up this sucker together to make this awesome shot happen.

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Knowing there is a sweet view of the city and Fenway Park at the top of the incline doesn't hurt either.

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Man I love this city. I am lucky to be able to run here. :)

After a quick run through Kenmore Square, the run was done.

Mile 8: 8:07

I finished right in front of the Joint Ventures door. Perfect!

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I made my way upstairs to get another foam rolling session in before heading to Dunkin Donuts to wait for my wife to pick me up. :)

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Now I definitely didn't run as consistently as I wanted to so that will be my focus for next week's 10-miler. I should have some folks to run with which will help keep me in check!

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Week 2 Workouts:

Sunday, December 14: 3.1-mile run & 1.5-mile walk Monday, December 15: 2.9-mile run & 60-min cycling Tuesday, December 16: 3-mile run & 45-min walk Wednesday, December 17: 5-mile run Thursday, December 18: 4-mile run Friday, December 19: 5-mile run Saturday, December 20: 8-mile run, 60-min cycling & 2-mile walk

Goal for next week? AGAIN - Adding in strength training and additional cross training. This week was lacking in both - AGAIN!

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Face It Friday: A New Goal 12/19/14

When we last met, I was feeling back in the groove with my weight loss progress. 2014 proved difficult for my weight maintenance plan, which I think we are all caught up on that now. ;) So on Saturday, I asked the Tedy's Team coach during the group run what weight he thought I should be at to really attack my time goals at Boston in 2015. I shared with him that I was back down to 158 and my lowest weight as an adult is 153.4 (thanks WW). He thought for a moment before responding with: "Can you lose 10?" <<Enter my blank stare>> 10 pounds? Yeah. Well I have always wondered if I could maintain a lower weight.

At that time I decided I would try to get back to my lowest weight with Weight Watchers and re-evaluate then. Now either way this conversation lit a little spark under my booty.

This past week I continued my streak of being a Track Star (which sits at 42-consecutive days as of 12/18) and really took each food choice to heart. Before making any decisions I checked in with myself and asked one of the following questions:

* Is this worth the points?

* Do I need to eat a second ____?

* Will this help me reach my goal for Boston?

* How do I really feel right now?

Now I continued to indulge, I had a few beers, some fries and onion rings... but it was relegated to two days and I had the Points available. I don't believe in deprivation, which is why I love Weight Watchers so much.

I don't have much of a social life so there weren't many challenges on my plate this past week besides a surprise attack on Monday and focus group event on Wednesday night.

On Monday, my wife asked to order Chinese Food. I stuck to my guns and politely declined having anything ordered for me. (High Five) She opted to still order. So when the food was on its way, I hopped on the bike trainer and committed to riding for one hour. While I was on the bike trainer in the living room, the wife decorated our Christmas tree near me, we listened to music and I thought about her food. It arrived while I was on the bike, she ate it while I was on the bike and it was put away while I was on the bike. (High Five) I successfully distracted myself while the tempting food was a few feet away from me. I knew my dad and I would be splitting Chinese Food on Christmas Eve (tradition) so I decided in that moment the Chinese Food wouldn't be worth it on that night, but will be on Christmas Eve. (Who am I? Go me!)

On Wednesday, there would be free food and free drinks. Ahhh *Red Light* I still get very anxious when I hear the word free before any food situation. My immediate impulse is to eat everything in sight because it is free and hey why not. But I didn't want to fall into that trap. I went in with a game plan. I brought my own food: salad, yogurt and strawberries. My goal was to stick to my own food and drink water. The food served looked great, but nothing too special. I happily ate my food and never went near the food cart. I saw the desserts and pictured germs all over them to help pass any desire to eat them. :P And you know what - I did it! I definitely gave a fist pump to myself when I left the event on plan.

Yes it is one small instance, but it gave me HUGE confidence for the next time I am in that same situation.

And you know what?

It freakin' paid off.

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Today I made it back to a weight within my Lifetime Range!! Wahoo! It has been too long for my liking since I was in that range.

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Yay being down 1.8!

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I am now 1.4 lbs away from being back at goal. My Lifetime Range is 153-157.

For the second straight week, I earned 90+ Activity Points AND was not in the negative! Woo!

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I needed these past two weeks to snap the rut I had been in since early September.

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I felt stuck during that time and now I am feeling waayyyy better.

NOW, I know the next two weeks will be a little bit tougher. Now again I don't have any real parties to go to, but there are some family traditions and just changes in my normal routine.

So I will commit to tracking this week, weighing in on Wednesday and doing the best I can. I am already mentally planning when I want to splurge and when I will get extra activity in.

I will take whatever happens on the scale this week, practice self-forgiveness and enjoy the time with friends and family!

But for now I am wicked proud of myself and am going to head off and do a little happy dance. Yay extra APs! ;)

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How will you be handling the Holidays when it comes to your weight loss journey?