In a groove, not a rut

I am in a pretty good groove with food and exercise (aaand here's to hoping I don't jinx myself with that statement!!!).  That 'lazy food week' last week included a lot of good stuff so I'm glad that happened and hoping to make fruits and veg a bigger part of my diet ('diet' as in what I eat, not what I limit myself to). Here's what has been happening on the exercise front:

-Several runs.  Running for a mile at a time.  Tried to time a mile.  Watch said 17:05.  I don't know if I was slower than my first 5K or if the timing was off.  All I had to go off of was the park map and trust that what it said was a mile was a mile and my $5 CVS sports watch.  Most runs are including over 20 mins of running nowadays.  Bad news:  Daylight savings meant I was still running and it was almost pitch black out on Monday.  I tried not to think bad things but I've seen too many episodes of Dexter (specifically remembering when John Lithgow (sp?) was walking a dog and asked a woman a question, then let the dog loose bc it wasn't his!).

-Pilates.  REAL  Pilates.  Level 1, which the guide describes as Intermediate.  Uh, I knew I was in for something much harder than intro, but I got my butt whooped!  I was the only new person in the class.  Most everyone else was doing advanced moves.  I did several modifications, but sometimes when she offered a modification, I knew I could do the real move and did.  And planks OMG planks.  Effing planks!  The most we did in intro was 1 30 second plank.  Oh in this class we did 1 1 min plank, 2 1 min planks, moving feet in and out, and 2 side planks.  Later we did elbow planks with pikes.  I for real have mat burns on my elbows!  I was VERY sore for days and my back is still angry and tight up around the shoulder blades and above, most likely from inchworms and tricep push ups.  I'm very proud that I was not a wuss and did not quit on anything, but if I needed to, I would take a break for a couple counts and join back in for as long as I could.  Also, I dripped sweat which takes a lot in a 63 degree room.

-Swimming.  I swam on Friday night which, in retrospect, might have been a bad idea when I had Pilates the next morning.  I did a lot of freestyle because my arms were getting weak compared to my legs from running.  It killed my triceps and my shoulders!  I swam 3300 yds in an hour and 13 mins.  I had Tuesday off.  Probably something about being a public employee.  I would explain it if I could, buttttt, if someone tells me I have the day off, I don't argue!  I swam 2300 yards in 54 mins.  I would have made Tuesday a rest day, but I can't have a whole day off midweek and not get a swim in.  That would be criminal!  I went to bed with wet hair on Friday night, so my pillow still smells like chlorine and i love it!!!  Also, sweated out so much chlorine on Saturday morning at Pilates!

On the food scene, this week is slower on the fruit and veg front as I keep forgetting to bring them with me to work!  I did make vegetable soup (w/ground beef) yesterday.  A family favorite my great-grandma used to make when I was little.  So freaking good.  Working on not putting a mountain of crackers in it every time I eat it.  This morning I felt on the edge of a candy binge.  Good thing my office doesn't have candy very much.  Glad to say I haven't had any Halloween candy at all!  Well, I did have a dum dum sucker at church on Sunday, but they always have those.  For real during that third service when 2/3 of the kids in my class have been there as long as I have, I had to bribe them to be good!

So far so good.  Wish I could report a weight loss.  Heck, there might be one, but the scale needs new batteries.  :)  I like not knowing my weight, does anyone else feel that way?  I might check in once in a while, but it's a heck of a lot better than every day! On the NSV side of things, I am back in size 20 jeans (with a bit o'muffin top but I can totes handle that).  I kept wondering why my size 22 kept feeling odd...too big!  And I have to make  a return to Lane Bryant because I got a shirt that was TOO BIG.  NSV for sure!

I'll leave you all with my friend for the night...dark choc w/blueberries!  Love this one!  Had 6 squares (out of 15).