Blamax, Kikchick. Laura911 - welcome!

Michelle - so glad you checked in. I have been thinking of you and wondering how you are. So sorry to hear why you had to abruptly cut your mileage. I hope that issue clears up and you get your 3 good tests in soon. Healing vibes your way!! Surprising that they want to take out your daughters adenoids now and not when doing the tonsillectomy. Those usually go hand in hand if there is any thought they might need to come out. Children's in Boston though is top notch so they must have had their reasons. It is good for you to be reluctant and your daughter's advocate. Interesting cases are just that to doctors sometimes - interesting. I go the workout club in Londonderry. I have been a member for 15 years - amazing. They have the childcare and pool and I just love the place. Childcare is huge and they have such nice programs that my son would call his school because it was structured and the same children would go certain days each week. I'm sure Derry uses the same program. Yes, it was the Boston Prep and I am so glad I did it. If you get the opportunity to run this race you should just to say you did it!

Redfoxfan - wow and welcome - congratulations on your weight loss AND your running! It amazes me when people turn their lives around like you have. I think some of us may have to turn to you for advice at least on the weigh loss front! Did you lose the weight following WW? How long did it take? Are you at your goal now or do you have more to lose? Inquiring minds.

Brandy - that is so cool that your Mom and little brother are doing that. How exciting. I will make sure I tivo it so I can check both of them out. Make sure to remind us as the date gets closer so we don't forget, ok?? Are you excited about the half coming up? I was pretty nervous before my half but really just enjoyed the whole experience. I can't wait to hear how it goes. So does the winner get a Mercedes?? LOL - I am assuming that this is the name of the town it is run in?

Shannon - we will pick you up if you have fallen off! Its easy to get back on just get out the journal and start counting those points. I have such a hard time when I a, so busy too. The normal home routine will def. help get you back on track.

Cherbear - good luck at WI. WI when you know your up can be hard but it is inevitably followed by a loss the following week as motivation from the scale returns! Good luck - my WI is Friday and I haven't weighed myself since the last WI - which for me is usually a bad thing. Let us know how you do.

Bo - fortunately for me I only have issues afterwards and it is usually 30 - 60 minutes after I stop running. I posted on the Hal board and Hal himself answered saying that I have eliminated the usual culprits and a trip to a GI specialist might be in order. That's kinda my thought after Sunday. I have stomach acid issues that I take medication daily for (GERD) and I have been on Aleve since September which I know can irritate the stomach. I haven't had an upper scope in 4 years and a lower in 2. (This long run issue started back in June though when my long run hit 6 miles, long before I started taking Aleve). This is more intestinal so I haven't been thinking that they are connected but of course everything ultimately connects at some point. This weekend I am going to not take the Aleve (which someone on the Hal board says bothers them a lot after their runs) and see if THAT makes a difference. How is your eye doing??

Happy - during the run I did use 3 Gu and had sips of plain water. I have tried long runs with and without Gu and it didn't make a difference either way. By mile 7 I decided I needed the Gu. I think I will buy only the non-caffeine flavors though. I like the chocolate but I am also wondering if certain Gu flavors are ok for me and some are not. It won't be a good experiment if one week I have Strawberry Gu and I'm fine and another I have Chocolate and I am not. I have also decided to keep a complete food/drink/vitamin/medication journal starting on Fridays before my long run to see if I can find a culprit. OK - the bus guy was weird. That would have creeped me way out having a stranger start talking about how he wants to be more fit in bed - wow.

Today I have 5-7 on the chart. Not sure yet what I am going to do. My stomach still has a residual yucky feeling so I will play it by ear. I will report back tomorrow.

The running is really a shock to me. I always thought that people that liked to run were from a different species. I am excited to be on the verge of considering myself one of them.

I have always followed flex. Core scares me. I really don't think I can be a judge of when I am comfortably full. I really never had a plateau except for the crazy up, up, down that my body is doing now. I contribute the lack of a plateau to me bumping up the exercise whenever I thought my weight was stagnating.

This past Sunday, I binged. I couldn't get satisfied. I used up the whole days worth of points plus my weekly points. So, now I am very strictly on plan. Lunch today is WW Chili recipe - 2 pts and I love it!

I had a podiatrist appointment because I thought I had a bunion. It turns out, I have arthritis in the joint. My podiatrist is a runner (marathon, I think) and she recommended I get Asics or Saucony running shoes. I bought the Asics Kayano 14s. They are wonderful. There was zero break-in time and my feet don't ache. I have some different muscles that are sore due to running differently than I did in my old shoes but that is probably a good thing - apparently these muscles weren't being used and are now.

I did get my 5 in today but boy it was one of those runs I had to talk myself through! Tummy wasn't enjoying all the jouncing around so I was def. ready to throw in the towel and use that as my excuse but I stuck it out and I am glad. I kept telling myself if you don't get these miles in today you will have to do them tomorrow! LOL I am going to run my low end of the mileage during the week and then high end on Saturday.

Red - I love my Asics Kayano 14's. Just got them a week ago but have worn the 2007 and the 2006 model of the same shoe. Good shoes and/or the right shoes for how you run is sooo important. I think I am going to have one of those can't get satisfied evenings.

Will check back later. Colleen

Beachbum Lattes are an expensive habit to develop I am trying to cut back on my Starbucks latte indulgence! They are basically steamed milk (ask for skinny and that is fat free milk) with the espresso, if I don't have a starbucks I will make a big skinny coffee or hot chocolate at home. If anyone out there likes Chai Tea, Oregon Chai does a pretty good sugar free chai tea latte concentrate for 0 points, if I need a milk serving I will mix a cup of that with a cup of fat free milk for a homemade skinny chai.

Beachbum how far away from Panama City are you located? I am going there for a visit in 10 days and move there this June.

Pluggin my eye is as good as it can be at the moment and really I am kind of tired dealing with it! Have been going thru so many contact fittings over the last year and I want to take a break! I was thinking of you as I ran this afternoon, your problem is a terrible situation, its not like you can eat light and have an empty belly as you need to be fueled, you need to have energy. Have you tried changing the gu for something natural like banana pieces? I hope you get an answer, after running an awesome race you should not have to pay the price you do, you should be able to celebrate not suffer

Redfox I do core mostly because I like the more natural unprocessed foods it is based on, I can be a glutton so when I serve myself I always start with a flex portion, I will measure out my rice etc because if I did not my mind would think that I need a big heaping plate to satisfy me when in fact 99.9% of the time a regular portion satisifies me.

Nhmommy I make my steel oats in batches of 4 servings so 1 cup of oats to 3 water. I portion it into the little pampered chef prep dishes (I love those they are so useful!) I serve mine with 1/4 cup ff milk. I use splender too, I have that British sweet tooth, I am trying to cut back but it is baby steps! I always mix something in, often blueberries as they are a superfood but they give an interesting purple milk effect I love the Costco frozen berry blend mix, that is good too, this morning I had 1/2 banana and some PB2 mixed in, diced fresh apple or an apple sauce cup with cinnamon is yummy, kind of like apple pie oatmeal. A local cafe makes the very best to die for granola which must be huge in pts and I got in the habit of mixing in a few spoons of that granola into the oatmeal, it was very good but I have to quit that habit! Raisens would be very good, not core tho I know Happy has put cherries in hers, I have to try that! Oatmeal is another superfood and it sticks to my ribs and helps me get some fruit and dairy in so that's a good thing

We have not heard from Dan or Niccole in forever, I do hope alll is good with them and they just don't have time for us at the moment.

My food taday looked like:

B Steel oats, ff milk, 1/2 banana

S 1pt yogurt smoothie and apple

L Barley/mushroom/veg soup

S 16oz skinny latte

S Grapple

D western bagel with veggie burger, edename, 1 dove dark chocolate square

All my water and some extra.

Ran 3 miles, also did just under hour of weights, floor work and stretches my HRM says 492 cals used so I am off to make meself a smoothie with FF milk, frozen blueberries and some of the womans protein powder I picked up.

Have a great OP day you all and run strong