Bananas for Chocolate

I am not a normal chocolate person. Chocolate is good, yes. Normally and typically, as I've stated before, it doesn't run my life. I don't get normally get chocolate attacks, don't crave chocolate, and could always boast about my un-female-esque ability to pass it up. Valentine's Day comes and goes, and Ted is always the recipient of the large, red-foiled heart-shaped box. But habits can be formed when you are not paying attention.

I had read somewhere that of all fruit, bananas are the most calorie-laden there is. I love bananas, and a good week would be bananas every day. On cereal. In yogurt. With peanut butter. By themselves. In an effort to trim myself down a bit more, I decided to scale back from bananas to another fruit, such as apples. Still good, though not the same.

Lent rolled around last week, and Ted and I discussed what we were giving up. I decided I didn't really have any bad habits to give up. I don't indulge in sugary drinks every day, my one cup of coffee was not even an option, and I didn't have any other bad habits that could be broken.

Except for one.

I had gotten in the habit of grabbing a piece of chocolate as I walked past the admin's desk or the production department. They weren't big pieces, a fun size candy bar or a small child-sized chocolate piece. But this was a daily occurrence, and I decided I would give chocolate up for Lent.

I really had no clue how much chocolate I consumed on a daily basis. And how much snacking I do because of that. I didn't even truly enjoy it as much as I probably should have, but it was just a habit. The first week I found myself reaching without even realizing it. It was a mindless, daily habit--this is what I did at certain times throughout the day, and I probably didn't even truly taste what I was eating, I just ate it.

I haven't cheated (except for last Thursday when the 5-year-old girl across the street brought over chocolate no-bakes and waited eagerly for Ted and I both to take a bite). My snacking is basically non-existent now, as since I'm slowly breaking this habit, I find myself avoiding the urge for the walk that leads me to the chocolate (where there are also pretzels, crackers, hard candy, and taffy).

And as a treat to myself, bananas are back in my lunch box and better than ever!

A new way to use the word "Fast"

Ted and I are youth group leaders. This is weird for me, especially when someone asks who the adult leaders for any given activity will be, and they say "Ted and Maggie." I want to yell "I'm not an adult! I'm doing this youth group thing because it's fun! Being an 'adult leader' makes me old."

But the fun has officially stopped right now. It's been 5 hours since I last ate. And I'm hungry.

And I have 25 hours to go.

Ted, myself, and five youth members (including Dave) are joining with another church in the 30 Hour Famine. We can drink water and juice. And chew gum. And at midnight bowling tonight, we are allowed slushies. I haven't been midnight bowling, maybe ever. But by midnight this evening, I think slushies will sound pretty darn good!

The Famine is to raise awareness for world hunger, and raise money for World Vision, the charity who helps "starve out hunger". Beginning at 6:00 this evening, we have a jam-packed schedule of service projects, fun events, and who knows what else. We sleep in sleeping bags at the church and tomorrow will bring more service projects and other events until the end, where the ladies of the church will make Stromboli's.

Ted and I did a good run last night, figuring we'll be in no condition to run today or tomorrow. I have a feeling we'll be in no condition this time tomorrow to do much of anything, but it will be for a good cause. And Sunday's run will be nice. Our body will be cleansed and purified, we'll be (hopefully) well-rested, and we'll have a new sense on what gifts we have and how lucky we are.

But apple juice never tasted so good.

Let There Be Light...

I think Ted and I are back on track for training after a brief hiatus. Running last week was pretty much negative. I got out on Wednesday and ran for almost a mile and a half before my shoes were soaked and I had to turn around and come back home. And I guess I was running with the wind, because the return trip home was MUCH colder and harder than going out.

Saturday afternoon Ted, Dave, and I ran four miles. I wasn't bad, since I had given the muscles the old wake-up call Wednesday, but Ted hadn't run in probably two weeks, and was miserable towards the end.

Last night we did three miles, Ted was fine, we did a little over 8:30s, which is amazing for me, and half way through, Ted made the startling revelation that it was still light outside...officially our first after-work run where there was still daylight. I guess there's hope for spring after all, right?

Our race schedule is starting to become solid. We have the Valley Forge 5-miler in April, Broad Street, and a local 5K in July so far to look forward to. And I'm sure we'll hit up the many local 5Ks next fall that marked Dave's entrance to the racing world this past fall. I've been looking towards the local 5K this July in a different way...I want to do good. I'm getting faster, I am gaining confidence, and I think I could possibly have a PR for this 5K, as long as training in the summer doesn't slack off. I'm also more and more serious about the Philly Marathon in November. I keep remembering how much fun I had during the half marathon, and wonder if the full is really twice as fun, or if the fun stops after 13.1 miles. But I have time to think about that one.

Get out there tonight and run everyone! It's light now!!!

Maggie Mae's Guide On How Not To Gain Weight On Vacation

You do things. Like play hockey, for example. Simon Gagne would be proud, and the Flyers could use some fresh moves right about now.

You also cross-country ski. And you snow shoe. And you tube sled. And you dog sled.

And you dog sled. That in itself is guaranteed to burn whatever you ate. I'm not talking wrap yourself in blankets and go for a ride, I'm talking you stand and you hold on and when it gets hilly, you get off and run but still hang on so you are running at the speed the dogs want to run at. And it is fun. The words "Thank GOD we run" crossed paths more than once this past week. I don't think we could have truly experienced everything we did without having that base, and even with being in shape, we still woke up many mornings to stiff muscles and sore joints.

The weather was amazingly cold. Monday it was -18 F, plus a windchill. When we left Sunday, it was 3. And we thought it was warm.

But we are back now, and tonight is a run night. I'm actually hoping the snow picks up a bit more, it can be a beautiful run in the right conditions.

We've also decided to register for the Valley Forge Revolutionary Run a few weeks before Broad Street. I think it will be a neat course, and would be a good chance for us all to get into race mode after the winter.

Oh Canada!

In search of winter, and with the promise of an early spring from Punxsutawny Phil (whose word is as good as gold), Ted and I will be embarking on a 9-day trek north of the border. While in Montreal, we hope to use our passports (since the expediting fee wasn't necessary as passports aren't required for land travel until January 2008), hope to see some snow (in excess of one inch and that lasts longer than a day), hope to use the winter boots we both received for Christmas, hope to feel rich with the exchange rate, and hope to utilize some French left-over from high school (although using French-French in Canada is probably as good as using the King's English in Australia).

Thus, my next update will be full of information. How snowshoeing works. How cross-country skiing works. What NOT to do when ice skating, and how fast a dog sled REALLY goes. I hope to have some good French meals, some even better French desert, and maybe I'll live on the edge and French braid my hair.

So my fellow Americans, fear not, for I know the directions saying "10-O" means "10-west" and the universal symbol for bathrooms is a silhouette of a girl with a dress. Have a great week, all, and maybe I'll bring some REAL snow back with me.