Autopilot Run

on August 26, 2009

I went on a 4.0-mile run tonight that was purely on autopilot.

Sometimes, I daydream while running. Or I plan out my week. Or I sing songs. But today, I literally just stared at the sidewalk and pounded out four slow miles.

Duration: 40 minutes
Distance: 4.0 miles

I came home to a wonderful dinner prepared by the Husband:

He made whole wheat pasta with vodka sauce and topped it with black beans, zucchini, and onions.

As usual, he served up too much food! I’ve told him to serve me what he thinks is a ‘normal girl’ portion and then cut it in half. :) I ate all the veggies and beans and about 1/3 of the pasta.

Other snacks:

And a few more crackers right before my run (and I gave James some, too):

I think I’m going to bed… at 7:30 PM.

{ 39 comments }

Leianna August 26, 2009, 4:36 pm
Dinner looks great. I'm jealous your husband cooks nad it's healthy!
angieinatlanta August 26, 2009, 4:44 pm
Aw, that's sweet that your hubby will cook for you! And a great idea to add black beans to pasta!
Niki August 26, 2009, 4:45 pm
Dinner looks really good! I say go for it and go to bed early! You deserve it!
Tasha August 26, 2009, 5:00 pm
I think ALL men dish huge servings! I know mine does 🙂
Janessa August 26, 2009, 5:02 pm
That dinner looks delicious! Hope you have a great night's sleep and feel terrific in the morning.
Amanda (modernation) August 26, 2009, 5:08 pm
Isn't that the best when the hubby cooks dinner so you can go for a run? I love that! Yay for supportive hubbies!
Erica August 26, 2009, 5:13 pm
ahahha I totally have funs like that. You have A LOT on your mind so I can understand the need!! The dinner from the husband looks totally incredible.
Runeatrepeat August 26, 2009, 5:15 pm
I was just talking to Ben about him making dinner once a week – it's a start! I think it's great that your hubby cooks 🙂
K from ksgoodeats August 26, 2009, 5:24 pm
The hub's meal looks great! Don't you wish you had a guys metabolism sometimes? I'd love to eat as much as my guy friends do!
brandi August 26, 2009, 5:34 pm
what an awesome looking meal!

i hope you get some good rest tonight 🙂 it's never to early to go to bed!
Jenny August 26, 2009, 5:39 pm
i had no idea the hubs was such a chef! what a catch!
Lo August 26, 2009, 5:43 pm
i wennt to bed yesterday from 1pm until 8 pm LOL. i understand! looks like a yummy dinner!
Pam August 26, 2009, 5:44 pm
Ahh getting into bed ridiculously early is the best thing in the world!
Lizzy August 26, 2009, 6:00 pm
early bed times = something i need to learn to do!

I've def been on one of those autopilot runs before, more often then not for sure!

Have a super evening!
Emily August 26, 2009, 6:03 pm
What a yummy pasta that the husband made!!!
platipus329 August 26, 2009, 6:12 pm
I definitely have autopilot moments too, usually because I'm zoning out thinking about breakfast. It's a bit scary to look up and suddenly see a biker or a car, though, so be careful
Jolene - EverydayFoodie August 26, 2009, 6:16 pm
My husband also has NO idea about proper portions!
Sarah August 26, 2009, 6:16 pm
So, you must share the secret of how you trained your husband to cook such yummy looking, healthy dinners! My BF cooked tonight…frozen pizza, lol! But he did open my Blue Moon for me, and it was waiting on the table, which he set! Gotta love 'em for trying 🙂
Rosey Rebecca August 26, 2009, 6:22 pm
There's nothing wrong with going to bed at 7:30! I would have if I wasn't at pilates and making dinner when I got home!
Kiersten August 26, 2009, 6:23 pm
The pic of your dog is funny. He looks really excited about those crackers.
Suzanne August 26, 2009, 6:26 pm
Great post on the push-ups! I read about this fun(ctional) game in a fitness mag awhile back, and my boyfriend and I do it sometimes when just hanging out….scatter a deck of cards face down on the ground, and take turns picking up the cards and doing the # of push-ups on the card. Face cards count as 10. You can work your way leisurely through the deck while chatting or watching a movie or whatnot. Also, I think it'd be cool if you did a post where you put together all the diff types of pushup variations (yoga style with arms tucked in, wide style, military style, etc)

happy hump day!
Marissa August 26, 2009, 6:37 pm
I love that grapes are so cheap right now!
Bec August 26, 2009, 6:50 pm
sometimes I love having auto pilot runs, it feels good to just zone out and not think though it happens more on my bike rides
runsarah August 26, 2009, 7:20 pm
I love those autopilot runs after a long day!
Courtney W. August 26, 2009, 7:31 pm
Hey Caitlin,

I have had, recently, a run very much like yours. It was a little less than 5 miles on a very familiar route, and I honestly don't remember a thing. It's like someone warped me from walking out my door to arriving home. I was just … nothing … lots of looking down, perhaps hypnotized by the rhythm of my feet … the entire time.

Isn't it so strange?
Jenna August 26, 2009, 8:26 pm
dinner looks great made by the hubby!
and would those be food should taste good chips?! because i just had them for the first time tonight 🙂
I hope you got in bed early tonight like you said!
Caroline August 26, 2009, 9:02 pm
Sometimes those kind of runs are just what I need…I can just think about absolutely nothing, and it doesn't matter. One of the many reasons I love running.
Annamarina (Running Tails) August 26, 2009, 9:27 pm
How wonderful that your husband cooks healthy delicious meals for you both!
ratzxfink August 26, 2009, 11:41 pm
Hi Caitlin, was wondering what type of granola was that as shown in your pic? thanks.
Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point August 27, 2009, 3:48 am
hehe ladies, i dont know the "trick" to getting husband to cook dinner. mine just likes to cook so it works out 😉

and yes, time warp runs are strange!

ratzfink – its a quaker natural granola we get in bulk at costco
Marisa (Trim The Fat) August 27, 2009, 4:40 am
Yay for the husband making dinner! He's a keeper!
Kristin August 27, 2009, 6:32 am
Mmm, hubby's dinner looks simple but delicious! You're so lucky you had a great meal to come home to after that nice easy run! =)

xo
K
seesaraheat August 27, 2009, 7:41 am
Nothing wrong with hitting the hay early, hope you got some rest!

Isn't it funny how guys think? My husband always makes way too much for me too.
Anne Zimmerman August 27, 2009, 8:16 am
My BF always over-serves me too. It started out funny but now it is a problem because he puts everything on the table and we eat family style — then I over-serve myself!
It is a very small, yet vexing issue!
~Jessica~ August 27, 2009, 10:46 am
Great post but did you really have to make such a point about the portion sizes your husband gives you? To me it seems a little at odds with the message of the blog to be constantly pointing out that something is too big, or you left half, or due to afternoon snacking there was no need to make a dinner and to do so would have been to give in to 'pressures' of food blogging. Are you sure that you didn't just feel overwhelmed by guilt that *gasp* you might have snacked on more than two crackers and therefore didn't 'deserve' a dinner? You mentioned that you ate 'more than enough calories' for your active lifestyle but I'm not sure that's the case. Most of your portion sizes are tiny (remember Nouvelle Cuisine?) and I just think that to attribute so much abhorrence to what looks like a perfectly normal bowl of pasta isn't a particularly constructive attitude. I appreciate you can't tailor the blog to people with EDs or disordered thoughts around food but 1/3 of the pasta? I would have eaten the lot and probably had a snack after and to be honest I felt nothing but self-loathing and disgust after reading that. It's just an extension of 'fat talk', the constant 'I was good and left half my meal' that I keep seeing and it seems a little smug…I don't mean to pick on your blog in particular, I'm talking about a general trend whereby some bloggers even talk about 'sabotaging' food in restaurants by pouring salt all over it so they won't eat any more.

I apologise if this seems harsh and I'm aware that a lot of the problem is to do with my own guilt and jealousy that I can't eat that little and train for a marathon, but I just had to say something because I find it quite sad and upsetting.
Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point August 27, 2009, 10:56 am
Jessica – I think you are reading too much into what I said.

You can't see all that pasta under the veggies, but my Husband literally served me three portions of cooked pasta. So, I ate 1/3 of what he served, and it was about a serving. I stated how much I was actually eating because I thought it would amount to lying to make people think I ate three servings of pasta when I did not actually eat it.

also, you are totally applying emotions to me (like saying i probably felt "gasp" guilty and that i was writing with "abhorrence") when you have absolutely no idea what i was feeling or thinking when i ate that dinner! i do not ever feel guilty about eating.

please do not take out your own emotions about food on me. there is nothing unhealthy or distorted about what i wrote. i cannot write every little word with concern that someone is going to twist it and make it into something its not, or i wouldnt be writing at all!

also, as i've said a million times on the blog, i am a normal, healthy weight for my size and my weight has not changed in two years. so i am eating a normal, healthy amount of calories.
Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point August 27, 2009, 11:12 am
Jessica – also, for the sake of argument, i just totaled my calories for the snacking day in question, and i ate at lesat 1900 calories and didn't work out.
~Jessica~ August 27, 2009, 2:23 pm
Thank you for replying to my original comment…I think I may, as you say, have misinterpreted the tone of several posts. Sometimes I really need to think before I comment and keep my opinions to myself, particularly when I know that I have some seriously skewed perspectives about food and portion sizes.

What I said was not intended to come out with as an aggressive tone as it did, and for that I sincerely apologize. I genuinely admire your athletic ability and have read the blog since it was 'See Bride Run', and feel terrible that something so thoughtless could have come from what was originally going to be said out of concern.

You are far more gracious than I am and I did not mean to put you in the position of having to defend yourself…picures can be misleading and I think I directed all of my ire at some other blogs (which most certainly are restrictive) onto yours, which was both thoughtless and unfair.

Once again, I hope you can forgive me and thank you for dealing with my comment so well.
Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point August 27, 2009, 3:03 pm
jessica – i more than forgive you. ((electronic hug))

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