Week 10 Day 1 and 2 ~ My birthday, a new injury, and Chi Running

My ankle has still been bothering me since my 8 mile run, and it sort of radiates through my foot (with my plantar fasciitis) and up the inside of my leg.  So I googled it...and with my LMP knowledge, self diagnosed myself with Posterior Tibial Tendonitis.  Fantastic.  So I decided to take it easy and skip a day of running.  OMG that was really hard for me to do.  10 weeks in and I skip a day.  BUT I didn't skip the day and sit around on my butt.  Week 10 Day 1 happened to be my birthday and my husband surprised the heck out of me and we took the day off and went for a ride on Vashon Island.  So I figured I definitely got enough cardio in.  The hills on Vashon are pretty killer.  Here's some photos of our little adventure….

On the Ferry

The famous bike in the tree

Old bike and new bike  :)

It's neat you can still see a little bit of the tire

We rode for about 13 miles total and I wanted to do some antiquing while we were there.  Super cute place…

And we found the coolest score ever!  It's a collapsable "Cyclist's Cup" from 1897.  How cool is this!?!?  Happy birthday to me!!  

After our ride, we went to the gym with VK Sista'.  Can you believe that?!  I went to the gym on my freaking birthday.  I must have some sort of disease.  I should also mention that my husband gave me the option of going wine tasting for the day and I chose to torture myself on a hilly bike ride.  Yup.  I'm crazy.  … then I had cheesecake.

Week 10 day 2 was just an easy run on the treadmill at the gym, and I walked a heck of a lot of it.  I went to the running store and they re-formed me a pair of custom insoles.  The girl said my old ones weren't formed correctly in the first place.  They look completely different.  So I thought I'd try out my new insoles.  They don't seem to help at all.  In fact, they seem to make it worse.  I tried taking my shoes off and running barefoot on the treadmill and it felt better.  I think that my shoes are over stabilizing after I'm used to running in my vibrams.

That brings me to today.  BFF and I took a 4 hour Chi Running workshop… and we happened to be the only 2 people who signed up so it was an awesome personal training session.  OMG Chi Running is amazing.  I've been doing everything wrong!  Mind blown!  I'd blog about every single thing I learned but I'd be typing forever.  Look it up and take a course, it's amazing!  She also told me I should just keep attempting to wear my vibrams because I'm comfortable in them while I practice these new techniques.  So, tomorrow for my 15K, I'm going to wear my vibrams with toe socks, my compression socks, plantar fasciitis sleeve, and KT tape my ankle and hope for the best.

I'm really behind on blogging and I feel like I have so much more to say, but I need to get to bed and get a good night's sleep before the 15K tomorrow.  I'm freaking out, as usual.  Wish me luck!

Week 9 Day 3 ~Weekend in Suncadia

The husband and I spent last weekend at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum.  It was my "prize" for winning the weight loss bet between me, my dad, and my sister.  My dad paid for the trip, and my sister watched our kids.  We had an amazing time!  Our suite was huge with a living room, fireplace, kitchen, dining room table, and giant bedroom and bathroom.  And the weather was perfect.  Chilly but sunny.  When we got there, we checked in and I decided to get my 3 mile run in while the husband tagged along on his mountain bike snapping pictures.  I keep staring at these photos thinking, "Is that really me?  Do I really look like that?  I look dang good!"  I mean, I don't look teeny tiny but I definitely look like I wear a medium in these photos.  I look average and that's all I ever strived for.  It's like all of a sudden I think I look like I made it.  I don't know how long that'll stick in my brain but for now... hooray.  Go me.

 

Anyway, I was huffing and puffing this whole run and my husband said it's probably because of the elevation.  We were in the mountains and even though it was only 2,000 feet, it's a bit different than sea level.  At least that's what he thinks.  I did my 3 miles, and .1 extra just so I could say I did a 5K.  I keep forgetting to do that and always stop at 3 miles exactly so my Garmin never counts it as a 5K.  So this run was my fastest 5K since I got my watch. 37 minutes 25 seconds.

 

 

 

 

I planned my run so that I would end up at the winery that is on the resort property.  I mean, I'm on vacation after all!  So we sat down at the restaurant for dinner and each ordered a flight of wine.  Mine was 5 different reds, husband's was 3 different reds.  They were all amazing and it was so fun to do wine tasting at our table.

 

I ordered the strangest, but most yummy salad ever.  Half of the ingredients I don't even like but I decided they would be good together.  Quinoa (yum), kale (yum), pears (not a fan of pears), carrots (yum), beets (nope), cranberries (eh, not really), pecans (yum), citrus vinaigrette (yum).  It was sooooo good.  I'm going to try making it at home now.

 

 

After dinner and a ton of wine, we went to the outdoor jacuzzi that was as big as a swimming pool.  And you could see every star in the sky out there, it was so nice.  Then we went back to the lodge and they had complimentary s'mores out in a huge fire pit near a stream.   Ahh.

 

After dessert, we cozied up in our room and rented a movie.  Awesome day!

 

The next morning we had breakfast delivered to our room, and then decided to take a yoga class.  Husband has never taken yoga with the exception of the PiYo class that I used to teach.  And he was complaining about his hamstrings since VK Sista' kicked his ass at the gym last Thursday so I thought yoga would be good for him.  The yoga teacher had us choose a card before we started class...

:)
 

After yoga, I rented a mountain bike (Husband has one already).  And we followed the map to an awesome mountain biking trail and had a freaking blast!  I think we spent more time goofing off, getting wet and muddy, and taking photos and videos than we did actual riding.  It was so nice out there!  Why have I never tried this before?  It's like hiking on wheels!  You can cover so much more distance out there when you're on a bike! 

We rode about 7 miles and when we got back to the car, husband didn't have his car keys.  Ha.  Fantastic.  Our keys are out there somewhere in a 7 mile span in the woods.  So we grabbed a coffee and a banana at the lodge and headed out for mountain biking adventure #2.  We found our keys down at the river where husband was goofing off and fell over.  They were just sitting there on some rocks.  Holy moly, couldn't believe we found them.  So we turned my mountain bike back in (sad, sad.  I want my own!!!) and headed into Roslyn for a burger and a beer at a neat old bar called The Brick that still has the original spittoon running under the bar.

Anyway, it really was an awesome, active weekend.  So thankful the weather was so nice!  We were thinking about what we would have done out there before we got into cycling and running.  My guess is we would have walked around town a little more, maybe went on a hike.  Probably hung out in the pool and jacuzzi a lot more.  It has been a year since we got our road bikes.  Strange how much our lives have changed in such a short amount of time.

Week 9 Day 2 ~Trail run

I needed to get off the road and into the woods.  I didn't even bring my music with me (and if you know me, that's just crazy!)  I just needed a little peace and quiet surrounded my nature.  It's been a weird week.  Something in the stars maybe?  Even my husband told me I seemed "off".  

There's a really great place near my house called Eagle Landing Park.  There's about a half-mile long trail that leads to a huge metal staircase (I think there's over 200 steps if I remember correctly) that leads to the beach.  Well, there was a landslide so I knew the stairs were closed, but I figured just getting onto the trail and being able to see the water through the trees would be good for me.  So my dog and I jogged the long way around, about a mile, to the trailhead saying hello and good morning to neighbors along the way.  Usually I have my headphones in so I just smile and wave, so it was different actually saying hi.  

We hit the trail running but my dog was way too excited about this new terrain and kept trying to stop and sniff...and chase birds, squirrels, and chipmunks.  It was hard to get her to focus but she was having a blast. 

Athena checking out an eagle

The biggest problem in the woods was my Garmin.  I was running on switchbacks but it kept thinking I was standing still so it would pause.  Drove me crazy!  I went a lot further than my dumb watch thinks I did.  :)  

We made it to the end of the trail and my dog and I sat on a bench at the top of the closed stairwell.  I tried to get her to turn around and look at the camera but she kept looking out at the water.  So, I turned my head to look with her and snapped a selfie from behind.  Ha!

Athena and I enjoying the view.

We jogged back through the woods and out to the road again, and ran the mile back to my house.  When I got home, I still felt like I needed to ground myself.  I thought it would feel good to take my running shoes off and feel the damp grass under my feet.  So we hung out in the front yard for a while, looking out at the water.  

She's a good girl

Namaste!

My magical tale of weight loss

I have two best friends.  (Actually I probably have more like 5 BFF's.  I'm really blessed to have such amazing close friends!)  I usually only blog about my WA BFF (Washington) because she's the one who started me on this whole running endeavor.  But I got this novel of a text message the other day from my MA BFF (Massachusetts) and I wanted to share it:

"You know how I'm always telling you how awesome you are?  Well, I'm going to tell you again.  I can't remember where you started at weight and fitness wise (maybe a good blog post), but I know where you're at now.  And I have a case of fat girl syndrome in that I think, "I'll never get to THAT!"  But you did.  And you're a real person with the same struggles.  And you've done it.  I walked for 35 minutes today at 3.0.  I have been feeling wicked dead, low energy, fat, etc, so there was no motivation to run, but it was about the amount of time spent on cardio today.  And then I got on a stationary bike.  12 mph, like 4 in resistance or something stupid.  After a mile I thought, "Kim did 204!"  Then I logged into myfitnesspal and saw what you've been up to, and you RAN 8 fucking miles!  I didn't compute what that would take time/calorie wise, and thought holy shit!  45 minutes of cardio is good.  More than I did yesterday or all week combined… or for months.  But I can do so much more.  Because of YOU.  That's all.  Probably makes no sense but it does in my head.  I feel like you're inspiring "fat" girls everywhere!"

Aww!  :)  So I decided to take her advice, think back about where I started, and blog about it.  Here's a little backstory about my weight loss journey:

I started out trying an AdvoCare Spark, which made me feel amazing.  And then went on to doing the 24 Day Challenge, and also the Couch to 5K on a treadmill.  That's also about the time I met VK Sista' at a gym I used to belong to.  I started a Biggest Loser challenge there and started working really, really hard at losing weight.  I moved to MA at about the 30 lbs lost mark.  At 53 lbs I got stuck.  I plateaued at 200 lbs and could not get into "one-derland".  I started hanging out with MA BFF and she introduced me to awesome restaurants in the Boston area, and I gained about 10 lbs back, and hung out there for quite a while.  Then I got pregnant.  The scale went up another 10 lbs, and then I had gallstones.  It was a really crazy pregnancy.  I spent a few days in the ER having a procedure called an ERCP done, and then I was told I was too far along in my pregnancy to have my gallbladder removed.  I was limited to 10g of fat per day.  I lost 20 lbs during my pregnancy so after I had my daughter, I was right back at that plateau mark that I could never get past at 200 lbs.

I have a lot of people tell me, "Well, your gallbladder is what taught you to eat healthy."  Like it was this big magic weight loss spell or something.  Yeah it helped me not gain during my pregnancy, but a lot of people don't gain a ton of weight during pregnancy if they're careful.  Even my WA BFF lost weight during both of her pregnancies.  It DID help that I learned to cook a lot more when I didn't really have the option of eating out.  But I worked my ass off for the 50 lbs I already lost.  I had to get off my fat lazy ass, stop eating fish and chips, and get to the gym.

After I had my daughter, I had my gallbladder removed.  I eat a lot more fat than I used to, but I figured, why add it all back in?  It's not good for anyone.  I haven't had fried food (with the exception of an occasional Red Robin french fry) in 3 years.  I moved back to WA and started cycling last year. I started the Couch to 5K plan again, signed up for the STP... and also a bunch of fun 5Ks with my WA BFF, and I joined a new gym with VK Sista'.  I gave up a lot of things I used to do so I could exercise.  When I talked my husband into jumping on board with me with the cycling endeavor, we gave up a lot of our lifestyle to have the time to stay active.  We gave up lazy TV time, we go to bed a lot earlier, and yes, we even gave up some weekend time with our kids.  I think in the long run, it's better for our family.  My kids are more active as a result.  We don't eat out as much as we used to, and we do active things as a family.

I lost another 30 lbs by more hard work and dedication.  Not magic.  I started by cycling 10 miles in the rain not knowing how to shift, until I could do 204 miles in one day.  I never, ever finished the Couch to 5K program.  I couldn't run a whole mile non-stop, let alone a whole 5K.  I started by running 1 mile on my treadmill, and now I can run 8 outside.   Somehow something just clicked in my brain.  I complain, but I do it anyway.  I still struggle every day, I go up and down a few lbs here and there, which is what this blog is all about.  I still like chocolate and I drink way too much coffee and wine.  But being fit and healthy is more important than anything else.   I can't believe how far I've come.  I can't remember the person I was when I started.  I started out heavier than both my BFFs and I left them in my big fat dust.  I just learned along the way, one very tiny step at a time.  I started, and I'm not finished.  I'm not even close to finishing.  This will always be a process.  If I can come as far as I have, anyone can.

My blog isn't about magic, but I think there's a little bit of magic inside us that gets us going, and keeps us going.  Training and struggling gets us further.  I want to show others that I'm a completely normal fat girl who used to be so much fatter, and if I can do it, so can you.  Not that I'm so freaking awesome, there's no way you'll ever catch up!   I just want all of my friends to be happy and healthy.  And I'm so touched that I'm inspiring MA BFF to do more.

That brings me to my thoughts today:


I was willing to spend thousands of dollars to bring my family down to the most magical place of all...Disneyland to do the Tinkerbell Half Marathon with WA BFF.  Not because I want to do it, but because she wants to, and I believe in her.  But she doesn't believe in herself, and now she's spent the past 8 weeks of training full of excuses and being lazy (her words) and (literally) dragging her feet.  I've told her again and again, that it doesn't matter how fast she does it as long as she actually puts in the miles.  I will do it at her pace.  She isn't competing against anyone but herself (and the fail bus).  I wish I could make her brain click like mine did.  I just don't know how it happened.


There's a half marathon I can do here for a lot less money, so I'm really considering not going to Disneyland.  There's also a trip I want to take with another one of my BFF's to Mexico in June for her birthday that's a whole lot cheaper.  AND I want to make sure I can afford my marathon in Hawaii too.  It's possible Disney just isn't meant to be.  It's a little like gambling though.  I just don't know if she's going to kick it into gear or not.  Do I risk not booking my trip?  I really need her to just start running.. one little mile at a time so I feel like going all the way to Disneyland is worth it.  I really don't know what to do.  Why can't I inspire EVERYONE?

Week 9 Day 1... with my 8 year old on his bike.

Remember on Friday's run, I pushed my two year old in the stroller?  Well, yesterday I had to take my 8 year old with me.  It was a whole lot easier because he tagged along on his bike and just went back and forth along the street and circled me.  He had fun and it was a gorgeous sunny day.  (I feel bad for my friends in Massachusetts who are buried in snow!)

 

 

 

My run still didn't go that great.  I am still sore all over from my 8 miles on Sunday.  (Surprise, surprise.)  I started out trying the new Chi Running method that I've been watching YouTube videos about and I was zooming my first mile!  But then I hit a wall I guess.  My legs were bricks.  It just wasn't working.  I speed-walked/jogged my second mile and I actually quit 4 minutes early because I was already back at my house and didn't time it quite right.  So later on in the afternoon when I met VK Sista' at the gym, I did an extra mile on the treadmill to make up for it.

 

Husband joined the gym again!  He wants VK Sista' to kick his ass too.  It was fun. (Arm day!) He also wanted to see how far he could run on the treadmill without walking because I've been trying to talk him into doing 5Ks with me.  He ran for a mile and a half and said he could have kept going, but VK Sista' and I were done so it was time for weights.  I told him that cycling helps with cardio soooo much and that he would be able to run just fine.  (Told you so!)   

 

While I did my mile on the treadmill, I looked through my calendar for all the races I want to sign up for this year and VK Sista' put the ones she wants to do with me in her calendar.  It made the mile go by pretty fast.  I'm going to add them to my athletic events on the side of my blog's home page in case you want to join in on any of them too! 

 

 

Week 8 Day 3 ~ I RAN 8 MILES TODAY!

OMG OMG OMG!  I RAN the entire 8 miles today!  I never walked.  That is freaking bananas!!!!!  I stopped once at mile 5 and switched from my vibrams to my regular running shoes.  That was it.  Ran straight for 8 freaking miles.  I can't even believe it!  I broke it up into little sections in my head.  After the first 1.8 miles, I thought, "Only a 10K left!"  When I reached 4.9 miles I thought, "Only a 5K left!"  My VK Sista' came by and did the first 5K with me which was amazing to keep me going:

VK Sista' and me

When she left she left some skittles behind to help with our "Beast Mode!"

And then right around the time she left, another friend came by for a walk with her mom and her son in his stroller so I high-fived them each time I passed them.  And of course BFF was there the whole time.  She would turn around and go the other direction around the track every other mile so it was fun to high-five her twice each lap.  It really kept me going.  Towards the end I told her she wasn't allowed to turn around unless I did too because I needed something to look forward to each lap!  I basically limped my entire last mile.  My left ankle was killing me… which is a completely new pain for me.  My foot was fine, my hip was fine, my back was fine… but my ankle?  That was weird.  I really didn't think I was going to make that last mile but I was determined not to walk.  The ankle pain started around mile 5 and that's why I thought I'd try changing my shoes and it felt better for a while but I guess it didn't last long.  It felt worse when I'd run around the track clockwise so I stopped switching directions.  Too weird.  I iced it and it feels a lot better now.  AND I RAN ALL 8 FREAKING MILES!!!

This was our "OMG we did it" face!  BFF finished 30 minutes after me.

Here's a screenshot of my Strava entry!

So now it's my goal to do it faster.  We watched an amazing video about Chi Running and OMG I've been running all wrong!  I'm going to try this new technique this week and I swear I'm going to zoom down the street and start breaking some PR's for sure!!

And by the way (because I'm sure I haven't written this yet)… I CAN'T BELIEVE I RAN 8 MILES NONSTOP TODAY!  EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

Week 8 Day 2... and freaking out.

My training days were off because I was trying to rest at the beginning of the week and get rid of my cold, so I had to get creative with my run yesterday.  I had to bring my two year old daughter along. I decided that I was going to jog to the gym for my yoga class with the stroller, and then jog home.  Omg!  Trying to run while pushing the stroller was a lot harder than I expected.  My arms were still sore from my workout with VK Sista' on Wednesday, and I had no momentum because I couldn't move my arms back and forth.  It's kind of amazing how much my arms help to propel me forward, and how weird it feels when I'm not able to use them.  Not to mention the stroller with a kid in it is heavy, especially up a hill!  

My daughter was having a blast though!  She liked that I was going fast.  She kept saying, "Wee!!!  This fun mommy!" and dancing back and forth to my music. (Which made pushing the stroller feel even weirder!)  Here's a pic:

I jogged through downtown and kept seeing myself in the reflection of the storefront windows.  And once again, my brain with my fat girl syndrome thinks I look fat and ridiculous.  I even snapped a photo as I jogged by:

Can you see me?  It's okay if you can't... It's not flattering.

Anyway, my stroller pace was 13 something.  I went to my amazing yoga class, and jogged back towards home.  Kind of defeated the whole purpose of a relaxing, stretching yoga class but oh well.  Gotta do what I gotta do.

Last night husband and I went out for Valentine's Day and I wore my cute boots.  I did way too much walking in them and now my plantarfacitis is acting up today.  I am FREAKING OUT about my 8 mile run tomorrow.  It's the furthest I've ever ran.  Furthest right now is 7.5, and that run destroyed my hip for months.  I keep trying to tell myself that that run was out of nowhere and this run I've trained for.  I have done every single mile the training schedule said to do.  I'm prepared for this.  But I'm freaking out.  Did I mention I'm freaking out?  Besides my foot, I swear my back hurts, my hip hurts, the insides of my ankles hurt.  I'm phyching myself out.  I know it's mostly in my head.  I'm fine, I can do this.

I invited a bunch of friends to the track with us tomorrow.  I thought it would be more fun and less tedious with lots of people to high-five.  Hopefully that was a good decision.  Wish me luck!

Week 8 Day 1… plus a Vanderkitten meet-up!

Well, I'm done with my cleanse and I'm down 5 lbs.  Still 5 lbs more than I want to be but it's something.   Actually, I want to be 20 lbs less, but I guess my body likes me where I am.  I wish my brain would like me where I am!  I went out for drinks with some Vanderkitten girls yesterday (one girl came to town from Colorado) and I was really nervous about it.  "What do I wear?  I feel so fat!  These girls are going to think I'm a big non-athletic fraud!"  But actually, it turned out just fine.  They were super nice and what I chose to wear worked just fine.  Here's a pic of our VK meet-up:

That brings me to today.  I decided to run Wednesday/Friday/Sunday this week to give myself a few days to get over this cold that never ends.  That was a darn good idea because I ran really well this morning.  30 minutes running non-stop at a 11:20 pace.  My dog did great, which was really nice.  It was super foggy out!  Here's a pic when I finished:

Yes, some of that is sweat, but most of it was fog!  I was soaking wet!  It was a nice morning anyway though.  :)

This afternoon I went to the gym with VK Sista' and since we had drinks yesterday, and she has a meeting on Thursday, today was our only gym day this week so we made sure we did a full-body bootcamp kinda workout.  It was pretty fun!  Although now my throat hurts.  I swear… this cold will never, ever end.  Taking it easy tomorrow.  Onward!

The crazy accidental athletic weekend

Remember when I said I was going to do my easy 3 mile treadmill jog, and then chill out and rest for the remainder of the weekend to try to kick this cold for good?  Yeah... that didn't happen.  After my run on Saturday we dropped the kids off with my mom.  I planned to use the opportunity to go to REI kid-free and pick up some compression socks, and then maybe take a nap and fold some laundry.  Sounded wonderful.  Well, turns out it was garage sale day REI downtown and we spent 3 1/2 hours there.  My garmin says we walked almost 3 miles through the store.  And then my mother-in-law came to town, met us for dinner, and then my husband and I went out to a friend's birthday party to see a cover band at a dive bar.  A couple of beers and we were home late.  So much for my nap, and my going to bed early to rest. 

 

My 65 year old mother-in-law signed up to do the Seattle to Portland with us this summer.  She brought her bike and wanted to go for a ride with us.  The rain finally stopped after a week and the sun came out.  How could we say no?  And it was only her second ride since she got her bike so I knew it would be a pretty easy ride.

 

 

 

Pre-ride selfie

Mother and son riding

It was definitely a nice easy ride.  We only went 12.5 miles along the Green River Trail, but I'm super proud of her for starting her training.  She's been getting her ass kicked at the gym by a personal trainer twice a week too.  She's determined.  I love that we inspired her.  :)


So after our ride, I was supposed to meet some friends for a walk along the Soos Creek Trail.  But after our ride and a quick lunch, I had to go all the way home to change, pick up my dog, and drive all the way out there.  I was about 35 minutes late and they already started on their walk.  I had my friend text me a dropped pin on the map where she was, and it said they were 1.1 miles ahead of me.  I figured I'd just take off running and catch up.  I estimated it would take me 30 minutes to find them while they continued walking and I ran.  I was thinking about how I wished I didn't already run yesterday, I didn't plan on running today.  I didn't even bring water, but I was determined to catch up.  So, off I went.  At a mile in, right about where the pin said she was earlier, the trail turned into a pond....

 

I called my friend just to make sure she actually wadded her way through calf-high water and she said she did.  She said that if she didn't, I probably would have thought she was a wuss because of how athletic I am, and how much cycling and running I do in the rain.  LOL.  Really?  That's flattering but I would have given up at this pond and turned around.  But she didn't... and she thinks I kick ass so I took my shoes and socks off, rolled up my pants, and waded through with my dog's leash in one hand, and my shoes in the other.  Some cyclists were going through coming from the direction I was heading and a guy said, "It's worse further up!  I'd leave your shoes off for a while."  So I walked along barefoot through 3 puddles this size.  Oh man it was crazy.  And COLD.  After putting my shoes back on, I ran another 2 miles to catch up with them.  Thankfully she had a bottle of water waiting for me and we walked the 3 miles back to the car with our dogs having a blast.  (Shoes off again to get back through the flood.)   

 

I was freaking exhausted last night.  My lungs hurt and my body just felt heavy, like it was a lot of extra work to move.  My chest hurt when I breathed so I put a humidifier in our room last night.  That seemed to help quite a bit.  I can breathe better today.  VK Sista' wanted to go to the gym this afternoon because we're supposed to meet some other Vanderkitten VIP's for drinks on Tuesday.  But I said no way.  I'm doing nothing today but sitting at my desk at work... and getting my hair done during lunch.  Then I'm going home and sitting on my butt.  The end.

Week 7 Day 3 ~Through the desert

It's still downpouring here in good ol' Seattle so I decided to do my 3 miles on the treadmill.  I didn't want to listen to music today, I wanted something different.  So I put the iPad on my treadmill and watched the last half of a documentary on Netflix we started watching at BFF's house last weekend called Desert Runners.  These crazy people run 4 deserts a year.  And each one is like running 6 marathons in 5 days...IN THE DESERT!  So I figured that would be good motivation as I took it easy (still have a cold) and jogged along on my treadmill.  I tried to keep their pace and pretended I was jogging along in the desert with them.

Well that plan worked pretty well until half of them started quitting and complaining of heart problems after one guy died out there.  I was like, "No!  Keep going!  If you quit, I'll quit!"  Well, I finished  (Slowly, with my nose running, and feeling exhausted and shaky) and timed it perfectly as the people who finished crossed the finish line of the last desert. 

Ugh.  I'm going to rest now.  I don't have to run again until Tuesday and I'm done, done, done!  Slowest pace in a long time.    13:52

Week 7 Day 2 ~Sick and tired

I have had a lingering cold for what feels like forever.  I think my body hates me.   I'm just go go go... work, kids, gym, run, cycle, clean, cook, sleep a little.... I'm exhausted.  I skipped the gym yesterday with VK Sista and I did an easy jog on my treadmill yesterday morning.  12:40ish something pace I think.  It was downpouring outside.  I'm pretty hard core, but not that hard core.  This pic does not really show how much rain was truely coming down, but it's there, I promise!

Right now I'm blogging from yoga class, waiting for it to start.  I really didn't want to come, but I'm here.  Hopefully it will be worth it.

Update:  it was worth it.  I've said this before, but I really like this teacher.  She's teaches just the right combination of stretching, strength, balance, and relaxation.  I feel a lot better.  Off I go to pick up my friend to babysit my daughter for me while I go help with my son's after school drama club.  Gotta use my Masters degree somehow I guess.  Here I go go go...

Week 7 Day 1... and a cleanse

I have been running and cycling like crazy, and going to the gym twice a week for over a month now.  I don't eat fast or fried food.  You'd think I'd be a size 2 by now.  Nope, still a 10.  In fact, I've gained 10 lbs!  ?!@#*!!  My jeans seem to fit a little looser but the scale is up.  I hate that damn scale!  I really doubt I've gained 10 lbs of muscle so I have no idea what's going on.  I decided that it was time to do AdvoCare's 10 Day Herbal Cleanse again.  However, I kind of pieced together a cleanse out of two unfinished cleanses at BFF's house so technically I'm doing an 8 day cleanse.  I started day 1 and 2, also drinking the 48 Hour Hollywood Miracle Diet juice and only eating lean protein and green veggies.  Made it through those days ok.  I'm on to day 3 today. 

I don't know why I care about the scale so much.  As long as my husband and I think I look good, who cares what the scale says?  ...Or anyone else for that matter.  Some friends and family tell me how skinny I look and what a tiny waist I have...  And then there's others that can't believe when I tell them I run, and they think I wear an XL and ask how much weight I still have to go.  Is it because I'm just average size now?  I'm going to get both sides?  Why do I feel the need to be just a little bit smaller?  Anyway... we'll see what the stupid scale says at the end of my cleanse. 

Week 7 Day 1 was just an easy jog on the treadmill at the gym.  I have a cold so I just couldn't drag myself out of bed in the morning.  I figured the afternoon, after some Dayquil would be easier.  Eh.  I think I had like a 12:30 pace.  After my jog, VK Sista' kicked my ass as usual.  Here she is going all Jillian Michaels on my ass and adding her weight to my leg press:

 

 

My husband and I signed up for the STP again last night.  And I also signed up for the Hot Chocolate 15K on March 1st.  Eek!  So... wish me luck!  Onward with the training... and the cleanse... and we'll see what happens!

Week 6 Day 3 ~ 10K

10K day!  BFF and I decided to run our 6.2 miles on a track near her house.  That way we could run at our own pace but still do it together, and wave to each other from the other side of the track.  We both really, really didn't want to do it.  It was cold and yucky out, and we were lazy:

Sad face "before" selfie

I ran the entire 6-point-freaking-2 miles!  1 hour and 20 minutes at a 13 minute pace.  This was my last run of the month and I was really excited to check it off.  My workout calendar looks nice and symmetrical.  :)  I am just super proud of myself that I did every single mile that the training schedule said to do.  I've come so far!  41 miles total in January!  (Plus 104 miles of cycling too!)

                                      

My finished January calendar!

BFF however, barely trained at all.  I lapped her quite a bit and gave her an encouraging high-five each time I passed.  She finished about a half hour after me so I spent that time walking more laps around the track to keep warm in the fog.  

                          

BFF is in that fog on the other side of the track somewhere!

                           

My "Yay I did it!" selfie :)

Honestly, at the beginning of the month I was annoyed that BFF wasn't training.  She talked me into this whole Disney Half Marathon thing.  I told her running was not my thing and I'd do as many 5K's as she wanted but I really didn't have the ambition to go any further than that.   BUT I told her that if she promised to put the time and effort into it, that I would do this half with her because I know it's important to her.  She wanted to be a better runner, and lose weight, and I wanted to support her.  Well, during this training process, I've learned that I can hold her hand, but I can't carry her...she can choose to carry herself.  This has turned into MY journey now.  Me.  With or without her.  I'm going to do the best I can, finish the half marathon… and hopefully go on to do the Honolulu Marathon in December.  However, I really hope she begins her journey soon because it would be much more fun with my "sole sister" there with me.  I know she could catch up if she wanted to.  I'm more than willing to run with her at her pace, IF she puts in the miles.                                      

Here's a little collage I put together for Facebook.  Hopefully this feeling sticks with her.