Week 10 Day 3~ Hot Chocolate 15K

Yesterday was the Hot Chocolate 15K (9.3 miles) through downtown Seattle, and then up Aurora Ave and back down.  Looking at the map freaked me out.  It looked so far!  I was so, so worried about my foot/ankle injury, I felt sick.  I decided to wear my vibrams.  I used KT tape, my plantar fasciitis sleeve, compression calf sleeves, and my toe socks too.  My amazing husband came with me to zig zag through side streets on his bike, and brought my regular running shoes (minus my custom insoles which I'm hoping I can return) just in case I wanted to switch shoes.  I couldn't eat breakfast I was so nervous.  Husband made me oatmeal and I just couldn't do it.  At the last minute, I ended up force feeding myself a cliff bar, and I took my AdvoCare Catalyst.  That's as much as I could handle.

I was really worried about my BFF finishing the race.  I was supposed to start in corral J and she was supposed to start in corral L due to the pace we entered when we registered.  I was going back and forth about whether or not to drop back and start with her in her corral.  I was thinking about it all night and all morning.  I came to the conclusion that I trained for this and she didn't.  That it wouldn't be fair to be picked up by the fail bus with her when I put in so much time and effort week after week.  I'd have to leave her behind eventually, and I'd be stressed about running to catch up with where I should have started out.  So I made the decision to part ways at the very beginning and send her all the positive energy I could.  Here's our pic together before the race:

A friend of mine who is at almost every running event I attend was going to be there and was assigned corral K.  She needs an alias for this blog.... um... since she's kind of family in a weird round-about way, I'm going to call her "cousin".  We usually have a similar pace so I thought I would at least drop back one corral and do the race alongside her.  Well, she had friends who were in corral G so she said we were going to cheat and start in that corral.  That made me nervous starting out with people who were even faster than we were.  And you're allowed to drop back, you aren't supposed to join an earlier corral so I thought we'd get in trouble.  No one seemed to notice.  I started my Garmin when I crossed the start line, and we were off!

I practiced aligning my body and using my Chi Running techniques.  I would swing my arms back with my music, I'd practice a tight core, move my hips, let the road drag my foot back, tilt forward.  Practice practice.  I was doing great.  Nothing hurt, I wasn't out of breath, and I just happily jogged along and chatted with cousin and her brother, and ate chocolate marshmallows at the different candy stops.  She was getting over the cold that I had a couple weeks ago so she was having a tough time.  She'd stop to walk and blow her nose, and hack up crap and spit on the side of the road.  Oh man I remember that. Sucks!  She kept trying to convince me and her brother to run off without her but like I've always said, as long as I'm not dead last and in danger of failing, I don't care how long it takes.  Our average 13 minute pace was just fine with me. 

It was fun running along empty streets!  I've definitely never been inside the Battery Street Tunnel without a car!  Here's a few pics...

Cousin and I at the start line

Inside the Battery Street Tunnel

 

I found my husband every few miles.  He was pretty easy to spot.  Tall guy in a bright green cycling jacket.  He'd cheer me on and take some photos.  Love, love, love him.  Here's one he took of us at around the 5 mile mark...

He asked if he should just stay there and wait for me to turn around and reach him again, or continue up ahead but I said my foot felt fine so he could hang out there.  Just after the 5 mile mark, my ankle got that little painful twinge.  I thought, oh no!  I should have told him to keep going, I may need my shoes after all.  5 miles was right where my ankle started hurting during my 8 mile run.  But I calmed down, practiced my Chi alignment, and the pain magically went away.  Woo!  That workshop was worth every freaking penny.  Chi Running FTW!  At around the 6 mile mark, cousin and her brother stopped to use the bathroom and I decided to head off on my own.   All the way up Aurora Ave and back down again.  Look at that hill in the distance!  ...

Here's a pic my husband took of me when I made it back to where he was waiting... almost the 8 mile mark.  Still feeling good and smiling! 

 

 

 

I kept thinking how weird it was that I wasn't tired.  I never hit that "wall" I sometimes feel coming on.  Like where my body just feels like it weighs a thousand times more than it does and it just can't run (or pedal) anymore.  Never happened.  I don't know if it was the chocolate stops, Chi Running, the excitement of the race.... who knows but it was awesome!

When I reached my husband I gave him a quick kiss and asked if he had seen BFF.  He told me that they had started turning people around the other direction and that she was about 2 minutes ahead of me.  Oh no!  Well, at least there was no actual "fail bus"... just that they made people turn around so they could open the road back up.  Ugh.  That freaking sucks.  I kicked it into high gear and tried to catch up to her.  I found her and tried to offer some encouragement but I don't think it really worked.  We passed the sign that said 8 miles, and her Garmin said she did 6 so she had to cut 2 miles off of her run.  She said she wasn't going to take the finisher medal because she didn't really finish.  I told her I was proud of her just for trying and took off.  I wanted to try to finish the 9.3 miles in 2 hours.  We really should have taken a selfie when I found her, but I didn't think about it until later.

I finished in 2 hours and 2 minutes.  Not too bad!  I got my medal, hot chocolate, and the best chocolate fondue I've ever had with lots of yummy stuff to dip! 

 

 

 

And the crazy thing was that I still felt good!  I just did 3 5K's in a row, and I really feel like I could have kept going!  Less than 4 miles to the half marathon mark.  I could have finished 13.1 in less than 3 hours I think.  I think I'll be A-Okay for May.  I'm finally not nervous about it anymore!

I fessed up yesterday in a text to BFF and told her that when she registered for the 15K, I booked my Disney trip.  I told her that if she puts in every single mile, no matter how slow, from here on out... I will do the Disney Half at her pace.  We'll goof off and take character pics, and just have a good time.  No nervousness, lots of breakfast.  I hope that made her day a little better.  And husband said a lot of people kept the required pace and were turned around anyway and were really mad.  Pretty sure the clock started when corral A left.  How stupid is that?!  They really should issue an apology or something because the people who started out last, should have had the same opportunity at a 15 minute pace as the elites.  Seems backwards to me!  If BFF started in our corral, she would have made it all the way.  I was thinking later that she should have taken her damn medal and then just kept going around town on her own until her Garmin read 9.3 miles.  It wasn't her choice not to finish. 

Anyway, when I got home I headed to the hot tub with a celebratory beer and left my compression sleeves on.  Felt amazing.  I even wore them in the shower and then let them air dry so they felt cold after.  Brilliant!

I'm so sore today.  It's a good sore though.  I'm using muscles to run that I haven't used before.  My core is so sore it hurts to laugh.  I'm going to have a 6 pack soon!  Ha... I can hope!  :)

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!!!!!!!!!