Tag Archives: running

Meeting Bart Yasso and Tallahassee Half Marathon Recap

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Hello!

Can you believe that it’s already February? It really puts in to perspective that time flies when you’re having fun whether you like it or not. January had a lot of high points, along with a lot of low points. But I’m not going to get in to that right now. The important thing is that I’m back on the upswing and I’m making slow progress on a lot of levels.

And with that, let’s talk about this epic weekend.

The last time I had ran before the Half on Sunday was Jan. 4th. Almost 30 days. I had done a lot  of cross training, but not a solid run. So needless to say I was pretty nervous about this race because I knew I could have easily A) injured myself B) not finish or C) Both…because I had spontaneously combusted. I had every intention of running, but I didn’t make the time for it like I should have.

MEETING BART YASSO

Bart talking about a crazy race where he was tied to a donkey. Yes, that's a thing apparently.

Bart talking about a crazy race where he was tied to a donkey. Yes, that’s a thing apparently.

That leads us into Saturday, the day of the race expo. Even though I had been to the race expo last year, I felt incredibly insecure like I didn’t belong. Fun fact: sometimes fit people terrify me. Since I’ve gained this extra weight, I have felt incredibly uneasy at times and it’s been frustrating. All I knew was that one of my running heroes, Runner’s World’s Bart Yasso, was going to speak at the expo. A while back, I read his book My Life on the Run and it was incredibly inspiring to see the life-changing impact the sport of running had made on his life. It was oddly relatable to me because even before I started trying to lose weight, I loved running. My true journey really began on the treadmill at Anytime Fitness in Abilene, Texas. I remember going for an hour on it at a solid 3.5 mph while watching the Texas Rangers on the TV. It was hard, but I kept at it. Soon, I started running outside and then eventually, my first 5k. You see, your transformation doesn’t always start when you think it does. Sure I got my eating in order on 9/18/10, but I had already started to build a foundation of fitness about a year prior. For Bart, it was the transition from being addicted to drugs and alcohol to becoming a runner whose new drug was marathons and evangelizing for the sport of running across the globe.
Anyway, Bart got up and started his talk with three consistencies of the successful runners he knows/works with. They slow down on their long runs, go easy (surprisingly easy) on their easy runs, and they avoid injury at all costs (which I know some a unavoidable like tripping and running into parked cars, but you get the idea) which really all of those make a lot of sense. He went on to talk about some of the crazy races he’s ran like a marathon in Antarctica, a naked run in Spokane, Washington, and even the insanly baller Badwater Ultra in Death Valley that actually finishes on the top of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the Lower 48. He finished his talk with “never limit where running can take you” which is absolutely true. It was amazing just to hear him talk while staying incredibly humble about it all. It was truly inspiring. After his talk, I went up to him, asked him to sign my book, and took a photo with him. Pretty awesome guy. He actually ran the Half too and I shook his hand again after the race. Pretty awesome guy.

HALF MARATHON RECAP

Brian and I at the starting line. Too excited for our own good.

Brian and I at the starting line. Too excited for our own good.


So like I said earlier, I was pretty worried about this race. My game plan was to just go out there, set a reasonable pace, and let instincts do the rest. I knew that a PR was lofty so I was going to just enjoy the run.
The morning was foggy, but cool. In Florida, foggy usually means an incredibly humid day, which meant this race could really suck. Luckily, my buddy Brian was also running the race so we ran together. I’ve kind of been a lone wolf when it comes to running, so it was nice to have some company! The race started promptly at 7:30 am and we were off. Last year, I started off waaaaaay too fast. My first mile last year was a blitzing 8:39. This year: 10:03…and it definitely played in to my favor. We kept a really solid pace for the first 4 miles together. We kind of did our own thing from then on. I saw a lot of work friends and friends from church along the course which was really encouraging. Around mile 10, I felt awesome, but I did the math in my head and figured that I probably wasn’t going to PR. So, I just enjoyed the last couple of miles. It turned out to be a beautiful morning on one of my favorite trails. That all came to a halt in the last half mile around campus. My legs started to feel like lead and each step was harder than the last. I finally reached the last .1 that went around the track where the finish line was. That is when my calves started to cramp up a little, which was awesome because last year they started cramping around mile 9.
I finished at 2:20:59 which is still a pretty awesome time. I felt waaaaaay better at the finish line compared to last year. I actually enjoyed this half. Why, because I paced myself a lot better this time. I kept thinking about that scene in Home Improvement when Tim and Bob Vila raced their muscle cars. Tim had the opportunity to beat Bob if he had pushed his car a little harder, but he know that if he did, the car that he had been working on for years would blow up. Instead, he held off to race another day. I thought a lot about how I essentially stopped running until October last year after burning myself out on such a brutal half. After a much needed rest day today, I could definitely run a few miles tomorrow and be okay. I’ve learned a lot from this half and I’m ready to start training for another one soon!

Here are a few more photos from the weekend. Enjoy!

image_1image_3imageimage_6image_5

And here's something to haunt your dreams tonight.

And here’s something to haunt your dreams tonight.

Day 1,171 Sunday on Track

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It has been kind of a whirlwind of a Thanksgiving week. So much so I’m not really sure where to begin…

This poor sap has no clue...

This poor sap has no clue…

weird routeLet’s start with a bitterly cold 15k on Thursday that was unforseeably miserable. This year’s Turkey Trot was easily the coldest one I’ve ran in. In fact, it was the coldest race I have ever ran in. It was in the low 30’s at the start of the race and I didn’t know how my body was going to respond to the conditions. Well, as usual, my body surprised me in an awesome way. I started off the race with an amazing pace of 9:00/mile. Now usually I start to taper off after the second mile and jump up to about a 10:00/mile, but I consistently conquered the first 5 miles with a 9:00ish/mile pace! I was on the way of destroying my 15k time from last year! I was soooooooo stoked!
Then, I had to poop.
Out of nowhere, my body started to scream “find some bushes” which was impossible since a) I was in the middle of a subdivision and b) there were way too many runners that I knew to do something weird like that. And of course, thanks to the way this route was laid out, I was literally the furthest away from the finish line (for those of you who have ran the 15k, I was around the turnaround on Biltmore at the bottom of the giant hill). I’ll avoid being graphic, but I was in physical pain to the point that I could only run a few steps without having to stop. With about 2 miles left, I was close to a community center that I had been to that had bathrooms. I deviated from the course by about 100 feet to get to it. Doors are locked. I see some people and I ask them if they have access. They didn’t, but they pointed to the Southwood Clubhouse which was another 200 feet away off the route. Thankfully, they were open. I went it, used their facilities, looked incredibly out of place, and got the heck out of there (and no Alex, I didn’t ask any of the caddies if they knew you. I didn’t have the time to make small talk 🙂 ). Anyway, after that I was back on track and I finished the race while tacking on an extra .65 miles on to my run. The thing was, I wasn’t too far from the finish line, but I panicked and didn’t know what to do. It was something I’ve had to deal with during a race. It was miserable. I’m planning on running a 15k in December (anyone doing the Magnuson Holiday Fun Run in Seattle on the 21st?) so I’ll have to redeem myself then. Anyway, other than that, Thanksgiving went off without a hitch!

So let’s skip to this weekend, shall we?
I also had an amazing Weight Watchers meeting where our leader Dee encouraged us to re-think about why we are trying to lose weight. I opened up about my weight loss journey (something I hadn’t talked about with the group before) and how I have been at the same weight for the past almost 2 years. I explained that I’ve been comfortable both physically and mentally in the 230’s because I haven’t been at this weight since…elementary? This weight has allowed me to run 10 milers on a whim and keep up with my compadres in my workout classes. That’s so awesome to me! Now, I want to take it to the next level. I don’t want people to look at me and not understand how I’m such a fast runner (my response is “yeah, I don’t get it either”). I want my outside to match my inside while both becoming more fit. One of the biggest roadblocks with this is fueling my body right after a big run or workout. I think that looks like more water, more protein and just staying within my points. Once I get that in line (which I have been researching. Any suggestions are welcomed.) I know that I’ll be back within striking distance of getting below 200 pounds for the first time in decades. 

So that’s about it. Today, I was well below my points and was super full. I even weighed out my leftover turkey on our food scale before I turned it in to a delicious BBQ turkey sandwich. It was magical. See ya tomorrow.

One more thing…
Don’t forget to donate to Movember if you are a Stachetastic Run Sponsor! (I know a lot of you are still reeling from the weekend, but don’t forget!) I have provided super easy setp-by-step instructions here!

 

 

Dead ActiveLink, Bruised Toes & Other Adventures in Weight Loss

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It’s funny when you leave open your blog post in your browser and how what you are planning on writing will be completely different in a matter of hours.

My WISo it’s been a pretty crazy week. In fact it’s been a pretty crazy start to the month. I am in a pretty rotten place when it comes to weight loss. My weight has been fluctuating like crazy, but I physically look smaller. My Start to Fitness cross training class twice a week is getting me ripped. I especially see and feel it in my back, my arms and around my stomach. Between that and my running, I have been getting fit in the gym (and track), but haven’t been losing weight in the kitchen.

As you can see from the graph, I’m struggling. It’s hard not to go a little overboard when your favorite team (i.e. my FSU Seminoles) are going gangbusters for the first time since…well…since we were worrying about Y2K. It shouldn’t be an excuse, but it’s been the reality of the situation. My eating is out of whack in the week and then it’s not much better on the weekends. At this point, I feel like I need to have just one good week of eating right, exercising and drinking all the water, I could kickstart my weight loss into gear!

 

 

 

RIP AL
So what’s standing in my way?
Well, like I said, I have had a couple of crummy weeks and days.
First, my ActiveLink fell off my pants. I run with it on my waistband all the time, but some how it got knocked off my jeans when I was walking to work. Crazy right? Where did it fall? It fell on to a busy intersection without me even realizing it. When I was in a meeting, I realized that it was gone. I thought I had left it at home, so I went and looked for it in an attempt to assuage my fears. It wasn’t at home. After lunch, I came back up to work while retracing my steps. Then, I saw it…in pieces…on a busy intersection of campus. It was pretty sad, and I’m pretty sure I looked crazy picking up the pieces while cars were driving by. Anyway, in a way it was a little comical. It’s just a part of life. It could be worse…someone could have stolen my shoes (oh that’s right, that’s happened before…). I know that not having an ActiveLink doesn’t physically stop my from being active, but it’s awesome to have that gauge to know how much more active I need to be during the week. It was just kind of a bummer.

my foot
Well that sucks, what else is going on, FFK?
Do you have a piece of furniture in your house that loves to destroy your toes? So do we. We have this black chair that has a leg that has bruised many a toes. Yesterday, I slammed my left foot in to the leg of the chair and as you can see, my toe swelled up almost immediately, followed by turning a black/purple/blue/redish color all around. Followed by pain while walking. It wasn’t fun. So today I went to the doctor and got some x-rays done. I usually wouldn’t go for something like this, but I am training for the half AND I have Stachetastic Run Sponsors depending on me! I found out that my toe wasn’t broken, just has a bad contusion. She suggested taping those piggies together (according to the doctor’s sheet, “taping to the buddy toes”) and it should heal in the next two to three weeks. Not awesome.

So what does that mean for your running?
Well…I’m not sure. My toe has felt better since it’s been taped. I’m already a little more mobile and I think I would feel a lot better if I had taken some pain meds today. So I’m going to rest it tomorrow and just listen to my body. That hasn’t failed me yet. What sucks is that I haven’t ran since Thursday because I was resting my body for some long runs this week. For those of you that don’t know, I am raising money in a special way this month. Last week, I challenged my Facebook friends to donate a dime (yes, ten cents) to Movember for every mile I ran this month. So far I have 14 Stachetastic Run Sponsors and have raised $18.20 by running 13 miles. My goal was to run at least 50 miles, but that might be an issue considering my toes. That’s why I need more sponsors, so that every mile counts. If I could get six more sponsors, I will been raising $2 for every mile. If you are willing to help change the face men’s health, this is a motastic way. No if you will excuse me, I’m going to burn a chair to the ground.

Stachetastic Run Sponsor

Day 958: Thursday And Stuff

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Your body feels awesome when you feed it right.

Your body feels awesome when you feed it right.

HELLO!

I feel awesome right now! I won’t bore you with the details, but my body feels better even after just eating right and a little bit of exercise. Basically, I’m glad to be back on the weight loss wagon. L

Let’s talk food!

Oh yeah, I live in a beautiful place.

Oh yeah, I live in a beautiful place.

Breakfast: An egg and a piece of toast-4 points
Snack: Cheerios-2 points
Lunch: Two salmon salad sandwiches (using a can of salmon from Sam’s Club)-13 points
PizzaDinner: Two slices of homemade pizza with chicken sausage-10 points
ProofExercise: So I’m doing a May challenge with Jenny Hodges of MetamorFit fame (she’s lost more than 200 pounds! You may have seen here on the Yahoo! homepage and other shows) to burn 500 calories of exercise everyday. That’s 15,500 calories!!! If you want to join the challenge, join the event here!!! Anyway, so yesterday I played some serious racquetball and today I did a healthy combination of spinning, lifting, jogging and shuttle runs. I feel awesome and I smell gross. I win.

So that about does it! I got to 32 points so I’m AOK. See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 948: Run Recap and Such!

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Before I start, I have to get something off my chest that I have been struggling with. While I used to definitely have binging qualities when I was severely overweight, a lot of those issues have been surprised. I guess I put all that chewing energy in to running or something…Anyway, while the super binging isn’t so much an issue, I am a leftover eater. After we are done with dinner and it’s left on the stove or whatever, I will sleuth my way in to the kitchen and just go to town on what is left. Usually it’s chili or pasta. When I do it, it’s really hard for me to stop. What’s worst is that those bites taste better than my actual dinner. (Maybe that means I’m eating dinner too fast?) It has always been an issue for me, except I don’t have my sister here to tattle on me when I do it now lol (I remember that specifically happening when we were eating at another family’s house when I was in middle school. You know I love you, Brittany :)) I really feel like that’s my biggest struggle to overcome. It doesn’t happen as much now as it used to. I think it means that I need to eat more filling foods through out the day instead of just carbs and things like that. If you have any suggestions, I would gladly listen to them.

Phew, glad to get that off my chest.

SO LET’S TALK RUNNING!!!
Pre-SaloonThis was the weekend of running all the things. First stop: The Palace Saloon 5k, one of the oldest races in Tallahassee. It starts at a park and ends at, you guessed it, a bar called The Palace. The race boasts itself as the fastest and flattest 5k in Tallahassee. They were half right. The race was flat for the first 2 miles or so, then I notice people running up in to the clouds like it was the Transfiguration or something. Instead, people were just running up a massive hill. When I say that, it was a massive hill in the context of the race. It actually wasn’t that big. Anyway, what goes up, must come down. The last mile or so was pretty much straight downhill which was epic. I looked down at my Nike+ when I was crossing the finish line and I was rocking a 7:05/mile pace which was crazy for me. So the downhill awesomeness helped my time. One thing that also helped (I think) was that I took Energybits for the first time before a race. You can click on the link to learn more, but basically they are all-natural protein tablets made from algae that give you a nice little boost of energy when you’re running. (Don’t worry, they’re not some HGH or anything. A lot of runners swear by them…although Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, and Roger Clemens all endorse them…hmmm…. :)). Placebo or not, it definitely helped me get up that hill when I thought I had nothing left in the ol’ tank. Anyway, I set a 5k PR of 26:04 which is SO AWESOME! I’m really wanting to run a sub 25:00 5k before the end of the summer. Time to start training!

Run 5.2 For Boston
Pre-5Mid RunRunners

I know you’ve heard me talk about it all week, but on Sunday, we finished the race for those who couldn’t. You see, most of the Boston Marathon runners were stopped at Mile 21, not getting to finish what was most likely was an ultimate goal for them. So some people in Tallahassee started to plan a 5.2 mile run to finish the race. What started out to be 50-60 runners quickly turned in to a run of more that 1,100 people! There was not a race fee, but donations were accepted and stores from across Tallahassee donated gift certificates and such to be raffled off (I won $50 for a running store in Tallahassee! So stoked to get some new shoes!) Overall, the run raised $13,000 that is going directly to the Boston One Fund and the Boston Red Cross. People truly are good. We might fight over things like religion, politics, or even the Great Pumpkin, but when we see others in desperate need, we are there to help. It’s pretty amazing.
The actually running part was pretty awesome as well. I was making killer time (but the run wasn’t officially timed) and then around Mile 2.5ish, I thought “you know, it’s not too often you can stop in the middle of a race this size and just cheer on people…” so that’s what I did. I got to the side and gave high fives, made silly running jokes and spurred my fellow runners on. One guy thought I was drunk, but that’s okay :). Anyway, I ran some more and then I stopped again right before the last big hill (the race was in Southwood so I knew the route like the back of my hand) and I encouraged people up the hill. I hope I gave them that final push that they needed. I’ve never volunteered at a race before, but now I really want to. The biggest advantage is that you can tell the same silly joke every time and no one will hear it twice :). Anyway, I ended up running it in 49:03, but that’s with long periods of me pausing my Nike+. It was an honor to cheer everyone on like that. For a lot of people, it looked like it could have been their first race. I hope this was a catalyst for them to run in the future.

All in all, the two races this weekend provided some much needed closure to what was an incredibly stressful week. I know the road to recovery for Boston is far from over, but see all the amazing philanthropy for both those in the Northeast and those in my old backyard in West, Texas, you can’t help but have some of your faith restored in humanity. Like I said on Monday, good was going to come out of that tragedy and so much already has. What a great way to end a week and begin a new one. See ya tomorrow.

Day 921: Weigh In Time!

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Why hello everyone!!!!

How do you like the type in the center? Personally, I really like it.

So I have been working out like crazy and I have been tracking my points down to the calorie. It is finally paying off! I lost 1.8 points! I’m finally back in to the 220’s (I mean, 229.8…but still) and I’m making great progress. I am only 18.6 pounds away from reaching my 30 in 90 goal!!!! OH SNAP!

Here’s how the day went down…
Lunch OopsToday had the potential of going horribly wrong, and I think in the past I would have let it become a caloric nightmare. Instead I made it an awesome win! You see, as I was walking out the door this morning, I left all of my prepared food on the kitchen table. I didn’t realize it until I went to grab them out of the back seat of my car. Fail. Sooooooooo I knew that I had to stay focused with my food and not detract too much. I started the day off with a 7 point bagel and reduced fat cream cheese and then I had a snackable size of Froot Loops (I had totally forgotten that it was spelled that way! Weird huh?) Anyway, so that was 3 points.

Screen shot 2013-03-26 at 10.33.31 PM

Lunch: I ended up getting my classic Turkey Tom with avocado spread instead of mayo (it’s the difference of 20-some grams of fat!). Delicious 7 points.

Running Time!: Even though it was flippin cold and the whipping wind, I went for a run out in beautiful Southwood! I wanted to test my 5k time since it had been a while. My time was 29:18 which is awesome! It means I haven’t lost any pace time since the half. One thing I did notice was that my legs are already in sooo much better shape thanks to my leg workouts. I had a lot more endurance, especially when running up massive hills. Squats have made the difference.

EARTH FARE TIME!!!!

DINNEREarth Fare SwagAfter our run, we went to Earth Fare to break in my super awesome discount card! We took advantage of their delicious salad bar. As you can see, I made my plate 50% salad instead of how it usually is. I got a piece of really tender chicken and then a side of sweet potatoes. Their hot/cold bar is such a perfect post-run meal! YERM!
You can also see we got our share of deliciousness! Mostly some of our great staples: peanut butter, eggs, Tillamook cheddar, apples, coffee, etc. but I also got a few pears! They’re so good this time of the year (actually, I have no clue when pears are ripe…) We also got two bottles of kombucha that we drank on the way home. Overall, it was a pretty awesome haul! Can’t for the many other awesome trips to come!

So today I got to about 25 points (give or take). Even if my estimate is a little off, I still have exercise points. Awesomeness!

See ya tomorrow.

[PRODUCT REVIEW] Hanadas!!!

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(I was trying to think of a clever title like “Raise Your Handana if You Like Handanas!” or something like that. Awe well.)
Like most of you know, I live in Florida. A hot, humid, and incredibly sunny, state that can make life miserable. While I did grow up in the furnace known as Texas, it was a dry and miserable heat, none of this “oh hey, let’s go live in a sauna from May to October” business. What I’m trying to say is…I sweat. A lot. Even though I have lost 125 pounds, I still profusely sweat like George Constanza eating Kung Po (George likes his chicken spicy!) What’s worse is that sometimes (well…all of the time) sweat gets in my eyes and it hurts so much that I have to stop exercising for a few minutes. This happened countless times on my long runs when I was training for my half marathon. IT SUCKED.

After this happened a couple times, I finally tried a few different things.
I wore a hat. Fail.
I wore a sweatband. Fail.
I wore a bandana. Fail.
I wore my hood up on my hoodie. Fail.

Nothing seemed to do the trick. Then, I found the Handana.
26 years ago, Katie Niemeyer suffered from a horrible disease called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome that caused her skin to blister out in to second and third degree burns all over her body. Unlike a lot of patients afflicted with this condition, Katie survived with minimal scarring and she wasn’t blinded from it, which is common. However, SJS did make her eyes very sensitive. So like me (except for the fact that I’m just a crybaby and Katie is a stud) when she was able to exercise again, getting sweat in her eyes was incredibly painful. Since she was training for an upcoming marathon, she needed a solution.

Handana 2
That is when she invented the Handana! A moisture-absorbing sweatband that wraps around your hand! The Handana is like a glove with a space for your thumb and your fingers. It’s soft. It’s durable. And man, does it mop up your sweat! I think the biggest advantage of the Handana is its mobility per se. You can absorb any sweat on your body that you can reach. Definitely awesome for me since I can’t stand having sweat on the front and on the back of my neck.

Product Testing Time!
You may not know this, but I’m a HUGE Cook’s Country and America’s Test Kitchen fan. One of the coolest things they do on the show is product testing. Since this is my first equipment review, I’ve taken their testing model to review the Handana. So, I tried the Handana in three sports that I regularly do: racquetball, spinning, and running.

I could wear it with my Polar watch with no problem too!

I could wear it with my Polar watch with no problem too!

In racquetball, you sweat like a maniac. It’s useless to try to wipe the sweat off of your shirt…because it’s full of sweat too. I wore the Handana on my non-racquet hand, not because I was worried about gripping the racquet, but because I knew I would need it. It mopped up the sweat perfectly. A great thing about it is even if you’ve used all the places on the Handana, you can go over it again and it still feels dry. No gross sweat-on-sweat action here!

Spinning is another thing I used the Handana for. At first, I was a little worried about gripping the handlebars on the bike, but that wasn’t an issue at all! It perfect for a quick swipe here and there to feel human again.

Post-race photo. Photo Credit to Andrea Wolf of Wolf Industries.

Post-race photo.
Photo Credit to Andrea Wolf of Wolf Industries.

Finally, I used the Handana for running. Lots and lots of running. It was perfect for those times that I needed a quickly swipe the sweat on my forehead to prevent it from getting in my eyes. This kept me from having to stop which in turn kept my run times accurate. I used the Handana during the Tallahassee Half Marathon, which made sweat one less thing to worry about. That way, I could worry about other things…like my calves cramping or my toenails falling off.

Overall, I have been impressed with the Handana. If you think about it, it just makes sense! When I first read about it, I was worried that it would be a nuisance, but it feels like you’re wearing nothing at all! Nothing at all! Nothing at all! (Stupid sexy Flanders!) Frankly, my only complaint is that I needed a size smaller. I thought I would need an XL Handana, but in reality I needed a large. It wasn’t an issue, but it was just a little too loose for my liking.

So, now that you know all about Handana, go to www.myhandana.com and check them out! They are available in five sizes and a copious amount of color combinations from red and black (like mine) to burnt orange (ewww) and black. Also, be sure to like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter! Start your own Handana story today!

Note: I have received products from Handana. All thoughts and opinions are honest and are my own.

Day 872: Half Marathon Recap

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I woke up at 5 am the morning of the race. I sat on the couch with my feet propped up, drinking a cup of coffee. I sat there and asked Megan if she ever thought we would get this far. I thought back to our old, 400 square foot apartment in Abilene and thought about how uncomfortable my life was. How getting off the couch was a chore, how no shirt every really fit well no matter how much I would try to stretch it. I realized how those burdens aren’t holding me back any more. That’s when I started to cry. It was just an overwhelming feeling of joy to reinforce that freedom. When you’re morbidly obese, your life is restricted whether you know it or not. Now that I know this freedom, I will never go back to that old way of living, because that wasn’t living.

Yes...there were a few other runners.

Yes…there were a few other runners.

Becky and Erin came by the house and we made our way to FSU. It was a beautiful morning. A little cold, but we had all ran in worse. The crowd was huge, but still not as bad as the Turkey Trot in November. Everyone was ready to book it.

The sirens blared. It was time to run. Feet, don’t fail me now.

The first mile: piece of cake!
Second mile: hey…this isn’t so bad!
Third mile: what a beautiful day
Fourth mile: I’m actually running with some athletic-looking people!
Fifth mile: just kidding…the real athletic people just passed me because they have already reached the half way point.
Sixth mile: WHERE THE @#%#$ IS THE HALF WAY POINT???

 

I cropped out the marathon runner in the background.

I cropped out the marathon runner in the background.

Then on the ninth mile…misery. I hit a physical wall like you wouldn’t believe. My toes were forming a blister for the first time, my IT bands started to get sore, then the calf cramps kicked in, which never (and when I mean never, I mean even when I was 357 pounds and running 5 miles) ever happens when I run. I had thrown my body into confusion. Mile 9 is when this Sunday morning race turned into a battle.

My mantra became “I will finish…I will finish…I will finish.” Every other step was a struggle. A normal stride followed by a cramp, a normal stride followed by a cramp. Along the way, I met some nice people like a first time half marathon runner like me who was struggling. We talked, I cramped up, he kept going (I somehow still beat him though. We met up after the race.) Then there was the girl who ran up next to me, put out her first and said “pound it!” So I did, followed by me stopping to stretch out.

Before I knew it, I was already at mile 12. The miles had just peeled away. I could see Doak off in the distance, but I knew I wasn’t out of the woods yet. After throwing down cups of Gatorade and packets of GU, (which were interesting) I kept going. Every motion forward was a struggle, but I knew I was closer to the finish.

Still not sure how this photo came out so well.

Still not sure how this photo came out so well.

Finally, I reached the track. The last little chunk of raceway left. After running on miles of concrete and asphalt, running the last almost quarter mile on a rubber track felt incredibly wonky. It was like running inside of a bouncy castle. I could hear all the cheers, my race was finally drawing to a close. I felt amazing.

Final time: 2:11:50.59. I was 434th out of 728 runners. Fastest time? 1:13:40.43. Next half, I’m breaking the 2-hour barrier.

 

Check out my groundhog bling yo!

Check out my groundhog bling yo!

I hear a lot of people who’ve lost a lot of weight, both bloggers and even people on The Biggest Loser, say “I did it to prove everybody wrong! I’m doing this for all of the people who said I couldn’t do it!” While I thought that way for a while, I realized while I was training for this half that I shouldn’t be looking at it like that. I should be doing this not for the people who said I couldn’t, but for the people who said I could. I did this race for every one of you who have liked my hundreds of running statuses, who have dropped me a line telling me how proud you are of me, and for all of those who tell me how I have inspired them to change their lives. I was able to do this race because of you. You, dear reader, have been my fuel to carry on. For that, I thank you.

Day 864: Monday Yo

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After watching an emotional episode of The Biggest Loser, I’m now watching a show about Walt Disney World. I’m so flippin’ ready to go back.

Hello my lovelies!

I know it’s been a while since I have posted, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you and it doesn’t mean that I haven’t been keeping up my exercise and eating. (I fully recognize that was a quadruple-negative sentence. Dr. Mann, my Basic Writing professor would have hated that sentence….awe well.) Anyway, I have been pretty busy with just random things, but I am back and better than ever!

Let’s see…what’s going on this week…OH YEAH! This week, I’m running a flippin’ half marathon!!!!!! I still can’t believe this is happening!!!! Instead of doing massive runs this week, I’m taking it easy with a few short runs and a walk the day before. I’m not even playing racquetball this week which is saying something. At this point, it’s all I can think about (I’m kind of obsessed.) I can’t wait to see how I do and just to see my months and months of training pay off.

WANT TO SEE THE FFK IN ACTION? That’s easy! (That is if you live on the Florida Panhandle…) If you want to come out and support Erin, Megan and me during this race, go to http://www.tallahasseemarathon.com/ to find out more! What I can tell you is that the race begins at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday at Dick Howser baseball field at FSU and ends on the Mike Long track at FSU. I’m shooting to be done by 9:45 (so shooting for a 2:15 race time). Feel free to stop by and say hi or just look for a bunch of runners south of FSU and cheer us on!

So let’s talk food!

Breakfast: I ate a sliced hardboiled egg on Ezekiel Bread toast.

Snack: I had a packet of Justin’s Peanut Butter and a banana. Aka: the combination from Heaven.

Lunch: I had leftover chili (oh yeah…I had chili for dinner.)

Snack: I ate some Greek yogurt with mixed berries. Holy crap, it was delicious!

Dinner: We made a massive Cobb Salad with chicken grilled on the ol’ George Foreman (which is not a novelty grill, regardless of what Hank Hill says), sliced up egg, romaine hearts, spring mix, cucumbers, dressing, tomatoes, and a little cheese. Massive salads are the jam!

So that wraps that up. Pretty awesome day!

Tomorrow is another weigh in. While I’m hoping to just be in the 220’s this week, I’m SOOOOOO READY to break through the 227 mark that I have gotten to, but can’t get passed. I know it’s coming, but I just need to be patient and be better. Here goes nothing. See ya tomorrow.