Rain Rain Go Away

Where did the sunshine go? I generally do not mind running in rain, but today I was planning on doing 6 miles. Part of me wanted to just take a nap, but I started thinking about the reason that I am running in June. So I got my gear on and hit the road. Hills, my nemesis....well at least I will be prepared for them! I took off up Kelly Road with the rain starting to come down. So my course would be an out and back. It is a little over a mile straight up the hill, the turns right with intermittent hills for three quarters of a mile, then the road curves left and is downhill. I went about two miles and turned around. It felt so good going to this far and when I turned around I realized that I had to go back up the hill. So up the hill I went. My gloves were pretty wet so I took them off, big mistake. By the time I got home my hands were so cold I could no longer feel them! I was so happy that I was able to go 7 miles!

My New Running Buddy

One reason I wanted to lose weight was that I really wanted to be a good role model for my daughter. I wanted her to have a healthy relationship with food and exercise. Last year we would run a little bit as a family and she did her Toddler Trot. She hadn't run since with me. Today I needed to run and she wanted to go to the park, so I compromised with running together. So I wasn't going for speed today. We went out and she was able to go for an entire mile! My mom was walking behind us, so we walked for a few minutes with her then I ran on my own for awhile. I would run ahead then come back to my mom and CB. It was fun. At one point CB yelled, "you are the best mommy, I love you!" What a great thing to hear! I ended up doing 2.52 miles today, not great but better than nothing!

 

My new running buddy

 

Keeping up with Mommy 

It is only two weeks until my Princess half marathon. I am getting excited, and my shin feels better. I rested and iced all weekend. Yippee!!! And my brother will be meeting me in Orlando, and I haven't seen him in a year. 

Nooooo.......

Could this really be happening? I am supposed to be running a half marathon in 16 days in DisneyWorld, and today I can hardly walk on my left leg. I think I have a shin splint. I have never had one before...and the location seems right but YOWZERS! It hurts like crazy. (And that is an understatement). I have not been able to run much this week which has not been good for my training. The weather has been perfect too! Oh well, everyone has an off week, right?

New Skirt....(Warning, TMI may be involved!)

Yesterday my new skirts from Running Skirts came, check out their website here. I had found them through another blog I read. One was a camo print with a pink stripe up the side and the other was the "green" digi pattern. The digi pattern skirt gives a portion of the profits to military families, so I had to get that one :) Well on my team run today I decided to wear the camo skirt!

Well, first let me say I LOVE the skirt! It is super comfortable! What I was not used to was that usually my running skirts have shorts in them, these only have a panty. So my butt cheeks were a little chilly on my run. I was a little afraid that I would have a wardrobe malfunction and the skirt would flip up and basically be showing my underwear to the world, but I didn't. It did great.

About four miles into my run though I realized the mistake I had made this morning when I chose to wear a skirt that only had a panty in them. When Eric is gone, I have a tendency to keep the legs shaved. And sometimes the leg hairs get a little out of control. Now I will say that I did start with the warning at the top of TMI, so this is the second warning....anything from this point on is read at your own risk :) I was given the cruel nickname in high school of FC or FireCrotch  (because of my hair). Well I feel as though today I earned that nickname. I wish I had used the Glide stick and shaved my legs. My thighs were getting SO chaffed they were burning. By the time I was finished with my six miles I could hardly walk! It burned and felt like fire in between my legs.

So my lessons learned for the day, shave my legs before runs and use my Glide stick. It is a good thing CB still has some diaper rash cream, it seems to be the only thing that makes my skin feel better now.

BIG News!!!!

A year ago today I was fed up. I could not take it anymore! I hated looking in the mirror and my clothes did not fit. I was wearing a size 16 almost 18. I did not like how I felt and I was ready to make a change. So I talked with my Nurse Practioner about the Medifast program and ordered. I was 216 pounds.

Well one year later, I am pleased to say that I am now 170 pounds. Which means I am one pound....yes, ONE pound away from my pre-pregnancy weight. So I am the thinnest I have been in five years! I now wear a size 10, heading down to an 8. And the most impressive numbers are that I have gotten rid of 39.75 inches! I feel great about my body, I have more energy and I do not mind seeing myself in pictures! And I am starting to get better at accepting compliments.

It has not been easy. I did not stay on the Medifast program, in fact I pretty much just use it for quick meals because of the high protein content. Other than that I just watch my portions, stick with high protein and drink lots of water. Running has also been such a huge part of this weight loss. I can not believe how much it has helped build my muscles and trim me down. I am happy with my progress, and it has been slow, but this is the best way. I have earned it and I am going to keep it off this time!

Inspiration

Inspiration comes in all forms. For me today the inspiration came from those that I am running for in June. I really didn't want to go running. I knew I would feel better afterwards, but it was raining and cold and my rib was hurting again (the darn thing keeps popping out). So I thought about the reasons why I am running, and who I am running for. They never had a choice when it came to treatment, and that was way worse than a run. So I got my running clothes on and got out there. So what inspires you?

It was the first time I had actually gone with what my training plan said, and it was a little hard after I got going. But with my rib and it getting dark I felt it best not to push it today. I did 35 minutes and a total of 2.78 miles. The hill is what does me in time wise! Tomorrow may be a treadmill day. YIKES!

Oh, and Friday....look for some BIG news. Or maybe little news....and NO, I am not pregnant.

Is It Possible To Get A Speeding Ticket While Running?

I woke up this morning with a sharp ache in my left shoulder area. I am pretty sure that I have a second rib out of place again. When I had my massage the other day the massage therapist felt a rib in my right side was out. So now there are two out! Damn! It does not feel good. So all day I spent waxing and waning on whether to be going on a run or not, or taking a rest day and doing some yoga or pilates. Then I finally made the choice to put my running clothes on, which meant that I was a step closer to getting out the door. I turned on Garmi and my iPod and took off. It felt good, really good. I took a different route today, so I was not sure how far it would take me. I just did not feel like doing a lot of hills today. Garmi told me that for the two miles I did a 10.5 min mile. The way back I was at 11.5 min mile pace. Not too bad. The last half mile I just walked because it is a pretty steep hill.

While I was running through this neighborhood the posted speed was 5 mph. Which means that I was running faster than cars should be driving. So I began to wonder, could runners get speeding tickets? It gave me a few things to think about.

On another note....Dark Chocolate Almonds from Trader Joes, YUM! If you have not had them, they are so good. If you crave sweet and salt these are for you! They are dark chocolate covered almonds that have sea salt on them. So good!

Check it Out!!!!

Check out this inspirational (and great!) blog I follow! She also has a spectacular giveaway right now....
http://enduranceisntonlyphysical.blogspot.com

Saving Lives.....One Mile and One Pint at a Time

The day started with Clair having dance class. She was so cute! Her skills have improved so much over the last year, and the routine for the recital this year is so adorable. I can not wait to see her perform. She then went down to my parents house for the weekend.

Because of dance class I missed the team run, but I was going to be attending the foam roller and core clinic. I have a new best friend. I got a foam roller to help with myofacial release, or self massage of my muscles. Just in the few minutes of the clinic my IT band (side of my thigh) felt a lot better! Then I went to lunch with my mentor and three teammates. It is great to get know others that I am going to be running with!

Since I did not do my team run, I still needed to do my run for the day. So I went to the Firstenburg Community Center to do my run on the treadmill. It was a debate on whether I should do an outdoor run or a treadmill run, and I would soon find out why I chose the treadmill. When I got there on the door was a sign for a blood drive and there was an urgent need for blood (not a surprise with the situation in Haiti). So I did 5.5 miles on the treadmill. Oh man, it was hard....but I did it! Then I decided to go donate some blood.

Not my most brilliant idea ever, but it was worth it! I will save three lives with that blood. When I arrived there I was still sweating buckets! I think the guy taking my blood thought I was crazy until I told him I was at the gym. After giving the blood, I was forced to stay for cookies and juice. Well when I got home I experienced a few dizzy spells. Oh well! Good thing I am able to chug water to get my fluid level up.

 

Juice and Cookies

Back on the "Dread"mill....

Two days in a row. Between the rain and my schedule I have hit the gym on the treadmill. But the upside to that is that the heat in the gym will acclimate me (hopefully) to running in Florida...which I will be doing in a few weeks! YIKES!

Yesterday was a little easier. I had a new issue of Runner's World so I had it covering the monitor. I didn't read any of the magazine, just used it as a shield and glanced down at it. It made the run go a little faster, and I had 2 miles down before I started looking at the time and mileage. About mile 3 I started getting a little tired, so I slowed my pace down a little. It didn't last long before I felt the second wind kick in and soon I was able to bump that pace back on up! I finished of the run hard thanks to a few instant messages of encouragement from my husband!

I had a horrible headache today, and was not feeling so great emotionally, but I knew that I would feel a lot better if I got my butt to the gym. I was right. I wanted to do only 3 miles, but since I put in 5 miles as my goal there was no way I was going to do anything less. So I sent Eric a message telling him I needed encouragement. And sure enough he delivered. The best one I got was, "Imagine CB at the finish line cheering you on." and then "of course I will be there with her!" How could I NOT keep going? It felt good to finish my goal.

The treadmill is not my favorite thing to run on. I would much rather be on the pavement, but I am taking the miles where I can get them. And when I think that I can't do it, or I don't want to....I just think of my honorary team mates. They didn't have a choice to fight cancer, and they never gave up. So how can I? Talk about true inspiration.