It IS possible

The other day, when I asked if anyone was planning on doing the Indy 500 Festival half-marathon next year, I got some responses that said there was no way they could do a half-marathon by May. I just wanted to convince you that you CAN do it. You may not be running it, but you can certainly be prepared to walk it!

I am so passionate about this particular race, because it is the race that changed my life. That was the goal I placed so much focus on while I was losing weight. I wanted to have pictures from the race that I could be PROUD of, so I kept trying. And I did it!

My first time doing the race was 2008. I was about 207 pounds at the time, and I didn't do ANY training for it. I figured, "I know how to walk, so of course I can walk 13.1 miles!" And it was a HORRIBLE experience because of the fact that I didn't train for it. Even though it was "just" walking, it does a number on your body!

The next year, 2009, I weighed my heaviest--253 pounds. However, I had learned my lesson in 2008, and I trained very well for it. I followed Hal Higdon's walking program for a half marathon, and I completed the race feeling much better than the previous year, despite being heavier. However, when I saw those pictures, I was HORRIFIED at how I looked, and they later became my official "before" pictures for weight loss.

And you know the rest of the story. I lost 88 pounds before doing it again in 2010, and knocked about 30 minutes off of my finish time. I still wasn't a runner, however. I walked the whole race. After that race, I made a goal to run the next year's race. And I did, finishing in 2:10:40!

So my whole point is, if I could do this race at my heaviest, you can certainly do it, too. It's a great race for a beginner, because the whole course is very flat. It's also the largest half-marathon in the country, with 35,000 participants. There are THOUSANDS of walkers, and there is no shame in walking it. There are tons of bands set up along the entire route, and thousands of spectators that cheer you on.

See that glass walkway waaaay in the back? That's where I was ;)

I just posted the blog posts that I wrote back in 2008, 2009, and 2010... so you can read those to get a feel for what the experience was like. I wish I had been more detailed in the first two years.

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Thank you so much for your nice comments yesterday about my depression and anxiety. I realize that I'm not the only one who goes through this, unfortunately. It was interesting to learn that I'm not the only one who gets the lump in my throat for weeks on end.

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I had the most interesting breakfast today--and it was delicious!! I wanted to try one of the NuNaturals recipes, so I picked out a chocolate smoothie recipe that sounded good. I made the smoothie and it tasted just like melted chocolate ice cream(!!) and then I had the idea to make a peanut butter bowl and pour the smoothie into that to eat with a spoon.

This recipe used the NuNaturals vanilla Stevia drops and the cocoa bean extract drops, but I imagine you could make any chocolate smoothie recipe you like and then pour it into a peanut butter bowl--I can't believe I never thought of that before!  Seriously, chocolate + peanut butter was a gift from God.

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I've been thinking about going back to doing weekly weigh-ins on Wednesdays. Remember how I said I was only going to do them once a month, on the 19th? Well, the 19th came and went and I completely forgot about it. I need to feel accountable, even though my weight isn't budging much from 148. So I will weigh-in on Wednesday and post it. Please call me out on it if I don't do it!

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The lump in my throat

For the past five years or so, every so often I get what feels like a lump in my throat. Sometimes, it's so bad that I worry my throat is going to close up and I won't be able to breathe. I've been to a couple of different doctors to see what's going on, thinking the worst (throat cancer?) but they've never been able to find anything that is wrong with me. It usually lasts for about 3-6 weeks at a time, and then one day I realize it feels normal again.

About a year ago, I discovered what causes it. Depression + anxiety.

Source

I've mentioned before that I've had depression for many, many years (since I was about 11 years old). The anxiety started about 8 years ago. The one thing that I have such a hard time explaining is that my depression and anxiety is not TRIGGERED by anything--it's always there, lurking in my head, and sometimes it just gets really bad for no reason at all. I know that I sound like a nutcase because I honestly have no real REASON to be depressed or anxious. I had a great childhood, have a great family and life right now... I just think this is something I'll always have to deal with.

Anyway, I discovered that when my depression and anxiety get really bad, I get a lump in my throat that stays for a few weeks. In fact, I sometimes feel like maybe I'm getting sick (sore throat) but I don't get other symptoms, so I realize it's just the "depression lump". I can take Xanax for anxiety, but it doesn't make the lump go away.

Anyway, the lump appeared once again, and I've spent the last couple of days feeling really down about everything. Jerry came home from work early yesterday (it was overtime, so there wasn't a penalty for him) because I was feeling really upset--for no reason at all! I've been constantly worrying about my flight to Arizona in a couple of weeks, so that could be a trigger, I guess.

Anyway, I don't want to sound like a total Debbie Downer, so I won't keep talking about it. But if my posts aren't very happy, that's why. I'll return to normal soon--I always do! ;)

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In good news, I reached two big milestones during my six-mile run today! I don't know if anyone actually looks at the running stats on the side bar of my blog, but I've been approaching 1,000 miles run total. That total includes every run I've done since I started running in 2009.

It definitely seems like I should have reached that number a looong time ago--I've logged every single run I've done!  A lot of runners log over 1,000 miles a YEAR--and there are plenty that log thousands. But anyway, this was a fun milestone to reach. (For perspective, you'd have to run 2.74 miles EVERY DAY to reach 1,000 miles in a year. In the 18 months that I've been running, my average works out to 1.86 miles per day.)


Another milestone was that this month, I've run more miles than I ever have before. My previous record for one month was October 2010, when I ran just barely over 100 (less than 101). This month (not including tomorrow's 4-mile run) I've run 103.2 miles.

It's interesting, because I am running more for 10-K training than I did for half-marathon training. The intermediate 10-K program is definitely more involved with more mileage and speed work than the beginning half-marathon program. The only change I made to the program I'm doing now is that instead of racing a 5-K midway through the training, I just kept increasing my long run by a mile each week--this week I did 10 miles for the long run.  I want to keep running a lot through October, so that I'm in great shape when I go in for my tummy tuck.

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Did anyone watch the season premier of the new show called Suburgatory? I LOVED IT!! It's so completely sarcastic, which is definitely my kind of humor. Jerry and I both laughed so hard while watching it--it actually pulled me out of my funk for half an hour, which was nice. There are quite a few new shows on this fall, and I'm going to have to be choosy about what I watch--I think I watch entire too much TV in the fall! ;)

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Date night

Jerry and I actually did end up going out last night. We went to dinner at Red Lobster (I've been craving that for a looong time). It was such a strange experience, because I actually felt like a normal person in a restaurant. Usually, I'm either dieting or bingeing due to my all-or-nothing mentality. I eat like a horse or I eat like a bird.

Last night, I decided to just eat normally without putting too much thought into it. I knew I didn't want to leave the restaurant feeling stuffed, like I have in the past, so I kept that in mind. I ordered what sounded the best to me--shrimp scampi and shrimp linguine alfredo. Instead of getting a heavy side (because I didn't want to feel super full) I got broccoli. When I ordered my shrimp, the waitress said, "If you get the all-you-can-eat shrimp, it's $1 cheaper."

Oh, come on, now!

So I thought for a second and then said sure--not because I wanted to pig out, but because I know that the all-you-can-eat portions are usually smaller. And of course I'm going to get the one that's cheaper!  I ate half of my caesar salad and one biscuit (in the past, I would've eaten the whole salad and a whole basket of biscuits, with an appetizer, followed by a huge plate of food, and dessert). I ate my meal slowly, and I stopped before I was stuffed. I ate all of the linguine (about 1 cup) and all but 4 of the shrimp scampi (probably 8 shrimp); and a few pieces of broccoli. I was full, but not uncomfortably so.

I went home feeling so GOOD about the whole experience--which to a normal person, probably sounds ridiculous. I actually made decisions based on how my body would feel with it; that is some good progress! Like I've mentioned before, we very rarely go out to eat, so I haven't had much experience eating out since losing the weight.

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Anyway, today I got a package in the mail! About a week ago, NuNaturals contacted me and asked if I wanted to try out some of their stevia products (no strings attached). I know that a lot of bloggers get free stuff from companies hoping to promote their products, but this was a first for me. I'd only tried stevia once, years ago, and wasn't crazy about it. It's pretty expensive, so I didn't buy any after that. But to try it out for free? Sure! As long as I get to write my HONEST opinion about it on my blog, I'll try pretty much anything.

They sent me way more than a sample...

All those products plus a ton of recipes. I was excited to try it out right away. I found a recipe for chocolate peanut butter cookies (you all know my love affair with cookies, and chocolate + peanut butter? yes please!)  The best part is that the recipe only made 6 small cookies, so I wouldn't be eating a whole batch ;)

The recipe called for 1/4 cup of the baking blend, which apparently measures the same way you'd measure sugar, (plus flour, peanut butter, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, egg white).

I was on the phone with my mom, so I got distracted and forgot to taste the dough (doh!!)  ;)

Jerry was here and willing to try the cookies as well. I definitely tasted the stevia (which, no matter what anyone says, does not taste the same as sugar) but I actually really liked the cookies. The stevia was most pronounced in the first two bites or so, but after that (I ate two of the cookies) I quit thinking about the stevia and just enjoyed the cookie.

Jerry said, "It tastes kind of healthy. But I like it." and then a few minutes later, "Yeah, I like these a lot!" My kids came home and each ate one, and they liked them--which really surprised me. Every time I make "healthy" treats, my kids sense it and tell me it's gross. I kept waiting for them to say, "Eww, what's in these cookies?" but they just asked for another. I think maybe I'm just hyper sensitive to the taste of sugar substitutes. I've never liked Splenda or any of the artificial sweeteners. I'm definitely going to try out some more of the recipes with the stevia, though.

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Have you tried stevia? What do you think of it?

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Running partner

Today I had an "easy 3 miles" on the schedule.  My friend Andrea asked me if I wanted to meet her at the State Park to run with her, so I said sure. I've only run with someone once before--I'm definitely a solo runner--but I thought it would be fun.

We met at the park, and did the 5-K loop. I was running faster than I normally would have (especially considering the 10 miles I ran yesterday!) but I wanted to let Andrea set the pace because the last time she ran was early springtime, and she knew it was going to be rough on her. We chatted for about the first mile and a half, but she was struggling a little after that, so we didn't talk much. We finished the 5-K loop in 30:02, which I thought was fantastic for her not having run in months (and that included two walk breaks)!

Having someone to run with actually made the time go by much faster. And I wasn't a paranoid freak the entire time about getting attacked in the middle of the woods (when I run alone, my imagination gets a little wild). We might go again on Thursday; I'll have to do an extra loop before she gets there to get in my 6 miles.

I counted calories yesterday, and so far I'm doing well today. Lately, it seems like I only make it a few days before I quit counting. I've been bouncing around the upper 140's for MONTHS now. I was really hoping to get into the 130's for Sarah's wedding, but that isn't going to happen. Thankfully, I've been running a lot lately, which is keeping the food damage to a minimum.

I have to quit relying on my running, though, because once I get my tummy tuck, I'm not going to be able to run for weeks--and I think you know how much damage I can do in several days, let alone weeks! ;)  I don't have anything else going on until the wedding, so I have no excuse to get off track! I'm actually looking forward to the ice cream shop closing for the season, because Reese Cup Flurries are going to be the death of me.

My kids are spending the night at my parents' house tonight... so that means date night with my husband! I doubt we'll go anywhere, though. Usually, date nights consist of watching one of "our" shows (The Biggest Loser tonight) with a drink or two.

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Double Digits

Thankfully, I'm not talking about my dress size or anything! Just my dreadmill--the stupid machine saw DOUBLE DIGITS for the first time ever today!  Ten miles scheduled, and of course it would be pouring rain again. However, after I managed to run nine miserable miles on the dreadmill last week, I figured one more this week was certainly do-able. I set it at 6.0 mph for the duration, and found that pace easy.

At mile 7, I realized why it was so easy. I forgot to set the damn incline! I NEVER do a 0% incline. When I'm running, I set it at 1% to make it feel a little more like running outside. When I realized it was on 0%, I bumped it up to 2% for the last three miles.

A couple of people have asked me lately about my treadmill. It's called an Epic TL1700, and I bought it at Sam's Club for $600 (now it is $650). I've mentioned before that I like to buy my expensive purchases from Sam's Club because if something goes wrong with it, they have never refused a refund (in my experience). I feel "safe" spending a lot of money there. They don't have a huge variety to choose from, but the things they carry are always good quality. 

Things I like about this treadmill:  The speed goes up to 12 mph and incline goes to 12%--most treadmills in this price range only go to 10. It's quiet compared to other treadmills I've been on. It doesn't take a doctorate degree to figure out how to use it. It feels sturdy and of good quality. The buttons to change the speed or incline are one-touch--meaning you don't have to press an "up arrow" or "down arrow" for a long time to change speed/incline. Just push one button and it changes to the speed/incline that you want. It has speakers for your mp3 player, so you don't have to wear earphones. The preset workouts make the time go by faster if you don't feel like running for 30 minutes straight.

Things I dislike:  If you accidentally pull the emergency cord while running, there is no way to recover the info from your run. When doing a manual workout, you can't set it to count DOWN the miles--it only counts up (when running 10 miles, it'd be nice to see it count down!)  When viewing past workouts, you can't see the actual number of minutes you worked out--it's shown in hours. So, if you run 20 minutes, it shows 0.3 hours--get it?  There is no book/magazine rest.  It's not SUPER quiet--I still need the TV on as loud as it goes to be able to hear it over the treadmill.

That said, I haven't used all the features on it. You can use the iFit workout cards with it, which I've never tried. But I would definitely recommend this treadmill--as much as I love to hate it! It's great for someone who wants it for running/walking without all the bells and whistles that you pay an arm and a leg for (like a built-in TV).

I was catching up on my Google Reader this morning, and I'm feeling SO left out! It seems like everyone is training for a fall marathon except me. Lots of people did their 20-mile training runs Sunday. The marathon/half-marathon that I had my sights on happens to be the same weekend as the wedding I'm in on October 15th--and considering I'll be in Arizona, I obviously won't be able to do it. I really hope to be able to run the full marathon next year; I just hate feeling out of the running loop right now :(

Has anyone else registered for the Indy 500 Festival Mini-Marathon next May? I, of course, registered as soon as I got home from the last one. I got a few e-mails from people who were interested in doing it in 2012, so I was just curious if any of my readers are going to do it. It ALWAYS sells out, so if you plan on it, make sure you register ASAP--and then let me know, so maybe we can meet up! ;)

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Surprise party

My dad's surprise party went off without a hitch yesterday. He was genuinely surprised, and I think everyone had a good time. Despite the prediction of rain yesterday, we actually had good weather.

Jerry took the kids with him to the park to help set up tables, so I was able to get ready by myself, which was nice. My "job" was to pick up Mark from the group home on the way to the park. Mark is a 54-year old man that we met when we lived about 20 minutes from here. He lives in a group home because he is intellectually disabled. I think if he had grown up in a "normal" environment, he would probably be able to live on his own, but he was orphaned very young and only went to school through  (I believe) second grade.

This is an old photo of Mark and me, but I don't have any current ones of him

My dad always used to see him walking around smoking cigarettes, and he would stop and talk to my dad sometimes. My dad then started buying him a carton of cigarettes once in a while, which Mark thought was really cool (his money at the group home is rationed, and cigarettes aren't high on the list, haha). Anyway, when we moved out here where we are now, my dad started picking up Mark from the group home now and then to go fishing. Mark's birthday is on Halloween, and every year, we have him over to my parents' house and we celebrate his birthday before handing out candy for Halloween.

Mark really looks forward to being able to go somewhere, so of course my mom invited him to the party. I picked him up from the group home, and the woman working there said, "Now Mark, you CANNOT SMOKE. If Katie sees you smoking, she's instructed to bring you right back here."  Mark has asthma and apparently he's been sneaking cigarettes lately.

Even though I'm totally anti-smoking, I believe Mark is an adult and can make that decision for himself, so I felt kind of bad for the way she was talking to him. As soon as we got to the park, he saw someone else smoking, and he bummed a cigarette! I just said, "Mark, I'm going to pretend I don't see you smoking right now, but don't let it happen again, okay?" Hahaha.

Wow, this entry is going to be a mile long if I don't stick to the subject.

My dad is huge into fishing, so that was the theme:

Peanuts in a minnow bucket on each table

Dirt cake inside of worm containers

My mom's friend made his cake

There were quite a few people there when my dad showed up with my sister. He was completely surprised (as evidenced by his clothes--if he knew it was HIS party, he probably would have dressed nicer, or at least matched his shirt to his pants!)

I saw a lot of people that I haven't seen in a while. My aunt and uncle were shocked when they saw me, because the last time they saw me, I was 253 pounds. One of my cousins kept looking at me and then looking away, and then when I went to say hi, she said, "Oh, it IS you--I was trying to figure out who you were!" and she kept saying how "gorgeous" I was.

I think my favorite part of the day was getting our pictures taken by Renee--she's a photographer and lives next door to my mom. I don't have HER pics to post, but I have some that someone took with my camera. We got a sibling picture (my sister, brothers and me) and a pic with my parents. 

Brian, me, Jeanie, and Nathan (my siblings)

With my parents and Noah & Eli

Goofing around

I love the look on Nathan's face

A few of my cousins are cops, so when the cops showed up at the party, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing... ;)

Nathan, me, Jeanie, and Brian

Me and Jeanie

The cop was taking the pic, and I was a little late... but Nathan and Brian handcuffed themselves together and acted like they were running.

Nathan, Brian, Jerry, and I went for a walk on the railroad tracks through the woods. When I was a kid, we used to walk on those tracks all the time.

Jerry and me

After the party, we went back to my parents house to help unload everything. My dad opened his gifts and cards, and he got a TON of gift cards for Cabella's (an enormous fishing/hunting/sporting goods store). I was super exhausted and we went to bed by 9--lol.

I ate way too many desserts yesterday, and I definitely need to get back to counting calories today!

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Kabobs

I could hardly sleep last night because I'm so excited about the news!! I woke up at 6, and it was raining outside--which wasn't cool, because I had a 4-miler on the schedule. I decided to just get up and do 4 on the dreadmill before the kids had to get up for school at 7. It felt like forever, but I was glad to get it done.

I got the kids ready for school and drove them to the bus stop (because of the rain). Then I went over to my aunt's house to put together some kabobs for my dad's 60th (surprise) birthday party tomorrow. My mom, two of my aunts, and Audrey (a family friend) were there to cut the veggies and meat, and then skewer it all. It was fun to chat, and we got everything done pretty quickly.

This is just a fraction of the total kabobs we assembled!

My mom is expecting about 80 people tomorrow. My dad is completely clueless! And for those of you that asked, no, my dad doesn't read my blog :)  Actually, nobody in my family does--and my "real life" friends don't, either (at least as far as I know). They know that I write, but nobody has ever asked for the address.

My sister is flying in tonight. Jerry and I are going to meet up with her and Audrey and Audrey's husband at a bar for Keno and the Tigers game. My older brother Brian is flying in tomorrow morning. And my little brother was able to get the day off, also. So the four of us will be together for the first time since last November, I think (when I broke my jaw).

Jerry just came home from work early, so I think I'll make dinner now. I'm sure I'll have lots to write about tomorrow after the party!

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GOOD NEWS!!

I'M GETTING A TUMMY TUCK!!! 

I spoke with the plastic surgeon's secretary today, and she said that my insurance said it's medical, not cosmetic (per the doctor's notes) and that it will be covered.  If I should choose to do the lower body lift, I'll have to pay extra for it--and I have to admit, I'm kind of leaning toward doing that, assuming I can finance it--but at the very least, I'll be getting a tummy tuck!!

Tentative date is Nov. 11th. 11-11-11... hopefully that's good luck! ;)  The secretary has to speak with the doctor tomorrow and make sure the OR is available for about 4 hours on that date, and if so, then that's when I'll be getting the surgery.  That happens to fall on the same Friday as the Friday I fell and broke my jaw last year (Nov 12). And I'll be staying in the same hospital.

I'm SO EXCITED and so nervous at the same time. I can't believe it's actually happening. But like I promised, you're the first to know :)

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Aerophobia

Well, I survived my interval run this morning. It actually turned out to be a nice run! At first, I decided to go to my old high school and run on the track here. I drove there and some guy was working there (spraying weeds around the track or something) and I chickened out. So I drove to the State Park and ran the trail there instead.

On the schedule was 10 x 400's with equal recovery in-between. Basically that means to run 1/4 mile fast and then jog 1/4 mile... and repeat for a total of 10 times. I tacked on a warm-up and cool-down, too. Once I got home and looked at my stats, I realized I definitely should have been running faster on the fast intervals--it felt like I was going faster than a 9:00/mi! Oh well.

This is the "fast" part in total

This is the "recovery" part in total

The run as a whole

I was surprised that there weren't more people at the State Park. Michigan is GORGEOUS this time of year. Oh, but wait... check out what I found in a magazine recently:

Yep, good old D-town is the NUMBER ONE unhealthiest city in the United States. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I rarely come across anyone exercising around here ;)  Toledo is #4--and I might as well mention that I live about halfway between Toledo and Detroit. Right smack in the middle of unhealthy cities.

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I leave for Arizona in 20 more days!! It's coming up so fast. I couldn't fall asleep last night because I kept picturing being on the airplane. As you probably know, I'm TERRIFIED of flying. I hate it more than anything. Which is kind of ironic because my brother is a pilot for Delta. When visiting him one time, he took us to the flight simulators that they use to train pilots for the airlines--and he let us fly them. Even though it was inside a building and it wasn't even a real airplane, I had a panic attack and had to get out of the simulator. THAT is how bad my fear is.

Speaking of that, someone asked me a while ago what the story is with me and the open-airplane I flew on last summer. Jerry and I took the kids to Minnesota to visit my brother Brian (we drove there, of course). Brian's roommate from college has a few different airplanes, and he invited us to the hanger for a barbecue and ride on the Breezy (a two-person completely open airplane). I had NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER in flying, but I went along to the hanger because Jerry wanted to go.

There was another family that knew Steve (my brother's college roommate), and they all went for rides and loved it. Jerry went last, and when I saw the pictures he took of himself, I thought, "What a cool pic to post on Facebook!! I so badly wish I could do that!"  which led to my thinking about how this truly is the opportunity of a lifetime. And how SHOCKED would my family and friends be if I actually did this?!

So I told Steve I wanted to go for a ride. And I almost threw up. I went to the bathroom and literally was dry heaving. Steve knew I was terrified, and I really trusted that he wouldn't do anything crazy. I told him, "I'm going to cry and look completely miserable. So if you turn around and see me sobbing, don't worry about it. Just finish the flight." Hahaha. He promised that he'd get me back safely.

So I threw on a sweatshirt and the leather cap and goggles, and strapped myself as tightly as possible to the seat. My heart was racing and I couldn't breathe. I just kept reminding myself that in 10 minutes, I'd be back on the ground. And off we went...

This is the Breezy... and no, I did NOT let my kids fly on it ;)

The view from the Breezy

Jerry's picture that made me decide to brave the Breezy myself

I wasn't faking the smile... I really loved it!

But I still held a death-grip to the seat

My kids really wanted to fly, but I refused to let them fly on the Breezy. Steve generously got out a different plane and took the kids (and Jerry) for a ride on that. They loved it!

I forget the name of this airplane

It was Eli's very first time flying

So needless to say, flying on the Breezy was a HUUUGE deal for me!! But I was still terrified of flying. Shortly after I got home, Brian asked me to fly out there for The Ragnar Relay, and I did. My friend Stacie went with me, and we went to the airport early so that I could drink a few glasses of wine first. That helped a lot!

My flight to Arizona is in the morning, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to drink beforehand. I'll probably take some Valium, but that usually doesn't help. Just 20 days left of worrying.

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Well this turned into a really long entry and I didn't mean for it to. Are you scared of flying? How do you deal with it?

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Running, Dad's birthday, and TBL

I don't know if it was the afternoon wine yesterday or what, but my head was killing me when I woke up. I decided to put off my run until late morning instead of my usual 8:00 time when the kids go to school. I drank tons of water (and coffee) and felt a little better. I had a 5 1/2 mile easy run scheduled, and I decided to go a different route just to change things up.

I listened to a new (to me) podcast called YELL AT YOUR FAT or something like that. It was kind of boring and I was spacing out, and the run felt like it took forever. Then on the way home, there were some trucks fixing potholes in the roads, and they were driving right on the shoulder. I had to run in the grass for about 1/4 mile. That wasn't fun at all.

Tomorrow I have intervals... groan.

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Last night we went to my parents house for my dad's 60th birthday (today is his actual birthday). We sat down by the lake and cooked hot dogs over a fire. The weather was gorgeous.

My dad spotted me taking a picture, and that's his imitation of a video camera--a reeeally old fashioned one!

Thankfully Jerry wasn't cooking MY hot dog

My parents (who just celebrated 40 years married!)

 After that we went inside and ate some of the pecan pie that I made. It was delicious! I told my dad I'd make him a pie every week if he would let me eat one piece and then he could eat the rest. Then we both win :)

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Did you all watch the season premier of The Biggest Loser last night? I think the show is going to go downhill very quickly with Anna as a trainer. I was SO BUMMED when they announced it during last season's finale. She annoys the heck out of me for some reason. And watching her "train" her contestants? I wasn't impressed.

I had a hard time even watching the show without spacing out--normally I love the first show of the season, but this one was kind of boring. I wanted to hear more about the contestants' stories, and see their INITIAL weigh in.

The one twist that I think is really interesting is that there will be a marathon at the end of the season on the ranch--and ALL of the contestants get to come back to run it. Whomever wins the marathon is automatically in the finals, whether they were on the ranch of not. While I think it's totally irresponsible to go from obese couch potato to running a full marathon in just 3 months, it definitely makes interesting television!

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Do you watch The Biggest Loser? What do you think of Anna Kournikova as a trainer?

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Afternoon wining

What a great afternoon!  As you know, my youngest started kindergarten this year, so I have the house to myself all day... and Renee's youngest started kindergarten this year too! So what would be the natural thing for us to do when we get together? Drink wine in the afternoon, of course! After all, we totally deserved it for the collective 21 miles we ran on the dreadmill yesterday--even if she DID one-up me!

I had bought three bottles of wine yesterday when I went to Sam's Club. I let Renee choose what one to open and she chose a Malbec. At first, I wasn't crazy about it--it tasted a little musty or something--but after a few ounces, it was smooth and yummy. Along with some great conversation, it made for a perfect afternoon!

We drank the Neu Direction Malbec

Oh, and I got a little something in the mail from Heather at Diaries of a Fat Girl. She sent me a Bondiband!! And not just ANY Bondiband. It says "one tough cookie" on it ;)

Cute, huh?!

This is my "tough" look... BWAHAHA

How thoughtful of her was that?! I can't wait to wear it on my 5.5 mile run tomorrow.

Tonight we're going to my parents house for my dad's birthday. I made a pecan pie to bring over there (his favorite, and the one thing I'm actually really good at baking!)  I feel kind of bad, because my dad is turning 60 tomorrow, and he doesn't think we're really doing anything to celebrate--but my mom planned a surprise party for him, which is on Saturday. There are going to be a lot of people there, and my dad has NO clue. My mom said that my dad only had one birthday party in his life, when he was a kid--and he spent weeks worrying that nobody was going to show up! So I hope he enjoys his party on Saturday ;)

While Renee was here, we talked a little about me possibly running a full marathon next year. I turn *gulp* 30 in January, and I think running a marathon in my 30th year would be pretty cool! But I'm terrified. Renee has run a marathon before, and she thinks I can do it. It's not that I don't think I CAN, but I'm more afraid that I'm going to get injured and never be able to run again or something.

I'm going to wait and see what happens with my possible surgery coming up (Friday will be 4 weeks since my consult--so I should hear from the insurance soon!) and then I'll decide. If I do a marathon, it'll probably be the Detroit Free Press Marathon in October. It's the only dual-country marathon in the world (I think?)--pretty awesome, right?!

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Do you think I look more "tough" or more "cookie"? I'd have to go with cookie. But I try. ;)

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