Candy Heaven

What a boring day! Yesterday went by so fast, and then today was just the opposite. I was actually pretty sore when I woke up this morning--I think those super fast intervals I did yesterday may have done my muscles some good. I love that hurts-so-good feeling in my muscles after a tough run.

After lounging in my pajamas for way too long this morning, I did the leg exercises that the doctor gave me yesterday. It actually took much longer than I thought--about 45 minutes--to get through all the exercises. Most of the exercises require me to do 3 sets of repetitions on each leg.

After I showered, I knew I was going to go stir-crazy sitting in the house, so I asked my friend Amber if she wanted to meet us at the park so the kids could play. She has a boy a few months younger than Noah and a three-year old little girl. The three boys together (my two and her's) are completely rambunctious. I don't know where they get all that energy!

They had a blast at the park looking at crawfish in the creek.

Eli kept begging me to go buy him some salt water taffy. Stupid Food Network... he was watching it last night and they showed how the salt water taffy is made. I thought he'd forget about it by morning, but he has a crazy-good memory when it comes to reminding me to buy him things. But the last thing that boy needs is more candy, so I told him not today.

Speaking of him and candy, yesterday we stopped at Party City to get invitations for Noah's birthday party. Eli's face totally lit up when we went by the candy section. I bet this is what Heaven looks like in his dreams :) I took his picture in front of all the candy:

To prove I'm not a totally mean mom, I did let each of the boys pick out 15 of the 15/$1 candies. I wish this store was closer to us, because it would be awesome when I just want to buy one small piece of candy. If I have a craving for licorice, for example (confession: I may have a bag sitting next to me as I type this), I have to buy a big pack of it. But at this store, you could buy each piece individually (for 7 cents each).

But I could totally get carried away there, too...

Speaking of cravings, I had a totally random craving today for my cold "almond joy" oats, so I went to Kroger to buy the stuff to make them for lunch tomorrow. This is the ONLY way I will eat yogurt. Yogurt is my very least favorite food I've ever tried, but this is one way that I can eat it.

I mix 6 oz. of Dannon plain, fat free yogurt with 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 1 tsp. maple syrup, 1 scant Tbsp. mini chocolate chips, 1 tsp. shredded coconut, 1 tsp. sliced almonds, 1/4 tsp. coconut extract (the extract is a MUST). I just stir it all up and eat it that way. I know most people like to let their cold oats soak overnight in the fridge, but I think they get too mushy that way. So anyway, I am excited to have this for lunch tomorrow--it's probably been a year since I last made it.

Today is the day that the Fitness magazine is technically supposed to be on shelves (although some people have seen it earlier, even before me!)

I absolutely love my team! I know I say that at least a couple of times a day, but they are so much fun. Rik was actually in Alaska running a (very tough) marathon on Saturday! And Jennifer was in NY interviewing Linda for the From Fat to Finish Line documentary.

Well, I've got to get the boys' stuff together for their baseballs games tonight. I'm looking forward to going--it's gorgeous outside today!

And just because I'm curious... what is your favorite penny-candy? (These days, they are more like 7 cents, but you know... the tiny little pieces of candy). I think my favorite is probably a Tootsie Roll Midgee. Love Tootsie Rolls!

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Sports medicine doctor's appointment

I had to wake up to the alarm again today--this time at 5:00 a.m. I think Jerry was relieved that it was my alarm, and not his--so he could sleep in today :) I had my sports med appointment today at 7:00, and it takes about 45 minutes to drive there, so I had to leave at 6:00.

I had a quick cup of coffee before heading out. When I got there, they gave me the usual forms to fill out, but I hadn't even completed the front of the first page when I was called in to see the doctor. Then the doc came in almost immediately--awesome! That's a bonus to having a 7:00 appointment, I guess.

I explained to him all that was going on with my knee: when I first had the pain (April 5th), exactly where it was and what it felt like, and anything else that I thought might help. I even brought my Adrenaline shoes with me to make sure I was wearing the proper shoes for my feet. He watched me walk, and then pushed and prodded my knee and leg, maneuvering it in all different directions to see where the pain was originating.

In the end, he said that I have BOTH iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) and patellofemoral pain syndrome ("runner's knee"). The runner's knee is what is causing the most pain, however. It's funny that he diagnosed me with both issues--because when reading about each syndrome online, I couldn't decide which set of symptoms described my pain better--they both sounded like what I had going on. It never occurred to me that it could be both!

He suggested I take 4-6 weeks off of running and do something like biking or elliptical instead. I told him that I had just started training for another marathon, and I told him about the training schedule. I asked if I could still do it, or is it uber important to take the time off completely. He said it depends how much this particular race means to me, and that I should listen to my body.

I can run, but if my knee starts to hurt, I should stop. I shouldn't run through pain. He also said I should do treadmill or track running, since the surface isn't as hard on impact. He gave me a script for physical therapy, as well as a packet of exercises and an elastic exercise band to use to strengthen my leg muscles. He also ordered x-rays, which I had done before I left the building.

All-in-all, I am glad I went. I didn't really learn much that I didn't already know, but it was nice to confirm what I believed. And I am glad he gave me the option to still do the marathon if I listen to my body and take it easy as needed. I'm going to try and continue training, but if it gets horrible like it did before, I'm going to take the recommended 4-6 weeks off of running, even if it means missing the marathon. Luckily, it's been getting better recently, so with the additional exercises he gave me to do, hopefully it will continue to get better.

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After my appointment, I came home and did my scheduled run for today. Even though it was gorgeous outside (not too hot), I did it on the treadmill as the doctor suggested. Today's run was 50 minutes easy running, with 6 pick-ups (fast 30-second intervals). I did something I've never done on my treadmill before--I actually pushed a double-digit button. The one that pushed my speed into double-digit miles per hour!! I've never ventured into that territory before. My splits:

If only I could have such consistency when running outside!

My intervals were only 30 seconds each, but that was about the maximum time I could hold a 6:12/mi pace before feeling like I was going to fly off the back of the treadmill. In retrospect, I should have worn the little emergency stop clip! My knee felt good, though--maybe the treadmill is good for something after all ;)

While I was running, Jerry went and got doughnuts for breakfast. He's been working a lot lately, so it was good to be able to have breakfast together, especially a treat like fresh doughnuts! I already explained that there is a new bakery near us with amazing goodies. When they first opened, I bought some for the family, but I passed one up. Today I felt fine about eating one because I had a good run beforehand.

I told Jerry I wanted something with frosting--like a frosting-filled one. He said when he got there, there was one that was peanut butter cream filled, so he picked out that instead. He knows me SO well--if I had known that was an option, I totally would have picked it!

It's kind of funny, I was never a doughnut fan until April of 2011. Even at my heaviest, I would pass up doughnuts in a heartbeat because I just didn't like them. But when I was on vacation in Tennessee, I tried a Krispy Kreme, and it was all over from there ;) Anyway, Jerry and I sat on the porch with coffee and our doughnuts, and had a nice chat over breakfast.

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We took the kids out to get new bedding (theirs was a couple years old and pretty ratty looking). The kids have been begging to go out to a restaurant again (we've been taking them once a month, and we still hadn't gone in June). So we went to a place that is kind of like a Coney Island. They actually had a vegetarian section on the menu, which made me happy. I ordered a sampler plate of spinach quiche, sauteed vegetables, rice, and hummus with pitas. It looked fantastic:

Everything was delicious, but when I tasted the rice, I was positive it tasted like they cooked it in chicken broth. I asked the server, and he confirmed that it was cooked in chicken broth. They definitely shouldn't have put that on the vegetarian menu! I didn't eat it, and they applied a $2 discount to the bill, which was cool of them. I hope they amend the menu for other people who may think they are eating vegetarian rice.

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It was so nice to spend the whole day with the family today. It definitely felt like a weekend, with the doughnut-breakfast, shopping, and eating lunch out. Then we cooked on the grill for dinner. The day totally flew by!

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Reader Questions & Answers #18

On Sundays, I will answer some readers' questions in a post. If you have a question that you would like me to answer here on the blog, just send me an e-mail with the subject "Q&A", and I may include them in a future Q&A post. They don't have to be about weight loss or running--anything is game!  (Remember, I'm not a doctor or dietician, or any sort of medical professional--I can only answer questions from my own experience).

Q. I'm a new runner who is up to running about 5 miles. I'm already finding it difficult to run that distance without water. I've read that you use a waist band for your water on long runs, but a friend, and fellow runner, said that it pulls your pelvis into an alignment that is slightly different than what it would be without the waist band. I was wondering if you had any advise on this, and/or what your thoughts were on the camelbak brand, that you wear like a backpack.

A. Very interesting! I never gave much thought to the belt changing my form while I run. I don't know how much truth there is to that, because I have no information to back it up. However, in my experience, I don't feel that it has harmed my running stride at all. 

It probably depends on where on your body you wear it, also. Some people like to wear the belt down over their hips, but I find that uncomfortable because it bounces too much. I wear mine up high, around my natural waist. It looks a little dorky, but it doesn't bounce that way ;)  I actually find it comfortable to wear, and it makes me feel like I have better posture.

I haven't tried the Camelbak backpacks. I would love to try one, because I've heard great things about them, but they are expensive--and my belt does the job for now, so I probably won't get one. But if the belt changes your form, I imagine that the backpack would a little as well. I think the best thing to do would be to see if a friend has one you can borrow to try out before you buy? I wore Jessica's belt before I bought one, just to see if I liked it. Or check to see what the return policy is--if you don't like it, can you return it? Doesn't hurt to ask!

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Q. How did you learn to start your blog?  I'm thinking about starting one (not at all related to weight/fitness!) and don't know where to start.

A. I've been asked this question quite a few times recently. I'm certainly no expert on this! Everything I know, I learned from Google ;)  When I first started using Blogger, I was clueless. "Signing up" and creating the blog is pretty easy and self-explanatory (just go to Blogger.com and follow the prompts to set it up). But changing things around and making it more creative was the hard part. I would keep it very basic to start with, until you get more familiar with blogging.

One of my original banners, created in Photoshop ;)

Once you create the blog itself (which just takes minutes), you can start posting right away. From your "dashboard" (the screen you see when you sign in), you just click the orange button, which is to write a new post. Type out what you want to say, and you can add pictures if you'd like (just by clicking the little photo icon above your post). When you're ready for it to be published, you just click the orange "publish" button. 

After you get the hang of writing and publishing posts, you can start to get creative with the look of your blog. You can add "widgets" to your sidebars (I had no clue what a widget was, but I learned quickly). Blogger makes this VERY easy, because you don't have to know html or anything to do it. You can just click "add widget" and then choose from a list what you'd like to add (an archive of your posts? Links to your favorite sites? A search bar? etc). 

I know this is a cop-out answer, but you really should just play around with it. That's how I learned everything I know! I tried stuff out, and if I didn't know how to do it, I just Googled the answer :) Good luck!

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Q. Would you ever consider doing a run like the Color Run or Run for Your Lives? Run for Your Lives is one reason I want to start training for a 5K. Running from zombies=FUN! :-) Then, I saw the Color Run on Pinterest, and it looks like it could be lots of fun too. Just wanted to know if you'd ever do something like that.

A. There are TONS of "fun" runs like these now, which I think is great--it's getting a lot of new people into running! I did do a Warrior Dash (mud run with obstacles) and learned that it just wasn't "my thing" ;) I don't like to get dirty when I run. I've heard amazing things about The Color Run, but that one doesn't really interest me either. I know, I'm a total dud! The Color Run isn't timed, and it's all about getting colorful (read: dirty) while you run. I've never heard of the zombie one--that sounds like something Jerry would be totally in to!

Warrior Dash 2010

I'm not totally against running in these novelty races, however--if one pops up that interests me, I would love to do it! I think these kinds of races are really great for people who aren't really interested in how fast they can go, but want to have fun and be active. And it makes for some great photos to post on Facebook! ;)  I think you should definitely train for that zombie 5K if it interests you. And then e-mail me some pictures!

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Bonus Question: Since last night, I've gotten a few e-mails and comments about how I "accidentally" posted my last name on yesterday's post with my race results. I've always been VERY careful to leave my full name out of my blog, but it was actually intentional to leave it there yesterday.

I had no idea that Fitness was going to be publishing my full name in their magazine until I saw it in print. I was a little freaked out at first, but I know that if someone really wanted to find out my name, they could. Actually, some people have said they found it by looking up my bib number on races (a little creepy, now that I write that!). So anyway, I totally appreciate your looking out for me!!

Speaking of Fitness, I finally got my copy in the mail yesterday...

I have to say, it was VERY humbling to be on the same page as the "cool kid" bloggers like Skinny Runner and The Fitnessista! (Although I do kind of feel like the nerdy girl at school who was just asked to eat lunch at the cheerleader table, lol).

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Solstice 10-Miler race report

I am going to start by saying WHAT A FUN RACE!! I absolutely loved everything about it.

I woke up to the alarm going off at 4:00 a.m. Good grief, that is early. I don't know how my husband does that every day! I will not complain about the kids waking me up at 6:00 ever again. Jerry and I both got up and had a cup of coffee together. That part was pretty nice, actually.

I got dressed in my little outfit, and French-braided my hair (which took forever). Sat around waiting for a little bit. Then I met Jessica at Kroger at 5:30 so we could drive to the race together. I felt like I was still half-asleep. We picked up our shirts, which were inside of a mall--awesome, because we could use a "real" bathroom instead of porta-potties.

Ty from "this is how ty runs" sent me a text. We had talked about meeting up and running together, so I waited for her before going to the starting line. We'd never met in person, although I read her blog and she reads mine. She was with her husband (who was running the 10 Mile also) and her friend Irina (who was running the 10K). I sent her pictures of what Jessica and I were going to wear, so they picked up the same goodies from the dollar store as well. We looked very festive!

Irina, Ty, me, and Jessica (pre-race)

And apparently, we were the ONLY ones who looked this festive, because I only saw a couple of other people dressed up. We walked by a man who was filming the race, and he asked if he could film us yelling, "Welcome to the Solstice Run!" So we stopped and did that. Then there was a random guy who was running the 10-Mile who stopped us and asked if we'd get a picture with him. We were quite the attraction, which was fun ;)

The 10K'ers went first, and then we lined up to start at 7:30. I planned on running slow and easy, about an 11-minute mile pace. I was afraid of running too hard and messing up my knee again, so this was a "fun run" for us. Thankfully, the weather was actually pretty nice! It was a little hot at times, but nothing like the marathon was a month ago.

I always get cotton mouth the first mile or so of a race. I think my adrenaline just gets going full-speed and coupled with nerves, I get a dry mouth. The first few miles are always the worst for me as I find a good pace and rhythm. Jessica, Ty, and I all ran together and chatted. The skirt and seashell bra didn't bother me one bit! But the lei was really hot and sweaty on my neck. I left in on, but Jessica gave hers to a little girl who was cheering. I would have done the same with mine, but it was really sweaty and gross.

There was a monster of a hill 3/4 of a mile into the course, but we did good with it. If it had been at the end of the course, I for sure would have walked it. We walked through the water stations, but maintained a 10:40 ish pace. My knee started to bug me a little at about mile 5, but it wasn't bad. Just a little irritating. It stayed like that through the rest of the race, which bummed me out, but it never got to the point where I had to walk. It was more irritating than painful.

I was surprised at how hilly the course was! I am used to running on totally flat ground, so the hills were tough for me. My legs felt good, but it was hard to catch my breath at the top of each hill. The course was difficult in that sense, but not horribly so. It was a great course, in my opinion.

At mile 7, Ty decided Jessica and I were holding her back ;) so she took off ahead of us. I was actually feeling pretty good at that point, but Jessica had a rough couple of miles (usually she starts out strong, when I'm not doing so well, and then vice versa later in the race). We slowed our pace a little, and then the last mile was a blast.

There were tons of people around, and we ran through where a festival was set up for later. Then the last half-mile was AMAZING. I just kept saying, "I love this!" because we ran a loop around this field, where the finish line party was. There was music, and tons of people cheering, and I felt like a champion, haha. We sprinted the last little stretch to the finish.

Not last place, but pretty damn close ;)

Our splits

The finish line had Panera bagels (yum!) so I grabbed a whole grain one, which is my favorite kind. I drank a bottle of water and we found Ty and Irina, who tried to convince us to dance with the "real" hula dancers on stage. Um, no thanks. I am waaaay to shy for that! Jessica danced a little, and then a woman asked if she could borrow my grass skirt so she could do it. The real hula dancers wanted a pic with us, but I wasn't able to get my skirt back on in time before they took the picture... bummer.

Jessica and I took an "after" pic at the car before heading home...

Showing off our surf board medals

I'm not thrilled with the shirts, but the medals are cool--they are shaped like surf boards. And we also got a hat!

Notice the pink stain on the ribbon of my medal? Yeah, that's from my shirt. My skin was stained pink when I took it off! I didn't wash the shirt yesterday after buying it. After seeing the stain, I figured I'd better hand wash it for the first time so I don't stain a whole load of laundry. Look at the water!

After my shower, I had the BEST post-race lunch ever. I made smashed chick pea and avocado salad and spread it on my whole grain Panera bagel. It was heavenly. And really tempting to go get another bagel tomorrow so I can have the same thing again.

I was shaking from hunger at this point, so apparently,
I was unable to take a non-blurry picture!

I loved this race, and would totally do it again next year. It's definitely one to do with friends! And dress up for sure. The course was great, even with the hills, the volunteers were awesome, the race was very well-organized, and best of all, SO much fun!

Running races for fun rather than for time makes the whole experience so much more enjoyable. I would still love to get my sub-26:00 5K and my sub 2:00:00 half-marathon, but after I do that, I would love to run races just for fun, without a time goal.

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Guinness Book of World Records

This morning, I decided I'd better try on my running outfit for tomorrow. Jessica and I bought a bunch of Hawaiian-themed stuff at the dollar store to wear at our race. I wasn't sure what shirt to wear, because I don't have any bright running shirts. I ended up going to Wal-Mart this morning to get one. So when I got home, I tried on the whole outfit...

This was taken pre-shower.
Don't judge.

I have no idea how long it's going to last while I'm running. The second I start to chafe from the shell bra, off it goes! But the outfit will definitely be fun to wear. Jess and I are meeting at 5:30 in the morning to drive to the race tomorrow. That means I'll be getting up with Jerry at 4:00 (he has to get up that early for work).

While I was at Wal-Mart, I browsed around a bit, and found a couple of things worth sharing. First, something I managed NOT to buy--but it was VERY hard not to:

Very unique! I love hazelnut flavored coffee, so naturally I'd have to love coffee-flavored hazelnut butter. But I could already picture myself eating the entire jar in less than two days, so I restrained myself from throwing it into the cart.

I did buy a treat, however. Biscoff cookies! Normally, I can't buy these because I'll eat them all at once--but these are actually individual packs of two cookies each. Each pack is only 73 calories. Awesome!

While we were at Wal-Mart, we were walking by the books I was checking to see if the July/Aug issue of Fitness was there (it's not), and Noah saw the Guinness Book of World Records. He asked me, "Mama, were you ever in the Guinness Book of World Records?" and I said, "No, why would I be in there?" And he said, "For fitness... like the fittest person." Bahaha, I love my kids!

Jerry and I are having a date night tonight. My kids are staying the night with my parents, since I have to leave so early to meet Jessica tomorrow. The last time we had a date night, we ended up staying home and watching a movie in bed... oh, and Jerry painted my toenails ;)  I guess he got sick of looking at my black nail! (It was totally his idea to paint them, not mine)

He did a pretty good job with them, but you can still see the black nail through the red polish. It looks much better than it did without polish, though.

So anyway, I'm not sure how we're going to spend tonight. Since we both have to get up early, we'll probably end up staying home again, maybe get a movie from the Redbox. I know, we are so much fun!

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So impatient

I swear, I'm going to be the LAST person to see "my" issue of Fitness! I've been checking the mail daily, waiting for it. Last night, after getting a couple of comments from people that saw my photo in it, I even drove to the store to see if it's on shelves yet (it wasn't).

Today, I saw this tweet from Ada:

Of course, that would be the moment Twitter decides to stop working for hours, and I couldn't view the picture, lol. It's not even a whole article--just a couple of sentences about my blog, so I don't know why I'm so impatient to see it! But speaking of Ada, she is actually going to be doing an IRONMAN competition this weekend!! If you're not familiar with that, it's like the mother-of-all-triathlons: a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and full 26.2 mile marathon... and it all must be completed in a 17-hour window. CRAZY, right?!

Ada is the last (but not least!) member of my Ragnar team that I still have to introduce you to. Many of you know her story from watching her on The Biggest Loser: Season 10, but she's working on a guest post like the rest of the team, and I will post that to share with you when she is finished with it--you know, after she's done with her 140.6 mile race and all ;)

The more I get to know my team, the more bummed I get that I won't be able to spend the entire race in the same van as everyone! There are only six people per van, and since I am in van #1, I won't get to hang out much with the people in van #2 during the race. But once we are in Key West, I plan on loving all over every one of them!

The Ragnar is still seven months away, but I'm sure the time will go by fast. I'm marathon training right now for my race on October 21st, which will keep me busy; after the marathon, I won't have any other races until the Ragnar (which is the first weekend in January). I may find a half-marathon to do in November or early December to keep up my training, but I won't be racing hard.

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I didn't have a run on the schedule today, but I did do my strength training. I am up to doing 40 reps at a time (in 60 seconds) with the kettlebell swing. I got kind of bored with it today, so I only did five sets, and then I did some other weight-bearing leg exercises--squats, lunges, etc. And of course, I foam rolled my IT band. Hoping for a great race run on Saturday!

I made a loaf of homemade French bread today, and I used it to make really yummy grilled cheese sandwiches--fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and tomato slices on the homemade bread. (I've been obsessing about fresh mozzarella ever since I went to Panera on Sunday). I should have taken a picture, but I was too busy inhaling it. If there is one thing I've noticed over the past week of not eating meat, it's that I feel full for so much longer. My appetite has decreased a lot. I have a lot of leftover fresh mozzarella, so I think I'll be making homemade pizza for dinner tomorrow.

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This is a short post, but I really don't have anything else to say! I'll leave you with a funny evil picture of Estelle that I took today...

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A great run!

Once again, I had to choose to run uber-early in the morning at 4:00 a.m., or to run on the treadmill. I chose the treadmill. Monday's run on the treadmill actually wasn't all that bad, so I was hoping to have a good run today. Today is run #2 of marathon training: 15 minutes easy running, followed by (5 minutes tempo + 2 minutes easy)--repeat for a total of 4 times, then 10 minutes easy running.

I set my Garmin up for the intervals, and then forgot to start that workout on the Garmin... so I had to do it by memory instead of having the watch remind me. Which is how I managed to screw it up a little--I only did 10 minutes for a warm-up instead of 15. But I killed the rest of it, so I'm fine with that.

Even though the intervals were longer ones (5 minutes is long!), the workout went by pretty quickly. I watched a Lifetime movie while I was running. Too bad I'm caught up on The Bachelorette, because that passed the time much more quickly! I was thrilled when I saw my overall pace:

8:36/mi pace for 5.35 miles?! I'll take it. I do find running on the treadmill to be easier than running outside, so I doubt that my pace would have been that fast if I were outside. But seeing these numbers renewed my confidence big time. The best part? ZERO knee pain! It makes me realize just how much my knee was affecting my pace before. I am so excited that all the stuff I've been doing lately is actually helping my knee, and I was able to run pain-free today.

I had a serious runner's high after that! But I stretched really well, and I foam-rolled my legs. My next run is on Saturday, and it's actually a 10-mile race. I don't plan on racing it, however. Jessica and I are going to run it together at a slow pace, because it's been really effing hot lately. We even bought grass skirts and leis and stuff to wear--so we plan on having fun with it :)

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I've been having an avocado smoothie every morning for breakfast lately, and I truly believe that there is something magical about it. It keeps me full for HOURS and it curbs my cravings for the rest of the day. I've been experimenting a little to find the right combo, and I think I have it perfected:
3/4 cup cold water
1/2 avocado
1/2 frozen banana
1.5 Tbsp. natural peanut butter
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
8 ice cubes

Using the cold water, frozen banana, and ice cubes makes the shake thick enough to eat with a spoon. It's not necessarily the best-tasting-shake-ever!, but it tastes really GOOD and the texture is awesome, and it works like magic on my appetite. It has 325 calories when made how I wrote it above, which isn't bad at all.

I haven't had meat in about a week, and so far it's been easy. Last night, I made chicken paprikash for the family, and mushroom paprikash for me. I used to make it all the time, and I forgot just how good it is!

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Yesterday afternoon, my mom and I took the boys to the beach at the State Park. It was about 95 degrees outside, and the beach was pretty packed. I just sat in the shade and watched the boys play, and it was a really nice afternoon. We packed a little picnic to have for lunch, too.

I'm loving Instagram on my iPhone, in case you can't tell ;)  The kids had baseball last night, so we left the beach and got ready for the game. Eli's game was first, at 6:30. It was still pretty hot out, but I was losing my mind listening to everyone bitch about it! Half of the team didn't show up, probably because the parents didn't want to sit in the heat (the games aren't called off for high temps). The parents of the kids who did show up complained non-stop about how hot it was, that the kids shouldn't have to play in this weather, look how miserable all the kids look, etc etc.

But not a single kid looked miserable! Not a single kid complained about it being "too hot". The kids had a blast, and I'm sure they would have no idea it was a super hot day if it weren't for all the parents complaining about it. I certainly do my share of complaining about heat (just read my marathon race report!) but I know that yesterday was about the kids, and the kids were totally fine and happy to play ball despite it being 90 degrees outside. Kids are pretty resilient.

Actually, I used to complain about the heat much more--but my brother spent over 3 years in Iraq in the Army, and he used to post pics of the thermometers reading 120+ degrees. If those soldiers can do their jobs in that kind of heat, who am I to bitch about sitting through a baseball game in 90 degree weather?! (I try to keep that in mind on my summer runs, as well).

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But anyway, today's run boosted my spirits a LOT! I'm going to have wine with Renee tonight, and put those calories burned to go use ;)

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"How I lost 130 Pounds!" A guest post by my good friend Andrea

I would like to introduce you to Andrea, runner #5 of our Ragnar Relay team. Andrea happened to e-mail me just as I was starting to invite people to join the team (of course she knew nothing about the team at the time). She shared her story, and we had quite a bit in common. I was very excited when I saw that she was actually on Oprah! It was Oprah's final weight loss show, and Andrea had her moment to show off all of her hard work in losing the weight.

When I saw that photo, and read her e-mail, I spontaneously asked her to join our team. I figured, "Hey, if this girl's good enough for Oprah, she's got to be good enough for us!"  I thought she probably wouldn't even consider joining, because it was so out-of-the-blue and we really didn't know each other at all. To my surprise, she accepted right away, and I couldn't be happier to have her on our team! It has been so fun getting to know her, and she fits right in. Enjoy her story!

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I have struggled with my weight for most of my life, but never really became aware of it until middle school.  I was approximately 40 pounds overweight at that time.  One event in particular impacted me that would change the way I viewed myself. 

I knew that the majority of the eighth grade girls at my school were gathering for a slumber party, but I was not invited.  I received a phone call that night and this is how it went:

“Hello, is Andrea there?” 

"This is she"

“Hi, this is Weight Watchers and we want to sign you up for a meeting.” 

After that, all I could hear on the other end was laughter breaking out and I hung up.  I laugh now because little did they know that Weight Watchers showed me the lifestyle principals to lose my weight and make it a lifestyle.

My success story is not your typical, "I lost 100 pounds in 6 months.”  My weight loss journey has taken place over many years.   I would start my own made up versions of diets only to fail time and time again.  I knew my weight was creeping up, but I the more I gained, the more defeated I felt.  My reality check came when I went to buy a new pair of jeans. 

I picked out my size and went to the dressing room and I could not get them buttoned.  I remember feeling panicked because they didn't fit.  They were a size 24, and I now needed a size 26.   I remember leaving the mall depressed and discouraged about how far I had let myself go—around 280 pounds to be exact.

I decided at that point I could not allow myself to continue down the path I was going.  I slowly made changes to my diet through Weight Watchers and started walking.  I struggled many years with my weight going up and down but I never quit fighting.  I had so many weight books from joining and rejoining Weight Watchers.  I would lose 50 pounds one year and gain 20 back the next, but I was determined that I was not going to quit this journey I had started.

My story is about patience and persistence not perfection.  I was tired of struggling, and in 2009 my "aha" moment came.  I had met a new Weight Watchers leader named Martha, and she finally made it click for me--this was not a diet and all about a number on the scale, but this was a lifestyle.

She showed me how to make healthy choices livable, she showed me that I was going to be eating and living this way for the rest of my life so I needed to make this enjoyable. I needed to learn how to eat foods I enjoyed and work in my favorite treats.  If I didn’t like something I was eating, then I needed to stop eating it, if I didn’t like an exercise I was doing, then I needed to stop doing it.  She gave me a magnet that said these great words, “Lose it the way you intend to live it.” 

In 2011, my hard work had paid off and I was invited to be part of the Oprah Weight Loss Finale Show.  It was an absolute dream come true!  I had watched all of her weight loss transformation shows and had dreamed about being on one someday and the opportunity came!

As I started making a conscious effort to eat foods that I really liked, and work in treats that I was craving, this really did become a lifestyle to me.  I began running that year little by little.  I signed up for a few 5K’s and loved the feeling of race day.  

The next year I completed a 10k and this year I ran my first half marathon. Next, on the list--running a marathon before the end of the year—did I just write that?  Yikes!

I contacted Katie earlier this year because I was amazed by her transformation and wanted to let her know what an inspiration she was and that we had several things in common besides our weight loss.  We had both been on television, and I had also had the same surgery Katie had the year before.  Katie invited me to be part of the Ragnar team and I am thrilled at the opportunity.  I have gained 11 of the most amazing friends in the process.

130 pounds down!

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And so it begins (again)

This morning, I had a choice: wake up and run outside at 4:00 a.m., or run later in the day on the dreadmill. Jerry is back to working days, and with the kids home from school, I have to run outside before he goes to work or I can do it on the dreadmill whenever I feel like.

It was a tough choice! Neither option was appealing, but I ultimately decided on the dreadmill. There was no way I wanted to crawl out of bed at 4:00 this morning. Instead, I slept until 7:00, and then set up my computer to watch The Bachelorette while I was running.

Since today is officially Day One of marathon training, I actually have a schedule. The run today was: 50 minutes easy running with six pick-ups (30 seconds fast running). I did 8 minutes of easy running, followed by 30 seconds of fast running for a total of six times. My splits:

The 30-second sprints went by so quickly it was like they didn't even happen. Of course, running on the dreadmill is boring, but watching all the drama unfold on The Bachelorette helped pass the time.

When I was done running, I made a fruit salad. It's funny, my kids always complain about eating fruit--unless it's all mixed together and called "fruit salad". Then they LOVE it, hahaha. Hey, whatever works.

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So Saturday night was fun hanging out with my brother Nathan, even if all we did was sit on the back deck and talk over a couple of beers. His girlfriend Jen was really nice, and they seem to be hitting it off well (they haven't been together very long). We grilled steaks (a portobello mushroom cap for me) and corn on the cob, and I made some cheesy potatoes--I have no idea what they are actually called, but they are good! I also made apple crisp for dessert, topped with vanilla ice cream. It was great being able to make dessert and not worry about eating it all myself ;)

We had a little bit of the dessert left over, and I managed to keep it in the house without eating it. That's huge progress! It is extremely hard for me to keep ice cream in the house overnight. I didn't even eat it yesterday--the kids and I ate the rest today after lunch, and now it's gone.

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I feel bad that I didn't do anything for Jerry for Father's Day yesterday. I didn't buy a gift! I planned on it, but it just came up so fast and I've been pretty busy since school got out, so I didn't get him anything. I made him eggs for breakfast, and then I took the boys to church. After church, Jerry took the boys for a walk in the woods and I did my strength training (The Swing workout).

The workout gets progressively harder, which is good--after the first couple of workouts, I thought maybe it was too easy. I didn't break a sweat at all. But the sets get closer together (less rest time) and there are more reps in each set. I was pretty sore when I woke up today.

In the afternoon, my parents wanted us to go to a campground to go fishing. My dad has a little row boat that the kids can go in by themselves, and they think they are really cool. Eli spent most of the time working on catching a turtle on his fishing pole... and he did!

I love his face!

Jerry and I stayed for a couple of hours and by then, I was starving for dinner. The kids still wanted to fish, so my parents stayed with them while Jerry and I went to Panera for dinner. I got a cup of black bean soup and half of a tomato and mozzarella panini. It was on ciabatta with fresh basil--sooo good that I actually took a picture after taking a bite.

I'm definitely going to recreate this at home. I haven't mentioned this, because I'm not sure how it will play through... but I've been toying with the idea of becoming vegetarian. I've never been a huge fan of meat (I actually was a vegetarian for a year or so in college), and I've always said that if it weren't for my family, I would certainly be vegetarian. My boys love meat, so I've always cooked with it. Anyway, I'm not declaring anything for a while, but it's just something that's been on my mind lately.

I recently did an interview for SkinnyMom.com if you'd like to check it out. You can find it here.

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Reader Questions & Answers #17

On Sundays, I will answer some readers' questions in a post. If you have a question that you would like me to answer here on the blog, just send me an e-mail with the subject "Q&A", and I may include them in a future Q&A post. They don't have to be about weight loss or running--anything is game!  (Remember, I'm not a doctor or dietician, or any sort of medical professional--I can only answer questions from my own experience).

Q. When I exercise, I usually wear my polar heart rate monitor and track my distance with an app on my smart phone (either my Couch25K app or MapMyRide, etc). My heart rate monitor often tells me that I burned up to twice as many calories as the apps suggest. Which do you think is more accurate?

A. Using a heart rate monitor is more accurate than the apps that just take into account your weight, distance, etc. But if your heart rate monitor is giving you some crazy high number, than it may not be working correctly. In general, the more you weigh, and/or the more effort you put into an activity, the more calories you burn.

Your heart rate is a way to judge how hard you are working, so that will change your calorie burn. The apps use a simple formula that doesn't take your effort into account, so therefore, it is just a generalization and not specific to YOU. So to answer your question, I wouldn't be surprised it that is an accurate number if you are very heavy, or you get your heart rate up very high.

Q. I've been reading your blog for a while and really enjoy it! My question is this; What did you wear to exercise in when you first started? I have a hard time finding workout clothes in plus sizes... large ladies like to exercise too! :) 

A. I actually had three people ask this question recently... so here goes. When I first started exercising, I knew nothing about proper clothing. I assumed that the whole "moisture wicking" ability was just a way for companies to sucker money out of people. I bought some $7 cotton capris from Wal-Mart and used some old cotton t-shirts. Those worked just fine, because I didn't know any better. I also was a size XL when I started exercising, so I didn't feel like I had many options. This was a typical running outfit:

Cotton shirt (see the sweat?!) cotton capris

However, when I was looking for a new outfit for a race that I was doing, I decided to buy some Under Armour stuff. This was the outfit I bought...

The only reason I chose those capris was because they went up high enough in the waist to hide my belly (this was long before my skin removal surgery). I liked that they were tight (they are compression capris) and they held everything (read: all my loose skin) in place while I ran. They are Heat Gear items, so I wasn't hot, and they were super comfortable. Ever since I bought those, I couldn't go back to running in the cotton stuff.

The moisture-wicking fabric makes you feel dry even when you're sweating heavily. When you wear cotton, the cotton absorbs all that moisture, making your clothes wet and very heavy. There are cheaper options than the Under Armour--I know that Target has a line of workout clothes (I don't know much about them, so I can't tell you how I like them). I bought a couple of items from Wal-Mart that are moisture wicking. They work, but I can tell the quality isn't nearly as good as the UA stuff. I'll wear them when my UA stuff is dirty ;)

But regardless of what brand you buy, you won't be sorry for getting the moisture-wicking clothing! It makes a world of difference. I don't buy shirts anymore, because I use my race shirts to run in. Almost all races give out technical (moisture-wicking) shirts now, so those are perfect to run in.

I know that Wal-Mart has a lot of plus-sized workout clothes (because I bought them), but even the sports brands like Under Armour have larger sizes. If you can't find your size in the store, you could always order some online.

Q. Does your weight fluctuate wildly?  This is my problem.  I can be +/- 4 lbs in one day (and this has no relation to my menstrual cycle).  I don't eat a lot of salt/processed food.  I get really frustrated...I know I'm supposed to look at the "trend," but when I'm up 4 pounds for no apparent reason, I get upset, start eating, and the cycle goes on.  Do you have any advice for fluctuating weight or continuing to plow ahead with good eating habits even when the scale doesn't seem to be responding immediately?

A. My weight fluctuates like crazy!! In fact, when I go away for a weekend, I will usually come home about 10 pounds heavier. But if I go right back to into my routine, the weight drops off within a few days. There are many different reasons for weight fluctuations, and you really shouldn't get upset about being up a few pounds--especially if you know that you're not eating so much as to gain that much (to gain 4 pounds of fat in a day, you would have to consume 14,000 extra calories!)

The #1 thing that makes my weight go up is eating restaurant food. It doesn't even matter what I order, I ALWAYS gain up to 5 pounds in a day from a restaurant meal. Which is one of the reasons I avoid eating out most of the time ;) 

Another is sodium, but you said you don't eat a lot of processed food, so that may not be a factor for you. But even foods that are "healthy" may have more sodium than you think--cottage cheese, or any type of cheese really; breads; soup, etc). The third thing that makes my weight increase is actually when I do a long run. After a 10+ mile run, I will put on a couple of pounds of water weight that hangs around for a couple of days.

I know it's hard not to get discouraged when you see a gain like that, but keep in mind that if you're doing everything right, it's only going to be temporary. Water weight falls off just as quickly as it comes on (for me it does, anyway). So don't give up when you see that gain!

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