Ragnar Relay Florida Keys, Part 2

(...continued)

In the morning, we drove to the next major exchange point for Van 2 to hand-off the bracelet to us. Because of the issues they were having, it didn’t look like John would hand off the bracelet to me until much later than anticipated; and I was worried we weren’t going to finish the race before the cut-off time.

We called the Ragnar officials, and asked them about our options. They told us that we could have Van 1 start before Van 2 was done running, and we just had to keep track of our leg times so that we could still have an official time at the end. That way, all of the legs would still be run, but we would finish earlier. We decided that John (runner 12, the last runner in Van 2) would start his leg as normal, but when he started, I would start the next leg at the same time to get Van 1 rolling again. Hard to explain, but it worked out.

I started my third and final leg at around 9:15 a.m. It was only three miles, and Angela strapped a camera to my head to wear during the run.

Since it was only three miles, and it was my final leg, I decided to push my pace, even though I was tired. I ended up passing a couple of guys, one of whom said, “You’re making me look bad!”

It was extremely humid (once again), but the course was easy and I finished my last leg with an 8:42 pace. 

We went to McDonald’s to use the bathroom and get some coffee and hang out for a few minutes before going over the 7-Mile Bridge to the next exchange point.The bridge was really cool, and I've never seen anything like it; but I certainly didn't envy Meredith for running it, because it was SO hot and humid, and that was an "unsupported" leg (meaning vans are not allowed to stop to support runners, and there were no water stops, so she had to carry water with her).

While we were waiting for Lealah to finish her long (very, very hot) leg, Angela interviewed us--just a couple of quick questions about the race itself.

Behind the scenes with Andrea's interview

I was SO happy to be done with my runs! I wasn’t “allowed” to change out of my sweaty clothes just yet, though, because the Today Show wanted to interview us at the finish line. I used baby wipes to clean up the best I could, but I still felt gross. We went to the next major exchange point to hand off to Van 2. Jennifer was the first runner in Van 2, and since she'd had a bad run the night before, we wanted to give her extra support.

It was so amazing. I can't even talk or write about this without crying. We all wanted Jennifer to have an amazing run, and gain some confidence back, so all 11 of us went to cheer for her at the exchange point. We were chanting her name as it was time for her to start, and I just felt this amazing love for all of my team! They are SO supportive.

After that, I just relaxed in the van until it was time for us to drive all the way to the finish line while Van 2 did their third legs. When we arrived at the finish line, we parked the van and went over to where the Today Show was set up. I met Kerry Sanders, who would be interviewing me. He was very sweet. I felt a little rushed during the interview, and I’m not so sure it sounded okay, but at that point, I just didn’t care! I was way too excited to be at the after party.

After Rik and Ada were interviewed, we finally got to go party! First, we went to the Ragnar shop, because I wanted to get a shirt or two. The hoodies were really picked over—they had all XXL’s, and two XS’s—nothing in-between. I tried on the XS, and it actually fit, so I got a hoodie; I also got a t-shirt. It was hard to choose, because I wanted everything!

Then we sat down on the beach with the spouses, and we had a couple of rounds of drinks while we waited for Van 2. I had a mojito, which I’d been craving ever since we talked of Ragnar Florida Keys.

Ada, Andrea, and me

Finally, at around 7:00, we went to the finish line to wait for John. He was runner 12, the last one, and when he came down the street, our entire team joined him. We all grabbed hands and slowly ran the last couple hundred yards or so together.

I can’t even describe how amazing it was to cross the finish line with my team! We all started hugging (and crying) and I just felt this amazing sense of camaradarie. I love all of them so much, and they made this experience amazing. Rik handed out our medals, we did some more hugging.

I don't know what our "official" finish time is, but it was about 38 hours. We had been told by The Today Show that they were going to do some photos of the team on the beach after the race, so we had to do that before anything else. But when it came time, they only wanted Rik, Ada, Carly, and me to go. I was really upset by that, because I wanted it to be the whole team. Maybe it was the drinks, maybe it was the emotional finish, maybe both, but I started crying and I just said I didn’t want to go without the whole team.

My team was fantastic about it, though, and they kept telling me to go, that it was ridiculous for me not to and that I had to “represent” all of our stories. So I ended up going, but my eyes and nose were all red from crying, so I can’t even imagine what it’s going to look like.

They just had me stand there while they moved the camera all around

When we were done with that, we dropped Ada off at her hotel, and then we went back to the finish line party (which was overwith by that point). John said he wanted to go out and I really did too, so John, Jerry, and I went to a bar/restaurant for some dinner and drinks. I tried tuna steak for the first time in my life, and it was pretty good. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

On Facebook recently, we were talking about how we should treat ourselves better; that we deserve to do nice things for ourselves (inspired by this post from Jennifer). John said (on Facebook), “When we get to Key West, we should all order a top shelf drink”. I jokingly said, “Sure John, if you’re buying!” So I wanted to buy John a top shelf drink, but he ended up beating me to it, and bought me a top shelf margarita (which was fantastic!)

The restaurant kicked us out at around 11. I was tired and planned to go back to the hotel, but when we got down to the street, John saw a bar that he wanted to get a drink from. It didn’t take more than a “Come on!” from John to talk me into it ;)  So we sat and had a beer on the street.

Duval Street in Key West is… well, an experience in itself. It was so much fun to people watch! The crowd was very interesting, which is the only way I can really describe it. John got a cab back to his hotel at around 1, and Jerry and I walked back to our hotel (about a mile away). I took a shower (finally!! I had two days worth of sweat and grime on me) and then crashed in bed.

The Ragnar was AMAZING! I will write more about my thoughts on the whole thing later; for now, I'm living it up in Key West! 

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Ragnar Relay Florida Keys, part 1

This post was actually written on Friday, Jan. 4th, but I didn't have internet access, so I'm just now posting it. I'll continue to catch up with more posts today and tomorrow...

 This morning, I woke up at 4:30 to get ready to head to the start line. Our team decided to wear pink shirts for the first legs, yellow for the second, and orange for the third. So I got dressed in my pink outfit to go to the starting line. I have to admit, I though it was really cute!

The team all met in the hotel lobby at 5:30 to leave. The starting line was about 10 minutes away. When we got there, the Today Show cameraman was there to film us for a little while. He wanted to film the start of the race. Our team had to go through the required safety meeting, and it didn’t finish until 7:03 ish—my starting time was 7:00. Because of the filming, the race post-poned our starting time until 7:05. 

This was a sign to disclose to the runners that a documentary was being filmed

 I quickly pinned on a bib and ran to the starting line, where I was told to go front and center, so that the filming would be ideal. I was a little horrified, and very embarrassed—I NEVER go to the very front of the starting line of a race! But because Ragnar’s are so relaxed, a lot of the teams were yelling to me and laughing along with me which made me feel more comfortable. But I still felt bad for cutting in to the front of the starting line.

The announcer introduced our team, and then we finally started. I didn't hear about this until later, but apparently some people were trying to get right in front of the camera for their moment to shine, and they weren't watching where they were running--four people actually fell!

The Ragnar has a staggard start line all day long, so there were only about 50 people starting at that time. My first leg was 5.7 miles and had a monster of a hill (a bridge) halfway through.

It was REALLY hot and humid. I can’t even describe how difficult the run got, because of the heat. My van was supposed to go halfway through my leg and give me some water, but they didn’t. I did see one of our photographers/videographers along the way at different points. There were other vans cheering for their runners, and I got a lot of comments on my outfit.

Finally, I got to the checkpoint and passed the “baton” to Meredith.

I gulped down a bottle of water, and told my team I NEED the support on my runs! I was so glad to get in the van and finally have some breakfast. Breakfast of champions, right here:

Ada and I sat in the back row of the van. It was so fun getting to chat with her in-person, as opposed to the phone or Facebook.

After Meredith was Lealah, then Ada, then Andrea and then Rik. Once our van was done with our first legs, we finished decorating the van:

We got magnets made of our before/after pics for the vans;
These were a HUGE hit--people loved them!

Andrea and Lealah decorating the windows

We were pretty hungry for lunch after that, so we headed to Denny’s. I ordered the Fit Slam, which was egg whites scrambled with tomatoes and spinach, an English muffin, and fruit (grapes and strawberries). It was really good, filling, and just 10 PointsPlus. We sat and chatted for a little while, and then went to the dollar store to buy some towels (we were all sweating like beasts after our legs, and we didn’t have many towels in the van). I also bought some grapes, because I was going through withdrawal ;)

After that, we drove down to exchange 12, where my next leg would start after Van 2 was done.

We had a lot of time to kill, so we sat around in the shade. I ran into my brother Brian (he’s on a different Ragnar team) and he had a hammock set up! It looked so comfy, and I gave it a try—it was awesome!

With the heat and humidity, our projected finish time kept getting pushed back. Our team as a whole has a pretty slow pace to begin with, so we started to get concerned about finishing on time (before the course closes). The heat was making it REALLY hard to stay on pace--I ran much slower than I've been used to lately.

Because of the delay, we had some extra time to spare before it was our turn to start running again, so we went to Subway to get some dinner. I got a turkey sub, and just after I paid for it, we got a message from the other van that they were about an hour from us. I started thinking about whether I wanted to eat a sub that soon before running, and I decided to just wait until after my run.

We went to the exchange point, and I put on my tutu. Since it was after 4:30 p.m., I had to wear a reflective vest and headlamp (Ragnar rules say that we have to wear a vest and headlamp between 7:30 and 4:30).

We put some lights on our van for decoration, and then headed to where John would pass me the baton (slap bracelet). 

This is a crappy picture, but it's our van in the dark:

My brother was standing there, and his teammate was really close as well—very coincidental, but I thought it would be awesome to run with him on my long leg!

My leg was 8.8 miles, and there was a portion of it that was on really rough terrain, and where the van wasn’t allowed to drive. I saw John round the corner and run toward me with the bracelet, and off I went.

Almost immediately, it became dark outside. By a mile in, it was pitch black. I could see a couple of taillights (flashing lights clipped to the back of runners, also required in the dark). The videographer for the film was leapfrogging me, and I started to look forward to seeing him. I talked to him, but he would never respond, and I thought it was hilarious.

I was running along a pretty busy road for a little while, but then I started to get scared when running where it was rural. It was pitch black, and I was running on the side of the road, and occasionally I would see some random guy walking—scary for me! But it was comforting knowing that the photographer was around.

Then it turned into a dirt road, full of pot holes and big rocks, so I had to be careful with my footing. I couldn’t see well, so I was using the lights on my fingers to try and light the way. Then the cameraman starting following me, literally driving right next to me for about a mile. Since I was really scared by that point, I just started talking to him.

Then I saw the terrain of the road change, and the road narrowed a lot. There were trees and bushes right up along the road, and since the road was so narrow, they were hanging right up next to my head. There were swamps alongside,  and I just kept picturing the alligators waiting to eat me. I told the cameraman, “Okay, NOW I really want you to stay with me!” and as soon as I said that, I saw a sign that said, “No vans”. So he had to turn and take a different route.

The next couple of miles were terrifying! The road was super narrow (more like a path), with trees and bushes right up next to the road. It was pitch black, and the footing was terrible—dirt road with huge rocks and potholes. I could hear dogs barking off to my left, and they sounded pretty close.

I just wanted to get out of there! I tried messing with my headlamp to see the road better, when I realized that the light part flipped down so that it shone right ahead of my feet—which was perfect. I just wish I’d noticed that before! Finally, I was able to make a turn, and the road widened. Then I saw all kinds of fencing and barbed wire—oh joy, I was running in the dark next to a prison! I was so ready to be done with that leg.

I was hoping the whole time that my brother would catch up with me, since he started so close behind me, but he never did. The last mile, we were told to run in the grass (which was tough—it was exhausting). Finally made it to the exchange point, where I handed the bracelet off to Meredith. I saw Becky, my brother’s girlfriend at the exchange, and she gave me a bottle of water—I was so grateful! I was super thirsty, and I downed the water.

 

After that leg, I was so glad to be done with my “very hard” leg. I sat in the van and chatted for a little while with the team until we were finally done with our legs. We went to the next major exchange point where we would have a long time to wait before we had to run again. The exchange point was at a school, and they were offering showers for $3. I was so tired that I really just wanted to sleep.

A couple people from my van went in to shower, but I laid down on the back seat of the van and actually fell asleep. I slept from 3 a.m. until about 5:30 a.m. Van 2 had some issues during the night legs, but I’ll save that story for the film. 

(To be continued...)

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Ragnar team dinner

I reeeeally ought to be going to bed, since the Ragnar is bright and early tomorrow (we have to get there at 6:00 a.m.), but I am just not tired. I'm still so excited about this whole trip!

Meeting the whole team was just so surreal today. I couldn't even keep track of who I met already and who I still had to meet--because we'd been getting to know each other for an entire year on Facebook, I felt like I already knew everyone.

We hung out for a little bit this afternoon in Jerry's and my hotel room, and then we all headed downstairs to go to dinner. We took the vans to dinner, and there were 20 of us (team plus some spouses). We went to a place called Randazzo's, which had Italian American food.

The Today Show was there to film us "meeting", and then we sat down to eat. Holy cow, that was the WORST service ever. The whole team was cracking up because the service and food were SO bad that we thought it was a practical joke-type show (the joke being on us).

Meredith and I were going to split the lemon chicken, and I asked that it be cooked without added butter or oil. The server looked at me like I was insane, and then argued with me about it for a minute--"You mean you want it DRY?" he asked. "I just want it cooked with the lemon and garlic, no oil," I told him. He checked again, and I said, "Yes, dry is fine."

When he brought it out, it was swimming in a pool of butter--literally, there was probably a whole stick of butter in the dish, if not more. When I pointed it out, he got mad and said that's what I ordered. He said, "Well, it has to be fried in SOMETHING."  hahaha, I just said okay, forget it. And I chose not to eat. I had a blast just getting to talk with my team (John is hysterical, and I laughed so hard the whole time).

We were there for over three hours, and not one person got what they ordered, let alone in a timely manner. The servers were extremely rude--so much so that we all found it hilarious. It would take forever to describe the whole situation, but we all agreed that it was awful. So if you're in Miami, I would stay away from Randazzo's. ;)

It was a lot of fun getting to chat with the team, but after spending over three hours there, I was STARVING. It was also too late to decorate our vans at that point, so when we got back to the hotel, Jerry and I walked across the street to Walgreens so that I could buy some dinner. They actually had fresh food there, and I bought some brown rice California rolls and a small bag of pretzel M&M's.

When we got back to the hotel, we ran into John and Angela, who were waiting for some Ragnar crew to drop some things off. I scarfed down the California rolls while I chatted with them, and then I hung around to talk with the crew. They gave us passes to use for the race (well, for Angela to use so that she could film).

While we were standing there, my brother and his girlfriend showed up, so we chatted with them for a while. I had a couple of beers with them outside, then went and talked with Angela and John for a little while before coming back to our room.

Now I'm really going to try and get some sleep so I can get ready to Ragnar tomorrow!!

(For those of you that asked, the Today Show segment about our team is going to be on Thursday, January 10th.)

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Bienvenido a Miami

I made it to Miami! What a day it has been. I set the alarm for 4:00 a.m., and my dad drove Jerry and I to the airport for our flight this morning. I was terrified to fly (as usual) and when I got there, I realized that I forgot my Xanax, which I always take before flying.

Jerry and I wound up having adult beverages at 6:30 this morning instead:

Unfortunately, one glass of wine wasn't nearly enough for the super bumpy flight! The flight was about three hours, and the whole thing was really bumpy. I was on edge the whole time. I even chose the seat right above the wing, because it's supposed to be the least turbulent spot. The sun looked pretty cool coming up over the clouds, though.

We finally arrived in Key West, and the fabulous John was there at the airport to pick us up! (And as I type this, I haven't gotten pics with any of my Ragnar team yet... will have to do that for sure tonight). I absolutely love John. I knew I would, but I love him even more than I expected to.

When we got to the hotel, I chatted with Angela and John for a little bit. I met Carly, Ada, and Meredith--all as lovely as I expected! Jerry looked outside and saw my brother Brian pull into the parking lot--did I mention he happens to be at the same Miami hotel? So I went down to say hello to him. I also saw Lealah when she arrived--she's as adorable as I expected as well! 

I've been dying to write about this for a couple of weeks now, but I promised I wouldn't say anything until today... The Today Show is featuring our team!! They have a studio in Miami, and they are going to be at our team dinner, the starting line, and the finish line of the race. Also, they wanted to share a few of our stories--Rik's, Carly's, Ada's, and mine. So my interview was scheduled for 2:00 today.

A limo service picked Jerry and me up (!!) and took us to the studio.

I had no idea the Today Show segment was going to be this big of a deal--I thought they'd maybe say a little bit about our team, but they're going to film quite a bit. Very fun!

When we got to the (tiny) studio, I sat down for an interview that probably lasted about 30 minutes. I wasn't nervous at all, probably because I'm used to answering these kinds of questions about my weight loss. My lips were super dry, and I licked them a lot--but only in-between questions, so I hope they edit that out!

After my interview, we had to wait for the driver to come back to drop off Rik, so that Jerry and I could head back to the hotel. We walked around a little, and it was VERY touristy--right by the cruise ships. The weather is super nice, but VERY humid. I'm going to be pouring buckets of sweat when I run tomorrow. I don't run well in the humidity.

The driver took us back to the hotel, and here I sit typing my blog post :)  We're going to leave in about a half hour to go to our team dinner--where our entire team will meet for the first time as a group!--and then we're going to decorate our vans tonight. I might write a short post tonight before bed.

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New shoes and Wed. Weigh-in

Today was kind of a hectic day! I shouldn't have put off packing until today, but I never like to pack more than a day in advance. I spent the morning finishing up laundry and organizing stuff for the suitcases. I'm so worried I'm going to forget something, and it's driving me crazy.

I was super excited when I looked at the weather in Key West:

Absolutely perfect! Just hoping it's not humid...

Today was my Wednesday Weigh-In, and I was successful on my third week of maintenance, weighing in at 132.5 (a half-pound below goal weight):

Since I'm going to be gone for a week, I went to Weight Watchers to weigh-in (normally, I go on Thursdays). The website said that their meetings are at 11:15 and 12:15 on Wednesdays, and I got there at 12:10. There was a meeting in progress already, which I thought was strange. I weighed in, then sat in the meeting.

There were a lot of people in there, and nobody waiting to be weighed, so I wondered if the wrong time was listed on the website? It was strange. Anyway, I only sat for a couple of minutes, but the leader was talking about the same old stuff as always, and I just didn't feel like listening today. I'm WAY too excited for Florida, so I just got up and left.

When I got home, Jerry and I took the boys to Chuck E Cheese's. I've been feeling a little bad about leaving them for a week, even though they are SUPER excited about it. We wanted to do something fun with them today, so we took them to Chuck E Cheese's, and then we got an ice cream from McDonald's on the way home.

While we were out, I stopped at the running store to get a new pair of Adrenaline's. Mine have about 350 miles on them, and I usually replace them at 400ish miles. But I had a $10 coupon expiring soon, and a gift card, so I got them today. The color is a little brighter blue than it has been in the past, which is a nice change; but I still wish I could get some really cute colors!

I'd like to take them to Florida, but since I haven't broken them in, I'm just going to bring my black ones.

Well, I have a TON to get done before we leave tomorrow. Thanks for all the well wishes--comments, e-mails, and tweets! I really appreciate them. I will be updating whenever I can :)

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The countdown is on!

A new year.

I used to get all excited about New Year's Day, because it was like a new beginning. And I was ALWAYS starting a diet for my new year's resolution. I haven't had that resolution since 2009, and it feels really good not to think that way anymore. Instead, every day is just about making it through one more day with healthy decisions.

I didn't make any new year's resolutions this year. I am still going to be working hard at maintaining my weight, and being fit and healthy. Last year, I wrote that I wanted to work on paying off my credit card debt, and I've been doing well with that. I paid off about 25% of it (without acquiring anything new), so I'm very happy with that.

Today I ran my last training run before the Ragnar Relay on Friday :)  It was just a three-mile run, and I had to do it on the treadmill because the kids are home from school. I watched half of an episode of some crime show--I don't even remember what it was called, because it was boring. But three miles flew by, and I was done!

My next run will be at the starting line in Miami on Friday morning :) 

I spent a lot of the day today getting stuff ready for the trip. Tomorrow, I will actually pack everything, and we will head to the airport early on Thursday morning. I cannot believe the time has actually come for this race--a year ago, I had no idea how big of a deal this was going to turn into.

During the race, our team is going to be posting pictures and updates on our social media sites, so if you want to follow along, please do! My username is RunsforCookies on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. We're bringing a white board with us to interact also, so if you tweet us or leave a comment on the From Fat to Finish Line Facebook page, we may respond with a picture. Just something to keep us occupied while we're in the van for about 35 hours! (If you tweet, our hashtag is #FattoFinish).

That whole paragraph actually kind of cracks me up--I knew NOTHING about social media before I started this blog! But I felt like the only blogger ever to not have a Twitter or Facebook (and later Instagram), and now here I am spouting off hashtags. Haha!

I definitely plan to blog while I'm there, too. I imagine I'm going to have a lot to write about, so I may even be posting more than once a day. That's not to be annoying, but just to keep each post from getting waaay too long ;) 

Tomorrow, I'm going to do my last weigh-in at Weight Watchers before I leave for Florida. Then when I get home, I'll weigh in the following day to (hopefully) reach my Lifetime status. Terrible timing, to be on an amazing vacation the week before I have an important weigh-in, but I'm kind of glad it worked out that way. I'm not going to be uber-strict with my eating while I'm gone, but at least I'll have it in my mind that I can't gain 10 pounds if I want to reach Lifetime!

I would be very sad to come home and have gained more than a couple of pounds. I'm making it a goal to be 135 or less when I get home. I'm going to loosely keep track of my PointsPlus while I'm gone (I say loosely, because I'm not going to be bring my food scale or measuring cups, of course). This vacation will be a BIG test for me. If I can get through it without throwing in the towel, I can get through anything, I'm sure!

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Top 12 of 2012

With only hours left of 2012, I wanted to go through my old photos and see the highlights of my year. :)  In no particular order:

1. In January, I turned the big 3-0. I was dreading that number, and not at all happy about starting a new decade. But 30 has turned out to be quite a great year for me!

2. I registered for my first full marathon. Still not sure what possessed me to do that, but it was lots of fun training with Jessica. We were more "acquaintances" than we were "friends" prior to that, but training together made us much closer, and now I consider her a great friend. I don't think I could have done those long miles without her keeping me company!

3. I knocked about seven minutes off of my half-marathon PR when I ran the Rock CF Rivers Half-Marathon in March, finishing in 2:02:57. I didn't go into it with the mindset to PR, because it was "just" a training run, but I was very happy with my time!

4. Jennifer and Angela, producers of the documentary From Fat to Finish Line, came to Michigan to interview me for the film. They were so much fun, and I feel so lucky to know them and call them friends. The interview was just a minor part of the trip--I loved getting to chat with them most of all!

5. I was selected by Fitness Magazine as "Best Weight Loss Blog of 2012", which named me a Fitterati, featured my blog in their magazine, and allowed me to write blog posts on their website. I was very honored to have been selected among all the great blogs out there!

6. I met Mary on a side trip to Chicago. Mary was originally going to be in the From Fat to Finish Line film as well, but she discovered she's pregnant. We had been getting to know each other for about six months, and when I went to Illinois, I really wanted to meet her in person. Jerry and I took the train to Chicago for a few hours to meet up with her.

7. I went on a fun trip to Minnesota with Renee to run the Women Rock MN Half-Marathon. We were only there for a couple of days, but it was nice to get away!

8. I ran the Detroit Free Press Marathon with my Ragnar Relay team captain, Rik--and we had never met each other in person before he came out here to do the race with me! I trained for the whole thing by myself, which was tough; but Rik came out here to run along with me and keep me company during the race. I had a goal to finish under five hours, and I did :)

Also, I loved that my family and friends celebrated with us afterward. My older brother Brian even flew in from Minnesota and surprised me. It was a perfect day!

9. I joined Weight Watchers Online, and started the program September 9th. My last binge of 2012 was on September 8th, so I have gone over 16 weeks (and counting) without a binge! After about three months on program, I'd lost the summer weight I gained, and I reached my WW goal weight. I joined the meetings for the last 5 pounds, so that I can achieve "Lifetime" status.

10. I met Pete Thomas, at-home winner of Season 2 of The Biggest Loser, and attended his boot camp class (which totally kicked my ass!). After the class, he stayed and chatted with me for over an hour, and I learned SO MUCH from him. His book, and his advice, helped me to get back on track with my weight.

11. I finally hit my long-sought-after goal of a sub-26:00 5K time! I registered for a very small race and ran my butt off to finish in 25:44. I was thrilled :)

12. Lastly, and most exciting of all for me, I reached my ultimate GOAL WEIGHT!! This was the first time in my life I have ever reached goal weight. It was so very exciting to officially be in "maintenance" mode.

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Some fun facts about 2012:

• I ran 1186.5 miles in 2012--a total of 200 hours, 5 minutes, and 42 seconds. 
• My longest run was 26.74 miles (the Cleveland marathon).
• The month that I had the highest mileage was April, with 137.3 miles.
• My average pace in January was 10:08/mi; in December, it's 8:58/mi.
• My average pace for the whole year was 10:08/mi.
• I burned 121,000 calories from running... that's equivalent to nearly 35 pounds of fat!
• The food I consumed the most of was probably peanut butter, once again; followed closely by grapes.
• My most memorable meal was an amazing sandwich called the Turtle Pizza Roll Melt at Melt restaurant in Cleveland.
• My current favorite breakfast is oatmeal with caramel, coconut, chocolate chips, and peanut butter.
• My current favorite lunch is an omelet with bacon and cheese, with a ton of grapes on the side.
• My current favorite evening snack is a glass of red wine and a Dove Promise (dark chocolate).
• The thing I am most looking forward to in 2013? Meeting my Ragnar Relay team in Miami, THIS THURSDAY!

Want some motivation going into 2013? Make sure you read the comments on this Facebook post! I'm going to start a series on Mondays, called Motivational Monday, where I will post all of the accomplishments/bragging rights of anyone who'd like to share ;)

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