Sarah's struggle

Last night, I learned that my friend Sarah passed away after a long battle with melanoma.

It didn't really hit me at first. I think I was just in shock, because the last I heard, she was still fighting a good fight. She was diagnosed with stage 3C melanoma three years ago, and it was a long, grueling battle for her.

I first met Sarah when I moved to Newport the summer before 10th grade. My next door neighbor, Allison, who was also in the 10th grade at the time, had a group of friends over and invited me to meet everyone. That group ended up becoming my close-knit group of friends throughout high school.

From the moment I met her, I really admired Sarah. She was gorgeous, very funny, outgoing, popular with everyone, and could make anyone laugh or smile in any situation. I had switched schools when I moved, and at my previous school, I was a nobody. When I first met Sarah, I never dreamed she'd be friends with me, but we started hanging out during and after school, and we became very close friends.

Sarah is the one who introduced me to the locally-famous casserole-style mostaccioli at Detroit Beach Pizzeria--I attribute at least 10 pounds of high school weight gain to that dish! Sarah is the one with whom I had my first experience with alcohol (I still can't look at a bottle of Sour Apple Pucker without gagging!). Despite being teenagers, Sarah and I shared a love for Elmo from Sesame Street--we each had a collection of Elmo stuffed animals. Sarah was the first friend I told when I had my first kiss, at 16.

In high school, I was embarrassed of my weight, as always, and when Sarah wanted to lay out in the sun in bikinis, I lied and said I didn't have a suit; she gave me one, and I said it would be too small. She assured me it was too big on her, so I tried it on. After she saw that it fit, she said, "I lied! It's not too big on me. You're the same size as me. You look hot!"

Sarah is the one who introduced me to thrift store shopping. We loved to go on half-off day and find some very... erm, interesting... outfits. Sarah taught me to be bold, and not care about what anyone else thought of my clothes or my hair--just to have fun and be silly sometimes.

I have NO idea what we were thinking with those baggy clothes!

I remember Sarah and I going to visit one of our (male) friends in the hospital after he'd had a minor surgery, and he was sleeping. Sarah had the funny idea to whisper sexy things in his ear to see if we could get his heart rate up on the monitor!

Sarah introduced me to tanning beds, and we used to go tanning together in the evenings sometimes. That was before we knew just how bad it was for you. Now, it's a bittersweet memory--we had fun tanning, but knowing that it contributed to her cancer and death makes me feel awful.

Sarah became pregnant during our senior year of high school, and after graduation, we went our separate ways. I went to a university, while she got a job and had a baby boy. She ended up marrying the father of her baby, and just before I became pregnant with Noah, she had another baby--a girl. She was a fantastic mom; one of those "cool" moms that her kids would never be embarrassed to be seen with ;)

When my kids were a little older, we got together for playdates a few times, and it was always nice to catch up and see what was happening in each other's lives at the time. She divorced her husband, and was a single mom for the last several years, not getting much help from him. Her cancer diagnosis was tough--after her initial surgery, she wasn't able to work anymore.

I went to visit her in the hospital about a year after her first surgery, and she was the same old Sarah that I remembered. SO positive and upbeat, and I was really happy to see her. Even as her cancer progressed, and continued to get worse, she stayed positive and hopeful.

So yesterday, when I heard that she'd lost the very long battle with cancer, I was definitely shocked; but it didn't really hit me until I was running this morning. I had an awful pit in my stomach, and I couldn't even make it through my run. Sarah was way too young to die, and her kids are too young to be without a mom.

For the last few years, Sarah was on a mission to get the word out about just how bad tanning is for your body. Sarah had no family history of melanoma, and her doctors told her the cancer was most likely from tanning. Her cancer started as what looked like an innocent mole on her calf. No matter how good you may think you look with a tan, it is not worth the risk of getting skin cancer! It's an ugly and extremely deadly disease.

When Sarah was diagnosed, it really hit home for me--since we used to tan together, it very well could have been me who'd gotten cancer. I'm pasty-white now, and I honestly don't care how much thinner or better I'd look with a tan. I started using sunscreen religiously when I learned of Sarah's diagnosis. I even took my kids and myself to the dermatologist for a skin cancer screening, so that if something pops up, we can catch it early. I urge anyone reading this to do the same. If there is any good to come from Sarah's struggle, I hope that it will be to have saved someone else from going through it, too.

But for now, I am happy that Sarah is finally at peace after fighting so hard for so long. It goes without saying that she will be dearly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing her.

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Meet Colleen

Just five weeks from today, I'll have crossed the finish line of Ragnar SoCal with my Strangers to Sole Mates team--I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by! Over the past several weeks, I've been slowly introducing my teammates, and sharing their stories of how they became runners. You can read about Caitlin, John, Thomas, Paige, and Dean on their posts. Today, I'd like to introduce Colleen.

Colleen is going to be bringing up the rear of the 200-mile race, as she is Runner #12. It's kind of funny... when I asked Colleen to join our team, I knew absolutely nothing about her, except that I absolutely loved the photo she sent in for Motivational Monday:

That picture made me laugh out loud every time I looked at it. How can anyone NOT want to be a runner when looking at the joy on Colleen's face in that photo?! When I was going through emails to find potential team members, I sent John a text that pretty much said, "Based on her photo alone, I think we should ask her! She looks like she'd be tons of fun in a Ragnar!" And now, having gotten to know her online as we get ready for the race, I can see that I was correct. Colleen is very funny and witty, and my only regret is that she's not in Van #1 with me! ;)

Here, Colleen shares a little about herself and how she got started running...

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Hello! My name is Colleen, and I am a lawyer in Denver, CO (originally from Omaha, NE). You may remember me from a Motivational Monday in May of 2013. I ran the Colfax Half Marathon in honor of my boss, who is living with brain cancer. He ran the full while in between chemo treatments. While he has been diagnosed with stage 4 since the race, he recently had an MRI that showed no new growth, which is great news!

I was a chubby kid, and started working out in the summer between 8th and 9th grade after I made Freshman Cheerleading. I was deathly afraid of being a "fat cheerleader," so I worked out a lot and lost a good amount of weight. Since then, I've maintained a 3-4 day a week gym schedule at minimum. Currently, I'm on a 6-7 days a week schedule. I find physical activity allows me to eat "normally" despite a metabolism that doesn't support a love of food. More importantly, physical activity keeps me off anti-depressants and off the therapist's couch. (That being said, I'm a strong advocate for both. Be happy. This is your life, you get one shot). 

In September of 2005, I ran my first 5k. Despite my dedication to the elliptical and group fitness classes, running was hard. The feeling I got from crossing that finish line turned a light on in my brain. I kept running. I had also started my first year of law school, and despite my best efforts and hard work, I was doing average at best. Running was this amazing outlet that gave me the opportunity to see progress quickly and remember that even if I bombed a corporate tax final, I can still run more than I've ever been able to run. All I had to do was show up and put in the miles. In October of 2006, I ran the Chicago Marathon. Crossing that finish line is still the proudest moment of my life. 

In May of 2008, I moved to Denver, and tried to continue running, but struggled with the altitude. I could never get control of my breath and really hated every second of every mile. I would run here and there, but it always felt like punishment. I discovered Turbo Kick, and became obsessed; I found body pump classes as well, so my fitness primarily included high-intensity cardio and strength training. Plus, I live in Colorado--so lots of hiking and skiing. 

I got back into running into September of 2012. I had moved in with my boyfriend (now husband) and found I was just eating a lot and drinking more than was necessary. I started using the Lose It! App just to keep track. I'm obsessed with sweets and thought I was eating healthy more often then not, but the tracking showed differently. Lots of "oh I never have cookies!" cookies. 

I also started getting bored with the elliptical, and broached the dreadmill. I hate running on treadmills, but found intervals made it manageable. I worked it and got better, and then took it to the streets. That same progress high that got me going in 2005 came back in 2012. When my office challenged us to run any length we desired for the 2013 Colfax Marathon, I signed up for the half-marathon and never looked back.

Non-running "things about me" include: I love a good intellectual conversation and will discuss feminism and public consumption of women's bodies until I'm blue in the face, but I'm also obsessed with celebrity gossip and will discuss the Kardashians or any other A,B,C,D,E list celebrity you can think of. I'm watching the Bachelor right now. I am married to a lawyer, which I never wanted; in the "preferred spouse career" category, lawyer would have been dead last. We met in a bar during the last Big 12 Championship Game Nebraska was in. I didn't know he was a lawyer when he asked me about the tater tots I was eating, but it works, and it works well. I like trendy restaurants with farm to table/organic/locally sourced menus, but I also like to make fun of the concept. I like to go out for fancy cocktails that feature gin. I'm a city mouse. I like to walk more than drive and Denver makes that an occasional challenge. I'm a dancer. Whether it's alone in my living room or at da club, I really enjoy to shake my shit. I really like to travel. We went to Peru for our honeymoon, and hiked the Inca Trail. After that we spent a few days on the beach. Every morning, I would get up and run to a pier and back, and spend the rest of the day doing nothing. It was the best. 

I love running. Holy Shit, I love it. And I have bad runs. I have runs that involve me being very familiar with the clerk who works Sunday mornings at a 7-11 on my route. She is so nice to me even though I know she knows I just destroyed her bathroom. I have runs where I walk more than I should, where my body aches, where my knees make their presence known. I have runs where I come out of the gate too fast and hate myself at the end of the race because I could've done better. I have days where I dread pushing the quick start button on the treadmill, but it drives me. There is no greater joy than crossing that finish line, and so I continue to cross it, and come April, I'm crossing it with a whole bunch of strangers from the internet!

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Coconut Almond Butter

Despite the wind chill advisory this morning, the kids still had school. I'm so glad the school isn't being canceled due to the cold temps anymore! Here it is, the last day of February, and it's still ridiculously cold. When I think of March, I think of spring; but we're nowhere near spring right now!

While I was digging through the fridge this morning, trying to figure out what I wanted for breakfast, I found a jar of nut butter that I'd bought a long time and completely forgot about (I know! How could I forget about nut butter?!)

I really wanted to try it, so I made oat bran (35 grams of oat bran cooked in 2/3 cup skim milk), and then topped it with 32 grams of the MaraNatha Coconut Almond Butter. It was absolutely fantastic! I forgot how much I like oat bran, too; it's been a long time since I've had it. The breakfast was 9 PointsPlus, and totally worth it.

I also dug out another oldie but goodie this morning--Ceylon Star tea from David's Tea. The tin was way in the back of the cupboard, and I had completely forgotten about that flavor. I made some after breakfast, and kept thinking, "How did I forget about this tea? It's so good!" I only have enough for 1-2 more cups, so I checked the David's website to see if they still had it. It was on special for 40% off, because they're getting rid of that flavor. It had to be bought in 250 gram increments. To qualify for free shipping, I may have ordered 750 grams... Hopefully I don't get sick of it, because I won't run out until at least 2020!

Today was my long run day, and on this new plan I'm doing, this is what was on the schedule:

-50 minutes at 70-75% maximum heart rate
-8 repeats of the following:
     -1 minute at 5K race pace (90-95% maximum heart rate)
     -1 minute easy jog
-10 minutes at 70-75% maximum heart rate

I was surprised at how much I had to keep slowing down during the first 50 minutes to keep my heart rate under 141. My pace for that part ended up being 10:35/mi. (I had to stop for a minute 15 minutes in, because there was a little pebble inside my shoe). I did the fast intervals at 8.0 mph, and then the jog at 5.0 mph. Next time, I'll have to do the fast intervals even faster, because my heart rate didn't get up high enough.

The whole run was only 7.3 miles, which doesn't really feel like a "long run". But next week, the schedule lists 11, which will be the longest I've done in at least a couple of months.

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Today was the final day of my 10,000+ steps per day challenge! I'm proud to say that I actually did it, getting in 10,000+ steps every single day this month.

Whenever I would read about how it's recommended to get 10,000 steps per day, I never really thought about just how much walking that is. I just assumed that since I'm a runner, I get in plenty of steps; and surely I was getting in at least 10,000 steps a day! But once I started tracking my steps, I couldn't believe how difficult it was to hit that number, even on the days I ran.

The days that I didn't run this month (Wednesdays and Saturdays) were especially hard. A lot of times, I'd end up walking slowly on the treadmill for an hour in addition to the regular movement I got during the day. There were a few days this month that I forgot to check my steps until it was time to sit down and relax before bed, and I was a few thousand short. I walked around my living room and kitchen, and paced up and down the hallway to reach that magic number. I was determined to hit the goal every day!

Overall, though, I'm really glad that I did this challenge. It made me realize that I'm not as active as I thought I was, and now I've gotten used to doing things the long way in order to get in some extra steps. I'd like to continue to aim for 10,000 a day, but I'm not going to do whatever it takes to make it happen, like I did this month! I'm looking forward to my rest day tomorrow, and NOT doing lots of extra walks to get in the steps ;)

Now, for March... I'd like to challenge myself again, to give me something to focus on. My goal for March is to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. I stocked up on veggies today, so now I just have to get creative on how to use them all up!

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My pear tree

I can't believe just how much better I feel after yesterday's Weight Watchers meeting. It's a like a huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders, and it's so nice! Weighing in at WW on Monday has helped me tremendously to stay on track this week. So many times, I thought, "Screw tracking! It's just one snack..." but knowing that I have to weigh in once a week at WW has made me track everything and not go overboard.

Today was another ridiculously cold day. The windchill temp this morning was -15, and I was dreading getting the call from the kids' school saying that school was canceled. But it never came, so they actually had school today. Usually, I walk them to the bus stop in the mornings, but I couldn't bear the thought of going out in the wind like that, so I ended up driving the kids to school.

When I got home, I made breakfast, and I talked to my sister on the phone. She's running her longest-ever run tomorrow! The most she's ever run was a half-marathon, and she's marathon training right now, so she has 15 miles on the schedule tomorrow. I remember my first 15-miler very well, which I ran with Jessica, and it was a fantastic run! Anyway, Jeanie was wondering how she should fuel for the run, so I chatted with her about that for a little while this morning. I'm really curious to see how it goes tomorrow.

Today, on the new running schedule, was a 30-35 minute easy run with strides at the end. Written out, it ended up looking like this:

-Run at 70-75% maximum heart rate for 27 minutes.
-Repeat the following six times:
     -Run 20 seconds at 1-mile race pace
     -Jog 60 seconds recovery

There was no way I was running outside today, so I did it on the treadmill. I wasn't sure what speed I'd need to do to achieve 70-75% max heart rate, so I started with 6.5 mph. My heart rate was too low even after a couple of minutes, so I had to bump it up to 6.7-6.8 mph, and then it was right in the zone. One of the things I like about this heart rate training is that I don't have to maintain a steady pace. If my heart rate gets too high, I lower the speed, and if my heart rate is too low, I increase the speed. It's not as boring that way ;)

Once I reached 27 minutes, I did a 20-second sprint at 9.0 mph, and then recovered at 6.0 (for the first sprint; after that, I recovered at 5.0). I always like seeing the pace and heart rate graphs after a run like today's:

I liked doing the strides at the end; it made the first 27 minutes go by really quickly, because they felt like a prelude to the strides.

A few people have asked me what my heart rate was like when I first started exercising. The earliest heart rate data I can find is from April/May 2011, which was after I'd been running for a year, so it doesn't offer much insight. But my average heart rate then was 160, and currently, it's 145. So as I got in better shape, my heart naturally became more efficient.

I remember my first time using the heart rate monitor with my Garmin, and I was shocked at just how slow I had to go to keep my heart rate in the correct zone. It kept skyrocketing, so I stopped wearing the HR monitor for nearly a year, and then I tried again (which was April 2011). It's hard to get my heart rate to 160 now--I just tried that a couple of days ago, and I had to run a 7:40-8:10 pace to keep my heart rate that high. But I was running a 10:00-11:00/mi pace in 2011 with the same heart rate.

It's kind of frustrating for someone just starting out exercising, when they see really high heart rate numbers. Sometimes a very slow walk will get your heart rate in the right aerobic zone. But as you get in better shape, and your heart gets more conditioned, you'll have to work harder and harder to reach that zone.

I will be so glad to get in my 10,000 steps tomorrow and cross this February goal of my list. Getting in 10,000 steps a day, every day, this month has been really hard! I'd like to come up with another goal for March--something easily defined and measurable, like the 10,000 steps per day goal. I was thinking of making it a point to get in my Good Health Guidelines for Weight Watchers every day, but that would be another really tough goal, and I'm not sure I want to commit to that ;)

Maybe I'll just aim for one of the Good Health Guidelines, like getting five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. I've been getting in a lot more vegetables lately, and I actually used up all that I bought before they went bad. I was really surprised that Eli loved zucchini and summer squash (I just sautéed it in a little olive oil). My kids usually complain about eating vegetables, but Eli really loved the squash.

I "treated" myself to a couple of Asian pears when I went grocery shopping a couple of days ago. They're really expensive, so I don't buy them often, but I absolutely love Asian pears! It's kind of funny that I consider them a treat ;)  Speaking of Asian pears, I forgot to post a picture of the Asian pear tree that my mom bought for me to plant. I've been trying to grow a fruit tree in my yard ever since we moved here 10 years ago, and it's been one problem after another. But I'm hoping this will work out!

I laughed so hard when I saw the "tree", because it looks like it's just a stick pushed into the ground...

I'm not even joking; that's my Asian pear tree. It had roots, so let's hope they held up through this awful winter!

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New Weight Watchers meeting

I am SO glad that I went to the new Weight Watchers meeting today! I was super nervous to go, because of the issues I've had with my local center. Whenever I would have to go weigh in there, I'd get bad anxiety. Today, I decided to try a different center, so I was still nervous, but only because I didn't know what to expect.

The meeting started at 9:30, and I got there a little after 9:00. I handed the receptionist my weigh-in booklet, and told her that I'd already weighed in this week, but I wanted to attend the meeting. She was very friendly, and I explained the situation to her--that I felt very uncomfortable and unwelcome at the other center, and that I would like to switch my WW "home base". She had me fill out a form, and then took care of everything to make the switch, so now I don't ever have to go back to my previous center!

I sat down for the meeting, and was surprised how many people showed up, especially for a meeting at 9:30 on a Wednesday morning. At my previous center's meetings, I only ever saw about 6-10 people show up. Today, there were about 25.

I had assumed I would have to go to a few different meeting times, with different leaders, to find a leader that I clicked with, but I'm sure I found her today. One of the things that drove me crazy about the WW center that I had been going to was that the leaders seemed to make up their own rules to the WW plan. For example, one of the leaders told everyone that if you eat more than two servings of fruit in a day, you have to count each additional serving as 1 PP. That's not a WW rule! Fruit is 0 PP, whether you have 2 or 10 servings. But when I mentioned that I liked to snack on grapes, eating several servings a day, she told me that I need to count those servings, which I knew wasn't true. And I lost weight just fine, thankyouverymuch.

Anyway, at today's meeting, someone brought up eating too much fruit, and I LOVED the leader's response: she said that it's entirely up to each individual person and what their body can handle. Some people can eat tons of fruit and lose weight without problem (like me); others can only eat a couple of servings before it makes weight loss difficult; etc. We just have to experiment to see what is best for our bodies. As soon as I heard her response to that question, I was sold on her.

One of the things that I really liked was that she is doing a challenge for March. We are supposed to take a picture of a clothing item that we hope to be able to fit into by the end of March, and hang the picture on her bulletin board. Then, at the end of March, if we wear that item into the meeting, she'll enter our names into a drawing for some WW stuff. I thought that was a creative idea! I can still fit into all of my clothes (at least I think so!), but a couple of pairs of jeans have gotten uncomfortably tight. So I chose a pair of (non-stretchy) jeans for my goal item. I want them to be comfortable enough to wear to the meeting by the end of March.

After the meeting was over, I went up to thank her and to introduce myself. I explained my situation about switching WW centers, and she was excited to learn how much weight I'd lost. She asked if I minded if she shared that with everyone, and I said of course not. I didn't think she meant right then! She called for everyones' attention as people were getting ready to leave, and made a big ta-da about my weight loss. My face was beet red, and I was embarrassed, but at the same time, it felt good that she was excited for me.

I left the meeting feeling fantastic, and very excited about going back next week. I really wish I had switched centers ages ago; but regardless, I'm glad I went today and gave it a try, because it worked out very well.

After I left the meeting, I stopped at the mall because I had a coupon for free Victoria's Secret panties. I browsed around a little, hoping to find a cute nightie or something, but nothing really sparked my interest, so I didn't end up buying anything.

I headed to the nursing home to see Mark, and stopped at Starbucks to get him a latte. It was 11:00, so at the last minute, I figured I should get him lunch, too. Usually, I pick up McD's for him, but I was hungry, too, and I really didn't want McD's, so I stopped at Subway. I had no idea what kind of sandwich to get Mark, but he's not at all picky, so I just chose the best I could. I got him a soda and chips, also.

Once I got to the nursing home, Mark wasn't in his room. I walked up and down the halls looking for him without luck. Finally, I stopped and asked at the nurses station, and they said he had an appointment with the doctor today, and he'd just left at 11:00. I was disappointed, because I had the food and drinks for him, but I asked the nurse if they could keep it and give it to him when he got back.

So, I didn't get to see him today, but I'll plan on going again Friday. I have to remember to call first, and make sure he's going to be there!

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Heart rate training

As I mentioned yesterday, I weighed in at Weight Watchers, even though I was sure I was going to be over my WW goal weight. I was really nervous about going, and admitting a gain is never fun. But I hoped that going in, talking to the leader, and getting on the scale would make me feel some sort of relief.

There weren't any meetings yesterday, but they had open hours from 1-4 to just go weigh-in. There is only one person in there during that time, but I got there right at 1:00 so that I could hopefully talk to her alone. Unfortunately, she seemed to be having a really bad day, and I left there feeling kind of down.

I talked to my sister in the afternoon, and she suggested I switch WW locations, which I think is a good idea. The next closest center is about 30 minutes away. They have a meeting at 9:30 on Wednesday mornings, which would work well for me, so I'm going to give that one a try. It's a long drive for a 30 minute meeting, but I would really like to find a meeting and leader that I feel comfortable going to when I'm having a tough time.

Anyway, I am happy that I went to weigh in yesterday, and it feels good to be recommitted to tracking and getting back to goal. I had a great day tracking today and yesterday, and it's nice to feel in control :)

Yesterday, I was browsing around online to find something new and different to try as far as my running schedule goes (I'm getting bored with Hal's plan again!), and I came across "Ryan Hall's Half-Marathon Training Plan". Rather than focusing on pace and distance, the plan mainly focuses on heart rate and time... which I find refreshing! It's still five days a week, and not much different than what I've been doing, but with a different focus.

Some of the training runs are a given distance, but most of them are listed in time. Yesterday, for example, was a 30-35 minute recovery run (I switched the runs to different days of the week, to better fit my schedule). The recommended heart rate zone for the recovery run is listed as 65-75% of maximum heart rate. It was kind of fun to forget about pace and distance, and just focus on time and heart rate. I ran 31 minutes with my average heart rate at 72% of my maximum--it ended up being a 10:04 pace for a little over 3 miles.

This is the chart for recommended HR on this plan:

Today was a Steady Pace-Tempo Run: 15-20 min warm-up (65-70% max heart rate), 3 miles @ Tempo pace (85-90% max heart rate), 15 min cool down (65-70%). I wasn't sure what pace to start with in order to keep my heart rate in the "warm up" category. I started at 6.0 mph, but had to keep lowering the speed to keep my heart rate that low, and when I reached the 15 minute mark, I was actually at 5.0.

After the 15 minute warm-up, I bumped up the speed to get my heart rate to 85-90% of my max--which, for me, is 160-169 beats per minute. That was hard to do! I started out at 7.8 mph to get my HR up to the 160's, and then as it got to the high 160's, I lowered the pace as needed. It was a tough three miles, but not all-out effort. The cool down was impossible to get my heart rate low enough, though, unless I walked. I just lowered the speed to 5.0 and jogged at that speed for the whole 15 minutes, even though my heart rate was a little higher than the warm-up.

Anyway, I think it's fun, and definitely something different, to focus on time and heart rate. I'm going to try this plan for a while and see how it goes! That's the fun part about not training for anything in particular--I can try out a bunch of different plans, based on what interests me at the moment.

Tomorrow is a rest day, so I'm going to go to the new Weight Watchers meeting in the morning, and then go visit Mark, because the nursing home is just another 15 minutes from there. My dad saw him yesterday, and said he was doing great!

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Motivational Monday #53

Happy Motivational Monday! I hope everyone is off to a great start this week. I'm so happy that I was able to run outside yesterday, and again today. Today was colder, and a lot windier, but it really did feel good to be outside for a little bit.

After having a very snack-y February, I made the decision this week to start tracking my food again. It's been hard getting back to it, and I was starting to feel out of control; so today, I went to weigh in at Weight Watchers, even though I was sure I was over my WW goal weight. (I was borderline at the beginning of February, and even though I haven't been weighing myself, I could feel that I'd gained).

It was so hard to swallow my pride and go in there, but I'm glad I did. I'll write more about that tomorrow, but I'm happy that the worst is over (the "worst" being weighing in, even though I knew my weight was up), and now I feel good about going forward. Because I was over my goal weight, I had to pay the weekly fee. I'll have to weigh in once a week, and continue to pay each week until I'm back under goal. I'm hoping that will only take a week or two! But I think that having to pay will help me to stay on track and log my food again.

So I guess I can say that I'm proud of myself for weighing in today, even though I knew it wasn't going to be a good weigh in. ;)  Let's see what you've been proud of this week...

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John (co-captain of my Ragnar SoCal team) ran 19.7 miles during Ragnar Del Sol this weekend! He ran with a team called Kilty Pleasures, and had a blast. (John's blog)

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Audrey ran her first timed 5K race on Saturday! She was very nervous about being able to finish, but once the race started, she got excited. At the second mile marker, she just knew she would cross that finish line. She finished in 40:06!  (Audrey's race report)

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Katie was recently going through some old photos on her phone, and she came across one of herself that was taken exactly one year ago, after her first long walk. Knowing she looked quite different, her husband took another one so they could compare the two, side-by-side. She's lost nearly 78 pounds over the past year! Her husband treated her to a run clinic for her birthday in December, and she's been loving it. She done some 5K's, and is preparing for an 8K in May! (Katie's blog)

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Shelley just completed the 2nd Annual Freezin' for a Reason 5K! This was her first race this year, and only her second since May of last year, when she broke her ankle. She was nervous about training for and running the race, because she feared she'd hurt her ankle again, but she did great! She even finished in the same time that she finished last year.

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Amy, along with her mom, just completed their first 10K! They traveled to Disney World to run the Enchanted Princess 10K. During training, Amy hurt her knee, which set her back; rather than not doing the race, she set a goal of 1:45 to allow herself to walk the entire race, if needed. She ended up being able to run about 75% of the race and finish 15 minutes before her goal! She's lost 80 pounds, and is very proud that she has been able to stick to a training plan and to accomplish a large goal like this one. Up next? Training for a half-marathon!

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Congrats, everyone! Don't forget to check out the Motivational Monday Facebook post for some more stories :)

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An outdoor run!!

I went for a run outside today!! This was my first outdoor run in well over a month. Between the kids being home from school, the snow storms, the ice-covered roads, and the -30 temps over the last couple of months, my treadmill has become pretty much routine. I've still been running five days a week, but they've all been on the treadmill.

This morning, I saw that the roads were mostly clear, the temp was in the 20's, and I had 4.5 miles at an easy pace on the schedule... no reason not to run outside. I was so excited to get some fresh air and see if my legs could hold up when there isn't a belt spinning beneath my feet ;)

I had absolutely no expectations as far as my pace was concerned, because I really have no idea where my fitness is at right now. I hadn't run outside in so long, it was hard to tell! But I just figured I'd run at whatever pace felt comfortable in the moment.

It felt so nice to be outside! It was colder than I expected it to feel, probably because I'm so used to running inside right now, but it felt really good. There were a few patches of black ice, but other than that, I didn't have any issues with snow/ice/water/slush. I did an out-and-back route, my trusty favorite, and had a headwind on the way out; which meant a nice tailwind on the way back :)

The first mile or so, I felt a little clumsy and awkward, but the farther I ran, the more my legs loosened up. When I finished, I saw that I actually ran negative splits (getting faster each mile).

I felt SO GOOD when I was done with my run today. I really miss that feeling after running outside. The kids are going back to school tomorrow after their week of winter break, and I am really hoping that I can get back into my regular routine. This winter has sucked so badly, and I'm just ready to get back to normal.

When I got home, I'm not sure what gave me the idea to drive the cats crazy, but I looked up a video on YouTube of cats meowing. Phoebe likes to watch TV, and when I played the video, she was SO into it. Jerry and I were cracking up watching her swat at the TV, so we were playing videos of cats, birds, squirrels, goats, and some other animals. Chandler, Estelle, and Phoebe loved it!

When we came across a video compilation of "screaming goats", I nearly peed myself from laughing so hard. If you haven't seen/heard them, you've got to watch a couple of the YouTube videos. They were so funny! I had no idea how human-like goats can sound.

This afternoon, Jerry had the idea to go to the Gibraltar Trade Center. If you're from southeast Michigan, then you probably know what that is; if not, it's basically like a big indoor flea market. We never, ever go there, because a lot of the people there are, well, how do I put it? The perfect example: right when we walked in today, this guy in his 20's was walking with his girlfriend/wife, and said, "It's so much easier coming here without the kids. Easy as tits!" So classy ;)

Anyway, we walked around there for a little bit, which ended up being pretty pointless. The place was exactly like I remembered. There was one thing that the boys did that they thought was so fun, though. There was a large shallow pool filled with water, and enormous beach balls with a zipper on the side. They climbed in through the zipper, and then it was filled with air and zipped up, and they got to "run" around the pool like hamsters in balls.

The kids stayed completely dry, and had a blast running into each other.

The Trade Center was pretty close to the nursing home where Mark is staying, so we decided to stop by and see him. We got him a coffee on the way, and there were some girls selling Girl Scout cookies. Mark mentioned that he likes the Samoas, so I bought a box of those for him, too.

When we were walking down the hall toward his room at the nursing home, I saw that he was out in the hallway, pushing himself in his wheelchair. I was so happy to see him doing that, and getting out of his room! He was really excited to see us. We stayed for about an hour to chat with him, and then we headed home.

It's been a busy day, but fun. I'm still flying high from my outdoor run this morning :)

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Stair climbing

I'm so glad that my 10,000 steps per day challenge for February is almost over! It's not so bad on the days that I run, but on my rest days, I find it such a struggle to get in 10,000 steps. Even if I feel like I'm moving all day--cleaning the house, grocery shopping, running errands, even going for walks--I have a hard time getting in all 10,000 steps. I haven't missed any days, though!

I have an app called "Streaks: Motivational Calendar" on my iPhone to keep track of my progress. It's motivating to check them off every day that I hit 10,000! I also use it to track binge-free days and a couple of other things.

Anyway, today was a rest day, so instead of struggling all day to come up with ways to get in steps, I decided this morning to take the kids to the rec center for some activity. I planned to just walk leisurely around the indoor track while the kids swam, but once we got there, I changed my mind to try something new.

It's no secret that I have a love/hate relationship with running. I love everything about it, except actually doing it. I've been asked numerous times why I don't find an activity that I love to do, rather than running, for exercise. But honestly, I've tried lots of other activities, and running is my favorite, by far. I'm not a very active person by nature, and I just don't enjoy bike riding, or swimming, or sports. Running has become my go-to exercise, and even though I complain about doing it, I think deep down I actually love it ;)

Anyway, all of this is leading up to the fact that I did something different today that I really, truly, enjoyed! I went into the pool area while the kids were getting dressed into their bathing suits, and while I waited, I started walking up the steps of the bleachers, crossing to the next set of stairs, walking down, and returning to the start.

Once the kids came out to swim, I realized that what I was doing was much more interesting than walking around the track, so I kept doing it. I sprinted up the steps, turned left at the top of the bleachers, walked to the next set of steps, walked down, turned left, and returned to the start--and then repeated that, over and over again. It was so completely simple, just walking in a square--11 steps up, 12 forward steps, 11 steps down, and 12 forward steps. It took about 20 seconds to complete each "square" when I was going slowly, or 12 seconds when I did the whole thing quickly.

The kids swam from 9:15-10:00, and I was doing that the entire time. The sweat was pouring when I was done, but I'm pretty sure that's because it was like 900 degrees* in the pool area!

*Or maybe 75.

I was curious how many steps UP I did, so I timed how many "cycles" I was able to do in five minutes, and I did 14. Since I did it for 45 minutes, that would be 126 times around the square. There were 11 steps up for each square, so that would be 126 x 11 = 1,386 stairs going up. I knew I'd be sure to crush Jerry on our Wii Fit U altitude challenge today!

When I synced my Wii U Fit Meter, I was really excited to see the number. You know what number popped up?

Twenty-nine feet. It said I only climbed 29 feet! If each of the stairs was, say, 6 inches high, then I *should* have climbed 693 feet. Meanwhile, Jerry walked a couple of flights of stairs at work today, and earned 6,287 feet of altitude*.

*I may have exaggerated that number a little, out of bitterness.

I absolutely LOVE the idea of the Wii U Fit Meters, and it has certainly gotten my family to move a lot more than we would have otherwise, but I hope they change it to be a little more accurate. My step count is usually very accurate, but the distance is not (because you can't input your stride length). I always get shorted on my distance, especially when I run. I know I could buy a more accurate gadget, like a FitBit or the new Garmin version of an activity tracker, but I really like the "game" part of the Fit Meters. It's fun to see the map of how far I walked each day, and get awarded with a new outfit for my Mii when I complete a course.

I completed Berlin today, which leaves only one more course... the Tour of Italy!

All the others have ranged from 13 miles (New York) to 133 miles (Hawaii). The Tour of Italy is 653 miles, so it'll take me probably six months to finish that one. That's why I saved it for last. Jerry is only about 10 miles behind me. That kind of blows my mind, because I run five days a week--you'd think I'd have left him in the dust! But he gets in a LOT of walking at work.

I went to visit Mark at the nursing home today. I called him before I left, to see if he wanted me to bring him anything, and he said he would love a burger, fries, and Coke from McDonald's. I made a sandwich and packed that for myself, but stopped at McD's to get Mark's lunch. Mark seemed to be doing really well today--he was a little quieter than usual, but he definitely had an appetite. He ate the whole quarter-pounder and half the order of fries I brought him.

I'm so glad that the chemo hasn't had a negative effect on him at all. He hasn't gotten sick from it, hasn't lost his appetite, or felt unusually tired, or anything. He has two weeks off of chemo treatments, and then he'll do three more weeks of it (just once a week). After that, I'm assuming the doctors will do tests to see how the tumors are--whether they've grown, or if the treatments have shrunk them. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I just keep thinking about how miraculous it would be if somehow Mark's cancer went into remission.

When we found out about his diagnosis, the prognosis was terrible. Without treatment, the doctor estimated he'd live three months. When I think back to our visits in the hospital just a couple of months ago, Mark wasn't doing well at all. He was in a LOT of pain, and his hands were pretty much useless (he couldn't pick things up or grasp things) because of the tumors in his brain and on his spine. He couldn't shift his weight in the bed without crying out in pain, and he certainly couldn't walk.

After 10 radiation treatments, 3 chemo treatments, and a ton of physical and occupational therapy, he can now walk (it's not easy, but he can do it), he can move around in his wheelchair by himself, and use his hands to do anything he needs to. I'm stunned by how much better he's doing in just a couple of months' time. He has so many people thinking about him and praying for him, and it just makes me believe that a miracle is possible. I can't wait until he gets some updated tests!

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Reuben

The wind today was crazy! I honestly felt like I was going to blow over a couple of times while out and about.

With the "spring like" temps the past couple of days, I had a minuscule bit of hope that I might be able to do my long run outside today. The wind was scary enough, but there is no way I'd running on these roads! Check this out:

It's basically just rain on top of slush on top of ice. I love that the snow is melting, but it's going to be a big old mess for a while. Needless to say, I chose to do the treadmill for my long run today.

I got on the treadmill as soon as I woke up, so I could get the run out of the way before breakfast. While I ran, I watched a couple of episodes of Private Practice (I never watched this show when it was on the air; I'm not a big Grey's Anatomy fan, so I didn't think I'd like it, but I like it much better than Grey's!). I set the treadmill at a 6.0 mph for the first 7 miles, and then I increased it every quarter mile for the last 2 miles, just to get it done.

My heart rate stayed at the very bottom of Zone 3 for the majority of the run, and I felt great the whole time. The miles actually went by pretty quickly today! I always love how good I feel after my long run each week.

After my run, and breakfast (cheese grits with a poached egg), I asked the kids if they wanted to go see a movie today. Eli was invited to a birthday party at Splash Universe, a small indoor water park about 40 minutes away, and I had planned on taking him; but when I checked out the prices of admission (for Noah and I), there was no way I wanted to pay that much. It's $32 per person to get in! Eli's admission would have been covered by the birthday party, but parents' admission was not. I didn't feel comfortable just dropping him off for the party, especially considering I don't know the parents of the birthday boy. Since I had to bring Noah with me, it would have cost $64 for me to chaperone Eli at a two-hour birthday party.

I felt bad telling him no, but he was really excited to go to the movies, so it worked out well. We went to see The Lego Movie (the things you do for your kids!! ha) which was just about as good as I expected it to be ;)  The kids liked it though, so that's all that matters.

After debating with myself the other day, I've gone back to counting points. Usually, on my long run day, I like to use my activity points on some sort of treat--almost always on dessert. Today, however, I decided to use them on dinner. I've always loved Reuben sandwiches, and this time of year, corned beef is always on sale. So I bought a corned beef and the ingredients for Reubens--pumpernickel bread, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and Thousand Island dressing.

I know they're traditionally made with rye bread, but when I was a kid, my friend Shannon's dad made the BEST Reubens on pumpernickel, so that's how I make them. I put the corned beef in the slow cooker, which made the whole thing so easy (and my house smelled so good while it was cooking!). The sandwich ended up being 16 PointsPlus, which is quite a bit more than I would normally spend on dinner, but it was the perfect non-dessert treat for a long run day!

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