Ragnar SoCal, Part 3

(...continued from part 1 and part 2)

Once our van was at the finish line, we just had to wait for a text from Colleen saying that she was a mile away. We had some time to kill, so we went to the beer garden to claim our free post-race beer. There, we sat and chatted with a few other teams. The weather was GORGEOUS--perfect for the finish line!

When we heard that Colleen was a mile away, we headed over to the finisher's chute. When we saw Colleen round the corner to the chute, we all joined her and ran the last tenth of a mile with her to cross the finish line. It was fantastic!

Once we crossed the finish line, John got our medals, and told everyone to take one and then put it on someone else's neck. Of course, I wanted to crown John with his medal, and he did the same for me :)

Once everyone had their medals, we took a group photo.

I have no idea how it happened, but Colleen wasn't in this photo. She was in the one that the professional photographer took, but I think she must not have noticed that we stayed for a few afterward.

The whole race was SO amazing. This team, Strangers to Sole Mates, made it such a great experience! Every single one of them has something uniquely fun about them.

We stayed at the after party for a little bit, and then headed to John's house for dinner. John's husband, Ric, went ALL OUT for this dinner party. He'd decorated the backyard and I was stunned when I saw how breathtaking it was.

It looked like it was set up for a wedding! There were even "floating" umbrellas overhead, and outdoor heaters (that pole next to Caitlin in the bottom pic is a heater). It was simply amazing!

Before everyone got there, John pulled me inside to give me Mark's bracelet. I had gotten a mustache-shaped slap bracelet to wear in honor of Mark, and we passed that along between each and every runner from our team along the course. I know that my team did it for ME, which just shows how thoughtful they are.

Ric and Sue, John's aunt, made a delicious dinner--pasta with two different kinds of sauces, bread, and salad; and there was a ton of wine and beer. I sat next to Colleen, and this was about the best picture I took, which wasn't very good!

The food, drinks, and awesome atmosphere made the lack of sleep really start to kick in. I was dead tired by 10:30, and Dean drove us back to the hotel.

I wish I could say I slept like a rock, but that wasn't the case. I drank more than I probably should have, especially considering I was dehydrated and working on little sleep, which is probably why I didn't sleep well. At 4:00 AM, I was wide awake, so I got out of bed and worked on my blog posts.

At 10:00 yesterday, we went to brunch and John's favorite spot--Baja Betty's. They had a brunch buffet and all-you-can-drink mimosas. The food was really good! I had two plates, and a couple of mimosas, and I was stuffed.

Tay had to leave after brunch, and it was sad to say good-bye to her. She was voted "MVP" by Van 2, because, well, she's awesome. The rest of us (except for John) wanted to go to the zoo. That was the one thing I really wanted to do on my trip here. We headed to the zoo and spent the afternoon exploring. We took the Skyfari (I think that's what it was called!) to the far end of the zoo to work our way back to the entrance.

It actually felt pretty hot outside--much more like I expected from California! The weather was great, and we had a good time at the zoo.

After a few hours, I was really starting to feel fatigued. The whole weekend was starting wear on me. We got on the tour bus then, because I think we all just wanted to sit down, and we rode around the zoo seeing a lot of the animal exhibits we'd missed on foot.

We left the zoo at around 5:15, and headed to dinner at a place called The Fish House. The food there was SO good. I got a cup of clam chowder, which ended up being the best I'd ever tasted, and swordfish tacos.

After dinner, we had to say good-bye to Caitlin. She wasn't supposed to leave so soon, but her aunt fell and broke her hip, and needed Caitlin there. It was sad to say good-bye, but I'm going to be seeing her in Boston in a month for Ragnar Cape Cod ;)

Dean dropped Colleen, Thomas, and I off at the hotel. We sat around chatting for a few hours, and went to bed at around midnight. I FINALLY got the sleep I needed! I slept from midnight to 7:00, and only woke up once during the night. I feel really rested for today. Dean and Thomas are going to see the Midway museum, and I think us girls are going to rent some beach cruiser bikes to ride. Should be fun!

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Ragnar SoCal, Part 2

(...continued from Part 1)

I left off when our team was at Exchange #12, waiting for Van 2 to get there. Colleen was the last runner for Van 2, so she was out running while her van was trying to get to the exchange before she did. Traffic was really bad, and they weren't able to get there on time. But Van 1 was there, ready for Thomas to start us off with our second legs. Colleen came FLYING in, at a 7:47/mi pace for her 6-ish mile leg!

Thomas headed out for his second leg, which was a 11.9 miles with NO van support (meaning we weren't allowed to stop along the way to offer water or anything, because the location didn't allow it). We knew we'd have over an hour and a half to get to the next exchange, where I would start my leg. That turned out to be a good thing, too, because the exchange site was SO congested with traffic.

My leg was only 3 miles, so that didn't give the van much time to pick up Thomas and get to the next exchange before I got there. John's second leg was 3.3 miles, so he suggested that I run both mine AND his, and then he would run both of our third legs on Saturday. I loved that idea, because it meant I'd be completely done after that run!

We had forgotten about the fact that Ragnar made a big mess of the SoCal course this year. They couldn't get permission to use a particular area for the race, so instead of rerouting, they had it planned to where Runner #2 would finish the second leg, and then instead of handing it off to Runner #3, like you normally would, we had to drive all six of us to the next exchange, which was miles away! Then, Runner #3 would be dropped off at a new location to start the second leg. It was the only exchange like that, but it was weird and it ended up adding an hour to our overall time, because of traffic.

Anyway, I got to the exchange point to wait for Thomas to hand off to me. Thomas completed his second leg (the longest leg on the course) like a total champ.

I headed out on my three-mile leg in the dark. Thankfully, there weren't any spots to turn, because it was some sort of path, so I didn't get lost ;) My pace was good, at about 9:00/mi. When I got to the exchange point, I wasn't expecting to see my van there, but John told me that we had forgotten about the fact that we had to drive to the next exchange. We still decided to swap legs, though.

We drove nearly an hour to the next exchange point, where they dropped me off to start John's leg. It was a scary leg! It was pitch black, and went through some sort of park. The path had really deep ravines on each side of it, and I just kept picturing falling off the course to my death ;) I tried to get pictures in the dark, but this is how well they turned out...

You can see the reflective vest of the runner ahead of me, but that's about it. I tried to keep up with that person, so I didn't feel so alone, but they were too fast for me. My legs had stiffened up a lot in the car, and my pace was about 9:40/mi.

I was absolutely FREEZING the entire 3.3 mile leg. I was in a tank and capris, which I thought would be just fine for Southern California, but I wished I had my Cold Gear with me. I finished the 3.3 miles without falling into the ravines, and I was done! I handed off to Caitlin, and then got in the van to warm up.

After the rest of the van finished their legs, we handed off to Van 2 at the major exchange, and then immediately headed to our midway hotel. It was almost 1:00 AM. Everyone showered and went to bed ASAP, because we had to wake up at 3:30 AM to leave again. I ended up falling asleep for about an hour, which was enough to reenergize me. John woke us all up at 3:30, and we headed to the next major exchange to wait for Colleen to run in and hand off to Thomas for his final leg.

Once Thomas headed out, we drove ahead to a gas station to use the bathroom and buy some snacks. John was outside, and I was trying to pick out something for Thomas to have for a snack, when Thomas flew right by. I felt awful about missing him, because he'd had no van support for his first two legs! So we drove ahead a little ways more, and then jumped out of the van at the last second as he ran by, so we could at least cheer him on.

Thomas handed off to John, so John was running both my leg and his own, a total of about 6 miles. We decided to have some fun with John by leap frogging him every quarter mile or so. Usually, we would only stop once or twice during a leg, depending on how long it was; but for John's last one, we stopped so much it was a bit ridiculous. Very fun! I started offering Twizzlers to the runners who went by, too.

The scenery for the last legs was absolutely GORGEOUS. Pictures don't do it justice at all. It was right along the ocean. We even saw some sea lions sunbathing on rocks down on the beach.

While Caitlin was waiting to start her last leg, we were so cold. We huddled together to try and keep warm, and especially keep Caitlin warm. Someone took our picture, and it ended up being one of my favorite pictures of the race!

Once the rest of the van was done with their final legs, we were so excited to be done! Van 2's final legs were long ones, so we had a lot of time to kill. First, we leap-frogged Dean for his whole first leg, which was a blast. Dean is so much fun to watch--he runs the entire time with a big goofy grin on his face. He looks so happy the entire time!

After Dean's leg, we ended up going to get lunch and then taking it to John's house. We went to In 'N Out, a burger place that I'd never been to, but everyone else said was amazing. I hadn't had a hamburger in a long time, and it was really good!

Caitlin, Thomas, and I booked a hotel about a mile from John's house, so after lunch, we went to check in. We took showers and rested for a few minutes before we had to pick up John, Hilary, and Paige and go to the finish line to wait for Van 2. When we got to the finish line, I was stunned at how amazing everything looked. The scenery was gorgeous, and there were so many people!

(To be continued...)

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Ragnar SoCal, Part 1

(I typed this post on Friday... I'm going to try and get caught up today!)

The past couple of days have been super busy! It’s probably going to take a few posts to write everything out, but I’m going to try and keep a log as I go, so when I get internet access, I can start posting them. Right now, as I type this, I’m at Exchange #12 of Ragnar SoCal. But let me back up…

Yesterday, I got up bright and early to head to the airport. My flight was at 8:30, and I got to the airport at 6:30, so I had plenty of time to check my bag and, most importantly, have a glass of wine before getting on the plane. I’m a SUPER nervous flyer, and wine definitely helps take the edge off.

Jerry dropped me off, and when I went inside, the line for baggage check was ridiculously long. I waited in line for a few minutes, when a woman who worked there directed me and several other people to go to international baggage check, because there wasn’t a wait. There were only a couple of people in line ahead of me, so I thought it would be a super quick check in.

I don’t know what the problem was, but I waited there for 35 minutes, and the line didn’t budge. I was really starting to worry about even making my flight, let alone get a glass of wine, because I still had to go through security. Anyway, I finally checked my bag at about 7:15, and thankfully, security was a breeze.

I booked it to the gate (which was, literally, the farthest from security it could possibly be). Next to the gate was a bar, so I had a glass of wine. We boarded the plane, and we sat there… and sat there… and sat there, at the gate. Finally, the pilot came on the speaker and said that the plane was only about 10 days old (which I could see—the plane was super nice!), but that they were given the wrong manual for the plane, and they needed the correct manual in order to fly. Yep, that was reassuring.

We ended up waiting on board the plane for an hour and fifteen minutes at the gate! My little wine buzz and completely worn off, and I was getting more anxious by the minute. I had brought a bag of chocolates for the flight crew (something I do for every flight), and one of the flight attendants came by to thank me. She asked if she could get me anything, so I asked for a glass of wine. She asked if I could wait until we were airborne—I really didn’t want to, but I figured I could white-knuckle the take-off while sober ;)

We finally took off, and the flight ended up being great. Not at all turbulent, and I loved having the little TV on the seat back with about a hundred movies to choose from. There was also a flight tracker on it, which was awesome--I could see exactly where we were and how much time was left in flight on a little map:

When I arrived in San Diego, I got my bag and waited for John to pick me up. I was SO excited to see my team! John picked me up, and we went to his house, where I was able to meet everyone but Thomas and Hilary. Hilary was already at our hotel in Huntington Beach, and Thomas’s flight was delayed. We had a snack, and chatted for a bit, and then John and I left to go pick up Thomas. 

Thomas lives in Portland, and he brought us doughnuts from Voodoo Doughnuts! 

Mine was called “Old Dirty Bastard”—a yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, peanut butter drizzle, and Oreo crumbs--right up my alley ;) I ate it before I thought to take a picture, though!

We left John’s house and took our two vans up to Huntington Beach to our hotel (the Ragnar starting line was in Huntington Beach). Everyone was starving after a long travel day, so we went out for our team dinner. When we were done eating, we went to Party City and to the grocery store to get decorations and snacks for the race. We got a little silly in Party City ;)

We had to leave for the starting line at 3:50 AM, so we made it an early night. I was in bed at 10:00, but it felt so much later, because in Michigan, it would have been 1:00 AM. I set my alarm for 3:30, but I was wide awake at 3:00, so I got up and got dressed in my clothes for my first Ragnar leg. Van 1 (Thomas, me, John, Caitlin, Hilary, and Paige—in order of our legs) headed to the starting line. I was so surprised at how cold it was! I was expecting it to be really warm in SoCal, but I ended up wearing a sweatshirt and I was still freezing.

We got our team checked in, took some pictures, picked up our shirts, etc. Van 2 met us at the starting line to see Thomas off. 

Then Thomas got ready for his first leg. We lined up to cheer for him when the race started. They ended up starting our wave 15 minutes late, because they were waiting on some teams. At 5:15, Thomas took off. Then the rest of us headed to the van to go support Thomas.

There ended up not being any spot for us to stop, which was a bummer. We couldn’t even see the runners—aside from it being pitch-black outside, the runners were running on a path, that wasn't visible from the road. We just went to the first exchange to wait. I got geared up in my nighttime running stuff (headlamp, finger lights, vest, etc.) and shivered at the runner’s chute. It was freezing cold! I wore a sweatshirt until it was my turn to run.

There were about 3-4 people who came through, and then Thomas. Since we were the first wave to start the race, I only had those few people to follow. I was worried about getting lost, but I was careful to follow the signs, and my leg was a pretty straight shot (just a couple of turns on the whole 7.2 mile leg).

I was running at about a 9:00/mi pace, but I kept getting stopped at traffic lights, so my splits were in the 10:00’s. I passed a couple of people, including a girl in a grass skirt, and then every time I got stopped at a light, she caught up to me. So I asked if she wanted to run together, and I just slowed my pace to match hers (about 10:30/mi). We chatted, and at mile 7, we were on the lookout for the exchange point.

A van rolled down the window and yelled to us that we were going the wrong direction. We both thought she was just messing with us, because we were sure we had followed the signs correctly. And we saw some runners way up ahead of us by about a half-mile. The girl I was running with called her team, and they said we should have turned. She ended up getting in the van of the people who’d stopped so they could drive her, but I didn’t want to do that (Ragnar rules say that there always has to be a runner on the course, and you can’t hitch a ride). So I just turned around and hoped I’d find my way!

I came across another woman who was going the wrong way, and I told her what was going on. She called her team, who said they’d come find her. We stopped at an intersection and waited there for a long time (my lap pace was at 40:00+/mi at that point!!) I called my team, but we couldn’t figure out where I was or which direction to go. I was so frustrated! Finally, the woman’s van got there to show us the right direction, so we followed them back to the course.

I thought I was really close to the end, so I picked up the pace. Then at mile 8.3, I saw a sign that said, “One mile to go”… I was so disheartened. I slogged along for the last mile, and finally got to the exchange point at mile 9.3 (of a 7.2-mile leg). My average pace was 11:30-ish, with all the traffic lights and then stopping for a while to figure out directions. 

I was glad to get my longest leg out of the way. My second and third legs were only 3.0 and 2.9, so those would be a piece of cake after my first one. While the rest of Van 1 ran their legs, we got out and cheered between exchanges. That’s my favorite part about Ragnar! 

At exchange 6, we met up with the Van 2. Paige came in, and Dean headed out, so Van 1 was done with our first legs.  A couple of days ago, I got an email from a woman named Michelle who is a reader of my blog, and she said that we’d be running right by her house. She offered to let us stop by for water, or bathroom breaks, or whatever we might need. John checked out the logistics, and it turned out that she was only 4 miles from exchange 6—which was perfect, because we’d be done running. 

She’s a teacher at a middle school, so we ended up making plans to go to her school to say hello. I was a little nervous, because I’m always nervous to meet people, but it worked out so well! We went to her school, and the office was expecting us. Everyone was so nice! They took us to her classroom, where we met Michelle and her class. It was a reading class, so we chatted with the kids a little about journaling/blogging, and how it can open up so many opportunities. We stayed for about 15 minutes, and then we headed out. I’m glad we went, because it was so fun!

Michelle suggested a place for us to get lunch, and by that time, we were all ravenous. It was a Mexican place, and the food was fantastic! After lunch, we headed to the next major exchange (#12). It was right on the beach, and such a great place to hang out for a little bit! 

The rest of my van wanted to nap, so I went for a walk looking for an ice cream shop, but I couldn’t find it. I did find a huge flight of stairs going up the side of a mountain, so I decided to earn some altitude on my Fit Meter ;) I went up the stairs once and then back down. This picture really makes it look so small--in person, the stairs seemed never-ending!

I found a nice spot to sit and work on a blog post, so here I am :) To be continued...

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Weight Loss Success Story: How Bonnie Lost 140 Pounds!

Eeek! I leave for San Diego really early tomorrow morning to meet up with my Ragnar SoCal team, Strangers to Sole Mates. I am ridiculously excited! I've introduced nine of my teammates so far--Thomas, John, Caitlin, Hilary, Paige, Dean, Martha, Cat, and Colleen. Runner #8 is Shauntay, but she was feeling a little shy about posting anything about herself, so I won't embarrass her ;)  So today, in the eleventh hour, I'd like to introduce the final member of our team: Bonnie, Runner #10.

Bonnie is very energetic, has a fantastic sense of humor, and a very laid back attitude--all are awesome qualities for a Ragnar runner. The more I get to know Bonnie, the more I like her. I'm excited to meet her in person tomorrow morning! 

I'm not sure how much time I'm going to be able to/want to spend blogging while I'm in San Diego, but I'm sure I'll be posting to Instagram, Twitter, and a little bit on Facebook. I'd like to try and keep up on blogging while I'm out there, so I'll do my best! I'll be home on Tuesday :)

Anyway... I will hand it off to Bonnie to share her story:

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I grew up a skinny and active kid, and was considered a tomboy.  I didn’t play sports, but I was always moving, riding my bike, roller skating, playing hide and seek etc...  I was never diagnosed with ADHD but it wasn’t really a hot topic when I was a kid.  All I knew was I came home from school most days with notes pinned to my shirt telling my Mom I would not sit still and I talked too much. Really, nothing has changed. ;)

I didn’t really struggle with my weight until high school. I dealt with insecurities like most teenagers, but the majority of my friends were petite, so I felt enormous at 5’9” and a size 10-12. Beginning my sophomore year, I suffered from various forms of eating disorders in order to feel “normal”.  My diet mostly consisted of diet soda and cigarettes.  

Fast forward several years, and I gave birth to my beautiful daughter one month before I turned 22.  The day I found out I was pregnant, I put down the cigarettes and picked up a fork. I was 160 pounds when I got pregnant, and roughly 270 when I gave birth. I spent the next 17 years devoting my life to my family and forgot all about Bonnie.

I tried every diet known to man and gained and lost weight so many times.  It was discouraging, and every failure caused such self-loathing. My weight cost me so many opportunities and I was furious with myself for all that I missed out on.

My teenage daughter and I were going on a two-week tour of France the summer of 2011. We have a modest income and this was a huge sacrifice to save and pay for this trip. I wanted to enjoy it to the fullest and not be the “typical fat, lazy American” (my thoughts). I kept picturing myself sitting in those little bistro chairs and collapsing onto the sidewalk.

In January 2010 I learned about SparkPeople through a wellness program at my office.  (This site is how I met both Katie and John). I used the site to log my food and workouts and went from 302 pounds to 160 pounds in 18 months. The trip to France was cancelled by the trip organizer and we were devastated, but I achieved my healthy weight goal.

This June will be three years at maintenance. Maintenance is challenging, and I have to be diligent.  My weight does fluctuate and I just have to remember to be kind to myself and get back on track.  When I slack on the exercise or eat processed foods, I feel like crap. That’s usually all the reminder I need.

Throughout my journey, I went from someone who ate 100% processed foods to someone who eats a plant-based diet.  This former couch potato is now a runner.  To date, I have participated in over 19 races (including 2 half-marathons) with 7 more on the schedule.  This formerly-shy lady is flying to California to spend a weekend running 200 miles with 11 strangers (soon to be my BFF’s). Getting healthy has changed my life and provided opportunities that I never thought possible. 

Everyone’s journey will be different and you have to find what works for you. I have the support of my family, although they don’t eat like me, nor do they run. I’m not a fast runner, and I don’t have exceptional willpower.  What I do have is love for myself that I had lost a long time ago. Now I understand I am worth it and by taking care of ME I am better able to take care of others.

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A run for beer

What would normally be a boring Tuesday (with speed work!) ended up being unexpectedly fun today! My sister, Jeanie, is in town from Illinois, and this week is the peak week of her marathon training (meaning this is her highest mileage week). Yesterday, she had a five-mile run on the schedule, so I joined her for that.

Today, she had 10 miles scheduled. We all know how much I LOVE speed work (yes, that's totally sarcastic), so rather than do 3 miles of intervals, I thought 10 miles of easy running sounded much better. We made plans to head out after the kids left for school.

There isn't a good spot for two people to run around here, so we drove about 20 minutes to the path that I did a lot of marathon training on and parked at the community center. We decided to do an out-and-back route that went to the Metropark where my dad works. The drinking fountains weren't turned on for the spring yet, so my dad brought water with him to leave in his car for us.

It was 48 degrees outside! It felt colder than that, because it was pretty windy, but still--48 degrees! We started running at a very comfortable pace, but I wasn't feeling very good almost immediately. I think it's because I had a cup of regular coffee this morning (I never drink caffeinated coffee anymore, and I have no idea why I thought it would be a good idea). A couple of miles in, I almost told Jeanie to go ahead without me, because I was having a really hard time, even at a slow pace.

Once we got into the Metropark just after mile two, I almost instantly felt better. The pace didn't feel so hard, and whatever was making me feel sick went away. We ran to the building where my dad works, which was about mile 4.3. We drank a little water, and chatted with my dad for a minute, and then we turned around to head back.

The wind was really picking up toward the end, but the run felt good. We had to run about a mile and a half past the car, so we ended up running around the neighborhood where we grew up. We even ran past the house that I lived in from the time I was born until I was 15! It was fun to see how much everything has changed. We got back to the car and felt really good!

Jerry asked me to pick up a tire while I was out, so we drove to the tire place. The guy said it was going to be about a hour until it was ready, so Jeanie suggested we get a Summer Shandy at Buffalo Wild Wings (we knew that BWW had it on draft). Since we ate there yesterday, I really didn't want to eat fried junk again. We decided to ask if Applebee's had Summer Shandy on draft. It was pretty funny, actually--11:15 on a Tuesday morning, and my sister ran into Applebee's to see if they had it on draft. They did, so she waved me in ;)

Beer always tastes SO good after a long run! I've never been a big Summer Shandy fan, but it had been a long time since I tried it. I really liked it!

While we were waiting for our food to come, my Aunt Mickey and her daughter, also named Jeanie, came in. We ended up moving over to sit with them. It was so odd to run into them, especially considering we weren't even at the Applebee's near my house, but it was fun to see them!

The wind on the drive home was crazy. Looking at the weather on my phone, the wind was 20 mph at that point. I could feel the car blowing to the left, and I was actually worried it was going to flip over from the strong gusts. I'm glad we got our run done before the wind picked up so much--when I got home, I saw that the power had gone out for a little while because of the wind! And later, when I picked the kids up from school, the power was out at the school.

Tomorrow, I'm going to Weight Watchers in the morning, and then I'll be spending all day getting ready for my trip. My flight is at 8:30 on Thursday morning... I'm getting really nervous now. The last time I flew somewhere was when I flew to Chicago to surprise my sister in May. The more time that passes between flights, the more nervous I get. I hate flying! But I just keep thinking about how much fun I'm going to have once I get there :)

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Motivational Monday #58

Happy Motivational Monday! I am getting SO excited for my Ragnar this weekend. I leave for San Diego in just three more days! I started packing yesterday, and got all of my running clothes ready for my three legs of the relay. This trip really couldn't have come at a better time. I'm ready for some stress-free time with friends!

This week is off to a rough start as far as my eating goes. After the race yesterday, I had a reuben when we went out to lunch. My sister is in town for a couple of days, so I went for a run with her this morning, but then we took the boys out to lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. Definitely not great choices, but I haven't been bingeing, so I can at least be proud of that this week!

I won't be doing a Motivational Monday next week, because I'll be in San Diego until Tuesday. But if you have something you want to submit, just send it to my email, and I'll save it for the following week. Here are some motivational stories for today--enjoy!

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Ali just completed her first half-marathon! She had been planning to run her first half at the end of April, but her boss/friend suggested that she do a local one a month earlier than planned, and she agreed. Her longest run was only up to 6 miles when she agreed to the race, so she changed her training to include a 7-, 8-, and 10-miler before the big day. She had to walk a little more than she would have liked during the race itself, but she was SO proud to have crossed that finish line!

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Sam is very proud this week that she managed to stay on track in a very difficult situation--she was visiting her parents, which meant being surrounded by temptation and good cooking. She enjoyed the food in moderation, and she even managed to lose a pound while she was there. She's lost a total of 30 pounds since August 2013!

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Julie (in black in the photo) completed her second half-marathon over the weekend, just a couple of weeks after her first! She even placed fourth in her age group, with a finish time of 1:53:19!

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Stacy ran her second official 5K on Saturday, a superhero-themed fundraiser for a three-year old boy, Jack, battling cancer. Her main reason behind the race was to support Jack and his family, so she didn't consider the race course when she registered, and was a little surprised to see that she had to run up a mountain halfway through! Her goal had been 33 minutes, she finished in 36:50--still a time to be proud of, considering the challenging course!

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Meg just ran her first double-digit run! She completed 10 miles in preparation for her first half-marathon at the end of May. She never thought she'd be so excited to run on purpose ;) (Meg's blog) I have to say, I wish I looked this cute after a run!

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Rachel (along with her husband, Gerrad; friend, Maura; and Maura's boyfriend, Billy) completed her first 5K race this weekend! She never imagined she'd be able to run that far. She says she was the slow kid in gym class, who always dreaded the mile run because she was embarrassed that people were going to laugh at her weight or how red her face was. After having lost her sister, who was in hospice care, last month, Rachel decided to put her insecurities behind her and find joy in running. When it felt tough, she thought of her sister's struggles, and she pushed on. Her sister was a big inspiration to her! (Rachel's race report)

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Katie (wearing glasses in the photo) ran her first 5K race! She was hoping for a time under 40:00, and she ended up crossing the finish line in 36:30! She had fun at the race, and the proceeds from the race went to the Kent Center--a program for adults with special needs. She said she received lots of thank you hugs from the residents :)

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Last Saturday, Julie Anna and her mom ran their third 5K together--the Bacon Chase! She credits their awesome 26:02 finish time to a finish line with all-you-can-eat bacon ;) They finished a full five minutes faster than their previous PR, and refueled with about 10 pieces of bacon when they were done.

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Don't forget to read more motivational stories on the Motivational Monday Facebook post!

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2014 Rock CF Rivers Half Marathon race report

I think I'm going to go back to posting in the evenings. I like writing in the mornings when I have time, but some days (like today) are hectic.

Today was the Rock CF Rivers Half Marathon. I hadn't planned to do this race, but my friend Audrey was going to run it for her first half marathon, and when I heard she was going to be running alone, I asked if she wanted some company. She was happy to have someone to run with, and since I had a long run on the schedule anyway, it worked out really well.

I told Audrey I'd meet her at her house at 6:30, so I got up at 5:00 this morning. I was really tired, and it was hard to get up, but I got up and checked the weather to see how I should dress. I ended up wearing my Cold Gear tights, a Cold Gear long sleeved shirt with a light jacket over it, a fleece headband, and gloves.

Audrey had picked up my packet for me last night, and I was really excited about the shirts for this race! The design is so clever... (the CF in the race name stands for Cystic Fibrosis, which is where the proceeds of the race go to).

It says, "They keep you alive"

Even though it was for Cystic Fibrosis, the shirt reminds me of Mark, because he had lung cancer.

Audrey drove us to the race, and we picked up her friend along the way. We got there really early, because we were afraid that parking would be a problem. We went inside and waited around until the start. We lined up toward the back, because Audrey was estimating her pace to be around 11:00/mi. It was absolutely freezing cold while we waited! I couldn't believe there was still snow piled up in spots, and it's almost April.

The race started, and off we went. I hadn't seen or talked to Audrey in a long time, so we had a ton to catch up on. We started off at a 10:30-ish pace, and Audrey seemed pretty comfortable with that, so we just chatted and kept running. Before I even knew it, we'd run five miles. Seeing our pace then, I knew that Audrey was definitely going to beat her goal of 2:30.

The rest of the race went by SO fast. While we were running, someone behind me said, "Hey! You're in my magazine!" (I could only assume he meant Runner's World, and not Women's World, haha!). I learned his name was Ryan.

At one point, we went through an airplane hanger, where there was a band set up... but of course, right as we went through, they were taking a break! After we got out of the hanger, the wind was really brutal for the last three miles. I could tell that Audrey was really tiring out after mile 11 or so, and I tried to keep talking to distract her from the fact that she was running. The most she'd ever run was 11 miles, so the last couple of miles were uncharted territory.

I was trying to do the math in my head to see if she could pull off a sub-2:15 finish time, and I thought it would be close, but possible. Once we hit mile 12, I told Audrey that she could probably run a sub-10:00 mile. She said she really didn't have any energy left in the tank, so we kept going along at around at 10:05 pace. Once we were in view of the finish line, however, she found some energy in the tank. ;)

She finished the thirteenth mile in 9:57, and when I glanced at my Garmin, I could see that she would be able to do it. I told her that if she gave it everything she had left, she'd finish under 2:15. And then she took off "like a bat out of hell" (one of Mark's favorite expressions!); I actually had a hard time keeping up with her at the end! With about 100 meters to go, we were running really hard, and there was a woman in front of us, so we each went around her. We heard her yell, "You bitches!" (in a joking way). Haha!

We crossed the finish line in 2:14:09... more than 15 minutes faster than her goal!

A couple of seconds later, her friend came across the finish line, and we realized that it was Audrey's friend who we'd passed with literally just about 100 meters left! Even when she yelled to us, we didn't realize it was her--we both thought it was just a random stranger who wasn't happy that we passed her. We all had a good laugh about that.

I was absolutely freezing after the race, so we headed back to the high school to warm up and get a cookie. Audrey's husband and son were there to see her finish, and her son gave her a 13.1 sticker for her car :)

I took a Panera salt bagel (for later) and a sugar cookie. They had a ton of different cookies to choose from! I wish I'd seen them all before choosing. We sat down and waited for one of Audrey's other friends, and then we all went to lunch afterward. Audrey's friends were super nice, and I had fun (both during the race and afterward).

It's exciting to run your first half marathon, so I'm really honored that I got to be a part of Audrey's special day! She did better than she even dreamed she'd do, and she had a great race. She's already looking forward to doing another, so I'd say it was a success. :)

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Getting back to normal

Being sick sucks! I've been SO congested for a few days, and it's thrown off my routine. Usually, I'll run even when I'm sick, but this cold has really knocked me down. I haven't run since Tuesday. Wednesday was a rest day, but I skipped Thursday and Friday because I was just too sick. I woke up feeling a little better today, but I'm not sure yet if I'm going to run. Another rest day wouldn't hurt, considering I have a half-marathon tomorrow and Ragnar on Friday!

Tonight is Mark's memorial service. His nephew had him cremated, and they're having a very short visitation and service tonight. My parents, Jerry, the kids, and me are all going up there together. I made a few picture boards out of all the pictures I have of Mark, because I don't think his nephew has many pictures.

My Ragnar SoCal team had the idea to make Mark an honorary 13th member of our team. I found a slap bracelet in the shape of a mustache (Mark's signature mustache!) and I'll write his name on it. Then we'll pass the bracelet from runner to runner along the entire course from Huntington Beach to San Diego. They actually came up with this idea before Mark passed away, but I didn't have a chance to tell Mark yet. Mark was excited for my trip, so I love the idea of making him an honorary teammate.

These are the magnets that we ordered to "tag" other vans with. Dean made our logo, which I think looks awesome!

It's so hard to believe that I'll be almost DONE with Ragnar a week from now. Our start time is 5:00 AM on Friday.

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I finally got my preordered book, Hansons Half Marathon Method, from Amazon. After reading (and loving) Hansons Marathon Method, I was really excited for this book to be released. I don't have plans of doing another full, but I would like to use their method for half marathons.

Since I've been so sick, I've done quite a bit of laying around, and it was perfect timing to get my book in the mail. Once I started reading, however, I was really disappointed! The book is nearly identical, word-for-word, to the Hansons Marathon Method. "Marathon" was replaced with "half marathon" throughout the book, and the training plan is obviously slightly different; but the training plan can be found online.

So, if you already have Hansons Marathon Method, don't waste your money on this book! But if you don't have either book, I highly recommend reading it (either one). Their training plans are unique and very effective. I wrote my thoughts about it here, after using it for the Chicago Marathon.

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I wish I had more to write about, but I've been so sick that I haven't done much of anything the past couple of days. I've been doing well with Weight Watchers. Even with all the emotion and stress surrounding Mark's death, I've only had two bad days out of the past couple of weeks. Jerry and I did our week without alcohol, as part of a challenge in our meeting. One of the other challenges was a week without sweets, and I don't know if I'm even going to attempt that one! Maybe when I get back from San Diego I'll give it a try.

Jerry's back on his regular work shift, so he won't be working nearly as much as he has been the past few months--I'm so glad! He was working on a special project, and that's done now. So when I get back from San Diego, things should be much less stressful and I can get back to a routine. I almost forget what that's like! ;)

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Weight Loss Success Story: How Hilary Lost 64 Pounds!

I had a tough day yesterday, because I went through all of Mark's photos and scanned them into the computer. His family asked me if I had any pictures of him, and I offered to make a photo board for his memorial tomorrow.

With all that has been going on with Mark, the time has been flying by for me. I leave for San Diego in less than a week! I still have a couple of teammates I'd like to introduce before I leave, so I'll share Hilary's story today.

Hilary has overcome quite a bit to get where she is today. I'm looking forward to meeting her in person in just six more days!

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Hello! I am Runner #5 for Ragnar SoCal, and my name is Hilary. I currently run on the sunny Central Coast of California. Being a runner was something I never thought I would do. Sharing my story is a little out of my comfort zone, because I tend to be fairly private with people I don't know, but I am learning that living within your comfort zone can be a little boring. So here's my story--enjoy!

I topped the scale at 240 pounds in my late teens. Many factors were involved with "how I got there"--depression, anxiety, a knee injury which put me onto crutches for months--but there I was.  I did manage to lose the weight in my early twenties. Unfortunately it was through non-healthy, restrictive and unsustainable ways.

On my thirtieth birthday, I was once again weighing in at over 200 pounds--214 to be exact! I knew I had to lose the weight, so I tried the HCG diet. I lost weight quickly, but the highly restrictive menu was not good for me. I felt deprived, sluggish, and very nervous about how it would affect me emotionally and mentally due to my previous history of restricting what I ate. The second I stopped the diet, I gained back the weight--easy to do when you have been eating roughly 500 calories a day! I was back to needing to lose weight. 

The biggest change for me this time was a mindset change. I wasn't going on a diet to lose weight; I was going to get healthy. I quit smoking. I started Weight Watchers as a way to monitor my eating. I loved that I could eat anything I wanted; I just had to do it in moderation. 

I also learned a lot about my eating, including the fact that I was drinking a ton of calories every day! Numerous cups of coffee with flavored creamer, sodas, juice, etc. I cut down to one cup of coffee a day with fat free half and half and brown sugar. I know that every day, the coffee will be a part of my WW points and it's worth it to me. For a solid 6 months I recorded everything I ate--EVERYTHING--and used all my daily points, weekly points and activity points. I didn't go over my points, though. I found what worked for me.

I also started running by using the Couch To 5K program. God--in the beginning, it sucked! But it started sucking less. Soon I was running 10 minute stretches, then 20, then the 35 minutes at the end of week 8, day 3! I didn't run an actual 5k that day--hell no, my pace was too slow. But, I ran for over half an hour without stopping and without dying!

I started running more and farther, and slowly became faster. My first 5k was 46:06 and I felt awesome! I then trained for my first half marathon which ended horribly. I limped the last 5 miles, past my own front door TWICE, but I finished it. I had not trained appropriately, had jumped in too fast and too soon, and my awesome shoes that I bought off the rack were not right for me. I went to the doc the next day, was diagnosed with severe tendonitis and placed in a walking boot for 2 months. 

I could have stopped running then and there. I thought I was not "meant" to be a running, but I went back to running once I was cleared by the doc and PT. The injury taught me a lot. Having your running analyzed for the right shoes is very important. I also learned a lot about stretching, foam rolling and body weight strength training for my legs. I jumped back in with two feet, trained my butt of and complete my second half marathon six months later--bettering my time by an hour!

Running has not been easy for me, but it has been worth it! It would have been easy to quit before it got good and I'm glad I didn't. I've learned that after running a half marathon, my stomach can hate me. I've been heard saying "I used to have pretty feet" more then once.  I've learned that no matter what I do I will never get rid of my running shorts tan lines! But the doors running has opened have been amazing.

I have started swimming again for the first time in my adult life, I have taken yoga and Pilates classes, I have zip lined through jungles, and I have found a love of trail running! I hit my goal weight of 160 just before I turned 32, and have maintained for four months so far. I know that maintenance will be the hardest part, but I have a good feeling that this change in mindset will help with that.  I am also so glad to have found 11 strangers to run across Southern California with and cannot wait to share a lifetime of running journeys with!

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Hilary has just started a blog of her own. You can follow along at The Simply Imperfect Homemaker. 

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