Will's first race!

So this week has been an active recovery week for me. I've kept walking, did my training session on Thursday as normal and then this morning Will and I participated in the Sponsering Survivorship fun run. It was a 2k, so yeah, nothing big but Will's only 5! He was super excited about it. Not me, lol. Honestly didn't want to get out of bed and do ANYTHING. But I did, for him. He kept saying "I'm gonna win, I'm gonna beat everyone. Just like you, Momma, I want to jump walls and go through fire". Ah, my baby has an active imagination. I tried to explain to him that everyone wins this race. Whether you come in first or last, you win. Yeah, he didn't get it LOL.

He took off like a shot at the beginning. My poor Garmin started going nuts because it's used to my slow pace. He started off like at a 7 min mile pace. Dude my legs were going to fall off. I tried to get him to slow down, he wouldn't budge. Kept trying to "run super fast". At about the halfway point he did start to slow down. But when my Garmin beeped at the 1 mile point I saw he had done a 13 min mile. Whew! He was so super happy and, of course, I forgot my camera. Luckily he WAS the first finisher and the lady at the finish line took his picture and is going to post it on facebook. She had him go through the finish line like three times to get a good shot. He was oblivious, all he knew was he was first and he is awesome. And he is, he really is awesome.

One Tough Mudder

That's right! I FINISHED what could be the "toughest event on the planet". Little background on the event that is The Mudder: it is an 11-12 mile obstical course designed by Marines to test every part of your physical fitness. It is not a race, it is not timed. It is a challenge. The challenge is to get through in one piece. Several of my fellow Mudders "died" on the course. I thought of dying on the course myself, it was HARD HARD HARD. OMG SO HARD!

So we drove down to the middle of freakin' nowhere to do this course. I did it with a team from my gym. I told them beforehand that I was NOT going to be rushed and if they felt the need to, they should go on without me. Yeah, yeah, teamwork and whatnot but part of being a team is knowing when YOU'RE the liability. And, to be frank, I was the liability (to put it in perspective, they finished 2 hours before me).

So, even before you get to the start, you jump a wall. My fat ass needed two of my teamates to push me over. Great start eh? Then, after the start, more walls, 8 feet high. After the walls you plunge yourself into a pool of icewater. Would seem refreshing in 99 degree heat. Yeah, no. I wasn't ready for the shock I felt of my body completely freezing. I needed some cute marine to pull my ass out of the ice water. I couldn't move. After that, it went alllllll downhill... and we weren't even 2 miles into it yet! Then twinkle toes, go over a small ledge. This was okish, almost everyone fell into the water below. Then up a mud hill, then the first hill of the day. I told my team to leave me. The "team leader" and owner of my gym was pissing me off anyway trying to "urge" me to go faster. I told him to suck an egg and let me be. He meant well, *Seriously, Adam, love ya to death, I just don't do good with urging* Said he felt guilty, I told him not to. I was already set to do this myself.  So they went on at mile 3. The next 7 miles of hell was a journey alone. Over hills, across a trench, more hills... and more hills! I developed a system of going up the hills by stopping and resting at each sign. Going over the logs were uneventful and that marked mile 6. I stopped, I rested and prepared for the next 6 miles ahead that I knew were going to be the hardest. Stocked up on some energy sharkies as the rest stop and set my mind to the tasks ahead: more hills!

Then under tunnels, they weren't too bad. Up another hill and at mile 7 I thought I was going to be done. I took a good 15 mins at the next rest stop and really faced my mental grit. Down hill was worse than uphill, believe it or not. I took my time, I did not run this course. I skipped the next obstical: tunnels under hay bales. I'm a bit clostrophobic. Jumped over some hay bales,went through some mud, then across a "tight rope", had to skip the next set of berlin walls, I didn't feel comfortable subjecting people to my weight. Then the 15 foot drop into water and a small swim.

So I started climbing up to the high dive and it happened. The one thing that almost made me "tap out". CHARLIE HORSE! WORST PAIN EVER! Two cute marines (see a trend here?) hauled me up and filled my mouth with salt water as well as stretched my cramp out. I looked up at the dude who told me he was an RN, raised my arms in a cross and said "I'm done, tap me out!" He was like "I don't believe you're done". I was whining. Yeah, I know, kids whine. I was almost in tears. I said "I can't do this". He looked me right in the eyes, pointed to the trail and said "You have 40 mins. Is this your first Tough Mudder? Yes? 40 mins, up that hill or you will regret it the rest of your life. You will be kicking yourself in the ass all the way home. You got this. Do you trust me?" "Hell no I don't trust you". "There's one way down so jump or I will push you."

I backed up, took a running leap and jumped. Screamed all the way down and felt relief in the water. Swam to the edge and slugged up the hill. Skipped the monkey bars and the rings, crawled underneath electrofied wires, up another hill, into a swamp of water, under water tunnels, and up the last hill to the second to last obstical. Couldn't get over everest, which was a half pipe. I tried, I smacked my face right into it. Then slugged through the last of the electric wires. They hurt, I didn't care, finish line in sight. I felt euphoria as I crossed under the finish and was crowned with my own orange headband that signified I am, indeed, one Tough Mudder Smurfer.

And guess what? My team was there waiting for me at the finish. Love my City Fitness Peeps!

Got it... I think...

So pretty sure my new routine is working! Second week in a row I've stuck to it! I even ran my first 5k in months yesterday. It wasn't a great run, mostly because, well, I haven't been running regularly. But still better than my first ever 5k, at 39:19. Oh, and guess what? My gym got a rowing machine, I'm so stoked! I spent a good 25 mins on it before punishing my arms even more today. I think if I keep this up I'll be good to go for the half marathon in August. Woo!

Ugh

So tired. I cannot seem to find a workout schedule that works for me. I'm so frustrated. I'm exhausted when I get home from work. I in no way want to work out. So I'm going to try doing the whole get up early and hit the gym thing. We'll see. Going to try it tomorrow.

The Legends Run is on the 14th of this month. I need to get my ass in gear. I'm in no way prepared for it.

Sorting things out

I must admitt I haven't been as faithful to running as I should be. Life just sometimes gets in the way. But I am proud to say that I'm back on track and at least trying to get into a regular schedule. I really didn't feel like running today to tell you the truth. You know those kinds of days, where you're just so bone weary that anything other than a soft bed just isn't your cup of tea. I pushed through it and as soon as I laced up my shoes I already felt that itch. The one that would only be satiated with a nice hard run. So that's what I did. Started out on my regular route, only planning on going two miles. But ended up going three. Which is just right for the training schedule I'm supposed to be on. I even sprinted at the end, getting up to a pace I haven't seen in a while. I think the extra pushes may help me in the long run, just based on intervals and whatnot. We'll see. I'm just glad I felt so good after this run. No headache, although I'm still getting side cramps.

I had gotten the side cramps and headaches worked out about six months ago. But without running for four weeks they have crept back up on me. Nothing I can do but push through them and know they'll eventually go away. All in all a good start to my second half marathon training. I'm so excited, I feel so hopeful I'll be able to complete this second one in record time for me :D

Breaks are good!

So I'm back in the saddle! I haven't ran since before Las Vegas until today. So about 3-4 weeks ago. Wow. Luckily my body hasn't missed a beat. I could definitly keep my regular pace and then some, maintaining under a 12 min per mile pace for over a mile and under a 13 min per mile pace for warm up/ cool down. I have decided that I'm going to use Hal Higdon again for my Santa Rosa half. It's a program I'm fammiliar with and know works. I'm hoping to come in under 3 hours this time.

The reason for my break is twofold. First, I started a new job so I need to figure out when running is going to fit into my schedule. Second, I just stopped working overnights and the change has really messed with my body. I needed to get back into the habit of being a daywalker after being a nightowl for the past 3.5 years. The first week or so was hard, and with my health issues to compound everything I ended up spending a whole week just sleeping. Crazycakes. I feel halfway normal again after being at my new job now for a few weeks :D

As for diet I've been having a hard time coming up with some healthy choices that are also gluten free. The major issue is that I have to plan ahead. I'm not good at doing that. Although I did discover at the store across the street from work they have something called an "all day snack" that has the proper serving of fruits and veggies for the whole day. I like that option :D So I'm really trying here, it's going to take a minute though before I get it all down.

Days of Rest

I feel like I've been sleeping for eternity. The last two days I've done nothing but sleep and I think it's because of how hard I've been working trying to get ready for TM. Tough Mudder training on Sunday, while awesome, made me puke twice. I do NOT want to get in the habit of thinking puking is cool after every session. I do, however, want to continue to hit it as hard as I possibly can.

I don't want to slack and have been already looking into the facilities where we will be staying in Vegas! Will's first race is on Saturday and I'm super excited about it. Looks like Rick will be going with us so I might just go ahead and enter the 5k although I don't think I'll do well. We'll see :D

The Cowardness Continues

Yes, I know you're stalking my blog. Good, maybe it'll help you out because you certainly need all the help you can get. You know who you are. Feel free to comment any time, dare you to actually have an intelligent conversation.

Anywho, having some body "downers" today. Probably because I dared to get a swimsuit that's meant for a teenager. I probably should have gotten an old lady suit. I did a "reality check" and compared side by side pics from around January 2009 (when I was first starting to feel REALLY good about myself) to show myself that I don't look much bigger. I think I'm just anxious because DH and I are going to Las Vegas in less than two weeks (impromptu trip to renew our vows!) and I want to look and feel my best. I don't want to look back like I do on my wedding pics and think "Holy shit I look like shit". I think a spray tan will help LOL. DH says he loves the suit, though. Maybe after my spray tan I'll have the courage to post the pics!

Had a great Zumba session today at Pulse. The instructor there is beyond awesome and really makes sure you're getting the workout that you're putting into it. I even bought tickets to the master class on Saturday night. Really need to get my butt in gear. I'm diving right into half marathon training, mostly because my endurance is lacking and I don't have the time to get it up gradually before the August half. Sunday starts Tough Mudder training at the gym. Woo whoo! Really trying not to make any excuses for fitness!

The Problem With Being Fit and Fat

Is that people can't stand it. They can't stand it when you are confident enough in yourself to announce "I'm a fatass and I love myself!" There have been a few key people in my life who have projected nothing but negitivity at me. I wonder if they realize that the negitivity stokes my flame and makes me that much tougher. That it keeps me going and feeds my energy to keep doing what I'm doing. Does it bother me when I'm called names? Absoloutly. But it inspires me to continue to prove people wrong. It doesn't take a genius that you can't run a half marathon and not train. That you can't have the energy to work out if you're eating like complete crap. I'm an open book here. I will answer any question honestly. Those who refuse to recognize this only make themselves look stupid. Just do me a favor, have the ovaries to say it to my face. When you talk behind my back, all you do is show that you're a coward because you already know you're wrong, especially when I've already confronted you about your bitchassness.

Why I'll Always Be Fat

This is the first time I'm making this public. I'm going to try to make it short and sweet. I went to see an Endochrinologist about two months ago to figure out why I have been trouble losing weight. The results: my kidneys are acting up and not processing water properly. To add to that my levels for estrogen are low. We knew this because I have no ovaries. And guess what? Without proper homonal blanace losing weight is impossible. Soooooooooooo I started estrogen therapy two months ago. After two months of estrogen therapy my body is not responding. So that's the short of it in case anyone was wondering. I have a severe hormonal imbalance and my kidneys don't work right. Luckily I did find out today that my kidneys aren't so smurfed up that I have to go on dialysis or anything... yay!

So now... I will only be focusing on being fit. I will focus on Tough Mudder, I will focus on my next half marathon coming up in August and my full in December. If anyone has a problem with that they can go smurf themselves. I'm sick of the stereotype that you have to be thin to be fit, it's not true. I may not be fat and happy but I could still beat most of those problem people's ass on a race course.It's situations like mine that get me fired up about fitness. You don't have to be a size two to be fit. I wish people would think before passing judgement on others.

Your Kids Watch You

Seriously, they do. My son is almost five and he wants to do everything that I do. Today it was leg stretches. I use a strengthening band to stretch my legs out so they're not so tight and he wanted to do the stretches right on with me. It was so cute. But it got me thinking: if he's watching me do this what else is he watching me do? Children are great mimics. I so wish for my son and daughter a healthy lifestyle. I am careful of what I eat, I hope that they are too when they get older. I exercise almost every day, I hope they pick that up.

As an adult it is so hard to change what you grew up with. In my case a mostly sedentary lifestyle. After high school I continued with that mostly sedentary lifestyle and blew up fast. I recently found some photos of myself and they're not pretty. I look so bloated and I know I didn't feel well at all. I'd huff and puff just going up the stairs. I don't want that for my children. What originally inspired me to lose weight and get active was William. After I had him I was around 220lbs. I was sluggish, would tire and get out of breath easily and I couldn't play with him. When I started feeding him solids I took a look at my diet and thought "I don't want him eating this crap so why am I?" So I changed, for him. So he'd have a mommy who could run and play with him. So he'd have a mommy who was healthy. And now I still do it for him, so he'll see that mommy is active and he should be too.

Zumba Zumba Zumba

So I totally get now how Zumba can be addictive. Not just because exercise is addictive in and of itself, and I obviously love to run, BUT the ENERGY that comes from the room is just beyond. I went to the Zumba Master Class last night and it was AWESOME. An hour and a half of Zumba and I was soaked in sweat and feeling great. The guest instructor, LaToya, was so full of life. She smiled the whole time, it was awesome. The buzz, the sweat, forgot I was exercising for a hot minute. I'm not the most graceful thing on the dance floor but I do try. There are always moves that I can't do that I modify. But you know, it's all about having fun and doing what you like. Nothing else matters. Don't worry about what other people think. If they're staring that hard they obviously either are admiring your spirit or have major issues of their own to worry about.

Second to Training... Equipment is Everything!

Before I started getting serious about running, last year sometime, I didn't really put much thought into my "equipment" for running besides my shoes. While shoes are very important I have come to find having specialty clothes exclusive for my running makes a large difference. As the distance I've gone had increased so has problems I've heard runners frequently encounter. Luckily I haven't had too many of the more nasty issues like toenails falling off, but chaffing is a real issue. AKA chub rub. Another issue I've had with "regular" clothes is the constant pulling and tugging that I used to do to keep my clothes down and covering my bouncing flab. Yeah, it's not attractive to have half my stomach in all it's glory. I'd rather have it covered, thanks, no wardrobe malfunctions wanted!

Above all, though, I would want other runners athletes, and weekend warriors to find what works best for them. What works for me may or may not work for you. But I hope this list is helpful to others who are looking for somewhere to start.

Bases

The most basic is what you actually wear. What I would wear on a training run is the same I'd wear out to a race. Namely I've come to LOVE running tights. I originally was a little hesitant about having a raging camel toe but it's not too bad. Yes, they're tight and with tight comes some spillage but it's worth it for the comfort. I like the Adidas Capri running tights. I like them because they hug and they don't slip down while I'm running. Since I have a dunlap (you know, when your stomach dun lapped your pants) it's pretty important to find something that will stay up while I'm running.

As for shirts I actually like plain t's. I get a little chaffing under my arms with them but it's worth it IMO. It's hard to find wicking fabric shirts that don't ride up while I run. Nike's pro sports ones come close but they show every last drop of rolls I've got. Yeah... so for races I like "inspirational" shirts. My favorite that I wear a LOT says "Strong, Beautiful, ME". I'm sure if you've been on my facebook page or know me in life you've seen it. Other than inspirational shirts I like the walmart Danskin Now yoga line for shirts. I wear a sports bra underneath but I like to look somewhat cute when I run. Well as cute as a hippo charging after you can possibly look.

As I stated before shoes are of the utmost importance. I haven't really gotten into minimalist running although I'm starting to. You want to make sure that your shoes are flexible and can bend when you bend them. Shoes that do not bend when you try to fold them in half are too cushioned for runners. Although I'm sure there are many runners who uses as my friend calls them "Cushiony beasts" they don't promote proper form. I like Nikes to run mostly. Although I have used both New Balance and Sauccony. Go to a running store and have them evaluate you for shoes, this will be your best chance to get the best fit for your stride. My next step will be to try vibrams 5 fingers or the Skeletoes. I haven't gotten that brave yet!

For the ladies bras are pretty important. Don't want to get a black eye. Now I'm not very well endowed so I have a lot more options out there than many others. But to keep it brief I like two kinds of bras. Either the Danskin Now high impact sports bras that zip up the middle OR the Adidas sports bras for high impact. I like those puppys to stay in place!

Extras:

Anything other than what I've already explained are "extra". They're nice to have but definitly not essential. I love head wraps. I use the Nike sweat bands. They keep my hair in place and sweat out of my face!

Socks can be pretty important as well. I like the Adida's brand for socks they kind of grip in the middle so your socks don't come falling down!

Now I went for a while on the search for the perfect earbuds that weren't going to cost an arm and leg. The ones I've found work the best you can get from Walmart (I'm sure you have found out by now I like Walmart HA!) They're Philips brand and they have earhooks. About $17 at walmart!

My parting advice here is to do what works for you. If you're lost in the woods use what I've outlined as a base but don't be afraid to try new things. Every body and running type is different. So branch out, try something new, and you may find your runs to be a bit easier!

Harder... Faster... Stronger...

Great run today. It was still quite wet so I didn't go to the playground. But I will this week. So I completed week 1. I think I'm going to skip to week 3 or 4 because I felt quite strong after the typical pain ended. You see I get pain in my legs up until the 3rd mile or so and then it stops and I can go on pretty strong. Today it only lasted until, perhaps, the first mile. After that I felt great and even bumped up my "cruising" speed a bit. I'm getting faster on the shorter runs. I'm sure my soon for a 5k I'll come in under 35 mins. My goal eventually will be sub 30. That'd be sweet.

I'm going to start taking my son on my walks because the next race I do there's a kiddie race. It's a 1/2 k. The plan will be that I will take Maggie along in the stroller for the 5k race. Will's excited so I want to make sure he can do it competitively.

Rest Days Are Cool

Today was a rest day... well rest from running anyway HA! When you have a preschooler and a toddler no days are for rest. Haven't been able to get to the gym once this week. I went back to work and my work schedule sucks. It won't be for long though as my last day is April 12th. Hopefully everything works out well for scheduling after that. If not, at least my gym's open 24 hours! Something I'm definitly going to have to utilize soon.

I found an awesome playground that will help with my Tough Mudder training. I'm going to go check it out tomorrow if it's not too wet. Either way I have a "long" run of 2 miles tomorrow according to my training schedule. Unlike before, though, I will not be counting my warm up walk as part of the 2 miles. That just doesn't seem right since before my half I was doing long runs 5 miles and up.

I... Was... Run-ing

Seriously, though. Maybe I just needed to be back on a program but my running legs have returned to me. Sweet baby Jesus I was running at a good pace too! Started Jeff Galloway's 10k plan yesterday. It called for a 20-25 min run. I'm not going to lie I psyched myself out by telling myself I was a pussy if I couldn't complete it (Yep, called myself a cat). So I set Bunny, my beloved Garmin watch, and went off. I reset her after my walking warm up was complete and told myself "20 mins, I can do this". And I did. And that was that. Awesome. Good pace, did a little over 1.5 miles at a 12 min/ mile pace. That's about a minute slower than my race pace so I'm on track. YAY.

I can't tell you how beyond happy I was to not have to walk any of it. This week's cross training is Zumba. The lady at the Zumba studio actually had a nice conversation with me about my diet. It was so nice to have someone sit down with me and comb over everything. She suggested "shocking" my system by changing everything. So I have. And it's "worked" I've noticed quite a bit of water weight coming off. Although I'm focused more on health than size it's nice to see that there are always areas where I can improve.

Running er.... Walking my way...

Whelp it's official my endurance is SHOT. I went on a long "run" today of 4 miles. I walked most of it. I think part of it is I really am tired and part of it is no inspiration. I have nothing keeping me on track right now. I can barely run a mile. Which is not like me at all. So I'm hoping that the 10k training program will get my fat butt back on track and will inspire me to continue to run.

I did a lot of introspection today. More coming to terms with the fact that I am fat, I am in menopause, and there's not a damn thing I can do with it.

I've been overweight my whole life... even at my lowest weight around 140 I was still in the "overweight" catagory. I've been feeling kind of down about my weight lately because I haven't been able to shave any pounds off in like a year. But then I have to remind myself of where I came from and know that where I am now, even at the same weight, is a better place than where I was. It's been 4 years since I started my journey and I have been able to keep off over 50lbs! I'm at the point now where I'm not too worried about weight and am focusing on fitness goals. Such as running a marathon at the end of this year.

I guess my point in all of this is that you can stay at the same weight for a year or more and still be in a better place. That weight isn't the end all be all. I started couch to 5k last year. I never dreamed that I'd be able to complete a half marathon less than a year later. Don't let that scale get ya down ladies! Remember that you're doing awesome just by having the mindset that you will make healthier choices

The Two Week Wait

So according to Jeff Galloway one should rest one day for every mile ran in a big event before running hard again. For me that would be 13 days, almost two weeks. That time is OVER as of today! Yesterday I ran with my husband's cousin. Let me tell you that was a challenge. Two things: He's male with long legs. I'm female with super short ones. Not a great match up but still an enjoyable run. I just had to remind him to go slower. My comfort zone is a 13 min mile pace. On a good day it's 12. He wanted to go like 10. Yeah, challenge. Ended up walking a lot. I did like the company, though :D.

So next week big changes coming up! First, I'm going back to work after being on medical leave for three weeks. Second, I'm starting the 10k plan. I still have my half marathon plan hanging on my oven. I just don't have the heart to take it down yet.

Staying on track!

Day numero dos of going to the gym this week. I had an excellent workout, really cycled through things today, upper body and cardio. It's finally raining here so I did my two miles on the treadmill. I really don't like the treadmill but I'll take it over pouring rain. I hope it lets up a bit so that I can run outside this week, which is what I prefer.

Some days I find it frustrating, the struggle to stay active. There's really no visual incentive here to do so. I'm still the same weight I have been for a year. Not a single pound lost. Although I have gone down two sizes... I guess that's a plus. Weight loss to me has been such an issue this past year or so. After being able to drop 80 lbs after my first son it's maddening that I cannot drop these last 20 or so pounds to get back to where I was before. But I keep trucking, keep making those fitness goals and hope for the best. Obviously the hormone replacement therapy my endochrinologist has me on isn't helping in the weight loss department, we'll talk more about it when I see her again in a few weeks.

I think at this point what's the most frustrating is that since I'm not exercising for weight loss it's still assumed I am. I am not. I'm doing it because it feels good. I do it because it makes my body strong. I hate that I will always be taken for a stereotypical overweight person. Someone who busts ass at the gym just to go home and potatoe chips *stashes the brownie behind the computer*. I hate that as a person of larger size it's assumed that I SHOULD be exerciseing and SHOULD be ashamed of how I look. In most ways I am absoloutly not. I'm a strong, beautiful, resourceful woman. No one should be allowed to tell me otherwise. No one should make anyone ashamed of themsleves for their body size.

For the Long Haul

I'm doing pretty awesome. Had a great 4 mile run today. My recovery has gone swimmingly and I am so glad that my body can bounce back as well as it has. Gives me hope that I can continue on without any bad repercussions. I've been very lucky in the sense that I have not had a single injury since I started running. The worst thing that's happened is that after the half I was exhausted and sore.

Tomorrows a day for weights and I'll be meeting up with my buddy in the morning. She said she wasn't much of a runner but since we are doing Tough Mudder in September I'm going to print her out a couch to 5k program. Not that she's couch ridden but because it's one of the most effective ways to get started with running. Speaking of programs, next week I will be starting a new one. I've chosen to step down a notch and do the 10 k program from Jeff Galloway. I will then do the half marathon for intermediate from Hal Higdon. I figure this is the best way to give my body some rest while also keeping up my miles.
http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/5k.html

That Look On Your Face

Priceless. So I WAS looking forward to the professional pictures from the sports photography people. Yeah the two I was in are shit. See that horrid look on my face?

I think what kind of makes me mad is that I saw the dude with the camera, waved, smiled, paused so he could take it and he just chose not to. Annoying!

Anyway I did some circuit training with another woman who is going to do Tough Mudder with my gym's team. Super sweet woman, helped me a lot. See, the thing is for all the running I do I do not like strength training at all. But she showed me how to mix it up and I got an awesome workout in! I like that I found a workout buddy!

Another Easy Run

2 miles today! I felt awesome the whole time and I incorporated hills into it. The back of my knee hurts a bit now but I'm glad that I went. I also managed to get a blister on top of the blister on my big toe. Yay me. I'm trying to change up my eating habits and make them better too now. Cut the carbs a bit, increase protein, etc. I really want to be back down to a size 8 by summer. I'm a 12 ish now (depending on the cut a 14). So I bought a food scale and a real scale and am going to try to be more vigilant about my diet.

No Zumba tomorrow :( Going to be out of town but I did find someone, well two someones who may be good workout partners. One of them is doing Tough Mudder on my gym's team and she said I could join her and her friend during their morning workouts. I'm really looking forward to exercising with them tomorrow.

Another day of rest

Tuesday = a day of rest. Well, at least from exercise. I went to the children's museum in San Jose with my two kidletts and a wonderful mommy friend of mine. I think I got more of a workout chasing them around and driving 8 hours round trip. I reflected a bit on my running and my nutrtition during this trip. While on the surface it only benifits myself, I realize that my children are picking up my habits and I want them to be good ones. Drinking water, eating healthy-ish, and being active are things I want for them. Sometimes I feel as though I had to change my whole self to fit in an active lifestyle because while my mom sure did try it wasn't something that was a "normal" part of my life growing up. Junk food was a norm, lazy days were a norm, "easy" food... Don't get me wrong my mom put us in gymnasitcs and during my senior year we even worked out at the gym together but I feel that perhaps the emphasis was not on making it a lifestyle but rather exercise was only for weight loss and nothing else. I overheard my mom tell my gymnasitcs (btw, I freakin' sucked at gymnastics!) coach that she noticed I was losing weight. It made me feel as though that was the only benifit.

I hope my kids know that exercise is for fun too, as part of an overall lifestyle of healthy living. We'll see. I'm not perfect. I feed my kids nuggets some days ;)

The First Run

So today was recovery run day. I will be doing shorter runs for the next two weeks in order to give myself plenty of time to recover. So today's was almost 2 miles pushing my daughter in her stroller. I'm reminded of why I started running to begin with: so I could take my little ones with me. I'm also reminded of why after I started running the first time around why my arms looked great: stroller pushing! Unfortunately my newest little one does not have the running bug like Will does. So stroller runs will be few.

I also did some stretching today. Pilates is awesome for getting the kinks out. My legs feel a lot more "free" I am one of the few runners, though, who have not braved the foam roller. I can't seem to get the hang of it :/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/127333-pilates-stretch-band-exercises

The Day After

Oh.My.God. SORE! SORE! SORE! At least when I woke up I felt like I got hit by a mac truck. Didn't help that manchild decided to kick me out of bed at midnight and I didn't have the wherewithall to tell him "no" last night. So couch it was. Spent today recovering. Took an icy bath (just cold water, no ice), felt much better! Sat with my feet propped up all day watching David Tutera. Contemplating my next tattoo... an apple sitting on an apple blossom with the numbers 3.1 and 13.1 on the petels. I'll save the middle of the apple for 26.2 ;).

For those who don't know what the apple symbolizes I'll tell ya: The Goddess Atalanta, the goddess of running. See her dad wanted her to get married but she didn't want to. So she told him that the first person to beat her in a foot race would have her hand. Many tried, many failed. Then Melonion came along and asked the goddess Aphrodite for help. Aphrodite gave him golden apples to throw at her and during the run he threw them and she'd run after them. So he won, and she married him. That's the jist anyway.

Plans for the next week: will do some exercise tomorrow... probably a short walk or easy 2 mile run depending on how I feel. Or go to the gym and do some strength training. Need to get on a plan for that. Have already picked out my next plan: Hal Higdon's Half Marathon for Intermediate. I want to pick up my time before the Santa Rosa Half. Yes, I'm already contemplating my next big one!

My First Half... Recap!

So I did it! I officially ran a half marathon. And let me tell ya, I am TORE UP!

Let's start with last night. I tried to get some sleep. I really really tried. I fell asleep at 10 until 2am then couldn't get back to sleep until 3am. Slept until 5am and then I was up and ready to go! I took my son over to Denny's to get a proper breakfast. Unfortunately Super 8's "breakfast" is NOT gluten free. Asshats. Anyway, got breakfast, and got dressed, braided my hair, and headed to One Mile Rec area at Bidwell Park. The course was GORGEOUS! Very enjoyable scenary. I did a warm up jog with Will who was just as excited for the start as I was.

Lined up, Will lined up with me. Gun went off, Will tried to come with me LOL. Little guy wanted to race. Um, sorry Will! First 3 miles... OW. I found this out on my last long run as soon as I passed 3 miles I knew I'd be fine. For some reason my calves hurt super bad the first 3 but stopped after that. Cruised along between 12:40 and 13:40 minute miles for the first 6 miles. Chatted up two little ladies from Oregon. My plan was to stick with them, sweet ladies.

Unfortunately the last 6 miles were a challenge. A really.big.challenge. More Ow's. I just did each mile as I could focusing on my pace for each mile and not really thinking ahead of that. I did end up walking my last three miles or so. Getting up to a 15 minute mile pace. I didn't want to do that. In order to stay within my goal of 3 hours I would have had to do each mile under 14:40. Didn't happen. I'm not dissapointed though, I gave it my all. I crossed the finish line at 3 hours 4 minutes by my watch. I didn't get an official time... too tired. I'm exhausted. I'll post official time when they post it on their website.

More at facebook.com/fattymcrunnerpants!

The Day Before

So I'm sitting here in my hotel room watching my almost 2 year old pull around her empty suitcase. We just got back from the park where the race will take place tomorrow. I also picked up my race packet (nice whicking shirt for this race, btw, none of that cotton BS) and signed Morgan and William up for the kid's fun run(they got shirts too!). So this is their first official race :D I walked the first mile or so of the course and it's nice and flat. The weather is perfect, 70 degrees! Going to be a nice run tomorrow on a very pretty course.

I'm getting pre-race jitters. I've only had them one other time and that was before my first 5k last year. I'm nervous I'm going to fail, I'm nervous that I'm not going to finish. It will be fine, I'm sure but there's that small niggling doubt in myself knowing that I'm a novice and I still don't have that runner's look down. Ah, but I'm sure it will all be fine. Cross your fingers for me, say a Hail Mary, or w/e. Tomorrow's going to be epic either way.

Zumba-licious Baby!

For those who are unfamiliar with training for a race... or training for any sport for that matter... there's this wondrous thing called "cross training". It's where you do an activity unrelated to your sport so that your muscles don't get overused or overtired. There are several things I like to do to cross train but Thursdays are BLACK LIGHT ZUMBA! It's definitely one of my favorite cross training activities. I particularly like the black light Zumba because no one can A. see my face and they have less of a chance of seeing my fat jiggle. Have you ever done hip circles with a dun lap? Yeah... not pretty. But makes me feel awesome.

Here's my Zumba outfit for tonight. I love the leopard print!

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I've tried to start blogs before but now I am going to stick with this one for sure. For those who don't know me: I'm Tara. I'm an obese (yes I used the dreaded "O" word!) runner. I am currently working my way to do a marathon. In fact, my first half is on Saturday and I'm super duper excited. I started running after my first child was born. I figured out I could take him with me so it assuaged the "mommy guilt" I felt at leaving him. Yeah, I'm over mommy guilt now. I didn't like running at first but then it grew to an addiction. I wasn't running long before I got pregnant with another baby. After about a year, and several surgeries, I got back into running by doing Couch To 5k. I completed my first 5k, the Susan G. Komman Race for the Cure 5k in Columbus Ohio in May 2011. I have since done several other 5k's and one mud run. To date my fastest time happened just a few weeks ago at the 2012 Willits Classic 35 mins 10 sec!

Currently I am signed up for the Bidwell Half Marathon in Chico, California. I also plan on doing the Santa Rosa half in August, Tought Mudder NorCal in September, and the California International Marathon in December. Whew!

Anyway I'm tapering for today so I will do a 2 mile run, then tomorrow will be Zumba, rest Friday and Satruday's the half! YAY!