But I'm not a runner....I'm not!

So I keep telling myself.....and the rest of the world for that much that I am really not a runner.  It is just something I do when I can't get to the gym.  What I am is very competitive with myself.  So that kinda made me a runner. Just one more mile. one more minute faster, one more race. So I run.  No....I am a runner.  The past 3 weeks I have run 2....TWO...half-marathons and one 5k fun run where I ran my personal best (fastest) time.  So, I guess I am a runner.  Sigh!!

I will say that after finishing my second half-marathon today, that I am for a fact NOT a long distance runner. The best part of running that long of a distance is the start and the finish.  Everything in between really does suck.  I don't care who you are, when you hit the pavement that long there will be pain, discomfort and blisters.  Today I had all 3.  And it was 70 degrees.  But I ran 13.1 miles in 3 hours with over 1000 other runners. However, that is my last long distance run like that.  Do NOT love it like some do.  I do love 6 miles and under.  That is all.

Here are my pics from my latest runs that I ran because I am NOT a runner.

2014 Mercedes Half Marathon  

2014 Glow Run 5k-Tuscaloosa

Before and After

Tuscaloosa Half-Marathon 2014

Dining in Disney with a Sleeve: Part 1

My new found freedom of being done with my PhD has afforded me such amazing fun times of socialization!  All the things I often sat on the sidelines from an office chair and watched others get to do.  Now.....I can do whatever I want!! So taking off to Disney.....twice in one month was certainly fun times!

As a sleever though, I was really worried about how to eat, what to eat, how much I would have to pay to "not" eat and what options I would have for healthy eating.  Last time I was at Disney, I remember a lot of "park" food.  Chicken fingers, burgers, fries, Mickey shaped sugary snacks, etc.  I do NOT remember any salad options more less the fun healthy stuff I love to eat.  But may be because I wasn't trying to make healthy choices in the old days.

My first Disney trip this past month was right after Christmas.  A 10 day trip with friends to Walt Disney World in Orlando and all the surrounding parks.  I had spent months prior to going, trying to decide if I wanted to pay for the "Disney Dining Plan" knowing there was no way I would be able to eat the $50 of food per day.  My friends I would be traveling with totally understood my concern.  I didn't want to pay tons of money for food I wouldn't eat.......or couldn't eat.

I consulted with my weight loss surgeon's people at BeLiteWeight, read weight loss surgery blogs about Disney dining and read and researched anything I could online to see what other sleevers who had gone to Disney did.  I really didn't get a lot of answers or solutions.  The only recommendation I got was to take a pre-printed medical card that indicated I was a Weight Loss Surgery patient and required smaller portions etc with the hope that a restaurant would let me order from the kids menu, pay the kids buffet price etc. Other sleevers had indicated that Disney really wasn't too receptive to the card anymore because so many NON WLS people had abused the use of it just trying to save money.  Boo!!  Good news is that I had so many wonderful healthy and small portion options that I didn't need to negotiate.

Fortunately, my friends I traveled with decided not to do a dining plan.  We decided to make reservations at some of the fab restaurants on property and eat lite the other meals.  Once all the reservations were made, I immediately got online and looked up all the menus.  I was MORE than PLEASED.  Ohhhhhhhh sooooooooo many healthy options.  SO MANY!!  I knew I was ok with the reservation places.  Making do the times we had to get "quick service" or "grab and go" made me more nervous.  I didn't know what options I had there.  Well let me tell you.....Disney was a dieting, weight loss surgery, healthy eating DREAM.

I am happy to report that I ate AMAZINGLY healthy (by choice) while I was in the parks and restaurants.  Was so easy to eat things "my way".  First, you are able to bring into the parks water, water bottles, food, fruit, protein bars etc etc.  So I took 1 Zero Calorie Vitamin Water and 2 Quest Protein bars every day.  I figured worst case scenario, I could survive on that if needed.

Disney will also give you FREE cups of ice or ice water at the food places and kiosks around the parks.

Here is how/what I ate in Disney. We ate breakfast on our own so nothing fancy to mention there. We stayed in a hotel the first 2 nites then we were at a resort on Disney property the remainder of the trip (Wilderness Lodge and The Grand Floridian).   Each restaurant I listed is hyperlinked to the restaurant. Click on "Menu" and check out the different menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner from the drop down menu.  When we were not eating at a restaurant listed below we were eating at our resort or some where in town.  I ate my own leftovers a few times.

Breakfasts
-My Quest Protein bars most days
-Eggs, meat, cottage cheese and fruit from the buffet in our hotel
-Lots of coffee

Lunches:
Be Our Guest: (Magic Kingdom; Nice sit down quick service).  I was able to order a kiddo meal here and still had something hearty.  I had the Slow-cooked Pork with Sauteed Green Beans and Mashed Sweet Potatoes. Perfect lunch sized portion.  Also ate someone else's steamed broccoli. No dessert. 

Tusker House (Animal Kingdom): African themed foods; Buffet; Meet Disney characters too
Delish!!  A lot of really cool unusual and healthy options. Check out the menu for sure!!  I cannot even begin to list all the things I tried.  I did more of a sampler platter here.  We also had the BEST waiter here!!

The Artist's Palette (Saratoga Springs Resort; Quick Service).  Met some friends here for lunch one day. I had the Turkey and Brie Sandwich.  Was huge and yummy!! Could only eat one half.  Ate the second half for dinner that nite.

We got a "boxed" lunch one day at a place (can't remember but it looks like a boat)  in Hollywood Studios which also got us a free ticket to the fabulous Fastasmic show that nite.  A lot of great options for the boxed lunches too.  I had the shrimp salad with a side salad and fruit.  I didn't care for the odd salad that came with it but otherwise yummy and protein packed!

Dinners:
Chip 'n' Dale's Harvest Feast Dinner (Garden Grill at Epcot. Many of the foods are local and made right on the Disney property. Very farm to table and delish).

Dinner included platters of beef, turkey and sustainable fish, plus fresh salad, warm dinner rolls with maple butter, buttermilk mashed potatoes and root vegetable.  Dessert was Harvest skillet cake.

I ate the turkey and beef but loved the beef the best.  I do NOT eat fish ever.....yuck to me. The salad and root vegetables were amazing.  I did not touch the skillet cake but it didn't look like much.  No drink.....I cannot eat and drink together. Was all you can eat so easy to over eat......even the healthy stuff.

I also met and had pics with Mickey, Goofy and Chip n Dale of course.

*Note: This way my very first restaurant on the trip. It is a "family style" all you can eat meal.  I wanted the kids price since I would not eat much.  I met with the manager, talked to him about my WLS, showed him my WLS card and he said NO!!  He said I was paying for the experience of meeting the characters so I couldn't get the kid's price.  Oh well.  Was a delish dinner any way.  But didn't encourage me to try to debate with managers in restaurants anymore.  I just went to Plan B......eat healthy, order small portions, plan ahead and make good choices!

Le Cellier Steakhouse (Epcot-Canada):

This place was AMAZING and so yummy.  It is a steakhouse.  I ordered from the appetizer menu and it was PERFECT portion!!  I actually ordered too much.  Only because I ate some bread before my salad came. My meal was:

- pretzel bread (this stuff was DANGEROUS and could easily ruin a meal. It is part of a set of breads brought out to the table while you wait.  Yall know how dangerous and bad this is.  After a long day of parking you are tired, hungry and bread looks like GOLD). 

-“Le Cellier” Lobster Chopped Salad (This was my FAV dish from the trip. DELISH)

Mixed Field Greens, Haricot Verts, Avocado, Tomatoes, and "Lake Meadow" Egg topped with grilled lobster. 
-Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup (Sadly, I didn't need to order this.  I had no room left in my pouch and couldn't eat it.  Tasted it.....was yummy). Made with Moosehead Beer, “Nueske’s” Applewood-Smoked Bacon

No dessert!!

Hollywood and Vine (Hollywood Studios.....buffet). This was our LEAST favorite meal of the trip.  Fancier but not yummier buffet style food. Was easy to make healthy choices but limited choices and way overpriced (and they charged us almost $15 more than usual since it was New Years Eve.  Holiday upcharge.  Whatever.  We were NOT impressed).I ate A LOT of boiled shrimp, some salad, broccoli, no sure what else.  It was that unimpressive and very expensive.  Boo! I do not reccomend. 
Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano (Hollywood Studios):Oh my goodness YUM!!  I will admit that the thought of eating at an Italian restaurant made me nervous.  I do not eat pasta.  I will eat a very thin crust pizza but didn't want pizza at a fancy restaurant in Disney.  I was MORE than pleased with my options.  I ordered the Vegetarian Minestrone Soup that seriously tasted like it was made with the most fresh veggies and herbs straight from the garden.  I could have sipped on it for days. I also ordered this:Bresaola SaladThin-sliced Cured Beef, Fava Beans, Sweet peppers, Olives, Arugula, Basil, Lemon, and Extra Virgin Olive OilI was way too full to eat it though.  This happens often. Boo!  I am still learning. I did nibble on the Fava Beans and Olives and threw the rest away.  Was just too full.  No dessert. 
ABC Commissary (Hollywood Studio-Quick Service): Check out the menu.  Quick service options are really good. Don't have to eat in a fancy restaurant to get good options. A lot of great salad options here but I was over salad by this point in the trip. I got a cheeseburger, no bun and apple slices.   Ate a few of someone else's fries and stole someone's uneaten carrot six with dip.  Several kids traveling with us at time so I always stole healthy leftovers they didn't touch!  :-)
Earl of Sandwich (Downtown Disney):  The one food I could eat every single day before WLS was a good sandwich.  I do not eat that many now but do still love a good sandwich.  This place is VERY popular and yummy.  I had the kid's Turkey and Swiss.  Was only able to eat half. Ate the other half at a park the next day.   I had some soup too but cannot remember what kind??
I think this about covers it  Anyone who takes time to look at all the menus will see how EASY it is to eat after WLS in Disney.  The temptations are there yall!!

 I did have some occasional treats too.  Best snacks I had were the veggies and dip, apples and dip as well as popcorn.  The not so healthiest was "Caramel Apple".  Disney will slice your apple treats for you.  So my treat lasted 2 days!! I tasted a few other treats here and there and never had one bit of guilt of overindulgence. Preplan and pack your water, water flavor sticks like Crystal Lite if you use those (I do not), and whatever snacks you want.  We would take fresh fruit from the buffets if we could and save it for later.  Saves you money and prevents temptation.

I am not even kidding about the walking.  I was actually sore and tired and for someone who runs like I do......that says a lot about the miles you are logging.  Next time I will wear a pedometer! I lost 2 pounds on this trip.  Not many can say that about Disney right!!

I cannot give enough BIG prompts and high fives to Disney for working so hard to have healthy options everywhere. I saw a lot of dairy free, Gluten free, vegetarian and other dietary friendly options.  Always has the option to get something healthier if you didn't want fries. Top notch organization!

I was also VERY lucky to be traveling with Disney experts on my trip.  My best friend is a Disney Travel Agent.  Now that you all know you can go to Disney and still have healthy eating options......I highly encourage you book a trip!  So fun!! But I also highly encourage you to use my friend's FREE Disney agent services to book your trip.  She does EVERYTHING for you such as consulting with you and your family in the planning stages, making your reservations, dining, park planning, adventures etc for you so you do not spend hours online or on the phone trying to figure it all out. And she does all of this FREE of charge for you.  You do not pay for her anything for her services.  You do not pay any hidden fees, extra costs or consulting fees.  Every single thing she does for you is FREE!!! You just pay for your trip. Using a Disney Travel Agent can save you $$$$$$$.  She will make any needed adjustments to save you $$$ or changes to your plans.  She is a true expect in all Disney experiences as she travels with her own family to the parks and on cruises multiple times a year.  I loved that all I had to do was pay for my trip.  She planned the rest!  For FREE!!

Please contact Jennifer Casselman if you are even thinking about doing a trip to the parks in Orlando, California or a Disney Cruise.  She can help you figure it all out.  She was with me as I worked though all my healthy eating decisions at the parks so she can consult you on that as well.  Her email is: jcasselman@mindspring.com and her number is 205-401-7246.

I also just got back from a Disney Cruise!!  Will blog about that next!

The good, the bad and the rest!

The Good:

-I am healthier than I have ever been in my adult life

-I eat healthy almost unconsciously

-I usually choose to eat healthy when I have not so healthy choices.  That feels good!

-If I don't eat "healthy" it is ok and I know this.  My body actually thanks me when I don't.  Fat and sugar are ok sometimes.

-I am smaller than I have been since I was in my early 20's

-Sometimes I will touch a body part or move and feel muscles.  Can actually feel what has been hiding under all that fat.

-Health is important to me for once!!  I think about it, I work for it, I want it.

-In one year and 6 months I have been sick ONCE!!  ONCE!!  Mentioned that in a previous post but that is crazy.  It has nothing to do with no working with children anymore.  I have only been out of the little kid classroom 6 months.  Normal people who don't work with children get sick.  I have NOT been sick and that is really cool!!

-I can do any exercise I want and it feels good.  Not bad.

-I love to run in the rain or cold.  NEVER ever saw that happening.  I HATE cold and really hate wet cold but there is something motivating about making it through a 7 miles run in weather that most hate to even run to the mailbox in.

-I can run about 7 miles right now.   Wow!!

-I can shop for clothes wherever I want!!  The cutest clothes.  It is so fun.

-I recently returned a sweater dress that was a size XL.  I bought it because the brand runs small but the  sweater was way too big when I got home.  When I exchanged it, the lady behind the counter said, "Why  did you buy a XL??  You are way to small for that!!"  Wha....wha....what??  Love you lady!
-Last post:  I do NOT need wide calf boots anymore.  In fact, I can put on regular boots without unzipping  them!  Can wear them with the cute boots socks too. Yup!!

-Feet are smaller! I think old people shrink too though so this could be a bad thing....ha ha!

-Hair is back to "normal".  Not fried anymore and not falling out at all!  Survived that horror!!

-Made almost $300 selling the last bit of clothes and shoes on Ebay last week.

-I LOVE to cook and Pinterest has made it so fun and easy to find yummy high protein and healthy dishes!

-I have had several people tell me that I have inspired them and I motivate them.  That is cool!  I only did this for me.  Nice to know others find it appealing.

-I have found myself to be really drawn to and motivated by other healthy people too.  Several times I have gotten up and gone to run because a friend posted on Facebook that they ran that day.  I have made a lot of new friends because we have the common interest of exercise, running or health.  It is nice to share that common interest!

The Bad:
-I can eat anything I want.  Anything.....so I have to be careful and not get back into bad habits.

-I eat more carbs now than I did 8 months ago.  Bad habit I think.  Easy to eat a few crackers to satisfy a craving and that is a bad habit.  Before I would eat apples or edemame etc so I have to be really careful with this.  Much easier to eat (get through the pouch) carbs too so that doesn't help.

-I do NOT eat enough and I know this.  I am almost positive that is part of the reason I do not lose weight  as odd as that sounds.  I eat a few bites and stop when I am full.  I'd rather drink coffee or tea all day anyway.

-People ANNOY me when I do eat something less healthy and they say....."I can't believe you'd eat that" or  "Wow, you are going to eat that?". Same thing they do to fat people when they eat. I don't care what other people eat.  I don't watch them eat.  Really do not need  anyone to question my eating.....period.  I guarantee you I know more than the average person on health,  nutrition, intake, and the research to support it all. I do not like being supervised when it eat. Grrrrrrrrr......

-I've gotten lazy about taking my vitamins. I love them and they taste yummy.  Just not as good about doing it everyday like I was.  Need to make this a PRIORITY......especially since I don't eat enough.

-I have gotten out of the habit of planning my meals, calculating my proteins, etc.  I just choose something  healthy or not so healthy and eat it.  That isn't the best idea and something I really need to make a priority!  Too many benefits not to.

-My body looks horrible without clothes.  My thighs are the WORST.  Even though I run A LOT the skin  is very loose, bumpy, chunky, cellulite and I hate it!!  HATE!! It doesn't match my size if that makes sense. My stomach skin is yuck too. Doc says I did a great job not losing weight too fast and working out but still crappy skin and body.  Still need to lose a lot of inches on stomach.  The skin is very soft and loose though.  Boo!! There is still a roll and the incision sites are really chunky too if that makes sense (probably not....ha ha).  I hate it!!  I don't think there is hope for either without surgery once day.

-So clearly I still have body image issues.  I think all women do but especially those of us who struggled with our weight.  Even though my main goal was to be HEALTHY, it is frustrating to work out so hard and still hate your body.

-Exercise is still a struggle. I do not exercise as much as I should. Really harder on myself about that than I should be.  Haven't gained a pound in a year and a half but feel guilty if I don't exercise every single day. I'm either super motivated or not.  A lot of it depends on my schedule.   I go through phases with it.  Will either do it a lot, daily for weeks or not do it at all.  I really only exercise and run to be stronger.  Not to lose weight.  I do feel guilty when I don't exercise.  I need to be running every single day because I have several BIG races coming up.

-Because I can wear whatever I want, shop whereever I want and buy whatever I want; I have to be careful not to spend spend spend.  It can get expensive and addicting!

-I had hoped to stop clenching my teeth so badly and have more normal "cycles" once I lost weight but that didn't happen.  I am still breaking teeth in my sleep if I don't wear my mouth piece.  Shattered a Crown last week.  I'm not even stressed so guess it is just a bad habit now.  A hormone regulating pill is finally helping me feel better monthly.  That sucks because I didn't want to take any meds but I was on the verge of begging for a hysterectomy so the pill is a much better option!  Had high hopes that weight loss would help with this so really disappointing.  I am just old!

Boots!!

So many benefits to losing weight but my fav right now is that I can wear regular calf width boots.  NO MORE WIDE CALF....ha ha!!  Only ladies understand my joy.  In fact, regular calf boots are LOOSE on my calves.  The celebration is real yall!  However my feet have shrunk an entire shoe size!!  I was an 8-8.5.  Now I am 100% 7.5 and those are loose at times.  So interesting to me.  Never thought I had fat feet and size is length now width.  I've been selling a lot of shoes!

My Stats!!

Since it has been so long since I posted, I will post a little update on my "stats"

Date of surgery:  June 2, 2012
Today's Date: November 10, 2013
Total: 1 year, 5 months, 1 week

Total weight loss to date: 75 pounds (weight loss has been idle since I began an intensive exercise regimen and I am good with that!!).  I have not gained a pound in over a year but haven't really lost too much in a few months!!  The inches continue to melt off!  That is just fine with me!!



Clothing pre-op:
Pants and tops: 20/22, 1X, 2X or XXL in clothing

Now wearing:
-medium/large in tops
-12/14 in bottoms (size 14 has become a little loose!!)
-1/2 size smaller in shoes
-2 sizes smaller in band width in bra

I have only been sick ONCE since surgery.  I had the flu in January 2013 after visiting the Atlanta Aquarium with 10,000 people at Christmas time. I used to be sick all the time!!  Even if school was out and I was away from kids.  Healthy gut=healthy immune system.  I BELIEVE!!!

I am am running over 4 miles in about 1 hour.  I couldn't run a block before surgery.  I "try" to do a workout class at the gym 3 days a week which consists of Zumba or any of the Les Miles body classes which I love.  The days I don't do gym, I try to run.

The ONLY medication I take is Omeprozole (anti-acid) per Dr. Rod (my weight loss surgeon) due to the small size of my stomach.  Prior I was taking 4-6 Aleve a day for chronic back pain.  Now....I have NO pain!!  I was tired all the time and sick a lot.  I was not happy or healthy!

I think this is really meaningless to the common reader because the assumption is that this is all a result of Weight Loss Surgery.  Just here to tell you ALL......I can now eat whatever I want.  ANYTHING!!! I cant eat fast food, drink soda, eat candy or sweets, fried food and crappy snacks......I can eat whatever I want.  (Ice Cream would still very likely make me puke but I haven't had any since surgery so not sure).   So that means that all the success up there above is a direct result of MY hard work and dedication to this lifestyle.  I owned this!!  I want this and I love this!!

Warrior Princess......Round 2

In October 2012, I had this insane idea that I would do my first 5k.....that just happened to also be an extreme obstacle race.  I was not in the physical shape to do the race but I have always had the mental determination to do anything.  So I did it!!

Here is my post from that experience a year ago:  Warrior Dash 2012.

Last weekend......I did my 2nd annual Warrior Dash.   I registered last year immediately after finishing the 2012 race to do the 2013 race.  I was determined to be better at it this time.  I got crazy lucky and the race was ironically moved to the new town I just moved to.  3 minutes from my new house!!!  Was meant to be.

Took me over an hour and a half to finish this race last year.  This year, I finished in under an hour!! This course was a lot different than last year. A LOT of climbing obstacles and ropes courses etc.  A LOT of upper body work for sure and a few dangerous jumps etc.  I ROCKED it though!!

 Here are my pics from the race this year. The fellow with me is a friend's husband.  She has a bad foot injury right now and couldn't race with us. So she was our cheerleader and photographer for the day.  I had the BEST time and the only part of me that was sore this time was my arms.  REALLY sore!!  Had some bad bruises on my arms and legs, a few rope burns and raw scrapes but otherwise I came out of this experience unscathed.   Was awesome!!And yes.....those are Pigtail in my hair this year!!

Me running after jumping the first fire pit

Jumping like a girl across the second fire pit

Off to the finish line

This is the LAST obstacle.  Super THICK mud.  But barbed wire above your head.  No choice but to crawl on your belly.  People were almost passing out from the exertion it took to get through this because they were so tired from the race. At the end of this was a huge pit of muddy water you had to swim through.  MY fav part of the race was this last obstacle!!  You can see me in these pic crawling through the best I could.  Way harder than one would think!!

Post-Race 

 Post Race MESS!!

My post race ROCKSTAR pics from 2012 and 2013.

Whew!!! Before and After and everything in between!!

I just looked at the last post I made on here and not only realized how long it has been since my last post but ooooooooooooooohhhhhhhh the many changes in my life since then.  My last post was in mid-March 2013.  Over 7 months ago.  Since then I have finished my doctorate (PhD), have a new job as a college professor, live in a new city (Tuscaloosa, AL instead of Birmingham, AL) and have continued to live life to the fullest as much as I can.

The new healthier me is just as happy as I was over a year ago when I made the decision to save my life and live a healthier lifestyle to get there.  Here are some really cool side by side shots of me before surgery and now!!  Also shows off one of  my passions.......Alabama football.

This picture is my before and present with some of Alabama football greats!  On the left is me with Mal Moore, the former Athletic Director at Alabama, at the BCS National Championship in New Orleans in 2012.  The boss!!  He just passed away from cancer this year.  On the right is me with the famous Alabama Football announcer Eli Gold.  That pis was just taken this summer.  One year post-op.

This pic is of me with one of Alabama's top football players, and considered the BEST Defensive player in the nation, C.J. Mosley.  As you can see, C.J. looks much older now and I just look much healthier.  The date on my pic should say 2012.  I was with him at the BCS National Championship in New Orleans.  The other pic was just taken last week at a Halloween function I attended with some Alabama players.  Fun times!  Even more AMAZING to see my before and after!! I think the healthier me looks younger!!

The squeaky wheel....

Lost another pound......that is 2 pounds down in 3 days.  I guess the squeaky (whining) wheel gets the weight loss.....

I am 33 pounds away from a total of 100 pound weigh loss.  That sounds surreal!

Feeling Lucky......

Look up at my weight loss ticker.  I moved DOWN one pound today!  First move down in a while.  I'll take it!  Been racking my brain all morning trying to figure out what in the world I ate yesterday to help lose some weight. I didn't work out or run yesterday. No clue??  But I'll take a pound down.

My stomach has felt achy for the past 24 hours so I haven't been wanting to "eat" much.  I woke up this morning craving a protein shake.  I had seen a lot of posts on other bariatric pages for a Mint Shamrock Shake so that I what I made!

2 cups of Silk Soymilk
2 scoops of vanilla protein powder
1 cup of ice
2 cups of spinach salad leaves
Sugar Free vanilla syrup (Starbucks)
Sugar Free peppermint syrup (Torani)

Mix in blender and yum!!! (had to borrow this pic....but mine looked just as yummy)

Caboose......

I have stated 100 times in this blog that I am not a "runner", don't want to be a good runner and acutally just really suck at running. I compare myself to a caboose.  Heavy, slow and always pulling up the rear in a race.  Even when I was much younger and athletic, I was a bad runner.  My soccer coach in high school gave me the nickname Prancer because he said I ran like a deer, bouncing on my toes down the field.  He tried to "teach" me how to run correctly.  He said I would waste more energy bouncing up and down than any sort of rhythmic motion forward.  There was no hope so my nickname was Prancer and running was not my talent.

Even stranger about my lack of ability to run is that my father and my brother were both excellent runners.  Long distant runners in high school and college.  Both of them can just go out and run whenever they want to and it doesn't matter how long it has been since they last ran.  It is a special gene I didn't inherit.  Since I didn't inherit their skinny legs, I also didn't inherit their ability to run like the wind. 

Now that I am on this mission to live healthier, I am running.  But stand firm that I am not trying to be a runner.  I think I keep saying that just in case I continue to suck at running.  But I have really begun to LOVE the fact that I am healthy enough to run if  I want to.  It is motivating and rewarding.  The first few 5k races I entered were completed by walking.  Then I eased into a little light jog here and there.  Now, I am determined to complete a 5k by running the entire time.  I am so competitive with myself.  So even though I keep saying I am NOT a runner......I am accidently becoming one. It is easy and feels good no matter how much I am able to run.  I remind myself constantly that I should be so thankful to be blessed with the ability to use my leg and I need to take care of them. 

This week I began running in my neighborhood.  My neighborhood is perfect for running.  Mostly flat with a few mild hills.  I love it because I am sitting A LOT at home right now wrapping up the last moments of my dissertation for my PhD.  I haven't been to Boot Camp in 2 weeks.  I put myself on restriction in the afternoons after work so I can just focus on finishing school.  But I am trying to get a run in at home when I can. I like that I can just jump up, go run for a bit then come back and start writing again without missing too much time.  So I go for my first run the other nite in the hood and like Forrest Gump.....I just ran and ran and ran.  I didn't stop running.  I ran one mile without stopping.  This was HUGE progress and not even sure why it just happened that nite but it did.  I ran the mile in a little about 14 and a  half minutes.  Did it again the next day.  Pretty cool considering I haven't been able to run for more than a minute or two without stopping.  I am now running a whole mile without feeling like I am going to die.  Not even winded.  Heartrate is up, sweating but controlled.  Fabulous!

I also have a cool app on my phone called "Runtastic" which logs in my run using GPS.  I turn it on before I start to run.  It tells me every time I reach a mile.  When I am finished it will tell me how far I ran, how long it took me to run, and my pace.  It will do a lot of other cool stuff like heartrate etc but I don't use that.  Then it will post a pic of the map of the course I ran and info about my run  on my Facebook.  It stores the info so I can see progress etc.  Free app...very cool.

I am still a caboose.  I run slow and heavy like my legs are weights pulling me down.  I guess I'll work on technique before I try out for the Olympics but until then....I can run like the wind without getting winded! 

Dirty Girl.......

I am all about some fun, themed races now.  I am still NOT a runner.  Well, not a good runner.  But each and every time I do a "fun run" I get faster at finishing.  Last Saturday I participated in another Mud Run!!  This one was called Dirty Girl Mud Run.  This was a 5k obstacle race like the Warrior Dash I did back in October.  The "Dirty Girl" was for girls only....no boys allowed.  It had a pink theme and lots of dirty girls!

I joined a team of ladies and we called ourselves the "MUDonnas".  We had shirts made (that I didn't love because of the fit but otherwise were very cute).

One of the girls on my team for Dirty Girl also did Warrior Dash in October.  Warrior was HARD.  Super intense and for those on the more athletic side of the curve. We survived just fine at Warrior and were prepared for another intense challenge.  Dirty Girl was more......girly.  It was fun but the course was a lot more running and not so many obstacles. We were a little disappointed after surviving the Warrior Dash.  The obstacles for Dirty Girl were fun and experiencing this with a fun group of ladies was even better. One thing I noticed more than anything is that my strength and stamina was so much better during this race than Warrior Dash.  I rocked the obstacles, didn't get winded or tired or weak.  I just suck at running.  I run really heavy bottomed like my legs are too heavy to pick up.  I think I'll get better at it the more I build my cardio system up but I really do still suck at running and stayed behind the group for Dirty Girl but never too far away.

 However......in case you didn't notice the date of this post, the race was on March 9th. March in Alabama can be a little tricky.  Not quite winter but not yet spring. So this particular Saturday was COLD!!  Had been in the high 30's overnite and was in the 40's the morning of the race.  This girl does NOT do cold anything, more less crawl through freezing mud.  But  I did.  Was a fun time!

The very second obstacle almost killed us all.  It was a large pit of WATER with mud in the bottom.  A heavy rope net laid over the top of the pit.  There was enough space between the water and the net for your face to stick up.  Barely!  The pit had been filled with water the nite before.....how do I know this?  Because it was FREEZING!!  As I stepped into the pit, I knew how cold it would be.  Then being the Gulf Coast, raised on the water girl that I am, I knew if I just went ahead and went under the water that I would get over the water being so cold.  Well let me just say for the record, this theory doesn't work when the water has reached a certain degree that I am positive was below ZERO.  The second I hit the water and went under the net I immediately lost my ability to breath like a human.  I panted like a dog the entire trek down the pit.  For those of you who are claustrophobic I am sure you are already on the verge of passing out thinking of this experience.  It was seriously a little uncomfortable.  If I had not pushed the rope net up using my head, I would have drowned.  Passed out for sure.  I could not breath!! The best part about this experience is that is was over and the second best part was that it made me run like the wind when I got out.  I ran and ran and ran so I wouldn't die of hypothermia.  It was the worst part of the course in my opinion.

One of the best moments of the run was captured on camera so I will share and explain when we get there (at the end of the race).  For now.....Here are our pics to prove that even the cutest girls can get a little dirty sometimes!! I'm not in all the pics but want you all to enjoy this day as much as I did!  (Thanks to one of our MUDonna team mates' husband for chasing us the whole course and taking pics)

Prerace: I'm the one still wearing a jacket because I don't do cold (as I waited anxiously to crawl through icy water)

The Starting Line......let's get ready to rumble

Obstacle #1:

This obstacle was fun and easy.  Bumpy climb up and a little bumpy ride down but all smiles both ways.  This is before we hit the water!

What goes up......

Must come down.....

The rest of the dirty story......the other obstacles

To the finish line......all together! 

For the final obstacle Alisha and I held hands and went down the big wet slide together.....

and had a huge crash into each other.  I went down and under hard and fast. I had used both elbows as brakes into the pit of mud and pebbles below. Needless to say I came up bleeding and bruised but laughing so hard that I swallowed a mouthful of mud and loved every bit of it.  Alisha tried desperately to pull me out but I was laughing too hard. The look on my face in the pic below says it all.  LOVE THIS!!!

Post-race moments......

That is me  in the back (twirling my hair) walking off the finish line.  Love the look on my face.  It says "mission complete.....and satisfied"