Run Chunky Run

This Is THE SIGN

2012-01-08T10:38:00.000-05:00

I spent Thursday evening at the hospital with my husband because he was complaining of chest pains. It was very alarming because he actually came and got me out of my Thursday night Zumba class. I got quite the shock when I saw Patrick and B walk in, B was supposed to be at basketball practice. He informed me that he was having chest pains, and that I had to take him to the er. He had called his aunt and she was other way to get B, and take her home but she was a few minutes away. My lovely students kept B until his aunt could get there to pick her up, and I am so glad they did because she was already a little freaked out because he pulled her out of practice, she didn't need to go to the ER with us. I was in full freak out mode, not just because my 37 year old husband was having chest pains but because this is not the first time he has.
Let me give you a little history...In the spring of 2005, I was at home with a 7 month old B, when I received a call from Patrick letting me know he was being taken to the hospital from work because he was having chest pains after getting into a heated argument. I rushed up to the hospital with B in tow. When we got there, Patrick was having a million different tests done there, and being monitored to see if he was in fact having a heart attack. After a few hours, he was discharged, the ER doctor diagnosed it as bad indigestion and esophageal issues which can behave exactly like a heart attack. That being said, he was given orders to schedule a stress test. When we got home, he did just that. Then, a few days later (the day before the scheduled stress test), we were getting ready to take a little trip to Athens, GA, when Patrick told me that he had to get to the hospital ASAP. I called the paramedics because there was no way I was in any shape to drive him myself, I was freaking out. Thankfully, my sister in law was there and she took B so that I could stay with Patrick. When we got to the hospital, the doctors ran the same tests as they had before but this time, it wasn't just bad indigestion and esophageal issues, it was a real heart attack. My then 30 year old husband was having a heart attack, and I was 24 with a baby and scared to death that I was about to become a widow. Before I knew it, Patrick was being wheeled to an ICU room and I was being told that he had to have some more tests done to see the extent of the damage from the heart attack. The next few days were a blur of tests and being transferred to another hospital to have stents put in. One doctor informed me that the type of heart attack he had is one they often call the widow maker. It was severe, and taxing on not just him but on myself and all of his family as well. I was sure that this was going to be his wake up call to quit smoking, start exercising and watching what he eats.
Fast forward to January 2010, Patrick was still smoking, had gained even more weight (he's always been a big guy but now he was bigger than I'd ever seen him). I had just had a little epiphany that kicked off my own weight loss journey, I was inching closer and closer to weighing 500lbs with each passing day, I was smoking, and I realized that if I kept up I would probably have my own heart attack before I turned 30 that upcoming December. So, I started on my journey, in the hopes to change my own life and maybe even Patrick's as well. He didn't follow suit.
Let's fast forward once more to Thursday, here I was almost 7 years later watching similar events happen again. This time the doctors once again said it was esophageal issues. To be honest with you, I'm scared to death, because once there has been one heart attack, another isn't if it'll happen again but when will it happen again. My husband is going to have another heart attack and the next time he might not be so lucky. He is still smoking, not exercising or watching what he eats. Wanna talk about the obesity epidemic? I'm living it, this is a very real part of my life. A real part of my daughter's life. Now, I'm not looking for symapathy or anything like that, I needed to get this off my chest and maybe help someone who reads this in the process. Here is an opportunity, a sign, a warning for him to make some real changes in his life. I fear that if he does not, he will not make it to see his 40th birthday. I hate it for B, because it's not fair to her, she needs him around. No matter what I say to him, it won't make a difference. This change has to come from him because I cannot make anyone do anything they aren't ready to do. If he was waiting for a sign, here it is. If you are reading this and waiting for a sign, here it is. I had another ah-ha, "here's a sign" moment when I was in Toronto during the holidays, the same kind of moment that originally kicked started the weight loss journey. It was exactly what I needed to help me refocus because in the last year my weight has yo-yo'ed and I had once again become lazy with my nutrition and my weight training and cross training. This is the year that I get to my goal and do my best to be my best so that I can be here for B for many, many years come. She needs me here, and I want to see her grow up, graduate, get married, have her own babies. I know the realities of being obese, I have seen first hand the damage it can cause to not only the person who is obese but to the people around them. The arthritis in my knees is awful, and I caused all that damage to myself because I chose to take the easy way out for so many years instead of taking care of myself. The damage I've caused to my body is ridiculous, no 31 year old should be like this. That being said, I'm working on bettering myself and my life to prevent doing more damage to myself. I have seen my husband, the person who I'm supposed to grow old with tear up his heart, his lungs, his joints because it's easier make excuses. Now, making a change isn't easy, I'm not going to lie, but you better believe it will be worth it.

Not Running Related, Not Even Zumba Related

2011-12-22T00:38:00.002-05:00

So, I caved and have become one of those moms. What moms you ask? The moms we all see on facebook posting the exploits of their child's Elf On The Shelf. I am a little ashamed of myself because I have become the mom that I would have made fun of when B was a baby. Now, every night I find myself scrambling to remember to move the damn thing, or setting up what ever prank. It's been fun, I won't lie, but I am ready for that damn elf to take it's little peppermint loving a** back to where it came from. Here are some of Buddy's exploits.

She started out innocently enough.

Messing up a craft was still pretty tame.

Then she did this...

I think she was hitting the elf wine when she decided to hang from our decorations

Looking pretty pleased with herself

This one made B super angry, apparently this was going too far. It wasn't the undies, it was the fact that Buddy was in her room.

Zumbatomic Training

2011-12-14T00:13:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, I attended Zumbatomic training. What is Zumbatomic you ask? Well, it's a specially designed Zumba program for kids. Being a mom, of course, I was interested in this because it's a great way to get kids into Zumba but in an age appropriate way. The training was with ZES (Zumba Education Specialist) Marcie Gill, she was an incredible instructor. This training was a ton of fun and I cannot wait to start teaching this program. What's not to love?! It's a great way to get kids moving and making it feel like a little party, plus it's not a huge commitment like most kids activities tend to be. The possibilities with it are awesome because they go above and beyond just having classes for the kids at a gym or community center.

Not only did I get licensed to teach this program, but I got to meet, network, and make friends with some awesome Zumba instructors from the Atlanta area and a few from Alabama. Getting this opportunity, just solidified in my mind that I have to find a way to make it to Convention this year. Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE ZUMBA?

Giveaway Winners and Dancing On The Treadmill

2011-12-06T23:58:00.000-05:00

So, my two winners according to random.org are Michel from Baby Weight My Fat Ass and Trish from Begin Again and Again and Again.... Send me an e-mail at runchunky@gmail.com by Friday Dec. 9th to claim your prize.

Wednesday, Friday's and Saturday's runs were on the treadmill. I had my music right for all of these runs, all different playlists that I had tweaked for each run. Well, I may or may not have jammed out a little on the treadmill, it helps because I have a bit of a hard time with the treadmill. I have been known to dance during a race or an outdoor run but never a full on dance on the tready. Imagine my excitement when I saw these videos....

It would be my luck that I would probably bust my butt trying these at the gym, I'd be the youtube video that goes viral of the fat chick who wipes out. Plus, I'm not sure Coach Lesley would approve.

Aside from the treadmill dancing, I've been enjoying the scaled back running schedule. I needed a little breathing room. I'm back to training twice a week with Amy, and even hitting up a few Zumba classes as a student which is refreshing for a change. It gives me ideas for my classes and helps me become a better instructor, plus it's just plain ol' fun for me. I've also been working on a Toys For Tots Zumba event, so if you are in the Atlanta area and are looking for something to do this Friday night, please join me for a fun party for a great cause. https://www.facebook.com/events/239482192784635/

Hippie Runner Belt Review and Giveaway

2011-11-23T15:36:00.001-05:00

A while back, I purchased a Hippie Runner Belt for myself because I needed a different option for a race belt then what I had been running with. The belt is really neat because it has two pockets, one smaller than the other. The larger pocket is large enough to fit my phone or camera and I use the smaller pocket for my ipod nano, with all of this the belt manages not to bounce. I wore this belt exclusively through the marathon training and during all of my races this fall, and I have been very happy with it. I love the loops for the energy gels, they are secure and easily accessible. Not only has this belt proven to be great for running, but I had forgotten my mic belt for my Zumba class but thankfully I had this belt in my car, and it turned out to be perfect for my mic pack.

The wonderful people over at Hippie Runner sent me some of their awesome headbands and two belts to giveaway to you, my awesome readers. So, there will be two winners, each will win a belt and two headbands.

* Hippie Runner provided me with the headbands and belts to give away, my opinions are my own.

Contest ends 12/5 @ 11:59

Mandatory Entries (leave a separate comment for each)

1. Like Hippie Runner on Facebook and let them know Lucy from Run Chunky Run sent you.
2. Follow my blog through google friend connect

Optional Entries (leave a separate comment for each)

3. Follow me on twitter @LucyATL
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Three Things Thursday

2011-11-17T15:54:00.001-05:00

1. I've been busy working on a Zumba event to benefit Toys For Tots. This is the first time I am putting together my own Zumba event, it's very exciting.

2. This time next week, I'll be resting up after half marathon #5. I think I will have earned my thanksgiving meal. I'll also be getting ready for the real race... Black Friday shopping. I may be a nut job, but I love the insanity of it all.

3. Ok, so I was thinking of compiling a list of "you know you're a runner when..". Help me out, and give me your "you know you're a runner when" ideas.

Face Plants, Grocery Store Trips, and Black Balling

2011-11-10T00:39:00.000-05:00

Can you believe that most of the above happened during yesterday's run?! I had my dear friend Christina join me for this one. The way it was planned out that I had to run the middle 3 miles of this 7 mile run straight, without my intervals. I walked the first bit, reset the garmin and off we went, it was going well until the "incident". I am going to be honest with you, I think that Christina may in some form or fashion been responsible for the face plant I managed to do going down a hill, I think she stuck a tree root or a foot in my way.... she's tricky like that. Anyways, I managed to take a nasty fall. The best part of it was that the first words out of my mouth were "gotta pause the garmin". Thank goodness that I was wearing the trial pair of contacts that the eye doctor gave me because I would have probably damaged or broke my glasses. I got some scrapes and road rash, and my knees are SWOLLEN, and they hurt. After this, the run turned into a walk with bouts of slow running, my knees were just not going to cooperate. Not to mention that my hips and glutes were sore, I'm pretty sure it my body's way of punishing me for not going to ART Tuesday. Plus, it was just par for the course because it seems that every time that Christina and I run, I'm hurt and/or sore. I know Christina is worried about being black balled as a running partner, but lucky for her she's safe for now.

Wait, yesterday's adventures get better. When Christina realized we were getting close to the supermarket, she asked to stop and get something because her stomach was unsettled. This pit stop ended up being the funniest part of the day, we went in picked up 2 bananas and Christina picked up a bag of rolls. She hauled her bag of buns the 3.5 miles we had left to cover. She was quite the sight.

Tough Decisions, Insanity and General Badassery

2011-11-04T00:18:00.000-04:00

With Rock N Roll Savannah this weekend, I think it's high time that I let you all know what's going on with this race. So, after the 18 mile long run a few weeks ago, I made a very difficult decision to drop down to the half marathon. I had a multitude of reasons, but mostly because the joy of running had sort of been sucked right out of me, and everything in my life was suffering with the training. I was crying almost every long run, and dreading them as well, it was not a good place. I still have some mixed feelings about dropping down but ultimately, I am doing what I feel is best for me and my health. I have some friends coming to run the full in Savannah as well, and I feel bad and feel like I have let them down. They have tried talking me into staying with the full, and I have been tempted but I have to stick to my guns on this one. Now, don't think that I have given up on those 26.2 dreams, I have just postponed them a little. The new plan is to run my first full in Tulsa for the Route 66 Marathon, I was inspired by Kelly and my coach Lesley. I'm just postponing the ultimate act of badassery until I feel that the world can handle all of this awesome badassness that is me.

Now on to the insanity, this is all half marathon related. After this weekend, I am going to be eligible to to join Half Fanatics, and I think I might... we'll see. So, I have run three half marathons this year thus far and plan on finishing out the year with three more. I have already signed up for half marathon #5 on Thanksgiving morning. The one that I would like to sign up for as my 6th is Zooma Atlanta, the only thing keeping me from signing up is that this race is two days after Thanksgiving. So, 6 half marathons may not seem like much to some runners but in my books it's pretty darn badass, and adds more medals to the collection.

North Face Endurance Challenge Atlanta 5K Race Report

2011-11-03T01:08:00.001-04:00

This was my very first trail race, and when I set out to Pine Mountain, GA that morning, I was nervous. I had done a few short run at a local hiking trail, but I knew this race would be different. I got to Callaway Gardens to park and catch the shuttle over to F.D. Roosevelt State Park at some ridiculously early time that morning, and ended up on a bit of a wild goose chase to find the correct parking lot. It wasn't such a big deal for me because the 5K people were the last to go, but I felt bad for the half marathoners and 10Kers that were in the same situation. I got the right lot, jumped on the very luxurious yellow limousine (aka the school bus), and enjoyed the heated bus and quiet ride to the start/finish area. Guess what I realized as soon as the bus started moving, I realized that I left my Garmin in my car sitting on the passenger seat... way to go superstar. As I got off the bus, and I was approached by none other than runblondie26 (if you have a minute, check out her blog, she's AWESOME), mind you, we'd never met each other before she recognized me from twitter. I'm sure that's what all the big celebs feel like, I am sure that the sneaky paparazzi was hiding in the bushes just waiting to take our pictures too.

While, I was waiting for my race to go, I decided that I just HAD to take my picture in front of the North Face Challenge logo thing. Well, this would prove to be a mistake because it would cause the one and only injury from the day. After the picture below was taken, I managed to smash my shin into the stage and it left a sizable bruise, and it bruised my pride a little too.

While waiting, I also got to see a friend of mine (who also happens to be a Zumba instructor) and hung out with her and her friends before the start. Most of them were doing the 10K, so I got to see them start and cheer them on. Guess who happened to be there to give each wave of races a pep talk? None other than the Ultra Marathon Man, Dean Karnazes.

You can almost spot him, he's in the blue shirt with the white visor.

After Dean's pep talk, we were off. Right after we started, I started to freak out just a little because I didn't have the garmin on. It turns out that not having the garmin was probably for the best because I am pretty sure that I would have cried if I had seen the pace and the distance. I am pretty sure that at least the first half mile was all uphill, it was deceiving too because just as soon as I thought that it would start leveling out and/or start descending, it didn't, we just kept climbing. It was so steep that there was no way that I could even run up it, trust me, I tried. The course had been marked 4 out of 5 in difficulty and technicality, and they weren't lying. The other thing that I had to keep track of was the actual course, it was marked out with purple ribbon for the 5K. So, there was one point where I had just gotten caught up in my music and was just going with it, then I realized I wasn't sure if I was still on the right path, I had to take a minute to gather myself and look for the markers. Then, I realized I had quite the difficult path ahead, check out the pictures.

These were the markers, the purple was in there somewhere.

Found the markers again and on my way again... score!

Had to get around this...

Not sure if you can get a sense of how narrow this was and how severe the drop off is.

I kept on, and then I heard it, it was the DJ at the start/finish, and it was such a sweet sound. Little did I know when I heard the music, that it was going to be a bit of a tease because I still had a little bit further to go. I saw that I was getting close to the road, and then I got to cross the road and the finish line was right there, but it wasn't going to be that easy, instead of the straight shot to the finish, I had to go back into the woods. This was quite possibly the toughest race I've ever run, yup, you read that right. Mentally, I was doing wonderfully; physically, this race was demanding. Am I stupid enough to do this race again next year? Yes, yes, I am.

So, guess who I got to meet after the race?! Dean Karnazes! This would normally been super awesome except for the fact that I got a little star struck and acted like a dork when I actually met him. At least, I got my picture taken with him.

Peachtree City Classic Women's 5K 2011 Race Report

2011-11-02T11:55:00.001-04:00

Alright, it's time to clear out the backlog of race reports. I've had a lot of races, and the reports have been piling up.

This race marked my first race in my second year of racing, and I decided to treat it like a training run. I ran this race last October and it didn't go so well, this year was a completely different story. This was the most fun I had in a long time.

I got to see Sarah and Shannon before the race, although it was only briefly because I had to get to the start, they were doing the 15k and they started after I did. Why didn't I do the 15k? Two reasons, first of all, I am too slow for what their time cut off was. Secondly, I had another race the following day and I wanted to save something for the following day.

I ran this one on my own and kept it easy, didn't race it, just enjoyed. Everything came together for a perfect morning. First things first, the weather was perfect for running, it was in the 50's with enough chill in the air to wake you up. Funny little side note, I suck at the Celsius to Fahrenheit conversions, I understand weather in Celsius except when it comes to running, I know how to dress based on the Fahrenheit temperature. I'm so weird. Back to the race, I was wearing my new favorite shirt from One More Mile which seems to make me feel better about being slow. I wanted to wear my new Racing It Off tee but I have a problem... I realized after I ordered it, that I don't have a white sports bra which sucks if you want to wear a white shirt. Back to the race, the music was right, I was feeling great and the miles seemed to fly by. During the race, I just thought back to the disaster of the 2010 race where I cried, and was so caught up in all the bad things. What a difference a year makes.

After the race, I stuck around because I wanted to watch my friends finish their 15K race. It was so cool to see my friends finish and getting the chance to cheer them on. All around an awesome way to spend a morning.

13.1 Atlanta Race Report

2011-10-21T00:28:00.003-04:00

First and foremost, I am sorry that it has taken me this long to write this report. Alright, the best way to tackle this one is to break it down into three parts. The good, the bad, and the ugly, but perhaps not in that particular order.

The Bad

So, this race was not a PR, it wasn't even close. I was doing well, and I was on track for a PR for the first half, then I fell apart. This race was also on one of the highest mileage weeks I had eve had, so that didn't help the situation either. I let my mind take over and all of a sudden, I was feeling every pain and discomfort in my body but amplified. Don't forget, I am the mayor of Crazy Town, and CRAZY is how I roll. I made hills into mountains, and let all of this get the best of me. All I could think about was the marathon, and it wasn't pretty. Plus, I felt like I was letting Danielle down during her first half. Oh, did I forget to mention that I didn't charge my camera and I forgot to put an sd card in it. That might make me the worst professional photographer ever... not winning.

The Ugly

The ugly in this race was kept to a minimum. The worst of it was having an upset stomach, but it wasn't the worst I've ever had. I don't think I was paying attention to what I was drinking with the gels which more than likely caused the problem.

The Good

The miles really seemed to fly by, especially the first 9. When I wasn't letting the crazy take control, I was actually having a pretty darn good time. We were joking, chatting and being silly. Danielle and I made a new friend with a pretty darn awesome chick who was running her 2nd half. We dubbed ourselves the Booty Brigade and were silly and stupid. This race reminded me that running doesn't always suck. I sort of get irritated by the fast people who were going the opposite way who were saying things like "looking great", "you're doing so well", and my personal un-fave "you're almost there" (I always want to say "look skinny fast b*tch, you and I both know my fat ass is not almost there"). So, I decided to turn it around and start yelling things at the fast people like and a few of them seemed amused because I got in touch with my inner Drill Sergeant when I was yelling at them. By far, the best part was crossing the line with Danielle and Melissa, it was just an awesome moment.

The Pics

Danielle and I before the start

Four miles in! (thank heaven for the phone)

Waddling along

Half marathon #2 is DONE

The best part was the celebratory cupcake.

BOOYAH!

2011-10-08T22:37:00.000-04:00

So, I haven't written my 13.1 Atlanta race report because I had conflicting feelings about the race but after tonight's run, I've decided that as soon as I get back to Atlanta, I'll get it posted. In case you didn't know, Patrick and I brought B to South Georgia to the Okefenokee swamp. Plus, I wanted to see some gators, and did I ever see some gators today. On a side note, I am slightly disappointed that I didn't get to wrestle a gator, maybe I watched one too many episodes of Swamp People. I guess, gator wrasslin' is best left to the professionals.

Tonight's run, in one word was INCREDIBLE. After today's long car trip and swamp exploring, imagine my surprise when my legs felt great. I got to the hotel after dinner, got my gear on, left Patrick and B watching the UGA game in our room and I got to it. I got on the tread and started it on a 15:00 pace, started flipping through the channels and found Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 on tv. SCORE!! The time on treadmill flew by and I even sped up and held a pace that I felt I could be proud of and before I knew it, my run was over. My legs felt great and I couldn't believe how great I felt. After beating myself up this week, about my runs and marathon training, this was just what I needed.

The site of the AWESOME run.

Marathon Training Week 21 In Review and Weight Issues

2011-10-05T19:45:00.000-04:00

Guess where I went during last week's training? Remember, that place I visit every once in a while... yup, you got it, Crazy Town.

Photo Source

During last Monday's long run, I once again claimed my spot as the mayor of Crazy Town. My mental state was absolutely awful, I was darn mess. I was doubting myself and my ability to finish the marathon and I was wondering if I was making the biggest mistake of my life. This crazy train, went on for most of the run and it swear it made me feel super sluggish. Then at around mile 12, my stomach went on strike, I was going to explode from every end. I ended up slowing down for the last four, it felt like a death march. I ended up getting sick later in the day, after I got home and when Patrick got home, he told me that his stomach had been unsettled all day too, so it may have been a little stomach bug.

Did I mention that my ipod broke during this run? Well, the screen is separated from the casing, it's a mess. I can use it on the ipod docks for my Zumba classes but I am scared to run with it because I think it might shock me. Look...

Wednesday, I had speedwork and it was a tough one because I was just not motivated and I just wanted to be at home sleeping. I trudged through this one, but I was pretty happy because I had a movie on my phone which helped pass the time. The only issue is that our gym treadmills have a one hour time limit, so after an hour the treadmill automatically switches to a cool down, so I have to get creative because this run was 8 miles and I'm slow. So, I did my warm up, stopped the treadmill, and restarted it and did the speedwork, after that was done I had to restart the treadmill again to cool down. A lot of work, but I have to be creative.

Friday, I had 3 on the schedule but I was only able to finish 2. It was an incredibly busy day and that was all I had time for because I had to squeeze it in. Nothing to write home about.

Now, for the weighty issues. I have been so embarrassed and ashamed about this but I have gained weight, and not just a little weight... a whole lot and it's time to own up to it. I've gained 15 pounds, and I am not proud or happy about it. That being said, I am not going to let this hold me back and I am already working on coming back from this. I'm back to journalling my food, and making smart and clean choices. This isn't going to stop my weight loss journey which had sort of stalled out, it's bump in the proverbial road and I am going to come back from this stronger.

With the marathon around the corner and the weight thing, it's time to put the nose to the grind stone and get to work. It's crunch time!

Next post, is the 13.1 Atlanta race report... stay tuned.

13.1 Atlanta - DONE

2011-10-02T14:03:00.001-04:00

Half marathon #2 is done and in the books. Will post a full report asap.

Three Things Thursday

2011-09-29T16:50:00.000-04:00

1. I have half marathon #2 on Sunday. I'm keep oscillating between being extremely nervous and excited. I've managed to freak myself out a few times but ultimately I know it's going to be a great race. Not looking for a PR, just looking for a spinning medal. Yup, 13.1 Atlanta has a spinning medal.

2. I was looking at my calendar for October, and I am a busy girl. I have a few photo shoots, one of them being on Sunday in the late afternoon after the race in fact. I have races lined up for 3 weekends in October, I might drop the Run Like Hell 5K if it feels like it's just too much, although I am really looking forward to doing this race with my dear friend Brooke. We were planning on super awesome co-ordinating costumes, we both want to win the costume contest.

3. This group teaches another type of dance fitness, and when I grow up, I'd like to be able to move like them.

Back In Business!

2011-09-25T23:50:00.002-04:00

I'm no longer feeling like death...SCORE!!! You know what that means? I'm back in business, and back on track with training. Monday was the first longer run since I got sick, I had 8 miles on the schedule. I had K join me for this run. It was slow and it was tough but I was pretty jazzed about being out at it again.

Then Wednesday, I had 14 miles. I was so worried about this one because it had been so long since I had covered that kind of mileage. I'll be honest, it was TOUGH. As always, the first 4-5 miles are hard for me, I usually get into a good groove between miles 5-10 and this was the case with this run as well. Last long run, I resorted to some silly mind games to get through. The funny thing about this run was that there were some shirtless dudes running and little did they know, they pulled me along for a while. Is there anyway, these guys want to slow down their pace a little and come with me to my next races? Maybe I should ask. I got the miles done, and on the way home, I stopped at a gas station and picked up two bags of ice. Oh yeah, I took an ice bath, and I liked it. I've done this before and I might be a freak of nature but I like the ice baths, yes, you read that right. Getting in that tub is tough but those 10 minutes in the ice bath are sort of glorious.

As for Friday and Saturday's runs... they were a struggle. Friday, I was dragging after having taught my class. Saturday, I was just thinking about everything except the run and my head just wasn't in it. The funny thing about not having my head in the run is that, later that afternoon I went to pick up my race number for 13.1 Atlanta next Sunday. Yup, I'm back to racing too and October is going to be a busy race month for this girl. See, I'm back in business!!!

The Fun and Not So Fun Runs

2011-09-15T16:30:00.002-04:00

It's been ages since I've updated the blog. First, I went out of the country, then I got sick, which I am almost positive is because of the flight. Of course, I couldn't just get a cold, nope, not me, I ended up with mild bronchitis. It's been trying both physically and mentally, and I had quite the epic pity party for myself. No worries, because now, I am very slowly but surely starting to feel better and no more pity parties. I even managed a little run yesterday, nothing too epic but it's better than nothing, the lungs were still not feeling 100% but at least I didn't feel like total death. Hoping to be feeling 100% ASAP.

I've got a picture laden post from the trip to Nicaragua that I will share with you all tomorrow. We all had a fabulous time and I am glad that we all got to go and everyone enjoyed the trip. I was so worried about B and Patrick because it was their first visit, but I had nothing to worry about at all.

Here is the post I wrote and never posted before I left...

Fun and Not So Fun Runs

Monday August 29th was long run, and it was another mileage PR and it was also probably one of the most difficult runs I've every done both physically and mentally.

Miles 1-5 - K joined me for the first 5. It was nice to have company to get things started, and to make it better, the weather could almost be classified as nice.

Miles 5-10 (aka- The Rockstar Miles) - These five seemed to fly by. I took a completely different course than I am used to and it kept the run fun and interesting. The path I took, had me passing one of the golf courses in town and it all looked so serene it made me consider giving golf a shot again, then I realized that I had only ever tried golfing once before and it was a disaster. Hey, at least the view was very pretty.

These rockstar miles happened to be some of the most entertaining. How, you ask? Well, I'll tell you, I was playing some down and dirty tricks. I added a Lucy spin to some of the tricks that are mentioned in Jeff Galloway's Mental Training book. One of them involves you pretending to sort of lasso the person in front of you with a rubber band and have them pull you. I had no one in front of me, so I got creative and pretended that there was someone in front of me. Now, I couldn't leave it at just that, I had to pretend that the person in front of me happened to be some sort of gorgeous male model, who loved to run, and happened to be shirtless. Don't judge, it's what helped me rock out those miles, and for the record, I was laughing to myself as I was imagining this scenario. I used some other tricks I'd read about but the rubber band lasso thing with the shirtless dude was by far the funniest.

Miles 11-16 (aka the Anti Rockstar miles) - THEY SUCKED! Did you get that? I cried, I questioned myself about why I even wanted to do the marathon. I was hating everything and everyone. I was so glad when it was over but I was a total bitch the rest of the day.

The next day, my dear friend Christina joined me for a recovery run. It started as a run, until my leg and knee started bothering me. So we ran the first mile, and walked the second but the company was so awesome that it didn't even matter. She's one of my dearest friends, so when I asked her to go to Starbucks afterwards, she obliged. That was the best part of the entire day!

Then there was redemption run, it was 7 miles and I did have my leg and knee bother me a little but it didn't stop me. SUCCESS! I had some good music going, a pace goal, and things to get done that kept me motivated and moving. Sadly, no shirtless guys to play mind tricks on myself, so I had to resort to focusing on all that other stuff. In all seriousness, it felt good to run and not feel defeated by the legs and knee pain.

Homeward Bound

2011-09-05T17:19:00.001-04:00

I'm on a plane on my way home from a weekend trip to Nicaragua. I have a post about last week's training, and an another about my trip. I had fun but I am glad to be heading home.

Hitting The Trails

2011-08-25T09:40:00.000-04:00

I posted about doing my first trail run here, and I am sure you were wondering why I would do that. Well, the wonderful people from The North Face Endurance Challenge contacted me and gave me the opportunity to participate in their race that's coming to the Atlanta area in October. I'll be honest with you, it definitely out of my comfort zone, but like I tell B all the time... "How do you know if you'll like something unless you try it?"So, here we go, I'm trying it and getting ready for The North Face Endurance Challenge 5k, I chose the 5K because this is my first trail race and I did not want to over do it for the first race. So, stay tuned to hear all about my new adventures in trail running.

Check out this video about the race.

Want to join me? Just click on the picture below and come join the fun, it's going to be an incredible race. You're not in the Atlanta area? Well, you can always come to Atlanta and join me, or check out any of the other races they have going on around the country.

I Don't Hate Running

2011-08-23T23:55:00.000-04:00

So, I've decided that it was the anger talking yesterday when I said that I hate running. I actually love it, I know, I think I am some sort of masochist. Someone was talking about running before my Zumba class this evening and I perked right up, and I could have sat there and chatted with her if I didn't have a class to teach. I realized right then and there that I really do love running, and my ranting and complaining yesterday was mostly due to the fact that I was a Bitchy McBitcherson yesterday.

So, since everyone is in bed and I have a run in the morning, I decided to make a new playlist. I went to jog.fm and looked for some inspiration. The funny thing is that I had all of these songs in my collection, I just needed to have my mind jogged a little (no pun intended). Check out what I came up with, it's pop-tastic, old, new and in between.

Do you have a pump up song? If so, what is it?

The Good, The Bad, & The Badass

2011-08-23T10:55:00.001-04:00

The Good

Friday, I finished my very first trail run. I'll have to be honest with you, I didn't think that I would enjoy it at all, but I had a blast. I thought it would be the perfect place to test out my country music playlist, ok, it was just a lot of Taylor Swift and some Dixie Chicks (don't judge, I don't care about their politic views, I just liked their music). Anyways, check out the run in pictures.

Love that this is right here in PTC, it was conveniently located on the way home
from my Friday morning Zumba class.

Overly dramatic reaction - "Oh my goodness, I can't believe I'm actually going to do this."

Here we go...

Came across this, it was so serene

Trotting along trying not to trip and fall flat on my face.

One mile down, and I haven't broken anything.

When I saw this, I knew I was almost done.

Who was rocking out to some T-Swizzie and finishing up her
first trail run? This girl!

The Bad

Last Week's Speedwork - I had a bad workout and I couldn't do the workout as it had been set out for me. I was having trouble keeping the pace and it was an all around mess. I got the miles in but it was not at the assigned speeds.

The Badass

Monday was my very first run over 13.1 miles, I finished 14 miles and I didn't die. That being said, I had a few moments where I thought that I was going to drop, the heat and humidity were killer. K, whom I hadn't run with in a very long time joined me today for the first 11 of the run. I'll be honest with you, it was weird to have someone run with me again, I have been on my own for most of my runs this training cycle that I guess I'd forgotten what it was like to have someone with me. I enjoyed having some company but it also threw me off a little because K talks a lot, and sometimes the conversation wasn't always too motivating. Don't get me wrong, I love to chat during a run but yesterday just didn't feel right with K and the conversation was sometimes a little irritating. OK, I will admit that I was being a little unreasonable about the conversation thing, but this was after all an important run for me and I wanted it to be just right. Plus, I was in a bit of a mood when we started, so just add something else to the stink pile.

The weather during the run was pretty miserable, it was hot and humid, but I kept trying to remind myself that it will eventually cool down and not all my long runs are going to be this hot and sticky. I was sweating like a pig, and smelled like a garbage can after the first 3 miles, I still had 11 more to go, and I can only imagine the scent that the people we passed got to experience. As the run went on, I just got stinkier and sweatier. Oh yeah, and guess what I had again... CHAFING. I rushed through the chafe cream application and I learned a hard lesson about it. I will never again rush through the application process...OUCH. Also, I think it's time for different shorts, by the end of yesterday's run, they were irritating me. So, during the run I also had the hanging skin on my arm irritate and slap me a few times, it was like my own personal portable cheering section. Then, there were the knees and hips, they were definitely talking to me a few times during the run. Alright, let's cut to the chase, everything and everyone was irritating me, I was a crabby bitch.

Speaking of crabby, I may have blurted out some less than stellar things like....
- This is so stupid, why am I doing this?
- I hate running
- Why the f- did I sign up for a stupid effing marathon?
- Why is it so f-ing hot?
- This is the stupidest thing I've ever done.

Obviously, it was the heat and general irritation talking because 14 miles is pretty bad ass even if it wasn't pretty to get it done. I did have to walk a little more than I would have liked but I covered the miles and that's still pretty bad ass. You know what else is bad ass? ICE BATHS! I did the whole ice bath thing after the run, and it was an experience like none other. I set the timer, put on a sweater and plopped myself in the tub. Oh buddy, it was something else, but I think it was worth the discomfort.

Guest Blogger Post

2011-08-16T11:38:00.001-04:00

I was approached by a fellow blogger named Jackie, she asked if she could be a guest blogger.

Lucy

Running Away From Fat

By: Jackie Clark

If you have mesothelioma, you are probably aware that it is important to maintain a desirable weight in order to stay healthy. Maintaining a healthy weight is a challenge in general, regardless if you are healthy or battling a disease such as cancer or obesity. After my friends chemotherapy and radiation treatments she needed to get healthy again and I needed to shed a few pounds. We figured that whatever I could lose she could gain. So we implemented a 90-day get healthy challenge.

Diet

The truth is, it was no big mystery. Most of us know about good nutrition; we just do not want to think about it! I followed the federal dietary guidelines and paid close attention to the recommended food groups. Most importantly, I cut my calorie intake to 1200 a day, and scorned foods high in fat, starch, and sugar. My friend did the same thing accept tried to increase her portion sizes, but supplementing high fat foods for fruits and vegetables.

Exercise

We swam and I gardened. I even purchased an inexpensive bicycle. We did floor exercises. (Yes, I admit it. When I first started doing floor exercises, I could not see my toes, much less touch them!). We began walking a lot. I wasn’t used to being a pedestrian and crossing streets was harrowing at first. The traffic made me nervous, so I trotted to beat the intersection lights. As I began losing weight, I found myself crossing intersections on a run, while my friend trotted to keep up. It felt so good, I decided to get up early every morning and go for a run. (I still waddled a bit and didn’t want my neighbors to see me). I had decided to weigh just once a month, but I knew I was losing weight. I could almost feel the pounds melting off, every single day! I was losing weight so fast, I had to go every few weeks and buy a few clothes (Love it!).

In a measly 90 days, I went from tipping the scale at 198 pounds to balancing the scale at 110. (I didn’t get sick, become anorexic, develop the rickets, or experience any of the other dire warnings we have grown up with. In fact, I had never felt so great in my life!). My friend was able gain weight too. So who won? Technically, I did, but in actuality, we both did!

Our weight battles were an exceptionally proud moment in both of our lives. We both had accomplished great feats. I had lost weight and she had gained. However, the mesothelioma life expectancy is between four and eighteen months. So for her the weight gain meant she was able to live one more day. Actually she got 90 plus days and counting. Regardless of ones reasons for trying to get healthy the benefits of exercise and running for me in particular have given me a new outlook on life. I have energy and a new found confidence in myself. Live is good, and I am lucky to have had this experience with a true hero, my friend the survivor.

*This guest post does not reflect my own beliefs on nutrition and weight loss.*

Marathon Training Week 15's Long Run and Giveaway Winner

2011-08-15T23:44:00.000-04:00

Let's break down today's run in bullet point form. Why, you ask, to you I say why the heck not.

I had a TON of fun during this run today! I sang a little, had a few dancey moments, you know my usual.
I had a ton of cyclists and people in golf carts scare the begabbers (to use B's term) out of me.
Apparently, I suck at taking pictures of myself while running. See below for evidence.

I saw some thoroughly amusing graffitti. Peachtree City is about as gangsta as June Cleaver.

The weather was awesome because it was hot but it didn't feel like I was in some sort of torture sauna.
I was on my own again, but I was actually ok with that. I managed to push myself when I needed a little push, and keep it going.
I didn't take my normal route exactly. I started at a completely different spot and did the first six of the run, on part of the paths I don't normally run, I did the three mile route I knew twice, and then crossed the road to the marked 6 mile loop around the lake. It kept the run interesting and fun.

Now, for the announcement, the winner of my very first giveaway. I used Random.org to pick the winner.

The winner is #9, none other than Fruit Fly herself. Shoot me an e-mail at runchunky [at] gmail [dot] com.

Stay tuned, I have a few other giveaways coming up. I also have a guest blogger tomorrow, so there's lots of fun stuff coming up.

Ch-ch-changes

2011-08-14T23:59:00.001-04:00

This week's theme- Change

This past Monday was week 14's long run, and it was 11 miles. First things first, I made that 11 miles my b*tch, just thought you should know, even if I did it rather slowly. This also happened to be B's first day of second grade, and let's touch on that before I tell you about the long run. The morning started out with little Miss "I've Been 7 For A Whole Week So I think I'm Grown" copping quite the little attitude. Then, when we got to school, she was too cool to take more than one "first day of school" picture. I also can't forget to tell you guys that I got in trouble when crossing from the school to the parking lot because I didn't cross at the crosswalk. Mind you, there were no kids out, the bell had already rung, and I was a little misty eyed at the thought of my baby not being a baby anymore. Yeah, so after that I cried in my car for a minute, because mad emotional is just how I roll somedays. After, I had a coffee date with a friend, so we could have our official first day of school date, like we had last year.

So finally, I was off running after an interesting start that morning. I decided to run my usual route, but backwards, and added miles by running through neighborhoods that butt up to the paths. Of course, I ran into a bunch of people I know when I looked like an awful hot mess, and about to melt into the pavement. One of the people I ran into was Celia, who follows the blog, and stopped me because she recognized me from the blog. I almost felt like a celebrity, thank goodness I managed to keep the paparazzi at bay. Also, I kept oscillating from incredible miles, to miles where I thought I saw snails moving faster than me. Thankfully, when I saw Celia, I was having a rockstar mile, so I probably didn't look like that much of a mess, or at least I didn't in my head. I had the tunes going, and it was a nice mix of everything under the sun, we're talking Britney, Poison, Barbara Streisand... it was AWESOME! Somewhere around mile 9, I think I started to lose my head a little, the heat and humidity was killer. See, I have photographic evidence.

Somehow, I managed to waddle on through 11 miles. I was pretty darn happy, even if it was slow... so slow in fact that I think I got Granny'd by a lady near the Senior Citizen's complex. This my longest solo run ever, so I had some stuff to celebrate. Also, did I mention there was some new chafing?! I thought I had covered all the important spots with my chafe cream but apparently, I missed a spot, because I had some serious chafe action. OUCH! *TMI WARNING* I had never chafed in the spot where on my bum on the spot where the undies rubbed it, but let me tell you that I have now. My butt was on fire, not a good situation.

So, this week the schedule was mixed up so I can now officially have two rest days, and I couldn't be happier about that. Now, I get to chill out on Thursdays and Sundays, which means no pilates for me until after the marathon, but I can deal with that. It felt great to have Thursday off, seriously, I almost didn't know what to do with myself. Ok, that's a bit of a stretch, the day was busy, but it was weird not going to the gym.

This change means that I did my speedwork on Wednesday, and it was a tough workout this week. I seriously thought I was going to die and/or fly off the treadmill. I am not a fan of this, but I have to remember that it's going to pay off. It will pay off, right? Lie to me if you must.

This past week was all about changes. Changes to the schedule, B's back at school so my life can return to normal, oh yeah and a new place to chafe. Ok, not that many changes, but good and welcomed changes nonetheless.

Three Things Thursday

2011-08-04T21:39:00.001-04:00

1. My mom is in town, and B is just on cloud nine. She loves her grandma, but only until my dad get here tomorrow when grandpa will be the center of her universe.

2. I did some hill repeats today, and I was pretty sure that my legs were going to fall off. They were definitely talking to me, and I know I'll feel them tomorrow.

3. Have you entered my very first giveaway? You haven't?! Well, just click THIS link, and enter for your chance to score a shiny new Sweaty Band.

Sweaty Bands Review and My First Giveaway

2011-08-03T15:12:00.000-04:00

I am always looking for looking for headbands because of my hair style, I get bits and pieces that are always flying in my face when I have it in a ponytail. I'd heard of Sweaty Bands in the past, and I had even seen them at the Fit For A Princess Expo in February. In July, I was at the Peachtree Road Race Expo and I happened upon the Sweaty Bands stand. I knew I just had to try them, and little Miss B wanted to try them as well, so I bought her one of the thin bands with polka dots, and I bought myself a hot pink thick band.

Bella wore her as soon as we bought it, and has also worn it to dance camp where it stayed in place looked pretty darn adorable.

I decided to test mine out at my first Zumba class after I bought it, and I was completely shocked at how well it stayed in and kept the little hairs out of my face. I guess that I had to see for myself it would actually stay in place through an entire class without me having to stick bobby pins in or readjust the headband. Imagine my surprise when I didn't have to worry about the headband at all, it stayed in place, looked super cute, and fit like a dream even on my gigantic head.

Held strong through an entire Zumba class.

Looks great with my Zumba gear too!

I didn't just wear it to Zumba class, I wore it to pilates, to training and on all of my treadmill runs. Actually, I love it so much I wear it almost daily. I say almost, because I do have to wash it to get my stink off of it every once in a while. I am officially hooked on these head bands and will have to order some more asap.

Want to try them out? The wonderful people over at Sweaty Bands were kind enough to send over one of their awesome headbands for me to giveaway. So, you want to win one of these awesome sweaty bands?

Here's the band that could be yours.

Here's how to enter.

Leave a comment for each for a chance to win. Entries will be accepted until 8/13 at midnight.

Mandatory

1. Become a follower of my blog

Optional

2. Want to help an awesome friend of mine running her first half marathon in Savannah in November? She's running with DetermiNATION. Donate and earn more entries, you get an entry for every $5 you donate. DONATE HERE Leave a comment for every $5 donated.

3. Follow me on Twitter @LucyATL

4. Follow Sweaty Bands on Twitter @SweatyBands

5. Like Sweaty Bands on Facebook, let them know Lucy from Run Chunky Run sent you

6. Tell your friends and share this giveaway on your blog, facebook or twitter. One entry per share.

Marathon Training Week 12

2011-07-29T00:37:00.001-04:00

Monday morning was week 12's long run, and it was a doozie. Let me explain, this week I put B in a dance camp, and it's only a half day camp. So, Monday morning we both slept in and all the time I had scheduled before camp to get organized was officially out the window. We were running out the door and I was barely presentable to the civilized world but I got B to camp, but I had to get home to get my stuff and get ready for the run. By the time I started, I was an hour late from when I had planned on starting the run, but I had to get the run in anyway I could.

This run was on my own, I had a good mix of music going, and was feeling good. The heat of course was an issue but then again, it'll be an issue for a few more months so I just have to suck it up and deal with it. I was a little wary doing this run on my own, but I think it's mostly because I've never run 9 miles on my own. Obviously, it didn't kill me, but there were a few points where I had to remind myself that I didn't need someone else to push me, I could push myself. At 5 miles into the run, I frantically texted Lesley and let her know that I only had time to finish one more mile before I had to get Bella, and asked if it was ok to finish the last three on the treadmill. She ok'ed it, but told me to minimize the time between, and I busted over to camp to pick Bella up in record time and we were off to the gym. I finished the last three on the treadmill but the legs felt heavy and I was just feeling sluggish at that point, but I got it done even if I had to get a little creative.

Tuesday, I had to get a mile in, and I needed it after the Zumba class I had. I had a front row diva, who decided she was going to be a distraction during the whole class. She would stop dancing at certain points, made faces, had snide little comments, and even hid in the bathroom during one song she didn't like. I am going to talk to her about it next week if she decides to be a pain again on Tuesday. Anyways, I was fuming after class, and I didn't even run with music, I was just angry and needed to get it out.

Thursday was my speedwork day, and I was a little scared and dreaded it just a little. To make matters worse, I couldn't get it done in the morning because I had a photo shoot. Not a total loss because momma got paid, I liked getting paid, and getting paid to do something I love. Anyways, this evening I headed to the gym to get it done. I had music ready to go, but the tv on the treadmill kept me thoroughly distracted, and I needed to be distracted. I also brought an extra exercise towel to cover up the treadmill display, because looking at my speed, time and distance messes with my head, so after the warm up, I covered that puppy up. I peeked occasionally, but I really made an effort to not look and mess myself up. It was going well, and I was almost done when this guy came up behind me and scared the begabbers (Bella said that sounded better than snot). I nearly fell off the treadmill, and I scared a few people working out around me, I wish I had it on tape because I am sure it HILARIOUS. He wanted to move the fan that I had pointed at myself, I told him to take it, as long as he didn't scare me again. Anyways, I hit my pace, I had some moments where I had the urge to slow down but ultimately I finished the drill and didn't slow down.

Saturday, I have a 4 miler on the books, and I am tempted to run The People's Health Day 5K. Not sure, if it's a good idea because we have some prepping to do for B's birthday. We're having a little family get together at MIL's on Sunday and also having lunch at the American Girl store. Then on Monday, her actual birthday, she wants to watch The Smurfs movie and go to lunch with a few friends.

Tales From The Treadmill

2011-07-23T16:19:00.000-04:00

Due to the heat and the fact that I'm cheap and don't want to pay a sitter every time I have to run, I've been making friends with the treadmill. You might even consider us besties, next thing you know we'll have matching BFF necklaces and inside jokes. As soon as I step foot on the treadmill, the song "You're My Best Friend" by Queen plays...it's magical.

On Thursday though, I wasn't exactly happy with the tready. I thought I was going to die during the speed work session, obviously, I didn't but I wasn't happy with my dear friend tready. The workout was tough because it had been a LONG time since I had done any speed work. To add to that, whole body was sore from having gone to Group Power class instead of training with Amy the day before and pilates class before the run. If you aren't my dailymile friend then you haven't seen me complain about pilates, the class has been getting ridiculously challenging since she announced her pregnancy. I'm a little scared that the next couple of months in pilates might be the death of me.

Today, I got four miles in on with my BFF, I just felt the run out, watched a bit of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, chatted with K for a bit who was in the gym as well. It was nice to just enjoy the run, and not worry about anything in particular. Nothing too noteworthy about the run, it was just a good time. I'm going to spend the rest of the day with B and work on some choreo for my Zumba classes. Here's one of the songs that I am trying to work on.

Wright Socks Review

2011-07-20T23:12:00.000-04:00

The people at Wright Sock gave me the opportunity review some of their socks. They sent me three pairs of socks to review. I've been wearing these socks for all but one of my training runs during this training cycle.

Wright socks have a double layer anti-blister system, and they wick away moisture. I was intrigued by the double layer system because it's unlike anything that I have seen before, according to their site it helps reduce friction and eliminating skin shear.

Click here to get more information on the double layer anti-blister system.

CoolMesh II

CoolMesh II

The first pair I tested were their CoolMesh™II, and I was pleasantly surprised by these socks because I was used to running in a more cushioned sock. When I put them on they felt light, fit extremely well, but at first I wasn't sure how I would feel about these socks on a run. Imagine my surprise when I started running, and I enjoyed having these socks on. My feet stayed dry, the socks were comfortable and I didn't miss my old socks during the first run with these socks. These socks have become my go to socks for the summer, especially living in Georgia and running in the nasty heat here. I have also worn these socks for my Zumba classes and they were equally comfortable, and kept my feet comfortable. They are definitely my favorite of all the pairs I've tested. The overall fit and feel of these socks is impeccable, I will definitely be ordering a few pairs of these socks. I thought I loved super cushy socks until I tried these.

Cushion DLX

The Cushion DLX socks were the second pair of the wrightsocks that I tested. I wore these during some of my long runs of the marathon training cycle, as well as treadmill runs and during some of my Zumba classes. First of all, let me just say that these socks deliver on the cushion factor, they were comfortable and have felt great during all my activity. That being said, I preferred these socks for Zumba and just going to the gym, but that's just me.

Running II

The third pair is the Running II sock. These socks were thinner than than the cushioned sock, but slightly bulkier than the cool mesh. They too kept my feet cool and the fit and feel of these socks were wonderful. These too have become some of my favorite socks, no blisters, no discomfort, I couldn't ask for anything more.

Do yourself a favor and check out Wright Socks, they are well worth it. Also, check Wright Socks out on Facebook.

Wright Socks provided me the product in exchange for my honest review of their products.

Marathon Training Week 11

2011-07-19T22:50:00.001-04:00

Can you believe it's already 11 weeks into marathon training?! I certainly can't but I think that the ankle issues sidelining me has made it feel like I'm not that far into it. I am confident that I will be ready come November 5th, I have a sticker that needs to go on my car, there's work to be done.

So, yesterday was my long run and I ran this with Danielle and Karen, Karen joined us for a 1.5 miles, because she had somewhere she needed to be. It was a great run, it was slow but it was hot so it all balanced out. We chatted the whole way, about a little of everything, nothing like a run to work out all of life's problems. Guess what?! I had a milestone during this run, I usually stop to use the restroom during my long runs and this time I didn't stop. I am sure that most times when I stop, it mostly because I have trained my self to stop as opposed to actually having to go. That being said, I was pretty happy to see the toilet when I got home, because I've had a kid and sometimes there is only so much bouncing my bladder can handle. Alright, that's enough pee talk, I'm sure that's not what you want to know about, the real draw is hearing about all the stuff we run into during the runs. It's summer and there is just a whole lot of nature going on around here, so we have a lot of redneck Disney Princess like moments with wildlife on the paths. Sadly, this run we were dodging a lot of woodland creatures that were not so lucky.Do we get bonus points for the weaving and dodging the whole way? Did I mention that after this run, I am going to have to retire some of my favorite socks? My experia socks actually rubbed my feet during this run and hurt. I am officially going to be running in my wright socks during the hot weather. Anyways, we did well with the run until mile 6, then we hit the wall, we were ready for the run to be over, it was a mix of heat, and just physical exhaustion. We finished but it wasn't pretty, and to be honest with you, I was ok with that. I got home, iced myself down and took a little nap because let's face it, naps are AWESOME.

Today, I had a training run scheduled before I taught my Zumba class and for the second week in a row, I've had to get the mile in after class. Unlike last week, I didn't nearly mess my pants, so I see that as a win. I love the treadmills at the gym that I teach at on Tuesday nights, they have Nike+ on all their machines, so the workout gets stored right onto my ipod. I listened to some Me First And The Gimme Gimmes to offset all the latin music I've been listening to lately trying to spice up my Zumba class.

Here's a little Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, I've had the Billy Joel version of this song stuck in my head for a few days.

I'll have some giveaways for you guys coming up in the next few weeks, I'm even going to have one that'll be for you local followers, so stay tuned.

The Treadmill Doesn't Always Suck

2011-07-16T23:20:00.003-04:00

This morning I had 5 miles on the schedule, Patrick was working, and I didn't want to pay for a sitter, so off to the gym I went to get the miles in on the treadmill. I had been reading my Mental Training For Runners book before I headed out, and decided to use a few of the tricks that the chapter I was reading had just started to touch on. Plus, before I even walked into the gym I made the conscious decision that I was going to have a good run. This run wasn't good, it was great! I normally dread the treadmill, and when on the actual treadmill, staring at the numbers and praying for it to be over as quickly as possible. Well, this time was different. I had a movie loaded on my phone, I had good music, I had a plan to make this run work. I started out and I felt a little achy but as soon as I got warmed up all that went away. I felt great during the run, I watched the people in the Zumba toning class and listened to my music. For the first time ever, the treadmill did not feel like a chore. To add to the general awesomeness, the ankle felt great and so did the knees. EPIC WIN!

Three Things Thursday

2011-07-14T23:50:00.000-04:00

1. Today was a tough day with motivation. I woke up late and was a few minutes late to pilates, then I put my run off until this evening because I was just having such a hard time getting it together. Once on the treadmill, I had to keep myself distracted with tv and people watching to get it done today. Some days are just better than others.

2. I've been hooked on Trader Joe's chile spiced mango right now. Have you tried it? It's awesome! I actually just love Trader Joe's in general.

3. I've been low on patience for BS lately. I've had to bite my tongue a few times in the last few days, to make sure that I don't say anything mean that I might regret later.

Lazy Blogger

2011-07-13T09:38:00.000-04:00

I've been a lazy blogger lately, I had a ridiculously busy week last week. So, I was back to running last week and if felt great. I was a little worried about the ankle but it held up really well, which was a pleasant surprise. The issue that I had going on last week was the HEAT! Georgia's turned into a sauna, seriously, a friggin' sauna. Last week's runs were all fairly slow and I think that the heat and humidity played a hand in my extra slow runs. In the end, it didn't matter because I was so thankful to be running again. I had missed running, but I didn't realize quite how much until I was out there again. Oh, and in case you were interested, I've been running in shorts and I couldn't be happier. I think that next on deck will be a skirt sports skirt or a sparkle skirts tech skirt.... living on the wild side.

I am working on my first giveaway to help one of my very best friends who is running her first half marathon with DetermiNATION in November. Anyone have any tips on how to run this giveaway smoothly and maybe get some sponsors on board? So far, I've just purchased some things to give away.

Independence 5K Virtual Race Report

2011-07-06T16:29:00.000-04:00

Monday morning was my first official run back since the ortho told me to lay off the running to let the ankle heal. Since, it was Fourth of July and since Lesley had me down for 3 miles, I decided why not make it a 5K and join a virtual race at that.

I meant to wake up at 5:00 so I could get this run in as early as I could fathom doing it, sadly, I ignored my alarm and slept until 6:00. Not too bad under normal circumstances but I had to be back home in time for Patrick, Bella and I to head to the Fourth Of July parade. I got myself dressed and headed down to the lake.

The view was gorgeous

I decided to stick to 4:1 intervals for this run because I was terrified that I would kill my ankle if I just went for it. I started out and was pleasantly surprised when the ankle didn't bother me at all, except there was something else that was bothersome... my knees. Oh well, I didn't let it stop me although it did slow me down.

One mile in and I was feeling good.

Remember how I wrote about needing to buy some shorts and getting over my issue with wearing them. Well, I bought some shorts and I even wore them for this run. I assumed because it was so early, it would be a good way to get over my issues because there wouldn't be so much traffic on the paths. What I forgot to take into account was the fact that everyone and their brother was on the paths going to claim their spots along the parade route and where I run on the paths was very close to the parade route. So most of Peachtree City saw me in shorts, and to make matters worse it seemed that almost every golf cart that passed me had someone I know riding in it. I guess that was one way to get over my phobia of wearing shorts in public.

Almost done... hot, sweaty and a general mess.
(Just ignore the hanging arm skin...yuck)

The miles passed fairly quickly in my mind, I was people watching and enjoying seeing all the decorated golf carts. Every time I felt like walking and it wasn't a walk break, I kept reminding myself that I had to hurry it up and get home to shower and head out with the family, and it was pretty good motivator. I do have to say that the heat and humidity was a HUGE pain, I was sure that I was on my way to melting into a puddle. Gotta love Georgia in July! I finished the run, and was slightly bummed with the time but that was quickly overshadowed by the fact that I was out running again. How can you not love that?! I was so happy to be running again, I'd missed it a lot and had a bad case of running envy.

Not my best, not even close but it was the first run back after all.

Expo Crashing

2011-07-03T12:53:00.000-04:00

I might not be running the Peachtree Road Race on Monday, because I messed around and didn't enter the lottery. Not having a number didn't keep me from crashing the expo, alright, I didn't crash it per say because it was open to the public. I took B with me, and I will definitely be taking her to more expos because homegirl loaded up on freebies and she was just stinkin' adorable chatting up all the vendors at the expo. My main reason for going to the expo is because I knew that the people from One More Mile would be there and I wanted some of their shirts. So, while we are there I came up on the Galloway Training booth and guess who was there... Jeff Galloway himself. He and I chatted for a while, and he signed the mental training book that I bought. I realized after I walked away that I should have asked to take a picture with him, but when I went back, he had left the booth and I didn't want to be weird and wait for him to get back. The expo was pretty cool, but I went in the afternoon and by that time the place was CROWDED, it seriously felt more crowded than the Princess expo. Also, going to the expo just made me sad that I hadn't signed up for the race, I even considered buying a number from someone. Did I mention that people were standing outside of the building buying and selling race numbers. It looked like athletic drug deals going down. So, next year I will enter the lottery and hopefully I'll get a number, if I don't, I'll buy one.

Here's the whole haul from the day.

Here's the haul

I just had to have this hat.

Some Sweaty Bands for B and I. Plus, I got us two headbands from
Hippie Runner.

Remember how Shannon gave me a 13.1 sticker last year? Well, I thought
I'd buy myself a 26.2 sticker that I'll display after the big day
and headband for motivation.

Had to get a 13.1 one too.

With the heat, I'm going to have to run really early so this is necessary
for safety sake.

Got a Hippie Runner race belt as well. Thought it's be good to have
GU and such handy with those loops.

The doctor who wrote this was giving out his book.

Thought this might help me up my mental game.

Jeff Galloway autographed it for me.

Front of shirt #1

Back of shirt #1

B wanted this necklace and I caved and got it for her.

Fabulous and Fierce Friday

2011-07-01T13:44:00.002-04:00

First things first, today is Canada Day and I have already started the festivities. I wore my Canada tank to teach my Zumba class this morning, and even I high fived a fellow Canuck at CVS this morning. If I had thought about it when I was home, I would have picked up a pack of mix for the gravy that goes on poutine. Poutine, you ask.. well, poutine is a Canadian dish that's french fries, with gravy and cheese curds. It looks nasty but tastes so good, I'm serious.

Since, I'm talking about Canada and such here's a list of some of the many famous Canucks. Us Canadians walk among you...

And then just because I love these two videos...

Alright, on to other things. I've been sidelined from running for a while because it turns out that my ankle was sprained. Imagine how jealous I get when I see all the runners around here running and generally looking so bad ass. So, I've been doing the rehab exercises and last week I was sporting a super sexy ankle brace. What?! You didn't know that ankle braces were sexy... well, now you know. Please try not to be too jealous that I still get to rock it when I work out and that I'll have to keep wearing it when I start running again. I'm considering decorating the thing with some fabric paint and such... I'll post pictures if I do. According to the orthopedist, I can't run again until Monday, I'm a little worried about it because of course no one ever wants to re-injure themselves. The ankle thing has been a blessing and a curse. I haven't been able to run but I've been working on the weight loss thing and it's finally getting back on track. Also, because I can't teach my Zumba classes like I normally do, I've had to get creative with teaching and really work on my verbal and visual cueing without actually doing some of the things. I really feel that it's making me a better instructor and my classes have all stepped up and delivered too. Gotta love that!

Hope everyone has fun stuff going on this lovely long weekend! Now stop reading my ramblings and go enjoy a FABULOUS FRIDAY and a kick ass weekend!

My Trip To Toronto In Pictures

2011-06-29T00:34:00.001-04:00

Here is my trip to Toronto in pictures...

Let's face it, who wants to read about my two week trip? Pictures on the other hand... a whole lot easier.

B was pretty jazzed to be at my parent's.

Grandpa had to show her around.

Took B to see The Lion King, this was taken
the day we showed up on the wrong day.

Casa Loma

B hanging out with my sister Alex.

The crew at Casa Loma

Niagara Falls is one of my favorite places in the whole world.

View from the CN Tower

Just chillin' on the glass floor.

This is her fierce pose

B had her first street dog.

So, there you have it...

Runaway Bride/Diva Dash 5K Race Report

2011-06-27T11:56:00.000-04:00

This race report is only about 3 weeks late, but who's keeping tabs?! The day started well enough, I met my friend Brooke at the location and I knew she was getting dressed up for the race but imagine my surprise when I saw exactly how much she got into the costume thing. The race directors encouraged people to dress up and get into the spirit of it, but Brooke took it to the next level. She is SHAMAZING!!! (That means the sh*t and amazing)

B and her beloved Miss Brooke

Brooke and I before the race.

We picked up our numbers, took advantage of the pre race goodies they were giving out and we took some pictures in the photobooth that was set up there. We also met up with Brooke's friend Lisa, who also ran with me during the 5K at B's school. We all made our way to the start and got ready to run like we stole something.

Brooke and her friend Lisa

Lisa got into the spirit of the costume thing too!

In theory, running like we stole something was a good idea. I didn't account for the incredible heat of that particular morning and the fact that my ankle would cause me trouble during the run. So, we set off and I was trotting along nicely but before I knew it the ankle started bothering me, and it did not let up during the run. I ended up walking... A LOT! I ended up walking with Lisa for a while, she too was having ankle issues and was walking. We chatted, and kept each other company for a while, which was nice because with the ankle and the awful heat I would have faded fast on my own. There came a point in the course where TONS of people were cheating and cutting a big part of the course. I WAS PISSED! The kicker is that it would have not been that difficult to have someone there making sure that people were staying on course. I broke away from Lisa, and ran for a while, I tried to stick to 4:1 intervals because the heat was unbearable. At one point the course was on a main road, which is normal, but the lack of traffic control is not. We were running and there were cars whizzing by and scaring the snot out of me. I had some major issues with the course, it was poorly laid out and dangerous in spots. I finished, but not in any time that I felt proud of.

After the race, we stuck around waited to see if Brooke had won an age group award as well as the costume contest awards. She took the costume award and they mentioned about using pictures of her for future races because she looked a lot like the girl in their logo. I guess it doesn't hurt that Brooke is creative, is a makeup artist and hair stylist extraordinaire. Also, there was supposed to be a kids race after the 5K was over, but they didn't do the kids race and Brooke's boys and Bella were heart broken. At least they were given all sorts of little toys and treats which obviously made everything better.

Showing off her prize for best costume.

First Guest Blog Post

2011-06-20T21:15:00.000-04:00

I'm home from my trip to Toronto. As I unpack, and re-organize, I thought I'd leave you all with an incredible entry from my new running partner Danielle. I met Danielle during my last go around in Lost It At The Club, and in Groove she was my running man buddy. You should see her running man... amazing. In all seriousness, she's a true inspiration and an all around awesome girl.

- Lucy

Guest Blog Post

As some of you know I am Lucy’s running partner now and will be doing the half and full marathons with her. She has been the best motivation as I am sure most of you can get from her blog and I couldn’t be more excited to finish this part of our journey together. A little background first on myself, I am 23 born and raised in Michigan and moved here to Georgia three years ago to attend school. I currently work at a hotel resort as a server in the restaurant while I am applying to new schools to attend here. Lucy asked me to write a little something about myself and basically tell you my story and journey of weight loss and overcoming obstacles so here it is…

Two years ago (June 19, 2009) I had planned this elaborate trip with my friend to go to Florida to pick up my other friend Zach and surprise our friend Brandon. She was picking me up at my house after I got out of class that day and we were on the road. We had both lied to our families saying we were going to Valdosta, GA (about a 3 hour drive) when in fact we were driving to Orlando, FL, the lie was out of fear of them telling us we didn’t need to spend the money and/or take the time off from work or school which essentially they would have been right and we knew that…hence the lie. Anyways, she picked me up and we started our journey for the fourth time that month to Florida (another reason we didn’t want to tell the truth to our parents), we were laughing, joking, listening to music, gossiping, all the normal stuff girls would do, that’s when it started to downpour rain. We joked about how we were used to it because every drive to Florida seemed to rain so we were unphased by this sudden downpour, until McKinley (friend and driver of the car) hit a puddle and hydroplaned down a hill on interstate 75. At that point my memory is gone; all I know is what was told to me. My memory of the next 3 weeks to a month was gone because she hit a tree on my side and I suffered the majority of the injuries; cracked rib, punctured lung, bruised spleen and liver, cracked clavicle (from seatbelt), and the worst of it a cracked skull and brain injury. I was in a medically induced coma for the first week of being in the hospital in Florida. I had a feeding tube in my stomach and mentally started at the age of a 3 year old so that included me being in diapers and I couldn’t walk because the head injury was on the right side and I had left side paralysis. Zach and Brandon figured it out and got a hold of a state trooper who verified our accident but couldn’t give names because they weren’t family. They called my friend Cory who called my mom in Michigan (she has never met Cory and he had to call and tell her that her daughter had been in a car accident) and then the stream of phone calls began. My mom flew down that night and my aunt and grandmother started the drive to Shands hospital in Florida. I spent two weeks in Florida before they transferred me to Shepherd Center in Atlanta (the same hospital that Christopher Reeves went to) and that is where I spent the remaining month and a half undergoing physical, occupational, and speech therapy so that I could mentally be in my 20s again. I had to teach myself how to walk again, feed myself, and use the bathroom by myself. I left the hospital a changed woman and will never take another day for granted. I instantly went into 8 weeks of outpatient therapy where the physical and mental help continued. Memories slowly started to come back but I was told that I will never remember the accident itself, funny how the brain works.

Onto my weight loss journey; after I came back and started back to normal life I realized that things would have been easier to recover had a not been so overweight. That is when I found Jamie and the Lost It program at World Gym. My first go around I lost 22 pounds and then I chose to do it a second time and I lost another 18 pounds. Putting my total weight loss at 40 pounds, I went from 221 to 180, a size 18 to a size 12, and the confidence of an ant to that of a rock star. I had some residual things from my accident that affected my exercising but I didn’t let that stop me.

I like to think that the journey I have been through in the short 23 years I have been here is enough to inspire me and others to keep pushing forward because there is light at the end of the tunnel. I got a second chance, not everyone gets that, and I refuse to screw that up by something stupid that I can change; like my health or weight. I had a goal to walk again, then to dance again, then to lose weight, and now my goal is to run a half and full marathon. I accomplished all the rest now why can’t I do this one? I know I can. Have a dream and go for it. You are the only one stopping yourself from making that dream come true.

Thank you Lucy for allowing me to be a part of your journey, letting me be motivated by you as my running partner, and for allowing me to share my story with everyone.

- Danielle

The Pity Party

2011-06-19T00:12:00.000-04:00

No Zumba Convention for me

Super quick.... throwing myself a pity party/kick myself in the butt party. I went to sign up for Zumba convention and the registration is now officially closed. Yesterday, it was open, I had decided which sessions I was going to sign up for, I was just waiting on the money. Today, I had the opportunity to sign up... but I was a day late. I'm so mad, mostly at myself because had I planned better, I'd be Orlando bound next month to party it up at Zumba convention. I was so excited and was really hoping I wouldn't miss this one like I missed the one last year. ARGH!!! I think I'm going to go cry... cry and pack, I'm going home tomorrow.

Toronto Update

2011-06-13T23:09:00.001-04:00

Super quick update...

- We're having a blast here, but sadly Patrick flies home tomorrow. We're here until Sunday.

- The Lion King was awesome, it was my third time seeing the production and it didn't disappoint.

- My ankle is still giving me trouble, it's got me a little worried.

- I'll have a lot of work to do when I get back, I've been eating entirely too much.

- I'll post pictures and such soon

Three Things Thursday (Toronto Edition)

2011-06-09T13:17:00.000-04:00

1. We showed up a whole day early to take Bella to see The Lion King yesterday. WHO DOES THAT?! Apparently, I do, not sure why I didn't check the tickets when we printed them up.

Taken before I had to break the news to her.

2. Did my treadmill run today and my ankle was definitely making itself known. STUPID ANKLE!

3. I am having a hard time not eating everything in sight lately. This is not boding well for the weight loss efforts. I really have to FOCUS!!!

Three Things Thursday (Late Night Edition)

2011-06-02T23:39:00.002-04:00

1. Ran my intervals on the treadmill this morning. I'm not going to lie, I sucked big time. I finished but I could have done better during the jogs between the speed push intervals. Plus, the knee was sore during the run.

2. SIL had a baby yesterday, and I'm in love. I love babies, especially babies who belong to others. That way, when I'm done playing with the baby I can ship the babe back to mom and dad without any issues.

3. Can't wait for my trip to Toronto on Tuesday. I miss my family and friends, the last time I was in Toronto was December 2009.

Marathon Training Long Run #4

2011-05-31T00:57:00.001-04:00

Alright, so I am such an airhead and somehow managed to miss my runniversary and blog-ivesary. On May 18th, 2010, I started this little blog journey and little did I know how much my life would change and how little I knew about running. So, let's see what this second year of blogging and running fun has in store for me.

This morning, I set out for marathon training long run #4. This morning's run was a little different because I had a brand spankin' new running partner with me...Danielle. She's a friend that I met during my last time doing "Lost It At The Club". To be honest, I was a little worried about running with her because it's someone new, and I didn't want to have a bad experience. Thankfully, it went really well, she slowed to my pace and then pushed me at the end where I felt like giving up. The time flew by with chatter about this and that, the conversation came easily and was thoroughly interesting and amusing. I knew that Danielle was awesome but I didn't realize how awesome. She's going to be writing a guest blog post for me sharing her story soon. I'll give you the short version, she's lost a lot of weight, but more importantly she has truly been given a second chance at life. A few years ago, she was in a car accident that resulted in a brain injury. She had to re-learn how to do so many things we take for granted, and she even had to re-learn how to walk, and now she's running and kicking butt. To listen to her tell her story, you can't help but feel inspired. I really can't wait for her to share her whole story with all of you because I could never do it justice. Did I mention that she's going to do 13.1 Atlanta with me as well as the full in Savannah?! I love surrounding myself with those who are awesome and awesomely bad ass!

The run started well, and we kept the 3:1 intervals, we stuck to the plan, and trotted along nicely. I was a little worried about my speed or lack there of but Danielle said she enjoyed the pace and stuck with me. I was grateful for the company because I know that I would have lagged a lot more had I not had someone with me. Also, I was super grateful to have her with me because at about 6.5 miles, I started to drag and Danielle didn't let me wimp out. During the run we ran by an aid station, a local running club had an aid station set out and they were kind enough to offer us some gatorade and even gave us some powerbar gels. Gotta love the kindness of other runners! There were lots of people out on the paths today, and can I just vent about how annoying the others on the paths not calling that they were coming. We had a handful of cyclists nearly run us down, incredibly rude. Then right around the point where I started to drag, I noticed that there was Memorial Day ceremony going on and we had to run right behind where the speakers were. We ran as fast as we could and tried to run around it as much as we could. The heat was starting to get pretty brutal by the end of the run and I was super glad that we started as early as we did.

This little gem was on the radio today... gotta love 90's weekends on Star 94 (one of the only reasons I listen to them).

Three Things Thursday

2011-05-26T10:28:00.001-04:00

1. Amy suggested I skip pilates today and just run because of how busy I've been. So, I had a date with the treadmill this morning. There were no tears today, I was just focused on completing the workout that Lesley had assigned for today. SCORE!!

2. Super jazzed to be having lunch with Shannon today, whom I haven't had a chance to hang out with in a long time.

3. Here's a song that's going to be my warm up song for my Zumba classes next week.

Let's Play Catch Up & Marathon Training Long Run Week #3

2011-05-25T14:06:00.000-04:00

Thursday

Started my day with pilates then followed it up with some intervals on the treadmill. I'll be honest with you, there tears. They were tough and the tears came not because the run was tough, which it was, but because I didn't quit even though I was very tempted. Can I just tell you how surprised I was when the tears came on?! It's tough to be bad ass when you are crying.

Then Thursday night, my dad flew in from Toronto to see Bella perform in her first grade play on Friday morning.

B and Grandpa hanging out

Friday

Friday was my first Friday in a while where I didn't teach my Zumba class. I subbed it out so that I could be at B's school to watch her Tony award worthy performance in "It Sounds A Little Fishy". Alright, maybe my baby is not going to be the next Broadway sensation but it was so stinkin' cute! I think Patrick said it best, the kids and the play was cuter than a litter of puppies. I pulled Bella out of school after the play because it's almost the end of school and they weren't doing much. Plus, I thought she should spend some time with Grandpa. My mom and dad had promised her an American Girl doll if she did well in school this year, and Miss Bella delivered, so we made the trek to the AG store so she could pick out her new doll, but not without taking one of hers with her to enjoy the festivities. To add to that, my dad wanted to go shopping so we spent the rest of the day shopping. My dad loves shopping...

Saturday

I had Zumba launch at one of the gyms that I work at, and let me just tell you it was fun but super exhausting.

Sunday

I missed Saturday's run, I ran a mile and walked a mile Sunday morning, to get myself moving. I got to try out my new shoes, did I mention that I got new shoes? I got another pair of Vomeros and I'm glad to have another pair of shoes in the mix.

Patrick and I decided to take Bella to the Renaissance Festival that was taking place very close to where we live. I'd never been to one before and he hadn't been since he was in high school, neither of us were really sure what to expect. Both Patrick and I thought it was alright and overly pricey and some of it was not really as family friendly as it was advertised. That being said Bella absolutely loved it.

An animal shelter had this one eyed killer, he was adorable.

My baby is a lot of things but graceful is not one of them.

She had to have a picture taken with the knight who won the joust.

Monday

Beginning of marathon training week #3, and third long run in this training cycle. I was on my own for this one, and I was glad because I just wanted to be alone. I put my ipod in and set out slowly because it was HOT, but I shouldn't be surprised because I do live in Georgia after all. I started out well enough, and then about a mile into the run, I felt the urge to go. Well, I knew that there is a bathroom at a super market I pass at the 2.5 mile mark, and I could hold it till then. Then the urge got worse, I tried ignoring it, but that didn't help. I started eyeing the trees on the path, but couldn't bring myself to go outside because it would be my luck that I would have someone see me. By the time I hit the second mile mark, I was starting to worry that I would end up with yellow socks. I would speed up so that I could get to the bathroom quicker and then slow down because I started to worry that I would have an accident. I even asked myself what would SUAR do, in an attempt to talk myself into going behind a tree, but I just couldn't do it. I don't think I have ever felt a feeling as heavenly as sitting on the toilet at Kroger, and I am sort of glad that it was empty because I might have let out one of those sighs. You know which sigh I'm talking about, we've all done it. Anyways, I headed back out and was trucking along then I saw a donut on the cart path, now, it's not unusual to see food on the cart paths because sometimes little kids throw things from their golf carts. What was unusual was the next donut I came across, then there were even more. For about 1.5 miles, I saw donuts and donut holes scattered along the path, which makes me wonder what exactly prompted someone to throw that many donuts. That's some serious sugar abuse. Look I have evidence...

One of the many left on the path... that's some serious sugar abuse.

The good thing about the donuts was that it gave me something to entertain myself with. I started concocting crazy stories as to how they got there, and why. Plus, because this is Georgia and there is tons of wildlife, so there were lots of birds pecking away at the discarded donuts. So not only was I making up my stories, I was having a quasi redneck disney princess moment with all the birds lining the path. It was almost magical and I managed to get 7 miles in, albeit slowly.

Marathon Training Long Run #2

2011-05-16T12:44:00.000-04:00

This morning was long run #2 in the marathon training plan. When I woke up this morning, it was looking like rain was coming so I made the decision to try the long run on the treadmill. K decided to join me, and if you read last week's entry It started well enough on the treadmill, but a mile in, I looked out and decided that I had to finish the run outside and possibly run in the coming rain. Plus, I wanted to have a bad ass moment, even if it was only a small bad ass moment. We got off the treadmill, ran to my car, slapped on my fuel belt that I had brought just in case the weather changed and put on Bubba (my Garmin). The weather was nice and cool, and it was drizzling which made the conditions feel almost heavenly. We were off, and I decided to avoid any issues like I had last week, I put my ipod in and had one ear bud in, so I could focus on my music if K's chatting got to me. She only irritated me this run when she had negative things to say, like talking about the hills etc. A few times before she totally irritated me and I said something rude, I took a few walking steps and let her get ahead of me. The way I looked at this run was that it was a solo run and she just happened to be on the golf cart paths with me. I know it's not the nicest but like Shannon once said to me, I had to run for no one but myself. I felt really strong mentally during the run, which was a HUGE confidence booster.

From a physical standpoint, I felt pretty good. My knees were a little sore but that's from my arthritis, and they are usually a little sore when it's going to rain. I joke that they are my own personal weather stations. I did chat with K about shoes, and I think that it's time to add another pair of shoes into rotation, because the shoes I am running in are in good shape but I need more. Plus, I love shoes and any excuse to buy new shoes, especially running shoes. Plus, I want to avoid causing myself any injuries because of my shoes. Anyways, let me tell you a little funny story about what happened post run. So, towards the end of the run, it actually started raining a little harder than the slight drizzle we'd had during the whole run, so my shirt got wet. I walked back into the gym to stretch and use the bathroom after the run, I headed to bathroom and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I didn't take a picture because I can't go around taking pictures of my chest without charging you guys. I had two big dry spots on my shirt, right on my boobs! Let me tell you, it was a sight. It looked a little something like this...

I know you are wowed and amazed with my doodlin' skills.

Epic Weekend and Week One of Marathon Training Wrap Up

2011-05-16T00:58:00.000-04:00

Saturday

I woke up early, and hit the treadmill and got my miles in before Patrick had to go to work. After that, I had to go practice for a Zumba launch at one of the gyms I work at. After that, I had to make myself look and smell presentable because I had a senior photo shoot with my friend Shannon's oldest daughter. Can I just tell you that I had the most fun ever during this photo shoot! Met up with Shannon after the shoot so she and her daughter could have a quick look at the shots. I headed home to get ready because I had a date with my friend Christina and one Jon Bon Jovi. We had awesome seats and had an incredible time, even if I was a tad late and walked into Phillips Arena as they started playing their first song.

Sunday

I tried my best to sleep in but B had other plans, she barged into our bedroom and made her presence known so the plan to sleep in was a FAIL. It was a planned rest day and it mostly for one exception. I was part of a Zumba flash mob at an event called Taste of Fayette.

Here is a video of the flash mob if you're interested... (I was towards the back of the crowd)

Week One Marathon Training Wrap Up

So, first week of marathon training is done. Feeling great and looking forward an epic week two of training. Monday, I got my long run in; Thursday, I did some intervals on the TM; Saturday, got 3 miles in on the tm. Did weight training on Wednesday and Friday, plus taught my three Zumba classes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. I was super proud of getting it done according to the plan this week.

Insane Saturday

2011-05-14T10:34:00.000-04:00

1. Got 3 miles in on the treadmill this morning... it's done, that's all I'll say about that.

2. About to head out to rehearse for a Zumba launch next week at work.

3. After that, I have a high school senior shoot, I am really looking forward to this one because I LOVE working with seniors.

4. Then to top off my day, I am going to see this guy....

I plan on giving love a bad name.

Sunday's plan..... do as little as humanly possible.

Friday, I'm In Love

2011-05-13T13:57:00.001-04:00

This song has been playing my head today, so you get to partake in my crazy today.

Yesterday, I did 3.25 miles on the treadmill after pilates. It was intervals and to be honest I was scared. The speeds Lesley planned out for me were a little intimidating. I even asked her to reassure me that I wasn't going to die. Obviously, I didn't, so, win all around. I really surprised myself.

Notice the piece of paper, I had my interval workout written out so I didn't have to memorize it.

Like I mentioned, I went to pilates yesterday morning, I think that Amy (who also happens to be my trainer) was hell bent on making us hurt. I am so sore today from yesterday's class, it's not even funny. I just have remember that results are on the other side of this hard work. It's just tough to remember when it hurts to laugh and lift my arms.

So, I am looking at bathing suits and can I just gripe about the expense. I know what you're thinking, a good suit is worth the money but geez louise some of these puppies are expensive. Then to top it off some of the stuff they try to sell us bigger girls is laughable at how ugly and/or matronly it is. Just because I'm big doesn't mean I want to wear some FUGLY swim muumuu. Then, while looking for this, I have also been browsing for some running shorts. I hate wearing shorts but I live in Georgia, it's hot and I just need to put my big girl panties on and deal with it. Nike has some shorts that will work, but I am looking for other options as well and having a hard time finding ones that will work. Any bigger runners have any help in this department?

Alright, I'm out... I have to practice some new stuff for my Zumba class, although you'd laugh to watch me practice. I actually practice on the couch, I don't get up and do the whole thing until I know the entire routine. Why kill my body unnecessarily?

Puppy Dog Lunch Bags Are Bad A** and First Marathon Training Long Run

2011-05-09T14:34:00.001-04:00

Let's tackle the most important issue first, can we all agree that carrying ice packs, a snack and a powerade zero in a puppy dog lunch bag is pretty bad ass? What?! You mean using your 6 year old's lunch bag isn't bad ass or cool? I had to ask Miss Bella to borrow one of her lunch boxes today because I don't have a small cooler to carry my junk in, and she was gracious enough to let me borrow the puppy dog one. It has all the elements essential to bad assery... purple, pink, puppy dogs and GLITTER!

Alright, so today was the first long run of the official training plan set out by my awesome running coach, Lesley. K decided to join in on the fun this morning. I wish I had gone right after I had dropped Bella off, because by the time we got started the temperature was slowly rising and it was pretty hot when we were done. We started on a different part of the paths than we normally do, so it made for a nice change of scenery. We were off and I realized once we were way too far from the car that I had forgotten my inhaler... I will not make that mistake again. The breathing wasn't horrible but I definitely noticed that I hadn't taken it before the run. IT WAS A STUPID MOVE!! I dealt with it and we found a nice little groove. K chatted, and chatted, and chatted, I was trying to focus on the run. I normally love talking during the long run, but today I just wanted company but not social hour. It just irritated me a little, that being said we all have those days. We hit a nice little groove after about 2.5 miles. I did notice that during our 1 minute walk breaks, we were walking a lot slower than I felt we should have. So, next long run I will make a conscious effort to make those walk breaks faster and more productive. We got the miles in and I couldn't have been happier about that. When we got back to the car, I got out my awesome lunch box, ate my snack, drank my powerade and headed home. Look I was good and even iced the knees when I got home. SCORE!

Three Things Thursday

2011-05-05T23:06:00.000-04:00

1. I am officially signed up for FULL at RnR Savannah. No turning back now!

2. I realized a few minutes ago that it's almost my blogiversary. Can't even believe I've been at it almost a year.

3. I've been craving stroopwaffels, I just need one to get them off my mind. Why? Why have I been so stuck on this carmel filled awesomeness?!

Photo Source

Girls On The Run Atlanta Spring 5K

2011-05-02T01:20:00.001-04:00

This was an incredible race because this was Bella's very first 5K. We went out there and had a good time, and I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend a Saturday morning. K and her teenage daughter joined us for this race as well.

We picked up our race numbers, and it was pretty neat because everyone had the same number on their bibs... #1. We walked around to visit the different booths and Bella posed for some pictures with the Menchies guy and the Caribou from Caribou Coffee.

We picked up some temporary tattoos and GOTR eye sticker things. We looked pretty fly with our tats and eye things.

So, I taped bits and pieces of the race and put them together in a video of her race. So here it is...

Some quick thoughts about the race itself. This particular GOTR event seemed to be a lot more organized than the one in the Fall, it just didn't feel quite as chaotic. The Georgia Tech Women's basketball, swimming and diving teams were out there cheering through out the race which was great because they were in places where Bella was really starting to fizzle out. Each time that we passed the people out there cheering she seemed to perk up.

As for the personal aspects of this race. It was great to see Bella really go out there and push. There were times where I really had to help her get it going. We walked more than I thought we would but she kept going which is all I really expected out of her. I had started out telling her that we could just go and walk the whole thing, I didn't expect her to want to run. Then, there were the hills. I knew it would be hilly but I guess I just didn't realize what those hills would look like. Bella did ok with some of the hills and then really struggled with some of the others. So running with Bella was actually really good for me, in the sense that it helped me because some of what I told B during the race is what I need to be telling myself during the races. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Anyways, towards the end Bella was near tears, she was tired and was ready for it to be over. After the finish, she shed a few tears but K and I talked to her, we got her some water, a banana and a lot of hugs. After it was over, she was pretty darn proud of herself.

When we got in the car, she asked if she could run with me again. How can I say no to that?! Then we showed her what 3.1 miles look like when we drove from the race to the Whole Foods in Buckhead. I think she didn't realize how far she had gone. She was impressed, and rightfully so. After I got her home, she was wiped out and was pretty calm the rest of the day.

Today before she went to bed, we had a little post race Q and A.

Really Late Night Three Things Thursday

2011-04-28T23:59:00.001-04:00

1. Weighed in and I gained weight and I am PISSED OFF. That being said this is my fault, and I am going to get this under control. I can even pin point why it happened. My eating has SUCKED, and I haven't been journalling as I need to be. I am going to weigh in again next Saturday May 7th and there will be a loss.

2. I got some miles in on the very muggy Monday, and again today on the treadmill. I like feeling like I am back on track. I will run again this weekend when Bella runs in her first 5K, she is so excited and I couldn't be prouder.

3. Check out this video.. it's HILARIOUS!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-27T16:16:00.000-04:00

From Easter

Jelly Bean 10K Race Report

2011-04-25T01:56:00.000-04:00

Friday morning after teaching my Zumba class, I ran the Jelly Bean Virtual Race. First things first, I forgot to bring my bib with me, so I took a picture of it, hope that's enough.

Bella left her crayons out and I couldn't resist

K surprised me and joined me for the run. I knew this run was going to be a little more challenging, I had just finished teaching my class, it was hot. I started out feeling awesome and I was ready to go. We were trotting along, catching up, it was nice to have company but I kept thinking that I totally would have been able to finish this on my own without K. I prefer to run with someone but it felt good to finally feel confident enough to run on my own if need be. I was having a great time and then all of a sudden I felt moved to yell out a "woohoo Jelly Bean". That just started something that would follow us the rest of the run. Every once in a while, both K and I would yell out "Jelly Bean" in celebration of the Jelly Bean race.

So, I had some foot pain. Foot pain, you ask? Yes, it was on the top of my left foot, and it started right before we hit mile 3 and it seemed to go away after I walked for a bit. So I got off my interval plan for a little while. It was the most random pain and I wish I could pin point exactly what caused it. Now, it seems to be ok, but we won't know for sure until I run on it again. More than anything, it was just aggravating because I wanted to get this 10K done as quickly as possible. That being said, I was glad that I got it done and even with the foot pain, had a wonderful time doing it.

Awful finish time, but I had a great time.

Sweaty and done!

Just putting it all out there.

Zumba Songs

2011-04-22T07:03:00.000-04:00

Just because I thought it's be fun, I'm posting some of the songs that I am using in this morning's Zumba class. I am actually set to record the choreography this weekend, I'll post some songs.

Earworms

2011-04-20T23:29:00.001-04:00

Not running, health or fitness related at all. I mentioned a few days ago that I had the Biebs stuck in my head, and today it's that AWFUL Friday song by Rebecca Black. It seems that lately I have had a lot of these earworms. Even when I was practicing for my Zumba class earlier today, I would randomly start thinking of the Friday song and get distracted. I need a remedy, and quick. Any suggestions? Have you had an particularly awful earworms lately?

Off to sing that stupid song to myself...

"It's Friday, Friday gotta get down on Friday..."

I May Have Set A Precedent

2011-04-19T10:42:00.001-04:00

If you saw Friday's post where I talked about dressing in regular non work out clothes, well, I extended that streak into Saturday and Sunday. I am afraid that I might have set a precedent of dressing in regular clothes, what next?! I even wore makeup to my sister in law's baby shower on Saturday. I may have set a precedent for dressing in non workout clothes post workout on the weekends.

So, remember how I said I had 6 miles planned for Saturday. Well, that didn't happen but don't worry not all was lost, I managed to get 6 in on Sunday. I ended up joining K on the tready for a walk then a little core work. I was under a bit of a time crunch because I overslept, and had to get home to get ready for the baby shower. I decided that taking a shower and dressing up was probably the right thing to do and I bet everyone probably appreciated that too.

Someone at the party gave Bella some glow necklaces... why? I have no clue.

Sunday morning, I got up and had a little mental battle with myself about getting out there and getting the 6 miles in. I got dressed, got my ipod and headed out to the lake. The set out and I didn't even have to play any games with myself to push, well, at least not for the first 3 miles. The next two miles seemed to oscillate between feeling great, and having to find landmarks to run just to keep running. The final mile felt great, and I was chugging along nicely. Although, I did get run down my possibly the sweetest dog ever. Her owner was taking her in and had just taken her off the leash, and she spotted me, and ran over to kill me with love. So, I stopped, chatted with the owner, and played with my new fur buddy for a minute. I wish had asked to take a picture of the dog, because she was adorable.

So, as I look back at the run, I can say a few things about it. I am more than capable of running on my own, and I proved that to myself this past week. I am glad that I got out there and got the miles in even though my warm bed's siren call almost won. Even though, I had to battle a little during a few of those miles, I kept thinking that I am very capable of doing this training and the actual marathon on my own. That being said, I would rather be doing this with a partner but unless I find one, it's going to be a solo effort.

The rest of Sunday consisted of hanging out with the family, and then going to Groove. I could think of worse ways to spend an afternoon. Then yesterday, I walked two miles with K and we did our strength training as well. I was pretty spent because I didn't get much sleep the night before so I decided that I wasn't going to Zumba in the evening. I regret not going but I am glad I got to hang out with Patrick last night, so not all was lost.

Fab Friday

2011-04-15T22:38:00.001-04:00

After I taught my Zumba class this morning, I ran a few errands. After all those fun and games, I thought I owed it to society to run home and take a shower. My apologies to any and all who had to smell my stink at Babies R Us and Target earlier today. Anyways, I actually fixed my hair and put on real clothes, yes you read that right... real clothes. No gym clothes this afternoon for this girl. I even have photographic proof. It was a bang up day for me, I didn't dress like gym rat or a bum, I did my nails...that's major in Lucy Land. Pretty FABULOUS way to spend a Friday!

So, I have a confession. I've had a fever today, yup, a bad case of the Bieber Fever. It shames me to even write it but darn it, my fellow Canuck has been stuck in my head all day. I've had "Somebody To Love" stuck in my head all friggin' day. I found myself singing it to myself in the shower, in the car line at B's school, around the house. Darn you Biebs!!!!

I've got 6 miles planned for tomorrow, and it's going to have to be a treadmill run... wish me luck. After that, I have my sister in law's baby shower, and guess what I might dress in something other than gym clothes but I can't make any promises.

I'll leave you with possibly the one of the 90's greatest wordsmiths. LOL He was cooking MC's like a pound of bacon.

I've Had A Nagging Feeling

2011-04-15T00:41:00.001-04:00

So, for the last little while I've had this nagging feeling that I needed to do something. I've hemmed and hawed about it for a while, and I even said that I would wait to do this another time. I have decided that I really can't wait any more. I am going to throw caution to the wind and sign up for my first full marathon.

Let's look at the pros and cons

Pro

- I get to add a 26.2 sticker to my car and join the marathon cool kids club
- I think that marathoners are totally BAD A**
- I need goals, BIG GOALS
- I can get the satisfaction of saying that I ran a full marathon
- It's crazy
- It's one heck of a mental and physical challenge

Cons

- It's one heck of a mental and physical challenge
- It's crazy
- 26.2 miles is a long way to go
- I'm so slow that when I cross the finish, chances are they will be dismantling it all
- It's not 26.2 miles worth of Zumba, it's 26.2 miles of running
- Did I mention the part about the 26.2 miles?
- Chances are pretty good that I will be doing this puppy by myself, that goes for most of the training as well.

So, as soon as I can spend the money on it, I will be signing myself up for the Savannah Rock N' Roll Marathon. I've always wanted to go to Savannah, I've lived in Georgia for 7 years and have yet to go, so this is a perfect excuse to go. Granted, this is a crazy excuse for a trip but we'll go with it. Also, given the amount of time I have to prep, save etc., I am going to take Patrick and possibly Bella with me as well. So there you have it. I have officially gone back to that place we all know that I love dearly... CRAZY TOWN. This also means that I the miles I have logged this week are officially the first week of marathon training. I am going to be getting in touch with a running coach over the next few days because I know that I am going to have to splurge and get some outside professional help.

So, if all goes according to plan I will add one of these to my car.

Also, I think that I am going to sign up for 13.1 Atlanta on October 2nd. It's in town, I am in need of more bling, so it makes perfect sense. It should be good weather, it's a great place to run, and did I mention more bling?

Back On Track

2011-04-14T09:41:00.001-04:00

I am finally back on track, as of today I have logged 7 miles, nothing monumental but more than I have logged in a single week in a long time because I've been such a lazy mess. So, I downloaded the Runner's World Smart Coach App for my phone and set out a training plan. It asks for a race date and length, so I used the Girls On The Run 5K at the end of the month as my race date and length. I may not run the apps pace on race day because I am doing it with Bella but I have a plan set out which is what I needed. Plus, it seems like I may have lost my running partner, K is really busy with work and seems to have lost her running motivation. I love her dearly but I can't go down that road, already I feel like I've lost most of the endurance that I had built up for the half and I can't move backwards. Plus, when I wasn't running, I was really and truly a grumpy b*tch... not good at all. I really don't like non running Lucy, she's just not a cool chick.

Monday called for a 2 mile easy run, so I drove to the lake and got it done. I set my gymboss to 4/1 intervals, and I didn't do that well sticking to the plan but I did run more than I walked. I was just happy to be outside and getting back to it, plus I enjoyed my kickin' tunes too. The only funny thing about Monday's run was the outfit. A few months ago, I bought some CEP progressive compression socks but sadly my calves were still too big for even the biggest sized sock. Anyways, I rocked those bad boys on Monday's run and it was quite the look when paired with my capri tights, please try not to be jealous that you couldn't look that cool too. LOL Then, in the evening I went to Groove to check out the program's new release. Want to check it out? Click here

Not a good look but my legs felt great.

Tuesday, I got my weight training in on my own because Amy is recovering from her surgery and K was working. I also went to Zumba but really didn't work that hard but that is no one's fault but my own, it was fun regardless. Then last night, I signed up for The Jelly Bean Virtual Race today, and I signed up for the 10K. This is my first virtual race and my first 10K. Can you believe that this is my first 10K? I have finished a half but not a 10K... who does that?!

You can register here

Wednesday's plan called for a 5 mile run with some speed work. I ditched the speed work, I know bad call on my part but I have a class to teach that night so I needed to be on point and not totally exhausted. Plus, honestly, I am intimidated by the words speed work. Anyhow, I set out and changed my intervals on the gymboss. For the first time, I set it to 3/2 intervals, after the first few, I decided that a 2 minute walk interval is a little too long for me, I'm setting it to either 1 min or 1:30 mins for the walk next time. Alright, this was an interesting adventure. First of all, this was my first run that was over 4 miles without K, and I was a little wigged out about it. From a companionship standpoint but also from a safety standpoint, because I just feel more comfortable having someone else with me. At the first mile marker, I realized that I had to go pee and the nearest toilet was still about a mile and a half away... not good. The run to the toilet fluctuated between speeding up to get there faster and slowing WAY down so I wouldn't pee my pants. Here's the kicker, I went to the bathroom right before I started, STUPID BLADDER. Then right around 1.5 miles, I entered a part of the golf cart paths that I lovingly refer to as Creeper Woods. This is a stretch that has no homes or stores that back up to the paths, it's just a whole lot of nature and it always makes me think that there are creepy dudes hiding behind the trees there just waiting to jump the next person that comes by. Not rational, but it's just the feeling it gives me. As soon as I started to get close to Creeper Woods, I pulled out my cell and took my ear buds out so I could hear any possible creepers. As soon as I was out of Creeper Woods, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief, not just because I felt safer but because I was incredibly close to the bathroom, I made my pit stop and got back to it. It works out nicely because the Kroger supermarket where I went to the bathroom is the 2.5 mile mark, so turning back would make it an even 5 miles. On the way back through Creeper Woods, I tried to hustle through because I wanted out. The second half of the run was fairly uneventful, I just kept playing some games with myself so that I would avoid the urge to walk before it was time. I would pick a spot on the trail and aim to get there, once there I would find a new target and so it went the entire way back. It was a slow one but I felt great and loved the sense of accomplishment of finishing the run on my own.

Great Urban Race Atlanta 2011

2011-04-12T12:52:00.001-04:00

When I was getting ready Saturday morning, I had no idea exactly what I had in store for my friend Kareen and I's adventure doing the Great Urban Race. We met up and made the drive to downtown Atlanta's Sidebar where the race was to start. We picked up our tees and numbers, adjusted our tiaras, got our finger mustaches drawn and had a lot of fun looking at all the incredible costumes. Before the race even started, Kareen and I were already talking about costumes for next year.

Who are these girls with those clever disguises?

We received our clues and the race started. We sat down and tried to come up with a game plan. It would have been a lot better had I not messed up and sent us on a wild goose chase to finish one of the clues. We wasted an hour but it didn't matter because it was hilarious and we were having a great time. We even stopped at Dunkin Donuts to get a bite to eat and re-work the game plan.

This was one of the photos we had to take... they seemed confused as to why we wanted this picture

Once we figured out a plan to get us back on track we were off, but we had to stop and take a few pictures along the way. Also, on our way to the Fox Theatre for one of the clues we got to experience something that I never thought I'd see. We were walking along and minding our own business when we heard someone yell out "shoot him, shoot him, he has a knife", which obviously scared the snot out of us. What ensued was two homeless men fighting and then taking the fight to the middle of one of Atlanta's busiest streets. There was no way we were going to stick around and watch the whole thing unfurl but we did see enough of it to make it clear that this day was going to be unforgettable.

We made it to the Fox, and continued to finish up a few other clues that were close by. One of the things that we had to get was a paper job application. When we stopped to take the picture below, Kareen asked the people at a food stand if they had paper job applications. The gentleman that owns the store pictured in the back, said he had some and I followed him to get it. Well, he couldn't find one and I was in the store for a bit while he looked. When I came back out, Kareen said that she was worried that I had been kidnapped or chopped up or something. Love that she didn't come looking for me and that her excuse was that someone would have to tell the story. LOL

We continued, and hopped on the MARTA to get to the next clue. We waited so long for the subway train that we could have walked to where we needed to be and gotten there faster. We got a lot of odd looks and a lot of questions at the station and on the train. I can only imagine the looks and questions that the people who had the super crazy costumes. We made our way to Ri Ra Irish Pub to do a little jig and on our way out, someone stopped us to ask us about the race. His drunky pants girlfriend wanted to take a picture with us, and we obliged. When she went to put her arm around me she slapped the crap out of me. I was laughing but she was near tears about it, she offered to buy me a drink and I took her up on it. So we sat at the bar with our new friend Miss Drunky Slappy Pants and looked at our clues and looked at the time. We came to the conclusion, after sitting at the bar for a while that there was no way we were going to be able to finish it all, so we enjoyed our drinks and decided to finish one more clue and head back to Sidebar.

The back of our awesome shirts

Thank goodness we left when we did because we barely made it back to Sidebar in time. According to the official results we weren't last but eek, it wasn't good. Oh well, we had a ton of fun, a ton of laughs and some funny stories from the day. While we sat at the bar we came up with a plan for next year, want to hear it? First and foremost our costumes will incorporate tutus because as we all know everything is better with a tutu. Secondly, we are going to come up with a better game plan. We threw around the idea of having our husbands participate as a team as well.

Stick A Fork In Me...

2011-04-08T16:01:00.000-04:00

I'm done. I taught me Zumba class this morning and it completely killed me. I'm not quite sure why this class was so rough on me, but I can barely keep my eyes open this afternoon. Then to make this an extra awesome day my car started acting up... seriously this car is going to make me insane. I'm done, I am checking out for the rest of the day and I know that tomorrow will be a much better day.

The bright note of today was that Sarah came to my class today and she had some super sweet things to say about my teaching. Then after class we went to Cracker Barrel, and I ordered some pancakes because as we all know, this girl loves pancakes. I am sure that it is written somewhere that a perfect post workout meal involves pancakes. LOL

Knock Out Cancer 5K Race Report

2011-04-07T14:15:00.002-04:00

On Saturday morning, I made the hour long trek from Peachtree City to Marietta (a suburb north of Atlanta) to participate in the Knock Out Cancer 5K. I met Karen and her husband there, we got our numbers and got ready to race. Sadly, I forgot my camera and didn't think to take pics with my cell, my head was somewhere else that morning... mainly, I was thinking about the freedom I had that day because Patrick was working and Patrick's aunt took Bella for the entire day. What's a girl to do with an entire Saturday to herself?! Anyways, we lined up, the race started and we were off like a herd of turtles. I didn't go into this race thinking that I would get a PR or that it would be some rockstar sort of race, because my running since the half has been a mess. I actually figured that I would end up running by myself, so I brought my ipod and had prepped myself for a good time. I only had one issue the whole race, it was my capris. I love these pants but the elastic at the bottom is stretched out now and they ride up, I could not fiddle with the pants the whole race so I just hiked them up and went with it. Karen and I started out together and somewhere less than a mile into it she took off, and it was all good because I was sticking to my plan, waiting for my gymboss to beep and listening to my tunes. I was trotting along albeit slowly but I was doing the damn thing. I noticed that every time I passed this one girl, she would speed up and got in front of me, I knew she had picked me as a target. Now, it was funny at first, then it just pissed me off. She and I went back and forth like this the whole way, until started getting close to mile 3. Right before we hit mile 3, I pushed because there was no way in hell that she was going to finish before me. She met my pace and was trying for a push, so there was only one thing to do then... I kicked it into high gear and left her ass in the dust. I guess it must have been pretty cool because I got all kinds of high fives and cheers after the fact. I think there might be some speed in these legs, now I have to work on tapping into that speed. So my time was 46:02, not even close to my best time but my next 5K on my own will be a PR. I say this because my next 5K is Girls On The Run with Bella so I highly doubt there will be a PR.

Here are some pics from the even, but none are very flattering. I did notice that I might have to work on my form and my running face. I need to work on getting cute race pics. Isn't that everyone's priority?

Something was distracting me...probably something shiny or a unicorn.

I am pretty sure that I was telling myself that there were cupcakes at the finish.

For those of you wondering what I did with the rest of my free Saturday... you'll be totally shocked when you read this. I went to a Zumba fundraiser... I know that's so unlike me LOL. It was pretty cool and for a great cause. Then I went to enjoy a little Mexican food with my Zumba buds afterwards, not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

Pollyanna Week 3/28-4/3

2011-03-29T00:09:00.001-04:00

Let's just start out by telling you that this week's main goal is to put a positive spin on everything this week, or at least trying to, I'm calling it Pollyanna Week. Secondly, can I tell you guys how glad I am to be back to my regular schedule. This week is going to be KICK ASS!!! There is nothing out of the ordinary going on this week, but I am definitely planning on making it great. What are you doing to make this week great?

Last week completely drained me. The stupid car issues completely stressed me out and I let it stress me out a lot more than I should have... NOT GOOD. I did not stick to the work out plan like I had wanted to, but I managed to work out regardless. I did journal my food, I took my iron supplements and did ok with the not eating after 7 but that one was tough. I didn't do my push ups daily but I will change that this week for sure.

Here are this week's goals...

1. Keep the food journalling going
2. Keep up with the iron supplements, have to remind myself that I enjoy not having my hair fall out.
3. Get the daily push ups done
4. STICK TO THE WEEK'S PLAN!!

3/28 Running, training and Zumba (Ran 1.02 on the tm, 1.65 outside, plus got the training and the Zumba in, also got my push ups done)

3/29 Run

3/30 Run, Training, and teaching my Zumba class

3/31 Pilates, Groove

4/1 Teaching my Zumba class

4/2 Running the Knock Out Cancer 5K

4/3 Groove

Bringin' The Crazy

2011-03-23T22:40:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, my mom let me know that she was coming from Toronto on Monday. Talk about short notice! Not a huge deal, I love my mom and we all enjoy having her visit. That being said, it sort of threw a bit of a wrench in my plans for the week, but that's life and I have to learn to work with it... right?

Monday - Ran 3 miles (as planned), and my mom and I went to Zumba
Tuesday - Unscheduled rest day. Alright, it was more like I went shopping and got some new real clothes, not workout clothes. Hoping to make up the miles later this week.
Wednesday - Trained with Amy and taught my Zumba class.

So you see, not a complete diversion from the plan but still just a little off.

What I didn't plan for was my car breaking down. FAN-FRIGGIN'-TASTIC! Now, I have to take the car in tomorrow morning, and hope that it makes it there, plus, hope that it isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg. I love my volvo, but when that car needs anything done to it, I end up spending a small fortune. The car stress was enough to send me to crazy town today. Add in the stress from the last minute visit and I am officially back to being the Mayor of Crazy Town... good times.

Goals and Schedule For The Week Of 3/21-3/27

2011-03-21T00:01:00.000-04:00

Alright, since the half I haven't been very focused on anything and it's time to get back to work. I have to be accountable and what better way than to put it all right here.

Overall Week's Goals

1. Food journaled daily, if I bite it, I write it.
2. Take my iron supplements daily, I have been awful with this and I need to get my iron issues under control.
3. Stop eating after 7 p.m., I had such great results when I did this in the past.
4. Daily push ups, working towards being able to do a real push up in a few weeks. Don't ask why, because I'm not even sure why I want to, but I just do.

Daily Schedule

3/21 3 miles
3/22 3 miles
3/23 Train w/ Amy and teach my Zumba class
3/24 REST
3/25 Teach Zumba and train with Amy
3/26 Teach Zumba
3/27 6 miles, and a Groove class

Back In The Land Of The Living

2011-03-20T02:10:00.001-04:00

Alright, since I feel so much better, I've rejoined the land of the living. So, let's address the post from Tuesday, I will fill you all in on what that was about. I received a message from a lady who works for Zumba's PR team, and she had seen where I had posted about my weight loss on Zumba's Facebook Page back in October. Anyways, she wrote that she was working on getting some other stories like this out there, and was looking for someone for a very big TV show. She asked me if I was interested in the opportunity and if I would get in touch with her. I called her and she was in a meeting so couldn't chat for long but her first question to me was if I was an instructor, which automatically disqualified me for the TV show she was working on at the moment. Apparently, the TV show does not want people who are instructors, so big bummer for me. That being said, all was not lost, she did ask if she could contact me when other opportunities come up, and apparently these do come up, maybe just not on the large scale as the TV show she's working on right now. So, there is still a possibility that I will get to do some cool stuff with regards to Zumba. Here's a question for you. I did not get to chat with the PR lady long, and I did not tell her my updated stats and such. Would it be pushy to send her an e-mail with updated stats? I just don't know.

After Monday's visit to the doctor, she had given me the ok, to return to the gym on Wednesday as long as I felt up to it. Believe me, when Wednesday rolled around, I was ready to get to the gym and at least be quasi active. Karen and I trained with Amy, and she didn't push me too hard was aggravating but she had a good reason. She didn't want me pushing so hard that I broke down again and possibly get worse before I got better. After the workout, I went straight home and back to bed, because to be honest I was wiped out. I had to sub out Wednesday night's Zumba class because there was no way I was going to be able teach that class, I really was just not well enough yet. Thankfully, Thursday morning I was almost back to normal. I went to pilates Thursday morning, and even ran a little with Karen after class. Now, the run was less than stellar but you know what, WHO CARES?! Getting out there makes me feel good, and I was active. By Friday morning, I was feeling like a real human being again.... SCORE!!! Especially important because I had a Zumba class to teach that morning. After class, I again met Karen and got some miles in. What's not to love about that?

At some point on Sunday, I am going to post my week's goals, update my weight because I forgot to weigh in Saturday morning. Also, updating the upcoming races page because I have some things lined up, and I need to refocus on training towards a goal.

Have you seen this ad? This chick is totally stealing my moves. LOL

INCREDIBLE NEWS!!!

2011-03-15T16:21:00.001-04:00

OMG you guys, I just got a very cool message with some news that could be HUGE for me, like nationally big. I am so excited I could burst, but I am not sure if I can/should share the details so I won't just yet. I just had to let the excitement out somewhere!!!

ShamRock N' Roll Race Report

2011-03-15T10:09:00.002-04:00

Alright boys and girls, are you ready for a race report? Sunday morning I ran The Junior League Of Atlanta's ShamRock N' Roll 5k. First and foremost, let me tell you the awesome news... according to ye old Garmin, I PR'd, by a second but I PR'd nonetheless. Their results were not chip time, they went by clock time which sucks for me but I am claiming my PR. That is a rant in and of itself because they had the foam timing chips that are attached to your bib, and one would assume that they would be using chip time, but I digress.

This was my first race without Karen, but I was going to run with another friend of mine, Brooke. Brooke is one of my dearest friends, I just love her. Also, I brought Patrick and Bella along for support and so Bella could enjoy the activities that they had for the kids. Let me just tell you, the kid cleaned up with regards to swag, when I saw them after the finish Patrick was acting as her swag mule. She thought she was super cool, and it made up for the fact that I didn't let her run this race with me. Anyways, back to the race details. The race was in town at Atlantic Station, so it was a 40-45 minute drive for us. I had made plans to leave around 7-7:15 to get there close to 8, giving us more than enough time to park, and for me to go through my pre race ~~insanity~~ rituals. We ended up leaving around 7:45, and made it to Atlantic Station right at 8:30. Once we found parking, my first prerogative was to get to the restroom as quickly as possible. Somehow, I was making my way to the restrooms when people were getting ready to warm up and line up. I ran into Brooke just outside the porta potties, this is becoming a theme with me, and I am not sure if I like it but I do find it comical. She went ahead to the start and I got in line for the potties, well, next thing I hear is the start and I still hadn't had a a chance to pee. I ran to the start and managed to get going. I didn't end up being able to run with Brooke because she had to drop out, one of her boys had to be taken to the ER, and her husband called her to meet them there. The little guy is fine now, but she definitely needed to be there with him.

Off we went...

I started strong and with a plan, I was going to run 4/1 intervals and if it got to be too much I was going to drop it back to 3/2 intervals. I even wrote out S.T.T.P. (stick to the plan) on my hand in sharpie. I had my music going and I was lip syncing along, because I fully intended on enjoying myself as much as possible during this race. I looked like I had moved to Crazy Town, I was lip syncing, sort of dancing, and thanking the police officers and volunteers. We started on a downhill, so I knew that at some point we were going to have at least one hill, plus, this is Atlanta and hills are inevitable. I was chugging along, sticking to the plan and I think that the good attitude probably helped with the PR. More importantly, I knew that the faster I finished, the faster I could pee, and that was pretty darn important to me because the last thing I wanted was yellow socks. So, I have found my PR formula, having to pee and having the beginnings of strep throat. I was feeling a little off, but I thought it was just my allergies, then Monday morning after the race I woke up feeling like garbage. The good doctor was kind enough to tell me that I have strep throat... good times.

We passed one of my favorite places... too bad it was closed
I would have pulled myself off the course to do a little shopping,
and possibly pee.

Gorgeous morning!

I love Atlantic Station

Millennium Gate

Guess what?! I had a bad ass moment during the race. You know my whole blood = bad ass rule. Shortly after we started I felt something in my shoe, and I knew right away that my toe was bleeding. I looked down at my shoes a few times through out the race, I didn't want to stop unless I saw blood on the outside of the shoe. As long as it was contained, I assumed I was fine. I rocked it out, and pushed to the finish when I looked at the Garmin and saw the possibility of a PR. I was elated to cross that finish line knowing that I had PR'd even though it was only by one second. My first priority was finding a bathroom, then getting some water, a banana etc. Can we talk about the glorious feeling of going to the bathroom? Seriously... just glorious. Other mothers out there know what I am talking about. Too much bouncing = no fun with the bladder. As for the toe, when I checked it after the race, I couldn't find the cause of the cut, but there was a cut on one of my toes. It was so weird.

Didn't get any pictures of myself, or with the family because by the time I was done, they were ready to leave. They had done the rounds at the booths, like I said before Bella cleaned up with swag, had her face painted and bounced her little heart out in the bounce house. She and Patrick were ready for some breakfast.

Fabulous Friday

2011-03-11T18:17:00.004-05:00

Here is today's list of all things FABULOUS

Going to do the Shamrock N' Roll this Sunday. Only doing the 5K, although I considered the 10K.
Had an awesome Zumba class this morning and teaching again tomorrow morning. Love teaching Zumba!!
I've been working on some choreography for my classes. I need to record them asap before I forget what I came up with.
Fresh Market opened this week in Peachtree City. I might have to pick up more Zumba classes just so I can shop there every week.
I'm going to West Stride tomorrow after my class... my wallet might come home a little lighter.
Hoping to get a small run in at some point tomorrow as well

Jumping On The ABC Bandwagon

2011-03-10T13:02:00.001-05:00

Here are the ABC's of me

A. Age: 30
B. Bed Size: King (wish they made like UBER king sized beds)
C. Chore You Hate: Do I have to pick just one? Has anyone seen my cleaning fairies? Where did those lazy b*tches go?!
D. Dogs?: Would love to have one but we live in an apartment, and I want to wait until we're in a house
E. Essential Start Your Day Item: Have to have my coffee or water
F. Favorite Color: Pink and black
G. Gold or Silver? Silver
H. Height: 5'10"
I. Instruments You Play: Guitar, violin, tenor sax (although I play none of them particularly well)
J. Job Title: Captain Awesome, Mom, Photographer, Zumba Instructor
K. Kids: 1 girl, 6 years old
L. Live: Peachtree City, GA (AKA- The Bubble or Stepford)
M. Mom's Name: Lucia (also my full name, made for some interesting scenarios growing up)
N. Nicknames: Luce, Lu, Hey You... etc.
O. Overnight Hospital Stays? Yes, a few
P. Pet Peeve: Hmm, good question. Too many to list
Q. Quote from a Movie: "I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is." Zoolander
R. Right or Left Handed? Right
S. Siblings: 1 younger sister
T. Time You Wake Up? 5:45
U. Underwear: Yes (if you've followed me for a while, you'll know mine give me some trouble from time to time)
V. Vegetable You Dislike: Brussel Sprouts, I have tried to give them a good shot, but ugh.
W. What Makes You Run Late: Shiny things, buttons, unicorns, just about anything but I am working on getting better. I was Miss Punctual before I had B.
X. X-Rays You've Had Done: Chest, shoulder, hand, wrists, feet, ankles, knees, arm.
Y. Yummy Food You Make: I make an awesome baked ziti
Z. Zoo, Favorite Animal: Pandas, especially now that there is a new panda baby at Zoo Atlanta.

Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend Race Report - My First Half

2011-03-07T02:06:00.001-05:00

The race report... FINALLY! *Warnings- Picture heavy post and a bit of TMI*

All the Garmin stats are HERE

So, I had set my alarm for 2 am, and I woke up before that. Only I would take my phone and take a picture of the alarm clock when I got up.

I got myself dressed, and made my breakfast, but sadly my breakfast exploded. See, the evidence of said explosion. We ate, and headed out to meet the driver from the car service that took us to Epcot for the race.

We got to Epcot and were pretty sure that we were the first people there. We actually weren't that wrong, we were some of the first people there, but I felt a lot better knowing that we were there, even if it was ridiculously early.

This pic cracks me up because it looks like I'm droppin' it like it's hot.

In case you didn't know, Saturday was the Day of Dance and we had to celebrate, even if it was a day late. There was a DJ, music and lights, so we had to dance. We requested a few songs, and I started teaching a little impromptu Zumba class. Ok, so it was more like me dancing but eventually I got a couple of princesses to join in. Someone was recording it, and I would love to see it. After a few songs, I decided that it was time for a potty break, so in the ever growing lines we went. You'll never guess who I happened to run into while I was waiting.... none other than RR and Lesley! It was a meeting none of us will ever forget.

So, before I forget, I wrote on my arm to remind me of a few things during the race. First of all, was a reminder to STICK TO THE PLAN. Sadly, I didn't stick to the plan, I let me brain get the better of me towards the end, but I will definitely do a million times better next time. I am going to win this mental battle I seem to have every race. The other stuff I wrote on my arm was inspired by Kelly, ok, I totally stole her idea and dedicated each mile to someone. My first mile was dedicated to God, and each mile after that was dedicated to people who have been influential in my weight loss and running journey. Just so you know, I ran a mile for all of you, you guys were mile 8. Sadly, there weren't enough miles for every person that I wanted to run for, but there will be more races.

We made the seemly endless trek to the start, but not without two more stops at the porta potties. I was so scared to lose time stopping to pee during the race, little did I know that I would have to stop during the race regardless. Once we finally made it to Corral F (F for F***ing FAR), we tried to shimmy our way to the front, or at least as far to the front as we could manage. We watched the faster waves go, and each time the Fairy Godmother sent them off, I got chills. Finally, they got to us, she said her little spiel but it seemed a little lack lustre compared to the others, she might have been out of magic by then, or maybe I was being overly critical, both of which are completely possible. We were off like a herd of turtles....

We started strong, but sadly spent a LOT of time at the beginning just trying to get through the crowds. People were walking more than 2 deep, and taking up a ton of space. I ended up running on the grass a few times just to be able to pass. K and I called when we were passing on the left or right, but some people just wouldn't budge and some looked at us like we were insane. In case you were on the course in our general area, we were the loud broads talking about a few inappropriate things, and randomly yelling things like "woohoo", "go us", and "we're all so bad ass". Karen and I were in a great mood but a lot of the people around us were grumpy/serious princesses. I get that they were there to get it done, but I just thought that we would have fun getting done. We did find a few people along the way who were super awesome and tons of fun. I guess I thought that the super happy vibe that I expected and heard about would trickle all the way down to the back of the pack. We even ran into Sarah, and a friend of Shannon's, but we didn't end up running with them. So, we did end up stopping to use the bathroom right by the Richard Petty thing, we lost almost 10 minutes there. Can you believe that?! When we were done, K and I "sprinted" to try and make up some time and we managed to catch up to some of the people we had left when we broke off to pee. Anyways, not too far from the Contemporary, there were some pretty gymnast boys doing their thing, and we sped up and tried to look all cool when we passed them but not before yelling out something about how hot they were. We made one of them blush.

This was the last picture my phone took before I couldn't get to the screen anymore
from the salt from my face. I was trying to post on Facebook along the way.

There were four of these along the way.

Before we knew it, we were heading into the Magic Kingdom. Where was the time going? It was all I could do to keep it together as we were making our way through Main Street. I know it seems silly that I cry or get all misty eyed at so many races, but I think it just hits me that I have come so far in the past year. In February, of 2010, I had started the weight loss thing but running wasn't even on my radar, I was just a different person. Back to the race, we made our way through Tomorrowland and made our way into Fantasyland, and there it was, the castle. We stopped for a picture in front of the castle, but when we looked for it through ASI's site, it was no where to be found. It was the only picture stopped to take.... go figure. In MK, K and I were chatting and somehow decided that February 27th is New Lucy's birthday. Old Lucy, who was weighing me down is dead and gone, and we buried her just outside of the Magic Kingdom. All of that is silly, I know, but there was something about finally mentally letting go of the 200+ pounds that have still been weighing me down that was very empowering.

This was a surreal moment, I had been looking forward to
this moment for so long.

Woohoo!!! GO US!!!

So, let's get down to some knitty gritty of the race. I was doing well sticking to the hydration plan, I was alternating powerade and water. Plus I was also making it a point to pour some water on my head at water stops so I wouldn't get too hot. Unfortunately, the fuel plan sort of back fired on me, and I had no issues with it during training. I ingested entirely too much caffeine with the GU and blocks, FATAL error. I had some awful GI issues during the race but I refused to stop, because I didn't want to lose any time. Had I stopped, I probably wouldn't have slowed down as much as I had towards the end. Stupid move on my part....lesson learned. I didn't even finish the fuel I had left in my spibelts because I just didn't know if my stomach could take it. Also, learned a valuable lesson about chafing. I won't go into detail but I just didn't know that there were certain things that needed to be hit with glide. Yowzers!

Best sign I saw on the run

Nine miles in!!

K and I were briefly separated when she raced ahead to use the restroom. I put my headphones in and jammed out. I had my hands up, I was randomly hooting and hollering, and probably annoying the crap out of the people around me but I was having fun. When K and I reunited, we even ran into a lady I know from the gym. As we went along, I slowly started to wilt, mentally speaking, I was turning to mush. You can look at the garmin stats and watch me fall apart. When the pace really slowed, is when the plan went out the window. Around mile 10, K ran ahead, we had agreed that if one of us needed to speed ahead, we would let the other go, so I let her go. Although, it made me a bit sad because I was already teetering on the edge of losing it mentally, I knew that I had to prove to myself that I could finish this out on my own without K. I dug deep and tried to keep going, so I kept telling myself something that Amy had said to me the night before... "finish the drill". I knew that I had one thing to do and it was finish the drill, and part of shedding old Lucy meant finishing the drill. I was beating myself up about how slow I was, and not even thinking that I was doing the damn thing. Then it happened, we were coming into Epcot, we were in the area right before we went into the park when I started wheezing. I couldn't get a handle on it, so I got my inhaler out and took two hits. I started feeling some relief, but I wasn't 100%, I struggled with it until the end. Why did this come on? It hit me that I was going to finish this thing, and I had a bit of a panic issue. At that point there wasn't any other option than to finish. I also cried during all of this because I just couldn't believe that I was going to finish it. Darn it, I'm crying writing this out. Anyways, a lady beside me started chatting with me when I was tearing up, and I told her my story and she told me all about her husband who has started his own weight loss journey. Thank heavens for her! Then, right at mile 12, there was a girl who was looking like she was going to fall apart, so I chatted with her for a bit, and maybe help her like the other lady had done for me. Then, we turned to leave Epcot and what do I hear... the gospel choir. I completely lost it, it just touched me so much. The lady who helped me earlier and I stopped to take pics at mile 13, and then she said "you know we have to run the rest of the way in". That's just what we did. I ran past Mickey and Minnie, and I wish I hadn't, I just finished. I stopped to take a picture for some people and then K found me. Somehow she managed to stick around the finish line and wait for me. As soon as I saw her, I broke down into the ugly cry yet again. We hugged, and I told her that I still didn't have a handle on my breathing. She said that I needed to get to the medical tent, I told her no. Why you ask?! I needed to get my medal first, I didn't go through that and not get my bling. So, I leaned on a guard rail thing while I waited for my medal. As soon as I got it, I had her walk with me over to the medical tent.

Only one mile to go. Can you tell that there were tears involved?

My new friend was kind enough to take this picture for me.

Not sure where this was taken.

Again, there were tears just before this picture was taken.

I got it done!

Had to get a pic of the medal before getting medical attention

The medical team they had on had was awesome. They got me checked in and taken care of incredibly quickly. I had a team of doctors checking me out within minutes of getting there. They did hear some wheezing but we managed to get a handle on the breathing and I stayed in the tent until everything was back to normal. Can I tell you what the sad part about being part of the penguin crew? When we cross the finish line, the party is pretty much over. Everyone has scattered, even picking up my bag after they discharged me was sad because I had to go to a completely different tent where they had the last bags waiting on pick up.

Can't believe I forgot to take the ice pack off my back! Who does that?

We headed over to the taxi pick up place to meet the car that was picking us up. We stunk like we had just finished 13.1 miles, I felt so bad for the driver because we smelled so bad. Then when we pulled up to the Mona Lisa, I yelled something out of the car window which was so stupid on my part. Ugh, I stuck my foot in my mouth yet again. We got ourselves showered up, put on our "I Did It" tees that we bought at the expo, packed up and headed to Golden Corral. Sadly, Foodmaggedon which we had planned was a total flop, but the intent for it was there. We got an A for effort.

You may have to click on this one to see what the signs say

Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend Recap Day 2

2011-03-06T15:19:00.000-05:00

Day 2... are you ready for it?

We started out having to pack up and get all of our stuff out of the hotel we stayed at on Friday because we were going to be at a different place on Saturday. We must have been quite the sight because we packed like we were going for an extended trek through the mountains or something. That being said, we had tons of clothes to choose from and guess what we wore again? Our superhero/princess tees... yup we did. At least we showered, changed our undies and pants... that's got to be worth something. We staked out a Starbucks because we needed coffee, and that would be my last cup of coffee before the race. I savored that coffee like it was the last drink of my life, put my feet up and tried to calm my nerves. I was on edge all day Saturday, as much as I felt confident about being prepared, I was still nervous about finishing. I was also feeling pretty stressed thinking about getting to the race the next morning, and everything just had me stressed, I was an absolute mess. Hmm, actually with the stress I was feeling, I think mess, might be an understatement. Hey, at least we had on our happy bad ass shoes.

A little coffee and relaxation before heading to Downtown Disney

We got to Downtown Disney, and it was pretty busy but that isn't too surprising considering that it was a Saturday and it was race weekend. We walked around, did some shopping for our kids, and got Amy's daughter a little gift too. In the Mickey's Pantry store, K found the best wine ever! It's called Jam Jar, and it's a sweet shiraz, now, I am a wine idiot, I just know that I like drinking and that reds aren't my cup of tea. That being said, I make an exception for this Jam Jar, we popped it open on Tuesday after the race and it was incredible. I digress, I also went to the candy store and bought myself a rice krispy treat to enjoy on the way home after the race, that thing looked like a rice krispy brick. We also got to briefly meet up with Shannon, her daughters and Sarah while we were there. After that, we picked up some lunch and headed to the new hotel to check in, eat and get ready for the race.

This sign said "Let The Memories Begin"... loved it

Loved this quote!

Once we got to the new hotel, I was feeling so stressed out that I couldn't even finish my lunch. I unpacked the stuff I was going to need the next day and started organizing everything. I wish I had taken a picture because I had everything organized by the order in which I had to put it on. I also packed the bag that I would check on race day, plus the outfit that I would wear on the ride home after I showered and what not. During this, I got a text from Shannon asking if we wanted to join them for dinner. Karen wanted to stay in and order room service and have some time alone, so I met up with everyone else for dinner. At this point, I was wound super tight, and needed to get some perspective and to vent. I called Amy, we had a fabulous chat, so much so that our talk had me in tears, not just any tears, ugly cry tears. I had to sit in the parking lot at the restaurant for a little while afterwards to get myself together because it takes a little time to get yourself together after a good ugly cry. I got it together, went in and found the girls and got to chatting. Even during dinner, I couldn't quite settle down, like I said I was wound up pretty tight. Not even getting a balloon tiara from the super cute balloon guy managed to help. Can you believe that?! I thought a good ol' fashioned balloon tiara would do the trick. Guess what finally calmed me down?! The ride home with Sarah. We were riding back, and somehow got turned around and ended up on the freeway. It was just hilarious, and it turned out to be exactly what I needed to finally calm me down.

Didn't you know that I have a thing for balloon tiaras? See this post.

After finally making it back to the hotel, I managed to take a shower, talk to Patrick (who was beyond sweet) and get myself to bed. I slept a bit but not too much, I was up a few times during the night. At that point it was more out of fear of oversleeping than anything else.

Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend Recap Day 1

2011-03-04T13:46:00.000-05:00

I'm breaking this up into 3 entries so I can make sure I cover everything. Also, before I go into the entry, I just have to let you know that I did finish, my worst fear did not come true. I did the damn thing!

My friend Lisa and I. We stopped to have breakfast with her along the way.

Alright, very early Friday morning Karen and I set out for Orlando. It was raining and very messy, so we decided to just take it easy trying to get down there. I drove for the first little while, and as soon as Karen took the wheel the skies cleared up. We stopped and switched drivers and guess what happened? The rain was back, it was thoroughly amusing, I think the rain knew I was driving because this continued for a better part of the drive down, I am sure it meant that I wasn't meant to drive that leg of the trip. We stopped along the route to meet a friend who moved away and lived on the way. Have you ever had pancakes from Cracker Barrel? I did for the first time when we stopped to have breakfast with Lisa. Oh my goodness, apparently I have been living under a rock because they were AWESOME! In case you hadn't noticed, pancakes, cupcakes, most things with the word cake in them make me pretty darn happy. Anyways, we said our goodbyes and were back on the road. Before we knew it, we were in Orlando, at our hotel and getting ready to head out to the Fit For A Princess Expo.

We got there later in the afternoon, and the expo was absolute chaos but happy chaos. I was definitely overwhelmed and over stimulated. I spent some money but surprisingly enough, I didn't make it rain like I thought I would. I wish I had come up with a solid game plan for tackling the expo, but we hopped around everywhere. Let me tell you what my most favorite part of the entire expo was... are you ready for it? THE MASSAGE! I had never ever had a massage until I had my legs worked on at the expo, and it was fabulous. Actually, I was a little bummed because I only paid for 10 minutes, and I could have used the 25 minute option. Where had massages been all my life? Why did it take me this long to get one?

After the madness of the expo, we headed out to find some dinner. Mind you, K and I are still wearing the tees we wore to the expo. Hers said Bionic Babe (because she really is bionic), and mine said The Incredible Shrinking Woman. You should have seen the looks we got when we walked in and out of the Uno's restaurant, it was thoroughly amusing. During dinner, I had to fight the urge to have a drink, I had held out (since the beginning of January) so long that waiting a few more days wasn't going to kill me. As soon as we got back to the hotel, we CRASHED, the excitement from the night before and the drive just did us in. You can see this post for pics from the Expo.

Fit For A Princess Expo

2011-02-26T08:45:00.000-05:00

We made it!

Half marathon swag

Look at all the stuff I bought...eek

Ok, simply stated... it was completely overwhelming but awesome. I knew that it would be huge but I never expected it to be as big as it actually was. I will post a detailed report when I get back to Atlanta.

Leaving... But Not On A Jet Plane

2011-02-25T00:38:00.000-05:00

So, I leave first thing in the morning. I can't believe that this day is finally here, it seems almost surreal. I will try to post some things while there but can't make any promises. I will definitely have a weekend and race report when I get back. Now, I am just praying for a safe trip and strong legs.

I'm Too Excited To Sleep

2011-02-22T23:51:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I am a dork and I am too excited to sleep. Plus, I am working on the packing list for the trip. I don't think I freaked out this much when I travelled to The House Of Mouse with the family in the summer. I know that I am forgetting something but I am not sure what.

So, give me suggestions. What did you forget or feel was super important to have when you ran your first half?

I Could Just Burst

2011-02-22T12:37:00.001-05:00

I know, I've been MIA but I'm so darn pumped about Disney that I can barely function. Is this normal? I've even started organizing the things I'm going to pack everything I won't be needing from now until Friday, and check my list a million times.

My parents get here on Thursday,and they'll keep Bella, that way Patrick gets a weekend off too. Double score! Bella is super psyched to see Grandma and Grandpa, and I think she's excited because they'll let her run wild.

Alright, I'll post more later after I'm done with my pedicure. Who posts from the nail place?! ...this girl, that's who.

Things I've Learned In The Last 9 Months

2011-02-20T14:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I was thinking about all the things I've learned since I started this little running adventure 9 months ago. Some of what I learned was about running, some is about myself.

Running doesn't suck, shocking I know, but I really did not enjoy it when I started
I now look forward to my runs, and I get bummed if I have to miss them.
Running is very much a mental game
Running hurts sometimes but the feeling of running completely outweighs the pain
It's cheaper than therapy
The right shoes make all the difference.
Blood = BAD ASS (at least it is in my books) See this post
Running in rain/sleet etc. = BAD ASS
I am a sock snob, I found a kind of sock that I like and will not use any other. Thorlo Experia Coolmax socks (I own a lot of these and in a variety of colors)
Still on the subject of socks, I refuse to wear my white socks to race in. I wore white for the first 5K and I decided that white socks are bad luck for me. I know it's weird but that's just me. I plan on wearing the orchid or turquoise socks for the Princess, in case you were wondering.
I learned the importance of wicking fabrics. I started out wearing cotton...never again.
I learned the importance of fuel
I've learned what bonking is
I've become close friends with my foam roller
Learned how to properly tie my shoe laces, sounds simple but there is a wrong way to do this apparently.
Not every run is a superstar, rockstar run and I have had to learn to deal with that
I feel pretty bad ass every time we go on a long run
I learned what glide is, and that it's a wonderful thing.
The fine people at the Kroger on our running route are very nice and are kind enough to share their restrooms with us on our runs
I actually like being outside even in the cold, when I started I dreaded going to run outside
I learned that if you run you are a runner, it was a long time before I felt like a real runner.
Slow is the new fast
Most importantly, I learned that I am capable of a lot more than I could have ever imagined.

What have you learned since you've started running?

REST?! I Guess I Can Handle That

2011-02-16T00:52:00.001-05:00

So, if you read my last post you saw that I have an ear infection and sinusitis. Normally, something like this would not slow me down, but this time I am completely spent. Monday evening, I covered a friend's Zumba class, and afterwards I was completely exhausted more so than I normally would be. When I got home, I was ready for bed. Keep in mind that Patrick and I's 7th anniversary was on Monday, but we were both so done that we were in bed by 9, I think that officially makes us old married people. I took Bella to school Tuesday morning and went home and headed straight to bed, so not my normal MO. I had planned on resting but going back to bed was not what I had planned. I did go to Bosu but I did have a few moments where I felt really dizzy and had to take a minute to gather myself. I took it easy the rest of the day and even skipped Zumba to stay home and rest. Can you believe it?! Me skipping Zumba and resting... what next? I'm hoping to feel well enough to get a run or two in by the end of the week. I can rest if it means that I can run and be well enough for Disney. So, rest and I are about to get reacquainted.