In Kansas our state motto is Ad Astra Per Aspera, it means To The Stars Through Difficulties. I think it describes my journey quite well. carrierunstothestars.blogspot.com
Last Monday after the car fiasco happened, I didn't have time to go run before Paul needed to leave for work. I said I was going to run after he got home, but when he got home, I ate dinner and had pretty much given up on running for the day. During dinner, Kim texted me about something at work and I randomly asked her if she had 3 miles to do today, and if she had done them yet. She said that she did have 3 mile and that she had not run them yet. So we decided to meet up at SCP at 730p to run together. We hadn't run together since we'd "broken up"! It was a great run! We chatted and it was really nice outside (for summer)! That day, I really felt like just giving up! But after the run and talk therapy session with Kim, it was better. I felt good and didn't want to give up anymore! There is nothing better than a good run with a great friend! It makes everything right in the world!
I was supposed to run on Tuesday, but I did not. I went to Hip Hop Hustle Tuesday night and there were lots of new people! I was one of the ones who actually, kind of knew what they were doing and that make me feel good!
Wednesday I almost didn't run, but did at around 8pm. I went to a new park. Linwood Park. It has a 4.9 mile path next to the canal route. I did 2.5 miles and it was hard! I rested on Thursday and did my 2 miles from Tuesday on Friday and they were hard too!
Saturday morning was the S2F group run. I had 4 miles. When we were breaking off into groups (5k, marathon, and half marathon), Randy, one of the coaches from last session, came up to me and said "I'm glad to see that you are doing the Half! That's awesome!" It made me feel really good! I had a great 4 miles! I was above my target pace of 13:30 min/mile the whole run! I had an average of 12:41 min/mile pace! They took a group photo that I missed because I was running a smidgen late! But it was a cool photo! So many people out to run together on a Saturday at 630am!
Saturday, Kim was running the Titan 10k and it had started at 7am. I got done at about 745am, so after the run, I drove over to where they were having the race and started walking the course backwards to find her. I got there at about 8am, and I didn't think she would've finished yet. I was wondering what she was wearing, if she was wearing the race shirt or something else and wondered if I'd be able to spot her. I was at about 5.5ish miles when I saw her round the corner and spotted her right away! I asked how she was doing and she said she was dying! I ran along side her on the sidewalk (I didn't want to be a bandit!) for a while, then headed over to see her cross the finish line. It ended on the high school track and the announcer announced your name as you crossed the finish line, which I thought was pretty cool!
After that I had to go to work. I don't really mind working on Saturday, because it is only for 3 hours. And then at 330pm we went to the wedding of my hairstylist! She is also a friend! She has done my hair for about 6 years! She did my hair for my wedding, for my friend Lindsay's wedding, for Stephanie's wedding... She sang at my wedding and helped decorate! It was awesome to see her on her big day! She looked beautiful!
I am on vacation from work until July 11 and I couldn't be happier! My mom and one of my little brothers, Leon, are coming up from Oklahoma today! I can't wait to see them!
I got up early this morning and went to the Y to get my 2 miles in. I got there and decided that I was going to do my mobilefit strength workout. I was on my last work out, which is a machine for your back, on my last set and I did something to tweak my back. I had felt like the weight (75lbs) was a little much the previous set, but still continued. Stupid move. I didn't finish that set, and went over to the treadmill. I had to think twice about whether or not I could run, but decided to try anyway. The run actually went pretty well considering the sore back.
I got home and iced my back and had Paul rub it a little bit. Then I took an 800 Ibuprofen. I feel much better now.
We had S2F group run on Saturday at 630am. I was really dreading it. I didn't want to get out of bed, but I did. Then I was driving there and I really wanted to turn around and go home, but I didn't. I got there and the run was awesome! The best run I've ever had! It's so weird how you never know how a run is going to go until you get out there! I think there is something magical about Saturday morning group runs! I suffer through my runs all week, then Saturday is awesome!
Saturday was the first time Kim and I didn't run together in a group run. She ran with Brandi, her boyfriends' SIL. They are MUCH faster than I am! I ran at a good pace for myself, listening to some good music, and had a super good run! When I was done, I sat and had some water, talked to a couple of people new to the program, then went back for Kim and Brandi. They did 5 miles, I did three. Kim was dying on the way back. I ran back with them, then we saw Parrish and talked to her a bit.
Tony Clark, the local guy doing the Badwater is trying to get some media coverage and Parrish is a reporter for one of the news stations, so I told her about it. Here is a video of Tony, you should check it out and donate to Gallant Few if you can! It's a great cause!
After Saturday's run, Elliott had pictures and they turned out super cute! I'll share the sneak peeks I got!
After pictures, Kim, Stephanie and I left for Kansas City for the Color Run on Sunday! When we got to KC, we checked into our hotel, then went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. I had a Mexican salad from their Skinnylicious menu and a piece of cheesecake that probably had 1000 calories! I was going to look it up, but Kim and Stephanie wouldn't let me! lol!
Before
After
Sunday morning was the day of the run. We got to Arrowhead Stadium at 6am for packet pick up. I'm glad we got there early, because there was a ton of people! They said it was the biggest Color Run yet and there were 15,000 people on our day. Since we got there early, we got in the first wave. Thank goodness, because it would've been torture waiting any longer than we had to! It was pretty fun, but it should've been set up differently. We walked 90% of it because it was almost impossible to run. There were a TON of walkers, which is fine, but they were walking 7 people across and between getting around the big groups, plus dodging the other people trying to get around them, made for not a fun run. So we walked it. It was supposed to be a color at each kilometer, but it wasn't measured out accurately. I decided before hand that I was going to run it for fun since it was untimed anyway. I almost wore my Garmin, but I'm glad I didn't. The first color was yellow, then orange, so it looked like everyone had rolled in Cheeto dust, lol! Then it was blue, then pink. The finish line was the best part. They have color throws every 5 minutes and it was really cool and fun. It was horrible after it was over though. We couldn't find the station that you are supposed to get blown off at. We were SO colorful! We sat on towels to get back to the hotel, then showered and went home.
Week one of half marathon training is in the books! I missed one run this week on Thursday. We were in St. Louis for Paul's grandma's funeral and we were up late on Wednesday because of a bunch of drama with his younger sister. I won't go into it, but she is crazy! I did do Wednesday's run though. I tried to talk myself out of it many times, but I'm so glad I did it!
Check out the hills down there!
The picture doesn't do it justice, but this is a severe down hill (after the up hill!)
Being from Kansas, there are not a lot of hills around here, so running on the hills of St. Louis were a bit harder for me. I was in a really pretty area though, and all the people I passed were nice.
We had our first group run this morning. It felt like the first day of school! Seeing people we knew from the last group and meeting/seeing new people. Kim and I met a girl who is new to running and newish to town. She was around our pace and really nice. I invited her to run with us during the week training. I hope she will! I liked her!
Kim and I before Day 2 training run
They had a pancake feed after the run, but I didn't indulge. I'm still trying to lose 30lbs by October. I came home and had some cottage cheese and a bowl of cereal.
There is a local ultra marathoner who started at 10pm last night and ran 50 (!!!) miles to meet us this morning! That is super impressive! I thought it was really cool! He is training to do Badwater 135 for a second time this year!
Tomorrow night, GoRun is having a movie night and showing The Distance of Truth. I'm excited to go see it!
On my way into work after Day 1
Kim and I are going to meet up around noon today to go get our new running shoes and then have lunch! I want to get some bright colorful shoes this time!
I'm half way through Day 4 of Phase 1 of TFSD. I'm still going strong. I a little worried about tonight and tomorrow, because my mom is coming into town and we usually go out to eat when she is here. I'm determined to stay strong though. My favorite meal on this "diet" (I HATE the D word!) has been a meal of mushrooms, green bell peppers, fresh green beans, and onions sauteed in olive oil with a little bit of garlic powder!
I did my run this morning! It was a 40 minute run, but I did 42. I looked and I was really close to 5k, so I just finished it out. I did 5k in 42:44, which is over 2 minutes faster than I did at the Run2Believe 5k last month! I was so happy with that! I started to get a little cough-y around 2.5 miles, but I did well overall.
After the run, Kevin, one of our "coaches" pulled me over as a testimonial on the program. A girl was running in the park and I guess she was asking him about it. He pulled me aside and told the girl that I started out as a brand new runner and then asked me how far I had just run. I was very proud to say I'd just finished over 3 miles!
My new running friend, Lori, was talking about how she did not feel prepared for the 10k. I said that I didn't really feel ready either, but I had faith that I would be there 6 weeks from now. Last time we talked, I told her that she should consider doing the half marathon, instead of just the 5k. Today she said that she would rather do the 5k, that she was confident she could do, and do it faster, than do the half marathon, that she wasn't sure she could finish. The whole conversation kind of made me think twice about doing the half marathon, but I have thought about it all day, and I AM going for the half. I will get there!
And now I leave you with a picture of my adorable daughter, Elliott!
So what do you think? Would you rather run a 5k that you know you can finish and run it fast, or run the half marathon that your not as confident about?
So it's official. Half marathon training starts in June! We got an email from one of our running coaches saying that they were going to do another Start2Finish group in June for the Prairie Fire 5k, Half Marathon, and Full Marathon! Kim and I immediately signed up! I feel like I'm getting a little ahead of myself, but I'm excited anyway!
Kim and I ran at the park yesterday and it was a good run! I ran 2.6 miles at a 13:35 pace. It's not my best, but it's better than my average!
I've been doing really well with limiting my snacking during the day. Yesterday at work, I didn't snack at all, and today I had 6 whole wheat crackers.
Kim added some pictures to facebook of the race and stuff so I'll add them here...
Kim and I the night it was raining really hard on our group run! We are soaked!
Crossing the Finish Line! That is Stephanie with her arms up in celebration!
I just got home from WW and I lost 2.0 this week! That takes me to a total loss of 49.2lbs. I'm so close to 50lbs! I really wanted 50lbs this week, but I will be there!
OMG! At the WW meeting, I felt something on my neck and I grabbed it off, and it was a tick! I freaked out and threw it on the carpet and tried to step on it, but of course that didn't work. I didn't see it after that, so I tried to put it out of my mind. Then a few minutes later, it was crawling on my foot! I kicked it off and then was really looking for it. When there was a break in the meeting I said "There is a tick down here that keeps crawling on me and it is really freaking me out!" The WW leader, killed it and took it outside. It was kind of funny, but it really did freak me out! How did I get a tick on me? And how long had it been on me?
I had a group run with S2F yesterday. I ran a 13:35 minute mile. 2.6 miles. It's not as good as Wednesday, but it's much better than usual. There was a girl in front of me and I told myself I was going to keep pace with her. I did really well the first loop, but the second, she got ahead of me pretty far. I pushed harder than usual, but i felt really good afterward!
Kara, Stephanie, and I
We went to the drive in movies last night to see The Hunger Games. Before we went, we stopped at Sonic and I got a Route 44 Diet Cherry Limeade and a small sweet potato tots. Kara brought some snacks and stuff, and Bekki and Stephanie stopped at Quik Trip to get some candy. I had my drink and tots. Then at the movie I had a Fruit by the Foot, a Gatorade, 5 Reeses Pieces, 1 Milk Dud, and then a cup of popcorn. I had to say out loud to myself "Okay, Carrie, don't blow it tonight!" I had to go pee right before the movie started, then I had to go pee again about 3/4 of the way through the movie. I really liked the movie! It was, of course, different from the book, but still good! I can't wait to see the next two!
Today they are having an Easter egg hunt at the YMCA, and I'm taking Elliott. My MIL and I think my SIL's are going with their children also. Then my MIL is having a BBQ at her house. I will have to stay focused!
OMG, I'm glad this week is over (almost! I still have to work 3 hours tomorrow.) It had been a strange week!
Stephanie and I were going to go swimming tonight, but Paul wanted to enjoy the nice evening. He flies RC airplanes and he wanted to go tonight. So I canceled with Stephanie and went with him. Elliott and I took a long walk on this trail that was called "The Big Ditch Run". I carried her on my shoulders for most of the walk, which had me sweating! I can't believe I used to carry around almost 2 of her all day ever day in extra body fat!
Tomorrow is a S2F run in morning. Then I work for 3 hours. Then tomorrow night Stephanie and I are going to the drive-in movie to see the Hunger Games with two other girls we work with, Kara and Bekki. I'm really excited to see it!
Here is a funny picture of Elliott on the way home today! She is so silly!
This morning was the Run2Believe 5k! My first ever 5k that I ran! We got there at about 830am and met with the Start2Finish Group for a group picture. WAY more people showed up to this than ever at our group runs!
Start2Finish Group Photo
The race started at 9am. It was a rough start. It started on the High School track, then went to a gravel road, then onto the pavement. At first there were several things that slowed us down: a narrow gate, some puddles, etc. But once we got on the pavement, we got a good pace going. The first 2k were probably the worst. I remember feeling like I couldn't do it when someone said we were 0.8 miles in. That's a little over 1k, I think. I didn't even see a 1k sign, so I figured that they weren't going to have markers. But then we passed a 2k marker, and I figured I just missed the first one. There was a water station a bit after 2k and we got water. It was super cold and I spilled a lot down my shirt, but it was getting hot, so it felt good! There were a few hills between 2-3k, but they weren't too bad. When we passed 3k, I was thinking "Yes! We are over half done!" There were these two women (at least one was from our program) and they were so annoying. They kept saying "Okay, we'll run from here to the water station" or "We'll run from here until we get to that yellow sign." I kept thinking "I'm going to run from the starting line to the finish line!" I don't think they get the point of distance running... They would run and pass me and start walking again and it was driving me crazy! At one point between 3-4k, they were about to pass me, so I started running super fast! I just could not let them pass me again! That finally took me up to where they couldn't pass again.... When we passed 4k I was so excited that I only had 1k left to go! We ended back on the track and it felt so good to be close to the finish line. The last 200 meters or so Kim, Stephanie, and I gave it our all for the finish! I finished the whole thing without walking any! My goal was to finish sub-45:00. I didn't see a clock when we finished, but I was guessing my time was about 47 minutes or so... When they posted the results, I was surprised to see that my time was 44:54! Barely made the sub-45:00! If I hadn't given it my all those last meters or been annoyed by the "here to there" girls, I don't think I would've made it!
I'm glad it's over! I'm glad I made my goal! And I can't wait for the next one! Our next race will be a 2-miler on April 22.
Before the race: Me, Kim, Steph
After the race: Steph, Me, Kim
Afterward, they had a pancake feed. Kim went home, but Stephanie, her boyfriend, and I went and had pancakes!
Yesterday was weigh in day and I lost 2.2 pounds this week! Yay! I had lost 1.4 pounds three weeks in a row, which is a pretty good loss, but my goal is 1.9 pounds per week.
Last night was our Wednesday night S2F group run. Kim got out of her class early so she was able to come! It was an easy run. We did a 45 second run-90 second walk for 20 minutes. Kim and I got to chat a lot during the run! Stephanie did great last night! She said that she was going to really push herself since it was a much shorter running time, and she did! We got a coupon for a free smoothie from Smoothie King (as part of our S2F package) and the three of us went straight from the run to Smoothie King! The girl working at Smoothie King was very helpful! I had a "Make It Skinny" Peach Slice Plus with soy protein. It was soooo delicious!
Tonight I start Sam's boot camp! I'm excited about it! Then tomorrow night Stephanie, Kim, and I are going to workout at the Y. Saturday is our group run. Then Sunday I rest!
I was talking to Kara at work yesterday and she was talking about how she is not doing well with the weight loss lately. I told her she needs to get her butt in gear!
I was telling Kim last night that the most difficult part in all of this is the fact that I have a child. I really wish I would've done all of this before I had a kid. She was surprised by that. It's just that I feel guilty because I am away from her all day at work. Top that with her crying every time I leave and you get a nice pot of guilt stew. I have to give a shout out to all of the single moms out there losing weight and exercising, Paul is super supportive and helps out so much! I don't know if I would be able to do this without him!
I have to post this photo of Elliott. She went to sleep with wet hair and it looked so crazy when she woke up. And she has a sad face. She is not a morning person!
Yesterday we had our Saturday group run for Start2Finish. It was 5 min walk 90 sec jog 90 sec walk 3 min jog 3 min walk x2. It was SO much harder than Wednesday! I'm in for a real treat next week when we start jogging more and walking less. But I'm doing so much better already. I just think that a couple weeks ago we were only jogging for 30 seconds at a time and I've already progressed a lot!
I also had an appointment with my trainer yesterday at 9am after the run. We did TRX which is strength training that uses your body weight. You use these straps. It can be harder or easier depending on how you stand.
It totally kicked my butt though. After we were done, I was walking down the stairs to leave and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it down! My whole body felt like a noodle! And today I am SO sore! My freaking trapezius is sore! I don't think my trapezius has ever been sore! He also had me do some cardio on the ARC trainer (elliptical thing) and my heart rate was about 155-160 the whole time and he said that was good because I was at the top of my cardio... whatever that means. I told him that when it gets that high, it kind of worries me, but he said that it was fine as long as I felt fine. I'll see him again for my last free session in a few weeks. I'm thinking about maybe paying for a session once a month or something. We'll see.
I made Sweet Potato Lentil Chili for lunch and I think I'll share the recipe. I was super delicious and only about 3 WW Points Plus per serving!
Sweet Potato Lentil Chili Makes one large pot (5 quarts) – serves about 8 to 10
Ingredients
1 32oz container veggie broth (low sodium if possible, I used vegetable stock that I got from recently steaming vegetables)
1.5 C water
3 (14.5oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 16oz package dried lentils, rinsed
2 sweet potatoes, cubed
3 carrots, sliced (I used 1/2 cup carrot puree that I had in the freezer since I had no carrots)
3 stalks celery, sliced (optional, I did not have any, so I did not use)
1 green pepper, sliced
1 to 2 cloves garlic, diced
Huge handful kale (optional, I did not have any, so I did not use)
2 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp cinnamon (I, again, did not have any so I did not use, but I did use 1 tbsp of pumpkin butter, which I think has cinnamon in it...)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp pepper
Hot sauce (optional – to taste, I didn't use)
Instructions
1) Add the veggie broth, water, diced tomatoes, and rinsed lentils
into a large pot. Bring the mixture to a boil and let
it simmer for about 10 minutes (to soften the lentils) while you’re
chopping the garlic, carrots, sweet potatoes, celery, and green pepper.
2) Throw the garlic, kale, carrots, and sweet potato into the
simmering pot, followed about 5 minutes later by the celery and green
pepper and your spices (I threw it all in at the same time). The room will now proceed to smell awesome (this is true!).
3) Let the mixture continue to simmer, stirring frequently, until it
reaches the level of cooked consistency you prefer. This shouldn’t take
long (maybe 5 to 10 minutes more) – just make sure the carrots, sweet
potatoes, and lentils are soft (I found that it took about 30 minutes for mine to get to the soft consistency that I wanted...).
Yesterday we had our group run. It had an increased running time. It was running for 60 seconds at a time instead of 45. I know it was easier this time, because when I would start to get tired, I would start counting up starting at 45 seconds and almost every time, I didn't even get to 50 before the whistle blew. So that means that 60 seconds felt about the same as 45 did last time! They took a photo of our group. I was in the front and I was hating that I was in the front, but when the picture was posted on Facebook, I was really surprised that I didn't hate how I looked.
That is me in the front left in the white hoodie. Now I'm glad I was in the front, because it helped me see some progress!
I went to my friend's daughters first birthday yesterday. It was fun. Elliott had a really good time playing with all the kids. The cake looked SO good, but I didn't have any! I smelled it though! It smelled fantastic! I didn't even feel sorry for myself for not having a piece, I felt good about the decision! That makes 1 cake event down, about a thousand to go for this year. I know I can do it! She posted a picture of me and my daughter on Facebook and it also helped me see my progress! After the party we went over to the park and I felt a lot different from the last time we were there several months ago. I felt like I had the energy to actually play with my daughter and not want to sit down the whole time!
I can't wait to see where I am another 3 1/2 months from now!
October 2, 2011 260lbs
January 14, 2012 228lbs.( I feel like I can really see a difference in my face, neck, and chest.)
