the november 2012 running recap.

total run mileage: 72.65 miles
highest weekly run mileage: 27.96 miles
# runs: 13
# rest days: 17

# xtraining workouts: 2 <-oops.

favorite run: ragnar for sure. ok that may be a few runs put together, but man it was cool:)

most hardcore run: the run i did right before ragnar. it wasnt particularily difficult, my head was just all over the place and my body was really not loving that i drug it out of bed that morning.

current reads: back to being a big slacker!

current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: falling asleep with the tv on and sleeping diagonally. i know it sounds silly, but i couldnt do either at my apartment! sleeping right down the middle while friends plays in the background are seriously two of my favorite things:)

current obsession: christmas music! omg its everywhere and im totally in love. ok i wasnt in love until the end of november, but now i listen to it everywhere!

current drink: water and wine, ha! im trying to learn to drink it and i think im doin a pretty darn good job:)

current song: goodbye in her eyes by the zac brown band.

current wish-list: clothes that actually fit. i always thought i would be so excited if my clothes were loose or needed a belt. then it actually happened and now i am beyond frustrated that nothing fits. it would be much easier if i had some extra cash running around to start replacing, but that whole adult thing keeps getting in the way, ha!

current need: to stay in the moment. sometimes i get so worried about what the future might possibly bring i forget to love the moment im in and i have been having some really great ones too, no matter what im feeling at the time.

i love pinterest:)

current triumph: getting to my last class!! i am soooo close to done people. january 12^th is coming sooo fast, 41 days to be exact:)

current bane of my existence: my final paper. its 30 pages people, really?! 30 pages. its due january 9^th so i have lots of time to work on it, but its going to take a lot of work between now and then. theres lots of things going on between now and then too with holidays and family that its going to really put me to the test!

ok!

current goal: to combat the holiday weight gain. it sounds a little silly but i learned such great things from joanie i need to not waste them over the holiday season. plus i feel really good about all my progress, lets not let the holidays burst that!  

current indulgence: coffee. frilly, girly, sugary coffee to be exact. that’s actually 2 months in a row, oops:)

current excitement: this is happening soon...

good grief you can tell were related!

the september 2012 running recap.

total run mileage: 72.88 miles
highest weekly run mileage: 19.99 miles
# runs: 11
# rest days: 15

# xtraining workouts: 4

# pt sessions : 8

favorite run: my hilly 9 miler with jenn! somehow i convinced her running at 5am on hills was a good idea haha. it was my first long run with a friend ever and im so glad i finally broke that streak! seriously, such a blast to have someone to run with.

most hardcore run: my flat 10 miler. which should sound a lot easier than it should have been. i took a few extra days off that week after i lost a toenail tuesday night and for some reason that meant that distance was tough. im pretty sure it was all in my head which sometimes i think plays more tricks on her mind than just about anything else.

current reads: it happened again:( all my homework should be no excuse for not reading anything outside of schoolwork. i promise, october is going to be the one i get back on reading track!

current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: the creamer i add to my coffee hehe. joanie really tried to break me of this one and i do have more days that i add almond milk rather than creamer. but i just cant give this one all the way up!

in one of my favorite cups:)

current obsession: stalking the shelves for anything pumpkin. see even though its still hitting 100* a few times a week here, everywhere else it is fall. which means i am starting to see TONS of pumpkin pictures from all over the place and i am ready for it here.

current drink : same as august, lots of water!

current song: pontoon by little big town. its the perfect song to send off summer!

current wish-list: some extra cash to buy new running clothes. not really cause i need them, but cause i want them:) who says no to new clothes?!

current need: the weather to cool so i can wear boots! ooooh im so ready to bust them out of my closet!!

its fall time inside, now it needs to be outside too!

current triumph: my final results from joanie!! in case you missed them…

17 pounds lost! (its now 18)

43 inches have disappeared!

29% body fat->19% body fat!

current bane of my existence: that racing is expensive! i have been compiling a life bucket list lately and a race bucket list and man do those races start to really add up! ok, so the actual race really isnt that expensive but the travel and staying wherever definitely adds up quickly. we should start a runner exchange in peoples houses, where you can switch places for race weekends to save on cost! if that wasn’t potentially so creepy or scary i would be all over it haha.

current goal: keep up the great things i started with joanie. its actually been easier to stick on the plan than i thought. but now its about planning for the long term. i can do this!

yum!! i miss these healthy
meals when i dont have them.

current indulgence: my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies i baked the other day! they are low fat with no butter or oil. if i can fit them in my daily food i am definitely having one!

current excitement: the san francisco trip is planned! richard and i sat down last weekend and decided on the things we want to do after the family leaves. so we are officially all ready! we tried to leave things open a bit the whole weekend so if we see something we really want to add we dont have to sacrifice anything.

its my turn to take back the power.

for most of my life ive kept 2 things inside pretty well. the first not totally being comfortable in my own skin and second my knee pain. now let me clear somethings up. this is not a pity party or in no way am i fishing for nice compliments. this is simply my story and how i finally took charge of my own body issues!

i am comfortable with who i am, amazingly grateful for the people in my life and for the things i am able to do on a daily basis. but somehow i have managed to surround myself with beautifully skinny girls (who i wouldnt trade for the world) and just dont feel 100% comfortable all the time. i in no way feel overweight, i just dont want to be the heavy girl at the 5k anymore for example. i want to be able to go to any store and not worry about them having my jeans size. or have people look at me and go youre a runner? i want to look as great as i feel. i have the training part down, i can rattle off my plan, mileage for the week, and all the times of my races at the drop of a hat. i got it dialed and it works wonders for me. so why havent i lost any weight in the last 3 years other than the few in the beginning? it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out why a runner doing 20+/- miles a week with 2 days of cross-training isnt losing weight...its the nutrition.

 

so it all came to pass about a month and a half ago at a work happy hour as i sat there with my iced tea drooling over the alcohol and and cheeseburgers with fries everyone was eating and not having to worry about working those off. i was never blessed with that type of metabolism, i mean a lot of it is in the genes people. now some of these beautiful ladies work rockin hard to not have to worry about that friday night happy hour, i just wondered why working just as much as they did didnt seem to be making a difference. it was also a day where my hair sucked, i wasnt loving anything in my closet, and couldnt eat a french fry without feeling bad. it wasnt a good day to say the least. the next morning i got up to complete my 12 miles (which felt great) knowing they were all loving their beds as my alarm went off at 4am to beat at least a little bit of the heat. i knew something had to change and i was the only one who could really and truly make that happen.

monday morning i went into my boss, the pain still a little raw (it was written all over my face) and asked for her nutritionists phone number. she had raved about joanie forever. telling all of us how great she was and that she worked with anyone. she changed your food yes, but not to a crazy calorie counting diet plan or something we send to your house or you can only eat these 3 foods. she was real. finally realizing it was the nutrition meant i needed help, someone that could work with me and my likes/dislikes and being a runner. you see its often frowned upon for runners to go on diets because we cant totally cut out any one food. but there had to be an answer somewhere.

source

so i called the next morning and by wednesday afternoon i was sitting in her office going over bloodwork and talking all about me and my body. she listened to everything and gave me quite a few faces when i told her about the things i was eating. we worked out a plan and she made a "highly recommended" suggestion that i go to the grocery store to stock up on my new things that night! its made up of lots and lots of fruits and veggies, whole grain foods, lean meats/proteins, and things with the lowest sugar/fat possible plus how many of each i should be eating per day. she had lots of great suggestions about particular brands and broke everything down for me. i literally took home a book of information comparing darn near every brand of cereal for example with all its nutritional value. i got on the scale and didnt love what i saw at 170.5 pounds. we did measurements of literally every part of my body and she gave me an "approved joanie" list of things to buy. i headed back to work that day actually feeling great about the step i had taken and was ready to make the change. now i wasnt looking to be a size 2 (or 4 or 6 for that matter), that was never in the cards for me. but i wanted to feel good about myself, and that the work i was doing on the pavement showed!

source

friday afternoon i went to see her again and we talked all about how my couple days had been and what i had been eating. she was seriously impressed with my willingness to try new food (except spinach, kale, beans, or oatmeal to name a few) and could tell i was committed. she made me get back on that scale and i was terrified to say the least. turns out i had lost 3 pounds just changing my diet in 3 days!!! i was ecstatic to already have some changes. now yes i know most of it was water weight and flushing out the bad stuff from my body, but i took it!

things fell into place with joanie quickly, not that it wasnt and still is a struggle some days. the pizza on fridays, donuts/pastries on saturday mornings, lunch dates with friends, and the offers of lets go get fast food after the et race were abundant. i have never been to so many birthday parties with delicious looking cake in such a short time. i have had days (quite a few actually) when all i really wanted to do was eat like i used too. the problem was i didnt used to eat awful, especially during half marathon training. but now comparing i didnt eat great either.

i can make my own healthier version of things
like mac & cheese! you dont have to
give up everything to be healthy!

i can now say from july 18th to september 5th i am down 14.5 pounds and 27 inches!!! i have a few weeks left with joanie and am hoping to have a big update friday when i get down to 155 pounds because then we can measure again. keep your fingers crossed:) i feel wayyy better about myself and things are fitting so much better than they used to. my body feels happier when i run having these healthy things and a better balance inside it. i know for a fact i made the right choice going to her!

now that i had the nutrition part under control something else had now reflared up, knee pain. i havent had the best luck over the years. it started when i was 12 and developed osgood schlatters disease in both knees, its common in young athletes actually. basically your body is growing and the impact of sports is putting too much pressure on the tendons in your legs which is causing pain in the knees. most grow out of it, which i did. until freshmen year of high school when i got patellar tendonist in my left knee along with knee cap falling on top of it and to the outside of my leg. the arches in both my feet also fell at the same time. i had to quit everything cold turkey and went to 6 weeks of physical therapy. it helped a lot but i was told i would always probably have some knee pain when exercising, i just had to decide what i could really deal with.

so i took that for a long while and usually icing a few times helped until about 3 weeks ago when i got a bad tightness in the backs of both my knees and the front hurt a lot and quite often. with my past track record of knee pain i decided i should go to a sports doc asap. my mom luckily had a great one that worked on her foot last summer that was also a runner so i knew he would get it. luckily again i got a same week appointment and was into see dr hanson quickly. we took xrays and did ligament tests which i passed all of them. we talked about my changing to minimalist shoes and everything was fine till he had me hop on one knee at a time and it hurt real bad in my right knee. he told me i needed to get into see his friend ron, a physical therapist quickly. there was 8 weeks till my race and he knew ron could fix me in plenty of time.

those just dont look right!

about 5 minutes later i called ron and made an appointment for that next tuesday. i was still cleared to run by both guys as long as it didnt hurt. the 8 miler that weekend wasnt my best run ever, but i couldnt back down now. tuesday came quickly and it seemed like ron had all the answers. he listened to all my stories, did some general tests, had me run on the treadmill and knew immediately what was wrong. he didnt even need xrays to tell him what he already knew. basically it was everything but my knees haha! it all came down to my hips which oddly didnt surprise me. i had hip/knee issues as a kid too. when i was 6 months old i wore a brace to pull my knees apart because they were a bit bowed in and couldnt even go around my moms hip when she would hold me. luckily the brace worked and i never had to have surgery. but now its allll coming full circle lol.

we worked mostly on my form that day and i found out that my glutes had terrible strength. i needed to build them up quickly so i could stop using my hips so much to propel me forward but the rest of my body. we worked on shortening my stride and upping the tempo. i was totally out of breath and my entire lower body was sore, except my knee. ron told me this was his favorite thing to treat and i might even get faster. i didnt really believe that until my next 2 runs!

boom!!

ive been back once after the initial and dang do my muscles need work. i am at a 1 pound weight on each leg when the average is 7-8 pounds. ron says he can fix me in 9 sessions like i said and i might even be really mad at him when this is all done. he told me ive had knee pain for so long and people have always told me it wasnt fixable, he tells me it is and were gonna do it together.

gotta do my own work!

for the first time in a long time i feel really in control of my own body. i feel skinnier in my clothes and people around me are starting to seriously notice. the support i have received from friends, family, and richard has been amazing! my knees are feeling better and i improved my 9 mile route time by 10 minutes from year ago! i know these things are working together and i couldnt be happier with both results:)


ps if you live in the las vegas area and would like information for either one of them, please let me know! i would be more than happy to pass it along and let them hep you on your journey:) also if you have any questions, i would love to help in anyway i can!!

the ode to running.

happy national running day! i got my miles in this morning and it was one of the best runs i have had in quite awhile. my legs just kept going and going, you have to love those mornings. it made me, like many others think about my running and what it has done for me in the last 3 years. now i know you have all read the runniversary stories (year 2 and 3) but this is a little different...

i run to...

*have days that start out like today

amazing run!

*enjoy a cupcake from time to time

its all about balance my friends :)

*share the joy of running

ive been lucky enough to be there for some new runners and their 1st steps all the way to their 1st race! if that doesnt renew your faith in running i dont know what will :)

*stay healthy

i know it sounds silly and like a no-brainer. but it has really kept me on track.

*get some bling

i mean really, the clothes and the bling is half the reason i run!

seriously, you thought i was joking ;)

*reconnect with old friends via social media

sometimes you lose touch you went to college or high school with. for some reason no matter how long its been since you last talked, running can be the best ice breaker!

*go from this...

summer 2006.

to this...

today.

*meet new people that push me to the next level

if i hadnt joined my runner group i would have never done a triathlon or gotten dangerously close to my new sub-2 hour goal!

*find myself

before this i dont think i realized how lost i really was. running has helped me figure out who i really am!

so heres to a great new year of running! may you all find the motivation you need to keep placing one foot in front of the other to reach that next mile :)

the living with a runner thing.

i started running about 2 years ago and instantly fell in love.  growing as an athlete running was always my least favorite part, ok i down right hated it.  something completely turned around though when i started training 1/2 marathons.  it was the perfect outlet for anything i needed.  i run by myself usually with my music, but sometimes with nothing at all.  i dont run for times, or to place in a race, or to beat the fastest person.  i run for me.  more about all of that in another post. 

when i first met richard i was already about 1 month into training for my 1st race.  he has been there since the beginning and never saw another side.  he was there for my very 1st 10k and almost every race since.  but coming to be that fantastic support and being there everyday is a totally different thing.  when we first moved in i wasnt training, i had just come off my 3rd 1/2 marathon and was ready for a rest.  i was on a mission to lose the weight i had gained on an awful protein shake i had taken on my last training cycle, which at that point didnt even include the gym. 

richard has always been super healthy and a gym rat the whole time i have known him.  i may not agree with the weight gainer shake he takes or going to the gym at 8am when he doesnt go to bed until 2 am.  but he is super dedicated to his goals and its amazing to live with someone so committed to the gym and health.  he definitely helps motivate me to get up in the morning to do my own training.

now when i say get up in the morning, i dont quite mean at 8am to go with him.  i mean more like 6am to go run 4 miles outside in january. 

even in las vegas we get pretty damn cold in the winter.  this was the morning i was still cold after the shower, coffee and about 2 hours into my work day.  and its a 5-day a week habit.  there are training plans and runs that have to get worked into the week.  no matter how i feel when that alarm goes off i have to get up and go.   if i skip a day it has to be for a fantastic reason.  i went light on training for my 2nd 1/2 marathon thinking i have done this before, if i skip a day or 2 during a training cycle i still can hack it.  i paid for it big time during the race and vowed i would stick to the training plan for every other race i trained for. 

up until moving in with richard i only had to be semi-considerate of others for early morning workouts.  when living at home i had my own room to turn lights on as i needed, open/close as many drawers as necessary to find all my clothes, and set as many alarms as i wanted to.  once leaving my room i tried to be as quite and close the doors when i had lights on in the bathroom or kitchens.  our apartment is quite a bit smaller and i didnt realize how much noise i was really making while trying to get ready.  i do still set 2 alarms, its a pshcy thing that i think i am hitting the snooze button.  except now i quietly get out of bed and head into the bathroom once awake to this...

it has definitely kept me a lot more organized and cut down on the time it takes me to get ready.  who knew something as simple as getting my clothes together would be way more considerate to him still sleeping and so much easier on my life. 

the other big thing we had to get used to is the food part.  i have always been a curvy girl and have definitely let it get out of hand a few times in my life.  when we met i was on the losing weight track without even trying because of all the training, it was fantastic!  once that 1st race was done though i realized my body could quickly go back to the out of control curves if i wasnt careful.  i love food, and have come to understand that i can continue eating what i wanted as long as i was mindful of my portions.  richard and i have fairly similar tastes in food, both pretty plain and nothing too exotic.  when we 1st met his dad actually told me that he was hoping i could expand richards eating horizons!  (still one of the funniest conversations to this day.)  with richard trying to gain weight and me training/always wanting to lose weight as any other girl i have definitely learned that i need to watch what goes on my plate.  richard can eat whatever he wants whenever.  getting off work at 11pm he can stop at mcdonalds and get 2 mcdoubles, french fries, and a large coke and be fine.  i need to eat at a decent time and have become very diligent at counting calories.  even though i am in pretty much constant training i still cant eat just anything.  another example of our different dinners...

now our different work schedules for sure allow us to eat whatever we want when we get home.  the weekends get a little tricky sometimes when trying to choose a restaurant to eat at.  and when i get close to a race my food choices get stricter and stricter.  but we have been able to deal with our different tastes really well.  we are both even introducing the other to new food. 

merging your life with someone else is really hard at first.  you are trying to figure out how to share a closet and what to do when the other person is taking the longest shower ever and you need to finish getting ready (i would definitely be the one in the shower).  merging your athletic lives though is sometimes just as hard.  once you figure it out however it can really make both your lives so much easier.