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.

the 6 weeks to nwm recap.

does that really say 6 weeks!! ahh, im getting so excited:) for those just tuning in this is my absolute dream race and you have to get through a random lottery to even line up at the start line! so to even be training and writing recaps is awesome in my book. this week was a little tough as my training took a little detour. i finished strong, just not with all the pieces i was looking for.

sunday~rest.

rest

did a little outlet shopping for richards new bathing suit (yes he waited till the end of summer to buy one) and a lot of hanging out. it was a 4-day weekend for me and i think i forgot what it was like to have that many days off in a row!

monday~4-5 miles.

5.2 miles = 48:12 minutes/9:18 min/mile

we took the week off from my runner group since it was a holiday so i ran around home early to beat the heat. my new pace and form are seriously kicking my butt which made it a little hard to find the right rythym. my time was awesome even if i didnt feel that great while doing it, ill take it!

tuesday~spin.

5am spin class

6am body flow class

not sure if it was the holiday weekend hangover but class wasnt nearly as packed this week! i scored a good spot and sweat like there was no tomorrow. not quite as good as some of the other playlists in her pocket, but this one did have country on it!

my spin teacher has now taken our body flow class afterward and its a little weird to see such a big switch from one class to the next. i felt totally different this week in body flow with the work weve been doing in therapy! new muscles were used and i felt a lot stronger:)

ohhh! and i got some super fantastic news...i am an official #sweatpink ambassador!!! i could not be more excited about being part of this amazing community promoting a healthy lifestyle and kicking butt:) (lots more in a future post!)

 

wednesday~4 miles.

rest

well tuesday night i noticed i was losing a toenail. and instead of being paitient and letting it go on its own, i took it upon myself to take of it. bad idea! it hurt to have the blanket touch it, let alone put it inside a shoe for 4 miles. i did go to pt after wrapping it up and it was actually ok. ron decided since i wasnt sore from last weeks sessions it was time to move up in weight! my legs were burnin up after that session.

thursday~body pump.
rest

i was really hoping to run because it was my birthday! but my toe had other throbbing/painful ideas so i decided more sleep instead. i went to physical therapy for round 2 of the week and was feeling really good after, wish i had time for a run after! body pump still makes me cringe a bit so i know im not ready.



birthday dinner with my parents at the cheesecake factory!
i didnt order any, so i got decorations on
both pieces my family ordered:)

friday~rest.

rest

seems to be the theme this week, ha. not funny i know and it was starting to make me a little bit nervous about my long run saturday. i woke up with my toe actually feeling good but with a 10 miler lined up for saturday i didnt want to take the chance! plus i was hoping for really good news at my nutritionist and tried not to eat anything before seeing her on my way to work.

turns out i didnt lose the pound we were hoping for. we think ive hit a plateau. but we still measured as a birthday present to myself and i have lost 13 inches in the last month!! that makes for a total of 40 inches since i began seeing her in july:)

saturday~10 miles.
10.15 miles = 1:33:45 minutes/9:14 min/mile

like i said, i was already a little nervous about this run with a few unexpected days off this week. but i went to bed early friday night after a dinner full of yummy pasta to help settle my worry. i woke up feeling good and tackled the 1st couple miles pretty easily. then mile 6 hit and i was over it. i could have very easily taken a right hand turn instead of the big extra loop to hit my goal, but was determined to finish it all! so i turned up my running playlist, stopped looking at my garmin, and reminded myself its about a feeling not a pace. it wasnt a pretty ending, but i clocked 10 miles and beat my time from last year by almost 10 minutes!
afterwards i treated myself to a nap and a pedicure before our staycation for the weekend at mandalay bay. both were fantastic and this was my view for the rest of the day...

mandalay bay beach!

kristle came to hang with us for the day,
well and to drink:)

totals for the week = 15.35 miles+2 cross-training sessions
+2 pt sessions

a little bit of a tough week for sure, but its what makes us stronger! im convinced this week will be better and i know i can stick to my training plans much better than last week. and no more taking off toenails on my own, i promise!

33 days to the nike womens 1/2 marathon!!!

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 august 2012 running recap.

total run mileage: 75.27 miles
highest weekly run mileage: 18.41 miles
# runs: 12
# rest days: 15

# xtraining workouts: 6

favorite run: the police and fire 10k! it was my very 1^st race 3 years ago and i returned so much stronger this year. plus i took 1^st place in my age group for the 1^st time:)

three peeps from my runner group
and we all took 1st in our age groups!

 most hardcore run: the et 1/2marathon! those 1^st 6.5 miles straight uphill with an 800 feet gain was no joke. i had a great time at the race and am super glad i did it, but dang some warning about that hill would have been nice!

1/2 marathon #8 complete!

current reads: omg i am bad about this again! this month seemed to just slip away and i was wayy to crazy to even think about reading. i dont even think i read my runners world magazine this month, yikes!

current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: all of the drooling ive been doing over all things pumpkin! now pretty much everywhere else in the country its not crazy to start buying these things, but here in vegas were still in triple digits folks. its hard to justify busting out my favorite fall candles when its 101*.

current obsession: bean chips. yes, i really said that, and meant it. who am i? and by that i mean one specific kind at trader joes (another new obsession!). i never ever thought i would eat something like this, but i love them!

source

source

current drink: water, water, and more water!

current song: wanted by hunter hayes. something every girl should feel :)

current wish-list: dang i wish i could take part in all the back to school sales! there are some good ones out there and i would love some new clothes to add to my wardrobe. maybe one day soon...

current need: a little bit more courage to try out some of the great recipes i have found on some food blogs. i am always so afraid i am going to put all this effort into making this really delicious sounding food with some new ingredients to me and it will taste gross. now the few things ive made have come out pretty great actually, but ive played it a little safe.

the zesty lime shrimp and avocado
salad i made from skinnytaste!
it came outdelicious:)

current triumph: sticking hard core to my food plan. i will be writing a whole thing about this in the next few days, but just now that you can take charge and your own decisions dont always have to be the same for the rest of your life!

current bane of my existence: that my money did not stay where it was supposed to after asking it so nicely last month. things came up, surprise, surprise, and im not as wild about the reallocation as i was the original plan. oh being an adult:)

current goal: stay on track! it may sound silly, but sometimes that’s a really hard thing. and not just with my training plan but also school, work, and my new way of eating!

current indulgence: well i had to give up ice cream at the end of august so i definitely tried to fit as much of that in as possible. i also discovered quite a few options that are a little healthier and still taste great!

current excitement: with all the tweets/pics/facebook updates happening over the weekend about the disneyland half and my bit of jealousy for not being there…it made me super excited for nike next month!! i cant believe i can finally say its next month. get ready san francisco, im coming!! 

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the july 2012 running recap.

total run mileage: 81.14 miles
highest weekly run mileage: 22.38 miles
# runs: 14
# rest days: 10

# xtraining workouts: 7

favorite run: my double day that turned three times in 24 hours. it also happened to be fourth of july and i did my 1^st 5k on the holiday! sandy found us one at night that took place at the top of the city so we stuck around afterward for some delicious food at roadrunner and were able to catch a great view of all the fireworks!

total by chance we ended up as red, white, and blue!
and we had light-up tiaras :)

most hardcore run: the last long run of this cycle, my 10 miler. it has been a really hot and humid summer and no matter that i was up at 4am for this one, it was just too miserably hot. the other issue: my lack of inhaler, that one was all me. but now i have one and feel great:)

current reads: im a big slacker. i started the second book in the fifty shades of grey series and havent finished it. the plan to read over my school break didn’t really happen haha.

current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: the very sneaky 1 piece of extra dark chocolate im giving myself everyday. i recently turned my food upside down but there was no way i could completely give up chocolate!

current obsession: the olympics!! the opening ceremonies were not the greatest thing ever, but the competitions are fantastic:) i will watch just about any thats on!

my new shirts!

current drink: water, a lot of it. i have also discovered a new love for green tea. read how good it was for runners because of the antioxidants of course and have been hooked ever since!

current song: i am sooo ousting myself here…the new justin bieber song…

current wish-list: a new iphone. well the new one that apparently doesn’t come out till september. hey, it said wishlist;)

current need: my money to stay where it is allocated, ha! being an adult is rough sometimes, and each time i get just a little extra and decide to do something responsible with it, an emergency like a tooth needing to be fixed comes up. so now i have a plan to chip away at it all and get them taken care of, as long as things stay going where they are supposed to! oh to be an adult.

current triumph: since turning my food upside down in the middle of july i have lost 9 pounds in 2 weeks!! heck yes, and i have big plans for the next few months until the nike half:)

current bane of my existence: this humidity. i live in the desert people, our version of humidity is when it reaches 10% outside. this 30-50-75% stuff is just wayyyy too much.

current goal: to not be afraid for the alien race! that sounds silly i know, but i am scared of the dark and there is a potential for animals out there. i know theres going to be a lot of people so my plan is to surround myself with others so they cant get me! you think im kidding.  

current indulgence: see my shame-inducing guilty pleasure, seriously.



source



current excitement: my race Saturday! its something i have been pretty quiet about and not sure why. but it is almost here and i feel ready!