GREAT Day!

A short and sweet post just to list some of the greatness today:


~ Kari's Bake Sale for Kisses from Katie raised $900!  


~ I ran a 4 mile tempo run outside in 27:40.  6:55 pace :D  I beat my current 5k time.    
   I think all the treadmill running has helped, even though I don't run as fast on the treadmill, it still feels harder.  When I get outside I'm ready to fly.  


~  It is 40°.   Lot's of people running and walking outside, I even passed my dad and two of his friends running :D  After my tempo I ran 2.5 nice, slow cool down miles and enjoyed the sun.


~ Chris K BQed!!!!!  Ahhh so excited :D It's been so much fun on BQ or Die (which now has to be renamed!) the past few weeks.  And his comments always make me smile :)


~ I'm leaving in 15 to go get my bike!  The shop ordered it last week and today I'm going to pick it up and get everything properly adjusted.  It's so nice out I might be able to take it on it's maiden voyage later.

Hope everyone else is having a GREAT Sunday!

While waiting...

RACE ME :)

LOTSO CAKE POP-ERS

I Like the Pink ones :D

The inside is made from:

Highest Bidder will be shipped 20 Conversation Heart Cake Pops :D (and maybe some surprises ;)

A full list of Bake Sale items and details on how to bid can be found over at Jogging With Fiction.

Some other rocking bloggers who have donated baked goods are Janae from Hungry Runner Girl, Jess from Blonde Ponytail,  Pahla from Adventures of an Average Athlete and Marcia from Running Off at the Mouth!

All proceeds go towards Kisses From Katie,  an organization that offers comfort to children and families in pediatric intensive care units. 

Go check it out and try not to lick the screen ;)

* To all those running Surf City, you'll are gonna ROCK IT!!  I am definitely finding a way to get there next year :D

Preview For Tomorrow's Charity Bake Sale

     Some of you may have heard about Jogging With Fiction's Blog Bake Sale to raise money for Kisses From Katie.  After I read her first post about it I decided it would be fun to make some Valentine's Day Cake Pops to help out :D  These aren't a "healthy" baked good by any means, but my food philosophy is that it is okay to have a treat sometimes (or give them to others) :)

Here is a little preview of what they look like so far:

I still have 3 more colors to finish

I actually found a conversation heart that said, "RACE ME,"  I HAD to include that one!

I'll have a full post tomorrow with the link to the Bake Sale and more pictures and description!!  I'm really excited about these :D!

Three Things Thursday

    1)  Thank you all so much for your kind comments!!!  Sometimes I wish I could find the strength, commitment and courage that I had at 13.   
      
     Retelling my story reminded me to look within myself for what I need.  It is easy on a day to day basis to forget how far I've come and get down on myself for failures or not follow through with my goals out of fear. 
    
    I need to realize how much I have achieved thus far and how much potential I have to achieve even more.


   2)  Inspired by all you amazing bloggers putting in serious miles on the treadmill (and maybe by myself a little :D), I decide I was gonna do a little long run on the treadmill today.  I wasn't sure how long but wanted to get in at least 6 (don't laugh at my long run distance :P)

    The furthest I've been able to go on treadmill before today is 4 miles and even that was tough, 3 is about my limit.  One of my biggest problems is that I'm too caught up in pace and  when I try to slow it down it feels so easy that I'm almost tripping over the front of the treadmill.  So I bring the pace up and by mile 2.5 I'm dying and just make it to 3.
 
So I set some guidelines for myself today:
1) Keep it SLOW for at least the first 2-3 miles
2)  Take a few short (30-60 sec) breaks if needed


Lo and Behold. . . 8 MILES.  I'm feeling mighty proud of myself right now, yes I am :D 


  Breakdown:  Miles 1&2 ~ 6.4-6.6 / Mile  3 ~ 6.6-6.7 / 1 minute break (I forgot my water anyway, so had to go grab it) /  Mile 4-6 ~ 6.2-6.6 I was definitely feeling it, my mileage has been low this winter / 30 sec break~ I wanted to be done, but I told myself to take a short break and see if I could get a few more./ Mile 7~ a bit of a struggle, I got through. I don't even know the pace; I played around with it. / Mile 8 ~ I really thought I was done at 7, but I decided to put in a few 1/10 mile strides at 7:30 (8.0) pace to get to 7.5.  I alternated between 6.0 & 8.0 every .1 miles and before I knew 8 miles :D

I was so salty I smelled like the beach, it was THE best :)


3) "Ridin' Solo" by Jason Derulo is such an amazing running song.  How can you not want to run your booty off to, "I'm feeling like a star, you can't stop my shine." NOT POSSIBLE.  Total times listened to on today's run: 6


Some other tunes from my run:
~ Drugs or Me (Styrofoam remix)  Jimmy Eat World
~ Very Busy People   The Limousines
~  Steady Shock   Girl Talk
~ Thanks For the Mmrs   Fall Out Boy
~ Internet Killed the Video Star  The Limousines
~ Hey Baby   Pit Bull


    And just for fun; LOVE these pics:

The kid's got some determination (he gets it from his mama ;), so what if everyone else is double his size :D

The Post I've Procrastinated on for 3 Months.

On a Wordless Wednesday, 3 months ago,  I posted this picture:

and wrote that I would follow up with the story.  and then I didn't.

    I only had like 5 followers then, so I guess it would have gone mostly unread anyway.

I did talk about my childhood obesity briefly in the interview I did for TruthinSlimming, but my life would be COMPLETELY different if I'd never lost the weight, so it deserves it's own post.

Here goes nothing, this is going to be lengthy.

     I was, for pretty much my entire childhood, a chubby kid.  Like most children who have weight problems, I went from chubby kid to overweight adolescent;  had I not decided to make life changes when I was 13, I would most likely still be struggling with my weight today.  I never would have discovered my ability to run, it's highly unlikely I would have my physical lifeguarding job, I wouldn't be pursuing my training cert, and I'm 99% positive there would be no Nolan (due to my PCOS).

  (Note: I'm not saying that you can't do any of these things if you are overweight; I'm saying for me, personally, I'm fairly certain they would not have happened.) 

My younger cousins and I at the beach where I currently work.

  This is about a year before I started losing the weight.

    None of my other family members had weight problems; my younger bro and sis were string beans and my dad was (and still is) super fit.  (Side note: My birth announcement in his work newsletter joked that I was born with New Balance Running Sneakers on :D)  

     

     One of the things that likely contributed to my excess weight was a diagnosis of Legg Calve Perthes.  LCP is a childhood hip disease where the ball of the hip doesn't form properly (my right hip ball is still misshaped).  For almost 2 years (2nd and part of 3rd grade) I had to wear a brace that looked like this : 

I tried to find a pic of me wearing it, but no luck

    This meant very little physical activity for me, but after a few years of treatment I was good to go :)

    I don't remember exactly when I started to notice that I was "fat" and that being fat was a negative thing.  Probably around 5th grade and I realized it more each year after, very rarely did anyone say something nasty to my face, but they weren't exactly discreet about making fun of me either.

   7th and 8th grade were really tough for me socially.  Not only was I overweight, I was super quiet and a little immature as well.  I loved Winnie the Pooh and I used to always wear a dress with his picture embroidered on it (junior high suicide ;)  I was fortunately some what naive as well and couldn't tell a lot of the time when I was being mocked, but looking back I can see it now.  My high weight was around 160-170 (based on phys. ed fitness test) @ 5'2" (now 5'4")

   I spent A LOT of time day dreaming in my room.  In all my dreams I was thin and pretty.  I remember vividly, in 8th grade (right before I started losing weight that summer), thinking over and over again about how I was going to come back to school thin.  I was going to get the (positive) attention of everyone who ever made fun of me or looked down on me.   I wanted to shock people; wanted to prove something.

   I don't recall what made my thirteen year old self go from sitting around dreaming to getting up and making it a reality, but I'm still amazed (and thankful [to myself :D])  at the courage she had.  One day I just up and decided to start walking around my block (almost 1mi), I got out there and walked my little heart out for 5 laps. I continued to do this everyday (I didn't start running till after I reached my low weight). When my family would drive to the local beach club about a mile away, I would walk and meet them there. 

     And that is basically it,  I knew what I wanted and I kept walking till I got there.  I definitely started eating better too, I didn't go on any diet plan, I just ate healthier.  I think one thing that made a HUGE difference was getting rid of all juices from my diet and drinking solely water.  I'm lucky that I've never enjoyed soda, but I drank a LOT of juice.

    By the time I started 9th grade I was down to around 135 and continued to lose till I reached 115-120. and yes I cause quite a commotion :D

  I still have a bunch to say on this topic, but I'm going to save that for another post in the next few days.

Bikini Burpees!

Sorry No.

I hate to disappoint, but some things are better off not done in a bikini (even if it gets you extra points ;)

Burpees are at the top of the list (they will help you look fabulous in a bikini though!)

Below are my first two attempts for the 2 Minute Burpee Contest.

I did them about 5 minutes apart;  First set: 22   Second set: 21

Goal by February 16th: More than Kovas, Chris K, and Patrick  30?

Take 1



      In the 2nd set I had to step up from some of these burpees at the end.  I give anyone participating full permission to step up if you can no longer jump (I'm the judge :D).  It's better than not doing them at all ; )


Take 2 (This vid is a little glitchy)

I need to figure out how to get better thumbnails!

    Oh and Matty O.,  I'm not too worried about bulking up my arms.  Did you see those babies, they could use ALL the muscle they can get!!  and I'm gunning for your 35 count :D

Now go get YOUR Burpee on :D

(and report your results here)