Happy New Year 2020

It looks like my M.O. is to open this blog when I get the notification the domain name renewed. LOL oh well.

I hope everyone is having a nice, relaxing start to 2020. See you all in another year???

My How Things Change

I just got the email that Live Laugh Run Breathe was renewing so I opened it up.  Looks like all my custom images and design vanished, but I'm kind of digging the pink swirls, so whatevs.  Guess I'll keep it open for another year. Considering the fact that this is the first and probably only post of 2018, I find this quite funny.  At least it's cheap :) The title might need to change, though, since there's definitely been no running for quite a long time.  To paraphrase Meatloaf, 3 out of 4 ain't bad.

2018 saw a lot of changes in my life.  A quick recap:

I got divorced in May.
I quit my job and moved to Jacksonville, Florida in June.
I started a new job in August.
I'm currently on medical leave from surgery last week. 

Here's hoping 2019 finds me getting my health back and hopefully a return to running.

Maybe, if there are any readers still out there, I'll keep you posted.

Much love and Merry Christmas,

Bari

Is anybody out there?

So, it would appear I posted about six times in 2016.  Here it is, half way through 2017, and I haven't written a darn thing.

In my defense, I couldn't remember how to get into this blog.  My bad.  When I finally got it, I'd noticed all of the custom backgrounds and whatnot were a freaking mess, so here I am with a new look and most of the widgets gone.  I figure I don't need them anyway.

Anyhoo...Not sure how much I'll be posting here but I did want anyone still out there to know I'm alive.  I just haven't had much to say.

Bari

Race Report: 2016 Fred Meijer White Pine Trail 200 Mile Relay

2 vans.  12 friends.  38 hours and 6 minutes.  204.3 miles (16.3 were mine).  1 very cool teammate.  This isn't going to be my usual race report.  I experienced something very different with this year's Fred Relay.  

Team Screaming Thunderboxes at the start

I always have the best time on the Fred, if I didn't, I wouldn't have been back for round 3. But this year was different. I came into this knowing I was injured and horribly undertrained. I knew I wouldn't be running like I had the previous 2 years.   

I knew the night leg would be my favorite.  I don't run with a biker and this year I got to run the handoff leg around Lake Cadillac at midnight.  It was beautiful and my best run.  Something about running in the middle of the night and chicking a guy makes for a good time.

That's Mars in the sky!

Ready for bed!

I knew that the 3rd leg would be incredibly hard.  I wouldn't have been able to finish that 8.9 miles without Kaylee biking with me, being my water sherpa, and keeping me mentally strong. 

Very happy to check of that final run!

Van 1 DONE and ready to find beer (for at least 5 of the 6)

This year the Fred wasn't about me. It was about my girl. See that tall one in the picture up there?  She CRUSHED her first relay.  Being able to experience this race with Kaylee and watch her grow as a runner this year has been amazing. From her hating running, to having run a couple 5ks to sticking with a training plan while keeping up with her freshman year of college, to running her first 10k and then her first half and finally her first relay and covering almost 17 miles in a day and a half (faster than her predicted pace!) is what I will always remember from this summer and Fred 2016. Her other 10 teammates taking her under their wings and cheering her on was so fun to watch as well. 

I've always been proud of Kaylee - she makes it easy - but I'll never forget how blessed I am to experience things like this with her, not just as her mom but now also as her teammate.  The fun shirts, swag and bling are just icing on the cake.

Excellence vs Perfection

H. Jackson Brown, Jr, author of the book Life's Little Instruction Book, wrote, "Strive for excellence, not perfection."  That little quote has be thinking - thinking enough to write a blog post after staying away from here for the past two months.

I'm not gonna lie - running and me haven't exactly been getting along lately. It's been hard, it hurts (thanks to plantar fasciitis), and the heat + humidity of summer haven't helped. Constantly comparing myself to the runner I was a couple years ago also isn't doing me any favors.  However, I'm still plugging along & have decided to adopt the philosophy of Excellence vs Perfection. 

What is "excellence"?  Excellence means I'm doing the best I can in that moment. It is achievable with effort and planning and can result in a sense of accomplishment.  You are willing to be wrong and if you make mistakes, you can be accepting of those mistakes, determine  what you can change and what is out of your control, and what you can do differently in the future to achieve the excellence you seek. 

The idea of "perfection" implies there is nothing better & it's largely unattainable. Failure is inevitable and the belief that you'll never be good enough is a very real possibility.  News flash - I'm a perfectionist and my perfectionist tendencies have been doing a number on me in many areas of my life, not just my running.  I'm working hard to get past this.  It's not easy, believe me.

Today, focusing on the best I could do in that moment, resulted in 4 miles that finally showed some progress. I posted the insta with the hashtag #progressnotperfection because that's what today really was.  Maybe tomorrow or the next day the results will be different. In fact, they most likely will be. But in that 4 mile run this morning I worked toward achieving excellence & I'm happy with the result.

"Life doesn't require that we be the best, only that we try our best." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.  For the foreseeable future, I am simply trying to do my best.  It's all I can ask of myself. 

Where I've been Lately

For some bizarre reason, I still have the Facebook page associated with this blog and over the past couple days, I've received a ton of notifications of new likes and view, so I thought I should probably post something.

For those of you new here - welcome.  For those of you who have managed to stick around - thanks.  In case you didn't notice, I've taken a bit of a break from blogging.  By my calculations (or that thingy on the side), I've posted 5 times in 2016 - 6 if you count this one.  I really haven't felt like I've had anything to say.  At least nothing positive.  When I've blogged in the past and voiced my frustrations or disappointment in myself, I've gotten slammed, so I decided it was best not to say anything.

Here's where I've been lately....

I started this blog almost 7 years ago, on June 23, 2009, as a weight loss blog.  I weighed in that day at 165.8.  Guess what I weighed this morning?  166.8.  In the past 7 years, I managed to get down to a pretty happy weight around 140.  I became a runner and completed a shit ton of races - including 2 marathons and 2 sprint triathlons.  But...

I'm now heavier than I was in 2009 and my running is pretty much in the toilet due to injuries and being fat.  I screwed up my shoulder and now I can't really lift or swim without that hurting too. I can't run without pain and my pace is closer to a 13 minute mile than the 10s and even 9s I'd worked myself down to.  I know a bunch of people are going to say that it doesn't matter.  That what matters is that I'm still out there.  Forward is better than nothing.  Some would give anything to be 167 pounds and run a 13 minute mile.  Blah blah blah.  Sorry, folks.  It matters to me and all I see is failure.  I worked really hard to lose 25+ pounds and become a sub-10 min mile runner.  Now I'm back where I started - or worse.

On a related note, I'm supposed to go to the Fitbloggin' conference in Indianapolis in July.  I was so excited when they chose a city in the Midwest.  Finally, I could attend without needing a plane ticket. I'd get to see my friends, but do I really want to be seen 25 pounds heavier than the last time I went to Fitbloggin? To still call myself a fitness blogger? Definitely not. I've paid my registration but I can't afford to stay on site.  Room plus parking (because I'd have a car) is over $200 a night.  Sure, I could room with someone to cut part of the room rate down, but that doesn't fix the extra $200 I'll have to pay to leave my car there.  $40 a day for a car??? I could stay at a Motel 6 for that - only not in Downtown Indy because everything is HELLA expensive.  I booked a room about 1/2 a mile away for a little less money and free parking, but to stay off-site means I lose out on a lot the conference has to offer.  I don't think it's worth the $500+ it will cost for me to attend when I could spend the same to go visit my daughter in Florida sometime during the winter when I'm really hating being in Michigan.  Sorry guys, but I'm 90% sure I'm staying home in July.  If anyone wants to drive 4.5 hours north after the conference ends and experience Beer City, USA and some gorgeous Lake Michigan beaches, let me know.

So there you have it...I haven't been blogging because there's really nothing good to say.  I'm feeling sorry for myself and whenever I voice that - either here or on Facebook or wherever - I get a bunch of shit about how I should love myself and accept where I am right now and all that other bullshit.  I really don't want to hear any of that so please just don't.  Not sure when I'll post again.  It could be tomorrow or it might be 6 months from now.  Either way, if you are just finding this space, I'm sorry that it's probably not what you were looking for.

Race Report: 2016 #runDonna Breast Cancer (Half) Marathon

I've been sitting on this race report for a week, trying to decide how best to write it.  Spoiler alert: it wasn't quite the "comeback" race that I'd planned but I finished and that was the main objective.

My midwinter break from school was nice enough to fall on Donna weekend again this year so I started making plans way back in September or October to fly down to Jacksonville and run it again.  It's a perfect excuse to find some warmer weather in February and see friends I only get to see once or twice a year.

There was one problem with my plan...I wasn't running yet.  I had been fighting achilles and shoulder problems for months and was heavy into PT.  But with my PT's (overly ambitious, IMO) blessing, I was told to start "training".  I couldn't run more than a couple minutes at a time until around the end of November so I worried I would never be able to get my mileage up enough to complete 13.1.  Every week from the 1st week of December until two weeks before the race I ramped up my long runs.  By the beginning of February, I'd been able to complete two 10-milers using a run/walk strategy so I figured I was good to go.  Then the week before the race hit me with horrible leg cramps at night and I was seeing the chiro and a massage therapist literally the day before I flew to Jax.

Not in the plan at all.  Add to this a 3 hour flight delay in Chicago and I was worried I wasn't even going to make it to the expo to register.  (Because weather in the Midwest in February is quite unpredictable, I didn't register in advance in case I couldn't make it there - I never anticipated multiple mechanical problems to ground us.)  Thankfully, I made it to the expo with about an hour to spare, rushed in and registered, and then headed to my hotel to chill before meeting friends for dinner.

Little did I know how prophetic this would be 

Just a few days before the Donna, I was chatting with my friend Krissy about the race.  She decided rather last minute to run the half marathon and we made plans to run together for as much as we could.  Krissy is a freaking ROCKSTAR for running a half only 9 weeks after having her adorable baby girl.  I think I was barely functioning at that point.

Requisite pre-race hotel selfie

I was up bright and early Sunday morning after just kind of throwing my gear out the night before.  I headed to the race in plenty of time to hit up the port-a-potties and meet up with Krissy.

Hanging in the ambassador tent with Krissy

It was pretty chilly race morning - in the high 30s - so I was very thankful for the cheap Walmart jacket and my daughter's old track sweatpants.  Those suckers stayed on until about 5 minutes before the start.  Krissy and I discussed race strategy as we hung out in the ambassador's tent.  We were both running Garmin-free but I was planning to call out our intervals (1/2 mile run / 45 second walks) as they played through my headphones.  Our goal was somewhere in the 2:30-2:40 range.  We both agreed if either wanted to change up this plan and do their own thing at some point, we were completely cool with this.  

Even with my lack of training, I was feeling pretty confident in my ability to complete the race using the intervals I'd set up.  My two 10 milers went well and our loose time goal should have been very attainable.  The race is self-seeded so after one last stop at the potties, we positioned ourselves toward the 2:40 pace group.  Krissy found a few other friends in the corrals so we chatted a bit before the start.  Off went the warm-up gear (it was in the 40s at this point) and off we went.  

The first few miles flew by as they typically do when you are having fun and chatting.  BRFs are awesome for that :)  We were keeping to our intervals and it wasn't too crowded, so moving to the side for walk breaks was pretty seamless.  I saw one of my friends around mile 5 and grabbed a quick swig of beer.  Yep, that's how I roll.  I was feeling pretty good although noting I was feeling a bit more winded than usual - probably because I was talking a lot and I rarely talk while I run.  (A peek back at my splits in runmeter also revealed we were averaging about an 11:15 pace with run segments in the low-10s through the first 7 miles or so, which was faster than I'd been training by about 30-45 seconds per mile).  Maybe this was the start of troubles to come.

I ducked into a port-a-potty at mile 6 to deal with a wardrobe malfunction (ie, chafing boobs are the devil but given the theme of this race, I'm thankful to still have them).  The wind from miles 5 to 7 was straight into our faces and it was really kicking my butt.  I was so thankful to hit the half/full split at mile 7 so we could have the wind at our backs for at least a couple miles.  We even got a hug from our friend, Marcia, who I didn't think we'd see.  Around mile 8 we ran into another one of Krissy's friends who was spectating and had the most delicious brownies.  We both enjoyed a brownie and continued on our way.

Having not run with my Garmin, it's hard to remember some of the "stops" except for when runmeter showed stopped time but I know it was around this point that I mentioned to Krissy how my calves and shins were starting to cramp up.  After the bad night cramps the week before, this was one fear going into the race that maybe I should have taken more seriously.  We saw my friend again at mile 9 and someone at the house gave me pickles and pickle juice.  Bless that sweet girl.  Side note - the neighborhoods go all out for this race and there were people grilling and cheering and having a 13.1 mile block party.  It's one of my favorite parts of this course.  The pickles helped a little with the cramping but I was definitely slowing down and starting to hurt.  Just before mile 10, Krissy was feeling amazing and I gave her a hug and sent her on her way.  (Girlfriend crushed her first postpartum half with about a 2:30 finish!)

Headed up the Butler Intercostal Bridge

The last 3 miles of this race are up and over the bridge on Butler Blvd.  With each attempt to run from about mile 10.5 on, my calves and shins cramped more and more.  I even stopped at another bathroom on the bridge because the pickle juice was not making my insides happy.  The wheels had fallen off the bus.  I talked to my friends to let them know what was wrong and that I was definitely not finishing in 2:30. I kept trying to run but it wasn't happening.  It was as if my legs had a mind of their own and at times I was running and walking on the sides of my feet or with my feet turned at a weird angle because the muscles were so cramped.  I had a bit of a cry at the top of the bridge (ok, it was full on sobbing) but at least the view was nice.  I also got to see the winners of the men's and women's races go by me so that was cool.

The Intercostal

I was so close to calling my friends to tell them I couldn't finish but I knew I didn't come 1200 miles in a plane and 12 miles on foot to quit with a mile to go.  I continued my 3 mile death march and when I saw the finish line, I told myself to run.  It' was a 10th of a mile, for God's sake! Surely I could suck it up for a 10th of a freaking mile.  Nope.  My legs didn't get the message.  It was the weirdest sensation ever and I must have looked like one of those deer who are just born and trying to make their legs work.  I stumbled and cramped and I almost fell within yards of the finish line.  Several times.  I've never had this happen before and I was in so much pain and really confused.  I saw my friends just past the finisher shoot and I'm very thankful for Wendy literally holding me up.  She kept telling me how proud she was of me as I hung on her and cried.  For the first time ever, I was put in a wheelchair and taken to medical.  I was a bit pissed my friends did that but it was probably for the best because I couldn't even stand much less walk.  The medical folks massaged and iced my calves and gave me some gatorade.  After I felt like I could walk again I met up with my friends and they took care of me (ie, found me beer).

Love my girl, Wendy

I'm still trying to figure out what happened and why my legs cramped like they did.  My friends suspect the weather may have had something to do with it.  It had probably moved up into the mid to high 50s by the end and with the winds I never felt hot or realized how much I was sweating.  Maybe I didn't drink enough or my calves were more injured from the cramping the week before.  It's a week later and I'm still having leg cramping issues so who knows.  Hopefully it doesn't continue.

Am I flipping off the camera?

While this was my worst road half ever (2:51:59 - a 13:08 ave pace) it was still a finish and a finish that 4 months prior I didn't think I'd even be able to start.  One of my friends called this "triumphant". I'm not sure I'd go that far but my view is a bit skewed still.  The best parts of this race were the sunshine, having my friends there and being able to run a solid 10 with Krissy before the shit hit the fan, all while supporting a great cause.  Any day you get to run in the sun with your best running friends is a good day in my book.

Next year is the 10th anniversary of the 26.2 with Donna so I'd LOVE to come back for a third time.  Heck, anniversary or not I want to come back.  Maybe if the stars align you'll see me in Jacksonville next February.  Want to join me?  Registration starts this spring :)
  

Let's Play #runDonna #teamsparkle Dress Up

You wanna know what's crazy?  Planning a half marathon in Florida only to find out it won't be much warmer than Michigan on race morning.  Where's the justice in that, my friends?!?!

Anyhoo....I thought I'd take a little survey to help me decide what to wear for the #runDonna Breast Cancer Half Marathon next Sunday.  As of right now, race morning will probably be high 30s to low 40s at the start with a finish in the high 40s.  Not too shabby running weather but totally sucks for beach time afterwards.

I have 2 tops chosen because they are the only ones I have that are pink - a  long-sleeve 1/2 zip from Nike and a Nike T that I'll probably pair with arm warmers that I can take off.  Black capris will go on the bottom and probably a black cap on top.

The question I need answered...which Sparkle Athletic skirt should I add?  I want my friends spectating to be able to find me to pass me some beer cheer me on :)

So what do you think? Turquoise, Lime Green or Purple?  I know which one is my favorite but I'd like a little input from you guys as well.

Thankful Thursday: the treadmill

Yes, winter has truly sucked the life out of me already and we only really started getting snow a month ago (as opposed to last winter where we had snowdays already in November).

I guess I should be thankful about that too?

Since I'm training for a February half marathon if I ever actually register I've needed to crank up my mileage pretty quickly.  Nearly all of my workouts have been on the treadmill at the gym - including my long runs.  I don't have the time luxury of a potential injury from falling on ice or snow so here I am, trying to not be bored out of my mind for extended periods of time.

I've done a few interval workouts (2 minutes fast (at about a 9 m/m pace) alternating with 2 minutes slow) and some ladder workouts (progressing from 5.5 to 6.5 mph).  Yesterday I did a "hill" workout where I climbed for a mile (at 10% grade), then walked 1/2 a mile, then did it again.

After perusing Google, I found a couple other workouts that might be useful.

These are nice, shorter, workouts, but what about this weekend's 8 miler?  Any suggestions besides Netflix?  I finished binge watching Making a Murderer so I need something else to keep my mind busy for about 100 minutes.  Throw me some suggestions!

Fit + Blogging = #fitbloggin

So, there's this really amazing blogging conference that's I've had the pleasure of attending a couple times - Savannah in 2014 and Baltimore in 2011.  FitBloggin is more than just a conference - it's a community.  It's a community and tribe I have missed.

Like their tagline says, "using blogging, social media, and digital communication to motivate, inspire and foster a culture of health and wellness where everyone belongs."

My goal between now and July, when I *hopefully* attend my 3rd FitBloggin conference in Indianapolis, is to bring back some of that "fit" and "blogging" since both have been sporadic at best.

Here's the "fit" part:

 I am finally getting the scale to move back in the right direction.  (I weigh in at home on Wednesdays and at Weight Watchers on Saturdays - hopefully the 2 numbers match this week because I've been ON POINT for the past week since returning from Atlanta.

The "blogging" part will come.  As I have things to say, I'll say them.  If you want to read and comment, hopefully you will do that too :)  I used to be so consistent here, with a "schedule" and everything, but honestly, I got really burned out.  Maybe July and my tribe will motivate me to get my voice back out here.

Here's hoping 2016 has started off with a bang (in a good way) for you.  Are you planning to attend FitBloggin'16?  Please let me know if you are and if I actually make it (I'm registered but there's a lot that still needs to fall into place), we will definitely meet for hugs!

The Next 24 Hours

source

I found this image on Pinterest and it really hit home to me.  So many people focus on the end result that they can't get past all the baby steps it will take to get there.  They look at this seemingly insurmountable task - maybe it's losing a significant amount of weight or training for a marathon - and decide never to start because it seems impossible.

You know that silly question "How do you eat an elephant?"  The answer is the same as the message in this image - One bite at a time.  Focus on what you need to do in the next 24 hours to get yourself that one bite closer to your goal.

I've decided to give the new Weight Watchers SmartPoints plan another chance.  It seems impossible to stay within the tiny number of points I get now but by meal planning and focusing on fruits and vegetables, I'm planning to see another nice loss next weekend.

What will you do in the next 24 hours to get yourself closer to your goals?

Weigh-In Wednesday: this sh*t is hard

For the past 5 weeks or so, I've been following Weight Watchers, going to the meetings, and trying to up my workout game.  It worked for awhile.  You can't even see the starting weight but from highest to lowest it was 11.8 pounds.  Before I started to screw up.

This is after my weigh-in on Saturday at WW (yes, I covered the weights because I hate the numbers).  I gained .6 pounds last week and I weigh in at home on Wednesdays so I know I'm up another pound from here.  It pisses me off because no matter how perfect I am in the next 3 days, I will not be able to show a loss.  What's the point of going if you are going to show you failed?  For 2 weeks in a row.

This worked for about 4 weeks.  Then I started sabotaging myself by going into the teacher's lounge, eating treats, and being frustrated by the changes to the points system this past week.  Before I felt like I could go out, have a beer, eat a cookie, etc because I had enough flex points each week to do that.  Now? Not even close.  It's stupid because for the first 4 weeks, I was allowed 26 points and only one week did I go into the 49 flex points.  Now I get 30 points and every day I'm into the flex points and I'm gaining weight.

It makes me want to give up because it's too hard.  It's hard being around all the tempting holiday treats and it's hard to re-figure everything I was eating before.  Obviously, the first 4 weeks I did fantastic, losing almost 12 pounds.  Now the scale is going back up again.  I feel like I've blown 4 weeks of hard work.  I can't even eat the exact same meals as I did the past 4 weeks because the point values changed on some of them.  My "allowed" points only went up by 4 a day but my weekly flex points dropped from 49 to 28.  That's almost cut in half.  I'm now being penalized because I don't want to use fake shit - like margarine, gross fat free dressings, fake cheese, or "diet" bread.  Before the values of the foods I was eating were low enough that I could still stay within my points and I had enough flex points to put a little real butter on my decent tasting piece of toast in the morning if I wanted to but now I can't do that. My breakfast jumped from 9 points to 12 because of the changes.  My lunch went up too because my salad dressing changed. Today I used a tiny but of jam instead of butter but it wasn't the same.  I've also cut myself from 2 eggs to 1 egg plus those liquid egg white things to go from 4 points down to 2.  One day for breakfast I did just yogurt and fruit and I was starving by 11:00.  I don't know what to eat anymore.

I really don't know if I'm going to stick with this.  Someone in a FB group I belong to suggested I go back to using the Points+ tracking but since I track 100% through the app, I can't even do that because everything in the app is converted to Smart Points.  If I have to carry a paper tracker around with me and all the books, I know I won't track a single thing.  Another thing that's flawed with that suggestions.  What's the point of paying for all the e-tools if you can't even use them?

So yes, I've made progress since I decided to get back on track but the past week I feel like I've done nothing but screw up.  Someone even noticed last night that I looked thinner when I feel like it doesn't show at all.  That's cool but it's hard to be happy knowing it isn't going to last.  Sadly, I feel like I'm going to end up right back where I started because I can't seem to figure this out and I'm too much of a failure to have the self control to stay out of the lounge and away from the treats.

Three Things Thursday: Thankful Edition

Short and sweet because I only have a few minutes:

1.  I'm thankful for friends who send awesome surprise packages my way.  My friend and fellow Michigan BAMR Betsy saw something at Disney when she was there for Wine and Dine and thought of me (how incredible sweet is that?).  She said she'd send it to me and then yesterday a whole package of awesome stuff showed up at my door!  She sent me this little Disney trinket (which will be very loved by someone SHHH it's a gift) but also included some cool makeup and a bunch of Picky Bars!  Betsy is definitely one of a kind and I love that she did this.  It made my night when I was otherwise not having a great evening.

2.  I'm thankful for PT.  Yesterday I ran 3 nearly pain-free miles on the TM before my PT session and then Terence cut me loose!  I'm not officially cleared to train for the DONNA :)  I'm planning a 4 mile run for Saturday morning - wish me luck!

3.  I'm thankful for dear friends who invited me out for a girls' night tonight.  We are going to the Uptown Holiday Shop Hop - a walking/trolly/shopping extravaganza.  If you are local to Grand Rapids, MI, you should definitely check it out.  I've never gone so I'm excited to see what it's all about. Let's just hope I don't blow 4 weeks of Weight Watchers in one night because I also hear there are snacks and boozy specials.  The best part will be hanging with Jenn, Andi and Susan.

What are you thankful for today?

Weight Loss Over The Holidays?

How many of you saw some version of this image pop up in your FB or Twitter feeds over the past week?

How about we just focus on healthy eating and making good choices?  You know, it is possible to experience weight loss over the holidays.  I'm not saying it will be easy but it IS possible.

How do I know?  I lost 1.2 pounds last week, weighing in the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the day after I was out of town and eating every meal out.  I think if I hadn't been stuck eating fast food (hello, sodium), the loss may have been even better.

Last week I wrote about how success breeds motivation and that's definitely the case now.  I want to keep seeing those numbers drop and don't plan to blow it between now and New Years.  I mean, seriously, how awesome would it be to be back in the 140s by New Years Day and then maybe even the 130s by Valentines?  I only need 5 more pounds gone to make that first goal happen.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and if Black Friday shopping was your thing that you got some great deals.

Motivation Monday: progress IS motivating

First off - a little bit of business to take care of!  Thank you to everyone who entered my JournalMenu giveaway last week.  I love being the bearer of good news so CONGRATULATIONS to Kay Lynn A! I hope you love your workout journal!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming....

I don't think I've talked much about my decision to re-join Weight Watchers - at least not here on this blog probably because I rarely blog anymore.  Long story short, I got very fed up at my clothes not fitting and the awful numbers I was seeing on the scale and measuring tape.  I've tried going it on my own and it really wasn't working.  On November 7th, I hung my head in shame and walked into a Weight Watchers meeting and handed them my Visa card.  Admitting I'd gained about 25 pounds over my "happy" weight was very defeating.  So was needing to pay for meetings again (I had thankfully acheived Lifetime status back in the early 90s so I will never have to pay a joining fee.) Hopefully, I thought, the structure of WW would get me back on track.

Turns out it has.  Move ahead 2 weeks and I'm down 9 pounds and some of my clothes are starting to fit better.  I think the leader was really shocked that I wasn't more excited about getting my 5% loss charm on Saturday or the big losses I posted in my first 2 weeks, but the bottom line is I still have so far to go that it's hard to celebrate yet.

As we go into the Thanksgiving week and knowing all the travel and meals that will be included, I'm just striving to continue forward progress this week.  I won't be perfect.  I know I will not be able to stay within 26 points a day when I'm eating out while out of town or going to my MIL's for 2nd Thanksgiving (her foods will most definitely NOT be WW compliant in any way shape or form).  As for the Thanksgiving dinner I'm making, I can have a bit more control there.  All I can do is my best.

Seeing results over the past two weeks has been very motivating for me.  I've even had a couple short runs that give me hope that my running ability may be returning.  Again, I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much because I don't want to be disappointed, but a little hope is better than none.

Are you staying close to home for Thanksgiving or traveling?  What are your best tips for dealing with events such as this while trying to reduce your calorie intake?

Motivation Monday: @journalmenu #giveaway

Sometimes motivation can come from the strangest places - maybe it's a quote on a friend's FB wall, maybe it's seeing some progress on the scale, and maybe it's someone reaching out to you about new gear that gets your butt in gear.

It's not much of a secret - the "run" aspect of my blog title and life has been pretty minimal lately thanks to some pesky, nagging injuries.  Luckily, that is beginning to change and thanks to the folks at JournalMenu, I have a great place to start logging my return to running.

What is JournalMenu?  JournalMenu is a personalized fitness journal designed to match your goals, your activities and your personality.  With the ability to create your own cover and journal contents, the journals are truly unique.  Whether you are into running, weightlifting, yoga, food tracking or (fill in your favorite activity here), the creators of JournalMenu will assist you in finding the journal that is best for you.

I am loving the journal Erica at JournalMenu put together for me.  With sections for goals, training plans, PRs and race recaps, plus weekly logs, it has everything I need to get back on track.  Lucky for one of my readers, JournalMenu wants to help one of you reach your goals through a personalize journal of your choice!  Take a look at the journals available here and let me know what you would choose! This would be a great gift for yourself or one of your favorite workout buddies.  Enter through Rafflecopter below for a chance to win $25 to spend at JournalMenu on the customized fitness journal of your choice.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

fine print: JournalMenu provided a journal to me at no cost.  The opinions, as always, are my own.  Contest will run from 11/16/15 to 11/22/16 with winner announced by 11/24/16.  Winner must provide a way for me to reach them to send the gift card code and if they do not respond by 11/26/15, another winner will be chosen.  Winner is responsible for any costs above the $25 gift card amount and I (LLRB) am not responsible for anything related to the prize once I give winner the gift code.  

I'm a bad blogger

Forgive me, readers (if I still have any), for I have sinned.  It's been nearly 6 weeks since I last posted. I'd like to say that life just got away from me but that's not really it.

I haven't posted because I haven't had anything to talk about.  At least not anything that you all would want to read about.  My life lately has been pretty boring. I did run a 5k during my alma mater's homecoming festivities at the beginning of October but since then it's just been PT exercises and no running. PT sucks, by the way, especially during marathon season and you are watching all your running friends tear it up at races all over the country. I am starting to like the TENS unit jolting me on a regular basis since I feel like that's the only exercise I get these days, but otherwise it seems like a colossal waste of time. The crap with the bands? Forget about it.

My PT wants me to run a test 5k this weekend and I'm hoping doing it in sunny Florida makes all the difference in the world.  I'll be down there to visit my girl for the weekend so even if the run goes crappy, the rest of the weekend will be great. If you are in the Tampa area and available on Thursday (10/29)around 7:30 I'll be at Bahama Breeze on N. Rocky Point for dinner & drinks. Come say "hi"!

What's happening in your life lately?

All Aboard!

Well, would you look at that.  I haven't posted here in over a month.  Do I even have any readers left? Here's a quick look at how the past 6 weeks or so have gone in case anyone out there is wondering:

• Moved 2 kids to college - one of them over 1200 miles away.  Thank God for FaceTime.
• Made multiple trips to closer child's college for football games (actually to watch him in the marching band).
• Blew all weight loss success from last year as reminded by yesterday's TimeHop.  The failure hasn't happened just in the last 6 weeks but more an accumulation over the past year with the summer being the nail in the coffin.  Last year yesterday, I got back into my favorite $100 jeans.  Yesterday I couldn't even get them up over my fat thighs and ass.  The number on the scale and the fat on my body is disgusting to me.  Yes, I know I should be kinder to myself but that isn't happening so long as I look and feel like I do.
• Started back to work and took on an intern (luckily it looks like she will be awesome).  The start of the school year always stresses me out.  More so this year with my house very empty.  I'm hoping getting back into a routine will help with the third bullet point there.
• Stopped running after my Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Run.  This was probably one of my slowest paced "runs" ever and barely even qualified as a run since I averaged just under a 12 minute mile pace.  (If you are this pace or slower, this is not a dig toward you - I can walk very fast so to "run" practically my walk pace is really frustrating, particularly when I should be able to average a 10 m/m pace most days.)  I'm hurt.  Injuries suck ass, especially when you really need the sweat therapy.  I haven't gone back to the podiatrist because I really don't think he would say anything other than, "you need a new pair of $500 orthotics".

There you have it.  I'm ready to get off the struggle bus and I've been logging my food and exercise old school style.  Sorta.  It's in a Google Doc.  I decided MFP also stressed me out because if I ate anything I didn't prepare, I couldn't log it correctly and the perfectionist in me thinks if I can't do something right then I shouldn't do it at all.  At least just writing stuff down is better than nothing.

Fitness Friday: LPGA Final Round #ForeHunger

Until last Sunday, I had no idea how much exercise one could get while watching 18 holes of golf.  As part of the Meijer LPGA Classic 5k, I was given 2 passes to Sunday's final round.  What I didn't realize is the VIP treatment my guest and I were going to receive. (disclaimer: I was given these passes in exchange for participating in the 5k and blogging about my experience)

The event is held in Belmont, Michigan with parking at Rockford High School.  My friend, Kitzie, and I got to the high school in time to pick up our passes and take what I thought would be school buses to Blythefield Country Club.  Nope - they had air conditioned charter buses for all the spectators.  So much nicer than a school bus!

We took the short ride to the course and had time to wander around for a bit before meeting up with my contacts, Annye and Katie.  Right after entering the grounds, we saw these beauties!  There was also a giant Kraft macaroni noodle :)

Kitzie and I made our way to the first hole and watched the first few rounds of golfers tee off.  This was the final round and we were assigned to the 9:10 group (the leaders wouldn't tee off until around 10:00).  I don't really follow women's golf (or men's for that matter) but I did recognize a few names.  It was cool to watch Christie Kerr tee off.

After we met up with Annye and Katie, we were given our special "inside the ropes" passes.  The only give out 3 or 4 pairs of these each day, usually to major sponsors, members of the country club, or contest winners, so we felt very honored to receive them.  What this allowed us to do was to walk the entire 18 holes with 3 of the professional golfers.

Me and Kitzie in front of the clubhouse.

We were assigned to Kim Kaufman from South Dakota, Xi Yu Lin from China, and Ju Young Park of South Korea.  As soon as we were escorted to the first tee, all three golfers came over and introduced themselves.  Even their caddies were extremely friendly and welcoming.  A professional photographer snapped pictures but I have no idea how to get copies of them.  We didn't take any pictures with the athletes (yes - they are very much athletes and so are their caddies!) because once the round started they were all business.

That's Kim in the front talking to Xi Yu and Ju Young is in front of the caddies.

Walking right now the middle of the fairway during the LPGA Classic final round was an incredible experience.  Watching their athleticism and power was a highlight.  We were able to listen to the caddies give their athletes suggestions and we even had access to their refreshments at some of the holes.  I know practically nothing about golf but Kitzie golfs on a regular basis so it was nice to have someone explain things to me.

We spent about 4 1/2 hours with the athletes.  Kitzie had her step counter running on her phone and by the end of the round, we had walked over 13,000 steps or a little over 6 miles!  Yes, with all the hills on the course my legs were TIRED, especially after running a fast 5k the day before.  It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day for golf and I feel very privileged I got to watch the final round from behind the ropes.

Thank you Meijer, Kraft and the LPGA for a wonderful weekend!

LPGA 5k #ForeHunger #racereport

This past weekend, I participated in the 2nd annual LPGA Classic 5k affiliated with the Meijer LPGA Classic.  I was provided with a free entry to run the race for offering to join a team of Michigan bloggers, but after running I would pay next year.  It was a well organized and very fun event.  (Sadly, or not since we aren't fast, we didn't have enough bloggers to be an official team, but it was still super fun.)

Before the race started, I met up with my friend, Megan, who was also participating and we snapped a picture with Tony the Tiger.  Kellogg's is also a major sponsor and this was a fundraiser for their organization, Simply Give, which helps stock food pantries throughout the Midwest.

This race is very small (only about 500 people total) but was friendly towards any ability level.  There were the uber fast runners - the winner went 15:01 which is unreal to me - all the way to walkers with their kids.  Then there were the rest of us mortals :)  Your entry into the race got you a nice t-shirt, a sling-bag, and if you so desired 2 tickets to the LPGA Classic.

The race is held at Rockford High School, and having been there many times for sporting events, I knew the surrounding area could be VERY hilly.  Luckily, the course was great with a downhill first mile, only one hill in the 2nd mile, and a finish on the RHS track.  I haven't pushed a run in a long time and it felt great to really work this one.  Megan is super fast and finished several minutes before me and she snapped a picture of me on the track.

I finished in 31:02 - a 9:59 average pace!! I haven't done that in quite awhile, so I was very happy with my time.  My splits were 9:30, 10:53 (I really need to work on hills and drinking without walking), 10:02, and then an 8:30 pace on the track.  Who am I???

All of the mile markers featured Tony the Tiger so we had to snap a picture with a giant box of Frosted Flakes at the finish.  After the race was a huge breakfast for all the runners.  Many varieties of cereal, milk, juice, Pop Tarts, various granola bars, protein drinks and even some Gluten Free items were available.

Megan and I hung out with her hubby at the breakfast for awhile before we both took off to get cleaned up.  I needed to rest up before attending the LPGA Classic final round on Sunday!  More on that later this week.