Marathon Training - Week 12 Wrap Up

Sept 3rd-Sept 9th ~ 24.4 Miles

Day 79 ~ Recovery Run (3.1)
Day 80 ~ REST
Day 81 ~ Boot Camp & Run (3.1)
Day 82 ~ Run (6)
Day 83 ~ Dance & Run (3)
Day 84 ~ REST (Carb up!)
Day 85 ~ Long Run (9.1)

(I just realized my numbers are completely off this week. Sorry, y'all. I can only blame vacation brain.)

FOOD PREP MEAL -  None this week. We got back in town from camping on Monday and I took the day off Tuesday so we spoiled ourselves with Cheesecake Factory. Don't judge me. ;-)

I started this post with a rundown of all the stuff I'd done all week and blah, blah, blah about how it went and how I felt. Then, after pouring two paragraphs onto the page, I decided that wasn't the story I wanted to tell this week because something much bigger happened, something I needed, something that really reminded me that I'm a lot harder on myself than I should be. I don't know why, but I am. I keep trying to prove to everyone else I'm a good person, when really the only person who needs to know that is me. Well, Saturday, three very special ladies, someone calling me a "true success story," and an amazing co-coach made me really see the things I needed to see. And then my husband said, "See, I've been telling you this stuff the whole time." #blesshim

Let me back up, because this has the potential to be a really good story and I'll try to condense it as much as I can...

In 2015, a friend told me to come join this women's run/walk program with her. She wanted me to be a beginner runner. Ummmm... no. I didn't want any part of it. I was fine dancing two nights a week and WALKING on my treadmill for an hour every morning. I was losing weight and life was good. My friend, she persisted. She asked me two or three more times, and finally I gave in. I hated everything about it. It was too hot outside. I couldn't breathe. My stomach always hurt. Who the hell in their right mind ran... for the fun of it? I mean I liked walking my 5Ks just fine. I didn't need that to change. Obviously, it changed. I'm a sucker for good peer pressure.

After eight weeks of I hate this crap, we finally got to the morning of the graduation 5K. I was freaking pumped. Soooooo excited to be out there. I'd worked my butt off and now it was over. I went out hard and fast, and by the halfway point I hated life. Past the second mile I thought this would never end and I would die wayyyyyyy before the next mile marker. Then I came roaring across the finish line and I couldn't wait to do it again, but next time I wanted to be faster. That's when I knew the bug had really bitten. I freaking LOVED running.

In 2016 and 2017, I went back as a coach for the beginner runners because I wanted to pass on what I'd gained from the experience. It was important for these ladies to know it wasn't going to be easy, but it would damn sure be worth it. They needed to know it got easier if you did things right and trusted the process. I wanted them to learn from the mistakes I'd made.

This year was an exceptional year for me personally with this program. I honestly thought I was sort of useless as a coach because I'm super shy if I'm not familiar with you. I don't talk to strangers. I'm very much a back of the class kind of girl. I'd hoped that coaching would get me out of that, but thus far it hadn't. Then I met Bobbie and Shirley...

These ladies were tough and committed, and they pushed through the training and set goals for themselves, and week after week I watched them become stronger runners. They were so grateful to me for spending my time with them when I could've been doing something else--their words, not mine. Truth? I enjoyed every second of it. It didn't matter how fast or how slow we were going. I was doing exactly what I'd come back to the beginner runner program to do. I was helping someone love running the way I did. Both ladies set a 40 minute goal time. Both ladies finished right around 38 minutes. I couldn't have been more proud of them.

Then there was a third lady who I'd seen but hadn't really spoken to. Catherine was with Bobbie and Shirley, and a few other ladies when we started the race Saturday morning. Somewhere before mile two I heard someone call my name. It was Catherine. She said, "please don't leave me out here alone." I told her that I was going to pace the ladies like I promised, but I would come back for her. I kept watching for her, making sure she was close by. She was. Then she wasn't.

Well, luckily, Terri Clarke--another fine member of our wonderful running community--was also there and between her and Marley--another lady runner--they were able to pace everyone else to the finish line while I went to get Catherine. She wasn't that far behind. Close enough if I'd had my glasses on I would've seen her. The race wasn't easy for her, and though she wanted to give up, she didn't. And when she crossed that finish line, she did it in beast mode. She ran hard and fast with me yelling beside her to "run, girl! Run!"Again, I found myself incredibly proud of what these women were doing for themselves. Sappy, ain't it? Catherine cried and hugged and cried and hugged, and it was probably the sweetest thing I'd been a part of all day... until Bobbie handed me a thank you note that made my eyeballs leak. Then Julianne--you guys have seen her name a lot--gave me a high five and said "Good job, Coach" when I told her that Bobbie and Shirley made their goal.

There was a point to this, I promise. While people say "I hate running" or "running sucks," I can't help but disagree. I know it's a matter of perspective, but the perspective it gave me was seeing that even though I'm no one important, I can inspire. I can empower. I'm not rich and famous, but I too can be looked up to simply because of how I chose to treat other people. Am I perfect? Not by a long shot. Will I ever be perfect? Not even close. Can I see perfection in myself? Well, I'm certainly trying. I'm hoping at the end of this journey, when I cross the finish line after 26.2 miles and all these weeks of training, my eyes and heart will be more open to the possibility of me being this awesome, inspiring person everyone else sees.

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." -Mother Teresa

Marathon Training - Week 6 Wrap Up

July 23rd-29th ~ 17.1 Miles

Day 37 ~ Rest
Day 38 ~ Women Run/Walk Memphis coaching! 1.6 miles
Day 39 ~ 50min Bootcamp
Day 40 ~ HIIT, Base Miles, 2.4 extra "run buddy" miles (I'll explain this later.)
Day 41 ~ HIIT, Base Miles (dreadmill), Dance
Day 42 ~ HIIT, Rest (Carb up, be silly, chill)
Day 43 ~ HIIT, Long Run (8 miles), Swim

So, I've re-written this post like three times already. I was going to document my entire week and all my thoughts and feelings, but that's boring. I mean, who wants to read the same ol', same ol' week after week? The daily is on Instagram anyway. No sense in rehashing old news, right? Instead, I think I want to share with you guys a little gem of a documentary I found on Netflix this week. It's called From Fat to Finish Line (you can click on the title to see the IMDB listing.)

"The journey of 12 people who share the common bond of losing 100 pounds on average and then embarking on one of the biggest challenges of their lives - the 200 mile mega distance Ragnar Relay Race."

I found this movie because Thursday morning I couldn't make myself get out of bed. The alarm went off at 4am, and I just couldn't do it. The cat kept nuzzling my cheek and purring in my ear, and I just couldn't bring myself to leave the bed. But all wasn't lost. I planned to go to dance class at Germantown Athletic Club that evening, so I told myself I'd get the miles done on the treadmill. I hate the treadmill. Hate. It. So I needed a movie or something on my iPad to keep me occupied for about forty-five minutes while I ran those four miserable miles, otherwise I knew I wouldn't finish. I strolled over to the "available for download" section and went shopping. This is the one I picked... a movie about running, to watch while I was running. Obsessed much?

Immediately, I related to every single person in this documentary. They talked about lifelong weight struggles, one in particular who lost and gained and lost and gained. I know that struggle all too well. Then the woman who didn't have the confidence, the one who felt like she looked ridiculous. I related to the one who got in her own head and convinced herself she couldn't do it. I related to the sick feeling. Every bit of it, even the part where their team-mates stayed by them to pull them through bad runs, and especially the part where they all became a family.

I found a hell of a lot of inspiration in this movie, and it came at a time when I was honest to gods, no kidding, wondering what I was thinking when I signed up to do the marathon. Sure, I make jokes that it's going to kill me, but by Wednesday, I honestly believed I wasn't going to make it all the way to 26.2 miles.

Those four treadmill miles flew by and I felt absolutely amazing. I topped the day off with sixty minutes of dance fusion--which has always been my favorite part of the gym.

By the end of the week, most of my confidence in my ability to see this journey through to the end was coming back. I'll give partial thanks to the people who shared their stories through the documentary, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention my local running community. I mean... they don't exactly let you give up on yourself. And how can you not love people who will get out at 6am on a Saturday morning to sit on the side of the road and wait to hand you water?

Moral of the story, find inspiration however you have to find it. It's okay to give up for a second, even a minute or a day, but don't give up for good. Fall off the horse, but do your best to get right back on it. I've done a lot of giving up, but like one of the women in the movie said, the difference this time was she made a lifestyle change BECAUSE she found running and fell in love.

Marathon Training - Week 4 Wrap Up

July 9th-15th ~ 17.3 Miles

Day 23 ~ Recovery miles
Day 24 ~ 20 min HIIT (WRWM Coaching)
Day 25 ~ Boot Camp
Day 26 ~ Base Miles, 20 min HIIT
Day 27 ~ Base Miles, 30 min HIIT
Day 28 ~ Rest Day
Day 29 ~ Long Run



Still didn't go to dance class Thursday or lift weights on Wednesday night. I've been totally slacking at that. Not because I've wanted to. Adjusting to waking up around 4am to go run has been a challenge. Usually by the end of the work day, I'm beat and I just want to go home and veg out. Week 5, gets worse. I was on vacation... hahaha.

I had one comical day when nothing came together. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Well, almost everything. I didn't hurt myself, but this LOUD bug whose nap I ruined nearly gave me a heart attack, but I couldn't check my heart rate because my watched wasn't fully seated on the charger and was dead when I woke up. That would've been day 26. The picture says it all, right? If everything's going wrong, don't panic. Make the best of it.

Women's Run Walk Memphis started up again. This is my second year as a beginner runner coach. I toyed with the idea of coaching the intermediate group--which is comprised of women who've been running and can hold about a 12 minute or better pace. That would've been a good group for me to coach, but the beginner group is where my heart is. I started there two years ago, at least sixty pounds heavier, and truly having no desire to be a runner, and here I am. I NEED to pass that on to the women who showed up exactly like I did because running has probably been one of the most rewarding and empowering things I've done for myself.

Day twenty-nine I was supposed to run with Breakaway Running (only the most awesome running store in Memphis. It's so much more than a running store) but I had to knock my miles out early because my best friend in the whole entire world was getting married at 2pm and I had a two hour drive to get to her!

As a side note, I drank all the coffee but didn't get a chance to read much of the book.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog...

Enjoy this one minute video of me freezing my butt off while trying to form coherent sentences.

Let me start by saying that making the video above was a HUGE step toward self-confidence for me. I hate my voice about as much, if not more, than having my picture taken. However, part of the reason I'm doing this is to break through all those stupid little issues I have with myself so I can love myself more.

The Beginning...

The decision to make a change, like a lot of people, came after seeing a particularly hideous picture of myself and absolutely hating the way I looked. The picture was from my nephew's wedding and I swore that picture would never see the light of day. I promptly pursued weight loss. I dropped about 80 pounds in 9 months. I wasn't smart about it. Sure, I exercised and ate like a bird, but I also took Phentermine and lost the weight way too fast. As soon as I stopped, almost all of it came back.

In 2013, I decided to go at it again. This time, I planned to be a lot smarter about it. I went out an bought myself a Fitbit and I stuck to a diet that was no more than a 1,000 calorie deficit. I got up almost every morning and went to the gym where I walked a couple of miles, then I went to work every day. I was doing the bare minimum, but it was something and I felt a million times better. I lost 20 pounds pretty fast. Then I plateaued and I got discouraged. I gave up.

Thankfully, my stubbornness didn't last too long. A few months, maybe. I bought a treadmill so I didn't have an excuse not to walk. I started doing 5Ks with a good friend and co-worker (I walked my very first 5K in March of 2014 and completed it in just under an hour.) We started doing Fitbit challenges with friends. Life was good and the weight was coming off again. Then another friend and co-worker said to me, "Come do the women run walk with me," and my first reaction was, "um... no." I had absolutely no desire to be a runner. Zero. Nadda. Zilch. That was in June. In September, I ran the graduation 5K in a little over 37 minutes.)

Now...

I participated in the St. Jude 5k in December, which was my first time ever running that race, and I have to say it was one of the most rewarding, most magical experiences of my running life. Seriously. The runner's high was incredible. I finished 3.1 miles in 34:17. My goal had been to finish in under 36 minutes and I can't begin to explain how proud I was for beating the hell out of my goal and setting a personal record for myself.

We're going into 2016, and I've already committed to doing some pretty hardcore races (for me anyway.) I'm doing the Hill and Dale 8 miler on January 2nd. I've signed up to do the Hot Chocolate 15k in Nashville. That's 9.3 hilly miles that I swore a month ago would kill me. And last but not least, the Navy 10nm, which is NOT 10 miles... and it's in the middle of summer. That one might kill me. 

The purpose of this...

A couple of the lovely ladies from my Fitbit challenges said I was so inspiring I should do a blog. I thought--think--they're crazy, but I'm a little crazy too so I figured what the hell. Why not? I figured I would do this for myself first, then for anyone else who might need a little motivation to kick start their fitness goals. Who doesn't need a little motivation, right?

What works for me...

I like goals. I like challenges. I like competition. And I LOVE rewards. For every week I've been a well-behaved little runner, I give myself what I lovingly call "fat-full Saturday." On Saturday, I still get up and go to dance class, still go out to The Greenline and run, but I also allow myself to eat whatever I want. I've earned it. And by giving myself that day to enjoy, it's easier to keep making good choices every other day of the week. I set small, realistic goals. When I meet one of those goals, I get a reward--be it a shopping trip or a tattoo or a slice of cheesecake. The reward itself doesn't really matter. It's recognizing that I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to do.

The biggest, best, most helpful thing I do for myself is surround myself with friends who have similar goals, who want to be healthy and lose weight. Those wonderful people add a whole lot of fun to exercising. Sure, being alone is great too, but having someone there to tell you to keep going really helps. I'm thankful for every single one of those people.