Thursday, October 18, 2012

Too Busy, too busy, too busy

Managing a gym has consumed my life. Beside the girls, my own work outs, meal planning and Jeramy's crazy schedule I am swamped.I want to be better about this. I really NEED to be better about this.
I played the roller coaster game with my eating over the summer. High protein, low carb. Visa Versa. No meat, liquid veggies. Fasting Cardio. All trying to get the scale to budge. Nothing.
150-200 miles a week. Nothing.
Go back to WW but cut out most of the fruit and Oh my gosh...amazing. The scale moves. I don't know why it works for me. It just does. So dear WW, I strayed. I messed around on you. I dabbled in other things but I am back following your ways so preach on.
How did the tri go? We dominated and set a new course record by 4 minutes.
Trophies are good. I found out I really like to win things.
I bought myself a fancy new Trek Madone 6.5 full carbon race bike. I literally cried when I sold my other bike. We came so far together. From struggling rides on the trail to 85 mile rides at 20+mph. It was time to pass her on. She went to a good home, a beginning cyclist.
My numbness in my foot is mostly gone and I have logged a couple of runs here and there. Looking forward to another fun year of River Bank Training. Jeramy is looking forward to Boston. What an honor. I couldn't be more proud. This weekend he is running GR half and the girls will run the kids marathon again.  I wish I could be the fiery funny girl from the beginning of this blog but I have settled a little. It will come back. I am still on fire but have been spreading the love locally instead of out here in cyber land. When it is not so late I will give you a full review of INSANITY. Oh yeah, I tired it....I don't have time to share my words on that shitfest right now. Until next time, remember, if your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise. ;o)

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Little Less Conversation..Alot more FUN

Ehh, an updated picture to my non facebook friends would be nice right..ok! But first I must say my husband ran his first marathon and qualified for Boston!!!!! Ahhhhh, so proud. Next on the list is a run with legend Scott Jurek and then a small town 5k. In July we are doing a team TRI with his cousin, Justin. He is a badass in the water and with me on the bike and Jeramy on his feet....well, we should be a FORCE. BOOM!! Anyway here we go. Still working but not too bad for an ALL NATURAL weight loss:

Thursday, May 10, 2012

River Bank Goodness

River Bank run is upon us. I have worked my ass off in the past couple of weeks cross training and running only twice a week in order to come back 100%. I am not fully there yet I am better.
Physically I am in a place that I can push for about an hour or so on my feet. Not bad. Not great but not bad. I am not sure yet if I will even wear my Garmin at the race. I am not stressed out about it at all. Hell this morning my toes were numb again. This lets me know that I indeed need to see the chiro again tomorrow.
Over the past few months I have ran with some of the 2012 Road Warriors. What an honor to see it from a different angle.They have all worked to their full capacity. I am honored to be their friend.
Coming to terms with not running the 25k was hard. I do  get to hear the occasional "well you aren't really a runner" comment from people who think I am somehow forced to run. That I couldn't possibly enjoy it. Well this is what I have to say to them. SCREW YOU. I am just as much of a runner as my husband who will be running his first 26.2 in two weeks. I am just as much as a runner as a 6 minute miler. Why? Because I run. I lace up my shoes and put one foot in front of the other. I leave my problems on the road and if you feel superior to me because you are faster then good for you. I am glad you really focus on the important things in life.
So Saturday I will run the 10k on my terms. I will enjoy the crowd and the energy that is the River Bank Run. I will drink a beer with my friends and I will cry for some great accomplishments. I will rejoice that all of my cross training has given me another loss of 1% body fat and that cycling season is upon us. I will watch the smiling faces of the children full of pride for their parents. I will watch the struggle and the heart ache. The joy and the new beginning that the finish line brings.
I will watch all of this with a huge grin, tears and pride knowing that I might have only run the 10k this year but next year the hills of Butterworth and roar of the crowd will still be waiting for me.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Goodbye 25K

For months I have been dealing with pain. Well closer to a year. I ran the 25k last year with Piriformis Syndrome. It hppened jumping out of a truck. Ended up walking every hill. Missed my goal time but was happy to finish. I took 3 months off running. Saw PT's, Dr.'s, Deep Tissue people, massage people, ect..... came back to running in October. Tightness in my lower back/ hip area started. I stretched. Iced. Applied heat. Saw 2 more Pt's and another massage person. Then it all started to happen. My stride shortened, walking became painful and it was 10x more work to keep up my speed. If anything  was slowing down. Rest, stretch, yoga, pilates. Nothing helped.
I have had had my gait assessed more times than I can count. Always the same thing. Relaxed, good form, fast turnover neutral....no reason for the pain. Finally I snapped. I had a really good cry and took myself to the Dr. This time ending up at a Chiro. I have Spondylolisthesis.
The pain that takes my breath away and messes up my gait is because I have a shifted vertebrae. An injury  from a fall or a hit. Like jumping out of a truck.
I have two choices. Take some time off of the pounding or end up not being able to even ride. Yes it is that bad. My strong core is what has kept me going this long. I haven't slept well in months. My memory is shot from it. And now after investing months of training  am told I can't run the race. Maybe not run ever again. I have been a mess for 24 hours. Crying, blubbering mess.
I work so fucking hard. Too hard to not see progress. Of course why should I of expected speed when I could barely swing my leg through without pain.
This isn't a little muscle issue or a tendon problem. If that was the case I would lace up and hit the ground. This is serious. I knew it the minute he put the xray up.
My hope is to run the shit out of the 10k but  knowing this is one hell of a goal at this point.
I am ignoring all talks of MRI's and surgery to this point. I don't even want to think about it.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Here we go again...25k or bust.

It's about that time of exhaustion. The time when I want to  sleep, scream, cuss and cry. Training sucks.
Now if I blogged more than once every 6 months or so then you guys would probably know what I was talking about. River Bank Run 25k. Again. Why? because it wasn't torturous enough to do it the first time.
I didn't deal with enough pain, chaffing, ripped skin, hurt back. Oh no, not at all. I wanted more.

I came into this training season feeling strong. Faster, healthier and more fit than the previous year. So of course my body started throwing a fit and acting like it was 103 instead of 33. There has been IT band issues, piriformas issues, stomach issues, energy issues, time issues.....hell, mental issues.

This year there is a new training group on the scene and I am no longer running for an audience. I am running for me. The problem with that is that I have already run this distance so the common goal is to PR. I was gunning for a 20 minute PR, it still may happen but right now I am tired. So very tired. Mostly mental. This bores the hell out of me. I need change.

I think that is why I like running in the woods on the dirt trails. Your mind has to think. You need to respond and be active. One the road I feel dead. Just breathing and running. I am not fast yet I am not as slow as I once was. 17 minutes faster for a 5k than my first ever. That's in a little over 2 years. Most people think this is amazing but I want more. I am greedy.

This brings me to my weight loss. I surpassed my first goal. I had to set a new one. I will be content when the jiggle in my wiggle is gone. My size 7/8 jeans are not enough for me. They are loose. I look good. I feel good but I love pushing myself, setting a new goal and hitting that goal. As with most things I always want more.

I just need a little more pep in my step....really I just need cycling season to hurry up and get here.