Getting My Legs Back....and Back On Program

...and feeling good.  This morning was my second short run post-marathon.  Legs are feeling much stronger now.  We have decided to take it easy with running, a few times a week is plenty, and returned to the gym yesterday morning.  A 50-minute workout on the elliptical, and last night and this morning, my back and shoulders could feel it!

I am again dabbling with the idea of taking a class at the gym.  I have never, ever taken an exercise class.  Another thing I've always been intimidated about.  Time to get over that!  What will I take?  When will I start?  Well, that's yet to be decided, but soon.  Every time I do something that has in the past caused a lot of anxiety and intimidation, I feel more and more like a new person.  Steps I've taken in the past include:

• Joining a gym; putting a bathing suit on and getting in the pool at the gym; 
• Swimming laps; getting on the elliptical for the first time; 
• Using the weight machines in a gym with other people around; 
• Running for the first time; 
• Running my first 5K, half-marathon, marathon; 
• Speaking in front in public; 
• Walking up and introducing myself to a stranger.....
• Flying on a plane by myself

I did all of that, and felt empowered when it was done.   So time to step out of that "comfort zone" again!

I've also been back on program as far as what I'm eating this week and feeling better, more fruits and veggies, less carbs lots of water.  Hoping the scale shows proof of my return this weekend, but if it doesn't, that's okay, because I feel fantastic!

Biting the Bullet....Facing the Scale

I could, like I have done so many times in the past, slept in, played on the computer, found a billion excuses why I'm not going to my Weight Watchers meeting the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but I am not coming up with any excuses this morning.

I know what I need to do it.  Just like when I decided to run a marathon and I came up with a plan to get there, this morning, my plan is to get back to routine, and routine for me is going to my meeting, getting on that scale, being honest about what I know I want, and Just Do It!

I ate too much on Thanksgiving, as usual, but this time, my system really, really didn't appreciate it.  I don't know what the change is.   In the past, my body was okay with it, could handle the overload and pick up the next day as usual.  This year, not the case.  I was not able to sleep on Thursday night, and felt horrible yesterday, "Super Food Hangover"!

Yes, I love food.  Yes, I love turkey dinner.  In fact, I am (call me crazy) cooking a turkey tomorrow at home, but this time around anyway, I've learned my lesson.  It will be a turkey dinner, not a feast!

So I am pushing myself away from the computer this morning, heading out to see my friends and get a good dose of reality and normalness.

The number on the scale is not....oh, who am I kidding?  Of course it's important, but I know what to do about it.  What's important for me is getting back to normal.  Just because we have another holiday approaching in a few weeks does not mean I should throw in (out) "the Weight Watchers towel" and call it quits until after the next holiday.  Do it now!

My First - The Bucks County Marathon

So my story.  If you've been reading my blog, you know it, but a quick recap.  Overweight most of my life, lost 75 pounds and maintained my goal weight for over three years.   I also started running for the first time in my life three-plus years ago and have never stopped.   I wrote about it more in this post.,

http://journey2succeed.blogspot.com/2012/05/why-i-am-running-broad-street-run.html.  But you'll have to copy and paste it into your browser to get there, because for some reason, the link is not working.  Sorry.

My friend, Aimee, trained with me, but we knew that as the long runs approached, because of her busy schedule, that the likelihood of her completing the training and running the marathon were slim.  She ran with me as much as she could during training, and when she couldn't, she was there to encourage me and cheer for me when I was done.

About ten days before the marathon, Aimee surprised me with the news that she had registered for the marathon and was going to run it with me.  What?!!!!  This woman is tough and continues to show me every day that anything is possible.  With only 10 days left and no really long runs, she was running my first marathon with me.  Love you, Aimee!  It was a great experience for me and one I WILL NEVER EVER forget!  

We arrived at just in time to get a decent parking spot, get in line for the potty before the lines got too long (extremely long).  Then we waited, took some pictures, and tried to stay warm.

 At this point we were just trying to keep warm and have some fun.

And since I knew that had my dad still been alive, he would have definitely been proud of me, I decided to keep him with me.

So as the time approached, we lined up in our "waves".  We were in what I termed "the turtle wave", in the back.  Was so cool, because at this point, I started meeting people that I had been talking with on the Facebook page for the event.  I was wearing a new running shirt, and on the back I had in big silver glittery letters "Reen's Journey", and a few people came up and introduced themselves right before the start.  So cool!

And we were off!

And because of my "new running shirt", I also met more runners on the route that I was familiar with from the Facebook page for the event.  THAT was really fun!

At every single mile marker, there was a sign with the number on it.  I made sure that I touched every one of those signs as I got to it.  It was kind of a motivation to get to the next one.  I felt great pretty good up to mile 20.  We did our run/walk intervals, 11/1 and never gave up.  We did stop for one potty break and another time, we stopped for a stretch break, but other than that, we just kept moving forward.  There were only a few times where we extended that walk interval past the 1-minute interval, but not for too long.  We just kept moving forward.

I loved the fact that this was an out and back route.  As the people at the end started passing us on their return to the finish, it was a distraction and a little motivation for us to cheer for them as they passed us.  

I ran mile 24-25 for my dad.  I thought of him through that entire mile, and before I knew it, we were at 26.  Okay.  Maybe not before I knew it.  That mile was really really hard!

As we made the turn to come back into the park, we could see the finish line, but there was still a mile to go.  We had to do a complete loop inside the park, past the finish line, before we actually crossed over the finish line.  As we made our entrance into the park, my husband and Aimee's two young sons were there to greet it.  And here's the coolest part.  The boys ran that last mile with us and stayed with us to the finish!  Unfortunately, don't have a picture of the four of us together, but here's a fuzzy one of me.  Do I look happy?  Hell, yeah!

 We did it!

I know that if dad were alive, he would have been at that finish line cheering me on.  I know that if mom had not been recovering from recent hospitalization, she would have come up for Thanksgiving, and would have been there to cheer me on.  The fact that my big brother was there at the finish line cheering me on was so great!  I can still see the smile on his face as I came to the finish.   THAT is something I will never forget.  Love you, Big Brother!

And a HUGE SHOUT OUT for this event!  The course is out-and-back along the historic Delaware Canal State Park towpath trail from Washington Crossing Historic Park through New Hope.   Their second year, and they SOLD OUT!   Use the link below to see how beautiful it was. http://www.runbucks.com/.     (Link not working, but copy and paste it into your browser).  

Bravo to Pat McCloskey, Race Director, and to all the park people who cleaned up the trail after Hurricane Sandy, AND to all the volunteers at the water stops, who were there with water and Gatorade, directing us which way to go, and cheering us on.

I loved this event and will definitely keep it on the list for next year!  How can I not?  It was my first.

I'm Fessing Up

Here goes.  I HAVE NOT been following the program very well.  I HAVE NOT been counting points.  I HAVE BEEN eating way more carbs than usual.  I HAVE NOT been eating as many veggies and fresh fruit.

What's up?  Well, I hate to use this as an excuse, but it's the truth really.  Marathon is this Sunday.  During the past month and a half, as my distance increased in my training, I was having a very hard time balancing eating according to my normal routine and eating more carbs to fuel my runs, and then being very very hungry after the runs.  On top of all of that, just felt very sluggish during my runs.  It was a constant battle for me, and the more I struggled with it, the more frustrated I got.

So a few weeks ago, I decided I was going to "let go" a bit until after the marathon.  I started eating when I was hungry and adding more carbs to my daily routine.  The sluggishness during the runs went away and I feel much better before, during, and after a run.

Unfortunately, I have put a few pounds back on, but maybe I'll burn some of that off running 26.2 miles, right?

This Sunday is the big day, my first marathon.  After that, it's back on track.  Difficult time to do that with Thanksgiving being Thursday, but I'm not using it as an excuse.  I'm not going to let one holiday ruin the whole week.  Just because Thursday is a holiday doesn't mean I can't stay on track the rest of the week.  So that's what I intend to do.  I'll be counting points, eating more fresh fruit, lean protein, fresh veggies, and knocking back the carb intake.  Back to pasta once a week, and a potato or sweet potato once or twice a week.  Back to light bread, sandwich thins, and whole grain pasta.

I'm going to try to get these "few" pounds back off before the New Year.   I can do it!  If I can run a marathon, I can take a few pounds back off, right?

MISSING YOU!!!

Just a quick post this morning to shout out to all those favorite bloggers of mine who have been kind of off the grid for a few weeks.  I MISS YOU!  Hope everything is okay.

Funny how even though we have not met (well, met a few), I think of you and wonder if everything is okay when you're not around for a while.

A lot of you were there when I was battling to get the weight off and get to a healthy goal weight.  You were there as I took my first steps running.  You were there to encourage me, to cheer me on, to give me advice, or just to chat about life in general....and I appreciated that!

So I'm giving you a shout out to let you know I'm thinking of you and hope all is well.

XOXO