Christy

I want to start out by thanking my awesome donors this week!

• Lindsay Merritt and Lanie Vickers – These ladies are sisters and our children go to school together. They are some of my best “local” friends, and I feel truly blessed to have them in my life!
• Lisa Lawrence aka Hawaii Lisa. We’ve been reading each other’s blogs for years now! She did a full marathon through TNT back in 2002, and has shared some of her wisdom with me! Thanks Lisa
• Evan Pritchard – my cousin (well technically 2nd cousin, but we’re the same age). Thanks Evan!
• Mrs. Kay – My son BJ’s kindergarten teacher. She has the patience of a saint and a heart of gold. Thank you!
• Marlena Washburn – my closest neighbor and best Leakey friend. I don’t think I could have made it out here without HER!
• My mom and stepdad – There are no words, as their title speaks for itself. Thanks so much for always supporting me!
• Hill Country Telephone Co-op

This was week 6 of training for the San Diego Rock N Roll 1/2 marathon through Team in Training! It was also the week the long run was 6 miles.

It’s late and I’m beat after the 6 miler today, so I’ll keep it short! It was an amazing week. My runs were great, and it was such a relief after the hard runs I had last week.

I started out the week on Tuesday with a 3.44 mile run. It wasn’t my best run, and I had some pain in my knee for most of it, but I realized it was because my shoe wasn’t lace tight enough. GAH! Thank goodness it wasn’t an injury!

Wednesday I hit the gym for some weight training. Per Coach Joe, we were supposed to max out on the weight and do 3-6 reps for 4 sets. I was nervous about not being able to move the next day, but I was pleasantly surprised when I wasn’t sore! I also did 1.5 miles on the treadmill as a warm up/warm down.

Friday I did a 3.5 mile tempo run and it was awesome. Best one yet, and that’s saying a lot since the tempo run is the hardest for me each week! Had a great average pace of 9:24!

Sunday (today) was my 6 mile run. First time I’ve ever run that far, but I was feeling confident. Had my friend Marlena along for part of it, and my mom and cousin walked while I ran. The first mile was hard, but I soon fell into a nice pace and the next 4 miles were great. The last mile was a struggle, but I pushed through it and made it 6.2 miles because I wanted to see what my time for a 10K would be! Did the 10K in 59:55, which felt AWESOME!

Throughout my training, my pace is averaging around 9:40 per minute, and I’m hoping to have a race day pace of 10 minutes per mile!

• Miles run since I started running on 10/03/09: 140
• Miles this week: 14.7
• Miles since I started training on 01/31/10: 71.2
• Miles to go until San Diego: 202

This week was so hard. Physically, mentally, emotionally. So many times I wanted to give up, give in, QUIT.

I didn’t though.

On Monday, I got a little crazy and decided to Shred with the Sisterhood. As in Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred. Yeah, um NO. Not a good idea. I had my first 5 mile run the day before, and clearly I shouldn’t have done something so intense the very next day. I pretty much couldn’t walk for 2 days after that.

Tuesday, I rested. Obviously. When I say rested, I mean that I tried not to move at all because when I moved, everything hurt. Even my toes. For me, Shredding and training for a 1/2 marathon do not mix. Then end.

On Wednesday, I hit the gym. I decided to hit the treadmill for my 3.5 mile tempo run in lieu of weight training, because HELLO, my arms still felt like they were going to fall off my body. The tempo run felt good.

Thursday was supposed to be an easy 30 minute run, but the wind had a different plan. It was without a doubt the hardest run ever. I was pushing Mia in the jogging stroller, and there were times when I was sure I was moving backwards instead of forwards. I had to stop and walk so many times because I felt like I couldn’t go on. In the end, I pushed myself and finished 2.91 miles.

Looking at these shots from my run (which I could take because I had to stop and walk so much), you would never know how hard it was. I was constantly lagging behind, and Molly would stop and look back to make sure I was still coming.

Friday I rested in preparation for my 2nd 5 mile run on Saturday. I really enjoyed my rest days this week. So much.

Saturday was my long run day. It was misty and overcast, but thankfully not windy. I decided to take a new route, and run 2.5 miles away from my house and then turn around and come back. This new route was full of big hills. Mean hills. Hard hills. Hills that I’ve been afraid of running, which is why I’ve never gone this route. For some reason, I just felt like pushing through the fear and seeing if I could really do it. I needed to do it, I needed to feel victorious one damn day this week. And I did. It was the most amazing run ever. I took each of those hills on with all the strength I could muster, and you know what? They weren’t nearly as hard as I thought they would be. Those hills didn’t own me, I owned them. I owned that run. All 5 miles. When I got to the end of the run, I truly felt like I could keep going forever, and I really wanted to. I had to make myself stop running!

I’m so glad that this week ended on such a wonderful note. It gives me hope for the weeks to come. Hope that I can do this. That I’ll be able to run all the miles and make it to San Diego with all of my Sisters (and our lone man on the team). Now if I could just finish that fundraising.

• Miles run since I started running on 10/03/09: 121.27
• Miles this week: 11.5
• Miles since I started training on 01/31/10: 56.5
• Miles to go until San Diego: 217.5

Team Shrinking Jeans has made huge strides the past week with our fundraising! We are at $14,649.55, 27% of our $54,700 goal! WOOHOOO!!

Wow, another week has passed! Crazy. It’s been a week of mental and physical ups and downs for me, and honestly I’m exhausted today.

This week, I decided to Shred with the Sisterhood, but only a couple of days a week due to my 1/2 marathon training. I’ve done the Shred before, so I know how hard it is. It’s HARD. Definitely takes commitment and determination to endure the full 30 days. I have to admit that I went into it feeling a little cocky because I am in MUCH better shape than I was this time last year. I’m training for a 1/2 marathon for pete’s sake! On Sunday I had my long run of 5 miles, and on Monday, which should have been a rest day, I joined in the festivities and Shredded. Big Mistake. On Tuesday, I could hardly move. Every.single.part of my body ached. Even my eyebrows. I was the kind of sore that makes you want to cry and saw you legs off. All day long.

Needless to say, I’ve decided that Shredding and 1/2 marathon training do not mix for me, and I’m just not going to participate. It makes me sad, because I love me some Shredding with the Sisterhood Challenge, but I’ll just stand over on the sideline and cheer all of y’all on. Coach Joe (our VTNT coach) told us that it’s important to rest the day before and the day after our long runs, and now I’m a believer! I will follow instructions from now on.

So on to this week’s weigh in! I want to give a HUGE shout out to my amazing team – The A-Team.

• Tammi/Valley Girl
• Jen/BWJen
• KnitsalotJen
• Adrienne/SkinnyFighter
• JennyGirl

We pity the fools who tries to lose more than us. For reals. Yo. I may or may not be wearing my Mr. T starter kit right this very minute.

Even though I said I was going to count WW Points this week, I sorta kinda forgot. Okay, I was lazy and I didn’t do it. Thankfully I’ve been on this journey long enough that I can mentally add Points and pretty much know where I am. Not the recommended way to go about it, but it worked for me this week.

Last week: 139.6
This week: 137.8
Change: -1.8#

This week I need to get serious. I’ve been on a roller coaster the past couple of months and have done the lose 2 gain 1.5, lose 1 gain 1.5, so on and so forth. I’m still going down, but it’s really a pain to do it that way. One of the most important reasons I should be counting Points right now is to make sure I’m eating enough for my training. I’m starting to run mileages I’ve never run before, and I need to feed my body so it can handle it. I also need to make sure I’m feeding my body the right kind of foods, and Weight Watchers is nice enough to help me keep track of that.

Here are my goals for this week:

1. Stick with my Virtual Team in Training plan for the 1/2 marathon.
2. Count my points. Actually log them into WW online.
3. Get to know my team better and give them as much support and encouragement as I can!

Week 4 of training for the San Diego 1/2 Marathon through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training Program is DONE! What an amazing week it was!

First thing first! Thanks to all of my fabulous donors this week!

• My husband, Brian, donated $250. That blew my socks off. Yeah, those knee socks that he loves to hate. Thanks babe, I love you, and happy anniversary tomorrow!
• Steve Lenard donated $100. Steve is my insurance agent, and has been for 15 years. Gotta love that he responded to my email pleas with such a generous donation.
• A & D Lewis donated $75. Thanks so much. MWAH!
• Carolyn Critz donated $50. Carolyn was not only my favorite co-worker, but one of my best friends at work before I became a SAHM. She and I had an amazing connection through difficult circumstances, and she inspired me as she lost over 150 pounds and went on to train and ride in the MS150. Thank you so much, Carolyn.

This week Coach Joe stepped up our training with longer timed and tempo runs. Our long run over the weekend went from 4 miles to 5 miles, and 5 miles is the furthest I’ve ever run.

I started out the week on Monday at the gym doing a 1 miler on the treadmill, weight training for an hour, and then another mile on the treadmill. Going to the gym is getting easier, and I’m finding lots of friendly faces there. It’s not nearly as bad as I feared it would be, and I wasn’t nearly as sore this week.

Tuesday was a rest day, and on Wednesday I took the prescribed 30 minute run which equaled 3 miles. On Thursday I rested again, and on Friday I had a 3.5 mile tempo run. The tempo run is always tough, but this week I was fortunate enough to have someone sit with Mia while I ran, without the added resistance of the jogging stroller made the run feel easier.

Sunday was my long run of 5 miles. The weather was beautiful, but I do think that the Ides of March blew in a day (or week) early. If it was any indication of how March will be, it’s definitely coming in like a lion. Hopefully it will go out like a lamb sooner rather than later!

This week my kids also came to the realization that headbands are really cool. Watching  TV and doing homework is some strenuous stuff, or at least it looks like it in these shots!

As each week passes and I sit down to reflect, I become more and more impressed with my abilities. I honestly never thought I’d be able to run 1 mile, muchless 5 miles, and here I am. As I look forward, it still amazes me that one day very soon I’ll be running 13.1 miles with so many amazing women and one man, as Team Shrinking Jeans. I cannot wait to get to San Diego!

This week’s schedule is identical to last weeks, so I don’t anticipate any problems. We have a conference call scheduled to discuss injuries and how to avoid them, so I’m looking forward to that. And I’ll continue to refresh my email obsessively checking for more donation notification emails!

Donate if you can! I promise to think of you every time my feet pound the pavement, and it will make a difference in the life of someone fighting blood cancer.

• Miles run since I started running on 10/03/09: 109.77
• Miles run since I started training for TNT on 01/31/10: 45
• Miles run this week: 14
• Miles I’ll be running in the next 12 training weeks:  229

The first thing I want to do this week is thank my generous friends and family for their donations!

• Karena, thank you so much for your donation. It meant the world to me! I am so happy to have met  your through the Sisterhood, and I can’t wait to meet you next January in Florida! I’ll be there!
• My fantastic inlaws, Joyce and Mark, also gave me a generous donation this week!
• My friend Angie, who lost her 18 year old son Wesley to leukemia donated as well. I met Angie years ago when I was part of a nation-wide Light the Night team for LLS. I spent time with them when they were in Houston staying at the Ronald McDonald House while Wesley received treatments at MD Anderson. Lisa and I even helped organize a prom for Wesley since he missed his high school prom due to being in Houston on treatment. It’s definitely a night I will NEVER forget. Music, food, dancing, tuxedos, prom dresses, decorations, friends and family – he had it all. Angie is such a beautiful and amazing woman, and while her son Wesley is no longer with us, his light continues to shine.

Week 3 of my Virtual Team in Training is done with a total of 13 miles logged! The weather was much improved over last week, although is was a bit cold and windy. No rain, though! Molly was back in the saddle and joined me for a couple of my runs, but was still limping afterwards. The medicine the vet prescribed is definitely helping, and I hope the running will help strengthen her hip and knees. It breaks my heart when I have to leave her at home, because she stands at the door and whines to go with me.

On Monday I did the planned 30 minute run, and since Brian was home, I was able to go it alone. Despite the freezing temps, it was an awesome run. Logged 3.15 miles with an average pace of 9:31.

Tuesday was a rest day, and much needed. I spent the day getting my fundraising email and letters together.

Wednesday I hit the gym for the second time armed with my weights training program from Coach Joe. I started out with a mile on the Precor eliptical, and I’m sure I looked hilarious since I’d never been on one before! Felt like I was going to fly off it for the first few minutes, and then finally got my bearings, and cranked out a mile. I moved on to the weights and since I’m not familiar with any of the gym equipment, a trainer took pity on me and took me on a tour of all the machines I needed to use. She made sure I knew how to use all of them before I got started, and also recommended I only do 3 sets of 10 reps as opposed to the 20 reps Coach Joe prescribed (boy was I glad, because I could hardly move the next day!). Finished off my time at the gym with a quick mile on the treadmill.

Thursday was my tempo run, and as usual, the hardest. The purpose of the tempo run is to help build up your endurance as well as improve on your pace, so you alternate with sprints and easy timed intervals for 3.5 miles. The winds were sustained at over 20MPH and the gusts were over 30MPH. Pushing the jogging stroller into the wind made it feel like I was actually moving backwards, but I pushed through (pun intended) and made it in 37 minutes.

Friday I joined in the Shrinking Jeans Olympics and hammered out a quick mile (not part of my training) as part of the team 4-mile relay event. I really wanted to push and see if I could sprint for an entire mile, so I ran hard and fast. I really surprised myself and finished in 8:00. WOW! After the run, I packed up the kiddos and we headed to Austin to hang out with Lisa for some scrapbooking and more running!

Saturday was the scheduled day for our 4-mile long run, but we rested instead. On Sunday Lisa did her run early, and then watched all the kiddos so Amanda and I could do the 4-miler together at a nearby trail. It was fantastic to run with someone who’s on our Virtual Team in Training! We took it easy and talked the entire time, which made the 42:00 minutes seem to fly. Makes me wish I lived closer to some of my team mates so we could get together every weekend for our long runs.

I am so excited about running. When I signed up for VTNT, I was nervous about the mileage we’d have to run each week, but the program is truly amazing. Having a schedule with prescribed runs takes all the guesswork out and is truly comforting. Coach Joe does an amazing job communicating with us, and answering numerous email questions. The conference calls we have really bring us together as a team, since we are all spread out across the nation, and our emails and group message board really help us bond. I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am to meet each and every one of my 18 team mates in San Diego on June 6th. It’s going to be a huge Team Shrinking Jeans hug.

One thing that surprised me this week was how I felt as I received notifications of donations to my online account. My heart would literally skip as I opened the page to see who had donated, and my reaction was different each time. It truly warms my heart to know that I have the support of my family and friends in this endeavor. Not just the support for my training, but the support for my fundraising, which will do so much for so many people affected by blood cancers. Thank you again, Karena, Joyce & Mark, and Angie. I truly appreciate your support.

If you would like to make a donation, click here. Anything you can give is so appreciated.

It’s weigh in Wednesday, and despite my many infractions over the past week, I’m thrilled to report a loss today! When I stepped on the scale this morning, I was completely shocked to see a brand new low for me! Seriously, I haven’t seen that number in at least 14 years. Wow!

Last week: 138.2
This week:  137.2
Loss: 1 POUND!!!!

When we started the Sisterhood back in November of ‘08, I weighed in at 157, so that puts me at a 20 pound loss since then! I’ll proudly be sporting that 20# button on my sidebar now! Thankyouverymuch.

What worked for me this week? My best guess is that training for the 1/2 marathon has kicked my metabolism up a notch or two, so even though I indulged more than once this week, I still registered a loss. Another thing that’s been brought to my attention several times is that my indulgences are not what they used to be. When I go off my plan and splurge, I still make somewhat healthy choices and I don’t gorge myself (usually). This is a victory for me, because I FINALLY feel like the lifestyle change is sticking! I’m not dieting anymore, I’m living a healthier life, and that’s what this whole journey is all about.

Last Friday we were *ahem* supposed to post our Rethink Your Shrink wrap-ups. I think that’s what I’m doing now!

I am Rethinking My Shrink every single day. I make choices, sometimes bad, but mostly good, and each and every one of those choices impacts me physically and mentally. Since I’m not really into negative impacts, I truly strive to make good choices all the time, but when I don’t, I own it and move on. This is my life. This is not a diet, or a quick fix, or just something I’m doing to get to my goal weight. This is ME. Forever and ever. Amen.

Week 2 of training for the San Diego Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon is DONE, but not without it’s own set of challenges. The weather was craptastic, cold and windy and rainy, rainy, rainy. Despite the weather, I managed to get in all of my run except 1, but I’m totally okay with that!

On Monday, I took a rest day. Tuesday I did a DVD at home, Turbo Jam Cardio Party; on Wednesday I felt like someone had beaten me with a lead pipe, but I still managed to get my Tempo run in; on Thursday I was suppose to do my 25 minute run, but it was rainy so I skipped it; Friday was jam packed, so I took a rest day; and on Saturday I did my 4 mile run.

One exciting thing that happened is I decided to join the gym so I could get in some weight training. This is HUGE for me, as I’ve never joined an actual gym before, and have actually had a gym-phobia for most of my life. I am NOT a public workout person. Plus, the gym is 74 miles from my house. HELLO! So I called to inquire, and found out they have a non-member 5-visit pass I could buy, and all my excuses flew out the window. Since I drive in to town on Mondays and sometimes Wednesdays to grocery shop and run errands, I decided that I would also hit the gym one day a week to use the weight room.

Last Wednesday was the day, and as I sat in the parking lot having a panic attack, I emailed Christie O. and Melissa for a pep talk! They were awesome! I went in, signed up for my pass, oriented myself with the layout, found the locker room, and cringed as I changed clothes while other naked women walked within 10 feet of me. ACK! Aside from the locker room freak show (and I know all that stuff is TOTALLY normal, but it’s not normal for me, and I could go on and on and on, but I don’t want to bore you), it was great! I’m so proud of myself for taking the leap!

One sad thing that happened this week, is my dog Molly, who is my constant running companion, was injured. I took her to the vet on Friday, and found out that her 11 year old hips aren’t in very good shape, and because of that, she’d strained her left knee. The vet prescribed her some doggie Celebrex and told her to take the week off from running. Thankfully she’ll be able to continue running with me, as long as she can handle it! The vet actually encouraged me to take her because it’s good for her to keep moving!

My 4 mile run, on Saturday, was great! The sun was shining, for the first time in days, the temperature was a perfect 55 degrees, and there wasn’t any wind. Total time for 4 miles was 39:39, just under 10 minutes a mile.

Check back in next week for my Week 3 TNT Diary!!

I have week 1 of my Virtual Team in Training under my belt! WOOT!

Miles run: 8.01

We started out with our team conference call on the 30th, where we heard from Coach Joe, Julie (from the LLS), and Shannon (our fundraising mentor). It was an awesome call! I was actually shopping at Walmart with my daughter when I took the call, and there were several times I had to pull my cart over so I could laugh, and I even shed a few tears. I wanted to shout out about how excited I was to be part of something so amazing, but I think people already thought I was a little nuts.

On Sunday (1/31), I began my training with my first official run of 3 miles. Lisa was here visiting, so we took turns watching the kids so we could run alone. That 1st run, without a doubt, was my best run ever. Not just from a physical standpoint, but from a mental standpoint as well. All I could think about was how amazing this journey would be. I thought about Allie, I though about my Paw Paw, who was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia 2 years ago. I thought about everyone diagnosed with blood cancers, and cancer in general, who have to fight and endure chemotherapy, radiation, and the terrible side effects that come with treatment. I thought about Team Shrinking Jeans, all 18 of us, and what we’re doing. It’s HUGE. I thought about all the amazing support we’re receiving from the Sisterhood, and before I knew it, my 3 miles were done, and I wanted to keep running so I could think some more.

Although the weather was bad this past week, with lots of rain, and some flooding, amazingly enough, the sun was shining on the days of my runs. Perfect. The tempo run was the hardest, because you alternate between running at an easy pace, with running all out for 2 minutes at a time. You have to run at a pace you can maintain for the full 2 minutes, and that day I was running with the jogging stroller and Mia, so it was a little tricky, but I did it and felt a huge sense of accomplishment afterwards. I was also very sweaty and gross!

This week I will continue to follow my training schedule, and will even stop by the gym in Kerrville (which is 70 miles away!) to look into buying a pass so I can visit once a week for some weight training. I also plan to finish up my fundraising letter and get it in the mail, because in addition to training, I have to raise $2900 and as a team, we will be raising $51,800 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

New iTunes downloads this week:

• Save the Last Dance – Michael Buble
• Empire State of Mind – Jay Z with Alicia Keys
• Lean on Me – Bill Withers

Songs that gave me what I needed this week:

• Lose Yourself – Eminem <–have you ever listened to the words? It’s a really, really powerful song and the beat keeps my feet moving.