Christy

I am sitting in the DFW airport right now! Love free WIFI and charging stations. Where am I heading? To Baltimore, Maryland to attend Fitbloggin’ 10. I am so excited to take this trip and meet up with some amazing women, some for the very first time. People like Melissa, who I’m pretty sure I share a brain with. Seriously, we finish each other’s email sentences. All the time. And Thea, who as a fellow night owl (and cake eater) is always there for me. And Christie O. OMG, seriously. Yes, I’m meeting her this weekend, too. I’ll also being seeing April AGAIN! It’s pretty much a dream come true. The best part? We’re all sharing a room. HA! Do you think there will be much sleep happening? I don’t.

So if you’re not following us on Twitter, fix that right now, because we’ll be tweeting all about our (mis)adventures this weekend!

@reallifeadv, @christieo, @imadramamama, and @aprilshowrs

On to my foot woes. Yes, I have officially come down with some kind of running related injury. As careful as I’ve been, I’m proud to say it’s nothing related to me falling, tripping, colliding, or anything other type of ing. Nope. I woke up on Tuesday with a terrible pain in my foot, and it’s not gotten any better. I’m staying off it, and NOT running per Coach Joe. Do you know how bad not running sucks for me? A lot.

(also, I cropped my toe nails off so you wouldn’t be blinded by skankiness. You’re welcome. Unfortunately that means you don’t get to see my crazy long second toe. Too bad for you.)

This weekend I will have the unique pleasure of meeting Dr. Mo, one of my favorite Twitter-friends, and she just happens to be a Foot Doctor! Yeah, I know!! She’s going to give my foot the once over and see if she can figure out what’s going on. My hope is that it’s just a strain, and will clear up ASAP. I will say the pain is migrating, and doesn’t seem to be AS intense, but the swelling is still present. We will see, and you know I’ll keep you posted. Cross your fingers for me that it’s nothing, k?

Stay tuned for lots of fun tales and amazing pictures from our fantastic Sisterhood weekend at Fitbloggin’ 10!

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!!

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

Okay, first let me get my weigh-in out of the way, since I didn’t do it on Wednesday. Well, I weighed in, but wasn’t happy, so I didn’t share.

Last week: 137.2 (woooohoooooo)
This week: 139.6 (boooooooooo. hisssssssss)

Being out of town, and not really caring about how much I was eating did it to me. No excuses. I own it.

So back to the Monday Project….

Sad to say I didn’t get run over by a squirrel, or run in freezing cold rain and snow (although it did snow in Texas this week!), but I did add 14 miles to my bank this week. FOURTEEN MILES. That’s a lot of miles. Running miles. I also hit the 100 mile mark since I’ve been running in October of last year. That felt really good.

Each and every run I have adds to the bank, and seeing the miles add up adds to my confidence. I feel like, “wow, I’m actually going to run a 1/2 marathon in a little over 3 months and not suck at it! I might actually be prepared and feel good!” That is such a victory for me.

My son is so excited about the 1/2 marathon. We talk about it almost daily, and he peppers me with questions. He knows that it’s 13.1 miles, and he asked me last night when I was going to run a full marathon because “it’s 26.2 miles, and that would be so cool.” Kid loves math and pushing his mommy to do more. He also asked me if people ran more than 26.2 miles and I explained that there are ultra-runners, but that I didn’t think I really had an interest in that. We ended the conversation discussing the day when we would run a marathon together. The two of us, training and running and doing it together. I’m putting that in my bank, because all of my hard work isn’t just for me, it’s for them, too.

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.

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.

I’m up 1.4. I can’t really say why I’m up, but I am. It’s stupid. I’m over it and ready to move on.

On a very happy note, I started the Team in Training Program to train for the San Diego Rock ‘n Roll 1/2 marathon this week. I am SO excited and pumped up!!

Next week, I know my weight will be back down. I’m sure of it. And I know that I’m going to be that much further along with my training, and hopefully my fundraising!

Wanna be my first official donor? Click here. I’m giving away a $25 gift card to randomly selected donors, and you can read about it here! THANKS!

I rocked my first training run on Sunday!

January 29, 2001

Dear Christy,

Grab a cup of coffee before you read this letter, because right now, as you write this letter, it’s cold and rainy and you’re enjoying a cup of coffee. Mia’s napping and the house is quiet…..

Congratulations on an awesome year. Two thousand and ten was really your year, and I’m so proud of everything you accomplished!

The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans has become an amazing place. The support you’ve given and received, and the connections you’ve made over the past year are something you should really be proud of. You’ve touched so many people and changed the way people look at weight-loss and fitness, and the site continues to grow and touch more people than you can imagine!

I’m proud to say that you FINALLY reached your weight-loss goal, too. Yes, you finally did it! WOOHOOO! I know you struggled to get here, but just wait until you see your rock hard abs, girl. You’ll be really impressed with your HOT self, and realize that all the hard work was SO worth it. You are lean and mean now, hooker. Okay, not really mean, but you know what I’m saying.

About that first 1/2 marathon, you ROCKED it girl. I know you had your doubts and you were nervous about being able to keep up with training because of the whole ‘training with a jogging stroller’ issue, but you did it! Not only did you kick ass with the training, but you kicked ass with the fundraising. Your personal fundraising exceeded your goals, and the corporate sponsorships were more than you could hope for! Team Shrinking Jeans really made a huge difference in the lives of so many people touched by blood cancers.

When you arrived in San Diego in early June, you were met by all of your Sisters and it was such an emotional time. The whole weekend was, really. You had all done this together and were about to complete your goal. Running 13.1 miles. As you ran, you looked back on how far you had come, and you looked ahead to where you wanted to go next. As you crossed the finish line, you were a hot mess, but YOU DID IT, and you did way better than you thought you would. I’m so proud of you for not giving up and for following through with your goal.

Also, you had an amazing time with your hookers that weekend. Just wait and see! You cemented the friendships with all these wonderful ladies, and the friendships will last a lifetime.

After the 1/2, you didn’t stop there! Remember that other goal that’s in the back of you mind right now? The goal of running a 5K with BJ? Well, you’re going to do that to. You’ll train with BJ over the summer, and the 2 of you will run a 5K together, and when you cross the finish line, it’s the best day of your life. Well, close the best day. You will be so proud of how BJ does. He’s amazing, that boy of ours. And that 5k? It will be a turning point in his life as well. It will only be the start for him. He’s working on developing a lifetime love of running, and it’s all because of you!

What about Mia, you might be asking? Well, she’s 3 now. HOLY COW. I know you’re asking, ‘when did that happen!?’ Well, she’s growing into a fine little girl. A little girl who loves to workout and oh how badly she wants to run. She’s ready to bust out of that jogging stroller and hit the ground running! She’s learning so much from you. You are totally achieving your goals of instilling a love for healthy living in your kids. ROCK ON!

I know you’re sitting there right now, pondering whether or not to register for that Disney 1/2 marathon….Well, you just finished FINISHED it, girl. WOOOOHOOOOO! You rocked it, too. You totally blew you first 1/2 marathon time out of the water, and having your friends AND family there when you crossed the finish line was just the icing on the cake. You’re going big places, girl. BIG!

There are so many other wonderful things that are going to happen this year. So many victories. You will have the most amazing year. I do want to tell you one thing though. Slow down. Enjoy each of those victories. Soak them in, and OWN them, because you worked hard for them. You need to acknowledge each setback, too, because there will be a couple. You’ll get past them though, trust me, and as you get past them you’ll grow so much.

So right now, finish up that coffee, fill up your water bottle and get moving. Two thousand and eleven is looking to be an even busier year! Lots of races to run and people to inspire. There’s no stopping you.

Love,
Christy

p.s. Go fill up your water bottle now!

Christie’s Monday Project homework this week seemed so easy this week. Only when I sat down to do it, I couldn’t really come up with anything. I am really not one to toot my own horn. I’m the person who tells everyone else how AWESOME they are. Sheesh. Bear with me, here…..

Five reasons I Totally Rock:

1. I can run like the wind. This is a HUGE feat for me, and I do believe that it makes me totally and completely awesome.
2. My legs totally rock. No, they aren’t super-model thin, and there’s still some dimple action going on, but that’s OKAY. My legs are muscular and strong. Stronger than they’ve ever been, and I’ve worked hard for them. They ROCK.
3. I can do 25 pushups on my toes. FOR REAL. When we first started shredding, I couldn’t even do 5 modified pushes.
4. I am a mom. The end.
5. I know how to shoot a gun (Lisa told me I had to use this one!)!

Okay, so that wasn’t so bad afterall! I think I’m getting a big head now, because all of a sudden, I can think of a lot more reasons why I rock!