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!!

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.

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.

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!

With my travel last week, I didn’t have an opportunity to write my post out for the 1st Monday Project. Well, maybe I did and I was just avoiding it…

What about 2009 (and beyond) did not work? What were my goals? Did I fall short of achieving them? If so, why? What were my biggest obstacles? What were my patterns? What was my “rock bottom” moment? What are my bad habits? Sit down and think about each question and answer them as fully and completely as you can in your mind. Target your patterns and obstacles that have impeded your efforts in the past, the potential hazards for this time around. Is it sweets at work? No support from your family? No motivation to work out because it’s too early or too late? Eating at night? Emotional eating? Negative self-talk? Are you stuck? No time?

Last year was the first full year of the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. I started out the year with a gigantic gain of over 6 pounds due to terrible eating over the holidays. It was a huge slap in the face for me. Throughout the course of 2009, my weight went down, but I had so many weeks with gains. I know that tracking my points using Weight Watchers online worked for me, because the weeks I tracked diligently, I had loses.

In April of 2009, the Sisterhood starting Shredding using Jillian Michaels’ 30-Day Shred DVD. It was the first time I had added consistent exercise into my routine, and it was also the point when my Points tracking went by the wayside. I think I got a little arrogant, and figured that working out was more than enough, and while I still tried to eat healthfully, I wasn’t keeping track. Huge FAIL.

Looking back, it’s so obvious to me now that I needed BOTH. I needed consistent exercise and I needed to track everything that went into my pie hole. Without BOTH, I was basically struggling for very small losses, maintaining, and even gaining small amounts each week. That struggle gave me a poor attitude and kept me from finally reaching my goal.

On a positive note, I did dip into the 130 briefly in 2009, and my overall loss for the year was 18 pounds. Really not shabby, but as I said before, there were lots of weeks when I gained, and if I’d been in the right frame of mind, I probably wouldn’t have had as many of those weeks.

Then, take a look at 2009 and beyond and think about what did work. Because you don’t want to fix what ain’t broke. If something worked for you, if you felt progress somewhere, found successes, (because along the journey there are a million tiny victories, many of them non-scale related!), what were those? All of your victories are a very big deal! Give yourself a high five, out loud, to everyone!

In 2009, I incorporate physical activity into my routine, and that WORKED. I had more energy, felt great, and started to feel muscles in places that were just soft before. I loved the way working out made me feel, and the compliments I received from people only fueled the fire. I had a HUGE ah-ha moment when I realized that losing all the weight was great, but not being toned and fit when I reached that point would leave me short of my goal. So I exercised. I shredded, jumped on the EA SPORTS Active train with Personal Trainer, More Workouts, and the 5K challenge.

Looking back, I also realize I really woke up and started thinking about what I was putting in my body. I realized that processed foods were just bad, and I really cracked down on my intake of fruits and vegetables. I also started focusing on my water intake, and noticed a huge improvement in the way I felt as a fully hydrated person.

The part three of this project is to work out those bugs from 2009. For anything that didn’t work, think about your proposed solutions to the issues.

As far as solutions go, since I know working out worked for me in 2009, I am fully committed to continuing down that path. With the Sisterhood 1/2 marathon training about to kick off, I’m totally psyched about where my body will take me in 2010. I also plan to keep up with my strength training so my body will be in top condition for training and running.

I know where I need the most work, and that’s in the food intake accountability area. I NEED to track my points. I need to know what’s going into my body. I need to make sure I’m staying within my Points allowance if I want to see the scale move down. I also realize I need to tweak what I’m eating in order to fuel my body for the physical activities I’m taking part in.

This year will be the year it all comes together for me. I will reach my goal weight through tracking Points on Weight Watchers online, decide whether my goal weight is the right place for me, will train and run the San Diego Rock ‘n Roll 1/2 marathon as part of Team Shrinking Jeans, and will do it all consistently. No more arrogance. No more slacking. No more excuses.

The end.

p.s. Thank you Christie. Thank you so much for putting together this awesome new feature for the Sisterhood. Thank you for posing the tough questions and making me really, really think about my journey. You rock, and I love you.

You probably saw the title of my post and thought I’d lost like 5 pounds, right? WRONG. I am victorious because I maintained this week. I maintained after a glorious trip to LA with the other fabulous EA SPORTS Active for Life Challengers.

This past week has been an exciting one, to say the least. As an EA SPORTS Active for Life Challenger, I took part in the More Workouts 6-week challenge. I vlogged and blogged about my progress here and at the EA site. Our celebration was held this past weekend in sunny (and WARM) LA, and it was amazing. The hotel was so hip, the restaurants were trendy, the food was amazing, the drinks were delish, and the company, well, the company was so inspiring. Each and every one of the challengers has their own mountain to climb, and each and every one of us climbed out hearts out during the 6-week challenge and while we were in LA.

We hiked Runyon Canyon, on a clear and breezy day in LA. So perfect. After 4.5 miles of up and down, I burned 677 calories. WOW!

Wendy, Lisa, Gerard (@Active_Trainer), KP (@Active_Girl), and Monique – Fabulous EA SPORTS Active staff.

I am so happy EA SPORTS Active chose me to be an Active for Life Challenger. While it was a little scary stepping outside the comfort and support of the Sisterhood, I’m so glad I did. The challenge gave me new strength, physically (you should see my quads and biceps!) and mentally. I feel like a better person because of it, and I plan to continue using More Workouts as I train for my 1/2 marathon!

Last week: 141.2
This week: 141.2
WOOT!