New shoes part 3!

And hopefully the last part! I traded in the neutral shoe today to go back to a stability shoes and actually I realized in this process that the ones I started out with were not stablity shoes, but motion control - so stability it is for now - I do pronate after consulting more professionals - so this should take care of my ankle pain and should now take care of the bottom of the foot pain I was having with the adidas! *sigh*

Here are my latest and hopefully last pair of shoes this season!!

My wedding band!

After reading Ida's Blog about her trying on her original wedding ring - I decided I would give it a shot too. This is the original wedding band that my hubby put on my finger when we got married when I was only 16! We have been married almost 24 years now! I had to take it off because it didn't fit after I started gaining my pregnancy weight with my first son - we got pregnant 3 months after we got married so I figured I only wore the ring maybe 6-9 months at the most. I have a second ring that is beautiful and very special to me and it fit before I started losing weight, but after the first 20 pounds came off it was too big, so what a wonderful surprise to place this on my finger and have it fit!! If someone would have told me a couple of years ago I was going to lose weight and start running and eventually fit into my original wedding band I would have thought they were crazy!! Oh ad that black thing my hand is on to take the picture? That would be my dog's head!

Sacfit Saturday!

I am proud to say, I can no longer say "I have yet to run anything over 14 miles!!!" We did 16.5 miles on Saturday and yes it was hard, and yes it was HOT - had one member that ended up really sick due to the heat - but I did it, I was very diligent about fueling myself during the run, making sure I stayed hydrated and making sure I listened to my body. It also helped tremendously that after my wonderful hubby had finished with his 5 miler (he is tapering for his goal race next week) he went out on the bike and was there for me if I needed him. All I really needed from him though was the fact that he was out there. I felt so good coming off the bridge and running in to our "finish line" I'm sure everyone heard me for miles around I was that excited!! So next week is cowtown - my hubbys goal race and a step back in mileage week for thse of us training for the full marathon!

Weigh in day!

So Thursday night I already knew I was in trouble this week. It had taken me until Thursday to use my flex points leaving me with 49 activity to use half of in one day. I have basically found that with the amount of activity I earn, if I don't use my flex points and about half my activity I will hold on to weight, water or whatever and I will either have a gain or stay the same. The result was a .4 gain. Not significant, but a gain nonetheless. I was so hoping to step on the scale this week and see a number in the 160's, but there is always next week! So my stats? - 170.6 - 91.9 lost total - 8.1 to go until goal!

New shoes part two!

One other thing the sports medicine guru told me to do was to run (pun intended) to the local running store and have them look at me run and make sure I'm still in the shoe that I need to be. The ones I have been wearing is for runners who pronate and they are a stability shoe. So I went down today with my old shoes, the new ones I just bought and gave her my history and she watched me walk, had another person watch me walk and run and their opinion was I no longer need a stability shoe. I tried on 8-10 pairs of shoes - this nice person was so patient with me and I finally ended up with a pair of Adidas Supernova Glide.

They are quite nice and feel great from the start just like my other running shoes have all felt with the exception of the New Balance ones I just bought.

Since I believe in having two pairs of shoes and they only had one pair in my size I came home and bought a second pair online in a different color. Adidas! Who would have thought!!

Warning - if you are a guy you might want to stop reading here....

I also stopped by Nordtroms - my bras are too big and I couldn't wait to get sized again - went down a band size and two cup sizes! I'm so excited about having a bra that fits well again - and the amazing thing was it made my t-shirt I wore today look too big on me!

I love new clothes!!

Sacfit Saturday!

Sacfit Saturday was not what I had thought it would be, but I have learned so much about myself and grown so much so I listened to the professionals and took their advice. I was supposed to run 15 miles - my first 15 miler ever, but after running the 10 mile race all on the street and at a faster pace in brand new shoes I was having ankle pain all week long. Frustrating pain because it didn't hurt all he time, only AFTER runs and not during at all. After consulting with our sports medicine guru on Friday he told me it was probably just inflammation because of the harder foot bed on the new shoes and the 10 miles all on asphalt and he told me to ice it and rest it and wear the new shoes around the house to break them down a little. I asked him if that meant I should run the 15 miler and he said it would be better to rest it, that resting it now wouldn't mess up my goal, but not resting it might. So I took my bike out and instead of running I was the mobile aid station and runner support for the group and it was so much fun! I really enjoyed being out there and ended up logging 24 miles on the bike! The farthest I have ever done!! The old me would have pushed it and ran anyway and probably injured myself more. So now I'm looking ahead to the 16 mile run next week and I already have part of my stuff prepared - I'm ready to stay upbeat and positive and know that I have the training to do this mileage!

Weigh in Day!

This morning before Sacfit I ran by the center to weigh. I will actually attend my regular meeting tomorrow, but am now weighing in before my runs so I don't stress over eating and drinking during and after the runs. The numbers you ask? 170.2 pounds - 1.6 pound loss this week brining my total loss to 92.3 pounds! I'm very happy with the loss and will just keep doing what I'm doing and I know I will be at my goal in no time! I need to stop stepping on the scale again during the week. We ate at a mexican place on Sunday night (a 64 point day!!) and on Wednesday and Thursday I was still retaining so much water I was getting very frustrated (Wednesday the scale showed me up 3 pounds), but it was gone by my official weigh in and I did a whole lot of stressing for no reason at all. Knowing I was up on Wednesday and Thursday didn't change what I did the rest of the week, I just kept right on track, used my daily point and a couple of extra and didn't add any extra exercise. I just stressed about it when I shouldn't have. So I can now proudly say it is true - one bad meal or one bad day will not mess things up - it would have went badly if I would have let that be my ticket to overeat or not workout the rest of the week, but I didn't!

Sacfit Sunday - The Buffalo Stampede Edition

Today's race was the Buffalo Stampede 10 miler and it was the first race that I trained for seriously and ran last year. It was the race that made me fall in love with the running community and this year just reinforced what I already knew - I love Sacfit, running and the running community! The plan was to do a 3 mile warm up and then do the other 7 miles at a minute faster pace (for me it would have been running at a 12:30 pace) - so after the three miles I start doing the faster pace and it feels great - but every mile my run intervals start getting a little faster and faster and I end up beating last years time by just under 18 minutes! Everything felt great and just fell into place perfectly, the weather was beautiful, I ran with two other girls that was having great runs as well and the faster pace didn't bother them, the new shoes felt great, I felt awesome and girly in my new running skirt and the faster runners as they past us were cheering us on and telling us we were doing good! As I rounded the corner to come into the finish there was a huge cheer and the Sacfit group that had either already finished or just came out to cheer us on were there - it was so amazing!!

Last years time - 2:29:54.8
This years time - 2:12:20.5

What an amazing day - there is nothing like an awesome run to build up some confidence!!

You have worn out a pair of shoes girl!

So I take my trusty runners (New balance 859's) into Fleet Feet thinking I need new insoles in them - I have some pain the bottom of my foot right behind my toes after long runs and I'm sure I have just worn the inserts down (which I had replaced not too long ago). Kristy takes a look at the inserts, the shoes and then looks at me and says - "The inserts are fine, but you have worn out a pair of shoes girl!" Here is what my trusty runners look like currently - they are ready to be stripped of Army dude and Road ID so I can put them on the new shoes I picked up today! I'm going to miss these - they have been with me through so much!

These are my new runners - the updated latest and greatest model of the previous ones! I introduce you to the New Balance 850! I heart New Balance!!

Food Finds!

Bunco last night was right down the street from Whole Foods so I stopped by to see if they had the new Peanut Butter and Jelly Larabars. They had those and I bought six but they also had a box a Larabar Minis! 12 mini bars in a box and each mini bar is 2 points! Perfect for a before run snack!

They also had this box of brownie bites that come out to two points each for a pretty good size brownie bite and they are very good. Nice chocolate flavor and chocolate chips in them - they had several varieties, but I got the one pictured. You can check out the other products they have at their site I would love to get some more items from this company - I bet they are all as good as the brownie bites!

Weigh in day!

I lost .8 this week - bringing me back to 90.7 pounds lost total. I knew if I was careful I would lose that pesky bounce back pound! I even ate out twice this week, made great choices and had a wonderful week! I think changing my weigh in day is going to be very good for me - I will weigh in before my long runs and not have to worry about recovering and retaning too much water and such but still make it to the Sunday meeting to celebrate wiht my peeps!

Mind catching up to the body!

It has taken me a long time to put all the weight on and really only taken me a little over two years to take it off, I do find myself looking in the mirror and seeing the "true me" more and more now. I had an amazing week where I was asked to guest speak at two weight watchers meetings and I met some pretty amazing people. I know by talking to them and taking their questions I helped and inspired them, but more than they will even know - they helped and inspired me.

The leader who's meeting I was visiting (Sandy) did this wonderful introduction of me and both times I found myself totally in awe of the person that she was introducing - and then it would hit me - hey that person is me! It was also fun watching the reactions of the people when she would say that I had lost over 90 pounds. The best was this great mother-daughter team (the daughter was about my age) that I was sitting next to at the second meeting, we were talking a bit before the meeting (without revealing anything about myself) and they inspire each other and keep each other accountable and help each other out and it was so good to see them doing this together, how awesome is that?? So Sandy starts the introduction and the mom is sitting next to me and kept turning to me and saying "Wow that's amazing!!" The look on her face when I stood up to speak was priceless!

I'm closer than ever to having the Wii fit say my BMI is ideal and not overweight (by the way the Wii fit this morning has that pesky bounce back pound gone - so I'm back where I was last week..) Some days I can hardly believe that I am this person - who set out to do something and has followed through and is making my dreams come true. I have grown so much through this journey and I have met some amazing people and I hope to continue to inspire, motivate and help people - and more importantly be inspired and motivated by the great people who are in my life right now.

Weigh in Day!

I braced myself for the "bounce back" that happens when I lose a lot in one week so I was prepared when the scale read 172.6 - a one pound gain for the week that I am very accepting of because I know my body does this. I lost 3.4 pounds last week for heaven sake, so I will see what next week brings - hopefully at least a 1 pound loss!

I have decided to make a change though - I'm going to start weighing in on Saturday mornings. There is a meeting early enough that will allow me to weigh in and still get to the trail to run with the group, but I won't be able to attend the meeting, but I can still go to my regular meeting on Sunday. I have found myself trying to minimize my water intake and food intake after I run on Saturdays and I need to give my body what it needs to recover. Last week I was very dehydrated and stayed mildly dehydrated for several days due to not wanting to drink a ton of water. If I'm going to be successful at the higher mileage I need to give my body what it needs and not have the stress of weighing in the day after my long runs hanging over my head. I think this will be a good change for me, it will just mean I have to get up earlier still on Saturday's so I can eat my breakfast early enough so I'm not having tummy trouble on the trail.

Next week I was going to have to weigh in on Saturday anyway due to the race on Sunday - so I will just start the routine there!

Sacfit Saturday - or looking ahead into the unknown!

So today was 14 miles! The last two 14 milers that I did went badly (my first season) - but this one ROCKED!! I felt tired, but good at the end but I guess that is to be expected when you run14 miles. We went for a nice dunk in the river afterwards, the cold water on the legs feels so good and helps with recovery. We went and picked up the boy and came home and made lunch and then took a nap and now I'm still a little tired, but I feel great! My legs are not nearly as stiff as they were after I got home and I have even been wandering about the house cleaning and gathering laundry and such!

My new water belt was awesome! I never felt worried that I would be out of water and topped it off at both the aid stations. I was able to fit everything I needed in it with room to spare! The one issue I had, but I don't think it is belt related is it did hit my on my hip bones and there is still a minor red mark on both sides where the belt was against the bones, these are bones that previously I dind't have to worry about because they were under so much fat I didn't even know about them, but now they stick out some and not covered anymore so things rub against them, like my water belt, my compression shorts, my blue jeans during the week etc... Oh the problems I have!!

So on to next week which is a fall back week for us and a 10 mile race - Followed by a parade in Nevada City that my hubbys band plays in! It should be fun! The following weeks will be a new mileage for me - 15 then 16.5 for the next week! Marathon mileage here I come!!