Ready for the Grande-ass Marathon Relay?!

The grande-ass relay is this weekend !!!! It will be my first relay and I am excited for the comrodaree, the laughing, the drinking (coffee of course), and the running with friends. I am ready....

I ran this past weekend while the car was getting some maintenance done - for 15 miles in 3 hours 30 minutes all around downtown Puyallup, up to the YMCA, down to the Meeker trail head, out to the river and back to the car dealership (whew, it is even tiring writing it). My time was a little slower that I've been lately, but it was a little warm (84 when I finished) and I ran up the Meridian Hill past the fairgrounds, so I was a little tired. After my run I came home and played with Darby and then we took a nap on a blanket in the backyard, it was a wonderful lazy afternoon (Brian laughs when I say it was a lazy day, because I start off with 'after I ran 15 miles' I took a nap). Brian was fighting a forest fire in Eastern Washington last week and just arrived home today (he is trying to catch up on his newspapers, laundry and not being around hundreds of stinky fire fighters). So he is home, safe and sound. I don't know how military spouses do it, I get worried and he is just across the state, but it's something about being in a dangerous environment that gets me. Oh well, he loves doing it!

Monday night was a great weigh-in - I was down 2.4 pounds last week!!!! for a total of 24.4 gone for good. I had a regular doctor apointment just before my weigh-in and she was totally impressed, my last appointment I was over 200lbs and she actually gave me a high five! We talked about my running and how to keep up with it and not to get hurt (she also mentioned that my chances of getting injured/stressed are much lower with each pound gone). It was a great doctors appointment - I was actually excited to get on the scale!

Last night I also went to Pilates - what a great way to end a great day. I need to go on Friday morning as a way to start my weekend.

This weekend is Michelle's Grande-Ass Marathon and I am running the relay with others from the Y-run club. It should be fun, I just have to remember to not have too many drinks before it's my turn to run! I am also getting excited because Portland is just around the corner!

Here is another photo from our anniversary vacation (and yes Elinor, the last photo is of the fish that I caught!).

We are at the top of Chinook Pass on our way home from fly-fishing the Yakima River (the same river canyon that I ran my first marathon in). We also made it to the Tom Petty Concert at the Gorge - whoa, what a different experience. The music was good, but the crowd was obnoxious, we think we might be a smaller-venue-kind-of-folk. But hey, you're only young once and it was a great long weekend!

Another photo from earlier in August when Darby, Brian and I hiked Mt. Peak in Enumclaw. I remember hiking it when I was a kid and Brian did extra credit for a teacher in high school by hauling gravel up to repair the trail. We had never hiked it together though - in all of our 12+ years together - another thing that this weight loss has given me - freedom!

Until later, run like you're a kid again!

I love fishing!

All I can say is I am a fisherwoman!
We had a great anniversary weekend..... I'll post more later - I have to go cook dinner.
Oh and by the way 22 lbs are gone for good and I am happier than ever!

Plateau, rut, bored, tired, cranky – HELP!

It’s been a bit since my last post – I’ve gotten a lot of running in. I ran 5 miles on Ruston Way on the 24th, 9 miles on Saturday the 26th and I got a manicure/ foot rescue pedicure on Sunday with Elinor… Then last week I ran on Wednesday to the weight watchers meeting with Wendy, 5 miles with the Y-Run-Club on Saturday and I ran 13 miles in Orting on the 3rd. It felt great to get in a long run and enjoy the morning along the river with my updated i-pod playlist.

I have not updated my weight because it has not changed in 3 weeks! Well not really. Week 1, I was up .6 lbs and week 2, I was down .6 lbs and when I weighed in on Monday I did not gain or lose. ARRG! Wendy and I went to a different meeting on Monday with Sonya, another Y-Run-Club member and the lady was very energetic, so I think the class will be good for me. I am frustrated that I have hit a weight loss plateau, (for me I was averaging 1-3 lbs gone per week). I thought that I was doing really well with my eating and running (a hard balance for me). After I ran the 13 miles on Sunday, my Garmin showed that I had burned 1600 calories and I figured that I earned 27 activity points (they recommend 28 in a whole week). So I ate 16 activity points in order to get my energy back and to break even with the 1600 calories burned (which included a Subway turkey sandwich, banana, cinnamon raisin bagel, latte and lots of water). Then I weighed in on Monday and my weight was unchanged….. Sonya did mention that because it was warm I was probably retaining water after my run – that was only 24 hours before. I appreciated the comment, and think that maybe I’ll do my long run on Saturday next weekend to avoid that problem (or at least eliminate it from the equation). So the rest of this week has been a little warmer that I like (in the 80’s, I know I can’t complain when the rest of the country is sooo much hotter and muggier), and I haven’t made it to the gym, running or really doing anything. Sleeping has been tough with the heat also, so I am just in a little bit of a funk. This morning I slept in until it was my usual time to leave the house, so I rushed through my routine and feel slouchy and frumpy today (at least the boss is gone and I can just get my work done). Another thing that has been bugging me is how dirty our house has become – having a lab that sheds constantly and a cat that lives on top of the fridge (don’t ask) will do that to a house. I read Michelle’s cleaning spree and think that I might need to get some of my activity points by cleaning this weekend.

On a brighter note, a news story said that there is going to be a Rock-n-Roll Marathon in Seattle next summer – are you kidding me?!!! So Jane was kind enough to let me know that the registration was half-off on the 4th, so I signed up and I will be doing the first annual Rock-n-Roll Marathon next summer. I can’t wait! We’ll see who else I can snag into running it with me! I looked into doing the San Diego one, but the expense of the weekend was prohibiting me – now I get to go to one in my own back yard!!! Have I mentioned that I can’t wait!

So really, running has kept me sane, but the whole weight loss thing is dragging me down, I guess I knew that the weight loss would slow down sometime. I just don’t know what to do now…. Part of it is probably mental – I have hit the 10% gone mark and now I am entering a weight that I haven’t been in 5 years or more. I really enjoy that my clothes fit and that I am able to be more active than ever before, but I feel a little lost on my weight loss journey – if it weren’t for Wendy attending meetings with me and Sonya starting back, and Michelle’s amazing accomplishments I don’t know if I would have made is this far. So thank you to those who are constantly encouraging me!

Here is my plan to get me out of my funk….
Get some fresh flowers from the Farmer’s Market at lunch time today.
Go for a walk tonight at the track – invite my friend Elinor to join me.
Run on Saturday with the Y-Club – 13-16 miles, run before and after?
Help my parents install Pergo on Saturday and hook up their rain barrels at the farm.
Work on baby names for my mom’s Alpaca that is due soon – I get to name this one!
Make a welcome baby kit for Elinor – she finds out if they are having a boy or girl next week and I can’t wait!
Look at the Marathon in Las Vegas in December again and the possibility of cheap flights.

Sorry for the rant, sometimes you just have to clear your mind and get back into the game. I really want to get to my goal by next May (my long-term goal) – Brian and I are going to Maui with his parents and I want to wear a cute bathing suit (and have fun on the water slide). But for now, small goals – be happy and get through today, this weekend and the next weigh-in!

GO-MACHA RUNNER –GO

Have fun in the sun and wear your sunscreen (even if it makes a weird white gooey paste when you sweat – that reminds me to find some better ‘active’ sunscreen for running).