Race Report - Women's Half Marathon

I am so excited to be writing ANOTHER race report!!!

I knew immediately following my first half marathon that I would do another one and that I would be faster.  I am only a little bit competitive, so I was all over the thought of another challenge.  I had already eyed the Women's Running Magazine Women's Half Marathon

 Even better... It was local and had an amazing looking course... Much better than the more popular local Rock and Roll series Half.  On paper it looked to be mostly downhill.  Reality proved to be a bit different, but I will save that story.

When I made the decision to do this race, I started to talk it up at work, because I knew from being a part of Team Shrinking Jeans, that it was WAY more fun to train with a team!  Well, in the end our TEAM CARDON (Cardon Children's Medical Center) included all four of us nurses from the clinic, our phlebotomist, three nurses from our out-patient treatment center, one nurse & unit clerk from our in-patient unit, one of my friends, the parent of one of our patients and my sister in-law.  

Here are some of us in our Team Cardon shirts:

The runner figure on our shirts is in the shape of a yellow ribbon - the ribbon for Childhood Cancer.

My training went well.  Slow and steady without much drama.  I did a fair amount of my short runs on the treadmill and had to either run my long runs up north in a cooler climate or get up before the sunrise to get finished before it was too hot.  I did have some issues with my right thigh on my longer runs, especially near the end carrying less weight with a body that was ready to go faster and faster.  During the course of training, I released 15 pounds and went from averaging a 14-15 minute/mile to averaging a 12-13 minute/mile.  I continued to do run/walk intervals and couldn't believe how much time started ticking of my totals! I set two goals for the race... One realistic and one a "reach" goal

1.  Finish in under 3 hours

2. Finish in 2:45 or less

It was great to feel prepared not only from a training perspective, but also from a logistics perspective.  I knew what I needed to take and what worked and didn't work for me.  We arrived bright and early with much excitement.  Several of us were running or run/walking and the rest were walking - Most completing their first half marathon!

Still Dark Out!

Lara & I - adrenaline flowing!

7:00 came and it was time to get the show on the road... There were only 5 corrals, and we were in corral 4, so we were under way within a couple of minutes.  The first three miles were a great warm up and moved pretty quickly.  After mile three we spent about a mile on the canal and started our several miles of downhill running.  My right outer thigh and outer knee started to hurt around mile four, but it was manageable and would subside during my walk intervals.  It also held up pretty well on the downhills.  By mile 6.5 I was ahead of pace to finish in 2:45 and felt really, really optimistic that I would meet or beat this goal.  It was amazing to feel myself running at a comfortable pace and look down at my Garmin to see that I was running at an 11 min/mile pace... What a great feeling!  I maintained this pace through mile eight.

THEN came miles 9-12... This was the surprise of the course and the most grueling section of the course.  It was a loop that went past the finish line area, went over and under freeways and looped back around to the finish line.  It was fun to see friends that were ahead of me as I was going into the loop and then great to see the walkers as I was looping back towards the finish line.  This picture was taken as I was coming back towards the finish...

 There was a lot of up and down and right as I was going into the loop, my leg really became very painful and every time I started to run it literally screamed at me!  I fought it for a bit and really got pissed, but then I settled down and realized that I had already accomplished so much and that this setback wasn't because I ran out of energy or because I couldn't DO IT per se, but because my leg was holding me back.  So I walked a lot and ran a little, maintaining a 14 minute/mile pace, enjoyed my music and pushed through.  According to Garmin I finished in 2:53 and my chip time was 2:54.  Pretty darn impressive to take 20 minutes off my time from San Diego!

Here are several pics from the finish line...

 My sister-in-law Tierra and I - she is a running machine - finished in 2:22!

Sam and I - He was so proud and took such good care of me and my sore/aching body!

 Showing off my medal - COOLEST MEDAL!!! In the center there was a charm that came out and went on a necklace.  Very cool!

All of us from the clinic!  ALL Half Marathon finishers - Three, for the first time!


It was an amazing experience personally... It was also an amazing experience to watch a team that I put together ALL cross the finish line.  Ten of the thirteen finished their FIRST Half Marathon!  I was reminded of the BondiBand that says: "Run, walk, crawl... Finish" because our last walker came across the finish line at 4:23.  She was so proud of herself and so amazed that she DID IT!  THAT was incredibly satisfying for me!


This has become such a journey for me. While at the Expo on Saturday, I decided to buy a shirt that I had seen in San Diego and passed on, but that now held infinitely deeper meaning for me now.  On the back it reads this:

Whether you are 16 or 67,

the desire to hit the road

is not easily explained to those who

do not run.

We understand the pull of the road.

The joy of losing yourself in the solitude

of a good long distance run, 

or the sisterhood you experience

when you find that great running partner ~

Running is more than a feat of athleticism,

it is therapeutic. There is an unexpected

exhilaration that we experience

having challenged our personal limitations...

Finally proving to ourselves

that we can indeed make it to the finish line!

Whether you are here to win,

or here to experience a little more of who you are...

We salute you!

What a race!  I can't wait for the next one!

Shrinkvivor Weigh-In #8

I made it to the FINAL SEVEN competing for the SHRINKVIVOR title!

I am still pinching myself and cannot believe I did it.  Yet in the same breathe, I set out to do this from the very first day of the challenge.  I have been so focused on getting to the finish line and accomplishing a big win!  I am thrilled to be in the last days and whether or not I take home the official title, I have absolutely WON!  I am blown away by all I have accomplished and all of the new and healthy habits I have created in my life.  You can hear all about it HERE on the vlog I created to "plead my case" for all who would be voting.

Selfishly, I absolutely want to win, but I have to tell you that I am surrounded by some amazing, amazing women in the top 7!  These gals have also created awesome results and have truly taken the opportunity to change their lives over the past 7 weeks.  It is great to be surrounded by motivated women who are taking on their lives!

This past week I have started to take it easy as I prepare for my race on Sunday.  I did six miles instead of eight for my last training run and really took the opportunity to listen to my body and stop while I was ahead.  I have been doing some yoga and lots of stretching.  I will do a bit of elliptical, but other than that I am focusing on hydration, rest and getting enough carbs loaded to feel great for the race. 

Eating has continued to go well and I am still amazed by how good I feel!  I was derailed a little bit on Halloween and did indulge in a few pieces of the pounds of candy that came into my house in the hands of my children and out of my house as I passed it out.  I got right back on track Monday morning and am doing well now, though.

The fitness challenge this week was to try something new and my "something new" was a new yoga video - Jillian's Yoga Melt Down and Holy WOW... as usual, she doesn't mess around!  She always means business and the way my body felt the next day was proof!  Sore, sore, sore - good sore, but SORE!

That is about it for this week...

I do have ONE last request... Go HERE and vote for ME!!!  I would love to have your vote!

Without further ado, it is time to share my stats!  Another great week!!!

Here are my stats:

Starting Weight

215 lbs
Starting Weight for this Challenge
197.6

Today's Weight

182.4 lbs

 WOOOO HOOOO!

Change from last week

-2 lbs!!!!

Difference for the challenge
-15.2lb!!!!

Total Difference

 -32.6 lbs

 

Shrinkvivor - FINAL SEVEN!!!!

Here we are and the Shrinkvivor competition over at the Sisterhood is coming to an end...  I found out on Thursday that I made it to the 

FINAL SEVEN

So, what does this mean...  It means that I get to plead my case and explain how I have grown and learned throughout the challenge AND talk about why I deserve to be the 

ULTIMATE SHRINKVIVOR

Of course the title and the amazing prize package would be incredible, but at the end of the day I am thrilled to be where I am and thrilled to have accomplished what I set out to accomplish.

So take a few minutes and listen to my video.  I hope it resonates and I hope you can understand why I have so much to celebrate!

So there you have it!

VOTE FOR TIFFANY!

THE ULTIMATE SHRINKVIVOR!!!

Send Me to Fitbloggin!!!

I am extremely excited that The Sisterhood is giving away two tickets to 

Fitbloggin '11

Can I tell you just HOW MUCH I want to join all of my amazing Sisterhood Sisters in Baltimore to party, play & party learn, network & grow in our fitness, health and blogging from some of the best known fitness bloggers?

Well, you are about to hear directly from me on my first ever vlog!

So there you have it!  Here's to hoping that Random.org will be kind to me!

Putting It All Out There - Exposed

I had never heard of The Exposed Movement until this week.

Everyone has been much a twitter about the one year anniversary of the beginning of this amazing movement.  It has given incredible individuals, like Roni & Mrs. Fatass the permission and freedom to "let it all hang out" and embrace the bodies they have been gifted with and that have supported and carried them through their life's journeys.

Some of my greatest mentors and friends from The Sisterhood have joined in and exposed themselves as well.  At first, I thought "oh, yeah, I can do this... especially if all of these women whom I respect so much are doing it too.  Then, as the day went on and I thought more and more about it, the reality of "putting it all out there" became much more real and I thought seriously about whether or not to go forward.  The conclusion I came to was that it was a logical next step in my amazing journey to accept, love and honor myself and the body that God gave me.

So, here I go...

I have had a love/hate relationship with my body for almost as far back as I can remember.  The first seven years of my life were carefree with little thought about my body other than the fact that I insisted on always wearing dresses (even in the 20 degree winter days of Colorado).  During second grade, my parents separated and my body became my battlefield and the recipient of much self-imposed abuse in the form of eating.  Rather than expressing my fear, sadness, sorrow and anger in their natural forms, I ate to numb the pain and to give myself the strength to be the caretaker and mother to my own mother who was crumbling before my eyes.  Fortunately, my parents reconciled and remain married to this day.  Unfortunately, damage was done and negative patterns emerged.

In the beginning, I just became the "chubby girl".  I went to fat camp, participated in sports and tried my best to live up to the skinny expectations that I knew my father had for me.  I decided in my mind that his love was conditional and depended on my being a certain weight - a weight that always seemed to be an enigma.  (We have done much work throughout my adulthood to repair much of this, and currently are closer than ever...).  I yo-yo'd up and down through high school and college.  I read books and I did counseling, but the pattern of eating my emotions still exists and I think will always be present in my life, but hopefully not in control of my life.

Ironically, my greatest challenge in learning to love my body has come in my marriage.  I always had the fairytale dreams of being completely vulnerable and comfortable before my husband and dreamed of being unabashedly open with my body.  Funny thing, once married, the REAL work began.  I married a man who love, love, loves every inch of my body and every fiber of my being - AMAZING, right?  Right... Well, it is amazing if you are willing to embrace and accept it.  I have officially spent ten years learning to do just that because nothing about it has come natural to me.  I am learning from him about unconditional love and appreciation for my body and my soul in EVERY SINGLE FORM they take and at every stage in life.  Another curious observation... I have come the farthest in acceptance of my body over the past couple of years - a period of time that I have weighed more than ever.

Going through and living to tell about my dark winter has given me new appreciation for the here and now.  Being dependent upon medication that has made it very difficult for me to release weight has forced me to come to an acceptance of what I look like HERE and NOW.  Being in touch with the fragility of life on a daily basis through my work, has caused me to stop wallowing in my own self-pity and self-loathing and appreciate who I am and what I have.

Finding the Sisterhood has pushed me to new levels in terms of what my body is capable of.  After finishing a half marathon at 200 pounds, my belief in myself and in the beauty of my body soared to new heights.  And so here I am, embracing my body and another funny thing... finding my way through releasing and letting go of the pounds.

This is the beautiful body, given to me by God and NOW it is the body that I am daily choosing to honor, respect and embrace...

This is the same bikini I bought and wore on my honeymoon (but was too embarrassed to share pictures of me wearing - at a weight that I would today be giddy to weigh!).  The same bikini that I will put on again when I reach my goal weight to see how far I have come.

This is the body that allows me to compete with athletes half my size, simply because I push it and ask it to do so.

This is the body that allows me to work on my feet every day, being at the bedside of families in their worst nightmare, lifting them up and carrying them through the journey.

This is the body that created, carried, gave birth to and nourished the two pieces of my heart named Sam and Noah.

This is the body that allows me to laugh until I snort and to cry and grieve with others in pain.

 This is the body that carried me 13.1 miles across the finish line of my first Half Marathon. 

This is the body that will allow me to complete 3 Half Marathon's in a year.


This is the body that continues to carry and support me even though I abuse it.

This is the body that allows me to dance for hours.

This is the body that hugs others and accepts love in return.

This is the body that God Gave me

and

THIS IS THE BODY I CHOOSE TO LOVE & EMBRACE

Shrinkvivor - Weigh-In #5

And the challenge rolls forward as we fight to win the SHRINKVIVOR title!

I have to say that my awesome tribe is STILL outfiting, outlosing and outlasting so far...  We are down to three and I was sure that we were going to be sent to Exile Island last week!  BUT, here we are, small and mighty!

I have returned to a normal routine in terms of being back to work and the "normal" work schedule.  However, there has been little normal about this past week.  I officially started my new medically supervised eating program last Thursday and am in a "detox mode" if you will.  I have completely gone off sugar (except limited fruit) and yesterday was the roughest day yet, which tells me that I should be close to relief...  I am very excited to see how all goes.

Our fitness challenge was MILES again.  I loved this challenge the first time and although I was derailed from my total goal of 26 miles due to an unplanned trip to the Emergency Room with my son and ended up with 22 miles!  I am so proud of all that I am pushing myself to do.  I would have never fathomed logging 22 miles in one week, this time last year.

One monumentally HUGE little highlight to the week was getting to meet Ali Vincent winner of the Biggest Loser.  My awe and excitement must have shown on my face, because before I could get any words out of my mouth, she grabbed me and gave me a hug.  It was really amazing to get to tell her what an inspiration she has been to me and how much her journey motivates me!  And let me tell you, it doesn't look like she has gained a pound of her weight back... She looks phenomenal!  She is one of the spokeswomen for an organization that sponsors the "Kids Rock" running program that my kids are participating in and we were at the season kick-off party for that.  She taught my little guy how to hula-hoop!

As I mentioned above, I started my new eating plan.  I am drinking more than 80oz of water everyday, eating tons of vegetables and two servings of fruit daily and I have tracked my food daily!  I have absolutely loved to see what this challenge has brought out of me!  And today's weigh-in is no exception!!!

Here are my stats:

Starting Weight

215 lbs
Starting Weight for this Challenge
197.6

Today's Weight

191.4 lbs

Change from last week

-2.6 lbs!!!!


Difference for the challenge
-6.2lb!!!!

Total Difference

 -23.6 lbs
WOWEEE!!!! ZOWEEEE!!! That felt good to type those numbers!

 

Shrinkvivor Weigh-In #3

It has been another exciting week in the land of SHRINKVIVOR!

I have to say that my awesome tribe is outfiting, outlosing and outlasting so far...

We will see what this week brings!

Our fitness challenge was MINUTES.  Minutes, minutes, minutes of exercise.  Could be any activity.  I am at a grand total of 379 minutes!  My slower running pace was to my advantage this week!  I had a great NINE mile run/walk on Saturday and am starting to feel like I am hitting a groove in terms of pacing.  We competitive people have some difficulty in the area of pacing - I am learning that it benefits me to be more like "the tortoise" even though every fiber of my being wants to be "the hare" 

On the eating front, I did pretty well.  I made a HUGE decision to start a medically supervised weight loss plan and will start next Thursday when I get back from vacation.  One of their specialties is medication induced weight gain.  I am very excited and cautiously excited.  Most importantly, I feel like I am making a good decision.  I have been given a copy of the eating plan and have begun to implement the changes.  First and foremost really cutting back on carbs and sugar.  I have continued to drink my 60-100 ounces of water and haven't been through a drive-thru (EVEN Starbucks!) in over two weeks!

Speaking of VACATION... Did I mention that I am going to see TWO of our FAVORITE sisters from the Hood while on vacation this next week?!?!  I will be seeing the amazing Christy M - hopefully for a 10 mile run in the beautiful Texas Hill Country.  Then, a few days later we will head to Austin where I will get to see the lovely Lisa M!  We all had so much fun together on Team Shrinking Jeans and I have been in some serious SAH withdrawals since being in San Diego.  The bigger reason we are off to Texas is to attend the wedding of my husband's youngest brother.  The greatest part is that my husband is performing the ceremony (he's a pastor) - an opportunity that most pastors do not get.

Anyway, I should probably get to the details... The bottom line.

Here are my stats:

Starting Weight

215 lbs
Starting Weight for this Challenge
197.6

Today's Weight

194.2lbs
I have a picture but my computer is NOT cooperating this morning!

 (Gotta love this "picture of the scale" thing...)

Change from last week

-1.8lb 


Difference for the challenge
-3.4lb

Total Difference

 -20.8 lbs

 

Shrinkvivor - Openning Weigh-In

I am so excited that today is the day I start the BIGGEST and CRAZIEST challenge ever at the Sisterhood...

I love that they have taken a familiar concept to most of us and have turned it into one HUGE challenge!

I love a challenge, I love a group challenge AND I love a challenge with AMAZING prizes!  Look what we are playing for HERE.

So, what does all of this mean for me?  Well, I am a part of an awesome team... Team Maroon, and in just the time I have had to get aquainted with them over the past day or so, I can tell you that I don't want to let them down as much as I don't want to let myself down.

It has been a very "bumpy" couple of months and it is time to get serious, get my act together and shed some more of this baggage I am carrying around!  On Monday, I started back to calorie counting, cutting my eating off two hours before going to bed, and exercising the way I know works well for me. I have not been on the scale since before my birthday trip to Vegas that included a lot of eating and drinking, so I am sure that this number will reflect just that.  I am ramping up my mileage as I train for my next Half Marathon on November 7th and adding Shred or Yoga 2-3 days/week.  

The weather here on the surface of the sun (AKA the desert southwest) is finally starting to cool off, so I am able to run outside, which is a huge PLUS for me!  My medication increase has fully kicked in and I feel human again, with some drive and feeling that I can do what I need to do for myself again.  So all in all I say...

BRING IT ON!!!

Here are my stats:

Starting Weight

215 lbs
Starting Weight for this Challenge
197.6

Today's Weight

197.6lbs

 (I can't believe I actually took a picture...)

Change from last week

N/A
Difference for the challenge
N/A

Total Difference

 -17.4 lbs

 

Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Fruititarian... WHATatarian?!?!

A couple of years ago I did a week long detox and was absolutely blown away by the crap that came out of my body... Some in the same form it had gone into my body... EEEWWW!!!  The most startling of which was meat.  I will spare you the details because I am pretty sure you already have more of a visual than you wanted.  Keep reading, I promise I have a point...

 Coincidentally, I read this book the week after doing the cleanse:

Title aside, it was an enlightening book... Basically, the authors use brash humor and "in your face" comments to educate readers about the benefits of eating a vegan diet and the realities of animal cruelty.  Aside from being incredibly entertaining, it motivated me to stop eating red meat.  Since finishing the book, I can count on one hand the number of times I have eaten beef since.  Now, to be fair, I was already considering this decision after my cleanse.  So this left me not eating red meat in a house with my husband who doesn't eat pork.  You can do the math - we found ourselves pretty much down to fish and poultry in terms of meat.


Over the course of the next few months, I found myself bombarded by people who were going vegetarian, seriously cutting back on meat and even found out that a couple of my friends had become vegan.  Given that I had been a self-professed "meat and potatoes girl", I was shocked that I didn't miss beef AT ALL and I felt better.  I also had friends at work who were going through similar thoughts and experimenting with eating less meat.


SOOOOO, I started to educate myself more about our food supply and all of the absolute CRAP that we eat.  Let me just preface by saying that I am one of the biggest offenders... I didn't reach 200 pounds eating fresh veggies and organic grains!  That said, I truly have a desire to honor my body and to KNOW what is going into my body.  So then I read this book...

I absolutely loved his philosophy of "Eat food... Mostly plants... Not too much".  So simple, yet so profound.  He talks a lot about locally grown food and knowing exactly where and how it was raised.  Some of his great "rules" from one of his other books,           Food Rules are:
Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry.
Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature.
If it came from a plant, eat it.  If it was made in a plant, don't.
Treat meat as a flavoring or a special occasion food.

This really inspired me to consider starting my own vegetable garden and to give pescatarian eating a go.  For about six months I cut out all poultry and pork in addition to beef.  I really didn't miss the meat and felt great.  My biggest issue was cooking and how to find vegetarian recipes that I liked, could serve my family and that were familiar variations of things we already ate.  I also struggled to not go crazy with the carbs that I knew wouldn't help my waistline.  After about six months, I gradually went back to eating poultry.

And, HERE I AM... I have continued to eat very little meat, maybe several times a week.  I am still so compelled by all of the reasons to go vegetarian or even vegan.  I love my dogs and love animals, but the "animal killer" argument doesn't fuel me.  What DOES fuel me are the well, well documented health benefits and the thought of WHAT I am putting into my body along with how IT has been treated or raised.  At the minimum I have decided that I WANT to know where my meat is coming from and how it has been raised. 


What continues to intrigue me is THIS... 
With the number of people that don't eat meat, there have got to be good, easy recipes out there AND there have to be easy ways to incorporate it into my everyday busy life.  


By chance (or not so much...) I had dinner with one of my vegan friends on Friday night.  She has been so inspiring to me and has really encouraged me in my journey to discover not only what healthy eating looks like, but also in my transformation into a runner.  She is the picture of health and maintains the ability to run marathons while completely abstaining from meat and dairy (with the exception of the eggs produced from her own chickens).  She is married and has four children - they all are vegan.


So, as I was picking her brain while we ate, I asked a favor.  I asked her if I could come over and raid her recipes, gaining insight and learning from her how to make this work.  She is just as busy as I am (she is a neurologist, mom of four under age seven, athlete, avid reader and vegan), so I truly look at her and think that "if she can do it, I should be able to do it"... 

I am not sold on being a vegan, but would really like to see if I can make a vegetarian diet work.  I bought these two books to get me started and will soon go over to my friend's house to get some tips...

A great guide to eating "local" along with great recipes... More inspiration to continue my gardening and discover all of the local spots to purchase my food.

A fabulous cookbook that caught my eye because I flipped through it quickly and found multiple recipes that were versions of dishes I already loved, like Shepherd's Pie.


So, what do you think?  I would really love to know what you think... Have you had any of the same dilemas?  Have you made the switch to being a vegetarian?  Have you always been a vegetarian or vegan? Do you have any suggestions?