Times they are a-changing

Ya know, if you'd have told me a year ago that I would actually wake up at 4:30 in the morning on CHRISTMAS EVE to go to the park & run, I would've thought you were a total nut-job! But here we are, Christmas Eve & sure enough, I woke up at 4:30, took the dog out, ate a power bar with some Gatorade, got my running gear on & was out the door by about 5:30 am driving to Memorial Park. Not only was I doing this on Christmas Eve, but I did it even though I went to bed late, woke up at 2:50 am w/ a headache, didn't get back to sleep around 3:30-3:45, & woke up to a muggy, wet morning. Yet there I was, off & running at 6:00.

The routes today were either 8 or 14 miles. Since I was on very little sleep, I decided to do just 8.

"JUST" 8.

(LOL! I'm sorry, but this is SO funny to me. I can't believe I've become "that" person... an actual runner! I still can't believe that's me. CRA-ZY!)

It was a great run. I was a little worried since I hadn't done anything since my trip that I would get tired out, but I didn't. I felt great the whole time. The run was through River Oaks, & it was really nice to see all the Christmas lights (although not all of them were still on). It got me into the Christmas spirit a bit (something I've been lacking these days) & gave me a smile. I ran the whole time with one of the new TNT-ers who's normally a walker, so I didn't go as fast as I could, but she still kept up with me as I did my 4:1's. It was nice to just talk with her (something I usually don't really like to do when I run) & get to know her a bit more. When we finished (in about 2 hours, 10 minutes) she told me she'd never gone that fast before & felt great that she was able to keep up with me. I was very proud of her.

When we were done, it was just a matter of waiting for the rest of the gang to finish (which took about 2 more hours) & then the coaches & mentors & I all went out for our usual post-practice breakfast at Biba's.

I know I've said it before, but I really love this group of people. I've really come a long way since last year. I'm SO glad I joined TNT. :)

*Side Note*

During the run today, even though there weren't nearly as many people out there running like most weekends, some of the folks that were out there decided to "jazz" things up a bit. I saw lots of Santa hats & jingle bells on people's running shoes. I must admit that I was thanking my lucky stars that I wasn't running with the jingle bell-ers because that would've driven. me. NUTS!!

I'm the kind of person who prefers quiet as I run. I don't even use my iPod any more because it's too distracting to me. If I'd been running next to someone with jingle bells on the whole time, I'm certain I would've killed that person before the 2nd mile. Either that or I would've ripped his/her shoes off & thrown them into the bayou. LOL!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Broken

I always worry that something will happen to me during all this training. I've had a few minor injuries here & there, but never anything serious. I still worry that I'll do some serious damage right before a race so I always try to remember to be careful of my form & watch the terrain & of course stretch after my runs.

Too bad I wasn't so careful with my dog.

My poor, sweet Moe has torn his ACL & requires surgery. He did it Saturday. After being gone all day at the big 21-mile practice with the TNT-ers, I got home & immediately took him outside to play. Several of my neighbors were out w/ their dogs & Moe was off-leash playing with all of them. Now, normally, when it's time to go inside, I would put him back on the leash & walk him inside. However, he was having so much fun running around with his buddies & sniffing around the bushes that I decided to just let him run in on his own. Of course, this was when he blew his knee out. He must've popped the knee when he jumped from the street up onto the sidewalk & turned to go into the courtyard (he was running at top speed).

So now we have an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon on Wednesday afternoon. He'll likely have TPLO surgery, but we'll see what this new vet says after looking at Moe's x-rays & examining him himself. Until then, it's lots of TLC.

I'm going to feel a bit guilty leaving him tomorrow morning as I go run 8 (maybe 14) miles w/ TNT (I've been fighting a bad cold so I think I'll just stick w/ the 8 miles), but from there we go to my parents' house for the weekend where I'm sure he will be spoiled rotten by his grandparents.

*sigh*

What a way to start the Christmas season.

Losin' it

Not too long ago (late Oct/early November) I got on a scale & was SO disappointed at how much weight I had gained back since the marathon. I was so depressed & felt horrible about myself. I was determined to get back to at least the weight I was in Alaska (after the marathon I didn't work out for about 2 months but still ate as if I was training for a marathon).

Fast forward to today.

I saw some pics of myself from the company Christmas party & I thought, "Hmmm... I don't look as big as I thought I would." Then just now as I was gathering up my laundry, I kept having to pull up my PJ bottoms. "Hmmm... that's weird. These are fairly new PJ's & I've never had a problem w/ them falling down." So out of curiosity, I got the scale out & weighed myself.

I weighed myself 5 times.

Why?

Because I thought FOR SURE what I was seeing had to be a mistake.

According to my scale, I've lost 18 lbs!

To be sure I wasn't imagining things, I quickly rushed to my closet to pull out my 2 pair of "skinny jeans" (well, they're skinny for me anyway... fat jeans for other people). The 1st pair I pulled out were the pair I wore in Alaska, post-marathon. Back in June they fit me perfectly. I loved them. By November, I could barely button them & had to lay down to zip them up. I was SO depressed.

Just now I slipped them on & once again, they fit perfectly!

HOORAY!!!

Now for the real test... the jeans that I never wear anymore but use as a gauge to see just how out of shape I am. They are about 3 years old & back then, they were a little bit loose. I haven't been able to wear them comfortably for about 2-1/2 years (cuz they're too tight). Last time I tried them on, I couldn't even BEGIN to button them. It was awful.

Tonight I pulled them on & not only could I button them, but they zipped up! And I didn't even have to lay down to do that! And they're a size smaller than the other jeans I'd just tried on!! They're still a teeny bit tight, but DAMN!

I am SO. f'ing. excited!!!

So far, I seem to be averaging a weight loss of about 8-10 lbs/month. I hope I can keep this up. If I can, that means I'll have lost about 50 lbs. by my 35th birthday. WOO-HOOOO!!! :)

Trying to mend

Well, I haven't done any running or walking since I got back from vacation. As soon as I got home, the cold I'd been fighting off for most of my trip started to fight back & I was losing the battle. Thankfully it seems I will win the war.

It's been a hard week. In addition to a nasty headache, stuffed up nose, cough & sore throat, I've also had (& still have) a broken heart. But that's a story for another day & another blog. I'll just say that after certain events at the end of the week, the last thing in the world I wanted to do on Saturday was wake up at 4 am & drive all the way out to BFE, stand in the freezing cold rain for 8-1/2 hours & be all cheery & supportive for the TNT 21-miler. But I sucked it up because I know how important it is to have support, especially in that kind of weather (it was like Alaska all over again, but COLDER!!) & at the end of the day, I was glad I did it.

Despite the FREEEEEEEEEZING cold & rain, the 21-miler was actually a lot of fun. Afterwards, some of the coaches & other mentors & I all went out for a late lunch. As the 8 of us were sitting around the 2 little tables talking & laughing SO. damn. hard, I was looking around at the smiling faces of these people & my heart was so warm. I was thanking my lucky stars that I had found this wonderful group of incredible people & was SO happy to have them in my life. That day was everything I needed, but I just didn't know it.

Home again

I'm back from a FABULOUS 11 day vacation in New York City. I didn't have to worry about missing any practices because I sure as hell got PLENTY of exercise on this vacation. I spent hours upon hours every day walking around the entire city.

It. was. WONDERFUL!

I have been to NYC many, many times in my life, but this time was different. This was the 1st time I'd ever really experienced the city in all its glory. I fell in love all over again.

I'll post more about the trip later. For now I'll just post my 2 favorite pictures from the trip:





The "Imagine" mosaic in Strawberry Fields in Central Park on Dec. 6 & then again during a memorial service for John Lennon on Dec. 8, the 25th anniversary of his murder. Simply an incredible night.