I'll never say "I CAN'T" again

Last year my friend Chelsea asked me if I wanted to do the Wharf to Wharf 10K race. When she told me how far a 10K was I immediately said, "No way. I CAN'T run that far." She kept telling me I could, but I really believed I COULDN'T. Now here I am, about to run my first 10K. Last night I ran... wait for it... 6.16 miles!!! And I ran the W H O L E 6.16. Can you believe it?? Because I can't!! I wanted to prove to myself I can run the whole 10K. After mile 5, my knees, hips, and body were begging me to stop, but I only had 1 of 7 laps left to go!! I will never say, "I can't" again. Maybe, "I don't want to", but not "I can't".
Who knows whats in my future, maybe like my grandpa, several marathons? Maybe Boston one day. Future is so hopeful!
My friend Chelsea broke her hip running. I always admired her running. She had pain but didn't know why until she went to the doctor and he told her it was broken. She has had to take a lot of time recovering. My friend Tori has been really sick for 2+ weeks and hasn't been able to train. Now Sara is injured and can't run for a while. All these ladies have inspired me to run! I understand not being able to run because of injury or sickness. But me, I just didn't think I could ever run that far. All these inspiring ladies will be back at it in no time. If you ever talk to serious runners, they all face this. Injury. It's part of the running life.
I really need to be careful not to over do the running and get injured. I can feel my knees aching. I will run a short run tomorrow then rest until Saturday. Ice my knees, take hot bath, IBProfan, and maybe some Icy Hot?

Faido

Faido in Japanese means "to fight". In Japanese "to fight" or Faido, means to fight against yourself, the part of you that prevents you from doing your best. - Sally Edwards, Triathlons for Women.
I read that while waiting for Cody's surgery to be over. At first I thought, "how cheesy". Then I began to think about it and that is something I often have, and need to do! Fight against myself to be strong and not cry while Cody is getting operated on, fight and go running, fight and go to the gym, and fight to eat right!
Cody's surgery was a long 4+ hours. The doctor told me there was quit a bit more work that needed to be done than he thought, but he is very happy with the out come and really thinks he won't need a second surgery. Cody is doing very well. Playing with his toys, being happy, wants to go outside! But he does have quit a bit of pain when the pain medicine wear off. His throat is also very sore from having a tube down his throat for 4 hours.
I was doing really well [considering I was by myself], until they took him and I could no longer be by his side. I lost it a bit. Even though his surgery was not on a major organ like his heart, or kidney's, anything can happen in there from anesthesia, the epidural he needed, or a malfunction in the surgery. My Sunday school teacher came with another pastor from church and prayed over Cody then waited with me the 4 hours. It was a blessing.
Cody was such a trooper. I thank God for such a sweet son. He couldn't eat or drink anything before the surgery, so while waiting for 3 hours before he went in, you could imagine a hungry and thirsty 18 month old. But he was really good. They gave him "happy meds" 15 mins before he went back and he got so funny! He was laughing and slurring his words. He really seemed drunk...:-D
After the surgery it took him a while to wake up. Once he woke, had some pedialite and nursed, we were able to go home.
Yesterday the boys and Davey were sleeping so I sneaked off and went to Coaches 8:30 am cycle class. It was H A R D. Let me tell you. I am not missing 2+ weeks again! Felt really good though to sweat so much. I rode for 70 minuets, and counted it as 10 miles in my challenge.
Last night I wanted to run, and Davey didn't, so I went alone. 10K is on Saturday! I wanted to run 5 miles, and I ran exactly that! I felt good, my legs hurt some, but my asthma was no problem, and it was great. It took me 1 hour 11 minuets. Pretty slow, but I didn't stop running. I started saying Faido in my head because I really had to pee when I had about 1.6 miles left to go. ;)
When I was almost done, this guy passed me on his bike, and said "Hi". I kept going, then heard his bike approaching me. He started asking me how old I was, my name, how I was doing, ect then asked me if I had a boyfriend! Ha. When I told him I was married he apologized and turned around, and actually fell off his bike while turning around. LOL I use to get hit on a lot before I got fat, but it's been years. Even though a very creepy experience, nice to know I look pretty good, in the dark! Haha.
Last night we went to Chili's, and I got Margarita Grilled Chicken, delicous and healthy. It was a very nice family night.
I feel ready for the 10K on Saturday. I want to run 6 miles on Monday, than taper... I'll run 2-3 on Tuesday, than take Thursday and Friday off. I am S O R E today.
I am litterally amazed, that me, ME!? can run 5 miles with out stopping. I honestly never thought I could. It wasn't that long ago I ran 1.67 miles, remember?? wow. I thank God for giving me this gift. Out of all 3 sports right now, I am enjoying the running the most. I just love pushing myself and seeing what I can do, amazed that I C A N.

Registered

Yesterday I registered Davey and I for the Modesto Turkey Trot 5k. We will be doing it with Sara over at Weightless. Very exciting! But I am not gonna lie, I am extremely nervous. I ran with the boys last night and I felt like I totally lost my running Mojo. Seriously. I don't know if it's in my head, or if it was really hard because I was pushing the boys, but I am not feeling as confident. My asthma again, was really bothering me. Maybe I will use my nebulizer before runs. I only did one small lap, and didn't even run the whole thing. Tonight Davey is coming home. Yay! I plan to run tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday. I am going to take full advantage of him being home!

And.... I just registered for my 10K! I'm excited, and very nervous. Nervous for reasons I just stated, and because I have not even ran a full 3 miles yet. I am trying to tell myself, it's okay, you can walk part of the 10K. But I have this mentality that if I do it doesn't count. I registered so I would keep my race schedule, and continue to challenge myself. I CAN and I WILL finish it!

Davey is coming home tonight. I am really soooo happy! I have Chicken and Dumplings in the Crockpot, and have a lot of cleaning to do. Yesterday I put up all the Christmas lights on the house all by myself! It looks great and I hope I surprise Davey. I told him about the money I spent, and he was mad. Hopefully he's over it tonight! :/ I think he will be :)
Sara found this bike trailer on Craigslist where she lives, and so sweet, she went and picked it up for me! So excited! But Davey told me not to get the jogger I was going to get, which was only $30! Hopefully I can talk him into it.

The Scale

As you all know I've been having issues with my scale. Now it doesn't even read a number anymore. A couple weeks ago I went and dug my old dial scale out of a box in the garage. That one read about the same or a pound or two more than my digital one was reading (after 5-10 times on the scale to get a consistent number). So I have not weighed myself in a few days, and last time I did it was on the dial scale, and it read 190 (or maybe even 189, but I just said 190 too be sure).
Last night I was feeling lonely and down, and I wanted to get out of the house. I should have gone to the gym, but Coaches class is insane to get into these days and I didn't feel like fighting for a spot.
So the boys and I went to Target. Yup. Specifically for a scale. I ended up buying a WW scale on sale for $20. I also bought the boys each a pair of PJ's (Superman & Spiderman) on sale as well. They need so many things, clothes, shoes (!!), sippy cups, undies, socks, jackets, everything. They are grown out of so much and Cody is wearing out all of Shane's hami-downs quick. Cody can't wear all Shane's hami-downs because when Shane was wearing 18 months clothes it was summer, and now Cody is and it's winter. You get the picture. They need things, and we have not been able to buy them anything for a long time. I am not complaining, I am so thankful for all we have, and the boys seriously could care less (except they really love their pj's i got last night :). Now that Davey is working I know we can get a few things. I admit it, I spoiled them a bit. They love Toy Story, so I got Shane some Toy Story Undies, got them Toy Story 2 the movie, I got Shane a big Woody doll for Christmas (it's in my closet until Christmas), Cody a little Buzz (only $7!), and a Mr. Potato head for them to share. And of course, we got some Licorice. I didn't feel lonely anymore, but I felt guilty! Oh boy.
Back to the scale, this morning I got on, and it said 195.1. Yikes!! Is it the scale? So I went and weighed my self on the cheap dial one, and it was in between 193-194. Oh no! Did I gain weight!? I wouldn't be surprised. I have not been tracking, or exercising much the last few days. I did run on Saturday, and went to Cycle on Monday.
So here it is. I have a beautiful working scale now. Motivation to see 189. Today, I am tracking, and tomorrow I am running. I am determined to keep losing.
Update on teaching Cycle: I filled out a 24 application and Jackie emailed me that with in a week or two she would invite me to do a group audition. Which means, the people in my class that live here will be auditioning too. Yikes! She said, and I quote, "Practice, Practice, Practice!" and she's right. I really need to practice, and I need my song list together. I need to be ready for her to email tomorrow.
Training update: I am hoping to purchase a used double jogger of craigslist tomorrow. I found one not too far from me for $50!! That's cheap, and the best part is, I listed one of my Graco strollers I used with Shane on Craigslist and someone is suppose to be by to pick it up in an hour or so, so that pays for the jogger. Hopefully it all works out, she comes here, and I go get the jogger. Sometimes people are flaky.
I am also planning on going to Walmart today and purchasing this Bike Trailer, $69 brand new and many many 5 star reviews.
Davey may be a little upset about the money spent at Target and the Bike Trailer, but really he'll be happy. ;) At least I keep telling myself that! Ha. That's all I'm spending and then it's time to save save save. We need to pay off our debt, then save for our future, not to mention big things we need (dryer, lawn mower,) but I'll let Davey get that stuff. And Christmas!
Race updates: It's looking like I might not be able to do the Santa Monica Gobble Wobble 5K. We will be out of town with family. So we are probably going to go stay the night with Sara on Wednesday night, and do a 5K with her on Thanksgiving morning. It is a very reasonable price! $10 per adult, $20 if you want a shirt. I think Davey and I are both going to do it! Will be a lot of fun to visit with Sara, my husbands cousin (Weightless), and her family.
After the 5K we will be going to my grandma's and staying there for a few days. I still plan on doing the Santa Monica-Venice Christmas Run 10K on 12-11-10, and I believe Sara will be doing that one as well! Fun! I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I am putting up our Christmas lights today. :)

1.67 miles ran!!

Yes it's my second post of the day. I just got back from running 1.67 miles without stopping!!
I looked at my race schedule and realized that only a few weeks after the 5K is the 10K. So I just decided I wanted to run tonight. I got on my running shoes and left to run around my neighborhood. I know a route that is 1.32 miles, and I wanted to do that loop but was too scared to go so far from home since it's dark and well.... I live in Lancaster. I decided to just run two big laps around my neighborhood. I was hoping it would equal a mile.
I looked at my watch to see I had been running 12 minuets at one loop. I was shocked! It only felt like 5 minuets. Then I did the second lap, and finished at my house. I checked to see my time was 25 minuets total running!! That is the LONGEST I have ran since I was little and would run with my Dad. I knew I was going slow, I wanted to pace myself so I could run the whole two laps. I couldn't wait to get on mapmyrun.com and find out how far it was.
I was shocked to see I had ran 1.67 miles with out stopping!! This is huge for me!!! I felt good and could have gone more (but not too much more, lol). This may seem like nothing to some people, but for me, an overweight asthmatic, it's huge! And I only used my inhaler once during the run and no side stitches! I know I got this 5K in less than a month now. Can't wait to run tomorrow! :)

Couch to 5K Week 1

Yesterday was the first day of C25K training for me. It was brisk walk for 5 minuets, run 90 seconds, walk 2 minuets for 20 minuets (anyone do c25K? Does that mean 20 min including the 5 min walk?). I did a total of 27 minuets. I only went about 1.7 miles in that time!! Slow slow slow I am. Hopefully my speed with increase with time. I am really excited about this and the fact that in 9 weeks I will be able to run a whole 5K!!! I have never been good at running. EVER!

When I was little my sister and I did Karate. My sister loved it, but I did not! I would cry every time a boy hit me. I am such a girl. I had my red-black belt.. the belt right before black.. and right before our black belt test I finally wore my Dad down and I QUIT!! All because I didn't want to RUN the 2 [or 3?] miles for the test! When we would run on the track with our class I would day dream about pretending to faint. I have asthma and always wanted to fall over and act like I was having an asthma attack.. yeah.. than my mean instructors would really feel bad for torturing me with these runs! OH boy.. I am dramatic. I was probably about 8-9 years old than. P.S. did I mention how I always regret quitting so close to the goal?? To this day I wish I could say.."I have a black belt" like my sister can or my Dad who has a few in different types of Martial Arts. From then on I did gymnastics, cheer and dance and was a totally happy girl. So it turned out okay. :)

It didn't always hate to run though.. I use to run with my Dad a lot at the track around ages 2-8. I loved the Dad and me time. We would do sprints, and at the end of our 2-3 mile run we'd say, "One more lap!!" and really go for it. I always remember my Dad saying.. "It's all down hill from here!"

And yes, even though I have done 2 triathlons, and 1 5K, the furthest I've run with out stopping is 1 mile (and that was last winter/spring time). I WANT to be a runner. I WANT to be able to run the whole 5k or 10k leg of the triathlon. I WANT to be able to get up early and go on a 5-8 mile run with out stopping. I WANT to run the whole Gobble Wobble 5K!! And with God's help, I WILL. Period.
Just like many of you like running because it's cheap and you can do it anywhere, I like that too. I went to Ross yesterday.. wasn't really looking for shoes but found these awesomely adorable $20 Adidas cycle shoes.. or so I thought!! I was so excited. When I got home Davey said, "those aren't cycle shoes I don't think.." So I pull out the actual Adidas tag.. and sure enough they said Track and Field! Ah Man!! I wanted to keep them so bad, but you can't run with them on the road, they have wholes for spikes on the bottom. They look just like cycle shoes.. well sort of.. they have shoe laces instead of buckles, so anyways, I returned them. ;( I was frustrated and the gazillion people in line at Walmart while picking up diapers didn't help, I couldn't wait to run. Here are the shoes.. on Adidas website for $50! Ugh. I should have just kept them and pretended they were cycle shoes. ;)


Last night felt great to run in my neighborhood while it sprinkled on me, and as I breathed the fresh air. So here's to my beginning as a runner!

GOALS- New & Achieved

I have been reflecting on this journey, and it's so amazing to me, that just a little over a year ago I was pondering the idea whether or not I could run a 5K someday. I still ponder the thought of running the whole thing.. but I know I will DO IT!! I feel like nothing is out of my reach now. Okay so it's taking me forever to lose the 104 pounds I set out to lose, but I've come so far physically and mentally in this process, and just all around HAPPY. God get's the glory. He is my Father running along side of me. How do people live without HIM??

Goals Achieved: Besides the Triathlons, Santa Monica 5K, and the -44 pounds.. the biggest thing I have accomplished is the way I think about food. When we are out of town, I dislike very much eating foods I know aren't doing anything for me.. and actually poisoning me. I physically feel very sick to my stomach. When we get home and I eat better my stomach is better! Crazy! Who would have thought?

I have many non fitness related goals, such as, getting Shane fully potty trained, getting organized and on a better schedule, reading more, creating more delicious meals for my family, more time with God, witness to more people and more.

My fitness goals are:
*Finish at least 3 more Sprint Triathlon's~ Next one scheduled for 10-23-10
*Finish a 25 mile cycle event~Hoping to do Bike the Coast 11-6-10
*Complete the Couch 2 5K plan~Starting TODAY (yes I just couldn't wait till Monday)
*Run a whole 5K with out stopping~Scheduled for 11-27-10 Santa Monica Gobble Wobble ( I switched)
*Run a 10K with out stopping 12-11-10 Can I do it so soon after 5K? I think so!
*Do an Olympic distant triathlon~Avia Wildflower Olympic distance 5-2-11 1.5K swim, 40K bike 10k run (this one is very hard, with lots of hills, so I will try to find an easier one around this time that's not in the ocean) & Morgan Hill Sprint Tri 5-15-11 (called a Sprint but really more like an Olympic.. 3/4 mile swim, 15 mile bike 5 mile run.
*Run a half marathon~2-6-11 (Shane's 3rd birthday!) Really want to do this one... but that's really soon for a half marathon.. so we'll see. It's by the beach!
*A dualathon
* A Mud Run [they look super fun]

So these are all hopes, but I need finances for them all, gas to get there, gear ect.

That's all for now.. more once I accomplish these. Notice they all happen before August 11? Well I HOPE to be at goal by then and we do want more children.. even though timing is ultimately up to God! So if He allows this schedule, and we still live in So. Cal, I will strive to do this schedule. I know the running goals seem impossible.. I am going to work hard and do my best.