26.2 - The finish line

Why yes it HAS been forever since I posted (yet again). I guess I was busy becoming a MARATHONER! :)

What's funny is that I wasn't inspired to post about it immediately. I had every intention of writing about it the day after but I was still so high from it that I could barely form a sentence. I'm also glad I took the time to reflect on the whole experience and really figure out what it meant to me. Finding the answer to that question I asked myself quite alot during training and the race..."why do people do this shit??!!??!!"

What can I say about it except that it was "all the things". It was rainy and cold and then it was sunny and hot. It was awesome and it was awful. It was the best and the worst. And it was still the second best day of my life ever (after my wedding of course!) 

My body was drained but my heart was so full. Full from the love and camaraderie of TWENTY PLUS people from the Atlanta Track Club that made the trip for this race. From the support of my incredible friends who trained with me and waited for me to finish really really really long runs and then help me celebrate. From the love of my husband who kissed me goodbye every morning at 4:45 and always believed in me. From the non-stop messages, gifts and cards from friends and family across the world. From the pride I felt in myself from completing 18 weeks of marathon training (which IMO is actually harder than a marathon). From the JOYFUL distraction of my friend who couldn't run but instead rode his bike with us, took pictures, and kept us updated on our other runners (nothing like having your own personal bike support!). From the support of my amazing friend (and former fat guy) who ran his own marathon then ran back to run us in. And most of all (and this one makes me cry) crossing the finish line with the four incredible women that were with me for the whole thing.



For added inspiration my friend on the right has lost more than 170 pounds and it was also her first marathon.  All these other badasses are pros :)

That's what got me through. That "heart full of goodness" was even more of an accomplishment to me than 26.2 miles or crossing the finish "swine" 5 hours and 42 minutes later.

I've found myself a little "lost" since the race. Suddenly it was all over and kind of back to reality.  I took a week off running and then I had to have boob surgery again (nothing serious) which turned into a few weeks of not working out. Time off for me is promblematic.

I mean seriously I just ran a marathon and right away I'm worried about what the next big goal is?
I didn't realize just how much I rely on exercise and running to fight the boredom-depression-eating cycle I'm famous for.

Which brings me to the inspiration for this post. I'm finally back at yoga which is ESSENTIAL for my body and my brain. I gave up way too much of it for running during training and I'm finally back in my regular practice 3ish days a week. I felt immediately better after the first week and already the second week has me inspired enough to write!

Sometimes it's not the start/ beginning or the ending of something that's the hardest. It's the practice of maintaining it that's the challenge. - most amazing yoga teacher @wellnesswithjenn

I've been struggling with maintenance. I gained 10 pounds during marathon training which is somewhat normal but it terrifies me. Yes my body held on to it to fuel me for 6 hours of running, yes I gained some muscle and yes I ate ALL the carbs. And the sugar. And all the foods. And about 700 gallons of mimosas. So that part is on me and it's the part the surgery does NOT fix. Luckily I've learned a lot and know what I need to do. 

So now what IS next? Next is the New York City Marathon. Next is a new and improved blog/website and a then a book. (For real!) Next is losing this 10 pounds. There I said it and now it's out there in the universe. And I will of course be blogging about all these things along the way! I will make an official announcement when the new site is live so it's not buried in the bottom of this post (in which case thank you for still reading!) Stay tuned!

that .2 is long.....





13.1 v5

Hi everyone! I'm freshly back from my FIFTH half marathon and I must have desperately needed some sun and a good race because I feel amazing!!

I drove down on Friday and came back on Monday so it was a quick trip but it couldn't have been much better. Traveling for a race can be stressful for me but it was so nice to just grab a few things and hit the road. I didn't need 6 layers or a jacket or neckwarmer or hat or gloves or any of that crap!!

The race was Sunday so I got to spend the whole morning on Saturday with my sister out in the bay stand-up paddle boarding. That is one of those things that as a fat girl could have NEVER imagined doing and now I do it every chance I get! Saturday night I ate dinner by myself then unashamedly walked down the street eating ice cream. Another former fat girl victory!! Sometimes it's the big things, sometimes it's the little things.

The race was early and sunrise was gorgeous.

I promised myself I wasn't going to try to break any records overdo it so I kept my comfortable 10:15 pace most of the way - I got a little fast when a good song came on but I paid attention and dialed it back a little. I'm glad I did because miles 11 and 12 were really hot and really hard. That's when the brain has to take over and try to get those little legs to make it the rest of the way. It was 85 degrees at the finish!!
Finishing was awesome with friends and family waiting - usually my races are too big for anyone to get near the finish line but this time I saw and heard everyone cheering!
  



I got to spend the rest of day doing what I love.....boating with my friends and eating oysters!
 

That same day, I got to announce to everyone that my design for the Peachtree Road Race t-shirt was picked for the final five! For those of you that don't know, it's the worlds largest 10k and there are over 60,000 shirts printed. It would be a HUGE honor for me to win this and I encourage you to vote for your favorite (hopefully mine!!!) You can vote every day for the next month! http://www.ajc.com/2015-ajc-peachtree-tshirt/ or click on the banner on the side bar.


Believe it or not my next half marathon is THIS SUNDAY. 2 half marathons in 7 days. I'm also coaching this week and doing a course run for the women's 5k so it's going to be a week full of running. I'm so incredibly grateful for my new life and all that my new love for running is teaching me about myself!

Have a happy, healthy week everyone!


Happy New Year! (oh wait it's already February)

Hi all! A late update is better than no update right??!!?? :)

December was a total blur! I turned 45, and then on Christmas Day we drove down to the Florida Keys to celebrate my husbands 50th. This was a first for both of us to not be with family but we enjoyed every minute of our week in the sun! The weather was gorgeous and this was really my first beach vacation as a normal sized person and I took advantage of all the awesome new things my body can do.
my first stand-up paddle board (SUP)!

An amazing kayak adventure all by myself!

Why not plank while on the pier? I even did one on the SUP but with no one to take a picture!

And of course the challenging 8ish mile run around the island!
It felt absolutely amazing to be so active and see this place in a way I've never been able to see it.

There were a few other victories as well...
Wearing a dress comfortably!!!!

Wearing a tank top in public!

Best. Vacation. Ever.

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 Then it was back to reality and a 50 degree temperature change.
Tina Tip: if you spend a ton of money on cold weather running gear you will be more likely to force yourself out the door to go do it :)

I'm honored that I was chosen to be a run leader again this year for the Track Club. I'm starting with coaching the "women on the move" group which is an amazing group of over 100 women getting ready for the Atlanta Women's 5K at the end of March. Some of them have never run before, others are trying for a PR. We even have 13 year old twins who will probably win Boston one day :) I will be committed to this all year with Peachtree Road Race training next then fall half marathon training. Coaching has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done. It gives me so much joy even when my alarm goes off at 5:30 every Saturday.
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Speaking of Track Club, they had a fundraiser called "Suits and Singlets" - formal wear meets running wear - and of course I went all out...

The mylar blanket pashmina was a last minute inspiration and I also loved wearing my Mizunos with fishnets - I hope I get that opportunity again!!

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Hot chocolate race was next - I chose the 15k. I've never done it because I think it's kind of gimmicky and expensive but my half marathon trainees from last year were going to do it so I joined in. It was cold of course but it was so fun to run with the ponytail posse again!
It was a good race. Cold and hilly but the hot chocolate and the chocolate fondue at the end was awesome. They had stuff along the route but I can't fathom eating chocolate while running 9 miles!

Like I said the race was good but the expo the day before was THE WORST. I had just come back from a week long business trip and was WAY over-committed. I had to coach in the morning, then attend a big shopping event with a friend that was planned for months, then I had to go to the expo since they don't mail numbers and ended up abandoning my car 3 miles from the expo in gridlock traffic and walk. 6 miles round trip. Did I mention the race was the next morning? All in all I was out for 12 hours 6am - 6pm.

Here's where we come to another Tina Tip:
NEVER and I mean NEVER wear your sweaty sports bra for 12 hours. Change your clothes. Even if you have to do it in a Starbucks bathroom.

2 days later (during an unrelated uterine biopsy which turned out to be nothing thank GOD!) I mention to my doctor that I have a painful lump in my left breast that wasn't there just a few days ago when she examined me. She sent me straight to the breast specialist to make an appointment. I was SUPPOSED go 2 days later but got super busy with work and just couldn't do another doc appointment that week blah blah blah....

Over the weekend it turned into a RAGING infection. A tangerine sized abscess on the inside. Debilitating pain that was so bad it made me sick a few times. I would wake up at 3 in the morning and just cry and get ready to go to the emergency room but I knew they would only give me meds and couldn't do anything about it until I saw the specialist. I hung in there and they luckily got me in first thing Monday.

This was 3 weeks ago and I've been a complete mess. I could barely walk or bend over or move my left side much less work. I tried to work and did a crappy job and got yelled at which made me feel even worse. Oh and I paid my entire $1500 deductible in 3 visits.

Saturday was the Hearts and Soles 5k with a valentines theme costume contest and I never miss a chance to dress up so I walked it with some friends including my awesome friend Stephanie who is recovering from skin removal surgery. Much more on that topic to come in a future blog post....

I'm FINALLY feeling better and am hoping and praying that tomorrow's visit results in some good news. I HATE not exercising. It makes me feel like my "old self" again. I also have to be VERY careful about what I eat as I'm up a few pounds due to the holidays and then a few more due to inactivity. I just went back to basics during this time - lots of protein, little carbs and tracking everything. Seems to be working and I'm still very much in control but as you can probably tell,  I'm ready to be feeling 100% again! I've got a half marathon at the end of March so I'm going to have to log some miles to feel ready for that.

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Other than the boob, life is good. January 29th was my 2 year surgiversary and I couldn't be more grateful for the chance it gave me at my new life. It's not a magic solution It has most certainly been tough – probably is more of a challenge now than ever – but I'm never going back!



Monday Mix Tape

Hi y'all it's FALL here in Atlanta today and I couldn't be happier about that after the single most humid running weekend of my entire life. Overall it hasn't been a bad summer but these 90 degree 90 percent humidity days make me question why anyone would leave the house much less run :)

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Saturday before sunrise I was up for hill work day with my half marathon trainees. I had my first fall off the bike the Wednesday before and was nursing a very sore and scraped up elbow but I went anyway. This was the first time I had ever done something like that on purpose. We ran 6 miles and I made it up that hill 10 times.

It was so humid you could see it beading up on my clothes but we had a great guy leading the run that had some really great advice. Adding to the list of things I never thought I'd hear anyone say ever, he was running with me for a minute and said I had an advantage on the hill because I was a "compact runner". I could have jumped for joy but I had to keep my perfect, compact hill running form :)

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Sunday, again before sunrise, I was up to run my second ever relay race with the same awesome team I had last year. There are things about the team aspect that love and some that I don't. It's so much fun before and after but I put so much pressure on myself and work so hard that I end up running 9 minute miles on the verge of death :) I'm going to continue to justify it as a character building activity and try not to do that too often!





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In other news, I finally decided what to do with all my race bling. There's never going to be enough space to hang up all my bibs so I put the special ones on the wires with the medals and all the other ones on a ring on the end.


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It's getting close to a year since I hit my goal weight but things but there are some things that still stop me in my tracks.


This is the robe that I put on when I go to the salon to get my hair done. This exact robe used to not tie around my giant waist. I could close it at the top but the gap below was so big I had to hold it closed the whole time so no one would notice. Now it could wrap around me twice. How is that even possible?!?



This one, I'm not even really sure what to say about. Never would have dreamed it. Never necessarily wanted it but hell I'll take it! I'm totally that girl that walks into a store and is all like "do you have this in a zero?" LOL.

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I'm inspired and life is awesome. Have a happy, healthy week!!






Monday mix tape

 
Another weekend gone by in a blur! 

Friday I had a friend in town and cooked a big dinner for my peeps (seafood paella!) I love cooking for people and it's so much easier to pay attention to what I'm eating when I control what's in it. 

making guacamole!
I also became an official Atlanta Track Club member!  I never thought I would be a member of such a thing but by now I finally feel like a "real runner"!


Imagine my surprise when I checked Facebook and saw this! Y'all know how much I love lululemon and now I feel even better about spending all my money there. I just had to go buy size 8s. I guess it's a good problem to have but shrinking out of expensive pants hurts :)


Saturday, even though I partied a bit late on Friday, I got up and did this!



Never in a million bazillion years would I have thought I could do this without feeling like I was going to die but I enjoyed every minute of it! I only stopped once to cross at a crosswalk and once to fill my bottle at a water fountain. I was unstoppable. I'm going to gradually increase my Saturday long runs and weekday runs (mostly) following the official training schedule I have for the half. Right now I'm really feeling like I can do 13 miles and possibly even enjoy it! :)

Sunday my quads were super sore despite all the stretching so I took the day off even though I really wanted to go to yoga. I just couldn't face 90 minutes of shaking legs. Sometimes you just have to stop for a day to recover. It's hard for me not to put any exercise in My Fitness Pal!! (I'm ridiculously accountable to that thing!)

So that's it! Have a happy, healthy week everyone!!