Fatathon

Another great weekend here in the ATL! I can't get over how awesome life is at the moment. Long may it continue!!!

Friday was the start of the "Tina Tait media blitz" :) The hospital where I had my surgery released my article on their website and social media. I read it over and over and I love it. I'm so honored to be representing their bariatric program and I vow to continue to be a success story! Click here to read the article >

Saturday it was time for the last of my on-course training runs for the race which is THURSDAY already! I was meeting some friends and I was running late already at 5:30am. I skipped breakfast (big mistake) and had only a few sips of coffee (another big mistake) but was running by 7:15. First 3 miles were pretty good. My legs felt heavy and my heart rate was way up and I didn't realize why until my Nike app said "1 mile completed - 11 minutes and 42 seconds". Ummm no wonder I felt worn out. That's WAY too fast for me and I didn't realize how much I was trying to keep up with my friends. I like to settle in at about 13:30 pace these days (which is something I could never have imagined in my past life!). The last 3 miles are the hardest due to the hills and I had already done myself in. I chugged way too much water which made me really nauseous so I walked cardiac hill then ran in spurts the last 3 miles - desperately out of water and getting the chills. Finally we got to the car and went for breakfast. Whew, that was a tough one.

Sunday I got to go back to the W Hotel in Midtown for a roof-top yoga class. There were 75 people in this gorgeous room overlooking the whole city and it was one of the best classes yet! I did wheel pose for the first time ever.

Never could have imagined doing this but I tried it and there it was!

After we got a vodka and lemonade and some pool time. Even better? My amazing and beautiful instructor for the last 3 years Astrid handed me a bag from #lululemon along with a huge hug saying how proud of me she was! She is (rightly so!) an ambassador for them and told them about my journey.

In the bag were the most awesome pants I've been coveting! Lord almighty do I need free pants right now!

and also one of the most awesome cards ever!

LOVE the "Keep on goal crushing". This is SO motivating and I'm feeling more inspired than ever. It chokes me up a bit!!

Because I never got in the water at the W, my husband and I decided to brave the public pool with a hundred million kids just so I could wear my new bathing suit. It's my first tankini (no you're not getting any pictures of me in it) but I will give you a shot from the neck up :)

It was weird and wonderful to wear a bathing suit that wasn't a black one piece for the first time since I was a toddler!

Today started off with a great run - my usual 5k route and my usual pace of 13:30. Glad my training has ended on a high note. I think it's interesting how I had two crappy course runs and two fabulous ones. I think the crappy ones have to happen so we learn what not to do and also to touch base with our egos.

Tonight is the big night - my story airs tonight on Fox 5 news news at 5. I'm nervous about seeing myself on TV but excited too. I will be with a group of friends in my local bar trying hard not to have more than one drink!!

I will make sure to post the link as soon as it's available. I will also have a race update on Friday along with the weigh in which is already looking pretty good! Happy 4th of July everyone!

How is it Monday again already!?!? Another exciting weekend and it FLEW by!!

Friday was the big day - Fox 5 was coming to my house to film at noon! I woke up early and spent most of the morning cleaning up the house and myself. Thankfully, my hair stylist was kind enough to squeeze me in for some emergency highlights! I was more nervous than I thought I would be and started sweating the second they arrived.

They set up a little spot in my back yard for the interview - it was a bit of a mess back there after storms but hopefully that won't show up on TV! It was strange being in front of the camera but I think I did okay - I love telling my story and I got more comfortable after talking a while. I wanted to keep my answers short but at the same time I wanted to make sure I said everything I wanted to say.

Beth Galvin is the reporter doing the story - LOVED her! She immediately put me at ease and is the kind of person I would totally hang out with.

After the interview I ran on camera up and down my street. I tried to smile and not sweat too much. SO WEIRD running with a camera in your face. Luckily, I also loved the camera man so it got (a little) less weird as we went along.

After the run we went to my trainer Karen's studio to film us working out together. We did some kicking on the bag, planks, pushups, butt lifts, etc. - all exercises we thought would look both bad-ass and figure flattering at the same time :) At that point I just gave up on trying not to sweat. People want reality and it doesn't get much more real than me dripping wet - it's how I spend most days. One of the most beautiful girls I know once said "sweat is body fat crying". I try to remind myself of that when I'm feeling miserable!!

They interviewed Karen after our workout which made me all verklempt - Hearing her say such wonderful things about me is as great as all the pounds I've lost! I wish I had taken a few pictures there but we were going on 2 and a half hours and I was about to drop!

The segment will air Monday, July 1st at 5:45 pm. I will post a link here the second it's available!!

What a fabulous day I will NEVER forget. I had to go to yoga to calm down and come back to earth! I dedicated my practice to my father - who art in heaven - and smiled the whole time knowing that he would be so proud of what I've done.

I had to get back to reality quickly because, Saturday was another big training run. In fact it was the "official" training run at 7:30am and I knew there would be a thousand people on the sidewalks so I was determined to get ahead of them and have some space. The alarm went off at 5:30 (this is how you know when you've become a real runner) and I was on the train speeding north by 6:20. I stopped to pee at my favorite Marriott and held the door for two ladies in VERY short skirts and VERY tall shoes stumbling out of the hotel at 6:45 am. Just then someone I knew from my yoga studio was also coming in to use the bathroom so luckily I had someone to laugh about those girls with :)

I was running by 7am and was flying! I felt even better than last week, there was water every mile and it was (dare I say) fun!?!

When I look at this I can't quite believe it. I've never run this fast in my life! The best part? It's only going to get better!!

Sunday I did a full 90 minute super sweaty Bikram class to "stretch out" after Saturday. After all that work over the weekend we had a fun night out and a cocktail or two.

I love my husband and my NEW collar bones!

And then it was Monday. Running every other day is difficult because when I woke up this morning it was time to do it again! I rocked my super hilly Monday morning 5k with a little soreness left over in my quads and sweat dripping from my elbows.

Now that I've written another super-extended Monday mix tape I should probably get back to my real job. Weigh-in this Friday will be 5 months post-surgery so look for updated progress pics and measurements!

Have a happy, healthy week everyone!