A week from now

A week from now I will be with thousands of women and men...walking 60 miles for breast cancer. I can't wait. I think I am prepared mentally. I have trained, sacrificed and at times cried on my journey. I am not worried about pace or breathing but walking and enjoying the day. And when I walk, I reflect. I reflect on all the women I have met these past few months that have shared their stories with me. They have honored with the names of loved one that have fought this battle. I will wear their names on ribbons on my TUTU. I hope to share it with you this weekend. Next weekened I will Facebook my journey. I hope you will join me.

Enjoying the rewards

In my other life, I love paper crafts. I love making mini albums and giving them away. I love scrapbooking and recording stories for my future grandchildren. And best of all...I love shopping for scrapping stuff. so when HSN announced they were going to have 24 hours of scrapping...well HELLO. I was going to be up for the whole event..that started at midnight.

So I started watching at 11pm CST. And when I got tired, I remembered that I can watch from my bed via my Iphone HSN application. So I forced myself to stay up until 2am. Then I had to be up at 4am to get my daughter ready for school and to get prepared for my 5 miler. I really didn't want to do it. And I mean I was so tired that I wasn't even going to make an excuse...I was just going to not do it...who cares?

Well the truth is, it shouldn't matter if my husband cares, my daughter cares or even that you care. (However, it matters to me if all these people do care). But there is something within that forces a person to believe it matters to themselves. And today it mattered to me. I needed to do it for me. I mean, it was my own dang fault that I went to bed so late.

And thank goodness I went. I love that time to myself. And when I reached my halfway point, the sun blessed me with his presence. Hello Sunshine!

The new Nike GPS...it doesn't get any better

Ok, I told you I would be back with more information. I took my Nike GPS out for a test drive and I have to say....I am in love. I don't wear Nike shoes, much less Nike+ shoes and apparently, Nike heard us loud and clear. They could make so much more money if they would just acknowledge not everyone wants to wear Nike but many people want to use Nike+.

I honestly don't know what took so long to get to this point. People like MapMyRun and RunKeeper have been using the GPS technology built into Apple's Iphone for years...so why not them? But in any case, they have produced a GPS Nike+ and it works great.

Now this post is going to be pretty picture heavy. But I want you to see what it involves.

1) When you first open your application, you will see your total miles. My only gripe about this is that you don't see all your accumulative miles from the original Nike +. Which doesn't make sense to me since I use my same log in for Nike GPS.

2) If you choose "Start a new run". You get the above screen and you are able to choose a run by a time, distance or calorie, very similar to Nike +. It has preset goals or you can create a custom one.

3) Why you would only run a complete 5 minutes is beyond me but you can.

4) This screen if very familiar with those who have Nike+. You choose your playlist and location. If you choose outdoors, the GPS will track you. If you choose indoors, the GPS still runs but the accelerometer technology tracks your treadmill runs.

5) Once you finish your run, you can see your route, record how it felt with a smiley icon, the weather, what type of terrain and journal about it. I am not sure how many characters are allowed in the journaling area but I don't plan to write a novel from my IPhone. (See the little quote box on the top right? If you hit that button, you will hear an elite athlete tell you how great you did. I am really loving that feature.

6) But one of the best features is that you can view your run by mileage or pace. You can see where you slowed down or sped up. You can see where you hit your mile markers. Sure there is not much you can do with this visual but it is cool anyway.

The user interface is still the same online is still the same and provides the same information as it did with the original Nike+. You still get motivational congratulations from top athletes. And yep, you guessed it. Your little cartoon can still run on your blog or facebook when you run. You can still set up challenges and earn bragging rights on your facebook page etc.

I guess you could say I am a happy camper or should I say happy runner.

NIke is working...more later

Ok I am so excited to share with you the new app from Nike plus the Nike GPS..OMG!! I have so much to tell you guys but I am at work. Suffice it to say, you can do so much more with this little application. I will post more information when I get off of work...

Still not a morning person

Getting up at 4 am Monday-Friday does not make me a morning person. It makes me a person that has to get up at 4am for my daughter. So, needless to say, this non morning person would like to sleep in on Saturday. But alas, I cannot because that is the day scheduled for my long wog.

In the Texas heat, I have to be out of the house by 5am if I don't want to burn up during my wog. But I want one day of sleeping in until, dare I say 7 am? (You have got to understand that my weekends use to be spent sleeping until 11 am or noon). So this week I came up with a brilliant idea. I am going to switch up my running schedule. Why not make my long wogs during the week? I mean I am up anyway...why not be productive? So I shifted my schedule up two days so that my long wogs are during the week, Saturday is my DOR and Sunday is a short wog. Perfect!!!

I am loving it. Yesterday I did 7 miles in the morning and loved it. I started out so early that I stopped to take pictures, video, did some stretching on the beach (well it has no sand but it is on the shore line) and then I came home. What a wonderful way to start out my day.

Well hello, Sleepyhead

Is what I said the sun when I saw it stretch its rays over the trees as if he was stretching to get ready for the day. My day had started two hours before when I walked to my daughters room to wake her up for school at 4:30 in the morning. But now it was 6:30 and I was out on the trails.

When I started this blog, there were a few things I said I would never do. I would never get up before the sun and run. I would never run if I felt a slight bit of discomfort. I would never run outside. Well here I was, up before the sun and wogging. Up before the sun and wogging with a knee that is not 100%. Up before the sun and wogging with a knee that is not 100%, on the trails. Whuda thunk it?

As a matter of fact, my goal today is to buy a reflector vest because I want to be able to run in the dark. I still think I am crazy.

Honey I shrunk the...

Yesterday I was feeling really good so I did my four mile route instead of my scheduled three mile route. I prefer the four mile because I am awarded with the view of the ocean. Whereas, my only reward for the three mile is a small glimpse of the ocean around the corner. Maybe, I should back up a bit. My view is not of clear blue water and white sand. No, it's the Gulf of Mexico for Pete's sake. So it is murky brown and there is no sand in sight. It goes from thicket to water in less than five feet.


So as I coming around the bend to the ocean, I looked up and realized, I look like I have been shrunken and I am surrounded by blades of grass. So I had to take a picture.

Doesn't that look like tall grass? Next time I will have to film all the crabs that crawl near me as I approach the water.

In any case, I did my four miles and didn't worry about my pace. For the first time ever, I didn't wear my HRM. There is such a freedom in wogging when you no longer worry about your pace but just enjoy the time out on the trails. I need to enjoy it while I can because I was one of the "lucky" people that one a spot in the Aramco Houston 1/2 mary in January. But I will save that story for another day.

Hill work

Some of my fondest memories of being a kid come from Hermann park. I remember they had this slight hill and we would grab a piece of cardboard and slide down the hill. If we couldn't find some cardboard then we just rolled down the hill. Ahhh those were the days. Going to Herman Park was special. Hills were special.

My husband laughs at us in flat Houston. Once while in Galveston, we went to a Pizza Hut that was off of the beach. It was elevated from the sea level on a little mound of land. That little mound of land created a 2 foot hill. You should have seen all the children rolling down for two feet. You see, we are so flat in southeast Texas that any little hill thrills us.

However, my 60 miler is in Dallas and it isn't as flat as Houston so I need to get some hillwork into my training. Hence the trip to the gym yesterday. I did the treadmill and watched TV. I did hillwork during the commercials of America's Funniest Videos and did speed work during the show. I have to say the treadmill is alot more pleasant at the gym and I love that I have my own TV to watch in front of my treadmill.

So my training is coming along. My knee feels better...except you shouldn't try to do MC Hammer hammer time when you are trying to nurse your knee. That is all I am saying, that is all I am saying.

SHHH I have a secret!!!

I am not suppose to be running. I am suppose to be walking. I am training for a 60 miler...I need to walk. I can't keep running because let's face it, I have not done a 1/2 mary...I definitely am not going to do a 100K before I do a 1/2 mary. But my snobby self (yes I admit it and I am ashamed), won't let me just walk.

And my knee is retaliating. I am icing it 3 times a day and taking ibuprofen but I can still feel it. Driving even seems to aggravate it.

It's just crazy...this need to run. Where did that come from? I don't know but I like it.

And all that Jazz!

While I am nursing my knee, I think I am going to have to do my wogging on the treadmill. My fear is that something will happen while I am on the trail and I won't be able to get back home. So the dreadmill it is.

I do love a few things about my treadmill. I get to travel light. No water bottle in my hand or phone on my arm. Oh, and I love wogging in 75 degree temperatures and not 90 degree with high humidity. Awkward moment...I am staring at my strange friend and I can't think of another good thing that I love about it. But sometimes it is an evil necessity.

Today as I prepared my to do my run, I went to my On Demand channel on my TV and looked for a good movie to watch. After several minutes...minutes I felt like I was wasting...I decided to watch Chicago. I love Richard Gere. I have had a secret crush on him since American Gigilo. Sure I was only ten at the time and he was thirty but baby, I thought he was hot. So I hit play on the TV and start on the treadmill and off I went. Well I didn't go anywhere, it was a treadmill but you get the idea.

I have never smiled so much and jazzed hands as much as I did during the movie. I really need to start video taping myself because I am sure I looked ridiculous. I think the first time I looked down at the treadmill, one mile was out of the way. Hallelujah! I did a mile on the treadmill without cursing the machine. More singing and jazz hands and mile two is done, then three and then 4 and then....darm treadmill...it stopped for know reason. Ok so the treadmill is over 10 years old but that is no reason for it to stop completely for no reason and jerk my knee. Besides, I promised myself I would not go over 4 miles and it was already 4.6 miles.

So 4.6 miles for this morning. I may get on again today. I really want to but I am suppose to be nursing this knee. Who knows.

Maybe I should listen to my body

Well considering I was feeling really off on Tuesday's wog, my Wednesday and Thursday seemed to have been affected by it. My right knee is feeling a bit of a strain. So I have been taking IB and icing it and keeping it elevated on a pillow. The 3Day site has some wonderful training advice and says I should do this for a week.

So for the next week, I will only do four miles a week and then resume my training. I hate doing that but if I don't then I will probably become more injured and my goal isn't to run X amount of miles this week. My goal is to be healthy enough to walk 60 miles in November. And being healthy means getting the miles in but not injuring myself at the same time. So while this may really feel like a major set back in my mind, I have to stay focused on the real goal and realize it is small.

I have to remember this is a lifetime change and not just a seasonal one. So I will scale down for a week and start up again next week. Knees don't fail me now!

I'm Tired The good and the bad

So Saturday I set out for a quick four miles. I was having breakfast with my sister and my dad so I didn't have much time to wog (walking + jogging). So I went out for a quick one. I felt as if I was flying. Despite the heat, I had so much energy. I was keeping up with some others on the trail and really enjoying my playlist. Who knew it could be this easy?

Well on Sunday I think I was scared of the mileage that was scheduled: 10 miles. So I got up before church and did the yard. I am sure the neighbors appreciated the lawn mower so early in the morning but it had to be done and I needed a reason to not do 10 miles. The idea of a double digit run just scares me but I need to do it.

So today I did 4 miles. The good news is that I did 4 miles instead of the scheduled 3 miles. I think I was feeling guilty about missing my run on Sunday. So I went out and got going. As I left the house, my legs felt like lead. I thought they would feel better after a mile or so but no. They just felt heavier. I felt heavy. I giggle at that statement. Fluffy feels heavy. Anyway, as I trudge down the trails I start to sing to myself "I'm Tired" as sung by Lilly Von Schtupp in Blazing Saddles. I even have the accent down as I trudge alone. And I am going slow..to the pace of the song and I look down and my HRM states I need to raise my HR but I'm Tired....Tired of running the trail....just so tired.

It's a dirty job and I'm a dirty girl

I must have still been asleep when I left on my run this morning. It did not register that the ground was a bit wet, which indicates that there was a rain during the night. So when I hit the trail, it was muddy. I am not talking just a little damp but it had puddles that were too big for me to jump.

I must have looked ridiculous when I was trying to find the highest point within each puddle so that I could minimize the amount of mud I would encounter. Let's face it, I looked silly for nothing because I was muddy. The more puddles I encountered, the more I got dirty. Then I realized, hey I am earning my stripes. My rings of mud around my ankles and splashes of dirty water on my calves were my medals. Yes, I had been validated.

By the time I turned around and starting to run home, I just splashed as much as I could. Again, I must have still been asleep because when I got home, I realized that these muddy socks, shoes and bottoms needed to be washed. And I am the only one that is going to do it. Sigh. Oh well....another 3 miles on the books.

I also want to take a moment to thank all of those who are supporting my 60 miler training. It really means alot to me and the millions of women that are fighting for a chance to be cancer free. Thank you.

21 Miles in one week I burst my bubble!

OK Ok I can't believe it. I did 21 miles in one week. I did then during a week that I missed a workout. I don't know what to say but "Thank you, Thank you. I would like to thank Couch to 5K for giving me a program that was doable and helped me believe in myself. I would like to all the women on the Heavy Weight Runners board at Weight Watchers and all the people on 200+ club at active.com. You guys are such an encouragement to me and I don't think I would have been able to do this alone.

Yesterday I did 8 miles. That is the most I have ever done in one day. And I really felt the last mile or so. When I got home I fell asleep in the whirlpool tub as the jets pounded my sore legs. And two weeks ago I did 7 miles, which was at the time, the longest wog ever and it killed me. But today I felt good. I was a bit tired but all in all I was good. As a matter of fact, yesterday I was quite stiff but I woke up this morning ready to go.

And I have discovered something about myself these past few weeks. Each mile is like a bubble. In the midst of each new mile, I enter a new bubble. As I enter that new mile, I push through it with everything I have. I did that for the first 400 yards, the first 800 yards, the first mile, second mile and so on and so on. But I learned that once I push through and pop that bubble each time I encountered that mile in the future, it seemed easier and easier. So that now 400 yards is nothing, a mile is just a casual short distance, two miles is a walk in the park. So if you are just starting out or training for an ultra...the principle is the same, once you burst that bubble, that distance will seem easier next time.

MapMyRun.com - Training Log for SeeFluffyRun

MapMyRun.com - Training Log for SeeFluffyRun

Sometimes a cloud is a silver lining

I would say that I woke up late today but who am I kidding. To say I woke up late implies that I normally wake up earlier. But I can't seem to get my rear into gear before 6am. And I have no idea how or why it takes me so long to get read in the morning. All I do is wash my face, brush my teeth, pull my hair back in a bondiband (if you haven't tried one of these bands for your hair...run to get one), fill my water bottle, put on my clothes, strap on my HRM, grab my phone, turn on my nikeplus or mapmyrun, turn on my HRM, drown in some mosquito repellent and head out the door.

But I finally hit the streets about 7 am. I really thought it was raining outside because the it was not as light as usual. But it was just a small cluster of clouds holding back the sun. Oh, how I loved those small clouds. Instead of running in 85 to 90 degree weather...it was a frigid 75 degrees. Can you even imagine the joy I felt running in July in Texas and it wasn't terribly hot and sticky? I was ecstatic.

There were quite a few people on the trails today. The Leukemia society was training on the trails. How did I know? They were all wearing their shirts...Team TNT. And it was then I realized that I need to get some shirts or personalized Bondibands that say "Tutu in Training" (TIT...get it?) or "Ask my why I am running or walking?" So that is next on my agenda...get some advertisement for my cause.

The plan was to do the four mile loop near my house, come home, change my socks and do another four miles. And that is what I did. Apparently I was going too slow for the clouds and they got tired of holding back the sun because the abandoned me in the last two miles of my run/walk. I never know what to call what I am doing. I run part of it and walk part of it. In any case, as I was contemplating my fate with the sun and realized my silver lining was the cloud, I realized that cancer was the same way for me.

I always describe my life with two major time points: before and after Christ and before and after Cancer. It is hard for me to separate them because my discovery of salvation was almost at the same time of my cancer. In any case, cancer is always thought about with a bit of a smile. While don't wish it on anyone, I wouldn't take it out of my life. During that time, I learned what is important in life....and it isn't the IPhone 4G or the bigger house or the size of pants I would love to wear or that much wanted pay raise. No it is about bigger things like children, husbands, parents, brothers, sisters and my relationship with my God. There was joy during my journey. The cloud became my silver lining.

So 8 miles were completed today and it felt great. Well, at the time it wasn't great. By the time I got home, I was very hot and tired. I tore off my clothes, turned on the whirlpool tub and jumped in and just laid there and let the jets massage my body. It was great and it lasted an hour. I then jumped into the shower then jumped into bed for a nap. (I mean...heck I was up at 6am on a Saturday...I deserved the nap).

Tomorrow I have 7 miles on the training schedule. And I will get up early to do it. Funny, when I started this running journey, I said I would never become one of those freaks that get up at the crack of dawn to run...well here I am ....getting up at the crack of dawn for a run.

On a side note: My IPhone 4 has a glitch and I cannot use Nikeplus to track my mileage so I am using Mapmyrun. While it uploads to face book, it does not upload to blogger. So until an update comes out on Nike site or Nikeplusedit starts working again, my girl is going to talk smack to me. But that is okay...I know what I have done.

Swamp Land and enjoying the journey.

Did you know Sam Houston moved the capitol of Texas to Houston in 1837. In 1839 it was moved to its current location, Austin. It is rumored it was moved because Houston was too swampy. And I believe it.

This morning I took off for my 5 mile run and I took my usual route and was surprised at how much of my trail is surrounded by water. Now, I am not talking about water in a distance or a lake nearby. I mean that if I step one inch off the path, I will be standing in water. There were little crabs crawling across the path. It was kinda funny and kinda scary. It is hard to run when you constantly have to jolt to the left or to the right. I was worried about twisting my knee or my ankle.

Along with the crabs and the water, there was this funky smell. I am assuming it was coming from the marsh. All I know is that it wasn't me. But I still enjoyed it. I don't know if I have shared before but years ago I heard an audio from Zig Ziglar, How to Get what you Want. The book was one of the first non-fiction books I ever read, uh I mean heard. But I remember him saying "You do not pay the price for success, you enjoy the price of success." I now understand what he means. Each time I go on a run, I discover new things on the trail. Sometimes, they are external, like the crabs or the rush of a tide coming in. Sometimes it is internal, like a new PR or just time to talk to God or realize that my body can do more than I ever expected.

Today I thought I would share an external one. The trail was surrounded by water because I happen to be running on the trail just as the tide is coming in. Before I moved to my little town by the water, I had never experienced this phenomenon. You see, when the tide comes in, it comes in suddenly. You will hear a low rumble that almost sounds like a whisper in the water. Then you start to notice that the land that was once visible is filling up with water and it is filling up quite quickly. You will notice the water rush past you and fill up the once muddy piece of land and turn it into a water way. So today when I reached the bay, I heard the whisper and watched as the water rushed in. I decided to record a bit of it for you guys. I consider this a part of me enjoying the price.

If you are on the fence about running outside, don't be. You are going to miss a lot of enjoyment. If I never took the runs outside I would have never seen this today.

It still amazes me

I was reviewing my runs from last year and the beginning of this year and I am still amazed. I am still amazed that your body will respond, if you just ask it. Until I started to train for this 3 day thing, I mentally told myself that I could not go further than 2.11 miles. Seriously...2.11 miles. I don't know where I got that number but that was the magic number.

So each day I would go out and leave my neighborhood and take a right. I would make the loop and come home and my Nike plus would read 2.11 miles. And I was good with that. And that is okay. If that is what you do or you are still working up to that mileage...its all good. My point is that I was okay with staying with that mileage for months. I didn't try to grow. I think I thought I was all grown up.

But when I looked at my training for the 3day, I just accepted that it was what I had to do. I didn't question it or doubt my ability. When some expert somewhere says..."Hey, here is what you are capable of and just follow these steps." I just say, "ok".

So I said okay and now I am doing 3 miles on my "short" runs. Go figure. All I am saying is that you shouldn't limit yourself. Believe in yourself and your abilities and you will be amazed at what your body is capable of doing.

Saturday I went on my longest wog ever. I call it a wog because I walked the first four miles and ran the last three. I think I should have ran first but I needed to know that I could reserve enough energy to make it back to my car.

Because this was my longest wog ever, I decided to make it special. I drove thirty minutes away to Galveston and parked my car at my sister's place. She lives a half mile from the sea wall. Now, I have never experienced mosquitos at the beach. I guess it is because mosquitos don't grow in salt water. However, they apparently grow great in grassy fields half mile from the ocean. So my first half mile was miserable. I have never seen so many mosquitos. Including the time I experienced the Battle of Seabrook. But I just prayed it would not be the same when I got to the seawall.

And thankfully, the mosquitos hate the ocean. So as I walked and listened to my book, Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker. If you have not read it...it is a good read. As I walked, I realized that mosquitos hate the beach but the sun, well the sun doesn't care. It just kept beating down on me. When I left the house, it was 78 degrees. By the time I started to walk it was 84 degrees and by the time I started running, it was 92 degrees.

My water became warm in my hands, I experienced horrible chaffing from my bra, and I started to dehydrate. I realized I stopped sweating at about mile 5 and started to have goose bumps at about mile 6. That is not a good thing. Next time I am going to take money with me so that I can buy some cold water on my run.

So my first seven miler is on the books and 40 miles completed in my training. Look out 3 day here I come!

Happy 5 on the 4th!

Happy 4th of July everyone! I went to Hooters last night to watch Lesnar vs. Carwin. It was a good fight in one respect but seemed rig in another respect. Either way, it was a great date night for my husband and me but it left me tired this morning. So I slept in and did not run outside. Which is okay. It has been raining alot lately and I had a feeling the trails were going to be mud in some places.

So I watched Hot Tub Time Machine and did my 5miles on the treadmill. Thank goodness for the movie and my wireless headset for my TV. I was able to keep entertained while training. And I didn't have to crank up the volume on my TV to hear the movie. (I know my family appreciates it.)

So week 2 of training is on the books. And I have 30 miles completed for my walk. I only have 524 miles to go.

Now a word from our sponsors

OK OK not really. But today is a cross training day and it is raining so I really have nothing to report so I thought I would share a blog post from someone else. She has graciously allowed us to repost it.

Many of you have seen me wandering around the Internet, hat in hand, begging for money to find a cure for breast cancer, jabbering something about "The Three Day". Once in a while, though, I've had to be reminded that the average person has NO IDEA what this thing I'm talking about actually IS.

So here's a go at answering that question: "What is the 3-Day"?

Let me start by saying, what is it NOT?
It's not a race.

I happened to be wearing a "Susan G. Komen 3-Day For The Cure" shirt at church the other day and had a fellow churchgoer look at me and ask "Have you been in the race?" I suspect she was thinking of the Race for the Cure, which is also Komen-affiliated, but not the same thing. The Race is a 5K fitness run; the 3-Day is about twenty times the distance and trust me, you're not running that.
And it's not some sort of weird "Last Woman Walking" stamina test. People sometimes get the idea that this three-day, sixty-mile walk is some sort of endurance battle. I've literally been asked if we're allowed to drink or eat while on the walk... and once I was even asked "Do they let you take breaks?" Yeah, no, it's not some sort of weird reality show contest, people. It's not a horror show out of Stephen King where we stagger blindly onwards, dropping out one by one until one remaining pink-clad zombie lurches over the finish line in the glare of flashbulbs.

Might get more TV coverage if it was.

Hmm.

Okay, no.

The 3-Day isn't about endurance and it's sure as heck not a race. It's first and foremost about grit, determination, and making a difference. Making a difference by showing friends and family and acquaintances that you're willing to go to a lot of effort in return for their donations toward the incredibly important cause of finding a cure for breast cancer. I mean, let's get real: if I told a bunch of people that I'd be ever so grateful if they ponied up the downpayment on a Porsche Boxster to help cure breast cancer just because I thought it'd be a really spiff-tacular thing to do I doubt I'd raise all that much money. But tell people you're going to go walk sixty miles over three days, camping in a tent two nights, while dressed from head to toe in fetching shades of fuchsia and cerise and hot pink, and tell them you have to raise $2,300 in order to do just that, they're going to go "Hmm. How much did you want me to donate?"

Okay, then they're going to go "And where will we be able to see photographic proof?", but that'll probably be a bit after the "and who do we make the check out to?"

Trust me: it works.

The Susan G. Komen 3-Day For The Cure is a three-day event, held in fifteen cities across the USA, where participants walk about twenty miles each day. It usually works out that one or two of the days is a bit more than twenty miles and in exchange, the last day is usually a bit less. Having a fifteen mile walk on the last day helps the thing wrap up by a reasonable time in the afternoon so we can all get together at the finish line for a big celebratory PAR-TAY and then head home to a strange land where people DON'T cheer you when you walk by on the street and where people aren't all wearing pink.

Or, to put it another way, it's not three twenty-mile walks... it's twenty three-mile walks. You start at a big outdoor opening ceremony where we throw everything at you short of Shamu leaping through three giant pink flaming hoops while whistling a medley of 1980s pop hits. Then you walk three miles along city sidewalks and streets. Then you stop at a "pit stop" and people you don't even know press cookies and bananas and Smuckers "Uncrustables" at you and pat you on the back and tell you how great you are. Then you walk three more miles. Then more Uncrustables. Then you walk three MORE miles. You're probably expecting even MORE Uncrustables at this point but no, we fake you out. This time you get lunch. Then you walk three more miles and maybe, just for variety, you get granola bars and orange slices and if you ask nice, some people will dump ice down your back to cool you off, especially if it's a hot day or you look like the kind of person who misses their sorority or fraternity hazing experiences. Then three more miles, then more snacks, then three more miles, and then you get to camp in a big sea of hot pink two-person tents. WOO!

And if along the way you can't make it because you simply become too tired, or it's so hot you're melting in your shoes, or your blisters become so large you start giving them names -- well, then, there are sweep vans and buses to take you to the next pit stop or to lunch or to camp. We want everyone to finish together even if they can't walk every inch of the route. I mean, some people practically come out of the chemo ward to walk the 3-Day: we're not going to say "HEY SLOWPOKE, GET BACK ON YER FEET AND KEEP MOVING."

If we did, they'd probably beat us up. Most of them are tougher than us. So there's that.

Oh, and throughout the day you get all the Gatorade you can drink. Various flavors. And if you mix them all together to make what we used to call "Bug Juice" when I was in the Girl Scouts (long story), no one's going to make fun of you. It's expected. Being silly is good.

I think you've gathered already that it's kind of important to wear a lot of pink during the walk. I didn't mention the rest, though ... and I almost feel like I shouldn't, because it's entirely possible that you -- yes, you -- might one day decide to come walk a 3-Day and I'd hate to ruin the surprise for you when you find yourself surrounded by hundreds of women all wearing 46-DDDD bras on the outside of their clothing. And not necessarily in the usual place, either. Sometimes on their heads. Sometimes other places.

And then there're the guys. Less said, the better.

This goes on for three days. In between all the walking there's lots of other stuff going on: spontaneous hugs, people stopping to stretch or treat blisters, people bursting into song while dressed like Goofy and Snow White and, for a reason I never entirely understood, Al Davis, the owner of the Oakland Raiders. You get to use all the port-o-jons you want, no charge. You get to sleep in a hot pink tent. Really. The 3-Day folks used to use regular old camp tents for the event, but decided it was more thematic to get pink ones, tents they give away to local non-profits after each walk. Lots of Girl Scout troops have surplus 3-Day pink tents. Not so many Boy Scout troops, but I imagine if the interest was there something could be worked out. There's even karaoke.

Surprisingly good karaoke, actually. Seriously.

But in the end, despite all the silliness and whimsy, there's a very serious undercurrent of absolute stone-cold seriousness. When you meet a walker who's got the photographs of each and every friend and family member they've lost to breast cancer pinned to their shirt -- and you can't really tell what color their shirt is... when you groan at the sight of a huge hill on the route and a scrawny, eighty-pounds-soaking-wet grandmother with no hair as a result of chemotherapy and radiation looks at you and says "it beats the hell out of chemo!" and powers right on up that hill... and when you walk into the Remembrance Tent at camp one evening and see people you've been laughing with all day bawling their eyes out as they write notes about loved ones they've lost to cancer... well, then, you realize that the fight against breast cancer is no laughing matter at all.

As I said above it's really about the grit and determination... the will to do something that matters.

I mean, get serious. When's the last time most people really did something that made a huge difference, a huge positive difference in the lives of other people... not just people they know and look out for, but in the lives of people they'll never know, never meet, people yet unborn?

Not real often, unfortunately. We go to work, we go home, we watch TV, we go to bed. Along the way we eat way too much unhealthy food and care way too much about stuff that in the end doesn't make a lick of difference in whether the world is a better place at the end of the day.

Sure, it's not the walking we do on the 3-Day that finds a cure for breast cancer. Okay, the publicity sure as heck doesn't hurt, because let's face it, no one wants to go back to the day 25 and 30 years ago where women and men with breast cancer just didn't talk about it because it was considered a shameful topic to bring up. The more conversations we start about it, the better, even if we have to be damn silly along the way. But yeah, walking doesn't cure breast cancer and publicity doesn't cure breast cancer, although it may help raise awareness and get people doing more to look out for themselves and get examined and treated before it's too late.

So what does cure breast cancer? What's the real goal of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day For The Cure?

How does close to $90,000,000 raised in 2010 for the fight against breast cancer sound? How does FIVE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS raised by 3-Day events since 2003 sound? With promising clinical trials and research studies going on all around the country, that kind of funding can have some serious bang for the buck. A cure for breast cancer, or at least a vaccine against breast cancer, is actually possible. In our lifetimes.

And that, my friends, is what the 3-Day is all about. A lifetime for everyone, a lifetime without fear of breast cancer. A world without breast cancer for our wives, for our sisters, for our mothers, for our daughters, for ourselves, and for the future. That's what the 3-Day all comes down to in the end: A WORLD WITHOUT BREAST CANCER.

13:48

Today was W2D3 of my training for my 60 miler. I was suppose to do 5 miles at a moderate walking pace but I had to cut it short by one mile because I had to take my daughter to SWAT. But I am surprised I even got up at all.

At 6am, I hit the snooze button and thought about going back to sleep. But Alex is in the gulf and they sky looks grey so I need to check my email to see if swim practice has been canceled for 7am. While looking at my emails, I see I have a notification from CaringBridge. It is a website where Cancer patients can update their family and friends with what is going on in their treatment. My friend had updated her blog. I read her entry and was in tears. She discussed how she was told she had Stage IV breast cancer and that she didn't know if she was going to see her daughter finish 1st grade (she has a five year old daughter). And it reminded me of when I was told I had breast cancer and how my first thought was about my 26 month old. Was she going to remember me? Who was going to make her lunch, see her to her first day of school, hug her when she has a booboo, hold her the first time a boy breaks her heart, cheer her on in what ever she did, make a big deal out of her graduation, see her walk down the aisle towards her future husband and last but not least, who would hold my grandchild and who would they call grandma? At the time I was diagnosed...I didn't know. I was just almost certain that it wasn't going to be me. So I held my daughter in my arms and cried. I cried for all the moments I would miss with her and whispered, "I am sorry."

But it is twelve years later and I took her to her first day of school and reluctantly left the classroom as she shooed me away. (She said I was embarrassing her.) I have gone to eat lunch with her more times than I can count. I have sat for hours in the heat just waiting for the one 50 yard backstroke that last just a few moments and cheered her on. I was there the first time a boy broke her heart. I was there when she gave her life to Jesus. I am thankful for all these moments.

So with all this going through my mind, I got out of bed and threw on my running clothes and ran out the door. My intention was to just walk 3 miles because I knew I had to get home to drive my daughter to SWAT. So instead of listening to music, I turned on an audiobook and listened to it. But my ADD got the best of me and I just started thinking about everything...the tide (very high because of hurricane Alex) the cool breeze, the spray of rain, my dad, the rabbits...and then I heard my MAPMYRUN say "current pace 13:48" and I looked down at my feet and I was running. Not only was I running but I was running alot faster than I normally run. And I just kept running and running and running and it felt good. My breathing was great, my legs felt great, my shoulders...everything great. It wasn't until I got near my house that I decided to slow down. Because my Nike+ is not working right now, I had to do it on my own and when my MAPMYRUN came back on it said I was running at 16:06. I couldn't believe it. It was still a minute faster than when I try to run my fastest without dying.

So I ended my run at 4 miles and looked up and thanked God for another day and dedicated my run to all those that are fighting for their next one.

It was a mental thing

I woke up this morning ready to run. I had set my mind to running today. I planned on missing my daughter's swim meet and doing this for me. But my day didn't start out that way. I woke up and spent the first 30 minutes arguing with my family. They don't want to go to the swim meet and I am yelling that they have to go. I finally throw all my running gear down and say, "Nevermind! I will take you because I can't trust you to go on your own!".

Then something just clicked. I said forget it. I am not going to worry about you guys. I need to go run. And I threw on all my gear again.... I have alot of gear...and searched high and low for my water bottle...I still haven't found it...and went for my 6 miler.

I was pissed at my family. I hated that I was carrying this huge water bottle because I couldn't find my running bottle. I was disappointed in my family for not doing the right thing and going to the meet and I was mad at myself for getting caught up in their drama. I was upset that I started out 45 minutes later than I wanted.

But as I started pounding the trails the stress started to leave. I started to think about why I was out there. I was out there because I can be. I started to relive my days in chemo. There were days I couldn't get out of bed. There were days I couldn't eat anything. Heck, during reconstruction I couldn't even turn my head because it hurt too much.

It is the first time that running became a stress reliever. My usual form of relief is sleep or food. I have so much I want to share but I am really tired. I forgot to mention I have not been feeling well and not getting much sleep.

On a high note: I won a drawing on mommaof3ontherun. We met on the weight watchers board and have stayed in touch. I love her blog, it really resonates with me. Check her out. If you look to the right side of my blog, you will see a link.

Day 1 Week 20 of 3 Day

First 3 miler for the Komen 3 day is done. It was hot outside but I loved it. There was a time when I feared running out in public. Now I look forward to it. I love saying hello to fellow runners. I love the thumbs up I receive. Or the "Wow, you have been running this whole time. That is great!" We all need fans or groupies every once and a while.

When I run on the treadmill, I watch TV. So this is the first time I have listened to my playlist in a while. It really gets me moving. My pace was a bit slower than normal but it's all good. So tomorrow is 4 miles. I am not sure if I am ready to run 4 miles so I will just listen to my body and see how I do.

But I have to say the more I read about this walk the more excited and pumped up I get. As a 12 year survivor, I can't even begin to tell you what this means to me. There was a time before I was diagnosed that I was just tired all the time. My daughter was just a toddler and I couldn't keep up with her. Then during my chemos and radiation and reconstruction I couldn't get out of bed for days.

But here I am, 12 years later, and I am going to walk 60 miles for all those that can't. I can't stop because I am tired or busy. You see, when you have cancer and you are fighting for your life, you don't get to say "Time out, do over." or "I am just too busy to sit in a chair for a few hours so that you can drip chemo into my body." No, you don't get those luxuries when you are fighting for your life. You just keep pushing on and moving forward.

So I can't say I am tired or too busy to train for this. There are thousands of women who are tirelessly fighting for their lives. I need to tirelessly train for them.

60 miles and 50 pounds

I ran on Friday. It was not a great run. I still felt sluggish but I got my rear on the treadmill and ran. I find it hard to run and cough at the same time. So I only did a little over a mile and then called it day. Besides, I had to pick up my daughter from swim practice.

But Monday starts my 20 week training for Komen's 3 day 60 mile walk in Dallas on November 5-7th. I am really excited about this run. And the best thing...my first day of training is rest. Yes, you read that right...rest. Then the following happens:
Monday...rest
Tuesday... 3 miles easy walking
Wednesday...15 minutes of moderate cross training (bike ride)
Thursday...4 miles moderate walking
Friday...30 minutes easy cross training
Saturday...6 miles easy walking
Sunday... 4 miles easy walking

I am excited about this. I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I will walk 20 miles each day for 3 days. So I will probably run bits of this training. I have a 5K coming up in July and another one is September and a 10K in October.

I am going to Puerto Rico in November, 10 days after my walk and I would love to be 50 pounds lighter. There, I said it. I want to lose 50 pounds by November 18th.

I can't wait to run

Ok, this may get personal...sorry guys. But Saturday I was low on energy. There are certain, shall I say, times of the month that I just want to lie down and sleep for a few days. Saturday was the beginning of one of those times. Sunday rolled around and I wasn't any better. Monday came along and I thought I was just lazy. I didn't want to run, clean, cook or even jump on the computer (extremely out of character for me).

But then I realized I was not lazy. I was sick. I have bad allergies but this time my allergies turned into a sinus issue, which in turn turned into an infection. I am taking meds now so I feel so much better. Tomorrow I will run. And believe it or not, I can't wait.

The weird friend

I am learning to love the treadmill again. And yes, it is a learning process. It isn't like my first meeting with my husband where I just knew I would fall in love with him and want to be with him for the rest of my life. No, no, it is more like the weird kid that showed up in school one day and you avoided them as much as you could. Then you were paired with them in science lab and over time you learned to appreciate some of their qualities...perhaps their ability to do all the gross things that you didn't want to do. And over time you became friends. Certainly not best friends but you said "hi" in the hallway or chatted with them at a party. However, if I remember correctly, the parties were so loud, you really couldn't chat. Anyway, that is the kind of relationship I have with my treadmill. It is the weird kid that showed up in my living room one day and now I have to play nice with it.

The other day me and my weird friend watched Bridget Jones Diary. I LOVE that movie! Like the love I have for my husband, sorry baby. I loved it the first time I saw it and I loved it just as much the 99th time I saw it. So it was nice to have my best friend and my weird friend all in one room and we were all okay with it.

After reading an article from Active.com, I decided not to push myself too much so I kept it a walk for the movie. (You were right, Mike). When I was in high school, I played on the Varsity Soccer team. (Ok I was on the Varsity team because we only had a handful of girls that wanted to play and not because I was any good.) Well at the last game, I injured my ankle. I wanted to get out of the game but the coach kept telling me, "Do it for the Seniors!". I was a sophomore and could care less about the seniors. Anyway, the trainer taped my ankle really tight, to numb it, and pushed me on the field. Every time, I would get to the point where I couldn't put any weight on it, they would tape me tighter. Any who, by the time all is said and done, 20 some years later, my ankle acts up. So while one the treadmill for my 3 miler, I felt something in that ankle. It wasn't pain but it was a discomfort. So the next day I only did 2 miles. Today I will try 3 miles again.

One of my friends from active.com (wideguy) is going to run with me tonight. Well he is in some place in EST and I am in CST. So about 6:20 CST I will be running. Hope to see you there...virtually. I'll be with the weird one.

One busy weekend down, Seven to go

I can't believe how booked my weekends have become. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to do all the things I did but man I end the weekend wanting Monday to come so that I can get some rest. :)

This past weekend I came across a blog of the women that is losing weight or lost weight. She walked 4 miles a day and limited her calories to 1000 calories per day. Ok... I can't do 1000 calories per day and I am not sure if that is healthy. But I can do the walking or running.

I found that during the week, I can pretty much stay within calories with little effort. But the weekends kill me. On Friday, my daughter went to a wine tasting dinner with my father so I had to drive her his house...50 miles away. My dad insisted on buying dinner for me and my hubby. We ended up at BJs Brewery and had chicken lettuce wraps for an appetizer, I had a NY Strip for dinner with a bake potato and my husband ordered an apple crisp a la mode. So I had to have a few bites of that. I was stuffed. I had eaters remorse by the time I was done. all I wanted to do was run and try to feel better.....ok, I know...why didn't you order a salad with a vinaigrette, grilled chicken, steam vegetables and fresh fruit...But in my mind, when the food is free the calories don't count. So I still need a little work on my mental health but it gets even worse. I ordered a glass of water but drank very little of it. You wanna know why? Because I didn't leave any room in my tummy for a beverage. Say what?

So I started anew this week. And I started with a pound loss...so that is a good thing.

If LoseIt is my confessional then this is my Praise Report

It is taken me over a week to come to terms with what I was eating and what I could do to change it. But this data junkie is turning this LoseIt app into a game. My inner nerd loves this application. I usually hate tracking my food. But I love charts and reports and I love to problem solve. And I get to satisfy all these needs with LoseIt.

As soon as I eat something, I run to my application and add it to my log. I then go to my PC and look at all the reports. How many fats have I had today or carbs? What is my favorite food? (And by the way...your favorite food should NOT be chocolate cake. I am just saying.) If I want to keep my meals to about 300-350 calories, then I problem solve. What vegetable can I have with a protein with complex carb that won't go over my limit...and will it taste good when combined?

The weird thing? I am finding my old self. This is a good thing. Every once and a while I have a glimpse of this gal that loved cucumbers instead of fries with her sandwich or turkey burger. I loved stuffed bell peppers that were baked and filled with seasoned turkey meat. I loved my treadmill and Pilate's videos and I really loved weights. I loved egg whites with bell pepper. Oh, and instead of tortillas, I used lettuce leaves to make tacos. I didn't even have sugar in the house and we drank Crystal Light and water. I don't know what happened over the last few years but something did and with it came all these bad habits.

But I am here to share my praise report, aren't I? I am hitting my calorie targets and quite a few times I am below it. I am working out daily and I don't feel hungry. Isn't that great? I don't feel like I am on a diet and I feel like I am living life. And I love all my new friends on the loseit application. I love seeing their progress and what kind of activities they are doing. I love that we can send eachother pats on the back or ask questions to each other.

I have also started to do 100 push up challenge. It is another application for the IPhone. I love my IPhone. I would really love an IPad but I digress...I can't get off topic. And my hubby and I are going to the gym daily. Ok, so it has only been twice but i t was twice in a row. :)

And to my lovely running friend Kris, good luck this weekend at your first 1/2 mary. I am so proud of you. You have worked hard for this and you are truly an inspiration to all of us. You have a full schedule with work, kids, wrestling and husband and yet you have chosen to make your health a priority. Enjoy your mary and don't forget to have someone take pics to share with us.

Forgive me LoseIt, I have sinned...

I would like to think that something is wrong with my metabolism. That somehow, genetically, I have been created to collect fat and not disperse it. But this past week I started to take inventory of my intake versus my out take. And guess what? I eat too much.

I started to use the application for the IPhone, Loseit. I am able to track all my calories, make friends on the LoseIt forum and see how they are doing. In other words, we have our own confessional where we can confess our sins (when we indulge) or our praise reports (when we eat within budget). It is my first day with friends so I can't tell you how it is going. But I can tell you it is scary. For someone that struggles with eating, letting someone see how I am doing is like airing your dirty laundry for everyone to see.

While taking inventory, I discovered that I eat about 300 calories too much per day to lose weight. And this is when I am trying to be good. I have my LoseIt set up to lose 1.5 pounds per week. So I am allowed 1888 calories per day. If that is all I take in and don't work out then I will, in theory, lose 1.5 pounds per week. However, since I am going over about 300 per day (on average) I realize I am just maintaining....unless I start to work out.

I didn't do much last week after my calf injury. It was an excuse and not a reason. I could have done other things but I CHOSE to do nothing. I know that . There, it is out there. I CHOSE to do nothing. I can't blame painting my daughters room or too many things to do. I CHOSE not to take the time.

But I am a data person and this LoseIt gives me data and it is encouraging to know that if I eat like I have been and add biking or running, I will lose weight. Oh and there is one more thing. I can't stop at Donalds Donuts after church and eat four donuts and a bacon/egg croissant. I didn't eat them all at once but we brought them home and I ate them all day long. Four donuts are 1389 calories! That is crazy! and so not worth it. But now I know. And knowing is half the battle...go Joe! (sorry..unless you ever watched GI Joe, the cartoon, you have no reference for GI Joe).

Did you know there is a show called Biggest Loser?

Well, I knew. Well I knew there was a show on some channel at some time about fluffy people losing weight. That is all I knew about the show. Every once and a while, when flipping through channels, I would catch a sound byte. And then move on. I didn't know who these people were and since I didn't watch for long, I had no emotional connection to them.

Well last Sunday I was trying to record a show on HGTV on my DVR and I couldn't. Apparently, I had no disk space. Say what? The only thing I record on a regular basis is Glee. So I went to my DVR and noticed that somehow, someway, I was recording the whole season of Biggest Loser. I erased Week 14 and then I decided...well I will watch one show.

Four days later, I am hooked. I am inspired and I want everyone of them to win on Biggest Loser. I felt connected to them...except for Melissa. I didn't start watching until mid season...when Lance went home. I didn't realize Melissa had been a contestant, I just knew she was his wife. It was something in her mannerisms with him that I got a weird feeling about her...I saw darkness. Well, next show when she comes back and I am introduced to her for the first time....I was right.

Anyway, it has inspired me. Some are more fluffy than I am...and some were but now are a heck of alot lighter. So I can do this...but the food is killing me and I know it. I acknowledge it. So now I watch the show and at commercial breaks instead of fast forwarding on the DVR I grabbed my step stool for my kitchen and I did steps. And every once and a while during my day, I would do some more. Well last night, I did it and I did something wrong. I felt a tear in my calf. Thank goodness it is not too bad. It is still sore but no where as sore as it was yesterday.

So this week I will let it heal and just do upper body work outs. Oh and by the way... I erased week 14 and now I wish I hadn't because now I don't know what happened.

Dear God, I don't feel like running.

I didn't want to run this morning. I was tired. My alarm went off, I hit the snooze button and just started to stare at the wall. All these thoughts were going through my head. "Why do I have to get up? It is probably too hot. Do I have anything to wear? What if I do it in the evening? Is that a spider on the wall?" The music started to blare again so I hit the snooze button again and continued to contemplate running. "I know, I will run tomorrow. I am really tired, running while I am this tired is pointless...I won't get anything out of it. I should spend time in prayer each morning and not running....God, why did you give me such a slow metabolism? Father God, I am asking for favor in this situation. Please just miraculously make the fat disappear. If you can part the Red Sea, you can part my flab. I am claiming it now. When I step out of this bed, I will be thin and I will tell everyone how awesome you are and it will be done for Your Glory. Hallelujah Amen!

Music begins to blare again. I run my arms down my sides across my hips and thighs...nope, still flabby. Let's face it...if God removed my flab, I would celebrate with a huge wonderful Coconut Cake. I love coconut cake. I can eat a whole one in one day by myself. And God knows it. And if he changed my metabolism or miraculously removed my flab, I would just do more harm than good by celebrating with food. So I get up and run.

It was not eventful. I did it on the treadmill and I took some advice from an article from Active.com 4 Ways to Make Your Treadmill Workouts Fun. I put the TV on HGTV, strapped on my Nike+ and my HRM and started the treadmill. During the show I put the treadmill on incline of 5. During the commercials, I dropped down to an incline of 2. It was not fun but it was different and challenging. When you live in flat Seabrook, any bit of incline feels like Mount Everest. I am not kidding. If you want to do hill work around here, you have to run parking garages, run the Kemah Bridge, or travel to central Texas and find some real hills. We are so use to flat runs that a local running club hosts the Toughest 10K in Texas which is a course that loops the bridge twice. Yeah, I won't be doing that anytime soon.

Wisdom from Sue Sylvester

Yes, you got that right, Sue Sylvester. If you are a fan of Glee, you will know who I mean. If you aren't, what are you waiting for? Sue is the Cheerios (cheerleaders) head coach. She is self-centered, shallow and very goal driven and she will run over anyone and everyone to get to her goal. But as crazy as it may sound, during her fits of selfish narrow mindedness, she has these amazing moments of wisdom. Last week, the Olivia Newton-John episode, was one of those times. She was in the midst of being laughed at by other teachers and for once in her life she felt weak and less than. Have you ever felt that way? I have and recently. Well, Sue decided the cure for her ill feelings was to help others. That the best cure for her own problems was to focus on other's problems.

And isn't that the truth? When you start helping others you in fact help yourself? All of a sudden your problems take the back seat and no longer keep you from reaching your full potential. So yesterday, while I ran, I realized that for all my praying for wanting to be quiet and not blog or share (I really spent too much time on the computer) that I was cutting off my life line...you guys. I love sharing with you. I love telling you about my runs and how I hated it or loved it. I love the comments that pick me up or make me laugh. I love sharing about new products that I love or ones that I hate. I love sharing my life with you guys. And according to Sue, that is not a bad thing.

So I am back because I need it. I need that sense of community. I need you. (Ok, now I am beginning to sound like an AA meeting.) I'll sit down now.

So what have I been doing? Running and biking. It has been a few weeks since I ran but I have started riding my bike a few times a week. My husband prefers to bike and we did this great Bible Study, His Needs Her Needs, and one week our subject was recreational activities. We were to rate over 200 activities between 5 and -5. 5 being love it. -5 being hate it. We are trying things that we both love. So we bought a nice camera (photography) and we got our bikes out of the garage. We love riding to the water and back.

I realized that my month of biking helped me with my running. When I ran yesterday, I was amazed at how strong my legs felt. Riding the bike really worked out my thighs and that helps my running. I have to admit that I was leery about running yesterday. I started with my 5 minute warm up. When I started to run, I told myself I would just run one minute. When I hit that minute, I added two more minutes, then five then twenty and before you know it, I ran the whole time. I was so amazed at myself. And I no longer felt bad for not running for weeks and only biking.

On a side note, towards the end of my run, I see my husband coming towards me on his bike and he is not wearing his helmet. Apparently when he arrived at the house from work and couldn't find me he panicked. He searched the house several times to make sure I wasn't dead and then took off on the bike to make sure I wasn't kidnapped. He took off so fast that he didn't take time to put on his helmet. His reason for panic?.... I left my IPhone at home and I NEVER leave home without my phone. Silly man.

I know you want me...blah blah blah

Thank goodness for flat Seabrook. My lack of running on a consistent basis isn't as bad when you run in flat Seabrook. You see, the only elevation or hill work that I get is the one up my driveway, 14 feet. That is the elevation of my home from the street.

Because I had to recreate my playlist, I decided to change it up a bit and discovered I have some new songs that I love to play while running. So apparently my daughter listens to this guy Pitbull. Now I don't like the lyrics nor the attitude but the beat is amazing. If you are a new runner or like me, trying to get your running feet wet again, their song I know you want me. I found myself singing, if that is what you can call it, the words to the song. "you know you want me, you know I want you." and so on. Thank goodness half of it is in Spanish because I would probably turn it off. But I don't so I just run to the beat of the music and sing what I can. Go ahead, down load it. I dare you.

It finally feels like Spring and the Psycho Dog

Can you believe it!?!? It was 67 degrees yesterday and low humidity. So I went for a run outside: Good idea. I took Reba, my dog with me: Bad Idea.

It has been quite a while since I ran outside, so I wanted to take her because she really picks up my pace. Well, she must have short term memory because every little noise, person, car, piece of paper flying in the air just freaked her out. So she ran fast alright but in every direction. Sometimes I was being pulled forward. Sometimes I was being pulled backwards and sometimes I was being pulled sideways. It just depended where she believed she saw something scary. And then for some reason, right before we hit the midpoint, she freaked out and ran all the way home, while dragging me behind her.

Freaky dog. She remembers I use to take her for runs. It is quite funny to watch her. As soon as she sees me grab some of my running attire she starts jumping up and down and running to the hook on the door where I keep her leash. And by running attire I mean, running bra or shorts or heartrate monitor or Ipod. How she can tell my running bra from my regular bra, I have no idea. But she does. So she jumps up and down and anything that resembles a leash or collar, like my headband, she tries to put her head through it. But as soon as we get outside, she goes crazy. It is like she forgets what it is like to be outside and everything spooks her. And as soon as she sees the house, she bolts for the front door to get back inside. I think that is the only time I hit a 10 minute mile, on the way to the front door from the end of our street.

The good news is that my neighbors must think I run a 10 minute mile the whole time. When I leave the house she bolts towards the trails and I am dragged at a 10 minute mile, then she bolts to get to the front door when we get back. They don't see all the struggles I have with her while on the trails.

On a side note: A few weeks ago or maybe a month or two, I had to restore my computer. In the process, I had to restore my Itunes. When I sync my IPhone, everything seems fine but I have not synced my Ipod with my Nike plus on it. My fear is that my Nike plus will not sync. So I am going to sync right now. If my little person doesn't update, pray for my sanity because I hate losing runs. If she updates: well then no prayers needed. :)

Hello 200s!

I wish it was eventful. That as soon as I hit 200 miles on my Nike+ that bells and whistles started chiming or confetti was falling all around me but no, it didn't happen. We have an issue with a cat peeing where she shouldn't be peeing. She has decided the corner, where the TM stands, is the perfect spot to do her business. Thankfully, my husband was gracious enough to clean it up and do his best to keep her from peeing there again.

In any case, it is too cold and rainy for me to run outside. so I am stuck on the dreadmill. I don't like the dreadmill. When I was a teenager, I played varsity soccer. I loved soccer. I loved chasing the ball, passing it to other players and I think my favorite year was the one that I played goalie. Well, it was until I let every ball get pass me during a game, even the one that seems to crawl across the line...even I thought I was an idiot that day. Anyway, I digress. Well during the off season they required the soccer players to run track. Yeah, I wasn't going to do that. I saw no point to running around a track. Why run around a track to end up where you started? It just seemed inefficient. And I am all about efficiency aka I am lazy.

So you can imagine my struggle with standing in the same place for over 30 minutes, exerting all this effort and not moving one inch. Are you feeling me now? Fortunately, when I do it on my treadmill in the morning, I get to watch Holmes on Homes on HGTV. No volume required for this show. He walks around, knocking down wall, painting, rewiring and wahla new room. HMMMM yeah that is probably the only benefit.

I have started posting to the Weight Watchers HeavyWeight Runners thread in the Fitness Getting Started Forum. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I started posting to it again. It had died out some time in November and when it died so did my desire to run. But with new life in the thread, came new life in my running. I reallythink I need community. What is that saying from the 80's or 90's, "It takes a village?" Yeah that is me. It takes a village to keep this runner running.

It is so wonderful to see new people discovering their running legs. and all their trepidation about running so many minutes or in public. I have so been there. If you read my early posts, I ran on the treadmill because I was scared of the outside world Now I love the outside and struggle with the treadmill. I don't get nervous around other runners, I feel a since of community with them. Once you get into a rhythm of running on certain days and certain times, you will begin to recognize the faces of those who run at the same time. Now I am not saying you become like close family...more like distant cousins who smile and maybe say hi.

1.6 miles...if I only knew

I have to admit that today's run was a surprise. I woke up late and never chose the time to run. But at 3:55pm my friend, Mari, came by my house and wanted to know why I was ignoring her. I really wasn't. In fact, I called her and left messages on her phone.

In any case, she was dressed to run in her Vibram 5 fingers. They looked so cool. I want some. She said it was sorta difficult to run on the trail with them. She found it easier to run the grass next to the trail. But at the end of the run she said the bottom of her feet were a bit sore but her back was not. This is a good thing. She had an accident a few years ago that left her with back pain when she tried to do any walking or running. But she read Born to Run and she was convinced barefoot running was the way to go. So do I but I am chicken. Anyway, she did it and she liked it.

I did my normal course for the trails and ended up with a 2.11 mile run. It felt so good. It was weather like today that confirms to me that I love Seabrook for the mild winters. It was 65 degrees and low humidity. The sun was shining and a small breeze was blowing. Isn't' that perfect? I think so, too. But if I knew I was only 1.6 miles away from crossing the 200 mile threshold, I would have ran some more. Well, I run again on Friday so get ready to celebrate!

I almost talked myself out of it

I woke up this morning at 5:40 am. If you follow my blog, you know that I am not a morning person. But for the past week and a half I get up at 3:40 am and go to bed about 9:30pm. It seems to be working for me. So today waking up at 5:40 felt like a treat.

About 7am I started to debate about running on the treadmill. It was foggy outside so I knew I couldn't go outside to do it. So I decided to just hang out in my bedroom until about 7:40. And then I dropped my daughter off at school.

And here is where I fool myself. I got home and instead of going to work, I threw on my running shoes, strapped on all my monitoring devices and hit the treadmill running before my brain knew what was going on. It felt so much better than what it did two days ago. I felt more at ease. I think the fact that Holmes on Homes was on the big screen helped alot. But I am not going to lie to you...I kept my eye on the mileage and stopped as close to 2 miles as possible. I didn't want to be under but I wasn't worried about being over.

Taking the month or so hiatus really shows in my running. My pace is a bit slower and I slowed down to a fast walk twice. But I know from experience that it will get better. So I am not going to beat myself up over it.

When my hubby got home from work we decided to ride our bikes to the post office and back. By that time, the fog had burned off and the day was beautiful. The trails are still wet from the rain so it was tough plowing through the mud. We decided to take the roads on the way back because...well lets face it...I was tired. By the end of the ride we had covered 3.79 miles. Which brings my total mileage of movement for the day to 5.89 miles. Wuu huu!

She's back and I'm back!

So it has taken me two weeks of getting up at 4am, on and off, to finally work out a schedule where I can make time for a run. My business is so fast paced right now that I barely have time to breathe. But I did it and it felt good.

Well by good, I mean, I didn't die. It was harder than I expected and I just have to face the fact that I lost some of my fitness level by taking a hiatus. But I did it and I had my Nikeplus this time. The last couple of times I ran, I only did a mile and a half and I didn't have my Nikeplus.

For someone, who started running with a Nike+, it is very hard to run without it. I feel alone without my coach telling me my current pace and time. And I love syncing my Ipod and seeing my little runner dance for me. But I am glad she is back, to cheer me on to victory.

My daughter started cross country again. They have ran 2 miles everyday the past few weeks, including the frozen days we had earlier this year. She is my motivation also. So today, my and my husband go for a bike ride when he gets off of work at 8:30 this morning. I can't wait.

Some of my Christmas Gifts

Well the holiday season is over and I am sort of back to a normal routine. To say the least, I finally have some breathing room to make videos and show some of the projects I have made or in the process of making.

Many of you may have or are following Christmas with the Cricut, now called Calendar Girls Holidays with the Cricut. This blog is fabulous. Well over the holidays, I believe it was Mandy that did a project with shadow boxes. I simply loved it! I loved it so much that I made them for my brother and sisters. It is a picture taken at my dad's 80th birthday party. It was the first time in 10 years that one of my sisters has been back to Texas. So it was the first time in 10 years that we all got together. What better way to remember it than to give everyone a beautiful frame with a picture of the occasion? And think out of the box, you can do this for Valentine's day also for a loved one.

Has it been a month?

Wow this past month just flew by. I am glad the holidays are over and time to get back to the real world. So I went running today on the treadmill. It was just too cold outside. I think it was 51 degrees outside. Now, now, I know that may not be cold to you northerners and God bless you for thinking that is warm. But I am in the South and have always lived in the South so it is frigid cold for me. So I ran on the treadmill and I must say, I impressed myself. I found my rhythmn pretty quickly. It felt good. I was sweating but my my heartrate was pretty low.

And then in inevitable but expected happened. My Nike plus froze....again. I have to say I love my Nike plus and it was pretty inexpensive. But you get what you paid for. I don't know if it is my Ipod (that is 3 years old) or my Nike plus but it freezes sometimes or goes silent. Sometimes I can hear the music but the screen is frozen and can't hear my coach. Or I can hear my coach but can't hear my music. so it went silent about 15 minutes into my run. Oh well.

So how many of you do New Years resolutions? I do, every year. Don't last long and then I feel like a failure. So this year I am doing just one. I am going to be a better steward of my time. I plan to start out by going to bed earlier so that I wake up earlier and work out in the morning. Start my work day earlier, so that I finish earlier and have time to cook dinner, a healthy dinner and then some relax time and back to bed earlier. Yes, I will scrapbook but only on certain days. Yes I will blog but only on certain days. TV and internet are time wasters for me. I can spend hours on blogs, forums and watching youtube videos. So I think being a good steward of my time is the key to changing things in my life. What are some of your resolutions?