The ER, Paranoia and my last long run

So it has been an eventful week around here. Last Wednesday, after a frustrating day, I ended up in the ER for an allergic reaction that required me to use my Epipen for the first time. I was scared to death but this time Mac was with me. We were in the ER for several hours so they could monitor me once the epi wore off and so they could give me an iv with meds to help stop the reaction. Friday, I went to see my regular provider and she had blood drawn to try to find the problem because she did not believe me when I told her what it was. I have been monitoring my food intake ever since the first reaction sent me to the ER last July. I have found a common thread and it is Red 40. When I told my provider this, she dismissed it saying red 40 is found in so many things and that it is probably something else. I know it is found in so many things and over the past 8 months, I have cut out most of those things because I have been trying to eat cleaner foods and almost always all natural if it is partially processed. That means I haven't been eating red 40 regularly and when I do decide to have something I shouldn't, I have a reaction. Every time I have had a reaction since July, whether it was minor or major like last week, I can find something in my diet that had a large amount of red 40 in it. Last week, it was a giant bag of skittles. I wanted something sweet and since I don't really eat much chocolate, I went for skittles and regretted it.

However, because my PCM was so adamant about me being wrong and told me that it was more than likely something else, I ended up becoming extremely paranoid about food. I barely ate anything for the first several days after and I still have a mini panic attack when I sit down to eat. I finally forced myself to eat pancakes Thursday night and then prayed that I wouldn't react. When Mac suggests certain things for dinner or as a side, I freak out and get angry because I am still scared to eat most things. Not eating when you are trying to train for a half marathon is not really an option.

Which brings us to my last long run. Mac and I had a plan for 9-11 miles on Sunday. We ended up completing just over 8 miles. Things were going pretty good and I was taking it easy for the first half. I decided to walk the first half and then start doing intervals on the way home. It was going alright until right around mile 5. I started getting really tired and my back was bothering me. Finally we were on the last road home and I decided to try running. After a few intervals I became extremely light headed. I had some Clif bloks with me and I tried eating them to see if it would help but it wasn't enough. Mac and I decided to just head home. The problem was that home was still two miles away. Fortunately we made it home without any incidents but I was wiped once we got here. I finally got a shower and then forced myself to eat. That wasn't the way I wanted my last long run to go but I am glad we got some miles in. I've done the math and I know I should have no problem finishing the race, I just have to get me head and gut back in line.

I'm starting to feel better and I have another follow up with my PCM tomorrow and then a consultation with the allergist the first week in March. It is just frustrating because I am pretty sure I am right about what is going on, she just has me second guessing everything now. Hopefully it will all get figured out soon.

Nerves

So the Princess is getting really close and I must admit, I am freaking out a little. I know I can do it. I have trained and I have done it before. I have seen major improvements in my running over the past year but the thought of another half marathon still makes me nervous.

We have our last long training run this weekend. I'm hoping it goes well but since I've been sick this week, I'm not sure what it will be like.

I'm excited to be heading back to Disney and hanging out with my cheerleader, Rachel. I think I am most excited about the fact that I will be doing this race with Mac. I can't imagine what it will feel like to cross that finish line with him this year and I can't wait.

Fat Girl Problems

Why is it so hard for plus size women to find good exercise/running clothes? I am so completely frustrated right now because I decided I wanted a new tech top for the Princes but I can't find anything in a wicking fabric for a plus size woman for under $30. Then you add $5 -$10 shipping and tax and I have to pay $50 just to have a good shirt to run in. I have lots of sleeveless shirts that I was able to get at a local fitness boutique that had a plus size section. Unfortunately, they went out of business last fall and none of the companies(like Nike and champion) carry plus size clothes in their stores. There is a Nike outlet near here and they never have anything that I can wear in the store event though I know they make it because I have 3 Nike tank tops that I love.

The problem is that I can't wear a tank for the half because I end up chafing on the inside of my arms from the arm hole seam. That's why I always wear a t-shirt for the race. I have the shirt I wore last year but I was hoping to go with a different color for this year's race. Sorry, I know this isn't really a big deal but it is just frustrating. People tell us all the time that we need to work out and lose weight, yet no one wants to sell us reasonably priced athletic wear so that we can actually do it. Everything thing I find I either have to order on line and hope it fits the way I want or it is made of sub par materials or straight up cotton which is not fun to wear for a half marathon(I know, I did it the first year.)

Hopefully I can find something before the race.

Losing Weight and Making Money

In December I read a post on another blog I follow about a site called DietBet. she has hosted a weight loss challenge before but this time she decided to use this site to make it easier for everyone to join and give everyone a little more incentive. I decided to read up on the site and I liked what I found. Each dietbet is 4 weeks long and requires you to lose 4% of your body weight to win. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE that hits their goal wins. The bet amount is decided by the organizer(hers is just $10) and if you hit your goal, you will at least get your money back. The pot grows based on participants and everyone that loses 4% splits the pot.

I thought it was a pretty cool concept and I liked having the incentive of losing money if I didn't lose the weight. It takes the office weight loss pool to a different level and makes it easy for anyone to join in. I decided to join round one of her challenge(she is planning to do three rounds) and give it a shot. Today I weighed in and made my goal. I am just waiting on my weight to be verified since beginning and ending(if you win) weights have to have photo verification to help keep people from cheating. Today also starts round two of her challenge and a new DietBet.

I would love for you to join me in this DietBet. Simply click this link to sign up. The initial weigh-in is today and the final weigh-in is on Feb 24th or 25th since they give you a 48 hour window to weigh-in. If you meet your goal, you will make a little money. Once you're a verified winner, you can either cash out using paypal to transfer it into your bank account or leave it as a credit on the site to use for new games and let it grow. I am considering hosting my own in a few months(after I am done with her challenge) to help me with my last push towards my birthday goals. If that happens, I will post that here as well so you can join me then too.

Give it some thought. If you have been trying to lose weight but needing a little help, let the possibility of winning money help motivate you. It worked for me so far. 

Biggest Loser 10K

Well, I have a new medal now and it was a lot easier to earn, haha. 

This past weekend Mac and I traveled down to Austin to take part in the Biggest Loser 10K. I really wanted to get a decent time(for me) so that maybe it could help me with my starting corral. Because of the way Mac ended up getting registered for the race, I wasn't able to check his anticipated finish time and he ended up with a faster submitted time than me. I was worried that it would mean we would end up in different corrals. I know that he could move back to mine but I REALLY wanted to be able to move up to his to give me a little more time and peace of mind on race day. Even though I have done this before and even though I am in better shape than last year, I have still been really worried lately. I know that people have had success in the past getting moved up by having a proof of time even if it wasn't a great one so I was just hoping for anything.

As the 10K got closer, I wasn't sure that I was going to have as fast of a time as I had hoped because my knee has been bothering me more lately. I think a lot of that is due to the weird weather fluctuations but no matter the cause, it affects my running. There was a little concern over packet pick-up and if we were going to have to drive down both Friday and Saturday but once we received the final email, I was relieved to see that there was race day pick-up.

Saturday morning we got up early to drive the hour down there for the race. We had to get there a little early to get our packets. It was cold and wet so I wore my PJs over my race clothes to stay warm. It's a good thing we left earlier than we needed to because 10 minutes after we left, I realized I had forgotten my shoes for the race. After a quick trip back by the house we were finally on the way. We arrived in plenty of time to get our bibs and shirts and check a bag(with my pjs in it) before we needed to line up. I was surprised at how small of a crowd there was since Austin is a HUGE running community. There were only 254 participants so it was a very small crowd. I was impressed right before the start because they actually had a guy from a local cross fit community get on the mic and lead us in a quick warm-up before the start.

I decided to have fun with my race outfit since I ALWAYS race in a Sparkle Tech and I decided to wear my purple one this time. I wore my pink Running Princess tech tee, my hot pink Zensahs, and my new turquoise NB Minimus so I was VERY colorful. I received tons of compliments on my skirt and most were surprised to find out it was an actual running skirt. About a quarter of a mile after the race started the course split and the 5K route went to the right and the 10K went left into the woods. Just before the split, a lady passed us and said "I was really hoping for the pajamas for the race."

It was a very friendly and encouraging crowd. The course was also nice too because they had banners with encouraging quotes all along the course. I even saw one that said, "Forget the glass slipper, this princess wears running shoes" and it made me smile knowing we will be at the Princess in just a few weeks. Unfortunately, our first loop was on a mulch trail. I HATE mulch trails. You have to compensate for shifting steps and it kills my calves. Plus I spend the whole time worrying that I am going to twist an ankle. We were making pretty good time but the cooler weather and the uneven surface caused my muscles to ache a little and take longer to warm up so we ended up walking a little extra. I knew after our first loop we would be back on the road and then a better trail so I hoped I would be able to make up some time. Even with the extra walking, we still had a decent pace(for me).

Finally we hit the asphalt again and I started feeling better. My muscles finally warmed up and I was on solid ground. Soon we were on the the second loop and a different trail. I had my phone tracking us and playing music. I had it set to tell me each mile we did. When the lady said we had done 3 miles, I realized we had not seen a flag on the course for it. We kept going and not too long later, passed the 4 mile mark. I checked my phone and it said 3.5. I wasn't sure if my phone was wrong or the course but we kept running. I was starting to feel a little tired and I had a terrible cramp in my shoulder. I ended up walking a few extra times but kept pushing as much as I could. I wasn't keeping the goal pace I had for myself but I was only 30 seconds slower so I wanted to keep it up if I could. Mac was great because he was actually tracking the intervals for us with the Gym Boss timer. We had it on vibrate so we wouldn't disturb people around us and him announcing to me each time the interval changed meant it gave people around us a heads up. I would ask if a run interval was up and he would tell me how many more seconds and try to push me on.

Finally we were on the 3rd and final loop and I was starting to suspect that I was right. Before the race, I plotted the course on Run Keeper so that I could see the elevation changes. I wanted to see if there were any crazy hills  because I knew that would slow me down. When I plotted the course, it wasn't 6.2 miles. I kept thinking that maybe I wasn't exactly right since some of the trails were hard to see on the map but as we were running that day, I kept thinking my suspicions could be right. As we ran the last loop I heard the RunKeeper lady say we had done 5 miles. I looked around and thought that we were really close to the stadium where the finish line was. Sure enough, not long after, we passed the 6 mile marker. I literally started crying tears of joy. I knew that they course was wrong and that I was going to end up with an AWESOME time to submit at the Princess for better placement. We rounded the last bend and headed for the stadium. Even though it was a run interval I walked because I told Mac I would run once we hit the track and only had  a tenth of a mile left. As we hit the track I started running with a longer and faster stride than usual. I wanted to finish strong and we did.We got our medals and I grabbed my phone to turn off the tracking. We did about 5.5 miles, not 6.2, but even for the distance we did cover, I had my best average pace yet. It gave me the encouragement I needed as we head into these last few weeks before the half.

We grabbed some yummy food from a local sponsor and headed over to the results board and waited for them to post the list with us on it. After a few minutes it was up. I checked it out and sure enough, it was calculated for the distance it SHOULD have been not what we actually covered and it was a great finish time for me. It was still slow for most people's standards but it was great for me and means that I will have a little more cushion at the Princess. I also noticed that my husband placed 3rd in his age group. It was funny because that goes to show how few guys his age were out there. Three quarters of the participants were women. We browsed around at a few of the vendors and then headed out. I was SO COLD after the race so it was nice getting in the car with a little heat. The temp outside wasn't too bad by the end of the race but it was definitely a time when I wished I had a mylar blanket.

All in all it was a great day. There are several people that are bitching about the messed up distance on the FB event but for me it was a welcome blessing. Most of the people there are new to running and this was their first event so 5.5 miles is better than nothing. It sucks that some people can't count the time for PRs but everybody makes mistakes. I'm just glad that we had a good run and a good pace and now I have a good time to submit for the half. I can't believe it is so close and that I am about to do this all over again.

Taking a Breather

So I'm not going to do my scheduled workouts today because my knee needs a break. It had a hard time with the 9 miles on Sunday and doing some pretty intense workouts the past two days hasn't helped much. I will probably do the stretching video from TF and maybe try to get in a few upper body moves but I think my legs need a little break.

I'm trying to get back in the habit of taking my joint health supplement but for now rest is the best medicine. Tomorrow it is back to the grind.

Running to Clear Creek

So far things are going well with my new plan. I have stuck with the past two days. I know that doesn't seem like much but the problem I have been having lately was trouble starting, not just following through. I would make up the schedules and then when day one rolled around, I wouldn't do it. The fact that I have done my long run and my first workouts are a good thing because at least this time I started. Tonight I did have some frustrations with TurboFire and getting the moves down. I know I will get better but when you can't seem to catch on to the first combo, it makes it tough to keep going. I didn't finish that part of the workout but I did do Insanity and my stretching. I think I may have to ease into TurboFire a little slower than I planned and make sure I have each of the moves down before I get completely into it otherwise, I will never finish a workout. I also have to get a non-slip pad to put under our new workout matting because having it slide around when you are jumping around doing the kick boxing moves is not a fun feeling. The last thing I want to do is pull or twist something because the flooring slides and end up injuring myself so that I can't run.

The big thing about these two days though was the long run Mac and I did on Sunday.  Originally on my training plan it was supposed to be 8 miles but we will be running a 10K on the day that should be 9.5 miles so we decided to up Sunday's run to 9 miles. It ended up being just over 9 miles but that's OK too. We typically run close to home. Even when we do longer runs, we just run extra "laps" on the closed gate road next to our neighborhood.(There is a road that was added for a new post gate and that gate is only open certain hours during the day on week days and closed on weekends.) We typically run there because it is an easy place to get a good run on asphalt without having to worry about any traffic. When I was thinking about our 9 mile run, I didn't want to run up and down the same road over and over and over again, so I started looking at other options. Then I thought about something I have always talked about but never had the guts to do. I could run to Clear Creek.

Clear Creek Rd is one of the main roads on post that is the other side of the post from where I live. If you drive from my house to there it seems like it is so far away. In actuality, it is about 3-4 miles depending on which road you take. I decided to take one of the less traveled roads so that we wouldn't have to deal with traffic or trying to run on a sidewalk the entire time.(Concrete= bad on joints) I mapped it out and found that if we went to one of the last drive ways on North Ave, it would take us to the 4.5 mile mark so we could turn around and head back. As I mapped it out on RunKeeper, I noticed the elevation changes and knew there was a pretty good hill but I figured it shouldn't be too bad. WRONG! It is TWO MILES up hill. It was TOUGH and it meant that I walked a lot more than I planned but I knew if I tried to run up that hill I would be DEAD and the top of the hill was only at the 3 mile mark. So we walked most of the way up and then returned to our run intervals on the way down. I checked my phone at the top of the hill and I was surprised to see that even with all of the walking, we were still under the required pace for the Princess. We were going along really well on the way down and as we got closer to the midpoint, I told Mac where we would need to turn around. He said, "Don't you just want to run all of the way and tag the Clear Creek sign." The more I thought about it, the more I really wanted to actually go all the way to Clear Creek. I knew it would put us over the 9 miles but I also knew that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. So we agreed to go to the sign. I knew I wouldn't be able to touch the sign because It is really high and I can't jump that high but Mac touched it and I got a picture.

I must admit, it was kind of cool to be able to stand there. Then we turned around and headed back and that meant back up the hill. We went back to walking because that hill was a bitch. By the time we got to the top, I was FREEZING. The temps dropped pretty drastically in TX this weekend and the 14 mph winds just cut through to the bone. My quads were like ice and running became very hard because they were so tight. So even when we crested the hill, we kept walking because my body was just too tired and cold to run. It was taking a lot of effort just to breathe so I knew I couldn't run. I kept checking my phone and I was constantly shocked that we were still doing fine when it came to our pace. I realized that even if I had to walk the entire Princess, I could do it now and not get swept. That would have been an impossibility a year ago and was obviously not possible two years ago when I was swept.  It is crazy when you have these moments where you can see how far you have come. We finally made it back to the house and Mac realized that even when walking, 9 miles is no joke. For the first time in our training, I saw some fatigue in my Army boy at the end of a training distance. Typically, since he is just going at my pace, the runs aren't that hard on him but increasing the miles has finally gotten to a point that he isn't used to yet.

The little things like realizing I can now walk faster than a 16 minute mile have given me a little confidence boost this week. I had been feeling like I was stalling out and I was wondering if I was really getting anywhere anymore. Another thing was earlier tonight when I updated my weight in the ticker below. I know that it has taken me a long time to lose those 34 lbs, but I have still lost them, and kept them off. I also realized how close I am to losing 50 lbs. and being half way to my target weight. I'm not going to say 160 is my goal weight but for now it is my target weight. If you look at BMI charts and several other methods of calculating ideal weight, they say that I should be between 135 and 165. I am targeting 160 so that once I get there, then I can decide if I really NEED to lose more weight or if that is closer to what is a healthy weight for my frame type. I am hoping to lose the next 68 pounds of this journey faster than I did the first 34 because I think I have figured out what my body needs and how things work better. I stalled out in the 240s for a long time but in the last few months I have been putting the pieces into place better and I have seen a steady change. I am hoping that now that I am working out more and focusing on nutrition better that those changes will continue at a steady and possibly increased pace. I'm not talking about anything crazy, just 2-3 pounds a week instead of 0.5-1 pound a week. I know that I will lose more in the first few weeks and then taper off and that is fine as well. I just want to reach my full potential instead of hanging back because I'm scared of what's ahead.

I'm just ready to be a new person and I know that this is the time to do it.