Almost Healthy West Virginia

Living Room Half Marathon Training

2017-11-25T17:52:00.003-08:00

I’m trying to keep up with my Thanksgiving Day tradition, I took Elliott on his first overnight trip to my sisters. He was excited!

This was sadly after getting his first round of vaccinations. I can’t believe he’s two months already! Poor thing slept most of the day. He came out like a champ though!

He did rather well on his first night away from home, but that may have been the shots too.

Thanksgiving day I got up early, fed the kid, handed him to my sisters, had pumpkin pie for breakfast(!) and took off to the annual Turkey Trot!

I set out to run two minutes and walk two for the entire 5K. I completed that goal! Small steps. Not my slowest but very far from my fastest.

Somewhere to start and build on I suppose.

It was freaking cold! Thank goodness for hand warmers! Also, I post these two pictures, but I don’t like either one of them. My face has gotten so puffy. Also something to work on.

The last three days I haven’t counted calories, but that will start back up tomorrow for sure! And today I had to be a bit creative when it came to getting my workout in.

Little guy was fussy, so I took him for my run/walk around the living room while mixing in some lunges, squats, and stretches. Hey at least I got some movement in!

Tomorrow I hope to get a regular workout in. Then we have a second Thanksgiving meal to go to with the in-laws. But I’ll try not to over indulge at this one and keep track of what I eat.

Spirit

2017-11-18T17:56:00.002-08:00

Today was one of those days. A day that starts off decent enough, tired of course, but nothing out of the ordinary. Then “It” hits. “It” being an over pouring of emotions, the blues, maybe slight depression. It comes every once in a while, even before the baby. Today the feelings came hard when I had decided to get off my butt and get a walk/run in. Then the boy decided he was fussy. Then hungry. And there went my plans. I just felt like I couldn’t do anything anymore.

Of course, I was being dramatic. After feeding him I took Mattie out and went outside. It was cloudy and extremely windy, but not cold. It felt so good.

I’m taking it slow and easy of course (no other option really, ha). I did a 5 minute warm up, then ran one minute and walked two for 20 minutes, then a 5 minute cool down.

I was in much better spirits when I got home! Exercise does the body and, more importantly, the mind good.

And I was able to enjoy cuddles from this cutie when I got back. (Even if he was still cranky!).

I didn’t eat that well today, over ate mostly, but I’ve been keeping steady in at least tracking my food on SparkPeople. I’ll get better at getting my calories down. Just taking one step at a time right now!

My New Life

2017-11-18T17:02:00.001-08:00

I see it has been a year, almost exactly, since I last posted. So much has changed within that year. I went to write probably a hundred times within this year, but I felt like I didn't have much to say.

I was not as active this past year, I gained a bunch of weight, I didn't feel well, and there were lots of tears. However, it was one of the best years of my life! I now have a son!

Now I wish I had kept a record of my pregnancy. The morning sickness in the beginning, to the extreme fatigue that hit in the first and second trimester, and even how very big I got! haha. I don't even have a decent picture of me pregnant towards the end. My husband and I kept putting off taking pictures and then the next thing we knew we were driving to the hospital! Other than my feet swelling and back pain that I went to physical therapy for I absolutely cannot complain about my pregnancy. I didn't have any medical issues and the baby was healthy. My labor was even quick (maybe not painless, but quick). The hospital I chose was an hour away. I woke up with contractions at 2:45 in the morning, we were at the hospital by 4:30am and my little bundle was born at 8:11am. He was two weeks early, but already weighed 8pounds 9ounces and was 20.75 long.

The past two months have been a whirlwind of emotions and lack of sleep! Some moments have been hard for me. To have a little being so dependent on me. Always having to worry about his next feeding, diaper change, sleep, etc. I decided to breastfeed at the last moment and I'm glad I did since it is so much healthier for the baby, but damn, it sure is a lot of work! Between pumping and feeding him every 2.5 to three hours, it's a full time commitment that no one else can take over. Now that I've gotten in more of a routine it's slightly less exhausting. He's so precious though. I'm so thankful that he came into my life and is healthy. I'll take all the hard work and sleepless nights for him!

I would like to try to journal more, but I know I've said that before. I have a long way to get back to where I was physically before the pregnancy and then back to my lowest weight. I'd like to chronicle my journey back and my new life as a mom. (Eep! I'm a mom!!).

I've started back to tracking calories on Sparkpeople. And I'm trying to get activity in, but that's been harder than I thought. I'm so tired in the evenings, but worse than that, my back gets very aggravated. I actually have an appointment on Monday with a Chiropractor. This is the one thing that I have not tried yet to fix my bulging disc in my lower back. I also have a touch of arthritis and scoliosis. I truly hope the chiropractor can help me get back to running. I still do the exercises from physical therapy, but it just gets me to the point I can walk. I would like to be pain free and able to run without having to stop due the pain!

So here are my current stats:

Highest weight ever and during pregnancy: 240

Lowest weight:160

Weight before pregnancy: 180-185

Weight at about 6 weeks post partum:212

Current weight:211

I've got another long road ahead, but I did it once and I'll do it again!

The Difference of Fuel

2016-11-01T17:40:00.001-07:00

October 1st I began a nutrition program through Swim, Bike, Fuel.

Swim Bike Fuel is all about eating whole, nutritious, as organic as possible, healthy food. The goal is to feed your body the best fuel possible to become better athletes. And to really become healthier overall.

I've changed quite a few things with this program. I'm not counting calories which is freeing. I don't have to obsess about how much food I've had today. I just focus on making the best possible choices, cutting down on sugar, and giving up artificial sweeteners. I haven't had Diet soda in a month!!

The lessons are given one day at a time so that it isn't overwhelming. Eating out is still hard, but I've been trying to choose the best choices, more veggies and less wheat and refined carbs. There is a 20% allowance for the non-great food. I've been doing okay at that, maybe went over last week, but I've been staying aware which is different. Staying conscious of what I'm putting in my body and more importantly if what I'm eating will make me sick or not is a pretty big deal. Usually I would just eat it no matter what. I have also come to realize that regular wheat bread makes my weight go up and a bit bloated.

So what I've been eating lately:

Breakfast:
Green Smoothie - organic soy milk, banana, baby spinach, avocado, and chia seeds.
Or Chicken Sausage, part of a sweet potato that I baked, and an egg.

Lunch:
This week home made squash soup with grilled chicken.
Last week I had Taco Salad twice. Salad, meat and been chili, tomato and salsa. I skipped the sour cream and cheese.

Dinner:
Maybe chicken, with vegetables and some quinoa.
I've still been using Blue Apron, so every other week I've been eating the meals they send. This is a good way for me to stay on track and eat fresh, whole food.

As of today, I've lost 6 pounds. That's a healthy weight loss of 2 pounds a week, so I'm okay with that. I'm still a work in progress in getting my exercise consistent. I have been working out at least 4 times a week, but I'd like to get to 5-6 days. And if I can keep my back pain in check that would help a whole lot!

I took measurements at the beginning of the program so when it is over I'll retake my measurements and look at the comparison. But I can really tell when I'm on point with the balanced eating. It really does make me feel better.

Oh, and I also just took a big leap and signed up for a half marathon trail race that will be two days before my birthday!
The Babcock Gristmill Grinder!

The Gristmill from the Sticks and Stones race I did last year.

Bridge Day 5k

2016-10-19T11:16:00.001-07:00

In 2013 a 5k would have been nothing for me to run. That is what I ran when I didn't have a lot of time. On Saturday, October 15th, a 5k was a big deal. I've worked on getting back to that mileage. I'm slower, a lot slower.

And it wasn't easy.

Let's start on Friday. I joined my sisters in an adventure in itself. We went tent camping for the night. It was located in Fayetteville, WV (the location of the race) which is not far from where I live. We got the tent set up. Realized it has two holes in it because it's probably twenty years old and was given to me by my grandfather. So I crossed my fingers that it didn't rain.

After dinner and trying to find my sisters friend who ended up going the completely wrong direction and having to stay with my mom, we went to the bar at the campground to watch several bands play. I should note that the bands didn't start until 10 pm. I usually go to bed at 10! And close crowds are not my scene. And I'm trying to not drink a bunch of alcohol so that it doesn't throw my body off course from eating healthy. Needless to say by 12:30 I was back at our campsite, sitting by the fire. I went to bed shortly thereafter. I was doing okay with my three blankets on top (it dropped into the 40's) and two sleeping bags underneath me for some cushion...for about an hour. Then the musicians decided to move the party to their cabin. Which was right behind our tents. All night. Literally all night of singing, loud talking, laughing, etc. I woke up at 6:20am to get ready and they were still going. How in the hell did they still have voices after that long???

Other than being tired and a bit pissed, I felt okay. I was afraid my back would act up from being on the ground all night, but I got lucky and after some stretching it felt okay.

I was at the high school by 7am to pick up my bib. I ate peanut butter and banana on a slice of Ezekiel bread for breakfast in my warm car. We had to load onto buses by 8 to get to the start line, so I just hung out, looked at Facebook for a while, used the port-o-potty, stretched some more until 8.

Security for this event was extremely high. Higher than any other race I've been to. We listened to the local police give us directions and they checked anything we took with us. Bags weren't allowed. I suppose they are rightly cautious in this day and age of any bomb material that people could take on the bridge. The FBI was even there!

We had a strict start time of 9:15. Therefore, we just had to hang out on the side of the highway for an hour. Since this is the inaugural event, maybe that will change in the future, but it got to be a bit boring. No one was allowed onto the bridge yet, but they had bathrooms that everyone could use. Which was a good thing! I did meet a lady, Lynn, on the bus who lives in Fairmont. Where I used to live. So I got to reminisce about the wonderful trails in that area that I miss so much.

Lynn and I at the finish line.

FINALLY, 9:15 came and we were off!

Going across the New River Gorge Bridge was beautiful. I tried to take it all in.

My first running selfie, haha

The morning had started out relatively chilly, so most of us had on jackets. The race offered to take our things to the finish line, but most of us kept ours. I think we all regretted that. Two minutes on the bridge in the sun and I was hot! But it was beautiful! And my sisters arrived to the bridge in time to see me go by! That made my day!

I was still smiling at this point! After the highway, it was all hills. I don't think I've ever run on so many hills for a 5k ever! They had posted a video of the race course, but I didn't bother watching it. Maybe it was a good thing I didn't because I would have been dreading it. I knew there were some hills, but I didn't expect them to be as steep as they were. I'm not ashamed to say that I walked up just about all of them.

Walking the first hill

If you want to see the race course video you can go here, https://splice.gopro.com/v?id=D6n44zX1q

After a lot more hills and a loop around the town park, my watch vibrated with the notification of three miles. We weren't close to the finish yet! Turns out it was more around 3.65 miles long rather than the 3.1 it was supposed to be. But that was okay. My time was off because of that, but I knew it was going to be slow. I finished with a time of 45 mins and 46 seconds. I was happy to be done!

After I got my beautiful handmade medal for finishing I met my sisters to enjoy the festivities.

By the time I finished, the bridge was pretty packed. We had a good time though. The jumpers from the bridge are crazy! Here are a few pictures from the day.

"Jumping from the bridge" yeah right!

Add caption

Can you tell we are sisters?

Santa? Kei finally made it safely to Bridge Day (after getting lost the night before)

Those specks are people!

We probably walked another three miles that day! But it was a beautiful day.

After lunch in town and packing up our campsite, I immediately went home, showered, and took a two hour nap. It was glorious!

In all, I wasn't exactly happy with how my 5k turned out. I was glad I could do it and finish it. However, I was hoping that my legs would have been stronger. That is something I am now working on. I set up my bike trainer and I'm already working in more strength training.

I also wasn't thrilled to see how I looked in the photos of the race. I long for a day where I am happy with how I look. But it's a work in progress. I definitely feel better now that my eating habits are getting better. I can already tell a difference in my energy levels. I've lost a few pounds and I'm pretty sure I've already lost some weight around my waist. So that is all good. But really I am just so happy right now that I can do any of this that what I look like is an after thought. I know I can get stronger, it will take consistency though.

My next race will be the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, so I'll keep working at it all. And it's a flat course so I'm hoping to see my finish time to be closer to 32-34 minutes. But we'll see!

Until next time, I will be consistent with my exercise and eating habits and work on getting stronger! :)

In 7 Months

2016-10-14T10:59:00.004-07:00

I haven't blogged in about 7 months! I suppose that I just didn't feel worthy of writing anything down, since I haven't been doing much and having such a hard time with my health.

But I've been trying to turn myself around and feel like I'm headed in the right direction.

I did have a few 'big' things happen this summer:

1. Um I got Married!!

It was a small get together. We got married on the steps of my great grandfather's church. We had our close friends and family there. Then we simply went to one of our favorite restaurants, had a wonderful meal and cake that his sister made for us. It was perfect!

We wanted a small wedding so that we could have a nice honeymoon.

Hello, Alaska!

We went to Fairbanks, Denali National Park, Anchorage, and the Prince William Sound. It was all gorgeous. We had a blast! I'd love to go back and do some hiking. We only had about a week, so we were limited on what we could see. I absolutely loved it though!

2. I've been running, kind of.

It has been slow going. My back is still not right which makes running correctly kind of hard. I have bulging discs which over the summer I had my nerves burned (it's called radiofrequency ablation) to help with the pain. It helped some, but I still have pain. I'm trying though. I used Runs For Cookies training plan to get back up to three miles. It's pretty damn humbling, when you were used to running half marathons and now I'm not sure I can do the 5k I have on schedule for tomorrow. It's damn frustrating!

But I have to work slowly. I have to strengthen my core so that my whole body is stronger and my back won't be so week.

I am excited for the 5k in a way though. It's the inaugural race for a big event that we have in our area. It's the Bridge Day 5k.

(This picture is from their website.) But I get to run across that bridge and be among the first to do so! The race supports Active Southern WV, which is an organization whose mission is to make our communities in this area more active and healthier. Which is awesome!

I just hope I don't die!

Depending on how this goes, I'll start either increasing my mileage or just work on getting stronger and better at running this distance. We'll see.

3. I've began a new nutrition plan/class. It's with the popular Swim Bike Mom group, called Swim Bike Fuel. I am not a mother, but its great for people that are/want to be active and need help nutritionally to fuel themselves.

It began on October 1st and it has been eye opening to say the least. I've learned so much already about added sugars in our food, artificial sweeteners (goodbye Diet Coke!), and what's best for me.

It's a six week course, so I still have a ways to go, but I'm learning. I've already implemented quite a few of the lessons, such as giving up Diet soda, cutting back on the added sugar in my food, and planning when I want to have a treat and when I need to pass. And water! I've been drinking so much water! Most days now I've been consuming more than 100 ounces of water per day. Which is crazy to me. I've never been good about drinking this much. I've also never had to pee so much in my life!

Next step is working on getting more green veggies in my life.

I've definitely been having withdraw from the sugar and artificial sweetener. My head hurt and sometimes I feel extremely tired, but I know it's from years of feeding my body unhealthy foods. I'm really happy I made the commitment to eat healthier. I'm not going to be perfect at it, but it feels good to be trying. It's also really nice to have a group to lean on and to learn from. Because I have been getting some harsh/funny looks and comments when I tell people that I'm cutting back on certain foods.

There will be more adventures in my future, I'll just have to take it somewhat slower for now.

Walking with Mattie and my family at Babcock State Park

Part of the Appalachian Trail, WV

Appalachian Trail

You never know what you'll see when you go outside!

Lost Weekend

2016-03-06T18:47:00.001-08:00

Last weekend, I did the opposite of being healthy. I participated in an awesome event called Lost Weekend.

It is called thus because by the end you have no idea what day it is and where your weekend went. I drove 4+ hours to Winchester, VA to watch 20 films in one weekend. Yes, TWENTY films! The local film club at the Alamo Theater put on this event and a friend of mine invited me. Though I was worried about not being able to walk because of my back after sitting for more than 40 hours, I went for all 20 films. And I'm so glad I did. They were awesome. All independent films, including a couple of animated and some foreign films. Some were ones that I would not ordinarily watch on my own, but turned out to be do good.

First film called The Lobster. Yes that is a Lobster bib and a Lobster Costume.

At The Alamo they serve food, not just popcorn and nachos, but actual food. Which I loved. We don't have one of those, but I wish we did. But I ate the most unhealthy options all weekend! It began with Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes with a side of fruit on Friday morning (which I then had on both Saturday and Sunday because they were so good), the popcorn (of course) with unlimited refills (awesome!), turkey club, some cheese fries, and then some mozzarella sticks and fries. I had a pizza at some point as well. It was all kind of blur. But it's obvious that I went to town. Afterwards the bad eating kind of reminded me of eating while by myself. It was okay to eat all that junk because it was dark and no one could see me. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed it, including the Makers Mark Milkshakes that I had! But I just wonder if I would have chosen differently if I hadn't been in a dark theater. One thing is for sure, my legs and feet did not thank me for all of the salt! My feet were quite swollen by Sunday. I did a lot of stretching and used a pillow for my back though, so I was actually okay on that front. I did take some ibuprofen a couple of times when I started to feel stiff.

We got crowns for watching all twenty! They will also have a small gathering with food where people can buy the next tickets early if they watched all twenty which was cool. I got some great swag as well. Including a cloth bag, a wine glass (with a sample of wine), candy, and coupons. Here is a list of what we saw:
Thursday
The Lobster
Friday
The Vanished Elephant
Macbeth
Where to Invade Next (Michael Moore Documentary)
45 Years (really good)
Wild Tales
Nina Forever
Men and Chicken (probably one of my favorite strangely)
Saturday
Boy and The World (Animated)
A Tale of Tales (another favorite)
An Honest Liar
Sea Fog
Louder Than Bombs
Monster Hunt (Animated, so cute)
Victoria
Sunday
Youth (Really Good)
Mustang (Another good one)
Men Go To Battle
Carol (Fantastic)
Liza The Fox-Fairy (This one was funny, but I was happy it was a Hungarian film, since I lived there!)

There were a few Oscar Nominees in the line up which was fun. We went to a small Oscars party after the last movie on Sunday. It was nice knowing at least some of the movies that were nominated, haha.

Yesterday I did another thing that I've been wanting to do. My nephew, niece, sister and I went to an Indoor Climbing Gym. It's been open a few weeks. I don't have a lot of upper arm strength so I was a little nervous to try it, but it was a lot of fun. My nephew only tried it once, but made it about half-way up the wall. The wall goes about 35 feet up and there were endless variations. There are different color variations to follow with different levels of how hard it is. We of course tried some of the beginner ones. My niece and I both made up all the way on one of the easiest sections, but only about half way one the slightly harder one, haha! We both liked it and definitely will go again. Maybe my sister will try it next time. The belayers (those who hold the rope and kept us from killing ourselves) were really friendly and encouraging of us newbies!

After getting shaky from climbing we enjoyed some hot drinks there and played a board game of 'Would you Rather'. It was a fun little night and the kids really enjoyed it.

My sister and I also tried making soap for the first time. I've started using Essential Oils (DoTerra Brand) and we decided to give it a go. The first batch turned out pretty well. We used Melaleuca (Tea Tree Oil), Frankincense, and Lemongrass. I think it will help with dry skin. We also used a Shea Butter base which should help with dry skin. We bought the supplies for it at Hobby Lobby. It was rather easy and kind of fun!

Today I enjoyed a nice trail run with ol' pup. It was a really nice day out and we had a good time in the mud. Did three miles today with lots of sniffing stops.

The annual AmazingRace that I have tried to do most years in Tennessee is coming up the first of May. I would really like to get my 5K time down closer to 30 minutes like it used to be. I'm not sure there is enough time, with only about 8 weeks left, but I think I will try. I'll have to look if there are any plans that are short enough. But I'm hoping if I buckle down, add speed work and more strength training that I can get close. I would have to really improve in those eight weeks though. My last 5K was around 35 minutes! If I don't reach it then, maybe that will be a good goal for the coming summer.

Well I should get packing, I'm off to Washington, DC for work tomorrow!

Getting There

2016-02-17T16:23:00.000-08:00

I wanted to wait to write another post until I had a real update for my back, for my mental state, for my food intake, good or bad. And here it is:

Bulging Discs in my back:

I had the steroid/ numbing agent shots on December 1st and December 15th. The first shot helped exactly zero. The second shot did help some. However, the biggest help has been the new physical therapist. The one I went to the at the beginning of the summer felt like a personal trainer of sorts. The new one actually felt like what I had in my head that a physical therapist should be. I had my last appointment this past Thursday. After about 8 weeks of physical therapy I'm getting stronger and feeling better. I still have some bad days, like after I decided to shovel heavy snow yesterday. Stretching really helps though. I have to work on getting my hips stronger. I couldn't believe how week my hips are when I have to lift my legs to the side. See the move on the far left.

I'm also doing a lot of hip thrusts, butt squeezes, and band workouts, haha.

Mental State:

Doing much better. I've been able to get to running more on a regular basis, which helps my moods immensely. I've had some lazy days, it is winter after all, but I've had the energy and the outlook enough to make myself get up and do something. That's not as easy when you're feeling down. I still can't wait until it's warm outside and sunny later in the day! I did venture out on Saturday on the coldest day I've ever tried to run in. It was only 14 degrees Fahrenheit! Of course, as soon as I got out there I thought it was a big mistake, haha. But after I got going and started running it really wasn't bad at all. It wasn't windy which made it very tolerable. The rail trail that I was running on was also pretty clear. Of course, I had to take my Lab/ German Shepherd mix since that trail is sketchy as all get out. I've probably mentioned it before, but it runs through town and unfortunately a lot of drugs and muggers cross it. It's really the only flat place to run that isn't far away. I don't want to have to drive far right now, because I'm only up to 2.5 miles so it wouldn't be worth it. We survived though!

Weight and Food Intake:

Weight hasn't budged despite the fact that I've been doing rather well in keeping track of my calories. I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm trying not to let it stress me out. I'm guessing that the further along I get with my running the more probable my weight will drop. My goal is around 1600 calories a day and I usually get right around it. I usually have one day that I'll go beyond that, but not more than 2000 calories. I'm also secretly hoping with all the ab exercises I have to do will get my stomach tighter over time ;)

I haven't signed up for any races yet and there is a reason. I really want to, but I don't want to force myself to over run and end up hurting myself. I want to make sure I get a good base of at least a 10k and then I'll think about races I might want to do. For now though, the goal is to keep getting a stronger core and to build up a comfortable base. I would like to be running comfortably 4-5 times a week with 3-4 days of strength training with stretching everyday.

Goings On

2015-12-06T16:21:00.001-08:00

Can't say much has been happening in my fitness/ health life. I've been having bad winter blues lately and have watched an unimaginable amount of Netflix in bed the past few weeks.

However, I did get my butt up to go the Huntington Turkey Trot. Which, very surprisingly, was the first time I've run 3.1 miles without walking! I don't know if it was the flat course, the early morning, or the perfect temperatures, or all of the above, but I felt good while running. I didn't take any photos because I thought there would be some posted, but I was distracted during the run by human turkeys and squirrels, Pilgrims and Indians, and Power Rangers. Oh, and lots of doggies! (The run supported Little Victories, a no kill shelter).

Finish	9:41:45AM	00:34:59	11:16 min/mi	00:34:59	11:16 min/m

Source

On December 1st, I made an hour trip to get injections shots into my back. It's supposed to help with the bulging disc that has made me hurt countless times this year. I was hoping that it would be a miracle right away, but I'm still having pain. I start physical therapy back up, at a different place, this week. Then on the the 15th I will go back to get my other set of shots. I'm hoping with more physical therapy and the other shot that I will get to a good place again. I think the pain has taken a toll on my mental health. I'm really tired of it being one thing or another.

To cheer myself up, I went out today and bought myself a new smart TV for my workout room! haha. It's a 40" and pretty nice! Also, my boyfriend and I went out and scoped some weight home gyms. After three stores, we decided to go with a slightly more simple one:

Richard ordered it for me on Amazon and it should be here by Wednesday :) I'm really excited. I'll post a picture of the whole setup once its done. Hopefully we can put it together without killing ourselves.

To get myself back on track I've been doing rather well with keeping track of my calories as well. I'm just taking small steps right now to get myself out of my funk. For a little while I felt like I was just giving up on myself and going back to not caring. I was becoming more emotional and it was getting harder to get out of bed. This all reminded me of when I was at my highest weight. I used to cry at night all the time, whether I had a reason to or not. And all I would do is hang out on the couch and watch TV. A lot like I've been doing lately. Thankfully, I haven't been hiding how I've been feeling and I think that makes a huge difference. I got together with friends last night and they made me realize that I've got to keep fighting. Also my boyfriend puts up with my whimsy ideas and doesn't discourage me.

When I got together with friends last night, there was also a purpose to it. My friend hosted an Essential Oils party. Particularly for DoTerra Oils. It was really interesting. I've been to a little class about them before, but this was more relaxed and informal. For those who don't know, essential oils are pure extracts from plants. Basically its part of a holistic type of medicine and living. I think there can be some good in it and I'm open to it, but I definitely don't think it's something you can rely completely on for health. I ended up buying the Physicians kit as a Christmas present, its a good sample, I hope.

Source

This is what it comes with: Family Physician^® Kit: 5 mL bottles of Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint, Melaleuca, Oregano, Frankincense, Deep Blue^®, dōTERRA Breathe, DigestZen^®, and dōTERRA On Guard^®

If the person I bought these for doesn't like them, then I will definitely try them out. If nothing else then just for the smell. To give myself an extra boost, hopefully, I decided to give these a try:

The "Slim and Sassy" softgels. I have no idea if they will work or not, but I figured hey why not. I don't think they will hurt anything. Here is a blurb about it from Amazon. I didn't buy these off Amazon. It's just easy to get descriptions from. DoTerra relies a lot on their salesmen, so the website is not that great for information.

Product Description

Slim & Sassy® Softgels contain doTERRA's proprietary Slim & Sassy essential oil blend in convenient softgels to promote weight loss in a healthy, natural way. The flavorful blend of Slim & Sassy contains essential oils known to help manage hunger throughout the day while boosting metabolism and promoting a positive mood. Slim & Sassy contains Grapefruit and Lemon essential oils, both of which have a high limonene content to help purify and cleanse the body while Peppermint aids digestion and helps curb the appetite. Additionally, Ginger and Cinnamon provide a stimulating and positive effect on the endocrine system to assist with weight loss. When combined with healthy eating and exercise, Slim & Sassy Metabolic Blend can help you reach your weight loss goal and maintain a healthy weight for life. Slim & Sassy Softgels are perfect for on-the-go or for those wanting an easy and convenient way to consume Slim & Sassy essential oil blend.

So basically, I'm going to see if it helps me at all with controlling how much I eat and to give me a little boost of energy instead of going to tea or soda for the caffeine. It might not work, but I've never really tried anything before and I feel like my body makeup is very different after I used steroids to help with the Myositis. I'm a little hopeful this can help with that. I'll give an update after I've taken for them a while.

Well I think that is all I have for right now. I'm waiting to make any sort of workout plans or sign up for any races until I get my back figured out. Maybe that will be soon!

Running in DC and Halloween

2015-11-01T09:02:00.000-08:00

Last week I was sent to Washington DC for training for work. Which turned out it was for naught, but that's a different story. I'm not going to lie, I did a lot of eating while in DC, but I also did some exercising. I walked everywhere, because who wants to drive around a city I've only been to a couple of times...

Monday I traveled to DC which wasn't bad at all. I didn't hit hardly any traffic. Got to my hotel with no problem.

That evening I hung out with my cousin and aunt. We went to Old Town Alexandria. It was really pretty and of course I loved the old buildings. Even got some tea :) We went along the Potomac River.

Tuesday I started training, but I was out of work by 3:30 everyday so I had plenty of time to go exploring. I went for a run around the monuments, just because I've wanted to do something like that ever since I started running! I love the idea of exploring a place by running.

Sorry for all of the Selfies, but this is what you get when you have to go out by yourself! Thankfully I had really nice weather all week to go exploring. There were so many runners out too. That is a really nice thing about a city compared to the more country, small town scenes of West Virginia. No one cares what you're doing or even really looks at you, because there are so many people out doing the exact same thing.

I went out to find something to eat on my own this night. I wasn't overly hungry since my work had taken me out for lunch that day. But I found this shop dedicated to nothing but salads and I was in heaven. I took it back to my hotel which was perfect.

Wednesday after work, I went to the hotel gym and worked out on the elliptical and did some strength training. Then I went to Founding Farmers for dinner with a friend that I haven't seen in years that I met while studying abroad in Wales. For some reason I didn't take any pictures :( The meal was amazing though and I had a great time catching up! If I go back to DC I'll definitely go there again!

Thursday I was a little daring a took a Soul Cycle class! It was right around the corner from my hotel. I had a couple of hours before meeting my cousin and his boyfriend Matt for dinner. But when I looked online it looked like they were all booked up. Bummer! I decided to get dressed for running and check it out just in case they had some cancellations. So I signed up online to get a newbie discount and headed out. Thankfully, it turned out they did have openings! They must keep a few empty for walk-ins. I was pumped. It was still $20 to take the class, but since we don't have any Soul Cycles in WV, I figured it was probably worth the experience. And it was nice to be a newbie since the shoe rental was free the first time. You have to wear biking shoes with clips.
So I got my bike set up and was ready to roll.

The class was packed. It was a different experience. The lights were turned off except for on the instructor who made it feel like a night club. The music was thumping and his mike was turned up loud. He could even manipulate the lights around him to have it pulsing. I had a great time! I think I kept up pretty well and thankfully my back didn't break! haha. If I lived near one and they had a good deal for classes I could definitely see going to these often. I was dripping with sweat by the end!

After that I ate all the food! I walked down to Georgetown, which is another place I had never been.

They decided to take me to one of their favorite Italian restaurants, Filomena's. They make homemade pasta right there in front. These two ladies were working away. Old school style. Though I'm sure they have more modern machines in the kitchen since they are very busy, it's nice to think that the pasta I had, which was delicious, was made by hand.

After dinner, we headed a couple of blocks to the famous Georgetown Cupcakes. I felt like a total tourist, but I've heard about this place so much that I had to check it out! There wasn't a long line, which I think is rare so we decided to head in. I was not disappointed! My cupcake was excellent. I had the peanut butter and chocolate cupcake. Yum!

I took a couple home, which weren't as good the next day, but still pretty darn good. There was a pumpkin spice cupcake (which I gave to my sister), a cookies and cream mint cupcake (which I gave to Richard, a chocolate ganache (I ate while stuck in traffic the next day!), and I took one more peanut butter one home.

On Friday before I left to go back home I hit up Trader Joe's and Starbucks. It was a good time. I didn't take a picture of all my goodies, but I picked up pumpkin rooibos tea, pumpkin biscotti, pumpkin soup, spice popcorn, spicy chile lime cashews, Speculoos cookie butter, some organic peanut butter....and I think that might be it. It was a nice haul. I picked up a Washington DC Starbucks cup to go with a couple that I've gotten from my travels abroad. :)

On my way out I noticed the signs for the Marine Corp Marathon! That would have been fun to spectate if I had realized sooner it was the same weekend. It went right by my cousins apartment too!

Maybe one day I'll get to run in this one! That would be so much fun!

Unfortunately, for some reason my trip to DC put me in a weird mood and I overate and under exercised all week. I was in a binge type of mood all week. I'm ready to remedy that this week though. It just stinks since my weight went way up. Same story all of the time! It would be nice if I could get out of this cycle and just stick to staying in check. Takes time to get there mentally I suppose. Just have to keep moving forward and keep striving!

Now though I'm relaxing from celebrating Halloween last night! I participated by being Hermione from Harry Potter. It was a good time!

Try not to be jealous of my tie I made with a Walmart tie and some duct tape! Here you have Hermione, Princess Aphmau (from Mine Craft), kid zombie, and Super Girl! We had a good time. I indulged in some candy, but will try to stay away from the leftovers that Richard kept!

Stick and Stones May Break My Bones

2015-11-01T07:48:00.001-08:00

This is a bit delayed, but life has been busy lately. I'm laid up on the couch after going trick or treating in hills last night so I figured it was a good day to catch up.

On October 10th I "ran" the Stick and Stones 15K. I put ran in quotation marks due to the fact that I walked up all of the hills and for most of the last mile, ha. Due to my back I felt like I would suffer a lot more if I tried to run up them.

This was a trail run and it rained the entire week prior to the run. So I went out and got some new shoes for the occasion ;)

These beauties are the Brooks Pure Grit 4. The local running store rushed ordered them for me since I have a foot the size of Big Foot. (Size 11's!). But I got them on Tuesday and therefore I was able to get a whole whopping six miles in them before the race. But it was fine. I liked them a lot and they were pretty comfortable. I did roll my ankle a couple of times, but I don't think that was really do to the shoe I think that was more due to wet ground and my clumsiness.

The race was located at beautiful Babcock State Park, which is around 40 minutes from my house. So I got up bright and early. Driving there was fun, it was a cool morning with lots and lots of fog.

You can kind of see the fog behind this building at Camp Washington Carver. The race was a point to point, which I love. So the buses dropped us off here for the starting line.

The fog was already clearing up as we began. The first mile was kind of frustrating. It was single track and where there were spots to pass people, I kept getting stuck behind couples that liked to run side by side and not move over. I eventually just had to start asking to pass people. But the field started to spread out after the first mile to where I could get into a comfortable pace.

The first half of the race I loved. It was mostly downhill :) The scenery was beautiful the entire time. I don't like to wear headphones on the trails, especially in new places. I'm glad I didn't here so that I could hear the rivers and little waterfalls and the people that would eventually pass me as they were coming up behind me around the massive uphills at around mile 7.


These bridges were extremely slick! I was holding on to the sides for dear life.

When we started climbing the hills, I knew I wasn't ready to run them. I would get a bit of pain every time I tried. It was beyond frustrating to walk for so long. One hill lasted for over a mile.


One of the few places that was on paved road.

Then by mile 7.5 or 8 it got very steep in some places and that just wore me out. My legs were spent even though I was walking them! I guess it's not that surprising since I haven't been able to really practice that many hills lately. But my overall time was not that bad.

Place	Name	Gender	City	State	Country	Clock Time	Pace	Age

108	Alisha Lilly	F	Beckley	WV	US	2:24:34	15:31	29

I was actually kind of pleased with the time. Hopefully next year I will get even better results if I can get myself stronger and practice some hills!

Beckley Half Marathon Walk/ Run

2015-09-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

This past week I was getting really upset about the race that I had signed up for months ago. The bulging disc in my back was keeping me from running the whole thing and I found out there was no shorter distances. Only the half marathon and a full marathon. I thought I would have to drop completely. Blah!

But then I started thinking...there is a walk option...could I possibly walk the WHOLE half marathon?...how long would it take me?...would it hurt?....would I have the endurance to finish?

Then I thought, what the heck. I'm going to go for it! So I emailed the race director to make sure there were no time limits, since it could possibly take me over four hours to finish! He replied back that there wasn't a time limit and that did it for me. I was all in.

So Friday I went and picked up my packet. I skipped the spaghetti dinner to prepare some things for a small dinner party I was having the evening of the race.

I live barely a mile from the race start, so I didn't have to get up too early for the 8:00 AM start. I only had a small peanut butter and jelly sandwich that morning. It's all I could really stomach. I wish I had eaten a bit more because I got hungry out on the course, but hindsight you know.

My initial plan was to simply walk the whole thing. If I started hurting, I had my phone with me to call my boyfriend to come pick me. I took two Gu Gels with me and Gatorade chews to eat since I knew I would be out there a long time. It was a beautiful day. It started off cool. The sun was shining brightly so it did get warm, but it was a really nice day to be out there.

When the gun went off, my plan went out the window. Everyone started out running and I got caught up in the excitement of the course. So I started running out, very slowly. I wasn't being completely dumb. I knew running hard would hurt my back and endurance. I ran the first mile in about an 11.30 pace. Right after the one mile mark we hit a little hill. I figured that was a good place to start walking. So I did...for a while. I then started thinking towards running the downhill portions. And that's what I ended up doing. It worked out rather well actually. I ran a few flat portions, but mostly I walked.

I ended up walking with a girl that I went to high school for most of the race and she was also walking with intermittent running. I think hanging out with her really helped me not push it too far. Also talking with her really made the miles fly by (she had lost well over 100 pounds! Wow!). I took my first Gu around the 5 mile mark and had some Gatorade chews at around mile 9ish I think. There were plenty of water stops along the way since it was basically an out and back route, you had to go on the other side of the road at some points and there were some circles thrown in, but mainly it was out and back. Anyway, there were lots of water stations, but it would have been nice if they had some Gatorade or something. I think that may have helped me and I'm sure the marathoners could have used something like that when it got warmer out there.

I started to really feel my legs around mile 11. My calves and hips were just getting sore. I wasn't used to power walking so much. It used much different muscles than I was used to using. Some points I had to run just so relieve the pain! I also felt some hot spots starting on the pad of my foot so I was afraid I was getting some bad blisters! Thankfully, it didn't turn into blisters. If I had to go further I would would have had some for sure. Around mile 11, I started picking up the pace to relieve my muscles a bit, so I lost my walking partner. I tried to just get to the finish line as quickly as possible. At one point I thought I might be able to make it right at 3 hours! But it wasn't going to happen. I got pretty close at 3 hours and 11 minutes! Well under four hours that's for sure! My pace was around 14.30 which I was really pleased with. That's really only 2 minutes and 20 seconds more a mile than most of my training that I had been doing. And since I hadn't really planned on running any of it and walked the majority of it, I was really happy.

I also didn't get passed by the marathoners. If I hadn't run any of it I would have, but I'm pretty happy that I didn't. The winner may have finished a mere five minutes behind me, but that is besides the point! Kudos to the marathoners though. The had to do the same course I did, but had to do it twice. That would be a feat of strength, physically and mentally. It's definitely a West Virginia course with hills. None of them were monstrous hills, there were just a lot of them.

After the race. Don't be jealous of my blue counter tops!

And it turned out that I won an award! I had asked to be transferred to the walking category, but that didn't happen. Turned out that was fine since I did run some. It was also fine since no one else in my age category ran the race!! I knew it was small this year, but I had no idea it was that small! The girl I walked with, Jasmine, won the women's category for walkers. We were both thrilled!

I'm so so happy that I went for it! I would have felt rather blue if I hadn't given it a shot. My back feels just fine today, my calves and thighs are a little bit of a different story, haha. This gives me hope that I won't have to back out of the 10K on October 3rd and my 15K Trail race on October 10th. I have to get steroids shots in my back, but it might be a while before the doctors can get me. This gives me the confidence that I don't have to quit it all! I was even able to clean and cook dinner for my small party after the race yesterday! It was a good day, that is for sure.

By the way, it is also funny to me how this is by far my slowest half out of the three that I have done, yet I'm so excited about. I guess it's because I didn't think it was possible at all. I think I will have to remember this gratitude in the future when I get down on myself about my paces or how far I'm able to run.

Healthy State of Mind

2015-09-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day weekend, I jumped in the car with my Mom and her friend and we headed to Vermont. It only took us around 14 hours to get there, but it was well worth it! Vermont was a beautiful state, with lots of farms, apple orchards, and quaint towns. An interesting aspect of Vermont was how conscientious the state is about recycling, keeping their state clean, and having a safe environment for bikers and runners (which there were a lot of). I loved it!

Our trip was jammed packed so I won't go over all of the details, but here are some highlights. We started the first day, after sleeping in, with a wonderful farmers market.

That is mushroom tea I'm holding! It had citrus and ginger in it. I know it sounds gross, but it was so incredibly good! And refreshing, which is good, because it was 95 degrees and we were dying.

Rutland, Vermont

Then we took a tram (or gondola) up a Ski Mountain in Killington. I would have like to hike up the mountain, but that wasn't going to happen with my mom, haha. It had beautiful scenery.

It was a Mountain Biker's Paradise! There were so many!

We went on a spontaneous trip to Maine!


Nubble Lighthouse

We went sailing on Lake Champlain and ran into a bike race!

They were going so fast, it was the last day of a four day race. This part consisted of going .06 miles 32 or so times!

And of course I got some hiking in!

This trip really was lovely. I didn't even mention all of the good food we indulged in! And yes there was lots of indulging... C'est la vie. We didn't see any moose though! :( haha. I would love to go back with some friends that like the outdoors as much as I do and try out more hiking and some kayaking. The lake we sailed on was massive and there were lots of kayaks out there. The area that we were in was truly a haven for people that like to get outdoors. Bikers (road or mountain), runners, walkers, hikers, kayakers, etc. would like it here. Plus there are the cutest B&B's and hotels to stay in. We didn't stay in any since were visiting someone, but there are lots of options close to anything you could want and close to restaurants and shops for the down time. I'm not big into shopping, but even I had a good time going into the little shops. And looking for local cider! ;) And I'm so happy we went to Maine. Though it was just for the day, Maine has always been a bucket list place to go for me. I have no idea why, but it was definitely beautiful. A little crowded since it was the holiday weekend, but nevertheless I was so happy to make it! I will have to head North more often, though I may fly next time!

_______________

Yesterday, to try to get back in the swing of not sitting on my behind, I drove 30 minutes to a gorgeous little town and went along the rail trail there and just did some walking. I didn't take any pictures this time because I just wanted to enjoy being outside. I walked a little over 5 miles. Well worth it.

Then today, I almost skipped working out completely. I got caught up in doing things around the house and then going shopping for groceries and so on. But it was an amazingly cool, Fall-like day and I knew I would regret not going. So I laced up my shoes and went on a short trail run. It was the first outside run I've done in probably over two weeks! And it felt great. I still went slow and still had to walk, but just being able to go outside and move was fantastic. I've been battling trying to decide if I should do any of my upcoming races and I think today showed that I can still do them. I just might need to walk, because of my back. Which I had an MRI on Thursday so hopefully I can get something resolved soon. I've gone as far as physical therapy and stretching can take me.

The past two weekends have been wonderful. This coming weekend I have a 5K. It was supposed to be my half marathon weekend, but that is just not feasible at this time. However, I'm still looking forward to it and hope it's a cooler like today. I just hope it's as good a weekend as the last two!

Trying to Train Smarter

2015-08-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

I cannot say this has been the best summer of my life. Definitely not. Today my family laid to rest a wonderful lady, my grandmother Kathy. It was horribly sad. Her passing was a shock and hard on everyone that knew her.

I don't really want to go into more detail about that, but I thought writing, no matter the subject is a great tool to get your mind on other things.

I think I have to face the fact that my back is not getting better. I have good days, great days, and some awful days. I broke down and called the doctor for an appointment, which is this coming Tuesday. Though I didn't get to try it for very long due to the family emergency. I was going to try training primarily on the treadmill and elliptical while doing the strength training machines at the gym.

That was working out okay and I definitely felt better running on the treadmill, but the bulging disc just keeps coming back. I admit, I had slacked on some of the stretching, but I got back into it last week and this week. Still, I have pain. I have also come to realize that the shoes that I wear during the day, have a big effect on if I'm going to hurt later that day. Flats with no support or anything with a hint of a lift are a definite no right now. I wore a wedge type of dress shoe yesterday and could hardly walk by the end of the day. Ugh! I should not be having these issues. I'm only 29!

But anyway, I have decided to drop down to the 5K from the Beckley Half Marathon that I was supposed to do on September 29th, if I can run at all that is. I also have the Rockey Boys 10K on October 3rd and the Babcock 15K trail run, Stick and Stones, on October 10th. I really hope I can do these. Honestly, I'm to the point I hope I can just get a steroid shot in my back and get back to normal asap! I am so very very over being in pain and feeling weak. I have no idea if I can do any of these runs, but I'm really hoping so! I know I'm not ready for a half and I'm hoping if I can get this resolved in a timely manner that I won't completely fail on Stick and Stones. Though, let's be honest, I'll be walking half of it anyway. It has over 1005 feet of elevation! (For some reason I can't put the elevation chart on here). I've already had to not go to a 5K that my Active Southern WV Training Team participated in. I was going to sign up the day of the race. I woke up that day and was in lots of pain. I had planned on doing the race and then going to our State Fair. I ended up on the coach most of the day with an ice pack on my back. Fun, fun. But I just knew if I had pushed it and tried to run, I would not have made it and been in more sever pain. Once it gets bad I can hardly walk.

Monday, all I did was the elliptical and then the strength training machines. Today was the funeral, so I didn't exercise. Tomorrow, depending on how I feel, I would like to get in a small treadmill run and then strength training, then alternate with elliptical and treadmill for the rest of the week. I know I have to keep trying though. The day I give up on exercise is the day my body will just go downhill all the more quickly. I also have to try to reign my weight back in. The gain is definitely not helping my back and I've definitely been emotionally eating the past few days. Exercising on a regular basis will help with the emotional side, so I just have to get back to my routine.

Send good vibes my way that I can figure something out with the doctor next week!

Summer Vacation 2015

2015-08-04T18:29:00.000-07:00

Ah, vacation. Time of relaxing, eating, drinking, laughing, and enjoying life. Yup that about sums up my vacation this year. It may have started out a little rocky since it was the first time we used my parent's camper, but it turned out really well.

Our Redneck Heaven


I promise the beach is just beyond the campers.

We ventured down to Myrtle Beach. Because that's where we are required to go as Southern West Virginians ;)

We had a blast just chilling though. We had a few cookouts, did a lot of reading, and of course went to the beach a lot! It was definitely hot but not unbearable. I got some funny looking burns even though I used 100 SPF sunscreen! I'm officially not a fan of the spray on sunscreen. And no, I did not take a picture of my one streak of burn on my arm and my burnt knees.

I didn't take too many photos since I was busy ~~drinking~~ relaxing. But I at least did get a couple of runs in. I did my long run on Sunday which was about five miles. I meant to do more, but hey it's vacation and it's hot there! I ran in the evening to beat most of the heat though. Honestly I didn't run the rest of the week after that, but some things came up that didn't put me in a running mood, so I just hung out with the family.

Here is a snapshot of our trip:

Feeling Free

Enjoying a beautiful night

Yummy Seafood! - Clams, shrimp, oysters, and crab legs.


Grossness! - Oyster Shot, tasted like hot sauce with a slimy surprise inside.

The week ended with seeing Pippy Longstocking at the local outdoor theater, Theater West Virginia. The kids loved it!

Then on Saturday I went kayaking and tried out something new...

Haha, Mattie hated it! She actually jumped out the first time. The pictures are from the second try. She actually did pretty well and we only had a few attempts to tip us over. Not sure we will attempt it again, but it was fun(ny).

Sunday I ventured over to the Active Southern WV Group run. It went okay. I ended up doing 6 miles. I'm still not sure I like running with a group. I ended up just doing my run/walk, running 2:30 and walking 30 seconds, but they kept waiting on me and then they would walk some so it threw my timing off and I think I walked more than I should have. The run started off horribly though. I felt really weak and not good, probably due to the travel and the sun taking it out of me. I felt okay after a couple of miles though. I had done a little over half a mile by myself before we began just to shake my legs out. Not sure it really helped, but whatever. I'm still feeling kind of blah, but that might be due to the lovely time of the month, so I'm taking my rest days early in the week. I'm sure I'll regret this later in the week.

I was also told that I'm six weeks out to the Beckley Half Marathon! Holy Moly! It will be hilly and hard. Hopefully it won't be too hot though. I'll definitely have to do a walk/run method, just hopefully I feel strong doing it. I have a 5K coming up on the 15th that I need to sign up for and then Labor Day weekend I'm heading to Vermont, so I'll have to make sure I don't slack on my training, running and strength training between now and then. (Don't take today's unexpected rest day as lazing, I will get it done!). I still feel really slow, uncoordinated, fat, and just blah. But I'm working on it. I'm still only running three days a week which follows the Galloway method, but I still might add an extra short run on a day I do strength training.

My back has been doing better. It has been hurting a little yesterday and today, but I've also been lax on stretching so that may have something to do with it. I just tried stretching before sitting down to write and that made it worse. But I know I have to keep it up. Got to keep up with it if I don't want to go back to not being able to walk! Definitely can't have that right before my half. I also have to work off all of my vacation eats and drinks. :)

Week of Action

2015-07-19T20:38:00.003-07:00

This was definitely a week of action!

Lots of family action:

My grandmother and her beautiful sisters and brother.

Then I had some scary action going on. I think I'll save the bloody picture, but my boyfriend's chair broke in two and he fell backwards and hit his head on a brick wall! He had two staples put in and is still having headaches on and off :(

Some standing action:

My work allowed me to get a standing desk since I've been having so much trouble with my back. They ordered the Varidesk Pro 36 and it is amazing. It is easy to put up and down and is very sturdy. I've only gotten to use it a couple of days due to my rotation to work the front desk is up, but I think it will be so helpful! I'm so happy my company was willing to do that and now everyone in the office wants one! I hope they can get it for everyone. Sitting for 7-8 hours a day is so unhealthy for everyone.

And lots of running action:

I tried to get my nephew to join me on a kids fun run. However I thought it started at 6:30, but it started at 6. He was over it within a few feet, haha. I think it might have been more fun if we had started with the other kids. We did make it down the street to the park where he wanted nothing more than to play on the playground. I let him for a few minutes and then bargained with him that if he went back with me we could come back and play after the run was done. He was okay with that so we made it back. He did run back to the finish line since they were cheering for him with cowbells, lol. At least he got ice cream and then got to play on the playground some more! It was all free due to Active Southern WV.

I also joined Active SWV today for my longer run. Unfortunately we don't meet until 2 and it was hot! By that point it was around 85 plus humidity which is always killer here. We did a trail run and then as part of my virtual 10k I did a little more than three additional miles.

I don't know about running with the group. I like them a lot but I get so down on myself running with them since I'm so much slower and need to take walk breaks. I end up pushing too hard in the beginning and then get really tired and end up walking more than I should. I don't know what to really do about it though. I feel like I made a commitment to them and can't back out now...

But I finished the very hot 10k for the Nerd Herd Running virtual race to help fight cancer. I knew there was no way I couldn't finish even if it was a million degrees (according to the weather man), because of my grandmother (not one pictures above). She is currently fighting very courageously from cancer in a couple of different areas in her body. She is a rock star and doing great so far though! We have to keep moving forward and we can do hard things were the mantras of the day for sure.

And this Thursday I will be having some traveling action! Beach trip with the family. I know I better be getting up early for runs there or I really might pass out from the heat!

Acupuncture, Physical Therapy, and a Training Team

2015-07-06T17:43:00.000-07:00

After weeks of physical therapy for my bulging disc in back that was hitting my sciatic nerve, I realized that I wasn't doing anything under their supervision that I couldn't do on my own. After speaking with my doctor, he recommended figuring out a different method if physical therapy wasn't helping. So I signed up for a three month gym membership. It was definitely cheaper with a sale they were having then paying my co-pay for physical therapy once to twice a week. All I was doing in physical therapy were a few machines to strengthen my core and lower back which I can easily do on my own. I'm also doing stretches one to two times a day. I'm supposed to do twice a day, but I sometimes forget....

After I signed up for my gym membership, I signed up for something that I've been wanting to try for years and that my doctor actually brought up. Acupuncture! I went to On Point Acupuncture I've had two sessions so far and I'm already seeing results. It doesn't hurt, but I can feel when the needles are working on the tense points and feel a type of electric tingle when she puts it in my hips.

From My First Appointment

Yes, needles in my ear.

There were actually a lot more needles used on my second appointment.

So a few weeks ago I joined a training team! It's the Active Southern WV Training Team. It's organized by a group that has a goal to get Southern West Virginia more active. Sadly, West Virginia is one of the most unhealthy states in the US and the southern part of the state is probably the worst. I even got a co-worker and my sister to go on the first day since it was for people that wanted to train for their first race. It unfortunately wasn't really geared towards first time runners, it was for people that wanted to train for a 10K or half marathon. Therefore, it wasn't really right for my sister who is not a runner, but I tried to encourage her to stick with it even if she didn't go as far as some of the other people. The coaches were encouraging, but my sister hasn't been back and I don't think she has energy to put into it right now (she just moved, started a new job and is taking college classes!). I've been following the Jeff Galloway method again for the Half Marathon. Right now I'm alternating running for 1 minute 30 seconds and walking 30 seconds. I run with the group on Sundays and do two runs during the week. I'm working on strength training and some cross training the other days of the week with one - two rest days. I haven't been able to make all the Sunday runs so far due to family matters (like my oldest sister getting married!!), but I've been getting all of my runs in! This past Sunday I went and was going to try to not do the Galloway and just run the full 50 minutes they had on their agenda instead of my 5 miles. However, one of the members got kind of sick. Between trying to wait for her and facing the humidity, I don't think any of us had a fantastic run. There was definitely walking involved and I some slower times. But it was kind of fun to talk about running with people!

Our First Meeting - Source

I've got my eye on a few Fall races. That I will hopefully be able to do injury free and feeling strong. The ones with the team are the Rocket Boys 10K and the Beckley Half Marathon. I'll definitely try to do these two and maaaybe a couple of others! I'll wait to sign up for anything until I'm further along with training to make sure I'm feeling good. So far it has been great getting back into running!

Half Marathon Training Schedule for Runners and Walkers Week Monday Tuesday TT Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 1 off 30 min run off 25 min run easy walk off 3 miles 2 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 4 miles 3 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 5 miles 4 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 2.5 miles 5 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 6.5 miles 6 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 3 miles with MM 7 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 8 miles 8 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 3 miles with MM 9 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 9.5 miles 10 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 4 miles 11 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 11 miles 12 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 4 miles with MM 13 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 12.5 miles 14 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 4 miles with MM 15 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 14 miles 16 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 5 miles 17 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off Half Marathon Race 18 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 5 miles 19 off 30 min run off 30 min run easy walk off 6-8 miles - See more at: http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/half-marathon-training/#sthash.3S3c1UJK.dpuf

Ace Wonderland Mountain Challenge

2015-05-27T20:03:00.001-07:00

*not sure why my last post didn't post on the day I wrote it. Now you get two in one day!*

I've been to the physical therapist only once so far, but with some steroids that reduced the inflammation and stretching I'm already feeling better. Starting tomorrow we are going to work on getting my core, flutes, and lower back stronger. I'll write more as I progress.

My Memorial Day weekend was amazing!

First I learned that my sister got the job where I work which will be amazing for her! No more weekends for her! Of course we had to celebrate. I didn't take a picture of my food, so the pitcher of hard cider (that I shared), the chips, and the amazing hamburger that I had don't count. Right?

Saturday was fantastic. It started off with my longest run yet. The Ace Wonderland Mountain Challenge, a 10K trail run. I wasn't in shape enough and was told to go easy on the uphills (like I had a choice) so my time was very slow at 1 hour and 40 minutes. BUT I went out there and went for it and it was fun!

I have a lot of work ahead of me, but right now I'm thankful I can get out there at all and that I can even walk! The run was followed by a burrito buffet which you see above. They have another run in August which I'm thinking about doing. Everything was really well marked and even though there was only one water stop I had my Camel Back on so it wasn't an issue.

Saturday night one of my best friends got married. They were going for a very unconventional wedding and they succeeded! I had a great time though with my closest friends.

Sunday and Monday consisted of family and outdoor time. My family had been camping so I hung out with them on Sunday. I got a bit of bike riding and more hiking in.

My mom and nephew. He was over the walk at this point. I had to keep distracting him.

And Monday I was mostly lazy but did take Mattie on a two and a half hour hike.

It was a really pretty day, turns out my phone was on sepia or something. Hence the weird colors. It was truly a great weekend. My back is a bit sore but nothing terrible. Yay!

Down and Out

2015-05-27T19:35:00.001-07:00

I'm down and out today with sciatica so I thought it would be a good day to catch up!

I've been working on running more consistently and getting in walks or bike rides on the off days. I'm currently using Jeff Galloway's 10k training plan.

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/5k10kschedules/

(This is coming from my phone and I can't do hyperlinks)

Anyway, I'm doing a run 3 minutes walk 1 minute method. It's going pretty well. I will be starting week three this week so we will see how the longer times go.

The weather has been hit or miss lately but I've been getting out no matter the weather. I can't stand the thought of a treadmill right now!

Mattie and I running at night. I fashioned a head light for her!

New River in WV

Hiking the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains. Though I have to say I was disappointed that nothing was in bloom yet at the higher elevations.

My birthday present. A new bike helmet so I can try out more road biking.

I've only had a chance to try the helmet out once. I was so nervous to go on the roads by myself for the first time. I made it though and had a good time! I could definitely tell my legs weren't used to biking hills.

The weather should be turning for the better so I should be able to get a lot of biking in soon!

Unfortunately my weight is still in the 180's which is down a bit from the highest after being on prednisone. But as I'm becoming more consistent and the more I'm getting outside my weight is slowly creeping down. My sister is getting married in June so I hope to be down a few more pounds by then.

Celebrating her bachlorette party at the Biltmore in North Carolina. A truly gorgeous place.

Well that's all I have for now. I've got some races coming up so im sure I'll be posting more soon!

Yeah Yeah

2015-01-24T19:58:00.001-08:00

Yeah yeah, it's been since October since I posted anything. But I haven't been completely out of the game. In October I did a Zombie run which was fantastic and I will try to do again this year! Then I also did the Thanksgiving Turkey trot 5K. After that I feel like the holidays made me a bit lazier unfortunately.

I've been getting back at it though! Today I did Run For Cookies virtual 5K.

As you can see it was incredibly slow, but I'm giving myself some slack since I helped my sister move today.

No I haven't really lost any weight but I feel like my eating habits are getting much better. I would like to get back into the habit of blogging so I can keep track of my progress. All of this seems so much harder but maybe I don't remember how it really was. But no excuses. Time to get it back and feel good.

I've been trying to find some races to reach for this year but haven't quite decided on any yet. I need a training plan soon though!

Ironman Kona!

2014-10-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

This Saturday is spent watching Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. If you want some inspiration check it out, here.

I've got to admit, I'm routing for defending champion Rinny Carfrae and American Tim O'Donnell.

But really the women's and men's race is going to be a tough one. Can't wait to hear about the age groupers as well, who can be so amazing.

Back to watching now!

Beckley 5K

2014-10-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

Lordy, Lordy I've been busy. Things have been going well though. I'm down to 10mg of prednisone. Woot Woot! After blood work next week, hopefully I can reduce some more! I've been working on my running and a little indoor biking, but it's still hard. The extra weight mixed with legs that still feel like lead makes everything harder. But I will persevere.

I thought I'd share a few photos of what I've been up to lately....

Pumpkin Patch Fun.

Hiking with two kids and two dogs. I'm quite proud I didn't yell at anyone.

Inducing child labor. In my defense, he volunteered.

Tried out a new trail. Went for over 22 miles on the bike!

I don't have a picture of the Beckley 5K that I did yesterday. It's the same 5K that I did for my very first race.

2011

The only thing good about this race is that I did beat my time from 2011. My time was 36.39, my first race in 2011 I came in a little over 39 minutes. It was just a hard run. It was once again freezing. I believe it was right at 40 degrees when the race began. My legs just kept feeling like lead. This race runs really close to my house and the thought of just running home did cross my mind! Mentally I was struggling as well. I couldn't get over how hard it felt and unfortunately I didn't have any support at the race to look forward to. I ended up walking a total of four times I believe. Of course, my watch was dead, so I'm not sure how long my walk breaks were. I finished the race though. Honestly, the pace of 11:48 is pretty consistent, if not a little faster, than what I've been running while training. So I shouldn't be too disappointed with my time. I guess I was just hoping that once I got out there, the atmosphere would pull me along and it would be less hard.

It might have hurt me that I haven't been very consistent with my running lately. I've been going to my niece's volleyball games during the week and trying to hang out with them on the weekends or I'll have some event or another. I haven't been as good as juggling my time as I used to be (mainly because I haven't been this social in quite a long time!).

But this race can be a good starting point. I know I've got to lose the extra weight and just keep at it. I went for a gorgeous two hour bike ride today on a rail trail in another county and it was so relaxing! The good thing about me being busy, I do work in activities that involve moving, but I still need to make sure I get my runs in so that I can get my heart rate up and my muscles stronger.

3.1 Miles

2014-09-07T15:46:00.001-07:00

I may have skipped a week or two of my Couch to 5K today. Last week I walked 1 minute and ran 4 minutes, for 30 minutes. My runs were a little off though. I tried to squeeze one in while I was watching my niece and nephew after a trail walk, that only last about 20 minutes. The next day I did the full 30 minutes on the treadmill and other than sweating to death, it felt good to run for a longer period at a time. Then Friday I could only squeeze in 25 minutes before I had to go to dinner for my mom's birthday. And I did all of those runs in three consecutive days. I had a family reunion on Saturday and just wanted to make sure I got my runs in before that. My legs were feeling quite tired!

So I didn't run or do too much yesterday at the reunion, other than fail at playing volleyball. Today, my schedule was to walk 1 minute, run for 4, for 35 minutes. I did an out and back with my dog today. I went a little further out than I really needed to and when I was at 35 minutes I was really close to 3 miles, so I walked for my one minute and decided to just run for the next four minutes like I had been.

Obviously this was an extremely slow 5K, slower than my first official 5K even. But I did it!

This was my first time over three miles since the Biggest Loser 5K in June. This was also Mattie's longest run yet! My legs were feeling heavy, which seems to be the normal now, but I'm still hopeful that will get better with more running. I think I will keep my runs at 40 minutes for this week and then maybe keep the same routine for next week but add in an extra day.

Tuesday I go to see the rheumatologist. I'm hoping that the taper of prednisone will continue, maybe even at a faster pace. Starting today, I'm down to 30 mg, but I need to get under 10 for the side affects to lessen. I can't even tell you how much weight I've gained. The batteries quit working in my scale and I've decided to leave it that way for now. I'm still watching my food intake. I splurged yesterday at my reunion, but did well at my mom's birthday. Mentally I am not doing well with the weight gain. I just borrowed pants that are a size 16. Before all this, I was wearing 10-12's. I just hope I can get back to that. I don't think the weight is going to come off before I get off prednisone, but I can still be healthy! I'm just ready to feel like myself again. I feel uncomfortable all the time in my body. It just better be temporary.

Couch to 5K...Again

2014-08-24T11:23:00.003-07:00

Week One:

Day One: 5 minute warm up, alternate 1 minute run with 90 seconds of walking for twenty minutes

Day Two: Supposed to be same as above, but I did more of 1 minute run with 1 minute walk for twenty minutes

Day Three: Same as Day Two.

Starting the Couch to 5K is definitely like starting all over. I'm out of breath quickly, my legs feel tired and heavy, and it's just hard. But I know this time around I can do it. So far I haven't had issues with being incredibly sore afterwards, maybe a little, but I'm fine the next day which is important. If I experience soreness for days, then I know I've gone too far and need to pull back.

I've been incorporating the bike on the trainer. I haven't ridden outside yet, just because my arms get tired easy and I don't want to have to deal with hills. I've also been trying to add in light hand weights and ab work on the stability ball.

My weight hasn't budged, in fact it keeps going up little by little. But I'm still pushing with keeping track of food during the week. I meant to start tracking this weekend, but friends coming in out of town just kind of threw me off. I've also been extremely munchy lately. I guess it's the meds, I don't know, but I feel out of control sometimes. But I'll keep forging on. I know I have to keep at it, even if my weight doesn't change, because if I were to just let go, I may gain fifty pounds instead of 15.

Week 2:

90 seconds run 90 seconds of walking for 20 minutes. It ended up being more than twenty by the time I got home, more like 25 plus my warm up walk of five minutes.

I ended up running home after a charity game of kick ball. There were some hills and oh my it was rough. I was really sore the next day. So Monday I didn't run but decided to do an arm workout. I did do some squats which caused some soreness the next day. I took Wednesday off just to make sure I wasn't pushing too far, but Thursday I felt just fine!

I'm thinking about following more of the Spark People 5K plan which is the plan I did the first time around. But we will see.

Week 3:

Walk 2 minutes and run for 3 for 25 minutes.

This is more of the Sparkpeople plan. Shew, it was tough. Three minutes seems like a long time when running. My knees are feeling the weight gain and my shin splints acted like they may come back. But once I got warmed up, I didn't have issues. I used this week to concentrate on form. Landing well on my feet and making sure I keep my back straight, with my should pulled back not hunched over which I can tend to do.

Week 4:

Walk 2 minutes and run for 3 for 30 minutes.

On Saturday I went on a hike and I definitely felt it on today's run! I was tired. I ran with Mattie, my dog, and a friend. Thank goodness for my friend. He pulled me through and made sure I didn't go extremely slow. We ended up with 2.36 miles in 30 minutes. This is a far cry from what I used to do. But I'm trying to remind myself distance doesn't matter right now. Going out for time and getting my body back is shape is what matters.

Overall, I feel like my legs are heavy all the time. It's easier on the treadmill, but I like going outside too much to keep to the treadmill. I'll get there though. On a good note, the running hasn't affected my muscles as far as my Polymyositis. All my blood work is normal. I've started reducing my prednisone, I'm down from 60 mg. to 40 this week. In two weeks, I'll get to reduce to 30. After that will probably depend on more blood work.

And to make this post a little more interesting, here is some pictures of my hike on Saturday. It was another gorgeous hike!

Love it.

Mattie Loving Life.

Courtesy of my friend Brian

New River Gorge Bridge

Weekend Splurges

2014-08-18T16:13:00.001-07:00

Prednisone aside, my weight gain has to be blamed on what's going into my mouth. I do well during the week, I even track my food, but come the weekend all bets are off. I tend to be very busy on the weekends with friends and family. This leads to eating out or ordering food and no matter what I choose, I tend to over indulge and my weight just goes up and up. Of course during the week my weight will come back down some, but not enough to make up for the weekend weight gain.

So what can I do to change this? Stop hanging out with friends and family? Become a hermit? Workout all day Saturday and Sunday so I can't overeat? I don't think those are the answers. I know it's all about balance, but sometimes trying to balance can lead to overeating!

This Saturday I went to the West Virginia State Fair. I had in my head to allow myself one treat. Well I started out well with some shredded chicken with just a tad of barbeque sauce on it, with a small roll, mashed potatoes (which I only took a couple of bites of), and green beans. Then I had roasted corn on the cob (truly the best corn ever!), due to it being so hot I got an ice cream cone. I was doing pretty well, until we went to see my cousin bull ride and I got a bag of kettle corn, which I ate my weight's worth. Then I had a few bites of a funnel cake! It could have been worse, but not as good as I wanted. Then on Sunday, I started out with a simple breakfast of toast with jam and fruit. I had a snack of these two blueberry fig bars (they are yummy) so I wouldn't get hungry while out on my kayak. Theeeen my boyfriend, a friend and I went to Dairy Queen where I had a grilled chicken sandwich, small curly fries, and a small ice cream cone. That wouldn't have been so so bad, except later that evening I had two and half slices of pepperoni pizza with two pieces of chocolate chip cookie. UGH! I just can't handle it! If it's in front of me I eat it!

So I thought it would be a great idea to share this article of what to we can do on the weekends to not ruin our eating habits: You can find the article here, from Sparkpeople.com.

1. Squeeze in a longer workout. The best part of the weekend is that you have more free time. So while you might not be able to squeeze in a 30-minute run over lunch during the week, you can use the weekend to go for a longer run at a beautiful park nearby. Or go to the gym to try a new hour-long class. Use the weekend as a time to refresh your workout and get more activity in without feeling rushed.

2. Eat like it's a weekday. When you think about it, it doesn't really make much sense to eat differently on the weekend than you do during the week—especially if your food choices during the week keep you fueled and energized. It can be easy to skip meals on the weekend and then make up for it later by overindulging at dinner. So, make a point to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner while sitting down. Pack snacks for when you're on the go, and follow a schedule just like you would during the week. Your body will thank you!

3. Stick to your usual sleep schedule. Are you someone who has a firm bedtime during the week only to stay up late and sleep in on the weekends? Changing your sleep patterns could throw off your schedule (hard to eat breakfast when you get up at noon!), and could also interfere with weight loss. Just think of all those times you stayed up later than usual, got hungry and ended up eating something unhealthy! Changing your sleep schedule can also make it harder to fall asleep on Sunday night which could set you up for a tired Monday.

4. Get outdoors. Because most of us work indoors during the daylight hours, the weekend provides a nice opportunity to get outside, see the sun and connect with nature. Heading outside can boost your body's production of vitamin D, plus studies show that people are happier when they spend time out in nature. So, get out there and enjoy the great outdoors!

5. Fuel yourself for weekday success. Ask yourself honestly if you pushed yourself too hard with workouts or restricted your food or calories too much during the week. If so, come Friday, your body may be hungry and tired, which can lead to overeating and underexercising on the weekend. Remember to practice moderation every day, eating and exercising in a way that you can sustain for the long haul—not just a few days or weeks.

6. Limit your drinks. While many of us forgo the soda, beer and wine during the week, we loosen up over the weekend and drink more of our calories. Just remember that the calories in beverages can add up quickly if you're not careful. Go easy on the drinks, or try healthier drink swaps if you just can't forgo that fancy coffee or sweet tea on Saturday! Practice moderation when it comes to alcohol, too. Just because you were "good" during the week doesn't mean that it's OK to make up for that with one night of all-out binge drinking. Here's what you need to know about fitting alcohol into a healthy diet.

7. Plan for relaxation. Most of us are busy during the week and even our weekends seem to become non-stop errands, chores, work and travel. So how do you find time to relax? Take the whole weekend (or at least part of it) to schedule some downtime for at least an hour or two. Whether it's practicing your favorite hobby, seeing a movie with friends or even meditating quietly, do something every weekend that recharges you. You'll not only feel better, but also beat stress (which may also ) help you drop a few pounds.

8. Break the on-again, off-again diet mentality. If you have a history in yo-yo dieting, make sure that you're not alternating between being "good" and "bad" throughout the course of a week. View the weekend as time for you—not a time to rebel or "cheat" on your diet and exercise plan. Remember that being at a healthy weight is about sustainable healthy lifestyle changes, not just a diet and exercise plan that you can maintain Monday through Friday. Revisit your goals and recommit to making healthy and realistic choices every day that set you up for success in the long term.

9. Weigh in Monday morning. If you need extra help being accountable over the weekend, schedule your weekly weigh-in for Monday morning. Knowing that you'll step on the scale at the start of the week can help you to stay accountable and be more aware of your weekend choices.

10. Plan for the week ahead. What better way to stay healthy on the weekend than by using your extra time to continue to set yourself up for success? Take a Sunday afternoon or evening to plan your meals, hit the grocery store, and do some big batch cooking for the week ahead. That way, when your busy week gets even busier, you'll already be ahead of the curve and able to stay on track! Don't forget about laundering your workout clothes, packing your gym bag, and getting prepared for workouts, too.

I know I need to start scheduling my long workouts for the weekends again. I've not been doing that since I got sick. I think I also need to make sure I'm drinking enough water on the weekends. I'm probably more thirsty than I am hungry and then end up over doing it on food. With these tips, I'm hoping to make better choices this upcoming weekend! I'm still working on Couch to 5K, biking, a little strength training, and kayaking when it's not raining!

Here's a couple of pictures of where I went yesterday, Bluestone Lake in Hinton, WV. I went about five miles. I love it!

Source

I've got to get ready for my run. Unfortunately, it will be on the treadmill since it's been pouring rain all day, but at least I get to run! Have a good and healthy week!