Harvest Run

First, some very important follow-ups that I need to take care of ...

• A huge thank-you to Christina & Alma for wishing me luck in the Medoc Trail Races 10 miler. The last thing I did before leaving the car for the start of the race was to read the e-mails on my phone. Your comments really stuck with me and reminded me to stay positive and have fun during the race.
• Speaking of Medoc, my only goal was to improve upon last year's time and I'm proud to say that I did just that! I trimmed 2:57 off my time and had an absolute blast doing it. I ran with a couple of friends through mile 8 and then started struggling a little when my right calf was on the verge of cramping. I can honestly say that I did the best I could as I didn't really have much left in the tank afterward.

Getting out of the house for mid-week runs is still a problem for me. I'm basically a wimp and will run in the dark when I have to, but I honestly don't enjoy it. The farm paths I run on by woods and lonely fields are a little spooky and it's not like there are any street lights out here in rural NC. I'm not exactly scared while running by myself in the dark, but let's just say that I'm not relaxed either. I don't have time to run in the mornings after sunrise before work and by the time I'm finished with dinner/kids/homework in the evenings, it's past sunset. Oh well, I'll figure it out eventually and will have to suck it up and face the dark with my headlamp during winter, but I haven't done that yet. It just means that I enjoy my weekend runs that much more.

This past Saturday was the PERFECT day to run. Taylor asked how long I planned to be gone and I replied I didn't know and was just going to run by "feel." He thought I said by "fear" and I just laughed. It was a wonderful run and I did a little under 5.5 miles. I am still amazed that I can go out and complete over 5 miles just because I want to and for fun.

One of the 5 cotton modules blocking the farm path

The only traffic of the day

After the harvest

Beaver dam and pond

Last of the pumpkins for 2010

End of the run back at the pumpkin patch/collard field where Kate's ready to cut collards for customers

10 Mile Trail Race!

My PRs - as slow as they are - are over there on the right. Go ahead, look, I'll wait ...

See, slow, but they're my PRs and I'm hoping to set a new one tomorrow at the Medoc Trail Races tomorrow in the 10 mile race. I love this race and it's one that I hope to have on my schedule every year. The state park is only a few miles from my house and it's one that I know fairly well. There's also a marathon at this event and I would love to someday complete that as well. Who knows, maybe next year?

At any rate, I completed the course in 2:28:13 last year and hope to beat it this year. I don't know if I will or not, but I feel good and this year's training has been more consistent. We'll see ... the extra pounds I've lost should certainly help.

I'll be back to post hopefully on Sunday. We have a 5k walk at church tomorrow afternoon followed by a fundraiser dinner. Taylor and I are heading up this event at our small church, so I won't have time to post tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have enough energy to make it through the 5k walk!

Harvest Days 5k

And I'm still smiling ... this morning's 5k at the local Harvest Days festival was a lot of fun. I may not have set a PR running through the mud and water, but I ended the 3.1 miles feeling good physically and feeling good about my time. I may be slow, but for the first time in months, I'm really enjoying running now. Best part of the course? Running past the fesitval's amphitheater as a student group started singing "Boogie Fever!"

I've included a couple of pictures from before and after the race. Smiling for the camera is still very new for me and I'm really loving life right now!

Now, it's time for college football this afternoon. Let's go NC State - beat the VT Hokies! Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Good luck to Carly at the Twin Cities Marathon tomorrow!

Making Progress

I'm excited to report that I'm still seeing progress with my weight loss. I only lost 1/2 pound since last Friday and I haven't done my full measurements yet, but I know that there have been more changes! There is a huge difference in my clothes. I love Body by Vi and can't wait to see what happens at the end of this 90 day challenge!

Although it's difficult to post these pictures again, here's the change from late July 2010 (which was pre-challenge) to today. I'm wearing the same white top and it was stretched to the max in the first photos. I can see the change, but not sure if anybody else can since I'm not turned slightly to the side in today's photos. I'm still not to the point of being able to wear that top without something over it yet, but I'm getting there.

Another huge triumph today: I delivered 35 boxes of these and haven't eaten any ... SUCCESS!

Doris = 1 Krispy Kreme = 0

The one and only 5k I'm running this year is tomorrow morning. It should be lots of fun considering we've had 10 inches or so of rain this week. I think I'll take a picture of my feet when I finish. I'd love to set a PR but I doubt that's going to happen while slogging through the mud, but we'll see. I'm going for it anyway.


That's it for now ... I'll try to post again this weekend with my 5k report.

So excited!

Just a quickie post at lunch to announce that life is great here in GISrunner-land!

I'm losing weight. In fact, I've lost 7.5 pounds in a little over two weeks and 5 inches overall. My pants have gotten quite baggy! I feel absolutely wonderful, too. I'm finally making good nutritional choices, have cut the crap out of my diet and it's paying off big time. This Body by Vi 90 Day Challenge is working like a charm!

Since I've been feeling so much better and am not lugging around quite as much blubber, my runs have improved, too. I'm still slow but I'm increasing the running intervals and reducing the walk portions. My last 2 long runs have been 6 miles and I finished both feeling that I could have kept on going. I even managed to do a 5-mile midweek run. That is huge for me!

And just to share one thing today that really made me smile - here's the end of an IM this morning between my husband Taylor and me ("love you so much in the world" is our little saying that our daughter started when just learning to string words together into sentences)

My "A-Ha!" Moment

Taylor and I directed Vacation Bible School at our church this summer. It was a wonderfully uplifting spiritual experience and I have no doubt God was working in the lives of both the children and adults.

But ...

looking back at the pictures afterwards so I could compile a slideshow for worship service, I had an "A-Ha" moment.

I. AM. FAT.

Wonderful ... even worse from the back ...

I'm almost never in any pictures we take of family events. I'm always the one behind the camera.The only pictures of myself on this blog are the tiny profile picture from a trip to Disney World in 2007 and a head and shoulders shot of Kate and me at the Patriots 5k in April 2009.

I look at myself in the mirror daily and think "sure, I need to lose some weight, but I really don't look that bad."

I've been lying to myself without even knowing it. The extra 40 pounds I've slowly been gaining these last years is taking a toll on my body. I look awful. I don't feel as good as I should every day. I firmly believe it's the main reason I'm still run:walking my way through training workouts 2 years after I first laced up a pair of running shoes.

I'm sick and tired of it and it's going to change RIGHT NOW.

We all know the only key to losing weight is making permanent changes and incorporating a healthy lifestyle into your routine. It's simple but oh, so difficult: calories in (and quality calories at that) through smart nutrition choices and calories out through some form of movement (as you know from reading this blog that's primarily walking/running for me).

I've always enjoyed being active. I played basketball, softball and any other type of "ball" sport I could find in our small, rural community. Although I definitely have my share of lazy bones, in general, I enjoy getting out and staying on the move. It's more of a challenge now that I have to schedule workouts among everything else as a wife and mom who works full-time, but it's still doable.

My problem has always been making good nutritional choices and portion control. I'm now on Day 2 of the "Body by Vi" 90 day challenge. So far, so good and I'm 1.5 pounds lighter today than yesterday although I typically fluctuate 1 to 2 pounds every day. So, we'll see what my weight is next Friday morning for the true results.

This morning's breakfast was a strawberry-banana shake with the Visalus nutritional shake mix. It's delicious and I've almost finished it and am very full. I'm not sure what type of fruit I'll add to my lunch shake yet. (Ignore the camera date - I would never have the time to take a picture on a weekday morning!)


Wish me luck - hopefully this blog (which I'm also copying to my Body by Vi challenge site - will be a major part of accountability for me. I hope so. I am ready to CHANGE!

Three Things Thursday

1. I'm still dealing with vertigo. This is the longest it's ever lasted and obviously, it's impacting my workouts. I did manage 2.9 miles this past Sunday evening, but dizziness and running just don't go together. I can only take the medication at night before bedtime because it makes me so sleepy and my busy schedule doesn't have any other time that I can take it and then lie down. I've started doing some specific movements/exercises that are supposed to help, so we'll see.

2. I won a giveaway at MCM Mama's blog! I'm looking forward to trying the Nuun, Shot Blocks & Gu! Thanks to Alma for commenting on my last post to let me know. I'm behind on reading blogs and didn't even know about it!

3. I'm considering posting a picture taken of me a few weeks ago at Bible School. It was a "whoa!" moment for me when I saw the picture. Good grief, I don't think I look *that huge* when I see myself in the mirror ... sigh ...