Monday, December 27, 2010

Oh Christmas you kicked my butt!!!!

I don't have much to say other then the last few weeks have been horrible- weight wise. I've gained three pounds in the last three weeks. Good thing the new year is coming and I can start over. I've eaten everything in my house without a thought. Well not really. I avoided the really bad stuff. Fudge, cookies, chocolates but went to town on the chex mix and meat and cheese and crackers. I have 15 lbs tco go. Its time to focus. A new year.

This year I will...

Get back to my goal weight
run a marathon
complete a mini triathlon

Crazy thing is not that long ago that would seam impossible but not only is it not impossible but i will do it!

Crazy

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Only those who are trying to lose will fully appreciate this

I lost 0.8 this week but that could just be due to wearing lighter clothing but I will take it. So after my Weight Watchers meetings I am usually starving. I usually haven't eaten much because it is my weigh in day and with the new launch we've been staying later then usual. So Monday I left, Starving!! I went to the Maverick to get a soda but while backing up my car died. Like, dead dead, no power. The lights went out and the car didn't even try to start and I was in the middle of the parking lot.

I had to call my husband to asked to be saved on honestly I wasn't upset about the car I was upset that I was SO HUNGRY and I was stuck at Maverick where there are like no healthy choices. My husband did not grasp the severity of the situation when he said, "just let me put the kids to bed and I will come and get you." UGH!!!! Why doesn't he understand that the hungrier I get the worse choices I will make when I get home? I just imagined myself inhaling the entire kitchen when I finally got home after he spent an hour trying to fix my car. So I threw my hands in the air and went into Maverick and bought some chicken strips and counted it as 9 points.

Frustrating

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Thanksgiving- smanksgiving

So after thinking I'd completely blown it over Thanks giving- turns out I only gained .2 which I am really happy about. It just goes to show that you never know until you step on the scale. I think a lot of the time we think we've blown it and we just give in and give up when really its not as bad as we think.

So Thanksgiving is over but Christmas is right on its heals. I would really like to lose over the holidays but I have to put down the bag of mint chocolate holiday candies.

Its a holiday not a holi-month.

Running- running is not happening much with the cold weather and dark mornings. My goal is once a week on saturday a long run outside and a few times a week on the treadmil but only 30 min run. Other then that just Zumba and spin. I hope that gets me through the winter.
So anyone who reads this... what is your biggest struggle/concern about the holidays.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Provo Halloween Half Marathon

So yes, we know that I am a total slacker. How can I talk weight loss when I never post anything? Well I am trying to be better and since I am trying to avoid cutting up Elk with Lance it seams like a good time to catch up. :)

So I hit the big 3-0 this year and I wanted to do something awesome to celebrate. So I ran a half marathon! After spending the morning hunting, we headed down to Provo where I was going to run the next morning. It was a Halloween Marathon so everyone one dressed up. I dressed as a bee because that was all I could think of. It was the craziest race I've ever ran. All along the course were abandoned pieces of people's costumes. Cat tails, masks, super man capes, wings and all kinds of costume parts littered the ground.

I met all 2700 people and 70+ buses at the mall at 6:30am. We were bused up Provo canyon and dropped off on the freezing cold mountain. There were probably 30+ port-a-potties lined up along the start line with hundreds of people in line to use them. So I took my place in line with the others. While chatting with someone in line I mentioned I was from Wyoming, they asked why I traveled that far and I said it was my 30th birthday. So she led the 100+ people in line for the john in a port-a-potty happy birthday song. It was awesome. A serenade I will never forget.

The start line was so crowded it was probably over 2 minutes after the gun went off that we could actually start running. It was ALL down hill and so we were flying. They had pacers running the race holding signs with how fast they were running- awesome! I stayed between the 10 min 18sec mile pacer and the 10min 45 sec. pacer which is really time good for me for 13 miles.

It was an easy 13 miles, if you could ever call 13 miles easy. It was beautiful and I was never alone there were always lots of other runners all around me dressed in crazy crazy costumes.

I finished in 2 hours 16 minutes which was much faster then I expected. 17 minutes faster then my first half. That combined with the thousands of people at the finish line, Lance and the kids didn't make it in time to see me cross. We met up about 20 minutes later after I borrowed another runner's cell phone and called Lance.
So here I am about a half hour after I crossed. They gave me a really cool metal so I'm posing with it.

I'm trying to show off my stinger here.


And this is me with the kids. One of the coolest parts of being a runner is your kids think you are awesome especially when you get a metal or a trophy

I finished 1735th out of all the racers and 23rd in my division out of 65. Not too shabby!

So update on weight loss- I should do this every week- I'm down .6 this week a total of 39.4 lbs! I'm getting there!!

Monday, October 18, 2010

A 10k I wont forget

I ran a 10k this last weekend. I didn't have a lot of time to prep since I didn't have a babysitter until 10 minutes before I needed to leave. It was an all woman's race fundraiser for cancer research. It was a 5k/10k and only about 7 of us ran the 10k. It was fun but I was one of several racers who took a wrong turn and got lost. So I ran over a 10k and I don't know what my real time would have been but I got 71 minutes and something. I think I would have at least gotten under 70. My goal was 65 minutes and I have no idea if I was on track or not.

My hope was the race would prepare me a little for the upcoming half marathon. I'm getting nervous since I don't have a lot of time to run right now. I've been running on my treadmill but I really think the speed is off because I put it on a 12 min mile, which should be easy, but after just 5 minutes i feel like i"m going to die!

Weighed in today and I'm down another 2 lbs whoop whoop!!!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Its been so long

And my next half marathon is already on the calendar! I'm down 5 lbs since the first one and feeling really good. I've been teaching Zumba, taking a spin class and just starting swimming lessons in preparation for the triathlon in July so I really haven't had time to run a lot. Hopefully I will be able to pull this off.

On October 30th I turn 30 and I thought running a half marathon on that day would be a great way to ring in my 30's. Its a Halloween half Marathon in Utah. I think I'm going to dress up. It should be fun.

Kelli

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Mesa Falls half marathon

I've been so caught up in life that I haven't posted about this yet! Pictures will come later- can't get it to work right now and I need to post this while i have the time and before I forget.

I did it! I did it and I'm so proud of myself! I ran that race the best i possibly could. I pushed all the way until the end and didn't walk once. I even asked myself while i was running,"Why am I pushing so hard? I don't have to do this fast my goal is just to finish." But I still pushed. I finished in 2 hours 32 minutes (unofficial time) which is not fast by any runner's standards other then myself. It leaves me wondering how I can do better the next time. That was an average of 11.62 minute mile.

So my family dropped me off at the bus that took me up to the starting line bright and early Sat morning. I sat by a nice lady from Seattle who has run like 15 of these and it was fun to talk to her. We drove and drove and drove until finally we reached the starting line which was Beautiful! I wish I had brought my camera. The whole race was pretty. It was on a mountain and along a river and just gorgeous. So they dropped us at the starting line which had like 10 bathrooms lined up along the road and a line in front of every one. I had to laugh that I wasn't the only one concerned with using the facilities. We waited for about a half hour before we started the race all the while some full marathoners ran by us which was really fun. The girl I sat by on the bus, her boyfriend, ran by and we cheered for him. Then after a few minutes, we were off!

The first mile I ran in 9+ minutes and I knew I had to slow down. By the time I hit 3 miles my watch said 30 minutes. At mile 4-6 there was a MONSTROUS hill! Not sure my time for those miles, I was working too hard to look at my watch but I'm sure they were 12+.

Hills are so mentally challenging. When I started up the hill I couldn't see how big it was but I was pumped. One of my friends told me a few days before the race that I was going to "kill it" so that's what I thought. "I'm going to kill this hill!" And I did, at first anyway. I passed like 3 people on my way up (and they never passed me later, yes!). One of the things I tell myself while running up a hill is "what goes up must come down" and some how that helps me. But this hill would NOT go down. We wound around the trees and beautiful scenery up the mountain we went. Three times the hill leveled out for a minute so I thought it was over then went up AGAIN! By the third time, I wanted to cry, I didn't though and I went on (what else was there to do anyway.)

Mile 8, 9, 10 I was pumped and doing great but mile 11 and 12 I was ready to be done. People all around me were walking, I passed a lot of people here. The last stretch I picked up the pace and I finished strong. I finished so early Lance and the kids almost missed me they had to run to see me cross the finish line.


It was fun, it was beautiful and it felt great!

One awesome thing- I didn't have to go to the bathroom the whole time. In a runners world, or maybe just my world, that is great!


Some downers though:
*I couldn't breath at the end. Like literally, i was sucking in air but couldn't catch my breath I've never done that before it was kind of scary.
*I had a headache a large portion of the rest of the day and felt physically ill. I hope the next one I run I don't feel that lousy after
*WOW am I sore!!! I think it must have been the hill because sheesh! I could hardly move! I was so sore every time I dropped something I had to think about if I wanted that item bad enough to bend down and get it.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

I'm a loser baby!!

That's right~ down 1.4 this week but it wasn't without effort! This week I really focused on eating with a purpose and avoiding mindless eating. I wasn't successful on all occasions but I tried really hard to ask myself every time I picked up something to eat, "why am I eating this?" If I couldn't come up with a good answer then I didn't eat it. Looks like it paid off. Hooray!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Made my day

So I saw one of my Weight Watchers/Running friends while I was out today, running, and it just made my day. I don't know why but it inspired me to keep going knowing she was out too- I'm not alone in this world of running. Ever since I started running over three miles I've gotten a lot of comments like "Wow! Are you crazy?" "I could never do that." "12 miles! That's insane I think I might hurt myself doing that." "That is SO FAR!" Everyone means well when they say those things but it does make me wonder, am I really crazy for doing this? That's why its important to have friends in the sport I guess and made me so excited to see Lara out. Lara is faster, skinnier and older then me but she is all so my height so I look at her and think "that's my goal. I can do what she is doing"

I just started reading a great book about women and running and I'm only a few pages into it but I love it. It talks about why women are great runners. We can never really be faster then men but running mostly just takes a good pair of running shoes and dedication and women can be really dedicated and goal oriented. Just think about it we're more organized the men, we are mothers, wives, employees, house cleaners, chauffeurs, cooks, therapists just to name a few of our responsibilities. The secret to being a runner is to follow your training schedule and not give up. I've given birth to 4 children, naturally, by golly I can flipping run a few miles.

I also think as women we understand the physiological part of running. Men want to run fast and win, women do too but that's not all. We understand the personal therapy that comes with being alone and running. My runs are just about the only time I'm ever alone, I never want to give up that time.

So in short, I think women are amazing.

Yes, I ran my 9 miles today and I feel good about it. Much better then the other runs this week. I'm getting nervous for race day though. Can I really do this?

Friday, August 13, 2010

Sometimes running is just hard

Some days I can just put in my ipod and those miles tick by rather easy and some days it feels like my legs have never run a mile before in their lives. That's how I've felt all week. Every mile has been so painful it's hard to keep going. I tried to run while camping but I ended up turning the run into intervals since my legs just wouldn't move. I had to run my 5 miles last night and turns out, I don't like night running. My stomach was full from dinner, blah, and a lot more people are out in the evening then the morning. I like morning a lot better. So tomorrow I run 9 miles. I really hope they don't feel as bad as every other miles I've run this week.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Beggars can't be choosers...

when it comes to weight loss that is. For three weeks I have stayed the EXACT same weight despite all my running but today I finally lost 0.8. That is almost a pound and I am happy about it. At least the scale moved! (In the right direction)

I didn't lead the meeting tonight I thought I would be out of town but we came back early so Debbie led the meeting and I was able to just sit and listen for the first time in a really long time. It was wonderful. The meeting was on patience and not getting discouraged when weight loss doesn't go as quickly as we want. It was perfect for me and inspiring to hear it from another person. I was really glad I could just sit. And my good friend Kimberley made goal today so it was fun to sit by her during the meeting.

Congratulations Kimberley!!

ZUMBA!!!

As of Saturday, I am a certified Zumba instructor. Whoo hoo! 9 hours of Zumba instruction and I'm official. Thanks to running, I have really great endurance but after lunch (4 hours of shaking my booty), I was tired and I wanted to sit down. After 3:30 I was watching the clock anxious for it to it 5:30. It was really fun and I learned a lot of great stuff. It was really overwhelming. By the time it was over I was so overloaded it felt like I hadn't learned anything.

It was exciting to be in a room of 60 people who really know how to shake their booty with some amount of coordination and rhythm. Now I have to memorize about 15 routines and I'm ready to teach, eek!

We left Zumba and went straight to Red Robin where I inhaled 1000 calories of deliciousness!

So do you think with the 12 mile run and 9 hours of Zumba that I maybe made the scale move this week? Hmmm we will see in about 2 hours when I go to Weight Watchers.

11 and 12 miles

So its been a while since I updated here. We just got back from a week long vacation. I actually ran my 12 miles while visiting family.

So briefly, 11 miles was HORRIBLE! I don't know what it was about that day but it was not easy. I had to go to the bathroom after mile 6 which always slows me down and messes everything up. After and during the run I wonder why on earth I am doing this and doubting my abilities. I felt really lousy when it was over and discouraged.

12 miles- not so bad. We were in Rexburg Idaho, which is actually where my hubby and I met and went to school, visiting my husband's brother and family. So i left at 5:45am from Sugar City, where his brother lives right next to Rexburg, with my camelbac backpack on and 8 ounces of Gatorade already in my tummy. I ran to Rexburg, a little over 2 miles, through town, up a monstrous hill-(7 blocks of up hill holy molly it was tough!) past the first apartment Lance and I lived in when we got married (ahhh) past the new beautiful Rexburg temple, down some new streets and houses that didn't exisist 10 years ago, past the apartment I lived in, past the apartment Lance lived in, past the stadium and other nostagic places and back to sugar city. 12 miles in 2 hours and 25 min. The last 2 were REALLY hard but I did it!!! It was fun running somewhere new and yet still familiar a little trip down memory lane. That is the longest run until my race. I"m still nervous and doubtful that I can do it but I have to think positively. I CAN DO THIS!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The right stuff

So I'm becoming a real runner and do you know how I can tell I'm a real runner? I'm buying all the right stuff. For the last year I've been running in T-shirts, holey socks, sweat pants and whatever tennis shoes I had in my closet but things are changing. Recently I've purchased special running pants (that I LOVE,) running shirts (which I also LOVE,) socks (that surprisingly make a big difference,) and a few other things. The only thing I don't have is running underwear. I definitely think owning the right stuff is really important. I don't regret waiting a while to purchase them but I think they really help. I noticed a difference the first day I wore my new socks, pants, and shirt. I think it helps me go faster. :) So here are a few other things I've gotten.So I just bought new shoes. I went and actually got re sized and I'm a whole size bigger then I thought I was and I have a wide foot which I've always know. I bought some men's Brooks shoes and so far I love them. One day when I'm in an actual city with a running store I plan on going in and using one of those fancy machines they have that designs the perfect shoe for your foot.
My awesome friend Kimberley just bought me this Camelbak backpack for water. I haven't used it yet I plan on using it this Saturday for my 11 mile run, I'll tell you how I like it. I'm learning that once I run over an hour I really start needing water and even some kind of snack soooo...
Another friend of mine Lara gave me some of these sport beans that she uses on her long runs. I plan on using them this Saturday as well.

And again my friend Kimberley gave me these energy gels to try too (I told you she was awesome) So I plan on trying all this stuff on Sat and I'm excited about it.

So any of my running friends who are reading this if you have any good tips of things you use I would LOVE to hear them. Just post a comment or FB me and I'll try and get them up here.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Disappointment

Monday is weigh in day and I didn't lose anything. I hate that! I didn't gain either but the point of all this hard work is to LOSE! If I were my own Weight Watcher's leader I would say to myself that I shouldn't get discouraged and that the weight will come off just don't give up. I'm running a lot and I know with more exercise more glycogen molecules are coating my muscles which are heavy with water and eventually I will start burning it off. But I DON'T CARE about all that I want to just lose some flipping weight!!!! I worked really hard this week and it was showing on the scale until the weekend and now I'm back to where I was last week. Not okay when I need to average a pound a week. Ugh! In the end it all sounds like excuses. I hate excuses I just want to lose.

Weight loss is simple. Burn more calories then you take in. Its simple but NOT EASY!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Another day another 5k

Today I ran in a very small race in Ethete Wyoming but I'm really getting to like small races because I have a chance at placing! I drove there with my good friends Kimberely and Lara early this morning. I was still soar from the 10 mile run Thursday and pretty worried about my time on this one. Once I saw the course; which was a straight run down the road then turn around, I thought ' Ugh,I want to go home.' I'm not sure if I said it out loud or not, I'd have to ask Kimberley. But it was hot already and all I could see from the starting line was a really big daunting hill and we were told there was another hill behind it. Yuck. It took me a few good minutes after we started to work the stiffness and soreness out of my legs but then I fell into a good rhythm. The hill wasn't as bad as it looked and I finished in 31 min 36 sec nearly one minute behind my firewise 5k time but there wasn't 2 big hills at the firewise 5k either so I was happy with it. I got 1st for my age division, not any where near first overall! I only have 3 months left in this age division and then I have to run against all those fast 30 year old women- they really are fast! So I started less then excited about the race but give me a trophy and I am a happy girl!

Here we all are. Lara got first in her age group 30-39, I think her time was 24 min (see I told you those 30 year olds are fast) Kimberley got 2nd in the same age division as Lara and her son Sage was the youngest runner and he did GREAT! What a stud he is. He got first in his age division too. We are just a bunch of winners!


And since I am just so tickled about it, this is my trophy.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

And then she ran 10

10 miles that is. I can hardly believe it myself but I did it! I ran 10 miles in just under 2 hours and surprisingly it wasn't as hard as running the 8. I left this morning at 5:00 sharp, watched the sun rise as I ran and got home at 7 just as it was feeling too hot. It made a big difference leaving early, my shoes didn't hurt my feet and I didn't have that stupid dog with me. It was painful but I did it!! I am incredibly impressed with myself to be able to accomplish this.

As if 10 miles wasn't enough I went to a Zumba class tonight to. I think I will sleep well tonight!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Weigh in Day

Today's the day. Weigh in day. I lost .6 this week which isn't great but I take any loss gratefully. The awesome thing about it is I'm only 2lbs away from losing 30lbs. Secretly I would like to make it my goal to lose 2lbs this week but logically I know I have to be careful about setting my goals to high. So I want to lose 2lbs this week but I wont be disappointed if I don't get it done.

My all time goal right now is to be at goal weight by January 1st 2011. That is 5 months away and means I have to average 1lb a week. That's a lot for me but that is what I am working on. Hopefully I will be really close to goal by the time I have my big Weight Watcher meeting in Billings in November. Last year I felt so uncomfortable being so far over goal at that meeting I promised myself I would have to be embarrassed this year.

I ran 3 miles today, slowly. Still really sore from the 8 mile run Saturday but I think getting out and running again was just what my legs needed.

Here's hoping for a great week!!!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

The day after my first 8 mile run

"Ouch!" And that about sums it all up for me. I hurt. Before yesterday the longest I ever ran was 6 miles. I was doing that about once a week maybe less. I knew jumping up to 8 miles would be hard but I didn't expect it to physically hurt so much. I hurt in all the right places though. My bum, the outsides of my thighs and even my arms are soar.

I stupidly wore my highest high heals to church today, because my husband says he like them so much, I'm such a succor. I just prayed the whole time I was there no one would notice me limping around in those giant heals.

I only have to run 3 miles tomorrow (I'm following a training schedule) but I have a feeling it is going to be a painful 3 miles.

I'm also still medicating myself with M&M's which is so stupid. It's almost like taking all my hard work and literally waisting it away with every handful of M&M's. And why do I even have them in the house? What a sick destructive thing to do to myself. I bought them for my little girl as "potty candy" she gets and M&M when she goes potty. But even I knew as I was buying the bag she wouldn't need that big of a bag. I was the only one who wanted that big of a bag. Sometimes I am my worst enemy. I sabotage myself.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Running running running

So I ran 8 miles today and to use the word hard to describe the run just doesn't do it. It was excruciatingly hard and took me 1 hour and 39 min. I have a list of excuses as to why my time was so poor and at the end of the day they are just excuses, non the less, I would like to list them.

* It was HOT! I should have been getting back at the time I left because it was too blasted hot to run. The first 4 miles was on an unshaded hot bike path by mile 3 I had to stop and walk for at least a half mile
* I stupidly brought my huge dog. My husband wants me to take him with me on my long runs but he is just not properly leashed trained and too huge for me to control. The first 5 miles I ran I was pulling back on him, adding resistance and extra effort on my part. The last 3 he was tired but ran in front of me and kept stopping suddenly to turn around and check on me causing me to practically fall on top of him.
* The mosquitoes were terrible and I had to slap them off my leg every so often.
* My new shoes hurt my feet. By the end of the 8 miles the balls of my feet ached with every step.

As I said they are just excuses but now I have a base to improve on. Today my legs are tired and I can't seem to drink enough water. I'm medicating myself with M&M's- a great choice. I'm sure I've eaten 8 miles worth of M&M's which leads me to the all too often asked question... Why do I do that?

Today is also the Gard family reunion. As we ate lunch I looked around at the family surrounding us and I was impressed. They were all very fit and skinny. It was nothing like the family reunions from my side of the family. I was very grateful at that moment for the 25+lbs I've lost. Without losing that I would have felt very self conscious and awkward. Instead I felt comfortable and enjoyed seeing family and playing kick ball. I think my husband's family is awesome for being so fit and healthy.

Friday, July 16, 2010

So lets talk!

It seams like so much of my thought and worries fall on weight loss and I though it would be helpful to write some of them down, get comments back from people struggling with similar issues, and hopefully my readers and I can be more successful.

So here are a few ups and downs of my last 24 hours. I tried on a bunch of my "too small cloths" and several of them fit, hooray!!!

Feeling excited about this victory I looked up my weight loss record. If you don't know anything about me, I've been on this up and down weight loss journey for 8 years. Anywhoo, I was pretty sure I was about the same weight I was when we moved to Wyoming 3 years ago and I felt good about that. Unfortunately I am not. I'm still 10lbs heavier and I remember being really discouraged then. So booo. I killed my high and its time to get working harder.

Going out to dinner tonight with 13 points left. Fingers crossed I stay focused.