Well, crap.

Well, crap.

Remember that last post I wrote? The one riiiiight down there? This one. Where I said "Goals. Plans...I haz them."? Didn't work out so well for this chick.

Sadly, since moving to North Carolina, I've put on about 20 lbs. I just stepped on the scale - granted, it was after dinner and after a huge diet coke - but it was not a pretty number. 232. MOOOOO. 

<----- This is pretty much how I feel right now. Like a fat ole moo cow with too much going on in the midsection. 

It's not anything I'm not used to, I've always had this gut, but I had done SO well last year. I had gotten down to 190. I did a half marathon in January '12, I did a Warrior Dash, and, I ran my hometown's signature race, The Gate River Run 15K. 

What the hell happened!? How did I go from my energetic and race-runnin' self to my now, lazy and beastly self? It's so frustrating to know where you've been and where you are now and that you did the whole backing the pounds back on thing all by yourself. 

I guess I can't completely blame my lack of enthusiasm and laziness though. I got injured. Who knows how I did it, but all I know is that the Saturday before Labor Day, I ran further than I should have - roughly 9 miles. I came home, took a shower, and thought, "hmm, my hip kinda hurts...that's odd" but walked it off like a champ. That whole weekend my hip was hurting, but, again, I just kinda figured it'd go away. PLUS, my insurance from my new job wouldn't kick in for 30 days. It couldn't be that serious right? 

Uh. Wrong. The first day insurance would cover a doctor's visit, I was at the Orthopedic surgeon saying "My hip hurts...help!" Of course, it was more like my upper pelvis and my IT Band, but I just knew that THIS (see right) hurt. Told the doctor, he x-rayed my hip and said "looks like a muscle strain, go to physical therapy. 

Cool. I'm down for people helping me stretch. They stretched and stretched and stretched me for about 6 weeks. While my IT band was feeling better, my upper pelvis bone thing...my hip bone, I called it, but he called it the Illiac Crest, still hurt. 

By this time, I'd had to postpone the half-marathon I was scheduled to do in Raleigh in November with Team in Training. I've signed up for the Nike Women's Half Marathon in Washington DC in April with TNT - let's hope I make it!

Anyhoo - the doctor still doesn't really know what's wrong with my hip and has suggested an MRI, I haven't gotten one yet, but I hope that when I do, it gives me some answers. It still hurts, but I've decided to push through the pain - probably like a dumbass, but I've gotten so fat that I can't stand being sedentary anymore. I've got a half marathon to train for and pants I want to be able to wear again!

Well, dammit, today is January 1st, 2013. Time to start the F*CK over. I went and walked 2 miles at a "very brisk pace" - it ended up being about a 15 minute mile. I tried to run a bit, but the trail was wet and I started to slip, so I decided that would be a bad idea. So yeah, Jan 1 is here.  Monthly pics are coming back. One 5k a month is going to be scheduled, I'm going to train my ass off for my Half Marathon in April, and I'm not going to look like these pictures anymore. 

For shits and giggles, I also got my husband to take 1/1/13 pictures. I'm jealous of his. Here it goes - Mr and Mrs. Hold the Fries. Don't click if you ever want to be able to eat again.

Damn Yoga Pants

I was just in Food Lion with my husband on a late night run to grab some items for his work potluck party tomorrow. I'm making some buffalo chicken dip that my friend Stacye introduced me to and Brian now loves, so he volunteered me to make some to take to work tomorrow.

Anyway, so we were at Food Lion, minding our own business...getting the items I didn't have on hand for the dip - cream cheese, crackers, and Fritos. Of course, while we're there, we stroll down the ice cream aisle and see that Breyer's ice cream is on sale Buy 1 Get 1 Free. Hard to turn down for this ice cream addict - specifically this kind:  

Breyer's Blasts! Waffle Cone ice cream is the shiiiiiit y'all. Seriously. I adore it. If given the opportunity, I would eat that or a McDonald's vanilla cone every day (and I will probably get that vanilla cone dipped in chocolate if it's available at that McDonald's)...it's serious. 

Anyway, I get a 1/2 gallon of that and a 1/2 gallon of Breyer's coffee ice cream (b/c it's delish) and Brian is on the other end of the ice cream aisle looking at Drumsticks and other novelties which were on sale 2 for $6. He got some Drumsticks and little dip cone things and we were headed to the check out. 

Our cart included: 

-The above mentioned frozen Breyer's Deliciousness

-The above mentioned frozen novelties of awesome

-Two bags of Fritos

-Two boxes of crackers

-A package of cream cheese

-Two gallons of sweet tea

-A gallon of skim milk

Basically, it looked like a cart of junk food - because it was. 

Brian steered our cart into the nearest checkout line and we were behind one of the most athletic, fit and healthy women I think I've ever seen in my life. She was wearing yoga pants - and not in an ironic way. I'm pretty sure these yoga pants had actually been to Yoga. I overheard her talking about getting produce at the farmers market.You could tell by her still sweaty hair that she had just recently finished a work out. On the belt in front of us were 6 packages of boneless/skinless chicken breasts and a 1/2 gallon of almond milk. 

This amazingly healthy looking woman wasn't going down the ice cream aisle. And I bet that if she had, she would have gotten a single serving 150 calorie ice cream cup that wouldn't be sitting in her freezer taunting her for an undetermined amount of time. She would have made the smart decision and given into a small craving, but kept the temptation out of her freezer so she could keep fitting into her teeny weeny yoga pants.  

I was literally ASHAMED of what was on the grocery belt in front of me. I'm still ashamed, to be honest. While the Fritos, crackers and cream cheese weren't for my consumption, the ice cream surely is. And we bought a LOT of ice cream. I wondered to myself "does this lady look at this food we're buying and say 'no wonder those two are fat.'?" Was she disgusted by the CRAP (yes, it's crap) that Brian and I were going to be putting into our bodies?

Not that it really matters what this woman thought of us, but I was ASHAMED to be buying this stuff in front of someone with such self control and who obviously cares about her health and maintaining her physique. 

I need to be that lady. I DON'T need to be the fat girl with the 4 ice cream items in her cart anymore. THIS HAS TO END. I'm making a new goal - it's this:

I want that hot chick in the yoga pant's body. I do NOT want the body I currently have. So there we go. Goals. Plans. Ice cream in the freezer. I haz them.

Oh....um...Hi August!

Whups. I totally failed at that whole "I'm going to start posting my pics and my progress starting August 1!!!" thing. My bad.

Moving is hard, y'all. I left a job I loved and so many of my friends to move to North Carolina with my husband and it's just kind of been difficult. I don't have a job yet, I don't have any friends to just call and hang out with yet, and Brian is starting to get sick of me being around all the time. I need a life! 

I'm still kind of training for the Half Marathon in San Francisco, but I'm worried I won't make my goal of $3,200 and I'm going to need to back down to the Raleigh City of Oaks Half Marathon instead. That's fine, of course, but the San Francisco marathon is devoted to helping the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society so the experience would be so much more rewarding! I just can't afford to pay 2k out of my pocket right now!

I think knowing that I don't have the fundraising for the San Francisco 1/2 and then generally being bummed because I don't have a job and friends in the area etc is really setting me back on this whole training/eating well/doing what I need to do to not be a fatty, thing. Happy me = Healthy me. I gotta get happy!

I'm back to where I started when I started this blog. Or pretty close. I'm at 215 again and I'm not happy.

Moving to North Carolina was stressful! We ate crap for 2 weeks before we moved and we've been eating crap ever since. I've been trying to bring us back to eating healthy food, but it's just not exactly working. I need to get my butt in gear.

 THIS ISN'T PRETTY. I don't suggest looking at these pictures. Seriously.

Is this thing on?

So, it's been almost 2 months since I've updated this here blog. I guess I'm a terrible blogger - oh well. I've got good news and some not so good news...

Good news:
- We don't live in Mississippi anymore! We've moved to the Triad area of North Carolina. This place is wonderful! If you've never been to NC - or stayed towards the beaches - come on down/up/over! The scenery is beautiful, there's tons of stuff to do and there are HILLS to practice my running in San Francisco on!

- I'm still signed up for the Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon in San Francisco with Team in Training benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - my team here is AMAZING. I'm loving it!

- I'm a stay at home wife right now. I'm told this is good news, but I'm going crazy! However, it DOES give me time to plan healthy meals and do a little exercising and BLOGGING! But I am still dying to find a job!

Not so good news: 
- We don't live in Mississippi anymore. I loved that state. I loved those people. I loved that food. I miss it there. North Carolina is beautiful, but you can't get the same "yes ma'ams" "y'alls" and "fixin tos" that you can get in Mississippi.

- My training for the Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon has been rough. I'm enjoying my new TNT team (SO NICE!) but I can't seem to get my ass out of the house to run on days when there's not a group of people waiting on me. I did individual training once this past week and it was SO great, however, I was running on a trail with no bathrooms and had to go (sorry for the TMI) so I had to turn around. I'm not going to potty in the woods just yet. I'm not that hardcore.

- I'm back in some of my fat clothes. Moving is hard on a waistline. My darling husband packed up our kitchen FIRST instead of last so for the last week we were in Mississippi and the first week we were in NC, all we did was eat out - and it was rarely anywhere with decent food since I was with Brian and my father in law. I need to get back on the diet train.

Now that you're thoroughly bored, I've decided that on August 1 I need to go back to taking pictures and posting them here. I think those were keeping me on the right track - or at least keeping me honest. I'm hoping to do more core work since that will apparently really help my belly and running situation. So hopefully that flub you've seen won't be as flubby eventually.

So there's your update! Sorry I haven't been around, but like I said, I'm a stay at home wife for the moment, so who knows how much I might be around.

Want to help me the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with funding for research, patient assistance and generally just knocking out blood cancers? CLICK THE BANNER BELOW!

*Note - I really do have some donations - my donated money hasn't transferred to my NC TNT account yet, I'm at $875 and I'm hoping to be at $1,600 by the end of July - 16 days away! YIKES. If you've got $5 to spare, I'd appreciate it greatly!

Monday Motivators: Jessica B.

This one has been a long time coming. We all have those friends who always make you laugh, will always make you realize you don't suck, and will always dance like a fool with you - my friend Jessica is one of those people. She's the reason I've started Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society - and after my first run on Saturday, I can't thank her enough for getting me involved!

Jess and I met back in 2005 - we were both in sororities and I ended up hanging out with her sorority sisters a lot. They are good folks. Anyway, she's always been super active in all sort of activities and what not. I swear she started this TNT stuff because she had spare time or something and it just wasn't sitting well with her (Kidding, I have zero clue why she started Team in Training, but I'm super glad she did).

As evidenced by the picture to the left, we were recently both bridesmaids in our friend Leah's wedding. That's a pretty normal Jess face. Do you see why I love her so much?

Anyhoo, Jess is the reason I got involved in TNT - she chatted with me about the whole thing after she did her 1st half marathon with them and watching her update her FB on all of the training she has done and is doing has really just made me want to work harder. She's a mentor for Team in Training too and is pretty much all over it.

How's this for motivation? The other day, Jess went and drank a few beers and THEN went on her bike ride. I would never workout after drinking...but she's so much of a champ she did it. She's my hero.

I love my Be-Niggy-No. I can't thank her enough for getting me into TNT - after my first run, I can already tell I'm going to love it!  Even if she ditched me for San Francisco and is going to do the Metairie half marathon instead, I'll still be her friend, I guess.

Thanks for the motivation, help, and sanity phone calls. I love you, JB!

I AM A WARRIOR!

Fire Jumper!

I completed it! I did the Warrior Dash in Jackson, MS on April 21st and holy crap, it was so much fun. If you ever have the opportunity to do a Warrior Dash put on by Red Frog Events, you NEED to do it. I haven't had that much fun in a long time and I really felt like I had accomplished something!

I mean - seriously...I JUMPED OVER FIRE. The obstacles and the general muddiness of the whole experience made me feel like I was such a badass.

One of the greatest things about the Warrior Dash was running with my boss, Nicki. We are great friends, but of course, like every employee/employer situation, sometimes we get into it. Running this event with Nicki really made us work as a team and encourage each other. Nicki cheered me on when I had an issue with an obstacle (seriously, I had an issue with the "teetering traverse" which was just slanted planks - going down freaked me out) Nicki was right there, cheering me on and telling me that I'd survive if I just kept one foot in front of the other. When Nicki fell off of the "Vertical Limit" wall, I made her try again and grabbed her butt when she was almost to the top to help her up. When we both finished the hardest part of the course, "The Great Warrior Wall," we hugged each other. That was super difficult - BUT WE DID IT!

Me and Nicki

I can't give enough thanks to Cassie at Back To Her Roots. She made a post called "Tips for your warrior dash, mudathlon or mud run" that really gave us some great tips and I'm sure kept us from being completely uncomfortable all day. She also had some great ideas that others at the WD obviously didn't have, we looked so prepared and ready to enter battle! Cassie had some great tips, but, I wanted to add a few of my own and give a little bit more information for those of you who, like me before the race, don't have a flipping clue what you're getting into. 

Advice for your Warrior Dash/Muddy Run:

Clothing: Cassie mentions tight fitting clothing, swimwear, gloves and a second set of clothing and I couldn't agree more. Except for the gloves. It might be because my specific course didn't have many ropes, but they would have weighed me down a lot in the water and I probably would have ripped them off quickly. Also, the swimwear was a good idea, but Nicki wore a bikini bottom and ended up changing out of it anyway, so unless you want to stay in muddy underoos or are extremely modest (read: not even willing to wrap a towel around you and change your undies in a tent full of people of your same sex), then I don't see this as too important. 

Socks, yo.

The most important thing I can stress is TIGHT FITTING CLOTHING. I wore yoga type shorts that were a touch too small, they were falling off - yes, this means I was pulling them up - by the end. Wear something that's going to be tight or at the very least snug. My red tank top was a men's large and it was driving me crazy by the end because it kept getting stuck to the side. Wear snug things. You won't regret it. Trust me on this one, okay? I saw lots of hairy boy butt crack and it wasn't fun. 

I also recommend high socks - soccer style. I had so many cuts/scrapes and what nots on my legs in places that weren't covered by my socks or my shorts. To decrease your injuries, wear high socks. Plus, I mean, they look so festive. I also noticed that they helped my shoes not get as waterlogged. My socks didn't fall into my shoes and just collect water. High socks - definitely a good choice. 

Your second set of clothes - bring them in something that A) you're okay with getting muddy B) will keep the mud from getting on your clean clothes that are inside and C) will be comfortable enough to lug around with you after your race. The bag check will be muddy too, and lots of bags will end up on the ground. It would suck hardcore if your "clean clothes" ended up just as muddy as your race clothes. You'll still get mud on you after you race, so don't plan on looking "cute" afterwards. It's a mudfest. Enjoy it!

Shoe donation pile

Shoes: Just like Cassie says, you won't be bringing your running shoes back with you. I mean...you CAN, but I don't suggest it. Wear an old pair of kicks, we didn't have a whole lot of time to run anyway with all of the mud around. Warrior Dash supplies a shoe donation area where they collect muddy shoes, wash 'em up and donate them to the less fortunate. I suggest going that route. Make sure you bring flip flops or some other sandals that you don't care if you get super muddy and are easy to clean as your "change into after the run" pair.

Miscellaneous Things You'll be Happy You have:
I cannot thank Cassie from Back to Her Roots enough for this next suggestion - bring wet washcloths in a ziploc bag. Sure, we were sprayed off by a huge hose (SO COLD!) but hoses obviously can't rinse out the mud and gunk that gets all up in your clothes - specifically, your boobs. My boobs were extremely muddy, even after rinsing off and I don't know about you, but dirt rubbing up against those babies all day long wasn't going to work out well. Having those washcloths (I brought two, but I wish I had had more) was a lifesaver.

Bring a beach towel. One that you're comfortable with getting disgusting. I wish more people in the women's changing tent had thought of this one. I saw lots and lots and lots of T&A. And much of it was not cute. Not cute at all. Bringing a big beach towel that you can wrap around yourself well or your friend can hold up for you, will keep you from showing all of your muddy bits to the rest of the ladies in the tent. Trust me. When it's covered in mud, it doesn't really matter HOW toned you are, it ain't gonna be cute.

Toilet Paper. Okay, so gentlemen, you might not have to worry about this so much, but when I showed up at the run site at 10:30, there was no toilet paper left on site. None. Zilch. Nada. Become the most popular person ever and bring some TP with you - at least enough for you and your neighbor waiting in line for the porta potty. You'll thank me.

Cash/ID. You'll need both and the beer and food can get pretty pricey. I brought $30 with me and it lasted just enough to get me three beers and a hot dog with a bit of change left over.

Me and Trey! WARRIORS!

The most important thing to remember:
Have fun! This could potentially be something you'll never do again. Enjoy it. Realize how amazing it is that you're tackling obstacles and enjoy the camaraderie that comes along with helping others. You're going to get muddy. It's going to be a blast. 

A big thanks to my friend Trey! He's the one who told me about the Warrior Dash back in October and the one who made sure I got my butt signed up. Thank you, Trey! You're such a champ - keep up the good work! You're doing great things!

100 Reasons You Should Work Out Today

Oh, Pintrest, I love you. Someone pinned this and I think it's just what I needed on this rainy, gross day to motivate me to actually get a workout in today. We won't mention that my lunch was a bit heavy. Oof.

SparkPeople came up with some AMAZING Reasons to Work Out today.  You can find a few of my favorites below:

Because it makes you feel confident

Because you have goals you want to reach

Because it burns more calories than not working out

Because you want a great butt

Because it lifts your mood

Because it feels good

Because dieting only works so much

Because you take pride in your body

Because you are capable of more than you ever imagined

I like it, SparkPeople! Thanks for the idea! Can you think of any more good reasons to work out today? My good reason for the day is the chicken finger sandwich from Sonic I ate because I left my lunch at home (DOH!) - that's 450 calories I need back, please!