I am a Runner

Happy Pre-Friday everyone! The other night I clicked a link on Twitter, read this blog  and then shed some tears. Several of you have been here for the last several years and know my journey to get healthier, and how I’ve started running and stopped, started and stopped more times than I can count.

It took some time to for me to actually start “running”. I worked up to it. I walked. A lot. I did the elliptical. I tried outside. And came right back in. It’s hard. And there are people out there. People that could see every jiggle and bounce my body took with each stride.

It has been almost a year since I started “running”. And up until a few weeks ago, I still wouldn’t have called myself a runner. Y’all remember my first 5k from a few weeks ago? Remember those two girls talking and I distanced myself from the conversation because I thought they were friends – but come to find out, they were strangers too – they just had allowed themselves to embrace the running community, where as I hadn’t yet. I was standing there waiting for someone to tell me that I didn’t look like a runner. That I shouldn’t even be there.

That’s the little voice in my head that I live with. That I think most of us live with. That voice that can come up with 1,000 reasons why you shouldn’t do it. Why you shouldn’t run that race, why you shouldn’t take the new job, why you shouldn’t move across the country. Or even why you shouldn’t say yes to that invitation that your friend issued.

But you know what? Not once has that voice been right. I always have fun when I say Yes to the invitation. Taking the new job led to an amazing life, one I couldn’t have imagined that allowed me to be there more for my son. And you know what, not a single person at that race told me I wasn’t supposed to be there. Not a single one even gave me a sideways glance. Everyone I encountered smiled, and spoke, and invited me in.

And now I can say that I’m a runner and not put the quotation marks around it.  Now I can share with all of you what, up until this point, was pretty much only known if you follow me on Instagram! I was afraid to put it out there.  I was afraid to declare my intentions.  The little voice was telling me that I wouldn’t find acceptance.  Fortunately, I am stronger, WE are all stronger, than that little voice.

So, go run.  Go paint.  Go capture a soul through your photography.  Go step outside your comfort zone and take the new job.  Move.  Explore.  Do.

And go read Ashley at Rather be Runnin’: 

Rather Be Runnin’

P.S. I linked to some old posts of mine, which was weird, because (1) they were old and apparently my writing style has change (hopefully for the better) and (2) they were not even telling the story the way I thought they were!  So, you don’t have to bother to go back and read them!

How to Scroll Through Pinterest

I try and ride my stationary bike 5 days a week.  I mix it up with intervals and steady work.  It is great cross-training and keeps me from stiffening up on run days.

It is also time I get to dedicate to social media! I don’t feel like I’m “wasting time on-line” when I am stuck on the bike for 30 minutes anyway!

And my favorite social media is Pinterest – and as y’all know – it doesn’t go to waste, you see me trying things all the time!

But, for every Pin I pin, and every Pin I try out, there are 1,000 more that I have nothing but a snarky comment for! That has actually made my Pinterest scrolling go by faster!

Isn’t Biscuit considered “from scratch”?

Apparently it is a thing to not wear pants with a sweater.  I’m pretty sure I’d get arrested if I tried that.

Seriously? Who is buying white leather furniture?

That is not real sweat.  Come on marketing team, you can do better than that to get my attention!!

Free the chocolate! Free the chocolate!!

That looks great, but there is no way you are rolling that burrito up with that much stuff in it…

“A dear friend introduced me to this lotion…” Really just natural skincare dot com… a dear friend introduced you to this lotion… that you pinned… from your website.

Does anyone actually throw away old make up?

Did your windows have a growth spurt?

And finally:

Pretty much put things on there.  Got it.

So, Pinterest helps me learn new skills, tips and tricks; it keeps me occupied when exercising and it also helps sharpen my snarkiness!

Despite my snarky, I did link to each and every web site that I pulled that pin from, because just because I won’t click through doesn’t mean it’s not a tip you can use! I had fun and giggled over all of these as I was picking them out… I’ve actually been collecting them for months now, waiting until I had amassed a large enough collection of sass to share with y’all!

Now it’s confession time… who else does this? Let me know some of the thoughts you have when scrolling through Pinterest.

And, if you are interested in growing your Pinterest followers, check out Penney Fox with Inner SocialMedianess, she has been a strong supporter of mine and I enjoy her tips and tricks.  I very seldom give them a snarky comment! 🙂  (Penney didn’t pay me for that… but now I’m thinking she probably should! ha!)

 

 

I Bought a Fanny Pack

I bought a fanny pack.

I wish I could say I was joking.

I even have to admit that I don’t regret the purchase!

Let me back up a bit.

You know I’ve been on a journey to better health and recently I’ve started running.  I can’t say I love it, but I can’t say I hate it either!  It’s not easy, but I miss it on my rest days.  I found an arm band and have been using that to hold my phone, and while it’s not my favorite, I was fine with it.

Until I noticed that it is starting to rub against my workout shirts.

So I started my search.

And by that I mean, I sorted by lowest price on Amazon!

I really wanted a Flip Belt, but they don’t come in my size.

Nothing against Flip Belt, it’s just not easy at all to find fitness gear for a “plus” sized woman.  It involves a lot of measuring and guessing and then a quick prayer that it will actually fit and work!

I found a belt, it was nice and compact, and if my measurements were correct, it would span my waist.  And, it would hold my iPhone.

The belt looks good, right? Not obtrusive at all.  But, I still can’t figure out what the model is storing in hers.  I mean, if you are going to show a picture of the product being used, shouldn’t it actually be in use? I mean, would it be a shame to show products doing what they are supposed to, but whatevs!

The picture shows that it holds the phone and keys… and it claims to be able to hold more – but my phone is all that really mattered, as my running shorts have a pocket for my keys, I just need to be able to have my headphones in while I’m pounding the pavement – and for the low price of $9.99, I clicked “order”.

I’ve used it twice and pretty much love it. It is an elastic band attached to the yellow banana pack, but it is able to be tightened up as the elastic stretches… or as my waist shrinks!

But every morning, when I’ve snapped this on, I’ve giggled, cause, really, it’s nothing more than an elastic fanny pack.

And I’m rocking it better than anyone!  Well, anyone except…

The Rock.  He is totally rocking the fanny pack.

It’ll Be Fun

I was in the mood for some adventure on Friday.  It had been a really hard and very long week at work, my son had told me how he “Needed His Space” just a few days earlier and well, I was so over it all.

So, I checked my bank balance and then got on-line.

Hello indoor trampoline park! Fun and exercise! #Winning!

Picture from flightdecktrampolinepark.com

I grew up with a trampoline, my sister and I got it for our birthday one year (I think it was birthday, because it was sunny out, and our birthdays are in the summer months, but I could be totally wrong).  And, I think I was under 10 when we got it because I don’t think we had Lee yet.  (Yes, I judge a good portion of my life based on who is around me!)

Anyway…

I grew up on a trampoline – and I. Loved. It!!! It was so much fun, we all had a blast on it.

I haven’t jumped on a trampoline since approximately 1992.

So naturally, it’s a great idea to just dive right back in!

I bought an hours worth of time for me and Mr. T.

And we bounced.

And bounced.

And bounced!

Picture from flightdecktrampolinepark.com

And we played trampoline basketball!  I actually made 95% of my shots!  It’s amazing how accurate you get when you are inches from the hoop!

Then Mr. T goes “Go jump into the foam pit!”

“It’ll be fun!” he says.

Picture from flightdecktrampolinepark.com

So, I did it, because as I posted on Facebook:

A sweaty mom? Yes. A mom that sits on the sideline? Never! 

Needless to say – the foam pit is not my friend.  I felt like a beached whale trying to navigate my way back to the ledge, and then ended up having Mr. T come help pull me out because there isn’t a step or anything to help a 40 year old woman get her butt out of a pit filled with weird foam squares!!!

It was not my finest moment.  I was totally drenched in sweat after that!

Still, it was worth it!

We bounced a bit longer and laughed and joked and then decided it was about time to head back.  I knew I’d be feeling it tomorrow, but man, was it fun!

Later than night, I realized my hands were sore.

 Yeah, okay, my knuckles are very red, and quite a bit swollen… and I know it was from some of the tricks I was performing while bouncing! And if you look closely, you’ll see that the redness extends all the way to my little pinky finger!

The next day they were still red and swollen, and then you could see where the skin was torn.  It pretty much looked like I had been in a fight!

By Sunday I was starting to worry that I might have fractured my left hand – it was still really sore and swollen over two of the knuckles.  Then I looked over and my right hand was still sore and swollen, so I decided that maybe it wasn’t fractured after all! I just tend to forget how very sensitive my skin is!

It’s three days later and the broken skin is healing, the redness is gone and the swelling is starting to finally subside.

But, you know what?

It was worth it.

My June Joust

 

Before I declare my June challenges, let’s recap how May went!

1. Increase my daily exercise from 30 min to 60 min.  This will be a combination each and every day.

This did happen, except for the one week I took off.  

2. Yoga 2 – 3 times a week.

This did not happen.  I have issues with Yoga, Yoga is not my friend.

3. Continue with my wall sit (this is thrown in so that no matter what, I know I will accomplish something!)

Done!  Yippee!!  

4. Schedule community volunteer time (cause my mental health is just as important!)

Researched, but not scheduled.  I have to make time to fit this in, and unfortunately, their volunteer hours and the hours I had free didn’t match up.  

So, 2/4 challenges completed.

Now, thanks to Nancy at My Years of Sweat (who by the way just completed a day hike that she was clearly told could kill her if she did it in a day – but survived) here are my June goals.

1. Finish the calf raise challenge that I started in May when I realized that yoga sucks.  🙂

2. Do a plank challenge.  And I’m calling out Me, Who Am I? to join me because she said she would!

3. Continue to incorporate 60 minutes of activity/exercise into my daily life.

4. Now, here is where I planned to actually do the community volunteer time that I have researched, but I’ve got to be honest, I don’t know if I can fit it in – so this is tentative!

June is a really busy month for us.  This is Mr. T’s last week of school.  Next week he is gone for a week at church camp.  He is back for a few days before he leaves for Cheer (Mascot) camp and I leave for Vegas, Baby!  About 10 of us are going to Vegas to celebrate my 4oth birthday!  Whooo Hooo!  (I’ll update you on that later).  We are both home for a week and then I leave for a 4 day business trip, only to return and immediately prepare for our annual family reunion the first weekend in July.

My intentions are good; however, I will not overload myself with challenges and put additional stress on myself just because I’m uber-competitive! I want to be able to enjoy my life, too!

Join us!

Kerry’s Winding Road

My Years of Sweat  – who hasn’t posted her challenges yet, but she’s been busy taking the hike of death, so I’ll update this once she does!

How an Earthquake Locked Me Out of the House

Last night was Diva Dinner, our monthly girls dinner – and it was awesome! I left the house just before 6 and got home about 8 pm.  I opened the garage door, got out of the car and hit the clicker to close the garage door, walked to the house and all but broke my nose on the door leading to the house.   

It was locked!  And, sadly, it’s not even a glass door and yes, there is a handle, but when you are used to one swift turn-handle-walk-in move, it’s hard to stop that momentum!

You need to come back and watch this video! 🙂

I whipped out my cell phone and called Mr. T who came and let me in.  Apparently earlier in the evening there was a loud pounding that hit the house and he couldn’t identify it, so he went through the house and made sure everything was locked up.  He said that he heard people outside and that he thinks it was a car door slamming.

Okay, the window in my room was cracked, so that sounded plausible.

We finished up the night and went to bed and I didn’t think anything else of it.

Today I saw on the news that there was an earthquake in one city over.  I didn’t feel anything, so I didn’t pay attention.

I worked a little bit, my boss and his family were leaving town this morning for vacation so we were rushing to get all of his stuff completed and once he was out the door I went to do my Couch to 5k training.  I struggled through the training today.  I’m on week 8, which is the last week, by this week I should be able to run non-stop.  Today I couldn’t.  Fortunately, I’ve learned it’s okay to have days like this – and since it’s been weeks since I had a bad run I chose to be okay and not let it get me down.  I finished early and got ready for a morning meeting.

After my meeting I ran to the store to get a new pair of work out pants since I had a coupon that was about to expire. I picked what I needed and the sales associate was so helpful, I asked her to help me see if we could find me a new pair of jeans. For almost the past year I’ve been able to take my pants on and off without undoing them.  It’s pretty handy; however, the past couple of months it’s gotten bad – if my phone is in my pocket then my pants start to slide down.  This is becoming unacceptable, especially since getting me to remember to put on a belt just isn’t happening!

So, we picked out about 5 pairs.  I tried several on and finally found one pair that fit like a dream.  Two sizes smaller than the ones I was wearing!! Let me repeat that… TWO SIZES SMALLER!!

Happy Dance!!

Tonight I called my mom.  Tomorrow she is having knee replacement surgery.  To replace the artificial knee she had done just over a year ago.  Which she had redone two days after the fact because the patella (knee cap) wasn’t attached properly.  You can’t make up the stuff that happens in my life.  I wanted to make sure we were on the same page, let her know that had coordinated with her mom and that we wouldn’t be far behind her and dad.

I also wanted to let her know that she’d be too out of it to notice, but I’d be wearing jeans two sizes smaller!  (Yes, I will say this over and over again today!)

She asked me if I felt the earthquake last night.  Nope – but if she felt it, then I’m surprised that I didn’t.  She was surprised, too and went on to tell me about her experience, and how it was like a loud pounding hit the house (sound familiar? Go re-read Mr. T’s account) and then the dogs went nuts!  So, now I’m curious… about what time was it?  Well, no wonder I didn’t feel it, I was several cities south at dinner!

When I hung up the phone with her, I double checked and sure enough, a 3.6 quake hit one city over and the shock wave was felt far and wide! I told Mr. T what happened and he laughed and said it was nothing like how TV depicts an earthquake!

So, that’s how an earthquake locked me out of my house last night!

I’m Procrastinating

I have nothing to say, but I don’t want to cross off the next thing on my to-do list, so I’m here instead.

What’s the next thing you ask… ugh… it’s the TORTURE MACHINE, also known as The Elliptical.

I hate this machine…

So, we had Mr. T’s annual check up, and while I knew it had gained some weight over the summer, my jaw about hit the floor when it was put in black and white.  Now, I don’t mind a big kid, and he’s got good self-esteem, but I’m worried about his health.

I’ve lost 30 pounds so far this year because I wanted to be healthier, and apparently all of the food I wasn’t eating, Mr. T was and I was blind to it.

As such, we’ve both made a point to be more active.  It’s really easy to do when we spent an hour chasing his 2 yr old cousin in the pool – or when we spent about 4 hours in the lake, and a good portion of that he did without a noodle – but during the week we don’t have those options.  I told him that I’d start doing the elliptical.  My goal is to set a good example.

Being a good example sucks.

Knowing this is good for me sucks, too.

Thus, I’m writing a blog post about it instead of actually getting up and doing it.