Best Christmas Present Ever Challenge

I follow Marathon Misfit.  Connie has become an inspiration to me (one of many, by the way) in her training and completing the Chicago Marathon.  She came up with the idea of the Best Christmas Present Ever Challenge to help herself lose her last 10 9 pounds. 

Here are the basics:

We're going to wrap up our current weight in a Christmas gift box along with the least-flattering picture of yourself that you can find. On Christmas morning we'll open it and either have given ourselves the best Christmas gift ever- or we'll weep awkwardly over a bunch of Old Navy Fleeces. But hopefully that won't happen.

Here's how we'll succeed:

Exercise- you can pick any fitness challenge you want. Like running? Run your butt off. Biking? Bike away. Whatever you think will make that reindeer sweater a little less snug- do it. The goal is to exercise at least 20 minutes a day, 6 days a week.

Diet- Since I'm not a dietitian and thought the Twinkie diet was a cool idea, I'm not going to tell you what to do. I will provide us with dieting tips and tricks to stick to the plan, but whether you want to count calories or go vegan is up to you.

 

Read more: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/marathon-missfit/#ixzz14nfUfzUH

I will post the picture of me and my present by the end of the week.  You will not see the unflattering photo until Christmas Day.  I am excited to have a goal to work towards; one that is more attainable.

Food is my Anti-Depressant and that Needs to Change.

Due to some overspending last month, I found myself in a little bit of a financial hole.  This  lack of control meant that some items would need to be postponed until my photo profits were deposited into my account.  One of the items I put off was my anti-depressant.  I have been taking this medicine for about 2 and a half years.  I have gone off of the medication several times (thinking I was "healed") only to find that I relapsed even worse.

I ran out of my prescription in early October and as much as I tried to stay upbeat, the darkness soon enveloped me.  This cloud, coupled with my whooping cough, meant I was spending entire weekends in bed, sleeping.  Not because I was tired, but because I just couldn't function.  There were a few days where I managed to get myself out into the real world, but those were driven by the idea of shopping (another addiction).  Over the past 30 days, I have eaten tons of crap food, mostly processed carbs and refined sugar.  This would result in a momentary elevation of my mood, only to have it crash around me a few hours later.

As soon as I saw the profit check hit my account, I refilled my anti-depressant.  For the $15 co-pay, I should have definitely refilled it sooner, but I seem to have my priorities a little messed up lately.  Mental health is important and should not be treated as an afterthought.  My lack of motivation is directly tied to how I felt about myself.  I didn't have the anti-depressant so in turn I ate junk food, which in turn made me depressed about my weight gain.  This was a never ending cycle that I found was easily fixed.  I won't make that mistake again. 

The weather here is going to be awesome all week, so I think I will take some nice long walks with the boys to help clear the cobwebs from my mind.  Need to set some more goals as well, but as my therapist says..."baby steps...baby steps."

I Might as Well Face It, I am Addicted to Sugar

Since returning from Disney and getting sick, I have been trying to eat better without much success.  That and the fact that I haven't had much exercise lately have resulted in a 5 pound weight gain.  The funny thing is I only get real cravings for sugar while at work.  Once I am at home, cravings are gone.  I don't eat much crap on the weekend, I tend to have cereal and chicken with vegetables.  So why so I fail Monday through Friday?

I believe part of my craving for sugar has to do with its soothing tendencies, for me anyway.  If I am stressed, a little candy bar will do wonders to take the edge off my mood.  Lately however, one candy bar isn't cutting it.  I have to have two candy bars, and a handful of Milk Maid caramels, which were only $.57 a bag at Walgreens. 

I need to do another diet cleanse, not in the true sense of the word (no maple syrup or cayenne pepper for me).  The cleanse I am talking about has to do with removing sugar, dairy, alcohol, pop, salt and all processed foods.  A few years ago I found this website from Chet Day.  I religiously followed the program and my cravings disappeared as did my asthma.  The problem is, the program didn't have enough flavor for me...I love flavor. I think I may have to modify the program with spices.  The idea is simple, fresh fruits and vegetables...as much as you want.  I think I can have chicken too.   I am thinking that when I take a few days off later this month to purge myself of the items I no longer use, nor have used in over 3 years, I will use that time to begin the cleanse.

I want to be healthier and not as tired all of the time...which means the Diet Mountain Dew will have to go as well.  Beginning November 18th, the quest for healthier living will begin.

Major Illness

It took me over a month to finally recap my half marathon experience from the Disney Wine and Dine on October 2nd.  I did mention previously that I had a good excuse...whooping cough.  The media has been reporting since the beginning of October that the number of Whooping cough cases has risen sharply in the last few months.  I was one of the lucky ones that came down with the human version of kennel cough.

When I first returned from Disney, I felt crappy but I just attributed it to nearly dying while trying to race and the fact that I just got my period.  That wasn't the case.  The Friday after I returned I came down with a cold.  A cold that would last for exactly two weeks.  Low grade fever, sneezing, mild cough.  On day 15 the coughing started, and by coughing I mean what sounded like I was hacking up a lung.  There were several occasions where I coughed so hard it made me throw up...yech.  I decided to Google "cough and vomit" and low and behold Whooping cough was the main culprit.  I didn't even know adults could get whooping cough, but apparently the vaccine you receive as a child only last for five years after the last booster.

Whooping cough isn't dangerous to adults, just annoying (it will kill little babies though).  For the next three weeks I suffered through a never-ending runny nose and severe cough accompanied by vomit.  Such fun!  I literally went through 13 boxes of Puffs Plus w/lotion and I still ended up with a raw nose (I can only imagine that my nose would have fallen off if I'd used regular tissues).  According to Google health, the infection usually last 6 weeks, which technically means I am still one week away from total recovery.  My doctor made the diagnosis and supplied me with inhaled steroids and a Zpack to knock that cough right out of my system.  By the way, Mucinex did not help initially to remove the scores of fluid hiding in my sinuses and my lungs.  Only generic Wal-phed from Walgreens expelled the nasty Mucinex guy and his family.

I was still stuffed up with bruised ribs and a sore shoulder from the coughing, but I ventured out into the real world last night for trivia and actually feel ok today.  The Turkey Trot is in 23 days and I would like to get back into walking this weekend.  

So word to the wise, check out Google's page on Whooping Cough and visit your doctor/get tested if you have any of the symptoms.  There was a breakout earlier in the month in two northern suburbs of Chicago (Winnetka and Wilmette) yet officials waited a month to release the information.  I wonder if any of those cases flew from O'Hare to Orlando the first weekend in October?

Trying to be a Princess

I really want to do the Disney Princess Half Marathon, but hotels are so expensive.  So I keep entering this sweepstakes everyday in the hope that I win!

Wish me luck!

Win an Entry

Race Day - Preparation for the Unbearable

October 2nd found both Michelle and I sleeping in until about 8am.  I think I finally drifted off around four but I know I snored like a grizzly and for that I repeatedly apologized to my friend.  We had a protein loaded breakfast at the food court and then made our way over to the Magic Kingdom for Day 1 of our 2 Day Parkhopper pass.

Just before we reached Cinderella's Castle (the spoke in the kingdom where all roads lead to another land), I heard shouting and saw emergency personnel pushing their way through the crowd.  I stood frozen watching as a stretcher roared by carrying an overweight man and a paramedic administering CPR.  I was transfixed by the image and could not look away.

 

From that moment on, the realization of what I was planning to attempt that night began to sink in.  I was not at all prepared to run 1.1 miles, let alone 13.1.  I shook the image of me on the stretcher out of my head and followed my friend Michelle into the ice cream parlor for the largest ice cream EVER!  So delicious too.  Walking and eating is never easy, especially with ice cream running down your arm.  We both finished right before we reached Space Mountain and were thrilled the wait was only 15 minutes.  I hadn't ridden Space Mountain in a while and the darkness is a little unnerving.    It was, however, fantastic to be able to scream for 3 minutes as we rose and fell, soared and raced.  This release helped to ease my nervousness about the evening's events. Michelle and I then proceeded to go on the roller coaster tour of Disney World for the next 4 hours and we had a blast! 

In an effort to avoid the gear check nightmare, we decided to rent a locker at Epcot (the finish of the race) and leave all items we would need after the race in said locker.  Things were going too smoothly that I knew there were bound to be issues that night.  We headed back to our hotel (35 minutes on the bus) and took a 2 hour "nap" prior to lining up to leave for the start line.

After we were dressed and sufficiently moisturized so as to prevent chafing, we left for the bus corrals.  We were able to squeeze on the first bus and the excitement set in as the other runners boarded the buses.  I tried to calm my nerves, but realized I should have gone to the bathroom.  (This would prove detrimental later that night.)  We were told we have to be on the bus by 8pm, yet the race didn't start until 10pm.  This meant a lot of sitting, lying, and standing around waiting.  I am never good at waiting and wished we had been on one of the last buses as then I would have gone to the bathroom prior to arriving at the starting line. 

One thing I did right, I was properly hydrated...perhaps too hydrated.  The temperature was 67 degrees and 100% humidity when we arrived at the grazing field.  We stretched for a while and waited.  And waited.  To Disney's credit, they did try to keep us entertained, but two hours is too long to stay in one place waiting for a race to begin.  At about 9:30, Michelle left for Corral A - the fast runners.  She also wanted to use the port-a-potties before the race.  This is something I should have done as well. 

After Michelle left I began talking with a mom and her daughter next to me.  They were old hands at Disney races and were giving me some tips.  At the Princess Half Marathon earlier this year, the daughter, who is about 20 pounds heavier than me wasn't keeping under the 16.00 pace.  She was later "swept" up by the Team in Training people, who, in her opinion were quite rude.  Both the mom and daughter told me that if I was feeling like I wasn't going to make it, I should go to a medical tent and avoid the sweepers.  This advice proved vital later on.

Finally we were allowed to line up in our back of the pack "Corral D".  Fear and anxiety set in as I realized I would soon have to run 13.1 miles, or at least walk it really fast.  The National Anthem boomed over the sound system and the fireworks signaled the start of the race.  At first I ran with my new buddy and I managed to keep up with her for about a mile.  At that point, I realized I couldn't run this whole race and indicated that she "go on without me!"  My pace at the first mile was 17.00 but that was because it took 4 minutes to get to the start line from the end of the line. 

I then began alternating walking and running in splits of 30 seconds.  I was hoping this would help me stay ahead of the sweepers.  Each mile marker had a special sign and I would have loved to have stopped, but I didn't have any leeway with timing and needed to keep on, keeping on.  About mile 2 I realized I needed to pee...bad.  I didn't want to stop because that would add 5 minutes and I would never have a chance.  So I kept going.  Running/walking along a steeply banked road that only inflamed my damaged ankles and the road was so dark I was afraid someone would jump out at us.

As I hit the 5k mark, I received a text from Disney indicating my current pace:  16:38.  At this point the build-up of fluid was affecting my fingers and I began to lose feeling in the tips.  Given my recent high blood pressure diagnosis and the advice from my former race buddy, I decided to stop at the next medical tent, which thankfully was a mere quarter mile away.  The medical staff were amazing and comforting as I lost it when they asked what was wrong.   I couldn't talk at first and they asked several times if I needed an ambulance.   The tears flowed as I realized I wouldn't finish this stupid race and would look even sillier for even attempting it at my weight.  Three Powerade bottles later, I felt restored and less of a failure (I also think there were other issues at play.)  The staff was worried about my blood pressure, so a van was called to take me to the tent with more high tech machines.  I profusely thanked the doctor and nurse and with the help of the van driver climbed aboard.

I wasn't alone in the van, as another overweight runner fell victim to the sweepers.  She seemed pretty upbeat and we discussed what went wrong with our races.  We both agreed the humidity was the number one factor.  We also admitted we didn't train as we should have.  Standing around for the two hours prior to the race might also have played a factor.  After the bitch session ended, my new BFF said that all was not lost as we would still get a medal.  I don't know if they felt sorry for us, or if it was because this was the inaugural race, but I didn't care.  We were dropped off at the next medical tent, I was given more Powerade and a nice bag of ice on the back of my neck while we waited for the cute paramedic to take my blood pressure.  130/90 and I was released to Epcot with my fraudulent medal around my neck.  I wore the medal initially until I felt like a liar and put it in my bag.

Michelle finished 16th in our age group and deserves her medal.  I am so proud of her and have been inspired even more to get my ass in gear, train, diet and go back next year and finish the damn thing.  The medal is in my hope chest right now, because next year, I hope to finish many more races. 

One thing that will be different about next year:  no visiting the parks.  No excessive walking.  This is all we will do: