~~~ BFF's ~~~

This is my best friend from high school - Becky Lee. We hadn't seen each other in almost 10 years until two weekends ago! She & I both moved away after graduation (clear back in 1994 - YIKES), got married, had kids, got divorced, got remarried, etc....



After not seeing each other in 10 years, we picked up our conversation as if there had been no time lost between us. It absolutely freaked me out that she & I have been friends for TWENTY ONE YEARS! Being a gypsy child (Air Force brat, whatever) I would have never imagined that I'd have a friend for more than a year or two in my life. But here we are! Nothing is more comforting that being able to talk with someone who has witnessed your life since the 9th grade and STILL talks to you! We'll never go another round of 10 years again without seeing each other!

1/2 Marathon!!!

Denver Rock N' Roll Series Half Marathon!!!

October 9, 2011

Nine weeks ago, my younger brother Nathan decided that we should do a race together & picked a 1/2 marathon for me and a full marathon for him! Neither of us had ever ran these distances before, so it was defintely a goal to work towards. We signed up & started training for our various distances. I was extremely excited to go back to Denver for a whole weekend by myself & spend some time with Nathan doing this event. In the 9 weeks leading up to the race, I ran a 5K and two 10k's as part of my training. I felt good about the work I'd done to prepare myself for what I'd signed up for.

The race was AWESOME!!! It was definitely the hardest thing I have ever accomplished in my life though. Looking back & having several days to recover & think on the experience, I think I might actually do one of those again someday. I don't know that I'd do a FULL marathon (cause that's just plain crazy!) This particular race was fabulous, because you ran through the streets of Downtown Denver & a gorgeous park in the middle. There were bands every 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 miles throughout the race & the weather dried up (but didn't warm up much)!

It took me 3:12:40 to run/walk the 13.1 miles of the course. When I finally crossed & got my medal, I totally started crying! I called my dear sweet schmoopy-cakes & told him I'd just finished. I think he thought I was hurt or something with all of my bawling! It was very emotional for me to have accomplished something that I would have NEVER believed possible back in May. When I was ready to quit around mile 10, I sent Shane a text telling him I was too sore & too tired... I seriously wanted to stop moving right then. Thankfully, I have the best husband on the face of the EARTH & he continually sent me very encouraging messages & words of support that helped me keep going. I honestly don't think I would have made it if he hadn't pushed me along there at the end!

After I finished, I hung out & waited for Nathan to come through from doing his 26.2 miles. While waiting, I'd asked one of the medal-hander-outter-people if there was any way I could be the one to give Nathan his medal when he finished. THANKFULLY - I found a nice guy who let me! When I saw him come through, I channeled the inner Darla in me & once again started crying when I hung the medal around his neck! I'm so glad he "convinced" me to do this race & supported me through my training.

Weight loss challenge

A group of people - some CrossFit people (mostly outsiders) all came together via Facebook & started a weight loss challenge today! $20 gets you in - winner takes all. No second place!
I'm super excited for this next 8 weeks of competition to see what it sparks for me! I was having a conversation with a friend who's struggling with weight loss just like the rest of us. In talking with her - I had some clarification I wanted to share.

I just want other people to know that it's a struggle. But it can totally be overcome. It's not easy. Not one bit. And sometimes I fail for a day or two. And sometimes I don't feel like working out at 5:30 in the morning!
But. . .

Then I remember how I felt physically and emotionally at my heaviest. I remember how incapable I felt. I remember how limited I was. How sad I was. Then I get up out of bed - get my butt to the gym & recommit to making the right choice from that moment forward. :-)

Let it begin

So lets start with life one year ago. This picture isn't from back then, its just one of the only "before pics" I have. When you're 100+ lbs overweight...yes, 100 lbs.... you do NOT have full body shots of yourself on purpose! I have this specific picture from when I wanted to be on Biggest Loser a few years ago with my friend, Liz. As I mentioned in my last post, my world changed a bit when I did the weight loss challenge at the Sports Academy. Doing that challenge gave me the bug - showed me that I could work out & that I could chose to not be overweight. There was about a three month lapse from when that challenge ended, to when I found out about CrossFit through my friend at work. She'd been going the whole time I'd been doing my Sports Academy workouts & every morning we'd sit & talk about our workouts from the day before. So after falling off the wagon a bit, I gave in & went to CrossFit.

Going to CrossFit has been the best thing I've ever done for myself. Its seriously been such a mental & physical game changer for me in losing weight & becoming a strong, able bodied person. My brother Nathan summed it up in his last comment to me on Facebook - I was teasing about not being an athlete at all & he said, " You stopped qualifying for that status when you ran your 10th race of the summer...you are a runner, you're an athlete...get use to it."

This is SO true. I'm doing events & accomplishing things in the last 6 months that you couldn't have convinced me I'd be able to do. I still have a ways to go (45 lbs or so), but now its not so far out of reach. Now I know I can actually get there & I don't have to be on a TV show or be in a competition to be there. I can get up every morning when its still dark outside & go work my BUTT off @ my CrossFit gym - eat healthier rather than not - and I can decide to be a fit, strong person.

Strong is the new skinny.

Oh what a change!

I've been recently inspired by my "new" friend and her fantastic blogs she posts on! To be honest, I've let Facebok take over blogging for me quite a bit in the last year. All the things I've had to say & stories I've wanted to share, I've condensed into a status update on my page. It's kind of unfortunate in my opinion because you honestly can't get all the guts of a story in 140 characters or less. AND - does anyone really go read through old posts to catch up on someone's life? My personality is such that I'm a very 'immediate gratification' kinda woman and Dear old Facebook caters to that side of me perfectly! Wanna know what's happening in so & so's world?! Don't email, call or text - just go check Facebook & you can find everything you need! Technically speaking - I don't have a friend named 'so & so", but if I did, I'd Facebook stalk them too!
Anyway.
My world has changed a lot since my last post. I started going to CrossFit UAC in March & I've been addicted ever since. I absolutely love going there. I love the workouts (mostly!), I love the trainers, I love the people I workout with & I love what it's done for my physical abilities & weight loss. It's honestly been the single greatest change I've made in my life. Going to CrossFit caters to my competitive and my social personality at the same time. It's the most perfect thing out there for me! I went from not being able to jog 200m back in March - to competing in NINE races since then. NINE!!! one of which was a 10k on my birthday & the other was a 40 mile bike ride! I've loved if all!
I will post pictures and talk more about what's happening in life soon!