Pumpkin Run/Walk Results

The Pumpkin Run was last Saturday and the results are in...

My official race time was 51:17 with a shot gun start. For those of you who are non-runners or newbies like me, this means that everyone's time is based off the shotgun (start) but not unnecessarily a specific indicator of how fast each individual actually ran, since it takes some time for each runner to actually cross the finish line!

Since I had my iPod and handy Nike+attached, I was able to get my "actual" time as well. For me, this was 41:04. My goal was to finish in less than 45 minutes and I DID IT! Yea me!

I didn't get an "official" race photo, so you don't get to see me in my pretty BRIGHT orange t-shirt. But, I was there and it was fun.

Next race...Jingle Bell 5k on November 16 (other than cold...it's supposed to be very cold...we'll see how THAT works!)

Thanks Amanda!

So - I took Amanda's advice on my last post and tried two things - going FASTER when I was down and grabbing a focus point (next pole, next, X, next Y, etc) and both helped.

I found that once I lengthened my stride and "sped up", I wasn't hurting quite as much and bouncing much less. That was good. My calves are still very tight no matter what but I think part of that is from the lack of physical exercise for years and part might be my shoes. I really need to get those figured out.

On the second item, it's hard to get a "focus point" since I'm on a treadmill. But, I did push myself through "this slow part" or sometimes "to the next chorus" based on the song that was on. Also, since I have the TV on ("Clean House" with closed captioning tonight) I could push myself to the next part of the show - the end of the yard sale, through this commercial, etc. That seemed to help too, as I wasn't as focused on the exact passage of time but I still had a general sense of long had passed since the show has a definite timeline.

Last, but certainly not least, when I got really mad at myself at the end, I said "Dammit Girl, you can DO this! You gave NATURAL BIRTH to TWO munchkins. This shit is NOTHING!" And, my body knew that! I just had to remind myself that if I survived giving birth and raising two boys to the age of almost 7 then running for 35 minutes is NOTHING in the big scheme of things. And if I can do childbirth I can do damn near anything! :-)

OH - and for those who care, I went for 36 minutes tonight at a 13:53 pace for 2.57 miles! LONGEST DISTANCE EVER. Which is good since I have a 5k on Saturday and I was debating whether I'd be able to finish at all. I think I can now! :-)

What was that noise????

It came from deep below, a large bellowing sound in the middle of the night. What could it be? Was it a ghost, a wolf, a monster? That’s when we discovered. . .it was my stomach! Ha! It was hungry, but I wasn’t! I have never had that happen. In fact, my husband asked me, “What was that noise?” “Ummm, just my tummy! Sorry, honeyJ” You should have seen the look he gave me.

That’s just one of the little changes I’ve noticed since my surgery on September 3rd. But it’s the little things I seem to notice the most. The bras and shirts that now fit that I haven’t worn in years, that may actually be a little loose. The jeans that are loose and the small of my back that my hubby says I now have. (He claims I’ve lost weight in my mid back down to the small in my back, which shows that I actually have one now!) Why didn’t I do this sooner? I should have done this a few years ago and I could have been chasing my kids around sooner.
And cravings! Let’s talk about that for a minute. I’m still not having any cravings. That just baffles me. I just can’t get use to that. No cravings for pop, chocolate or anything. Sometimes I get a “boring” taste in my mouth, but that’s quickly fixed with some juice or a mint.

If you are reading this and seriously considering weight loss surgery (WLS), I highly recommend it! I'm seeing now how much time I've lost even knowing I could never do it on my own!