My First Virtual Half Marathon

I signed up to run a virtual half marathon this month! I paid $20 to help raise money for Breast Cancer awareness! $15 will be donated to Susan G. Komen while the other $5 was for the medal and it's shipping. My aunt is a breast cancer survivor, and I have friends who are survivors and some who are fighting right now. They were the reasons I ran this event!

I have never ran a half-marathon, but this virtual race had the option to break up the run to make it easier for everyone to do. I had planned on running the entire thing all at once, but it didn't happen. I ended up needing to run it in two days. The weather has been awful these past few weeks, so my original plan to run it outdoors was a no-go.

I ran 3.1 miles one day on the treadmill, then finished the last part of the run, 10 miles, yesterday on the indoor track at the Y. Since school was cancelled, so were the fitness classes at the Y. So instead of Power Hour, I spent one hour and 40 minutes running 10 miles! I started off with a faster pace, but slowed down around mile 8. The average for the run was 10 minute miles, which makes me happy! That is a good starting pace!

I got my medal in the mail and kept it inside of the envelope until yesterday. I had my husband put it around my neck! I wanted him to do it since he is my support, rock, and reason for running. I teared up a little after he put it around my neck, it was quickly stopped as Vivian wanted to play with my medal! I wanted Charles to take a quick photo of me wearing the medal, Vivian wouldn't let me put her down! So she's in the photo with me!

Sorry for the crappy camera-phone photo!
And yes, Vivian has a diaper on! She's not nudie!

I am looking forward to running an actual half marathon all at once! I need a little bit more training, though. I am very sore today! I learned a lot about myself yesterday while running those 10 miles! But the most of it is that I need more training! Ha! It's a good thing I start half marathon training in 12 days!

Carie's Weight Loss Journey Week 38

I started this month off strong with two healthy living challenges! One personal challenge via The Biggest Loser's website, and one with friends for the Live Healthy Iowa challenge. I decided to post a photo of the scale each Monday morning to remain accountable to the other people in the group as well as myself. The photos so far have been these:

1/28/13 - 151.8 pounds

2/4/13 - 148.2 pounds

2/11/11 - 153 pounds

2/18/11 - 150 pounds

That gain SUCKED. I had such a hard time posting that photo. I even thought about putting the scale on an uneven floor or something to get the weight to show lower, but in the end, I couldn't do it. I had to be honest. Because in life, you're going to have your gain weeks and your loss weeks. I think what was so frustrating was that I had done everything right with my food and water, yet there was still a five pound gain. I'm positive it had to do with my time of the month. (Sorry fellas for the TMI!) Not to mention the fact that I was late on my period and stressing out. Not because another baby wouldn't be welcomed, but because I hate NOT knowing. I didn't want to buy a pregnancy test just so that it can tell me that I'm not pregnant. I know that that is what they are for, but we're tight on money, so I decided to wait it out. I started on Valentine's Day. Hubby wasn't too happy about that!

But all in all, I am proud of my gains and losses. It shows me how my body reacts to different things. The morning I had the 5 pound gain I decided to change up my calories each day to give my body something different each day. I lost 3 pounds by the next Monday! So for now, that is my plan! Changing up my calories each day and sticking to my normal workout routines.

I know that Lent is going on and I'm not Catholic. I debated back and forth about if I wanted to give something up for Lent as a way to help me break my addiction to sweets. I had a week or so to decide, but in the end, I decided to do it. What did I give up? I had to think about it! I have been ice-cream free and binge free for FOUR weeks. Which is HUGE for me! I have had to pass up ice-cream on more than one occasion! And it was HARD! And by changing up my calories each day, my urge to binge is gone. So I had to focus on the trigger foods in my cabinets and what I wanted to stay away from. I finally decided on these:

They are anywhere from 80 calories to 100 calories per pack, depending on how many smiles are in the package. We usually buy the huge box because our girls go through them so fast. But since we've decided to cut back on as much high fructose corn syrup as possible, these delicious, sugary treats were first on the chopping block! We still have some left from the last box we bought, and every time I go to the cabinet, I have to fight myself to leave them alone. I can easily eat 2 to 8 of those little pouches. Which is anywhere from 180 to 800 extra calories per day. And I need my calories to count! I am addicted to these fruit snacks. I was introduced to these in college and have loved them since. I am giving these up for Lent, and hopefully, for good.

I am 16 days away from starting my half-marathon training! Technically I'm training for the DAM to DAM and it's a 20K! I am going to be following Hal Higdon's Novice 2 Half Marathon Training plan. I am going to be running it with two friends, one who lives in the same town as me and one who lives in another town. I'm not sure exactly how our schedules line up, but hopefully we can all run a long run or two together! As soon as the DAM to DAM is over, the Monday afterwards I start marathon training! I will be following Hal Higdon's Novice 1 Marathon Training plan. This will be for my very first Marathon in September! That gives me 6 months of training before my first marathon! I am excited! I also want someone to buy me this shirt so that I can wear it while I train:

Available here!

I noticed a week or so ago that I had developed "runner's toe"! It's a bruise underneath a toenail. It can come from running too many hills, breaking in new shoes, and/or not having enough toe room in your shoes. I am positive mine came from breaking in my new running shoes while doing an inclined treadmill workout. My toe hurt the night after my workout, but I didn't think much on it! I was removing some old nail polish and couldn't get the color to come off of one of my toes. That's when I realized that I had runner's toe! I was so proud! I haven't had runner's toe since high school! The town I lived in had hills EVERYWHERE, so I constantly had runner's toe!

Pardon my ugly toes! 

Starting this coming Monday, I am going to be starting Jillian Michaels: Ripped in 30. I want to start toning my body all over, not necessarily be "ripped", but tighter! I still have my "problem areas" that my clothes cover, but one of my newer problem areas since having kids is my lower stomach/abs. I realize that I will probably never have abs... I'm not even sure I want them... but my posture is terrible and it makes me look "skinny fat". Which is frustrating. I find cute clothes that I can now fit in, but my leftover baby pooch makes me look like I'm newly expecting. Someone even thought I was pregnant a while back... But no. It's just my un-toned baby pooch. But I also want to do the Ripped in 30 to help my core strength before I start training!

I just want to say, though, that I am very proud of my body. I have lost my weight slowly. My body has had plenty of time to "bounce back" with me. This is the way I wanted to lose weight to begin with. Slowly. I am very happy with how I look, but sometimes, I am still overly critical. I am working on it. I am trying to love myself again. And I do love myself! But I still have my days and weeks where all I do is trash talk my body and self-sabotage. I am working on it. I am not just a number on the scale. I am worth it. I am enough.

I have been doing much of the same workouts that I have been doing. Zumba, Power Hour, Wave Power (water aerobics class), swimming, running, and Jillian's 30 Day Shred. I very much enjoy my workout schedule. I have been getting up early in the mornings to get in 20 to 30 minutes of cardio in each morning. It helps me to wake up and start my day off right. I am doing this so that I can start waking up early to run in the Spring!

Start to Week 1, Week 2, Week 4, Week 7, Week 13, Week 26, and Week 38 progression photo:

Start to Week 38:

Starting Weight: 202 lbs

Week 1 Weight: 193 lbs

Week 2 Weight: 190 lbs

Week 3 Weight: 190 lbs

Week 4 Weight: 189 lbs

Week 5 Weight: 188 lbs

Week 6 Weight: 184 lbs

Week 7 Weight: 182 lbs

Week 8 Weight: 179 lbs

Week 9 Weight: 177 lbs

Week 10 Weight: 175 lbs

Week 11 Weight: 174 lbs

Week 12 Weight: 173 lbs

Week 13 Weight: 171 lbs

Week 14 Weight: 172 lbs

Week 15 Weight: 173 lbs

Week 16 Weight: 169 lbs

Week 17 Weight: 168 lbs

Week 18 Weight: 167 lbs

Week 19 Weight: 166 lbs

Week 20 Weight: 164 lbs

Week 21 Weight: 162 lbs

Week 22 Weight: 161 lbs

Week 23 Weight: 160 lbs

Week 24 Weight: 157 lbs

Week 25 Weight: 159 lbs

Week 26 Weight: 155 lbs
Week 27 Weight: 151 lbs
Week 28 Weight: 156 lbs
Week 29 Weight: 155 lbs
Week 30 Weight: 154 lbs
Week 31 Weight: 154 lbs
Week 32 Weight: 153 lbs
Week 33 Weight: 152 lbs
Week 34 Weight: 151 lbs
Week 35 Weight: 148 lbs
Week 36 Weight: 153 lbs
Week 37 Weight: 150 lbs
Week 38 Weight: 146 lbs

Weight Lost Since Week 34: 5 lbs

Total Weight Lost: 56 lbs

Weight To Go: 11 lbs

Was anyone as tired of the 150's as me?! BLAH!! I cannot believe I have ELEVEN pounds until goal! I'm so, SO close! This week's weight loss came from either the stomach flu or from food poisoning. I'm not too sure since no one else in my house had any sort of sickness. I made sure to stay hydrated and eat all of my calories for each day. I know that the last few pounds are going to be hard to lose. I get asked, "Haven't you lost enough?" Maybe so! Maybe that's why my body was hanging out in the 150's for so long. But I want to make it to my goal weight. I know that I can. But I'm not going to kill or starve myself to get there! I know these things take time! And I am going to work as long as it takes!

I am proud of my progress. I am proud of my health.

I got a new Polar FT7 Sports Watch/Heart Rate Monitor and a Garmin Forerunner 110 Sports Watch. (they were running a deal when I bought them. I spent MUCH less than Amazon is selling them for right now.) I got the Polar to help me keep track of the calories I burn during Zumba, Power Hour, and other fitness classes. I got the Garmin to help me keep track of my time, distance, pace, and calories burned while running when I start half marathon and marathon training. I haven't had the chance to try them out just yet, but I am very excited to use them! (Come on warmer weather and Spring!)

I also want to start doing more exercises with my own body's weight. Like standard push ups, sit ups, etc. They sound easy, but I can't do very many at all. There was a time I couldn't even do one... but now I'm up to about 5 normal push ups and 15 sit ups without stopping. Small progress, but I am proud of myself! I really do not like push ups. I can do a lot of the modified version of push ups, but when it comes to having my legs straight, I struggle! I don't have a set number in mind, I just want to be able to do more than 5 without feeling like I am going to die!

I want to start pushing myself to do more during my workouts. Mainly for Power Hour and Wave Power. I can do jumping lunges for the first 30 seconds of a one minute circuit, but I have difficulty going any longer without stopping. I want to push myself little by little to be able to do them for the whole minute. There are lots of exercises for both classes that I have trouble doing for longer than 30 seconds. I want to push myself to know that I can! I am going to have to be mentally prepared to push my limits when I run my marathon later this year, I want to start breaking down those walls and barriers in other aspects of my life as well! I want to feel myself get stronger.

I want to push my limits.

My motto right now:

Thanksgiving/Christmas Catch-Up

How is it possible that I just now realized that I haven't done a family update in a while?! Since Halloween... Sheesh... I'm on the ball! AND I haven't posted about Thanksgiving OR Christmas yet! Yep! I'm a slacker! I've posted small updates, but nothing big. SOOOOOO, family update time!

We spent the first half of November soaking up what was left of the fall weather before it started getting colder. There were so many gorgeous days! The girls and I were invited to the park by their friend Claire. It was just warm enough for jackets for the older girls and a sleeper and hat for Vivian!

The same day, later on in the evening, Vivian started walking for the first time! We had been trying and trying to get her to walk on her own, but she just wouldn't budge! She'd push around toys and hold our hands, but she would never just do it. That day, she decided it was time! And the best part, Charles was home for it!

A few days later, after Vivian's weight was finally enough, she moved up from her backwards-facing car seat to a toddler seat! I don't know who was more excited about it! All three girls giggled like crazy when we were driving around!

This brings us into early December! The church hosted a Primary Activity and Caitlin was invited to attend! They had all the kids make a gingerbread man or woman ornament, sing Christmas carols, and then finished with a HUGE Gingerbread house kit! It was so hard for Caitlin to be patient enough for the frosting to set up, but she did so fantastic! She was super meticulous about the decorations! She pointed to where she wanted me to put the frosting, and she applied the candy! Caitlin got mad if I tried to help! When I brought the gingerbread house home, Charles asked me if she decorated it on her own because it looked like something that I would do! I took it as a compliment!

The cookies in the above photo are some of the cookies that the girls and I made during a snow day! Rosalie and Caitlin had SO much fun using the cookie cutters, watching me put them in the oven and taking them out, and then decorating them! It was a fun mess! And the girls got sprinkle happy!

For Christmas Eve, I wanted to start a tradition of watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows, followed by opening one present early! Of all the movies we own, the girls decided on watching Mickey's Christmas! I prepared their hot warm chocolate with marshmallows, but gave Vivian a cup full of M&M's mixed with marshmallows!

Charles and I enjoyed our HUGE mugs of hot chocolate on the couch! Half-way through the movie, the girls came over and cuddled with us on the couch! All five of us were snuggled together in a Christmas-Eve cocoon! The girls opened one present afterwards, which was a baby doll for each girl! They took their babies to bed, and soon after, Santa set out all the presents and the girls' stockings!

Each girl technically didn't get a stocking, but I want to make them ones for next year! Santa decided to set out some goodies for the girls on the coffee table! Caitlin got a Barbie cup, a horse shirt, a Strawberry Shortcake figurine, a package of four Ring Pops, and a snowman baggie full of Hershey's kisses! Rosalie got a Cars cup, a striped dress, a My Little Pony figurine, a package of four Ring Pops, and a Santa bag full of Hershey's kisses! Vivian got a Beauty and the Beast cup, a flower shirt, a My Little Pony figurine, four dum-dum suckers, and a snowman baggie full of Hershey's kisses!

It was the first thing the girls noticed on Christmas morning!

Vivian was the last one to wake up, so as soon as she rummaged through her goodies, we sat the girls down to take a picture and let them rip into their presents!

It was hard to keep up with each girl opening presents! Caitlin and Rosalie went SO fast while Vivian took her time! There were squeals of excitement and shouts for joy as the girls opened their presents!

After all the craziness was over, we picked up all the wrapping paper and assembled the bigger toys! Then our house was silent for a few hours while the girls played with their new toys!

I want to take a moment to thank the generous family that adopted our family and gave our girls a Christmas this year! We were nominated and chosen. It was wonderful news for Charles and I. We don't like talking about our financial issues publicly, but there were some people who knew that our entire Christmas fund was spent fixing our family car after Thanksgiving. It had died on me twice while driving, and then stopped working all together. We spent every single penny of our Christmas fund and then some. It had both Charles and I in a non-Christmas mood. We had no idea what we were going to do... we know that Christmas isn't about the presents, but we didn't even have enough to buy the girls any presents. It was hard on us.

I ended up crying about it in Walmart. I sucked up my feelings and continued my grocery shopping when I ran into a friend while shopping. She asked me what was wrong, and I passed on telling her exactly what was up. But she knew I wasn't being 100% honest. I finally broke down to her... later that night, she surprised me with gifts for the girls. I was overwhelmed by her kindness!

And then when the gifts from the adopt a family were dropped off, it was unexpected and completely overwhelming, once again. Our prayers were answered! I cried a lot. And when I told Charles, he cried, too. It was a wonderful Christmas blessing. We will pay it forward one day to another family in need!

We went to Charles' parent's house Christmas afternoon to open more presents and eat Christmas lunch! I forgot my camera (Yep... I'm awesome!) so I don't have any photos of the girls opening those presents, but they got lots of new toys and clothes!

This brings us to New Year's! *Happy New Years!* We stayed home that night and invited a friend over to toast some sparkling grape juice to the new year! I ended up falling asleep a few different times before midnight, but Charles made sure to wake me up for my toast!

I took some photos of the girls to celebrate the New Year!

Charles turned 29 on the 8th! We had made a Darth Vader rice-krispie cake for the family birthday party, but on the day of his birthday, I had the girls help me make a cake for their Daddy! They did so good helping me mix everything together and then decorate the baked cake! They even did a fantastic job of devouring the cake!

The girls are now playing more together now that Vivian is a little older! This is a wonderful thing, until they all start crying and fighting! But for those moments when they all play together nicely, I am such a proud Mama! I always end up crying... in a good way!

We had a great visit from our new Parent Educator in January. I was hoping the girls would do well with the new woman. She brought A LOT of play food with a chef set and a shopping cart. She had the girls won over in a matter of seconds! The girls played for the entire hour and shared the chef's clothes!

One of the gifts that Charles got for Christmas from our friends Mike and Karmen is a Darth Vader throw blanket. I cannot even tell you how many blankets are in my house! But the one that the girls want to play with and cover up with, is the Darth Vader blanket! (Caitlin calls it the "Darth Mater" blanket! Love her!) I noticed that they started playing with it immediately, but I thought it would get old fast... I was wrong! They have used it as a magic carpet, a fort, a superhero cape, and more! I have had to wash it numerous times already because the girls spill their snacks and juice on it almost daily! They are their Father's daughters!

This brings us to Valentine's Day and now! The girls enjoyed their 14 days of healthy Valentines! Very much, even! They keep asking for the same snacks each day now! Which makes me SO happy!

The rest of this month is going to be spent planning Caitlin's fourth birthday party! She has decided on a Tinkerbell party! Or rather, a Disney Fairies party! It is her latest obsession! She's liked the movies for a while, but as of lately, I have to wash her Tinkerbell jammies daily so that she can wear them to bed each night! She cracks me up!

I love my life!

Happy Valentine's Day 2013

I woke up this morning at 6 with Miss Vivian, and was soon joined by both Miss Caitlin and Miss Rosalie! Not really how I wanted things to happen, but I went with it anyway!

I had originally planned to wake up early and make breakfast before anyone woke up! Obviously, that did not happen! So I started breakfast late, but Charles had time to eat before he woke up, thankfully!

I had to work on his Valentine this morning, which was hard to do with the girls wanting to cuddle/write on his card! But I finished it fast and placed it outside in the Jeep along with a big bag of Peanut M&M's!

I started the bacon hearts next! I will be using thicker bacon next time since most of the hearts didn't turn out very well. But I had four perfect hearts!

I fried up the rest of the bacon, made peppered country gravy, and pink heart-shaped pancakes. When you put them all together, it makes a wonderful breakfast! It's something my husband's family introduced me to our first year of marriage. It's a southern thing, but seriously, good stuff! Try it some time! This is what it looked like:

The photo doesn't do it justice...
I had to use my lame camera on my phone because I couldn't find my normal camera right away.
Oh well... it was delicious!

The girls ate two pancakes each with a banana! Hungry, hungry girls! Charles had three pancakes with the works! I had two small pancakes with the equivalent of two pieces of bacon and 1/4 cup of the gravy. (Hooray for counting calories!)

Charles then left for work. I ran over to the window to watch his reaction from the Valentine I left him in the jeep. As he was getting back out of the Jeep to come inside, I ran back into the kitchen and acted like I had been sitting there the whole time! Haha! He had tears in his eyes! (My Valentine was kinda mushy, but I do love that man like crazy!) We hugged and cried a bit, then he was off to work!

I got the girls ready for the day in their Valentine clothes and snapped some photos of them!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day! I have some fun stuff planned for the girls, mostly craft stuff, we're having red beans and rice with andouille sausage for supper (another southern dish), and then I'm going to work out and attend an event for 1 Billion Rising!

My Second Virtal 5K - Tackle the Miles

I ran my second virtual 5K today! It was the first run in the 13 in 2013 Virtual Race Series. I was going to run it this morning, but after a late night with my teething baby, it wasn't an option. The only time I was able to complete it was right before Zumba. I had 30 minutes to complete it. I set the treadmill to a speed of 7.5 and stayed there for 1.5 miles, turned it down to 7.3 for a mile, then cranked it back to 7.5 to finish the 3.1 miles. 

My time was 25:06! 

My fastest time EVER! I went to take a picture of it with my phone as it died on me. I turned it back on, but by the time I was ready to take the photo, the treadmill had turned off. Lamesauce! I had to get going to Zumba. I was frustrated with not having a picture of my time, but SO happy at the same time that I had gotten a PR!

So a photo of me at home afterwards and a photo of my racing bib will have to suffice! I don't know if I will be able to keep that pace up for my next 5K, but I'm sure going to try! I want to run my next 5K on the pavement so that I know what my pace is without using a treadmill! I know it will be slower, but hey, I'm proud of my treadmill time!

I have completed two runs of my thirteen for the year! Things are looking good for me to be able to get all of my races this year! I am very excited!