DAM to DAM 2013 Race Recap

I set my sights and goals on running the Dam to Dam a year ago. I have a friend, Willy, who lost weight, trained, and ran the 20K last year with an impressive time! Seeing him do all of those things gave me hope that I could, too! And this past weekend, I did!

I thought that I would be super nervous for this run! But as it turns out, I wasn't! I thought that I would be a ball of nerves, on the edge, and freaking out. But I kept my cool! I got a little nervous in the hotel and right before the bus ride to the dam, but that was it!

Friday afternoon, Charles took me to Jen's house to wait for Shelly. We carpooled with her for the ride up. We talked about how we got into running, our goals, and more. It was nice to hear about her experiences at other races and know what to expect going into the Dam to Dam.

We got to packet pick-up around 7:00 p.m. I picked up my packet first, then picked up Desiree's. The racing bibs were awesome! It had my name on the front with the distance I was registered for. It had my timing chip attached to the back of it. This was the first year that this event used this method. I was also told to go get my event shirt. I was very  happy with the tech shirt I was given! It's neon pink with the DAMtoDAM log on it! I also got a pair of Brooks running socks! Call me crazy, but I love me some good running socks!

On the way to the hotel, we passed HuHot and I mentioned that I had never eaten there before. Jen said that we HAD TO GO there for supper! I was a little nervous because I've been told to not have any new food the day before a race, but I really didn't want to pass it up! We dropped our bags off in the hotel room, picked up Jen's husband, and headed to HuHot for supper!

It. Was. Amazing! A totally new experience for me! I stuck to foods that I know I can handle and didn't go too crazy with my food! I totally got my carb load on! Delicious food! I kept telling Jen that I was going to have my husband come up the next day so that I could enjoy the food all over again! It was that good!

We got back to the hotel room, watched some YouTube videos, and went to bed. The alarm was set for 4:00 a.m. I was worried that I wouldn't get enough sleep, but I ended up sleeping fantastically! I only woke up twice to check the clock, then fell right back to sleep! When the alarm went off at 4, I got right up and got ready! I started getting a little nervous then, but I think I was more worried about the food I had the night before. I was hoping that it wouldn't go right through me. I felt fine, but I still worried. Jen was worried that it would storm before we finished the race, but I had a feeling that we'd be fine!

Desiree called Jen and told her that she was outside the hotel and ready to take us to the bus loading place. We got everything packed and headed out to the car. We got on a bus pretty quickly and started the trip towards the dam! It was the first time since High School that I was on a bus! I sure didn't miss it! Desiree and I sat next to each other and talked about our plans for the run and where we wanted to meet up afterwards.

I kept thinking, "This drive is so long! That means that it's going to be forever to run back!" I kept my mind off of that thought and enjoyed looking at all of the gorgeous houses along the route. We were dropped off at the dam and waited until we found Shelly to head towards the port-a-potties. It was chilly, but bearable. We had to leave our gear bags near the bus drop-off before we were able to head towards the dam. When Shelly found us, we decided to drop off the bag and head to the potties.

I saw a lot of friends on the way there! Joe, Willy, Karen, Cassie, Emily, and Sara! I talked to some of them, wished them "good luck", then headed towards the short line to the potties. I was blessed that the HuHot food was nice on my system! I don't have any before-race horror stories to tell! Once everyone had gone, we headed to the start on the dam!

We got a photo of our group with the finish line in the background! It's the "big" building between me and Jen in the photo below!

Des, Shelly, me, and Jen

I kept thanking God that the weather was so gorgeous! There was hardly any wind, the sun was shining, and it was just perfect for running! After we snapped the photo, we headed towards the pace signs. I told the ladies that I wanted to keep my miles under 10:00 so that I could finish in under 2 hours. I realized then that I was going to be on my own! I hugged each of my friends and went to stand between the 9:00 and 10:00. I said a silent prayer that I would find someone to run with. I really enjoyed training with Des, but I hated the thought of not having anyone to talk to. I don't listen to music when I run.

My prayers were answered! I met a lady named Nikki! I made a comment on her shorts! Sounds funny, but they were black and yellow. I said, "Those look like Hawkeye shorts!" She turned and said, "Oh! They are!" Then showed me the Hawkeye logo on the other leg of her shorts! We started talking a bit about our pace, if we'd ran the race before, where we're from, etc.

Then it was go time! It took us about 5 minutes to get to the start line, I started my Garmin, jogged a bit to warm up, and kept a nice pace with my new friend!

Mile 1 - 9:25 It felt good to see all the people! It was wall-to-wall packed! (Photo here) It was nice to have Nikki there to keep me on pace. We did a lot of weaving in and out of people. I made a few comments on how gorgeous the scenery was around us! The breeze was perfect and there were a ton of people on bikes cheering us on! My Garmin chirped "Mile 1" about 0.04 before I actually crossed the DAM's "MILE 1" sign.

Mile 2 - 9:09 Getting kind of fast! It was hard to go any slower because the crowd was pushing us along. It was a "stay with the pack or get eaten alive" kind of deal! Nikki and I managed to weave in and out with plenty of time to talk in between weaves. She told me that we needed to slow down a bit because we were going too fast! We saw the first water station and she mentioned wanted to get some water, but she wanted to wait until the next one.

Mile 3 - 9:21 That's better for pace! We weren't weaving as much now. We were finally able to get comfortable with our pace and talk. We talked about how we met our husband's, how many kids we have, and more! It was awesome to have her there to talk to for the next few miles!

Mile 4 - 9:35
Mile 5 - 9:41 Nikki got a drink at the water station and mentioned that if I lose her, to keep going and pushing to reach my goal of finishing under 2 hours. She kept with me for a little bit more, then I lost her. I said another prayer that I would be able to be fine without someone to talk to. I was blessed because there were some awesome water stations, fan signs, and hilarious runners!

Mile 6 - 9:17 The first hill came in this mile! It was right near the end of the mile. I was hoping that there wouldn't be any people walking in my way along the hill. I had to do some weaving, but managed to make it to the top without slowing down! It was cool to cross over I-80! There were a ton of cars, trucks, and semi's that blasted their horns! I ate my packet of SportBeans.

Mile 7 - 9:19 I realized here that I was getting closer to downtown as I reached the 10K point! Half way! I got excited, but the hills were still coming! As I was heading up a hill, there was a man on the side of the road (photo here) ringing two cowbells like crazy! I shouted, "MORE COWBELL!" Then a runner behind me shouted, "YEAH! MORE COWBELL!" Then the guy with the cowbell shouted, "I GOT A FEVER!"

And all I had in my head was the image of Will Ferrell with his cowbell:

Then the runner guy behind me started yelling, "MORE HILLS! JUST KIDDING! LESS HILLS!" It was great to get my mind off of the run and focus on laughing!

Mile 8 - 9:17 Finally in residential Des Moines! There was a lot of runner support along the route here! It helped! There were some hilarious signs! "Worst. Parade. Ever!", "Good job random runner!", "Don't walk now! There are people watching!", "You think you're TIRED?! My arms are KILLING ME!", and more! There was a yard that was totally decked out with breast cancer awareness stuff! It was awesome!

Mile 9 - 9:05 There was a man sitting in his yard with his garden hose turned on and spraying a mist into the street. I ran through it! Sweet relief! It was HOT! I was sweating like crazy and it was awesome to run through the cool water! I want to take to thank the woman handing out sponges soaked with water during this mile, as well! I didn't grab one, but there were so many people thanking her!

Mile 10 - 9:20 I prepared myself for the hill that was during mile 10. It looked scary, but it wasn't too bad! I started realizing here that I was getting very tired. I thought of my friends behind me and it kept me going. I wanted to finish and be able to cheer them on as they finished. I said a few prayers during this mile that my body would remain strong and bring me to the finish line!

Mile 11 - 9:16 I can see the building near the finish! It's much bigger than it was when we first started! It was a wonderful sight! The route took us past some bars and restaurants and smelling the food was almost torture! My stomach started gurgling! In a good way! I really wanted some french toast!

Mile 12 - 8:55 I kicked it into a higher gear here! I was battling the negative thoughts in my mind saying, "It's okay if you don't get under 2 hours! Go ahead and walk!" Then, something happened! I turned into a mad woman! I started weaving in and out of people along the trail. It was super narrow right before the final bridge to cross. I ended up having to run in the dried mud to get around people. I kept shouting, "EXCUSE ME!" I'm sure some people thought I was rude, but I just wanted to get the thing DONE! I crossed the bridge and knew I had a little over a mile left and started going faster!

The last 0.54 - 4:15 (7:51 pace) As soon as I came onto Grand Avenue, I knew it was the home stretch! I gave it my all! I'm sure I looked crazy to the people who were watching! I'm interested to see the photos of me finishing! I'm sure I look insane, but I wanted to finish! I had to pee! I was weaving in and out of people all over again! I started passing people and getting a lot of support from the spectators! "Go pink! Way to finish!" "Get it girl!" "Great job pink!" I figured by then that I was "pink" because of my tank top! Although I'm sure my face was somewhere between pink and red! As soon as I saw the "400 METERS" sign, I started going even faster! Then I saw the "200 METERS" sign. I started to cry. I looked forward towards the glorious "FINISH" line and threw my hands into the air as I crossed the finish line! The clock said "2:00:56". I thought, wait a second? I know I finished in under two hours! Then I remembered the 5 minute walk/jog to the start line.

I stopped my Garmin and it told me that I had finished with a time of 1:55:55! I DID IT! I finished in under two hours! I was overwhelmed with tears. I was trying to catch my breath. I started walking wobbling back and forth. I kept my head up and noticed the medals that were being handed out. I got my medal, put it around my neck, then started sobbing like a fool. I thought I was going to pee my pants, but that went away pretty quickly.

I got a Powerade Zero, got my photo taken, stretched in the grass, then headed to the finish line to watch my friends cross the finish line.

I was only able to watch Desiree cross the finish line. I started shouting at her like a crazy person and crying at the same time! I was so happy that I got to watch my training buddy cross the finish line! I walked back to the photo place to have a photo taken with her! We got some after-race fuel which consisted of bananas, oranges, apples, and chocolate milk. Then we found Jen and Shelly and snapped a photo of the four of us with our medals!

Jen, Shelly, me, and Des

I was ready for a nap by then! I was excited to go home and show my medal to Charles and the girls! I was also excited to upload the data from my Garmin and see what my official chip time was! The results were posted an hour and a half later than they told us, but that was alright by me! The anticipation about killed me, but I was very pleased once I found my name!

My splits from my Garmin:

My Garmin had me going a little more than a 20K, but I still finished under two hours and I am so, so pleased with that!

Overall, I am so, so happy I did this! I kept saying afterwards, "I can't believe we just did that!" I looked up at the big building and realized that the finish line was past that building! Holy crap! We finished it! The race was amazing! The weather was just perfect! The rain clouds started rolling in after I crossed the finish line, but it didn't start raining until after the event was over!

I realized when I got home that one year ago, I was 51 pounds heavier and completely out of shape. And in a year's time, I was able to lose that weight slowly, keep it off, and be race-ready! I trusted my training and enjoyed my first official DAM to DAM!

I will be back every year to run it! I am looking forward to next year's race already! But first, I am running my first half marathon THIS WEEKEND! Yep! 13.1 miles a week after a 20K!

I'm crazy!

But you already knew that!

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:

Carie's Weight Loss Journey Week 34

Has it really been 34 weeks? Sheesh! That's almost an entire pregnancy! Having been through three of them, I know what it's like to count down the weeks until you meet your new baby! Except this journey, I'm counting down the pounds until I reach my goal weight! And I am SO close! I will laugh if it takes me 40 weeks! That will be AWESOME! Almost as awesome as this shirt that someone needs to buy for me:

Found HERE

As the 2013 started, a lot of my friends and I made fitness resolutions and/or goals. A lot of those goals are the same, but when I tell people that I want to run a marathon, they look at me like I'm crazy! Maybe I am! But it has always been a dream of mine!

I remember the days I spent running track and cross country in high school. I remember being encouraged by my coaches to push a little harder and run a little faster. They told me that I could do anything I wanted to do, as long as I was willing to put forth the effort. If they gave the team a workout that required us to run to a certain point and then turn around, I would ALWAYS run to the exact spot I was told to turn around, and turn around. I NEVER turned around early. There were people on the team who did... and it would always make me SO angry. I would always finish the workouts last, or close to last. I would get so mad when I was ahead of people, I reached the turn around point, and as soon as I was coming up on those people, they would just turn around when I passed by them. Then they would pass me up near the end and finish before me. Even talking about it stirs up those old feelings I had about always finishing last.

I hated it. I felt like I ALWAYS put forth a huge effort. I did everything I was suppose to do. I did everything I was asked to do. And all the while, others were cheating and finishing before me. It killed me when the coaches wouldn't put me down for a race during track season... I remember passing around the event list and looking for my name, only to find that it wasn't on the sheet. I would try SO hard not to cry... but it never worked. There were only ever a few times in my entire high school running career that I wasn't scheduled to run, but those days were the hardest for me.

I would go over and over in my head, "What did I do wrong? Is coach mad at me? Am I being punished?" I would sit and stew in my mind and get very angry about not being able to run. I hated feeling inadequate and unworthy to even represent my team during a meet. There were plenty of events to go around... some people even ran 3 events in one night. And I got none. I still don't know exactly why. It was hard... But that's okay...

All of it made me a strong person. A strong runner. I may have not been the fastest, but I know I pushed hard each and every workout and race. It made me appreciate the events I got to participate in. It made me appreciate the fact that I could even run at all. There were times I hated running... but in the end, running was my own therapy. I had a hard childhood and a lot of negative thoughts in my head. At all times. Running helped me work out those feelings and leave them all on the road behind me. 

It was because of all that, I KNOW I can run a marathon. I remember setting the goal to run a marathon when I was younger. (I think the original goal was to run the Boston marathon... just to run it, not compete.) I knew it was something that I wanted to put my time, heart, and body into. I don't think I realized just how long a marathon is! But now that I know, the 26.2 miles don't scare me. My mind does.

That statement might sound silly... but it's true. 

That photo says it all. Exactly what I'm afraid of in a marathon is the voice inside my head telling me to quit... telling me that I'm hurting and that I should stop. But the truth is, my body is capable of AMAZING things. And my mind is going to be worn out LONG before my body is! And even if I'm the last person to cross the finish line, I will finish.

I have finally found the marathon that I will be training for and completing this year! I spent last Saturday planning out all of the 2013 races that I will be doing this year! My current list is:

January 25 - Virtual 5K via Runs For Cookies (Time PR 27:32)

May 11 - YMCA 5K
June 1 - DAM to DAM 20K

July 4 - Independence Day 5K

July 13 - The Color Run 5K (Still in the air, one of my best friends is getting married that day.)

Aug 24 - Restoration Run Half-Marathon (13.1 miles)

Sept 14 - Wabash Trail Marathon (26.2 miles)

Sept 21 - Balloon Chase 5K

Nov TBA - Fireman's 5K

I will also be doing more virtual running events as they are created! Basically what happens during a Virtual run is that you sign up to run a 5K, 10K, or whatever the distance is. You run that event on your own, where ever you are, on the day the event takes place. If you sign up for a 5K, you can either map out a 3.1 mile run around your town or run it on the treadmill. Whatever you're able to do! The best part is, they are FREE running events! This is always good for my family!

I ran my first Virtual 5K yesterday after Zumba. I told my friend, Erin, that I was going to be running a 5K afterwards and she decided to join me! I know my endorphins were high because I started out running at 6.3 mph. It felt too slow, and I thought, "What if I get tired really fast, I'll want to stay at this pace." But I decided to bump it up anyway! I increased my speed to 6.7 mph (or a 9 minute mile). I still felt slow, so I increased my speed again to 7 mph (or an 8:30 minute mile). I came up on having under a half of a mile left and decided to push myself even harder and set the speed to 7.5 mph (or an 8 minute mile). I had a rush of endorphins because I literally felt AMAZING. Runner's high! I was watching my time as the distance increased. When I finally hit the 3.1 mark, I stopped the treadmill and looked at my time of 27:32. I almost fell over with excitement. Seriously! I was dripping with sweat but I felt like I could have kept going. But once I stopped, my body caught up with me and I was exhausted! Erin finished her 5K and told me that she was only going to run 1 mile, but seeing me running pushed her to run a full 5K! I am proud of her! I took photos of my racing bib (my number is the birth months of my girls: March, May, and October), me running, my distance, and my time!

I am hoping that my 5K time on the pavement will be equally amazing as my time on a treadmill! Treadmills have inclines, but when you're running a 5K on roads and/or trails, there are hills and wind. I want to get a sub-30 5K on the pavement! Maybe I'll do Zumba beforehand so I can get my endorphins pumping!

My workouts are the same as always! Zumba, Power Hour, Running, and Swimming. But one thing that is new, I've been doing Jillian's 30 Day Shred this month! I have only missed ONE DAY! Aside from my rest days! The results are AMAZING! My jaw dropped when I looked at my before and after photo... and I'm only on day 25! (See my glorious stretch marks from my babies! Oh Lord...)

My pants go up farther now! Ha! My belly no longer rests on top of them! I just put my pants on this morning and didn't even realize it until I compared my photos. And then I cried... happy tears, of course! I am still very self conscious of my belly and stretch marks, but there they are. Raw. Fading. Boom baby. I am proud of my belly though. I've held three babies in that thing! (Well, technically my uterus has, but you know what I mean!) Getting a tattoo on my side was probably not the best idea in the world... my stretch marks have separated the colors and go through the design! Glorious youth! Oh how I've aged!

Start to Week 1, Week 2, Week 4, Week 7, Week 13, Week 26, and Week 34 progression photo:

Start to Week 34 Photos:

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

Weight Lost Since Week 30: 3 lbs

Total Weight Lost: 51 lbs

Weight To Go: 16 lbs

I have spent the past 10 weeks in the 150's! It has been very frustrating for me. It's hard when I work really hard during my workouts and stay within my calorie range for each day, and the scale doesn't move. I tend to binge when I stress. I have had a few binge nights lately. Not HUGE binges, but a binge is a binge. And they suck. I will even say to myself, "Do not self-sabotage yourself Carie! You don't even want what you're eating! You are just stressed!" And yet, I still eat... Then when I get on the scale the next morning, I beat myself up for the binge. Which stresses me out even more.

It is a vicious cycle.

I have decided to start seeing the positive about my body and my weight. I want to free myself from my emotional attachment to food and my food addictions. I have realized more and more as this journey goes on just how attached I am to food. I've said it before, but I seem to keep forgetting. I noticed myself putting a huge bag of Lay's potato chips in my shopping cart last week. I snapped out of it and put the chips back on the shelf. I kept asking myself why I had even grabbed the chips. I went home and cried about it. I sobbed. Over potato chips. I kept telling myself that it was ridiculous to cry over freaking potato chips. But there I was... sobbing over them.

I started my period the next morning. (Sorry fellas, TMI... but this has a point to it!) I realized right then and there that I ALWAYS buy a huge bag of potato chips the day before I start. I never realized it until that moment. I realized then that I wasn't being ridiculous, I was breaking a cycle. My body craves salty foods, which make me bloat like crazy. Downing an entire bag of salty potato chips was horrible for my body. So on top of my period bloating, my body was being loaded with salt, which makes your body retain water. I didn't cramp as bad. I didn't have crazy cravings. I felt clear.

I started talking to my family about this. About eating healthier. Not just being healthier, but eating healthier. My sister-in-law mentioned the movie Hungry For Change. (It is on Netflix and Hulu. Watch it.) We talked about how the companies making our food pump them full of crap that makes us addicted to it. High fructose corn syrup is in almost EVERYTHING on the shelves at the store. MSG is in a ton of stuff and it is hidden under different names. It is insane. I felt outraged when I watched the documentary. I was ON FIRE. I felt helpless. Until the point in the movie when Joe Cross showed up. I remembered him from the documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. (It is also on Netflix and Hulu. Watch it, too.) Then I remembered his stand on Juicing. We can juice fresh produce and have the micro and macro nutrients that are super healthy for our bodies absorbed within minutes of drinking them. There are so many health benefits of juicing. Charles and I are purchasing a juicer with our income tax money so that we can start juicing! You KNOW what you are putting into your body when you juice. When you buy bottled juice from the store, you are putting added chemicals and crap into your body. Which makes it harder for your system to digest and heal itself.

I think a huge part of breaking my food addictions is eating food that is as close to natural as possible. When we eat healthy food, our bodies will crave the healthy food. Sure, a food craving for ice cream or candy bars may arise, but it is SO much easier to fight them off when you think about what you would be putting into your body. Our bodies WANT to be healthy. I want to give my body the healthiest food that I possibly can. That includes the types of meat that I consume. I won't get too much into this, but I want meat from animals that aren't pumped full of hormones. Animals that are free range and grass fed. Reading labels and seeing what is in the food that I purchase and eat has helped me feel better about my health.

I also realized that part of my problem is that I still see the "old Carie" when I look into the mirror. And I am very hard on myself when it comes to my "problem areas" on my body. In the movie Hungry For Change, Dr. Christiane Northrup suggests a daily affirmation, “I accept myself unconditionally right now.” She writes it on a prescription card for her patients. You are suppose to tape it to a mirror and read it, out loud, to yourself for 30 days. It takes your brain that long to learn that simple truth. I am going to start doing this on Monday. I think that it will help me by leaps and bounds. I am learning how to love myself. I thought it would come easy with weight loss, but it is proving to be a struggle. Like most things in life! 

My plan for the next month is to keep up on clean eating and drinking LOTS of water. I am making small changes each day. I learned the hard way that it's not good to go cold turkey on sugar! So I am going to be weaning myself each day. I want to start a binge-free streak as well. And be honest about it. Today is day one. (I can do this!) I am also going to start lifting to build more muscle to burn the fat that is still on my body. I'm thinking of lifting twice a week for right now while I finish Jillian's 30DS. Afterwards, I think I'll go three or four times a week, depending on what's going on. (I'm still trying to wean my baby from breastfeeding.)

I am starting the Live Healthy Iowa 10 week challenge on Monday. I have also signed up on TheBiggestLoser.com for a 6 week challenge to reach my goal weight of 135 lbs in the next six weeks. That's roughly 2 pounds a week! I've gotta get moving! Talk about motivation!

My motto right now:

The "Green" Shirt

I remember the day I walked into Gordman's and purchased the green polka-dot shirt that was a size XL. I remember being in denial about purchasing an extra-large shirt. I didn't think I looked that bad. How was it possible that I had let myself go... But the truth was, the shirt was still too small for me.

I bought it before my husband and I went to Texas for a wedding in August of 2008. I was a few weeks pregnant with Caitlin, not enough to "show". But I used it as my excuse to be getting larger. I wore the shirt with a brown skirt (size XL) to our friend's rehearsal dinner. I tried to stay out of the way of the photographer, but he snapped some unexpected photos of me. I was horrified when I saw the outcome a few months later when the photos were posted to Facebook.

All that is in the past now! Now I can wear the shirt and not worry about being too big for it! It is too big for me! I have to use the tie that is around the middle to hold the extra fabric from the shirt!

I can honestly say that I NEVER thought I'd be wearing a size 12 jean with medium/large shirts! I thought my boobs would always be too big and hanging out the top of my shirts... but I guess when you lose 50 pounds, your boobs shrink! I am thankful for that! I makes working out, running, and getting dressed MUCH easier!

I am excited to see how the shirt fits me when I reach my goal weight!