Disney Wrapup

I have been home six days from the trip. I ended on a bit of a bummer, knocking my head on a bus and getting a concussion. But, before that it was a great weekend! So, let's talk about that ...

Disney race weekend is a busy "vacation". There was the expo...sorry Mickey. Not the best planned expo ever. Lots of cool things, but setup was bad and had huge lines of people lining up to buy merchandise. I felt sorry for the vendors who had their booths blocked by these lines. Not fun. And I love an expo!

They had several awesome speakers while I tried to locate my firstborn child. Jeff Galloway and Tara Guidner. At least I think thats her last name. She is the Disney nutritionist and also the same for the Orlando Magic (boooo....) . Good speaker though and while I didn't get a lot of new info for me, it was interesting in the presentation. And I learned some good techniques from her perspective. I had my "bridge" snack a little while ago, Tara!

The downside about Disney is the miles and miles of walking that are not counted for the race. I have never done all of that before as my butt was "on a bench" as I mentioned in the previous post. But it was nothing I wasn't capable of...which was awesome!

I attended the Test Track and had a first! You climb in and proceed up the track and then an employee checks your seat belts before the ride can proceed. WELL : At the belt check, the lovely Disney employee yelled across, " Ma'am ! Your car car can't go on until you take all that slack out of your seatbelt!" Yeah, that's right...read that again. I tightened it down and smiled...:)

The Saturday race with my daughter was fun . Like a back lot tour by foot. Employees out cheering us on, places to stop for pictures. And Disney peeps pouring us big cups of water from Dasani bottles. Yes, they treat you well there. Oh and our corral sang " Don't Stop Believing" before the starting gun. Damn, I love a sing a long in a big crowd.

Was my daughter's cheerleader on Sunday for the Princess Half. Her third, but first at Disney. And it was hot all day. Very proud of her.

Looking forward to doing another. In fact I think we are going to do Marathon Weekend in January!
I only want to one Half...it is a redemption of sorts. I started a Half two years ago and failed after slipping and jacking my ankle. And even if I walk the whole thing, it's important to me that I complete it. I just CAN'T leave that undone.

Disney Off the Bench #1

So Blogworld , I am on a long awaited vacation. As far from my everyday routine as I can get. I you see, am at Disney World.

I have been here many times before. Never at my current weight. So it should be quite different.

I have spent most of my time here sitting on benches. And eating while my family attended rides I didn't fit, or stood in lines I couldn't bear. Our lives are shaped so much by our poor choices. But CHANGE is what we are about, right?

This is a different trip for several reasons:
1. I brought protein powder and a shaker.
2. I actually drank soy milk and ate a banana at a Disney food court.
3. I ate the Tie Dye Cheesecake , but had TWO bites and shared with two people. WTH?
And I will NEVER get tired of this:
Skinny chicks may not get it. But it's an airplane seatbelt that closes without an extension , and a lap that the tray table fits with room to spare.
Oh, and check out that cheesecake :)

Something About Mary...

Hello Blogworld!
This past Saturday I participated in the Biggest Loser Run Walk. I originally had planned to attend with a woman doing her very first 5k after losing over 200 pounds...but she had surgery that week. So I went by myself!
As the race weekend approached I was looking forward to it. I read online about so many people doing their FIRST race here. I remembered my own first race and how excited I was. And how many victories have followed.
The morning arrived and I made the long drive to the site ,124 miles to be exact. The weather was gray, dark, and it started to rain... Ugh. I parked and walked into the packet pickup area. The place was teaming with a lot of people...all sizes, shapes and ages. It wasn't hard to overhear " I'm so excited" over and over. The gun started us and it was on... I was doing great and made a turn and hit MUD. I slid and was reminded of an ankle I have a love-hate relationship with.. So I slowed down and moved onto the grass as much as I could. A little mud and rain didnt dampen the enthusiasm of the runners... People sang along as they passed the speakers . A little FloRida does a body good it seems.
I passed families, moms and daughters, single runners and an awesome kid named Colton, dressed up like a midget Rambo with a bandana headband tied on. Colton's claim to fame was the moment he realized he had left his parents far behind, ran back to a marker and yelled " Run Like Hell!!!" OK , so slightly inappropriate , but very funny at that moment. I am sure Mom had a conversation about Colton's race strategy with Dad later.
I kept plodding and finished ok. Not fast really , but uninjured which is Goal#1 with me EVERYDAY. If you must know the results say 127th of 416. Not that shabby, LOL.
The Finish Line was fun as usual, full of balloons, cheers, and spectators. It was filled with people posing for their photos sporting their medals and hugging loved ones. Very inspiring to see how hard people tried. The finish line seems to be the same whether you finish in 30 minutes or...1 hour 37 minutes and 52 seconds....

That brings us to the Mary in the post title.
I was driving out when I saw Mary. Walking, fast and crying. The final finisher.
About 40 minutes after me. She had the bike patrol behind her with a flashing light on. The struggle on her face was painful to witness. And made me cry as I turned onto the highway. But Mary FINISHED. And I hope she is proud as hell.
Run on Mary, you are one bad-ass Momma!

Week One

Well here we are on day 7. Day 7 of my Gold' s Gym 12 Week Challenge.
I have no numbers to report as I have not been on the scale. Yes, that's how damned well adjusted I am. Ha! In truth that plan did  not work for  me  this year as some pounds managed to creep back on after losing them. They found me.
I still contend that I am stronger and more able....but whatever.

My week has gone well I guess. I have  done well with respect to food, water and supplements, which by the way you have to SWALLOW to make  them work.

I have  done 5 days of workouts. One of them was a Half Marathon Relay...I have  done one before that was the  lopsided 8.1/ 5.0 kind. So 6.5 is a big deal for me.
And I teamed up with my daughter,so that' s amazing...
I identified some weak spots on myself on my relay portion, ( those were the parts hurting). I am working on a plan to correct them. My  portion was like 6.5 miles on
 the incline trailer...yeah,I think we can do better.

I also have a calendar/journal I am tracking workouts, and writing about my day. So much of this stuff is psychological.....

I recently saw a poster that said:
"I lost weight and found I still had the same problems,I just wasn't fat".

Yeah, that's deep. I can actually think of a few people that reminds me of, . not just me .
 That being said, my life is pretty good right now. And I am working on me. From all angles..... I have a few surprises in store for everyone this year to be sure.

Here We Go....

Day 1 of the 12 week challenge !
We are off to the races on the Golds Gym 12 Week Challenge.
I hope to have a productive 3 months and surprise even myself.
Looking ahead to success and getting much farther down the road of this journey I am on.

2012 WTH Have I Done???

Well here we are again. I just reviewed last year's Wrap up and see that many issues remain unchanged.
Firsts: I had a... few this year. All of them documented here. I am proud of what I have done. I had hoped to accomplish more by this point, but life happens.

I have learned that the important part is to keep going.

This year has had it's share of disappointments and sadness. Probably more than it's share. I keep hearing how that makes us stronger, but it makes a fat person EAT. So I end this year weighing more than I started it.

Lucky for me I am more than a number.

My daily life and those in it have changed a great deal in twelve months. Most of this has been unexpected and quite an adjustment .
I had a brief time "home" recently and was reminded of the strong bond of dear, close friends. It is truly a special kind of love over the years. Some friends you learn are actually " people that you know", and some... are family.
But enough with all the depressing replay here. I have much in the works for the New Year. I am about three months into a project that will surprise a lot of people. I am enjoying this challenge and am very excited about the changes it will bring. Yeah, I can't wait....

So 2013: Let's review-
1. Live each day without regret.
2. Remember to put value on myself.
3. Who's approval do I seek? God's.
4. Continue to make good choices every day for myself . Choices that are positive for my health, my happiness and my emotional well being.

Hmmmm, that should be easy, right?

2013 ---- You "ain't seen nothing yet" !

Mud. Everywhere....

This post can be considered my post game Wrapup . You see it seems I am officially a Dirty Girl.
The Dirty Girl Mud Run has come and gone. I have never done anything quite like this. It consists of a 5K with obstacles. And a lot of mud. Wait, make that A LOT.
Obstacle 1: a giant inflated pyramid wall thing you climb up, over and down. The"Steps" are really about hip high, so this presents a challenge. I chose to step and then pull up onto the seam of the next... Hey it worked.
#2 A mud pit: not terrible, man made, about thigh depth- but wait a water cannon hits you while passing through...
#3 A giant mud lake... The fun part is the drop off. Surprise !!! I fell several times, as my goal was meniscus and ligament preservation . I was determined to NOT try to "save" any slip or slide, but land soundly on my rear end. This WORKED.
#4 after climbing a very steep hill, there is a wall to climb..... Again the first step is a b$&#%€. No other option but to pull myself up again to be able to get my other foot up. It's a little tricky at the top. You must swing one leg over and find a slat on the back ... So you can swing the other leg over and so on....
I really didn't think I could do it , and a random stranger behind me said "yes you can"------ seriously a bell rang in my head. And I did it, ha!
#54-56 (it felt like )were more mud. Crawling through metal pipes filled with muddy water, ok half full. And then a long mud pit you crawled or stayed on hands and knees under a net... I chose to be on my stomach and pull myself through. Surprise !!! Gravel. Really?
Next up : Walls to climb. Covered with you guessed it: MUD. First wall, had slats, second, third, fourth: nope, they were the "Haul your butt over " kind. ---And I did them! You see there are some activities that no matter how much fun and comraderie you experience , you get in the mindset that you are NOT. QUITTING .
More fun, more mud.... And then the beast I have been fearing: the cargo net climb. Oh , Lord I hate heights, and I am sure I hate falling more. But I figure I have come this far in my adventure. So I begin. And it sways, and is slippery, and holy cow it is so...HIGH. I keep telling myself to not look down. Well that is harder than you might think. I am near the top, maybe about five feet to go, and I freeze. I have never been this high on anything without an elevator or a pilot. And I don't want to keep going, and then I realize there is no other way out of this. And then I prayed. I am not really good at asking for help for myself... But seriously I just said "Help me". This may sound melodramatic, but I then looked across to the other side, and looked into the face of my friend Becky. I didn't say anything, but she looked at me and said " Keep going. You can do this" ----so I did. I made it over and down the other side. The down part btw is much easier... When I reached the ground, my whole team was cheering. And Becky was there crying.
So I cried too, I am like that, don't be alarmed....
We were just one more giant mud pit from victory , and then it was over.
There were pictures, laughter and memories of bonding together in one of the hardest things I have ever done.
Good Times, Dirty Girls. Good Times.

PS That is Becky in the front of the team picture.