Heels & Hills 5K

On May 1st I participated in the Heels and Hills 5K. Keelie & I participated in the Heels and Hills and Him 5K back in September and had a great time. It's nice to participate in an event that is centered on women's health and fitness. When Keelie told me she, her mom, and friends from her First Place 4 Health bible study were doing the event May 1st I decided to join them.

Keelie & I outside the restaurant.

After packet pickup at the Holiday Inn, we headed to dinner at Pappasito's. I was VERY proud of myself for not eating the chips and salsa or the tortillas. It helped that everyone else said the chips were pretty disgusting. That worked to my advantage! ;-)

Keelie with her sweet momma, Mary.

We turned in pretty early Saturday night after a trip to ghetto Target to get some must-have items for the Race, like ponchos and sports bras. Ha. We were up before the sun and headed out to the race site around 6:15. Of course it started to sprinkle, as forecasted, the minute we pulled away from the hotel. We got parked and made our way to the portapotties. It was starting to get pretty cool outside and the sprinkles were a bit heavier now. Keelie decided to not wear her poncho, since it would probably be pretty restrictive during her half marathon run, so I jumped at the opportunity to wear it. We tried to stay out of the weather as much as we could before race time.

Showing off our event shirts and rain gear.

The half marathon, 13.1 miles, started at 7:30 am. Keelie & Lindsey both participated in the half, the first for both of them. We saw them off and then got ready for the next race to start. At 7:35 am Mary & Laura headed out in the 10K, 6.2 miles. Me, Norma, Stacie, & Ruth Ann were next up in the 5K, 3.1 miles. We headed out at 7:45 am. It was ridiculously cold. Then of course about 5 minutes into it the rain started to pour. I saw some women up ahead get out of line and head back to where we started. EVERYTHING in me wanted to do the same, but I just couldn't let myself. I knew everyone else was out here experiencing the same thing and they were doing even more miles than I was. I kept thinking about Keelie running a half marathon in these conditions so I kept chucking along. The poncho helped some, but my windpant capri's were soaked and sticking to me. My shoes and socks were completely wet. I tied my poncho hood down and trucked along. I was trying to walk this 5K as fast as possible. For one reason, I just wanted to be DONE and out of the awful conditions. My hands were so red, chapped, and cold. It really was bad. But I also wanted to beat my time from September. My tennis shoes kept slipping around on the roadway. I was kicking myself for not having used the Groupon I bought for $50 worth of shoes at Run On! I was also worried about my phone. We'd bought snack size baggies at Target the night before to put our phones in incase the weather got bad. Of course I had put my baggie in my pocket and hadn't put it on my phone yet. When I used the portapotty if rolled out of my pocket and onto the floor. I wasn't about to pick it up and use it after that. But a tiny part of me wished I had so I wasn't worried the weather would ruin my dang iPhone. I was making pretty good time despite all the conditions. I had walked my first mile in 15 minutes so based on that I estimated I'd be done with the 5K in around 45 minutes. I was slowing down by the time on my watch thought. Dang it! And then of course my car key, which I'd tied onto my shoe so I wouldn't lose it, started coming lose. Ugh. I was really afraid I'd lose it somewhere on this course. At one point I had to jump over into the median and tie it up tighter. I was so bitter. Then not 5 minutes later my laces started coming completely undone. At that point I had to jump over into the median again, and this time I took the key off and quickly re-tied my shoe, of course losing even more time. Ugh! I carried my key the rest of the way, along with one of my earrings which I'd accidentally ripped out while trying to fix my earphones. I was a mess and so ready to be done. Finally I crossed the finish line!!! I knew I'd finished in under an hour, but I wasn't sure of my exact time. The times were later posted and my chip time was 51:59.0 min, compared to September's time of 52:27.2 min. Bleh. I think it could have been much better minus the weather and my shoe situation. lol. I also came in 29th out of 38th of 5K women in the Athena division, which is women over 150 lbs. It really excited me to not be last. Ha.

After finishing I found Alicia, who'd come to cheer everyone on, and we waited for everyone else to finish. We cheered Mary across the finish line. She ended up coming in 3rd in her age group in the 10K. AWESOME! Then we had quite awhile to wait for Lindsey and Keelie to finish the half. We hit up the breakfast area that had been moved out of the conditions into the garage. It was still freezing in there unfortunately. We found a breezeway by the elevators where we huddled up by the wall and found a little relief from the weather. I huddled in my poncho and was SUPER glad to have it. We knew how fast Lindsey said she'd be running the half so when we thought it was around that time we headed back to the finish line to cheer her on. She crossed pretty soon after we arrived and then she told us they had actually stopped the half at one point because lightning was seen. At that point Keelie called my cell to say she was stopped in a pavilion for the 2nd time and would probably be another hour because they had told them they'd be stopped for 30 min this time. Then all of a sudden Keelie shouted "WE'RE GOING AGAIN!" and then the phone hung up. We knew she was off and running again. We warmed up for about 15 min in Stacie's SUV and then headed back to the finish line to cheer Keelie in!!! It turned out the event cut the half a little short because of the weather, so it was actually more around 12 1/2 miles, but either way Keelie & Lindsey completed it and could have gone another 1/2 mile so they were half marathon finishers in our book!

Yay, we finished!

Medal finishers!

We did it! Stacie, Mary, Norma, Ruth Ann, Keelie, Lindsey, & me

I love this Las Colinas clock/landscaping down the street from the event and Corner Bakery.

After stopping at Corner Bakery to chow down on some much needed food and a warm atmosphere, we headed home.I unfortunately got some pretty good blisters on my feet from my wet socks & shoes. I also got this nasty little blood blister on the corner of my big toe. It was pretty sore for a few days. Now it's just kind of black. Hope that's normal. Ha!

We had a great time yet again at Heels and Heels. Definitely check out Keelie's post about her first half marathon! I consider she and Lindsey rockstars!!!

10 Month's Post-Op

10 month's have passed since surgery, and 160 lbs have come off! Hallelujah!!! I lost 10 lbs in the past month, which I was excited about! Things are going well.

I continue to go to counseling every week and am learning SO very much about the mental aspect of all this. This past week my counselor had me write out the pros & cons of 'Eating Any Food, Any Amount, Any Time'. Guess what? There aren't that many pros...go figure. And believe me, I tried to think of some. My counselor told me to pull the list out every time I ate this week to remind myself of the HUGE cons side of the list, which will help me to make more appropriate choices.

I also have a great friend who is serving as an accountability partner now, at the suggestion of my counselor. And at my accountability partner's suggestion, after discussing it with my counselor, and thinking about it for awhile now, I'm going to start a bible study called First Place 4 Health. I have orientation for it this Sunday and am looking forward to starting it May 12th. This will be yet another way to encourage me on this journey and hold be accountable. I'm very excited!

After looking at these 10 month post-op pics I've realized I need new picture clothes. These baggy things are not doing me any justice. I look bigger than I think I actually am. I think I need to obtain some new threads before my 11 month photos. ;)

Who?!?!?!

My friend Elizabeth sent me this picture yesterday with the note "I came across this picture and I don't recognize either of these people. :) " This picture was taken on May 29, 2010. This was just a few days before my surgery pre-op appt where I weighed my very highest. She didn't recognize her son because he's nearly a year older and looks more like a little boy than a baby now. And me...well, that was a 150 + lbs heavier.

Here I am yesterday at work with my fellow DSer, Deb. Thank God for miracles in my life!!! Thank you for going first Deb so that I could follow years later and have a smooth surgery and recovery, since they worked out all the kinks after you! ;-)

9 Months Post-Op

I finally took my 9 Month Post-Op photos tonight. 9 months was March 28th, but I just hadn't taken the time to take them. I did weigh myself on March 29th and my total weight loss so far is 150 pounds!!!! Yay!!!! I lost 11 lbs in the last month, which really made me happy, considering I had only maintained the month before.

I finally made it to my surgeon's office on March 8th for my six month check-up, which was really 8 months! I had done blood work back in January to check all my vitamin levels, so I got the results of those at my appointment. They check a total of 16 things each time I have my blood drawn; CBC, CMP, Iron, TIBC, B-12, 25-OH Vitamin D, PTH (Intact) and Without CA+, Lipid Profile, HG A1C, TSH, HIV, IGG H. Pylori Antibody Titer, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Zinc, and Transferrin. If you know what any of that means, let me know! lol! All I know is they take vial after vial of blood! Thankfully most of my blood work was good. I hadn't been measuring any of the stuff I was eating or drinking so it was hard to report back about how much protein, water, and fat I'd been getting. I was told to increase my protein since my levels were low normal, get structured activity, and stop the sweets, pasta, and breads since my triglycerides were elevated.

I've also started seeing a counselor, which is going really well. I've added a lot of structure to my life, including journaling what I eat so I know how much protein, fat, carbs, water, and exercise I'm getting. I wasn't too excited about the journaling suggestion from the counselor and even resisted at first, but am doing much better now. Counseling is helping me to begin to change my way of thinking and concept of myself. In short it's great and I recommend it to everyone.

So I look lop-sided, as a normally do when I take these back shots, however, I think the back fat is FINALLY starting to go down. I glanced in the mirror this morning when I was getting ready and I to believe the back rolls have started shrinking! Yay! It's about time! Ha!

Grocery Shopping

These were the contents of my shopping cart Saturday afternoon. I had hardly anything at home so it was a must to get some groceries. I'm trying to stick to my eating plan and watch my carbs. I think I turned every item over to check the carbs before it went into the basket and lots of things were rejected. It was the hardest thing ever! Ha! I had to pretty much run past the Easter aisle because the Cadbury eggs and M&M's were calling my name pretty loudly, screaming actually. I kept looking at my basket and thought "It's almost sickeningly good & healthy." Ha! As you can tell I had to force myself to shop like this. But I did it and was super happy afterward!


I had to share this find. I drink water all day, however I rarely drink it plain. I have to add flavors to it. Before I went to the store I saw a commercial for this new water enhancer. It's a liquid add-in instead of powder. I just had to dry it out. I was glad to see there was a display at Kroger. It was very picked over, but I managed to get a fruit punch and sweet tea. I was very excited about the sweet tea since I'm pretty much addicted to sweet tea, but it doesn't really fit in too well with being healthy and bringing those pesky triglycerides down, so now I can have it with 0 g sugar & 0 g carbs. Yay! I've already used them quite a bit since yesterday and I definitely recommend them.

I'm walking 60 miles to help end breast cancer forever!!!

Did the headline shock you? It doesn't really sound like me, does it? 150 lbs ago it was not me. It physically couldn't have been. But now, now I'm taking on all kinds of challenges and this one...well this one means the world to me.

A year ago today my mom was diagnosed with cancer again for the third time. It was the worst day of my life. It was all too ironic that it fell on April Fool's Day. I had spent the night in the hospital with mom as we awaited test results for what we knew might be cancer again, although we were hoping it was some type of infection. I'll never forget that day. I wish I could. I still remember the doctor's face like it was yesterday. I can't explain the feeling of getting that news that the breast cancer was back and had spread. It's the helpless, out of control feeling. You know those tv shows where the main character is up above watching what is happening to them down below? Yeah, kind of like that.

Fast forward to today, a year later. Mom took her 14th chemo today and her tumor marker has gone down to 55 from the 1800 it was at a year ago. Destination tumor marker is between 0 - 37. We're nearly there!!!! God is a mighty, mighty God.


This is the reason my sister & I have taken on an incredible challenge. November 4-6, 2011 we will walk 60 miles to help end breast cancer forever. We will join together with thousands of other women and men as part of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.

No one should have to go through what we have seen our mom go through. No one should have to have a double mastectomy, take radiation that burns their skin, or take chemotherapy that causes them to lose their hair and feel ill. She had NO choice in getting breast cancer three times. We are choosing to walk 60 miles to honor her, as well as the many other women and men fighting and SURVIVING this terrible disease. We also walk in remembrance of those we have lost. We will do all we can not to let breast cancer affect anyone else's future. We are choosing to fight back. We are challenging ourselves to accomplish more than we ever thought possible.

We've agreed to raise at least $2,300 in donations and need your help. I would be honored if you'd consider making a donation to this cause. Please know you can donate any amount no contribution is too small!

You can donate online at The3Day.org. Just click on "Donate" and search for my personal fundraising page. You can also fill out the enclosed donation form and mail it to the address on the form. You can also call 800-996-3DAY to donate over the phone.

Net proceeds from the 3-Day for the Cure are invested in community-based breast health programs and breast cancer research. The research funded focuses on decreasing breast cancer incidence and mortality in the next decade.

Somewhere in the world, a woman dies from breast cancer every 69 seconds. Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer, and is the leading cause of death among women worldwide. The majority of women with breast cancer have no known significant family history or other known risk factors. Breast cancer knows no boundaries be it age, gender, socio-economic status or geographic location. I'm walking in the 3-Day because everyone deserves a lifetime.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and for helping end breast cancer forever.

Also, ask your employer if they will double your donation through a matching gift program! Many companies will!