Hitting The Trails

I posted about doing my first trail run here, and I am sure you were wondering why I would do that. Well, the wonderful people from The North Face Endurance Challenge contacted me and gave me the opportunity to participate in their race that's coming to the Atlanta area in October. I'll be honest with you, it definitely out of my comfort zone, but like I tell B all the time... "How do you know if you'll like something unless you try it?"So, here we go, I'm trying it and getting ready for The North Face Endurance Challenge 5k, I chose the 5K because this is my first trail race and I did not want to over do it for the first race. So, stay tuned to hear all about my new adventures in trail running.

Check out this video about the race.

Want to join me? Just click on the picture below and come join the fun, it's going to be an incredible race. You're not in the Atlanta area? Well, you can always come to Atlanta and join me, or check out any of the other races they have going on around the country.

I Don't Hate Running

So, I've decided that it was the anger talking yesterday when I said that I hate running. I actually love it, I know, I think I am some sort of masochist. Someone was talking about running before my Zumba class this evening and I perked right up, and I could have sat there and chatted with her if I didn't have a class to teach. I realized right then and there that I really do love running, and my ranting and complaining yesterday was mostly due to the fact that I was a Bitchy McBitcherson yesterday.

So, since everyone is in bed and I have a run in the morning, I decided to make a new playlist. I went to jog.fm and looked for some inspiration. The funny thing is that I had all of these songs in my collection, I just needed to have my mind jogged a little (no pun intended). Check out what I came up with, it's pop-tastic, old, new and in between.

Do you have a pump up song? If so, what is it?

The Good, The Bad, & The Badass

The Good 

Friday, I finished my very first trail run. I'll have to be honest with you, I didn't think that I would enjoy it at all, but I had a blast. I thought it would be the perfect place to test out my country music playlist, ok, it was just a lot of Taylor Swift and some Dixie Chicks (don't judge, I don't care about their politic views, I just liked their music). Anyways, check out the run in pictures.

Love that this is right here in PTC, it was conveniently located on the way home
from my Friday morning Zumba class.  

 Overly dramatic reaction - "Oh my goodness, I can't believe I'm actually going to do this."

Here we go...

Came across this, it was so serene

Trotting along trying not to trip and fall flat on my face. 

One mile down, and I haven't broken anything.

When I saw this, I knew I was almost done.

Who was rocking out to some T-Swizzie and finishing up her
first trail run? This girl! 

The Bad

Last Week's Speedwork - I had a bad workout and I couldn't do the workout as it had been set out for me. I was having trouble keeping the pace and it was an all around mess. I got the miles in but it was not at the assigned speeds.

The Badass

Monday was my very first run over 13.1 miles, I finished 14 miles and I didn't die. That being said, I had a few moments where I thought that I was going to drop, the heat and humidity were killer. K, whom I hadn't run with in a very long time joined me today for the first 11 of the run. I'll be honest with you, it was weird to have someone run with me again, I have been on my own for most of my runs this training cycle that I guess I'd forgotten what it was like to have someone with me. I enjoyed having some company but it also threw me off a little because K talks a lot, and sometimes the conversation wasn't always too motivating. Don't get me wrong, I love to chat during a run but yesterday just didn't feel right with K and the conversation was sometimes a little irritating. OK, I will admit that I was being a little unreasonable about the conversation thing, but this was after all an important run for me and I wanted it to be just right. Plus, I was in a bit of a mood when we started, so just add something else to the stink pile.

The weather during the run was pretty miserable, it was hot and humid, but I kept trying to remind myself that it will eventually cool down and not all my long runs are going to be this hot and sticky. I was sweating like a pig, and smelled like a garbage can after the first 3 miles, I still had 11 more to go, and I can only imagine the scent that the people we passed got to experience. As the run went on, I just got stinkier and sweatier. Oh yeah, and guess what I had again... CHAFING. I rushed through the chafe cream application and I learned a hard lesson about it. I will never again rush through the application process...OUCH. Also, I think it's time for different shorts, by the end of yesterday's run, they were irritating me. So, during the run I also had the hanging skin on my arm irritate and slap me a few times, it was like my own personal portable cheering section. Then, there were the knees and hips, they were definitely talking to me a few times during the run. Alright, let's cut to the chase, everything and everyone was irritating me, I was a crabby bitch.

Speaking of crabby, I may have blurted out some less than stellar things like....
- This is so stupid, why am I doing this?
- I hate running
- Why the f- did I sign up for a stupid effing marathon?
- Why is it so f-ing hot?
- This is the stupidest thing I've ever done.

Obviously, it was the heat and general irritation talking because 14 miles is pretty bad ass even if it wasn't pretty to get it done. I did have to walk a little more than I would have liked but I covered the miles and that's still pretty bad ass. You know what else is bad ass? ICE BATHS! I did the whole ice bath thing after the run, and it was an experience like none other. I set the timer, put on a sweater and plopped myself in the tub. Oh buddy, it was something else, but I think it was worth the discomfort. 

Guest Blogger Post

I was approached by a fellow blogger named Jackie, she asked if she could be a guest blogger. 

Lucy

Running Away From Fat

By: Jackie Clark

If you have mesothelioma, you are probably aware that it is important to maintain a desirable weight in order to stay healthy. Maintaining a healthy weight is a challenge in general, regardless if you are healthy or battling a disease such as cancer or obesity. After my friends chemotherapy and radiation treatments she needed to get healthy again and I needed to shed a few pounds. We figured that whatever I could lose she could gain. So we implemented a 90-day get healthy challenge.

Diet

The truth is, it was no big mystery. Most of us know about good nutrition; we just do not want to think about it! I followed the federal dietary guidelines and paid close attention to the recommended food groups. Most importantly, I cut my calorie intake to 1200 a day, and scorned foods high in fat, starch, and sugar. My friend did the same thing accept tried to increase her portion sizes, but supplementing high fat foods for fruits and vegetables.

Exercise

We swam and I gardened. I even purchased an inexpensive bicycle. We did floor exercises. (Yes, I admit it. When I first started doing floor exercises, I could not see my toes, much less touch them!). We began walking a lot. I wasn’t used to being a pedestrian and crossing streets was harrowing at first. The traffic made me nervous, so I trotted to beat the intersection lights. As I began losing weight, I found myself crossing intersections on a run, while my friend trotted to keep up. It felt so good, I decided to get up early every morning and go for a run. (I still waddled a bit and didn’t want my neighbors to see me). I had decided to weigh just once a month, but I knew I was losing weight. I could almost feel the pounds melting off, every single day! I was losing weight so fast, I had to go every few weeks and buy a few clothes (Love it!).

In a measly 90 days, I went from tipping the scale at 198 pounds to balancing the scale at 110. (I didn’t get sick, become anorexic, develop the rickets, or experience any of the other dire warnings we have grown up with. In fact, I had never felt so great in my life!). My friend was able gain weight too. So who won? Technically, I did, but in actuality, we both did!

Our weight battles were an exceptionally proud moment in both of our lives. We both had accomplished great feats. I had lost weight and she had gained. However, the mesothelioma life expectancy is between four and eighteen months. So for her the weight gain meant she was able to live one more day. Actually she got 90 plus days and counting. Regardless of ones reasons for trying to get healthy the benefits of exercise and running for me in particular have given me a new outlook on life. I have energy and a new found confidence in myself. Live is good, and I am lucky to have had this experience with a true hero, my friend the survivor.

*This guest post does not reflect my own beliefs on nutrition and weight loss.*

Marathon Training Week 15's Long Run and Giveaway Winner

Let's break down today's run in bullet point form. Why, you ask, to you I say why the heck not. 

• I had a TON of fun during this run today! I sang a little, had a few dancey moments, you know my usual.
• I had a ton of cyclists and people in golf carts scare the begabbers (to use B's term) out of me.
• Apparently, I suck at taking pictures of myself while running. See below for evidence.

 

•  I saw some thoroughly amusing graffitti. Peachtree City is about as gangsta as June Cleaver.

• The weather was awesome because it was hot but it didn't feel like I was in some sort of torture sauna. 
• I was on my own again, but I was actually ok with that. I managed to push myself when I needed a little push, and keep it going.
• I didn't take my normal route exactly. I started at a completely different spot and did the first six of the run, on part of the paths I don't normally run, I did the three mile route I knew twice, and then crossed the road to the marked 6 mile loop around the lake. It kept the run interesting and fun.

Now, for the announcement, the winner of my very first giveaway. I used Random.org to pick the winner.

The winner is #9, none other than Fruit Fly herself. Shoot me an e-mail at runchunky [at] gmail [dot] com.

Stay tuned, I have a few other giveaways coming up. I also have a guest blogger tomorrow, so there's lots of fun stuff coming up.

Ch-ch-changes

This week's theme- Change

This past Monday was week 14's long run, and it was 11 miles. First things first, I made that 11 miles my b*tch, just thought you should know, even if I did it rather slowly. This also happened to be B's first day of second grade, and let's touch on that before I tell you about the long run. The morning started out with little Miss "I've Been 7 For A Whole Week So I think I'm Grown" copping quite the little attitude. Then,  when we got to school, she was too cool to take more than one "first day of school" picture. I also can't forget to tell you guys that I got in trouble when crossing from the school to the parking lot because I didn't cross at the crosswalk. Mind you, there were no kids out, the bell had already rung, and I was a little misty eyed at the thought of my baby not being a baby anymore. Yeah, so after that I cried in my car for a minute, because mad emotional is just how I roll somedays. After, I had a coffee date with a friend, so we could have our official first day of school date, like we had last year.

So finally, I was off running after an interesting start that morning. I decided to run my usual route, but backwards, and added miles by running through neighborhoods that butt up to the paths. Of course, I ran into a bunch of people I know when I looked like an awful hot mess, and about to melt into the pavement. One of the people I ran into was Celia, who follows the blog, and stopped me because she recognized me from the blog. I almost felt like a celebrity, thank goodness I managed to keep the paparazzi at bay. Also, I kept oscillating from incredible miles, to miles where I thought I saw snails moving faster than me. Thankfully, when I saw Celia, I was having a rockstar mile, so I probably didn't look like that much of a mess, or at least I didn't in my head. I had the tunes going, and it was a nice mix of everything under the sun, we're talking Britney, Poison, Barbara Streisand... it was AWESOME! Somewhere around mile 9, I think I started to lose my head a little, the heat and humidity was killer. See, I have photographic evidence.

 

Somehow, I managed to waddle on through 11 miles. I was pretty darn happy, even if it was slow... so slow in fact that I think I got Granny'd by a lady near the Senior Citizen's complex. This my longest solo run ever, so I had some stuff to celebrate. Also, did I mention there was some new chafing?! I thought I had covered all the important spots with my chafe cream but apparently, I missed a spot, because I had some serious chafe action. OUCH! *TMI WARNING* I had never chafed in the spot where on my bum on the spot where the undies rubbed it, but let me tell you that I have now. My butt was on fire, not a good situation.

So, this week the schedule was mixed up so I can now officially have two rest days, and I couldn't be happier about that. Now, I get to chill out on Thursdays and Sundays, which means no pilates for me until after the marathon, but I can deal with that. It felt great to have Thursday off, seriously, I almost didn't know what to do with myself. Ok, that's a bit of a stretch, the day was busy, but it was weird not going to the gym. 

This change means that I did my speedwork on Wednesday, and it was a tough workout this week. I seriously thought I was going to die and/or fly off the treadmill. I am not a fan of this, but I have to remember that it's going to pay off. It will pay off, right? Lie to me if you must. 

This past week was all about changes. Changes to the schedule, B's back at school so my life can return to normal, oh yeah and a new place to chafe. Ok, not that many changes, but good and welcomed changes nonetheless. 

Three Things Thursday

1. My mom is in town, and B is just on cloud nine. She loves her grandma, but only until my dad get here tomorrow when grandpa will be the center of her universe.

2. I did some hill repeats today, and I was pretty sure that my legs were going to fall off. They were definitely talking to me, and I know I'll feel them tomorrow.

3. Have you entered my very first giveaway? You haven't?! Well, just click THIS link, and enter for your chance to score a shiny new Sweaty Band.

Sweaty Bands Review and My First Giveaway

I am always looking for looking for headbands because of my hair style, I get bits and pieces that are always flying in my face when I have it in a ponytail. I'd heard of Sweaty Bands in the past, and I had even seen them at the Fit For A Princess Expo in February. In July, I was at the Peachtree Road Race Expo and I happened upon the Sweaty Bands stand. I knew I just had to try them, and little Miss B wanted to try them as well, so I bought her one of the thin bands with polka dots, and I bought myself a hot pink thick band.

Bella wore her as soon as we bought it, and has also worn it to dance camp where it stayed in place looked pretty darn adorable.

I decided to test mine out at my first Zumba class after I bought it, and I was completely shocked at how well it stayed in and kept the little hairs out of my face. I guess that I had to see for myself it would actually stay in place through an entire class without me having to stick bobby pins in or readjust the headband. Imagine my surprise when I didn't have to worry about the headband at all, it stayed in place, looked super cute, and fit like a dream even on my gigantic head. 

Held strong through an entire Zumba class.

Looks great with my Zumba gear too! 

I didn't just wear it to Zumba class, I wore it to pilates, to training and on all of my treadmill runs. Actually, I love it so much I wear it almost daily. I say almost, because I do have to wash it to get my stink off of it every once in a while. I am officially hooked on these head bands and will have to order some more asap.

Want to try them out? The wonderful people over at Sweaty Bands were kind enough to send over one of their awesome headbands for me to giveaway. So, you want to win one of these awesome sweaty bands?

Here's the band that could be yours.

Here's how to enter.

Leave a comment for each for a chance to win. Entries will be accepted until 8/13 at midnight.

Mandatory

1. Become a follower of my blog

Optional

2. Want to help an awesome friend of mine running her first half marathon in Savannah in November? She's running with DetermiNATION. Donate and earn more entries, you get an entry for every $5 you donate. DONATE HERE Leave a comment for every $5 donated.

3. Follow me on Twitter @LucyATL

4. Follow Sweaty Bands on Twitter @SweatyBands

5. Like Sweaty Bands on Facebook, let them know Lucy from Run Chunky Run sent you

6. Tell your friends and share this giveaway on your blog, facebook or twitter. One entry per share.