Biggest Loser 5K

I had originally signed up for the Biggest Loser Half Marathon in Charleston, but due to this pesky muscle disease I dropped to the 5K. I wasn't sure until Thursday that I was even going to do that much! But what can I say, I like a challenge, I wanted my medal, and I knew I would regret it if I didn't at least try!

I decided to skip the packet pickup the night before this year and just go the day of the race. I had other things to attend to Friday, such as eating delicious pizza that I was too busy eating to get a picture of. And I went to a baseball game

See important stuff!

Anyway, going the morning of turned out to be a mistake! They ran out shirts! I've been pre-registered for this race a long time and I had to choose between a shirt like the one I got last year or a generic run/walk shirt. Since the shirts last year were white and I hate white, I went with the red generic one.

I'm gonna be honest, I'm disappointed. The other shirts were kind of an obnoxious orange, but they had a pretty picture of the state capitol on them. And they ran out of bags! But I was able to go back after the race and pick one of those up. It's just crazy that they don't keep out a certain amount for preregistered people.

Anyway, so the game plan for this race was to finish! One way or another. My family doctor told my mother that I was absolutely not allowed to run or I could risk injury or cause the swelling to come back. So I tried to be conscious of that and not push it. But let's be honest I did some running. I also did lots of walking though. It kinda sucked. My legs would hurt if I tried to run too long and my arms started hurting in my bicep area. But it was totally worth it. I loved being out there again. And the good thing about the Biggest Loser races is that you see ALL different types of people. The emphasis that they put on the walk option allows for a lot more diverse people to show up. It really is inspiring to see so many people with challenges of their own get out there and move!

The last mile I decided I would walk from one light to another and then run from that one to the next one. I did that a few times, but then I could see the finish line and I couldn't let myself walk to the finish!
And I did it!

Finish Time/Chip Time:

41:51.9

Gun Time: 1:09:54.9

Minutes/Mile:

13:30/M

I actually had to email about my time. They had my chip and gun time as the same. But they quickly resolved that. I'm actually pretty pleased with my time considering my situation and the walking I had to do! A 13:30 mile average isn't too shabby! I'll post race pictures once they have them up.

The rest of my day consisted of going to heave, aka a Teavana tea shop. I'm trying to drink hot tea in the evenings instead of eating, so this place was fantastic! Wish we had one in my town!

Enjoying a cup of Caramel Salt Tea (with a splash of milk)

Then I rode with my mom after getting back home to watch my sister and boyfriend play softball in a charity tournament. It was a lot of fun! They lost horribly in both of the games they played, but it was still fun.

Starbucks Softball Team aka Bad News Bears! haha

After their final game and getting a bite to eat, we headed home. Then my boyfriend and I went to his parents house to celebrate his grandmother's birthday. They were setting up a pool so they were all doing that, but I was feeling tired and my arms were hurting so I decided to just go lay down for a few minutes on their couch...

TWO HOURS Later....

I woke up. I had completely passed out. I'm blaming it on the muscle disease, but it was slightly embarrassing.

As far as an update on how I'm doing. I still experience muscle pain and some trouble swallowing but it all continues to get better. I may have pushed it at the race on Saturday, but other than some arm pain and some tightness in my legs I feel like I'm doing pretty well. My weight is just out of control though. I don't even like looking at how round my face is right now. At this rate I'll have to buy a whole new wardrobe! The only thing I know to do is try my best to eat healthier foods, which can be a bitch because prednisone is making me want to eat all the freaking time! But I'm trying. I don't know if it will help slow down the weight gain, but it has to be better than just going free for all on junk food! And I'll continue to walk. I have to take days off in between to give my body rest, but it's just what I have to do right now.

I just have to keep in mind it's not forever, it's a temporary set back. And you better believe it will make me appreciate running and biking a lot more!