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!

Fast and Furriest

Let's see. My life just seems busy every night. It's full of either exercise, cleaning (blah), packing for something or another, or some activity. First, since it's exercise related, I'll recount my first race ever as a spectator.

On Saturday, I joined my lovely sister, who is the community coordinator (or something like that) for the Starbucks she works at to volunteer at a local race. This was a charity 5K run./ 1 mile walk for the Raleigh County Humane Society, called the Fast and Furriest 5K. I was hoping to see lots of puppies and I was not disappointed!

This would be a roller derby team that was promoting their sport. Super cool.

Everyone getting ready for the race to start.

Obviously had to bring a Chai tea, we were representing Starbucks after all.

We had a little stand where we set up coffee and iced coffee. My sister and I agreed that next year, iced tea, coffee, and water would be a better decision. Not too many runners want coffee right before a race ;)
Then we also got to time the walkers. I was not very good at this! We were doing fine until they all came at once and I'm pretty sure I forgot to write someone's time down. Oops. This was the first year that the Humane Society put on the race. In my opinion, they did a good job. They didn't have chip timing, but the race is still small, so I don't think it will be an issue unless it grows. For the first time though the turn out was pretty good. They had over 80 to preregister and then over 40 people registered that day.

The course sounded a little goofy, but I think the runners found the way alright. Everyone said it was well marked and I saw little signs on our way out with arrows and telling runners which way to go. There was one water station, which is all you really need for a 5K, but it must have been so hot on the pavement! The one problem I had is that it started at a soccer field where another event was going on and they didn't stop traffic, so the runners were dodging cars and some people didn't slow down very much. Even at the finish line where everyone was gathered, people still went fast! Hopefully this won't be an issue next year if they have it there again.


After spending Sunday at a reception for a friend who eloped, I headed back home. Monday, instead of going to the group run I decided to run right after work. It was a humid, miserable three miles at slightly over an 11 min. pace (ugh). But soon enough it was done with and gave me time to go home, shower, and head right back out of the door to go to a bicycle maintenance class that the multisport club was sponsoring. It was a little awkward. They all knew one another and I kind of just sat there until the class started. Sometimes it sucks being the newbie. The class itself was very helpful though. I wasn't the only one who didn't know all the technical terms, I now know what a cassette and derailleur is! I learned about proper cleaning and how to change my tires (=good to know). I won't get into details since it would probably be really boring, but I would recommend it to anyone who's getting into cycling.

I still need to join either a bike ride or swim, but dammit, they all seem so professional, I know I'll be left behind and that feeling kind of sucks. One of these days though I'll find the courage.

Tuesday I hit up the 6AM Spin class at the gym. I don't even know who I am anymore! Then after work I wanted to clean my bike since I learned the proper way and ended up not only cleaning my bike but our whole back porch. It took quite a few hours and I felt like I burned a million calories in the humidity.

Today I ran 5.24 miles on the treadmill. Still experiencing some knee pain, but it didn't hurt a lot on the treadmill. I'm going to take this as a good sign, since I have a 10K this weekend! I'm excited. It's the Biggest Loser run and I hope to meet some of the old contestants! This is also the race I'm doing in Erie, PA in August, except it will be the Half Marathon!

So I have to pack tomorrow for the race and for the week long beach trip with my family! Sooo excited! This is the first vacation with the whole family in a really long time. Better get going on my laundry!

PS. If you haven't, watch Extreme Makeover: Weightloss Edition. Really inspiring and interesting!

AmazinGrace 5K and a PR

Shew what a long weekend! Just got back to my hometown today (Monday) from Kingsport, Tennessee and I won't be back home until tomorrow. It was a great weekend though. Lots of great family time! Lots of Scrabble was played and junk food eaten with a little running thrown in.

Last year, after my first 5K, my great-aunt invited me to her house to run in the AmazinGrace 5K that her church created. It's benefits the local hospital. This year was the 5th year they have put on this race. To commemorate it, they invited Biggest Loser Season 8 contestant and inspirational speaker, Abby Rike.

My grandmother, Abby Rike, and I

She was a very good speaker. Her story is completely devestating and yet so full of hope. She had to overcome physical weight to help her overcome the emotional weight of losing her whole family in a car accident. If you are interested in her story, here is a link to her book Working It Out.

After getting back to the hotel and letting my niece and cousin swim, it was time to get ready for the race. I made a race day no-no and wore new pants. They ended up being fine, though they did slip a little at first. That's pretty usual with my pants, lol.

Even though it was about to rain, again, my whole family came out to watch me run. I really do have the best and most supportive family a girl could ask for.

 My time last year for this race was 33:58. My goal for this race was to run in 30 or under.This is a small local race and the attendance was down this year, no doubt due to the rain. It's a very flat course, but last year it was blazing hot! I was sweating before the race even began. This year was very different. It was cloudy and rainy the whole day. So I was worried that it was going to be a huge downpour and windy and I wouldn't be able to run the way I wanted. Thankully, it turned out to be great! It drizzled just slightly during the run but the rest of the time the sun was out and it was in the 60's.

The girl in the purple shirt passed me right at the end, dang it! I tried to keep up with her to pass her, but no luck! haha



With such a flat course, I got a PR! It wasn't the under 30 minutes I was hoping for, but I made it in 30 minutes and 4 seconds! Doh, so close! I was still happy with my overall pace of 9:40. I stopped at the two water stations for a sip, though I didn't really need them, and now wish I hadn't or I might have made it under the 30 mark. But I'm totally happy with how I ran and will have something to work on for the next race. I even got 6th in my age group, of 25-29, out of 17. I came in 165 out of 402. It's pretty cool to see my improvement over time on the same course.

(Which, by the way, less than four weeks until my first half-marathon!! EEEEEP!)

One cool thing about this race is that a big group of people from Fleet Feet, who train together in a couch to 5K program all run together and wear the same shirts. They encourage one another on the course and you can see the pride in their eyes for themselves and everyone else who ran with them. That feeling of pride doesn't come with ease, but with hours put in to training and doing something for the first time. I really wish we had something like that in West Virginia. If anyone wants to sponsor me, I'll run the shop for you! ;)

After the race we all went out to Texas Roadhouse where I enjoyed a steak, salad, and a sweet potato and rolls and sweet tea. My family loves me enough to even put up with my smellyness while we ate. Then more Scrabble happened. Did I mention that my family is made up of a lot of teachers and therefore a lot of Scrabble happens when we all get together? Love it!

Today was all traveling back and some of this:

With some of this added in:

More travel tomorrow and lots of sleep tonight! Hope you had a good weekend!