I'm down but not out!

So my last blog was day 1 of my 12 week training and now I'm here telling you that I'm down but not out. What does that mean??? It means I had gallbladder surgery on Friday June 24th and now I can not train for my 1/2 marathon. I had been having upper abdominal pain and a feeling like there was a rock in the middle of my stomach. I had an ultrasound done and it found I had gallstones. My surgeon decided to do a CAT SCAN because he thought something else was going on and it found that I also have a hiatal hernia.

So here I am trying to lose weight and train for a long 13.1 miles and I've got things pushing on my lungs and making me hurt when I run but I pushed on.  I pushed on my training and LOVED it, I was enjoying my runs. I was enjoying the idea of running for a mile straight. This was HUGE for me because it had been a LOOONNNGGG time since I could do that. I was listening to good music on my shuffle and pushing myself without someone pushing me, WHAT! That's right I would push myself to run until I couldn't run anymore; Eye of the Tiger would come on and I would get excited and RUN, all 295 pounds of me would run without hurting. So I'm bummed out that I'm down right now because I was FINALLY enjoying exercising, I was FINALLY enjoying running. I even ran the day before my surgery.  The former me would have seen the surgery as a reason to not have to run, "why run since I can't after the surgery".  But I ran on Thursday and did 3 miles and it was an amazing 3 miles. The first mile I ran while pushing my 2 little girls in their BOB stroller (that was really hard to run and push a double stroller!) The second mile (Anthony had come up and taken the stroller from me) was all up hill in which I ran half and walked half and the third mile I ran the last 3/4 of it! I ran most of the 3 miles and FELT GOOD!!!!

The day of the surgery I asked my surgeon when I will be able to resume training and he asked me when the 1/2 marathon was. I replied Labor Day weekend and his face scrunched up while scratching his jaw. I looked at him with huge eyes waiting for his reply. "You could walk the 1/2 marathon" was his reply! In my head I was screaming "I can't walk the 1/2 marathon, I'll get picked up by the BUS!!!!"  He continued, "I don't want you running too soon. If you do run too soon you'll be in here again for me to repair an abdominal hernia, I have to cut through your abdomen to get your gallbladder.  You could start walking again as soon as you feel up to it." I just shook my head in agreement and smiled.

So like I said I am down but by no means out! I will now turn my focus to the Huntington Beach 1/2 marathon on Super Bowl Sunday. I need something to train for right now, I need to stay focused. I will be sad while everyone on Labor Day will be doing some type of race at Disneyland and I will be sidelined; even the baby will be in the diaper dash! But I will be a supportive mom and wife and cheer my family on. There's always next year, right?

Day 1 of my 12 week 1/2 marathon training

Hello everyone! I hope you have all been doing well and enjoying your time.  I am enjoying my first two weeks of summer vacation.  It was a pretty hectic end of the school year with a semi-formal dance I planned, end of the year activities, 3 all day college tour and beach trips, a promotion ceremony, and not to mention my own kids end of the year activities.  But I'm up and at it again, ready to move forward and continue on this weight loss and 1/2 marathon journey.

So today is day one of a 12 week training program.  I am really excited because I am WAY ahead of where I was when I did the 2009 1/2 marathon.  The 1/2 marathon I'm doing is the Disneyland 1/2 marathon during Labor Day Weekend.  They have a STRICT pace which is 16 min miles or a 3 hour 30 minute time limit to complete the race. I did try this race back in 2007 and had not trained for it so I was picked up by the bus.  That's right I was ordered on a charter bus blocking the road because anyone on the wrong side of the bus did not meet the pacing requirement and would not be able to finish the race, I was in that category.  I was so humiliated and had to tell my family and coworkers that I couldn't finish the race. In order to redeem myself I signed up for the race again in 2009 and trained for it. When I first started training my pace was a 20 minute mile.  I was able to get my pace down to 16 minutes exactly and I finished it.  I earned my finishers metal but something was not quite right. I wasn't excited, I wasn't feeling accomplished.  I figured out that I did it just so I could say I did it.  I didn't lose much weight. I ate what I wanted because I was running at night so I thought I'll work it off. But it didn't come off, actually I weighed 289 pounds when I ran the 1/2 marathon which was painful. I hated it, I cursed it every step of the way.

This time is so much different I was excited to start training this morning.  My weight is the same as the 2009 1/2 marathon but physically I can run and walk for a longer distance then when I first started training.  I am also mentally strong.  I am determined to lose the weight, get healthy, and complete this 1/2 marathon without cursing it. This morning I did 3 miles and finished with a 16:43 minute pace and I was able to (drum roll please) run for 1 mile straight!!!! I haven't been able to run for a mile straight since I was in high school on the varsity soccer team. That was a HUGE accomplishment for me because it used to always hurt to run. I enjoyed my 3 miles this morning; taking in the fresh air, the mountains, and the sun.  I see it in a different light now and I am grateful for that.

Thanks for your continue support and encouragement! I will keep you posted!