Gone Coastal OBX

This weekend something bizarre and strange happened, I FELT like a runner. Now keep in mind I have been running for a few days over a year now and just NOW on Saturday I FELT like a runner. I couldn't tell you why, however I do know, it wasn't about pace (this weekends 8k wasn't my fastest pace by any means and was only a 10 second better pace than I did the 8 miler back in September.  On Saturday I participated in the annual Kelly's 8k Running of the Leprechaun's, this was my and Amanda's organized runiversary, so we have been excited about it. (kinda) My running has been so off since the groin muscle pull and the decision to run the OBX half knowing I was injured that I thought I would never get it back again. My pace has been slow, my soleus muscles have hated me, and I just all around felt like a fat blob attempting to do something I had no business doing. I have felt this way for weeks. Last week, I don't recall the day exactly, I found out there ...

Just kidding! Although it would be a good idea to find some kind of sponsor. So if any of you want an over weight chick who happens to have decided that running is what she wants to do (don't ask me why I don't have the slightest clue) to wear your business logo on me when I run.. I will gladly do so, I have a large frame I can find somewhere to stick it. All of this came about in a conversation with my Daddy.. So I told my sweet loving supporting daddy about signing up for 7 half marathons... he said and I quote "You need to find a sponsor so it doesn't cost you so much" My response was to laugh and say "WHO do you think will sponsor ME?" I should not have asked... he says... "Oh I don't know the funeral home maybe?" Maybe I need to be the poster child of it doesn't matter if you're chubby you can still run and not die. Who knows, I am cold and tired and don't know what I am talking about at the moment. PS.. t...

Last night was a bit different that any other Bootcamp that I have attended, in that it was the most brutal! The story needs to be told, but first some prelim. When I got to the gym it was weigh in night for me, yes I hate weighing in at night, yes I hate weighing in with clothes, but I also like my morning sleeps this time of year and the gym prefers that I keep covered (something about law suits and blindness.. I don't know) so alas on the scale at 5 pm with clothes on I went. It was up by 2.4 pounds from last week. I, of course, cussed the scale, threw it through the window, and stormed out of the gym. (ok what I really did was text Matt saying that I hated the freaking thing.. see I didn't even really cuss, some times fiction is just funnier) I didn't realize at this point he was on his way in and when we talked he said it could be a number of things, water, salt, time of day, different clothes... lots of scenarios. Last night after he looked at my journal there are a...

Thanks to Leslie we have a visual of what we did in bootcamp last night, even though she did it this morning not that timing matters, the important part is the Flying Whale! Ok not really, the important part is that we did it! The Flying Whale part is just a fun little fact that Leslie pointed out. See the monument circle it looks like a Flying Whale. Maybe we can have Matt call this particular work out the Flying Whale from now on, it will make it sound less brutal that it really is. The evening started with us meeting behind the monument at the airport parking lot and there was speculation that the reason for different parking was because we were going to be so brutalized on the monument they did not want us crawling across the road to get back to our cars at Aviation Park. Things didn't really happen that way. I was really happy to be back out in the open with my team and we all greeted each other cheerfully and did a warm up stretch or two. Matt led the troops last nigh...

because lets face it, reason is not my strong suit. So I saw on Facebook yesterday the Outer Banks Bootcamp's Flying Pirate Training event pop up and memories of last year flashed through my brain like I have heard happens moments before your death.  (not that I have talked to anyone that has actually died but .. oh never mind) Just fleeting thoughts of struggles, failures, triumphs, and over all success. It dawned on me that there are others out there on the fence about their first half marathon and if they should try. The easy answer to that is YES YOU SHOULD TRY. What exactly is holding you back? Fear?? What do you have to be afraid of? You can already run, most of you that I am talking to have already completed 5k and 8ks! The day I showed up for my first training for the Flying Pirate last year I could run, I certainly could, I owned that whole minute I could run. Yes you read that right ONE MINUTE! That was as far as I had ever run before in my life. The rest of the sto...

Said in a sing songy dance on the tables voice, not a Johnny I am bashing down your door with an axe voice, unless you don't like me then read it the other way, because really, if you don't like me WHY ARE YOU READING MY BLOG! Sorry, the meds haven't kicked in yet apparently. Anyhoo, as you have noticed, or maybe not noticed, I haven't written a blog in a few weeks and the reason for that is because I have been in the deep dark pit of aggravation known as I hurt myself again and I couldn't bootcamp so I hated the world. Ok, not the world just my lower legs, who in turn hated me for hurting them because I am an idiot who doesn't listen. I rested my legs as told, and did upper body work, then my body decided to revolt all together and shut me down for a couple of days with some kind of horrid stomach virus, so COMPLETE rest was what I needed and it is what I took. Late last week I realized that 1. my legs were no longer hurting while walking down the stairs,...

Last night in discussing how my legs still hurt when running and last night was one of the worst times yet (why because I don't listen to myself or anyone else and I TRY to keep going even though I know that the only way the pain will subside is to walk until it eases out) and that it just wasn't getting better and appeared more to be getting worse.. I was told I was obsessed with this whole weight loss thing. When I inquired as to what that meant, I was informed that the post about the scale, the food, the races, workout was obsessive. My first thought was "Well @#$%#@$#% you." but what I actually said was "Then don't watch it." No one has to read my blog, you don't have to like my Operation 50 TLC page, heck you don't even have to be my friend on Facebook. Especially if you have gone to McDonald's every day since 1983 and still haven't gained an ounce. You have no idea what this is like for someone who has struggled all their life wit...

So lately I have seen on Facebook that other friends from other places are doing this bootcamp or that bootcamp or the other bootcamp. I have the hardest time not pulling a Gene Wilder on them. I want to ask questions, what do you do at bootcamp, what are your instructors like, do you go to the beach, do you work out around your town, do you participate in events as a team.. I am full of questions. I don't ask because I am concerned I will sound rude, when I walk away with the only reply that I can give is... "oh". I just don't think they could possibly have what we have, I mean in all seriousness to quote Jay Bowman "Look where we live!". They don't have our play ground and that is a piece of the puzzle as to why Outer Banks Bootcamp is who they are. Another piece, they don't have our coaches. Coaches who with just a tap on the back, or a quick look tell you volumes about how you are doing. Coaches who answer the craziest of emails and talk ...

What can I say, last night I was totally off my game, got light headed before I even made it a mile (Thanks JD for hanging on, encouraging me, and sticking with me to the end of the bike path), then before I was even over that I had the nerve pain happen again. It had started sneaking up while running a bit faster than I should have from the start, I am a slow slow slow starter, and sprints (and I didn't even sprint I just jogged fast) were on the plate from very close to the word Go! The final nail in the nerve ending coffin was the (shutter) curb push ups, which leaves me on my toes and puts extra pressure on the area that hurts. Either way, I kept on going and did the Indian run and then fell back a bit as slowing down to a walk is the only thing that helps the muscle decrease and not push on those nerves so badly. Many thanks to Coach Todd for listening to me explain what was going on and just jogging it in to the rest of the group with me. At that point we stopped and did 3 ...

Last night our night camp team embarked on the first of the last 12 night sessions for the season, this morning I thought it would be neat, since I do end up blogging about bootcamp most of the time now anyway, to journal about every session this camp. The team met at Knuckle Up at 5:15 last night for our last minute sign ins and for some of us to just get over our jitters. I don't care how many camps or races I do my nerves get me before each one, it isn't even fear of the unknown any more I KNOW what is coming, oh hmmmm maybe that is why the fear! We were missing a few of the regulars last night as one is on a cruise and another had her childs birthday, so we will welcome back Anissa and KC on Wednesday, however, we did have about ten campers show up, and believe me just having the guts to show up is something to be proud of, we are not a camp of ease. You will be pushed to your breaking point and beyond just so someone can show you that wasn't exactly your breaking poi...

Who knew there was such a thing? I didn't until last night in the gym. After a grueling hour of kickboxing handed to me by the wonderful Trainer Don Williams we finished up with a bit of ab work. One thing I hate to hear is feet off the floor, come on that mess hurts like the dickens. I know, I know, it is one of the only ways I will actually have muscles there and not this tire of flab I have now but OUCH! So one can imagine my horror when shortly after Don said "Feet at 6 inches" he followed up with "ARMS OUT STRAIGHT FROM YOUR SIDES!"  My brain went.. "Whoa dude are you kidding me? My hands are under my butt so I can hold my feet up the 6 inches you just asked for, now you want me to hold my feet up and move my arms out to the sides? That isn't possible, my feet will fall." Some how, some way I manged to get my arms out straight, so now I have my feet 6 inches off the floor and my arms out like a cross, and I realize. "Hey I am doing this...

No today was not the day I was actually born, but today was the day last year that I decided to take control back of my life and my health. In that time I have met and completed so many goals (races mainly) that I planned, I am much healthier, much smaller, much stronger. However,  I am not close to the weight goal that I have set for myself and I have many many runs on my plate this year! 2012 was an amazing year of starts, I am hoping that 2013 will be an amazing year of the end. While there is no END to being and living healthy I want to end the weight loss portion of the journey, that is incredibly important to me. I have chosen, as many of you know 50 lbs as my goal for the year and that will get me incredibly close to my over all goal. When I reach that point I plan on evaluating size and fitness and see if I need to really lose more.  I am adding in weights and strength training to my regimen so I don't exactly want to be skinny or a hard body, something beautifully...

Last week in Review! (warning it is long) 2 January Having completed two half marathons, and logging in almost 100 organized run miles in 2012, I would like to enhance my goals in 2013 by focusing on healthy eating, weight lose, and fitness. Our Outer Banks Bootcamp Coaches have repeatedly stated we should pick a goal or event, sign up for it, tell our friends, Facebook (or Tumblr) it, and pay for it. I have chosen my goal of 50 pounds weight loss, this is my way of signing up for it, telling my friends and facebooking all in one shot, and paying for it, well if having my life, workouts, and weight loss posted for all the world to see isn’t a price to pay I don’t know what is. :) Now lets get this show on the road! 3 January Yesterday’s exercise was brought to us by Coaches and Todd at Outer Banks Bootcamps, up and town Holy Hill (Wright Brothers National Memorial), I think Joanne counted we went up and down 5 and 1/2 times I don’t even remember to be honest...