It's Raining, It's Pouring...This "young" girl is sweating pink!

Wow!  It has been raining since Friday.  I don't mean a little drizzle and the sun is not out, I mean full on RAIN!!  (That includes a little hail!)  This Florida girl enjoys her sunshine!  However, there were some really bright spots in the weekend!  Clouds can't keep away the joy!

My daughters school has been planning their first annual 5k / fun run all year long.  It occurred this past Saturday.  The forecast was heavy rain and thunderstorms.  As packet pick-up began Friday in the pouring rain, you could read the disappointment on all of the volunteers faces!  The night before, I prepared my sweet baby for the fact that we might not be able to run the race!  The next morning, I awoke and didn't hear rain.  I looked outside and there were clouds but no drops of rain to be seen.  I quickly got up and got her ready.  The race was a success!  Literally, the rain begin to slowly come just as the event was ending!  God is soooo good!!!  Not only that but 4 of the #Badassarmy gals made the top 10 runners in the female division!  The #baddonkey (kids) group kicked serious booty too!! 

Here are some pictures of the weekend!  I was super excited because my parents were able to come watch my sweet one run!!

Some of the BA Crew:

The BadDonkeys:

The parents! - ugh i can't get the pic to do right!!!

My favorite girl!!!

This is her crossing the finish line!!!  She is a BEAST!! :)

Thanks for indulging me with a ton of pics!!  But I have one more picture - I am really excited about this one...READY!

I got an email notification last week that I was selected to be a Sweat Pink Ambassador!  What is this you might ask?  Well, I encourage  you to check them out at: http://www.fitapproach.com/sweat-pink/.  BUT basically Sweat Pink represents ladies who are not afraid to be active and sweat and realize the beauty of a true healthy lifestyle!  It is an honor to be selected and I am looking forward to what this new endeavor holds!  I join a group of ladies that I truly admire and that have been encouragers to me in my journey to find the healthy me!!  I hope that I can simply add to this group and help someone else find the strength to beat the game of the mind and find what lives within! 

Here is to an awesome 2013! Phil 4:13!

Holy Cow - Catch up time! 26.2 miles done...okay in 2 half marathons! :)

Wow!!  So much to catch up on!  Do you ever have those times when you think you will get to that “tomorrow” and then two weeks have passed?  That is always a sign for me that the work busy season is upon us!  I do love to be busy but it is totally getting in the way of my fun activities!!

Well I have TWO half marathons to report on!  So let me get to business!!

Rock N Roll – St. Pete

The Good:

·         ORGANIZED!!  I realize they have been around a long time but they did a great job of keeping you informed and ready for race day!

·         Expo – It was ON the Rays baseball field!  I just thought that was really cool!!!

·         Drop-off Location – This was the first time I had someone drop us off at a race.  I was afraid we would be walking (in the dark) for quite a bit.  Quite the opposite.  We were dropped off, rounded the corner and there was the start line!

·         Beautiful course!!  This was a flat course and went through so much of the beauty that is in the area! 

·         Food – okay, the ending had everything!  Gatorade, water, frozen strawberries, bananas, granola bars…I just thought that was a nice touch!  Other than my daughter ate ALL my strawberries! J

·         Family!  It was fun to have my husband, daughter and in-laws at the race!  I saw them about mile 9 and then at the finish!  It honestly brought tears to my eyes!  It is nice to see them cheer and hear my daughter say, “That’s my Mommy!!”

The Bad:

·         I had to really search on this one!  The parking for the Expo.  To park right at the stadium, you had to pay $15.  I thought that was a bit much!  So we drove a couple blocks down and parked for free! 

*  Not race related!  I for some reason broke out in hives on the trip down!  Nothing a little Benedryl couldn't fix but it had my nerves on edge!!!

The Ugly:

·         I completed this race in 2:04!!!  So this was a PR for me and puts me well on my goal of being sub 2 by the end of the year.  It was a cool start but by the end of the race, I was quite the hot mess…in a good way!

·         I love expos but they always suck me in!  This time I found Zipfizz Energy Drink. (http://www.zipfizz.com/) I loved it!  I haven’t had any type of energy drink or sports beans since I started the Whole 30.  I am not going to use it on a regular basis but it has a B12 boost in it and it tastes great!  Another Expo…my poor hubby knows there will be a loss of money from his pocket!!  But I NEED this stuff, right?

Donna Half – Jacksonville

The Good:

·         This race was for a personal FUN record!  So the fact that I had two of my best buds with me was the best part of the whole weekend! 

·         The cause!  ALL of the money goes to help find a cure for breast cancer!  It doesn’t get any better than that!

·         The neighborhood area!  The Ponte Vedra area is beautiful and the neighborhood really supports the race!  It is fun to have people cheer you along!  YES!  This means I actually noticed the area I was running in!  This has to make so many people happy!!! :)

The Bad:

·         It is not the races fault BUT it was COLD…and WINDY!!!  Did I mention this is mostly along the water?  So the chill was brutal! 

·         The parking!  Okay, this had to come out!  We left our hotel at 5:30 AM.  We sat on the road for the parking lot for at least an hour.  We did not pull into the lot until 7:15.  Luckily they postponed the start to 8 AM because of the situation.  It is my understanding this is the first time they allowed for people to park at the start line.  I like the idea, just need to work on how to get 9k people in there!

·         Bus transportation back to the start line.  They had us walk a good distance to board the bus back to the start line.  Not really an issue, except that hotel bus drop offs were right as you excited the celebration location.  I will not pout or complain on this anymore! 

The Ugly:

·         The race was not bad!  Until the last two miles!  It was the A1A bridge and it was quite the incline!  This race all for fun for me but man that would have been BRUTAL if I had been pushing for a time! 

·         I didn’t get to make the expo! L However, my dear friends got us signed up for another race in November in the beautiful St. Pete (http://womenshalf.competitor.com/stpetersburg) and have us on seriously contemplating  the Space Coast run in December! (http://www.spacecoastmarathon.com/) The medals for the Space Coast race are so cool!  See, even when I don’t attend the expo I can find a way to spend money!

Let me add in one other race!  I ran a local 5k for the Young Actors Theatre.  It was a blast.  My best running buddy could not be there but her son wanted to run his FIRST 5k!  So I said I would be happy to run with him!  I thought for sure he would bolt out and then pucker out and I would "encourage" him to the end!  YEAH, he SMOKED me!!!  I am so proud of him!!!  He is a really good runner!  It was quite hilly and he killed it!!!  I have got to get some rest because I will beat him next time! :)

The races were great fun!  I have a break for a bit from the 13.1's….I am not sure I am happy about that but work crazy time has arrived! 

Can’t wait to share some fun news in the next post!  I do love when I do things on a whim and God seems to pour out some blessings!!!

See you later!

Finally - WHOLE 30 - round one review!

Well I was hoping to do a wrap up of my first Whole 30 adventure complete with weight, measurements and pics.  I am quite frustrated with my gym.  They took my measurements just a bit before the whole 30….okay so maybe it was a couple of months but I hadn’t really seen or felt a change since then.  I have reached out everyday since and they have not been able to accommodate my request. 

If I get that info I will pass it along.  But here goes the rest!

Over a 30 day period I lost a total of…..16 pounds!!  That’s right!!!  I cannot tell you how amazing that feels!  I have been actively watching my weight and exercising regularly for over a year.  I lost a significant amount of weight about 3 years ago…however, it was not done in a healthy manner.  Post that time, I have put the weight back on.  I reached almost my high weight again late last year and I was devastated. 

The awesome thing about losing the weight is that I do not feel like I am starving or depriving my body of anything.  I eat and I eat a lot of wonderful items!  I realize now just how wonderful vegetables and fruit taste!!!  I can resist with ease my daughters French fries and mac and cheese. When I have gone to a restaurant, I am no longer embarrassed to request my foods with my restrictions and changes.  They don’t seem to mind accommodating those needs!  Oh right, I am the one paying for the food!!! 

I feel the largest difference in my waist, hips and tushy!!  I see the change all over but when you slide on those pants or skirt without any fear that the zipper or buttoning of them will cause great discomfort it is a monumental event!  My only complaint, I need to go shopping!!  My pants look like I am playing dress- up!!  J I have decided to wait a bit longer and make certain that changes I have made in my diet will also maintain the weight loss I have seen.  

I have reached my goal.  I do not know anyone who doesn’t think they would like to lose just 5 more pounds but I am happy with where I am.  I want to see some more definition to my muscle and continue to see my aerobic workouts change my body but I am content with the number on the scale! 

This has truly transformed my life.  This weekend was my first “off program” weekend.  I was still very careful as to what I ate but I did have dessert and some other items.  Can I be honest? I realized how badly they make my body feel.  I felt bloated and knew what the cause of it was.  As I woke up the next morning, I didn’t even think twice as to my commitment to make this a lifestyle change.  So I began my Whole30-round 2 today!!

This is not a fad diet, this is not some starve yourself or eliminate foods for a short period of time that is not sustainable. This program is designed to transform your thinking, desires and needs for foods.  If you will give 30 days to the program, you will see the difference.  You will feel better, you will better understand your body and how food interacts with you body, mind and soul.

I look forward to seeing what the next 30 days hold.  Have you taken the challenge?  Would you be interested?

Here is some information  that will help you learn the ropes!

Book: “It Starts with Food”

Website: www.whole9.com

I hope to have full measurements available soon…and if I am brave enough, I will post the pics!! J