29:59

I ran my first ever 5K on Saturday and it exceeded every expectation I had for the event. We started the run on historic Beale Street in downtown Memphis. Just as all 1600 runners started to line up for the race, it began to rain, in buckets. A bolt of lightning cracked across the sky. The crowd roared. It was pretty exciting, just waiting for the race to start, the sudden storm just added to the excitement. "I hope I don't get struck!" I joked to a runner next to me. "Well if I get hit, it wouldn't be the first time", she chimed in. She actually wasn't joking, she got struck a few years ago when lightning hit a tree near by her. She had a very striking personality. Ha ha.

The excitement of running with so many other people definitely got my adrenaline pumping. I had the biggest smile on my face the entire race. Just as I was turning to corner off of Beale street, I heard someone scream my name. On the corner I saw my sister, dad, brother and husband (eating a hot dog and drinking a beer) all holding signs with my name on. It was such an unexpected surprise and gave me a tremendous boost.The first mile of the race, it felt like hundreds of people were constantly streaming past me, at a much faster clip than I could possibly keep up with. By mile two I had found my stride, and I was keeping up just fine with everyone around me. Mile three, I actually started to pass a couple of people. I would focus on someone a few feet in front on me and race against them, then pick someone else to focus on. I managed to beat the guy in the red shorts, the girl with the blue bird tatoos, and love handles guy.

I made use of every water station, but still kept running while I drank my water. It is very difficult to drink water out of a paper cup and run at the same time.

When we turned the corner back onto Beale, I actually sprinted the last leg of the race. I was surpised and excited when I realized I had made it in under 30 minutes! My hubby was there, smoking a cigar, along with the rest of family, soaked to the bone. I had a post- race banana, and we all headed home for hot showers, pizza and beer. It was a great way to spend a Saturday evening.

I feel so good about actually accomplishing something that I set out to do. I am looking for a 10K to register for in about 6 weeks. Not finding any nearby however.

Gibson Guitar 5K- 06 11 2011

And finally, here's a "before" picture for you. Well, more of a "during" picture.

First 5K is today!

I am running my very first 5K today. I think I am prepared. I feel a little bit like a student who has gone to class all semester, but who also hasn't killed themselves by staying up all night for a week drinking coffee and cramming index cards full of information into their brains. I feel like I have done just about the bare minimum amount of preparation to make it through. I can't believe that at the beginning of training 10 weeks ago, running 60 seconds at a time seemed daunting. Now I can run comfortably for a 30 minute stretch.

A little nervous/ excited/ scared! Wish me luck!

Running Update

Well it turns out that I don't have arthritis, so that's good. I have two more training runs before the 5k race on Saturday. I am very excited and a little nervous. I was starting to get into what I thought was pretty good shape, then it got hot. Trying to run when it is about 100 degrees outside makes you realize that you are not quite as fit as you thought you might be. I am going to try and run the full 5 kilometers today and Wednesday before the big race just to see how I do. Up until this point, the most I have run in one stretch has been about 2.3 miles.

In other news I have been on a really strict vegan diet for about two weeks now, eating mostly raw foods: fruit smoothies, salads, seeds, nuts. I am not enjoying it one bit. It is completely joyless and tasteless but I am losing weight very steadily. Ugggh, I just want a buttered baguette with some yummy fontina, a rib eye and a glass of Chianti. But I promised myself I would stick to this stupid diet for 28 days just to try it out. If nothing else, I am learning a little bit about self discipline. I didn't realize it before, but whenever I get bored, or upset or frustrated, I get hungry. I never realized how much I just graze in front of the refrigerator, or eat my toddler's left overs. I think that after this 28 day raw vegan experiment, I am just going to eat normally, but try and cut out those bad habits and I should be fine! No more crazy restrictive diets for me after this thankyouverymuch.

I have WHAT!!!!????

I went to the doctor yesterday for a routine checkup. Usually my checkups are boring. Blood pressure, good, cholesterol, good, iron levels, good. Lately though I have been experiencing some painful joints; my hands, my knees, my feet, my toes. "I feel like I am 80", I complain to Dr. P. Sure enough, it looks like I might have something that plagues many octogenarians: Rheumatoid Arthritis. "But I am only 27! How could I possibly have Arthritis?" I was a little shocked, but Dr. P didn't seem terribly concerned. "It's not too bad, yet." YET?!?!?!? Visions of wheelchairs and bed pans danced in my head.

It took a while to sink in. When I got home I googled Rheumatoid Arthritis, and I saw the phrase autoimmune disease, and my heart sank. It usually affects those older than 40, but can start in the childhood years. The body attacks the joints as if they are foreign parasites, bones deteriorate, joints deform. HOLY SHIT. Why was my doctor so casual about this? I even asked him if I could still run, and he said sure no problem.

I'm going to make an appointment with a specialist. Hopefully this isn't as big of a deal as I think it might be.

In other news, I put off running for a week because I had a viral throat infection, which I think I caught from my baby boy. Ditto for Jullian. I was SO sick. I am back on track however, and I should be in good enough shape to run the 5K on June 11th. I am on week 7 of C25K. Today I ran for 25 minutes without stopping. I was only running 11:47 minute miles, but I was also pushing a BOB with a 26 pound toddler in it.

I went to Florida this weekend for a wedding, and I think I did quite well. I tried to remain calm around food and not stuff my face, or drink too much. I came home feeling pretty good, and not hungover and exhausted like I did when I returned from Nashville.

Celebrated our third wedding anniversary yesterday. So far, so good. We marked the occasion by grilling delicious ribeyes and chorizo, drinking cabernet, eating divine chocolate cake, and taking a mid day nap. Mmmmm, naps are my favorite thing to do in the entire world since I became a mommy, heavenly.

I also started a raw vegan detox today. I was all excited about blogging about it, but I just feel a little bummed about the whole arthritis issue. I was planning to start it on the 6th of June, but I moved it up because we are going on holiday the end of June and I want to finish it in time. I got approval from my doctor for the plan. Basically you just eat raw fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds for 28 days. There is a very nicely designed menu plan and I have calculated that I am getting almost exactley 1200 calories a day which is perfect. Today I ate: freshly squeezed tangerine juice, tabouli made with herbs, green onion, tomato, avocado, oilve oil, lemon juice and hemp seeds, and for dinner I had fresh tomato gazpacho (tomato, bell pepper, cucumber) with avocado. It was all actually very tasty and filling. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I am going to try and blog about it everyday.

Cheers till then..

Technical difficulties...

Hey everyone. If you are one of the three or four readers (one of them is my mom), that actually keeps up with my little bloggity blog here, I just want to apologize for being lame and not posting lately. My computer is out of commission until I get my new AC adapter in the mail, so until then, I'm dead in the water. My training was going swell until I came down with what I think might be strep throat. So until I have regular access to a computer again, and I'm not sick as a dog, this blog is going to collect a little dust from disuse. I'll see you again in a week or two.

Cheers for now...

Falling off the wagon, stumbling around a bit, and then climbing back on...

Soooooo, this week I didn't do too hot. To make a long story short I went to the fabulous wedding of a couple of fabulous friends, SANS baby!, aaaaaand I overindulged in pretty much everything. I let go of any guilt as best as I could, and just had a freaking fantastic weekend, SANS baby! I really did at one point try to stick to my points, and not drink too much, but it was pretty much impossible. The weekend turned into some kind of drinking and eating marathon, which isn't the kind of marathon I should be participating in, right? I only gained 0.2lbs, which is actually amazing. But because I was a little hung over and tired on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, I ate lots of unhealthy crap in large amounts to try and feel better again. So I probably will gain when I weight in again next week.

I did manage to walk up and down the stairs of the gorgeous hotel about 6 times (there approximately 5 stories of stairs) and I even went and hopped on the elliptical for 20 minutes on Saturday morning, before I had my shower and went to my make-up lesson. Yip, I got a professional make-up lesson, with this really cute male make-up artist, who works at an up-scale salon in Nashville, who didn't seem in the least bit gay. I'm not being sarcastic, really I'm not, he was just this really nice, regular guy, and I had the best time with him. He went through all of my makeup, told me what worked for me, what didn't, and what I needed to go shopping for. The great part about paying someone upfront to do it, as opposed to someone that works in a department store, was that he wasn't trying to push a product on me, just to sell me something and get commission. I really think it is going to save me money because now I KNOW exactly what I need, & how to apply it. I don't have to waste any more time cluelessly wondering up and down the cosmetic isles at Target.

I'm definitely on a self improvement kick, and it is extending into every area of my life. I want to make the most of myself in every way. I want to be skinny and healthy. I want to make the most of my wardrobe and make up. In the past my beauty routine has consisted of:

a.) showering (if I had time)
b.) putting on deodorant
c.) throwing my hair into a messy pony tail
d.) putting on my scruffy uniform of jeans and a tank top or t-shirt
e.) brushing my teeth
f.) mascara and concealer if I was feeling extra fancy.

My wardrobe was, and still very much is, uninspiring. I keep telling myself that I will invest in clothes when I lose the weight, when I get the money, or when I have the energy and motivation to go shopping. Six months ago I purchased a pair of jeans from The Gap, and I literally wore them EVERY SINGLE DAY till I had a hole in the crotch area. But you know what is even sadder. Instead of promptly returning to The Gap to find another pair of jeans, I wore thick, black leggings under my jeans, till the hole just got so big that it was starting to get inappropriate. Before I went to Nashville this weekend, I went back to the Gap to get the exact same pair of jeans, but in a smaller size, because surely after six months I am a little smaller right? WRONG. Exactly the same: 29 8a, (curvy, which is a nice way of saying, you have a gigantic ass, I have a bum that could put J-Lo to shame.) I felt embarrassed, and it was definitely a bit of a wake up call. I have come a long way since I had the baby, I lost 25 of the 55 lbs I hope to lose in the first six months of my child's life. But I still have at least 25 to go. And over the past year, I have stalled, mostly because of some other major life changing events, like moving and going back to school etc etc. But I think I am starting to find my balance. I can feel it.

So here is to another set of resolutions, made in the most gentle, loving way I possibly know how. Because if I am going to succeed at any of this, it is going to have to be through discipline and exceptional self love.

Resolution #1: Recommit to Weight Watchers.

Self Explanatory.

Resolution #2. Recommit to Jillian

I started the 30 day shred, and pretty much arsed out on the 2nd day. I have done it before (she helped me lose those first 25 lbs, 20 minutes a day is easy to commit to, and 30 days is a nice finite period of time to stick to a program before I want to bash myself over the head with this 3 lb dumbbell because I am sooooo sick of Jillian's cheesy jokes). (holy run on sentence.)

Resolution #3: 28 day cleanse

Starts June 6th, more to follow on this in future posts. It's going to be pretty 'out there' (for lack of a better word or phrase), & my husband is going to hate it.

Resolution #4: Try to stay balanced when traveling out of town for weddings, vacations etc.

I have another out of town wedding weekend extravaganza coming up in May that I am so excited about. I really don't want to come home feeling EXHAUSTED and FAT at the end of it this time.

Resolution #5:

Go to church. Just once in the next month or so, go to church, any church will do.

Resolution # 6: Subscribe to a running magazine

Always have the hardest time spending money on myself. But I need to get some kind of marathon training plan together. I'm cruising along fine with the training for the 5K with C25K, but after I run the race in June, I am going to have to step up my training, and I don't know how.

Resolution #7: Enjoy every second with my kid...

...because he is just growing up so fast. One thing about weight loss that sucks, is it puts you in a mindset that you can enjoy your life, that everything will be perfect, when you are skinny again. Wishing for a future that may not come for a while, diminishes your enjoyment of the present. I love him so much. I would share a picture with you, but I am one of those nervous parents that will not post pictures of their children on the Internet.

Thanks for reading,

Cheers for now.

Perfection, the enemy of the good.

Voltaire is the great thinker who is responsible for the observation: "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." Last week I made a list of difficult resolutions that included giving up the four deadly "C's": cabernet, chocolate, coffee and carbs and exercising everyday. I have done very well, but I haven't been perfect. When I am not perfect, I lose motivation, and it is easy to just give up on the project all together. I ate banana bread, indulged in red wine, and even skipped working out a couple of days. But I have still continued to run three times a week with c25k, and I have even lost a couple of pounds. Instead of going on some draconian diet, I have recommited myself to Weight Watchers, something that has worked well for me in the past. I downloaded the iphone app, and I absolutely LOVE it. It is so easy to use, and I am definitely eating less and enjoying more fruits and vegetables.

I just can't give up what I love completely. There is joy in that glass of wine, there is pleasure in that creamy cup of coffee, and ectasy in that mouthful of divine chocolate. Sure it would be better to cut it out all together, but I think I am happier beacause I am learning how to find balance, and to to mitigate the bad with something good. Balance the occasional cup of coffee with a fresh green juice for breakfast. Counteract that wonderful pasta and red wine with a couple of days of lightly steamed veggies and lots of water. Cultivate calm, breathe, slow down, savor, balance.

I am happy to report that I am already feeling SO much better. I was in pain a couple of weeks ago. Everything hurt, I was depressed, and extremely fatigued ALL the time. One thing that helped tremendously was an hour long massage that I got last week. All the pain that was in my joints is pretty much gone, and I have been sleeping better. I think that cash flow permitting, it is something I am going to have to work into my schedule at least once a month, maybe even more often when I get into the heavier marathon training.

In other news, today my kid pointed to a picture of a cow and said "MOO!"very clearly, and likewise said "QUACK!" when he saw a picture of a duck. He doesn't say many other words, just: mama, dada, hi, hey, no, O.K, and "aqua" (spanish for water, my hubby is Cuban). I know he understands way more than he can communicate, I can see the little wheels turning in his head while he soaks up everything like a little sponge. I can't wait to hear what the little guy is thinking.

My fridge, with check marks for completed workouts. Gibson Guitar 5K is in 8 weeks, on June 11th:

Next time if I am brave, maybe I'll post a "before" picture. I'm shy you know :)

Cheers for now.

First Set of Resolutions

Resolution # 1: Get Off the Couch.

I wish I had trained for a marathon before I ever had a baby. I never imagined how difficult it would be physically to carry, birth and care for this little boy. The first six weeks of his life I didn’t sleep and feel like I never recovered! My neck hurts, my joints ache like an eighty year old woman’s, and my energy levels are at an all time low. I am so tired of feeling sick and tired. I have a new found respect for my mom and dad, who raised four children including one severely disabled autistic child. In fact, I sincerely look at every mother with a new sense of compassion and respect.

I don’t know how much of my extreme fatigue has to do with physical health and how much of it has to do with the demanding job of raising a rambunctious toddler, working on my Masters, taking care of a house and a husband, cooking for my family every night and working part time. On top of all of this, my child has had an ear infection for three months that won’t go away. Having a sick kid makes life a wee bit stressful sometimes. I went for a full physical in January, and my doctor says that I am actually quite healthy. I just feel lousy. I am sleeping poorly, I grind my teeth in my sleep, and I run out of steam very quickly.

As I mentioned in my very first post, I plan to break up my marathon into intermediary goals. The first goal is to run a 5k (approximately 3 miles) in about nine weeks time. I have signed up for the Gibson Guitar 5k in June. I am going to use the C25K application on my iphone to train for it. It is an awesome application. It is a nine week long, 3 times a week training program that promises to take you from the couch to a comfortable 5k. It plays your own music in the background and a soothing male voice tells you exactly when to warm up, run, walk and cool down. I went for my first run on Saturday, and needless to say I am in quite bad shape.

Resolution # 2: 30 day Shred

I will be alternating running days with Jillian Michael's 30 day shred video. I have done it in the past and it is quite effective. I have printed out a calendar for the next three months and I will sign off when I run C25K, and on days I do Jullian's workout on Mondays - Saturdays. It is an easy, effective way to stay organized and keep track of when I need to move on to the next level.

Resolution # 3:  A little Yoga

I am MAJOR stress and anxiety issues. I am absolutely horrible at managing it. Just having a toddler with an ear infection sends me into a major tailspin. Yoga is known for it's stress reducing benefits, and should be a nice compliment to any other joint pounding exercise that I do. I did some tonight and I certainly felt much better afterwards. Yoga will be scheduled in every Sunday.

Resolution # 4: No alcohol till the Wedding Anniversary (May 24th) ...

...or caffeine, or sugar, or refined carbs. This one is probably going to be the toughest. I am not typically a fan of draconian diets, or broadcasting the fact to the world that I am on one. But I am doing this for good reason. I have felt so tired, and so ill lately, that I am quite desperate to do ANYTHING to feel good again. I can't give it my all as a mommy when I am not feeling myself. I think that no matter what your nutritional beliefs are, you can agree that cutting out/ reducing these four items in your diet won't hurt and might just benefit you a little. The wedding anniversary night, however, all bets are off. Oh yes, I will indulge in a little champagne and chocolate.

Resolution #5: Get edumacated

Subscribe to Runners World magazine, read other marathon blogs, read, read, read. I have no idea what training for a marathon entails and I need to learn pronto if I am going to make my goal in a year's time.

Hi, I'm Anthea. Nice to meet you.

Hi. My name is Anthea Jane. I am a 27 year old mommy to an 18 month old baby boy, a wife, and part time graduate student and an employee.

A couple of different things lead me to the decision to train to run a marathon. Several weeks ago a good friend of ours left for Uganda to serve for two years in the Peace Corps. I felt mixed feelings that I didn't expect to feel. One was pride in my friend, it isn't easy to be accepted into the Peace Corps program. One of the pictures posted on his face book page was an invitation from the White House to serve abroad. I have always known my friend was a really great guy, but his ability to examine his life and "go to the woods" as Thoreau would say, made a strong impression. How many people plod through life without much thought or self examination? How many people live the lives they really want to live? How many people are brave enough to leave the rut of their mediocre existences and pursue interesting, varied lives?

Another emotion that surfaced was envy. An immature emotion, not one I am really proud of.  I have so much to be thankful for. I love my life, I really do. I love my husband, I love my little boy, I love my family. We have our youth, our health, a roof over our heads, food on the table, a 401(k). We aren't rich, but we certainly have enough.

The only thing in the world I don't have is the freedom to disappear off to Uganda for two years, which sounds pretty glamorous and exiting to me. I can't even take off for six months to hike the Appalachian trail which has always been a dream of mine.

My aunt knew about my dream to hike the Appalachian and mailed me a book from the U.K called To the Woods, A Journey along the Appalachian Trail. The book is written by a friend of hers named John Scott, who is in fact, Scottish. Scott hiked the Appalachian Trail to mark his upcoming 40th birthday by doing something that was: "significant, demanding and at a distance from home; to test my capacity for pushing mental and physical limits well beyond any point experienced to date; and to mark this keen moment in my life." This book and his references to Thoreau's Walden's Pond made quite an impression on me.

I have always been a bit of a thrill seeker, one of the most exciting moments of my life was when I went tandem bridge swinging off the second highest bungee jumping bridge in Africa when I was 16. It is basically like bungee jumping, except the rope is tied around your torso and attached to a bridge parallel from the one you jumped off of, and I had my best friend Tessa attached to me. My husband and I had the incredible opportunity to hike across Europe before we got engaged. One of the best days of my life was canyoning in Interlaken, Switzerland, an extreme sport so dangerous that it is illegal here in the US. It was exhilarating.

Life has changed. I can't travel to exotic countries for months at a time now, and I can't take stupid risks like sliding down a rock wall into a freezing pond in a ravine. Life is extremely hemmed in, sober and safe, full of bottles, diapers, trips to the pediatrician and lots of laundry. Like many young mothers, I think I am starting to go slightly stir crazy. Boredom, feelings of stagnation, and the 30 extra pounds I am lugging around are quite strong motivators to do something to change how I feel.

I know that training for a marathon won't give me the temporary high of an extreme sport, or the excitement of leaving it all behind to go surfing in Bali, but I simply need the challenge, and the sense of satisfaction from conquering something difficult and worthwhile. The resulting toned legs and buttocks will be a nice perk too!

The idea is to train, and take no longer than a year to accomplish my goal. I will set mini goals which will include but not be limited to: a 5K, a 10K, a half marathon, and then the final big finale, a full marathon. A full marathon run in Hawaii would be a nice way to top off this project. I have no clue what.so.ever. how to train for a marathon, so I will blog along the way about what I learn.

Thanks for reading. Wish me luck, I am sure as hell going to need it.