Biggest Loser is over

I ended up losing 2.3 lbs in the biggest loser contest at work. I was on track with the diet for just about 3 weeks in preparation for the photo shoot and the biggest loser finale. I had a binge day on Sunday to post celebrate my birthday with Corley (Dave), Katrina, and Elizabeth.

The celebration consisted of watching horrible lifetime movies, gorging our faces with awful-for-you food, and making fun of the movies. I can't even list the things I ate, let's just say that I probably could have been featured on the "I eat 33,000 calories a day" show on TLC. It was extremely fun and we watched one movie that was awful movie GOLD. It was actually a soap net movie of the week from a few weeks earlier. I happened to catch the commercial and had Katrina DVR it so we could watch it. If you ever have a chance to drunkenly watch "Beautiful Girl" on SoapNet.. DO IT. Here is the IMDB information on it: Beautiful Girl and a scene shot


Yes.. she is saying "I am engaged to Mark Consuelos, he left Kelly Ripa for me!" I'm sure you get the picture of the the awful awesomeness.

Post-binge it's hard to get back on track with the diet. My mind screams for all the things I had managed to make it forget about such as pizza, ice cream, Publix chocolate overload cake, ice cream, nachos. So now I'm trying to wrangle the beast back into it's cage. I read somewhere that weekend eating can cause as much diet damage as the holidays and I believe it. It's Thursday and I'm just now getting back down to my pre-binge weight. Now it's time for the weekend again... what a vicious cycle.

This weekend is the bootcamp challenge. All of the East Shore bootcamps are going to face off against each other in a points system to see who can take home the trophy. My gym, Johnnie Dodds, is the defending champions. We plan to take it home again. I plan to run my fastest mile! Anyhoo.. witty comments just aren't flowing out this morning so I'm ending this post because it's LAME!. See you on the flip flop (my dad used to say that all the time, not that he's dead, he just doesn't say it anymore).

I have a LOT going on...

I don't even know where to start this blog. First of all I turned 33.. gross. I'm not normally bothered by age but for some reason this year it did.

The big thing I did other than turn another year older having still put off the idea of having a child (while my eggs shrivel up), was to do a triathlon. This was my first one and it was a smidgen more than a sprint but not as far as an Olympic. It took place on Isle of Palms and was a .6 mile ocean swim, a 16 mile bike, and a 4 mile run. How did I do? I finished. I expected myself to take about 2 hours and ultimately I beat that time by 6 minutes which I was proud of. However, there is always ALWAYS that not-good-enough part of me. So when I saw the results and realized that I was 5th out of 5 in my age group I had a little bit of a 'failure' moment. I was happy to see that after all that I still ran a 31:57 4 miles which is the fastest recorded 4 miles I've done to date. I've been chasing the sub 32 minute 4 miles for a couple of years now. It's crazy that when I finally do it it was after swimming and biking for the past 1.5 hours.

Here is a picture of me coming into the finish. That's my friend Nancy giving me five. She is an awesome personal trainer to boot. I don't think I could have finished as well as I did without having gone through all of the bootcamp ass kickings that her and Cissy have put me through. SHOUT OUT!HOLLA






Shout out to Sarah too, she is my triathlon buddy. I roped her into signing up and she did great. She's got tri #2 in a few weeks. I didn't have the cash for tri #2 but I plan on doing another one soon. (Augusta half ironman is $225.00! Are you kidding me??) While I'm on the subject of signing up for things I perused the Disney sight yesterday to window shop the Goofy Challenge. (That would include a half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday). It's $310.00.. wowsers!


I once again tried to get my infamous Disney pose at this race but I guess the photographer didn't get it. He got the "flex" instead.


That race belt is not flattering to my straight-as-a-board figure, what would Stacy and Clinton say?.


My time was 1:54:05. I wasn't last (outside of my age group). I wasn't even last in the awful swim. Did I already mention that the ocean was not friendly that day? The water was extremely choppy and I couldn't see the buoys or the pier that I had planned on sighting for. Honestly, I panicked a little (or a lot) and almost called one of the kayakers to take me in. I composed myself though and did a lot of backstroking,so no, it was not the best but it got me through the panic.

Besides that my diet has been going on for two weeks. I'm down about 3 lbs so far. My focus is on watching my calories, eating whole grains, and vegetables. My weight today was 116.4 and the body fat (according to the scale) was 18%. The seems like a lot in my psycho brain. I plan to keep up the hard coreness for another month and then I figure by that time it will have just become nature and I won't miss pizza, and chocolate, ice cream, cake, and all those things I LOVE.

Anyhoo... stay tuned for my next blog which will include details about my fitness photo shoot that I did on Monday and some pictures to go along with it. If you're wondering, I have no idea what I will do with the pictures.

The Lowcountry

I've lived in Charleston (ok Goose Creek) all of my life. So forgive me if I've always wondered why people come here to vacation. Personally, I didn't find Charleston that great. I'm also a freak and hard to please but that's neither here nor there.

However, last week as I biked the race route for the upcoming Triathlon I caught a glimpse of what makes the Lowcountry a little bit special.











Sorry for the small, camera phone pictures. (I feel like I am disgracing my Android by calling it a 'camera phone'. It is a very smart phone with a camera). I realize some people don't get to see this kind of thing where they live. I guess that's why they come here.

Photo shoot

I've been dieting hardcore for about 2 days now. 2 whole days. I have a 'fitness photo shoot' coming up on the 19th which is the day after my triathlon. My biggest loser final weigh in is on the 26th so I will continue the diet at least until then.

Did you notice how I breezed over the details of the 'fitness photo shoot'. It makes me sound like some kind of fitness model, which I am not. The story behind it is that my excellent photographer friend Robbie Silver is going to take some pictures of me doing the things I love such as running, working out, and I don't know what else. What I DO know is that I need to diet, diet, diet since I'm going to be putting my body out there on film. I have 2 weeks from today. I hope that is enough time to lose 4 to 5 lbs.

I've been watching Americas Next Top Model for years (seriously I have) and now I find myself trying to think of the ridiculous advice that they give to all of those girls like 'find the light', 'know your angles', 'model from head to toe', 'don't hide your neck'. STUUUPID... I'm off to practice posing.

Bridge Run

If I could have blogged this yesterday from my phone at 7:00 a.m. it would have been a RAGING, profanity-filled blog that would have have had to have an 'R' rating. Alas, it is a new day and the birds are singing so I can reasonably try to write about the events of the Cooper River Bridge Run.

First off, if you are someone who doesn't know me thanks for reading my blog! I will explain a little about the bridge run. It is an annual 10K race (6.2 miles) that attracts a whopping 40,000 people. It is boasted as being the most organized and best run 10k in the WORLD!!! My story is about how NOT TRUE this is.

I tend to be an obsessive planner, especially with races. When a race has 40,000 participants and ends in a completely different city than it started, I tend to be completely anal. You can either park at the start and shuttle back after the race, or you can park at the end and shuttle to the start. I should also mention that the path to the start requires you transporting over the bridge in which you will be running. They shut this bridge down to traffic at 7 a.m. The next best route is an around the way 20 minute trek. Here are the factors about this race that had to be taken into consideration this year when I was trying to figure out the best 'get there/park here' situation.

- I had 2 pick up 2 people in my hometown who had come in the night before
- We were meeting up with 2 of their family members who were staying downtown (near the finish)
- My husband was going with us but not running
- Traffic was going to be a nightmare

In my careful planning and discussions with everyone I decided that since I had a parking pass for downtown I would park downtown, meet up with the other people and shuttle to the start line. Also, my husband could stay in the hotel room while we ran. He doesn't know downtown very well, otherwise he could have dropped us off in Mt. Pleasant at the start and driven downtown to meet us. I obsessively looked online at the shuttle transportation information, which was minimal. All it said that was the buses took off from point A and that you had to be in line by 6:30 a.m.

We arrived downtown at 6 a.m and walked to the pickup point to find a line had already formed. Busses had been running since 5 a.m. We walked and walked and walked to get to the end of the line. Please excuse my horrible paint skills but I figured I should map the length of this line.




With race time being at 8 a.m. I felt confident that we had plenty of time to make it to the shuttle bus and over to Mt. Pleasant. What actually happened was that we didn't make it to the bus before they shut the bridge down. They advised that we RUN to the shuttle locations to 'set the pace' of those behind us. There were no markings showing where buses would line up. So everyone started making their own makeshift lines.

Race 'officials' then started telling us to go as far forward as we could. Which would make a line at the very front consisting of more people than could fit on a bus. We had created a line second down from the first line and we were in the very front, this made us confident that we were in a spot where a bus would pull up directly in front of us. The next line down was not a 'bus length' away. At 7:20 a bus showed up and pulled up to the first line. It loaded and pulled away. Another lone bus then pulled up and did the same, drove right past us and to the first line. (I should also mention here that by now the bridge route was closed so we would have a 20 minute commute) Finally at 7:30 a convoy of buses showed up. One pulled up to the front of the line and a second rounded the corner and we figured would pull up in front of the next OBVIOUS LINE. No. She stopped at the line down from us. Mass pandemonium ensued with people pushing and shoving to get on this bus in order to make it to the race which was now starting in 25 minutes. With a 20 minutes bus ride and a mile and a half walk to the actual start line.

We managed to push our way onto the bus. I don't know if everyone made it. I was glad I had chosen to use the restroom in a hotel while waiting in line instead of waiting until we got to the start because now it was abundantly clear that we were going to be late. I figured that since this was 'official race transportation' that they would delay the race since the last caravan of buses was on the way. We were let off at the mile and a half distance at 8:05 a.m. 5 minutes after race start. I ran to the start hoping that they had delayed the race. No luck! They had started the race on time and people were cleaning up bottles and clothing from the start where people had previously been corralled. My 6.2 mile run had now become more of a 7 mile run. But even worse I was now behind 40,000 people and I was running amongst the walkers.

If you don't run you may not understand but picture yourself trying to run at your pace when everyone else is walking and you are packed liked sardines on a 4 lane road. I had to zigzag between people to get around them. Most people at this pace are there to enjoy the scenery. They want to stop and take pictures, talk on their cell phones, chat with their friends lackadaisically. I don't disagree with this and I give props to them for being out there. But trying to run in this was a complete disaster. I crossed the start line at 8:17 after fighting the walker crown. 17 minutes after the race started. In essence I was behind all of these people:





I finished the race in 53:57 official chip time. I am convinced that had I been able to start the race in my group of runners I would have made the 49 to 50 minute goal I was trying for. Instead at some points I was running a 10 or 12 minute mile, forced to walk due to the inability to get around groups of walkers, and I had to rudely pass through people who were slower than me.

I cannot believe that the most organized 10K in the WORLD was unable to get all of the runners to the drop off in time for them to start the race on time. In all of my planning I didn't stop to consider that 'be in line by 6:30 a.m.' did not mean that you would make it on time to the race. This is the 33rd year of this run. It's not a new race and I am sure this is not a new situation. The volunteers at the shuttle stop were useless in directing traffic other than telling us to RUN AS FAST AS WE COULD to catch the bus. Really? I know I nearly ran over some people, I can't imagine anyone went unhurt due to these directions. Then to not have corrals for the buses was completely absurd. This also led to mass pandemonium when the buses stopped in different locations every time they came back. THEN to not even delay the race by 30 minutes so that they official race transportation could get racers to the start! They had to know because each bus had walkie talkies talking to SOMEONE who knew the buses were late.

I don't know if I will pay $30 next year to do this run. I am highly disappointed in my experience. Not to mention that no one really knows where this money goes. 40,000 at $30 to $40 per entry? Perhaps it's the helicopters they have flying over the bridge to capture cool aerial shots. I saw at least 2. I hope they got the shuttle buses on clearance because in my opinion THEY SUCKED.

Good job race organizers.

Eating

I battle with food every day. I battle to stay within my calories, I battle to eat 'clean'. Mostly I battle with sweets. I wish, I WISH that I could just relax, eat whatever I want, and not feel like I have to go and work it off at the gym. I hate the eaters remorse feeling I get when I eat something I 'shouldn't'. I hate when I overeat.

Jesus, I'd love to sit down and eat a package of cookie dough, some chocolate glazed donuts, some fried mozzarella cheesesticks, and my favorite.. cupcakes. Don't forget pizza. I caved again today in the cafeteria when a small key lime tart stared out at me from the dessert fridge. Amongst all his friends: Carrot cake and little grouping of chocolate covered strawberries he called to me the most. I tried to resist the calling but in a nano-second of weakness I was up and had that little plate in my hand and before I could put it back or cry for help.. the tiny tart was devoured at a cost of probably 250 calories.

Immediately following: Eaters remorse. I could feel the calories packing on the pounds right then and there. I feel like I fail everyday and that's because I do. I wake up and I say it's going to be a new day, I'm going to eat clean and not stray. Sometimes I will go up to 3 days of being good and the destroy it all in one day. I read articles about people who eat clean and I think that this has to be bullshit. How can anyone live without sugar? I used to have the willpower for this but I don't know where it went. Then someone else says have one cheat day, live the 80/20 rule. 80% good eating, 20% cheating eating. WTF does that mean? If I eat 6 meals a day I can have 1.2 bad meals? Because that's 20% of 6 meals, or does it go by hours? Calories? Is that a day or a week? Does it all add up to the same in the end?

Portion size is not my friend because I still want to eat when I am done. I'm not necessarily hungry but I just want to keep eating. I ate a whole pint of strawberries and I feel fucking guilty about that. I just wish I didn't want to eat. I've trained my body to be hungry every 2 hours, you may not understand how annoying this is, but it's extremely annoying.

Is there something missing in my diet that makes me crave this shit, especially sugar? I've always been a sugar junkie. I still love eating it but I hate that I can't say no when I want to so badly. I can't deny that the little pooch on my belly and the little fat on my butt is from this straying. I don't know what else to do. Does everyone battle with food the way I do? I don't think so. I will go back to the gym and I will step on the scale and know that the only way to fix the problem is to radically diet. I'm already a stick in the mud due to all of my training, I feel like being an extreme dieter will make me all the less interesting. Who knew that eating would make you feel socially awkward?

Tomorrow I will start again.

Busy Weekend + New York Trip.

I like to stay busy for some reason. Right now my schedule is free on Monday and Tuesday nights. Wednesday I bowl, Thursdays I currently take an improv class, and Fridays I bowl. This weekend was actually kind of low key until yesterday when I booked it up in a matter of hours. Now I am driving to Columbia tomorrow to do a military style obstacle course run with some friends who had a teammate drop out on them.



The course consists of 100 pull ups, flipping a 250 lb tire for 100 yards, running up hills (yes I said that "R" word and yes I am doing it). There's some other things like a rope bridge, crawling over obstacles, running through mud. I'm looking forward to it but I also have that little fear that I might injure something but you know what? I've been injured for 6 weeks and I'm doing this. I hope to post some pictures. Maybe I can find my disposable Disney camera that has one accidental picture of the bedsheets.

Saturday night I am chillin with some friend to watch the Duke basketball game.

Sunday morning is a scheduled swim my friend Sara who has signed up with me to do this crazy triathlon thing.

Sunday afternoon I start softball. Again, probably not on the dr's orders but it's just practice so I figure I can be all girly and try to not run. Those people are going to be pissed when they see my lack of throwing skills. It's just not in my DNA to be able to throw, or catch, or hit to anyone but the shortstop. I really don't know why I play. My forte used to be making it to first base on a shitty infield grounder. That's questionable now.

Monday, I have to fly to New York City to do some work. I fly back on Tuesday. I've only been to NYC once before and it was also for a work trip so I didn't really get to see anything or do anything, but I loved it. Almost everything in NY has the calories listed on the menu, in plain sight. What a novel idea! This makes calorie counting so easy. I doubt that I will have time on this trip to get any sightseeing done based on the length of the trip but I'm hoping. I'm also going alone which brings up images of Law and Order episodes, but whatever.

Then it's back to Tuesday and the whole thing starts over again. Good Lord I am busy.