Half-Marathons and Other Various Road Races

While long distance races are a great experience to train for and also compete in at some point in your life, I think my big mile days are behind me.  

When first getting to goal, a WW member might wonder “what now.”  The thrill of losing is gone.  You no longer raise your hand and collect 5 pound stars, or other awards, where the audience of your peers applauds your hard work.  Instead you just maintain your weight in a small window either going “up” or “down” and usually being told “good job” by the person weighing in you in at the scale.  Oh, you do get to collect Bravo stars each month you WI at goal and that at least accounts for something.

So, what is a lone maintenance person supposed to do to stay focused?  Many turn to exercise, running or jogging, and start competing in road races.  I am neither a runner nor a jogger.  But I do love to walk.  Walking is my most favorite exercise.  If I could walk 365 days a year, I would, but not in a Forrest Gump sort of way.  Of course I need variety so I also enjoy other activity and have my membership at the YMCA to entertain me.

I have walked several 5K (3.1 miles) races with both family and friends.  I enjoy The Women’s Fitness Celebration each September put on by our local hospital St. Lukes.  I participated in this 5K run/walk/jog even before I joined WW.

My sister Katie, me in the middle, my sister Jenny on the right and my niece Hailey in the stroller.

 

And I continued to participate for the last several years.

Here is my sisters and my niece again after starting WW

 

 

 

A few years ago when my group started to dwindle, I joined the WW team and made some new friends. I really enjoy this walk in particular because it is a race for females only and what is better than strong women getting together to celebrate activity?

I started to branch out further in my road races and increased my mileage. I completed in one 10K (6.2 miles) with my friend's mother Arlene. Arlene is also a WW member and works as a receptionist. We spotted my friend Lisa at the start line, who was running the 10K race. It is always enjoyable to walk a road race with somebody else.



 



 

 

There were other 5K races I walked.  Kenyon joined me for his first race, Race For The Cure.  It is too crowded and the course is not very well thought out so we haven’t done that one again.

 

 

There was also the WW 5K Walk It!  For some reason WW didn’t do a Walk It! 5K in 2012.  It is always fun to get out and walk with your WW buddies and members from all over the Treasure Valley.  We have many meetings at our disposable so it is sort of way to meet a lot of people at one time.  The leaders that have organized this race in the past did a terrific job.

 

Some of the Monday night Meridian members

 

Finally, my last road race challenge was completing two half marathons (13.1 miles).  To compete in a road race of this size requires a training plan and logging lots of training miles!  My first half marathon (HM) was the Zeitgeist.  This was in November and involved more elevation then we first realized.  Oh, I need to add that Kenyon also walked both HMs with me!  We drove the course to get a visual before the day of the race and saw several hills we would have to walk up.  The third hill in was a doozy!  Since this was my first HM and the farthest distance I had walked was 10 miles, I hit my wall around that point.  I remember telling myself to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.  One positive about a road race is that you have to get to the finish line so you don’t really have choice but to just keep walking.  We had a goal of finishing in 4 hours.  As we both rounded the last little hill/bump and could see the clock at the finish line, I knew we would just barely make it.  With all our last burst of energy, Kenyon and I crossed the finish line hand in hand.  It was quite the feat!

My second HM was the Famous Potato.  I had previously done the 10K so doing the HM meant I would get my first metal!  For those of you that do races in your area, Boise doesn’t give out metals.  I am jealous of all the “bling” other racers can collect.  I was most excited to finally get some bling!  This race was in May and was VERY windy and cold at the start.  Thankfully the sun came out and it was pretty smooth sailing.  Both Kenyon and I had blisters after this race and overall I felt more wiped out after this race too.  Perhaps the heat?  We were able to shave a lot of time of our last race coming in at 3 hours and 25 minutes.  The beauty of this one was also no hills!  I am so very proud of Kenyon for continuing to move toward the finish line even though he was in a lot of pain.  Unlike my weeks of training, Kenyon sort of just went for it and walked it all at once!  Silly boy.

It was all worth it.  I got my metal!

While I don’t see any more HMs in my future, I guess you just never know.  Having a goal to shoot for can keep you focused during maintenance.  I am more interested in 10K races and often on any given day I will get for a walk and go a full 5K.  I am also working on increasing my times and can walk 15 minute miles for at least the first 4 miles.  As long as I am healthy and active, I am happy.



 

Florida & The Bahamas November 2012

I was privileged enough to marry a man who loves to travel as much as I do.  If I had not met Kenyon, I am sure I would still be a traveler.  It is sort of in my blood as my Aunt Barb A. loves to travel.  Instead of joining a travel group, I am lucky enough to have Kenyon accompany me.

We recently traveled to Florida and took a cruise to The Bahamas.  We were gone a total of 10 days, including the 4 days on the cruise.  We started our journey in Ft. Lauderdale where we rented a convertible and drove out towards Key West.  The drive itself was too far so we went as far as we wanted, turned around and headed back.  Driving across US 1 wasn’t quite as exciting as we hoped but still made for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Here is our rental car and my willing chauffer

 

We also toured a place called Coral Castle.  From their website, ” We invite you to tour our sculpture garden in stone, built by one man, Edward Leedskalnin. From 1923 to 1951, Ed single-handedly and secretly carved over 1,100 tons of coral rock, and his unknown process has created one of the world's most mysterious accomplishments. Open every day, the Coral Castle Museum welcomes visitors from around the world to explore this enchanting South Florida destination.”  This is a must see if you are ever in the area.

After some additional Ft. Lauderdale sightseeing, buying a purse at the Coach Outlet, eating key lime pie on a stick, and being given a blank stare after asking for fry sauce at a restaurant, we were ready to board our ship and head to The Bahamas.

 

Norwegian Sky was our home for the next four days.  While this is our second cruise, it is our first with a balcony (and warmer climate as our first cruise was to Alaska).  I really enjoy having a balcony and I think from here on out we will have to get one.  Yes, I am spoiled and Kenyon puts up with me.  Our ports of call were Freeport (Grand Bahama Island), Nassau, and Great Stirrup Cay (NCL’s private island).  Freeport was the only port we booked an excursion.  We chose a kayaking trip down the river of the Lucayan National Park, a nature hike, exploring caves, and some time on the beach. 

I have never kayaked before.  When you are in a two person kayak it is important that you can communicate well with the other person in your boat.  While I do feel Kenyon and I communicate well this sure was a test of our marriage!  I felt a little better part way through our excursion when I heard other couples struggling with their communication as well.  But hey, we are still married so it obviously it went okay after all.

 

Our next stop was Nassau.  We decided none of the excursions looked promising and since the ship docked right at town we would be able to just walk around and explore.  It was very crowded and every taxi driver, horse drawn carriage driver, and tour bus driver wanted some of your money.  We couldn’t walk but a few steps without someone trying to lure us in with “why walk when we can drive you.”  Truth is after being on a ship you look forward to walking around!  We used a map that the visitor center gave us to see a few area attractions.  Then we found a bar where I could order a few fruity drinks for half the cost of what one would be on the ship.  I had to bribe Kenyon with buying him a coke if we would sit with me and people watch while I got my drunk on (I kid…sort of). 

 

 

Our final stop was Great Stirrup Cay.  This is a private island made by Norwegian Cruise Line specifically for their cruise passengers.  Since it is a small island you have to take a boat tender (smaller boat) to and from the island.  Our cruise dates were at the tail end of Hurricane Sandy and unfortunately this small island was quite damaged.  The sting ray excursion we had planned on was cancelled since the hurricane caused the sting rays to leave the island.  It was disappointing.  We did, however, bring our snorkel equipment so we were at least going to make the best of our beach day.  I have never been in salt water.  YUCK!  It took some getting used to, some frustration with my snorkel mask, and some pain getting out past the large rocks that had washed ashore during the hurricane.  I am glad we gave it two tries because on our second trip out in the water we saw many fish and even some underwater buried items.  It turned out to be an enjoyable day

 

We had an enjoyable time on this cruise, which was an improvement over our last cruise where Kenyon had a cold during part of it.  We were lucky enough to get a free soda package (it is the little things in life) and even a free bottle of wine for just me (it is the big things in life…hahaha).  We enjoyed dinner in the restaurants and breakfast at the buffet.  And although we didn’t really go dancing or play part in any of the entertainment games, I did take in one of the nightly show.  In all honesty, anytime I can vacation with Kenyon, I am happiest!

 

The final leg of our trip was Orlando and a visit to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and Epcot as well as Universal Island of Adventure to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  While the cost to just see Harry Potter is quite a bit…WOW!  It was awesome.  I have never read the books but have seen all the movies and I really enjoyed the visual aspects of this attraction.  There isn’t much in the way of rides and such but it is still a really neat experience and I highly recommend it.

 

 

 

I tried Bitterbeer.  Quite delicious!

 

 

I really enjoyed Disney World.  We spent two full days at each park and walked until our feet and legs hurt.

 

Cinderella's Castle lit up by fireworks.

 

 

My time in Epcot included trying to get a photo with as many hats as I could.

 

Sadly, our time in Florida had to come to an end and with it a very long flight home.  We were late getting to the airport due to a rental car mix-up so we didn’t get to sit by each other on the first leg home.  I don’t think Kenyon minded as he got some un-interrupted sleep with two seatmates that didn’t talk to him.  Although he did say he could still hear me talking a few rows behind him.  I am happy to add Florida and The Bahamas to my list of places I have been.

 









Four Years At Goal

My recent WI on March 4^th not only completed my WI for the month of March, but also marks the anniversary of reaching goal.  I actually reached my goal weight on March 14^th four years ago.  I looked back at my weight record to confirm the date and noticed at that time I also weighed 174.8.  That is the same weight from this Monday. 

I have learned so much during my Maintenance Journey and each year teaches me something a little different.  Regardless of what I have learned or how much I grow, each year has the same outcome….I not only lost 130 pounds but I continue to keep the weight off!

This is my WW Walk-it Shirt from 2011.  I still get compliments on it when I wear it.

My first year of goal could be classified as the Best Year of Maintenance.  Instead I will call it my Skinny Year of Maintenance.  I never actually added in the extra points WW suggests to allow your body to learn to stop losing and really focus on just staying in a goal range.  Plus, EVERYBODY wants to lose “just five more pounds.”  I was included in that everybody category.  My goal weight is a doctor’s note weight.  I always knew I didn’t want to be 155 pounds, but I wasn’t sure 175 pounds was where I wanted to be either.  I also had the strong desire to work for WW and in order to do that, I had to continue to lose weight.

I was able to continue to lose getting to an all time low of 165 pounds by my 30^th birthday.  In some ways I do miss being that low of a weight.  I was wearing a size 12 jean and even a size 10 in some pants.  I also didn’t worry so much about my muffin top.  However, I was spending a lot of time at the gym.  It really can be similar to any other type of addiction and I was at the YMCA working out a lot.  I was also eating really low point foods and still a lot of processed foods with less emphasis on whole foods in general.  For those reasons, I am glad I am no longer that low of a weight.  I am not even sure how realistic it would have been to stay that low.

 

This is a comparison photo of me in the sitting position and about 165 lbs

 



The second year of maintenance was really the Learning Year.  I learned so much and grew so much this second year.  Denise (Goingskiing) and Deb (who’s user name has slipped my mind) were a HUGE help to me on the message boards.  I started posting the typical newbie posts and both were so kind to continue to promote healthy eating and the benefits of whole foods and proper nutrition.  My second year of maintenance is when I really started to get away from the low point foods and the processed foods.  I started focusing on nutrition more than just points values and started eating a lot differently.  This was also the year that my dispatch center merged taking on extra troops with no extra staff.  We were working 5 days one week and 6 days the next week and the shifts were a mix of 10 and 12 hours.  I was not nice on my 6^th day of work.  It was no surprise that the scale started to creep back up and I was losing a grasp on my large 10 pound cushion I had created for myself being below goal.  I wasn’t at the gym as much as I used to be.  I was tired.  I was just doing whatever I could to get by until we could hire and train more staff.  I also learned that I didn’t need to be so hard on myself.  I learned that it is okay to get extra sleep and skip the gym when necessary.  It is okay to give yourself a little slack in the healthy eating department, but not use it as an excuse to overindulge.

The third year of maintenance was the Year of Acceptance.  This is where I really learned to just accept myself...loose skin and all.  I learned to accept that I would no longer be 165 pounds.  I learned to love myself as I was and not to overshadow all my progress just because I “used to be 10 pounds below goal.”  I even would tell that to people when I would talk about my WW journey.  Why did I feel the need to tell them where I used to be?  What matters is that I was still maintaining my loss and I was still a WW success story.  I also learned to accept that I needed to buy bigger pants and finally went out and got some size 14 slacks and jeans again.  I tucked my size 12s away knowing I had them if I never did need them again.  I also spent five months ABOVE the 2 pounds limit WW allows to be a free Lifetime member.  It was a very rough five months.  There were many tears and many cuss words said.  I just knew I couldn’t give up.  I wouldn’t give up.  I accepted that I would be paying $9 a week until I could get my weight back into goal range.  And each week I did just that. 

This is a comparison photo my husband put together for me.  The before photo is taken at Las Vegas the month before I joined WW and the after photo taken during a trip last year.

 

My fourth year of maintenance is where Lindsay Got Her Groove Back (is that copyright infringement??).  At the start of 2012, I made a personal decision to give up milk.  I was drinking milk in my coffee along with flavored creamer each morning.  In doing so, I was consuming 19 grams of sugar each day.  Wow…I might as well just have a donut!  Okay, not really serious about that comment.  I gave up milk and creamer and started using half and half and actually enjoyed the taste of coffee again.  I also started eating more eggs and egg whites in the place of milk.  I also got serious again with my YMCA membership and started getting back into the group exercise classes I love.  Suddenly my weight started to drop and I was not only back in goal range, and a free paying member again, but I was actually sitting below my goal a few pounds and finding it pretty easy.  I really do feel the fourth year of maintenance is where I just found my groove.  I learned how to balance my eating and activity to stay in goal range and I also learned that increasing the activity kept my weight on the lower end.  I went a whole year without having to pay for a meeting and earned myself another shinny LT key for my key chain.

Turns out, after not paying for a full year I had to pay for my first meeting of 2013.  Sure, that hurt my pride more than my pocketbook but having to pay for a meeting does not mean I am a failure.  It just means I am human and sometimes we are not rewarded at the scale for our hard work or a perfect week of eating clean.  Sometimes it also means we have enjoyed a little more then we should or just got back from vacation.  Regardless, it is just a number.  I will always strive for being healthy.  When I am healthy is when I am happiest!  My grandmother was 95 years old when she passed away.  If I am lucky to have such a long life as well, I have 58 more years of healthy living ahead of me.