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| I absolutely wore my medal to work on Monday. There's a 48 hour rule. You're allowed to wear it for 48 hours after receiving it. After that, it becomes boastful! |
Recovery is a bitch. It hurts to breathe. Yesterday, I was in pretty substantial pain all day. Man, a half marathon can suck the life right out of you. A few things I effed up; I didn't stretch right after the race, then I walked to Emma's Back Porch (7 minutes from the finish line) and had chili and socialized for an hour before going home and stretching...2.5 hours after the race! Not good. Once I stretched, I failed to ice my hamstring and quads before cleaning myself up. I had physio last evening after work and I got an earful from Graham. He was not impressed. He was even less impressed at how tight my joints were. He had a hell of a time stretching me out. I took pity on myself and booked an emergency massage this Thursday after work. I know that I'll need my quads stripped. I can feel the muscle knots in them. I swear that I wouldn't be able to run if I was being chased down by a pack of wild dogs. That being said, I'm getting up tomorrow morning for a 6K recovery run. Nice and slow. I think it is just what I need!
I got an email from my former running coach and mentor Carol. She congratulated me on completing the Chilly Half Marathon and said she was impressed with my results. That means a lot coming from her. She's still in freezing cold Regina. She's coming back to Southern Ontario at the end of May, beginning of June and is running the Women's Half Marathon in Niagara Falls on June 2nd. The day before my 43rd birthday. I just may have to run the same race. Am I a masochist or what? It would be an honor to run in a race with Carol. And it gives me the opportunity to crush the 2:15 half marathon. I should have my crampy toes worked out by then. That's going to be Grahams focus in physio from now on.
I'm done day two of Phase 1 of Dr. Poon's Metabolic Diet. Ah, the memories came flooding back of what a treat it was the first time I did it. That time I did it for six months. It's all good. Only 40 days left. I can do this for 40 days. Trust me, focus is all I need and I just wanna getter done! I could continue to do what I'm doing and wait for my body to change in it's own sweet time, but time is something I do not have a lot of. I have running goals I'm trying to meet. Therefore I must get as lean as I can as quickly as possible. The best way I know how to get lean in a healthy and quick way, is low carb, low fat, low sodium. I ate a ton of food yesterday. I ate a lot of leafy greens and protein. I had four meals and no snacks. And I ate till I was full. That's what worked best for me before, so I ain't gonna try and fix what's not broken!
I have no idea how much I weigh. I haven't really cared up till now. I did make an appointment to see Dr. Stephen on the 12th of March, so we'll see where I am next Tuesday. I mean I cared, but I knew that things were good. I've been maintaining just fine because my clothes are fitting looser. And just to make a point about exercise and maintenance (you know how they go hand in hand), here are a couple of new belly pics compared with the ones I took at the beginning of December 2012.
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| December 7, 2012 |
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| March 5, 2012 |
I think there is definitely a difference in the wrinkles on my stomach as well as my belly button looks more normal now. I think it just looks smoother all together. See? Running really does work 4 abdominal muscles. And sucking your gut in while running helps too! Don't mind the scratch marks on the second photo. I cannot stop scratching myself. And yes, I moisturize.
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| December 7, 2012 |
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| March 5, 2013 |
Sorry the bottom pic is blurry. Hubby was annoyed that I asked him to do this while he was watching a movie and I didn't have the heart to ask him to do it again. So, basically the same as the narrative above. I've flattened out some. In my abdomen only! Don't let these photos fool you. I'm still a mess in my ass and thigh area and my upper arms are horrific. But at least I have decent abs. I'll take what I can get! I'm interested to see what the photos will look like 40 days from now. I know you will all be waiting with bated breath!
So before I sign off for the night, I need to take this opportunity to thank you all for all your awesome congratulations and your continued support and encouragement. It means so much to me and I actually got choked up reading some of the emails and Facebook messages I received. You guys ROCK! And just in case anyone is interested I am documenting more of what I eat and how Phase 1 is going day to day on my Facebook page. The badge is to the right of my blog. You can click on it if you want more detail about my diet and exercise regime.
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| Love that sign! Running is a mental sport, you are all insane!!!! |
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| Waiting for mommy at the finish line. |