"Lone red spoon" and "Dried coffee"

Lone red spoon...

I call this one "Dried coffee at the bottom of the cup".

Check out my Instagram photos.  Artistic huh?  The top one was encouraged by my friend Michael. We were waiting for grilled chicken and broccoli at Gingers and he told me to shoot the soup spoons because there was one lone red one.  Good eye Michael.  The second photo was my China Tim Horton's mug with dried up coffee in the bottom strategically placed on Nina and Linda's work table.  I think I lost my calling!

Yesterday was pretty uneventful.  I had to take the Go Train to work because my car was at the shop.  I got into Toronto at 8:15am, and walked from Union Station to my office, 45 minutes away. I stopped at Reitmans (the store that gifted me the $1000 from when I was on the Steven and Chris Show) to look around for 10 minutes, and was so confused about what to buy.  I need my stylist!!! Aside from the dress I wore on the show (which cost only $23 on clearance), I have spent nothing. Part of that reason is because I'm still losing the last 10 pounds or so, and I don't want to purchase pants that will be too big...but I'm also a lousy shopper!  I do much better at Value Village.  That's where I feel most comfortable.  No one hounds me and I can look around at my leisure.  I'm making a personal goal for myself to spend a few hundred dollars of the gift card by the end of April.  That gives me time to get the last ten pounds off and my head around the idea of paying regular price for stuff.  Even though the card was gifted to me, it will still hurt to spend $40 on a pair of pants.

I think the only reason I'm smiling is because
I'm done.  The sleet and darkness sucked!

This morning I had to wake up super early to run.  I needed to be out my door by 5:30am because I had to be on the road to Peterborough by 7:30am.  We had a little blast of winter last night. Although Hamilton didn't get too much snow (just a dusting), north of the city (Peterborough) got a bit more and I was unsure of the driving conditions.  I had a tricky run this morning because there was a layer of sleet on the sidewalks and I wasn't feeling too steady.  I ran on the road as much as I could, but even the edges of the roads were slippery.  Despite the obstacles of my run this morning, I still managed to run at a 6:50 pace.  Not too shabby.

Have I mentioned how done I am with winter?  Driving today was a real treat.  I drove through rain, sleet and finally a lot of snow.  Luckily the roads weren't slippery as nothing was really staying down.  It snowed all day in Peterborough.  Big HUGE snowflakes.  Pretty, but I'm ready to move on.  The good news is that it looks like there will be good weather for the Around the Bay relay on Sunday.  I'm really excited.  I know I can run the route no problem because I did it two weeks ago with Monica.  My only concern is my crampy toes.  Graham is taping my feet on Friday so I should be okay.  And it's 15K, not 21.1K, or 30K.  I should be okay even without my feet taped.  I'll be waiting for my hubby at the 15K mark and get to see all the elite runners go by.  I'm really pumped. It should be quite the experience.

I'm still rocking Phase 1 of Dr. Poon's Metabolic Diet.  I'm not feeling hungry, and even though I'm keeping up with my running schedule of 5 days per week, I'm feeling strong so I'm definitely eating enough.  I really just want to get as lean as I can as quickly as possible so I can start speed training for the half marathon in June.  I've worked out my training schedule and the real long runs don't start until April 14th when I do a 16K.  That's the day before my six weeks of Phase 1 is up.  I think I'll be good.

I had to purchase a giant exercise ball for my physio exercises.  Graham has me doing these leg curls with the giant ball which are not my favorite thing to do.  I'm still doing clam shells, bridging, squats, monster walk and a few other core things that are not fun.  None of the exercises are fun. Physio is not fun.  Neither is therapeutic massage.  The next thing to be stripped?  Likely my feet. I've already been warned that it's very painful.  I can't imagine anything being more painful than having your calves stripped.   I'm going to see Mark on Thursday morning.  I'll tell you which one is more painful.  It should be lots of fun.  I don't like having my feet touched.  The lengths I go to so that I can run!  My how times have changed.  I went from being someone who didn't like to be touched at all, to someone who is touched several times a week so that I can be stretched, taped, massaged, muscle stripped and adjusted.  When do I get a hug?

Could be my last Roll up the Rim.  They
ran out of cups in Peterborough!
I'm still a loser:(

I need a pedicure...badly!!!!!!!

I used to have pretty feet...pre-running!
Taped and ready to rumble...

So I went to physio on Friday for my movement assessment.  My BIL Ross came with me and video taped me on the treadmill.  This was so I could actually see how I run.  Graham wanted me to watch the footage of myself because I come down harder on my left side than I do on my right side.  Not a pretty sight, me running.  I'm way too jiggly!  He also did a thorough examination of my ugly running feet and adjusted something on the middle of my foot.  It popped and didn't hurt, but I definitely felt something go back in alignment. He did it on both feet.  So anyway, when I run, I put most of my pressure on the pad of my foot by my big toes. This causes my toes to curl when I run, which then results in the cramping during long runs.  And I just want to add quickly, I do not like the treadmill. Not even a little bit.  The whole time I was on it, I felt like I was going to veer off one way or the other.  I felt real wobbly, and it wasn't just my thighs!

Still smiling after my 6K with taped feet!

He taped my feet so that I'd feel the pressure on the outside of my feet, which would keep my toes straighter.  I tested out the tape during a 6K run yesterday morning.  It was all good.  Didn't cause any new pain, and I could definitely feel my weight falling on the outsides of my feet.  Since it worked out during my shorter run yesterday, he's going to tape my feet for The Bay next Sunday. That will be the true test because that's a 15K run.  If that works out and my toes don't get numb or cramp, we will know exactly what the problem is.  He says that he could put me in an orthotic to put pressure on the pad of my foot which would keep my toes straight, but wants to look at other options first.  Everything he said made total sense.  He really knows what he's talking about!

Yesterday I had Beverly and her family over for dinner.  It was a special occasion.  It was our friendaversary (and yes, it is a real word...in the urban dictionary)!  We met one year ago yesterday because she started the Learn to Run clinic one week later than me.  I'm so blessed to have met her a year ago.  She has been a great running partner and co-instructor.  Although she's just coming back from her surgery/injury now, she has some great running goals that I'm excited to watch her work towards.  She's a real trooper, so I know that she'll be successful!  Go Bev!

Looking forward to future races with my gal;)

The beautiful necklace
Bev got me for our
friendaversary!

I met Dawn, Monica, an Brett at the Running Room today for our long run before The Bay next Sunday.  It wasn't a terribly long run (10K), but long enough.  I have to sit down, maybe tonight and figure out the training schedule I have to follow if I'm really doing the Niagara Women's half marathon at the beginning of June.  I'll have to train alone and run it solo, but I'm a big girl. Maybe I can talk someone into coming and sitting with the boy overnight, then hubby and I could go to Niagara Falls for a night that weekend.  We haven't been away from him over night since he was born.  I'll act like this is a good plan now, but closer to the date, I'll chicken out and end up trekking out to Niagara Falls on my own.

I'm a little tired of people in my life making assumptions about my lifestyle.  This has been happening more and more frequently of late.  At times I feel like I'm being judged and my eating habits are being scrutinized.  It's highly unlikely that I'm ever going to be "skinny".  I like to eat way too much!  I don't believe that I am harming myself by following this lifestyle.  Trust me, when I was 300 pounds and lying around like a sloth, I was doing way more harm to my body than running could ever do to me now.

And just for the record, even when I'm not on Phase 1, I will not be eating cake, pastries, cookies, muffins, cupcakes, brownies or any other baked goods made with or without flour.  Those are trigger foods for me.  Remember the story about how I'd sneak my mother's Christmas baking out of the freezer and binged on it?  I may never be able to safely eat baked goods again, and I'm okay with that.  I just wish others would accept it as well.  I really cannot have just one.  I'm not strong enough for that.  And I do not deserve a restricted (for me) food because I've worked so hard.  That is how the obsessive behavior begins and I become preoccupied with food again.  I hate when that happens, and I don't like the way it makes me feel.  It's not something easily understood unless you've been a binge eater and had to battle obesity the majority of your life.  This is just one of those things that I always have to be consciously working on.  It sucks big time, but it's my reality. I'm touched that people make a special effort, but I always ask that there be no fussing for me.  If you're unsure, just ask.  That way no one is disappointed in the end.

I just wanted to show this medal.  It's Monica's.
I really want one.  It has jewels on it!

Inspiration is all around

My inspiration:)

Yesterday was a day off for me.  It's March break here, so I took Wednesday and Friday off.  I still got my butt out of bed at 5:30am so that I could get an early morning run in. Hubby had to do some volunteer drives yesterday morning and was out of the house by 7:45am.  I had to be up and about and ready for the boy to make his appearance.  Jules came down at 8am. I had already run, stretched, eaten, showered and had a couple cups of coffee.  A very productive morning indeed! After breakfast and cleaning up the house a bit, we were off to visit my gal Tanya and her little guy for a play date.

Even though it was my day off, I felt like I was busy all day.  Once we got back from Tanya's and I made and ate lunch (extra lean ground beef with sauteed cabbage and mushrooms...sounds unappetizing, but was pretty good if I do say so myself!), I played with the boy for a bit, then went to pick up some groceries before heading out the the Running Room to speak to the manager about teaching the next 10K clinic.  Then it was back home to pick up the boy, drop him off at my girlfriend's place while I went to physio and hubby did another volunteer drive.

The 10K instructors for the April session!

After discussing running plans with Monica ad Dawn over coffee on Sunday, Monica decided to instruct the 10K clinic with me.  I'm super excited because I think we'll make a good team.  I'll miss instructing with Beverly, but she's still on a running hiatus but will be coming back full force very soon.  There's always gonna be a clinic to instruct in the future and I'm confident Beverly and I will be co-instructors again in the future!  Instructing the 10K clinic works really well for my personal running schedule over the next 8 months.  It doesn't start until the middle of April and ends the third week of June, one week shy of when the half marathon and marathon clinics begin. I'll be taking one of those clinics.  The are taught together so I'm hopeful that some of my running gals from the last half clinic who will be training for a half in the fall will be with me once again. Who knows what I'll be feeling by that time.  Will it be the half or the full?  I really want to do the full.  I'm hoping that I'll get faster by June so that I can run with the big boys, but we shall see.  If it doesn't work out this year, I'll do the half again.  And my foot issues need to be worked out as well. I won't be running any marathons with crampy toes!

I'm excited and nervous about my assessment with Graham tomorrow.  I'm being given a full movement assessment to help determine what is going on with my crampy toes.  I'll be running on a treadmill for the first time EVER!  Should be interesting, but that's not what makes me nervous. I'm nervous he's not going to be able to figure out what's wrong with me.  That would really suck.  I have confidence in his abilities as a physiotherapist.  He really knows his stuff!  Fingers and crampy toes crossed that I get some much needed answers!

I am always blown away when people call me inspirational and admire me for what I have done over the past year and a half.  The truth is, I have done nothing special.  Many others have done this exact same thing before me.  I'm still not at my goal weight and I'm not sure what my goal weight is just yet.  Those who have lost a substantial amount of weight and maintained it for years are the real success stories.  I hope to get there one day, but in the meantime, I keep plugging along, fighting the good fight.

Find inspiration where you can.  If you find me inspirational, then make me proud baby!  But more importantly, make yourself proud.  Remember, I was you eighteen, twelve, or even six months ago. If I can do this, so can you.  I finally stopped making excuses and found the inspiration to take my life back.  You have the strength within yourself to do the same, I promise.  You just need to be ready, willing to put the work in (because it is a lot of work), and be prepared to make permanent changes in your life.

Losing weight and getting fit is hard work.   It sucks, it hurts (physically and emotionally), it's inconvenient.  It requires planning, dedication and consistency.  But it is SO worth it!  I'm at a place in my life right now where I can never imagine going back to where I started (300+ pounds was my heaviest).  Nothing I could eat would be worth it.  That is why my before picture is my phone's wall paper. Keeps me on the straight and narrow.  Keeps me honest.

It  has been over a year and a half since I've been plugging along here.  I have become a runner in the process and accomplished things that I never thought possible.  I fit into a single digit size (8) and a regular medium (no more size 24 and 3x for me).  I wanted to be able to run 10:1 intervals (run ten minutes walk one minute) as many times as it took to run a 5K.  Two weekends ago I ran my first half marathon in what I though was a pretty decent time (2:19:47).  The pain (which is hard to remember after the fact) is so worth the pride I feel within myself.  It's addictive.  And that my friends is why it is so worth it!  Make it happen!

LOVE this.  Made me laugh out loud!