Regan's Swimming, Biking and Running Commentary

Achy and Crispy

2007-04-16T14:19:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely day today biking all over the island. We went to the Ding Darling (yes it's called that) Nature Reserve, one of the main reasons Lewis wanted to come to Sanibel Island. It's a beautiful reserve for wildlife; tons of birds, mammals and lizards. He's a aspiring nature photographer and he's having a ball!

However someone (i.e. me) forgot to put sunblock on her feet and right now they're a wee bit crispy as our trip took a little over four hours. I was so careful about Max, I forgot about me! We've figured out we're cruising along at about 9-10 miles an hour and, man, you feel like you can go forever! However, it now turns out that my muscles aren't quite used to biking on a cruiser for so long, as they're rather achy! But a good, achy, you know? Like you know you worked them out and after a day they'll be fine and stronger for it.

Oh, yesterday we had a great thunderstorm. Ya gotta love the Florida weather!

Hope everyone is well! Wes, I'll post pictures as soon as I can download them from my hubby's camera. :)

Hugs,

Regan

PS I haven't missed a day of workout, but my diet is pretty much down the tubes. Which sucks, as I wanted to loose weight on this vacation, but now it looks like I'll be lucky if I maintain! Sigh...

F-L-A-T

2007-04-14T04:38:00.000-07:00

On Sanibel Island everyone bikes everywhere. It's awesome! The bikes are just your regular cruisers (called Beach Cruisers here!) and only have the one gear, but it's been fun learning how to brake again (one foot reversing the pedal stroke, the other going to the ground...). I haven't done that since I was a kid! And the area is FLAT. F-L-A-T. I thought most of Florida was flat, but this place really wins the prize! For those of you I've biked with: it's flatter than the Sammamish River Trail! LOL Hence, no bikes with gears. And, of course, you don't need those gears. Poor Joyous would be so overkill here (although I do miss her!). It's fun, though, just cruising around at about 6 miles an hour. We've done all our shopping and site seeing so far from our bikes; and it's truly the best way to see things here!

There is one thing I don't quite get though... See, Florida is a big triathlete state. In fact, just outside of Orlando, in Clermont, is a big triathlon training center where a lot of pros go. When we were in Orlando we drove through Clermont and I turned to my husband and said "What's that big tower on the hill there?" (it really stood out) He replied that it was the tallest point in Florida. "The tower is the tallest building? Even over the skyscrapers in Orlando?" No, he replied, that hill that the tower is on is the highest point in Florida. Huh???!!!

Folks, we drove up the hill by that building. And I thought of two things: 1) the hill is easier than the 520 hill and 2) right now Jessica would be laughing hysterically at the thought of this being the worst hill a Triathlete could go up in Florida state!

So how do they do it? If anyone has any insights, let me know. I'm meeting with a Florida triathlete/personal trainer on Tuesday and I'll definitely ask her!

Hugs to all,

Regan

Happy in Sanibel

2007-04-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Sanibel Island today - yay!! So happy to be here and in one place for the next 9 days. The first thing I did was unpack EVERYTHING. Lordy, I hate living out of a suitcase!

The resort room that Lewis and I are in is just lovely. Really feels less of a hotel and more like a condo - full kitchen, dining area, living area, bedroom, etc. So nice to feel a little at home! We went to the store and got stocked up right away. Also, we went to Sanibel Fitness and got me a trainer - unfortunately all she has is 7am next Tuesday, so I'm still keeping my eyes out. Who knew it would be this hard to find a personal trainer?! Sheesh!

Exercise is going to be great here - the island is TOTALLY bike friendly! Trails everywhere and bike rental shops everywhere - even at this hotel. I'm not sure I can get a road bike for actual aerobic activity - they mostly do cruisers, but that's okay. Sanibel Fitness has classes I can take to give me a change from running and then I can just spend some nice time with the family cruising around the island on "non-aerobic" activity time. :)

Eating is going okay - still some challenges, but definitely not binging, which is heaven.

Hugs all,

Regan

PS I've been getting dizzy lately - especially when sitting down and looking at the computer. Not sure if I have an ear infection (no pain or anything) or I'm dehydrated. Lewis thinks it's dehydration, so I'm gonna concentrate on getting water. But boy, it's annoying!

Back on the Internet

2007-04-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

Wow, three days without Internet access. I about went insane! Tried to blog from my husband's cell phone...no dice. So sorry for the delay in blogging! I felt like it was the 1990's again...*shudder*. Hehehe, I had fun teasing my sister-in-law about it! :)

All is going pretty well. The exercise especially has been great; the hills around my sister-in-law's place in Maryland (outside of DC) were awesome and made for a great hour long run in the morning. I ran Saturday, Sunday and Monday for the hour I wanted to and everything worked great.

My diet started out awesome - my sister-in-law was amazing and went to Whole Foods and completely stocked her refrigerator with fresh fruits and vegetables, chicken breast, turkey sausage, you name it, she got it! So my first meal there was incredibly healthy. Saturday went well too, but on Sunday she cooked up one nice Easter meal and I splurged a little. And on Monday for the "goodbye" dinner, we had steak and some wine, which I rarely do (I wasn't running today, so it was okay to have), and she had a rum cake. Sigh. Well, it wasn't the worst thing I could do and I made sure I had plenty of protein. Still it was a little disappointing. I want to *loose* on this vacation - not just maintain!

The good news is that I found a great gym in Sanibel. They're not part of the Pro Club affiliation, but they do take guests and they're going to work me in with one of their trainers! Yay! I'll be contacting them as soon as we get into Sanibel on Thursday.

Well, I'm bushed and am going to go take a nap. All is well and hope you are too!

Hugs,

Regan

The Vacation Plan

2007-04-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here’s the Plan For The Vacation:

April 6th, Friday – travel/rest day.
April 7th, Saturday – Run in the morning
April 8th, Sunday – Run in the morning
April 9th, Monday – Run in the morning
April 10th, Tuesday – travel/rest day.
April 11th, Wednesday – Run in the morning.
April 12th, Thursday – Travel day/run in the morning
April 13th, Friday – run/workout with trainer (hopefully)
April 14th, Saturday – rest, but active day.
April 15th, Sunday – rest, but active day.
April 16th, Monday – water aerobics with trainer? Or run.
April 17th, Tuesday – run or bike
April 18th, Wednesday – run or bike, probably with trainer
April 19th, Thursday – run or bike
April 20th, Friday – run or bike
April 21st, Saturday – travel/rest day.
April 22nd, Sunday – home! Rest day.

The plan is to get at least one hour of aerobic exercise 5 times a week. Of course the diet goes without saying; and I will be meal tracking as well.

The trainer stuff is still up in the air – I need to plan some more when we get into Washington DC, but it probably won’t be until Monday. I got some names of clubs that are affiliated with the Pro Club in Florida and there are several just about 10 miles away, so that’s not far (no further than I go now). If I don’t get a trainer, then oh well. I’m still gonna do it! I know this could potentially mean a lot of running, which I’m not too used to, but I don’t plan on killing myself on the runs either; just take it easy and get a nice aerobic heart rate going. I shouldn’t have problems.

Also, I’m not sure about blogging as I’m uncertain of my internet access until we get to Sanibel Island on the 12th where I’ll have wireless internet access. I’m pretty sure, though, that I can blog at least once when in DC (7th thru the 10th), and then in Orlando (10th thru 12th). After that I Plan on blogging at least every other day.

In addition to all of this – I plan to email my trainer, Travis, of my status. He’s a sweetie for having volunteered this, helping with my accountability. I will email him on each Monday and Thursday in lieu of my regular weigh in days.

Had a nice workout with the Pink Ladies today; Jessica, Aleks and I got to do weights together and I got to see Wendy and Nancy as well. Yay! ;)

Next time I write I’ll be officially on vacation! Yay!

Hugs to all,

Regan

The High Glycemic Side of Things

2007-04-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well bugger. The previous three nights I've been having some difficulty in the evening with my eating - wanting to eat more than I should. Well, my doctor today very kindly pointed out something I knew but was ignoring: bananas, white rice and potatoes hit the system just as fast as sugar does. They're high glycemic, in case anyone didn't know. And I'd been eating more of those than I care to admit. That fruit salad I had all week? Bananas in it. The yummy cabbage rolls I made last night? White rice. Sigh. So, out with those things too.

Tonight I made up a nice stirfry with shrimp and had some wild rice on the side. I made sure I had plenty of protein on my plate and now I'm fine. No cravings. Whew. Bummer though...I really do like white rice and bananas! Potatoes I'm okay about. :P

On the awesome plus side...today's run with Travis went, well, Awesome! :) I beat my time with him! I did three miles at 38:23 and man did that hurt! That's near to 5pm (4.9 I think). And I felt great! I knew I'd be fast today - just felt strong - and it was nice to prove and hit my vacation with such a high. :) Travis keeps reminding me that I'll get faster and better as I loose the weight. He's right....I just hate waiting! (get it, weight...wait....oh I crack myself up!)

Hugs to all,

Regan

No Worries!

2007-04-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

My apologies for not blogging sooner. Everything is just fine; all is good with the diet and exercise! I've just been having fun in the evenings and being lazy about blogging. My bad. :)

In fact, the weight is still coming off - which is awesome. I had a hard couple of runs with Travis on Friday and Monday, but today on the treadmill I went up a bit and was able to maintain my heartrate, so that felt good. :)

I'm running around like a crazy woman trying to get ready for the big vacation coming up. A couple of things have happened: 1) I sent a shopping list to my sister-in-law and she's shopping at Whole Foods for me to stock her kitchen! How cool is that? 2) My mother-in-law is also on a no sugar, no dairy and no wheat diet - so no worries there! :) 3) I still haven't been able to get ahold of a personal trainer for Florida - the name given to me turned out to be a Yoga teacher ... hmmmm ... I will try again tomorrow and 4) United is a pain and the butt and I'm not sure they'll have diabetic meals (I don't believe their miscommunicative operator) so I'm going to take Wendy's advice and assume they'll forget it and the plane will be late and prepare accordingly. :)

Hope all is well in your world! Hugs,

Regan

Sleepless in Bothell

2007-03-29T19:20:00.000-07:00

You've got to hand it to Max. When he keeps you up at night it's with a smile. No crying and screaming on his part. Nope, it's smiles, twinkling eyes and climbing all over Mommy and Daddy's inert forms. Lots of "Hi Mom-mee" and "Hi Da-dee". Ya gotta love the kid, even when you wanna kill him.

So last night not so much sleep again. That really hurt today and I didn't get up at my designated and planned 5am. Instead I slept in a bit and then just took it easy. Good thing too, 'cause I had to run to the store this morning and the little jog I did from the car to the store hurt! My thighs and butt really were out to lunch. I'm not too worried about missing the workout; my goal is five hours of aerobic and 2 weight lifting sessions a week and I'm fine so far, despite today's loss. Wednesday I did two hours and Sunday I'll be biking to a brunch with the gals, so that will be an extra hour. yay!

Diet is still dead on. I am *loving* the Richard Simmons (yes him!) Farewell To Fat cookbook. Cannot recommend it enough. I've done several recipes so far in there and they are dead on tasty!! I just had flank steak tonight for a mere 200 calories! (w/spinach and potato extra). It was awesome and the marinade it was in was to die for. If you're looking for a good cookbook with doable recipes, this one is for you! Whatever you think of Richard Simmons, you gotta admit the man likes his food and it really shows in the recipes.

Found out today I've got about $5,000 of dental work left to go on my mouth. Oh joy.

Oh, and may I just say: God Bless the Pro Club. I ran out this morning forgetting my morning snack and drove there to drop off Max in their daycare (for my dental appointment). I panicked slightly when I realized how hungry I was and didn't have my snack, when I realized I can get it at the ProClub! They carry little plastic containers of 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and gala apples! Woo hoo! My favorite snack. :)

Take care! Hugs hugs,

Regan

Bitchin' Bike Ride....

2007-03-28T19:02:00.000-07:00

This morning's run with Travis went really well. He was up for running outside and he set a really mean clip! I don't know how fast I was running but I did about 3 miles in about 38 minutes, which, I think, is faster than 4.0 miles per hour. Then I came in and did another 10 minutes on the treadmill at 4.5 and my heart rate stayed at about 164 (oh, and the treadmill had a 1% grade on it). My heartrate was in the 165 to 175 range the entire time! In fact my top heart rate was 184 and my average was 166! And that included a walk from the parking lot into the building and to the treadmill! So I'm feeling pretty good about that.

However, the bike ride today was quite humbling. At noon I met Jessica and Danielle and I knew as soon as I got on the bike I wasn't feeling strong (despite having a great lunch just before it). But I didn't want to let it go, so I gamely tagged along with the rest of the group - about four men and us three women. As we got to about five miles, it became rather obvious that the nights of sleeplessness, a hard workout in the morning, four weeks of not biking and my diet were not going to let me keep up with the guys. Albert, the leader, very nicely offered to turn off at that point to an easier route and I took him up on it, but felt bad that the other guys would be out a harder bike ride. Then Jessica piped up and said she'd go with me (Danielle said she would too) and that we could meet at the 520 bike trail. That worked pretty well although when I got to the hill that leads to the trail, a hill I've done half a dozen times before, I just couldn't do it. I got off and walked about 1/3 of the way up. Very disappointing. Ah well... At least that gave time for the guys to catch us! I'm REALLY glad I brought the apple and almonds with me in the car! I was hungry after that bike ride!

I'm pooped but not bone weary, which is nice. My muscles ache and I'm already stiff, but I've got a nice swim tomorrow planned and then some more biking on the upright, so that's cool.

Diet went well - I did add an extra apple and peanut butter in the afternoon to help with the fatigue and replenish some glycogin (sp?) stores, but only went to about 1510 calories, which is really only 10 over what my limit is, so I'm good.

I'm off to bed! Hugs,

Regan

Vacation Tips Needed!

2007-03-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, try not to get too excited about this, it is the first week of a diet and you know how that is, but from a high of 220 last Tuesday today I weighed myself in today at 211.5. Which is really awesome and really is an acknowledgement to my intent this week of eating well and exercising. Nice to know it's coming off again. :)

Yesterday's workout with Travis was really great. He's no Danielle (ya, I couldn't help but compare; she set the bar high!), but he's supportive, smart, positive and really enjoys Triathlons. In fact, he completely "lit up" when he talked about them, which is just so cool and contagious! Also he's totally up to working out outside, which really gave him brownie points! He wasn't too chatty, but, then, I kinda make up for that. :)

The only disappointment yesterday and today is how much out of shape I am compared to where I was last August. Not that it's a huge surprise, but I had to back down the weights today one level, I got quickly exausted while swimming and my run yesterday, God, was at 4.0 mph and my heart rate was at 150! I was able to do it relatively comfortably for an hour (and sprinted at the end) but that's a big difference from being closer to 5.0 and having my heart rate at 150, so I've lost some aerobic capacity as well. Travis assures me that it will come back quickly and I think he's right. Still, just a little bit of a bummer. Trying to be kind to myself...

Had another great session with my counselor today (if anyone needs a good weight loss counselor, I can't recommend her enough - just email me off line). We worked on visualizing and coming up with options for my coming vacation on April 6th - less than two weeks away. I met with my dietician this morning too and she had some *great* ideas, including the fact that you can order a diabetic meal for the flights! How awesome is that? In addition, I'm going to call the resort tomorrow and get a personal trainer for a few of the days I'm there - just to help me get on track. I remember Dr. Demenico (the head of the 20/20 program) saying he did that when he went on extended traveling trips and I think it's a good idea.

If anyone else has some good ideas, please let me know! I could really use them! I'm a little nervous - we're going to Maryland first and seeing Lewis' sister and staying at her house. Now, I've got plans to let her know what's going on and volunteering making the meals and keeping some "stocks" around, but any other ideas? For some reason I'm not too worried about eating at restaurants - I was pretty good last summer at it, so not *too* concerned there. My biggest concern overall is just getting into "vacation" mode...you know the feeling of "oh heck with it, I'm on vacation" sort of thing. Only with an addiction you don't really get a vacation from it. So this will be an interesting challenge. Still, Lewis is incredibly supportive and I am really *aware* these days, you know?

Hugs hugs,

Regan

A Quickie

2007-03-26T16:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the really really short post today, but I am BEAT. With all the lack of sleep I've been getting and the hard but good workout I had with Travis today my body has finally put down it's foot! The good news is a) I really liked Travis my new trainer and b) I've totally been on the diet today despite feeling so worn out.

I also called my doctor today regarding the Wellbutrin (sleeplessness is a side effect) and he gave me some options so I could sleep tonight. Yay!

I'll write more tomorrow.

Hugs hugs,

Regan

Week in Conclusion

2007-03-25T19:53:00.001-07:00

From the moment I left my counselor’s office on Tuesday and went to my car and threw away my chocolate (yes, I was eating chocolate on the way to my counselor…sigh…) things have gotten better and brighter.

I have discovered and accept that I am not alone. That I have the help I need in the form of friends, family and professionals. I am further from the precipice than I thought. This week I gained some confidence back and I am definitely on firmer ground.

I have eaten really, really well since Tuesday’s dinner. I have limited myself a bit – I am doing no dairy, wheat or, obviously, sugar. No prepackaged meals exist in my freezer that have over 6 grams of sugar per serving (Boy and try and find those! I had to go the organic section.) My fruit bowl is overflowing, literally, and contains three types of apples, oranges, two pears, bananas and a cantaloupe melon. My refrigerator has fresh chard, spinach, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes and onions. Grapes and strawberries are there along with eggs, chicken breast, 4% ground beef, turkey sausage and salmon fillets. I have a ton to eat!

And I’ve rediscovered fruit salad (Yummy, Yummy ala Wiggles). I love it! It’s so fresh! Tasty! Lewis absolutely loves it; he can’t get enough! I used to barely see him eat a banana – maybe once a week. Now he’s polishing off fruit salad at every meal; I made a big bowl last night for today’s leftovers and had to add to it at lunch because he ate so much of it for breakfast! Oh, and I’m meal tracking. My goal is to stay within 1200-1500 calories. So far it’s been in the low 1300’s, which is nice.

My workouts were good and solid with a few triumphs. My stomach muscles still ache a bit from the hot Yoga on Friday; in a good way. Tomorrow I meet my new trainer, Travis. I’m excited to see what he’ll bring to my life, and a little nervous too. I hope I like him.

It’s not like I haven’t had scary moments, of course. When someone mentioned the Motherlode cake from Claim Jumpers on Thursday, that gave me a jolt; my mouth literally started salivating. I wanted it, really bad. However I was sitting in the Healthy Cooking 101 class at the ProClub…so that just wasn’t going to happen! LOL I’ve thought about chocolate or going to a restaurant…but not really seriously.

It’s helped tremendously to have the Daily Plans. They’re not to-do lists, more like a reminder list. It helps set my intention for the day. I’ve changed them as the course of the day went on; if I felt like having broccoli instead of a salad, that was fine and I made the change. If ever I feel like I don’t know what to do though, there’s my Daily Plan to remind me. It helps keep me focused. I never got everything done on it, but that wasn’t the point, and that was okay. The important stuff got done.

Hugs to all,

Regan

The Adjustable Gastric Band

2007-03-24T14:56:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don’t know, in January of 2002 I had gastric (stomach) surgery and got the Adjustable Gastric Band or AGB in an effort to control my weight. The idea is that a band, or ring, of plastic tubing (think inner tube) goes around the top of the stomach, creating sort of a top “pouch” with the rest of the stomach below it. From this ring is a small line that goes to a port which is just under the skin. A doctor can add saline water to the port via a needle and the band tightens. Remove some saline the same way and the band loosens. Hence the word “Adjustable”.

Because food has to go through this ring, you fill up quickly as food “backs up” in the top pouch but then eventually goes through. That’s the idea anyways.

For five years I have lived with this band. Initially everything worked as it should. I had to eat liquids the first weeks after surgery and that got me eating better (I said better not great) and I got more energy back. I started exercising. Eventually I lost about 45 pounds and had enough confidence to join Events and Adventures where I met Lewis. For that I am eternally grateful.

But over time it became a punishment. A lot of good foods were extremely difficult to “get down” so I avoided them. I could only eat my meals reclined – usually on the couch. Sort of half sitting up and leaning back. I never sat at the dinner table. Meals took, in this position, about an hour and a half. Meals at a restaurant? Two + hours and me sitting slovenly slumped in my seat. And I almost always threw up at least once. I would sit for the first 45 minutes with a few bites in my throat, with that feeling building…the tightness, your jaw clenched and filling slowly with saliva. Was I gonna to have to run to the bathroom? Every one of my friends knows when I gesture frantically, let me out of the booth! Obviously any significant conversation was out of the question. I stopped wearing necklaces and turtleneck sweaters as anything around a neck while you’re trying desperately not to throw up is unbearable. Lewis was extremely patient with me, got bless him, but he’d end up ordering desert just because I took so long.

Once Max arrived, we never ate together unless it was in a restaurant and I usually brought it home (and with Max starting to fuss, there was no question – I had to take the meal home in a doggie bag). Meals around a dinner table were non-existant. Occasionally Lewis would eat at the table and read a book. How’s that for a good marriage? Poor Max just couldn’t figure out why he had to sit in a chair while Mommy got to sit on the couch in the living room. He would fuss. He wanted to be with me. I eventually gave in. And I ate all the time. I mean, when a meal takes you two + hours, it’s just an hour before you have to eat again, you know? I was slowly teaching my son that meals were anytime, anywhere and, often, anything.

So what if you just wanted to EAT something? To not worry about throwing it up. You know what goes down real easy? Sugar. Anything sweet. It breaks down quickly in the mouth (so you don’t have to concentrate on chewing every bite into dust) and it goes down. I never ate much ice cream before the band, but after, I began to become a connoisseur. Cake, cookies, chocolate, anything with a significant amount of sugar went down. And, of course, I gained all the weight back that I had lost.

And to add to all of this, the morning is the worst. By dinner I usually could get down some food, but anytime after sleeping (that included naps), it was harder to get food down. I asked the doctor about it once and they don’t know why that is. My theory is that your throat just gets filled with gunk. Stuff from your body that would normally wash through after a first bite of food, but plugs you up if you have the band. Sorry if that makes anyone a little “ewwwish” but I’ve learned a lot about swallowing in the last couple of years. So that meant “carbing up” in the morning was an insane idea. I tried. When Danielle and I did my first triathlon I got up hours earlier just so I could start. I never did finish the bagel by the time we got to the start line. I think I had half a Cliff Bar.

On Wednesday I got it completely loosened. I talked to the doctor about possibly reversing the surgery but he told me I wouldn’t notice any difference. And he’s right, well, at least about not noticing the band. But what a DIFFERENCE.

I came home that evening and cooked dinner. I got out placemats, set the table and put out a glass of water (glasses don’t go well on the couch, so I always drank before from a sports bottle). Max was asleep when Lewis got home, so it was just Lewis and I. And it was heaven. We talked about our respective days, ate a good meal and relaxed. HEAVEN.

In the last three days I have eaten every meal I could manage at the table. No longer did I have to do a protein shake in the morning (45 minutes to get down). I could have eggs! Veggies! Fruit! Anything! I’ve cooked every meal and didn’t care about if it would “go down” or not. It all would! And Lewis has sat with me each time. Max is there too, either in his seat or on our laps. He ate our food, not something nuked from a package.

And, oh, the time I’ve gotten back. I can do so much more! Instead of sitting on the couch with the TV on for hours, I’ve got a clean kitchen and the laundry is folded. I can say “let’s go to the park after lunch” and know it’s going to be 1pm not 3pm when we go. So much more time in the day. So much more time to spend with my family. Lewis estimates I got back 3-4 hours in my day. Wow.

I am saying a lot of thankful prayers these days. Of my great friends, family and the amazing people in my life. The warmth, care and love that have come from you all has been a balm to my soul. And I’m adding another one; thankful for the ability to eat. Just eat.

Hugs to everyone,

Regan

Hot Yoga

2007-03-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

I woke up again at 2:00am this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. What’s up with that? I didn’t feel upset at all, in fact quite peaceful. Languid, if you will. And my mind, not racing, but just kind of chatty. Upbeat. Go figure.

Anyways, I hauled my buttocks out of bed at 5:00am and took the dogs for a 25 minute jog. That was nice and it felt like a bit of the ole “let’s-put-in-a-little-extra-work” attitude that I had last year was back. See, I didn’t have to jog. I had Hot Yoga planned with Jessica and pretty much had that only listed on my Daily Plan. Still, I keep those plans flexible and it felt good to do.

Hot Yoga was … kinda cool. Tough as nails and I found out later it was a pretty advanced class (or as Wendy put it, you were thrown in the deep end of the pool…and add a tsunami). But that’s okay. I really went in there with the attitude of just “do what you can do” and it served me well. The teacher, also, beforehand mentioned that it was perfectly fine to take breaks for half the time – kind of a nice license to both want to work harder than that but also have permission to take it slow.

So Jessica, Wendy and I were there and it was definitely hot. Not searing hot, but that was just fine. I am, however, SO glad I brought two 32 ounce bottles of water with me – one for the class and one after! Jessica was amazing to watch – she was right next to me and her ability to stay balanced was amazing. She made it look easy, which I know it wasn't. Wendy was two people over so I couldn’t see her very much, but she was working hard.

As for me, I rested when I needed to. Drank down my entire bottle of water. After about 45 minutes I got pretty dizzy – sort of the black hole syndrome and had to sit down. For awhile. I thought it was pretty cool that I’d done 45 minutes at least. The last part of it was nice and relaxing and I was able to tone down with the rest of the class.

Today was awesome on the food and the exercise. It was a good day.

Hugs,

Regan

[Note: I just ran an errand and on the way back stopped off at the Yakima Food Market. Something that Danielle has been encouraging me to do for a few months. Wow – awesome produce there! I practically bought the place out. Only scary thing is they have fruit logs…and man, do I love those. They’re dried fruit in coconut and are very, very yummy. I didn’t get any, but it’s definitely something I’ll have to prepare myself for!]

The Precipice

2007-03-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up at 3am. I was so tense. My mind was whirling and I tried to think about what I was feeling. What in the world was going on? I felt…desperate. Frantic. I kept my eyes closed and tried to put into visualization what was going on. See if you can follow me.

I felt like I stood on the edge of a precipice. Out before me were canyons like the Grand or Bryce. Glorious and terrifying at the same time. The sun was just overhead painting the landscape in oranges and reds, the wind blew and it felt from my vantage point barren. Lifeless. Alone. And I was terrified. I had no idea where the precipice edge was. I held myself absolutely ridged. Terrified if I moved a muscle I would fall and I was too afraid to look down. To find out where I was. Was I inches away? Feet? Miles? I had no idea.

Then I remembered something my counselor keeps telling me. “You’re further than you think, Regan, going back to that place,” she tells me, “It would take a lot of work for you to go back there.” I didn’t really believe her. It always felt like I was one step away from falling back into my old habits. But what if she was right? I’d made a commitment to trusting the professionals in my life. What if she was right?

I took a deep breath (literally) and mentally looked down. I was about five feet away from the edge. Some of the tension went out of my shoulders and I took another breath. Okay, I can deal with that. Not on the edge anymore. A safe distance. Not like I could go fox trotting this near, but I could at least relax a little and I mentally shook my arms and shrugged my shoulders out of some tension.

Feeling a bit more relaxed, but with adrenaline still coursing through my body a bit, I took some time to look around me. The landscape before me hadn’t changed; still glorious in its danger but fascinating with its winding canyons and unfathomable bottoms. Then I turned my head and looked left.

There was my counselor. She was standing there alone, completely at ease with a big smile on her face. You could fairly say her eyes twinkled at me in happiness. And she was pointing. Her hand moving back and forth: Behind me.

I turned around. Oh. My God.

Everyone was there. Lewis, Sian, Max, my sisters, my brother, my family, my friends. Jessica in pink. Danielle. Barb. Latosha. Nancy, Wendy, Cynthia, Ida, Ginette, Steve, Christine, Ursula, Eli Holly Greg Dr. Strater Dr. Marcus MeganAliceJaneBonnieTomTracyWes. Everyone. Everyone who had taken a moment in their lives to care about me. Professionals. Complete strangers. People I hadn’t even met yet. They were all there.

And they were all holding onto something; a big thick rope. I looked down and its end was tied around my waist.

And then it hit me like a Mac truck. They weren’t going to let me fall; I was not alone. And the tension left my body. I relaxed. My mind let go of the fear, and I felt a profound sense of relief. As I went back to sleep I said a few prayers of thankfulness. I am so blessed.

Today I got up and ran for an hour. Some of it was fun, some not. It was neither easy nor hard. It was good though. The dogs were certainly happy for it! I came home and made my egg and veggie breakfast. I have my Plan. And last night at 3:00am I got some of my confidence back.

Thanks for hanging onto my rope.

Hugs to all,

Regan

Heaven

2007-03-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

The day started out a little rocky but has ended on a really high note!

I didn’t get up and exercise today. It was on the plan, but I slept horribly and just couldn’t make it out of the bed at 6am when the alarm went off. That’s okay though as I just picked up the Plan after it said “return from Pro Club” and all was good. Trying REALLY hard not to beat myself up for that. And hoping I have a lot better sleep tonight. I’m really liking doing up the Daily Plans.

I had sent out a link to yesterday’s blog to some family and friends – to let them know where I was at as I really haven’t been much in touch. And this morning I got an email from my brother. He is just SO cool. I was incredibly touched by his kind, generous and loving words; he is such a great person. Somewhere along the way he “got it” and he eats very well, exercises and takes care of his spirit. In fact, there are very few people I know that enjoy life with more gusto than he does. I’m not talking the paint-the-town-red-get-drunk-and-party-hardy kind of enjoy. I’m talking enjoy. He gets it. He’s fun. Then he mentioned something he had talked about a few weeks ago – the possibility of climbing Mount Rainier in the spring of 2008 with me. I cannot tell you how much this has got me excited! See, my father was a lover of the mountains and he passed that love onto his son. He tried to instill it in his four daughters as well, and to varying degrees they got it too….except me. As life went along and I got heavier, going to the mountains “for a hike” meant more like going to the rack. I was horribly aware of my weight and how out of shape I was. I never noticed the scenery around me – it was all about getting through it. Eventually I just stopped and my relationships with my father and brother suffered for it. Now I have the opportunity to share something amazing with my brother. On one of the larger and arguably one of the toughest mountains in the United States. How cool is that??? The opportunity to get to know my brother more, to share something he loves and something I know I could learn to love is really inspiring. And, yes, to honor my father. Who also knew how to follow his spirit. This is still a long way off yet and this year will be all about loosing the rest of my weight and truly learning my new lifestyle. But dang it helps to have things to look forward to!

And not only did I get his email, but my inbox is now flooded with well wishes and loving notes from family and friends. I am so blessed! If I haven’t replied back yet it’s only because I’ve been a little overwhelmed (this goes especially for you Latosha – you and me are gonna make it!), but will call and/or reply very soon.

But why am I in Heaven, you may ask? Because not only did I stick to the eating plan today (as well as got some other stuff done) and I feel fabulous, I also went to my Adjustable Gastric Band (AGB) doctor and got completely loosened up. Oh. My. God. I had no idea what a relief it would be. To look at food and NOT wonder if I will throw it up or not. For the last five years I’ve lived with the pure frustration of trying to get meals down. I couldn't even eat solids in the morning – only a shake or other liquid would do. And even that took 45 minutes to go through. Other meals can take over 2 hours to finish. My snacks? 45 minutes, if I’m lucky. And I couldn’t even eat at the dinner table – it’s too ridged – I have to do what my husband calls “assume the position” and lean back on a comfortable sofa if I don’t want to throw up a meal. But now I don’t. I can eat and not throw up. Tonight I prepared a lovely dinner of fish, veggies and strawberries. I laid out place mats and had silverware out….and I ate with my husband (my son being asleep on the couch!). And we talked. And it was Heaven.

Tomorrow I’m making a two egg scramble with veggies for breakfast. Ya baby!!

Hugs to all,

Regan

Addiction

2007-03-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

I am addicted to sugar. Not the funny, oh-I-love-chocolate-I-shouldn’t-eat-so-much-kind-of addiction. I’m talking the real thing. The kind of addiction that ruins your life.

I get high off of sugar. It is an actual physical pleasure for me. The idea of curling up on the sofa with peanut clusters and potato chips with a good book is near to heaven. A good chocolate cake can give me what can only be termed as an “orgasmic” reaction. And I crave it. Constantly. When I have it, I’m less irritable, have a ton of energy. Until the crash that is.

It is taking its toll. Once I come down I’m filled with remorse. Guilt eats at me. I tell myself things I wouldn’t tell an enemy. And I resolve to do better. Tomorrow. I promise. And I break the promise. And I’m tired. Constantly tired, except for those 30 minutes after when I eat sugar. My body is running down. I can’t hold Max in my arms for as long as I used to. More guilt.

I eat out a lot. Alone. With a good book, I can go to Denny’s and eat nachos for hours. Followed, of course, with a dessert. 2-3 hours. No kidding. Imagine what I’m missing with my son. With my husband. With my friends. I come home so full my stomach aches. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

I’ve gained back 23 pounds. A full size of clothing. My jeans no longer fit and I wear only sweats these days. I tell myself they’re more comfortable. It doesn’t really help. Everytime I put them on I want to cry.

Okay, end of feeling sorry for myself. ‘Cause bottom line is: I won’t let this beat me. I am doing a ton of things to fix this, to figure out how I have to work it. As my counselor told me today: “Do you think a heroin addict is cured after a year? Two?” No they don’t. They take it one day at a time. And that’s what I’m going to do.

Here’s a list of what I’m doing:
· I’m seeing a fabulous counselor weekly who understands deeply my issues
· I’m seeing a new doctor and he’s looking at my problem holistically.
· I’m on Welbutrin (sp?)
· I’m seeing an acupuncturist on Thursday.
· I’m seeing a sleep disorder doctor in two weeks for a re-checkup.
· Every evening, with Lewis’ help (i.e. distracting Max), I will do up a Daily Plan for the next day. Only one day at a time. Very detailed.
· Every evening, with Lewis’s help (etc…), I will journal. Or in my case, Blog.
· I will be joining Overeaters Anonymous.
· I have contacted the Pro Club and am looking for a trainer to work with me three times a week for three weeks. Sort of a 20/20 Jump Start.
· I’m asking for help.

So there ya go. I’ll be blogging daily. In the evening; it’s hard to do it in the morning with a 23 month old climbing all over me.

And one more thing. If you’re so inclined, I could use your help. Here’s what you can do:
1. If you’re a close friend or relative, tell me you love me. That I’m a good person, a good Mom and a good friend. Tell me I’m going to be all right and I’ll get through this. God, you’d be amazed how much I need that! It’s amazing the insecurity that can eat at me due to all this.
2. If you have any tips or tricks for weight loss and/or exercising – let me know! Read any good inspiring books lately? Had an epiphany while jogging? Your favorite songs you can’t workout without? I would love to know them all!
3. Let me know if you need help and what I can do. Seriously. Have you ever noticed how your own problems become lighter when you take on someone else’s? Even if it’s the same problem? Or completely different. Funny how that is.

Last year, somewhere around May, I began to get worried about my first Triathlon coming up at the beginning of June. I could do the swim and I’d already done a 5K, but could I do 15 miles on the bike? I had never done it. Danielle smiled and said “Of course you can Dude!” And took me out riding. We went out 8 miles and came back for a full 16 miles. I didn’t want to stop. I was completely high. I felt I could go for another 16. Or more. That’s when I learned to trust her. To trust those that are in the know. To believe it when they tell me I can do it.

My counselor tells me I’m going to make it. I’m doing all the right things. I believe.

Hugs to all,

Regan

When It Rains it Pours....

2007-03-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

It has been a heck of a week!

First off, my twin sister, Sian, went into the hospital with a peri-rectal abscess on Thursday (after a harrowing MRI on Wednesday that left her in tears – she’s claustrophobic). The surgery went great and what could have killed her 100 years ago is now a slam dunk of a surgery and she went home on Friday.

Secondly, my big sister, Kim, was in town during this and we had to coordinate trying to see each other, her schedule and my sister’s surgery. It was actually nice having here to help out because….

Thirdly, I had to have a tooth extracted on Friday morning (just as Sian was getting discharged from the hospital). It’s my fault (of course). I don’t know why I do these things, but I tend to avoid things like going to the dentist and this one was quite a painful reminder that I do need to go more often! The tooth in question was already a root canal, but it had failed (my fault for not putting a crown on it) and the gums became inflamed – no way to save the tooth. Nice dentist though, which is always a plus!

So, I’ve been pretty strung out on drugs the last couple of days due to the tooth. But imagine my absolute excitement when I got an email from Danielle on Sunday morning (she sent it Saturday night) asking if she could join Lewis and I on our regular Sunday bike ride. I haven’t seen her for over two weeks! Now, after everything going on we hadn’t even considered going on the ride, but I was jonesin’ something fierce for my wee blond pink lady and immediately made a daycare appointment for Max and got dressed for the bike ride. And my tooth/gums said “’excuse me? I don’t THINK so!” The pain came back big time and Advil wasn’t going to cut it. Enter the big T with a capital Codene. And I crashed again. So, just as well that we didn’t get together (it was pouring down rain), but dang I had been looking forward to it!

On the plus side to all of this, my regular good natured perkiness appears to be returning (whew!) and I went for a nice hour-long jog this morning with the dogs again.

Hugs,

Regan

Just Do It

2007-03-07T09:53:00.000-08:00

It’s amazing how apathetic one can become after such an amazing year.

In 2006, in case you all aren’t aware, I lost over 86 pounds. It was amazing! I learned to bike, run, swim and made new friends. I did triathlons, endurance runs, endurance bike rides. And I loved every minute of it!

Then something happened. I grew disinterested. I started missing workouts. Occasionally I’d get a little “verve” back, but it just wouldn’t last. Where was my excitement? My passion? I struggled through November and December, gaining weight, missing workouts and always looking and struggling for that lost excitement.

In January things got really bad. I began to despair that I’d never feel excited about working out again. I was getting irritable and started to cry a lot.

My friends were wonderful. Jessica sent me an email: “Whenever and wherever you want, Regan, I’ll be there.” Heaven! Danielle started biking with me on Sundays and Monday mornings as the only thing that seemed to elicit any sort of yearning was getting on Joyous, my bike. Lewis, my husband, started biking with me on the weekend as well as we prepared for Chilly Hilly (and eventually Seattle to Portland (STP)).

Then Chilly Hilly came. I felt good – confident. Even though I had gotten sick a few days before, I woke up that morning with some of my old excitement and a good sense of well being. While the trip was marred slightly by Danielle and her husband missing the ferry (I missed her!), I felt good on the whole ride. Strong. I biked 33 miles and walked a lot of the hills, but knew I was giving it my best and solid shot (Lewis was amazing – what a trooper!).

And then I crashed. Literally and figuratively. I fell off my bike at the end – nothing traumatic. I got back up with just a sore hip and bruised knee. But it took the wind out. Standing in line for the ferry, my voice started to leave me. I started to shiver. I got ill – an illness I still haven’t shaken!

And I stopped exercising. It all seemed to not matter. Nothing seemed to matter. I would wake up in the morning and think “Should I go for a run?” Eh. “Do you want a shake or a cookie for breakfast?” Eh. Nothing. Just….”Eh.” The only thing that seemed to motivate me even a little was Max – you just can’t contain 22 months of pure energy. Walks to the parks to let him run around were nice; but uninspiring.

But I wasn’t completely unmotivated. I mean, I *knew* something was wrong. I went on Zoloft (an anti-depressant) and starting seeing a new counselor.

And that’s where I am now. But something happened in counseling yesterday, that, in a round about way, I’m trying to communicate here.

One part of my personality makeup is that I love new and creative things. The more I have to learn and the newness of it, the longer I stay interested (when I say “creative” I mean more in the vein of “creating”). I know a thousand crafts. I can wood turn, lampwork (glass bead making), quilt, knit, and a thousand others. I’ve loved them all. But after awhile, just like the exercise, I stop. I get disinterested. I look for the next adrenaline rush – the next scoop of excitement that says “This is interesting! Do this!” A Jack of all Trades; Master of none.

And when it comes to loosing weight last year it was all new and amazing. To learn how to love bike riding. To learn how a Triathlon works. To learn what my body could do. I was in a state of passion and grace.

I asked my husband the other night what he thought my strengths were. Lewis is so awesome – he never gives an off the cuff answer. He ponders carefully and replies with due respect. Here’s what he listed:

· Optimistic nature – see things with a can-do attitude
· Crafting abilities – i.e. I can make things
· Interested in trying new things out
· People skills

Then I asked him what my weaknesses were. He came up with one:

· I don’t follow through.

Bullseye.

Communicating all of this with my counselor (a veteran of loosing 100 pounds herself) and some lights came on. She understood what was happening and it came down to this: Just do it. “I hate to go Nike on you,” she said, “but, Regan: Just do it.”

I didn’t understand. And she explained. Just because I don’t get an adrenaline rush off of exercise doesn’t mean I can’t do it. I’m an adrenaline junky. And my body is tired of producing it. It can’t keep up. No one can keep up the 110% of effort and excitement that I put forth last summer. But I don’t have to have adrenaline to do what I need to do. I just have to do it.

And, she said, I’ve come to an important crossroads. Even as apathetic as I feel, I’ve also come to a point of surrender. Realizing that I want a healthy lifestyle means that I must eat healthy and exercise daily. Period. I don’t have to get excited about it. It just is.

So today I ran. For the first time in about three weeks. I did it. It wasn’t exciting. I was glad I did it, for sure, but I didn’t feel anything exciting. I kept it aerobic but didn’t push like I normally would. I was grateful I could still run for an hour. I ran around the neighborhood in the pouring rain with the dogs. I can’t seem to get excited about it, but I didn’t hate it.

So that’s it. Just do it. I just finished my 20/20 shake. At around 10:30 I’ll have a snack. One step at a time. Do what I know how to do. I don’t have to get excited that I’m eating a vegetable soup for lunch. I just gotta do it. Like housework for a clean house. If I want it, I just gotta do it.

Hugs,

Regan

Safe but not at Home

2006-12-17T07:13:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

I'm safe and sound and staying at my very generous sister's apartment in Seattle. We've lost complete power at the house for the last three days, so being somewhere warm is heaven!

If peeps could spread the word and let folks know I'm okay, that would be great. I'm suppossed to run with Wendy on Tuesday morning, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. I don't have her cell, nor access to email, so if someone could let her know it's up in the air, that would be great!!

Hugs to all,

Regan

PS Max appears to be taking this as some grand adventure. Bless his heart! As long a he has Mom, Dad, Bottle, "Hippos Go Beserk" and stacking buckets, all is good in this world. And, yes, in that order. LOL

The Red Shoes

2006-12-07T07:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, so they're white with red piping, but I LOVE THEM!

I went to The Everyday Athlete on Monday and got new running shoes and insoles. Boy, am I impressed with those folks! The gentleman there had me trying on a ton of different shoes, on different feet, walking around, testing and feeling. I ended up getting, surprisingly enough, a woman's only shoe from Adidas. But the real test came when I took them running yesterday. Heaven! Not an ounce of discomfort. My knees, though a little tight feeling, didn't twinge at all! Heaven for four miles of a decent run! YAY!!!!

For those of you with planar fasciitis, I can't tell you how important a good pair of running shoes is! Get a good pair of insoles to go along with and it will be gone in just a week or so! Mine is almost gone now! Whew!

In other good news...I'm back on the 20/20 diet plan and it's going really really well. Three days so far and no lapses and feeling strong. I've also decided not to bike into work for four to six weeks. If I bike in, that's two hours of aerobic and anaerobic exercise that is going to need more calories than I take in on the 20/20 plan and that's even before I get to my workout! Also, as a good triathlete, I really need to do my base building. So, it's back to one hour of aerobic exercise five times a week with weights 2-3 times a week. And it feels wonderful! Wonderful to not push push push push. Wonderful to keep my heartrate in comfortable zones (135-150), wonderful to not come home completely wiped!

I will re-evaluate in January where I need to be diet/exercise wise and stake out a plan for my A race at the end of June (Olympic distance Triathlon at Pac Crest). I'm not too worried though. It's only a 25 mile bike ride - and I'll be doing that easily enough every day once I start biking into the club again and since I'm at four miles already for the run, I only need to add a few more to be at Olympic distance - that will take only about a month. The swim has me a little worried (it's almost a mile to swim), but I've got a ton of time to train for that! Time to make my arms look buff! :)

Hugs to all,

Regan

Diva Dash Race Report

2006-12-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

Well, it's kinda hard to call the Diva Dash an actual race, as it was soooooo much fun! This is the first run I've done since the half-marathon and I was a little worried - would my knees hold up?

Lewis, Max and I met all the princesses and then some down at the little Diva Dash. Jessica's Camille was doing the little dash and she was so cute! Not particularly enamored of being out in the cold, but those red cheeks went with her pink dress really well! Mama and Aleks took her through the course and while she got carried part of the way, she was still so darn cute!

Then it was the big Diva Dash. I heard from Wendy and some other princesses and that they were just going to "amble". Works for me! Which, of course, meant, that I had to run while they did a slow version of their run. But it was perfect. Met a new potential princess and work mate of Aleks', named Tina, and we discovered we had compatible running speeds! So we stuck together for awhile, with Aleks and Danielle and Latosha running up ahead a short ways.

The course is the same as the Furry 5K, which means that it's mostly flat with one large hill that's a fun challenge (it's quite steep). I was very proud to say that I ran all the way up the hill and didn't stop - the downhill didn't hurt my knees and so I kept going! When we saw the finish line Aleks and I took off (Danielle long ago taught me to sprint at the end), and so we had a terrific run into the finish line.

What a fun morning and a fun bunch of ladies! An awesome run to round out the year.

Hugs to all,

Regan

Seattle Half-Marathon Race Report

2006-11-27T15:12:00.000-08:00

Despite what happened to a lot of other folks...I slept great the night before! Sound and complete - and bless Max for sleeping through too!

I woke up about 5:00am and got phone call from Danielle about 5:20am. Uh-oh, I thought - is something wrong? I get a laugh on the other end: "It's Snowing! I'm on my way!" Bless her heart! I looked outside and sure enough, the snow was coming down. I had to laugh. I've got a sore throat, I just moved and my knees have been giving me pain. BRING IT ON GOD!! :)

Danielle showed up about 6am and we hit the coffee shop. We're both a few days off of our period so we know we'll be hitting the port-a-potties anyways, so we have our lattes. Lewis and Max both have my cough so they'll be showing up later. Danielle's got this race down and she even knows where to park! In no time we're in the line for the port-a-potties and looking for people we (she) knows. Despite the rain/snow, everyone's spirits at the start line are really good and with no delay, we started off at 7:30!

The first couple of miles are really fun, despite sore and stiff legs. Running down 5th Avenue in Seattle, seeing ahead the runners fill the streets - it's quite an inspiring site. Not far into the run Nancy and Sarah pass us and we wish them well. I tried to keep up, but they're just going too fast for me. A few miles in and Danielle is starting to look a little desperate and we start scouting potties. But they all have lines. Finally, about mile four, she's completely desperate and pleads to stop in the I-90 tunnel for a break. "No worries!" I say. I'm feeling really good and the cough, knees and other aches haven't reared their head yet. Famous last words.

Waiting in line I start to catch a chill and my cough starts. I stuff a Cold-eze in my mouth and start sucking, but it never stops. I put my coat back on, thankful that I didn't decide to leave it in the car at the last minute. We get going again, but those 5-10 minutes of waiting in line took their toll and my throat is now officially swollen and a chill has set in. A short while later, near mile 5, I realize I have to go! So I jump into the port-o-potties (no line!). Danielle and I have a good laugh.

Shortly after this, my knees really start to kick in on the downhill portions. Every downhill we hit, we have to walk. But that wasn't so bad as the uphills I could run! That was rather fun - passing all those folks who passed us on the downhill. It felt good to feel warm, too, going up hill. Lots of people remark on our matching pink skirts and we even meet up with an old trainer buddy of Danielle's who's there cheering on her clients. By mile 9, though, my knees have had enough. The complain loudly and thighs, quads and hams, are protesting as well. We start walking. I would say we walked completely the last three miles.

By the time we come out the arboretum and spot the Seattle Center, I'm just about ready to sit down and stop. Everything below the waist hurts! Danielle does her best to keep spirits up and we get really excited seeing some of the top male runners pass us. At this point I'm just trying to finish, having given up on any sort of "time" by now.

One mile from the finish...and there's a coffee shop. Laughing we limp in and grab a latte and some banana bread. Heaven! Heaven to just stand there for a few minutes and not have to move forward. It was just what we needed!

Coming near the shute, the top female runner passes us and we cheer her on (turns out a husband/wife team won this year! Wow!). Hitting the shute, I do my best to run, but can barely manage more than a ramble. I look desperately for Lewis - is he there? He is! Running to a spot so he can take a picture.

Danielle and I crossed the finish line at somewhere near 4 hours. Gawd, a horrible time, but oh well. I did it and there's always next year! :) I also want to do the Mercer Island Half-Marathon. With any luck my knees will be better behaved by then!

Coming home, I pretty much crashed after taking a warm warm shower and three advil. This morning the knees are still protesting - but mostly when I'm going up and down stairs. It's a little unnerving, but hopefully a week of rest will give them the healing they need.

It's still snowing here, on and off all day. I've been inside for more of it, just resting and taking care of myself. I'm back on the 20/20 plan, eating really well and making sure my calories are under 1500 today. My cough isn't any better, but it's not worse, which is nice. Lewis' is getting better and Max's is almost gone (whew!). I'm hoping that the run just took a day or two off of recovery and I should be feeling more myself in a few days.

Hugs to all,

Regan

Thanksfulness

2006-11-23T20:11:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Well, I just got home from another wonderful Thanksgiving feast. Each year I have been blessed with an amazing party put on my one of my extended family members (usually my fascinating Aunt "B", but I have done it a few times myself) and each year it is the most amazing selection of tastes and conversations. This year I discovered creamed onions, and yams with a horseradish aoli sauce. I conversed with a coffee house waiter, an environmentalist and a gentleman who went by the name of "Fluffy" (kid you not!). How can you not be thankful?

So, to all the gifts in my life; my husband, my son, my twin, my siblings, mother, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends and acquaintenances: Thank you. For making my life so colorful, hopeful, wonderful and Thankful. I am truly blessed.

My love to you all,

Regan

Bunny Obstacle Course

2006-11-22T09:16:00.000-08:00

Another lovely workout/bike ride today. Sure it was raining when I biked the trail to the Pro Club, but that just makes me feel uber. :) Not a lot of people on the trail this morning, but definitely a lot of bunnies. The first couple I scared I felt sorry for...after the sixth, I though "geez, calm down guys! I'm only biking here!". Ya gotta love rabbits and their lousey sense of "which way do I go?" But I didn't hit any, so that's a bonus. :)

Met up with Latosha and Aleks in the cardio theatre (also known as the "dark room" - very low ambient lighting) and just did a mild...bike ride. :) Yes, we biked. I was only there for about 25 minutes and I kept it low key. Then I got back on the real thing and came home again.

I'm having trouble getting down my shake in the morning - I'm used to having my car drive time in to get it down. I might have to re-think my carb strategy for the morning and go with Luna or Cliff bars on the way in. Today I just got down a few sips of shake, but by the time I got to the club I was able to eat a luna before and after the 25 minutes cardio and that got me through to home. So, at least that works!

Stats for today: 1500 calories, max HR 184, average 126.

I hope everyone has a happy happy Thanksgiving!!

Hugs to all,

Regan

I'm Back! Yeah, Baby!

2006-11-20T11:38:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo! Moved into the new house and today was the inaugural ride into the Pro Club and it was PERFECT!

Danielle showed up about 6am and after I showed off the new place (including a spiffy new bike area in the garage where I sent SIX hours yesterday getting ready!), we were off!

It was beautiful today - crisp, cold and clear. The new bike light worked perfectly and I'm so glad I had done the dry run a month ago and rode around the neighborhood. It's intially downhill (we live on top of the hill) and I knew exactly where we needed to go. We both had a good laugh when we got to Poultry Ghetto and the cocks started their crowing. From there it's an easy flat ride along the Sammamish River Trail. And then the 520 hill. Ugh. But I did it! 5.5 mph, but I did it! LOL.

Got into the club in about 1:15 at nearly exactly 12 miles. Not a stellar time, but that was okay. Then we decided to go for an hour or so run - and my legs felt amazingly good, even after the bike ride! My knees started aching after about two to two and half miles, but not horribly. I've got the 1/2 marathon on Sunday and it's pretty much a sure bet that I'll have to walk some of it due to the knees, but that's okay. Danielle is doing it with me and a ton of the gals/princesses will be there as well - I'm doing it for the fun! :)

After the run, it was back on our bikes and down the 520 hill (wheeeeeee!) and along the trail again. The sun was out and the morning was just beautiful - I didn't even put on my second layer of leggings (the shell) and I began wishing I had a lighter biking jacket. The way back seemed easier - my legs were well warmed up and we cruised 1-2mph faster on the way back than down. Time to home was closer to 1:00 hour. But before we took off, I ate most of a luna bar and Danielle had given me some sports beans on the run. About 1/2 a mile from the hill to our house (104th), I swallowed a GU for some extra juice. Then it was up the hill. WHEW. I did it, but boy that's a slog. It's a little over one mile of gradual incline and about 350 feet of elevation. Nothing huge, but it feels surprisingly like the 520 hill in it's intensity. The good news is that even after an initial steep block, it goes pretty easy with only a few bumps up, so you get to catch your breath a bit.

Stats after 3.25 hours of working out? 1900 calories burned, max HR was 199! Average heart rate (including hanging around, changing, etc.) was 133. Woot! :) Now THAT'S a workout! :)

Hope are you are all well. I might be able to tell you the horror tale that was our move (yes, the movers really did forget us), but not after a few belts of whiskey. :)

Hugs to all,

Regan

My Apologies

2006-10-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

My apologies for not posting much lately. The last five days have been quite a roller coaster. We got an offer on the house this weekend, found a house that we liked and put an offer in and now it all my fall through. I'm just sick about it! There's been a few sleepless nights, but I'm crossing all fingers that at least I'll know today whether or not we can move forward.

Knees are still giving me issues. Sunday's long run I had to stop and walk several times. I did a recovery run on Monday and had to walk most of it. Didn't do any run on Tuesday but this morning I did a short three miler and had to walk the last 1/4 mile. Sigh. Guess I need to start babying these knees.

Hugs to all,

Regan

Third Day and Counting...

2006-10-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

I had another lovely day yesterday with getting the right calories, exercise, water and vitamens all done! Yay! I also had some nice exercise - a (relatively) easy interval run on the treadmill, followed by a swimming lesson and then some weights.

Today is just a nice jog with Danielle. Normally I do swimming, circuit training and a run today, but I couldn't get daycare for Max, so we're gonna go for a run around the club with the jogging stroller. Should be lovely!

Have a great day! Hugs to All,

Regan

Yesterday was Perfect!

2006-10-11T05:24:00.000-07:00

To quote my friend, Jessica, and her blog title, yesterday was perfect! I ate 1300 calories, logged it all, drank my water, swallowed my vitamens, and exercised my butt off. Yay! Here's to another positive day...

Hugs to all,

Regan

The Frustration Phase

2006-10-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well, here I've been these past six weeks or so struggling to maintain my weight, to get my butt to work outs, etc., and just not feeling it. You know? All year it's been this great big fun push push push push and really enjoying the learning of what my body can do. But not lately. Lately it's been more like "When is this going to be over?" and lots of negotiation..."If I go in at 7am instead of 6am, I can still get in cardio and...."

Then it came to me today (in counseling, no less), I'm in the Frustration Phase! Ding! Lights go on! What a relief! I mean, I've sort of been expecting this, you know? First is the Honeymoon phase. Which, for me, lasted about 8+ months. Then the Frustration Phase, which, I've heard, everyone goes through. And then, finally, the Acceptance Stage. Yay!!

So I just have to get through this. Don't know how long it will last, but there's a tremendous relief knowing that it's just a phase. This too shall pass! In the meantime, I will show up for my workouts, enjoy the company of the tri-princesses, keep my food journal and tackle my diet one day at a time.

I shall let you know when the Acceptance Phase gets here. :) If I fail to recognize it, it will probably start with a sentance that begins something like "So I left the brownie alone..."

Hugs to all,

Regan

Lewis the Magnificent

2006-10-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

Well third time's a charm! While I stayed home today feeling sorry for myself and dealing with a runny nose and aching muscles, my husband biked to work! And back! I'm so proud! Novelty Hill is no slouch of a hill to come up and he did it! Go Lewis!!! :)

I'm hoping to be into the club tomorrow and making up my run which I should have done today. Sunday's 10 miler was a little rough - I tried out new shoes and got my knee ache again, so will be getting some new old shoes...if that makes sense. I wish these 10 miles were easier, but they don't appear to be getting that way. Still, I have been fighting this cold for awhile, so hopefully with good nutrition and sleep I will come back strong.

Hugs to all,

Regan

Missing my Friends

2006-10-06T10:13:00.000-07:00

So today I did my pokey little tempo run and all I could think of during that hour is that all my friends were in spinning class with Danielle and I was stupidly out here on the darn treadmill bored out of my mind.

That does it - no more missing Friday Spinning Class! Danielle and I sat down and worked out a new schedule:

Sunday:
Long Run, 2+ hours cardio

Monday:
6am Recovery Run
7am Swimming
8am Weights

Tuesday:
6am Intervals
7am Spinning

Wednesday:
6am Spinning
7am Swimming

Thursday:
9am Swimming
10am Circuit Training
11am Tempo Run

Friday:
6am Spinning Class
7:30am Weights
8:30am optional Swim

Saturday:
Rest day

Let's see how long this schedule lasts LOL! :)

Hugs to all,

Regan

A 10 Miler

2006-10-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

I ran my ten miles today. Nice to know I can do it! After last Monday's fiasco and hurt knees, I was a little concerned. But while my legs (especially my calves) got sore and still are a little sore afterwards, nothing really hurt, you know? It's amazing how you can tell the difference. I felt some soreness around mile 8 today that was quite distracting but it wasn't...painful. Just sore. When I felt the pain at 4.5 miles last Monday, boy did I know. That was the end of the run then. Today I just trudged on through the soreness without any second guessing. I didn't set any speed records - about 2:25 for the whole thing - but I got the mileage done and that's cool.

I'm so proud of Jessica and Danielle - they did the Endurance 50 Seafair Marathon with Dean Karnazes yesterday. That's so inspiring! And fast too - under 4:30, which, to me, is like the speed of light! Go Jess and Danielle!

Hugs to all,

Regan

Workout Schedule, Beta 2

2006-09-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, since I've signed up for a Triathlon Training and Base Building swimming class and Danielle moved her Circuit Training to Thursdays (and Tuesdays), my schedule is changing a bit. I also want to fit in some Aleks/Jessica time. Here I go:

Sunday: Long run, 10 miles for now
Monday: 6am Spinning, 7am Swimming Class, 8am Weights
Tuesday: 6am Recovery Run, 7am Spinning
Wednesday: 6am Interval Run, 7am Swimming Class
Thursday: 9am Biking, 10am Circuit Training (with Danielle), 11am whatever - swimming?
Friday: 6am Tempo Run, 7:30am Weights
Saturday: Rest Day

Cardio per week: 11+ hours cardio
Weights per week: 3 hours

Let's see how this works! :)

Regan

Marley and Me

2006-09-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge fan of the James Herriot books (All Creatures Great and Small, etc.). I own them all. After yesterday I really wanted to read something loving towards animals, but since I had all the Herriot books and couldn't return home yet (the house was being shown), I went to the bookstore and got "Marley and Me" by John Grogan. A book about a man, his family, and a great galumph of a golden lab. This book has made me laugh out loud! Here's an excerpt when Grogan and his wife come home with their baby for the first time and introduce the baby to Marley:

As I held [Marley] tight, she gradually came closer, allowing Marley to sniff first the baby's toes, then his feet and calves and thighs. The poor kid was only a day and a half old, and he was already under attack by a Shop-Vac. When Marley reached the diaper, he seemed to enter an altered state of consciousness, a sort of Pampers-induced trance. He had reached the holy land.

Just a little smile to lighten your day. Pets are so awesome!

Hugs to all,

Regan

Trailblazing

2006-09-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

So with the emotional aftermath of yesterday still settling down, there really was no way I wasn't gonna take my dog, Rach, out for a run with me this morning. I knew I wanted to do a light jog. Even though today is my "tempo" run ever since Monday's fiasco with the wrong shoes, my knees have been tempermental and I didn't want to aggravate them. [note: for those of you who didn't hear, I put on the wrong shoes Monday and 4.5 miles into 10 miles my knees rebelled.] So a short run it is. I chose the trails around the house as they would be easy on the knees as well.

Well everything started out just fine. Rach looked good and I was feeling good. At the crossroads, about 25 minutes into the road, there are three path choices in front of me. Go left and I complete the three miles easy. Go straight and it's six miles, but easy terrain. Go right...and I don't know. So what do I choose? I go right! :)

Rach and I had a little adventure running down the right path (wow, is that a metaphor for something?). For about a half a mile, it's just a standard path. And then I came to a river of rock. Obviously man's idea of a passable road. I was a little worried about Rach's feet (and there was no way I could jog across it...walking definitely a sounder idea), but the rocks weren't too small, so we walked carefully through the river of rock. On the other side, after about another half mile, was more trail. We wandered/jogged up and down and around. Came to one dead end and turned around and chose a different path. It was so much fun! It was early with dew still on all the leaves and webs. The sun shone brightly and the grass and trees just sparkled.

I had a lot of time to think, which was nice. Just get into perspective all the changes that have been happening lately, to my body, to my house and even to my Mom and her life. Just time to Zen. Be happy on where I am. And, as always, so very very thankful.

I never did find the outlet or end of the trails. After an hour or more of trail blazing, Rach and I returned home. I went out for 45 minutes and came back in 140. Rach was pooped but very happy. Have to say, I pretty much felt the same.

Hugs to all,

Regan

Tougher than I thought...

2006-09-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

putting down my Mom's cat. It brought back a lot of memories of my cat who died last year - two weeks after Max was born. Since I didn't have time to grieve then, I certainly did today! Sometimes I think I'm in touch with myself, othertimes I blow myself away. I really thought I had it together on this, but I just couldn't watch the doctor put Patsy to sleep. Sian, my twin, came to help and she sat with Patsy as she left this world.

Me? I went to Ruby's and had fish and ships. And a shake. And apple pie. Sheet. Seeing my counselor on Monday...sigh...

And the weigh in is...

2006-09-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

194.5 today! Yay! That's ALMOST 90 lbs! (.5 from!) 2.5lbs down from last week.

Interval run today was tough, but doable. Did a work rate of 6.5, rest at 4.5, 30 minutes, 2 minute intervals. Ran at 5.1 for five minutes aftwards.

The spin was TOUGH. She did an endurance spinning class with 7 minutes at 100 cadence, then 3 minutes at 115 cadence. Rinse, repeat. No stopping, no catching breath, no coming out of the seat (except to give the ole arse a break!). Harder than it sounds - whew! But worth it.

Sorry for the short post - I'm off to have my mother's cat euthanized (she's 15 years old and getting senile). Gonna be a tough day for my Mom.

Hugs to all,

Regan

I'm a Small!

2006-09-27T19:29:00.001-07:00

No, not my size in clothing (although I hope to be some day!). I got a call from my big sister today. We've always laughed about how we three (my big sis, my twin and I) were "Small, Medium, and Large"). Well, I passed my "skinny" twin a few months back and today I passed my big sis! I weighed in today at 193.5 and she informed me I had passed her! So woot! I've never been the small! Of course, there's always my little half-sister (whom we affectionally refer to as "extra-small"), but with her petite frame and excellent eating habits, I don't think I'll be passing her in the weight department!

I want to also put a shout out to my husband who bravely took to the road for his first "ride to work" ....and promptly got a flat tire. At the bottom of the hill. Poor thing! I was working out and so not near a phone so the man had to WALK his bike back up the hill! At least he got his workout in...but bummer! Now that makes twice that he's tried to do a challenging ride and his bike prevented him. Oh the things that are thrown in our path.... And what did he do about it? He promptly went out got a pump (yes, the kind Jessica uses!), a patch kit, tire changing kit and two inner tubes (which was a good thing as he blew up one on his first try changing!). My hubby is trooper!

So, while today isn't an official weigh in day (but I'm loving that 193.5!), I will say that working out with Danielle really inspired me today. I stayed good on my eating habits, anticipated eating BEFORE going to the grocery store, and even cooked dinner (shrimp stir-fry)! I haven't cooked dinner in ages - I'm feeling very angelic at the moment. :)

You all take care!

Regan

PS The house is on the market! Woo hoo!! So now the lull between the storm...I hope to post more before it gets crazy again. ;)

Inspired...

2006-09-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

So Jessica and Danielle did their half-ironman yesterday and sent out race reports early this morning. They are SO inspiring!!

I've been feeling cruddy the last couple of days. Probably a combination of a mild flu and stress of selling this house. But the good news is that I started feeling better yesterday afternoon and this morning I feel GREAT! Ready to hit the road with my feet tomorrow morning and do my long run, that's for sure! Today, it's more sorting through the garage and throwing stuff into a big dumpster. :)

Oh, and for those of you who are keeping track, I did weigh myself on Thursday and I was 197.0. No change from Monday, but that doesn't worry me. The numbers are there and the weight will come off!

Hugs,

Regan

I want to be a Pig...

2006-09-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

And before I explain that title, here's my exercise for today.

Today was the long run. It was rainy and drizzly outside but, of course, that doesn't stop a NW runner! I wasn't feeling particularly strong today, nor particulary weak, but was looking forward to hitting 10 miles. I started out great, however I had forgotten to commit to memory on what miles were where so I could be sure to come in near my two hour mark. It turns out I wasn't far off the mark for the halfway point and hit that just at about a minute or two over my time. I wasn't too worried, though, as I normally pick things up a bit on the second half after my run.

Now, the course isn't particularly hard - a ton of rollers though and only one really steep hill. At about 7 miles my left knee began to complain and the rest of my leg muscles were starting to protest as well. This surprised me a bit as normally I feel rather strong at this point, but I kept on. At about 7.5 miles my left knee began to protest louder, but only when going down hill. The heavens decided to let me know they were there as well. I slowed down a bit. At 8.0 miles I was pretty much jog-limping down the hills. I wondered if I shouldn't turn at 148th and take it from there to the club - cutting off about a mile from my run. But I wanted the mileage. I was going to meet Danielle at the club soon but I knew she'd understand if I was late.

My phone rang at about mile 9 and by this point I'm down to a crawl, but still jogging. It's Danielle telling me she's stuck in traffic. Whew! At least I wouldn't be late then! At the light at 148th and 40th, I had to stop to wait for it to change - just a quarter mile from the club. My legs started shaking. I laughed it off - "No one said this was gonna be easy!" I tell myself. I arrive, still jogging, back at the club at 2:20:06. Gawd - that's pretty bad. But I know I did the first half near a 5.0mph pace, so not too shabby. Now I have a time to beat! :)

And what did I do after this run? Lift weights of course! :)

I will be staying at 10 miles for the next 3-4 weeks I figure. Get my body used to this kind of punishment before I take it near 13 and drop it back down again before the big race. I've got over two months, so shouldn't be a problem.

So, now to explain the title of this post. As you are probably aware, Jessica and Aleks are all blogging their weight in an effort to challenge themselves to get to where they want to be. Challenge accepted! I will be posting my weight Mondays and Thursdays, which are my weigh-in days. I had my final 20/20 appointment with my Doc and we set a goal of 186lbs by 11/30. Well, I want to go one better and be 180 lbs by 11/30....180 lbs is the difference between a Pig and a Hog. Hog is over 180lbs, a pig is under. Oh, the things you learn from NPR... It's a running joke between my sisters and I about being a Pig or a Hog, so...now I want to be a pig! :)

Monday's weight: 197.0 lbs.
Workout time: 3 hours
Calories burned: 1700! Woot! :)

Hugs to all,

Regan

Wow, This Training Stuff Works...

2006-09-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

I had a rough night last night. Max woke up about 11:30 and would not go back to sleep on his own. Finally about 12:30 I got up (after Lewis had been trying to put him down for the last hour) and brought him into the bed with us. Took him another 20 minutes to calm down (being in bed with Mom and Dad is very exciting), then he slept soundly for another four hours until 5:30am. But my allergies kicked in about the same time last night, so the CPAP mask came off about 11:30. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling particularly sharp this morning going for my run.

The run today was 9 miles, adding in a fourth hill (ok, ok, three hills and a large dip in the road, but it comes at the end and it's hard!). I decided to keep my heart rate a very comfortable 130ish beats per minute rather than go for the usual 140ish and leaving a very generous 2:15 or so to finish the run (note: these heart rates are on the flat only...on hills my heart rate goes up!). As I'm jogging along I notice I'm feeling very comfortable and not too pokey. That's a nice feeling! At about 2.25 miles I realize...I'm under time! I begin to think maybe I can do the 9 miles in under 2 hours. At what I thought was 6 miles (actually closer to 5.6) I realize I've got 45 minutes to do 3 miles! Woot! I can do THAT! So I start really pushing the speed even though I'd just finished Novelty Hill and was a little tired. At about 7.75 miles I hit a wall. At 8 miles I get a second wind (such a lovely feeling). Knowing that dip in the road is coming up in a half mile or so, I take my final Gu (I take religiously a Gu every 40 minutes...so this third was a bit before time), and it really gave me the extra push to come up that hill. And finish in 1:57:35! Max heart rate was only 166 and average was 142! Easy! Yeeehawww!

So, that's about 4.6 or so mph. I want to get to a comfortable 5.0 mph by the time I hit the 1/2 marathon, and I really think I'm on schedule for that. So, now, if you remember, in my blog for last week, I did 8 miles in 1:50:05 which put me at about 4.36 mph. Now here it is a week later and I'm doing 9 miles in 1:57 at about 4.5-4.6 mph! Woo hoo! I guess all those tempo runs and the intervals I did earlier this week worked! Who knew? :) (ok, ok, Danielle knew...) It makes me wonder what I could have done if I'd *really* pushed it the whole time....hmmm... Well, that will have to wait until next week...10 miles here I come!

A NOTE ABOUT MEAL TRACKING:
By the way, you may have noticed I haven't been meal tracking here. Well, I'm back to doing it the old fashioned away - paper! The reason for this is that I haven't been eating well the last few weeks and the last week was especially bad. I talked to Danielle on Friday (we had a great work out together) and we've decided to be "meal tracking buddies" as she's in the same boat. So, we're handing off each other's meal trackers when we see each other on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. As Danielle puts it: "Our greeting will be 'Hi! Where's your meal tracker?'" :) Bless her heart! The last couple of days I've been really good - so it appears to be working! Yay! :)

And in Summary...

2006-09-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

First of all, I’d like to apologize for not blogging. I’ve been rather stressed here as Lewis and I are preparing to sell our house (just moving into something a smaller – our house is WAY too big!) and we have SO much to do. I haven’t been neglecting my exercise (although my eating hasn’t been top notch), just haven’t been blogging.

So, to catch you up:

Thursday – It’s all mental.
This was the day I learned a lot about the power of your own mind. I did my interval run, but about halfway through I began to have these thoughts: Wow, this is hard. I don’t know if I can keep this up. I’m feeling so weak. I'm not much of a runner... And on and on and on…until finally I said “Whoa. Regan, if your mind doesn’t believe you can do this, why should your body believe it?” So I turned it around and started saying to myself “You’re strong! You can do this! This is easy! You’re light as a feather! You can fly!” And I did.

Next came the swim with Danielle and Jessica. And before you know it my inner negative monologue started “They’re so much faster than me. I’m SOoooo slow. I’m getting tired. I just want to stop and rest. No way can I catch them.” And sure enough, even though I’d started out keeping up with them, I began to fall back more and more. This kept up until the last leg of swim, when we were going into shore. The same inner monologue started and then I said. “Whoa. Regan. Again? Come on girl! You’re a swimmer! You’re strong! You’re as fast as them! You can swim like an otter!” And I did.

Friday – Feel Stressed? Go for a Run!
Thursday night I went to bed stressed. I’d had a lot to get done and hadn’t gotten it done. I knew I didn’t want to go to the Pro Club. But I did know what I wanted to do. I wanted to RUN. I mean really run. So I did. 8 miles. Coming in at 1:50:05! That’s under my two hours! AND it’s at about 4.36 mph! Yay! I felt so good after that – it was just what I needed.

Saturday was rest day and I had a good time hanging with Lewis and Max and working on the house a bit.

Sunday - How Lewis Got His Bike Groove Back
Sunday was FUN. Lewis and I took Max with us on our bikes – Max on my hybrid and Lewis on his. We rode from Marymour out to Bothell, then to Woodinville for a quick stop at Aleks’ and I’s bagel place (Bigfoot Bagel). Then we made our way home. There was no racing, no getting heart rates up, just a lovely leisurely ride with my family. When we got back to the car, Lewis surprised me by saying he wanted to look at road bikes. “Just look.” He said, but he’d had such an awesome ride that morning he was really thinking about getting a bike (his is more mountain than hybrid) that he could commute to work on.

So we scooted on over to Sammamish Valley Cycle and found our favorite sales guy. To make a long story short, Lewis got a road bike! It’s a Bianchi Velope and Lewis has named him Bob (I secretly refer to him as Roberto, as he’s Italian, you know).

I AM SO STOKED ABOUT HAVING LEWIS BIKE WITH ME!! He’s really taking this seriously! He’s been a biker before, so I think his muscle memory will come back fast.

Monday – 25 lbs is more than you think…
So Monday Lewis, Max and I showed up for Jessica’s fun 30 mile semi-hilly ride. It was designed to have the least amount of hills but the most fun down hill runs. Now, I wanted to ride Joyous for this, and since we didn’t have daycare for Max and I’m still quite shaky on my stopping with clipless, Lewis put Max on the back of Bianchi Bob. Bless his heart!

However, there was no way, with 25 extra pounds on the back of Lewis’ bike that we could keep up with Jessica & Co. But that was okay. We had a great 9 mile bike ride – heading in after about an hour. I have to say, though, that Lewis really impressed me. Not once did he get off and walk. There were 3 hills we did, not too difficult except one that daunted me a bit…and he just put the bike in granny gear and ate up that hill! All with Max on the back of him! On the last hill, he had to stop and catch his breath…and did he walk the last 100 feet? No! He got right back on and pedaled his way to the top! Woo Hoo!

I knew Lewis was serious about his biking when we got home, and after lazing around a bit, we both decided we wanted some “bad” carbs. He’s the one who suggested we bike to the store! So I put Max on my hybrid so Lewis could get a feel for Bianchi Bob without the extra weight…and wow did my speed slow down! By like 4mph! I have SO much more respect for Lewis…Max’s 25 pounds (w/seat) is a lot! [and it boggles my mind that I’ve lost 3x that!)

So there’s my blog – sorry for not doing sooner! I will be in-and-out blogging for the next few weeks.

Today - Feeling Strong
Oh, and today’s tempo run…. 5.65 miles in 1:09:09! Ya Baby!! Average heart rate was 158, highest was 174. Took off over 11 minutes from the last time I ran it. Woot!

I'm on edge about something...

2006-08-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

and I don't know what... But I'm eating like crazy! It's totally insane. I'm eating GoLean Crunch out of the box. Tons of beef jerkey. It's weird!

And I had an awesome workout today too! I met up with Danielle at 6am at the club and we took the "final" 20/20 Lifestyle measurements (it's not like I'm gonna stop, but the program requires this). 4" off of my thighs since April! Woot! Of course tons more than that, but ya gotta love those 4"! :) Oh, and my BMI is now 29.5....officially under the 30 which begins obesity! So I'm officially not obese! First time in 15 years! Woot! :)

After the measurements, we then went for a tough bike ride - just keeping up with Danielle is tough! We went down the hill to the Lake Sammamish trail and I set the pace around 15-17 mph. We got to the 116th hill and took that on. It still slaps me around a bit, but I made it up! And with a max heartrate of 177, that's not too bad! I'm used to going into the 180's! Love ma heart! :)

Then we took off down the trail with Danielle setting the pace! I did my best and kept on her tail the whole way (drafting, it's called!) but she set a good 17-19mph pace all the way to Woodinville. Then we came back - the 520 hill wasn't so bad, which was cool.

After that we did weights. I know I didn't do nutrition like I should have on this workout - I had to wait to eat until after my measurements. I think I've gotten to hungry or something 'cause I'm waaayyyy out of control. I don't think I'll be eating GoLean again anytime soon...

I may be a bit on edge about this house selling thing. Even though I know it's the right thing to do, selling and moving is always a stress and I may be underestimating it. Zen, Regan, Zen...

Exercise today: 2.5 hours, 1100 calories.

You know you've lost a lot of weight when...

2006-08-29T16:56:00.000-07:00

1. You realize you've lost more than 3 x your son's current weight.
2. Your wedding ring now fits on your middle finger.
3. When looking for belts to hold up your pants, you realize even your husbands are too big.

I'm sure more will come to me. But I thought I'd share. :)

It's A Great Day To Be Alive

2006-08-29T15:07:00.000-07:00

That's one of my favorite songs by Travis Tritt and it's very applicable today!

I didn't swim today (pool is closed and Jessica was too pooped to swim), so I just did my recovery run here around the woods near my house. It was so lovely! I took Max with me in the jogging stroller and had my dog, Rach, beside me the whole way. Did an easy 3-4 mile jog and then returned home. This allowed Lewis to sleep in and that was a good thing as Max had woken up at 3am this morning and Lewis had taken him. Bless his heart!

Then it was a very productive day of housework, packing and playing with Max. Such a lovely time! My body feels strong and healthy, my loved ones are good and I have fabulous friends! What more could a gal ask for (well, maybe a 10minute mile, but I'll make that happen soon!)? :)

Exercise: Recovery run at 450 calories

Breakfast:
Cheerios, 1/2 Banana, Soy = 200 cal

Lunch:
Tuna salad with g beans and feta = 400 cal
Watermelon = 45 cal

Afternoon Snack:
GoLean Cereal = 200 cal
Apple and PB = 160 cal

Total Calories: 1005
Max Calorie Goal for the day: 1500

7 Miles and Counting!

2006-08-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I've been feeling pretty good lately. I had had a really rough July, just completely exhausted and barely getting in my hour of cardio, when I finally figured out it was because I wasn't using my CPAP*!! It had gotten so bad that I'd been secretly thinking of not doing Danksin. But, since I figured it out (late July), I've been feeling really strong. Especially ever since Danskin when I started doing weights again and doing my runs in a very structured way.

So today was a scheduled 7 mile run and I was a little worried. Along the route, there's a hill going up Old Redmond Road that I used to ride on bus when I was in high school. The bus would chug at a crawl going up that hill and I always felt sorry for the cars behind us! It's a long winding hill and I was a little intimidated to run it. Well, I shouldn't have worried! By the time I hit the Old Redmond Rd, I was feeling really strong. The hill just seemed to coast by! I didn't start to feel a little sore until well into 140th, somewhere around mile 6. And even then it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. The last hill coming back up 40th was tough, but again, nothing I couldn't handle. It felt great to be able to do this! And even cooler was the feeling I could go longer. :)

Now, the only thing that I'm concerned about it my speed. It really really sucked. It took me 2 hours to do 7.2 miles! Geez! That's an average of 3.6 mph! Gawd...I've really got to speed up. I grant you, I was feeling a little lazy at the first part of it and didn't feel like going too fast (telling myself to warm up!), but that's just a bit too lazy! I actually tried speeding it up on the hill, but I guess not enough!

Okay, enough hitting myself over the head. Next week is 8 miles! My goal will be to do this under 2 hours...and then when I do 9...and then 10, etc. That will get my speed up! :)

Oh, and I did weights after - that was kind of nice.

Workout Calories: 1300 (1300-800=500 free calories!)

Pre-workout food:
Carb Shake: 165

During workout food:
2 Gu's: 200 cal

Breakfast:
GoLean cereal, NF soy milk and Banana: 300cal

Lunch:
BBQ Chicken with some skin: 400cal
Apple with PB: 180cal

Total Calories so far: 1,245cal
Max calorie goal for the day: 1500+500=2,000.

*CPAP = Continuous Positive Air Pressure. I have sleep apnea, which means I stop breathing when I sleep. My body then wakes up (just a tiny bit) in an attempt to get oxygen back into me. This leads to a) lack of REM sleep and feeling brain dead) and 2) oxygen deprivation so your muscles don't heal when you sleep! Go figure! The CPAP machine sends air up your nose to keep your nasal passages open and oxygen to your body.

Champions Show Up

2006-08-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

I have to say, I'm quite impressed with Carla. Here she is, going through one of the roughest patches a person can go through in her life and today she showed up! Now I know we all have had to cancel from time to time - life happens, you know? But when you've got all the excuses in the world to not show up and then still do, I think that's what really makes a champion!

And not only did she show up, but we changed our bike ride from going around Lake Sammamish (hills and about 20 miles) but to going to University Village for brunch and back! (45 miles and no hills). So, after a quick call to the hubby to have him join us, we were off!

Right around the turn of the lake, just as we're going down that little dip after Bothel (under the overpass), we run into walkers. LOTS and LOTS of walkers! Turns out the Burke Gilman trail is a part of the 3-day, 60 mile walk for cancer! Talk about Champions! Nearly everyone (2,000 peeps!) was decked out in Pink (including some guys!) and it was obvious they were having a rockin' good time! Carla and I had some challenges passing them (Carla took a spill while crossing a street), but everyone was very nice and got over as soon as they heard us coming - many shouted ahead "bike!" And I thought I'd shouted "On your left!" a lot at Danskin! Whew!

We met up with the hubby and babe and had a lovely brunch at The Atlas (my favorite!) and then headed back. We didn't break any speed records for the trip or anything - just a nice steady clip at around 14-15mph, but it was really nice chatting with Carla and catching up.

Note to self, eat and drink water more on the trail! I was bad about that...

So, after that, here's my calorie counting so far!

Breakfast:
Carb shake: 175

Brunch:
Veggie/cheese Scramble with part of a scone: 650cal

Lunch:
Barbeque Chicken Leg: 400cal
Brownies (4 bits): 150cal
Watermelon (of course!): 100 cal

Calories so far: 1400
Calories burned: 1500 (800 + 700)
Max Calorie Goal: 1500+700 = 2,200

Workout Schedule

2006-08-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Aleks (and plus it's my rest day, so no exercise to publish!), I have decided to post my workout schedule which Danielle also gave me Friday. Man, just when I think I've got it easy, Danielle comes along and challenges me! Here's the scenario leading up to the Seattle Half-Marathon on November 26th:

Monday:
Endurance Run, 7 - 13 miles, 120 - 160 BPM, 6-8 am
Weights with Danielle and Jessica, 8am to 9am

Tuesday:
Recovery Run, 3-4 miles, 120-149 BPM, 6am
Spinning Class, 140-160 BPM, 7-8am (Swimming through Mid-September w/Jess)

Wednesday:
(Note: 2 hours bike ride and then weights thru Mid-September)
Sleep in with Lewis!
Swimming with Danielle, 2 x 400 (at least), 8:30am
Circuit Training with Danielle, 120-160 BPM, 10-11am

Thursday:
Interval running, 30 minutes (15 w/u c/d), 120-169 BPM, 6am to 7am
Spinning Class, 140-160 BPM, 7am to 8am

Friday:
(and here's where it gets REALLY fun!)
Tempo Run, 30 min (15 w/u, c/d), 150-169 BPM, 5am to 6am
Spinning Classwith Danielle, 6am to 7am
Weights with Danielle and Jessica (in Oct), 7:30 to 8:15
Swimming w/Danielle, easy 500, 8:30 to 9:00

Saturday/Sunday:
One day is rest day
Other day is 2 hour bike ride or other fun activity.

So, basically, we're talking:
12.5 hours of Cardio
3 hours of Weights
per week. That's not so bad! I thought it would be worse. :)

The Spinning class on Friday is optional - I'd have to get out of bed at 4am to hit my tempo run then the spinning class - whew! Basically, I'd be doing pretty much a full Tri that day plus weights! Still, it sounds like fun! :)

Food for the Day:
Breakfast:
Egg and Toast: 175 cal

Mini Snack: 6 dried cherries, 30 cal

Lunch:
Veggie Burger with some fries: 650 cal

Afternoon Snack:
Dairy Queen Small Blizzard (gawd!): 600 cal

Dinner:
Watermelon: 100cal
Egg: 75cal

Total Calories: 1630 - bummer. And that Blizzard was just not worth it...talk about too sweet! Bleh!
Max Calorie Goal: 1500

Coming Out Of My Comfort Zone

2006-08-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

As Jessica recently blogged, in order to achieve the results you want, you're going to have to come out of your comfort zone. Well, today I definitely did that!

Today was my tempo run day. The idea here is to get my body used to running at higher cadences, in preparation for the Seattle Half-Marathon in November. So, on the treadmill, I run 15 minute warm up, 30 minutes at highest tempo I can sustain, and then 15 minute cool down. Danielle had optimistically said "I want you around 5.5mph" for the temp on Monday and I was a little nervous at that number. Sure, I'd done the Treadmill 5K at 5.3 and that has hills and it was over a month ago, but could I do 5.5? I didn't commit to it until I got on the treadmill and started ramping up during the warm up. By the time I got to 5.3, I thought "What's .2 more?"

Wow. At about five minutes into this cadence I thought, can I do this? I told myself to go for just 15 minutes, and then I could back it down a notch or so. But then, of course, as I got to 15 minutes, I thought, can I do a little more? At about 20 minutes into this high tempo, I asked myself "If you had to, Regan, could you sprint right now?" And since the answer was Yes, I knew I had it in me to continue. So I pushed it through! At 29 minutes, I sprinted at 6.5 for one minute. That's always fun - I love sprinting! Heart rate for the first 15 was about 158-160, and for the last about 165 to 168 (the sprint going higher, but surprisingly only to about 175). I love how strong my heart is!

After the tempo portion was done, I went down to 4.2 to do a light jog, but found that was too slow and pushed it back up to 4.5 which was just the right speed.

About five minutes before I was done with my cool down, Danielle and Aleks showed up. Man, I'm gonna miss Aleks! She's gone for two weeks to Canada, but has promised to blog her work outs every day! Go Aleks!!

Danielle and I then did weights - always a fun chatty time! Had to watch that shoulder still, but I have confidence it'll be good soon.

Here's my statistics for today (I've decided to blog them - hold myself accountable!):

Workout (3 hours): 1100 calories (1100-800=300 free calories!)

Pre-workout:
Carb Shake 165 cal

Breakfast:
GoLean with Soy and a Banana: 300 cal

Lunch:
4% fat hamburger patty: 175 cal
Watermelon: 100 cal
Tofu Veggie Lasagna: 310 cal

Afternoon Snack:
PB cookie: 250 cal
Watermelon: 100 cal
HB Egg: 75 cal

Dinner:
Mixed Veggies with Chicken and Rice: 300 cal

Total Calories: 1,775 cal
Max Calorie Goal: 1500+300 = 1800

I hate it when I...

2006-08-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

forget my heart rate monitor! I ran out this morning and somehow got distracted off of putting on my heart rate monitor. Possibly it was Max waking up at 4:55am this morning! Poor Lewis! So getting to the Idylwood Parking Lot and mentally running through my checklist of doing some interval training, but lo and behold! Sigh.... Ah well, it's not the worst thing being without your HR monitor, but not having the watch was a little weird. I wasn't sure how far I had to go before I needed to turn around meet Jessica back at the lake for a swim!

But I took off anyways, and after estimating about 15 minutes, I started doing intervals, or as the Swedish call them, Fartleks. I just love that word! I ran into Marymoor, went to the bathroom (note to self: no more one-piece tri suits!) and then ran back, giving myself time to cool down. As it turned out I timed the run nearly perfectly, getting back in an hour.

Jessica and Sarah showed up a bit later and we had a nice short swim. Jessica is a strong and fast swimmer, but it's always fun to try and keep up with her, even if it's only for a few strokes! She and Sarah did all four buoys, I did just three and they still beat me out of the water! Ah well, I'll get there. :)

Danskin Race Report

2006-08-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

First of all, my apologies for not doing this sooner! It's been a crazy week and some clients took priority to getting this out. But enough of that! Here we go!

First of all, may I say what an awesome weekend the 19th and 20th were. I spent all day Saturday with Aleks, Danielle and Jessica and we had a BLAST. Just chatting, picking up our stuff, getting marked, and generally hanging out with this gang is an amazing experience. We ended Saturday night with a great dinner at The Olive Garden with our families, including my two sisters, one of which had come from California to cheer me on!

I felt amazingly calm come Sunday morning. I met the gals in Factoria and we carpooled together to the site. We found a great public parking spot about 1/2 a mile from the site and we took our time chatting and getting to the site.

Jessica had to go first in her wave at about 8:30am. I got to see her set off and mentally sent out a "Go Jessica Go!". Then it was Aleks' turn up at about 8:45. Right about then, Sian, my sister showed up, and we went to go get her the bagels. Danielle stayed with Aleks, which turned out to be a great idea as she really helped talk Aleks through the race and calm her nerves. Shortly thereafter, my husband, baby and big sister showed up - all with T-shirts which read "Swim, Regan, Swim; Bike, Regan, Bike; Run, Regan, Run" on the front and on the back said "My wife works out more before breakfast than most people do the entire day!" And he had gotten t-shirts for everyone! So even my son had one that said "Swim, Mommy, Swim..." How cute is THAT?? And my sister had made a big colorful sign that said GO REGAN GO! I have the best family!

The Swim (25:03)
Danielle and I didn't get in line for the Mixed Group until very late, so we ended up in the second to last wave to go in the water. Looking out over the water, I knew I would have no problem finishing the swim, it was just a matter of time. Unfortunately I very much over estimated my opponents - and stayed in the back as I normally would. Sigh. Turns out many of my swim-mates were slower than I am! If you can believe it! So the first part of the swim was just trying to get around people and getting kicked. Nothing horrible, but I did take a foot in the stomach but I didn't loose hardly any air.

Transition 1 (4:10)
I was surprised at this transition time as I thought I transitioned very quickly, but I was far from the Swim entry and the bike start entry so I guess this is pretty accurate. I do need to speed it up!

The Bike (40:42)
I loved doing the bike ride! I got on Joyous and she just took off. We passed everyone! I don't think I've ever called out "On Your Left!" more! The little hill that you go up to get to I90 (short but steep), I climbed pretty well (others were walking) and hitting I-90 I just pushed along. Half-way through, Danielle called out that we were at 20 minutes and we had a chance of coming at 40! Man, I wanted that 40! So I pushed hard, only one person passed us and stayed passed us. As we came to the finish I got so excited that I forgot to unclip my second foot! So down I went, but I was pretty much stopped at that point, so didn't get hurt or anything. Danielle helped me get up and we crossed over the line pretty much together.

Transition 2 (2:36)
This transition is always quicker, as all I have to do is change shoes and switch head gear. Plus the Bike Finish was right by my station!

The Run (38:58)
I hadn't seen my family since the run up from the swim (Kim ran along side me!), but there they were right at the beginning of the run, cheering me on! Per usual, my legs felt like lead when I came out for the run. Danielle once again ran to the bathroom and caught up with me (easy!). But it was a beautiful run, right along the lake shore. The volunteers were awesome and water stations every mile or so, which was really nice (mostly I poured the water over my head!). The little hill was tough near the end, but Danielle talked me through it (head down, shorten your steps, go tippee toe, don't look up!). She's such an awesome coach! Coming in for the last bit at .1 miles to go, Danielle called out "There's the shoot, Regan!" and I knew what I had to do! I poured it on and came in sprinting really strong. A roar went up from the crowd cheering me on and that just fuled my adrenaline - it was awesome!

Total time: 1:51:31
Overall Rank: 2125 of 3966
Class (Mixed Group) Rank: 389 of 1003
Bike Rank: 751 out of 3966!! Top 20% woo hoo!!

My goal was to come under 2 hours, and so I'm pleased even more that I beat my first Tri time of 1:56, which had been a shorter swim and longer bike, which plays more to my strengths. I attribute doing as well as I did to my awesome bike, Joyous! She's just made to go fast!

After the race, we met up with the gals and my family. Aleks, Danielle and Jessica, it was a privilege to train with you this year! I'm looking forward to many more! Kim, Sian, Lewis and Max - thank you for being there on this big day! And a special major HUG to Danielle, the world's best coach, my friend and the most encouraging positive person I've every met!! Thank you for getting me here!

Can't wait for next year!! :)