My First 10K

Matt caught the running bug thanks to the encouragement/dare of his brother and sisters two years ago. I won't say that I've caught the same bug, but I did make an earnest effort.  As I have been ramping up my workouts, I have actually been pretty amazed at the goals I've met.  Not that I'm giving any Olympians a run for their money, but I am definitely not the same person I was a year ago.  So.... I decided if I was walking six miles at a time, I should try to participate in some kind of organized event that put my new found skills to good use.   Mid-June, this was the conversation at our house.

"Honey, I want to talk to you about something, but I don't want you to go nuts."

"Okay," Matt says cautiously.

"I think I want to do the Deseret News 10K on the 24th."

"Really? That's fantastic!"

"Yes, really, but don't be getting any big ideas about me being a runner girl."

"I think whatever you want to do is great."

"Okay.  Will you help me train, and promise to walk it with me if that's what it ends up being?  I mean.... don't leave me to get a better time."

"Of course; anything.  I think this is awesome."


So a couple of things about this conversation.  First, as you can tell, I have a very supportive husband; almost annoyingly so.  But it's a good thing, because if he hadn't been so supportive, I'm not sure I would have done it.  Second, I couldn't believe those words ever left my lips!

On the morning of the race we set out bright and early to the start line at Research Park at the University of Utah.  We met up with Katie, Carolyn, Alan, Catherine and Skyler and joined the throngs at the starting line.  And we ran.....

Here are my shoes with my timing chip on the morning of the race.  The flashy shoes make me look official.

Yes I ran.... nearly the entire first mile I ran.  I was actually ahead of others in the same race.  Never thought that would happen.

We ran and then walked and ran some more and then ran some more.  We drank a p$#%-poor excuse for PowerAde and ran down the parade route.  It was kind of awesome!  Not so much the panting, bouncing and sweating, but the crowd, the energy and the whole weight of the accomplishment.  Now let me be clear, I DID NOT experience the "runners high," but when enough time elapses, I think I would do it again.

I have a fantastic brother-in-law who takes great sports pictures.  He was awesome and showed up to photograph the whole event.  Check them out.

This is the part of the race where I finally see a familiar face in the crowd.  "Hey, it's Spencer... and he's got a camera.  Guess I better start running again."

"Hi guys!  Heck yeah, I've been running the whole time. Check out this awesome sweat stain on my shirt, and the lovely industrial-looking black sports bra.  Yep, I'm now officially a runner."

"Soooooo glad that's over.  Where the heck is my water?  Don't they have food after you finish these things.  Oh, there are the Creamies and the bananas."

Although I don't have an actual picture of this, shortly after this one was taken was when I had a sugar-overload from a banana and tried really hard to decide whether or not I wanted to throw up.  I decided against it.  And then, my stomach revolted and decided that it might want to poop my pants.  Apparently this isn't uncommon in race situations.  Well you mix that with my Homer stomach and it was not going to be pretty.  Fortunately, my phobia of pooping any place besides my own toilet kicked in and saved the day. TMI?  Probably, but it's my blog.

Anyway, Spencer snapped a couple of more pictures of us and then we were off... headed back to the start line, to our car and then on towards home and my favorite toilet.

Here we are, the hubby and I.  Couldn't have done it without him.  And by the way, every time I look at this picture, I think I'm holding a corn dog.  Oh well, wishful thinking.

Here we are, the whole motley crew after the race.  I'll be damned if there isn't fewer than five pounds between Matt and I and I'm still totally the fattest looking one in the picture.  Oh well, none of these other folks have squeezed out four kids.  Yay me!

Okay, here's the mushy part.

My husband is awesome; although he struggles with sentimentality.  Usually, that's okay, because sappiness doesn't pay the bills, but every once in a while, it's nice to have someone be thoughtful.  Matt's biggest obstacle to thoughtfulness is a lack of time; his schedule is packed to the gills.  Well this awesome man of mine did something truly wonderful for me for the race.  He put together an awesome playlist for me to listen to while running, complete with words of encouragement from my loved ones.  All my kids picked their favorite songs and recorded messages telling me how awesome I was.  He had my mom, my sister-in-laws, my brother-in-law and my father-in-law record messages for me.  It was sooo sweet.  I wouldn't be surprised if some of the sweat I thought was in my eyes were actually tears.... I was very touched.  He had taken time out of his schedule and put all of this together for me so that I could have a great experience.  He supported me 110%.  I have to say that I feel so blessed to have such a great cheerleader in my corner.  I love you honey!

Wonderful One-derland!

This blogging about the diet/lifestyle change has been really hard the last couple of months.  Not because I haven't wanted to blog, but because things have REALLY. SLOWED. DOWN.  Long term, I think this is better for maintenance and my body, but gosh, it's frustrating when you're finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  It has taken me 2 1/2 months to meet my next goal... under 200 pounds.  Even saying that, I feel like I've shown up at school, in my underwear, and forgotten my locker combination to boot.  (What?  You guys don't have those dreams?)  Anyway, originally, I had wanted to be under 200 pounds by my anniversary, which is June 19th, and then by July 4th, which I nearly made.  However, those pounds were stubborn and they didn't want to come off.  I have been exercising and watching what I eat... heck, I even cancelled an upcoming vacation due in part to needing more consistency in my life and I'll be danged if those pounds were camping out.  Well, they're finally off, plus a couple more and for the first time in my married life I weigh under 200 pounds.  And, sorry to say Matt, I'm closing in on you.  Before this summer is over, I am going to weigh less than you!

So, how are things going?  Well, I am now down from a Size 26 to a Size 16, and depending on where they are in the wash and wear cycle, clothes can even be a little baggy.  I am still losing inches and hopefully gaining muscle.  I am the proud owner of some new workout gear and some hot pink running shoes; I'm pretty stoked about those.  According to my measurements, I have gone from Obese to simply Overweight which sounds sad, but is still exciting.  When I went to the doctor last month, she told me that I needed to adjust my goal weight.... it needed to be higher than I thought.  Which means that I have less than 40 pounds left to lose.

In the near future.... my first 10K.  I will be run/walking the Deseret News 10K on the 24th of July with my husband.  He has promised to stay with me and I have promised to train so that I can run part of the way.  So if you see me crossing the finish line at Liberty Park and really sweaty and looking unkempt, please cheer.... it will be appreciated.

Also coming soon is another big milestone.... 100 pounds lost.  A couple of years ago, I hit my highest weight.... 293 pounds.  Is that shocking to you?  It was for me.  I think this may explain some of the crazy in my life.  Anyway, here are some photos for comparison.

May 2010

July 2012 

Well, that's about all there is to say about this right now.  I plan on posting about my first race experience.  Hopefully it's a positive one.  Until then, yay for me!  And yay for you!

Living the Life!

2012 has been an epic year; for many reasons.  Those of you who see me on Facebook know that we have been on the road a bunch this summer.  We have had so much fun and have seen some great sights; let me tell you.

During the last part of June and the first part of July, we were lucky enough to join my family in the Pennsylvania hills for some great family time.  As always, we enjoyed the picturesque country around Gettysburg.  We spend time on the battlefield; the kids visited "the castle" at Little Round Top and climbed the rocks at Devil's Den.  I have to say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fact that they love this part of the country and that they look forward to our visit every year.

Erin & Allie on the top of Little Round Top

"Dad.... catch me!"

Matt and Will at Devil's Den

"The Castle" aka the 44th New York Infantry Regiment Monument

While we were back east, Matt and I took our kids on an overnight excursion to Niagara Falls and upstate New York.  Niagara Falls is one of those bucket list items -- and was so very much fun.  Nearly all of the kids loved it and I'm so glad we went.  A travel trip for those who go, stay on the Canadian side of the Falls; Canada has it's side made up much nicer.

We took the kids on the Maid of the Mist.  It was so fun to see my little family outfitted in their little blue ponchos.  Most of them loved it -- Will hated it!  Something about getting his face wet just rubs that boy wrong!  I think he gets that from his Grandma Homer.  Needless to say, he screamed the ENTIRE time we were on the boat!  After a while, only Allie and I were left up top to tell the tale.

Look at those good-looking folks.... Will's poncho is already half off.  That should have been my warning.

After our excursion on the water, we headed for dinner at where else?  The Hard Rock Cafe!  Technically there are TWO Hard Rock Cafe's at Niagara Falls, one on each side of the Falls -- pretty sad that I know that, eh?  Dinner was your standard Hard Rock fare but we got to eat in the Elvis Presley room which Erin loved.  After dinner, we walked along the midway back to our hotel; stopping for an awesome bit of ice cream along the way.

The next morning, we were up and out of there bright and early.  Back across the border we went and onto Palmyra, New York.  This little out-of-the-way town is very significant to members of the Mormon faith.  I plan to blog about some those experiences separately, but suffice it to say, it was a wonderful thing for our family to do.  We learned a lot, and I think, in general, learned to appreciated the sacrifices made by Joseph Smith and his family and the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

After we saw the sites, we had lunch at what my Uncle Dave would have called the "the local greasy spoon."  And true to form, Matt ordered "the special."  So many fun memories of road trips with Uncle Dave.  While riding back to Gettysburg through the Pennsylvania countryside, we introduced our kids to "Alice's Restaurant," an Uncle Dave favorite and to the greatest hits of Ray Stevens.  The kids loved The Pirate Song.

Speaking of music, it was so much fun to be with the kids in the car this summer.  These youngin's have very distinct musical tastes; which made for a really fun trip.  You haven't lived until you've heard Jack sing, "I'm Sexy and I Know It."

We finished up in Gettysburg with some shopping at the Outlet Malls, a little antiquing and a visit to the Eisenhower Farm.  The farm in Gettysburg is the only house that Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower ever owned; him being a career military man.  The farm is now run by the National Park Service; so fun to get that stamp in our National Parks Passport.

The end of this Pennsylvania trip culminated in a trip to Hershey.... the town that chocolate built!  How much fun we had.

For a treat, Matt and I stayed with our kids at the Hershey Lodge.  We loved this hotel -- the wallpaper and bed linens were covered in Hershey's Kisses, you got chocolate everywhere you went, the shampoo was made with chocolate and for the first time this summer, we got to do a big water park.  At the entrance to the park, kids are encouraged to find the candy that represents their height.  That way, they know which candy sign to watch for instead of constantly asking, "am I tall enough to go on that ride?"

If you go to Hershey, the amusement park is fun (duh) but if you're not looking to spend the money on theme park tickets,  the Hershey's Chocolate World experience is cool, in and of itself.  With your admission, you get to do a number of fun things.  We saw a 3D movie about chocolate, participated in a chocolate tasting course, took a tour of the town and made our own custom chocolate bars.  None of us have actually eaten them yet, but sometimes they beckon from the cupboard late at night!

Erin looks totally thrilled to be with her family, doesn't she?  Will didn't want to leave his cap on and we were threatened with expulsion several times during the tour because of this.

Here Allie & Jack are watching their chocolate bars go through the curing process before they get packaged up!

Here are some of the fun pictures we took and the great times we had.  Read the story of Milton Hershey and his chocolate empire here. All You Ever Wanted to Know About Hershey, PA!

The kids and Grandpa with the York Peppermint Patty.  A Homer family favorite for sure.

Jack with Mr. Kit Kat

Kids with Mom's favorite chocolate treat......

Who knew you'd have to eat so much chocolate?

We knew it was time to go home when the kids were turning down the chocolate they were being offered.  We had so much fun but I have to say after the trips we had this summer, there's no place like home!