Five Things Sunday

Wow! 2 months since I last wrote! A lot has gone on since then.

1.Yesterday we raced in the Country Roads 10k for the 3rd year in a row. I got a PR and Vince won 3rd place in his age group! He also won one of the raffles, so that was pretty cool. I had a really fun time.

( pic of us from the race today)

2. We moved into our apartment here in San Marcos earlier this month. We are still getting used to it but I do miss the Georgetown/Round Rock area after living there for 8 years. 

( brunch date in downtown San Marcos last weekend) 

3. Its hard to believe the marathon is in 11 WEEKS!! With moving and starting school, I am SOOOO behind in my long runs. I still haven't done a 20 mile run yet. YIKES!

4. This is my last year working on my MA in Literature at Texas State!! This semester I am enrolled in Thesis A, Lord Byron and the Byronic Hero, and Issues in Global Diversity. I am also working as a TA for an Intro to Fine Arts class. 

(right now we are reading this in my Lord Byron class)

5. The next race I hope we get to is the Run for the Water race next month. We have raced it three times in the past and I really like it!

( a pic of Vince and me from Run for the Water race last year)

Marathon Training and Life Mumblings

1. Yesterday we finished up the 10th week of training!! We are 1/3 done!!! Below are some pics from my long run Sunday (11.40 miles).

 2. I am currently in the midst of an obsessive watch of Downton Abbey! It's downright cheeky!

3. I just recently discovered this amazing running podcast, Another Mother Runner. I highly recommend it!

 

 



4. I recently started trying to swim again. So far I have only gone twice, but my doctor said swimming again will help my back so I am going to give it a go.

5. I really miss racing. I was excited to do Run for the Water again this year, but that was before I found out I got accepted to present my research at the Northeast Popular/American Culture Conference. Vince is coming with me and it should be fun! I have never been to Providence before!

( the banner for the conference). 

Seven Things Sunday

1. We are in the middle of our sixth week of marathon training. Last week, I ran 8.53 miles at Brushy Creek. This week was a rest week.

(Pics from my run)

2. I finished school about a month and a half ago and was all excited to get  read some books for pleasure but I haven't finished either of the two books I am reading! 

3. I have been doing Weight Watchers for about four months now. So far, I have lost 14.8 pounds. Very slow weight loss but I am happy that, for the most part, I do not feel constricted in what I eat. I think for me, that is really important. I know I need to eat healthier, but I do love me some wings!

( I don't really cook, but I do make some decent wings)

4. Yesterday I did my first ever Pub Run in Georgetown! So much fun!

5. I have so many television shows to catch up on. Right now I am in the midst of Mad Men, Eastbound and Down, and Downton Abbey, among others lol. 

6. I have no immediate races planned. In the fall, I know I would like to do Run for the Water again and Country Roads 10k again, but I don't know any coming up that would be good. It is just sooooo hot right now!

( Pics from our 1st Run for the Water race- October 2010).

7. About 5 and a half months till Marathon #2- MetroPCS Dallas Marathon!!!

Dallas Marathon Training!

So, Vince and me decided to run the Dallas Marathon on December 14th this year. Which should help get me back into a running grove. Considering we haven't run a marathon since February of last year, I really hope to get in marathon shape. This training plan will be longer than our first marathon because the Dallas Marathon has a shorter cut-off time than Austin. So I need to improve my time significantly in order to finish before they close down the course.

Today was Day#1 of training. I ran at Booty Hill Park down by Lake Georgetown.

(pic from my run)

I like running there because I don't get to very often and plus it is very scenic. However, I started late in the morning and the humidity was rough. I would have to say the humidity is what gets to me the most. Still, it feels good to have my first run of this training cycle in. Only 2,003,400 more to go before the race! 

6 things- Catch Up Edition!

Wow. It has been a month since I last wrote. Here is a quick recap of what has been going on.

1. Most importantly, I graduated!!

 Jumping in the Sewall Park River after graduation

2.  We decided that we are not going to do the San Antonio R&R Marathon. We got in over our head with training for a marathon in the midst of the summer.

3. I started graduate school this week! I am taking three classes. The two novels I am reading right now for school are Sabriel and The Morgesons.

4. We did register for our next race though. The Country Roads 10k in San Marcos. We did it last year. I am really looking forward to it!



5. I also start back at work this week. I really missed working there during the summer so I am happy to be back.

6. I haven't made it to run group all this week. :/ I did Camp Gladiator for the first time Monday evening and was wayyy too sore to make it on Tuesday morning. Wednesday night I have class till late in San Marcos and was too exhausted to make it on time. But I hope to make it back soon.

7. Also, Vince is back from Louisiana. He did a great job with his research but I am so happy to have him back home.

Gaining Weight/Pictures

 

Do you ever have one of those days where someone posts a picture of you and you think oh man. That is how I really look?! Today was one of those days for me.

 

 

In 2006, I was having a really horrible year.. until I met Vince that is. But shortly after meeting Vince, I got kidney stones. At the doctor, they told me I was too thin and needed to gain weight. Since then, I have been gaining and gaining and gaining and now I am at point where I weigh 60 more pounds then this photo right here:

 

(Christmas 2006).

 

When I looked at this picture, I started to think about how from 2006- April 2010, I barely ever worked out and I ate pretty unhealthy. And yet, that is the thinest I have been.

 

 

Thanksgiving 2007

 

 

 

Summer 2008

 

 

Christmas 2009

 

 

April 2010.

 

I did manage to lose some weight right before my wedding, just in the nick of time for bridal shots and wedding photos:

 

 



 

But that didn't last very long. Soon it was after the wedding and although I did start exercising, I just kept gaining weight. The pics below are from 2011, 2012 and 2013.



 

 



I feel like I notice my weight gain more lately and I KNOW I have only myself to blame. I guess when I was younger, I didn't put to much thought into my looks and thought I would be thin forever. I feel stronger now in my body but a lot more self-concious. I have small victories of losing some weight, only to fall off the wagon and give into my true love, hot wings.

 

I know that this is the only body I have and I need to take better care of it. I just need to make a change and actually stick to it.

 

I think I want there to be that magic pill of ta-da, instathin but really, more than thin, I would just like to be at a healthy weight. I have completed so many races at this weight and accomplished more as a "bigger" person than I ever did when I was thin. But I know my workouts and energy level would vastly improve with a healthier body weight.

 

I forgot what my orginal point of posting this was, but I think it has something to do with not wanting to give up on being healthier, even when I feel discouraged.

 

Thanks for reading!

Five Things Friday

1. I started swim class for school this week. We didn't have class Monday and Tuesday we didn't swim. So for this week, I only had swimming Wednesday and Thursday. Which is good because those workouts make me tired. Orginally on Wednesday he had me in the beginner lanes but by the end of class, he told me I needed to be in the advanced lanes and that I was pretty good. That made me feel better. However, Thursday I went running before class and was feeling intimated with being with the advanced swimmers. I choose to swim in the intermediate lanes but I don't know if that is the right decision. He told me I could be in the advanced, but I don't have the endurance they have and I don't want to get in the way. So for right now, I may stay in intermediate. Not sure yet.


2. Joyce Carol Oates. For my Independent Study last semester, I read her book Foxfire, which I had been meaning to read for years. I like her writing a lot although a lot of people say she is too depressing. Right now I am reading her book, The Falls. Pretty intense but good so far.

3. This summer I have run several times with my little sister Taylor. I am so happy to have her back in georgetown and be able to spend more time with her. This is a pic of us running at Brushy Creek last week.

4. Vince is still in Louisiana but I got to visit him for a day. We had a very relaxed visit of dinner and a movie and grocery shopping in the morning before I had to come back home. I miss him a lot but I am very proud of him. 

This is a pic he took of the Louisiana State University Observatory. He is going to run it for a little while next week at Astronomy Night. 

5. I miss races. Feels like forever since the last one.