Not Everyone Can Take on the SOB

The Siskiyou Outback Run is no joke and sure as hell isn't something you should take lightly. This was obvious when we arrived at the starting area and were surrounded by real runners. The kind who weight next to nothing, have 2% body fat, can sprint for hours on end, do crazy ass warm ups - basically not me and FGS. There were only a handful of "normal" people around, including us.

Of course I use the term "normal" in reference to our physique, not our mental state. Because obviously we are out of our damn minds and enjoy being tortured early Saturday morning.

You might think that the name of the run is just a funny play on words - "SOB", ha ha ha. Yeah. Not so funny when you are facing a vertical accent that makes you whimper for your mommy.

They weren't lying - it was a real S.O.B.!!!

This is where my point of view diverges from Fat Girl Slim's. Yeah, the race was really fucking hard. There were times on that trail where I seriously doubted my ability to take another step. It was physically impossible to walk, let alone run, a lot of it.

But was it a bad idea? Absolutely not.

I proved to myself that I can do it!!! I am more than my jiggly thighs. I am not defined by my poochy stomach. I am, in fact, a bad ass. I ran all the way up and back down a MOUNTAIN! How many people do you know that can say that?

A small part of said mountain

This is part of the reason I love Oregon. Gorgeous!

FGS has no intention of doing this race, ever again, ever! Me, on the other hand, I will be doing it next year - and I will do it in even less time than this year.

Why would I do this? Because, quite simply, I AM A BAD ASS!!!

Post 100!!!!! Can You Believe It?

Holy crap. Apparently we've had a lot to say. Never fear though, I've got plenty more to talk about, and there's lots going on in the coming weeks.

First, I need to make mention of my weigh in this morning. Guess who finally lost some freaking weight? ME! Finally, after a total stand still on the scale, I managed to lose 2.2 lbs. this week! Furthermore, I managed to track my calories EVERY. SINGLE. DAY., and I didn't go over. AT ALL. Now I just need to keep this momentum up. Therein lays the challenge.

Next I guess it's time to kill my buzz and discuss the 15k that MT and I ran this weekend. Her and I have vastly different takes on this race, and she made me promise I wouldn't talk massive shit about it. I really can't help it though, because I'm still mildly horrified about what I went through at this point. About 20 minutes into the damn race, and I thought for sure i was being Punk'd. I have no idea why I decided to make my first 15k one that went straight up a freaking mountain. Was I just not paying attention? Did I not realize what a massive elevation increase the race entailed? Who the fuck knows.

Basically, I spent 2 hours praying I wouldn't die. Saying it was a hard race would be a gross understatement. I distinctly remember telling MT that we were going to have to change our blog name. We'd now be called "Half Ass to Almost Half Marathon, but Then I Broke My Ankle and Died During a 15k". Seriously, they said this was a trail run, but the "trail" was straight up a mountain and full of giant rocks, fast-moving streams and pits of mud that went up to my knees. It was much more "extreme hiking" and much less "running".

This is the point where I need to thank you, our faithful blog readers. I wanted to quit so, so, SO badly, but I knew I couldn't come back and tell you guys I didn't finish. That just wasn't an option. There were parts of this race where I could've sworn I was having an out of body experience it hurt so bad. The hills were SO steep, and it was SO hot outside. I kept going though, somehow. I just couldn't come back here and say I quit.

You know, I'd love to say I felt some great sense of accomplishment when I [eventually] crossed that finish line, but really? I just felt dead and really, really dirty [Did I mention the mud holes?]. It's been over 48 hours, and I still think that race was a mistake. Maybe in a few days [weeks? months?] I'll look back on it all fondly, but at this point it's just not happening. I'm kind of angry with myself at this point. I feel like I've probably set myself back in my half training, because I'm SOOO sore, obviously my runs this week will be lacking. Live and learn though, right? I'll get over it.

Obligatory post-race picture.  MT is a fucking giant!

Tomorrow Muffin Top is going to post HER version of a race recap, along with our next training schedule [the one that will lead us to the half marathon!]. And I'll be back Wednesday, hopefully with a better attitude.

I Grow Shit.

I've been meaning to bust out with some pictures of my garden for a long time now. You see, when Muffin Top and I decided to get healthy [you know, way back in January], one of the things I really wanted to do was plant a garden. I had recently watched the movie Food, Inc [If you haven't seen this, RUN. Go pick it up NOW.], and it made me much more cautious about where I get my food. A garden, I figured, would be a great way to incorporate more produce in my life. And not only that, it would also be a great way to know exactly where my produce was coming from. Total win.

I have to give a shout out to my ridiculously awesome husband at this point. When I told him I wanted some raised beds for a garden, he didn't give me any crap over it. Instead, he went to the lumber store, bought all sorts of wood and built me planter boxes, just like the Pioneer Woman has! He even filled them with dirt and compost using only a shovel and wheelbarrow. My husband fucking ROCKS.

Anyways, we decided on planting bell peppers [green and red], zucchini, brussel sprouts, tomatoes, potatoes, onions and lettuce. I'm stoked to say we've had amazing success so far! We have more lettuce than 3 families can eat [Seriously, I give lettuce to strangers at this point!], and we've had some massive zucchini! [Insert funny penis joke here... I'm at a loss with the funny lately.] And the tomatoes? Damn! There are TONS of them now. I absolutely cannot wait to make a shit ton of tomato sauce with zucchini tossed in for good measure.

I don't know if any of you have thought about a garden or not, but I figured maybe some pictures would inspire. It's not been nearly the challenge I thought it would be, and it's strangely cool and empowering to grow your own food. Pictures below!
 

Do you like my arrows?

Lots and lots of tomatoes!

The lettuce is out of control.

First bell pepper! Shut up, I was proud!

First harvest!

Daily Food Intake: 7/7 and 7/8

Forgot to post my food intake for the 7th and 8th! No worries though, I've been a calorie tracking FOOL, people. And while I haven't been perfect, I have stayed under my 1,700 calorie goal, and I have gotten the correct amounts of fruit, veggies, whole grains and protein. I am definitely considering this week a total win.

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Nerves.

I've been sitting here all morning trying to figure out why I'm in such a funk. Nothing really wrong, I suppose, but I just feel edgy. I almost had full on panic attack when I realized I'm out of shot bloks, and I don't have time to get to the running store before Saturday. Fortunately, Amazon and their one day shipping made my shot bloks literally a click away. Problem solved. Yet I still feel like somebody is clawing my insides out. I feel terribly, horribly nervous. Why?

Then it hit me. It has to be the race, right? Even though it makes no logical sense for me to fear it, I do. I keep having all these crazy thoughts in my head. What if I can't finish the race? What if I get the runner's trots and crap all over myself? What if I die? What if Muffin Top isn't strong enough to drag my poop-stained body back to the start line and bears eat me and my family never has proper closure?

Remember this dude?  I don't wanna poop myself!!!

I've never ran a 15k race before. [That's 9.7 miles, peeps!] Sure, MT and I ran 10 miles straight a couple of weeks ago, but we did it alone, without an audience, and definitely not in front of a shit ton of people! [That sentence is begging for some sexual innuendo, but I'm a total FAIL today]. Also, this race includes A LOT of hills, and we only did limited hill running. I know I should learn to love hills, but I just... don’t. They scare me.

Is it going to feel like this?  Why is this dude naked?

Somewhere in a logical crevice of my brain, I know that once we get out there and get going, everything will be ok. We have to pace ourselves; we have to drink our water at appropriate intervals. We've trained for this. It actually takes a surprising amount of talent to eat a shot blok, wash it down with water and continue running without falling. But I've practiced this extensively, so I should be good to go! By this point, we've done so many long runs that I know exactly what to eat for breakfast before a run [clif bar, natch], and I know exactly how much water to drink so I don't end up pissing myself. [No more than 16oz during the hour before the race!]. I also know at which point I normally hit my wall, and I also know when I start to get past it. WE. ARE. PREPARED.

I can HANDLE the shit storm...as long as I don't shit myself.

At some point during the next 48 hours, I need to do the one thing I haven't yet. I need to nut up and believe in myself. That sounds totally hokey and cheesy, but it's quite literally the only thing I'm missing. I know I HAVE ran 10 miles before, but I can't wrap my mind around the fact that I actually DID. Somehow, I'm stronger than I think I am, and sooner or later I need to get that through my head. T-minus 48 hours and counting, people!

Daily Food Intake: July 6, 2010

Ok, so my goal is to post my food intake every day this week.  I logged everything I ate yesterday, and I didn't put anything in my mouth that I shouldn't have. [*snicker*]  Here's how yesterday played out.  I ended up with 1,673 calories total, which is pretty damn close to my goal of 1,700.  I also managed to get in 8 glasses of water and 8 servings of fruit and veggies!  My entire goal this week is to fuel my body in preparation for the race.  So far, so good! 

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Back To Life... Back To Reality

What a freaking fabulous six days off work! I seriously had the best time ever, and I kept thinking "Life is never going to get any better than this." Totally, completely awesome.

Today, however, is not so totally, fantastically freakin' awesome. I'm back at work. I have ten loads of laundry waiting for me at home, and my house is a huge cluster. Guess what, though? I'm just not ready to focus on that yet. My brain is still about 250 miles away at the beach.

This beach, right here....

For all the inquiring minds out there, I stepped on the scale this morning and officially weigh exactly what I did last Monday. This is pretty fair considering how much pigging out I did the past six days. I must've burned some of it off with all the walking around we did.

And did I mention I crossed something important off my bucket list? Not my small, summer list, but the big list I have for my life!!! I WENT TO THE GOONIES HOUSE! Yes, I know I'm waving my geek flag high lately, but c'mon, it's THE GOONIES! We were vacationing approximately 15 minutes from Astoria, Oregon, where the movie was filmed. How could I not go there??? It was epic, people. EPIC.

Walk up the driveway for Goonies awesomesauce!!!

Look, it's Fat Girl Slim at the GOONIES HOUSE!!!

We also spent lots of time playing in the sand, eating yummy food at local restaurants and walking the prom where all the cute shops are. On 4th of July I made some super yummy fajitas, and we watched the firework insanity commence on the beach. I can say with some certainty that I never wanted to come back. Especially with Mr. FGS's departure coming in 18 days.

I could ramble on and on about vacation, but I'm trying to reign it in. I've also got other things to ramble about today. For starters, this Saturday is our 15k race! I'm a combination of nervous, terrified and thrilled! I know we can handle the distance [We've ran 10 miles consecutively to date, holla!], but I'm really uneasy about the amount of hills in this race. Also, I'm a little concerned about my left shin. It's been hurting like a motherfucker lately when I run, and I know that isn't a good sign. Oddly enough, however, only treadmill runs seem to be bothering it, so maybe it won't hurt in the race.

Another thing to ramble about is my food intake. I posted awhile ago about needing to cut calories. You all were extremely helpful and gave me great advice about not cutting them down too far. I've decided to aim for 1700 calories a day, and I am going to write down EVERYTHING. No cheating, because really, I'm only cheating myself here. I'm ready for all my hard work to start paying off. I'm ready for some real results. I'm going to try to get on here once a day and post my food intake to keep me accountable.

Right now I'm off to the gym for a 4 mile run, sans Muffin Top. Unfortunately [for me, not her], she's on a family vacation this week. Lucky bitch. Have a great week, peeps!