Week two has officially started. Trev started xc practice this morning so we had to be up and at 'em early. I dropped him off at school at 7:00 and headed to work. Kip was stuck with getting Kallie ready but said he had no problem.

We are doing a new workout-P90X. We are on day two and let's just say I wish I could pee standing up. My legs are pretty, really, extremely, unbelievable sore. Completely different from running, that's for sure.

My eating has been clean for two days. Two days, you say? Well, it has been pretty bad for a while. I gained all my weight back so I am starting right where I was last year at this time. A blog I read really hit home. It said something to the effect that you wouldn't want to stay in a relationship when someone was abusing you yet we stay in these unhealthy relationships with ourselves all the time. So I am trying to keep self promises. I am also trying to make myself important. It all got me to thinking that if people look at me and clearly see that I don't value myself much why should they place any value on me either. All this being said, I am going to try to work harder and get back to a place I like being.

Hope you are there when I get to that place.

I ran this morning with my new butt pack water holder thingy. Not sure what the technical name is but I am sure you all know what I am talking about. First, looks: you have to tuck you shirt in to the pack so that you can get to all your gear. No hiding the hips now. Second, weight: Not too bad but I was just carrying water and my phone. Third, ease of use: easy to get to bottle and phone and easy to put back. Complaints: The water bottle lid was had to open and no way was I using these expensive teeth to open it. I decided to leave it open and it sloshed a little. It wasn't too bad with water but I stopped half way to change to my other shoes and switched to accelerade. That made the leaking fluid a little sticky. Maybe I will try to open and close my water bottle a few thousand times to make it easier.

Other running updates: still loving the new Under Armour sports bra-worth the extra money. Would still like to find some shoes with cushion and support but not extremely heavy. I tried on about 20 pairs yesterday but this area is not known for its running stores/shoe selection. I am going to Dallas next week and hope to have time to look around.

Better finish up and head to the shower. We have Babe Ruth State Playoffs tonight. Two games to win to head to Regionals.

Today was supposed to be a rest day but I thought i had been resting enough-like 11 weeks. I decided I would do three miles at least. I made it 3.5. Always have to remember to push through those first yucky two miles and things get better. My knee is good, ITB is good. I had a weird pain in between my shoulder blades. I tried alternating tapping of my fingers to my thumbs to see if I was clenching my fists or running tense. It seemed to help a little. I am icing my knee as a precaution.

I used my new garmin. I am still getting used to the bells and whistles but really glad I got it. I also ran with out my IPOD tonight. I love this time of the year when you can hear kids playing outside, softball and baseball games/practices, families fishing, dogs barking, and other sounds of summer. And of course I listened carefully for my lap beep to signal that I could walk.

Another day with just one dt. soda. Anyone think the soda thing matters? I was off of them for a while but...

Better get up and get in the shower. I will close with a Runner's World quote: "You don't need a reason, you just need a road. Enjoy the run."

Finally decided to take some time for myself. It wasn't all of my choosing. Two of my kids were really tired of staying home so they called my mom and begged her to come get them. My other son had baseball practice. Usually I would go and sit at practice but my son told me tonight that I didn't have to stay and watch, that I could go do something for myself. I told him I had been wanting to get my workout done so he told me I should just do it. It's what I have been wanting but felt selfish to take time for myself. I also decided I had time to update my blog since I haven't blogged in about 11 weeks.

18 weeks until marathon. I am not ready. I have gained about 20 pounds back since summer started. I started carb deplete again today. Headache! Only had one dt. soda. I was off of them for a few weeks but gave in. I have to find something that I can stick with and not just something for 8 weeks or 12 weeks. I know I can do it because I have done it before. I felt so much better, looked better, and my body was healthy.

I will try to be a better blogger.

Oh, I got my Garmin 305! I ran on the treadmill tonight so I didn't get to use it fully but I am really excited.

I finished the 1/2 Marathon 5 months after my ACL and meniscus reconstruction. It was faster than last year by a few minutes. I am very sore due I think to the downhills. I wasn't released to run downhills until Thursday, three days before the 1/2. Not much time to do any downhill training. I ended up walking more than I wanted to in the end. I was good until we stopped at mile 10 for 10 minutes. While my son was using the port-a-pot, I made the mistake of sitting on a bench to stretch. My knees did not like it. As Jo already reported in her blog, I have terrible blisters. I have never in my life had blisters on my feet. Today, I have 5 huge blisters on my feet. I must have been retaining water or something because my brace rubbed me in places that it never has, my shoes rubbed me, and my sports bra, well...
I love the run because of everything involved. Friday night we meet at my great aunt's (she will be 90) for bbq. Saturday we meet at my cousin's house for brunch. This year we got to go to Lion King. Then on to Celebration Station for my daughter's birthday party. Mix in hotel swimming for the kids and lots more cousins and aunts for a great weekend. Then of course the run on Sunday. This year my husband chased us on the course while the rest of the family sat in the bleachers and waited for us all to finish. We had a smaller number of runners due to injuries this year but we all had fun. We had 6 runners and over 30 supporters.
More stats coming later!

One week until the 1/2 marathon and I didn't get my eight in this weekend. I had every intention of doing it yesterday but...I decided to take a nap. I told my husband to wake me up in one hour. He sent my daughter in to do the dirty work and I told her I decided to sleep through the night. So I didn't get up until 6:00 this morning. I thought about running the eight today but just did four. Several reasons: 1) Eight is a long way, 2) I tried some new shorts-chaffed(sp), 3) I didn't start until 9:30 pm, 4) Like I said, eight is a long way!

I will be happy with four. I felt good. My legs felt good. My breathing felt good. The boys rode their bikes with me so that was nice. My wonderful hubby worked on putting up all the laundry. Although it was a wonderful favor to me, I think his real reason was that he was tired of sleeping on the couch since our bed has become the laundry pile. You know how some people spend countless hours taking throw pillows off the bed and putting them back on in the morning? Well, we do that with piles of laundry. Shirts, then pants, then shorts, then everything else. Every night and then every morning...no throw pillows just clean laundry. What a waste of time! Wonder if I could count that as a calorie burner?

Got my three in on Monday with the DH on his bike, the middle child on his bike, and the youngest in her Barbie Mustang. We ruled the road because of our numbers and our noise. My daughter kept worrying that the battery was getting low on the car so she quit early. After we ran, we had coffee on the porch. If you have insomnia, you should not have coffee at 10:30 pm. We stayed up late and got caught up on our DVRed shows.

Tonight I got in another three with the looming threat of severe weather. Again Kallie went with the Barbie car and she made it 2 miles before the battery died. Luckily we were close to my son's baseball practice so we loaded the car in the back of the pickup. I finished the run, stopped by the house and got warmer clothes, then headed back to watch baseball practice. We love baseball at our house and are always excited when it starts. This year I am worried about the expense because everyone has outgrown everything. Yikes.

On the house front...the bank as all paperwork and our realtor thinks they will set a closing date by next Wednesday. Thanks, cause we have had to pay two more months' mortgage waiting on this closing. I just hope it goes through cause my fingers have cramps from being crossed.

Better head to the ice bath before the lightning gets any worse.

I had an extra day off from school today that the kids didn't have. Go me!!! I did keep my daughter home with me 'cause she is a blast. We slept late, laid on the trampoline with a blanket, watered the garden, and went grocery shopping. We also made several "diet" meals to put in the fridge for the week.

My sister was in town for the weekend and we got a great run in with one of our cousins. We wanted to take a picture for Single Track but never got the camera out. We did 10 miles in the local cemetery. My thinking for Single Track was that we all go down different paths but eventually end our runs in the same place. Too creepy? We were glad to have the trees to block the wind and rain. Wind chill was 32 and it sprinkled on us some. Cousin's DH came when we had two miles left and got out of the car all bundled up in his coat. Please!

I was in shorts. He pointed out that my knee brace was rubbing my leg in a new place causing bleeding. I hope when I go back to the orthopedic surgeon this week I get to leave my knee place off. I have been released to do everything but downhills so I hope that he approves of those also. When I hurt my knee the doctor and physical therapist didn't think I would be able to do the half in April. Surprise! It's only two weeks away and I think I am gonna make it.

Last weekend was the longest run before the race. I am carb depleting this week to try to get a few more pounds off before the race. I know I will have to have some carbs before the race but I think I can do good for a few days.

The wind was blowing again today but I talked my son into going out with me anyway. We only had to get three in so that wasn't too bad. We ran on the roads for 1/2 a mile and then headed to the park trail. My husband was going to come pick us up in 30 minutes so we could go eat. That meant we had to run quickly (for me anyway) to get done in time.

We had made it almost around to our pickup location when my son decided to show me how well he could throw a rock at a moving target. We always try to look for a "prize" on our runs and today we had picked up a perfect skimming rock. He decided to use the rock to aim at a tree branch that had a bird on it. He moved in to throw pretty quickly and the next thing I knew he was flat out on his face on the ground. Right outside of the path there was a hole about a foot deep. He had stepped in it when he threw the rock and bit it. After I checked to see that he was alright, I almost died laughing. Of course he had broken his ankle and his hip and couldn't possibly walk anymore. I helped him up and drug him along for a little bit. He is very dramatic. When my watched beeped to tell us the walking interval was over, he was miraculously healed and off he went. After he had searched out the skimming rock that had gone flying across the park grass.

After supper tonight, we all went back to the park for some baseball practice. Our family lives and breathes baseball. This will be the first year my daughter gets to play so we have to get her ready for the pros before the season starts. I can't wait.

Oh how I wish I could work from home. I have loved the last few days at home even with the sick kids! I got to run this morning and then I did an upper body workout. Just because I had no where to go, I also got my ab workout done. Then I took a nice long bath after I had iced. It was so great. I even managed to get some laundry done.

The kids all seem better. My oldest still looks a little pale but has made it through two days of school. My youngest was set to go back to daycare tomorrow but convinced her Grammy to take her home tonight for one more day off.

I know it is late and I should be sleeping but just can't fall asleep. Don't know what's wrong lately. I was trying to blame it on the house of sickness but it's more than that. I have my trusty sleep aid but last night had some hallucinations with it. Plus you need at least eight hours with it and I don't have that to give tonight. After an hour of laying in bed, I thought I would get up and blog a little. My sister once told me she holds her arms straight up in the air when she can't sleep. Eventually they get tired and you fall asleep. I was going to try it but it was so warm under the covers! Any other ideas? I have cut down (way down) on the caffeine so that can't be it.

Back to work tomorrow. Hope I can find my desk.

Just as one was getting well another one went down. My daughter started feeling bad Saturday night. Fever, earache, drainage, and sore throat. We couldn't get to the dr. until today which meant two sleepless nights due to the ear pain. It wasn't strep and the ear pain was just from the drainage in her throat so that's better than I expected to hear. We got two prescriptions, one didn't get mixed so I had to go back to pharmacy to get it fixed. Finally got home 6 hours later. We have gone through two bottles of fever reducer this weekend between the two kids. Hopefully the third child will stay healthy!

My diet grocery money went to dr. visit, rx, jello, juice, popsicles, kleenex, motrin, vapor rub, and the like. Oh, and she had to have new pjs to make her feel better. Oh well guess I will have to survive on protein shakes. Maybe my DH will cut me some slack and up my allowance! Guess that would mean I would have to do my chores.

I had my DH take pictures of me tonight BFL style in what I would like to wear for SBSA. It was gross. I have a long way to go. I am not forgetting how far I have come in the last 7 months but just realizing I am not finished yet. So not finished! I also just realized how close the end of the diet contests are. Basically two months left in both and they are both worth $500 smackers. I have to get going again. Get out of the rest stop and get moving. I have become too lax with my food and exercise. If I am not careful I will be back where I was instead of continuing forward.

I will get the pictures printed tomorrow and hang them everywhere I can think of without causing anyone else to become violently ill.

Yesterday we had a blizzard (by West Texas standards) but today we have warmer temps and most of the snow is melted. I went out for a 7 mile run in shorts and long sleeve shirt. The wind was high 20+ mph and the temp was okay in the 30s. I tried to get my DH to take a picture of me in shorts with the water hose doing my cool down in the yard with the snow behind me. I think he wanted to say that I was lucky he came out to turn the hose on and off but not to expect him to get a camera out also. At least that's what I read from the look on his face. I did have my son bring me some coffee to drink while I did the 15 minute hose treatment.

My plans for the day include making a nice big poster with my SBSA schedule on it so I can hang it up somewhere near my target outfit. I need constant visual support to get this accomplished. I also want to knock out some major housework so that I can do light up keep and not worry about the house for the next few months (okay 8 months) required for training.

Please, I am counting on you all for some major support in this marathon endeavor. I have talked about running one for a few years but always came up with excuses. Now as my health/life depend on improvements, I really want to commit to running one. I already forked over the registration. I have the hotel rooms. I have the schedule. I have the new treadmill. I have the knowledge. I have or will make the time. I have the support. (Right?) Now it is just a matter of doing it.

Oh my goodness! It is cold here. Winds are still blowing with gusts up to 65 mph. I can't tell if it is snowing or just blowing. Wind chill is in the single digits. My DH went out around 3:00 am to start work on downed power lines. School was still on this morning but my oldest child who never gets sick...was sick. He really goes down hard when he does get sick. High temps, rash, chills, with strep. Even with meds we can't get the temp under 102. He can't go back to school until Monday so I thought it was perfect to stay home with him and out of the blizzard like conditions. Several people called to tell me they didn't think I should go to work cause they couldn't see the road and couldn't drive over 5 mph. It didn't take much for them to talk me into it.

I had to venture out twice. Once to talk the other son to school and once to replenish the juice and pain reliever. Too bad I forgot to get the meds and the toilet paper. Looks like I will have to head out again later. Hopefully my hubby will get to come home this afternoon and maybe I can talk him into it.

As far as running, I got in three miles last night before the storm hit. Believe it or not, it was 75 degrees yesterday. My middle son went with me and we did a tour of town again. We try to find interesting things along the way. Yesterday we found a bouncy ball and then a spoon. We had been bouncing the ball back and forth. I tried to get him to pick up the spoon and see how far he could carry the ball on the spoon. We ran down by the train tracks and he kicked the ball into some grass. It was a green ball and was lost to us forever. Sometimes we also play the alphabet game when we run. I love having the kids involved in something healthy that we can do as a family.

I am so sore from my long run on Saturday and from lifting weights. I know, I know, it is a good sore. I will keep at it. Food was good today until tonight. Didn't really overeat just had some chips. I was under my calories count for the day though. I still need to get to the grocery store.

My IPOD started freaking out on the second leg of the marathon relay last Sunday. It would speed through songs and change randomly. I got my distance measured and calories accounted for on that run before it went out completely. Today I got it out to strap back up to my Nike + since we were heading outside for a run but it wouldn't work. I had been using it with my treadmill so I thought maybe the Nike + had gone bad even though it was fairly new. So tonight my husband was trying to get himself into Jo's challenge and we were having to update our IPODs cause they are/were both connected to another computer. Turns out mine was corrupted and I had to restore everything. Which means I lost all my workout data, all my music, and all my movies that I had bought from ITUNES. If anyone out there understands how to get all that back even though I bought it on another computer, please help. It makes me mad to pay $10 for a movie only to lose it when my IPOD or computer crashes. I think it should be in your account forever. I will have to work on it all later.

As for running, I got in at least 7 and no more than 8. I did 4 on the treadmill and what I thought was 4 outside but my husband told me the new course is short so maybe I only ran 3 outside. I must have my IPOD/NIKE + back.

Atkins is not working for me. I am going back to crackin' and BFL combined. I need some carbs to continue with my training.

We redid the whole kitchen/dining room area to make it a workout room. Not sure what we will do about a table but there is still room in the kitchen for one.

The end of the competition is fast approaching and I have to win that money! Better get busy.

Oh did I mention that I love spring break. The kids are spent the night somewhere else last night and I got to sleep in today. I actually slept until 1:00 p.m.

The race results have been posted. My DH officially had a PR. Remember me writing about my boys playing soccer after running their portion of the relay. Well, my husband ran his leg in 51 minutes with less than 15 miles of training in all since oh shall we say, October! After I got over being mad at him for kicking my butt, I was really proud. I am so sorry I didn't mention his great time in the earlier post about the race. I will get my pictures up tomorrow hopefully since we are still on the road driving home!

Thanks Jo for the trip!

"I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race." Too dramatic? Okay. We finished the marathon relay. I will put pictures up later. Right now it is super early and my camera is upstairs. I have to plan my trips upstairs very strategically since yesterday's run so going only to get the camera is not gonna happen. But I digress, Lucky Trails was a great place to run. We had our two teams and thank goodness there wasn't much trash talk cause the boys beat us by an hour. Of the real legs of the relay I had the slowest time but made it under my post-surgery goal. We didn't have our fourth runner to finish the relay. We debated about several ways to remedy the situation. My husband said he would run two legs but I didn't want him to get hurt before our goal race in April plus we were only scheduled for 7 not 13! My now 3 person team said we would all run it together just slowly. In the end we decided that wouldn't be fair to the 3rd leg who would have just finished running. I had been sitting for a while and think it might have been better to run the legs together. Anyway, my sister waited at the exchange and I went down the trail a little ways. We took off down the course in a slow run/walk pattern. I made it through the butterfly garden and up to the road. I had the first water stop in sight but my ITBand wasn't having anymore of this stupid plan. My awesome sister said she could do it. You go! (Yes, she is medicated!)

I thought my dad was bringing my stepmom over to meet us so I continued to walk to the prearranged place. And yes, I was doing the stiff leg ITBand walk. Dad passed by honking and waved. What? Please stop! He did and I shuffled over to the pickup. (Did I crawl?) We took off to the meeting place quickly because he had gotten a text from my sister but was confused by where she was already at. My stepmom had planned to run back in with her to finish up the last 2 miles. My dad said he was just going to tackle her and rip her shoe off so my stepmom could just run with her chip. We convinced him that was cheating and could get us kicked out FOREVER. They finised the race for our team. When they crossed the finish line, the announcer called out our name, "Three Cowgirls and a Stud" and of course the medal people wanted to know where the Stud was so we had to explain that he was a dud and the Cowgirls had to carry the team. They were all women so of course they understood! JK, kind of!

So JoJo ran 13, GJ and I ran @ 9. You better believe we had our NIKE + on so we could get credit for those miles and those calories!!!

BTW, my 9 and 13 year old boys both ran their 6.5 in under an hour and they hadn't run more than a mile in training. The sickening part, they played soccer all afternoon after the race. I hate being old.

I made it almost all the way to work (30 of the 35 miles) when I got a call that #2 was sick again. I turned around and headed home. Not sure what's wrong but he is running a fever. Oh well, I will sacrifice and take a nap...I mean stay home with him. Plus I can get laundry done and get packed to head out for Seabrook Marathon.

http://missysironmanflorida2008.blogspot.com/2009/02/injured-sick-worn-out-just-tired-what.html

Okay, I am done pouting, crying, and whining, at least for a few days. I am working on getting my WOE back in line. I realize I had been letting myself get by with a few things that I shouldn't have. I know it is a way of life and not a diet. I know what I need to do. I just have to figure out how to make myself do it. I did have good results from the scale this week so I hope that stays with me.

I am starting to get a little self doubt thanks to Bry. I hope we can all get through our leg of the marathon relay. But like L said, a little walking is okay. Jo said it may rain which would be fine with me. That would bring the temp closer to what we are used to. However, we have been running on the treadmill this week with the heat on in the house to help us get ready for the temp change. A sloppy muddy rainy trail race sounds like fun. Better get my old shoes out!

I had a bad doctor's visit yesterday. I am not talking about it because I don't want to accept it. No need for any one to worry. I will give the report in a day or two.

Also had to go to the judge today to pay my ticket. Yes, she did make me pay. Then she called the stalker and had me confront him because it was all just a coincidence. Whatever! Needless to say, I wasn't happy when I left there. He denied everything.

I was very stressed today and know it wasn't good for my health but I survived the day and will be stronger because of it.

I will update later.

Stomach virus-gone. Bloody head-gone (at least the blood part). First run of the week-gone. PreTAKS jitters-almost gone.

Anybody want a dog? My son and I are always wanting to get a dog. My husband always says no. I always get one anyway. Then I have to find a way to get rid of it. My husband said this time we have to keep the dog to learn our lesson. That was until he changed his mind today and said in a really nice voice, "GET RID OF THAT DOG!!!!!!!!" So we have a mini daschund that is about 10 weeks old, registered male, sable head, brown and black body. Let me know if you are a sucker like me.

We ran 2.6 miles tonight at break neck speed-at least for me. I usually run 12 minute miles when I am out by myself. My husband agreed to run my 3/1 pattern with me tonight but little did I know that we would have to run it at a 10 minute pace. I think he upped my life insurance today before we went out to run. Better investigate that before I agree to run with him again. We were supposed to run 3-4 miles tonight but ended up back at the house in 2.6. Since we left all the kids so we could go run together, it was easy to convince each other to stop .4 short.

The weather here was wonderful today. Diet was so-so. Doctor's appointment tomorrow so I am hoping for some good news.

@ 15 days to closing. I love that house but am accepting that we have moved on. Please let it sale! Gotta close up to finish watching my new favorite show, Ax Men!

The stomach virus has hit me. About midnight last night I headed to the bathroom and emerged this morning at about 5:00 am. Hubby sent me back to bed and I slept to 11. All the family went to church and brought me something to eat after. Bad idea for food that soon.

I must have been out of my mind all day because I watched a marathon of Ax Men, which is about loggers in Oregon. I think I watched about 6 hours.

Yesterday we went to get some of the last stuff from our house. My middle son and I went to organize storage and the rest of the crew went to get stuff. We went to the back of the storage to start. He was standing up some bed rails, telling me they wouldn't stay. He turned to get another one and I yelled to watch out as the first one fell and bashed him on the head. Boy does the head bleed. I opened up the first thing I saw and grabbed a t-shirt to put pressure. He went weak in the knees. I knew I needed to get him to the front of the building in case he did pass out. I called DH to come back and get us to the hospital. We were only a block away from the hospital and I have to tell you it was the quickest ER trip ever (we have had lots). Maybe the amount of blood helped rush the procedure! He ended up with three staples. He was pretty brave about it and glad they didn't have to shave any hair.

One more weekend of excitement!

By the time we got finished eating the wind was gusting 55 mph. Part of the fence blew down, and the front porch has two inches of dirt on it. Needless to say, we didn't go run. Let me repeat one of my previous blogs...I need a treadmill! There is only one small gym here in our town but even a membership there wouldn't help because the hours are crappy. My DH asked me this week if we just wanted to get rid of the dining room table and move our weight room(garage) equipment in to the dining room and add a treadmill. I love this man. I am thinking that means we get to eat out even more! Unfortunately, he was thinking smaller table in the kitchen or tv trays. Darn.

I said, "Let's just get a bigger house."

He said, "Sure Jill and go ahead and quit your job and hire the maid and keep sending the kid to daycare so you can stay home and train all day or whatever you want to do."

I said, "Really?"

He said, "Get a grip."

Today was a beautiful day. It was the kind of day you wish you could sit under a shade tree with a cherry lime and magazines or a great novel. Not warm enough to tan but nice enough to just hang out and relax. But oh, I work for a living so no hanging out. I mentioned my idea at lunch and one of my friends brought me back a 44 oz dt. coke. Closest I got to my dream afternoon. Thanks for thinking of me.

I also had a therapy session with my talk therapist. I hope she got as much out of it as I did. I didn't get home until late but it was well worth it.

We are waiting on lil' sis and family to come over for dinner. We are supposed to get a run in after we eat but the later it gets, the easier to sits! Tomorrow we have to run 6 which also means we get to eat pancakes!

Tomorrow afternoon we have to head to our old house to get the last of the stuff out of storage. We are supposed to close in two weeks. Prayers and crossed fingers would be appreciated. Everything is a go so far so we hope it stays that way. It has been over two years since we put it on the market. So we hope it goes through.

Eating was better today-stayed on track so far. Not sure if I can count it as calorie burn but my every two hour shock therapy as sure made me sore. I looked online today for other placement instructions. Still counting on insurance to approve buy not rent!

No stalker news!

The boys are gone for the evening so its a girls night. I have some new students at school and we are piloting some mini laptop type computers. I brought one home to play with but Kallie quickly took over. So girls night and we are both working away on the laptops. I was thinking a nap sounded good but know I won't sleep tonight if I sleep now.

Jana and I were going to meet to run but she ended up going to a game instead. I will head over to the park to run in a little while after the boys get home cause I am not pushing that blasted jogging stroller.

Enjoy the evening.

I can't stop eating. I am not going to do a CH or H day again. I can't get over the cravings for carbs. It might have something to do with the girl scout cookies I keep buying. I even quit carrying cash for a few days to see if that would keep me from buying junk. Didn't work. I think I will deplete for the next few days before starting week two on Monday.

I had a doctor's appt for my knee today. My muscles is still atrophied and my thigh is 3.5 inches smaller than the other. So I have to wear a STEM machine all day. It goes off every two hours for 30 minutes. I also went back to the therapist for new exercises today. My thigh is pretty sore from just one day. I am thinking I should use it on both legs every other hour but who knows. I hope my insurance company lets me buy it instead of just renting it.

I looked at the bike trainers today. I tried to call my DH to see if he would approve the purchase but he didn't answer until I had already left the store. He told me to go back but I was trying to make it to work for a meeting. Hope he doesn't change his mind before I get back to the store. Also I got so excited cause I passed a second hand store that had two bike trailers for Kallie. I went back after therapy. Ha, they were more expensive then the first hand ones at Wal-mart. Needless to say, I didn't get anything new today.

I had to go to a workshop today instead of going in to work. Therefore I have no stalker news. My food the last few days has been not so good. I think once I have my CH day and my H day I go crazy and can't go without the carbs. I ate some girl scout cookies. I had some fries. I was going to have some pizza but my sis reminded me how sick I was over the last pizza. Thanks. I have been keeping track of the calories and am still within my range but the carb count has been high, really high.

My son is sick again and so is the DH. I don't know what is causing all of this. I am tired of it. Hopefully everyone will go back to work and school tomorrow. One good thing about it was that my mom kept the kids so I had to go pick them up which meant I could sneak in another run with my sis. I loved running with my friends before I moved and really miss that. I have enjoyed running with Jana Banana.

We decided to run a new route tonight. My brillant plan because I had let my IPOD die so I had to measure it in the car. We had 12-15 dogs chase us at one point or another during the run. One owner was even in his yard and we had to ask him to hold his dog so we could pass. It seemed like the whole run we were saying nice dog, good dog, go home dog. We were carrying any weapons we could find. Rocks, beer bottles, boulders, whatever we could find in the ditch (that's side of the road for you city folks).

After watching BL tonight my DH wants to buy a trainer and block for our bikes. Anyone have any comments about them?

Okay, today when I got to work I parked in my secret hiding place again. I walked into my office and was told that someone was waiting for me in my regular parking space. Sure enough I looked out the door and there he was parked in the parking lot just waiting. After about 15 minutes he moved to the end of the parking lot. Can you believe it? But wait...this afternoon when I got ready to leave, there were two more parked behind my car in the back parking lot. I had a friend wait with me for a little bit and then I just got in my car and waited. I didn't have to wait very long before they drove off. Didn't get stopped so that's positive. Someone at work told me he got fired from his last job for pretty much the same thing. I have until March 4 to pay the ticket so I am waiting to see what happens between now and then. Any advice?

What a week of drama! I thought (think) I am being stalked by the local police where I work. I was minding my own business going to work when I saw the police parked on the side of the road. Dumb me, I made eye contact and knew I was going to get stopped. I had looked up to see the speed limit and to know I wasn't speeding. I was also wearing my seatbelt. It took 5 blocks for him to decide to pull me over. When he came up to the car, he asked if everything was okay? And I was like, yes, why? He said there had been a call about me and that I was driving erratic and at high rates of speed through a town about 18 miles back. WHAT? He knew where I worked and what my name was when he pulled me over. Hello? The car is not registered to me so even if someone had called in the tags, it wouldn't have been me. Anyway, he said he was just following up and that he was waiting on a call back but if he needed me he knew where I worked and would come get me. Again, WHAT? Moving on to the next day...I was in the exact same spot and saw the police. He whipped around on the highway and turned his lights on. I was just sitting at the stop sign waiting to get on the highway. He pulls up beside me and starts pointing. I say, "Me?" He says pull over. You have got to be kidding me. He said I wasn't wearing a selt belt. I say yes I was. He says no you weren't. I said I was. He said both him and his partner saw that I wasn't. I pull the seatbelt out and say this seatbelt? He gives me a ticket. And oh the tags on registered but he will let me go this time but that will be next. And I better get this ticket paid cause he doesn't want a warrant for my arrest out there. Again, together everyone, "WHAT?" I call the judge and tell her I think I am being stalked. She tells me what nice guys they are and how it just must be my bad week. Please send in the $140.

So as if that wasn't enough, work is ???????? What is going on? Are the planets out of alignment? Is everyone PMSing? Did someone pass out stupid juice? I have got to find a solution so that I don't end up at the funny farm.

How can I afford to stay at home and never go to work again?

What can I do that will still make money but not be so stressful?

My 5K was 38:18 on concrete in Houston. Humid, nice rain, and wonderful support from my sister who drove me to a measured course, brought me water, and gummies then came back and picked me up when it was over (I had to run 5 total) and had me a nice cold dt. dr. pepper waiting.

I am leaving tomorrow to go see Jo. Kallie and I are flying down. It will be her first time on the plane and she is very excited. I have tried to explain to her about the baby but she doesn't really understand. I hope she will be distracted enough by the trip, Landon, and the other events going on that she won't think to ask about what happened.

Diet is going good this week. Exercise-whatever! Work-I rather not say. Actually I would love to say but don't really have anyone that I can talk to about what is going on. Sure can't blog about it because I am sure that someone will search me out and read it. (Paranoid) I feel bad about Kip having to listen to me all the time but I am so glad to have him.

Things will all work out. I am glad to have a job because I know people are struggling everywhere. I am glad to have my family. I am glad to have my health. I am glad to have so many things and have lost focus this week about how blessed I really am.

Anyone doing the virtual race on V-day?

I had to take advantage of the great weather we had today and no wind! I tried to get one of the boys to run with me but they were too interested in the new basketball courts they set up near our house. I loaded up the jogging stroller with all my stuff and my daughter. I even had to come back inside and change from a long sleeve shirt to short sleeve! We just went at a nice slow pace because we had to stop a lot to get Kallie situated. Finally after 2 miles she settled in and I could run. We went through town and down Main Street, across the tracks and out by the country club. That's when I called my DH to come get the jogging stroller and the daughter. I was tired of the right hand tug of the stroller and she was tired of my BORING run. They decided to go get a coke so I gave them all my water and extra stuff, told them my route, and begged them to meet back up with me with a diet coke in hand. I headed back across the tracks, down main street, by the courthouse and library, past the elementary school, and in to the park. I was beginning to give up on the diet coke when my knight in shining armor (white pickup) pulled up with my drink. I had first thought I would get in with them but that was when I thought they would be back to get me before I got back to Main Street! Since I was just about a mile from home, I decided to finish the run. Especially since I had a drink of diet coke to carry me through. I ended up doing a little over 7 miles. According to HR monitor, 1271 calories burned! I took an ice bath as a reward and had my DH rub me down with the Stick.

It was great but now I am in bed with ice packs on my knees and toe. I also ran with out anything under my knee brace to see if it would chaf. It did. Jo said use diaper cream but since it's been 3 years since we had anything with diapers, I used antibiotic cream.

Hope to be better and ready to go again tomorrow cause J and I have to do 5. Wonder if we can get her DH to drive us somewhere without wind again!

Okay, I was checking out the blog about the spi belt which had a blog about a virtual race that was being held for someone who has been told she may not be able to run anymore. Check it out.

http://jogamericablog.blogspot.com/2009/02/freakishly-flexible-5k.html

It reminds me of a quote I heard this week. "One day I will not be able to get out and run. Today is not that day."

Anyone want to do the virtual race?

I survived the week. I have been sick again with sinus infection and am on my second round of antibiotics. One of the kids had the stomach bug and missed 4 days of school. Now the DH has it and I am staying away. I think everyone is feeling better tonight and we will hope no one else catches anything for at least 72 hours.

The other thing is work. I am really struggling but hate to complain because so many people are without jobs. My sister told me something this work that has changed my outlook though. She said if I liked the money or needed the money then concentrate on the things I did like about my job. But if I didn't need the money, quit and go to work at Wal-Mart. Been there, done that. So that being said, there are lots of things I love about my job so I am trying to work through the rest of it and get over myself. I have made some good friends there and that's always nice.

As far as the WOE goes I am still doing pretty good. I have lost 12 pounds this round and am on week 5. I didn't have my journal one day and got messed up on the types of days so I have been trying to play catch up since then. I have been dealing with cravings this week and need to find something to do about that. More water maybe?

Exercise is going well also. I am on track with my 1/2 marathon training despite knee surgery 3 months ago. I am not looking for a PR just a finish so that takes pressure off. I am a little concerned about Seabrook over spring break but it will all work out.

Going to bed early again tonight so I can finish beating this sinus infection. I am not a fan of snot so I am hoping to be able to run again in the next few days without snot rockets!

Today was a great day. Kallie, TJ, and I got up early to take the dog out. Then we woke everyone else up and talked them into walking to a local cafe to eat breakfast. It was a little colder than we thought but we only had to walk about a mile. By the time we ate, it was better coming back home. Then I went back to sleep! When I woke up, Kip was outside working on the basketball goal. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing outside. The boys played basketball while Kallie and I decorated the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk. Kip also got all the bikes back in shape for the warmer weather. Kallie tried to learn to ride with out her training wheels but didn't last very until we had to put the training wheels back on. She wanted to ride her bike to the school play ground so off we went. I don't know who had the hardest time, me going slow enough for her to keep up or her having to peddle all the way.

It was a great day to spend outside with the family. Not very many chores got done but we had a good time together.

I am home from a day at the doctor's office. I had to fast after midnight and be there early for blood work. Well, early to them was 8:45 so I sat in the car for an hour, not to mention that it was NM time so it was after 10:00 before I got to eat. You think my blood tests will come back whack? I tried to speed walk around wal-mart to make up for the sausage biscuit I had to eat before the next blood test two hours later. Got back to the doctor's office and the lab girl got me right in. Then the best part of the day, she said, "Man, you really have lost some weight. I didn't even recognize you the first time this morning." Go Me!! Then back to the lobby to wait. A big sign said please tell the receptionist if you have been waiting more than 30 minutes. 45 minutes later I was about to get up again to see if they had lost my chart or something when my name was called. Needless to say it wasn't the most pleasant visit I have had. They had to do a lot more than just the yearly exam. Since it was so late in the day and I am in so much pain with the worst cramps I can remember since labor, I decided to come home and rest. I have heat on, drugged up with advil, and thinking of going to lay down. Hope all the tests come back okay. Maybe I can at least get someone else to fix dinner tonight.

Oh, and yes I did run yesterday when it was snowing and the wind chill was 7 degrees. In the middle of the run I had to give my face mask to my son and then we had to turn to get out of the wind. I have to get another face protector so we can both have one. The only sports store near by is Big 5 and they were too expensive today. Not sure I am supposed to exercise today after the doctors so maybe we can survive until the warmer temps come back tomorrow.

I was down another pound today and minus 2 1/2 more inches.

Okay, I have officially been shredded, Day One. Kallie did it with me and wanted to move to level 2 immediately after we finished. I politely said (panted), "Not now, maybe tonight or tomorrow" but thought maybe next week! I still have to get a run in today. Trevor has basketball games and we have the wedding reception for my sister tonight. It is a nice day so I hope it all works out.

I was down another pound. My new journal suggests weighing everyday and tracking your ups and downs to see if you can figure out what is causing the fluctuations. Think I will try that for a while and see.

Enjoy your Saturday. Get outside or spend some time with your kids. Remember the laundry will be there next week also cause no one else is going to bother to do it. :)

I am up way to early this morning because I am going to a workshop 2 hours away. I am actually completely ready to go and it is 6 am. What???

I haven't run at all this week since Sunday. I have been saying I am too tired or that my knee is too sore but I really don't know what's wrong. Then Jo slapped me in the face yesterday and reminded me that it's only 7 weeks away until the marathon relay. What???

I did have to get up to take the dog out this morning at 4:30, 15 minutes before my alarm went off. Thanks. Anyway, I had forgotten how nice it is at 4:30 in the morning. My friends in Hereford used to meet up to run then and no matter how much we gripped about it at least we got it out of the way and nothing interfered. The reason that it's nice then is that it warms up slightly around that time and the wind is calm (er). Then right before the sun breaks it gets cold again. I am not sure if it is a scientific fact but it was something we experienced almost daily. So the next time I am trying to convince myself to go run but am thinking it is too cold-too bad.

I have got to get with the program. I have done great on the WOE this week and have lost a few pounds. Jo reminded me that it wasn't about the scale and I reminded her she had a free pass for 9 months. Actually I think I told her to SHUT IT!

Well, the dog finally quit barking and the coffee is ready so I am signing off. Have a great day everyone. By the way, the workshop I am going to is "How to Deal with Difficult People." I hope none of you have any to deal with but if you do, I am hoping to be an expert by 4:00 today.

I am sore tonight but it is a good sore. I did nearly 5 miles yesterday and did nearly 4 today. I ran with Jana this afternoon and it was great to run with someone else again. She is doing great and is on track for her first 1/2 marathon in OKC. Kip got up and ran this morning so everyone is doing good. I got up early yesterday and ran with the sunrise. I had taken my phone and took a picture so I will try to get it downloaded to add to the blog.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. We talked about my current plateau and she looked over my journal. Get this, she said I needed to eat more calories. I was trying to average 1500 and she said I needed to be eating 1700 and no less. Can you believe that? Eat more. I told her I wasn't hungry and she said do it anyway. I fell short today by 622. Have to work on that. She also saw Kallie who had two ear infections. Oh and she said I needed to sleep more! I love that doctor! I will have blood work done at the end of the month to see where the insulin resistance is with the meds and the pre-diabetes progress or lack there of. Keeping my fingers crossed that the 35 pounds, 10% body fat, and 44.5 inches will have helped.

This week I am going to try to Taebo again. My sister gave some of my DVDs back and I remembered how much I loved it several years ago. I also have to lift a little more often to help my legs adjust to running again.

I am not as brave as "The life of L" so I just set my running goals at 500. I have 29 down! Have a good week! Gotta get up and change the ice on my knees!

I totally forgot that I got two starches today. I remember right at three when i was driving in the car without any food. I had so wanted toast this morning. I did have 1/2 a baked potato at lunch and that was good. I am looking forward to something sweet this weekend.

Just wanted to report in and say that I have made my $50 for two weeks now. If I think I want something I just ask myself if it is worth $50 and so far I have been able to convince myself not to eat! Yesterday my mom and her step-kids decided to get another money competition going and it cost $50 to enter. Whoever is down the most percentage wise by May 30 gets the cash. I am so going to be rich! Well, okay maybe not rich but I will have enough money to get started on my new wardrobe. That's 20 weeks away to make the $300 and $50 to myself each week. Have I mentioned that I am really competitive?

I still haven't gotten my treadmill so I headed out to run tonight after my brave husband fought the neighbor's dog! The wind had died down alittle and it wasn't that cold. Of course when the kids heard I was going they all wanted to go. Kallie got her blankets and snuggled up in the jogging stroller and TJ got his running gear on. I don't know why but I don't sweat, ever. I bought myself one of those trash bag looking things that are supposed to make you sweat. I love it and it really does make me sweat. I know I just replenish it when I drink but it makes me feel better to think I am getting rid of toxins. Anyway, sometime in the run tonight the legs ripped. I felt a little chilly (yes, I had on pants and tights underneath). I had been working a sweat up before they ripped and then I was cold. I noticed when I got home that they had ripped. I must have looked like a huge tent flapping in the wind. Anyone who believed in ghost might have thought they saw one tonight wearing a flapping trash bag.

Oh, and on a sad note, my 9 year old can walk faster than I can run. My husband asked me if I remember the saying about how to eat an elephant and I told him that was the problem. I had eaten one to many elephants. Just kidding...I know you eat an elephant one bite at a time. Keep running!

Okay, my husband was getting all dressed up to head out to run. It is about 20 degress and the wind is blowing 30. We had to go through the whole, "I can't find my IPOD, I can't find my nike plus, what did you do with my headphones (as if), and blah, blah, blah. Finally he opens the door. I ask him his course cause he hasn't been running in forever and he just got over nearly pneumonia. He tells me he will do the park once. He is no sooner shutting than the door than opening it. There is a huge huge huge yellow lab sitting on the porch barking his deep bark calling the girls from the back yard. I am laughing my head off but he is telling me to call someone, get the id, whose dog is it, blah, blah, blah. We have lots of dog running stories, remind me to tell you one time. Anyway, we get all our dogs in the house. One in the bedroom with Kallie, one in the boys' room, and the main attraction in her kennel. Then my husband leads this horse through the house to the back yard where he is still barking non-stop. Meanwhile I get in touch with the owner who is one hour away. So now an hour later, Kip is off running and I am waiting my turn. I know it may be colder but at least the wind will die down.

Another running story...my friend reminded me to be careful running at night because some other friends of hers had gotten their cars sideswipped during the night. The police had left a note on the cars to let them know they had been hit-duh! It happened 1 block from where I make my turn around to head downhill and back by the house. I went by there 5 times the other night. So just a reminder to be defensive when you are out there running. Wild labs and hit-in-run drivers are just a few of the terrors.

How did everyone do on Carb Deplete?

Seriously the wind is blowing 30 mph as a front moves in. The wind is supposed to continue to pick up through midnight meanwhile the temp is dropping quickly. I have to run today and tomorrow to make my $50 for the week.

I just don't understand this round of crackin'. I have been sticking to it exactly while staying around 1500 calories. I have gotten to start exercising again and I am trying to add intentional walking to my day. I can't get any true weight loss reading. I go down and I go up. I guess maybe I need to measure and check the inches again.

My sister passed down some clothes to me so I picked out a dress to use as my interim goal dress. I tried it on and it fit but still looked a little like the hood of a car after a hail storm around the buttocks area. Guess I will keep working.

Weather is better and not as cold. I am still not happy about having to run late at night but want to do the whole family supper thing so that's the sacrifice. This week is still a little slow coming back from Christmas but basketball should be back in full swing next week taking up a few more hours of our time.

Day one of carb deplete is done. I feel okay. I really wanted a roll at dinner especially cause they were a little burned on the bottom, just like I like. I made a new deal with myself. If I eat clean all week, run 4 times, and lift weights then I will pay myself $50. So now when I feel like eating something I just have to ask myself if it is worth $50. I have been trying to track my calories eaten and burned to try to find some rhyme or reason for why I have gained or lost for the week. I was doing good last week and was down a few pounds. Today after CH and H days I had gained even though I hadn't gone over on calories. Don't understand it. I am hoping after depleting I will be down quite a bit.

My knee was still really sore and swollen after last weeks miles. I know it was only 9 but it has only been 7 weeks since my surgery. I decided to rest, ice, and elevate tonight and move tomorrow's rest day to today. Easy enough to make the trade. It will be cold in the morning and windy so I will probably wait to run until after work. Cold this morning meant 8 degrees when you take the wind chill into consideration.

I am glad that others have started back on the crackin' so I won't be alone. Remember it's a lifestyle not a diet.

Since starting on Monday, I have lost 4 pounds and run 9 miles. I have eaten clean every day except today which was a cheat day. Even with a cheat day I stayed under my calorie allotment. What a great week! I plan to carb deplete next week so I hope to see a big weight loss next week also. I have tried to move extra every chance I have gotten.

I went today and got new shoes. I was having blister trouble with my running shoes. I have never had trouble with them before but my feet seem to be swelling. I had a new pair exactly like the old but when I got them out they caused blisters also. I got some NIKE shoes even though I haven't had much luck with them in the past. It has been a while since I ran in them so I thought I would give it a chance and the price was right.

I also had to get my daughter some running shoes and some new workout pants. She only had black sweats and didn't want to look like a boy. I got her some pink clothes and pink adidas shoes. She said she wished they had princess running shoes but she guessed these would work. She ran around the house showing us how fast they made her! Those were the days.

DH had to go to the doctor today. He has bronchitis and nearly walking pneumonia plus asthma. 5 prescriptions and a breathing machine later he is feeling a little better.

We still have a little house work to finish the post "sister hurricane evacuation remodel." I wasn't allowed to paint anymore when DH can't breathe.

Can't believe only one more day before Christmas break is over. Seems like the rush of everyday life is just around the corner. The family has resolutions to slow down a little so hopefully we can make it happen.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Another day of vacation is gone and what a great day it was. We slept late after getting home late. I got up before everyone else to have a cup of coffee and to see what the new year had in store for us. It wasn't long before I had company which meant breakfast for the hungry. I had already made my egg whites and EZ bread so Kip cooked for the rest of the crowd. Then we played a few rounds of Sequence until the bowl games started. We grilled hamburgers for lunch and laid around. Kallie and I took a nap. I re-read my diet book and waited for the wind to die down so I could go run.

Finally about 5:30 we suited up for the cool weather, packed the jogging stroller and headed out. I decided to try the cinder path at the park today to see if it was more forgiving than the road. I always hate starting out even before the knee injury. If you can get past the first 30 minutes it seems better. The problem is I can only go about 30-45 minutes so not quite to the running euphoria. However it was much better today. Less complaining from my kids who went with me, no dogs at all, no wind, and warmer. I made it 2.5 miles at about 14.30 pace. Slow but at least I went. I also did my p.t. again today which is a lot harder because it is all one leg stuff. I did get my new brace which is much better.

I am proud tonight also because my middle son is trying to learn how to lead singing in church. He is only 9 but really interested in learning what he can do to help the church. All the boys got pitch pipes for Christmas so it's been fun to see them working on it.

Tomorrow I go back to work for a few hours so I better close up and head to bed. Remember your goals and mine.