The Training of Dom

Whew..been awhile.


Dominic is finishing his first month of half training. I am amazed..he is hitting every workout with a ball bat and as I said before we started…is giving me a run for my money. I will tentatively put this here…I am thinking we will probably beat my half PR in this race…at least it wouldn’t surprise me if we did. And I am also putting this here where I know he won’t see….if he is still strong by mile 11….I’m going to let him go and see what he can do. He ran a 5 miler Tuesday night by himself…his last mile he ran a 9:08….and came home feeling fine. I think he is surprising himself with speed he had no idea was there. Today we have an easy 4 miler and this Saturday we have our next long run of 8 miles…he likes the long ones because he gets to eat..my boy…lol.


On a not so side note….I’ve been off running for the last week. Today will be my first day back after a week of cross training and ultrasound and ice on my left heel. Literally the first night of training…when we got home..I noticed something weird feeling in the pad of my left heel extending into my arch. It didn’t hurt when I ran…but by Friday of last week after a pretty intense speed session Thursday night I could barely walk on it. On Friday I called my newest favorite person *she was my newest favorite person before this too* and asked her to fix me. It didn’t present as planter fasciitis in any clinical tests so we think it was or is just a deep strain or bruise. Either way…we’ve spent the last week with ultrasound, low dose ibuprofen around the clock, icings every day several times a day and NOT running. Just trying to give it a chance to heal. As of right this second…there is only minimal pain if I push on the area pretty hard. We will see what today brings and after my long run on Saturday I should have a pretty good idea of whether or not this race is going to happen for me. And if I have to choose between running this half with Dom…or beating the shit out of Lighthouse as planned…..it will be this race with Dom..hands down.


So that’s all the news to date. Actually…that’s not even close to all the news to date…but it’s all I have time for today. Hope everyone is well and we’ll see if I can take a stab at more regular blogging for a change.

4 Years Post Gastric Bypass, 9 Years of Marriage and a Job

Whenever we go anywhere…besides around here…I imagine living there. But it’s funny..the one and only time I moved away I always came home. It was the demise of my first marriage I think.

There’s a job opening that Skip wants to try for. We had tabled the thoughts of moving away a few years ago when it became obvious that for whatever reason…God wanted us to stay put. But here comes an opportunity that is the perfect stepping stone for Skips career…and I’ve given my blessing for him to go for it. The way I see it…since I have no interest in making money..I can’t really tell him not to try and make more. He busts his ass and I work 3.5 days a week pretending it’s work. And this place is only 3 hours away so it’s not like I couldn’t get home pretty quick if I had to. We haven’t told anyone and don’t plan to. Not even the kids..although it appears that they are gypsies like their mama…always game for a new gig.


Running-


Is going very well. I’ve managed to push my mileage up into the 20’s for the last couple weeks and am tolerating it well. Dom is getting ready to finish basketball and our training starts the first week of March. I’m excited..I just know he’s going to astonish himself with what he can do!


Shoes-

Even though this winter has been far from cold…an ideal winter for running I’d say..there has been days where my New Balance Minimus just don’t offer enough warmth. So after not much research…I purchased the Brooks PureFlow. They are ugly, look like I stuck my foot in Grimace and there they were….but I completely love them! They offer tons more cushion than the Minimus but in turn…more warmth. Brooks nailed it with this one and I’ve found my go to shoe.


4 Years Post-Gastric Bypass

I finally had my follow-up with my surgeon. Four years for me was actually this past October but well..life just kind of gets in the way of things doesn’t it? So it ended up being more like 4.5 years. I have maintained a 90 pound loss out of 100 pounds. But the real kicker? My body fat was down almost 9 percent from what it was last year! How bout that? He couldn’t believe it. I know I owe that to Jillian…because nothing but 30 thousand dollars worth of surgery has changed my body like she has. I continue to do her workouts 4 days a week in the mornings. By doing her workouts first I am teaching myself to run on very tired legs…which in turn is making my running easier. I’m not any faster…but I’m hoping that will come in time.

9 Years of Marriage

February 11th marked me tying myself to Skip for the 9 years. We had a wonderful anniversary at a lumbar yard, a grocery store, and IHOP. The day we got married was kind of a hodgepodge. I had to have my car serviced down in Illinois where I bought it and the wait to get married down there is only a day. So although we planned to get married in Vegas that April, I was like ‘dude…do you want to just get married on Tuesday?’ He did…and we did.


That night…after telling my parents and the kids…we took the then 6 and 5 year old boys to IHOP for dinner. Romantic I know. So that’s where we went on our anniversary. We walked in and they had the section where we sat closed down for the night. I told the kid that it was our 9 year anniversary…and that 9 years previous we had come in here and sat in that booth over there and ate dinner. And he opened the section…cute. We’ve gone back there probably 5 years out of the 9..the Nutella crepes were awesome people…just awesome.


So here’s what I know today.


After 9 years of marriage I realize that it doesn’t have to be a ton of work. That if you like someone as much as you love them…marriage is pretty easy. I like Skip. I respect him. He is my best friend and he cracks me the hell up more often than not. And if I want to be with someone forever..it better be him because otherwise it just won’t work.


After 4.5 years of having my guts re-routed it is still a struggle. I will always be way too interested in food and will never be able to eat with abandon. But I don’t want to. Surgery is not a quick fix or a cure all. It’s a tool…but there still has to be someone attached to that tool that is willing to use it properly. I still sometimes eat the wrong things and end up puking my guts out. I still can gain weight…pretty damn easily. But if you commit to changing your life…swinging that hammer…and don’t expect something to DO it for you….it WILL work.


Kind of like life…don’t you think?

Ripped In 30 Final Results

So I went into this one almost directly after the Shred. On the 30 Day Shred I lost no weight but 14 inches off of my body. I didn’t really know what to expect this time but I did include diet modification to the tune of around 1500 calories a day give or take.

These workouts are much more intense than the Shred. It also has four levels as opposed to three. You are supposed to do each level four or five times a week before moving on. I did it five times a week and I continued my lower mileage running and some yoga.


This morning I completed my fifth session on level four…stripped…and did a weigh in and measurements.


Total inches lost were an additional 6.5. Weight lost…4 pounds.


So that makes a grand total for the Shred and Ripped in 30…


20.5 inches lost


4 freakin pounds…HA!


What can I saw? The bitch delivers. This was an easy program to fit in…it’s 30 minutes 4 to 5 times a week. I’m sold that not only does she know what she’s talking about…it’s one of the few programs that delivers like it SAYS it will. And for the 10 bucks I spent on it it’s a steal. Go Jillian…I still don’t like you.

Sugar and Spice

When Skip and I got married….I told him I didn’t want to have any more children and he was fine with that. Six months later after seeing how incredible he was with my boys I told him if he wanted…we could try and have one. The next 9 months were full of me specifically trying to conceive a boy as I didn’t have a clue what to do with girls. Finally…after 9 months of negative test I said screw it and we just tried to get pregnant without thought to what kind of baby we were making. That was the month that Tate was conceived.

I didn’t sail through this pregnancy as I had with my boys. It was more uncomfortable, I gained WAY more weight. I had it all set in my mind that we had in fact conceived a boy. At the ultrasound…I was shocked at the little frog legs we saw with nothing in-between. The girl was coming…ready or not. I cried for three days and Skip was ecstatic! I eventually got sort of used to the idea but my way of coping was to be determined that I would NEVER had a girly girl. No pink was allowed at the baby showers and we struggled to find a name that was both for a girl…but strong as well. President Regan died while I was pregnant…and for awhile..we thought that would be her name….but somewhere along the line…we put the kibosh on that. Her middle name had been decided when I was maybe 12 years old. My godmother had a daughter that had died of crib death many years ago. We would have been around the same age and I always told her that if I ever had a daughter, that I would honor my godmother with her daughters beautiful name….Irli..pronounced EARLEE.

Another thing that consumed me during this pregnancy was that she NOT have a popular name. Didn’t want to see it on the top 100 list even. Eventually we found her name…the prefect name that had been meant for her. Tate it was…and yesterday she turned seven.

Things changed when we brought her home. She turned this family upside down with her sweetness with equal amounts of raving lunatic thrown in. She’s as loving as she is bitchy and we are so happy she’s here.


Happy Birthday Sweet baby girl….you know where I keep you when you’re not with me? In my heart….that’s where.

Ripped In 30 updates and Uncle Michael

So is there anything weird about running in a cemetery when it’s 6 degrees with a negative wind-chill? I didn’t think so. Tack onto that that I was running with my 14 year old son and my ex-brother-in-law. These things made this an epic run though it was neither long nor really very pleasant. What made it cool…no pun intended…was running with a man that was my brother. When I met Michael I was 16 years old and he was in the army….so I never really had the time to get to know him the way I wanted to. It’s funny really…Adams family always said that Michael and I were much more alike than Adam and I. Michael…is a dirty little punk rocker at heart…that’s what I love about him…even if he’s a freakin doctor now.



I don’t know how this run really came about. But Dominic had his school conference yesterday afternoon and somehow it turned into Michael going to the conference with me and then the three of us heading out for a run. Michael is a new/old runner getting back into the sport and is delighted that Dom is training. Dominics home room teacher didn’t know quite what to make of Michael and when Dom introduced him as his uncle I could clearly see the questions since he was so obviously not my blood brother. It was good though..Michael liked the school and it was nice for him to come. Dominics school is different…special and one of a kind in a hippy love fest sort of way. They do wonderful things for the community…did I mention this place is in the hood and on crack row? But their scores rank among the highest in the state and although they’re really heavy hitters academically…the electives are a joke…as in…Clay, Origami, Sudoku and Adopt a Beach to name a few. Regardless….he is happy…pulling down the big boy grades…and was crazy thrilled to run with his uncle. Michael is in town for another week I think and I really hope we can do it again…maybe above 10 degrees this time.


I am just finishing week three of the Ripped In 30 series and I must say that this one is a killer. One more day and I am on to week four. My body is so much smaller but even with the diet modification I am down about 3 pounds. I know that my body fat percentage is where the numbers are really going down but I’m a girl…I want to see the numbers on the scale…shoot me.


Anyways…winter running has hit full force in Wisconsin. Five to eight inches of snow today into tomorrow…this weekends runs should be interesting. Hope everyone’s having a great week!

Quiet

I love to be the first one up in the house in the morning…the peace is immeasurable. I let Tate stay up late on the weekends to ensure that I have this time…is that awful of me? Don’t care…truly I don’t.

So several big things went down this week. We finally got snow..as in like 8 inches of it. Skip was in D.C. this week and of course…that’s when it happens. We’ve had some amazing weather in Wisconsin late into the winter so I imagine we’re going to pay for it now. But we got it cleared out and it was business as usual. I told Skip when he came back that I want to move…HA! I always love the first snow of the year…if I have nowhere to go. After that it’s all downhill till spring. Why do we live here? Why does ANYONE live here?


The second thing was that Dominic had his longest run to date. Tuesday we were running in tee shirts and shorts..*see how messed up our weather is? Two days later we’re buried in snow*. Anyways…we planned on 5 but looped a little farther than I thought and ended up with 6.2. He felt solid and actually wanted to go farther. But I’m trying to build a runner for life here..not one plagued with injuries who hates running as often as not. And although he won’t admit it yet…he’s starting to crave the run…isn’t that incredible?


I am about to finish my second week of Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 series. This time I’ve included diet modification and have been logging my food on Sparkspeople. The workouts are just sick…much harder than the Shred but I’m feeling awesome. My official weigh day is Monday but as of last Monday I still have not lost any weight. I’m around 1500 calories a day which I feel is rock bottom for as much as I workout…and still nothing. I am pretty frustrated with this. I am fairly happy with my weight…but it makes me mad when I feel not in control of my body. I have to weigh in with my surgeon at the end of the month and I would have liked to have been down a bit…doesn’t look like that’s going to happen…go me.


Speaking of weighing in with my surgeon…my 4th and final post-gastric bypass surgery followup is happening on the 26th of this month. I had my lab work done and everything was good. I had cut my thyroid medication in half about 6 months ago and was curious about my TSH which came back fine. So after this final appoint I am done with him…the man that changed my life for a mere 30 grand. I am in the wrong business.


Off to the library…hope everyone had a wonderful week!

Brian~Big Baller

So the number of coyote sightings in Racine and Racine county have been on the rise…they’re always on the rise. A couple of weeks before Christmas one snatched a small dog right in front of the owner in their own back yard. These nasty critters are not afraid of people and they’ll come right to your back door. Now I live west of the city….thank god…but that also puts me in a more rural area. I know they’re around…in the summer you can often hear them at night and when I used to run in the mornings, I would see them occasionally. I run trails that are along the railroad tracks behind Vincent’s high school. There are also a few ponds back there…farmland…and some woods. It’s the only place I can take Brian and run him off the leash….as in…I run 6 miles…he probably runs closer to 8 with all the cruising around he does.



So today….I took the long way to the trails…around a mile. Once we got on it I took Brian off his leash as I always do. He’s usually pretty good about it…always comes back when I call him…and I’ve yet to ever see another soul back there although I’ve seen footprints so I know other runners use it. About a quarter mile down the trail there’s a bridge that runs over a stream. As we’re approaching it….Brian freakin BOLTS. A coyote had emerged from under the bridge right onto the path in front of us. Brian takes off like a bat outta hell after this thing. I start screaming and screaming because these things EAT little dogs. He doesn’t even turn his rotten little head and chases that coyote probably half a mile. All I can think is that he’s gone…my running buddy…my baby…is going to be taken at the throat…because that’s what coyotes do…and dragged off to be eaten alive….also what they do.


I call Skip..I am hysterical…still screaming for Brian..I can barely see them now. He chases the thing into the woods…turns around and runs back to me….all happy with himself. If he hadn’t scared me to death I would have booted him off the bridge.

Things I realized today-


~Running 5 miles after Jillian kicks my trash is a rough thing.
~Coyotes CAN be chased off….good to know.
~Watching something you love chase certain death does crazy things to your heart rate.
~By taking Brians balls…he grew an invisible set that are 14 times their original size.


Happy Thursday!

Ripped in 30…Day 1

Yikes! This makes the Shred look like childs play. Take level one of the Shred…douple the output….and tack some minutes on and you have Ripped in 30 week 1. Holy crap. Starts with push-ups…NOTHING good starts with push-ups. And then there’s the cardio intervals. I pride myself on having a pretty good cardiac base due to running…but I was dripping and breathless by the time I was done. Good stuff. I also printed out the meal plan that goes along with it…which I’ll take what I want from and supplement the rest. It offers a couple of vegetarian options but not much. I have my baseline measurements from the end of the Shred so I’ll use those.


Anyways…the kids go back to school tomorrow and I’m sort of sorry to see them go…but will be happy to have my house back to normal again. It’s strange not running on my days off because I have to wait for Dominic to get home. We had a solid 5 miler again on the last day of the year. He’s getting better..that 5 miles isn’t killing him anymore and by the time we start actual training he’ll have a pretty decent base. My goal is to get him to the start line injury free and feeling strong. I want to supplement his running with strength training but don’t want to work him more than 5 days a week….he’s only 14 and I want this to be a very positive experience for him. I want to build a runner for life…not someone who hates it. I want to follow an actual training plan for beginners so he knows exactly what he’ll be doing each week. It’s a bit difficult for me to run with him. He’s very slow and I guess I’m just not used to company. I’ve been a pretty solitary runner and I hate to admit that I kinda like it that way. But I know how good this will be for him..how positive…and that outweighs everything else.


Happy Monday!