Marathon Mom

Weight: 156.4 (apparently, I’ve already stalled. Or it could be the four mini snickers I had at the movies.)

Yikey-crikey! WTH is UP with the site! After I posted yesterday, I couldn’t get back in at all. Or this morning until just now. And who knows how long THIS will last. I have a running blog Marathon-Mommy, but it’s more about the marathon training and less about the whole weight thing. I think I have too many blogs! I have four (including this one) that I update regularly (or at least semi-regularly) and then I write movie reviews for a website too. Plus the whole kids and full-time job. And trying to get stuff together to get my Etsy shop up and running… I think I need a nap!

Speaking of, I need to get the review of 2012 written and submitted. I’ll just say it was totally AWESOME! But then, I do love me a good disaster end of the world flick, especially if it’s starring John Cusack. Almost as good as Brendan Fraser (the brand new trailer for his upcoming movie Extraordinary Measures co-starring Harrison Ford and Keri Russell is up. It looks amazing. Based on a true story and due in theaters January 22, 2010.)

Yesterday’s calories: 1528

Yesterday’s exercise: none, rest day which I have come to accept as an important part of the workout/exercise/training program. I was active at work, up and down stairs a lot. So there’s that.

Today - don’t know if I’ll be able to get back in. I’ll update if I can. Otherwise, I’m aiming for 1200 since my calories have been in the 1500 range the last few days.

Exercise - already did my 43 minutes on the elliptical this morning. Gosh, I feel good when I do that first thing!

I’m working a half day and then it’s grocery shopping for the week, some meal planning and prep, and sewing. Hopefully I’ll have the Etsy shop open by the end of the week. Thanksgiving is my make or break. If I don’t have it open by then, there’s almost no point. Well, that’s not entirely true. But I need to make that deadline.

Weight: 158.6

So I finally got whatever it was out of my eye yesterday, but it continued to be irritated for the rest of the day. Would spontaneously tear up. And I woke up this morning with it all crusty (sorry for the TMI) but thankfully whatever it was, was finally completely gone. No pain, no faint scratchy scratchy and the tearing has stopped. However, it is a lovely swollen red googly thing. I am a beauty and wonder to behold! Nothing some eyeliner and mascara can’t fix! Or mask sort of. I’m in the office for a half day and then home. I shouldn’t frighten too many children.

I took the kids to see Disney’s A Christmas Carol (in digital 3D!!) last night. It was awesome (but scary for younger kids, I was surprised at how intense parts of it were! I wrote a review for the Imperfect Women website - that should be up in the next day or so.) I did NOT buy candy, popcorn or a soda. I brought my water bottle. I had my daughter make up little baggies with their halloween candy in it for the kids and then I bought them each a Slurpee (cause they were whining and sulking about no popcorn and I wanted to enjoy the movie! Plus, I admit to feeling guilty for sneaking in food so I feel obligated to buy SOMETHING at the concession stand. Yes, movie snacks are horribly over-priced, but two wrongs don’t make a right. And I worry about teaching my kids that it’s ok to break rules if you feel they’re wrong… moral implications and ambiguity blah blah blah…) ANYWAY - so I had a couple or three pieces of their Halloween candy. And my water. I am a saint!

Today will be a bit harder cause I’ll be home and baking for part of it. In the KITCHEN. Yeah, that’s a hard one for me. It’s one thing not to snack cause I have no access to snacks. It’s another thing to be surrounded by food and handling it! I am not made of stone! Yikes!!

I’m still not feeling one hundred percent. I have just the remnants of that cold still lingering about. I’m a little snuggly and I cough occasionally, but when I do it’s DEEP. Like from my toes. And it’s what’s called “productive” or “wet” which means ICK! So as long as that’s going on, any real exercise like running is just out. So I’m trying real hard to focus on the healthy eating. Which is hard considering TOM IS IN THE HOUSE and being super demanding this go around. I really just want to curl up in bed with chocolate and a bunch of Brendan Fraser movies! Especially George of the Jungle - mmmm…. loincloth Brendan!

You know, I AM still sick. I shouldn’t be handling the kids’ food. Yeah, it’s really in there best interest that I NOT cook. I’m just thinking of the children (the CHILDREN!) Because I, am all about the children.

Weight: A miraculous 159.0 considering the mass quantities I consumed yesterday

This next part is not for the faint of heart.

You’ve been warned.

Also, you probably don’t want to be eating.

Again, you’ve been warned. Note: double warning.

Ok, you brave and trouble souls. This next part here is what happens when you don’t do laundry and need something clean to wear to work so your foul odor doesn’t kill your co-workers. This was a dire emergency. And also, a reminder of why I need to stop with the Halloween candy already. GEEZ!

This is titled: This muffin-top ain’t just for breakfast

You were warned! Those are my size 6 jeans I’m crammed into there. I had to wear them to work today because, hello, laundry. And yes, my room is a mess. So we aren’t really surprised that I had to cram my size nearly 10 behind into a pair of jeans I used to wear 15 pounds lighter because I didn’t have anything clean to wear.

And that was just the start to a really crappy day so far. I mean CRAPPY with a capital SH (no, not SHAPPY - however, that is funny. I needed to crack a bit of smile this morning… so close!) I am ANGRY. Like shaking with anger, angry. And over stupid things, like not having clean pants, not being able to fit in the clean pants I do have, the house being a mess in general, the kids not doing their chores, getting in late to work, etc… Just all that little stuff that adds up. It’s barely 10am and I already feel like my day is totally in the toilet! I forgot to pick up for Stevia packets for my tea. The water cooler is empty. Wah Wah Wah.

OK. PIty Party is OVER. I heading to the store for the Stevia packets. We have two employees and no customers. I can be gone for 5 minutes. I’ll refill the water cooler bottle myself (yes, we just refill it with filtered tap water. No Culligan man comes here.) I will take five minutes to just breathe with my eyes closed and focus some positive energy inward. I can turn today around. It does not need to suck. It’s ever so slightly raining today, which I LOVE because it fills the air with the wonderful scents of rain and trees and just that fall time freshness (Marin County is blessedly close to the ocean and fairly pollution free. Taking a deep breath of fresh air outside here is not counter-productive!)

Today is going to be a GOOD DAY - because, I said so, THAT’S why!

UPDATE 11:46 AM

Today is a sucky day because it just won’t budge. And it wins. So it sucks.

I hate (in no particular order):

My job

My kids (ok, not really the kids, but their attitude and laziness and messiness and slovenliness - all the ‘nesses!!)

My double digit credit rating

My single digit bank account balance

My twice divorced singlehood

Rob Pattinson’s hair (srsly, it’s called a BRUSH!)

Not being able to wear Junior size clothing because I have breasts

Bon Jovi tickets went on pre-sale today and I realized I can’t afford them

My life in general

UPDATE 8:19 PM

Ending the day on a positive note. Work was so busy that I didn’t get lunch until after 4pm. No snacking period. Guess that’s one way to stick to a diet!

It’s amazing how just a few minutes of Brendan Fraser on screen can perk up my day! GI Joe was waiting in my mailbox when I came home. I just finished sharing a bag of light microwave popcorn in bed with my littlest ones while watching a great action flick. Awesome end to a less than stellar day.

And not one piece of Halloween candy! I think the candy fairy has retired til next year!

Yesterday was my first really big challenge to my commitment. I could have very easily said “can’t do it. Life, the universe and everything is working against me and there is no way I’m going to make the gym and evening workout tonite. It’s ok cause I workout every other day…” and then the excuses begin. And, at least with me, once I skip that first one, it’s all too easy to skip the next time there’s a challenge… and so on and so on until I get to the end and am skipping half the time. This is BOOT CAMP, not a picnic (uh, yeah, I don’t really get that either but it was all I could come up with!) It’s SUPPOSED to be hard, difficult, a struggle… that’s the whole point. One of my rules was NO EXCUSES. And yesterday, there were NO EXCUSES.

UPDATE 7:48 AM

Just finished updating the Boot Camp page with my DAY 10 stats and pics. Well, color me disappointed. Maybe I just aim too high or have unrealistic expectations. But 3.8 lbs in 10 days? There is no discernable difference in the pictures. I’ve lost some inches. My clothes are looser. But less than 4 pounds? I workout like crazy - up to 3 times a day!! I don’t know, maybe I’ve watched too many episodes of Biggest Loser. I just expected more in the first 10 days. It’s sort of deflating. I’m going to keep going. But I was REALLY counting on being in the 150s by today. Just… not what I was hoping for. I’m running late. I’ll check in later. I ran this morning and I still need to write that blog.

UPDATE 8:39 AM

Sunny, thanks for mentioning the waist inch loss - that was a type-o (or wishful thinking!) The correct measurement is 33.5 inches (not 31.5 inches.) That’s still a 2.5 inch lost just in my waist and I’ll certainly take that. (Just makes me sad to remember back when I was a young blushing bride of 19 and my waist measurement - 21 inches. My HIP measurement was 32! Oddly, bust measurement was still 38! Back when all my curves were in ALL the right places - and you know what? I hid under huge shirts and baggy pants back then - I was embarrassed by them. And it was the ’80s when huge baggy shirts were still trendy.)

I need to plug everything I’m eating into My Daily Plate and see where I am. I think Beerab, you’re probably right. Because my first instinct is to cut back more. And let’s face it, even I know I’m NOT eating that much. Not for 3 hours of hard exercise almost every day.

UGH - time to get out the door for work.

UPDATE 10:04 AM

I finally updated my Marathon Mommy training blog - I am now averaging UNDER 12 minute miles!! So while was bummed about the less than stellar weight loss, I am THRILLED about how much my running is improving!

And I picked up a box of Fiber One bars this morning and am adding them in as an additional morning snack. My nutritionist last year had recommended them, so I know that they are part of a good, healthy weightloss diet. I’m trying to get more of my calories in the morning and less as the day goes on. That whole eat Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince and Dinner like a Pauper - I totally believe that. I also do most of my workout before 7 am. It makes more sense to eat most of my calories earlier in the day too. And to be honest, by 5 o’clock at night, I am not hungry AT ALL. So I’m tweaking things a bit for the next 10 days. Just some small adjustments to food. More small snacks. So that I’m always “stoking the furance” (oooh, that sounds dirty!) And then I’ll re-evaluate again at the 20 day mark. Ooooh, I’m SO looking forward to that reward - a facial/massage spa package! Oh man, am I going to need that!!

I still haven’t thought of a “reward” for completing the 30 days. I mean, besides the smug smile of satisfaction at having actually COMPLETED something! After all this, it’s going to need to be something big. Like Brendan Fraser… but I think he’s still filming on the east coast. What’s a girl gotta do?!

UPDATE 10:07 PM

I’m supposed to be asleep right now. It’s not insomnia this time. I’ve been scanning and uploading old pictures to Facebook. I know, totally ridiculous. But once I got started I couldn’t stop!!

I made it to the gym today (I also took my grandmother to get us girls manicures. I now have show stopping RED nails. I love it!) I did my 60 on the elliptical when I got home tonite. And then I had two Mike’s Light Hard Lemonades (at 98 calories each, that’s well within my limits.) And now I’m all kinds of buzzed. I totally could not drive after even half of one! I have no alcohol tolerance whatsoever!! Probably a good thing I rarely drink. But tonite, I just wanted a couple. I had two left in the fridge from before I started Boot Camp. So I finished those off.

I was going through my running schedule earlier today and realized that starting next week, my running jumps from 4 to 5 days a week (Wednesdays.) OUCH. My only non-run days will be Monday and Friday. From here on out til the marathon. I am digging down deep for the dedication.

Night all. Tomorrow is day 12. Almost 2 weeks in. And since I’ve started taking Saturdays off, I’m REALLY looking foward to it being Friday. Oh, and it’s payday! Course, it’s all earmarked for bills. But at least it means they’ll be paid. So that’s awesome. And it’s movie night. Booyah!

Weigh-in: 163.8

A more accurate picture would have been one of a chicken with it’s head cut off, but not really the imagery I’m going for on a Friday afternoon!

Today has been crazy day! I’ve been in the car since 8:30 this morning, running errands, going to appointments, paying bills, etc… My 16 year old is now getting braces, they’ll be putting them on September 1st. The cackling you hear on that day will be me! I endured 4 years of torture orthodontia and it’s about time that mantle was passed down. Besides, my son is a wise-cracking loud mouth and I’m hoping this will shut him up at least for a few weeks!! (I love my son, but he takes sarcasm to a whole ‘nother level! And he thinks he’s hilarious. He fancies himself Chandler from Friends. ‘nough said!)

Yay to me for my 60 on the elliptical this morning before work! Unfortunately, I was running around so much, I didn’t get to eat anything until 2:30 and I was pretty damn hungry. The orthodontist is RIGHT next to a Quiznos and let me tell you, that no fast food or pics on Facebook threat is the ONLY thing that kept me from one of their sandwiches (mmmm… toasty!) So far today I’ve had a really big salad. I’ll have some string cheese and almonds in a bit for a snack. And probably a yoplait light yogurt just before I head home.

Tonite is movie night. No Junior Mints for me (waaaaaaahhh!!!) I’ll probably cheap out and just bring my own bottle of water. Jason’s braces are going to cost me a fortune (I’m having to pay for them completely out of pocket, insurance doesn’t cover ortho at ALL.)

Oh, and yes, that IS Brendan Fraser! You’re welcome!

UPDATE 10:45 PM

Another Slump Buster Challenge successfully completed. I had ONE 100-calorie pack of dried fruit and mixed nuts at the movies and some TicTacs and a Fuze (pomegranate & cherry). I did my knee PT exercises before we went. I’m calling this Challenge officially over! Yay!!

I’m also taking the weekend off. Not off of diet, just easing off the challenges. Since I’m starting in HARD Monday for the next 30 days, I’m giving myself a break. This is not a license to pig out & slack off on the exercising.

Unfortunately, my $100 clothing reward is getting slashed to a new top, preferrably on clearance. I just had to shell out $250 unexpectedly today as part of the deposit on Jason’s braces, which he’ll be getting on September 1st. I’ll be paying out a total of $750 over the next month that I did not budget for. And we’s a poor people. So this hurts! But, he desperately needs the braces. So it is what it is. I make adjustments and deal. I was hoping to buy Sean and Skye some new things for school, but they really don’t need them. They have more clothes that will fit in their closet. So really, they’re fine. Most things they’ve only worn a handful of times, they really are practically like new anyway. They’re definitely NOT hurting. I need to be more practical. Period. Well, it’s past my bedtime.

I need to seriously give up the juice fast notion. I ended up eating four turkey burger patties last night. FOUR! Just the patty, no bun or condiments. But still, I did not sleep well last night. So, that totally nullified the whole POINT of the juice fast. Ah well. Life goes on.

While I was writing this, I had to stop to go deal with a few things. One of which was taking a box out back. I missed the curb step off the sidewalk and dropped down hard, locking my knee so that it super-hyper-extended when I hit the asphalt. HARD. OMG the pain shooting through my leg is almost unbearable. Ok, not really THAT bad, but OMG it hurts!! It’s been about 20 minutes and it’s not swelling or anything, so I don’t think I’ve done horrible damage. But man oh man, The PAIN!! Stupid Stupid Knee!!

I still have the gym thing today. I brought my bag and was all set to go at lunch. Now I don’t know what to do. SHIT. Guess I’ll just skip the warm up and focus solely on upper-body and abs. No fast food and I’m in the clear!

Did I mention PAIN?! Cause yeah, I have lots of it. Gotta run and check on my grandparents. Back later!

UPDATE 8:08 PM

Knee pain GONE! Awesome. Guess I didn’t jack it up with my idiocity as much as I thought. Excellent.

Gym - DONE! Yep, I did 30 minutes. I rock.

Just got back from G.I. Brendan… er… I mean Joe. Ahhhhh… Brendan Fraser was awesome, all 5 delicious minutes of him! The rest of the movie was pretty good too. Lots of things blowing up. Much hand to hand combat. Cool gadets. There’s a Wayans brother in there for some one-liners. It was miles better than Terminator: Salvation and pretty on par with Transformers 2. If you liked those, you’ll like this.

Well, gotta run - Julie & Julia starts in a half hour!

UPDATE 12:02 AM (REALLY NOW SATURDAY MORNING, BUT IF I HAVEN’T GONE TO SLEEP IT’S STILL FRIDAY NIGHT!)

Just got home from seeing Julie and Julia. What an incredibly fantastic movie!! An awesome cast, great script, and just a really endearing film. I am in love with it! I will be buying it the moment it comes out on DVD - it’s an instant classic and one of my very favorites already!

Tiny2B and I have a mini weekend challenge. I’m committing to an hour on the elliptical both Saturday and Sunday and at least one trip to the gym. And no JUNK food. The no fast food was too easy cause I could still eat all the cookies, candy, and crap I wanted as long as it wasn’t from a drive-thru (essentially.) So, I’m upping the ante. And you better believe I enjoyed every single Junior Mint I had at the movies tonite!!!

My reward will be a pair of earrings from Claires (mini challenge = mini reward, but I do love me some new ear bling!) Failure to meet the challenge will be the same as last time - shame, embarrassment and mortal humiliation… bathing suit picture posted both here and on Facebook. Seriously, that threat can get me to exercise for hours on end and eat nothing but lettuce if it came down to it!

Some day, someday I am going to proudly post a picture of myself in a bathing suit on here, Facebook, Myspace, my blog and anywhere else I can think of. However, today is not that day. Neither is tomorrow. So until then, I do whatever it takes to avoid it!

HAHAHA!! Get the ’80s reference? If not, you are too young to read this. Go away! (just kidding… sort of. I’m feeling really old and bitter today.)

I did my 3 miles this morning. And decided that I’ve got to give up the running for a week or so, give my knees a break. I’m going to up the elliptical and gym/physical therapy time. I’ve got to get these knees back on track! The ligament pain down the insides of my knees is a sharp, burning type pain. The kind that says HELLO. STOP DOING THIS PLEASE. NOW!!! OR WE WILL QUIT. DO YOU REALLY WANT TO GO THERE?! (my knees are quit the pushy bitch, aren’t they?!)

However, I DID do the run this morning. Which means that all I have left to do to avoid complete and total public humiliation (posting of bathing suit pics both here and on Facebook) is to go to the gym tomorrow and avoid fast food for the next two days. And I will have officially completed a Slump Buster Challenge. My first. I.AM.AWESOME… well, almost awesome. I’ll actually BE awesome Friday at Midnight, when the challenge is over. But until then, I’m like pre-awesome.

I’m planning on juice-fasting today and tomorrow. I could use the boost and it’ll set me up for a good weekend. Lots of salad and green healthy stuff.

Biggest obstacle - tomorrow night is a double movie night. G.I. Joe and Julie & Julia both open. Neither is having a midnight showing in my area (I actually called the theaters and spoke to managers just to be sure.) So that means that I have to go see both tomorrow night. Why, you may ask? Besides the fact that I’m psychotic?

Julie & Julia - I read both the blog and the book and have been literally counting the days til this movie’s release for months! I adore Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci and have actually dreamed about this movie. Waiting til Saturday to see it - unfathomable.

G.I. Joe - sure, I love action/adventure movies. Especially super CGI effects ones. And this one looks promising. But what put’s this one over the top for me? Two words: Brendan Fraser!!! He has a cameo in it, one scene. But I haven’t seen him on the screen since January (Inkheart) and I’ve been missing me some Brendan!! And IN UNIFORM! HELLO!!! Which is why, I’ve already scheduled it out that after work we are first catching G.I. Joe and then Julie & Julia. Cause I love my BF that much!! (Hmm… coincidence that Brendan Fraser’s initials are the same as the internet abbreviation for boyfriend? I think NOT!)

By this time tomorrow I will be seriously crazy with anticipation. I need Valium!