FESTIES!!!

Anyone that knows me well knows I'm pretty easy going, out going & I really don't worry too much what people think of me. Don't get me wrong we all want to be liked & get along but I'm not up at nigh worried about it!
So now that I have made huge changes & look healthy & strong again it doesn't consume me what I look like...to some extent.
I would be lying if I said it isn't fun & feel great to try on clothes & be in tiny sizes (what I consider tiny-single digits!!)
It's nice but what is even better & makes me feel wonderful is that people are inspired to get moving! Today I was praising God cause I see his handy work in action. I see his plan coming together!
When I went through my divorce & what led up to it I prayed all the time God would spare every friend I had from what I went through. I also prayed I could help others so that the worst wouldn't happen to them God has used that experience to help others.
This feels kind of like that only BETTER!!! Some of my friends have started exercising & Their diets because they want to lose weight. They have seen my success & it has inspired them to do it!!!
I'm so happy for them! It also makes me more conscious of my responsibility to be an example. I love their texts telling me their triumphs & talking through challenges with them. God is so good cause it is so fun have festies (fit friends)! I pray for my festies every day! What a blessing & honor that God had me do this so that I could be used by him to help other!
It also feels great that I make my friends proud! That I share my triumphs with them too.
Thank you Lord you amaze me every moment of every day!


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Conversations with God

The marathon is 14 days away. We are in taper mode now. Reducing our training allowing the body to repair & rest & get ready for the race. This week I didn't run at all. I was wiped out physically AND mentally from the 21 mile run. I felt pretty defeated because I've been exhausted. My work schedule changes in one week. I hope getting more sleep will solve some of the problems I have with being so tired...
Before the big run & all my runs I say a little prayer that goes something like " ok Lord I need you to help me, I can't do this with out you" Then during my runs I talk to God about a lot of stuff (when I swim & bike too but right now I'm just running. I can't wait to get back to all 3). When I'm with the trainer or in boot camp or spin it's not the same. There is more like "shout outs" to God when I need strength to push through.
Even though I'm running with other people I usually end up alone (usually trailing behind). Lately the #1 thing I think about is my brother. It seems crazy sometimes cause it's not like we were super close & I saw him frequently. I have found it doesn't matter...it's a piece of you gone forever. A person that was supposed to be present that is not. On my big run I lost sight for a moment & a friend reminded me how I said I would do this for him. I made it about me & how hard it is & the pain oh my word the pain I'm going through.
My kids talk about Uncle Noel a lot, my parents are suffering a lot of sadness, I am still fighting the desire to know the logic of why this happened.
That is my conversation each run. God why did this happen? Oh wait I'm never gonna make sense of it. Ok well can you help me not be sad for him. Can you help me make the most of my life for his sake. & God can you please answer the burning question on my heart...did he make it there with you? It may sound like heavy convos to be having with the Lord while training but I live an insane life/schedule I'm glad that this is the time I do have. Somewhere between being a stay at home mom who cooked & crafted to becoming a single working homeschool mom I find myself constantly going!!! I remember before my son was born my talks with God were all day everyday. Once there is little kids quiet time, alone time is scarce.
When I go fishing it's different too. I mostly am praising & thanking God for his creation, filling back up with joy & enjoying the gift he gave me to fish (it's an odd talent for a girl).
It's like when I'm training all the junk comes out. I can't put up barriers or fight my emotions cause I don't have the ability to. It takes all I got to do the run so God gets to me. My sweat is like tears and layers of pain melting away.
The triathlon training was healing my pain from the divorce. The marathon training is healing the loss of my brother. Neither pain will ever be totally gone but God meets me & talks with me. He pulls me through each step. He never leaves my side.
I will never take credit for anything that I do because each run starts with me asking God to help me & He never fails.

On our run this week Christian our coach & Donna both shared tips & horror stories & triumph stories. We actually ran the last part of the marathon course. I tried to imagine what I would be going through when I would be in the exact spot in 2 weeks. Christian said I won't sugar coat it you will be miserable. She said at the end to take out your headphones and absorb it all. She said people will be cheering, you will be crying, crossing the finish line will be something you never forget.
Donna talked about how her husband cried he was so proud of her dedication & seeing her finish.
Christian keeps stressing have fun, enjoy it. She runs for fun! The marathon is the celebration of what you've been working on.
In the seminar the talked about visualization. Spending the next two weeks running through the race in your mind (the positives!!! I have to keep reminding myself of that). Part of that for me is visualizing how God is gonna be there with me. I keep talking to him about how I'm counting on him! I just visualize this amazing spiritual experience. I've already experienced this in my life different times so I know he will do it again! "blow my socks off" my friend said...it's true he will.
They suggested driving he course and we are. Friday before the race we are going to the expo & driving the course. I'm actually just looking forward to spending the day with Elizabeth. In the past she has had a gift to bring me back to focus to calm to be a rock when I need one...I am visualizing I will need this pre-race!
I'm not putting pressure on myself to get a certain time. I just wanna show up, meet God there & finish the race with him.
The work in me is not finished so this is just a other part of the process.
We have a lot more to talk about....




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Team Challenge Part 2...the finale??

I wish I had pictures of my team this time. There was so much that was different about this round of the challenge besides just our members. Denise had done the challege last time with me, then Nancy & Mayra. They have all done challenges before (quite a few) this time Denise quickly dropped out, she said for health reasons. Nancy's sister Kathy is a friend from boot camp & we all agreed she should join us for our work outs so we have a 4th. Kathy is a fishy girl so we are cut from the same cloth and she is a total bad ass!! All three of these ladies are actually! They have been working with Jason a while & lost a bunch of weight too.

Jason was different this time, he never checked our food journal one time...which was good for me since I failed miserably about keeping it up! Since I was not on point with my journal I definitely failed more then a few days. Easter I splurged, Mother's Day I splurged, I took a bite or two of my kids food. I ate out once or twice, used my long runs as an excuse to indulge. I ate frozen yogurt a few too many times!

I did still work my butt off in the gym and while I say I cheated I stayed the course a majority of the time. I guess the thing that bugs me is had I stuck with it like last time I would be down more weight BUT we still won the challenge and I still won the biggest loser. I would have liked to win by a bigger margin like last time.

My total weight loss this time was 14.4 and 6.75% of my body weight.

My starting weight before the first challenge was 187 (yes I am posting my weight)

I ended the first challenge at 165.6. The second challenge I started at 166.6 and ended at 152.2.

Total loss 34.8 pounds.

If you had told me when I started the first challenge in Jan I would be 35 pounds lighter I would not have believed you!

The big one!

All the training IS leading up to the marathon BUT this week was the longest training run we do before the 26.2. It was another train run. This time we rode the train from same station to Oceanside BUT we ran north 2.5miles then back to the car.











Not so many pictures of the gorgeous coastline or my buddy the Carlsbad kook. It took everything I had mentally & physically to do this one!
I stayed with the pace group until we got aroun mile 9. My knees started to hurt! I fell back with another chick who was struggling. She wanted to walk in intervals. 4 min run 1 min walk. This one gal stayed with us just to help. The pace group got further ahead & I couldn't keep up with the pain :( I started doing this girls intervals but my knee pain worsens when I stop & start (this includes stopping at the aide stations OUCHIE)
I became so slow that I just ran & when they walked and got a little ahead, then when they ran they pulled ahead. Once we lost the group there was 2 aide stations left. Mentally I tried to break the run into blocks. 4 miles to the next station, then 4 miles to the finish. There was a guy Randy who was the sweeper this time. We were the last 3 slow runners struggling along. The other girl was complaining of bladder pain & stopping & stopping!! I was grunting & groaning from my knee & now leg & bottom of my right foot pain BUT her stopping & stalling was making it so much worse!!
At the last aide station I was in so much pain I wanted to walk the last 4 miles or maybe just get a ride!
I did a lot more walking then running those last few miles. The other girls were still doing intervals & I got to the point I was trailing behind them by a lot. I think it took me all of mile 19 as I walked to get my legs to listen to my brain & start moving! It felt good for a split second to get going but then it just plan hurt. I wanted to be done, I wanted to stop hurting. With one mile to go I actually considered sitting down and quitting! 20 was enough I thought, what did I have to prove I was about to do 26.2. I was sick of pushing & making it worse. I had sent out my text/cry for help & got my reply from Elizabeth who was long done with her big run that day. I didn't even have the ability to pull out my phone & read the texts for a while but when I did she reminded me that tri-Kate doesn't give up, that God's word says I can do all things through Christ! I would like to say the pain miraculously went away & i picked up my stride & flew to the finish. BUT it was more of the same but I shuffled along. Randy the sweeper told us we were super close just cross the street go over the bridge and through the train station parking lot. I I'd shuffle a teeny minuet bit faster. As we went up the bridge he was standing there smiling at us. & he ran with us. As we got of the bridge there was an eruption of applause from the crowd!!!! I threw my hands up in the air in acceptance of their cheers...even though they were actually cheering for the little league game they were watching ;) it still felt triumphant to me!
Randy stole my heart this run. I may never see him again but he became my hero. He followed us the last 6 miles or so of the run & then when we finished I asked if he would drive us the 3 blocks to the beach so I could soak my sore legs in the frigid ocean...he not only did that but waited for us & drove us back.
I'm glad we did such a tough run. I feel like I know a little nit of what the race is going to be like (misery haha).
This week i started a supplement glucosamine with other stuff recommended & promised it will help my knee pain.
I'm looking forward to see if it works & trying to see what else may help me get through this race!

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IOU

I owe some blogs to becoming tri-Kate!
First of all I need to share about my marathon training. It is coming down to the final weeks. The feeling is both dread & relief. The thought of running 26.2 miles now that I know how hard it will be is dread! & relief in knowing in just a few short weeks I will have my life back! Well, my early Saturday morning & fun Friday nights! I don't plan on eating poorly or stopping training but the long runs are no joke & you have to eat right & get rest or you will suffer.
Now the week after the 18 miles was a scaled back run just 8 miles! I was stoked 8 miles is nothing! We met at the grand opening of road runner sports in Carlsbad. I avoided the store but there was snacks set up for us before the run & a mini expo after the run. I did not snap pics of that but did grab some free samples ;) I am a fan of GU brew electrolyte drink now & sport beans (jelly beans for energy).
The run was great! Knowing I had an easy run & didn't need to worry about saving my strength I pushed it & enjoyed every step. I went to fast for my pace group and we had a sub coach. I also wanted to get it done! It was cool I finished so fast I was able to make my sons karate stripe test. Take my kids to the park/bay to play & still get to work!
Ran along the coastline


One of the things I love about the running club is the encouragement! When they can they write messages to us along the route!



My run this past Saturday was a whole different story. I was expecting it to be another easy one. 14 miles in Poway around the lake. I read the email just in time to see it described as a hilly trail run.
Long runs start well before Sat. Morning. In my case I have been good since the half marathon of my pre-run activities. In this case (and this Friday) I had a can't miss event. My friend Natalie is getting married! For her bridal shower Desirae arranged (a surprise) private wine tasting at this very cool wine parlor!
Me & the bride-to-be


All the Leyba girls


This is NOT a good idea before a run!


My $9 dress "I got it @ Ross"


Needless to say, wine & staying up late the night before my run I was already at risk for difficulty.
Little did I know the torture I was about to endure! The trail started out simple enough but quickly turned very hilly!
Then as we looped around Stacy points out where we are running too! It was a dam up a steep gnarly MOUNTAIN. The run turned to hike/walk & was incredibly hard for 80% of the runners I think. Some people seemed to run up effortlessly. Then my phone/pandora quit working so I switched to my iPod (on my phone) & THAT was acting up. Running & fussing with it was NOT helping my situation so I abandoned music from mile 4 or so on.
Poway lake






I love running & enjoying the beauty of God's creation! I would never experience this view if I was not training for this race.



This is THE dam


No one chalked any messages on this hill but I could have used the encouragement


The view from the top.


The top of the dam was only just over 5 miles! I was really dragging at this point already! I did a package of sport beans (love them cause it's the only way I can eat jelly beans guilt free) and shortly after a GU too. This is also about where I ran out of water. This point in the run I started to trail behind my group. Once again alone...I'm beginning to think this is all par of God's plan. With out music I was able to hear the rhythmic sound of my feet hitting the ground & my breathing. Thump thump inhale exhale. I praises God in that moment for my body, how He created it to function, how He carries me through each step. I found joy in that moment (briefly) then thoughts of where is the turn around came back!
I reached the turn around and the group had waited there. We turned around and most the group pushed ahead. It was me, Stacy & coach Christian together. We chatted I tool the opportunity to ask some training questions, we discussed cancer, my brother, Christian is doing 14 races this year, etc etc. We were all struggling so when Stacy mentioned a short cut all 3 of us unanimously opted for it. It skipped that hilly first part of the trail and took up on a flat trail out to the street & back to our start. I ended up doing 12.5 miles but because I didn't know how hard the run would be I also had some commitments that I had to get to.
This week is another train run 21 miles. Friday night is Natalie's wedding reception which doesn't even start until 9pm.
I keep trying to decide what to do! Skip it for the sake of my run or not miss this important event Stay tuned I guess....
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Tri-Kate is BACK!

I have officially signed up for my next race! Sept 11. 2011 TriRock San Diego! I signed up for the sprint distance (there was an Olympic distance option this year).
Tomorrow is the Mission Bay spring sprint triathlon which was the race I did last year. My first race, the one that started I all!
I wanted so bad to do the super sprint race but I know I need to focus on the marathon. I had a friend come to town this weekend so it helped me resist the urge I've had the last 2 weeks to go for it!
It's hard not to reflect on everything that has happened this past year. & I went back to read some old blogs! I have changed so much physically but also inside too!
I am still a work in process! So excited to keep progressing, get to my goal weight & take on this next race!


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