Dash Point 10K Trail Run

After Spartan I realized that I had no idea what I was doing when it came to running trails. 

Step 1- Buy trail shoes.

Step 2- Start running tails. 

Step 3- Sign up for a trial race.

Missions Tail Running= Accomplished!

On Saturday I ran my first 10k and my first trail race. 

It was MUDDY and WET! 5 other brave and amazing friends came out to run with me. At least it was warm. :)

(L-R: Erin, Sharla, Andi, Jennie, Jennifer and Me!)

Check-in was easy and the port-a-poties were clean. The race was put on my Evergreen Trail Runs. I definitely want to run another race with them. From start to finish I felt supported and at ease. 

I ran the race, I got dirty, I finished. My friends were amazing! We went to Panera afterwards for some hard earned soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. 

This blog post isn't about me. It's about Erin. 

Erin was my motivation during this run. 

A few months ago Erin joined my weekend running group for a trial run. It was her first group run ever. We promised 2 miles easy out and back. We got lost and it ended up being 4 miles. Amazingly, Erin came back! Over the past few months I have seen her getting stronger every week. 

While driving to the Dash Point run she mentioned that this was her first ever race. 10k trail run in the pouring down rain is a pretty hard core first race. I did tell her that she gets double bragging rights because of the weather.

As always, I told my fellow runners to leave me at any point and that I'd meet them at the finish line. Erin told me to go ahead, but I was committed to sticking with her until the finish. 

Within the first mile Erin had slipped (did I mention the mud?). She got right back up and kept on running. The first 2 miles were STEEP. At mile 2 there was a fuel station. We fueled up on PBJ and Nuun. How cool is that?! Homemade PBJ sandwiches as a fuel. Loved it! They also had M&Ms and other goodies. 

The volunteer told us we were halfway. I knew that was a lie. We were 1/3 done.  Can't fool me when I'm plugged in to my Nike app. :)

Erin took a deep breath and started back on the trail. At this point there were 3 of us in our group. The others had gone ahead. Erin took the lead with Jennie and I right behind her. She was amazing. She just kept going. Our scenery was amazing. 

Erin took this picture of me. She was already at the top of the hill. 

4 miles down. At some point I was in front and Erin kept pace with me. I know that she was tired. I was tired. It was hard. The 1/2 marathoners were starting to lap us. It didn't matter. We had our own race to finish. The coolest part of the race was when we got stuck behind someone and couldn't get around her. Erin tapped her on the shoulder and said "Excuse me, can we please go around". It was great! Erin, who 3 months ago had never run on a trail, was passing people. Being able to be a part of her success made me giddy. 

At mile 5 I made them stop for a mid race selfie. 

We finished. 

We were dirty. 

The rest of our team was waiting for us at the finish line.

 Erin's sheer determination to finish was such an inspiration to me. 
I always say, "I'm not fast, but I always finish". There are days that I don't feel like finishing. Watching Erin run her first 10k reminded me of how amazing it feels to achieve goals that seem impossible. 

This race was amazing for many reasons, but most of all because it reminded me what can happen when you remind yourself that the impossible is possible. 

Thanks Erin!

~Kari

Are you wearing your brace?

I caved (or rather my foot caved) and went to the podiatrist yesterday to talk about the pain that I've been having in the top of my foot for a few weeks. He wasn't in his normal office, of course, so the Husband drove me out to his other office. Thankfully they were able to even fit me in yesterday! 

We got right in and saw the nurse. I went though the yoga and swimming story. Then the question came that would be repeated many more times:

Have you been wearing your brace?

My brace?! I got that thing 2 years ago for an unrelated injury. Ok, I thought it was unrelated (the pain was in the side of the foot), but after reading that old post I realized it was the same- irritated tendons.

No, I haven't been wearing my brace. 

Doctor comes in... Have you been wearing your brace?

Nope!

Doctor: You should wear your brace if it hurts. 

Me: I know but.... (He really wasn't too interested in my but's, go figure!)

Prognosis:
- Inflamed tendons 
- Bone spur that he only mentioned in passing, not sure what the means
- "Possible ankle damage" that might need a cortisone shot, but we won't know until the tendons de-flame (Pretty sure that's not a word, but go with it)

Doctor's Orders:
- Wear my brace
- Put cream on tendons
- Ice 3 times a day
- Come back in 2 weeks to get a better look at the ankle
- Run as long as it doesn't hurt

My mental state:
- I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do my 8 miles tomorrow and it's ok. It really is ok. Really, it's ok. I still have 6 weeks until my 1/2 and if I miss this long run I can still complete most of my training. I'm doing a part trail/part road run tomorrow and I have already given myself permission to bail after the trail if it hurts even a little bit.
- Athletes have injuries. Even the most careful and physically fit athletes have injuries. This injury won't keep me back forever. A bigger injury wouldn't keep me down forever. 
- I'm super thankful for the Husband who has taken great care of me the last few days. He always supports my crazy fitness ideas and is there to pick me up when I fall down. 


Are you wearing your bace? :)

~Kari 

I should be running right now....

Instead I'm sitting in bed trying to talk myself off the injured list. 

Two weeks ago I was doing yoga (yoga of all things!) and lost my balance doing half moon pose. The next day I got off the couch and something felt really painful in the top of my foot. That weekend I got a massage and my massage guy said it looked like I rolled it a little.

My foot only hurt when I went from sitting to standing.

So I kept running (and lifting, and stretching, and biking).

It only hurt when I stood up and only when I wasn't careful to put more of my weight on the other leg and only for a few seconds.

Last night I went swimming instead of doing yoga because my foot was still not right. The first time I kicked off the wall of the pool I knew that that wasn't going to work. It hurt as much as standing. The rest of the swim I kicked off with only one foot.

After swimming I came home (still not hurting) and watched some TV. 

I googled every know foot issue in the world and kept coming back to stress fracture.

Time for bed- I started walking towards bed and it hurt SOOO bad. The "only hurts when I stand" was replaced with hurts all the time. 

It's 6 AM. I should be running, but I'm not. 

I'm terrified that something is really wrong. I have a race in two weeks....and in six weeks....etc. 

I'm scared.

What if I can't run any more?
What if I am told no exercise?
What if I gain back all my weight?

I'm going to take work off and try to find a doctor that will see me today. 
I'll keep you posted.

~Kari

Friday Feelings

Happy Friday!

It's been a week since my last blog post. This past week has flown by. Work meetings on Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the week was rock and rolling with spring fever on overload for the little ones at work. 2 weeks until spring break. We will all make it! 

Sitting down to write this post I realized that lately I have a lot of strong feeling on the health/fitness/wellness front....

Frustration- Even though I am back to recording again fairly consistently and accurately, my weight is holding steady. If I was more accurate with my food recording, then I am confident think that my weight would drop. I remember when I first lost that 220 was one of those SUPER STUCK points where I didn't seem to lose for weeks. I hate that I am back around that super stuck place.

Contentment- My 1/2 marathon training plan is really working for me. I love having my rest days pad my long run. I haven't been to the gym as much as I would like, but am getting in good workouts. Food wise I have been really content (most days) with my 1800-2000 calorie range. Increasing my protein has helped to ward off hunger. It is a very comfortable eating range for me. There are days that I think "I could stick with this extra 25 pounds if it meant that I could always eat semi-normal".

Race Anxiety- My race calendar is pretty full and I don't think I left myself appropriate training weeks between races. Here's what I've got....

March 29th- Dash Point 10k Trail Run
May 4th- Tacoma City Half Marathon
July 12th- Lakewood Fest Sprint Triathlon
August 2nd- Spartan Sprint

Those races don't seem close together, but they are all so different and the training for each requires it's own level of endurance vs strength vs sheer determination. Can I do it all? I'm especially anxious about the triathlon- it's a smaller race and I don't want to be last. My normal race rules are:
- Finish
- Don't be last

Tired- This is more personal than fitness, but lately I am just plain tired. I am over thinking situations, stressing about stuff I have no control over, and punishing myself emotionally for other's actions that have nothing to do with me. I wish that I was one of those people that just let stuff go. Thankfully I have been very aware of how I'm feeling and have had very few moments what I have caught myself eating my feelings.

So, there it is....Friday Feelings. :)
TGIF for sure! 

~Kari

How to gain 3 pounds without even trying

How to Gain weight without even trying:

1. Keep recording your food, but skip a few days and eat after you've clicked your "I finished eating for today" button.
2. Drink little to no water. 
3. Don't measure your bowl of ice cream because it's been a long week.
4. Don't record the mid-day fun size candy bar. It's fun! How many calories can fun be?
5. Skip the scale. You don't need the scale to tell you that you've gained weight. Ok, this step isn't required, but it does make the slide into weight gain easier. 


Yep, I gained 3 pounds in two weeks. This puts me right back to where I started. Ok, not really where I STARTED, but back to where I was a few weeks ago. 

That's the bad news. Here's the good news:

1. I have been recording (not accurately, but still giving it a go!) for 57 days. I have not given up or completely abandoned ship.
2. My family tried tofu last night. We didn't like it, but we tried it. My kids are getting experiences with food that I never had. My youngest even swallowed down a single bite because I told him it was healthy.
3. I'm 1/2 way through my 1/2 marathon training (6 miles this weekend!). I wish I wasn't 30 pounds heavier than I was at my last 1/2 marathon, but nutritionally I think I am healthier than I was back then.
4. My kids are IN LOVE with green smoothies. A bunch of fruit really does hide the spinach. (See #2)
5. I've been able to release my need to control in an icky work situation. I don't know what the future holds, but I'm ready to roll with it.


It's Friday! I'm ready to track my food (ALL of it) and water for the day. Hydration for my long run tomorrow is essential. That will help me suck down the fluids today. I'm becoming convinced that my lack of fluid is what is causing my cravings at night and bloating. 

How do you track your water?

~Kari

Why I'm not Fitbloggin and Why you Should!

Last spring I applied to be a "live blogger" at Fitbloggin. The previous year some of my weight loss/maintenance blogging heros were all abuzz about Fitbloggin. It was something that sounded amazing, something that I wanted to be a part of. Imagine my surprise when I was chosen as a live blogger!

Fitbloggin 2013 was amazing. It was more than I could have ever anticipated. I met people that got me in ways that my friends and family really didn't. People that understood that losing 100+ pounds was only the beginning, that set backs happen, and that we all had to find our own road on the way to finding health.
Once I finally left my hotel room and opened myself up to new possibilities I found Fitbloggin to be THE PLACE that I needed to be. My weekend in Portland was amazing. (I posted a ton in July 2013 about Fitbloggin if you'd like to read more.)

Sadly, this year I won't be attending. We had already scheduled our family vacation for that same time frame and in July my mom and I are going on a cruise, which makes rescheduling the family vacation pretty close to impossible. Plus the money- Fitbloggin is not cheap. If I wasn't doing the cruise I'd be able to swing both the family trip and Fitbloggin. How cool is it that I live in this amazing body that can go on cruises and family vacations?! The Kari of 2009 never would have gone on a cruise. I was "too big" for that. I wasn't too big, I had limited my own abilities based on what I thought I was incapable of doing. 2015 Fitbloggin is definitely in the plans.

Why should you go?

Liz explained it well on her blog. You will find your tribe at Fitbloggin. There is something amazing about this group of people. There are still the "cool kids" that the fat girl inside of my longed to be, but once I got past not being a cool kid, I found amazing sources of inspiration and support. Some of my biggest cheerleaders today are people that I met for 3 days in Portland last June.

Take a chance!
Do something uncomfortable.
Register for Fitbloggin. :)

~Kari

February Monthly Running Check-In

2 months into my goal of running 244 miles in 2014.....

Monthly Progress:

In February I ran 35.85 miles. Whoop Whoop! I started my 1/2 marathon training, so that added some extra incentive to get in those miles.

Year to date:

I am at 70.59 miles or 29% of my goal. I am going to smash 244 miles this year. Easy peasy. :)

I started reading "Run less, run faster" and quickly realized that was not the plan for me. It wanted me doing long runs starting out that were way too long for me. I settled for a more reasonable plan from Fitsugar. I won't break any records with the plan, but I will finish and hopefully won't hate running when I'm done. 

Did you miss my weekly weigh-in? Yah, me too. It was a hard week with way too much emotional eating. I'm skipping this week. I don't need the scale to tell me that I overate and made unhealthy choices. 

In other news, I get to see a friend this weekend that I met at Fitbloggin last June. I am beyond the moon excited. 

Time for my long run. I'll be doing 5 miles on the trails with the amazing Julia. Last weekend after 4.5 I was on the verge of that shaky, sick feeling that I sometimes get after long runs. Time to break out the fuel built for the next few weeks of long runs. There is no need for me to feel bad with the correct fuel and nutrition. 

How do you fuel during a long run/race?

~Kari