Where in the world???

OK, so 7 months have passed since I blogged last. SEVEN MONTHS. Geez. That's awful. I know that most of you follow me on Facebook, so it's not like you think I have fallen off the face of the Earth, but still - by profession, I am a writer. I should be a better blogger! Here's to making that a goal for the 4th Quarter of 2012!

So let's see... It was an exciting May with Morgan's 6th Birthday and Kindergarten graduation! Maddie's 2nd Birthday followed in June and with June came the start of my Chicago Marathon training! That probably explains my absence from the blogging world. Training for a marathon, maintaining a full-time job, a house, 2 kids, cross-training and working sleep in there somewhere left little time for ANYTHING else. 

I did however work in time for something new and different - my first triathlon! In late July, I competed in RocketChix II in Baton Rouge. I realized that I HATE swimming. I mean, I talk and sell the swimming pool lifestyle all day long, but I personally am bad at it. BOOM, I said it. I really stink at it. I realize that it takes practice, but until I have a pool I can truly train in, it's not going to get better. I can bike/run all day long, but the swim kills me. Anyhow, the event was a great experience, and I had a great time. I even competed in a relay for Girl Power a few weeks ago (the bike part!) and I signed up for Girl Power in March 2013. I am hoping some miracle occurs and I either join a gym that has a pool or my other cross-training efforts will somehow make me a super athlete that can all of a sudden swim like a fish.

The end of summer was upon us and it was time for the kids to go back to school. Morgan started 1st Grade and Maddie entered Toddler 2 at Northlake Christian! They've had an amazing year so far, filled with football games and other school events!

So after actively training for over 6 months, the Chicago Marathon Weekend was here. Unfortunately, Jonathan was on business in Houston for Starbucks, so I had to make the trip solo, but I was meeting my good friend, Alicia there to run! Chicago was beautiful - and COLD!! I left the balmy 90 degrees of New Orleans and arrived to the 39 degrees of Chicago! 

My first day was solo, as Alicia and Walt had not yet arrived, but I went exploring! I LOVED the architecture of Chicago. I also became friends with the mass transit system and took the train to Wrigley Field. 

I even visited the Expo that night, even though I knew I'd return the next day with Alicia!

The next morning, I was itching to run! I wanted to simulate race day conditions - at least temp wise. I set out for a 7am run down on Lake Michigan. It was cold, but so beautiful! 

Alicia, Walt and I then hit the Expo before more sightseeing! 

We hit Millennium Park, Lunch at Carmine's and Chicago Chinatown. 

My Brick Chicken at Carmine's!

Alicia's Spaghetti and Meatballs

After a day of sightseeing, race day was here. We needed to be there in our corral for 7:45am. It was SOOO cold. Gun time was about 36 degrees. But we had prepared as much as we could without having to ditch clothing. Luckily Walt was there to take our jackets before we started. 

So now, for the race report:

I was in corral K and it took 46:00 minutes before we even got to the start line. Luckily, the other thousands of people helped to block the cold as we waited. When we got to the start, it was a fast start. What surprised me right away was the THOUSANDS of people that lined the route. I thought, "well, this is just the beginning, so there's going to be lots of people down here." But it continued for miles and miles. The first few miles of the route were downtown, so it seemed to go fast for me. Before I knew it we were well into mile 3 and I was feeling great. What I noticed about this race compared to others is that the runners really had a grasp on runner etiquette. If they felt they were slower, they naturally moved to the right. There was not a ton of bobbing and weaving around people as in crowded races that I've done in the past. 

What I really loved about this race was that it took you through tons of Chicago neighborhoods. We started out downtown, then ran through Lincoln Park, Old Town, Chinatown, and tons of other neighborhoods. Chicago is really beautiful. But again, throughout the ENTIRE 26.2, people lined the streets - tailgating, drinking, cheering...this is pretty much Chicago's Mardi Gras. The aid stations were great - well stocked with Gatorade, Water, Pottys, and cheering folks. 

I get to the halfway point and I am amazed at how great I am feeling. I know the fact that it's still only 40 degrees, no humidity and I am not sweating an ounce helps, but still, I was good. Then - mile 15 hit. I had to potty so bad that I broke off the route to use a porta-potty - something I NEVER do. But I was so concerned about hydration that I drank more than I usually do. That little stop really took a toll on my body. Though my bladder felt better, I stiffened up just that quick. Picking up the pace again was a challenge, so I just started to do what I could. I continued on until I got to mile 19 when I noticed that everyone was starting to walk or pull over to stretch. I realized that stretching would do no good because at this point, my back, neck, an every inch of my legs hurt. It would take forever to stretch it all out. I then started to attempt to do math...mile 19...is that 8 miles left? No wait, 7 miles left? I then remember thinking, ok, maybe I should attempt different math like 19 is what % of 26.2?? The things you think about while running can be so abstract. I then began to quote movies in my head - ANYTHING to not think about the few miles left. I remember thinking about how my legs felt like 100lbs each...everything felt heavy and cramped at that point...then, bananas from heaven! There were tons of bananas being handed to us. I HATE bananas. They've always given me stomach aches, but let me tell you - I grabbed as many as I could hold and started chowing down on them. BEST FOOD EVER. I didn't realize how hungry I was! Pretty quick, the cramps started to subside and before I knew it, I was near mile 25. 

WOW. Mile 25. Almost there. Instantly, tears started to flow. Every hour of every mile of every training run began to hit me. Every run after work when I was dead tired. Every run in the gym because of the rain or dark. Every run when I would have rather been playing with the kids. Every run when my knee was about to explode. That emotion carried me the rest of the way because all at once I realized that I had done it. I was going to finish. I remember making that final turn to the finish line, surrounded by strangers that were audibly weeping much like myself. Crossing that line was the greatest feeling. In my mind, I have come so far. I have done so much. And I cannot believe that I did it. 

Next stop - food! Wow, I was sooooo hungry. And I had been thinking about that Chicago deep dish pizza for MONTHS. And I got it. We went to Lou Malnati's! 

I had the BEST time. I cannot thank Walt and Alicia enough for joining me on this adventure, and we hope to be able to do a destination race (and bring our families!) at least once a year. 

And the whirlwind continued as I hopped a plane from Chicago to Dallas for the POOLCORP International Sales Conference. Teaching 5 Social Media Classes was on tap!

And then, we represented in the booth!

I then returned just in time to do the Gulf Coast Half Marathon on Sunday. I know it seemed crazy, but I was celebrating the anniversary of my very first half just one year ago. I enjoyed the race, but have no races scheduled until the Color Run on November 17th! Whew!

So that was our whirlwind summer/early fall. We are looking forward to our Disney Family Vacation in a few short weeks! 

Stay Tuned!

Spring has Sprung!

Wow! This year is FLYING by! I realized that I have not blogged since MID JANUARY!!! Life has been so busy, and is not slowing down anytime soon! So, let's catch up!

The end of January, I hit a small running injury that kept me sidelined for about a month. Well, I say "sidelined", but even though I continued to run, I didn't run any races for a month. I was diagnosed with "runner's knee", but a few anti-inflammatory and some rest really helped. I started racing again with the Elmwood Classic at the end of February and followed that up with the Rock and Roll New Orleans Half-Marathon in March. That was a really beautiful race, but seriously crowded. Over 22,000 people competed!

That was my starting corral. I finished in a great time, even considering the crowd at just under 2:15:00.

The next week, I competed in the Ozone Springs 10K in Covington. It was also selected as the Louisiana State Championship 10K. I had a great time in that race as well, finishing 2nd in my age division.

This past weekend, I did the Covington Spring Stomp. It was a great evening run, and though my time wasn't what I would have liked it to be, I finished 2nd in my age division in that race as well.

We've also been so busy with school events, family events, etc! Jonathan and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on March 19th and went to dinner and "The Lion King" to celebrate. The musical was AMAZING and I highly recommend seeing it while it is still in town!

Here are a few pics from other events:

Pics with Chicks 2012

Celebrating my cousin Scotty and Mindy's wedding

At Morgan's Mother/Daughter Kindergarten Tea

Soon, we'll celebrate Easter, Morgan's 6th Birthday, Kindergarten Graduation, Maddie's 2nd Birthday, etc! Busy times ahead!

Stay Tuned!

Janel

"I can never be a runner"...and other lies you tell yourself...

Today I completed my second half marathon. I had signed up for the Louisiana Marathon last March, having never even run a 5K. Today, not only did I complete it running the entire route, but I blew away my last half time by 22 minutes! Today I finished in 2:09:48. The route was on/near LSU's campus and it was ABSOLUTELY beautiful. I wish I could have stopped to take pics. It of course was insanely cold, with race time temp at 29 degrees. I decided to brave the cold and run with no long-sleeved shirts or jackets. It was a wise move as I got warm fairly quickly and apparently everyone else did as well. People started shredding clothes, gloves and hats about 2 miles in. It blew my mind that they just threw them on the ground. If someone followed the pack in a golf cart, they could have had quite an extensive athletic wardrobe. 


One of the most fun things about doing a race like this is the signs you see along the way that the people cheering on their fave runners are holding. Here are a few of the memorable ones:


"Chuck Norris never ran a marathon."
"Pain is temporary, pride is forever!"
"Most of LSU is still hungover and you are running a marathon - #winning"
"Free Hurricanes"
"Stop reading this sign and run!"
And here was by far my favorite -

Here is a pic of the Louisiana Capitol (the start line), seconds before the gun...

And here is a pic I snapped after I got cleaned up after the race:

I cannot state enough that I NEVER could have imagined that I would be here this time last year. I also cannot recommend "Couch 2 5K" enough. It really, really, really works! Oh, and I also think that if you want to get started running and want to make a goal for yourself, sign up for the 2013 Louisiana Marathon. They have a great early bird deal going on for next year. The race date for 2013 is Jan 20th. I am probably going to sign up this week! It's a truly beautiful course and the race is incredibly organized. Challenge yourself!


Janel

It only takes a spark!

Happy New Year! I can't believe that 2012 is already here. So much has happened over the past 12 months and 2011 seems to have flown by! It was an exciting year of a new job, new healthy lifestyle, new adventures (1/2 marathons, Morgan started Kindergarten, etc!). 


I first want to start by posting a pic from 12/31/10 and 12/31/11. It's amazing that when I was asked for "before" pics I realized that I never really had one for 2 reasons: 1) I am the family photographer and 2) If there was a pic of me, I usually deleted it because it disgusted me. However, my mother-in-law had pics from our Christmas get-together from last year. When we were in Florida last week, we spent some time going through them to see how much the kids have grown...and how much I've shrank! Here is a pic from last year on New Year's Eve and this year on New Year's Eve. 

Wow, right? It even amazed me and I see me everyday!


So, I wanted to spend this blog highlighting some AMAZING people. It's funny, because one of the things I hear most often about my weight loss is: "wow, I thought if you could do it, I could do it too." And I was thinking the other day, how I've seen so many people also make awesome changes in 2011. Now, I know by doing this I might leave someone out, but it's not intentional! Be sure to comment below if I forgot to mention you! Rest assured, I'm proud of you too!!!


I have to start with my own MOM and DAD. In 2011, they joined their local YMCA and are doing ZUMBA a few times a week! Cool, right? I am so proud of them!


Jonathan - it took a few months for Jonathan to get on board with the gym, running and healthy eating, but by April, he was on his way! Since he started, he's lost over 50 lbs and can still beat me in every race we do...well, almost. ;)


Jonathan's family - It's not often that we get to see/spend time with Jonathan's family because they are in Florida, but we get daily Facebook updates! Many of his family members (Mom, aunts, uncles, grandmother, cousins) joined MyFitnessPal to track their calories. They have lost over hundreds of lbs combined! They've also started running and many of them competed in their first 5Ks in 2011. I introduced Jon's mom (Judy) to "Couch to 5K" over the summer and Judy will compete in her first 1/2 Marathon this weekend! So proud of all of you! Here is a pic from a 5K that his family organized while we were down there last week so that we could all run together! 

Dustin Hinton - Dustin is a friend of ours that started to run races with us back in June. Since then, he's lost over 50 lbs and is currently training for his first IronMan 140.6 later this year! You can follow his progress HERE. 

Co-worker Jeff - Jeff not only works in my office, but he was also my teammate in our PoolCorp Biggest Loser Contest. We went on to take the title, but Jeff was able to win "Overall Biggest Loser" as well! He's lost over 50 lbs since joining Star Fitness Center and was the key to helping me win that iPad back in April for the recruiting contest! Thanks, Jeff!!!

Alicia Edwards - Alicia is an amazing friend that I made my first year out of college when I was working at Fox in Alexandria! Even though we only knew each other a few months before she moved to Iowa, we've remained friends since 1999. She started Couch to 5K this past summer and is now running as well! She has inspired one of my goals for 2012 - to complete my first full marathon in Chicago in October! I can't wait to cross the finish line with you, Alicia!


Now, I don't know everyone's story and stats, but here are a few more that I wanted to mention by name that I know have had an amazing 2011 - Jason and Stacy Lindsey, Jen Gibson, Laura Fricke, Celeste Haar, Debbie O'Connor... again, sorry if I forgot anyone! So proud of ALL of you!!


I mentioned one of my goals/resolutions for 2012 above but here is a short list of things that I have committed to for 2012, in no particular order...

• I want to log 1000 miles of running this year. That's about 83 a month, 19 a week or 2.75 a day. I am keeping a log, and so far for the first 3 days in 2012, I've logged 10.3 miles - so far so good!
• I want to be home to bathe the kids and put them to bed every night that I can. Working across the lake in the past and working out last year put that on the back-burner for Jonathan to do, but it's something that's a priority this year. We're off to a great start with that as well! 3 for 3!
• Make my own coffee and lunch. It's been easy to swing by Starbucks everyday and not realize that I spend $2.66 each morning. In 2012, I am going to make my own coffee at work. I will save over $700 this year doing it! That's 1/2 of a trip to Disneyworld!!! I've also been going home for lunch (when I can) and grilling fish and chicken on the George Foreman grill and steaming veggies. That will also save a ton of $$ (and calories) this year!
• I have also committed to having a cleaner house and keeping the laundry up to date! It's so easy to let it get away when there is no time, but going home for lunch actually lets me get caught up a bit because I can clean when I'm not chasing after kids!!
• And as mentioned above, my ultimate fitness goal for 2012 is to complete the Chicago Marathon. I am doing at least four 1/2 marathons in 2012 (2 in January, one in April and one in October), but I want to complete a 26.2! 

So that's it! And just remember, as I learned from a song that we sang wayyyy back in youth choir, "It only takes a spark, to get a fire going"...you never know who you will inspire when you make changes...even the little ones. Make even the little things count in 2012!

Janel

2 months?? Really???

So, it's been 2 months since I've posted! My first question is "Man, where has that time gone???" My second is "how can I possibly condense all of the events of the past 2 months in one post???" I will do my best!


We took our first vacation as a family of 4 in late October to Walt Disney World! We had a blast! Though over 1000 pics were taken, I will just post one iconic family pic!

We are planning our next Disney trip for November 2012 with my sister and her family! So excited!


I've been keeping up with races most weekends. Since October, I've run in The Covington Classic, A race sponsored by the U of Florida Vet School down in Gainesville, Keeping up with the Jones' Race, 3 Rivers Art Festival Race, Turkey Day Race at City Park and St. Paul's Christmas Run. We'll be doing the Celebration in the Oaks Run/Walk this weekend and maybe one or two more in December. I have two, yes TWO 1/2 Marathons in January, so I am really trying to keep my miles up during the week. 


Another exciting thing to happen since I last posted was that we were featured as a local success story in Louisiana Health and Fitness Magazine! You can read it on their website or check out the PDF here. We've received lots of feedback, and even a few people that have told us that our story has inspired their family, so that's awesome! 


We've been really busy with holiday events, shopping, etc! We were able to spend time with my sister and her family for Thanksgiving and it was really fun having my girls and my nieces together. Here's a pic of the 3 oldest girls playing on the lawn at Loyola!

Here's Maddie at Cracker Barrel on the Evans' Family Shopping day to Baton Rouge:

And here are Morgan and Maddie with friend Ryann at the Hammond Christmas Parade!

We also took family pics a few weeks ago for our Christmas Card. I will preview one pic now and add others later after I get the card out!

As far as the weight loss goes, I'm about 5 (or less) pounds from my ultimate goal weight. To date, I've lost 135 total. It's pretty exciting but I will continue to stay challenged as I strive to maintain. I'm still running all the time, so that helps, but my willpower with food has been somewhat down lately. In my head, I know that I can eat most anything now and lose it in a day or 2 because of my workout routine. That's a really bad approach, so I need to change that. So the journey continues!


Janel

1/2 the person, twice the heart!

If you've been following my blog since March, you've walked with me through this journey. You've seen me break the 200lb mark, you've seen me hit a 100 lb weight loss...Well, yesterday, 10/9/11, was a VERY important step in that journey. I COMPLETED A 1/2 MARATHON. In a few short months, I've blown away every expectation I've had for myself. If you would had told me on 1/1/11 that in 10 months I would lose 125 lbs., complete over 30 5Ks, ride in 30-mile bike tours and RUN a 1/2 marathon, I would have NEVER believed it. But yesterday, I realized that "CAN'T" is just a 4-letter word. I am proof that you can do ANYTHING that you set your mind to. Not to get into details, but this whole journey began when someone pointed out my weaknesses and then told me that I would/could never change my behavior. And if you know me very well, you pretty much know that I am also one of the most stubborn/determined people you've ever met. Let's just say: Challenge Met - Challenge exceeded. :)

Here are a few pics from the 1/2 Marathon Yesterday:

Jonathan and I after completing the 1/2 Marathon

Me with Jon and Dustin before the 1/2 Marathon - since training for this race beginning in March, the three of us have lost a combined 227 lbs!

A few other updates since my last post: I spent last week in Dallas at the POOLCORP International Sales Conference and Vendor Showcase. It was extremely educational! The Hilton Anatole was beautiful, and having a 1/2 mile walk from my hotel room to the conference site was extremely helpful in my prep for the 1/2 marathon.

The POOLCORP Internet Strategies Team

Sarah and I at the Vendor Showcase

We've also been extremely busy with Fall events. Last weekend, the girls were in the St. Tammany Parish Fair Parade after being crowned Queens in the pageant. We also went to the Southern Miss game last weekend. Jon and I also attended Morgan's first field trip to Red Bluff Farm and we took the girls to the Pumpkin Patch in Hammond after the 1/2 Marathon.

Maddie and Morgan in the St. Tammany Parish Fair Parade

At the Southern Miss/Rice game - 10-1-11

Morgan at Red Bluff Farm

Hayride at Red Bluff Farm

Peek - A- Boo!

We're headed into more exciting times...Disney World in a few weeks, then the holidays! As usual, more pics and adventures to come!

Janel