Running and Weight Loss Experiment, Week One

I've decided to try an experiment.  I have body image issues, like most women.  I have come along way in the weight loss department.  If you don't believe me, I'll show you.  This is a picture of me at my heaviest.  198 pounds.  Almost 200 pounds.  Pre-diabetic belly and all...

Looking back, this picture disgusts me.  I don't like anything about the person in that picture.  It is a painful reminder of how fat, depressed, negative and physically and mentally unhealthy I was. When I brought my son home from the hospital, things changed. I decided to forgive myself for every bad decision I ever made.  I decided I would make a fresh start and be happy.  After all, those fertility treatments and dark nights screaming for a baby, any baby, were definitely behind me.  If you are experiencing infertility, you know what I mean.  With every friend's or family member's pregnancy comes overwhelming anger and sadness.  But that is not the point of this post.

I started running in September 2010 and instantly fell in love.  I had many obstacles to overcome.  One being the damage I did to my lungs from smoking.  Secondly, I had to learn how to eat like a healthy person and give up my nightly bottle of wine.  Yes, I said bottle.  Remember how I just told you I was sad, angry and depressed?  I was self medicating.

I have been running now for a solid 19 months now.  A half marathon is just a few weeks away.  I will be scheduling a full marathon and two 50k's in the next 8 months.  This is all training for my Grand Canyon Rim2Rim2Rim run that I hope to cross of my Bucket List in 2013.  I started thinking, how much weight would I shed if I stuck to this partly Vegan diet and all these weekly miles?

Well, let's find out together.  I already put that fat picture out there, so these two won't hurt as much.  This is Week One.  Today (April 15th, 2012).  A full frontal and a side view of yours truly.  I'll try and keep up this series on Sunday.  I have no idea what I weigh in pounds.  I do not own a scale.  My cycling instructor and sometimes run trainer Julie, told me to "throw that scale out the window".  Which is exactly what I did.  Well, I put it in the trash anyways.  I pay attention to the way my body feels, how my clothes fit and that is exactly what every other woman should do.  It doesn't hurt to measure your inches either, but I am lazy and that means more work.  So getting to the pictures:

Let's just see what all this hardcore run training will do to this 35 year old body, shall we?  I'll keep you updated weekly, so please check back.  For the record, only a few, very few, people read this blog so it was easy to post embarrassing pictures of myself.  Unless you share it, then I'm embarrassed.

Happy Running!

Mallorie


Edited to Add:

Just a little fun I had....

Healthy Dinner: Quinoa

I am trying to eat a certain diet, so that I might improve my running.  This means going Vegan, but that AIN'T NEVER GONNA HAPPEN.  I am making some compromises.  This is what I am having for dinner tonight:

Quinoa
Corn
Black Beans
Tomatoes
Avocado
Onions
Peppers
Salt and Pepper

Wrapping it all up in a Boston premium lettuce leaf!  I think it is better served chilled!

You can also add tofu if you want.

I cannot and WILL NOT give up cheese.  So veganism doesn't work for me, but it is a great diet for long distance runners.

Happy Running!

Mallorie

Turning 35!

I look forward to my birthdays.  Not for reasons you might think.  It isn't what gift I can buy myself with the gift cards I'll get.  I look forward to my birthdays every year so I can reflect on what I've learned, my experiences, my relationships with others and my walk with God.  I like to take some good quality quiet time in the morning on my birthday and really think about the things I could have done differently and the goals I would like to set for myself, personally.

This year alone, I have met some really incredible and inspiring people.  You can read about a couple of them here.  Others include women in my community who inspired me to start a non profit.  You can read more about that here.  I stuck to my New Year's resolution of casting a wider net and forging lasting relationships with meaningful people.  I could not be more excited about the friends I've made in 2012. 

I found a church that is satisfying my spiritual needs in so many ways.  It has been a struggle for me for two reasons.  I have always felt totally disconnected from my home church, which I was a member of until my early twenties.  I couldn't give you any specific reason.  I just never felt a fulfilling relationship with anyone there, not even God.  It is a great church, but it just didn't satisfy me.  Secondly, since my Grandma Edna passed, it was just too hard to attend any church.  If there was one thing I could put my finger on that made her so special to me, its this: she spent my entire life worrying and fussing over my salvation.  It was special to me that she loved me so much.  Most of my memories of her are in the backyard at her home, or in the church.  Any time I would listen to a choir sing, go to Sunday school, or here any sermon, my heart would just hurt so badly, because I missed her so much.  Oh, I still tear up at church, especially at Easter, because it was her favorite.  But it is getting easier.  And the congregation at my new church would just come over and hug me if they saw me crying.  Which is AWESOME!  Most importantly, I feel closer to God than any other time in my life.  I actually want to glorify him.  I want to spread His amazing love to everyone.  I want to serve Him in any capacity.  I want to lead my life with Christ in it, and I want my son to have me as an example of faith, like I did with my Grandmother.

However, within this last year, there have been some mistakes.  I've snuck in a few bad habits I successfully gave up in the past.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, I smoked a few cigarettes.  My husband totally busted me, which was exactly what I needed.  If you truly know me, you KNOW I hate to disappoint people.  Especially those I love and care about.  I am working hard again to overcome that habit, and I am headed for success.

I want to stay committed to a healthy lifestyle and stay active.  I want to continue my walk in complete faith in Jesus Christ.  I want to continue to serve my community in any way I am able.  I have set some goals for my 36th year and they include (but are not limited to) registering for and running more races: 1/2 marathon, marathon and the Grand Canyon Rim2Rim2Rim run.  I've started my non profit and will diligently work to get a charitable status through the government.  I am joining more than one group at my church to also serve.  I am also committing myself to instill in my son a want to serve his community humbly, when he is old enough.  And to serve his God.

Hope you all are having a happy Spring!  And a belated Happy Easter to you all!

Happy Running!

Mallorie

The Cycle: Inspiration to Goals to Success...

Photo Courtesy of Grand Canyon National Park

I have experienced some pretty inspiring moments this week. 

First, I followed my Internet news as usual and came across the story of Micah True.  If you don't know who he is, I suggest you read the book Born To Run.  I'm reading it now.  I have never been so engrossed in a book before.  It is inspiring, amazing, breathtaking, and all right from living room.   I am learning a ton about running and the running community, especially the Ultras.  The Taramurara are now an obsession.   And I am learning many things from Micah True's legacy as well.

The husband and I went to Dallas for our annual conference.  On our third day in downtown, we were ushered into one of the hotel ballrooms to watch, on the local news' traffic camera, a twister ripping through the city.  It was scary to say the least.  But I was inspired at how powerful, and simultaneously beautiful nature can be.  No one was killed and few were hurt during that storm outbreak, so praise God.

Last, but certainly not least, I finally caught a flight out of Dallas and met a wonderful woman.  Her name was Harriet.  She was very friendly and quiet, and in her seventies.  Now get ready for this.  She was on her way to Springer Mountain.  Yes, that Springer Mountain.  The Southern Terminus to the Appalachian Trail.  And she was hiking the entire thing over the next 30 days.  Alone.

That takes some balls.  And she had them.  I suddenly wanted them, too.

So.  I came home, continued reading my book and came up with a plan.  I am a very goal oriented person.  I like to compete against myself.  I do not like to leave projects unfinished.  So with the help of three of my trainer friends (hopefully they say "yes"), I will run rim to rim of the Grand Canyon.  I want to do it in three years.  Its about a 42-48 mile run through the canyon.  I am crazy.  But I am totally looking forward to it. 

Thank you Micah True and Harriet, and most of all, God, for being the inspiration I needed to kick my running up a notch.  I hope I can do it.

Happy Running!

Mallorie

RIP Micah True.  You've left an incredible legacy...

Half Training

I'm training for my first half marathon this year.  Yesterday, and for the first time ever I ran 8 miles.  It was a HUGE accomplishment for me.  As some of you know, three years ago I was almost 200 pounds, smoking a pack of cigarettes a day and downing about a bottle of wine EVERY night.  I haven't given up my wine, but I drink a bottle over the course of a week now.

Back to the training, that is what this post is about.  I am using a simple beginner run from www.marathonrookie.com  I thought it was a little advanced for me, but so far Ive been crushing the goals.  And the distances.  And my knees.

But no pain, no gain.  And my second favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  Believe me, I repeated that verse several times on that first long run.  Long runs take place every Sunday for me.  I don't think that is coincidence.  Next week is my 10 mile run, then it goes to 12 miles.  I am looking forward to proving to myself I can do it.  Because I know I can.

In the words of the late Navy Seal Jon Tumilson, also a marathoner, "Go Crush It."  And make sure you check out his page at www.3minutesout.org



Happy Running!

Mallorie

A Wish For My Son...

I love my son with every breath I take.  That sounds cliche, but its true.  I imagine it is hard for any mother to put into words how much she loves her son (or her daughter).  I don't think there are enough words in written language to adequately express how much WA means to me.  I want the world for him but I will settle for these precious things:

I wish for him to find a wife (or husband) that will love everything about him and see what I see, when I look into his eyes and his smile and his heart.  I want her (or him) to honor and cherish him and take care of him when I will no longer be able to.  I want him to find a woman (or man) that he loves so deeply that he can spend the rest of his life happy and satisfied in that person's arms, and heart.

I want him to serve his community.  I wish for him a compassion so large that it moves him to change the injustices of the world, but not so large it crushes his spirit.  I wish for him a loving heart and an intelligent mind to create positive changes for humanity in his daily life. 

I wish for him a great and meaningful relationship with God.  I wish for him an internal light that burns bright and will never be extinguished by the evils of his fellow man.

I want my son to know I love him.

Mallorie

An Incredible Thing Happened...

I don't know if I am going to be able to do this story justice in my own words, but I have to try.  I witnessed something so incredible and so humbling today.

I am a member of an online "yard sale" type group on Facebook.  It is basically 800+ moms and/or women (and some men) in the community I live in, who post stuff for sale and sometimes "in search of" items.  It is a great way for stay at home moms to make money or people on a budget to find a gently used item they really want but cannot afford to buy new.  Anyway, one single post garnered hundreds of comments.  It was a single mother, with another baby on the way, who had just signed a lease on an apartment.  She had never had her own home before.  She simply asked for any items that would make a house a home.  She literally did not have a "pot" (to piss in) and was looking for everything and anything from silverware and plates to a bed.  Within 48 hours, dozens of women were offering items she could use.  I had some things and the leaders of the group organized a meetup.  This is the incredible part, ya'll.  I got to the meeting place a little early and within minutes of the appointed time, DOZENS and DOZENS of minivans descended on that empty parking lot like vultures on a deer carcass (not a great metaphor but you get the idea!) with diapers, toilet paper, furniture, formula, blankets, towels, small appliances, clothes, food, etc.
It was humbling, amazing, incredible.  It was like witnessing God right there in my community with his angels.  It gave me chills and I cried tears of joy.  I can't believe I share space with these amazing women.  I was so proud to be a small part of such an amazing moment.

And it all happened because of a single, simple Facebook post.  Makes you realize that with all of the negativity related to the "digital age" and "social media" that some positive can always counteract that.

I'm still in awe and felt this warranted something more from me.  And if this blog post is all I can give, I give it happily!  I hope all of these women know how special they are.

It was EFFING INCREDIBLE!!!!!

Mal