You don't have to travel...

Last week, Heather, being the instigator she is, decided that we should start doing other stuff than walking. Since we can't always get together, we decided to start working out together via text. So every week day evening at 5:30, we text each other workouts. After 3 days we are up to:

-- 30 pushups
-- 50 crunches
-- 50 jumping jacks (or 100 1/2 jacks)

It's actually a lot of fun, and the lovely Miss Taz in PA will be joining us this week. If you want to join our little text work outs, drop me an email (deefairbanks@mac.com) with your cell phone number, and I'll text you at 5:30 to remind you to GOYB and DROP AND GIVE ME 30!

On a related note, due to scheduling conflicts, we skipped our SOS walk today, but I got to tell you, there are still some really neat things to see, even if you just GOYB and walk around outside your house. Cool stuff just in my yard:

A black and yellow argiope. It was very cool, she was doing something with those little tiny appendages in the front, it almost looked like she was grooming herself. I actually never even noticed that they had those little thingies before, I am not sure what they are, will have to do some research.

This was bizarre -- in case you can't make it out, it is a wasp carrying around some kind of caterpillar or worm.

This was all in 5 minutes outside my house. Remember my mantra - "Doing SOMETHING is better than doing NOTHING!" Write back and tell me what's outside your house today! And don't forget to join us at Riverview on Tuesday.

More on Motivation

Since I started this blog, one of the questions I get asked the most is, "What motivates you?" There are a few answers to that. People are a big motivator (I'm looking at you David, Heather, Alison, Hiawassee Mom, Joy, Amy, all the way back Wayne on Mount Monadnock who started this whole thing) and I would not have come as far as I have in the last few years without them. But the one thing that has always been with me, literally every waking minute of my day is music. It is what gets me up in the morning, gets me through my work outs, and gets me though the times that I alone.

Back in 1995 after my divorce, I was pretty down. I listened to a lot of music and read a lot of philosophy. One thing that stayed with me was from the Tao, there is a part about learning to be like water and go around the rocks instead of just crashing into them. I needed a reminder of this point, which is the explanation for my first tattoo on my left wrist.

At the time I got that tattoo, I knew I wanted a second one on my right wrist. My initial thought was the chinese character for "Silence" as at the time I was convinced I talk way too much. A few years removed from the divorce, I realized that that was pretty negative, I am chatty, that's just the way I am, most people think it's actually one of my better points and I came to appreciate it. But I still wanted a tattoo, but was back to being undecided what I wanted.

I started this blog in 2009. I was a big turning point for me, it was about self acceptance. On New Year's Eve 2009, I was wondering if the blog was a bad idea, had doubts if anyone would ever want to go out and do stuff, didn't really know if I could make any kind of difference or impact.  I was feeling kind of bored and lonely and started goofing off on YouTube. I happened to stumble across one of my favorite videos of all time, The Smashing Pumpkin's Tonight, Tonight:



A line from the song jumped out at me:

"Believe that life can change, that you're not stuck in vain"

A few things dawned on me at that moment:

• Not hating myself doesn't mean I have to go through the rest of my life not changing or fixing the things that are broken.
• I found my new tattoo.
• In the video, that is Tom Kenney, a.k.a. Spongebob Squarepants, jumping out of the dirigible. 

When I made my new year goals that day, I put "Get new tattoo" on the list. I didn't do it. I put it on my list again in 2010. Didn't do it again.

A few weeks ago, during an SOS walk, I was whining to Heather about being down, and she basically kicked my butt and told me stop whining and GOYB (man, I HATE it when people throw my own words back at me:-). So, I came home from the walk, and took a day off of work to regroup myself. On that day, I went back and revisited my new years goals - I bought new sneakers, I signed up for banjo lessons, and I researched tattoo artists in the area. Since that day I have:

• Started banjo lessons
• Increased my walking to between 3-5 miles a day
• Got this:

In case you couldn't watch the video, this is the dirigible that they ride to the moon. And in case you are not familiar with my warped sense of humor, the yellow in the window at the bottom is Spongebob Squarepants.

Life feels new and good again. 

Join us for the SOS walk tomorrow evening.  But beware, you will have to look at my tattoo over and over and over. :-)

Remote Boot Camp...

Being on vacation does not mean slacking off. I have walked everyday I've been here (today I did 3 miles) and Alison sent me some boot camp workouts to do to make sure I don't get flabby(er). Today I did:

 100 push ups...

 100 Side lateral lunges

200 1/2 jacks (for a total of 100 jumping jacks)

100 squats

100 crunches. Obviously, this picture was taken by David.

2 more boot camp workouts to go, 9 more miles to walk. It's a 3 mile round trip down the mountain on which my inlaws live and back. That was terrible grammar, but at least I'm walking 3 miles a day! Woo-hoo!

Make sure you follow the sites, we have some fun walks and other stuff coming up, hope to see you there!

Fixing Bad Habits

I read this interesting article today on "fixing bad habits". I agree with most of what has to say. It has not been easy getting into the habit of going to the gym every day, and sure, there are plenty of days I'd rather sit around eating bon-bons, but once it became a habit, not going just really doesn't seem like an option anymore.

Enjoy the article, hope it inspires you to GOYB and join us for the SOS walk this Sunday!

Why 5-Minute Activities?

Here is a precise explanation of why we should be doing at least 5 minutes of activity every hour instead of just sitting at our desks. Let's get serious, and let's start on Monday, especially all my work at home readers. For the first week, I'll even make a deal: If you make a suggestion for a 5-minute activity, in addition to posting a picture of me doing it, I'll also send you a custom DeeMotivation t-shirt! Let's move!


Via: Medical Billing And Coding

What a difference a few decades make

So, back in high school, I kind of "forgot" to go to gym class. A lot. Technically, I skipped gym my entire senior year. A few months before school ended, I was told that if I didn't make up all the classes I skipped, I wouldn't be allowed to graduate. So I spent the last 2 months of my senior year walking the track over and over till I made up all the skipped classes.

As mentioned a few posts back, I recently signed up for a "boot camp" style outdoor fitness class. I think I was insane the day I signed up, but regardless I have attended for 3 days now. Here's how it's going so far:

• Day 1: Accidentally did pushups on a fire ant hill. Don't really need to say anything else about that day, now do we?
• Day 2: We had to pick a partner and between the 2 of us, had to do 100 reps at each of 6 stations. By the time we got to the situps with a 12 pound ball station, I was kind of hoping for rain. And lo, it started raining. So we moved inside where Alison (the trainer) had even worse things in mind for us. It was too horrible to talk about. I came home and was so tired that I asked the cat for my water bottle. He wouldn't get it for me so I had to actually walk across the room and get it myself. Barty can be a jerk sometimes. 
• Day 3: We had to do push ups, ball slams, lawn mower pulls with weights, kettle ball swings, and a bunch of other torturous things. And it's hot out. Very very hot. The worse part about it was that I had to stop at Publix to get some milk on the way home. I passed through the ice cream aisle and was going to get some Ben and Jerry's Phish Food for dinner, when I noticed someone from the boot camp in the store. I put the ice cream back, but I will secretly hate and resent that person for ever for foiling me. 

So basically, other than the searing pain in every inch of my body, including my hair, it's actually going quite well. But if you had told 17 year old me that in 30 years I would be paying someone to make me do this stuff, she would have laughed you into the middle of next week. And then continued walking around and around the track (and those of you wondering, yes, I did get my diploma. Eventually.)

Another Reason to (Literally) GOYB

So, this morning before I left for the gym I read this article. For the past year or so, there are many days when I feel like it's actually killing me to sit at the desk. I work out every morning, but by the end of the day I feel like I've been hit by a truck. The article pretty much confirms what I know to be true.

So, when I was at the gym this morning I noticed that they have a a new boot camp starting Monday evening, 3x/week for 4 weeks... I can't believe I did this, but I actually signed up for it. It should be interesting. But, if you don't see me updating the blog you will know that boot camp killed me before my desk could:-)

In a related story, I also need to get serious about doing the 5-minute activities throughout the day.  Please submit any that you think up. As described in the rules, you can either submit them via twitter, on this site, or via email. But don't forget -- especially those of you who work at home and do a lot less walking that those who actually leave their house -- you have to do them too! I'll post pictures of myself doing anything submitted, but hey, it was your idea,  you need to do it too!

If you are in the mood for something longer, join us for a 6-mile walk tomorrow at 7 a.m., starting at Wabasso Beach.  But whatever you do, remember to GOYB and move!

Rules for 5-minute activity suggestions

I have officially reinstated the 5-minute Right Now! activities on this blog and am looking for suggestions from readers. The point of these activities is to get myself (and anyone reading) up and moving just 5 minutes a few times a day. Studies have shown that long periods of sitting is incredibly unhealthy, and now that I am plagued with arthritis, I feel it even more. So let's get moving!

I am probably asking for trouble, but here's a promise: if you make a suggestion for a 5 minute activity, I officially promise to post a photo of me doing the activity. Within reason of course. Rules include:

• Nothing involving nudity or things that will get me kicked off blogger or facebook. 
• If your suggestion includes music, please post either a youtube link or the name of the song. 
• These are intended to be brief activities that can be performed on breaks at work. So, save the "run a marathon" suggestions for weekends.
• If I'm doing these activities, I expect my readers to be doing the same! If you aren't brave enough to submit pictures, at least post a reply to my picture to let me know your experience!

You can submit in the following ways:

• Post your suggestion on twitter, using the #deemotivationgoyb hash tag. These posts will automatically appear in the feed at the left of the main page. 
• Reply to this post with your suggestion
• Send me email Please put either DeeMotivation or 5-minute Activity in the subject line.

Past 5 minute activities have included:

• Cross the fine line between kickboxing and ballet!
• Let the world know that you are the singular sensation!
• Develop your own silly walk. Bonus points for not hurting yourself or others

Lets have some fun with this!

On Being Sugarfree, Frustration, and Mike Doughty

A few months ago a song that I had never heard before came up on Pandora. I vaguely recognized the voice, but a line from the song caught my attention:

"I resent the way you make me like myself"

I thought it was the greatest line ever, and I ran to iTunes and downloaded the song. It was by Mike Doughty, who it turns out, used to be the lead singer for Soul Coughing which is why I recognized the voice. I have been rapidly accumulating his stuff and have come to realize he is probably in my top 5 favorite song writers now.

So what does this have to do with motivation?

Well, about the same time I discovered Mike Doughty, I was getting a bit discouraged in the gym. For well over a year now I've been working out 5 days a week, and leading hikes and other events on weekends. Although I have stated many times this blog isn't about losing weight, it's about getting out and enjoying life, it still frosts my shorts that the number on the scale has not moved in the past year. So, my trainer thought it might kick start my metabolism to go sugar free for 21 days. She threw down the gauntlet, I accepted the challenge.

Surprisingly, it wasn't as hard physically as I was expecting. Mentally though -- I pretty much thought about the fact that I wasn't eating sugar every waking moment, and in most sleeping moments as well. I had crazy dreams - I had one that I was eating cake out of a garbage can, and that was just one of the ones that I can talk about publicly, they got worse, trust me.  Anyway, I not only lasted the 21 days, I lasted 43 days without sugar.

Somewhere into the 3rd or 4th week, a friend asked me how it was going. I told her I was still off sugar, and she made a comment about how much weight I must be losing. "No, actually", I said, "I haven't lost a freaking OUNCE." Ok, technically I said "FUCKING OUNCE" but I try to keep the blog family friendly. I'm not gonna lie, it made me very very angry, like Marvin, except on a roid rage.

"But," she said, "How do you keep going? Aren't you frustrated?"

"Yeah" I said. "But I just have to keep telling myself what I say on the blog -- it's not about a number on the scale, it's about getting out, living life, and just feeling better."

But I have thought a lot about the conversation since then, and especially since I've started eating sugar again. The thing is, I don't really feel all that good. I have arthritis in my knee caps, and the medicine I started taking for it made me feel awful so I stopped taking it. My bones in general are old and creaky from a lifetime of the abuse and strain that morbid obesity puts on them.

But, I do still keep going. I am still at the gym every day. I still do hikes every weekend and just started back doing weekday long walks again. So, back to Margi's question, "How do I keep going?"

I've mentioned here before that I am an atheist, I don't believe in anything. But I do think that through random chance (or, in this case, the data mining program that makes Pandora work) things appear in my life when I need them. There is a Mike Doughty song that I've had on auto repeat for weeks that has the line:

"Feels so wrong, but I need to fake the will to get along"

And I really think that is what is doing it for me these days. I don't have the will, I want to quit, I'm tired of my knees hurting and I feel like crap and some days I just feel like I'm getting nowhere. The trick is to be able to fake that I have the will to get along. I try to keep this blog positive, and feel I have somewhat of a responsibility to my readers to fake having the will. But the cool thing is, if you fake something long enough, it eventually just becomes a part of you. (Hmm, maybe I should try to fake being really really rich:-)

But my points in this very long winded post are:

• The main lesson I learned from going 43 days without sugar is that I can go 43 days without sugar. I really really like sugar and don't see the point in completely abstaining, but it's good to know that I can moderate it when I want to. 
• If I wasn't able to fake it, I wouldn't have seen that wicked cool red rat snake, or the baby owls, or any of the other neat critters I've seen, and I wouldn't have the benefit of the hours of amazing conversations with Heather and others who join me on my outings.
• Mike Doughty is an incredible songwriter

'Nuff said. I am off to do stuff. If anyone wants to join me, I'm thinking of doing a dusk walk at Goodwin this evening. Hope to see you there.

What not to say...

So, today is day 25 without sugar. Here is a tip.  Say that someone tells you that they are on their 25th day without sugar. An appropriate response to that is NOT: "Ohhhh, I know a great bakery in Vero Beach!" Seriously, I can't believe how many people have said stuff like that.  WTF? Why would you say that to someone you know is going without sugar. Here are more appropriate responses:

• Ohhh, I found a mouse head in a snickers bar once. 
• That's great! Lets celebrate by doing a trip through Goodwin!
• Cool. I wonder if I can do that! 

But I digress. 

I read a really interesting article today theorizing that sugar is toxic (Click here to read it.) There are many really interesting points in there, but the one that jumped out to me was the fact that both sugar and HFCS behave the same way in the human body. It seems to me that there is a huge misconception that HFCS is bad for you in a way that sugar isn't. That isn't the point, and I think the manufacturers know that too. The problem is that because it is a cheap filler, HFCS is overused and is in almost everything you can buy in the grocery store, it is the second ingredient in everything from bread to "low fat" soups.

The funny thing is, I read that the manufacturers want to change the name from HFCS to "Corn Sugar". I actually think this is a really good idea, I think even people who generally aren't inclined to read labels will think twice when they pick up a container of "low fat" blueberry yogurt that has more sugar than blueberries.

So, if you are going to join me in being sugar free, remember to read the labels, HFCS = Sugar. In a candy bar, who cares? But in low-fat "healthy" foods, you need to make sure you are getting what you paid for! 

Objects in mirror are smaller than they look...

So, I try to stay really positive, try to stay active, try to remember the important stuff like why I created this blog, and why I try to get people to come out on walks with me. But sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's really hard.

Case in point: A few weeks ago, the gym I go to started running a promotion where if you came in to the gym more that 150 times in the past year, you got a t-shirt that says "WORLDS BIGGEST USER" I thought the shirts were neat and I asked for one, given that I have been in 5x/week for over a year, I knew that I had earned it. The problem though, is that the t-shirts only went up to size XL. I was mortified. I've wear a 3x, and they just don't make them that big. I was so embarrassed, I started crying when I was telling my trainer about it. She talked me down, and that is actually how it came to pass that she challenged me to go 21 days without sugar to try to get me back on track eating a little better. 

Anyway, after a few days without sugar, Alison gave me one of the x-large t-shirts and told me to hang on to it for inspiration. I felt bad taking it, knowing it wouldn't fit any time soon, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings so I took it home. After seeing it sit in the laundry pile for a few days, just for laughs I decided to try it on to see how much further I have to go...

 (In case you can't read the writing, that is the "WORLDS BIGGEST USER", size xl t-shirt I am wearing in this picture, taken today.)

I've said all along that working out and getting off my butt in general isn't about losing weight, it's about getting out and feeling good and living in the world and not my head. But apparently somewhere along the way I have managed to drop a shirt size or two.

This post is for Allison, who made me do it :-)

Day3

I am on day 3 without sugar... Getting weaker by the minute... Trying not to go into the light...

Ok, it's not really that bad, but I have a headache and am really, really crabby.

A Challenge!

So, my trainer, I think in attempt to kill me, has challenged me to go sugar-free for 21 days starting today. It's been 12 hours, and I haven't killed anything yet, but the day is still young. Feel free to harass me and check up on me to keep me honest, I'm gonna need it! I will keep a tally on the front page of the blog where I keep the milage update. If you don't see an update,  you will know I have something to hide! :-)

Getting past the fear

A few weeks ago, I wrote a somewhat pithy blog about excuses for not exercising. Today, I would like to delve more seriously into the excuse that is hardest to face, but I know from personal experience is the one that keeps fat people from getting out and doing stuff: fear.

I know when I first started going to a gym, I had more fears than most people have leg hairs (fear of having hairy legs was even on the list.) So, for those of you who are afraid to do anything physical (I'm not talking about running a marathon, I'm talking about walking into a gym for the first time or even taking your puppy to the dog park) here is a list of my real fears and the way I got around them:

• Fear: Someone will call me fat or say something else mean to me.
• The Reality: There are two points here. First of all, I *am* fat; it's not something that is exactly a secret. Despite societal pressure to associate being fat with being a bad person, the fact of the matter is that it just means I am fat. Not good, not bad, just fat. It's not a dirty or bad word. Having someone call me fat really isn't any different than someone saying, "Hey, you have blondish hair." They might intend it as an insult, but that is their damage, it's not mine, and I won't let it be mine.
  And second, and most important, I have been going to gyms off and on for nearly 20 years now. And never, not ONCE has anyone EVER been mean to me at a gym. Not even close. People understand that I am there for the same reason they are, for exercise. Period.
  (And just for the record, in the last 20 years, the only people who have given me crap about my weight were people who were very close to me. It's been my experience that strangers generally are not mean to me.)
  
• Fear: People might look at me/talk to me.
• The Reality: That's a possibility. People might also talk to me or look at me in a grocery store or a movie theatre. People are (in most cases) human and social interaction is part of being human. If you are out walking or in a gym and really don't want to be talked to, wear your iPod. I can almost guarantee though, once you are comfortable in your own skin you won't need that security blanket any more.
  One note though: I'm not saying no one will ever look at you or maybe even leer and give you the willies while you are walking or at the gym. It is a danger (especially for women) pretty much anywhere you go. This is a huge benefit of either walking in groups/with a partner or working out in a gym -- there is safety in numbers. No professional gym will put up with bad behviour from members, but again, I have never, ever had to deal with it. Another note here -- I have always gone to small local gyms -- I have heard that bigger places like Golds or World Gym tend to be meat markets and can be uncomfortable if that is not your scene.
  
• Fear: I might get hurt.
• The Reality: Yes,  you might get hurt out walking or in a gym. You also might get hurt driving to work, taking a bath or having dinner. You might also have a massive coronary sitting on your couch watching TV. The big advantage to starting exercise at a gym is they have trainers who can show you how to properly use the equipment to prevent injuries. But either way, we all take calculated risks every day. Not exercising at all is putting yourself at a far greater risk. And, (I promise I am not making this up) even if you do get hurt, after a while you will notice that if you are in shape, you recover much faster.
  
• Fear: I will be the only person in the gym (or park where ever you choose to exercise) who isn't in shape.
• The Reality: Unless you are going to a very very very small gym or park, there will be people across the entire spectrum of fitness, from marathon runners to slugs who have to take a nap after tying their shoes (aka, me when I first started:-))
  The thing is, you can't compare yourself to the people who are in perfect shape. I was not born weighing 240 pounds, and the people who I aspire to be like were not born with muscles and awesome bodies. It is actually a great thing that there are so many body types at the gym. One thing I have found is that I can learn from the people who are where I want to be (Alison, Dave, Derick, I'm looking at you:-)), but I can also teach the people who are where I used to be. Even if it's just showing someone how to turn on the TV on the treadmill, I can help someone on their way, and I feel good about that, it shows me how far I have come.
  
• Fear: I'm never gonna succeed so why bother?
• The Reality: Succeed at what? Seriously, this was the hardest fear to get past until I asked myself, "What is my definition of success?" Be in a size 4 dress? Weigh 90 pounds? Be 23 years old again? Those are the kinds of goals I used to torture myself with. I realize now that success to me just means getting off my butt and doing something every day. There are days I work out like a fiend, lift weights, put 3-4 miles on the treadmill and walk out feeling like wonder woman. There are days that I drag my carcass to the gym, struggle to walk 1/2 mile on the treadmill, and drag myself home. But the only days that I do not succeed are the ones on which I do nothing. To quote Paul Simon:
  
  "A good day ain't got no rain
  A bad day's when I lie in bed
  and think about the things that might have been."

This Saturday, March 5, is a walk out at TM Goodwin. Be there, unafraid!

So, What is YOUR Excuse?

I hate sounding like an exercise evangelist. But the fact of the matter is, there really are so many benefits from exercising. In my personal experience, I've seen:

• Getting toned. I haven't lost any weight, but I can see my body changing shape, clothes fitting differently.
• More Stamina. If I am walking/hiking, I can go much longer without needing a break. (Unless I am properly hydrated and have to take potty breaks:-)
• Better mental health. I notice this in general, but on weekends if I decide to be a slug and not get at least some cardio in, I tend to start feeling like Charlie Brown with those little dark clouds following me around. 
• Better physical health. As mentioned in a previous post, I get sick much less, and when I do catch colds or have allergy attacks, I recover much faster. In fact, I recover from any kind of strain my quicker now. I walked the 1/2 marathon on Sunday and was back to the gym the next day. 

I try not to annoy people with proselytizing, but it's hard. It drives me nuts when people tell my why they can't exercise. Here are my favorite excuses that I've heard lately, and my responses:

• Excuse: I can't afford a gym membership.
• My Reply: Really? How much is your cable bill every month? I've never seen a cable bill that is smaller than a gym membership monthly fee.
• Excuse: I don't have time to exercise.
• My Reply: Really? How much time every day do you spend watching TV? If you cancel cable, you can knock out two excuses in one blow. And, you can watch cable/satellite TV at the gym -- all cardio machines have built in TVs.
• Excuse: It's too cold/hot/raining out.
• My Reply: Let me get this straight. You are paying $30/month to go to the INDOOR gym, but you can't go to the INDOOR gym because it is cold OUTDOORS? So tell me, how did you get to the grocery store/post office/anywhere else you went today? Did those things not involve going outside in order to get INSIDE?
• Excuse: I don't know anyone at the gym.
• My Reply:I didn't know anyone when I joined the gym either.  So I said "Hi" to the people I didn't know. You know what? I know them now.  But seriously, here is tip: Leave your iPod home now and then. I think I met more people the month I was without an iPod than I had in the previous 5 months of being a member at the gym. Wearing an iPod all the time can give people the impression that you don't want to be talked to, not wearing an iPod can do the opposite. 
• Excuse: I don't feel good enough to exercise. 
• My Reply: What doesn't feel good? If you have an actual ailment (the flu, anything contagious) then absolutely stay home and rest. If your doctor has told you that you cannot exercise,  then again, stay home till he tells you otherwise. However, if you are just tired, don't feel like getting up, don't feel like leaving the house, that is NOT a valid excuse. I have literally NEVER gone to the gym and felt worse after. The only times I have felt worse is when I give in to being lazy and blow it off. 
• Excuse: I am too stressed out to spend time exercising.
• My Reply: Whatever is bothering you, you will only feel worse if you sit and stew over it. You will always feel better if you take it out in the gym. Case in point: one of the best moments of my life was when some idiot broke my little heart, the trainer at the gym I was going to at the time taught me how to play racquetball.  I named the racquetball after the jerk and smashed the living crap out of it. I cannot tell you how much that did for my poor broken psyche.
• Excuse: I hate going to the gym.
• My Reply: So, walk outside. Get a Wii and play WiiFitness. Take a dance class. Take a self defense class. Your local rec center, church, or adult ed mostly likely offer free or low-cost activities. Heck, there might even be a web site that offers free activities that can get you out moving!
• Excuse: I'm too out of shape to start. 
• My Reply: No, you aren't too out of shape to start, you are too scared to start. Trust me on this one, the scariest thing I ever did as an adult was to walk into a gym for the first time (I remember this -- it was the Prospect Hill gym in Waltham -- I was terrified.)  But you know what? It wasn't that scary at all. The people were all really nice to me. But, even if you are too scared to go to a gym, you can start small -- remember my motto -- SOMETHING is better than NOTHING.  Here are some suggestions to get you started:
• When you go to work or shopping, don't take the first parking space you see. Park further from the door every day.
• When you go grocery shopping, only get 1/2 of what you need in each aisle, then go back and make a second lap.
• Use your imagination. For example, pretend you are expecting a diamond shipment via US mail. Walk to your mailbox once every hour to see if they have come  yet.

So, now tell me -- if you are reading this -- have you exercised today? If not, WHY? If I haven't covered your excuse here, please tell me what it is, I'm dying to hear something more creative!

1/2 Marathon Results

I did my 8th race today, my first ever 1/2 marathon. Here are the results of the last 8 races:

• February 6, 2011 (4:32:04 20:47/M)
• December 11, 2010 (51:43.9, 16:41/M)
• November 20, 2010 (1:02:36.7, 17:53/m)
• November 13, 2010 (53:45.2, 17:20/m)
• October 2, 2010 (51:57) (Note -- this race doesn't count. After the race all participants received a message stating that the race organizers messed up the course and it in fact was not a full 5k, which explains the really good time.)
• September 12, 2010 (57:44 18:37/m)
• July 3, 2010 (56:25:35 18:12/m)
• June 5, 2010 (1:03:20 20:26/m)

My time was a little higher than I had hoped, but given that George ran with me, causing me to stop for breaks than I wanted to take, I was pretty pleased with the results. The highlights of the race included:

• No blisters! I used moleskin, and that really seemed to do the trick. I will definitely use that for all long walks in the future.
• LOTS of encouragement:
• I got a text last night from Heather that said, "GOOD LUCK! Power to the new sports bra and all that is contained within!" Made me laugh, which is one of my favorite motivators.
• David and Beth were there to take pictures and cheer us on. Beth texted us encouragement throughout the race. David even went out in search of scissors and ice at 5:45 this morning for me, and had Starbucks at the finish line for me!
• Dave and Alison from the gym surprised me at mile 12 to cheer me on for the last part of the race. (This made me cry, I thought it was the sweetest thing EVER!)
• And most of all, cousin Amy kicked my butt to finish. I didn't want to quit, but I had cramping and bad back pain about mile 8. Amy didn't just cheer me on, she waited for me while I took breaks,  didn't even consider leaving me behind, and was WAY more patient with me than I ever could have expected anyone to be.

Thanks so much to everyone who supported me in this endeavor, I seriously love you all! 

I started this blog as a way to encourage other obese people to get out and do stuff. I really hope that someone reading this realizes the same thing that I have been lucky enough to have shown to me again and again: It is not being fat that keeps you from doing stuff, it's the voices in your head that keep you from doing stuff. I have been lucky enough to find people (all the way back to that day on Mount Monadnock with Wayne) to help me drown out the voices in my head. I hope some day that I can convince people reading this (Michael, I'm looking at you) that there is life beyond the couch. You just have to start, take one step at a time, and prove to that annoying voice inside that it is WRONG. I am living proof of it.

And, for those who need photographic proof, once again my adoring and adored husband photo-documented everything (click to enlarge pictures):

 

Me and Amy the night before the race in our official race t-shirts and hats. The hats were really neat. They were made out of this stretchy fabric that felt kind of like wearing underpants on my head. In a good way.

Me and Amy, before the race, warming up.

Cousin Beth, posting our pictures to Facebook.

David, doing our shin splint exercises with us.

Me and Amy, being goofy as we start the race. Notice my gatorade red tongue. I actually remembered to hydrate, I downed about 50 ounces before the race. Which was fine except there weren't enough porta potties for my taste.

Getting near the finish line. This is my favorite picture from today, I love Amy's "You GO GIRL" fist-pumping action.

Amy, crossing the finish line.

Me, crossing the finish line.

Having our official portrait taken.

Our official portrait by David.

When all was said and done, Amy looked like she could do another 13.1 miles. I looked like I wanted Amy to carry me to the car. But I was much better after the Starbucks my baby brought me.

So, I'm downloading the pictures and I come across this one. This store was across the street from the finish line. I asked David why he took the picture. He said, "Because it's Fudge! I like Fudge!" We didn't actually go here, but now that I've rested and drank more, my appetite is back and I kinda feel like I could eat the store!

Musical Motivation!

Ok, something I've wanted to do for a long time is to post my workout playlist. It's long, I like variety. The thing is, I've more or less had the same playlist for a very long time. 

I am doing a 1/2 marathon on Sunday, I have an iTunes gift-card burning a hole in my pocket, and I need some help. What songs are missing from my playlist? What get up and get moving songs need to be here, and you are just shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, that they are not here?  Leave me a comment and tell me what songs NEED to be here!

Thanks!

Song/Artist

Song/Artist

Add It Up / Violent Femmes Ain't It The Truth / Dramarama Ain't No Mountain High Enough / Diana Ross Airport Song / Guster Alex Chilton / The Replacements All Day Afternoon / The Judybats All You People / Seven Nations Alone Again Or / Love Alone Again Or / UFO Alone Again, Or / Oblivians America / Neil Diamond American Fun / The Stompers Angels / Lene Lovich Angels Of The SIlences / Counting Crows Another Nail in My Heart / Squeeze At Wo's / Bim Skala Bim Athena / The Who Atlantics, The / Lonely Hearts Avenging Annie / Andy Pratt Awful Age / The Sheila Divine Baba O'Riley / The Who Baby Stick Around / Joe Jackson The Bad Touch / Bloodhound Gang The Ballroom Blitz / Sweet Bang! Bang! / The Knux Barrel Of A Gun / Guster Beautiful Noise /  Neil Diamond Beautiful Stranger / Madonna Ben And Mary / Sordid Humor Black Horse /  KT Tunstall Bodhisattva / Steely Dan Born To Raise Hell Bottle Of Fur/  Urge Overkill Bottle Of Smoke / The Pogues The Bottom Line / Big Audio Dynamite Brain Damage / Bim Skala Bim Break on Through / The Doors Brighton Rock / Queen Bury Me /Guster Burying Ground / The Lemonheads But It's Alright / J.J. Jackson The Calendar Hung Itself... / Bright Eyes The Caterpillar / The Cure Cemetry Gates / The Smiths Chelsea Dagger / The Fratellis Cherry, Cherry / Neil Diamond Cherub Rock / Smashing Pumpkins Chocolate / Snow Patrol Clampdown / The Clash Clang Bang Clang / The Lemonheads Classic Rot / Dramarama Come To The Window / The Lemonheads Corona Crunchy Granola Suite / Neil Diamond Cyanide / Castaneda Dance, M**********r, Dance! / Violent Femmes Daylight / The Judybats Death On Two Legs / Queen Death or Glory / The Clash Delicious / Poets of the Fall Demon Rock Do It Clean / Echo and The Bunnymen Do the Strand / Roxy Music Do You Want To Hold Me / Bow Wow Wow Doctor Jeep / The Sisters Of Mercy Don't Fear the Reaper / Blue Öyster Cult Double Shot  / Swingin' Medallions Dragula / Rob Zombie The Eagle and the Hawk / John Denver Egghead / Lene Lovich Elderberry Wine / Elton John Elvis is Everywhere / Mojo Nixon Exhuming McCarthy / R.E.M. Faith / George Michael Fall In Two / Guster Fat Bottomed Girls / Queen Fiesta / The Pogues Fire / Poets of the Fall Fire and Fast Bullets / Blitzen Trapper Flathead / The Fratellis Float On / Modest Mouse Four Days / Counting Crows Fox on the Run / Sweet From a Whisper to a Scream / Elvis Costello Funnel Of Love / Southern Culture On The Skids Genius of Love / Talking Heads Get That Girl / Joe Jackson Gloria / U2 Goat Girl / Tanya Donelly Goodnight Old Friend / Leo Sayer Gorgeous Behavior / Marching Band Got the Time / Joe Jackson Graduate / Third Eye Blind Great Escape / Guster Groove Is In the Heart / Deee-Lite Hard Candy / Counting Crows Have You Seen Me Lately? / Counting Crows Here and Now / Letters To Cleo Hey Nonny Nonny / Violent Femmes Hitsville U.K. / The Clash Homespun / Grant Lee Buffalo Hum / The Sheila Divine I Am Superman / R.E.M. I Believe in a Thing Called Love / The Darkness I Confess / The English Beat I Could Never / Marching Band I Saw Her Again  / The Mamas and The Papas I'll Do Ya / Whale I'm Beautiful / Bette Midler I'm Just a Singer  / The Moody Blues I'm the Man / Joe Jackson I've Seen All Good People / Yes Idiot Heart / Sunset Rubdown If I Should Fall From Grace With God / The Pogues Illuminate / Orbital and David Gray In Quintessence / Squeeze Incredible Bittersweet / The Judybats Is Anything / The Judybats J.P.P. McStep B. Blues / Jefferson Airplane Town Called Malice / The Jam Joan / Lene Lovich Johnny and Mary / Robert Palmer Join Together / The Who Just A Touch / R.E.M. Kid Charlemagne / Steely Dan Kiss / Prince and The Revolution Kiss Off / Violent Femmes Kiss Them For Me / Siouxsie and The Banshees L.A. Woman / The Doors La Dulcinea / The Judybats Latest Monkey / Buffalo Tom Lazy Line Painter Jane Leaving Train Lemon Peeler

Let Forever Be / The Chemical Brothers Let's Go Crazy / Prince and The Revolution Life And How To Live It / R.E.M. Lift / Poets of the Fall The Lion Sleeps Tonight / The Tokens Living In the Past / Jethro Tull Long Away / Queen Long Cool Woman / The Hollies Look At The Rain / Meat Puppets Looking for Clues / Robert Palmer Lost / Meat Puppets Lost In the Supermarket / The Clash The Love Cats / The Cure Make No Plans / Marching Band Mambo No, 5 / Lou Bega A Message to You Rudy / The Specials Misfire / Queen Miss Free Love '69 Mission of Mercy / The Motels Monkey / Counting Crows Monkey Talk / Lene Lovich Moving Minors Over County Lines / Blitzen Trapper Mr. Blue Sky / Electric Light Orchestra Mrs. Robinson / The Lemonheads My Heart And The Real World Mykonos / Fleet Foxes Mystery Achievement / The Pretenders Never ending story / Limahl New Song / Howard Jones Oklahoma / Sordid Humor Opportune Moment / The Sheila Divine Ordinary Angels / Frente! Out the Window / Violent Femmes Overboard / Poets of the Fall Papa Gene's Blues / The Monkees Perfect Way / Scritti Politti Photograph / Def Leppard Plaster Caster / The Lemonheads Police On My Back / The Clash Positive Bleeding / Urge Overkill Pretty Little Angel Eyes / Curtis Lee Prime Time / The Tubes Privilege (Set Me Free) / Patti Smith Psychosis / Poets of the Fall Ragged Wood / Fleet Foxes Red Sails / David Bowie Rescue / Echo and The Bunnymen Respect / Aretha Franklin Ribbons / The Sisters Of Mercy Ride My See-Saw / The Moody Blues The Right Profile / The Clash River Deep, Mountain High / Tina Turner The Rodeo Song / Garry Lee and Showdown Rosalita / Bruce Springsteen Run Run Away / Slade Rush / Big Audio Dynamite Save It For Later / The English Beat Say When / Lene Lovich Scarlett / The Judybats Scream / Seven Nations Seconds / Grant Lee Buffalo Semi-Charmed Life / Third Eye Blind Senses Working Overtime / XTC Sex On Fire / Kings of Leon Shadowtime / Siouxsie and The Banshees She's a Rainbow / The Rolling Stones She's Sad She Said / The Judybats She's the One / Bruce Springsteen Shine / Meat Puppets Sing Along / Grant Lee Buffalo Sister Havana / Urge Overkill Sitting Still / R.E.M. Sleeping Beauty / Lene Lovich Slow Dog / Belly Sodajerk / Buffalo Tom Somebody Told Me / The Killers South Australia / The Pogues Spanish Bombs / The Clash Spring Released / Grant Lee Philips Stand and Deliver / Adam and The Ants Stone Cold Crazy / Queen The Story in Your Eyes / The Moody Blues Street Life / Roxy Music Summer Grof / The Spinto Band Sunday / The Lemonheads Suspicious Minds / Elvis Presley Sweet Lady / Queen Sweet Young Thing / The Monkees Switchin' to Glide / The Kings Take A Chance On Me / ABBA Take Back the City / Snow Patrol Take Me I'm Yours  / Squeeze Take Me in Your Arms   / The Doobie Brothers Takin' It to the Streets / Taylor Hicks Tarzan Boy / Andrew Sixty Tattooed Love Boys / The Pretenders Telepath / Leo Sayer Telepathy / Lene Lovich Thank The Lord For The Night Time / Neil Diamond This Charming Man / The Smiths The Three Sunrises / U2 Tie Your Mother Down / Queen Till Victory / Patti Smith Tonight, Tonight / Smashing Pumpkins Touch Me / The Doors Train In Vain / The Clash Tree House / Buffalo Tom Turkish Song Of The Damned / The Pogues Turning Japanese / The Vapors Twist and Crawl / The English Beat Twisting / They Might Be Giants Two Princes / Spin Doctors Two Weeks In Another Town / The Lemonheads Tzena, Tzena, Tzena / The Weavers Under Pressure / David Bowie and Queen Union Square / Tom Waits Until The Next Time / Dramarama Use Somebody / Kings of Leon Vicar In a Tutu / The Smiths Virus Road / Cold Water Flat Vision Thing / The Sisters Of Mercy Wait for Me / Castaneda Waiting For The Rain / The Judybats Waterloo / ABBA When It Began / The Replacements Whisper to a Scream /  Icicle Works White Punks on Dope / The Tubes White Winter Hymnal / Fleet Foxes Window / Guster Wonderlust King  / Gogol Bordello You and I / Queen You and Me / The Moody Blues You Just May Be The One / The Monkees You Told Me / The Monkees 1999 /  Prince

Hear me Roar!

At the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival this week. Haven't done any long walks since last weekend. In fact, I haven't been to the gym since Tuesday. Other than when  I was hiking out west over the summer, this is the longest  I have gone without hitting the gym. To be honest, I'm kind of surprised how crappy and tired I feel. It amazes me (in a good way) how used to working out every day I am. I also notice that although I pretty much weigh the same, I'm in so much better overall health. For example, I usually have a horrible allergy attack in mid-January. This year, it lasted about a day -- I just recover that much faster, and don't get sick nearly as often to start with. Another example, I hauled 6 bird boxes from the 2nd floor of the hotel down to my car this morning. I am woman, hear me ROAR!

But my favorite thing about being in shape -- I have stamina and recover in hours now. The last long walk we did (I haven't uploaded the pix yet) was 7 miles. I had a blister that hurt, but my muscles and bones were fine, and I didn't even have to nap afterwards, in fact if anything, it energizes me. Again, hear me ROAR!

I'll be starting afternoon walks again this week, and will be doing the Melbourne Marathon next Sunday. Join me if you want to roar too!

Goals and Resolution for 2011

I realized today that I have been hesitant to record my goals and resolutions for this year because once I write them down, I will have to start working on them. So, as of this moment going forward, here are my goals and resolution for this year:

• Walk 500 miles. (8.2 down, 491.7 to go)
• Last year, I made an effort to reserve only one night a week on which I would eat crap for dinner. This year, I resolve to, instead of once per week, only eat crap AFTER I have walked 25 miles. After I eat crap, the count starts back at 1. 
• Get onto Alison (my awesome trainer's) Success Stories board.
• Short term goals continued over from last year:
• Continue seeking out bee people. This was the most important one last year, and is still the most important this year. I've found one or two, but you can never have enough. 
• Finish Timmy and start book.
• Get new tattoo. 
• Learn a song on the banjo and post a video to YouTube.
• Toilet train the cats. (I don't kid myself. I realize I have very little control over this one.)
• Add something new to the long term goals list.  http://deemotivation.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-years-resolutions.html

And finally, I decided that my main resolution this year is that no matter how high the cliff, this year I will hurl myself off of it with complete abandon. I might crash and burn or I might learn to fly, but either option is better than clinging to the same cliff for 46 years and being sad cause nothing ever changes.

More About Streching

I had David take some pictures of the stretches I do before races or just working out in general.

This is a ham string stretcher. My physical therapist was selling these for $25. I picked this one up at Play it Again Sports for $4. You can also get them at Amazon, but check Play it Again or even Craig's List first. Either way, they are well worth the investment. This is by far my favorite stretch. You place your foot in it, and stretch your heel down. Note also in this picture the brace on my foot. This has a strap that goes under the arch and really helps the plantar faciitis. I got this one from my doctor, but you can also find them at Walgreens.

This stretch is deceptively simple. Start with your feet on the ground and lift your toes. Do it a bunch of times. It is really great for preventing shin splints.

   

Another one for plantar faciitis is to start on a curb or bottom step, with the balls of your feet on the edge. Drop your heels to stretch for a stretch downward, then go up on your toes.


I also wear a night time brace for plantar faciitis. This is the one I have, which has the advantage of being cheap and readily available at Walgreens. The disadvantage is that it wasn't made for someone with really fat shins, so I have to wear an ace bandage over it to keep it from moving around or coming undone over night.