The numbers of my health

Some of you may have already seen my excitement on Facebook about my doctor's appointment yesterday. I'm gonna post some numbers on here and I am well aware that they may mean nothing to you or you may think my current numbers are still wanting... but... so what! I want to celebrate my accomplishment a little and show what kind of results a couple of diet and fitness tweaks can give you.

Before, when I went in for blood work in February, I was about to turn 27 and we were thinking about starting a family soon so I knew I needed to make sure all my ducks were in a row. Apparently, they were no where near in a row in some specific areas:

Cholesterol total: 252

LDL: 165

HDL: 60

Vitamin D: 23.6 (insufficiency level)

Glucose: 100

Hemoglobin A1c: 5.4 (an average of my blood sugar levels the past 2-3 months according to WebMD)

Weight: 201

She told me that all of my cholesterol numbers really concerned her, and that my blood sugar also warranted concern. For whatever reason, talk of heart disease and my family health history didn't sink in, but, she merely had to mention diabetes and I was shaking in my boots. The vitamin D deficiency she chalked up to not enough sun thanks to too much sun screen coverage? Crazy I know. So, she prescribed weight loss, diet change and 10 mins of sunscreen-less sun a day.

So I did it. Well, I tried to do it. I didn't 'do it' every day. I went over my base calorie limit of 1250 every now and then but it was all tracked using MyFitnessPal. I tracked any extra calories earned during workouts via my heart rate monitor. I started doing yoga using DVDs and an app called Yogify. I started meditating using a variety of sources: an app called Headspace, one called Take a Break, and CD's of meditations by Belleruth Naparstek. I worked hard and am still working hard.  (Edit: Sorry if it wasn't clear but I figured most of you assumed I'm including in my new routine my running at least several miles approximately every other day)

Yesterday was my big check up to see how it was going.

Cholesterol total: 186

LDL: 109

HDL: 58

Vitamin D: 35

Glucose: 91

Hemoglobin A1c: 5.1

Weight: 175 (ya'll.... that's 10lbs away from my 12th grade weight)

She told me I was a 'woman transformed' and that the results she was looking at was 'like I was on medicine.' I know I've lost weight but this is what I really wanted, for someone to say you are healthier now! Hopefully this is just the start.

To keep us honest, we signed up for another race! Well, two more races actually. It's hard to believe, but I'm going to try my hand at another half marathon! I meant it when I said I felt horribly disappointed about my performance at the Avenue of the Giants but that I felt like I really still had it in me to do much better. So in October Ed and I will be running in the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in San Jose.

The second race we signed up for is the Hark the Herald Angels 12k on Angel Island - the Ellis Island of the West! The course loops around the island which will be really nice, I've never seen it before. That will be in December though - I love me a good holiday run. 

Well that's about all. And for a good smile here's a funny diagram for summer vacations. I'm not sure I agree with alllllll of it - but it's pretty close!

Big Race Weekend

Finally time for the big race weekend we set off up the coast to Eureka. Turns out it didn't matter that it was 1pm on a Friday, traffic was awful everywhere. Fun.

Hello, Bridge, it's been awhile

It was a truly beautiful drive. I wish I had taken more pictures but they would've been marred by nasty bug spatter all over a film of pollen dust that coated every window of the Taco. It reminded us of the drive to Tahoe, the drive to the cabin and Ed even mentioned Montana at one point. I loved it; hilly, gold and green. Of course that didn't stop me from completely passing out for a good hour or so of the trip. :)

One little town we passed through with a great welcome sign.

We made it through Eureka and were a bit... disappointed. It wasn't exactly the cutesy, interesting town we were hoping for. The hotel Ed selected, The Eureka Inn, was really beautiful and definitely had that haunted vibe I like so much.

How it looked in 1922

How it looks today

It's actually quite massive but much of it is still in disrepair according to Wikipedia. I truly hope they keep working on it, I love when we can enjoy these old buildings, even as I lose sleep wondering when the blood from the murdered newlyweds will seep through the ceiling from the honeymoon suite (thank Ed for that image).

Saturday we decided to walk around Eureka and explore all the beautiful buildings and just get out for some sunshine. Ed found a fantastic place for lunch, The Nooner Cafe.

Ed tried a local porter

"Chooch chicken" with creole seasoning, goat cheese and feta 

THIS SANDWICH. Possibly one of the best I've ever had. Mediterranean chicken kebab on flat bread  I can't explain what made it so good, but it was juicy and the olive salad, provolone, and 'garlic bubba spread' just made it irresistible.

They sealed the deal for my love when they gave us ginger chews with the check. 

After brunch we just explored the area, poking around in used book stores, walking along the boardwalk. It wasn't much and Ed wasn't impressed at all, but I could see potential. Just needed love and a couple million dollars of development!

I couldn't remember where all the 'sites' were so we just walked and I spotted one of the sites on my list in the distance. I told Ed I felt drawn to it like maybe I was related to someone who lived there or built it, like Eleanor in The Haunting. Joking. But maybe not completely...

The Carson Mansion

The Pink Lady

After all that adventuring I remembered that I didn't have any susnscreen on and the medicine I was taking said 'keep out of direct sunlight' which is ridiculous if you ask me. Is it even possible for me to be more susceptible to sunburning? Ah well, we went back to the room for me to rest and Ed continued exploring looking for grocery stores and maybe happening upon a bar on his way.

Dinner was pretty simple, we ate really early because I was starting to get really nervous about the race. We had a great pizza at this place called Two Doors Down. I was overcome by something and felt compelled to order a chocolate mascarpone cheesecake. I have no idea what happened. I don't usually crave chocolate but it just sounded irresistible. Alas, I ate it before I could take a picture.

Sunset over the bay, as ready as ever for the race!

Driving there took about 45 mins so we ate in the car. I couldn't have my usual breakfast of a carnation breakfast shake so we did bagels instead which went surprisingly well despite the morning sickness I almost always have thanks to my nervous nature. (Not pregnant, just nervous, from high school through to today)

Traffic was just fine, parking was easy. We actually parked down on the riverbed which was pretty cool to walk on afterwards. Those smooth stones felt like a wonderful massage on my achy feet! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Sorry for all the blurry pictures, I'm covered head to toe in sunscreen and I even harassed Ed into lathering up so of course my iPhone camera lens suffers the consequences.

We were there reeeeeeally early. Our race started at 845 and we were there at... 7? I didn't mind that because it gives me time to breathe through my nerves. Ed however...

Noooo, he wasn't pre-gaming. He still has the cap on the bottle here. Boy did he want to, but I think that beer tasted much better at the end. You'll have to ask him.

The Taco is somewhere down there...

There were so many people, so many different types. I tried to find the people that looked like me, assuming by bodyweight/height/running gear that they might be my speed.

Can you see the crush of people in the picture above? It was a real obstacle course in the beginning because people would stop to take pictures right in the middle of the road (I just kept running and prayed this picture wasn't blurry). It was so surreal, it doesn't look like in this picture but running into this forest was like running into nighttime. No sunlight was making it through these trees and I removed my visor for almost all of the course.

There were some really beautiful moments, but Ed commented on how out and backs can be a little boring. I agree, and would add that out and backs are particularly unhelpful in that they can't distract you from a rough run with new stimuli.

How was my performance? Not great. In the end we ended up running with: a couple that was remarkably similar to us, a struggling wife who was on the curvy side, and an able bodied husband playing cheerleader/coach, but mostly with these three middle-aged women, one of whom was doing this scuffling run/walk the whole time (totally cool - except that she kept blocking people from passing which coupled with the fact I couldn't get it together enough to pull away from her, enraged me). It was also very humbling watching the marathoners do their thing... some of them, it was unreal how easy they made it look. Others made it look as extremely challenging as we all know it must be. I did my best to cheer for them when I wasn't struggling myself.

I don't know what happened... I did well in training. I had aches and pains I was prepared for, and then, it all changed up on race day. I had pretty awful problems with my hips and with that medical thing, that required me to walk and take breaks more than I ever did in training. I was extremely disappointed at the time. The hills were really brutal on my hips. The one moment that really felt like it broke my spirit was this moderately steep incline to a bridge that was at the 11 mile mark or so. I kept telling myself I could do it, I've been running 2 miles everyday this week and I could run these last 2 miles in my sleep! But 3/4 of the way up the hill I had to stop from the pain and then I cried like a baby for a moment or two. But I had to cut that out right quick because of COURSE the first photographer on the entire race was right there at the top of that damned bridge. Ridiculous. So I hobbled/jogged through the next mile and then promised myself I would run the last mile. And I did. And while I was proud I could at least make myself do that I was really awash in disappointment crossing the finish line.

It's unfortunate that I didn't enjoy my completion more. I longed for that joy that I felt at the end of the Presidio 10k where I felt proud and accomplished. I felt a bit more broken and punished after this. Still, I don't feel like it's out of my grasp, to have an enjoyable half marathon, I know I can do it. I told Ed I might just try running a half marathon on our training run path just to show myself that I can do it and that just because it went badly on the Avenue of the Giants doesn't mean I'm not able. Does that make sense?

I wanted more closure to this chapter of my training, but maybe that's a lesson in itself. I can't have closure because it's ever evolving and it will be something to keep working on. And I'll learn to enjoy the process and not put so much weight on the one day of performance.

Half-marathon finisher!

We stripped down and changed into dry clothes and packed our sore selves into the truck for the 5 hr drive home. Not pleasant. Ed was a machine and drove the whole way. The breaks we took to get gas or use the bathroom were an exercise in pain tolerance. I told Ed I needed a machine to come lift my legs because of the agony in my hip flexors.

This is that bridge where I had my little breakdown and the photographer happened to be. You can still see marathoners up there making their way through the course.

What makes a rough run and a long ride home all better? A chocolate shake. I wanted a chocolate shake with a passion you wouldn't believe. I have no idea why. During the run I even brought it up, saying it was like, a slightly modified version of how some athletes drink chocolate milk after a workout... right? :)

All in all, it was a really amazing learning experience. I'm proud of myself for doing it. I feel ready and able to do more. I can't say enough how thankful I am for all the support, from Ed to family and friends who have been so generous with their love and words of encouragement. Anyone have suggestions for our next race???  :)

Edit: Someone convince Ed he needs to take me Disneyworld so we can do a run there. And maybe ride a bajillion rides while we're there....

"One step closer"

That weekend flew by toooo fast. I think for the rest of the month I'll probably follow the policy of skipping the prompts(clarification - skipping the prompts on the weekends). I spend so much time in front of the computer during the week that I need to set some boundaries for the weekends.

We had a big race this weekend, Summit Rock. Supposed to do a 10k, but with my knee all messed up from our move here in August well... we opted for the 5k. And thank GOD we did. It was... brutal. The inclines were ridiculous. How anyone ran up those mountain sides I'll never know. I came in 6th for my age group. I know, not exactly bragging rights but it's cool to have a number! Running down the hills was amazing. I always joke with Ed that running down a hill makes me feel like a character in a video game getting a power-up. These power-ups were huge. I felt like a real runner. Wind whipping my hair around, me bounding down the mountain side. In one supremely cheesy moment (I couldn't resist!), I turned to Ed (who was using his momentum to practice some Parkour on some nearby trees) and told him, "It's like Twilight! We're just like Edward and Bella in the woods!" Ed was less amused than I was about that.

A freezing, foggy morning in the south bay. There should have been mountains dead ahead of us, but looks like the fog had something to say about that.

Still a good turnout of some very cold runners.

Pretty little pond and fountain area behind the start line

Look, can you see that guy in the blue shirt? He's so far below us, and maybe only one and a half bends in the path ahead of us.

After coming home for a quick shower, I started in on finishing my cookie boxes. I think this was the largest batch ever. All the cookies came together surprisingly well. I never know what they look like when they get to people so here's hoping they make it in one piece. And still taste decent. Sometimes I wonder if I'm that friend that not only posts gross food pictures and adds obnoxious hashtags like yum/num/nummy/nom/tasty/delicious etc. but also is that friend who cooks or sends you food and is like YOU'RE WELCOME and the food turns out to be terrible. :-/ That being said, I hope those of you that receive a box know I put lots of love into my cookies and am just using them as a way to say thanks for being a great friend and I'm grateful you're in my life. Whether you eat the cookies or toss them or hashtag an Instagram pic of them, it matters little, as long as you get the thought behind them. :)

Baking all those cookies really got me in the spirit so we drove out and picked a tree from a lot this year. I really missed the experience of cutting down our own tree but... I do not miss the 4 months of poison oak covering my legs, back, stomach and arms, that followed that lovely excursion. I told Ed we'll definitely need to cut down our own trees in the coming years, but only when we're back on the east coast with the MUCH more manageable poison ivy. The tree is perfect. I'm still in love with the straw and red ornaments I bought last year. Reminds me of all my Christmases at Omi's and Mom's. To me, there is nothing lovelier than a simple tree with soft white lights, red ornaments and little European straw doodads. I can't wait to put a couple presents under the tree!

Sunday we decided to use up our Groupons and went bowling! I love bowling when I'm surrounded by people who suck. And technically we were surrounded by people who sucked.... they were just between the ages of 4-7 and had bumper edges up so they still knocked down pins. The rate at which I either toss the ball straight into the gutter or directly past any pins at all is pretty high, so it can be demoralizing hearing everyone else knocking things down.... even when they are doing so in a tutu. Just one beer later I felt a little better and was able to enjoy the games more. I even beat Ed! I'll take 1 out of 3. Heck, I even broke 100 on one of the games. Clearly, I'm a pro.

Ed was a big sweetie and surprised me after bowling, with a trip to the movies. And what did I finally get to see? Twilight! I told him he must have been feeling drawn to it more now after our vampire-speeds dash through the forest the day before. He firmly disagreed. :) I was pleasantly surprised with the movie, and I only laughed out loud (at it and not with it) twice. I think that's a new record. Although, can I just say, in that montage of the actors in the end credits? Why on earth did you put Taylor Lautner in there fully clothed? Huge waste of one last shirtless moment.

All in all, a great weekend. Now, back to trying to power thru the rest of my books for the year. Depressingly, I'm about 10 books from my 60 books in a year goal. I know 50 books is awesome, but... I want that 60! Augh. I have 4 books I'm working on right now I'm sure I'll finish in the next couple of days so... maybe I can pull it off???