Well, we did it! We ran 20 miles tonight. The “we” would be Rhianna, Michael and me. All I really can say about the experience is OOOOWWWWWWEEEEEE!!!! Yup, kinda hurtin. . . So I guess we’ll have to see how it feels tomorrow. We are all happy we did it though! (Thanks for the pizza Ang!! Luv ya much) We have to get up kinda early tomorrow though for breakfast with Merida and Al, so no sleeping in for 20 million hours.

We just went and saw and movie called The 40 Year Old Virgin . Rated R too, so it’s full of the good funny stuff! If you’re a fan of laughs then you should see it. That’s really all I’ve got to say for now. It’s been real :)

It’s 8:20 a.m. and I just got back from the good old gym. Lifted some weights, now I’m super girl! Did like 500 different stomach exercises, that was a good time. I’m just going to be working all day, talking to the cats and watching Michael ponder what to do now that he has graduated.

When I was at the gym this morning I was looking around at all these people in this little building; they were running while watching a big box with moving images, staring at the floor while pumping away on some machine or just looking like they were about ready to do some serious damage to themselves with a dumbbell.

I don’t really know what I thought about it because I was pumping away on a machine myself, staring at people instead of the floor. It’s just like, what is wrong with our lives if we have to do this? Shouldn’t we be out there, in the world, doing things that will keep us healthy? Instead we are to busy sitting in a chair all day and we have to go to the gym for an hour or so of physical activity.

Kinda sad, but what can you do about it. I’m only there once or twice a week anyway, though I was thinking that the treadmill is looking pretty good now with the cold mornings. Getting out of bed and going out into a dark cold morning isn’t really making me that excited!

So there are my weird thoughts/observations for this morning. Oh, we’re running 20 miles tomorrow afternoon. That will be a good time!!!!

We just saw the movie Crash last weekend and it was pretty good! Kinda a little depressing but still good. The soundtrack is great too! Just thought I’d let you know. Check them out:

See the Crash Movie Trailer
Check out the Crash Soundtrack

Also if you like movie trailers you should check them out on the apple site

To tell the truth, I really DID NOT like running when we first started. . . I was 174 lbs (thanks to constantly eating on the job) and really out of shape. Michael’s mom ran all the time and for some reason we decided one day “Hey, lets run.” So it was December and freezing cold out but there were Christmas lights to look at so that was fun. Of course we started slow but I still couldn’t even go down to the end of the street without needing a walking break. I was winded and . . . well. . . just plain unhappy. It was hard and painful and I felt like such a loser. Michael would try to have conversations with me and I would yell at him “I can’t talk and do this!” I was a big fat meanie! After a month of running around the block yelling at Michael and giving up the snacks at work I lost 20lbs. I couldn’t even believe it. It was magical!

So we eventually got up to 4 miles and my number of walking breaks went down with every run but I still didn’t love it. I saw running as something I had to do if I wanted to stay at a comfortable weight. We did really well for awhile then we would kinda stop, I’d gain weight and then we’d start again. Just a few years ago I got up to 163 and I was like “Oh no, not again” But this time I ran alone at the gym on the treadmill and counted my calories everyday. I got some really fun music and ran my ass off for 45 minutes when I first got up and then again before I went to bed. So 1.5 hours a day total. I would run at an average pace and then run my heart out for two minutes and then slow down again. I also used a little visualization technique that I think helped me get results. I just pictured my body how I wanted it to be and I pictured myself at the beach etc and I just ran and ran. Anyway I got down to 138, my lowest weight since middle school. I felt so good about myself which lead to not working out as much becuase I wasn’t trying to lose weight.

Well it happened again. Just this April I was 155lbs. Granted each time I gain weight it isn’t as much as before but still this is so stupid! So I started running again and lifting weights with Rhianna but since I was working at home I was eating all day long and I didn’t see any weight loss for about 2 months. My body fat % went down so I know I gained muscle and lost fat but still I wanted to see the big fast results I had seen before. I didn’t. Right now I am 145. So I lost 10lbs and have kept them off for a few months but you know whatI realized? Right now running means something completely different to me. It means happiness, health and accomplishment. I know that my body will take the form it is meant to when it’s ready. I could hurry it up if I didn’t eat so much, but hey after 12 miles I am starving to death!!

So the moral of this story is that after so many years, running is fun for me and something I can’t imagine ever giving up! If someone asked me what I was right now, I would say “I’m a runner!”

The Portland Marathon is in just 3 weeks! This coming week we will be doing our 20 mile run and then it’s just 2 weeks to go after that! We Started training for this in April and we used a begginers training guide from the Runners World web site.

We (Rhianna, Michael and I) have had such a great time doing this together. Rhianna and I really got a chance to bond during our runs and that was just a bonus to the good feelings that we got from doing something so great for our bodies. Running is really and important part of my life now. For about 5 years michael and I have run off and on only going 4.5 miles at the most. When we started going farther and farther I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t been doing it sooner and I also couldn’t even believe I was doing it. It’s just so great, I am really proud of us. I’m very proud of myself too, it’s been a tough road but hey at least I am running it :)

This morning I lifted weights with Rhianna at 7 a.m. We haven’t been to the gym in awhile and I was feeling pretty guilty about it. I hate when I neglect my weight lifting becuase when I go back I am weak! Yes, those muscles run away pretty fast if you don’t use them.

I am feeling pretty good today; very pumped up to run tomorrow morning. I love running, I just want to get the marathon over with so we can go back to our regular running schedule of running 6 days a week. Training for the marathon throws me off because I can’t run everyday and it is so easy to skip runs when you aren’t doing them as often.

My favorite distance is 10 miles. Enough to feel it, yet not too much that you are out of commission for the day. Running is like a drug. I swear it is the best anti-depressant out there! I can definitely feel the difference in my mood from the days I run and the days I don’t. Everyone should run, the world would be such a better place!!

So we had a very lazy Friday yesterday. I got up at 9, twiddled my thumbs a little and then since it was rainy and I was really tired and sore I decided we should watch a movie. So we watched The Burbs with Tom Hanks then ate some snacks. Then I watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. So I ate some more snacks and Michael went to the library and to ship a packages. Then when Michael got back we watched Changing Lanes. Then after that we watched an episode of Silk Stalkings. As you can see, pretty freaking lazy! Then after that we finished off the second season of The O.C. So let’s just say that today we are well recovered from the run and due for some serious movement, daylight and a day of no T.V. or movies!