100 days of running

 

Looking back on 100 days of running:

I didn’t think I had it in me. I have never considered myself to be a runner and I’m still not sure if I am. My shortest distance was 1.22 miles longest distance was 5.06 in an hour, and my average was 12 miles a week. Some weeks had more some less. But here are the highlights

 

100 days

September 25, 2012 – January 2, 2013

·        187 miles

·        averaged 50 miles per month

·        lost 13 pounds

·        burned 19,778 calories

·        Listened to either praise music or the Bible

·        Discovered that I really enjoy listening to the Bible

·        When I ran at night I took my dog Tater he didn’t lose any weight

·        My husband joined me a few times

·        My dad joined me once (It was his first time running in over 10 years and he did great!)

·        I use about 15 different routes and rarely run at the same time.

·        Shoes matter

·        Attitude matters

·        You can still run when you feel like you are going to die

·        It is possible to run with an “ice pick” type headache

·        It is also possible to run with a numb/painful half of your body

 

In September a friend invited me to join a Fall Fitness accountability group. I was already a part of the summer group so I was thrilled when the fall group started.

Over the summer I began struggling with some pretty bad headaches and one sided body nerve pain. (Numbness, tingling, loss of sensation, shooting pain, falling) As you can probably imagine I didn’t feel like exercising but knew that I needed to strengthen my body and keep my muscles flexible. The accountability group was perfect for me because I was only required to exercise 20 min a day 6 times a week and that could be covered by 1 dog walk a day. Easy enough.

So that was the first group.

 For the second group I started to get a little more into it, pushing myself a little harder.

On September 25 one of the members of the group posted a 100 day running challenge.

I read the challenge and liked it because it

 

• Would be over in 100 days
• Only required 1 mile a day
• Involved prayer/listening to the Bible/ praise music
• More accountability

 

I decided that I would take the challenge. I didn’t realize until just a week or so ago that I was the only one that joined her in this challenge. But we kept each other motivated. And the rest of the fitness group has been wonderful at cheering us on to that finish line.  Although, we both kept right on running past that so called finish line, and plan on continuing with the daily runs.

 

What got me to get up, lace up my tennis shoes and walk out that door on the days that I had a hard time even walking? Knowing that by the time I got home that I would feel better. Getting up and moving, making my heart beat faster, my blood pressure up seems to help loosen me up and relieve some of my pain. Even if I am barely able to move, jogging, eventually I will loosen up and feel more human. The headaches are a little more difficult to deal with and I end up jogging with my hand holding my head and using a very special breathing pattern. I couldn’t let down the big beautiful brown eyed doggy that runs to the door every night ready to go for his run either.

 

Now that I am at 101 days (tonight’s run will be 102) I’ll be ok if I miss a run every now and then because it was a 100 day challenge not a 365 day challenge. But I have developed a habit. I do enjoy taking my nightly runs with the doggy.

I have noticed a big change in my body. 13 pounds in 100 days (That’s a little more than a pound a week)

I’ve lost 4” in my stomach and 4” in my hips my legs are starting to show individual muscles. I am happy with my progress. I am at my goal weight that I set for myself last April.

Then I was 144 pounds with a BMI of 23.2

Now I am 120 with a BMI of 19.4

I am not killing myself with these “workouts” I am not hurting the next day, I didn’t do any extra work outs. Until today. I’m doing the body confusion and changing my routine now. But the point is it doesn’t have to be hard to be a life change.

 

Just get up and get moving. Jog and walk at least a mile every day and take it a day at a time. Pretty soon YOU will be inspiring someone.

Pumpkin dark chocolate chip craisin muffins

Pumpkin dark chocolate craisin muffins

6 eggs

1/4 cup canned pumpkin

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)melted

1/4 cup agave nectar

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup craisins

Preheat oven to 350°

Combine dry ingredients in bowl.

 In separate bowl whisk eggs and add remaining wet ingredients.

 Add flour mixture.

 Fold in chocolate chips and craisins.

scoop mix into lined muffin cup.

Bake for 35-40 min.

Happy healthy baking!

Staying strong under trying circumstances

           Sometimes the not knowing is hard to deal with. We go to doctors asking them to fix us treating them as if they are gods when in reality they are people too.  They poke and prod at us and ask us what we have done to ourselves to get into said predicament.  We think back to the years of abuse on our bodies thinking that we are invincible. We are superhuman in our childhood and teenage years. Then during our young adulthood it is too easy to overdo it on alcohol and processed foods that are inexpensive and easy to prepare for our new family. But is this what is best for us and our bodies? Is this what is causing our bodies to break down and literally fall apart?

In May my world was rocked when my left temple literally felt like something inside my head exploded while I was driving. I pulled over of course because that really scared me. This “headache” was followed by 4 hours of intermittent stabbing pains that left the left side of my face feeling like I had been hit in the face with a 2x4 with a few nails in it and parts of my face were numb. It was a really weird headache, different from the migraines I was used to so I went ahead and drove myself to urgent care. The Urgent care doc suspected either cluster headache or trigeminal neuralgia.  From there I was scheduled for a follow-up with my primary care doctor three weeks later and referred out for a CT scan, MRI, MRA, CBC, Neurology, Cardiology, Allergy, Nutrition, a sleep study, Psychology, and a few more that I can’t seem to remember right now.

There were also several tests ordered from each of these appointments and follow-up appointments. From the MRI we found out that I do have a brain! Exciting news for me because with the daily headache (brain noise) I was starting to feel like there wasn’t much left going on up in there. The Neurologist said that there were a few things to watch from the MRI and that it meant I had to have a repeat scan in 6 months (Dec-Jan). Because of the findings of the MRI he did a lot of tests to rule out other things and all of those tests were negative. So now what I do know is that I have a lesion on the right side of my brain and two growths in the back of my throat. Now I know why I get nauseated so easily.  Until I have the second MRI with the scan of my neck and have more than 1 lesion I wont have a diagnosis.

The cardiologist said that my heart is completely normal. I am free to stop taking the medicine as soon as the headaches go away. The allergist said that I shouldn't be poked with needles because my skin is so sensitive that I have a positive reaction even to the negative controls so they can't do the skin prick testing on me. The nutritionist was surprised at how well we eat as a family and wanted to know why I was visiting him. The sleep study determined that I wake up from the deepest stages of sleep to wide awake several times a night for no apparent reason and because of that I was sent to see the psychologist. The psychologist determined that I'm not crazy and to keep taking the melatonin that the neurologist prescribed for sleeping.

So where does this leave me? After what seems like hundreds of doctors appointments later, I still don’t know. I just have to have faith.  The threat looms over me that some day I may be diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. {The Neurologist seems pretty determined that within the next three years that will be my diagnosis even without the second set of MRI films.} I am starting to change the way I take care of myself.  That is a big part of it I think.  We have been pretty healthy eaters for the past 10 years or so. However, #1 (my oldest daughter) has only grown ¼” in 4 years and that was due to eating gluten free for 6 months a little over a year ago because I noticed she wasn’t growing and knew this to be a sign of celiac disease. I took her to the doctor recently and they said she is allergic to wheat. #3 has eczema, and #4 has asthma, these can also be caused by a gluten intolerance. So for the sake of our health we are more than like going to be a gluten free household. I am experimenting with recipes that sound horribly disgusting, but the kids are gobbling them up and say they are delicious. I made some changes to a pumpkin cranbery muffin recipe and they loved it. I'll share that with you all if anyone is interested.

        
             I am running every day to strengthen my legs; I am doing occasional strength training for the rest of my body. I have noticed that the left side of my body does have occasional weakness, numbness, pins and needles; this is more noticeable on days that I take a nice relaxing bath in the morning instead of at night. I take a handful of pills every night to prevent the bad headaches. But I still have the daily irritating I know you are there headaches.  I have only had 3 I think I’m going to die headaches since May and those I believe were Cluster or Trigeminal Neuralgia headaches. So I guess the handful of medicine is doing its job. Tomorrow I have an appointment to get shots in my face and neck. I am nervous about this for obvious reasons a needle to the face… who wants that? I had shots in my back because of unbearable back pain a few years ago and was allergic to it, so now I’m wondering if I’ll be okay with this series of shots. The shots will be administered in a hospital so if I react badly I’ll be in good hands.  My goal is to replace the pills with a healthy lifestlye and diet. I know it isn't possible to cure an auto immune disease but it can be put into remission. This daily pain in my body does not define me, it is here for a purpose and until I know what it is I truly pray that I glorify God in all that I do and say.

So really long post, I’m sorry about that. And if some of this is repeat information also sorry. But I felt putting it all down in one place in a “this is what I know so far post” would be a good idea.  I don’t know anything J Helpful isn’t it. Frustrating. So like I said at the beginning of this “novel” doctors are people too.  They do their best to help us figure out what is ailing us. Sometimes we have to be patient. Sometimes we have to be content with the information that God has given us. What He has given us is always sufficient. We kick and scream and rebel because we want to know why we are struggling.  But, His grace is enough for me.

~ Blessings Brook

Button Ladybugs

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine and I threw a baby shower for another friend. This friend really likes lady bugs. I could not find button lady bugs anywhere so I came up with some. And because I like to share and they were so easy to make I will share with you what I came up with.

 

~You will need ~

 pretty paper, (I used several different colors of scrap book papers), 

A heart paper punch, or just cut a heart shape if you don't have a punch.

A large button for the body and a smaller button for the head for each lady bug

Jewelry beads for the spots on the wings and eyes

Hot glue gun and Elmer's glue

3d adhesive foam squares (scrap booking supplies sticky on both sides)

flexible paper wrapped wire

Place 3d adhesive foam square on larger button

Punch/cut heart shape, place 5-6 spots of glue on heart  and place on other side of 3d foam square.

Place a bead on each glue dot.

Hot glue antenna on to back of smaller button.

Put a generous amount of hot glue between button and heart

 hold smaller button firmly in place

 

place a small strip of hot glue on the front of small button

place two beads in hot glue for eyes

Under side of lady bug

Top of lady bug

Finished lady bug

A "flock"? of lady bugs

 

So as you can see this was an easy project and I believe that they turned out pretty cute. The most important thing is to have fun with it! Get creative. I attached the lady bugs to yo yo flowers and ribbons. How to on those to follow soon.

 

 

Preview of my latest project

I know I have been silent but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. Here is a preview of my latest project with more pictures and details to come!

 

 

Lady Bugs

YoYo Flower ribbons

 

Lady Bugs!

Hand Stamped and Chalked

PomPom Flower pot with a golden lady bug

Yoyo flower pot with a Volley ballesq lady bug

I'm still not brave enough

However, after five months of sporadic exercise I did manage to achieve some of my weight loss goals.  May 15 I took some measurements, and my body fat % based on the scale and weight. I have repeated this weakly over the past several months and have noticed steady progress. But it wasn’t until this past month, when I started my daily running plan (more on that later) and a new medication to prevent migraines, that I have seen the most results.  So without getting into specific weight and measurements, because I’m pretty sure you all don’t care about that, here are my losses so far:

 

May 15 – October 10

Loss of 9 pounds

Loss of 28 ½” (-4” stomach, -5 ½” waist, -4 ½” hips, -10 ½” legs)  

31.6% Body fat to 25.6% Body fat (-6% body fat according to the scale)

BMI 22.4 to 21.0

It was nice to have a group to be accountable to. Even when I was feeling horrible and lazy I knew that I still had to get my workout in for the day. Most of my exercise over the summer was walking our over grown Tater Tot on a 30-60 min walk. This not only provided exercise for me and the pooch but it also gave the hubby and I some wonderful quality time.

Over the summer I began suffering with some pretty intense medical issues. We still are not sure what is going on after over 30 doctor appointments. I wasn’t able to push myself as hard as I would have liked however the slow and steady approach of walking has yielded pretty steady results.

 

I love a good challenge.  I feel like if I am in a challenge with someone else or have an accountability partner that I am more likely to stick with my workout plan.  15 days ago a co member of the fitness group I am in posted a 100 day challenge that involves running at least 1 mile every day for the next 100 days.  I decided to take the challenge.  The first few days were miserable! I couldn’t breathe; I couldn’t run the entire mile without a few walking breaks. Now I am decreasing the time it takes to run my route each time, without walking. I have even run my route in reverse, up the hills. My calves really did not like me after that.  In just two weeks I have seen such a change in my body. I am getting muscle tone in my arms and legs, and my clothes are fitting much better. This running is very addicting.

I admit I am a lot more tired! The symptoms of my mysterious illness are worse. However I have this theory. If I can get my body stronger when this illness takes hold of me I won’t end up in a wheel chair. I will just need a cane or maybe a walker. Who knows maybe I can put it in remission again. If I can be healthy enough maybe it will go away altogether.  I just wish we knew for sure what it was instead of all of these suspicions.

 

Beauty in the Pain

Yesterday I took the girls out for a day at the park, but first we went for a walk along the Leon Creek Greenway. I brought the camera along just in case we found water so that I could photograph the girls playing in the creek. Unfortunately the water was dried up and the area it should have been in was quite stinky.  As we were walking back I saw this thistle bush along the path.  It got me thinking, so I turned around and took it's portrait. When I was able to put the picture on the computer and really zoom in on it I was amazed by what I saw.  The flower is so very frail, almost the thickness of a tissue. The outer edges that are exposed to the elements are damaged from the briers that stab at it, turning it a shade of brown, staining it's petals.  The center, the heart of the flower is filled with tiny pollen covered pieces that have covered the inner flower with it's debris.

How does this relate to me? What pokes and nags at me from the outside world? What pain and scars am I causing to my own body?  Is my heart clean and pure or am I letting it taint my mind?  Am I letting the negativity, and doom and gloom of the world get to me and stain who I am? When I, this thistle, look around me do I see the huge tower of pain that I sit at the top of, or can I look around me and see the beauty that surrounds me?  What do you see in your life, the moment, or eternity? Where is your focus?  Could this flower be the person that is always in pain and so they come across as cold and prickly but really they are fragile and beautiful, something God created perfectly?  Or could it be the person that tries to hide behind their beauty but are truly cold and prickly underneath?

Do we notice the beauty in the trials of our every day, or do we focus on the pain of the situation?  We hear people asking "If there is a God why does he let so much bad happen?" But then you see things like this. Beauty in the brambles, a pinpoint of light in the darkness, something bad that had to happen for something amazing to come to be.   God provides us with these little reminders in our day to "Stop and smell the roses."  Although I wouldn't recommend smelling the prickly ones.

An innocent child will notice the beauty and pick the flower so that they can carry it with them and enjoy every minute of it.  As an adult tainted by years of knowledge we know that if we pick that flower it's life will soon be over, so we tend to discourage the picking of flowers. But just this day I said okay.  You may pick all the flowers that you want to pick, enjoy them and make a beautiful bouquet.  Then I looked beside her and saw one that God and already created.

We enjoyed the beauty that was all around us, taking in the smells of the wild flowers.

 This walk showed me that no matter what ugly thing is in my life there is something so much more beautiful beside it.  All I need to do is open my eyes and see it.  I pray you will do the same!




From now on I will try to remember to see the beauty despite my pain.  I will focus more on the beauty than the things that annoy me.  I will focus my attention on the things that are good, and pure and genuine as I am instructed in Philippians 4:8  whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

http://pinterest.com/brook_triscuit/