Hot Chocolate 15K/5K 2014

So epic, so awesome! Doing a race on my birthday! I looked wonderfully ridiculous with pink polka dot balloons pinned to my badonkadonk. Some of the runners even sang "Happy Birthday" to me on the course! Fabulous day!

The Insanity Continues...Round 4, Fit Test #16

I cannot believe that I'm doing this s*** again. I haven't been exercising, even though I want to do it. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and I didn't run. Something must be done. So for some unknown reason, I decided, "Hey...I'll just start Insanity again since it's Monday."

W...T...unvarnished...F...

And it was terrible. Terrible! I don't think I did this bad when I started Round 1! So awful, cardio carnage. Absolute cardio carnage. It was so awful, that I feel like I should do penance for it.


21 switch kicks
10 power jacks
40 power knees
1   power jumps
3   globe jumps
2   suicide jumps
0   push-up jacks
5   low-plank obliques

Tomorrow:  Plyometric Cardio Circuit (damn, damn, DAAAAMMNNN!!!)

Pavement rainbows

Hey...it counts as crosstraining for me!

This is one shelf of books (and CDs) in my home. I was moving furniture around and ended up moving four bookshelves in the process. There might have been 12 paperbacks out of all the books. The rest are horribly heavy hardcovers. As far as I'm concerned, that is my strength workout for the day.

A much needed excursion

I've never fared well with groups. When it came to group work in class, I loathed it simply because I always ended up doing the lion's share of the work. When it comes to running with a group, however, it is more of a case of intimidation. Sure, I've done my fair share of races, especially for a beginner, but I'm dreadfully slow. I'm old-turtle-trapped-in-molasses slow. As long as you don't mind my lagging behind, I will eventually get there.

And that is a source of consternation for me, because I don't like holding people back. I also worry that the thought will go through their minds, "Wow, if she's that slow, how did she do that XYZ race?" Well, I did it. It just took me a while to get to the finish line.

Today I went out with a group, a local BGR group. The irony of my source of intimidation is that it makes me panic and go even slower, thus risking being the holdout that I dreaded. Even though I was among the last, I still felt like a winner. I was greeted in such a welcoming manner that is still shocking to me. People I just met remembered my posts on our page. They wanted to have their photos taken with me. The love and appreciation I felt was unmeasurable. I cling to that bright light, and I cannot wait to run with these ladies again.

Shoot for the Moon challenge

Guess who's happy about today's mail? THIS CHICK!

Last year, I participated in a year-long group challenge called "Shoot for the Moon". The goal was for the group to cumulatively run or walk enough miles over the year that would equate to the distance to the moon. We logged our miles online daily. The goal was to reach 238,900 miles by December 31. We reached 258,974 miles! You get the medal or t-shirt after the race is over. My challenge finisher package arrived today! The medal is bigger than a DVD!

Fat Chick Running, ready for Year 3

In 2012, I decided to give running another try after giving up on the pursuit numerous times. That year I finished 12 races. In 2013, I finished 34 races--including my first half marathon and my first Spartan--and two challenges (Dirt in Your Skirt 100 and Shoot for the Moon). Let's see how much of that wall I can cover with race bibs in 2014!

I'M IN RUNNER'S WORLD (well, my question is, but still)!!!

Here is the original tweet.

I'm ready...