First Trail Run in The New Hood

    The house is ours!!! We closed last week and We are very excited.  So excited that I went and got a year park membership over at Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park.  It is about 5 minutes from our new house and it is loaded full of trails to explore.  I have always been a big fan of hiking and subsequently trail running.  It is just so much easier on the joints of a former heavyweight.  Plus, as someone that isn't a fast runner, I like the trails as an equalizer.  Most people go slower on the trails.  I tend to go even slower than that because I am a bona fide tree hugger.  I like to take in the views and enjoy every minute that I am out in nature.
    That awesome nature kicked my ass today.  I thought that I would take on my first trail run in January on trails that I am unfamiliar with.  I started out slow, found a good 3 mile loop.  On my second loop though, I slipped and tumbled down about 4 feet into a little creek bed.  There would have been no way for me to get out of it due to the sheet of ice I slipped on, so I followed the creek.  I thought, "Surely this won't go too far."  3 miles later, I realized that I was going in the completely wrong direction.  I had to keep going at this point because I had made so many turns that I was completely lost.  I eventually made my way to the Duck Pond.  I have now been to this little pond many times an love it.  I did to love it today.  I got to the walking trail and found a sign.  I had a long 2 mile slog back to my car.  It was not my favorite run ever.
    So, I have learned a few things today.  The first is that I might want to stick to the paved, plowed walking paths in the midst of winter.  Second, if I do choose to hit the trails, I need to make some bad ass screw shows out of my older pair of Altras.  Finally, I learned that I need to maybe bring my phone with me in case I am stranded in the woods.  I don't want to be a headline.  Run Strong Everyone!

Resolutions Suck

    Resolutions suck!!! I make one every year still.  I think it just one of those things, one of those social norms that I can not break myself of.  Often times I don't follow through with the resolution past March, or May if I am feeling froggy!  But, this year I set an attainable goal.  This year I am going to run a half marathon a month.  I may be crazy!  Since we are closing on our house in one week and have a baby on the way, I will not be doing 12 registered half marathon races. I'm not rich by any means people!  But, I will hold myself accountable to run these 13.1 mile runs every month.  I think it will help me increase my strength and speed throughout the year.  At least, that is my thought process!  I will use MapMyRun to track my miles.  MapMyRun/BridgettMcDaniels-Russell  One day I will be cool enough for Strava.  Actually, i should say that one day I will know how to use my phone well enough to use Strava.  I will let everyone know when that day comes!
    So, today, I started out right by running a half marathon.  I beat the sun this morning and ran my personal best half with a time of 2 hours 15 minutes and 2 seconds.  Now, I am not a fast runner by any means, but, this is a huge deal for me!  Now, this wasn't a race, but, I have never broken the 2:20 mark so I am saying that it counts as a PR!  Hopefully, a great first half means great things for the rest of the year!
    In order to keep up with this resolution, I just plan on making sure that I get a good long run every week.  The thing that I will do differently that I have ever down before is to switch up the days that I do this long run.  Could be any day of the week.  I don't want to go out for each run with a set number of miles that I "have" to run.  If I feel good, I will just keep running.  If I am feeling fast, I will do sprint drills.  Some days, I may not run.  We will see how this all goes...until next time.  Peace. Plants.

A New Year

First run of the new year..good signs all around!

   

    So, I have tried blogs before...I have also failed horribly before.  But, In this moment, in the early hours of the new year of 2016, I find myself feeling more inclined to get my words out...especially if it reaches 10's of readers!
    Alright, who am I?  Well, i am your average woman that as struggled with her weight for the majority of her life.  A few years ago, when I stepped on a scale that said 311 lbs. I decided that I needed to do something different.  I couldn't go down the path of so many others in my life.  I couldn't have heart attacks and I refused to go through bariatric surgery!  I just like to eat far too much to have it so limited, and I saw the horrible side effects with both my Mother and Sister.
    Mom had her lap band surgery when she was about 60.  I watched my mother struggle with her weight for a long time.  She did everything: Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Sweatin' To The Oldies and Deal a Meal, and the list goes on.  She would walk with my Godmother every morning and evening, 4 miles each go.  The weight never came off. Her blood pressure kept going up and up and shortly after her biological sister passed away at about 650 lbs, she decided something had to change.  Well, in my opinion, my mother went from a nice woman that could've started eating plant based to save her life to a crotchety, weight obsessed woman that is more concerned with losing weight than being healthy.  For 16 years now, my mother, due to the surgery, throws up almost everything she eats and has suffered 2 major hernias.  She can no longer walk on her own and has a very low quality of life.
    My sister Mollee had her bariatric surgery about 4 years ago.  I begged my sister to not have it.  I got her a gym membership.  I took her there and gave her workouts that were helping me.  As a chef, I was diving into healthy recipes and wrote her easy recipes that she could make.  She didn't follow any of these things.  She may disagree, but, i think she just wanted to be skinny without having to work that hard.  She was 5'7" and weighed in at about 275 when she had the surgery.  She had a friend that had the surgery with great success.  This friend ate how he was supposed to and worked out.  Well, Mollee didn't.  She dropped about 80 lbs quickly.  She started partying and drinking and she has yet to ever hit a gym.  Well, that's when problems started.  Throwing food up was just the start.  I can't even go into all the gory details of the problems she has had.  Now, at 39 years old, she has been given less than a year to live.  She no longer has a stomach, has scar tissue all throughout her bowels, and has to be on a feeding tube to live.  Now, there is no going back for Mollee.  She has no chance to reverse the problems she is facing.  I am going to lose my sister and it breaks my heart every day.
    I also have 8 brothers.  3 of them are morbidly obese.  One had a quadruple bypass at 45.  Another has had 4-5 heart attacks and is not even 50. Only 2 of my brothers live a somewhat healthy life.
    So, that is a quick and dirty background about me!  I started juicing to lose weight in 2012 (Thanks Joe Cross) and I had some good success.  I lost 33 lbs in 45 days and I was off!!!  I met this beautiful woman, Laura, in August of 2012 and I was smitten immediately.  She said to me after a while that She might like to do a 5k with me some day.  Laura was fit and beautiful and I didn't want this chance to pass me by.  I downloaded Couch to 5k and I was immediately hooked!  I lost another 65 lbs during the C25K program.  I ran my first race in May 2013 and have since run multiple 5k's and 3 half marathons.  Laura and I decided to go on a raw Lenten fast in February of 2015.  We ate raw vegan and drank home made juice for 44 days.  I lost over 30 more lbs.  I got faster and stronger during this time, so I decided that I was never going back to animal products.  I felt to good to live any other way.  and in November 2015, I ran my first FULL MARATHON!!!  Well, I ran 19 miles of it, then I tore my calf.  So I hobbled the last 7.2, but I finished damn it!
    On that day, Laura (Now my beautiful wife...YAY!) and I had both of our families together for a celebration of my accomplishment.  We also surprised everyone with the news that we are expecting a baby!  Laura was just about 12 weeks pregnant and we couldn't wait another moment to spread the news.  Unfortunately, we had a few scares very early in the pregnancy, so Laura hasn't been able to run at all since she got pregnant.  But,we felt like we were in the clear to tell everyone!

    Since that day in November, we have bought a house that we will close on in 2 weeks.  We are moving to of the neighborhood that I have lived in for almost 10 years.  This makes me sad, but, I am excited for this new chapter in our lives...and a bigger house!  So, this morning I went on one of the last few runs that I will have in the 'hood that I love so very much.  It was a 5 mile brisk run down city streets and past mansions.  I decided to slow down and take in everything that I love about my neighborhood.  The trees, the homes, the parallel streets that I know the distance of... Along the way I saw 3 different signs that said, "Joy" "Love" and "Peace."  These are the big 3 for my life right now.  These were the signs that I needed to realize that I am going in to an amazing part of my life.  I am so excited to see where this new year will take me and me family. In the immortal words of my idol, Rich Roll...Peace, Plants!