My Amphipod

A co-worker of mine has one of these and now that I am running longer distances, this amphipod is a Godsend!!! It's a water bottle that has a hand strap on it. I think I should've probably gotten an insulated one, but the salesman was telling me that it keeps the water cooler, but not much, so I didn't get an insulated one.

You can find these Amphipod's at Salt Lake Running Co (www.saltlakerunningco.com). I got mine (non-insulated) for I think it was $17-18. It was well worth it.

How do they afford it?

Now that I've lost 100+ pounds, I have ALOT of extra skin. It's really disgusting to me. Alot of people think I DON'T have extra skin, but let me tell you...if you wear the right clothes, it can hide it really well!!! Lol.

But...I would LOVE to get skin removal surgery, but it is HELLA expensive and of course insurance companies won't cover any of it!!! I've looked in to it. I would ideally like to have the extra skin removed from my stomach, back, thighs, breasts and arms. I went to a plastic surgeon last year and had a consultation. Just to have my tummy skin removed, I'd have to have what is called a "body lift" because they'd have to take care of the extra skin on my back (yes I was SO big I have extra skin on my back). It is a very complicated surgery and it's a very long surgery. Just to have the body lift done for my stomach and back, it'd cost $12,000!!! I didn't even ask how much it'd cost to have my arms, breasts and thighs done.

I personally know one person who has had all of this surgery done and had all of her extra skin removed. She had to pay for it all out of pocket. I have a co-worker who knows someone (I've met her) that had all of her extra skin removed and I've seen a contributor on the TLC show What Not to Wear that has had her extra skin removed.

My question is...how the crap do they afford it? Do they just go in to debt up to their eyeballs to have this surgery done?

I just can't tell you how bad I want to have this surgery, because there are times when I still look in the mirror and because of all of my extra skin, I still see the fat Ara, I just have to keep telling myself that I'm not fat...look at the size of clothing I fit in to, ya know?

Does anybody have any ideas of how I could raise money or something to be able to afford this surgery?

1.2 Lbs Down

I weigh myself every Saturday morning! Lately, I've been gaining more muscle than losing fat, so the number has been going up on the scale. It's been kind of hard because for the past almost 1 1/2 years, I've seen the number go down on the scale, and now it's going up. But, I know I'm losing weight because my pants are fitting looser, etc.

On 6/26 I gained 1.0 lb, and then the week after that I lost 4.0 lbs and then I lost 2.0 lbs.

This morning when I went to weigh myself, I found out that I'd lost an additional 1.2 lbs!!!

I am SO excited!!! This is the lowest I have weighed since I started my weight loss. I only have 17.6 lbs to go until I reach my goal! Yay!

Canyon to Canyon 1/2 Marathon and 10k

Today I did the 10k Canyon to Canyon with a bunch of people from work. A couple of people did the 1/2 marathon, but I didn't think I'd be able to do it, so I just ran the 10k (6.2 miles).

It started up in East Canyon and went down the Jeremy Ranch Dirt Road. I've never ran on a dirt road before so I was a little iffy about that, but it was fine. They said there would be rolling hills, and after my experience yesterday, I was kind of nervous about that too. But overall, it went pretty well.

I haven't got my official time yet, but as I was running in to the finish line, the clock said something close to 1:10. That's the best I've ever ran.

This run was a little challenging for me because there were some pretty big hills we had to run up. They were so big that I was running so slow I might as well have been walking, but I was hell bent on running the whole course, which I did.

The only problem I ran in to with this run is my earphones. I hate them. They aren't the kind I usually have that wrap around your ear, they are just what you call earbuds, and they kept falling out of my ears. Grrr...

But, anywho, here are some pictures from the race:

Me coming down the last hill to go in to the finish line.

Me rounding the corner to the finish line.

A group of me and some of my co workers from JCPenney who also ran the 10k.

I just got done with the race. Pardon the sweat marks under the boobs! Lol.

Me clipping off my timing chip. They had some weird timing chips that you used a zip tie and attached it to your shoe laces. Never had a timing chip like that before.

Me and my friend Ted. I'm SO proud of him. He ran part of the 10k and walked part of the 10k. This is the first race he's done! Way to go!

Lost Creek Reservoir Ride

Let me preface everything by saying almost one month ago, we had a family reunion out in Taylorsville, Utah. It was about 22 miles away from home. I decided to ride my bike out there and back. That day, I rode a total of 48 miles on my bike, and for at least 1/2 of the ride, I had a HORRIBLE head wind, but I was proud of myself for being able to ride 48 miles.

With that said, I'm a member of the Bonneville Cycling Club (BCC). I've been a member for probably a little over a month and because of my schedule I haven't been able to go on any of the group rides.

I had today off, so I decided to see if BCC had any group rides today, and they did. They were meeting at 9:00 a.m. up in Coalville, UT and were going to go on a 50 mile ride. The description of the ride is: 50 miles / O OPEN Pace / 3-4 Mild - Hilly / f Summit/Wasatch Counties area

We did this ride last month, but it's so wonderful let's do it again: Quiet rural roads from Coalville, thru Echo and Croydon, with minor rolling hills and a gentle climbing. There's one last 1/4 mile climb to the beautiful reservoir, but then it's downhill back to Croydon again. Since this is an 'out and back' ride, you can choose to ride 20, 30, or 50 miles. Backside Friday rides are social: ride at your own pace, but we will regroup several times along the way. Please check your email or call before coming up if the weather looks iffy.

I thought since I was able to do almost 50 miles a little less than a month ago I'd be able to do this. And rolling hills...how bad could it be?

OMG!!! This was a bike ride nightmare! The rolling hills ended up being more like mountains! I was doing pretty good on the ride until the further we got in to the ride, the harder the "rolling hills" got.

15 miles in to the ride we got to a town called Croydon, Utah. This is a SUPER small town. It has a population of like 146. But, we stopped there for a minute so people could get more water, etc. A couple of people from the group decided that they needed to start heading back. We only had 10 more miles to go before we were going to head back, so I thought I'd do the last 10 miles. It just got harder and harder.

You ride as a group, so, I could tell I was starting to get tired, hot, hungry, everything and I was slowing down. So, I told the other lady that was riding with me to go ahead.

Needless to say, I didn't make it to the 25 mile mark. I think I made it about 24 miles. I had to turn around and start walking back. I was just exhausted. I had NO energy and I was starting to feel weak.

As I was walking back, some guy pulled up next to me and made sure I had enough water left, which I didn't. I had water, but I knew I wouldn't have enough. So, he so kindly gave me more water and then he went on his merry way.

At this point I just kept thinking, I have NO clue how I'm going to make it back to my car. I knew I was physically not able to ride my bike back 24 miles. I had NO clue what I was going to do. I had my cell phone with me, but we were out in the middle of no where, so I didn't have any coverage. At this point, my only goal was to get back to Croydon where I knew I could get cell phone service.

God must have shone down on me or something, because then this old guy pulls up next to me and he has his granddaughter in his truck and he asks me if I'm having trouble. I told him I was EXHAUSTED, and to make a long story short, he gave me a ride in to Croydon.

As soon as I got back in to Croydon, I sat down at the park and I called my friend Georgina. She was going to do the ride with me, but she ended up having to back out at the last minute. But Georgina is a godsend. She ended up dropping everything she was doing to come up to Croydon to pick me up to take me back to my car.

Needless to say, I'm tired. I'm disappointed in myself that I couldn't finish the ride. But...it's not going to stop me from biking still. I'm just not as good a biker as I thought I was. Lol. Georgina and I are going to still go biking, we'll just have to be real careful as to what rides we go on.

Biking Uphill

This might sound stupid, but I'm kind of proud of myself...

Yes, I've been cycling and working out for over 1 year now, but I've always had a hard time with riding my bike up a hill. It just tires me out. Well, tonight I feel like I made great strides!

When I ride my bike, I always ride a certain route and on the route there are 2 hills. They don't look like big hills, but when you're riding your bike up them, they're pretty rough. I'm not too good at riding my bike while standing up because I don't feel like I have that much control over the bike, but tonight, I was able to climb 1 1/2 of the hills standing up on the bike the whole time!

Now, I realize this sounds stupid, but my arms and legs have always gotten tired about 1/2 way up the hill before tonight.

Plus, I rode my bike 21 miles tonight and that has usually taken me close to around 2 hours to do, but tonight, it only took me about 1 1/2 hours. Yay!

Low Cal Olive Garden

I was treated to Olive Garden for lunch on Monday. I was excited, yet super nervous at the same time, because the first thing I think of when I hear Olive Garden is pasta/calories/delicious! Lol.

I pulled up their menu in hopes to find something low cal, and lo and behold, they had something besides pasta and it was DIVINE!!! It was Apricot Chicken. It was a chicken breast in an apricot sauce with broccoli, asparagus and tomato's. It was only 380 calories!!!

I'm sure Olive Garden has other low calorie stuff...I know their chicken caesar salad minus the croutons is 580 calories.

Some time, on one of my cheat days, I'm so gonna go to Olive Garden though and thoroughly enjoy their Chicken Fettucini Alfredo (my favorite)!

Expensive Hobby

Before I started doing triathlons and eating healthier, I never would've guessed how expensive of a hobby it is, but OH MY, it can get pricey. But, let me say, it is worth every penny of it.

For an example, I have listed below things I need/want to continue with this hobby:

Head light for my bike - $100.00





Bike mount - $139.00

Garmin 405 Watch/Calorie Counter/mileage thingy - $360.00

Bike shoes - $100.00

Bike pedals - $100.00

Gel seat cover - $22.00

Bike trainer so I can still ride my bike in the winter - $140.00

Triathlon shorts - $48.00