See Diva Run

People who know me know that the best way to get me to do something is to challenge me to do it. Mr Diva didn’t ask me for a date, he dared me to go out with him, and then later challenged me to marry him. Since I started running in Nike+ challenges last October, I’ve run more than 1,600 miles. According to my Runner+ profile, I’ve completed 272 runs for a total of 1,677 miles, and 173,937 calories (50 lbs.). That’s right 50 freakin’ pounds. Now ask me how much weight I’ve lost. Actually, I lost quite a bit, but then I gained it back for a net of 0. That’s right, if I hadn’t been running, I would have gained 50 pounds this year. Getting injured in July didn’t help, because I didn’t have the good sense to stop eating when I had to stop running. In fact, I was pouting about being injured, so I probably ate extra. As a result, clothes that were baggy in February are snug again. Rats! Last week I got disgusted enough to get back to a more sensible eating plan, and today I saw Nancy’s post about the weight loss challenge the Pieces of Me blog. What an excellent idea, and what perfect timing. So I will now disclose to the world information that I normally try to keep a big, fat secret!

When I stepped on the scale this morning it said 142.8. This is better than some of the things it told me last week, but not really the answer I’m looking for. I’m really looking for something in the 130 - 135 range, and if I could see numbers smaller than 130, well that would be lovely, too. The thing about being in the 140s is that I’ve tried to make 150 a “never again” number. Actually, I had hoped that 140 would be a “never again” number, but the ship has kind of sailed on that one, so I’m doing the next best thing and defending myself from 150. The best defense against 150 is being in the 130s. If you’ve ever lost a lot of weight and then gained it back, you know what I’m talking about. In the early 1990s a job change and new marriage converted me from a very active person to a sedentary person, and the weight packed on quickly. After a couple of years of that, I got serious, and with exercise and sensible eating, I got back down.

Sensible eating isn’t really my strength, especially since I like to eat, and HATE to cook (or any form of food preparation). If I can’t order it or heat it up, it isn’t going to happen. Three cheers for bagged salad and pre-shredded carrots. Now I just have to chop up the red peppers, which annoys the heck out of me but until someone will sell them to me in pieces, I’m stuck. The more complicated life gets, the more likely I am to revert to take out. It only took a few years for life to get complicated, and the weight came back, and brought its friends. After avoiding the issue of weight for several years, I stepped on a scale in late 2002, and much to my shock and dismay, it rolled up to 200. That was enough to get me motivated.

By the summer of 2002, I’d become an expert at dodging cameras. Here I am accepting a check for Christmas House, and though it is a big check, you can see that I am a big Diva.

I started eating right and managing my portions. After losing 35 pounds and hitting a plateau, I started walking. I walked a lot, and eventually started walking half marathons, and then in December 2004, I walked a full marathon. By January I was down to 128, and feeling invincible. I was walking 45 miles/week, but it was getting harder to make the time to do that much walking, so I took up running. I started gaining wait after I took up running, because running made me so darn hungry, and I think it also gave me more free time, which I spent sitting. I’ve bounced back and forth between 135 and 145 since then. I’m ready to bounce down again, so here I am airing the dirty laundry and announcing my intention to get to 130 by February 1, 2008. I’ll be reporting my progress each Monday, and checking in with all my blogging friends to see how they are doing, and to offer encouragement. If you would like to join us, check out this post from Pieces of Me, and our cool new Runner’s Lounge group.

This is me in July, 2007. I’ve gained at least 5 pounds since then, and I’m anxious to get back to where my pants aren’t so snug!

It was a little overcast this morning, but by noon the sky was clear and blue. Unfortunately, I had a few odd jobs to do, and by the time I got out the door it was overcast again. It was still warmer than yesterday, with less wind. All in all, it made for pleasant running. Since I tend to run faster on training runs than in races, I decided to slow myself down by brining the camera. I wish I could share with you the heavenly fragrance of damp pine needles.

A friendly alpaca greets me

Fall color at the local elementary school

A view of the Cascade Mountains

This is one of my favorite stretches of road.

After the curve, the shoulder disappears and I turn around.

This trail runs through one of the neighborhood greenbelts. I never use it because it is very hilly.

The view from the trail

A view of Blackman’s Lake from Hill Park

Geese near Blackman’s Lake

Hill Park

The view from the other side of the lake. The palatial Diva estate is somewhere in the background.

Ducks on Blackman’s Lake

A view of Ferguson Park

A few years ago they closed the road to through traffic by brining in the big rocks.

Trees in Ferguson Park

A view of the lake on the way back out of the park

A view of Blackman’s Lake from just .25 miles from the house

I see my blue Thunderbird in the distance, my run is done.

On a clear day I will see the Cascades while running north and east, Mount Rainier while running south and the Olympics while running west. The neighborhood course is hillier than running the Centennial Trail, but it is also much more scenic. I ran 6.18 miles and took 52 photos in 63 minutes. The Nike+ does a pretty good job of capturing when I was running and when I was taking pictures!

Days like today are the reason I run

• and swear
• and drink
• and eat comfort food
• and have gray hair, wrinkles and a bad attitude
• and a treadmill in my office!

Did anyone see me boarding the Titanic? I swear I don’t remember getting on, but here I am surrounded by ice cubes!

We had our first frost of the season last night. It was sunny but cool today. I spent the day anticipating my post work run. At 4:00 I announced that I would be taking a break. I grabbed my iPod, and my pager, and my cell phone (pages must be called back within 20 minutes), my water bottle and my sun glasses. I made it to the edge of my yard, checked out the view and decided to go back for my camera. Before I made it to the door my cell phone was ringing. I decide to ignore it. By the time I grab my camera I’m getting the voice mail beep. I decide to call back after the run. I’m back out the door, camera in hand, anticipating a lap around the lake and anywhere else that seems like a good idea and adds up to 6 miles. I barely make it out of the driveway before the phone is ringing again. It’s someone with a problem and they can’t find anyone else who will answer the phone. Why? Because everyone else is smarter than me! Before I’ve had a chance to solve his problem, the pager goes off. My “run in the sun” is officially canceled. Later, when they’ve run out of ways to drive me crazy, I finally get 6 miles on the treadmill. I’ll try again in the morning.

I found this article on Yahoo about the “Walkstation”, which is a combination of office furniture and treadmill that allows employees to be on their feet and walking during the day instead of sitting. I’ve often fantasized of such an arrangement, but $4000 is a little more than I’m willing to invest, so I guess I’ll continue to sit all day, with brief “activity breaks”. I loved this quote:

“Over the last 150 years, we’ve become chair-imprisoned. We are behind a screen all day at work. We are in a car or bus getting to and from work. And in the evening, we are in a chair watching television or surfing the Internet,” Levine said. “We’ve gone from being on our legs all day to being on our bottoms all day.”

Link to article

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the U.S. We acknowledge it by racing for the cure, walking for hope, replenishing with pink Sport Beans and occasionally indulging in a pink M&M. October is also the month I get my annual mammogram, and today was the day. The timing of the mammogram has nothing to do with Breast Cancer Awareness Month and everything to do with when I first found “the lump”. It was Easter, 2006. I was already suffering from a frozen shoulder, without understanding what caused it. I was talking to my husband and to emphasize my point, I slapped my chest with my hand, and got a wicked surprise. I was so shocked, I just sat there probing for a minute. I then placed his hand over it. At first he misunderstood my intention, but within a minute his expression turned worried. My sister died from breast cancer in 2001.

I spent the next few weeks in a daze, getting test after test. The mammogram was inconclusive, the ultrasound was inconclusive. There were tumors and calcium deposits, which are often found with cancer. The MRI showed no sign of cancer. The tumors were fibrous. I was instructed to have another mammogram in 6 months, to make sure that the tumors weren’t growing. My sister had also been diagnosed with fibrous tumors and instructed to have them checked regularly. She didn’t follow up, and by the time her cancer was detected, it was in her lymph nodes. I get an MRI each spring and a mammogram each October.

Breast cancer affects women of all ages, but men can get it too. While exercise and a diet that is low in fat help reduce your risks, they do not eliminate them. The Warmups and Real Runners sections in the October issue of Runner’s World feature stories about 4 women who suffered from breast cancer. One of my favorite Nike+ friends, Prncssrnnr is a breast cancer survivor. Awareness month is about more than just raising funds to find a cure or assist women who are living with cancer. It is about being proactive about your health and doing your best to detect it early.

Finding a lump in your breast is terrifying, but not all lumps are cancer. My dear friend, JustRun discovered a lump in her breast just days before her 28th birthday. I’m happy to report that tests revealed it to be non-cancerous. Don’t let fear keep you from checking your breasts regularly, and if you find something, don’t let fear keep you from following up. If you aren’t sure how to do it, follow this link for instructions. If you cannot afford a mammogram, most communities offer free or reduced cost mammograms. Check with organizations like your local YWCA to find one.

There is one rare but particularly virulent form of breast cancer that develops in sheets instead of tumors, making it extremely difficult to detect. It is called Inflammatory Breast Cancer, and its symptoms include redness, itching, inverted nipples and an orange peel like texture to the skin. For more information about IBC, please visit the IBCResearch.org web site.

Because of my family history, I tend to spend mammogram day thinking about “what if?”. Today was no exception. I burned a little stress by taking a 3 mile run on the treadmill before the test. The sun came out this afternoon, so after work I took my anxiety for a 3.5 mile run around the neighborhood. The sky was intensely blue. The trees were decked out in a spectacular array of colors. The pine needles formed a fragrant carpet for me to run on. When I ran out of pines, there was a mass of fallen maple leaves that was at least 4 inches thick to run through. The air was crisp and cool. When I got home, Mount Rainier was visible. Elton John was singing “I think it’s going to be a long, long time”. It was one of those moments you wish you could hold onto. I lingered on the sidewalk for a few minutes, unwilling to let it go. Sometimes you just need to savor the moment.

My doctor removed my stitches today. He laughed at the story of how I got them, and hinted that I’m one of his more interesting patients. I bet he says that to all of us He laughed and shook his head when I told him about running the half marathon with stitches. He warned me to take it easy for a while, to reduce the risk of breaking the wound open, so I ran an easy 3 miles on the treadmill this evening. I’m not nearly as worried about breaking it open running as I am about scratching it open. It itches terribly. So far I’ve been able to restrict myself to the scratching to the edges. I’m afraid I’ll wake up in the middle of the night with it scratched wide open.