Inspiration on feet...

We have all heard about and felt an inspiration in various situations, forms, etc.  I am a member of a group of mom's on Facebook that are all runners at different places in our fitness journey.  Some of our mom's are Ironmen, and some of us have only completed a couple of 5k's.  The one truth I have found in this group is that these women are a huge support system for each other, they are proud of each other, they fight for and defend each other, and we are downright silly too.

Earlier this week, one of our running mom's posted a picture, and information about a friend of hers.  Here is the post she made:

 She is a long time asthma and allergy sufferer, with multiple collapsed lungs and multiple hospital stays her entire life. Long story short, she attempted Ironman last June and got pulled from the water at only 500 yards. Tough day. This year, she came back out, swam in the 52 degree lake, biked and made the bike cutoff by 10 minutes (including a tire that exploded) and ran her heart out on the marathon. We cheered her in with a WILD crowd as she made her way down the finishers chute, only to miss the midnight cutoff by 23 seconds. I truly have never felt so emotion during a race. She crossed the finish late but Mike Reilly (the voice of Ironman) called her back out to talk to her, gave her an enormous bouquet of flowers and one of the top males came out and put his medal around her neck. The media was ALL over her, and they allowed her to grab her sign and do a victory lap down the finishers chute and back through the finish. "Dear Asthma, I Win!" She truly is one of the most insertion people I know, and is an example every single day, that if you want something bad enough, nothing can stand in your way.
She is all over our papers/news and last night at the volunteer banquet they honored her, and had her come up to talk. She got a standing ovation from 3000+ volunteers.

Well, today, Paula posted a link to the video showing this awesome feat of athleticism.  I don't know that I have ever been so impressed and inspired.  This woman is the stuff dreams and legends are made of.  I can't help but feel that if she can finish an Ironman with the severe asthma that she has, I can get in shape and finish the Princess Half Marathon.  I would love to meet this woman and shake her hand.  

• Here is a link to the Youtube video of her finishing.  I don't care if she finished 23 seconds after the midnight deadline, she is an Ironman.  The 2nd most inspirational person in this video is the man that volunteered to give her his medal.  If I heard the video correctly, I think they said that they had already given her a medal.  I also noticed that when I was watching it and they had her made another trip down the finisher's chute, it was almost 10 minutes past the midnight deadline, and there hadn't been another finisher come by.  

Disclaimer---if you have a tendency to cry, get some tissues ready:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndY9xptZI9w&feature=plcp

Recovery Time

Okay--so I totally underestimated the recovery time for the procedure I had on Thursday.  It appears that I will be out of commission for the next 3 weeks.  That's okay, because that is going to give me some time to really focus on my eating for the next 3 weeks.  I am also seriously considering trying to start a "support group" of sorts here locally for bigger folks, like my size, that would be candidates for Biggest Loser.  I know how intimidating it is to take that first step when there is nothing but "skinny" people on the other side of the gym door.  I am going to be contacting some of the local gyms to see if any of them would be willing to "Sponsor" a Biggest Loser FV type of thing for us.  I feel like a local group of people who can support and hold each other accountable would be invaluable.  I am going to go audition for BL in a couple of weeks, but either way, I feel led to do something like this in the local area.  The likelihood of me getting onto the show is pretty slim, so why not be a community of support for others like me in this area?  I know people who have done this and been successful without making it to the ranch.  My buddy Chris Pederson has lost about 120 pounds on his own and is looking svelte and amazing.  I also know of another guy, Justin, who has lost over 200 pounds by himself.  I have never done anything like this before, but feel very convicted that it is something I need to do.  If anyone has any advice, I'd really appreciate it!

Krista

Emotinoal Shift

Well, I said I would be honest even when it wasn't a fun thing to do.  I have been struggling with my mental readiness for a major change in lifestyle for a long time. I really think that the reason that I haven't been successful thus far in making this change is because I haven't been mentally ready for it.  I have to make a major mental shift.  I have got to begin to understand and interact with food in a different way.  I have always viewed food as a friend, a confidant, my only refuge from a bad day.  The reality is, food is FUEL, nothing more.  The purpose of food is to fuel my body for the necessary daily activities.  Food should be fueling my workouts and helping my body to do what it was built to do, which is to move, exercise and function.

I need to get myself in the right place mentally as I begin to take on workouts and make physical changes, I need to delve into the mental part of this change as well.  I have 3 books that are already paid for and downloaded and on my Nook, waiting for me to read.  I have "The Skinny Rules" by my dream trainer, Bob Harper; "Necessary Endings" by the unmatched Henry Cloud; and "The Primal Blueprint" by Mark Sisson.  The next step is to read these books and try to find a workout plan that fits my daily routine and schedule.  If anyone is a domestic diva with experience balancing a full-time work schedule, 6 day a week workouts, and 3 children ages 8 and under; all while keeping a house livable, food on the table and kids bathed, I'd welcome and appreciate your assistance.

For now, the plan looks something like this.....
Monday, Wednesday and Friday---Swim in the mornings, getting to the gym at about 5:30 and swimming for 30 to 45 minutes.  In the evenings after the kids are in bed, I will be doing Turbo Jam, from Beach Body.

Tuesday and Thursday---I will be doing short jogs of 30 minutes, with a 5k on every Saturday until I get my 5k time under 35 minutes, at which point I will start a half marathon training plan of some sort.

This should leave me "free" during the weekday evenings to work on housework, etc.  I'm going to have a cleaning/painting party at my house the week of June 25 if anyone feels the undying urge to help me clean my house from top-to-bottom, you are more than welcome to come help.....

Here's to laying the foundation for a life-long change....I want this so bad, and it is so worth fighting for, I just need to figure out how to make it fit MY life.

Pumpkin to Princess: Huge Raffle to Benefit the LLS!

One of my friends is doing this to raise money to help her get to the San Francisco half marathon this fall.  Please support Amy, you may just win yourself an awesome prize!! 

Pumpkin to Princess: Huge Raffle to Benefit the LLS!: Hello everyone!  As you know, I am very committed to fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Over the past few months I have been...

THE DREAM IS ALIVE!!!!!

The dream remains alive, and my dream is even more in reach than it ever has been.  After traveling to Orlando to attend the casting call for BL12, I said Iw ould only do another casting call if there was a casting in the Raleigh area, and even then, only if the show was casting individuals.  There are multiple reasons that I didn't want to do a show that was cast as teams, primary among them is the fact that I didn't want to have to play the inherent games involved if you are trying to keep a partner safe, etc; and I didn't get this heavy with a partner to encourage me, I really need to get the weight off and learn to depend on myself.  As I said in my May 20th post; http://shrinkingkrista.blogspot.com/2012/05/isnt-it-amazing.html, Being forced to depend on myself has been a wonderful learning experience.  Of course, the other very obvious problem was that I never had a partner that was able to commit to going to a casting call, doing an audition video or being on the ranch with me. 

I am so excited to say that The Biggest Loser casting team, and specifically, Holland Striplin, who I have wanted to meet for a few years.  On July 14, I will be headed out to the Biggest Loser 14 casting call at Rex Wellness center, in Knightdale, NC, just north of Raleigh.  I am excited that Emily Joy from BL13 and Heba and Ed from BL 6 will all be there.  I am hoping to get to meet 1 if not all of them! 

My body-type is very similar to that of Emily Joy's.  Her starting weight last season was 264 pounds, and I am currently at 265 pounds.  Her ending weight was 162 pounds, which is where I was when I graduated high school, so seeing her transition gave me hope for what I could look like if I was successful. 

I am so glad to see that The Biggest Loser will still be a force for good in the lives of people at least for another season.  I am also glad to see that they appear to be taking the show in a completely different direction that it went last season.  Last season was painful to watch with way too much drama. 

I'll keep everyone posted if I hear anything. 

Krista