13.1 v2

Hi y'all! In case you are wondering where I've been, I was here

My BEAUTIFUL 2nd home town of Sarasota, Florida. I got up early enough on Saturday to have the beach to myself before spring break exploded! The ONLY bad thing about traveling for a race is my no alcohol the day before the race policy. I happily drank water and even did some yoga and a plank on the beach.

plank selfie!

nervous about "runners knee" but it ended up being fine!

The next day I got up at 5am for the 7am race. Luckily my hotel was 3/4 a mile from the start and I didn't have to sit in the already huge line of traffic. I just ran there!

The scenery and the fresh sea air make one wonder why anyone would want to run anywhere but here...

This was a tough race. It was hot and it was flat except for the bridge and by mile 8 I had a cramp in my calf that just wouldn't quit. I just slowed down and enjoyed the scenery - actually stopping to stretch my calf at water stops instead of running through and spilling water all over myself! 

Representin' the Atlanta Track Club

I knew I had friends at mile 12 cheering me on so that kept me going! 

meeting my pal otis with one mile to go!

And then it was done! 2 hours 26 minutes later and my 2nd half marathon was in the books!

my sister met me with flowers!

 

The best thing about Florida races - beer tent!

So I had about 7 beers (no joke) and walked back to my hotel (luckily!) The race was still going on so traffic was backed up for miles. I just walked by all the stopped cars with my giant bouquet of flowers and a muffin and pretended it was my own personal parade :)

I had a wonderful time and am already registered for next year - I can't resist the half price sales they have the day after a race!

I was really sore for days and haven't run in a week but I'm back to yoga this afternoon and will just to an "easy 10k" tomorrow to ease back in. My next race half marathon is in June in Duluth Minnesota - stay tuned for more on that!!

Traveling for half marathons is awesome. I ate and drank whatever I wanted and came back a pound lighter. I think I'm going to try to knock off another 5 pounds before the next race but we'll see. I'm enjoying this wonderful balance I've found. Not "dieting" is weird but boy do I love it!

Have a happy healthy, weekend everyone!

One Year Later (and then some!)

I know it's been way too long since I've posted and I want to say thank you to all who reached out to me to make sure I was okay. I'm fine. In fact better than fine. I think the reason it took me so long to write this post is the simple fact that I wanted to live with being at my goal for a little while before I wrote about it -- I really had no idea what to expect!

 I did survive this

 

and this 2 weeks later

 We didn't have it nearly as bad as the rest of the country but it was obviously pretty serious here. I sure picked a crappy first winter as a runner!

I was scared to death when I got to my goal weight but I'm finding a great balance of working out and adding back in some of my favorite foods in absolute moderation. Pizza is to be treated with respect and only had about once a month. I can only eat 2 tiny pieces now but it's the satisfaction that never ceases to surprise me about this surgery. I'm not sure I ever knew what it was like to feel full and satisfied instead of stuffed and sick and still wanting more. I'm not sure if this is what happens to everyone who has this surgery but it's the thing I'm most thankful for - that the obsession is going away and what I eat leaves me happy and not wanting more and more. Don't get me wrong though - after Christmas it was hard to back away from the cookies because I can still get hooked on the sugar just like the old days!

I'm still running and doing yoga and training with my trainer and all that good stuff. I work out about 6 days a week and have to sometimes force myself to take a day off! 

I've had a few great races so far this year and many more to come. 

This is me finishing the Tartan Trot - my very first under and hour 10k. 59:55! I almost barfed at the top of "Pipers Peak" so don't let this glamor shot fool you.

New Years Day resolution run with my friends and running heroes!

In less than 2 weeks I'll be traveling to Sarasota Florida for my 2nd half marathon. I just did a 12 mile training run on Saturday and I swear it was almost easy. I hate even putting that in writing because I don't want to jinx it! The plan is to do a half in all 3 of my home states so the final leg of the "Tait Tri-State Challenge" will be in Duluth, MN in June along the shores of lake superior. Both of these races will I'm sure smell a lot less like pee than my first half through the streets of the ATL :)

So I've been bouncing around 124, 125, 126. I'm a XS and a 2. Once I get my excess stomach skin removed one day I will be one of those b*tches who's wears a zero!? We will talk about the skin in it's own post as I think it's a concern for a lot of people (and frankly, way worse than I thought it would be) but I think I've lost as much weight as I'm going to. I've stopped trying anyway and will continue to eat healthy 95% of the time. 

I feel like this is how it was always supposed to be - I've always had this burning desire to be an athlete and that's exactly what I've become. I'm so proud of myself for making this happen and never realized just how profoundly that could affect my whole life.

Plenty more to come as I've been missing my blog and writing so much during the crazy busy times but I'm going to leave you with my 1 year photos. As much as I respected that girl in the first few photos, I don't miss her at all!