Jamie Danford

I like to run because...

...sweating makes me feel good.  This is in direct contrast to my opinion of sweat two years ago when I hated it because it made me itchy.  I've since learned to embrace the itchy, blotchy, stanky effects, along with my bright red face and overly moist pits. 

...it makes me feel strong.  This comes in handy when Big Dave asks me to hoist the ass end of his new deer hunting blind into the truck.  Unfortunately, this new feeling of strength (that also comes from the weight training) prompts me to spontaneously bust out in fits of flex-o-fabulousness.

... I love connecting with the running community.  Like, I've actually made running 'friends' in my hood.  Okay, so I don't actually know their names, but I think me and 'Mr. Old Dude Runner Who High Fives When We Pass' and 'Miss Badass Tanktop Abs With the Really Fast Pace' and 'Guy in the Neon Green Shirt with the Baby Stroller' have a pretty good relationship.

We get each other. 

In fact, I'll bet they all go straight home and make dumbass poses in the mirror before they get in the shower...

Derrrr... like who doesn't?

...It gives me an excuse to buy fun clothing.  Like this sexy little neon orange number I snagged at the Target yesterday.  Oh man and the new socks.  I positively drool over fluffy new moisture wicking socks. And goodness knows I LOVE my tacky headband collection.

Oh sure, running does a bunch of other cool stuff for me, like burns calories (approx. 100 per mile), improves my cardiovascular system (I've got a pretty wicked resting heartrate) and purifies my mind so I don't burn the house down and make voo doo dolls of my kid's teachers (no Prozac needed thank you).

Yup.  I dig it. 

Now... anyone know of a half marathon within driving distance?  I've got a hankering for a 13.1. ;)

Accountability: The Fat Roll Edition

Dammit.

I really want to post of pic of my back fat, but it's frickin' embarrassing. 

Sigh.

Four weeks ago, I started doing Weight Watcher's online (again... hey, it's worked in the past.) I was so freaked out by the steady increase of pounds, that I knew I had to take action.  I mean, I know I see it written all over the place on the fitness/health/running sites I stalk, that the key to overall fitness and health, no matter how much you run your ass off, is to eat good stuff in moderation.  Grrrr.  I frickin' hate moderation. 

And I'm pretty sure that eating McDonald's for breakfast, a salad for lunch, a dinner that includes mac n cheese and dinner rolls, followed by a bottle of wine and several handfuls of Froot Loops before bed, ain't what they're talking about.  But that's what I've been doing.  Oops.

Well no damned wonder I hit 152 lbs.  I'm a dumbass.

So here I am.  After four weeks of counting Points and still doing the running, biking, swimming and cardio/strength workouts, I'm seeing 146 lbs on the ol' scale.  Phew!  Feeling MUCH better about things. 

It's amazing what six fewer pounds can do for a girl, especially when it comes to running.  I tootled around the hood this morning and eight miles just flew by. 

 Not lugging that extra six lbs around definitely helped.  Well, that and the fact that I've increased the weights, and I'm pretty sure my 'core' is becoming stronger.  Yay me!

So.  Back to that back fat. 

Here goes nothin'. 

The pic on the left is from January 31st.  The pic on the right is from February 21st.

Yes! Progress.

The combination of better food choices (egg whites, salad, no pasta or bread, and significantly less vino and sugar), heavier weight lifting routines, and our Plank-A-Day challenge is working!

Thirty more days and this blubber better be nonexistent.  :)

 

 

 

Whatcha Readin'?

I just finished a pretty good novel, The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan.

(Did I seriously pay $18.99 for a Kindle book? Good lord.)  It was pretty good. I'm sort of a sucker for this genre, plus the plot centered around a mom with Alzheimer's, so it was right up my alley. 

Before this one, I broke out of my comfort zone and read Levels of Exposure, a military thriller sort of genre.

I rarely read novels like this, but I went for it because it's written by my cousin Gil (G.D Sloan.)  It's set in Savannah and focuses on its own version of the Tybee bomb, a local legend.  Pretty cool.  Oh and I LOVE the bad ass female character, Merry Teel.  There are some weird editing issues throughout the book, I'm not sure if that's just on the Kindle edition or what.  But if you can overlook some misspellings here and there, and like a good terrorist tale, then this is your book.

In the car, I just finished Carter Finally Gets It.  Now this one's adolescent fiction, but Lizzy and I needed something to pass the time on our trip to BAMA.  We ended up laughing all the way across the state as we listened to the pubescent adventures of this 14 year old boy trying to find his way through his freshman year of high school.  It's HILARIOUS, and even though it's got some PG rated sexual content (he fixates on boobs) I would totally recommend it, especially if you have a male who needs some AR points.

And tonight I started reading, The Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club by Duncan Whitehead. 

I'm 10% through and already feeling tired of it's lack of imagery.  I hate being told a story, I want to see the story, and Whitehead isn't delivering.  However, it's set in Savannah, and I'm pretty sure I have an idea of the inspiration for some of the characters, so I'll keep reading if for no other reason than morbid curiosity. 

And I'm looking forward to reading The Boy in the Suitcase Lene Kaaberbol.

So, what are YOU reading?  Got anything you'd recommend? I'd love to hear!

 

 

Brain Sneeze...

In honor of the EPIC amount of snot that's been lodged in my sinus cavities the past few days, I figured it was time for the random smattering of thoughts, I affectionately call brain sneeze.

aaah... aaaH... CHOO!!!

~Thank the good LORD, I am feeling SO much better today.  Thanks to the miracle of steroid nasal spray, I can finally breathe again.  And of course breathing means there's no excuse for me to sit on my bootay, so I hit the road for a ten mile bike ride in this gorgeous Spring-like weather.  Loooove it.

~I'm halfway through my third week (already?) of Weight Watchers, and the Points are working their magic.  Hello 146.  I weigh less now than I did the morning I toed the line for the marathon in November.  Ah, success! Of course, it's not just the lbs I'm working on, but with the help of my shiny new 15lb dumbbells, I'm toning up the flab.  (Remember when I was only using 5 pounders?  Progress, YES!)  We've only got like 3 months til beach season right?  And Lizzy and I are planning to spend some SERIOUS hours at Tybee.  Can't wait!!!

~I'm back to the 'retired' life again.  The shipyard's work load is booming, and they needed someone to work full time, and that person ain't me.  There's no way I can be the kind of mom, wife and daughter that I need to be while working a 40 hour week.  Nope.  I'm gonna miss my shipyard peeps, but I'm totally stoked about having more hours to get some goals accomplished around the house.  And maybe... just maybe, I'll finish writing that stinkin' book that's been lurking around for the last FOUR years. 

~Oh crap... gotta go pick up the kid from Youth.  Consider this brain sneeze, snuffed.

;)

 

~

 

BAMA Recap...

Phew, what a week!  We high-tailed it to BAMA for my father in law's funeral over the weekend, and then I caught some sort of evil BAMA crud, and blah blah, yada yada, here we are. 

Our trip was so nice!  It just totally sucked that it had to be for such a sad reason.  Man, we are all going to miss Bill SO much.  If his funeral was a reflection of his life, then it was a life well lived because there were so many people who came to pay their respects,  and there wasn't a dry eye in the place as two of his four grand daughters read letters to their Papa.  There were funny stories and plenty of praise for him.  It was beautiful.

The four grand daughters haven't been together in three years, so of course I had to snap a couple of photos of Papa's girls...

Lizzy, Taylor, Peyton, and Savannah. These chicks sure could drive him crazy, but he loved them to pieces and spoiled them rotten.

The 'Shorty' and 'Stringbean'...

Oh these two are a mess... they really should live closer!

When Big Dave's family gets together, you KNOW there's gonna be some jokes and big talkin'...  especially from Uncle Ricky...

I can't remember what he was doing. That's the night I got into the cheap pink wine.

We reminisced and ate WAY too much food (WHY must hotwings be 3 Weight Watchers Points each????) There were tears and laughs and hugs and quiet moments as we all mourned Bill in our own way.  Big Dave's family is so cool.  They're the type of people that aren't afraid to say 'I love you.'  I am surely blessed to count myself as part of this big-hearted family... even if I am just an 'in-law.'  :)

We all decided that it's ridiculous that we see each other so seldom, so Big Dave's mom, 'Nana' has proclaimed that we WILL start visiting more often.  It's stupid that we let life get in the way of taking time to just hang out with our loved ones, ya know? 

Well, that's gonna change around here.