The Color Run - Nashville

Before the run

The starting line--I was in the first wave

Last Saturday I did The Color Run in Nashville.  That's about two hours from my house so I was really hoping to enjoy it.  I'm all for having fun when you're running and enjoying the run or race, but, sadly, this just wasn't a great experience for me.  Oh, it was fun, and I'm glad I did it...ONCE.  But I'll likely never do it again.  I'd much rather spend my money on a race where I can actually run it than walk it and not be able to breathe for the whole thing.  Let me clarify that...I could breathe fine while walking or running a 5K...that is until I got some of the colored powder thrown directly in my face.  I knew that I'd get it on my face, but this guy stood inches from me and slung the blue powder across my face. Throwing it at my face from the side where they were supposed to stand would have been fine, but this was a bit much.  I was spitting blue color for two days, and getting it out of my ears and nose for that long, too.  I was also surprised at how unorganized it was and how rude the volunteers and workers were. 

The aftermath with my medal and all the colors

Running down Broadway

I did this one by myself whereas many others do this as a group thing with their friends.  What I noticed was that the groups of two or more got much better treatment than those of us doing it by ourselves.  When I was looking for the "dry off" area with the blowers (leaf blowers, I might add), I couldn't find them as they weren't clearly marked with signs, and a couple of workers rudely asked me, "Can I help you?"  Well, no, not if you're going to have that attitude.  I finally found them, but no one was around working them.  I don't know if you were supposed to use them yourself or not, but all I could think of was, "That's a big liability just having industrial leaf blowers out in the open with so many kids."  So, I chose to go on to the car without staying for the color/glitter throw and party.  Now, I know this isn't the case with other Color Run cities as I've seen people who did it alone have a great time.  And I did enjoy running it, but the before and after were not nearly as fun or organized as they should have been. I think because of the lack of organization and rudeness of the workers, I just began it with a bad taste in my mouth.  But overall, it was fun, I got a nice shirt, and a medal, which was nice since this is a pretty costly run to not be timed or anything of the sort.  If I ever do it again, I will likely pick a different city just to see if my experience is different, and honestly unless they offer a medal again, I'll probably not do it if the cost is the same.  There are other 5Ks and 10Ks that may or may not offer a medal but are cheaper regardless of the bling and are actually timed so you can see what you actually run. 

A close up.  The medal is actually really nice.

I know that's not the point of The Color Run--the point is to have fun--but being timed is nice when you're like me and working on getting better at running and training for bigger races.  But I had fun--it wasn't a blast, but it was fun.  Next time I'll try to round up some friends to do it with me, too, and just plan to walk it and not actually run it so we can enjoy it more.  So, there's what I thought of The Color Run.  I'm very proud of my medal I got for it, I ran it and finished it smiling, but I've learned that gimmicky races just aren't my thing!  But I may try them again, just if I need some fun in life.  So, if you're looking at doing one of the themed, gimmicky runs, this was just my own personal experience.  You may love them, and I encourage you to try it! 

The Biggest Journey #1 - My FitBit Flex

This will be my first post for my The Biggest Journey series!  Yay!!!  I'm glad you've decided to follow my journey with me.  Make sure you check out my reason behind this series by reading my first post about this series here.  It details the "why" of what I'm doing with this series. 

My FitBit Flex

So, to start, I wanted to do a review of my biggest help on this journey--the FitBit Flex activity tracker.  I'm currently wearing my violet armband with it as you can see in the picture.  When I decided to start this journey, I knew I needed something to keep me accountable in my activity.  I didn't want to belong to a gym (you know, one of those fat people fears that I have...) and I absolutely HATE just walking on a treadmill, even when I'm watching TV, unless I have to use it.  So, I wanted something that would keep me more active during the day, all day.  Enter the Fitbit.  

I enjoy walking and have a goal to eventually become a distance runner.  It's something I've always wanted to do, so it is one of my main goals in addition to becoming healthier in general.  There were lots of options, a regular pedometer, the Nike Fuel Band, GPS watches, etc., but the FitBit really appealed to me as it was something to wear all day every day, even in my sleep.  So after a bit of research, I decided on the FitBit Flex.  I wanted something on my wrist and I didn't need the heart rate monitor and watch capabilities that the other FitBits had.  The Flex was it.  My darling husband went out and bought one and I began using it on January 1st and have worn it every single day since.  I even turned around after leaving the house to go back to get it!

I can honestly say that this piece of $99 equipment is one of the best things I've ever bought.  I downloaded the app to my iPhone and I check it all the time.  In fact, after buying mine, my husband and father both bought one and we all compete with each other.  We are a very competitive family, so this is perfect for us.  I'm not saying it will magically make you get up and walk because it won't, but I've not missed one day and also use the app to count my food.  I've counted every single calorie for over a month, whether it was 1500 calories or 3000 calories.  I attribute the Flex and the Fitbit app to much of the success of my losing 16 lbs since January 1st. I have a goal of 10,000 steps a day and most days I meet that.  It's rough at first since I wasn't used to walking at all. I plan to up that goal to 15,000 each day once my sprained ankle heals (more on that later).

I'm not going to do a complete review of the Fitbit Flex; I may at a later date, but I encourage everyone who is trying to get or stay healthy to get one.  It will definitely help you get and stay accountable in your own journey!

Check out more on the FitBit Flex here.

The Biggest Journey

Hi, everyone!

So, I've been absent from here and from my YouTube channel for a while now.  It wasn't really on
purpose, but I've just had so much going on.  Anyway, I'm here again and if you've noticed, this post has a bit of an interesting title.  Here's why...

I used to be much thinner than I am now.  I was never size 2 thin, but I was a healthy, curvy, athletic teenager and college student.  I played tennis in both high school and college, and I was also in the marching band in high school (if you've ever done, this YES it is a sport!).  So I got a lot of exercise.  In college, it was the same with the exception of a semester or two where I gained weight but lost it.  Then came my last year.  I gained a little bit of weight and before I knew it, I had put on quite a few pounds.  So much that I was afraid I would not fit into my wedding dress.  This was 2002.  I graduated in April and got married in May.  I refused to try on my wedding dress until the night before the wedding.  I don't know what I thought I'd do if it didn't fit, but the Lord was with me (yes, I believe that sometimes He helps in ways such as this) and it fit.  Quite beautifully in fact as I was still curvy and the dress showed that.

But then everything went downhill.  I'm not really sure why.  I have my suspicions.  I used food as a comfort for everything...call it an addiction if you want...that's what it really was.  And on top of that, I basically stopped exercising.  My first job out of college was a desk job as a paralegal and then I became a teacher.  Walking in the classroom and up and down the halls was my only exercise, but it wasn't nearly enough to keep my weight down. I craved foods like pizza and cheese fries, which is something I rarely ate before then.  Now that was my drug of choice.

This past year I left teaching to finish my second graduate degree, so I've been working from home.  I wore pajamas or yoga pants all day so I wasn't even aware that I began gaining more weight...about 50 lbs more if I really get down to it.  I wasn't getting ANY exercise except for the times I'd go out to walk my Yorkie and when we'd go out shopping around town.  All of a sudden, I realized how tight my jeans had become.  Scared to death, I stepped on the scale for the first time in several months.  The number (which I may reveal at some point, but I'm not ready yet) absolutely shocked me into reality.  For years I'd gone on and off diets, tried Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, and more, but I was never able to stick to anything.  But I know I had to do something.  I couldn't walk upstairs or for very long before I was out of breath.  I would literally sweat when outside walking in shopping centers, even if it was 30 degrees.  Booths in restaurants became tight.  Most of my weight gain has always been in my midsection.  I had to do something

This is where The Biggest Journey begins for me.  January 1st of this year I knew I had to make a change.  Yes, staring on the New Year is cliche, I know, but it was actually after the holidays when I stepped on that scale so it actually just fell in the right days.  I decided this was it; this is what I HAVE to do.  So, my husband, who is the most supportive man EVER, bought me a Fitbit activity tracker.  I started walking that day.  I bought workout clothes, since fashion makes everything more fun, I've been eating MUCH better, and I bought the Fitbit Aria scale to keep me accountable.  In fact, since I've begun I've lost 16 lbs.  So where is this going?

I've decided to use this blog, in part, to let you follow me on The Biggest Journey to get back my life and lose weight and get healthy--NOT skinny--HEALTHY.  Why "The Biggest Journey"?  Well, I really don't know.  It just seemed like the right title.  So will you join me?  I'll be posting at least weekly, sometimes more.  I'll have a heading at the top with the tag, The Biggest Journey.  I hope you enjoy these posts and hope we can inspire each other!