Thirty before Thirty

Sometimes it is hard for me to believe I will be 29!  I know 30 is not old, well aware of that, but when I look back 15 and even 10 years ago I definitely thought my life would be very different at 29.  Now don't get me wrong, I love my life.  I live in a fantastic city, have some of the most amazing friends on earth and honestly could not ask for a better family. It is just strange how life takes you on paths you don't always foresee coming.  Since I only have one year left in my twenties, I have made a list of what I have spent the last 9 years saying I want to do and making it my priority for the next year to actually do.  I made this list of things that is based on me and things that I personally can do by myself.  I would have liked to add meet the man of my dreams and fall head over heels in love, but that would be dependent on him as much as it would be on me.  I wanted to make this list attainable no matter what anyone else had going on.  I also wanted to make this list financially attainable.  I would have loved to add climb Kilimanjaro or see the pyramids in Egypt, but I can barely afford a trip to Disney World, so those are def out of the question.   So here it is:
      1.       Go to Iowa

2.       Run two half marathons in one weekend

3.       Attempt the Lucky’s eating challenge that was on Man vs. Food

4.       Go Paint balling

5.       Ride Space Mountain at Disney World

6.       Go rock climbing (indoors or out)

7.       Contact my childhood babysitter Charlotte Banks and tell her how much she means to me and how she shaped my childhood.

8.       Eat the fried chicken at Table 52

9.       Read Catcher in the Rye

10.   Crash a wedding (Natalie Stoneburner you are my partner in crime for this!)

11.   Finish the 60 Day Insanity Workout

12.   Go to Sunday services at the Bahai Temple

13.   Watch Citizen Kane

14.   Finish the Chicago Marathon without throwing up

15.   Get a Brazilian

16.   See a show at Second City

17.   Buy a pair of designer shoes (preferably with red bottoms) without caring how much they cost.

18.   Eat at a Rick Bayless restaurant

19.   Take a Bikram Yoga class

20.   Hit 100lb weight loss goal

21.   Go line dancing

22.   Go to Mass at Holy Angels Cathedral

23.   Take a spinning class

24.   Watch a movie in 3D

25.   SKYDIVE

26.   Try Ethiopian food

27.   Watch Star Wars

28.   Eat at Gibsons

29.   Take a pole dancing class

30.   Visit one major city I have never been to before (any city in Iowa does not count)

Thanks for the suggestions by the way!  If I didn't use them directly, they probably led me to an idea for something else!

The Weight Loss Challenge

Yesterday marked the end of the first week of competition for the weight loss challenge at work.  I knew I had gained weight back, but I wasn't sure HOW much I actually had. Last Friday much to my dismay I had gained back 25 lbs.  After the marathon in May I had stopped weighing myself fearful I had become obsessed with weight loss.  Well look at what happens when you do that.  I am still a bit confused how one gains so much weight and still fits into their pants.  They were a bit tighter, but not unwearable.  I see commercials on TV where people lose 30 lbs and drop 3 pants sizes....how does that happen?  I am pretty sure I lost at least 40 lbs before it was necessary for me to buy new pants when I first started losing weight.  I am sure it has something to do with the fact that I am 5'8, I think this would be very different if I was 5'0.

Anyways, I was a bit nervous for this weight in.  I had gone home the weekend before and drank every night.  My parents and I finished two pitchers of strawberry margaritas together on Saturday night (we had to celebrate Union County's first sectional title since 1979 properly!!); Greg was driving, so knowing my mom I took down most of these myself :)  Plus, we went for pizza and beer at my grandparents house on Sunday night, it is physically impossible to go to the Stapfs and not have at least one beer with Grandpa Al!  On a positive note I did go running on Saturday.  What a difference running in College Corner vs. Chicago.  First of all the wind, the Windy City ain't got nothing on the empty cornfields of March in the country.  I literally thought I was running in a wind tunnel.  It must have been looking like I was running in slow motion.  At one point I was running a 10:30 mile.....and I was running harder than any 8 minute mile I had ever ran on a treadmill.  Second of all the hills.  College Corner is not flat, so it was great prep work for the Flying Pig half!  I made it 10 miles and walked a mile home....worked a lot harder for that 10 had I ran 12 on the treadmill!

So to counter act all of this I kicked ass at the gym all week (between work and working out I had no life!) and started that horrible food journal (I hate hate hate writing down everything I eat, but you know what it works!).  And you know what it all turned out ok.   I lost 6.2 lbs the first week.  Off to an awesome start.  I am hoping to lose another 4 this week. We will see how I do :)  I am so competitive I really want to win this thing!!

When I first started to lose weight my trainer advocated that I write down everything I eat down.  It was awful but it really makes you realize how much you are consuming so here we go again:

I am keeping a food journal....everything consumed must be written down.  And I am making myself be honest.  We are doing our first weigh in tomorrow at work for the Biggest Loser competition.  I will provide an update then!

I wish I could personally thank the guys that pissed off Adele, Taylor Swift, and Kelly Clarkson that caused them to create so much pissed off girl music.  Clarkson's new song "Stronger", although very close to my Brit Brit's 2000 song "Stronger"...still a great song to run to.  Also a very special thank you to Joey Gladstone for causing Alanis Morisette to write "You Oughta Know".....

These literally get me through almost every run.

Seriously though....why is Kelly Clarkson such a man hater?  Has she EVER had a happy song that didn't involve Jason Aldean?  Was that song even happy?

oh Whitney!

I have often talked about how I am into running to angry girl music and country.  But when I crossed the finish line of my first marathon, there was only one song that I saw fitting to listen to....Whitney Houston's "One Moment in Time".  When I was training that was one the song that I would put on when I didn't think I could run more step, and I would imagine crossing the finish line.  Those thoughts would help push me to finish the run and when I hit mile 26 in Cincinnati that is the song I put on to push me to run the last two tenths of a mile.  (I'm sure many think this is all very dorky, but WHATEVER gets you through a long run do it!)  I have her greatest hits dance version on my ipod, and it is one of my favorite albums to run to.  Songs like "How Will I Know" and "Step by Step" are fantastic to listen to along the lake front path. 

One of my favorite Whitney memories is at my cousin Ashley's weddings a few years ago, when "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" came on and none of the younger girls knew the words or that the song even exsisted (ugh these young kids really missed out on a fantastic generation of music.....learn your 80's songs!!!).  My cousin's girlfriend Shannon were shocked that they did not know this epic song, we ran to the dance floor with our favors of candy apples to sing and dance as loud as we could:


Of course yesterday, Whitney Houston passed away at the age of 48, and I am incredibly sadden by this.  This is actually the first artist that has died at a young age that I have been truly depressed by.  She was one of the biggest artist during my youth and acted in one of my favorite Christmas movies "The Preacher's Wife".

I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity

Rest in Peace Whitney.....I will be having a constant dance party in my apartment to your music for the next few days!

My poor mom

This weekend I finally broke the news to my mom that I was running the Chicago Marathon again.  My mom had mega bus'd it up to Chi town for the big race last October, excited to see me cross the finish line of my second marathon.  Unfortunately things did not go as planned.  I saw my group at mile 6 and 8, then I was to see them at the finish line.  I felt great the first two times I saw them, unfortunately as I hit mile 14 my overall feeling began to slide.  I called my dad at mile 18 begging him to tell me that he knew I could finish (the crazy guy told me to quit...not happening Greg), so when we hung up he immediately called my mom to tell her that I wasn't doing well.  I tried calling a few of the girls, but for some reason the calls were not going through.  I would occasionally receive a text and respond while I was walking the final 8 miles, but communication between myself and my crew at the finish line was few and far between.  I finally ran by mile 25.8 where my group was, ONE HOUR later than expected.  So when I was talking to her right after the half marathon this weekend, I sprung the news of the next marathon:

Me:  Mom, I made my decision, I am running Chicago full again.
Mom: I am not coming to watch this year.
Me:  Ok mom I understand, I remember what happened.
Mom:  Seriously Chelsea you almost gave me a heart attack.  I was too scared to watch the end of the race.  I can't go through that again.
Me:  Well hopefully this year I will be in much better shape, maybe I won't throw up....
Mom: I can't imagine you running a marathon without me there...do you think the girls will all wear their pink shirts again, I loved that we all matched!  They were so much fun to spend the day with.
Me: Ask them yourself devil woman.

This is reason 248 why I love my mom, she would never not come to support me.  I feel so bad that I scared her so much last year.  I am hoping for a better race in 2012, and that my buddy Stacy will help her scoot around town again.   It is 240 days away and I am already nervous.....

Starting again.....

I did so well.  I got down to a comfortable size, I ran one very awesome marathon (another one not so much....), and had felt like I had regained my life again.  Often on the Biggest Loser they always talk about how your fat is holding you back in your life.  I could not agree more.  Not that I have ever been a "sit on the sideline" kind of girl, but it can hold you back, especially when you use it as a crutch.  It may be scary letting go of that, but totally worth it.  But then what happened....I got comfortable.  I slipped back into bad old habits, like whiskey binges followed by 3am Golden Nugget adventures.  After the gym picking something up on the way home, when I could have easily just cooked at home.  Also not living with Toni, I let my eating habit slip.  She is such a healthy eater...and I always felt guilty eating crap.  Now I live alone, no guilt there!  I have started to gain my weight back.  I have no idea how much, it doesn't really matter the number.  I have learned in the last 2 years its not about the number on the label of your pants its how you feel...and my work pants that use to be loose are getting tight.  So its time to get back at it, and I am hoping to start blogging often as well.  Maybe that will keep me honest!

It is going to be a big running year.  I am taking on quite a few challenges.  Thankfully I have a partner in crime to run all my big races, Ms Megan Hallaren!  First up is our back to back half marathons, the Indy Mini and the Flying Pig Half Marathon.  I was not nervous about this, until this weekend when I asked a serious marathoner in California how he suggested I trained for this.  He had a very nervous look on his face, like I had just asked something crazy.  His only suggestion was compression socks...well that got me nowhere.  Still trying to iron out my training plan for these races!   THEN on Oct. 7th (or now better known as redemption Sunday) I will be again running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.  I only have 2 hopes for this race, that I do not throw up and no medic along the course asks me if I need help.  If I make it to the end without either of those...I will consider it a success.

Training starts on Monday Feb. 13th.  Here is to hoping it is a GREAT running season!