Runner's High

A few have you have mentioned runner's high...I don't think I have gotten completely to the point of experiencing it yet, but I think maybe I have had a touch of it. Usually it comes in around the middle of my run...where I'm at a steady pace, my breathing is steady, and I feel strong. I used to not be able to even think about anything else during my run, except the time. (8 minutes to go, 5 minutes to go, 3 minutes....)

But lately, I've been able to actually look around more, notice other people in the gym, think about other things, notice the hot trainer, etc. ;) hehe I am not in misery as I was when I first started. THIS is a GREAT feeling. But what's even better is what I experience when I finish my run...THAT my friends, is endorphins in it's rarest form. And the great thing is that my legs no longer feel like they are going to collapse from underneath me. Sure they are fatigued and I'm tired. But it feels amazing to walk out of that gym knowing what I've accomplished.

I'm saying all this for 3 reasons:

1. Running has saved me...I know that sounds dramatic. But it has give me something to look forward to these past few awful weeks. It's pumping life back into me, it's giving me happiness. Otherwise, I would have been crawled up in my bed every day after work crying. Instead, I sweat it out.

2. If you are thinking about starting the Couch to 5K program, DO IT. It seems overwhelming at first, but you'll be SO glad you did.

3. I want to remember this good feeling, to keep pushing myself to go further. I want to complete a 5K in October. After that, I hope to keep running, and possibly do a 10 K next summer in Atlanta. (Peachtree Race)

I had another reason, but I can't remember what it is...I've been up since 4 AM packing for Florida. I'm c-c-crazy!

If you are following my Tweets, I'll be tweeting on the way down and while I'm there. Cause I KNOW ya'll are dying to read them. Haaaaaaaaaaa. Things I'll definitely be doing: Drinking a lot of (good) wine, going to the beach, drinking wine, sleeping, eating, oh and hopefully exercising! J and I brought our workout clothes. Nothing like a little Florida heat to sweat out the toxins!

Peace, love and hair grease my friends...

PS I have 3 potential dates lined up for next week... :)

C to 5K update

Last night, I completed Day 3 of Week 7 - because I did not finish from last week. Tonight I start Week 8, Day 1 which I kick off with a 28 minute run. This, my friends, is going to be tough. But I will do it, I know I will.

Today has not been good, but I know to expect ups and downs. My friend has invited me to Florida this weekend for a visit, and my friend J is driving with me down there. This will be good for me I believe.

In a few weeks, after everything has settled down (and hopefully it will, because I know ya'll are SICK to death of me, haha) I will give ya'll the story of everything that went down. The reason is because I have learned a few lessons along the way that I want to pass along. Also, because I want it written down so that I can go back and read it in case this ever happens again. I need to listen to my instincts. Love ya'll... <3

ETA: 28 minutes, DONE. My legs feel like jelly right now but I did it. I rock, if I do say so myself. Ha ha! ;)

Would you like to shag with me?

Ok, not that kind of shag! :) Stay with me here...

In the South, if a band starts playing Brown Eyed Girl or some other similar "beach type" music, what typically happens is you'll see folks gather around the front and start dancing. This is known as The Shag. (That's a link to one of my favorite songs)

The great thing about this is that you never have to look far to find a man that can shag. I think many of them are just born with the talent. And it's so much fun, and great exercise!

I posted this picture below on facebook so some of you have already seen it. But here's me attempting to shag last weekend. I'm not the greatest, but he was such a good dancer, so I just followed his lead through every spin, turn, twist and dip. Fun! Thanks Shannon, for catching the shot, haha. My point is, this type of dancing can happen at any place, anytime - whether it's a local bar or not.




















(disregard my large booty-I'm trying to run/dance it off!)

I HIGHLY recommend putting the movie Shag in your Netflix queu. I think I've seen this movie a million times, and it never gets old!



So go out this weekend, and shag yourself rotten, baby, yea!

Update and I am happy to report...

...that I am feeling somewhat normal today for the first time in weeks!!! I only cried once yesterday, and it only lasted about 60 seconds. And then I just…stopped. I was like, whoa. I feel …ok? It was by far the shortest cry yet. And so far today, I feel fine. I know I am still going to have moments. But I do feel that God is helping pull me out of this depression and sadness I have felt for so long now. I finally feel like I am going to be ok. Life is going to be fun for me again! And perhaps even better this time around.

And speaking of…

Sorry to leave ya’ll hanging on the story…I didn’t have much to report at that moment. But since then, I did email him back and he sent me his number. Well, I hate calling guys..I’m a Southern girl and old fashioned that way. But last night I finally sucked it up and called him. He was super sweet and the conversation flowed fairly well. Although I think I was nervous, and kept asking him questions to keep the conversation flowing. He is SUPER country sounding but I liked it. I love a good southern boy. The only negative is that he lives about an hour and 15 minutes away. But hey, those things can be overcome. We shall see! I will out of town this weekend, so we said we’d text and figure out a time to go out soon. We laughed about the coincidence of him remembering me out to dinner that night. He said he even remembers what I had on – jeans, a brown shirt and flip flops. I wasn’t sure if that was sweet, or kind’ve creepy. Ha Ha But I’m going to go with sweet until I know differently. I only had one twinge while I was talking to him. He mentioned that I looked a little, uh, sad, at that dinner. I told him that me and my bf had been having some issues for quite sometime. And that was around the time I was trying to make things work. But I probably knew deep down that it wasn’t going to work out. But I was hopeful. After I hung up, I did feel a little sad about that. But then thought, hey God knows what he’s doing with me. I just need to go along for the ride. He knew I would never let Mr. P go on my own, so he forced my hand. But I’m ok with that…I wasn’t at first, but I am now. And I know more and more every day I’ll be even more grateful.

I also have a few other date potentials in the works. There’s a couple of guys that I have emailed back and forth. But no dates yet. I’m tellin ya’ll, these boys move slow. But we’ll see, I’ll keep ya’ll posted!

The rest of the weekend I mostly hung out with family and friends. I spent yesterday afternoon with a couple of guy friends that I haven’t seen in months. They made me laugh like I haven’t laughed in forever!! That was much needed. I’m so grateful to those boys.

Happy Monday…meh. lol

PS I only got 2 of my runs in last week - grr. So this week i have to find time to fit in 4 runs - 1 25 minute run and 3 28 minute runs. It will be tough, but maybe I'll drop some lbs with all this running! I have a 5K scheduled for October 3rd in Charleston. The Isle of Palms Connector Run Nervous and excited all at the same time!!! Who wants to run it with me??? =)

Interesting twist

So. A few months ago, I went out to dinner with Mr. P. We went to one of my favorite spots that overlooks the river, they have the best view of downtown. It was not a busy night, and there were only 2 others outside on the deck with us. I remember it was a couple: a guy and a girl. The reason I remember this is because the guy and I made eye contact a few times. At the time I did not think anything about it, other than you know how that happens sometimes, right? You catch someome's eye a few times, not really meaning to, just sort've happens.

Fast forward to the other night. I checked my Match.com page. I had a wink from this guy...thought he looked vaguely familiar but couldn't remember why. A few minutes later, I got an email from him that said this:

"I could be wrong...but I think I have seen you before. Have you ever eaten at that restaurant across the bridge on the Congaree river? It is right there below the state museum...Can`t remember the name of it. I could swear it was you...If it was you...you were sitting with some guy and I was at the table beside you with a blonde. There weren't many people in there. I was just looking at your picture earlier and it hit me. I can`t believe that! Do you remember me? I kept looking at you. :-) You are very pretty...even prettier than your pictures."

Yes, it was me. And yes that was him.

Creepy coincidence?

Join the movement to change the food industry

Thanks to Always the Big Girl for posting this link below. I think this movie is going to be awesome. I can't wait to watch it. I find it so amazing and true when they said "If we can change the tobacco industry we can change the food industry."

Watch and tell me what ya'll think! Yes, eating healthy can sometimes be more expensive. But what's more important than our health? Let's bring back wholesome America and make a change!

And we interupt this unhappy blog for some good news

Finished Day 2 of Week 7 tonight - another 2 mile run! The final 5-8 minutes were pretty brutal, but the first mile or so was almost - dare I say - easy?? Ok, I won't go that far. But I can definitely run a mile now with no problem. I never thought in a million years I'd be able to say that....

Ok, so most of ya'll say go for the dating already. And don't worry, I'm gonna go slow. But mainly because these boys on these dating sites move SO SLOW! Come on, let's quit the online chit chat...ask for my number already so we can chat on the phone and see if we want to meet up. I'm getting impatient! lol I just need something to look forward to, even if it's not "mr right." I'm ok with that for right now. Some people say I need to wait for a while and take my time. But I don't want to wait any longer. I'm ready to find Mr. Right. I was single for 7 years before I met Mr. P. Sure, I dated off and on, but no one serious. And it was the loneliest 7 years of my life. If it wasn't for my family and friends, I would not have made it. So my point is, I don't want to wait a minute longer to find Mr. Right. Part of my problem is that before I did not put myself out there. I waited around and thought he would come to me. I know now that I have to make an effort. I don't mean spend every minute looking for a man. But I do want to find that person in my life. I'm ready for it. I've never been so ready in my life.

“If there is something to desire,
there will be something to regret.
If there is something to regret,
there will be something to recall.
If there is something to recall,
there was nothing to regret.
If there was nothing to regret,
there was nothing to desire.”
Vera Pavlova

Taking a poll

First, thank you so so so so much for all the comments. Seriously. From the bottom of my heart, ya'll make me feel SO much better. I know we all have gone through this at one time or another. And it's been so rough. Still is. But this blog is like my support group lately, my therapy if you will. And ya'll are all in my class, LOL. Thanks. Really...you have no idea.

So...to my question. Should I go on a date with someone? I've joined a dating network, and I've had a few guys interested. I'm trying to decide if it's too soon. On one hand, I think "what could it hurt? Might take my mind of of Mr. P. Might be a good distraction." On the other hand I think "what if I start bawling right in the middle of our date."

What do ya'll think? I seriously want your opinion. (I've already gotten one vote in the previous post for "yes")

Will I ever be normal again

This post is for me. I've been trying to squelch some stuff lately, and I just really can't seem to do it. SO many other people with bigger problems than mine, who am I to complain or be sad?? But it's still very real to me. And I need this blog sometimes as an outlet to write my feelings down. To "vent" if you will. I hope it will be part of my healing process. A lot of times I write in my blog with others in mind, but today...this is for me. I think I need to write it down, and say to myself, it's OK to be sad. It's OK to cry.

I'm always the strong one of my friends, the one who helps everyone else pick up the pieces. The "go-to" friend when any of my friends needs a shoulder to cry on. But now I'm the one falling apart, and I don't know where to go or what to do. The problem is I don't open up and talk to people much about this. I talk to one or two friends about it, and they've been amazing throughout. But mostly, I've sucked it all in and put on a happy face every day.

The truth is, I'm dealing with something everyone has dealt with before. A good ole-fashion, hurt like crazy, only time can heal, broken heart. And even though I know it's for the best that this relationship end, it still hurts. So.Bad. I miss him so much. I miss us. My mind right now is on repeat, replaying back all the old good memories between us and it stings, each and every one. I remember all the times we laughed together, the special moments just between us. I think the past few weeks a part of me thought we'd work things out. But now that the finality of it has sunk in, all of my hopes are just crashing down.

I've done everything I can to try to pull myself out of this depression, if you will...I'm working out like crazy, eating healthy, sleeping, staying busy, going out with friends, traveling....and yet I've never felt so lonely in my life. Even my amazing California trip...I was so sad. Missing him so much. And it makes me angry too, to know that my trip was tainted like that. So many things I wanted to share with him, and yet I couldn't.

I know that time is the only thing that will get me through this. I know this because I've seen other friends of mine go through it. And they survived. It just took time. I just think I needed to write this post and get it all out there. Admit my feelings to myself.

My mantra everyday has been "God will get me through this." I know it's true. I can feel that this is His plan. It's just hard.

Last week, I made a rash decision and joined E-harm. Only to realize that I can't do this right now. I need time to heal, I think if I went out on a date right now I'd only break into tears halfway through dinner. How would that be for a fun date??

Thanks for listening. Sorry for the debbie downer posts and Tweets lately. It's just my way of coping. I heart you all...especially Little Sister and Jersey Girl. And my friend J. Ya'll have been my rocks!

PS On a positive note, I successfully ran my 25 minutes tonight without stopping...it felt good! Just over 2 miles.

ran 2

Dear lady on the treadmill beside me

I think it's great that you can walk 4.0 mph at a 14.0 incline.

However, half the time you spent hanging on for dear life, gasping for air and jumping off onto the sides because you were falling off. I mean, seriously? If you are endangering yourself, it's probably not smart to walk that fast or that steep.

I don't get these women that try to overdo it. You can injure yourself. But hey, if that's how you wanna roll, then by all means, go for it.

Me, I'll stick to my 5.0 slow jog at a zero incline and pace myself.

I think next time, I should whisper in her ear "wanna race??" Moohaaaaaaaaaaa.

Running away

Not really.

No, this is about actually running...I had to redo Couch to 5K Week 6 because my Cali trip got me all out of wack. So this week I have one more day of training before Week 7 - it's gonna be brutal.

The BEST NEWS is that the scale is moving in the right direction again! I thought for sure I'd be up when I got back from vacation, but unbelievably I was down! I am back to where I had started when I updated my weight tracker above. Hopefully we'll see some serious movement soon. I haven't done much at this year as far as weight loss. But I think the running is really making a difference, finally!

Tomorrow is Friday...here's to the start of a great weekend!

My theme song right now

An oldie but a goodie..(and it was filmed in San Fran)

California...knows how to party...with more pics than you'll know what to do with!

Last week my brother and I headed out West - to Los Angeles and San Fran. It was a much needed trip! (and my first time to California) Was glad to get away and get my mind off of things.

These pictures are not in order, sorry! I started uploading pics and then realized they were uploading from the bottom up. So I started over, and by then it was too late. Grr! But anyways, we actually flew in to LAX and spent 2 days touring LA - besides the usual, we also got to see a taping of the CBS Late Late show with Craig Ferguson and toured Sony Studios. On Friday, we drove up the Pacific Coast to San Fran. (Good Lord that was a long trip, but beautiful scenery!)

Time I woke up to catch my flight:

While driving up the Pacific Coast Highway, there are LOTS of rural areas. Here is a house in the middle of nowhere - with Palm Trees in their front yard. Love it!

Some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen:

Mmm, California strawberries!

The above pic was taken at McWay Waterfall.

Seals sunbathing, have you ever seen anything so cute????

We finally arrived in San Francisco late Friday night and ditched our rental car. Boy this place sure is hilly! I mean seriously. I would be in amazing shape if I had to walk these hills everyday.

While in SF, we took every means of transportation you can think of: subway, bus, cable car, bicycle...whew!

You got it dude!

Lombard - the Crooked Street.

I loved riding the Cable Car - so fun! I REALLY wanted to hang off the side, but didn't get the chance. Next time!

Biking 8 miles to the Golden Gate Bridge and beyond.

The view from the bridge was breathtaking. And we got lucky, it was clear as a bell that day.

We biked to a town called Salsalita and took the ferry back. SO beautiful.

We ended our trip by going to a San Francisco Giants game. Check out the rainbows that popped out in the 8th inning!

Please excuse the way I look here, I was SO tired. I resemble a bag lady. Ha!

The trip to LA was awesome as well. I especially loved Santa Monica Beach! Can you tell???

Dork.

Lifeguard station.

Santa Monica pier...fun place!!!

LA at night - beautiful!

Santa Monica mountains overlook.

Having a milkshake at Mel's Drive in on Sunset Boulevard! To die for.

The Palm Trees lining the streets are amazing. I love our Palmetto Trees here, but these palms are SO tall and just scream "Welcome to California!"

Office fans, recognize this building??

My first stop: Jack in the Box. We also ate at In n Out...yummmmmmmm.

Peace out Cali!

It was an exhausting trip, but SO fun. This is only a 1/4 of the trip. I took almost a thousand pics. Ridiculous huh? So needless to say, I left out a ton of stuff. We saw so many beautiful places. I also was looking for celebs everywhere we went in Hollywood, but no luck. We drove by the famous Ivy restaurant, the Viper Room, Sunset Tan, the Kodak Theatre, shopped at Whole Foods, and much more!

I can't wait to go back...and I'm hitting the California vineyards next time!

Sadness in South Carolina

As a few mentioned in comments, we have a serial killer on the loose. Please say a pray for the victim's families and pray that they find this sicko. How could someone kill a 63 year old peach farmer? A young innocent 15 year old girl? And 3 others who did not deserve to die in such a horrific way.

Such devastation in Upstate South Carolina right now. Thoughts are with you all... <3

Jon & Kate's 4th of July

(Ripped these off of D-listed this morning.) Very glad to see Jon and Kate getting along for the sake of the kids on the 4th of July.

I'm not a big Kate fan, but hopefully she and Jon can start to repair their family while on hiatus from the show.