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I am in shock… yesterday I had close to 3,000 visits to my blog for my Birmingham Bombshell post! As the day went on the numbers just kept going up & up. It was a bigger day than when I announced that I would be on the Rachael Ray Show in January (date still TBD)! It’s all because of CarbLovers (a diet by the editors of Health Magazine), and I am so grateful.
My marathon training has been going well this week despite feeling under the weather because of a stubborn cold. Tonight I have a 40-45 minute speed interval workout planned, then tomorrow is an off day. Even though speed intervals are harder than a regular run, they go by faster b/c you break down the time into specific segments. Vero and I have been doing a lot of short interval work lately (bursts of sprinting at about 90%), but I am going to make the swap over to longer intervals since I am training for a marathon. So basically I will break up the 40 minute workout to include running 1/2 miles at about 80% with a 1/4 mile recovery in between. This will help me to become a faster runner, and I will continue doing this workout once a week until the race.
Today is Thursday, so time for Mike to make his appearance! He is working really hard this week to practice for some big shows he is in this weekend (Montgomery) and next (Birmingham) called A Very Lounge Christmas. These are some of my favorite shows that he does all year! With that being said, he told me to tell you guys that he hasn’t made much progress on the rest of his end-of-year goals... but not to fear, he has a plan! By this time next week, I feel pretty confident that he will get to add another piece of clothing. 
Just for the fun of it, I am posting two more photos from my Birmingham Bombshells shoot. They are below Mike’s weekly bikini picture! (He is such a good sport, I drug him out of bed this morning to take his photos.) It’s all in the name of accountability! Right? 
Weigh-In Wednesday #35: 144.2
Do you know what today is??? It’s BIRMINGHAM BOMBSHELL DAY!!! Who knew that when I posted my first bikini photos that I would look like this only 6 months later? All I have to say is… dang. This may be the only time in my life where being pale was a good thing.
Some of the photos were too racy for my blog, but these are the ones that I can share. (Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge.)
A little Katy Perry, anyone?
It’s a dark & stormy day here in the south, and I kinda like it. Since Vero has been sick I’ve been going to the gym in the evenings to get my workouts in. Last night I did 4.5 on the treadmill and tonight I’m going for 6.5. Wednesday will be a shorter speed interval workout, and Thursday will be a 5 mile run. Friday will be off, then this weekend I will do a 16 mile run & a shorter 4 mile run. I usually build in 2 off days a week, but we got off schedule last week due to Thanksgiving so I am aiming to resume having Mondays & Fridays off again by next week.
My Half Ironman training is set to begin towards the end of December (I believe around Christmas time). Since it will be so cold by then, I will be spending lots of time indoors on my trainer (a stationary holder for my bike) and in the pool… in addition to my running schedule. As weird as it sounds, I am really looking forward to it!!
All of this exercise didn’t come about overnight. I actually took a major hiatus from everything when I first started to lose weight so I could put all of my focus on that. I slowly started to incorporate running again about a month or two into it, and even then I was doing very small amounts. Now that I’ve lost the weight, I can now apply that energy and focus to my sports goals.
I’ve always had a passion for endurance events, especially running. Even at close to 200 pounds, I participated & completed my first Half Ironman earlier this year in New Orleans. I barely made it in under the cut-off time to receive my finishers medal. Now, I am training for the same event again next April and my body is already soooo much faster because of the weight I’ve dropped.
My exercise goals for 2011 are to finish my first marathon in February (I’ve done a handful of half marathons in the past), finish the Half Ironman in New Orleans again in April, and last but not least… finish my first full Ironman in Louisville next August. The full Ironman scares the beegeezees out of me, which makes me want to do it even more!
I read a lot about running & triathlon nutrition in magazines & online, so I am going to pay close attention to my body & its needs as I start my training up. Sonthe Burge (Dietician and Nutritionist extraordinaire) has offered to give me advice too as I need it along the way. THANK YOU Sonthe!!!
I saw my Birmingham Bombshell photos for the first time yesterday, and they are freakin’ fantastic!!!! I go today to pick up a CD with the images as well as to place an order for some prints. So you know what that means… tomorrow I get to share my pics with you guys! They are all in good taste and show less skin than my bikini photos do, so I feel comfortable posting them on my blog. Actually… some were taken specifically for my blog. I’m gonna stop now before I give too much away!
Ahhhhhhhhh, the holiday season. I am sitting upstairs in my sister Christy’s house in Columbus, GA, and I can hear Christmas music & laughter downstairs as they make banana pancakes and scrambled eggs. My little niece Anna is giggling and dancing to the songs. Does it get any better than this?
I am passing on the extra yummy breakfast this morning so I can get my body back on my regular eating plan. I had a bowl of cereal & low-fat milk. But don’t feel sorry for me… I lurve some cereal!!
Last night we all watched Eat, Pray, Love for the first time. While it was very much a chick-flick, it had several moments that made you think & reflect on your own life choices. While we all don’t have thousands of dollars to travel the world for extended periods of time with no strings attached… it does open your eyes to the possibility of living outside of your everyday box. I’m gonna get crucified for saying this, but I am not a fan of Julia Roberts… so it was hard to see past her to the real story a lot of the time.
The 14 mile run that Vero & I did yesterday wiped me out more than I originally realized. After we made it out-of-town to Columbus & ate lunch, I took close to a 3 hour nap. I look forward to the day when going on an extended distance run doesn’t lead to immediate exhaustion. This will come with practice, I’m sure. My body just has to get used to it.
Goooooood news!!! My stomach is getting firmer due to the core strengthening exercises I’ve been doing for the past few weeks. Woohoo!! There is one move that I adore – the plank. I do it three different ways, click here to learn more about this move on LiveStrong.
We will be rolling out of here to head back home in the next few hours. My plans for this afternoon include a nap & writing. Tomorrow morning I promise to give an extended update on my book, plus an excerpt. But before I go for today, I want to leave you with some good news: Looks like they are republishing The CarbLovers Diet book, and I am going to be in it! And… possibly in my bikini! Good times, good times. Will keep you guys posted as I know more. Also tomorrow I get to see & pick out my Birmingham Bombshell photos, and I sooooo excited about it!!!
I KNOW I CAN!
It’s Friday… and I’m feeling a bit emotional. It’s a combination of happiness and overwhelm. It’s been a big week on the job, but it’s also been a big week in my personal life with the birth of my new niece, seeing my “I Did It” article in Health Magazine, and also the Birmingham Bombshells photo shoot. All wonderful, wonderful things! I know I worked really hard for a lot of it to happen, but I also feel very lucky too.
I’ve mentioned before that I wrote & directed a short film in 2006 called “Piece of Cake” that starred Mo Rocca (and one of my dear friends Alison Britt starred & produced). Well last night my friend Rebecca, who works in the Sidewalk Film Festival office, came across an old promotional video clip that featured me at one of my heaviest times in life. I remember being under intense stress & pressure, and then turning to food to soothe my nerves. I still encounter similar moments from time to time, but I’ve now learned how to manage my stress without eating.
Speaking of overwhelming & exciting creative projects, my NaNoWriMo pace is not as quick as I need it to be in order to reach 50,000 words by November 30. In fact, I’m pretty gosh darn behind. It is starting to bother me quite a bit, because finishing this book should be #1 priority. I haven’t give up yet though, but I might need some words of encouragement!!
I will be 142 pounds by December 1st at this rate, which will have me at 50 pounds lost on The CarbLovers Diet! My strength training has also been going really well. I have a routine now that takes me about 10-15 minutes to complete, and I am trying to incorporate it 3-4 times a week after my runs. While doing the Birmingham Bombshells shoot, I was so proud of my shapely & muscular legs that I’ve been working so hard for!
Tonight I am heading to Third Friday in Forest Park with my sister & Mike, then tomorrow night is our huge annual gala at work (hence being so busy for the past few weeks). Vero and I are going to do 12-13 miles on Sunday for our long run as well. Between all of that, I am going to ship myself to a local coffee shop and work on my book. I WILL FINISH!!!
The Birmingham Bombshell photo shoot went really great, despite the fact that I was SO NERVOUS. It took me awhile to get into my groove, but once I had my hair & make-up done my whole persona changed! I felt so glamorous and my body was rockin’ (if I say so myself…). They have the most amazing vintage wardrobe collection to choose from – all sorts of lingerie, dresses, swimsuits & shoes. It was just like playing dress-up, but for big girls. 
I get to see & pick out my photos on the 29th. Once I have them in my possession I will share them with you guys!
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this story before in my blog, but Mike bought the Birmingham Bombshells gift certificate at a silent auction earlier this year before I had lost my weight. All this time it’s been sitting in our house as a reward for when I reached my weight-loss goal of 145. It’s an amazing feeling to have cashed that reward in for all the hard work I did. It’s an important day, indeed.
We got to meet our niece Lily for the first time tonight, and she is such a beautiful little baby. Perfect & healthy in every way. I even managed to take some video!
Post-Bombshell
CONGRATS to Amber & my brother Dave for bringing a healthy, precious new life into this world! My little niece weighs 6 lbs 10 ounces, and I can’t wait to meet her this afternoon!!!!
Can you imagine all the hopes & dreams that they will have for baby Lilianne when she’s all grown up? I think it is important for us to remember that our parents wanted that for us, too. We were all once small little miracles with our whole lives ahead of us. Are you doing everything you can to make it your best?
I am going to do a special second post later on today with more photos & video of baby Lilianne. I also have my Birmingham Bombshells photo shoot this afternoon, so I will share about that as well!
Oh, and I almost forgot… it’s Weigh-In Wednesday: 145.4 (Yay!)
Lilianne is HERE!! Congrats Dave & Amber!
Mike and I are so lucky to have each other, and also very lucky to have such good friends. Yesterday couldn’t have been any better. The weather was perfect! I started the day off with my friends Misty & Courtney by meeting them for brunch at Silvertron (after my 6 mile run with Vero, of course). A few mimosas later, we strolled around Forest Park and I purchased the last few pieces of my Halloween costume. We then headed off to Birmingham Southern’s homecoming football game, where Misty’s boyfriend was one of the coaches for the home team. I finished off my time with them at Rojo (where we had a random turtle sighting) before heading home for our anniversary celebration.
Mike and I had the most AMAZING dinner at Hot and Hot Fish Club last night! My friend Forest was working and ended up being our server, which was double awesome. I let myself have the evening off and ordered whatever I pleased. For an appetizer, Mike and I both had this amazing pasta with truffles (my first time to ever eat them!). It was to DIE for. For our main course I had a shrimp dish served with some sort of beans & seasonal vegetables, and Mike had a really delicious flounder with a tangerine sauce. For dessert we ordered two things – a donut plate & a chocolate plate. OhhhMGee. So good. Forest paired all of our courses with specific wines & champagnes. It couldn’t have been a better way to celebrate our 1 year anniversary!
After dinner, we headed off to David & Vero’s for a pumpkin carving party. Mike and I brought our wedding cake topper to share with everyone, and it tasted almost exactly like it did at our reception… buttercream yumminess!!! This morning I was very relieved to go on a 7 mile run with Vero to help me mentally shake off those extra calories last night. I feel like a million bucks today!
Last October (2009) was a big month in my life. Not only did I get married to the love of my life… I also got laid off from my job. I felt extreme happiness and sadness all at the same time. A lot of you can relate, because being laid off has not been an uncommon thing in the past few years. Even though you know it was something the company/business had to do, you still feel rejected and unwanted deep in your soul. It is hard to repair that. But being laid off turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. Within 2 months I found an even better job with people who I ADORE. It was a big step up in my career. If I hadn’t been laid off, I would have never gotten that opportunity. I also wouldn’t have made the dear friends that I am so lucky to have now. It’s funny how things work out for the best in the end. I’m happy to report that a year later, life has rewarded me for overcoming that obstacle with a positive spirit.
Before I go… I forgot to write about something fun that happened on Friday! I finally went in for my Birmingham Bombshells consultation, and I officially have an appointment for a photo shoot in mid-November. I get to choose three “scenes”… so my thoughts are to do one with a vintage typewriter (for my blog), the second scene will be more sports themed where I will use a vintage bike as a prop, and Mike is going to help me pick out the third scene. He is the one who won me the gift certificate earlier this year before I decided to lose weight. I’ve held on to it all this time as a reward for all of my hard work!
