Muddy Buddy!!!

I know I am behind on my Tombstone posts, but I had so much fun at this race yesterday I had to tell you all about it!

In case you didn't know, I am super active on Twitter (@SuperERizzle) and I follow PopChips (@popchipsSeattle) because not only are they an amazing low point snack, they really appreciate their fans and offer all kinds of fun prizes for following them!  (They sent me a great gift basket with a month's supply of Popchips just for being their 50th follower!  Anyway, a few weeks ago the tweeted looking for people who wanted to participate in the Portland Muddy Buddy and of course I volunteered.

I frantically looked for a buddy for the race since it was only a week prior that I found out about the race.  My awesome friend Kim agreed to do it with me even though she felt like she wasn't "in shape" enough to do it. 

The day before the race we went to pick up our race packets and shirts and decided to stop by the pre-race party since they said there would be free beer!  Even though we only had a half  hour left on the parking meter, we hauled ass and got back to the car only 12 minutes past our time with NO ticket!  (For the record, I am not a beer person, but Redhook's Mud Slinger is AWESOME!  It made me nervous because it was so dark, but it wasn't bitter and had a great honey taste to it!)

The morning of the race I had to get up at 5, which I did not like.  And it was freeeeeeeeeezing which I also did not like!  It was a day FULL of things I don't like because I do NOT like mud either!



Kim and I all bundled up before the race.  Please note the fog and frost.

 

We are two Bad Ass Bitches!!


The premise of the Muddy Buddy is simple.  Two people, one bike, 6 miles, 3 obstacles, and one HUGE mud pit!



The mud pit before the race started.  They told us it was heated....they lied.

When the race starts one buddy is on the bike and the other is on foot, when you reach the obstacle you swap so that the other buddy is now running and the other is biking.  This back and forth happens 3 times until the end where you meet up and go through the mud pit together.  I ended up running 3 legs and biking 2 and Kim biked 3 legs and ran 2. 

It was HARD.  I thought I was in shape and that I could totally handle running 3 little miles.  I was wrong.  These weren't just any miles, they were 3 miles up hill on a rocky path in the middle of the woods.  I thought that the biking would be even easier but it was even worse!  The hills were so steep and rocky that I walked the bike more than I rode it.  I was terrified of the downhill and falling flat on my face.  I walked most of my running portions too since the path was so hazardous and I was pooped. 

I wanted to give up about 100 times but I was in the middle of the woods in the middle of no where so there was no where to go except to the finish line.

Speaking of finish line....

We are in the two in pink.  (Love the chick in front feeling herself up though!)



We hesitated for a minute. 



 It was super cold and super gross in that mud pit, but I have to say it really was the best part of the whole experience!

Well, almost the best part...

MORE FREE BEER!!!

Nothing like being covered in mud and drinking beer at 10 AM on a Sunday!!

After the race, we hosed off, enjoyed our free beers (Yes, we got more than one free beer!), changed into some clean  dry clothes,  and headed off to get lunch.  (I was starving and once again, didn't eat breakfast like I know I should.)  When I got home I got in the shower and spent the next hour scrubbing mud out of places that one should NOT have mud! 

Overall, I had a fantastic time and I learned several important lessons.

1. Eat breakfast before doing a race.
2. Being skinny does NOT equal being "in shape".
3. Jalapeno poppers are the perfect after race food.
4. My husband really is willing to do anything for me!  (He has a terrible cold and still got up early and braved the cold to cheer me on!)
5. Not all dark beers are created equal!

The rest of my Tombstone posts are coming soon....I promise!!

Tombstone #2: "I'm not built for running!"

I am not built for running! 


This was always my classic excuse for not working out.  I wasn't built for it.  My boobs were too big.  I was a big boned person.  I have shin splints. 

In the course of my weightloss journey the last few years I realized that each and every one of these sentences were not true and were just lies I told myself so I wouldn't have to actually get sweaty. 

Don't get me wrong.  I still hate working out.  I don't like to run and getting all sweaty is still really gross.  However, I get off my ass and I do it.  Granted, it is sporadic and not a consistent or dedicated as it should be, but I still DO IT! 

I bought a treadmill, and I found different ways to get exercise in without having to buy a gym membership.  I got Just Dance for the Wii and the first time I did it I could do two songs in a row before I melted into a pile on  my floor.  (Last night, I did 8 songs and felt like I could have done more.)  I play Wii Fit, and it is so nice to finally not hear that little bastard say "You're Obese!" any more.  I bought a pink Schwinn bike that I take to the grocery store when I need some small ingredients or want to splurge on something I don't keep in the house. 

I have done Portland to Coast 4 years in a row.  I ran most of the Starlight Run in June.  I am doing the Muddy Buddy on Sunday. 

In all my running/walking I have yet to have a bout of shin splints.  I doubled up on sports bras to stop the jiggling (and as I got smaller, there was less to jiggle...a LOT less!).  And it wasn't my bones that were big, it was the thick layer of blubber over my bones that made me look fat!

By making this tombstone, I am not saying that suddenly I will be an exercise freak and that I will live for working out.  Not going to happen!  I still don't like it.  And I don't HAVE to like it, but I do HAVE to do it.  Not every day, but every week. 

This tombstone is more about stopping the lies and excuses for not doing what I know I should.  I would rather be honest. 

So, here's to being honest! 

This was the desktop on my computer for over a year.  

 

 

Tombstone #1: Being Fake

Being Fake. 


This one is a big one for me and that is why I gave it the #1 spot on my list. 

I had a major revelation the other day while lying in bed and this whole tombstone was perfect timing.  I had just finished watching "Grown Ups" and was thinking to myself how much I wish I had a large group of coupled up friends just like in the movie.  (A future tombstone for me will be to stop trying to live my life like in the movies...but not yet...)  I got really sad about how small my social circle is and how hard I have tried to have lots of close friends in my life. 

I started thinking about my past and how I got to where I am today.  I started thinking about all the failed relationships in my past.  All the friendships that have fizzled out over a short period of time.   All the people i am in contact with on a daily basis but have no actual or real relationship with.  I noticed a common theme.  ME.

I kept thinking to myself, "Why don't people like me?  I try so hard to get people to like me, I don't understand why it isn't working!"


Then it hit me.  I am trying too hard!


I spend all kinds of time trying to act like someone who I am not so that people like me. I put on this facade and parade around to get attention, thinking that this behavior will get people to think I am awesome and want to have a relationship with me.  I have been doing this my whole life.  And until recently, I had no idea it wasn't working! 

I don't want to be like that anymore.  I want to be myself.  I like myself.  For the first time in a LONG time, I actually like myself.  I think I am amazing.  I am funny, smart, witty, and entertaining.  I am pretty much awesome in every way. 

So, here's the deal.  No more Miss Fakey-pants.  No more giggling like I don't understand the joke.  No more feigning interest in what people are talking about.  No more biting my tongue.  No more acting like an angel.  No more pretending.  No more hiding.  No more caring what people think.  No more following trends to fit in.  No more dwelling over shoulda/coulda/woulda's.  No more editing my status updates.  No more checking to see how many Facebook friends I have.  No more stressing about the friends I don't have.  NO MORE BEING SOMEONE I AM NOT!

From now on I will be the person I want to be.  The person I really like. 

I am a bitch.  I like to make rude jokes.  I love pink and glitter.  I love being girly and feminine.  I love sarcasm.  I don't like to act my age.  I am an attention whore.  I like to laugh, really loudly. I am narcissistic.  I think farts are funny.  I don't act my age.  I like being silly.  I tend to be annoying.  I like to use curse words as often as possible.  I am selfish.  I like to wear t-shirts with cartoon characters on them.   I talk to much.  I like to wear sock that don't match.  I like to spend Sundays in bed watching romantic comedies. 

If people don't like any of this, they can beat it.  Honestly.  They can just go.  I don't need them around.  If they can't appreciate how completely awesome I am, than I don't need them around dragging me down!  I don't need to waste my time and effort trying to impress someone who already thinks I am annoying.  (To be honest, I would rather know ahead of time that they find me annoying so I can be even more annoying for the fun of it.)

I know that I am an amazing person, and I know that I will find people who share this feeling and want to be around me.  And, frankly, if I don't, that's fine too.  I am a laugh a minute and can entertain myself with my constant stream of jokes. 

My Tombstones!

First off, sorry for not posting for over a month!  Not that any one really missed me, but that isn't the point.  I do have some exciting things coming up in the next few months so maybe I will have some blogs up my sleeve.  So stayed tuned for the Muddy Buddy blog, the Pumpkin hunting/carving blog, and in late December the Disney blog!

And don't worry, this post will make up for lacking entries by stretching out one topic to FIVE posts!

A few weeks ago my wonderful WW Lifetime friend Trixie, who lives in New York and is awesome, posted a blog about her "Tombstones".  (Read about them here, and while you are there read about how how awesome Trixie is and how she lost 100 lbs on WW!)

In case you are incredibly lazy and don't feel like clicking the link, basically, Trixie came up with the idea of creating tombstones for Halloween for each of the habits/excuses we want to get rid of and bury for good in 2010.  She picked some great ones for herself, took a picture of them and posted them on her blog.  She asked that her readers do the same and she will post them on her blog too.  Since I am a major attention whore and have an overwhelming need to get my face out to the world, and I love taking pictures of myself,  I decided to participate in her challenge.

What did I get rid of in 2010 that I never want to see again?  My first reaction was silly stuff like my double chin, and diabetes.Yea, sure, I never ever in a million bazillion years see that awful double chin's ugly face again, and I totally kicked Diabetes ass this year, but I think she was looking for something a bit more deep and profound.


So I thought a little harder and I came up with five really good tombstones for 2010.  I plan to talk about each one individually throughout this week in detail.

So here they are...in no particular order...My Tombstones!

1. Being Fake
2. "I'm not built for running."
3. Buying Friends
4. "It needs CHEESE!"
5. "I'm not a breakfast person."

Okay, I know I said I was aiming for "deep and profound" but those are just the titles. I promise, the meaning behind the silly titles is really thoughtful!  Don't get all judgemental-pants quite yet! (Wait until I explain myself, then you can shake your finger at me.)

Okay, off to finish dinner for the man!  (Did I mention we had our 4th wedding anniversary last week?)

Smooches!!

Wow, that's a lot of shit to be carrying around!!

I have seen in other blogs that I follow where they show the contents of thier purse.  I cleaned out all the random reciepts at the bottom of mine today, and thought, "What the hell?  Why not!"

• My purse:  Cream leather, pink interior, and my favorite of all my Coach bags!
• Hanging from the strap is my Coach Breast Cancer Awareness keychain, and an Eiffel Tower keychain that I got at Juicy.
• Large Coach wallet
• Coach change purse (notice a theme here?)
• Coach pill case
• Coach Sunglasses
• 3 MAC lipsticks
• 2 Lipgloss, and 2 chapsticks
• Small lighter
• Victoria Secret perfume
• 9 handi wipes from various restaurants
• Benedryl cream (I have no clue why this is in there or for how long)
• MAC Studio Fix powder
• 4 bracelets
• safety pin
• Hair clip
• Pen
• Key chain with a bunch of crap on it but most importantly my mailbox key
• My WW keychain and tracker
• 3 cough drops
• Orange Tootsie Pop
• Ipod Touch
• GPS
• The funniest coaster I have ever seen in my life!  (In my head, when I see a camel, I think camel toe...I can't help it)
• Work ID badge
• Nail file
• Cold pills
• Gum
• silly plastic blinky earings I got as a gag gift for my birthday
• Not pictured but always in my purse:  Cell phone and Camera

Portland to Coast: Part 2 - Pictures of previous years

Yesterday my picture from PTC came in the mail and it makes me so happy I cannot even begin to explain!  I put it with my pictures from previous years on my entertainment center for all to see!  I am even keeping my old pictures out with it instead of shoving them into a drawer some where pretending that I didn't used to be a big ole fatty.  I like showing off my progression pictures and I am extremely proud of them! 
(There are 4 medals and 3 pictures.  I did not purchase a picture in 2007 for an reason I cannot remember at this time, but I totally wish I had!)

2008               2009                   2010

I can't stop staring at them!! 

2008 - Roughly 200lbs give or take

2009 - Roughly 175 lbs

2010 - 145 lbs

AMAZING!!!!!!

Please scroll up a few more times to stare at them some more....I can wait.....





Okay, enough staring....

So in case you are wondering what that pink band is you see in front of my pictures, it is what we use at the exchange points to designate the walker for our team.

 

Since I was the final walker and crossed the finish line, I got to keep the bracelet this year.  I love that it is pink and the 20th anniversary bracelet!   

Why do I keep calling it a bracelet?  Oh, easy.....(flash back to the late 80's early 80's)

IT IS A SLAP BRACELET!!!!!   Remember those??  They were all the rage until some crazy mom's said that they were a health hazard because you could sever an artery out of the metal they were made out of if you pulled off the plastic/fabric cover, or something shitty like that.  I remember my mom raided my bedroom and threw all of mine away the second she saw that on the news. 

Okay, back to the point.  When you walk you wear the bracelet, when you get to the exchange point you pass on the bracelet to the next walker in line.  Like the baton they use for track events, but easier to walk 6 miles carrying.  Get it?

As seen here in action from 2009

Now that the muscle pain and tiredness are gone, the only thing left to report from my weekend is the final number of pounds I lost or gained this year.  In previous years I lost roughly 6 pounds, but I had a lot more to lose then and I don't expect that to happen this year AT ALL!!  I don't count my WI on the Monday after the race because my muscles are so sore and retaining so much water that it isn't even close to accurate!  For example:  I left for the weekend weighing 146 lbs, the scale on Monday said 149.3, and today it said 147.2.  I never weigh myself daily, but that 149 number freaked me out a little so I have been peeking to make sure the numbers are going down.  It has also helped me feel less like a big chubbo!  I won't be looking any more this week as the numbers are back to an acceptable range and I can be patient until Monday with the way things stand right now. 

The Mother of All Relays: Portland to Coast

This past weekend after much anticipation and drama, I got to do Portland to Coast for the 4th year in a row!  It is my favorite weekend of the year by far and I am so happy that I was able to participate this year because for a while it didn't look like I would be able to. 

For those who don't know, Portland to Coast is a 127 mile walk relay race from downtown Portland to Seaside, Oregon.  (You can find more information about it, and the other race that goes on at the same time but a longer distance and for runners, Hood to Coast: HERE.)  Basically, you fill a van with 8-12 people and you walk, one at at time to the beach.  The coarse is divided into legs of various length and difficulty.  Each person takes a turn in sequence and walks a leg.  (We were a 10 person team, so 6 people did 2 legs, and 4 people did 3 legs.  I was lucky and got to do 3!)  Start times are staggered based on fitness level and estimated finish time.  (So the slower teams start first and the faster teams start later.  There were 102 walking teams this year.)

My weekend began on Thursday after work.  I had to take home a Freightliner Sprinter van that I borrowed for work.  This van is 20.5 feet long, which is whole lot bigger than my Honda Fit, and made for some interesting driving!!  When I got home it was time to start packing and get the van decorated.  My friend C who was also on my team this year (and a PTC virgin) came over to help.  We packed, and double checked our bags to make sure we had everything, then carb loaded with PB&J sammies while watching a movie.  We finally crashed on the couch at 12:30 and got a full 2 hours sleep before the alarm went off at 2:30 AM.  We brushed our teeth, grabbed our bags and headed out the door.  C got the first shift driving the van and she wasn't too excited about it!  It is a BIG van!!

We got to where we were meeting our team, packed the van and headed off to the starting line. 

At promptly 5:15 AM the whistle blew and we were off!!

Now, the fun really begins!  The van follows the course along and stops to meet the walker on the side of the road to make sure they are safe and to bring them water and moral support. 

Until it was my turn to walk, I had a lot of fun cheering my team on.  My Sissy was on my team this year and it was her first year as well as C's.  I also had a returning walker J on my team too.  (I didn't know any of the other people on my team so they will be left out of the story.  Sorry.)  I was pretty jacked up on 5 Hour Energy drinks due to lack of sleep so silly things started happening involving self portraits.

Hey there!

At about noon it was time for my first walk.  (Yea, noon....which means that in 29 hours I had slept for a blissful 2 hours.)  It was a nice and short "Easy" leg that I knocked out in under 45 minutes for a 13 min mile average.

Now, an important tradition at PTC (and HTC) is counting Roadkills.  Not the dead animals you see on the side of the road (which you see plenty of).  Roadkills are other walkers that you pass during your leg.  You keep track of them with hash marks on the side of your van for bragging rights.  Being 'killed' is a bad thing.  However, making 'kills' is a great motivator!  I spot a person in the distance and aim to 'kill'.  It makes the walk time go by faster and gives you something to focus on and challenge yourself.  My first leg I got 8 kills.

If you look closely on the left of the picture you can seen an elbow belonging to a woman in pink?

I had her in my sights during the last mile and finally got her.  Just as we hit the exchange point she sped up and tried to kill me, but I sped up and made the exchange before her!  (My team mate is the one in white with the backpack on. The pink bracelet is what designates the teams 'walker' and is what we exchange at the beginning of each leg.)
 
The next leg belonged to Sissy:

Yep, those are her legs!  HA!  Pretty nice, huh?  (She has lost over 50lbs on WeightWatchers and is fricken awesome!!)

Here she is at the end of her fist leg just after her exchange with J. 

Sissy is in grey, J is in blue.

She was really nervous about the walk and didn't think she would be able to do it, but she totally rocked it and I was so proud of her I made this face:

 
So, when you do PTC you live in the van for 30 hours with 10 other people.  You eat and sleep in the van and frequent the Port-o-pottys placed at each exchange stop.  (Which is awesome.  Nothing like sharing a toilet that is baking in the summer sun with hundreds of sweaty people...especially people jacked up on high fiber, high carb diets...think about it for a second....are you picking up what I am putting down here?  Don't make me spell it out for you....)

J grabbing a bagel in the back of the van!

At about this point, things start to get really silly....

I have no idea who this guy is...or why he was dressed like a monkey...

The walking continues throughout the day and the sun starts to set...

All the vans waiting to pick up their walkers at an exchange point

And things get even sillier...

I am so sexy!!

After the sun sets, the walking gets harder as we are all tired and starting our second legs.  Night walking is pretty dangerous so we all wear reflective vests, headlamps, and blinking lights on the front and back.  We carry flashlights as well too.  A local motorcycle group drives up and down the route making sure people are safe and the vans go extra slow and double check their walkers haven't been attacked by badgers or cougars.
 
My second leg began around 1 AM.  For those keeping track, it would be a grand total of 2.5 hours sleep (I got a nap in) within a 42 hour period. 
 
What?  You don't trust my math?  How could it be 42 hours, you say?  Well, lets to the math:
Thursday, I get up at 7 AM, I work a full day and go to sleep at 12:30.  I wake up at 2 AM on Friday morning, catch a half hour nap sometime during the day.  So at 1 AM on Saturday it is 42 total hours since my head was on a pillow getting a full nights sleep.  Got it?  Good!  Let's move on.
 
I have done this leg all four times I participated in PTC and I lovingly call it "My Everest". 
 

This time around it was the best walk of all time!  The first 2 miles I struggled and had a pace of about a 15 minute mile.  The next two were not much better.  When I hit the crest of the hill and could feel the back of my ass start to burn from the new angle, it happened.  I got my first ever "Walker's High"!!  I didnt' think it was possible or that it even existed, but it happened!  I could feel all the muscles in my body working together.  Everything went into sync, and my pace increased to a 12 minute mile.  It was glorious!!  I got 3 'kills' going up hill and 3 going down.  One of the 'kills' was a guy that 'killed' me on the way up hill!  At the end of my leg, I hit the exchange point hard, and kept walking!  I didn't want to stop!  My team captain chased after me and I said "Nope, I gotta keep walking while I can, this is too good of a feeling to stop!"  I don't know how much more I walked, but eventually I started to slow myself down so I could stretch and get back into the van.  I changed out of my sweaty clothes, curled up in a seat, and got a blissful 3 hours of sleep with interruptions roughly every half hour.  But it didn't matter, everything was still feeling perfect after the walk I had just finished.  But then, the feeling started to wear off, and the pain started to kick in...and it occurred to me that I had a blister....so I took off my shoe and found this...
 

A beautiful and painful blood blister on my heel!!

I still had one leg left to do, so I did the best I could padding it with bandages and put my shoes back on.

The sun came up to a new day which meant our race was coming to an end soon. 

My girls: J, C and Sissy gabbing in the van

My last leg was also the very last leg of the race!  I was so honored to get to bring our team in for the finale! (In a previous year, I got to start the race.)
 
 

I decided to take my camera a long to capture some of the scenery coming into the finish! 

The first section was on a gravel road in the woods!

I make this look good!! 
(My visor did a great job of keeping the sun out of my face, but I got a nice sunburn on the top of my head at my part line!  Oops!)

See that white speck?  Yea, that bitch was 'Roadkill'!!

I had to put the camera away for the final few miles of the race as I was really in a groove and had a good pace going.  (About a 12.5 minute mile)  I had to stop part way to help an old man who fell in his driveway while washing his car get back up again, but the good karma was worth the extra 3 minutes on my walk time!
 
I made it to the finish like which was right on the beach to meet my team and walk across together!  The whole crowd cheers, we get beautiful medal, and a team picture taken, then we are free to relax in the sand!! It is a full on party at the beach!  They have a big stage with bands playing, a beer garden thanks to Widmer Brothers Brewery, and food vendors.
 

In case you aren't up to speed with your American history, Seaside is where the Lewis and Clark Expedition ended! 

 

Sissy ran off with her boyfriend, and J left with her husband so C and I grabbed some greasy junk food and chowed down!

C had a cheeseburger, I had chicken yakisoba

After our meal, we hit the sand for a nap.  And I attempted to take a picture of myself with my medal.

I wasn't successful....at all...

After a lovely hour of sandy rest, C and I headed back to the van to meet the team and head home.  But wait...who is that I see?  Could it be?  OMG it IS!!

AMY ROLOFF!!!!

Wow, that totally made my weekend perfect!  I didn't talk to her or anything as her camera crew was with her and she looked pretty focused on what ever it is they were doing.  But, WOW!!!
 
After seeing Amy, we stopped for an ice cream and I ate a waffle cone with one scoop of double fudge brownie and it was amazing!  (I can't tell you the last time I ate real, full fat, ice cream!!)
 
We loaded into the van in total silence and all fell asleep (except the person driving, but he had to swap half way home).  We cleaned out the van and went our separate ways!  I got home around 5 on Saturday, showered, loaded all my pictures onto Facebook, crawled into bed and slept until Monday.  (Totally not joking...I really did!)
 
And, that my friends, is the end of my adventure! 
 
Oh wait...one more thing....remember that blister?

IT GOT BIGGER!!!

Recipe: Salsa Chicken

So I heard lots of talk on the WW boards about something called Salsa Chicken and I thought I would give it a try. I love love love anything that goes in the Crock pot and even more than that I love love love Mexican food. So, I decided to try it out and do my first ever recipe blog!! This was so amazingly good and even easier to make! (Also, it is so fun to photograph while cooking!!)

Step 1: Assemble your ingredients! (I doubled the recipe because I always freeze leftovers for later. Cooking in bulk is always easier for me in the long run!) (I made some changes to the actual recipe I got from the boards because as you can see, I only had half a jar of salsa and I used a massive amount of chicken.)

• 2 lbs of FROZEN chicken breast (4 breasts)
• Can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• Can of green chilies
• Can of diced tomatoes
• Jarred salsa
• Cumin, to taste (not pictured)
• Frozen corn, half a large bag (not pictured)

Step 2: Throw all the ingredients in the pot! (Yes, the chicken is supposed to be frozen! Trust me on this one!)


Step 3: Turn the pot on 'Low' and go away.

Step 4: Come back 8 - 10 hours later. (I walked into my house and was knocked over by how great my house smelled!!)



Step 5: Shred the hell out of the chicken. This was a little tricky but really you just grab two forks and go to town. The meat is really tender so it shreds really well.




Step 6: Throw it in a tortilla with your choice of fixings and enjoy! (I used RF shredded Mexican cheese and FF sour cream, but if I had any sliced avocado that would have been amazing!)




This recipe made 8 servings of three large tacos. I put a large amount in my freezer which I am super excited about! I put them into packages of two servings each for the man and I to enjoy later. (Speaking of the man, he LOVED this dinner!!)


How awesome is my freezer?? Let me tell you, it is money well spent! I bought it off Craigslist 3 years ago for $50. We keep it in the garage and I go into it daily. I could dedicate an entire blog post about how I organize my freezer and pantry. I have it down to a science, almost to the point of crazy-pants-super-OCD but not quite!

I hope you try this recipe and love it as much as I do!!