This has been a fabulous week. On Sunday I completed my 14th half marathon this year. It was the Heels and Hills and Him in Irving, Texas. It was by far one of my favorites this year. They had long sleeve tech shirts with a nice big picture unlike Santa Rosa. Colorful medals unlike Andy Payne and even worse Okojiboji which did not even give out medals to the Half Marathon finishers. You can really tell when women are in charge of a race verses men everything is better and more planned out. They had water and gatorade at every aid station and plenty of it unlike the Hottest Half which ran out completely, Okojiboji, and Andy Payne. I got to the race start at 5:30 just as they began to set up. I was glad not to be the only one there. I was going to go 7 miles before the race started at 7:30, so I could get my last long run of 20 miles in before the Chicago Marathon on 10/10/10. The 7 miles in the dark went fast and uneventful. I thought I had plenty of time to use the rest room and get a drink when I got back. The race ended up starting 4 minutes early, so I skipped the drink which ended up being not the best idea. I was overly thirsty by the time I got to the first aid station. I love that course. It was my 3rd race there this year, I like to know just how much farther it is until it is time to turn around and go back and then I especially like it being shorter than going out. My time was nothing to write home about about 3 hours and 20 minutes but considering it ended up being over 20 miles I was happy. Chicago is only 2 weeks away and I feel great. I did 9 miles today and was not sore at all.
Yesterday at TOPS I was only a 1/4 pound from my goal of 131 pounds. I am still smiling from ear to ear. :)
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
My Marvelous Monday Interview
1. Introduce yourself: ie, first name, married +family life, profession
Lauran Crawford age 45, Married to Chris (a hard core runner he has done 91 marathons and run over 67,000 miles since I've known him and we are still married) for 21 years, 3 Children Ellen-19 dropped out of college and is currently working on a cruise ship in Maine, Will-15 Sophmore in HS Swimmer and in the Culinary magnet, Ben-almost 11 in 6th Grade loves soccer and literature. I am a stay at home mom and I sell stuff on eBay so we can travel to Hawaii during the Summer.
2. Can you give a brief history of your running life? When you started etc, and why?
First of all I don't think I have ever really run I mostly at best jog and it is practically a slog. Started running in HS in Duncan, OK the guy that lived across the street was a runner and he had a great body and I had always been a little chunky so I tried it I immediately hurt my right knee which has been giving me fits ever since. I took it back up my freshman year in college in Abilene, TX to lose the freshman 20, again my knee hurt and I quit, I moved to Fullerton, California and started running more, when I met Chris just before Junior year at CSUF he had just done the San Francisco Marathon and at that point I had never even heard of a marathon or met anyone that had actually done one, so I started jogging more. We moved to Santa Barbara (actually Isla Vista) in 1987, which in my opinion is the best, most beautiful, perfect place to run it is heaven, I guess my 1st race ever was the Lompoc Half Marathon in 1988. I was so proud of that medal (I still have it). After we got married in 1989 we moved to New Jersey and I ran and walked off and on, Ellen was born in 1991, still ran off and on, Moved to Hawaii in 1993 and ran off and on, Will was born in 1995 and shockingly after he was born the weight did not just come off after a year I still weighed 163 so I joined TOPS (Take of Pounds Sensibly) and started walking & jogging, I lost 39 pounds, although I didn't know it then I was too thin, I did the Honolulu Marathon in 1996 & 1997 and I aslo did the Windward Half Marathon, KoleKole Pass Half Marathon, the Great Aloha Run a number of times and many shorter races. We were very active members of the road runners club there. I think I would have just stayed thin and fit in Hawaii because like Isla Vista it was perfect. We moved to Dallas, TX in 1998, one of the hottest summers on record, I tried to get out but felt like I was frying I gradually was gaining back all the weight I had lost. Then I got pregnant and had Ben in Sept. 1999 and like Will the weight did not just come off after a year I still weighed 170 so I joined TOPS again and started walking & jogging, I lost 34 pounds, I did the Anchorage Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon in 2001 and the Myrtle Beach Marathon in 2002, which was slow and painful and I was not very commited. I guess I had a lot going on with my children and did not do enough for myself mostly because I really hate living in Dallas, because I stopped running and walking as much and gained all the weight plus more back. In April 2008, I weighed my all time high of 196 and I wasn't even pregnant. It took me awhile to find myself again. At 191 pounds I rejoined TOPS in January 2009, but only lost 8 pounds in a year. In December Chris asked me if I would like to do leg of the White Rock Marathon, only 4 miles. I was in such bad shape that I honestly thought I was going to die. Then he got the big idea to do a marathon month for 2010 and that maybe if I trained I could do the half marathons and it would give us some quality together time. I started training, eating right I follow a book called "the sugar solution", and as of today I have done 13 half marathons this year alone and have lost 62 1/4 pounds. I FEEL GREAT! Most days my knee and ankle don't hurt and when they do I listen and instead of pounding the pavement I go to the gym and do the elliptical. Plus I have a great chiropractor now. Listen to your body.
3. How many races have you done this year?
This year I have done 13 half marathons: Mississippi Blues, Jackson, MS; Waco Miracle Match, Waco, TX; Mardi Gras, New Orleans, LA; Lucky Trails, Seabrook, TX; Hogeye, Jacksonville, AR; Hills & Heels, Irving, TX; Andy Payne, Oklahoma City, OK; Wounded Warrior, Los Colinas, TX; Niagara, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada; University of Okoboji, Okoboji, IA; Fitness for America Sports Festival, Hoffman Estates, IL (where I met Michel & Tammy); The Hottest Half, Dallas, TX; Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa, CA
I have also done a couple of 5K's but the Half Marathon is my favorite distance.
4. What was your last big race?
Last big race was The Santa Rosa Half Marathon in Santa Rosa, CA on August 29th. It was perfect. I started early because I needed 16 miles for my training for Chicago and we were going to have lunch with my brother in law in San Francisco. The race finally caught up to me at about mile 3-4, at mile 6 when we were suposed to turn I continued to straight to add in my extra 3 miles, the caught up with exactly where I should have been if I had started at the start. I jogged and walked 1 minute intervals the whole way. I felt great. The weather was perfect. My time was my best this year. Yea!
5. What advice can you give others who might not know where to start?
Well my advice to me would be don't listen to your husband he's crazy. The internet is a great place, there are a lot of great training schedules - I actually love Jeff Galloway and if you google him there is so much information on his run/walk training methods. Get a good watch I have a Garmin 205 and Love It, if I get lost it always gets me back to start. I also like to alternate between several pairs of shoes. Mostly start slow, but have a plan such as picking a race to do and paying for it immediately so you don't back out.
6. What was your best race?
My best race recently time wise would have to be Santa Rosa, but my overall favorite races ever would be a 3 way tie between the KoleKole Pass Half Marathon, The Honolulu Marathon, and The Midnight Sun Marathon.
7. How has running affected your life in general?
I think running keeps me sane. I always feel better when I do it and can't figure out why I stopped so many times. I love the way I look now and now that I am older and hopefully wiser, I hope to keep it up as long as my body will let me.
8. What advice can you give a newbie runner?
My advice would be walk before you run, if you need to weight lose some weight before you start jogging because the more you weigh the more damage it does to your body, mostly listen to your body and if your like me and injure something go immediately to a chiropractor. They are awesome.
9. Running gear you can't live without?
Gear I can't live without would be my Garmin watch, Asics running shoes, my fuel belt on hot days here in Texas, my amphipod belt for races and not so hot days, my phone that also is my mp3 player and on race days Avril Lavigne singing "Alice" from Alice in Wonderland over and over and over and over again in my head.
Tripping out
Spinning around
I'm underground, I fell down
yeah, I fell down
I'm freaking out
Where am I now?
Upside down
And I can't stop it now
You can't stop me now
I, I'll get by
I, I'll survive
When the world's crashing down
When I fall and hit the ground
I will turn myself around
Don't you try to stop it
I, I won't cry
I found myself in Wonderland
Get back on my feet again
Is this real?
Is it pretend?
I'll take a stand until the end
I, I'll get by
I, I'll survive
When the world's crashing down
When I fall and hit the ground
I will turn myself around
Don't you try to stop me
I, I won't cry
I, I'll get by
I, I'll survive
When the world's crashing down
When I fall and hit the ground
I will turn myself around
Don't you try to stop me
I, and I won't cry
10. What are your plans for your training future?
I am currently training for the Chicago Marathon on 10/10/10 after that I am not sure but maybe Hawaii in December!
Lauran Crawford age 45, Married to Chris (a hard core runner he has done 91 marathons and run over 67,000 miles since I've known him and we are still married) for 21 years, 3 Children Ellen-19 dropped out of college and is currently working on a cruise ship in Maine, Will-15 Sophmore in HS Swimmer and in the Culinary magnet, Ben-almost 11 in 6th Grade loves soccer and literature. I am a stay at home mom and I sell stuff on eBay so we can travel to Hawaii during the Summer.
2. Can you give a brief history of your running life? When you started etc, and why?
First of all I don't think I have ever really run I mostly at best jog and it is practically a slog. Started running in HS in Duncan, OK the guy that lived across the street was a runner and he had a great body and I had always been a little chunky so I tried it I immediately hurt my right knee which has been giving me fits ever since. I took it back up my freshman year in college in Abilene, TX to lose the freshman 20, again my knee hurt and I quit, I moved to Fullerton, California and started running more, when I met Chris just before Junior year at CSUF he had just done the San Francisco Marathon and at that point I had never even heard of a marathon or met anyone that had actually done one, so I started jogging more. We moved to Santa Barbara (actually Isla Vista) in 1987, which in my opinion is the best, most beautiful, perfect place to run it is heaven, I guess my 1st race ever was the Lompoc Half Marathon in 1988. I was so proud of that medal (I still have it). After we got married in 1989 we moved to New Jersey and I ran and walked off and on, Ellen was born in 1991, still ran off and on, Moved to Hawaii in 1993 and ran off and on, Will was born in 1995 and shockingly after he was born the weight did not just come off after a year I still weighed 163 so I joined TOPS (Take of Pounds Sensibly) and started walking & jogging, I lost 39 pounds, although I didn't know it then I was too thin, I did the Honolulu Marathon in 1996 & 1997 and I aslo did the Windward Half Marathon, KoleKole Pass Half Marathon, the Great Aloha Run a number of times and many shorter races. We were very active members of the road runners club there. I think I would have just stayed thin and fit in Hawaii because like Isla Vista it was perfect. We moved to Dallas, TX in 1998, one of the hottest summers on record, I tried to get out but felt like I was frying I gradually was gaining back all the weight I had lost. Then I got pregnant and had Ben in Sept. 1999 and like Will the weight did not just come off after a year I still weighed 170 so I joined TOPS again and started walking & jogging, I lost 34 pounds, I did the Anchorage Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon in 2001 and the Myrtle Beach Marathon in 2002, which was slow and painful and I was not very commited. I guess I had a lot going on with my children and did not do enough for myself mostly because I really hate living in Dallas, because I stopped running and walking as much and gained all the weight plus more back. In April 2008, I weighed my all time high of 196 and I wasn't even pregnant. It took me awhile to find myself again. At 191 pounds I rejoined TOPS in January 2009, but only lost 8 pounds in a year. In December Chris asked me if I would like to do leg of the White Rock Marathon, only 4 miles. I was in such bad shape that I honestly thought I was going to die. Then he got the big idea to do a marathon month for 2010 and that maybe if I trained I could do the half marathons and it would give us some quality together time. I started training, eating right I follow a book called "the sugar solution", and as of today I have done 13 half marathons this year alone and have lost 62 1/4 pounds. I FEEL GREAT! Most days my knee and ankle don't hurt and when they do I listen and instead of pounding the pavement I go to the gym and do the elliptical. Plus I have a great chiropractor now. Listen to your body.
3. How many races have you done this year?
This year I have done 13 half marathons: Mississippi Blues, Jackson, MS; Waco Miracle Match, Waco, TX; Mardi Gras, New Orleans, LA; Lucky Trails, Seabrook, TX; Hogeye, Jacksonville, AR; Hills & Heels, Irving, TX; Andy Payne, Oklahoma City, OK; Wounded Warrior, Los Colinas, TX; Niagara, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada; University of Okoboji, Okoboji, IA; Fitness for America Sports Festival, Hoffman Estates, IL (where I met Michel & Tammy); The Hottest Half, Dallas, TX; Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa, CA
I have also done a couple of 5K's but the Half Marathon is my favorite distance.
4. What was your last big race?
Last big race was The Santa Rosa Half Marathon in Santa Rosa, CA on August 29th. It was perfect. I started early because I needed 16 miles for my training for Chicago and we were going to have lunch with my brother in law in San Francisco. The race finally caught up to me at about mile 3-4, at mile 6 when we were suposed to turn I continued to straight to add in my extra 3 miles, the caught up with exactly where I should have been if I had started at the start. I jogged and walked 1 minute intervals the whole way. I felt great. The weather was perfect. My time was my best this year. Yea!
5. What advice can you give others who might not know where to start?
Well my advice to me would be don't listen to your husband he's crazy. The internet is a great place, there are a lot of great training schedules - I actually love Jeff Galloway and if you google him there is so much information on his run/walk training methods. Get a good watch I have a Garmin 205 and Love It, if I get lost it always gets me back to start. I also like to alternate between several pairs of shoes. Mostly start slow, but have a plan such as picking a race to do and paying for it immediately so you don't back out.
6. What was your best race?
My best race recently time wise would have to be Santa Rosa, but my overall favorite races ever would be a 3 way tie between the KoleKole Pass Half Marathon, The Honolulu Marathon, and The Midnight Sun Marathon.
7. How has running affected your life in general?
I think running keeps me sane. I always feel better when I do it and can't figure out why I stopped so many times. I love the way I look now and now that I am older and hopefully wiser, I hope to keep it up as long as my body will let me.
8. What advice can you give a newbie runner?
My advice would be walk before you run, if you need to weight lose some weight before you start jogging because the more you weigh the more damage it does to your body, mostly listen to your body and if your like me and injure something go immediately to a chiropractor. They are awesome.
9. Running gear you can't live without?
Gear I can't live without would be my Garmin watch, Asics running shoes, my fuel belt on hot days here in Texas, my amphipod belt for races and not so hot days, my phone that also is my mp3 player and on race days Avril Lavigne singing "Alice" from Alice in Wonderland over and over and over and over again in my head.
Tripping out
Spinning around
I'm underground, I fell down
yeah, I fell down
I'm freaking out
Where am I now?
Upside down
And I can't stop it now
You can't stop me now
I, I'll get by
I, I'll survive
When the world's crashing down
When I fall and hit the ground
I will turn myself around
Don't you try to stop it
I, I won't cry
I found myself in Wonderland
Get back on my feet again
Is this real?
Is it pretend?
I'll take a stand until the end
I, I'll get by
I, I'll survive
When the world's crashing down
When I fall and hit the ground
I will turn myself around
Don't you try to stop me
I, I won't cry
I, I'll get by
I, I'll survive
When the world's crashing down
When I fall and hit the ground
I will turn myself around
Don't you try to stop me
I, and I won't cry
10. What are your plans for your training future?
I am currently training for the Chicago Marathon on 10/10/10 after that I am not sure but maybe Hawaii in December!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Goal Weight
After 8 months of losing weight week after week, for a total of 62.25 lbs I think I am finally just about at my goal weight oh yeah I would like to lose about 10 more pounds but it might take a while for now I am happy. I enjoy shopping for new clothes just about every Monday after TOPS. I am pretty much a perfect size 8 which is not a double size digit and that also was a goal. I got my tragus pierced 2 weeks ago, I had always wanted done but decided when I got to my goal weight I would have it done. Will thinks it is dumb but I like it. So what if I am 45.Friday, April 9, 2010
The sugar solution was really the turning point for my weight loss. I followed it dilligently, learned a lot and truly lost my addiction for sugar and sugary things like donuts. Here are some of the things I started doing differently. 1) Keep a food chart even if I don't write down what I ate immediately 2) Eat out a lot less hopefully less than 3-4 meals a week. 3) Make a list and go grocery shopping only once a week. 4) exercise every day even if I don't feel like it. 5) Reward myself for small steps.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Weight Loss
I have now lost a total of 31 1/2 pounds as of Monday, April 5th. Every day is a challenge, a challenge to keep going and a challenge to stay committed and a challenge to figure out how I am going to keep it off this time around.
We should go back 15 months to where I started this time, January 2009. Okay here we are. I weighed my all time non pregnant and pregnant high of almost 200 pounds, I never went over 200 but I was soooo close. I lost a few pounds and at my first official weigh in at TOPS 161, Richardson, TX on January 12, 2009 I weighed 191. Sadly and for the 3rd time I entered my weight loss journey. I say my third time because it truly is. I lost 40 3/4 pounds in 1996 and 33 1/2 pounds in 2000 both in different TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) groups. Hopefully 3 is a charm and I will keep it off this time.
The first few months I did well and lost 9 pounds but for the rest of the year I was not committed and spent it yo-yoing, possibly because we had our kitchen remodeled which was stressful and we ate out a lot and spending the summer in Hawaii which I did not gain weight while we were there but I also did not lose any either. I ended up gaining back 5 pounds during November and December.
I ended up having a tooth pulled that had been bothering in me for years the end of November. It was cracked down the middle and could not be saved. Well the dentist did not tell me ahead of time but when she was done said I could not have caffine or carbonated beverages for 4 days. OMG she might as well said I am going to have you committed. You see I was drinking at least 2 44 oz. diet cokes a day. They were my life. Part of my routine. My friend. My Love. I was like a drug addict being told to go cold turkey. The withdrawals were horrible, but by the 4th day I decided to try a week, then 2 weeks, a month. Needless to say it has been 4 months since I have had a Diet Coke. Come to find out they cause all types of horrible, horrible side effects such as memory loss, headaches, vertigo, panick attacks, depression, weight gain just to name a few. I truly believe this was the new start I needed although it did not seem like so at the time.
I also signed up for 4 mile leg in the White Rock Half Marathon. I had not been exercising consistantly and even 4 miles seemed far even though I knew I could do it. But I still did not lose weight, Oh come on, I gave diet coke and started walking. What it really came down to was my diet. I got so frustrated I even walked out of a TOPS meeting on January 11th while I was weighing people. The next week I bought the book the Sugar Solution and told myself I would try it for a month. To be continued...
We should go back 15 months to where I started this time, January 2009. Okay here we are. I weighed my all time non pregnant and pregnant high of almost 200 pounds, I never went over 200 but I was soooo close. I lost a few pounds and at my first official weigh in at TOPS 161, Richardson, TX on January 12, 2009 I weighed 191. Sadly and for the 3rd time I entered my weight loss journey. I say my third time because it truly is. I lost 40 3/4 pounds in 1996 and 33 1/2 pounds in 2000 both in different TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) groups. Hopefully 3 is a charm and I will keep it off this time.
The first few months I did well and lost 9 pounds but for the rest of the year I was not committed and spent it yo-yoing, possibly because we had our kitchen remodeled which was stressful and we ate out a lot and spending the summer in Hawaii which I did not gain weight while we were there but I also did not lose any either. I ended up gaining back 5 pounds during November and December.
I ended up having a tooth pulled that had been bothering in me for years the end of November. It was cracked down the middle and could not be saved. Well the dentist did not tell me ahead of time but when she was done said I could not have caffine or carbonated beverages for 4 days. OMG she might as well said I am going to have you committed. You see I was drinking at least 2 44 oz. diet cokes a day. They were my life. Part of my routine. My friend. My Love. I was like a drug addict being told to go cold turkey. The withdrawals were horrible, but by the 4th day I decided to try a week, then 2 weeks, a month. Needless to say it has been 4 months since I have had a Diet Coke. Come to find out they cause all types of horrible, horrible side effects such as memory loss, headaches, vertigo, panick attacks, depression, weight gain just to name a few. I truly believe this was the new start I needed although it did not seem like so at the time.
I also signed up for 4 mile leg in the White Rock Half Marathon. I had not been exercising consistantly and even 4 miles seemed far even though I knew I could do it. But I still did not lose weight, Oh come on, I gave diet coke and started walking. What it really came down to was my diet. I got so frustrated I even walked out of a TOPS meeting on January 11th while I was weighing people. The next week I bought the book the Sugar Solution and told myself I would try it for a month. To be continued...
I was Born and Adoption
I was born on January 26th 1965 in Houston, Texas at St. Lukes Hospital (I think). At that point I don't think anyone really cared. My birthmother, Gayle Long (I think that was her name at the time) had signed the adoption papers and handed me over to an adoption agency, Homes of St. Mark. I don't know if Gayle even saw me when I was born. I met Gayle when I was 21 and had a pretty good relationship with her until we moved to Texas (which is where she lived) and now have not heard from her in about 11 years. According to Gayle she was 21 when she pregnant with me, my birth father was not involved and may not even know I exist, she met another guy while pregnant with me and decided to put me up for adoption instead of having him be my father because I wasn't really his and she thought it would be best for me. I have one biological sister (Suzanna) and 3 brothers (John, Patrick, and Christopher). I really wish I had gotten to know them better. I was adopted when I was 6 days old by John & Rita Diller. I had one brother, Cliff, who was 10 1/2 months older than me. I bet my mom was really busy when we were little with 2 babies.
More Dilligent
I am going to be more dilligent in adding posts to my weight loss journal. I also am going to add my life story so when I honestly cannot remember I will hopefully have it written here for myself and any one else that wants to read it. So from today on I am going to add one post about my life and one about my weight loss journey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
