Long time, no read!

Hello! I probably do not have any readers left (not sure I had any readers before, wink!), but I'm back. My last post in November I had a migraine. LOL!

Let me try to catch up what's happened since then. Spoiler alert: a lot.

We ended up having to sale our house "as is" - which means the house was gutted and cleaned. There were only half walls, no cabinets, no sinks, nothing. We had really come to a breaking point mentally. Let's just say we had to get out of the nightmare we were in for months.

Because this is intensely boring for those who weren't flooded, let's just say we searched for options. The chances were slim we'd find investors who would buy our house, but we had great realtors and we were able to sell the house.

We barely, and I mean barely, broke even. But, the house is in the past. I miss it intensely. I am starting to lose my memories of our years in the house. But, the new owners are giving it the love and care it deserves. They have been working on it and I know in the next few months, the house will be ready for a family to live in.

We are searching for a house right now to live in and we've got our eye on one. If it works out, I'll be writing about it. I'm so scared to jinx it I haven't even done any sort of furniture/appliance/decorating research. But I'm slowly trying to open my mind to the fact that we may not be in a faux house much longer.

In the midst of all that, I was laid off from my job. This was not a big surprise. I'd been hanging on to that job by a thread. Another thing I intensely miss. I was tired of the stress of WHEN would I be laid off, but I really, really loved my actual job.

So, I've been searching for a job for the past month and I've had several interviews. I've also started freelance writing again and this has really been enjoyable (the writing, not being laid off LOL!). I'm very excited and thankful to get back out there. The pieces I'm writing are fluff, but I'm very happy doing that. So far, I've written mostly about school events (not at my daughter's school) and I've really enjoyed it since I have a kiddo of my own. I love seeing how kids work on projects.

I've also been working on TWO novels of my own. One is an old one, that I'm currently editing and revising with the hopes of entering a few contests to have agents tell me what they think. The first contest is later this month and I'm scared shitless.

The second novel is one I wrote during the month of November. I participated and won the National Novel Writing Month. This little contest considers you a "winner" if you write 50,000 words in 30 days. I did it, but let's just say it's a super ugly first draft. I wrote that sucker in my gutted house every day while waiting to pick my daughter up from school. My house gave my plot lots of inspiration and I can't wait to see the finished product. Hopefully by summer, I'll have it complete.

I'm trying to turn these lemons into lemonade, and I think considering the circumstances the lemonade is pretty good. Not sour, but still not quite right.

Running - OK, the nitty gritty of the post right here - I have enjoyed my faux neighborhood specifically for the running. It's been great having the use of several streets with minimal traffic. I've really, really liked it. I'm hoping a new neighborhood will offer the same fun.

Long story short, I've lost 15 pounds, BUT I still need to lose about 30 more to get where I want to be with my happy pace.

I ran a 5K in January with my husband. I had "trained" for it, but because I spent all of November writing, the race seemed like I hadn't trained. LOL!!! And that's ok! I still had a lot of fun and me and Rich walked to the finish line together. It was very romantic. Ok, not really since I was really sweaty.

Loved everything about the race.
 

But, my time was around 52 minutes and for 3.1 miles, ehhhhhhh, not good.

My race plans for 2017-18:

5K in March - honestly, I'm not expecting this to amount to anything other than running/walking. I'm concentrating so much on finding a job and writing I'm not going to put more pressure on myself to run. And, hopefully, fingers and toes crossed, we will have a house soon, so we have to move. Fun fact: when you lose 90 percent of what you own in a flood, moving will be a breeze! :)

Going to try to run 5Ks before the half marathon in January 2018.

This one will be "free" sort of because I deferred this past January's 2017 to January 2018.

March 2018 - like an idiot, I mean like an optimist, I just signed up for the Rock N Roll New Orleans FULL marathon. The price was too good to pass up. It also will be the exact date of my cancer diagnosis 20 years ago....so it's a reason to celebrate my health!

I am unsure of how the next 13 months or so will pan out, but I'm super excited for positive things and positive changes. I am so completely out of my comfort zone right now. The last six months since the flood have been life-changing. Some good, a lot bad, but I am excited to see how all my little "goals" pan out.

I am off to a freelancing assignment right now, but I'll be posting regularly.

The stuff of nightmares

I'm not talking about a bad run, I'm talking about a migraine! Ahhhh, last Wednesday one of the worst migraines I've had in quite a long time happened. I'm almost 100 percent sure it was exercise-induced. Or, maybe a tiny chance it's stress related because flood. ;)

The problem with these 4:30 a.m. runs is I have to get the family up at 5 and we have to be out the door by 6. It makes the mornings getting ready sort of stressful and doesn't leave much time for hydration or breakfast. I've got to figure out a way to solve this. I'd prefer something other than getting up at 4 a.m., but ehhhhhhh, not looking too good.

This freaking migraine lasted for three days. I missed work Thursday and to be honest, I should have missed work Friday. But I went in anyway.

It took three days, lots of water, vomiting, stomach issues (always triggers IBS episodes), eye pain, but damnit I was a new woman Saturday morning.

I should have run this weekend, but honestly, I was really scared I would have a rebound headache. That has happened before and I just didn't want to chance it.

I used to get migraines often. Enough so I had to get a prescription, but the last couple of years have been really good to my head. With the exception of PMS headaches, I don't get them too often anymore. So naturally I didn't have a prescription.

Excedrin Migraine helped somewhat, but I feel like all that really is is a big shot of caffeine. Sometimes you just have to power through till it's over.

Hence, here we are today. I'm ready and able to get out on the road this week and I"m looking forward to it.

So I've come to learn the best way to avoid migraines is DRINK WATER before/after and basically like forever when running. Also, try to handle your stress as best as possible. HAHAHAHAHAH! OMG there is no handling of stress these days other than wanting to be in a fetal position under the bed. But, I'm surviving just fine!

13-minute range!

Today I will pat myself on the back and toot my own horn. It's not often I achieve something that allows me to do all that, but I will do it today!

First, it was only one mile. Second, it's still very slow compared to most runners. Third, it was only one mile ...

This is my third week of running again so I went from a 15:36 to a 13:36. I'm hitting my goals on my spreadsheet, but of course, I have a really long way to go.

I think I am going to hold off one more week on adding another mile. I'm going to keep trying to improve on the one mile.

I've found the key is to not look at your watch. I was obsessively looking at my paces and honestly that would slow me down mentally. I still look at it several times though, but I look at the distance rather than the pace.

From .72 on I thought I would trip or barf, and I did neither. So it's a win!!

What's the slowest mile you've run compared to the fastest? Do you celebrate the little victories? For me, it's the only thing keeping me going. :)

Happy Halloween!

I hope today is full of spooks, goblins, ghouls and candy of course! Surprisingly I'm not all that enthused about the candy haul this year. Just another example of me being off my game in 2016. Ha!

Last week was a nice week since I was on my Staycation. It was a bit boring (which I luved), but I sure did take advantage watching The Walking Dead, Supernatural and New Girl. These were all new shows for me and I had a great time. I started watching Downton Abbey and eh, I'm a little disappointed? But I'm going to give it more time.

Running wise I had a sort-of-good week. I got in only two runs I think.

14.31 - one mile
15:08 - one mile

I was somewhat disappointed because the last time I posted I had a 14:07 mile. It's crazy how some miles feel super fast and then whaaaat, only 15:08 - am I regressing?

I had a lot of stomach issues last week which led me to not running that third scheduled run.

What I find with my IBS is during times of stress, it will flare up, but I'm usually so stressed I can handle it. It sounds crazy and it is. But then, when things "calm down" with the stress, THAT'S when the IBS ramps up. It's annoying and illogical. But I've come to accept it for what it is.

October was a much, much better month stress-wise compared to September. Here we are, on Halloween, without having as much as nailed in one nail into the house. Our original goal was to be back in the house by Halloween. Oh, we were so young and naive 2 1/2 months ago. Bless our hearts.

But we are slowly making progress with paperwork. It's taken calling in our state representatives and attorney general, but it's coming along...sort of. We still have no insurance money so....

Today I got out there and I wasn't sure I would because of my stomach. But I'm so glad I did because I got:

So, so close to 13.59. Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I was trucking it, but I was dying. I wanted to throw up, but hey, that's nothing new. ;)

This week I hope to get back out there three more times. My plan was next week to bump up to two miles, but eh, I don't know. No rush.

Tomorrow starts my big 50,000-words in November writing project. I got to meet one of my favorite authors this weekend - Natalie C. Parker - who gave me a few tips and inspiration to get this thing done.

Happy Halloween! 

I'm back to running and so far, so good

Dare I type anything positive these days for fear that doom and gloom are around the corner. Because that's what past history has shown me. LOL! Ok, I'm half joking and half not. But I need all the positivity I can get these days so...

My weight is officially at 162.4 - which gah, gained a few pounds, but thumbs up because it could be much worse and I feel like mentally and physically I'm starting to cut through the fog of depression. So my old appetite is welcomed back with open arms.

Last week was a joyous one for me. I ran THREE times and each time improved. Now I'm not going to sit and act like I'm a good runner or even that I'm dedicated or boom, I've got this. I'm pretty slow and I'm not sure I'll ever find my "happy pace" but I was super proud of myself for overcoming mental bullshit I've had going on for two months now.

If you have the chance to talk to others from this flood, take what they say as valuable info. So many life's lessons in this and I think one common thread I've found from others who are going through this - we almost feel guilty when trying to do things other than "omgzzzzzzzz I have to work 24/7 on getting back into my house and all other things are to be damned and put on the backburner right now."

That is not a logical, or healthy, way to view this, yet we all find ourselves thinking this. Most of us who aren't actively installing sheet rock ourselves are sitting, waiting, twidling our thumbs. We are waiting for insurance money (which btw comes from FEMA even though you've PAID this money for years) and waiting for contractors (right now, we are still waiting for estimates for how much making our house a home again will cost).

So basically next to sitting inside our house and crying and dreaming of ways to get the ball moving, we are stuck in limbo. It's not a way to live long-term, particularly not when you are talking at a minimum of four more months of this.

So I've done the opposite of what I usually do. Usually I would just solve this problem. But since I can't solve it myself, I'm following through on goals. I talked in the last post about my writing project. And luckily I am healthy enough to get out there and run. So that's what I did.

It was weird going into my new "faux" neighborhood. It has its pros - good lighting, lots of streets to choose from. And its cons - this requires me to be up at 4:30 a.m. or earlier (the longer miles I go); for some reason one mile takes FOREVER compared to my old neighborhood; not sure of which cars leave at what time (which I knew well from my old neighborhood).

The first two runs I got up at 4:30 to get out there for 4:45. Sunday's run was at 6:50 or so.

Wednesday

Friday

Sunday

According to my spreadsheet, my goal for those three runs would be a combined 15-minute mile (anywhere in the 15-minute range). It was 14.83! I am soooo happy! I'm proud of going out into the new neighborhood, fighting the heat, then the COLD. LOL! Yes, Louisiana weather.

I do think running in the daylight helped me go faster, also 48 degrees is a good temp for me to run in. I enjoy it, it's not knife-cutting cold in my lungs, it's doable. The coldest I've run before is 28 degrees, so 48 is perfect.

This week I'm doing much of the same. Except I'm on vacation, but I have a field trip day with my daughter, going study paint colors, working on my writing project which officially begins Nov. 1, and going to binge watch either The Walking Dead (not too big on zombies, but I have an open mind) or Downton Abbey (I do love the British).

What about you? How was your week last week?

Ready for this week

Not much to report on last week. I have no clue what my weight is because we had to throw out our scale in the flood and I haven't been able to weigh-in at work. LOL! This is probably a good thing. I suspect I'm back in the 160s and that's ok. Honestly, I'm happy to have my appetite back.

Last week I was sore for a few days from the 5K. Not surprising, but I felt really good for the most part.

I have mapped out an Excel spreadsheet for my training plan for the 5K I'm going to do in January. I've got 13 weeks to get into better shape and basically my goal is to get a lot faster. I'm tired of trodding and pludging (is that a word?).

Friday morning I went to my daughter's Honor Roll Assembly. She got straight A's - which, yes, it's only the first grade - but considering all she has been through the situation could have been the reverse. She could have had a really bad nine weeks at school. So I hope we are doing right by her in raising her among the chaos right now. I CRIED MY EYES OUT.

This weekend we went to the New Orleans Zoo for my daughter's friend's birthday. So fun. And so hot. Where is fall? Yesterday we went to a pumpkin patch with my friend's kids. Again, so fun. And so hot. Here in Louisiana, the weather has not gotten the memo we are moving along to spring.

My girl is not a baby anymore. That's what she thinks. When she's 50 years old, I'll still say she's my baby.
 

Yesterday afternoon I went to the movies with my other friend to see Girl On A Train. So, so good. I think a lot of people were expecting the greatness of Gone Girl, but I thought it was really good. My friend also liked it, so the movie has two fans! And of course I'm a fan of the book.

So this week, I have a few regular-life goals to meet. But I'm hoping to go run for several days. 4:30 a.m. wakeup call anybody? I should be finishing the outline for my writing project. I'm on vacation next week, so I'm either going to complete that or start my novel!! And yes, I will be running on vacation! It's a staycation and I'm super excited.

How is the weather in your area? How many pumpkin lattes have you had so far? (I've had zero). Have a great week!

The new normal and my return to a 5k!!

I'm going to do my best to return to regular blogging. I've started and stopped a post about 20 times over the last almost two months. I cry every time I start, but I'm going to power through. I don't want this blog to be a Debbie Downer blog. I want it to be goal-oriented (for me) and to see my hard work pay off.

The blog is about my path to returning to running. But, if you read my blog, you know in August my house was flooded. We lost everything in the house except for my grandmother's wood table that I refused to throw out, although maybe it should be chunked. Long story short: we are living in another suburb while waiting for renovations to START. That's right, we haven't even started yet.

We are in a daily, sometimes hourly struggle with the insurance company, the adjusters, the contractors, FEMA, the government for a loan....it is incredibly frustrating. Our lives are literally in the hands of about a dozen people and we have NO control.

We did have flood insurance, and we've quickly found out that we would be better off WITHOUT flood insurance. Lots of stories right there, but let's move along.

It feels like somebody has a voodoo doll of me and are just jabbing away. The worst, and I mean the worst, is my daughter and how she's having to handle this. Again, can't go into much or I will start crying. She's a kid who is worrying about adult problems and I hate that for her.

But, we are not giving up and hopefully by 2017 we will be back in our house. It's looking more and more like 2017.

My health has been interesting. I ended up getting down to my lowest weight of 157, but not in a good way. Only three times in my life have I just quit eating. When I was going through chemo (to be expected), when I had a bit of post partum depression after my daughter was born and now. September was the WORST month for me in many ways. This is totally unlike me, and I have spoken to my doctor about it. It's stress. Plain and simple. My days of overeating are gone (yay!), but I do not want to fall into days of not eating.

Luckily I have gained a few pounds back. Yes, I'm still trying to lose weight, but the RIGHT way. My meals have been fast food and packaged meals. I'm trying to balance somebody else's kitchen and fridge and time and omgz...I'm completely out of my comfort zone.

Now onto happier times: This weekend I ran my first 5K in three years I think? Rock N' Roll NOLA had a free tuneup, gearup 5K and me and Rich did it! Soooooooo happy.

Perfect weather: check
No hip issues or foot issues: check
No thoughts of giving up: check
Got a medal for the first time in three years: check
Spent time being a normal couple whose lives haven't been turned upside down by water: CHECK!

Old State Capital

New State Capital in the distance

Before the race
 
 

After the race (luvvvv him)

Rich, who is a pro treadmill walker, walked the entire thing. And beat me. HAHAHAH! And that's ok! I was super proud of him and us. This was not his first 5K, but he did amazing. I think he beat me by 10 minutes.

My time: 54 minutes. LOL! In my defense, the course was longer than a 5K. But I loved every minute of the race. My biggest issue were my lungs. They were on fire and just as I had predicted, I had to start walking/jogging at the half mile mark. I did end up jogging most of the race, but I was jogging very slowly.

I had been looking forward to this for weeks and it was perfect for me mentally. I had a goal, something to look forward to and plot it out.

Considering I had not run in about six months, I've been getting little sleep, I had NACHOS the night before, I'd say this was a win.

We then celebrated going to Past Times where I got a Barbecue Poboy and it was out. Standing!!!

So I'm going to do my best to start getting out there for at least a mile a few times a week. I'm dying to run a marathon, but I'm not ready for a 5k at this point, much less a full marathon. Also, my time is way, way too slow. I need to run about a 9-minute mile before tackling a full marathon. I can't get up at 3 a.m. to run 10 miles. Nope. So the next few months I'm going to work on endurance, then speed.

I'm also embarking on writing my second novel. I'm participating in the National Writing Month contest in November. Goal: write 50,000 words by December 1. I'm actually doing really good with my outline and prep right now, so I'm looking forward to this.

So basically I'm doing my best to turn lemons into lemonade. Most days I fail. But, chin up, suck it up buttercup, life moves on for everybody else and it's time to put on my armor and get out there!

Hope your racing season is going well. I love reading everybody's stories about their running.