Hypocrite.

Hi! My name is Lallenia and I am a Hypocrite. 

I was called this a few weeks ago. It has been stuck in my head since. Hence the motivation for another blog post (finally).

I was called a hypocrite because I ran a half marathon today.

Wait….What?! But I’ve always said running long distances is not going to help people tone their bodies very well or lose much fat (Note: I said FAT not weight). Remember there is a difference in weight loss and fat loss.

Which is true. I think if someone is trying to build muscle, lose FAT (not just weight), burn more calories at rest and add more definition on their figure then the best way to do that is lifting weights, performing moderate cardio and eating a diet of healthy proteins, fats, vegetables and moderate fruit intake.

 So if I am telling people to lift more, run less if they want to build muscle then WHY am I doing the opposite right now? 

The reason I did this is because it has been on my bucket list…

Normal people have go to Paris, meet the president, go skydiving, go to the Caribbean islands….

I have on mine to compete in a fitness show (check), run a half marathon (check), compete in a Sprint or possibly an Olympic distance Iron man, and I am totally getting into this Russian kettle bell stuff that I maybe want to experience a competition one day as well. 

Why now? I thought I was trying to get pregnant!

For those of you who have followed me know after my fitness show last November I wanted to get pregnant again. Well after 6 months of trying I was starting to get a little depressed. I needed another fitness adventure to go after to keep myself from going crazy. 

 It was between the tough mudder in Kansas City with some awesome people or the Omaha half-marathon. I have had the ½ marathon on my list for years. AND to tell you the truth… I’ve never really been that inclined to run through electrical wires and jump in ice-cold water for some reason….

Plus I'll be honest I just enjoy to run sometimes.... maybe NOT longer than 5 miles but I do enjoy it when it's shorter distances. 

Reality is if I became pregnant (I’m not) I would have to drop out of the tough mudder whereas I could still go through with the ½ marathon even if I had to walk it.  This resulted in me registering for it 6 weeks ago…. I won’t lie… I was a little LOT nervous!!!!!! That's not a lot of time to train. 

A little recap of the run:

My goal was to finish this thing in 2 hours or less.

My time was 1:51.47. So that made me happy.

Stats:

I’m thinking the only reason I did was because my husband’s uncle was running with me for the first 4-5 miles. (Well let’s be honest… I was running with him). He has a pretty good pace for a fifty something year old…ok… he smoked me…. Don’t judge me.

Anyways at about 4 or 5 miles he gave me a few shot block gummy things and said he felt pretty good…as I’m puffing and grunting trying to keep up with him…. He’s all chatting away and I can barely say 3 words…. Then he wondered ahead of me….

 I tried for the next few miles to stay behind him…. “Don’t lose that red shirt Lallenia” was all I could think…. Well I found lots of red shirts to follow but he got away from me. 

Then I see the 23-mile marker, which meant I only had 3.1 miles left…. Oh man!!!!! Those were THE longest 3 miles I’ve ever run in my life…. I thought I was going to die.  I kept moving and tried to keep beat with my music but it all became a blur. 

Finally I saw 25 miles which means only 1.1 miles left…. Again the longest mile EVER! I was just ready for it to be over.  Honestly the only thing that kept me going these last miles was my son’s little voice saying “I can do it mommy!” When I was  teaching him how to tumble…. The mind is amazing isn’t it??

 A little clip of it... it starts at :31 seconds if you want to fast forward to when he says I CAN do it.... so sweet. 
Side note: This was in June of 2013. He had a diaper on because I don't want him to "accidentally" wet the bed.... I promise he is potty trained at 3.5 =)

Once the crowd started cheering, and I kept repeating I CAN do it..... I FINALLY got to the baseball stadium (we got to run the bases at TD Ameritrade park) I felt a little second wind come over me.... so I sprinted. Where was this energy at mile 6?? 

 I passed the finish line at last.....and thought if I only trained a little longer, I maybe could’ve gotten my 1:45 ideal goal…(really?? I just reached my FIRST goal finishing it and then getting it under 2... why are we so hard on ourselves?)

I get to my car and go to eat brunch with my girlfriend and as I get out of my car… I could barely walk…. So much for thinking if I only trained longer… blah blah blah… I STILL at 5:28pm hurt…. My knees, my joints, shoot I even chaffed the inside of my left thigh…. Urgh…..

Will I do it again?? I’d like to say no but I’m sure when I’m not in pain I will want to get after that 1:45 time…. Maybe someday.

I ran the cooperate cup last Sunday which was a 10K and finished that in 50:29 and it was HILLY!

Stats:

I was pretty excited with that! I finished 15 in my age group and 91 out of 1556 females.

I know many women who run faster than this so I’m not bragging. I’m shocked. Considering I JUST started consistently running about 6 weeks ago for distance and have only ever ran 7 miles once in my life prior to all this I’m honestly a little surprised I did decent for both races this past week.

I wonder where I would be if I actually believed in myself…. Kind of like my first fitness show I about peed my pants when I placed…. I think this means I need have more self-confidence right? 

Moral here is I don't think I'm a hypocrite for going after goals of mine. Could I have more muscle on me if i spent that time i ran in the gym lifting weights.... yes but I will be able to say (barely in time) by my 27^th birthday I completed 2 of my bucket list items in one year with the fitness show last November and then my ½ marathon today… that’s pretty dang cool to me! 

In the end staying healthy and fit is really about what you enjoy doing and who you're with. It doesn't always need to be superficial and trying to get the best body. Even girls I know with kick ass bodies aren't always happy and feeling fabulous. 

I really want to get back to my blogging... I'm feeling inspired...... SO I will make a game plan to start back again at it.... I always have so much I want to chat about in health and fitness arena. And now i am working for our plumbing company (Big Birge Plumbing Co.) full time I don't have all my people to tell this too! Instead of writing for some silly reason I only talk my husbands ear off.... Actually I'm pretty sure he'll be excited when I start blogging again because then he will be able to relax after work instead of pretend he's interested in me talking about my workouts and new recipes.... 

Keep yourself healthy, fit, and fabulous!!

*Lallenia* 

PS Ran across this amazing quote! Where was this before my race?? 

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.

--Norman Vincent Peale