jmdacc
First posting, 1/9/04.
I'm about 5'7. I was a Gerber-looking baby and never lost my "baby fat". As I got older, it didn't get any better. I found my diary from high school recently. I wasn't always excited to write in it back then and some of the entries were boring, but it was still a trip to look at it. I kept a running list of all the boys I had crushes on, with updates if I had a meaningful (to me, anyway) hallway or locker encounter with one of them. Anyway, I also used to record my weight in every entry, sometimes with "motivating" (disparaging) comments to myself, like, "What is my PROBLEM!". When I was 15 I weighed 191 pounds.
Flashing forward, I'm 30 and I weigh 266 lbs. I added a little weight (about 10 lbs) intentionally in the last two months to make sure my BMI would be over 40 because I wanted to make sure I would be approved by my insurance company. I don't consider it cheating. I look at family members and I think the writing is on the wall for me. I want to handle it now, while I'm young and (with minor complaints) healthy. Some people could be upset over it but five pounds' difference is a little arbitrary for me. I know my body, I'm actually an active person, and the weight is not going to come off.
I had some issues with the first surgeon I consulted with, so now I've switched to Dr.s Ward and McLean. I have all of my specialist appointments made so that in the next two weeks all of my testing and evaluations will be done. I hope I can have the surgery in February. I wouldn't even mind having it on Valentine's day. I'm not happy at this weight, I feel like I can't get out of my own way. When I was little, I would fantasize about waking up skinny. When I found out about this surgery, it was like learning that my dream really could come true. I know it's not that easy, but I can't tell you how happy and relieved I am to know that it will WORK.
1/12/04
OK had my consultation. My doctor says based on how prepared I was for our meeting, and my overall condition, that I'm a great candidate to lose a higher than average percentage of my EBW. Woo hoo. I have to call the office to ask them to get a pre-cert and give me a date. PS- his scale showed me being 4 pounds lighter than my scale did.
1/13/04
The office says 3/16, or maybe 3/22. I sure hope it's ASAP because my insurance renews on 4/1... :(
1/14/04
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3/9!!!!!!!!!!
1/24/04
Just an update.. my psych and nutritional consults are done. I had my endoscopy yesterday and everything's good. I called the surgeon's office to check on the status of my insurance submittal and make sure she had everything. She does, except for a letter of support from the surgeon... so what's the deal with that? I'm going to call again next week.
1/27/04
Everything is ready to go, but I don't think the ladies will be in to the office tomorrow; they are calling for 5-10 inches and Morristown is not a great place with snow....
2/6/04
I saw my bill for the endoscopy ($2500 - I was under for maybe 30 minutes and I was in the hospital for less than six hours) and now I'm starting to get a little daunted by the finances. My surgeon's out of network, so that means 70% of what the insurance co thinks is usual and customary. Looking at the disparity between what IN-network providers charge and what the ins co actually pays, it looks like I'm going to be paying maybe a little more than half of the surgeon's bill. This made the light bulb over my head come on and I called and asked to have an in-network anasthesiologist. There are three at Somerset but two are on vacation my surgery date. I won't know if I got the third doctor until the end of the month. What do I do if I don't get him? It could be a difference of a thousand dollars. If it comes down to that, I might postpone. Seriously, that's a lot of money and I can't afford it.
Let's see.. no sense worrying about that now, I'll come back to it in three weeks. I'm taking a course at a county college, Stress and Everyday Living. I'm really enjoying it. I would not have if I wasn't going for this surgery. All of the tips in this book sound like they could work for me now because I know I won't be M.O. soon. When you're M.O. there's not a lot of help. You've got problems that doing 8-count breathing won't solve. In fact, knowing that I have the chance to be a healthy weight is giving me optimism in all aspects of my life. I'm keeping a more open mind.
I have an EKG scheduled. The dr said I didn't need it but the coordinator at SMC said I'd better have it, because the anasthesiologist is going to want one and if I don't then I'll have to get it on the spot. So, better to do it before hand. I took a whole day off from work; I will go to the cardiologist in the morning and the surgeon in the afternoon for my waivers, disclaimers, and blessings consult.
I have just over a month to go. I've been so busy these past two weeks (in addition to class, I am in a bowling league on Thursdays)that I have barely been home.
2/23/04
Today I had an EKG in the morning (normal) and this afternoon I signed the papers - they were not nearly as imposing as I thought they'd been made out to be, but maybe that is because I've been learning about the potential complications for so long? - and got my PAT blood drawn. That's it. I ordered protein samples last Thursday, they should be here soon. Now I have to pack my hospital bags and weight for the ninth.
3/2/04
I am ONE WEEK away from surgery. I ordered protein samples more than 2 wks ago, and haven't gotten them yet. I'm sure they will be fine because I tolerated Optifast well but still and all, I am going to need a lot more and I'll need it a lot faster!
I went to an eating class and support group meeting last night for my surgeons' patients. I'm planning to go to the Ocean County WLS group's meeting on Friday. I'm seriously thinking about going to the Lighter Side group's meeting tonight. Not that I'm CRAMMING but I appreciate meeting the new people, etc. And they always have good tips, and more local recommendations. I'm totally swamped at work... two years' worth of projects that I need to complete in the week before surgery, you know how that goes.
I am flying to Dallas on 3/29.. nineteen post-op days.. and then basically driving from there to New Orleans on a week long business trip. If anybody's got advice, I'd love to hear it!
ps - quitting my job is NOT an option. This trip could benefit my career. My main concern right now is avoiding a hernia. I'm thinking of pre-boarding with the elderly and asking a stewardess to take care of my carry-on in the overhead.
3/4/04
I went to ANOTHER support group meeting on Tuesday night. I feel like I'm in AA!! But it's great. TERRIFIC group of people, and very social, and I'm so glad. The group I went to is primarily made of patients who had open RNY. Their doctor was there and I was able to ask him more about my flight plans. I will have to talk to my surgeons and explain my trip details to them. I called their office and asked if I could fly, and was told yes, but I did not elaborate about the driving or that it is a week long business trip. I will follow their advice and if I don't feel well enough, I will back out of the trip. (I will NOT postpone my surgery, NO WAY, I can not WAIT to get started on my new life.)
Let's see... work is CRAZY! because I have so many things I'm trying to finish before I go out. Luckily our network is getting worked on this weekend so I will be prevented from thinking about coming in on Saturday.
It's so funny. Two weeks ago, I had Red Lobster for the (semi) last time.. and last night we went out for Japanese, and wouldn't you know.. each of these "Last Times", the food wasn't good? I had undercooked shrimp at RL and the hibatchi last night - really, the worst place I've been to. So I guess I should give it up, my "one last time" endeavors.. they're not even worth it!
On the brighter side, I do find that I like Banana Scream protein powder. So how do you like that!
I can't think about anything but surgery, and getting ready for surgery, and getting ready to take proper care of myself on this trip, and surgery, and getting ready for surgery.......
Mon, 3/8 - the day before surgery
I am really anxious. It feels like I'm running out of time to prepare, I have shopping to do, and laundry to do, and packing, and I'm afraid of how much it might hurt (although I know some people say it doesn't hurt very much), and I kind of just want to get it over with.
Everyone has been very supportive. I went to the Brick meeting on Friday - we had a slide show presentation by two plastic surgeons and I was a little squeamish - but it was good. My two friends that have had WLS were both awesome, both gave me protein shakes and stuff for when I come home.
Yesterday I took some gruesome "before" pictures and then I went to get my hairdone. I'd love to get my nails done too but see above, wherein I express my anxiety about all the things I want to get done. I can only imagine how much harder this phase must be for people with children.
The Whey Fruity Tropical Punch turned out less gross than the Designer French Vanilla and Strawberry flavors. Banana Scream still rules. I found the pre-mixed canned shakes (Isopure? Pure protein? something like that) at the Vitamin Shoppe, which is great because I don't have to stress now about not having enough shakes at home. I plan to make good use of the DaVinci syrups I bought because vanilla is usually the worst! AT least, in my experience.
Mon 3/15/03
Day six. Will update later.
Fri 3/19/03
OK it's later and I think I can do this now.
Man. My advice is, you really have to want to do this. Everything has been worse than I thought it would be - maybe that is because my friends who had it all had it 1 to 2.5 yrs ago, and their memory of the pain has been diminished by time. I'm glad I did it, and that I have gotten through it. Also I have been very fortunate to have a support system. I have seen profiles of people who lived alone and went home alone and I don't know HOW they could have taken care of themselves.
I took care of my self in the bathroom at the hospital so I thought I was boding well. A few days at home and I could get myself up out of chairs. But it has taken 10 days to be able to get myself out of bed and I can't touch my toes.
I have bad pain at my left top incision. It hurts when I stand for too long (like taking a shower long) and I still need the pillow to walk distances, ride in a car, or cough.
I'm really nervous about my ability to go back to work next week.
Will write more later. PS - my 'official' personal scale is at work, by the lousy scale at home I've lost probably 11-13 pounds. After surgery you won't care for a while how much you're losing, you have other things to concentrate on.
Wednesday, 3/24
Oh what a BEAUTIFUL day it was here in New Jersey today. Wonderful breezes, about 60 degrees, it was lovely to open all the windows. I hate being cooped up in the house during the winter.
I'm doing well. Yesterday I drove to my job (45 miles one way) and back. I had some pain afterward, and then in the middle of the night I woke up with pain. That prompted some real soul searching and I decided to postpone my return to work. At this point, my tummy still has swollen areas, and my pants don't fit comfortably over them, plus the waistband is on one of the incisions. So if I was going to sit in my straight-backed chair at work, I'd have to do it with my pants unbuttoned! Not going to happen!
So I called, and I am going to go back to work on Tues, 3/30, which is exactly 3 wks after my surgery. I think that is very realistic and fair.
Unfortunately it means my trip to Dallas, which was supposed to be Monday, 3/29 is now out - but remember the pants thing? How would I fly like that for six hours? Plus I'd have to ask the person next to me to get my stuff out from underneath the seat in front of me.
So I'm very relieved that I made this difficult decision, and broke it to all the people at work that I had to break it too, and I can relax more now and hopefully heal really well.
I can touch my toes again now if I hold in my incision site and if it hasn't been a 'hard' day - repetitive bending leads to stabbing pain. Doing better every day on showering and dressing, etc.
I seem to be able to eat anything - chicken, flounder, tillapia, scallops... I've been dying for pancakes and I saw these ones from Atkins - 12g protein and like 2g sugar, 3g carbs... Well, the protein comes from the eggs that you make it with, and that's what it tasted like - eggs with some flour in it - horrible. So then I tried SHREDDED WHEAT. And I could even eat that! So it's going to be all up to me to be a good girl. Have not tried sweets yet.
3/31
I went back to work yesterday. I had some burning pain around two incision sites but I stayed the whole day and afterward I attended my Stress Mgt class. There is a test next week and I wanted to find out what would be on it. It's important that I do well on the tests because my participation grade is going to take a hit from my absences.
My weight today, on my 'official' scale at work, is now 246.5 I ordered more of the Any Whey tasteless protein powder so that I can get my protein in the morning in some other way than the disgusting Worldwide Protein pre-made shakes, I hate them. I dropped the shredded wheat in favor of Special K, which I figured would be easier to digest, but I've laid off cereal for a while because I'm concerned about having too many carbs. I am also going to start using Fitday.com
Saturday April 3rd
Good morning - After my shower I got on the scale and, naked with my hair dry, it said 241.5. I tried it with my hair wet and in a towel and it said 242.5 So I'll go with 242.5 because at work I weigh in with my clothes on. Anyway, I was so excited that I went out and got my nails done.
Last week I bought a small photobook from the drug store, it was on sale for $1.00, and yesterday after work I put in pictures documenting the beginning of my journey. I have a picture of myself on the scale in my company's shipping department, showing my face and weight (266), full-length front and side views of me standing in front of a yardstick, my measurements, and a picture of me on the bed before I got wheeled in for surgery. (That picture is going on this profile.) Then, I have a picture of me after surgery, and pictures of the people that came to visit me in the hospital. I made my boyfriend bring my camera in so that I could be sure to document everything.
I'm looking forward to hitting 230, then I think I'll definitely be re-evaluating my clothes.
Monday April 12th.
This morning, the scale said 237.
Tuesday, April 20th
This morning, the scale said 234. It's like a magic eight ball. I never know what it will say. I'm not happy that my weight loss has slowed so significantly. I've really been paying attention to what I'm eating, too, and using fitday. I am deficient in a couple of areas - water and excercise. So I'm going to make a better effort in those two areas. Yesterday I went for a 1.7 mile walk (today the backs of my legs are sore.)
I see that I thought my clothes would be falling off at 230. I don't think the last four pounds are going to accomplish that, so I guess I'd better plan on getting clothes at 220. The warm weather is finally coming and I don't have enough clothes for work!
PS- I have received all of the bills for my surgery and I am very relieved. No surprises. I'll be paying what I expected to be paying. Horizon came through. Woo hoo. I never really did trust them.
Saturday 4/24
Today we're having a party for my nephew's 10th birthday. I called him earlier in the week to see if he had any toys he wanted. He asked me if I would be skinny at the party. I told him I'm working on it. God I love that kid.
Sunday 4/25
I got up early this morning and went to Belmar to do the March of Dimes. I walked the whole route, 5 miles. I'm pretty proud of myself. Afterward I went to visit some friends on my way back. My one girlfriend just got engaged so I wanted to stop by and ooh-ahh her ring for her. She came to see me in the hospital after my surgery. She asked me how I was feeling and what I was eating but she didn't say anything about me looking like I lost weight. My nephew's father and stepmother did yesterday at the party, though. I guess it's got to do something with what I was wearing. I was all bundled up for the walk because I knew it would be windy on the beach.
Thursday 4/29
I'm really concerned that I'm not losing enough. Yesterday I went for a 3 mile walk on the boardwalk after work. It took me about 1:15, so I was pretty pleased with the pace. FINALLY this morning I got on the scale and it showed 231. I'm going to try to excercise more. Tonight I have bowling, it's the last night for our league.
Saturday, May 1st
Update from Thursday: we have a little celebration in the bar of the bowling alley on the last night of the league. During the hang-out session, SEVERAL of the men in the league told me that I was looking good, that they could see my weight loss. So that was really nice; it pumped me up.
I decided on Friday that I would continue to be in a good mood, and that I would have a "skinny" day - meaning, a day where I felt skinny. I paid extra attention to the looseness of my pants, crossed my legs more frequently, etc. And Friday went well.
Today, I walked in the Revlon Run/Walk for Women. They expected 40,000 people to be there (I'm not sure how many there were but at least 20,000 I would say). While I was in the hospital for my surgery, two women I'd met through a support group came to visit me, and they gave me a t-shirt that their group had made up, with an inspirational WLS-related message. It was a size XL and there was no way it would fit me back then. But I made a goal that I would wear it to the Run/Walk - and I did!! It was probably not the most flattering shirt I own (ha ha) but I felt ok enough to wear it in public. I'm totally excited - this is one of the first times where I actively tried to visualize something to make it come true that is related to weight loss.
I didn't weigh myself today, I decided to quit while I was ahead from Thursday night. On Tuesday, it will officially be 8 weeks since my surgery. I'd wanted to lose 40 pounds by then. I'm not going to peek. I'm going to try to excercise every day. I hurt my right foot in the city today, I'm not sure how. Hopefully I just pulled something and it will be fine again tomorrow. I only want to do 2 miles tomorrow. I did 5 miles last Sunday, 3 miles on Wednesday, 2 miles on Friday, 4 miles today..........
Monday, 5/3
228.5 this morning!
Monday, 5/17
I'm entering my weight today as 226, although I hit that mark last week and didn't update. I'm hoping I'm a little less than that.. yesterday morning it was 222.5 and then yesterday afternoon it was 226 again.
I went on my whirlwind trip through Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, so after all that restaurant food and interruption to my excercise schedule, I was just glad I didn't gain.
Monday, 5/24
222 these days.. it's like 219, 219.5, 221.5, so I'm going to call it 222. I've been checking the March 2004 WLS Reunion Board and there are a few women around my surgery date in the same loss range as me so I am not freaking out.
It took me a while to recuperate from my trip. Yesterday I did 1.7 miles in the neighborhood and today I did 2.7 miles in the gym. I got my grade from Stress Class - I got an "A". Tomorrow night I start my summer classes. Stress class was through a local community college. Class tomorrow is real - it's for my Master's degree from which I've been on hiatus for a WHILE now. I have two classes that I'm taking this summer - Human Homeostatis and the Environment and International Management Systems Standards. They are the last two classes I need for my degree, and then I have to do my capstone project - unfortunately no ideas there yet but hopefully one will come.
Tuesday, 6/1
216.5 today. *ALMOST* Fifty pounds down.
I had my nephew for a few hours yesterday. When I walked in the house, he gave me a big hug and said, "You're one of us now". My mother is a normal weight and my sister, if anything, is underweight, and my nephew is thin and lanky. I love this kid so much. I know what he meant. He's happy for me.
I threw up for just the second time this weekend. I had crackers and cheese at a get-together, and one piece of salami. I didn't have that much of it. I don't know if there was sugar in the crackers (I didn't think to read the box ahead of time) or if the salami didn't agree with me. We had to make a hasty exit and I was fine after I got rid of it.
I went to the gym Sunday and tried to go Monday also but I got there before they opened, so I returned home and did a few miles in the neighborhood.
6/7 Monday
210.5 this morning.
I've been being good. I walked the boards Friday, went to the gym Sunday, walked the neighborhood yesterday after a support group meeting.
6/29/04 Tuesday
207 this morning. There are a couple of reasons - I slacked off a bit on my excercise regimen and I've been having more carbs. I went on vacation to western PA, visited Falling Water (the famous Frank Lloyd Wright house), Hershey Park, a cavern, and the Celtic Fling on the grounds of the PA Renn Fair. I'm getting on track now, it's just hard because I've got a lot of things going on. Last night I went to the gym and tanning, then I got some pictures from the trip developed, then I went to dinner, and then I went food shopping. Tonight I have to get my blood drawn (first bloodwork since surgery), pick up a dress I had altered for a wedding on Saturday, go to the gym, and attend class. Tomorrow I've got an employees' club meeting after work, then a haircut, plus tanning maybe? Thursday night I've got class again, plus tanning and the gym. Friday night I've got to get my mani/pedi and my sister and nephew are supposed to be stopping by, and then Saturday is the wedding.!!
Saturday, 7/3
204 this morning. I'm looking forward to breaking the 200 barrier. I've been feeling like my weight loss is slow, but I did lose 14 lbs this month - I would have considered that pretty spectacular before surgery. Last night we went to dinner at Fridays and I have a habit now to request the to-go box when the food is delivered so that I can get the extra out of my sight, otherwise I keep eating subconsciously until I'm really uncomfortable. Anyway, I always enjoy picking up my to-go box and feeling how heavy it is. Check out all the food that I DON'T eat now, and I'm OK - I don't feel like I'm starving still after I eat my smaller portion, like I would have before surgery. Before surgery, I'd eat everything on my plate without question. At weddings if they took my half-eaten plate away while I was dancing or socializing I'd be pissed - tonight I will probably have to ask them to clear my plate - they're not going to think I ate anything!
I'm so happy and excited that I'll be under 200 pounds for my birthday. If I could get to 185, that would be tying my lowest-ever adult weight, when I was 23 and went on Optifast. Let's see... My birthday is about five weeks away... It's definitely do-able!
Friday, 7-9-04
I actually FORGOT to weigh myself this morning, my official four month anniversary. I just did it now and the scale said 201 - so maybe I was 200 this morning!
I think 185 by the second week of August is reasonable.
Tuesday, 7/13
199.5 this morning. I went to the surgeon yesterday; my blood work was fine and he's pleased with my loss.
Last night after I saw the doc, I don't know what my problem was,but I came home and ate carbs - so much that I actually had to get sick.
I have to get back to my excercise routine.
Everybody at work comments on how different I look; I still have so far to go (in my view) that I just blow them off. I feel like I can't 'savor' it because I'm so worried about not doing everything I can to 'work' it.
7/13 - later that day:
I just found my Lean Line book (like Weight Watchers) from high school.
On 12/13/89, I was sixteen years old. I weighed 216 pounds. My goal weight in the book was 141.
On 5/9/90, I weighed 205.5 lbs. It took me six months to lose ten pounds - and I earned my Varsity letter that year, so I wasn't a complete slouch.
This morning I weighed myself and the scale said 199.5.
I know that's not real - it will take a couple of <200 weigh-ins before I'll officially say I broke 200.
But finding my record book - man... what a perspective.
I weigh less today than I did when I was sixteen... almost half my age today.
7/23/04
197 lbs, officially because it has been steady for a few days now. I've been totally overwhelmed lately at work, at school.. But I'm happy to say that I completed some stuff at work that's been hanging over my head for months, and I'm all set to be out of the office for two weeks. (week 1 is vacation with my nephew, week 2 is a business trip to the west coast, mostly to do training and a little auditing.)
This weekend, I have to write a paper for grad school, and then I will *REALLY* be able to relax. It was pouring rain tonight after I left work but I'm hoping to get in some nice walks this weekend, they really help with the stress.
Mon, 7/26
195.5 this morning. That's more than seventy pounds. I'm still working on my paper (went to the Library of Science & Medicine at Rutgers). I went for a walk yesterday, a little over two miles. It was nice.
Someone told me I have 'striking' eyes today - I didn't tell her they're colored contacts! :)
Mon, 8/9
191.5 this morning. Today is my 31st birthday, and the five-month anniversary of my surgery. I've lost 75 pounds - I could never have done this without the help of my friends, surgeons, family and support groups.
I was on the west coast for work last week, and the week prior, I took my nephew on vacation (locally). So I have not been following my normal diet and excercise routine. I'm looking forward to getting back in the groove. I went for a walk yesterday evening, that was really nice.
I still have to finish my paper for school, and I have a final exam to work on this week as well.
Sat, 8/14
187.5 this morning. That's incredible - I wasn't expecting a four pound drop - I thought maybe I'd break 190. Crazy. My eating was very good this week, I had fish and chicken for my lunches and I even had a shake one night for dinner. (Shakes every day for breakfast.)
I submitted my final exam yesterday; I hope my professor is okay with it. This morning I'm going to work on my paper for the other class - man if I can finish it it would feel like another 20 pounds off my back.
Hurricane Charlie is supposed to come up the east coast today and get here tonight. I'm a little nervous about flooding because I'm one town away from a Hurricane Floyd disaster area, and it always floods in front of my house when it rains heavy.
Tues, 8/17
***I FINISHED MY PAPER AND SUBMITTED IT***
I don't know how good it is because I can't look at it without my eyes crossing - BUT IT IS DONE.
HOOOOO RAY.
Weds, 8/18
I GOT AN A ON MY PAPER! WHAT a LOAD off!
I'm almost tempted to think I won't know what to do with myself. Nothing is as attractive now that I'm not procrastinating anymore.
Tues, 8/25
186 - I was eating a lot of carbs this past week (relatively speaking) but for the past two days I've been barely eating at all; just stuff not agreeing or no time. Anyway, it's officially -80, I think that's pretty great. I'm off the chart on this website to project your weightloss.
I joined a new gym yesterday - Eclipse in Green Brook. I'm undecided; today was my first day there. Tomorrow I'm meeting with a personal trainer and we'll see how that goes. Email me if you want the low-down.
Anyway I was on the treadmill for forty minutes. Not too far distance wise/not too many calories but my goal is just to be in my target heart rate zone for at least thirty minutes five times a week.
Yesterday I stopped at the bowling alley in Green Brook too. The only public social leagues they have are late at night (9:00 - which is tough when you consider that bowling is typically at least 2 hours, plus time to unwind after because it IS excercise, and I have to get up at five in the morning.) and there are really only two that I think would be appropriate for me - my purpose in joining is to get a different kind of excercise, and also to make local friends because I don't have many, so anyway they have a "Christmas club" league which I anticipate is going to be dominated by women twice my age, or at least women with children, who would not necessarily be good "running buddies" for me, or a "singles league" which a) my boyfriend might not be too excited about me joining and b) might be full of divorced men twice my age. So I'm kind of in a holding pattern on local bowling right now.
Thursday 8/26
185 this morning but anytime I have a one pound variation I know it isn't real.
I went to the gym tonight after work for a personal training session. I enjoyed it, the trainer was nice and they actually do a pretty decent snapshot of you. In actuality it was more thorough than any of the physicals I had to have in order to play sports in high school. It included being weighed, a body fat composition analysis (34.5% but at least I was ON the chart, I was a bit worried about being off the chart. I wonder how bad it would have said I was six months ago), being measured (arms, legs, waist and hips - I have complete measurements at home of everything including neck and ankles but I understand they're not as hung up on it as I am), a flexibility test (average), and a fitness test which was basically comparing my resting heart rate, excercising heart rate, and recovery heart rate - which is a legitimate way to measure CV fitness. Then my trainer took me through some stretches and excercises and put me on an elliptical machine which is harder than I imagined. Got my heart rate up into the 160s - I had to try to slow myself down a little.
Hopefully I will sleep well tonight.
9/2
183 this morning. Last night was my fantasy football draft.
9/8
I've been holding around 183/184. Soon it will break, I know.
I got to talk to a WLS friend tonight about some of the deeper issues behind my eating. I'm very lucky to have her to talk to.
9/12
181.5 this morning. Probably not real but I'm going to roll with it. Today is my company picnic - I'm hoping for a good time. I'm going to wear a football jersey - we'll have to see how the pictures come out.
9/15/04
180 today. I could use a support group meeting right about now. I have a stressful situation in my life. Good stress, not bad stress.. but stress. I'll write more about it after I get over the indecision part. Everytime I think about it, my stomach clenches.
9/18/04 Saturday
179 now. So my stress was, I have decided to take a new job, and I was agonizing over telling my current employer. I have been trying to keep my doctors' nurse's advice, which is to make no major changes in the first year, but, the opportunity is with a Fortune 100 company, in the pharmaceutical industry, and I couldn't let it go by. So Friday morning I submitted my resignation, and it's all over buy the crying in two weeks when I leave. I am hopeful about my new job; everyone I met during the three rounds of interviews was very nice, the atmosphere seemed good, and the work load, if anything, will be less stressful than my current position. Oh, and the new job is 12 miles from my house, instead of 50. So that HAS to be a positive thing, right?
Today I'm meeting some friends for brunch & bowling. We were originally intending to go to Great Adventure but the remains of Ivan will be here in NJ today. This will be the first time one of them has seen me since before surgery, and the first time the rest have seen me in about two months. For some reason, I feel wierd pressure to be noticeably skinnier each time I see my friends...
9/20, Monday
181 this morning. I don't normally record it when it fluctuates up, I usually go with the lowest recent number, but today I will. I'm recording it because it occurs to me that in two weeks, I'm going to be starting a new job. I am grateful that I have not reacted to the sorrow of leaving my current coworker friends and the fear of the unknown at the new job by eating. I could easily have gained 5 or 10 pounds in this situation, this time last year. This occurred to me this morning as I as driving to work. I was thinking that, for the first time, I do not have to go to the store and buy looser clothing to start my new job and still try to look nice. The stuff I have now will still work in two weeks. Incredible.
That's my happy thought for today.
Thursday, 9/23
177 this morning. It's two months to the day of my first interview with my new company, and I have lost 20 pounds in those two months. How exciting to be losing instead of gaining!
Friday, 9/24
Still really excited. Between the weight loss and the new job, it's like I have the opportunity to start a brand new life - this is many times better than the "new life" feeling I got when I graduated from college. I think this is the best "new life" feeling I have ever had.
I just need to get back into the gym habit.
Saturday, 10/2
Yesterday was my last day working for my old company. I was there for five and a half years, almost to the day. I didn't have enough time to say my goodbyes as I would have liked, because I was trying to wrap things up. But it still went pretty well. When people leave the company we usually organize a bon voyage happy hour for them. We had mine at Bar Anticipation in Belmar, which was like a home away from home for me the years I lived in Belmar. It was saying goodbye to coworkers, that job, and that phase of my life.
I teared up a few times but all in all I took it so much better than I thought I would. I used to like to drink vodka tonics pre-op but tonic water has so much sugar I'd be afraid to even try it now, so I ordered Ketel One and water, and I squeezed a bunch of lemons and limes into it, and mixed in 2 Sweet & Lows. People would offer to buy me drinks and I would tell them to get me a shot of Ketel and I just added it to my original drink - It kept getting stronger and stronger, I stopped drinking completely after about 2 hours and the pint glass was still half full. I did get drunk but It was not bad, I was able to enjoy it for a little while and I didn't have the "losing my buzz" feeling that beer has given me post-op (again, one beer lasts me for 1 1/2 to 2 hours). I didn't get the chance to eat dinner, which was bad, but I didn't eat crap either. I had my protein shake this morning and I had one yesterday too so I'm sure I'll be fine.
I took LOTS of pictures with everyone. Even at my heaviest, I've always been a picture girl. I'll see about getting a new one up on this profile; the "after" picture I currently have up is at least two months old now.
I made an appointment for a makeover this afternoon to get ready for my new job, so I have to get myself together.
Thursday, 10/7
173 this morning. I stopped looking for a while there but I decided to check today. Things are great at the new job. I have decided not to tell them about my surgery.
Monday, 10/11
What a weekend. I went to see my nephew play football in NW Jersey and then went down to AC for a bachelorette party. The group of six women went through four bottles of wine.. dinner at Caesar's cost us $96/person. What can you do?
Work is going so great.
My six month (late) follow up appointment was today. My B levels were on the low end of the range so the doctor wrote me a script for snortable B. So we'll see how that goes. I'm going to wait until I get my new insurance cards to fill it. I'm done with the surgeon now until March 05.
Monday, 10/18
So what's new... I'm still loving the new job. This past weekend was Rutgers Homecoming so I got to see my college friends. I've got two girlfriends' birthday dinners this week, and a workshop, and maybe a support group meeting. I usually go to at least one a week and normally two but this is going to be a busy week. Saturday I'm going to see my nephew play football again. It might be his last game of the season. I'm winning my fantasy football league, go Daunte Culpepper. Last week I tried out the gym at work and it was good. My abs were so sore after that it kind of felt like right after surgery again.
Sunday, 11/7
171.5 today. That's ok, it's good to be getting off my plateau. This week I will be able to excercise more, I have less plans on my social calendar. Thank goodness.
I went to a wedding last night in a size 14 dress. That's really exciting for me. I've never been able to wear a special occasion dress in a straight size. And I was able to get it on sale, too. If the pictures come out well I will put one up here.
Things are pretty good at my new job. I have work to do now, the honeymoon is over and I found some things that I have to fix. There are a few things coming up this month that are going to be stressful but I will try to be conscious of what I'm doing and eating.
11/9
169 this morning - that's cool. Today is my 8 month anniversary.
I'm wearing a ribbed turtleneck. I never thought I would.
11/11
I guess I'm off my plateau! Hopefully I'm not jinxing myself but I'm at 168 this morning. I just am amazed and so fortunate. I have some extra stuff to show for the damage I'd done to myself, but almost all of it is under clothes. My arms are not the best. I wore a short sleeved dress to the wedding on the principal that hey, I used to show my arms before and they weren't great, but when I got my photos developed I could see that they kind of detracted from the dress because my arms looked fat. But anyway, pictures aren't everything. The people who saw me in person said I looked great. And appearance isn't everything, either. I'm STILL excited that I was able to wear 2 1/2" heels all night at that wedding. OK I was limping back to the car but I would normally have started limping much, much earlier. And the shoes were a 9 1/2, not a 10.
It's nice to be losing again, at least for a few days in a row. I knew I wasn't done yet but it's encouraging to see movement again.
Tues 11/23
167 today. I guess I'm really starting to slow down. My boyfriend says things are shifting again - I don't see it but I will give it more time. That's really all you can do.
Black Friday
I was debating last night about what I was going to do today, but in the morning I got up and went to Menlo Park mall. I thought I might run into a friend who'd said she was planning to go there. I didn't see her but I did find some good presents so I'm glad about that. The one downer was Macy's. My boyfriend's niece & nephew (twins) are having a birthday party tomorrow, and he never went shopping for them. So while I was out, I looked for clothes for them. None of the kids' clothes stores had any quality sweaters so I pored over Macys and finally found two sweaters apiece. Well, it turned into a nightmare. I stood on line to check out for one hour and forty five minutes. I didn't care about sales or it being black Friday, I just needed presents for those kids, and man what a pain in the @ss. I'm still angry about it.
I drank a protein shake in the car around 8:00. At 9:00 I got coffee in the mall. I left the mall around 1:30, went to Wendy's to pick up a small chili because I was worn out and my blood sugar was low, went to the post office for stamps, came home, ate the chili, and then blew leaves off the lawn for an hour. Went back out, picked up boxes to put the presents in, as well as Christmas wrapping paper, etc.
I'm beat. It's quarter to nine and I just want to go to bed at this point.
Sunday, 11/28
165 this morning - I am finally below 166, which means I have broken the arbitrary 100 pound barrier. I am very glad about it, just because I don't have to say ninety-nine pounds anymore. I'm moving into the big numbers, triple digit losses now.
I slept late today. I actually woke up around 7:15 but I went back to bed, I didn't feel like getting up at the time. I had my shake around 9:30, 10:00 and I just had some leftover steak with some potato (protein first but it was a little dry so a little potato helped it go down easier.) It was leftover from Outback last night. I stopped eating it last night and even this afternoon as soon as I started to lose interest in it. If I'm not hungry anymore, even if I don't feel FULL, I would like to stop. I think I'll have a nice apple for a snack later.
I'm dreading a big meeting at work on Tuesday morning so I have to be careful to watch my eating today and tomorrow. I am already planning to work out for a long time after work tomorrow night because that will also help me to not get overstressed.
Yesterday I went to my boyfriend's niece and nephew's birthday party and then I hung out with a support group friend. When I say she's a support group friend, that is not to imply that that is the limit of our friendship, just that that was the source of our friendship, same way as I would refer to a college friend. Actually a college friend called me today to go dress shopping with her for her wedding but today we are cleaning the house and my boyfriend would have killed me if he thought I didn't participate enough so I told her I couldn't today; but I'm on the hook to go bridesmaid dress shopping next Sunday, which is o.k.
Tuesday, 12/6
163.5 this morning. My boss asked me yesterday if I'd lost weight, I told him about eight pounds since I started, which was two months ago. So that is about four pounds per month. I think that's fine.
Thursday, 12/9, my official nine month anniversary
162 this morning. That's pretty exciting - I've never been this light before. I am confident that I am going to get to goal (150? 145 maybe even). I feel great, except I got a cold earlier in the week.
Friday, 12/10
160.5 today. That's amazing.
Sunday, 12/19
162 today. I know why - I have been eating carbs - and I'm going to fix that. On a happier note, I finally got a more recent picture up on my profile. The new picture was taken at a Sears picture studio at the end of November, so almost nine months out. I needed a head shot for work so I decided to go to a professional place to have it taken. Man is it expensive - makes kids' school pictures look like a bargain, and they're a rip off too. But anyway, I did it. No Glamour Shots because they have a very trademark, cheesy look.
Almost done with my Christmas shopping.
Saturday, December 25, Christmas Day
I have a cold, unfortunately, and it's kind of draining me. But I got more than I planned for everyone this year, except my nephew, because each year the things he puts on his list get more expensive so I can't affort to buy as many of them. I got a lot for my sister, mom, and boyfriend.
Sunday, 12/26
160.5 this morning.
Christmas went o.k. My nephew cried when he didn't get one of the toys that was on his list, but he still has other houses to visit, so I think he'll get it. I guess he just had it built up in his mind too much.
I am glad to be at 160.5 This month, my sister moved in to my boyfriend's house with us. She had been living with a guy who was mentally and physically abusive and he threw her out and she had no where to go. On one hand I am glad to know she is safe, but on the other, I am very claustrophobic. I'm claustrophobic just living with my boyfriend sometimes. I miss having my own place and space. So this is a real stress for me. I'm glad to be at 160.5 because it means I haven't gained weight with her moving in. That's an accomplishment all by itself.
My sister is 5'5, about 110 lbs. She buys jeans in a size 1 or 3. A few of the tops that I bought for her for Christmas in small, I was able to buy for myself in medium. Not everything, mind you, but even two shirts - that's pretty incredible. My mom bought us both Planet Hollywood muscle shirts from a recent trip to Vegas, so we will be dressing like twins this summer.
My nephew is staying with us for a few days while he has off from school. I can't wait for us to go to the movies. A few weeks ago my sister and I went to see him wrestle and I took him and his stepmom to the diner for lunch afterward, and my nephew told me that I'm "normal" size now. That's cool.
I'm wearing anything from Medium to XLarge tops, depending on the cut, manufacturer, fabric, and style. I'm wearing anything from size 6 to size 12 pants, again, dependent on those same items. I don't mind it, I know I'm getting smaller, but it's still pretty risky for people to buy me stuff on the fly. I ordered some stuff for a ski trip next month and I was totally winging the sizes, so we'll see.
New Year's Eve
160.0 this morning, against my predictions. I'll have to check the calibration on the scale.
My nephew went home with his father today. My sister, boyfriend, and I celebrated new year's by going out to dinner and the movies. My sister and I dressed in the same outfits.. same pair of jeans (hers, size 3, mine, size 11) and same fleece tops (hers, small, mine, medium) just for kicks. This is the first time we could wear clothes from the same store, let alone the same actual clothes. We went to a barbecue place and we each bagged half of our dinners. At the movies, we saw Blade: Trinity. It wasn't really a "happy new year" kind of movie but that's ok, it was just something to do besides go out to a bar, fight for space, have all of our clothes and our jackets smell like ashtrays, drink, and then worry about making it home with drunk drivers on the road. We were back at the house around 10:30, so we were in the clear.
New Year's is so arbitrary anyway, people tie so much into it, that they have to do something memorable, special, etc. It's better if you look at it like any other Friday night. No event, party, bar, what-have-you can live up to the pressure to be a perfect new year kick-off/omen.
The worst thing about it is that my gym at work will probably be crowded for the next couple of weeks with resolution makers. I do want to spend time this weekend to make some fitness goals, but they're not resolutions, and I've been working on it for a while. Several weeks ago I was considering registering for a fitness class at a community college, but then I decided that since I don't need the credits, why not just buy the textbook and read it? So that's what I've been doing. I'm almost halfway done, and it's a really good book. It talks about the five components of fitness: cardiovascular, strength, endurance, flexibility, and nutrition. So it's good. I want to set goals like, be able to complete a 1.5 mile run test within the time range that is "average" for someone my age. I did the test a few weeks ago and it took me 20:22 to complete the 1.5 miles - I could not run for the whole thing, although I can almost do a halfmile without stopping to walk, and then I walk, and then I run some more, and so on. So 20:22 was considered poor on the chart. So I'd like to get myself up to average. I'd like to be able to "pull my own weight", fitness-wise. It's not enough to be lighter, although it is wonderful, but it takes more than losing weight to be healthy. And I'd like to be really healthy. I've never had that feeling, the self assurance of knowing I could run a mile, or that I could lift myself up out of the water in a boat unaided.. when I was a kid we had a boat, and my father had to really heave to get me back in to it after we jumped out to swim. That was really embarassing and I felt terrible about it. I want to put that to rest.
New Year's Day
159.0 this morning. I have been better the past two days. I'm going to have a shake for dinner tonight to help. I haven't started to work on my goals yet today but I'm in the mood now so that is a good sign. I may even clean my desk!
1/3/05
157.0 this morning - yay!
Yesterday I did clean my desk (at least, partially). I also reviewed my finances and made some plans for 2005. I'd like to get all my debt paid off in the next two years so I had to make some action plans. I should be able to do it. I have my car paid off now, my surgery is paid off, I have only $1000 left on my tuition, so that will be done in April, and then just my regular long-standing debt. I feel good about the plan I made.
So my financial goals are set. Still have lots of other goals to work on.
1/6/05 Thursday
155.5 this morning. I've really been on a roll this past week! How nice it is when plateaus break. I went to a step aerobics class during lunch on Tuesday and I'm planning to go to another one today. I am still sore from the first one but it's not the kind of sore that suggests injury, it's the kind of sore that you need to "play through" to make improvements. It's a little disappointing to me to be sore but the class was an interval class, which means that we stopped to do some work with a body bar, including lunges and squats which are always my weakness, and we did work on the step like raising and lowering our weight with our arms and doing crunches. So that's the component that made me sore.
1/10/05 Monday
This morning my wellness professional at work at I performed a body fat analysis on me using an electrical impedance monitor. I know they're not perfect but I think with my extra skin, I'll never get an accurate estimate with the skin fold caliper method. I figure as long as I use the same method consistently, I'll be able to observe the trend, which is what's important.
My result was 26.9%, which is within the acceptable range for my gender and age - 18-27%. That's good. I had had a body fat comp test on me (same type but different brand of meter) on 8/26/04, I weighed 185 lbs, and I was happy to just be on the CHART at 34.5%. So I've improved. Body fat composition analysis is important because watch this:
8/26/04 = 185 lbs @ 34.5% body fat = 63.8 lbs of fat
1/10/05 = 155 lbs @ 26.9% body fat = 41.7 lbs of fat
I lost 30 pounds, but only about 22 pounds of it was fat - so the other 8 pounds was probably some muscle. I have to make sure that what I'm losing is fat. The way to do that is maintain a calorie deficit but specifically a deficit in dietary fat, to get enough protein (not a problem for me), and to excercise so that I continue to keep my muscles in "maintain/build" mode.
I am in the process of getting all my "baselines" together so that I can set my fitness goals and measure my progress in 2005. I am starting basically at "normal", which is to say, not overweight but also not in "shape".
On Saturday my sister and I went to see my nephew wrestle. He weighed in at 61.5 and he's supposed to wrestle at 62, but his coaches always seem to let another kid wrestle at 62 and bump my nephew up to wrestle opponents who are at 64 - which means they could weight as much as 65.5. Four pounds is a real difference when you're his age, weight, and experience. He won his first match by points. During his second match, he was losing - the other kid was wracking up points and at one point he picked up my nephew and threw him to the mat - my nephew's whole team went, "Oh, NO!" My nephew was a team captain on Saturday. But then, my nephew turned it around and pinned his opponent. When you pin, it's an automatic win regardless of the point standings. So now my nephew is 5-0 for the season in matches, which is terrific. We are so pround of him. Afterward we brought him to my house to stay over.
In the morning my sister and I drove to pick up my mom and then we all went to visit my grandmother in the nursing home. My mom had told me right before Christmas that my grandma was not doing well, but her condition has gotten much worse and I was not prepared for it. She is in constant, unrelenting pain. She was crying and moaning when we walked in, and the nurse said she had given her a Vicodin, but it wasn't enough so the nurse also gave her a shot of Demerol while we were there, and it did not seem to help. The nurse said she would call the E.R. on-call doctor and try to get my grandmother more medication so that she could just pass out and sleep. I don't understand why her doctor is not medicating my grandmother better. She is 94 years old. There is no merit in leaving her in such pain. She should be on a morphine drip. It was a really bad visit. There wasn't anything we could do to make her feel better. My mom is going to call the doctor today.
My grandmother lived a pretty hard life. She raised six children alone, she worked two jobs. I would consider her "tough". To see her so helpless and in such pain, it was heart-wrenching. The nursing home is near my aunt's house in Pennsylvania, I drove a total of 320 miles yesterday. We are in the position where you feel guilty that you aren't there, but also when you are there, you're helpless and there isn't anything we can do to help with the pain (besides ream the doctor.) My grandmother is in so much pain, that she didn't care if we were there or not. Our presence did not make her feel better in any way, not even subconsciously that she was not alone. Her pain is so great that I think she is walled inside it. I said a prayer to god that he should just take her. Of my whole family, she has always had faith, she has always tried to be a good Christian. I don't understand why god is leaving her in this pain. There is no lesson here.
Friday 1/21
155.5 this morning. My grandma passed away Wednesday night. My mother had gone to see her last Sunday and she was just sleeping from the medication, not eating (she would not allow a feeding tube) and not producing any waste, so we knew it would be over soon. It is hard when I think that I will never be able to ask my grandma for advice again, or never be able to make her proud again, but I know that she is at peace and that is the most important thing. A lot of the grieving process is reconciling yourself to the fact that you can't have what you want for yourself. It is more important that she is free now.
I left work early yesterday to pick up my aunt who lives in Nebraska from the airport and bring her out to Pennsylvania, where my grandmother's nursing home was and where another aunt lives. We were meeting up there with my mom to go through the belongings my grandmother had had with her in the nursing home, mostly photographs.
Monday, 1/31/05
156.0 this morning, but I deserve it because I got off track for a while there. I'm not worried, I know it'll come off this week no problem because I'm going back to basics. It's time to lose the rest of this weight.
I went skiing this weekend with some friends from college and my sister at Jack Frost, PA. We had a blast! The guys went off on their own because they were advanced skiers, and us girls all took a lesson together. It worked out great - a) because our lesson turned out to basically be private, it was just the four girls and our instructor, and b) all four of us were at a similar skill level. I accomplished some new milestones - including, skiing on and off the real lifts without any problem at all, not even close to falling, and skiing a "blue" run for the first time - twice! And the best was that I was able to ski with my little sister and hang right in there with her. She's always been more athletic and coordinated with me so I was realy psyched. I'm really trying to see myself as normal now. There were a lot of guys checking me and my sister out on the mountain, it was cool.
2/3/05 - 154 today and yesterday
I knew I'd be o.k. Things are going well. My boyfriend got my sister a job where he works, today is her first day, I hope that goes well.
I'm focusing on each day one at a time and trying not to get stressed out about long term potential outcomes of the situations surrounding my life. It's helping me to reduce my stress level. Tonight I'm meeting a friend to work out. She's post-op, too, a little less than a month ahead of me. I think it'll be good for us to support eachother like this; by helping get her into the gym, I'm getting myself into the gym. How crazy that still I am more motivated by the desire to help others than to take care of myself. I'm getting it but slowly.
2/7/05 - 151.5 this morning, we'll see if it sticks.
I went out Friday night for happy hours with friends from my old job, and people were complimenting me on my appearance. One friend, who hadn't seen me in a few months, was actually kind of thrown off. He felt like it wasn't me anymore. I know how he feels, I had the same thing with a friend who'd had surgery before me. I told him it'll even out the next time he sees me.
Sunday I had friends over for the Superbowl. By definition, all of my eating was grazing, but I hit the vegetable platter hard, had some cocktail shrimp, devilled eggs w/out the filling (I never really cared for it), some cheese (yes a few crackers) and one potato skin. Not bad. All of my friends are trying to eat more healthily so there wasn't anything there that was out of control.
2/9/05 151.5 again this morning
I'm totally excited that I'm so close to breaking 150. Who knows when the last time was that I was under 150.
I went to a support group meeting last night. I go almost every Tuesday night. The meetings recently moved to Bound Brook which is great because it's right around the corner from my house. The meetings are usually good. I almost always get something valuable out of it - either I share something that someone tells me they needed to hear or I hear something that I needed to hear. In football they say that you have to put yourself in a position to win, and I think that is why I go to the meetings, whether I'm in the mood or not. I have to put myself in a position to win.
I'm down 114 pounds - that is about what my little sister weighs. I am going to continue to lose, because I do a lot of the right things. I don't think I wrote this down before but on Monday I went to the gym at work during lunch and I RAN a mile. I mean, moving at a pace of 5 miles per hour, I ran for 12 continuous minutes. UNREAL. That was awesome. I want to do it again today. This is a great place to work.
I'm going to Walmart after work to pick up my glasses and to take my sister for the follow-up to her exam from last week. Maybe her glasses will be in, too, but I doubt it. Mine took more than one week and I have an easier prescription. I'm -1.25 and -2; she's -9.5 and -10.
There was a discussion last night about use (or abuse) of scales at home. I *do* weigh myself, usually every day although if I forget I can go a few days without it. There is a concern that people use scales to sabotage themselves, to set themselves up to say, forget it. I understand that but it hasn't really happened to me yet. My scale feedback has been predominantly positive or neutral. Once in a while I'll go up but so far not more than four pounds, and I know that there are natural variations in my weight, and I know when I've been misbehaving, and I reign myself in. Going back, when I was ballooning, I never bothered to weigh myself, I just let myself go. So now I keep an eye on things because I'm actively engaged in my weight loss process. If I hit a bad plateau (more than two weeks), I will get off the scale for a week, but so far, it hasn't been really necessary to do that.
2/10/05
Yesterday I went to the fitness center after work and tried to run as much as I could. On Monday I went for 12 minutes straight but I couldn't do that yesterday. Anyway, I wanted to document my current performance levels:
First 1.5 miles: 20:47 = 4.33 mph = 13:86 minute mile
For 2 miles overall: 28:14 = 4.25 mph = 14:12 minute mile
For the event: 2.3 miles, 35:00, = 3.94 mph = 15:22 minute mile
I *almost* was able to break the 14 minute mile pace for two miles. I'm about halfway there. Hopefully I can do it in the next two weeks, I think that is a do-able goal. We'll watch and see.
2/10/05
Later that day...
I got "deferred" from giving blood this morning. My count was 11.7 so we repeated the test using another finger and it was 11.8. Minimum to donate is 12.5
Valentine's Day!
Over the weekend I went out and bought an iron supplement. As I mentioned, my multi has iron but I must not be getting enough out of it, so I have decided to do a separate iron as well, just like I do for vitamin B complex. I have a few weeks until I get my blood drawn for my one year follow up so I will see how it looks then.
I went to the fitness center at work on Saturday and I had the place ALL TO MYSELF - that is AWESOME. So I took the opportunity to really push it. Here's what I did:
First 1.5 miles: 19:41 = 4.57 mph = 13:12 minute mile
For 2 miles overall: 27:10 = 4.44 mph = 13:51 minute mile
For the event: 3.2 miles, 45:00, = 4.27 mph = 14:06 minute mile
I'm totally proud of myself - I was way under the 15 minute mile pace, even when you include my cool down. In about two weeks, I'd like to break the 13 minute mile. I'm just going to excercise normally this week - not try to break any barriers, just train, and then in two weeks I'll max out again and see what I've got.
I read in a runner's forum that you can prevent shin splints by using the treadmill with a high incline, so that is what I think I'll do today. Yesterday I went for a walk around the neighborhood. I don't think I got my heart rate into my target zone but the walk was 45+ minutes and I think I went 2.5+ miles (I will have to