Biggest Loser Marathon and the Jack LaLanne Juicer giveaway winner!

Biggest Loser Marathon Season 12
Debbie and Johnny - running

I am a sucker for the Biggest Loser marathon.  I am. And I'm glad they brought it back this year.

I know critics will argue that people don't live like that in reality, with trainers around the clock and nothing to do but train but so what? 

me at my heaviest

Aside from the training / reality debate of it all, I still feel a swell of emotion when I watch it.  Perhaps it's because I can relate to these people.  A few years ago, I could've qualified to be a contestant on the Biggest Loser.  At 236 pounds I would've fit right in at the ranch. Like those contestants, running two feet at my highest weight was extremely difficult, running 26.2 was flat out impossible. I would've laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of the suggestion. Better chance of me going to the moon. It was that impossible.

Yet, like the biggest loser contestants, I found health, the power of believing in yourself, the willingness to try and an incredible physical and emotional transformation.  

I guess for me, as each one of those contestants cross the finish line, it reminds me of my own journey of literally going "from fat to finish line."  I know what it feels like to come back from practically being dead -- from killing yourself through self-loathing, enough to eat yourself into a hole of fatness that you're not sure you'll ever find your way out of. 

me this past Sat. night.

But somehow they and I - whether it was from luck, hard work, a TV show, a gift from God or whatever -- found the strength to put one foot in front of the other and save ourselves.  We got out of that hole and to a starting line.  We found a life worth living.

All of their lives are changed from this experience. From Ramon who finished around the 5 hour mark to Jennifer who sobbed tears of joy into the arms of Bob for her accomplishment… 

I was truly moved by 65 year old Johnny and 60 year old Debbie, who stuck together and walked much of it but soldiered on to cross that finish line, even though it took more than 10 hours.

My heart broke for Joe who DNF'ed because the show doctor pulled him a little over mile 20 -- he was so close and was determined to finish but the doc feared long term injury and wouldn't allow him to. My heart ached for him, even if it was the right decision. I would've been devastated to have to quit and I saw a new competitor in him (even though he was walking) who didn't want to give up in his eyes.

If nothing else, I hope that some people who watch the show and have ever thought, "I can't" can see that there always is a way to "can" instead.

Deep breath. Allow me to dry my tears and switch topics...

First, a shout out to all my new followers, thank you. I'm so happy to have you and I love your comments. Please stick around and contribute!

And in other news… The big winner of the Jack LaLanne juicer is Book Dragon!  Book Dragon was selected thru Random Number Generator.

Contact me so I can make arrangements to ship you your winnings!!

Did you watch the BL's marathon? What did you think?

XO
Jen

Watch out Mutai - Here I come! And an open letter to Nike+

Dear Nike+

People keep telling me I need to break up with you, that you're no good for me. That you tell me lies. 

I want to love you. Really I do. I love the bells and whistles, I love the 'cheers' I love your slick looks and other stuff.  I stick up for you, defend you and try to roll with the quirks.

And like many women before me, I even love when Tiger Woods whispers sweet nothings in my ear… "You've ran your fastest mile…" oh tell me more.

I really want to continue our love affair but if things don't change, I'm going to have to save my pennies and break up with you for the other guy. You know who I'm talking about, he rhymes with Charmin… 

Two days ago, you kicked me in the head and told me my run (and I know this was a pretty fast run) was a 15 minute mile. I don't walk that slow! When I protested, you tried to make me feel better - 

I just got an iPhone so I thought maybe the satellite App would be a better way to go.

And you gave me this feedback during my long run of yesterday:

YES. Nike+, you told me that my 8 mile run (which I know is 8 miles because I've done it 50,000 times before was actually a 9.72 run.

And even better, you told me that my first mile was run in 4.44! Wow - eat my dust Mutai who's average pace for the NYC marathon was 4:46.  Yes. Nike, you told me, i was that good.  Thanks. 'preciate that.

Your customer service is great -- but I'm sick of having to call you and have you upload workouts that vanish, get inaccurate information, and 'guess' if my pace and mileage is for 'realz' or not.

Sigh. I'll give your satellite App another shot or two and chalk it up to me fiddling with it before getting to my destination.  Hopefully we can work this out.

Love,

Jerseyjennyr

HoneyMilk + cool t-shirt = yay!
PS: oops - paper ball thing over my head from
recent party needs to be removed.

In other news, here was the best part of my 9.72 8 mile run yesterday - HONEYMILK! I recently won a case of Honeymilk and the fancy Cook, Train, Eat, Race teeshirt for naming Jason's newest pair of sneakers. So to recover, I decided try the Chocolate Honeymilk - WOW, my God, DEE-LISH. I will add it as another good reason to long run to my list - it was so good and felt like a reward.

Oh, and happy to report that I lost 2.4 pounds at Weight Watchers this week - so the Thanksgiving debacle has been erased and then some!

Hope all is good with you!

Don't forget to enter my Jack LaLanne Power Juicer giveaway!

XO

Jen

Jack LaLanne Power Juicer GIVEAWAY and review

I actually really like juicing - I have never personally owned my very own juicer up until now but when ever I'm someplace that juices, I'm all over it.  So I was thrilled when I got a shot to check out the Jack LaLanne Power Juicer!

Jack LaLanne juicer looking good

In full disclosure I do freelance work for the company that makes the Jack LaLanne juicer. I do a little television production type stuff but have never worked on the juicer itself. 

When I mentioned to someone in the offices that I would love to try the juicer they were quick to let me try it!  Let me tell you, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. 

When my energy is sinking mid-afternoon and I'm starting to look for stuff to snack on - this has taken the place. Instead of trying to get a boost from another cup of coffee or something sweet - I turn to juicing. I love that now I'm getting fired up with all kinds of yummy vitamins and nutrients.

My favorite recipe is a carrot-apple-ginger juice. I find it to be super tasty.

It's so easy - you just turn the machine on and add the veggies and fruits you want to and voila - the juice comes out.  If you're using organic veggies you don't even have to peel the carrots or anything. I cut up the apple for my recipe because I only use a half an apple for a little sweetness and eat the other half later on.

After checking out my own Jack LaLanne juicer for the last few weeks, I went back to the company and told them about my blog. 

Cheers!
PS: Check out the cool
t-shirt from
CookTrainRaceEat

They agreed to give one away to one of my readers! YIPPEE!!

The juicer retails for about $135 before shipping and taxes but can be yours absolutely free!

Here's what you need to do to enter the contest:

1. Mandatory - Follow my blog and leave a comment

2. Bonus - Follow me on twitter and leave a comment

3. Bonus - Tweet or link this contest on your blog - leave a comment

4. Bonus - Like me on my Facebook page and say hi over there

5. Bonus - Visit this power juicer page and tell me what kind of juice recipe you would try

Thank you for swinging by and good luck!

Winners will be picked and announced on or about December 7, 2011.

XO

Jen

While I do occasional freelance work with the company that makes this thing I am not being paid or compensated in any way for my review or giveaway and the views in this blog are entirely my own.