BIG NEWS! We are making a running documentary!

interviewing teammate
(and BL season 10 contestant) Ada Wong

I've been sitting on this secret for a few months now and finally we are at the point where we can announce it, shout it to the world!

We are making a movie!

Specifically, a running documentary!

More specifically a running documentary about my relay team's journey and race of the Miami, 2013 Ragnar!

What makes us so special? Well, each member of the team has lost an average of 100 pounds or more through eating right and running. That's what.

When I was invited onto this team, by Katie from Runs For Cookies,  I was honored and blown away. Thrilled. As a runner this was an unbelievable opportunity and a running dream come true.

As I got to know my AMAZING running-mates, the producer in me realized, "holy shit. There's a documentary in here!"

We will tell the back stories of all the runners, how they got heavy, battled the weight, continue to keep it off and how they began running - we'll then show the nitty-gritty of the actual race.

I think it'll be awesome. :) But I suppose I am biased.

As I spoke it over with my producing partners, we all got very excited and the idea was born.

We started filming a few weeks ago and I think it's going to be an awesome adventure.

We are calling the documentary From Fat To Finish Line. I grappled with this title big time and it made me uncomfortable to call it this. This documentary is NOT my story. It's the story of all 12 of us runners. I haven't lost the most weight on the team and my blog popularity is modest compared to some of my power-house blogging teammates.  So I really didn't want people getting the wrong idea with the title.

Still, my production partners and our agents all thought this was too strong of a title to not use it though. So From Fat To Finish Line the film was born.

interviewing teammate John

We are in the early fundraising stages of the film. Getting financed is never easy but we believe that this project will be super inspirational, motivational and exciting. I am going to DREAM BIG and believe we'll reach this finish line!

interviewing teammate Mary

You can keep up on the members of the team as well as the progress of the film by liking the film's From Fat To Finish Line - the Documentary Facebook page and following the film on Twitter!

Please take the time to follow both building up a community of fans can only help us out!

To say I'm excited is a gross understatement. This is the culmination of all of my passions. Running, health, helping others to get healthy, story telling and film making. This project is super, special to me and I'm so blessed to be a part of it - and so blessed to be on a team of such amazing, inspirational and passionate people.

Wish us luck! This is gonna be a hell of a journey :)

Here are all the runners and their blogs:

Rik (our team captain)
Katie (from 'Runs for Cookies')
Mary from 'a small loss'
Linda from 'Frickin Fabulous at 40'
Allison (no blog, but she's lost weight and taken up running)
ME! (from 'From FAT to Finish Line')
Andrea (who was on Oprah for her weight loss)

Meredith (lost 101 pounds and won her way to the team thru Katie's blog)
Jen S (from 'Miles, Muscles, and Mommyhood')
Lealah (from 'Lealah on a Mission')
John (SparkPeople success story manager, and success story himself)
Ada (from 'The Biggest Loser' Season 10)

What is your favorite running movie or documentary?

XO
Jen

ING NYC Marathon lottery results are in

My dream of running the 2012 ING NYC marathon has been officially crushed.

painful

I understand it's a long shot to get in thru the lottery but for some reason I really, really believed it was gonna happen.

I went in to celebrate the opening day today in Central Park.

It was a beautiful day and I was surrounded by 300 other running nerds / NYC marathon hopefuls:

pick me! Or not :'(

At least I got a cool swag bag and a cute tee-shirt:

116 - not a winner

Better luck next year…

No I'm not. Took this picture full of hope

I went to the gym and pounded a speedy 3 miles to get out the post-no-good marathon news depression. It helped.

Last year was the last year you can get denied 3 years in a row and gain automatic entry. This was my first year - so I have no future net. 

Did you get in?

What's your dream race?

Have you ever been crushed by not getting into a dream race?

XO

Jen

A pain in the ass (warning - another rant)

big tall glass of "pain in the ass" comin' right up

The other day I was talking about my new found love for juicing with an acquaintance. I'm not a fanatical juicer, I don't exist only on juice but I like to juice as much as I can - I'd say 5 times a week or so.

From everything I've been learning lately, nothing is better for you than a plethora of fruits and vegetables and while I strive to get many in during my day, juicing ensures I get a super-charged amount in that day… and I genuinely like how it tastes!

Anyhoo. So back to my discussion. My friend just kept saying, "Ugh. But what a pain in the ass. It's a pain in the ass to prep the vegetables and clean the thing and why bother… a pain in the ass." "Oh and all that running. I don't have the time (OK get off Facebook for ten minutes, maybe?) and that's just a pain in the ass."

Everything healthy was a big fat pain in the ass.

It annoyed the shit out of me and I've been thinking about it ever since. And not because it isn't a pain in the ass. It is a little bit of a pain in the ass when it comes to scrubbing the (more expensive organic) veggies and cleaning the thing -- but then again, isn't everything kind of a pain in the ass?

I mean, I have a crazy 4 year old. Truthfully, raising kids is a pain in the ass. Life was easier when I had 0 people depending on me. Yeah. Think I'm gonna stop raising that kid. He's a pain in the ass.

And my job. You know what. My job(s) they are a pain in the ass. I'd really rather sleep until 10 AM and then watch the Hoda and Kathy Lee hour and then eat something. So yeah. My job is a pain in the ass, so I'm giving that up. 

Doing the laundry, cleaning the house, putting stuff in the dishwasher, going grocery shopping. Say it with me: Pain. In. The. Ass.

Oh and running. Forget. About. It. What a HUGE pain in the ass that can be ( and sometimes that's quite literal!!)

Come on. This is life, we can embrace stuff or roll our eyes and be bothered by everything. Taking care of our health and protecting it is a privilege we have a duty to ourselves and our family to safeguard it. It's bad enough when people cite legitimate excuses that stand in the way of health like 14 hour work-days, or something but now we are openly admitting that it's just,  "too big of a pain in ass" to wash a vegetable to take care of ourselves? Puhhhleeeeze. 

It's not like you won't have to pay the "pain in the ass toll" somewhere along the way.

You know what really is a pain in the ass? Diabetes. And heart disease and stroke. Injecting insulin shots, losing limbs, getting out of breath crossing a room, needing help to bathe and help to go to the bathroom. These are things that happen when we neglect our health. 

How about saying goodbye to kids, spouse or grand-kids prematurely because it was "too big a pain in the ass" to take care of yourself by cleaning a juicer? Or picking up a pair of sneakers and moving that big pain in the ass, ass of yours.

Sorry to get fired up. I'm just surrounded by excuse makers. AND I'm a guilty excuse maker myself sometimes. I've uttered those words more than a million times in my life. I'm probably most fired up at myself. For all those years that everything was, "too big of a pain in the ass" for me to take healthier steps. Oy. I fight that person everyday and it's a real pain in the ass. ;) 

Oh God. I hope I still have friends after all these rants! First it was the Biggest Loser gang, now I'm on a rant over a juicer comment. I swear I'm pretty cheery usual. I guess I just get it all out here. ;)

So… 

Have you ever wanted to slap an excuse maker in your life?

Do you juice?

What's the biggest pain in the ass for you? Mine is definitely cleaning the house!

I think there might be a new drinking game if you start this blog over and drink to every time the P.I.T.A phrase is mentioned. That's a lot of shots.

XO

Jen

PS: I will continue to lovingly raise my not that big of a pain in the ass son who is lucky he's so damned cute and charming.

You know you're a running nerd when...

Score! New gels made with Chia - long run here I come!

It happens slowly. Somewhere between picking up the sport as a hobby and now, a change occurs and BAM. You wake up a running nerd. I'm finally gonna stop fighting it and proudly wave my nerd flag high…

You know you're a running nerd when:

• You go to the mall for a cute new outfit for a party, get sidetracked and leave with a few tech tees, a pair of running pants and a new water bottle instead.
• You can't wait for your next long run to try a new type of energy gel.
• You pay particular attention to new songs to figure out if they'd be good running songs or not.
• You know at which point your new running song should play (great cool down tune!)
• You follow people on Twitter simply because the word run, runner, marathon or other running-related term is in their user name.
• Your heart does a little leap when the new Runner's World arrives in the mail.
• You are totally psyched over your race day expo even though you've seen most of the products at every other expo you've ever been to! (You're extra nerdy if the people at the booths know you by name!)
• You watch marathon coverage on television. (You're extra nerdy if you're like me and watch live streaming coverage on your computer!)
• Your Christmas wish list includes any or all of the following: running sneakers, compression socks, Garmin, hydration system, race entry, and other running crap.
• You know what "Goofy" means.
• You find yourself looking forward to analyzing your race, splits, hydration, nutrition and pace post-race to figure out what went so right or what went so horribly wrong.
• You can debate running outside vs. running on a treadmill or around a track all day long.
• When you see other runners running and you're driving, you feel both a kinship and a little envy that you're not running too!
• Not only do you know what negative split means, but when it happens, you have an uncontrollable urge to tell another runner about your run.
• You hop your ass into New York city on a Wednesday morning by yourself to celebrate the ING New York City Marathon Opening Day just to be near the buzz of it all - even though you have no idea if you'll ever get in or run it (well, I'll get in and run it someday - I know I will)!

YEP. Running nerd. That's me. I'm so excited about this.

What makes you a running nerd?

XO
Jen

Food for thought: Carbo-loading pre race

Atkins is rolling over in his grave

BREAKING NEWS! You should eat carbs before a marathon.

OK, so I know people generally know this but if you've ever had questions about how much, how often, what types and whether you should incorporate other foods (like protein and fats) this is some good information…

I came across this article at RW.com which was written by one of my favs btw… Dimity McDowell and thought it was fascinating. It was absolutely packed with awesome information when it comes to carbo-loading pre-marathon.

I have no full marathon on my calendar at this time (though, I'm in the lottery for the NYC ING marathon) but I am always very confused about what carbo-loading really is. For my first marathon last year, I kinda just ate a little pasta (uh - with cheese and meat) the night before, picked at some bread and had a half bagel with cream cheese for breakfast. No special loading otherwise, no big changes, probably too much protein.

Being that I had tummy troubles (what else is new?) during that race, I walked much of it. The downside was I was disappointed that my time was longer than a NYC to LA flight… The upside, I never hit the wall.

But I've hit the wall in my life - I remember it clearly in a long run or two when training and it sucked.

So properly carbo-loading is super important in helping you not hit that wall.

Which is very interesting because while I know that carb-loading is important I also thought that training and "getting used to the high miles" was the most important factor in wall-prevention. While that is a given, it seems that the carb thing is really, really crucial here. Ok. duh. They do all talk about "glycogen levels" falling and what not… but we can't all be this guy...

Benjamin Rappoport hit the wall at the NYC marathon in 2005 - he was also a smarty pants -- a Harvard MD student so instead of just bitchin' and cryin' about hitting the wall, he decided to research it and study it.

"Proper carbo-loading—or filling your muscles to the brim with glycogen—won't make you faster, but it will allow you to run your best and, if you race smartly, avoid the wall," he says.

The article goes on to say that you should begin your carbo-loading a few days before. You can't properly fill your glycogen levels with one or two meals. It should start 2-3 days before and 85 - 95% of your calories should be carbs! (I really didn't realize that.)

Good carb choices would include pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, bagels, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, yogurt and juice. Check out the article for some meal ideas.

Also listed in the article was this handy little calculator. Our smart friend "Benny Rap" - came up with an endurance calculator which will take in account your target race time, age, weight, resting heart rate, etc to come up with a good idea of how much carbohydrate you should aim to have in your system. Maybe I'm becoming a running nerd but I found this compelling stuff.

Anyway - I plugged in my numbers with a marathon aim time of 5:20 and it was pretty cool. It gave me carb guidelines for a "conservative best marathon time," an "aggressive best time" and my "target time."

Now don't freak out, the article says that if you've properly carb-loaded you'll be up 3-4 pounds come race day! (Yeah, that would freak me out - so I'm glad they warned me.)

It's funny because as someone who's always tried to avoid simple carbs (to lose weight) I think properly carb-loading was something I couldn't really grasp. If I ever run another full marathon, however, believe you me I'll be heeding this advice… 3 or 4 pound gain and all!

Do you meticulously carb-load? As in know that you need 2210 kcal's of carbs or do you just wing a bagel the morning of?
What's your favorite way to carb-load?
Have you ever hit the wall?

XO
Jen

Biggest Losers or just big losers?

These Biggest Loser contestants have got to be FRICKEN kidding me. Serioulsy.

I warn you that I'm entirely too fired up over this nonsense. I mean it's a reality show. Who gives a crap? Apparently I do.

If you haven't watched yesterday's Biggest Loser episode yet then I would say stop reading and come back when you're done.

For those who don't watch the show at all, here is what happened in a nut-shell. The five remaining contestants 'caught wind' that eliminated contestants were going to be invited back to the ranch for their chance to compete for the Biggest Loser title.

Apparently, these contestants got a bug up their asses about it and decided that they would quit the show rather than have to compete against eliminated contestants.

They cried, "Not fair!" "They weren't here!" "We don't want them back!"  And were against this "unfair" twist.

I say. Boo fucking hoo.

REALLY? It's not fair?

This is the season of "no excuses." It shouldn't bother you who they bring back to the ranch. Focus ON YOU. This is The Biggest Loser, a reality/GAME show. There's all kinds of f'ed up twists and turns, that's what makes it - say it with me - ENTERTAINMENT -- You sign up for the chance to win a big prize and in the process, these folks SAVE YOUR LIFE. It's a trade-off.  They give you the tools, focus, attention, food, training and resources to lose 100+ pounds. That is an opportunity that millions would kill for, but you, spoiled contestants - pout and take your ball off the playground as soon as you don't like the rules of the game.

It's UNFAIR of you to leave just because you don't like a twist or turn.

There's lots of unfair things about the show. It's unfair that the boys usually have an easier time losing weight or that many of the challenges are easier for men with upper-body strength. It's unfair that sometimes those who work the hardest get voted off early because their hard work didn't show up at the scale. It's unfair that guys in their 60's have to compete against kids in their early 20's, it's unfair that sometimes the ones who need to be there the most, go home the soonest… It's unfair that women have to deal with periods, cramps and extra bloating -- everything is freaking unfair. Suck it up, buttercups.

Ultimately only two out of the five left - the remaining 3 decided to stick it out.

Shame on you two for taking advantage of the process, happily losing all the weight you wanted, getting the benefit of makeover week, getting the opportunity of a lifetime to visit the White House and meet the First Lady and then ungratefully leaving. Someone else would've killed for your spot.

So that's my two cents.

Did you see the show? What are your thoughts?

I know this is a complete over-reaction by the way. I am well aware that my own obsession about this episode makes me slightly psycho but that's how I roll. At least I admit I have a problem.

XO
Jen

Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tummy troubles

Pantoprazole - not taking it. Nope.

Ugh.

So I continue the journey in trying to figure out why I have a tummy ache every freakin' day of my life. 

Tests recently came back that showed no allergies to anything. Cutting out dairy and gluten seemed to make me feel a little bit better in other ways but, still, the tummy troubles come back.

Today I got to go see a gastro doc. He asked a few basic questions and quickly decided that it is probably IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Could be. I guess. I'm no stranger to Web MD so based on my symptoms I could have that or about every other stomach ailment on the planet.

He prescribed me TWO medications to take for the next 6 weeks. 

One is called Pantoprazole.  The other is Dicyclomine. He didn't hand me a prescription he sends it in "electronically" so of-course, I don't write down the names and didn't know what I was getting until I got it home.

Ugh again.  I'm pissed.

First of all, I'm not a big fan of just taking medication. I mean there's usually 800 side effects and frankly, I'd rather live with the stomach ache. Plus, I hate not knowing exactly what I've got. We're guessing at a diagnosis and it makes me feel like I'm taking the meds for the fun of it. I'd rather adjust my diet or something but I'd have to find a doc that believes in that approach I suppose. I probably should've spoken up while there but didn't even think about it until I was in the car. I was expecting him to run some tests or something before just giving me drugs.

Secondly, after looking up the medication, the first one doesn't even seem to address my issues. This is typically given to people with Gerd (reflux disease). That is one thing I know I don't have. He asked me if I ever take an antacid at the end of the appointment, and I told him I very occasionally take a tums (and that's when I've eaten total crap and have a little heartburn. That's not a mystery to me…) I've pretty much decided to not take the Pantoprazole. 

The second med (the Dicyclomine) has it's own list of shitty side-effects but at least that one is supposed to address IBS specifically.  But it's got side effects like the ones I'm trying to avoid like 'stomach pain,' vomiting, and upset stomach. WTF - great it cured my stomach ache with another stomach ache! Awesome. It also makes people drowsy (just what I need) and how about this little ditty:

you should know that dicyclomine reduces the body's ability to cool off by sweating. In very high temperatures, dicyclomine can cause fever and heat stroke.

Well isn't that just awesome for running in the summer. Sounds great.

Anyway… I don't know yet what I'm going to do - it makes me want to throw out both meds, never go back to the doctor again and just live with the stomach aches. 

I am so annoyed and frustrated right now about it - and I did personally like the doctor.  He's also supposed to be one of the best. I just feel like this is the result I'm going to get everywhere. 

Sigh. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In more fun/interesting news…

In case you don't remember, I was invited to run the Ragnar Race in January 2013 - From Miami to Key West. The Ragnar is a 200 mile 12 man relay race (or 6 man ultra).  I am so excited and honored to be on the team - each member of our team has lost an average of 100 pounds or more! How's that for cool? 

We are trying to come up with a cool name for our team. One that speaks to our weight loss journey but is also kind of fun.  Katie, who writes the blog, "Runs For Cookies" has a great giveaway going on! She's giving away a GARMIN! Woo Hoo - and you get a bonus entry for the giveaway if you throw your suggestions for a team name in. So CLICK HERE to read about the giveaway and pony up a name.

Hope you are having a great day.

Do you ever decide against taking medication that your doc has prescribed?

Do you know anyone who has IBS? Do they take meds or do they just live with it?

Should I give one or more of these meds a shot - am I being a baby? 

What do you think we should call our Ragnar team?

XO

Jen