Cam's New Lease on Life Journal (comments welcome!)

[keenercam]

Mike, I am sooo there with you. We are all on a very important journey. I have to remind myself that the course of travel is just as important, if not more important, than the destination. I have to learn something along the path, or I am going to end up travelling the path again, in the wrong direction, to learn the lessons I missed the first go 'round (or the second, or third, or what seems like the 20th, to me).

I try to be candid here, so that I can come back and read where I've been and what I've felt and what I've learned. I hope someday that this journal will be something I print out to commemorate having reached my goal. Right now, as you can plainly see, it is a cry for help and encouragement. I can always count on my WISH friends to give me the boost I need. And to celebrate those little victories, too!

And, hey! It's a very thin, summer cardigan, in RED! Believe you me, anything other than the all black and navy blue I used to wear (other than white blouses under dark suits for court) is a huge victory in and of itself!

 

[Blueeyes101817]

have a great weekend Cam!!

 

[keenercam]

Thanks, Jen!

Just a quick note so I'll remember my time. Did 4.25 miles this morning (10 fountain walk laps) in 1:06:42. That is an average pace of 15:42/mile. Wayyy on track for the 1/2 marathon! Longest distance I've walked that I can remember ever.

Food plan for today:
B -- egg beaters & 3 oz lean pork
S -- apple
L -- cucumber salad, chicken breast

The rest is up in the air for now. I'm sure it will be heavy on the protein.
Heading out now to look for a new bathing suit. My 18s are huge, my 16 (skinny suit) is gaping, and I just really want a new one. Am also going to look for my Garmin Foreruner 201, so I can walk further and with some variety.

 

[DisDon]

happy 4th!
America!!!

 

[joelyfaithsmommy]

hey cam cam

missin talking to you...hope your 5k this morning was THE BOMB...i'm sure you did GREAT!!!

i just wanted to pop my head in here and let you know I'M STILL SWIMMING...and I KNOW YOU ARE TOO

will talk to you tomorrow, and until then

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

huggies!!!
Jen

 

[Blueeyes101817]

Happy 4th!!

 

[keenercam]

5K this morning -- official time was 50:12, which is a 16:10 pace (UGH!! TOOOO SLOW!!!). Still an improvement over 3/19 (my last 5K) which was 51:42 (16:41 pace). So, officially, a one and one-half minute improvement. I guess any improvement is good, but it has been almost 4 months of constant training. I would have thought I'd do better. There is another one in 2 weeks, I think. Maybe I will be able to do that and get my time under 50.

Ordered my Garmin Forerunner 201 wrist GPS, so that I can go out and walk more diverse courses and keep track of my pace and time and distance. The fountain walk can get kind of boring. And it is very flat.

Totally ate too much yesterday at a barbecue. Journalled the points and moving on. Wearing a pair of shorts today that didn't fit when I ordered them from J.Jill. So glad to finally have shorts that fit. Others were too baggy and some, like these, were too tight to wear in public.

Oh, yeah, one other thing. Kind of TMI, so boys don't read this if you don't want TMI -- bought two new unmentionable undergarments at Victoria's Secret on Saturday -- I've never been able to wear anything from there. Very "exciting" for all concerned. See, told you TMI!!!

Off to run some errands. Hard to believe DSalmost12 and I are leaving for our overnight "WICKED" trip to NY tomorrow afternoon. Very, very hyped for that!

 

[KeenHo]

1 4 3

 

[Mykelogan]

Hi Cam!

Great job on the 5k! Your pace is improving and that rocks, I am sure you will be at your target by the time of the marathon!

I hope that you had a great 4th! And of course you know I am jealous beyond belief that you are seeing Wicked, I expect a full detailed report when you are back. To see "Defying Gravity" and "For Good" live! Amazing!! Hope that you and DS have a blast!

Be well!
Mike

 

[toystoryduo]

Hi Cam!

I hope you and your son have a great time in New York!

Take care!

 

[kardiebelle]

Have a great time in New York. I am sure you will do tons of walking there. I am so excited for you and DS. Enjoy your time with him. I look forward to you comments in my journal and rely on your comments because I know that you are checking up on me. keeps me on track. kardiebelle

 

[joelyfaithsmommy]

any improvement is better than none on the 5k Cam...that's great Ithink!

just keep swimming and in no time you're going to be so far from where you started...you won't be able to believe it!!!

hugs to you!!! wishing you a WONDERFUL day!

jen

 

[Strings]

Hi Cam,

Congratulations on the awesome run. I know youwanted better, but 6 months ago, you were just looking to finish. I am really proud of you.

Have a fantastic time. I want a review of WICKED. It is coming to Detroit in the spring. I can't wait.
Take care,
Beth

 

[keenercam]

Thank you, so much, everyone, for your support. Beth -- you are so right. 6 months ago, I couldn't walk anywhere near that far and my first 5K, I was terrified I might not finish. So, I have to be glad to have improved to this point. [BTW, I only aspire to run, or even jog -- I am still just trying to walk really, really fast on these very very short legs!] But thanks for the encouragement --once in a while I just need to be reminded that this is a journey!

It has been an eventful couple of days, though most of it was good. Great, actually!

Tuesday – I did pretty well with not eating anything after lunch except a fruit and nut bar on the train, until we got to our hotel in NY. We went to a deli, where I had thought I’d order a hot pastrami sandwich, but somehow ended up ordering a turkey burger. Some strange being must have taken over my body. I guess I thought that would be healthier. A turkey cheeseburger and fries and a diet soda. Then DS and I shared a piece of NY cheesecake. We were also noshing a bit on fat free pringles, sunchips, and cheddar goldfish baked crackers.

Wednesday – breakfast was a lite yogurt and coffee, notwithstanding my very strong desire for a new york bagel with cream cheese. Lunch was TGIFriday’s, where we shared an order of nachos and an order of potstickers. The nachos were not a great choice, but I did stop eating short of having finished them off, so I was proud of myself for showing some restraint. Dinner was Famous Ray’s pizza, where I had one slice of mushroom, broccoli & spinach pizza. We even carried slices all the way back to Delaware for Howard and Jenn and I did not order an extra slice to take home for me.

All told, I think we walked about 3 hours yesterday, so I am sure I burned off most of the extra calories I ate. I wish I'd had more confidence in thinking we'd walk alot. I had persuaded myself it was more important to wear "cute shoes" because we'd be cabbing it everywhere. Instead, being the diligent person I am (and feeling hugely guilty about my indulgences ), we ended up walking nearly 40 blocks! But, I did not get in my water, so I have been trying to make up for it today.

On a more positive note, “WICKED” was wickedly wonderful. I cannot begin to describe how awesome it was. I was so focused on finally seeing it and enjoying the music that I had never focused on the fact that Ben Vereen is presently playing the Wizard and Rue McClanahan is playing Madame Morrible. They were awesome, but Shoshana Bean as the "Green Girl" defies description. What a beautiful, strong voice she has! There was so much comedy in the show too, which we hadn’t expected and it was so wonderful to hear DS laughing outrageously throughout the show. If you don’t know the story, I highly recommend the book, though even it has some very significant differences from the Broadway play. I had quite a few surprises.
I'd like to get Maguire's other book that is Cinderella's story told from the point of view of one of the stepsisters, I think. Should be funny, especially for a Cindy fan!

The only downside of our trip is that DS woke up about 1 a.m. yesterday morning with a severe earache and water draining from his ear. Neither of us slept most of the night and by last night he was in terrible pain with what I thought was swimmer's ear. He ended up in the ER today because our family doctor wasn’t in and we are flying tomorrow night. It is an ear infection and they gave him amoxycillin at the hospital and an Rx to be filled. Hoping the pain will be less by tomorrow.

I am disappointed that I won’t get to workout the next several days – we are off to visit my aunt and uncle for the weekend and though we will have walks to the beach, etc., no structured workouts. Hoping to go dancing Saturday night. Will try to get back to a structured plan on Monday night.

Hoping even more that I will have some time to get to journals tonight. I miss everyone!

 

[Mykelogan]

Welcome back Cam!!
Thanks for the trip report too! I am sure Wicked was amazing, did you get chills during Defying Gravity? And I think you did a great job with your eating in NYC, yay you!! Sorry to hear about your DS ear problem and hope it clears up soon.

Have a happy & healthy night!
Mike

 

[plutosmyfav]

Hi Cam

Way to go on the 5K. Don't belittle your progress. Every second down is a major accomplishment. And every race completed is teaching tips that will get you through the Half. You'll have your pace for January, I know you will!

I can't wait to hear how you like your Forerunner 201. I am tempted to get one, too. I'll wait for your review

You say you only aspire to run, but I know you will some day! At this time last year I only aspired to run, too. I was training for the half and worrying about making the 16:00 pace. The body really does respond to steady, consistent training. You'll be amazed where you are in another year

Thank you so much for your words on encouragement in my journal. You brought tears to my eyes I really needed it.

Happy Friday,
Sunny

 

[Blueeyes101817]

you are doing great
i hope you are having a great weekend!!!!

 

[joelyfaithsmommy]

hi cam cam! how are you this morning girl?? hope you had a WONDERFUL weekend with your family, and i hope your week this week is THE BEST EVER!!! keep on swimming you can do it!

huggies
Jen

 

[keenercam]

Hi, everyone!

Mike -- "Defying Gravity" was amazing and I bet I would have been even more blown away by the effects if our seats had been more toward the center of the theatre. The music is incredibly rich, too and that is a memory I will cherish -- Andrew was absolutely rapt! Thank you for your well wishes for him. I was worried about him flying Friday night, but by then, he was already feeling so much better. Thank God.

Sunny -- Thanks for your encouragement. You know, I always look to you as such a wonderful role model. I appreciate knowing that there are goals I cannot even imagine right now that are not beyond my reach.

Jen -- Thanks! We had a great weekend, though food was a disaster! More on that later.

Hi, swimming-Jen! I am really hoping to get back on track this week,and I am sure that once I do, everything will click back in to place.

So, the weekend. As far as family and fun and quality time with my kids and hubbie, it was absolutely terrific. HOWEVER, food choices were an absolute disaster! I became completely immersed in an attitude of "we'll get back on track on Monday" that is so far out of my normal attitude that I can't even say how disappointed I am in myself. I have always taught myself that the next minute or next meal is the opportunity to "do it right", not to put that off to some day in the future and do all sorts of damage in the interim.

I went home Friday afternoon very hungry and ate a lean pocket and a couple of vegetable gyozas, which were good choices. Get to the the airport and flight is indefinitely delayed, which wouldn't have been a problem, except that my aunt and uncle were driving an hour and a half to pick us up in the pouring rain, so there was a level of stress I could have done without. In the airport, I bought philly pretzels and sodas for my entire family and got them candy, too. I got myself a water and a jalapeno pretzel and no candy. So, only slightly off kilter. Arrived in Plymouth Mass around 2 am, at which point everyone made lunchmeat sandwiches (I had a bite of DS's)

Saturday morning I did a nice long walk, then omelettes for breakfast made with too much butter and too much cheddar cheese, though the veggies were awesome. The maple sausage and homefries were not good choices either. I was munching on fruit all day, including a ton of cherries, while everyone else ate at least 2-3 packages of tastykakes. I couldn't believe we had "dessert" after breakfast (I had the equivalent of a chocolate chip cookie). Everyone else had 2-3 cookies and at least one package of tastykakes. Then my aunt and I did another long, very very fast walk. When we got showered and dressed, we watched a movie during which DH, DD, DS, DA, and DU each ate another 2 packages of tastykakes EACH! I ate none. Stuck to massive amounts of fruit and lots and lots of water.

Dinner was sandwiches. I ate very little meat and cheese and no mayo, but the onion roll had to have been 8 points. It was HUGE!! Yummy!

Out to a bar/restaurant to dance to a live band -- rum & diet coke. Then shared an order of nachos between the four of us. Hopefully burned some of those calories off dancing.

Sunday a.m. -- more food orgy. Homemade waffles and bacon. I finally succumbed to the tastykake obsession and had ONE cake (shared a pack w/DH). Then off to the beach for a couple of hours. Back to my aunt's to pack, then to an awesome seafood restaurant where I ate -- are you ready for this? I am feeling a little ill just thinking about it -- NE clam chowder (I HAD to, right?!), fried clam strips (shared); fried shrimp and scallops and some french fries, and ice water. UGH!!! What was I thinking? On the flight home, diet soda, small pack of peanuts. I gave a candy bar DH bought me to DS and DD to share and ate a Payday on the way home. Once we were home, I was "shopping" in the fridge and freezer and cupboards, but ended up sending myself to bed without doing any additional damage.

What a disaster! I know it could have been worse. But it was certainly bad enough. Thank GOD, the damage on the scale was actually a bit less than I'd feared. It IS possible to gain 2 pounds in one weekend! Am so glad it wasn't more than that.

Stopped at the grocery store on the way to work today to buy lots of good choices for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners here this week.

My Garmin201 (a wristwatch-type GPS unit to use for 1/2 marathon training) arrived last Thursday and I am really looking forward to using it tonight (once I figure out how to). Hopefully, that will really kick up my excercise to the next level. I LOVE having new toys!

Here's hoping this week is a better one!

 

[kardiebelle]

Much for a great week Cam. Although this weekend was bad it is time to use the watch. I know that you did a great job at resisting a ton of food this weekend because from the sounds the rest of you family ate sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much more that you. It is hard enough to resist the food when everyone else is eating it. I know that you will have a great week. Smiles kardiebelle