jessspurr Member

Thanks!

Thanks everyone. Yeah...losing weight before starting training is certainly ideal. Unfortunately, marathon training kind of snuck up on me and I didn't focus enough on losing weight in the off season. Time goes by so quickly!! I blinked, and before I knew it I was like... "dang! I forgot to get skinny and now running…

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention something that really helped me a lot. Essential oil aromatherapy. For some reason deeply inhaling cedarwood oil and clove oil really helped me a lot. I also hear that black pepper oil is especially good for quitting smoking. Bergamot oil is very good for helping your brain to create uplifting…

Another vote for Allen Carr's book. Seriously life changing. How does it work? I have no idea! The things he says are just mind blowing. I am a very down to earth "normal" person. You can kind of tell by my approach to weight loss that I don't entertain nonsense. This BOOK though! Seriously changed my life. It's free…

ICEBUGS! <3 <3 <3 Studded running shoes for running on ice/snowpack and where I'm from, boardwalks through the woods when they get slippery from the rain. I cannot wait until I get to bust them out and go on some early morning runs in the dark with my headlamp and crunchy snow! Rain though? That just sucks. I have to run…

Ugh. Me. A couple years ago I lost 50 pounds and then started running, got down to 185. Well...then I put 30 back on when I quit smoking and during marathon training- it was a perfect storm. Ran my marathon at 203(ouch) and now back up to 220. I ran a half marathon two weekends ago and I added extra 39 minutes from my half…

Another vote for 20 miles is enough

Congratulations! I wish I could read the blog too, but I'm also at work. I admire you very much! I have no ambitions to do a 50 miler (at least not now), but I am planning on a 50K next fall! You must have a wonderful sense of accomplishment!

Thanks everyone!Those look cool! I think I will check them out! I have quite a bit of experience running in the dark (living in AK- it is dark kind of a lot here!) and I've got a decent headlamp, a Petzl, I love it although come to think of it, I've never worn it without a hat so it might bounce a bit without a hat. But…

Awesome video. Thank you. It's so easy to think you know how big of a portion something is but unless you weigh it, you don't know for sure!

You CAN eat a lot on a low carb diet because low carb things (like, veggies) have fewer calories. It can FEEL like you are eating more calories because you are eating a larger volume of food, but it's still fewer calories.

Atkins and Paleo cut out some really high calorie food groups (like...bread, for example). If all a person did was cut out bread and continued eating ALL of the other foods they ate before...they would have reduced calories by the how much was in the bread they used to eat. That is the ONLY reason diets like those work.…

I inhale grapefruit essential oil as aromatherapy after eating as it helps me control the urge to continue eating or if I feel like I'm going to eat out of boredom or eat emotionally. It has nothing to do physiologically with weight loss, but I think it helps me eat less.

Inhale some grapefruit essential oil. Or experiment with different oils. I really believe in the power of aromatherapy. That being said, so I think essential oils make you lose weight? No. Do I think they help with emotional balancing in your brain that cause cravings? Yes!!

I am SOOOOO happy you went with the Fitletic! You are going to ADORE it. I just got one- I had been running with a Nathan waist pack that held two bottles and trained for a marathon/ran a marathon in it. It was OK. Then I found the Fitletic. OMG. I got it the day before my last half and ran in it once before the race and…

[/quote] If you're going to skip any area's it would be the forehead/above the eyes as sweat+sunscreen in the eyes is 10 times worse than straight sweat. Just wear a visor or cap if you skip. [/quote] Fantastic advice and something I never would have thought of! Thanks!

Great to know! How hot are we talking? I'm shooting for under 2:30 for the half (slow, I know!) so, if it starts at 6:50, I get to the starting line at 7:30 (worst case scenario), I would be done by 10am. Will it be like 80 degrees? That might be tough for me. I have zero experience running in heat and sun. I hear that you…

I sort of agree with you. Running a huge race is something I've wanted to experience, but I imagine once will be enough!

Well, I'm looking at photos of the starting line from previous years and everyone seems to just be chillin' sleeveless. I guess I will also have a couple of mornings in SD before the race to feel it out. Thanks everyone!

I recently discovered my best friend is the goose-whisperer. We were walking in a park and there were geese everywhere and some of them seemed a little mean. As we were walking past one it started to approach us in a hostile way. My friend turned to it, looked it in the eye and shamed it! She said firmly with her finger…

Thanks everybody! So, the race is in San Diego, but it starts at 6:50am. If we have to be in our "corrals" waiting for a long time (30-45 minutes). What do people do about warmth during that time? I am planning on just wearing a tank top for the run because even that early, once I get started a tank top will be fine, but…

I run 11 minutes walk 1. Could I run the whole 13.1 without walking? Probably. Would I want to? No. I find that letting my heart rate drop and switch up the body mechanics for just a minute helps me stay relaxed. Could I have a better MM if I didn't walk? You betcha, but like others have said...there are a lot of reasons…

A million times this. That book worked for me so well. It just made so much logical sense. I HIGHLY recommend it even though you have already quit. It's actually free on-line somewhere. It was so so so good. I was hoping Allen Carr's book on weight loss would be as good, but not so much.

I quit about five months ago and have gained about 17 pounds (after losing 50) the year prior to quitting. So, in the first 6 weeks or so I did definitely eat more. I was sad about quitting and felt just really awful emotionally. It was like the death of a friend for me. I felt like life was never going to be the same.…

I don't have any yet (fingers crossed for Christmas) but my mom just got a pair and adores them. She said they keep feet dry and the studded shoes really provide a lot of traction.

Is anyone able to get MFP to send data to Garmin Connect? I read somewhere that wasn't working. Maybe it's just me though?

I just got one last night and I'm pretty lost in it all. So I'd love to hear any feedback as well!

100% noticeable difference! You are doing AWESOME!!!

Fabulous! You should feel very proud of yourself! Hitting 10 miles in three months is wild!

I have no advice because you've already done more/better training than I did for my first. Honestly, I imagine you don't need to build endurance much more than you've got right now, now you just need to maintain it. I only did one 20 mile run before my first and that was 3 weeks prior. The taper was hell on me (so stressed…