mngreeneyes

I am training for a marathon and a super sprint triathlon throughout the summer. I am also heading from Minnesota to Montana to spend a week building a youth center at a church on the North Cheyenne Reservation. (I am traveling with my parents as part of a mission trip from their church.) I will be running nearly every day I am out there as well. That plus work should keep me busy for the summer. pam

He sounds like a keeper. I'm still trying to find one of those. You give me hope. thanks, pam

@@OKCPirate My brother tried to keep very similar rules for himself when his oldest child's mother broke off there engagement, but she and her SO had no similar compunctions. My niece still struggles with the damage that that war caused and she's now 23. My poor SIL bore the brunt of a lot of it because my niece projected all the bad things her mom said onto my SIL. That relationship will likely always be a bit strained no matter what my SIL has done to build it. pam

Wow! If only all uncouplings were as well thought out and adult as yours. I am sure that your children are all better for it. pam

I have been making sugar free pudding with Fairlife skim milk. It helps with the sweet cravings. My grocery store had the usual kinds of SF pudding, but this time I also found cheesecake and white chocolate! YUM!

Don't condemn online dating after one bad experience. There are lots of people out there. Which online dating sites have you tried? Another option is to join some meetup groups that match your interests. Especially for activity based meetups. Even if you don't end up with dates, you make new friends of both genders and get to be active with a group of people. I found some for hiking, social activities, specifically singles activities. There are an almost infinite number of meetups out there. Good luck! pam

@@jess9395 Evidently they have also started telling their other post-ops that they should not plan on running a marathon for at least a year! One of my friends was at the support group last night and she had surgery at the same place I did and she had her two week appointment about the same time I was in last. She told me that they warned her not to plan on it and that they mentioned it because they have had "several" patients talk about it recently! My surgery center is at a regular hospital, but I like the attitude of the university hospital much better! I am willing to guinea pig myself. I just need to listen to my body. Congrats on marathon #2! pam

So I went to one of my support groups last night. This is the one not run by my surgeon's group. It is actually run by the university (i.e. research) hospital. I chatted with the leader after the meeting about what my NUT had said about not recommending I train for and do the marathon. The leader asked for the reason they said they didn't think I should do the marathon. When I told her it was because there wasn't any/enough research, she kind of laughed. SHe said that she didn't want to tell me to go against my doctors, but since I seemed determined, she suggested journalling about my journey and what I learn. She said she could see a book or speaking opportunity coming out of it! She even offered to edit my manuscript and help get it published! I don't know if it'll get that far, but I will journal as best I can. I thought you all would appreciate the update. @@Ryan TN - How's your training going? pam

I will turn 45 in December which will be 3 weeks after my 1 year surgiversary. 2016 isn't even half over and it has already been such a kick. By the time I run a 5k on my birthday, I will have trained for and finished a super sprint triathlon and a marathon. I make no promises on times, but I will do everything I can to finish! I have already lost more than 80 pounds and although that is slowing, I am still losing! All my training is making me stronger and I feel better than I EVER remember feeling in my life. I have no regrets. Although I wish I had done it sooner, I know I wasn't ready. pam

prayers and hugs. pam

Thinking of you, your friend, and her family. HUGS.

I think so far the biggest change to my social life is getting up on Saturday mornings at 6 for group/long runs for marathon training. I am not a morning person, especially not on Saturday mornings, but I haven't missed a week yet. I am developing a group of running friends. That's very new. Because of my marathon training even my time with my other friends is starting to involve more activity. There are only so many hours in the day and I have to keep moving. pam

Way To GO!!! Keep it up! pam

I cut my hair to a very short pixie right before surgery 6 months ago and have kept it that way. It marginally covers my hairloss, which hasn't been too excessive, although I didn't have that much to start with. Its also easier to deal with now that I am working out before work. I get comments all the time about me melting away and that I'm going to disappear if I keep this up. So far I'll take the compliments. I wonder sometimes if commenting on a haircut is less scary than on weight loss. pam

I know that I am off all my meds for diabetes and have been since 3 months after surgery. (My dr. wanted to wait for an all post-surgery A1C.) Its been amazing for me. It wasn't the only reason I had surgery, but has been a happy outcome! pam

@@jess9395 @@swimbikerun @@Ryan TN Thanks for all the great advice. Sorry Ryan that I kind of commandeered your post. I could definitely sub my tri in for a run earlier in the week. I could skip my hard run on Thursday. We run our long runs at 7 a.m. on Saturdays and the tri would start about 24 hours later. My schedule for the week is 10 mile long run on Sunday (I am traveling all day on Saturday), Monday easy 3, Tuesday easy 7, Wednesday is supposed to be strength and core, but I will be using Wed. for Tri training so I will probably do a swim bike brick, Thursday hard 4 (intervals, hills, etc.) Friday rest, Saturday long 15 mi., Sunday triathlon. My biggest issue with moving the long run to Friday is the amount of time it will take on a work day. Perhaps I can come in late that day so that I can get my run in before work without having to run at 3 a.m.! As to the question about my bike, I have a trek mountain bike that I am getting smooth tires for. Right now I have REALLY nubby tires. Maybe I should train on the nubby tires and switch to smooth tires shortly before the race, like wearing a drag suit for swim training! I hadn't thought of that before. Thanks again for all the info and advice. So much to think about! pam

So the meeting near my house was last night. It was exactly 1 mile from my apartment so I walked both ways, although I dodged raindrops on the way home. It was very interesting. They suggest you try 6-8 meetings of various kinds to find what works for you. I think I am going to give it a try I have been feeling like there is one part of this puzzle that I was missing. Thanks so much for the posting yesterday! pam

Congrats! Keep up the great work! pam

@@swimbikerun You sound like you've done this before so perhaps you can answer my question! I am doing a mini sprint in August (200yd. swim, 7.5 mi bike, 1 mi. run). I will also be in the middle of training for a marathon in October. My long runs for the marathon are on Saturdays and the marathon is on a Sunday. Should I skip my 16 mile run the day before the tri or just not worry about it? I am not competing per se, but I do want to finish and be able to walk afterwards! Thoughts? pam

For those looking for crunchy salty, sometimes a dill pickle works for me. I am also thinking of trying baked cheese chips from eggface. I haven't tried them yet, but they seem like they would be a bit salty and a bit crunchy. I struggle with tortilla chips for this reason! pam

I took my mom for manicures the 6 days after my surgery. We had our manicures and then I went home and took a nap because I was exhausted! I had planned to do that because I had all my nail polish removed for surgery. It was a nice treat. pam

@@Ryan TN I'll keep that in mind. Again, Good luck! pam

That is so awesome! What are you doing from a nutrition standpoint while you are training? I am signed up for a marathon in October and not getting much help from my NUTs. Good luck! pam

You Rock! Keep it up!

Thanks @@Inner Surfer Girl. This is the one area I feel like I am struggling a bit. I found a meeting near my house and will go check it out. pam