Welcome to March, April Bandits! Can you believe next month is our Bandiversary? It doesn't seem possible that we've been banded almost a year. Let's keep up our exercise goal and cruise on into goal....

We're upping our challenge for the month in number of sessions (by one). Our ultimate goal is 20 sessions a month for 45 minutes each session, and we'll get there by April. For now, here's the March challenge:

(1) Complete 19 or more exercise sessions (counting only one session per day, if you're the type to do more!); and

(2) To count, each session must be at least 40 minutes in duration (two 20 min sessions in one day still counts).

Once we get past April, I would love to incorporate Boo's suggestion of having at least two levels to the challenge (maybe 15 sessions and 20 sesssions) in order to accommodate more people's long-term goals. Let's talk about that this month, as well as how we plan to Celebrate our bandiversaries. I love Amourette's idea of planning a chat time for all of us to "meet." Maybe we should set aside time on April 1st?

Julie the concert sounds great!

Betty how is Alan?

Boo how are you doing?

I was running this morning (windchill -42) and I pulled something in the back of my knee. I got home right away and iced it... so hopefully it will be nothing. Lucky for me that my km this week were already high, so I will make 15 km this week.

I am also thrilled that the scales has moved again. Just when I thought I was stuck for good...

I am heading to Montreal on Sunday for 10 days of meetings- I hate being away from my family that much! But, I am doing my run there in 9 days... yep I am getting nervous!!!

My internet action may be sporadic, but I wish you all a great weekend.

Good luck on your race Julie!!

Dawn

Banded April 4th, 2006

Montreal

358/192/179

March exerciuse sessions = 14 so far!!

Julie - you sound like me -

This isn't a surprise to me, Betty, given our symbiotic internet family. (Wink). I'm really thinking about you and Alan this week. I can't wait for your post telling us all that he's sailed through surgery and recovering even faster than anticipated.

Dawn, be super nice to your knee. You're already ready for your race. Don't push your training from here to 9 days from now. These 9 days are nothing -- the past 3 months are what got you ready. Really protect your knee. Don't run through any pain at this point. If you can't run at all until race day, that's totally fine. You WILL finish the race just with the training you've done. I know you'll probably feel fine by tomorrow, but just please go easy. I so want us all to be longterm runners. So many of my friends are former runners who ran through the pain and now can't run. I don't want that for us. Anyway, congratulations on the scale moving again! I must confess, I'm flat out jealous. I've been expecting Onederland all week and the scale hasn't budged. The good news is that when it does, it'll probably go down 2-3 lbs all at once (knock on wood), but I'm still growling at it every morning as it scowls 202 at me. I really think once it says 199, I'll never care about the scale so much ever again. That's probably short sighted, but it's the way I feel right now.

Boo, I ate at Hale & Hearty yesterday -- split pea -- yum! I can't wait to do our Phoebe run together around the Reservoir. When can you come to NY?

Well I seem to be on a gentle breeze through the 80's which is fine by me. I am glad everyone seems to be getting better, I hope all the surgeries and things coming up for everyone go really well I keep reading about you guys running and am so jealous, I miss running so much! I haven't been able to run since college. I remember we used to do midnight runs through seattle from queen anne to gasworks and back, those were the best! I know that once I start walking I will be so tempted but I also know my knee can't handle the impact from running yet, it is getting better as I lose more weight I am still 30lbs away from being able to do anything but walk

Moly,

I didn't begin running until I had lost over 100 pounds (I think it was about 130 lbs). I knew I needed to build slowly and that is what I did. I also took a long time to get really running. I would walk 5 minutes and run 1 minute when I started. But that has been good for me.

Don't get down... you will get there!!

Julie... you are my inspiration... I am going to shout at your scales for you!!!!

Dawn

Banded April 4th, 2006

Montreal

358/192/179

Exercsie sessions this month= 14

Molly,

Ditto to what Dawn said. I started running just a little at about 250 lbs -- like 1 out of every 5 minutes. I did the "couch to runner" program on coolrunning.com, which was the perfect thing. I doubled each step, so it took about 4 months to get to running 3 miles comfortably without stopping. Now, I run 3 miles on "easy" days and 4-5 miles on challenge days. I try not to run more than 3 times a week because I think I'm still asking too much for my poor knees at my weight. If it didn't feel so good cardio wise, I probably wouldn't run at all until I was at goal. Anyway, you'll be walking and then running in no time, particuarly since you're a former runner.

Dawn, yes, please come shout at my scales for me. Thanks for that response. It was perfect -- it made me laugh and took away my jealousy completely -- my scales better watch out or Dawn's going to come beat them up! They did flicker on 201 this morning before settling back in on 202. That's usually a good sign for tomorrow. I have promised my therapist that I will be less scale obsessed the second I'm in Onederland. I'm going to keep that promise here too.

I keep saying everyday that I am not gonna get on the scale I am gonna wait till tuesday(my official weigh in day) to weigh, but alas I too am scale obsessed I can't not get on it! Holy cow I went from overeating to overweighing, lol.

As for the excersise, I need to get to the high school track in the mornings and walk it, when I reach the point cardio wise that it feels easier to run then I will know that I am ready to do the walk run walk run routine, lol, It has been 12yrs since I last ran, and I don't mean after my kids, lol, I am still capable of a sprint but my body complains. I figure when I hit 250 my body can start to handle it. But today I am being very bad and having a peanut buster parfait for lunch, I might actually exceed 1000 calories today, lol

My race for tomorrow morning is off. The running club hasn't officially cancelled it yet, but my team isn't running irrespective. We've got bad snow and it's supposed to sleet all night and into the morning, well past race time, so running really isn't safe.

Do I sound like I'm justifying? Probably. But I'll be justifying from under my covers at 6:30 in the morning instead of in the park! I promise I'll go to the gym and run the same miles, but in dry, warm conditions....

Oh I'm sorry the snow messed up your race, but it is definitely better to not run on ice and i don't know break a hip. With my level of clutzyness I'd fall and get a concussion somehow for sure, lol.

I did a double session with my trainer tonight to make up for not racing tomorrow. She kicked me in the rear! It was some serious training. I feel good though. It's been a long time since I did a full body workout in one sitting. Usually we do just upper or just lower.

I;m sorry to hear about your experience, did the doctor know what exactly the obstruction, was it just a bit of chicken not chewed enough, interested to know as things like this scare me with travelling so much..........I didn't mean to be snarky regarding love lifes the other week, I posted to say so but I lost the wireless connection so it never went thru', I was just feeling sorry for myself hahaha!

I had a fill yesterday, felt if I was single it was something i could work with at the moment, I only have about 10kg more to lose so that is good........

Love to you all

XX Amourette:D

Have something else to share.........quite big for me personally, today set out for a normal (?) flight at 4 am today for Sydney, not a good day to start with, with one crew member having to return home because his child has been rushed to hospital..... we made it to Sydney, then 1 hour out of Sydney we had bad news about turning back to Sydney which as I hope you realise is a big deal, something had happened in flight deck with smoke, pilots on oxygens masks and the threat of the flight deck windowscreen not lasting until landing, it was likely gong to break and then who knows what. If those pilots go then you are stuffed?!

For those who know me better, and what I do, I have to tell you I freaked (whoops there goes everyone's faith in FA's), I only say that 'cos I few things weren't adding up, that made me suspicious! and i felt so uneasy, but couldn't show it. I am proud to say I survived it, though burst into tears when i got home, I have been flying over 13 years with no problems..........

My message here today is big shock for me after 13 years to have such an emergency drill.

My oint is please tell people you love them everday flashed between my ages, I knew I was ok, well my 3 yr old niece would be, but what is hard now is the airline play it down,,,,,,,,,,,I have arrived home thinking man, who do you talk to...........Any nice messaged would be appreciated in the next days, I knew one day I had to face itm it wasn't suppose to be, would love some messages otherwise I will hide under my duvet? Heheheh:guess

.

Very down!

Wow amourette how frightening! I am glad thing turned out ok and that you landed safely. And I hope your chin is up anf that you're greeting the day with a smile

thanks not quite time to great the new day just yet, stil late here, it is 11.40 but we are about to put our clocks back an hour in a bit anyway, you want the truth, no I am very freaked out, my only thought I had my will safely done, I have cried since I cam home, why, i am sure it isn't the job it is just my emotional state!

Any PNS appreciated!

XX amourette:cry

Amourette, I'm so thankful you are ok. I know you have a wide net of support to help you through this major anxiety and I hope you go back to work soon. Go on and face that fear sooner rather than later, and I think that will be the best course of action. When I was 9, I was traveling alone when we had mechanical failure and had to land on the belly of the plane with no landing gear. After 9/11, I couldn't force myself to fly at all for several years (which makes no sense because it was the old fear of the crash that came back and not a fear of terrorists) and to this day I can't fly without medication. OK, this probably isn't helping.

I know you know this, but flying is statistically so, so safe. Even moreso on the types of big planes you fly, given your international status. It's not a rational thing to fear flying, even when you've had an incident like what I went through or what you went through. Push through the fear and go back to work. I think it'll give you the distance you need from the incident.

Again, I'm so glad you're ok.