The Bigger Picture

I imagine myself running down the beach....

Free spirited...hair blowing in the breeze.......

My body is phenomenal...just how I always wanted....

I'm tan....I'm smiling....I am for the first time, happy with myself....
...............................................................................................................................................................

That was a dream I had the other night. A dream that included so many emotions in it, I was almost certain it was real. I dream practically all the time, but never with such strong emotion...I was a little stunned when I woke up. I wasn't sure where I was. I had just been on a beach, and now I was in a cold dark room...my bedroom.

I actually, in a way, despise those dreams. Not only do they take you a minute to gather yourself and make your mind realize that you were dreaming, but they also dismay you once you realize that your reality isn't at all like your dream.

But, at the same time, I love those dreams. They give you hope. They give you a sense of what you could have and/or be. They inspire you. Persuade you. They can utterly change you're view of something so much so that you just develop this urge to follow it....

I mean look at what Martin Luther King's dream inspired him to do....

Not that I need the persuasion to exercise....but that feeling I had. That feeling of complete happiness with MYSELF....that's what I want to have.

By the time I'm done with this training that's what I want to achieve. That feeling of happiness. That feeling of accomplishment. Knowing that I was able to make my body look like that....

That's what I want. What I strive for.

I would like to point out though, that in order for my dream to be complete, I have to grow my hair out, and get tan....so just two other things that have to happen before my dream is complete.

My ventures so far have been hard to say the least. I've exercised twice last week. Pitiful? Perhaps. But my muscles are not use to that kind of exertion yet. Which, is depressing because back when I was actively at it, I could do a full half hour of working out and go running without feeling any pain (this was after a full 2 weeks of working at it though).

When it comes to wanting to exercise, a lot of people say that there are no limitations to what you put your mind to....which in a sense is true. If you push yourself hard enough, there are no limitations...however you must also listen to your body. If it's too tired to be pushed any further, you could end up hurting yourself....which could in turn lead you to never want to work out again.

So, I just listened to my body, and relaxed it until I was able to walk without limping. Or lift my arm without searing pain running through it. Ugh.....

So this week, hopefully I'll be able to do a little bit more. Push myself a little bit harder...

While, some days I know it doesn't always seem worth the exercise your putting forth, it's important to always think of the bigger picture. How much you're helping yourself. Your health. And remembering that dream that you have of yourself. Of that happiness you'll have once you're there.

If you aren't happy with yourself....you have to think...what's holding you back?

Some inspiration, I recently read an article about a woman who lost her arms during a fire....she is now a female body builder. You can look it up if you want. But just think, if she can do it....why can't you?

Anyway, my stats for today:

Weight: 142 (so a bit of a jump from when I WAS exercising. Oh well....)

Endurance: Pretty terrible at this point

And my new added stat is...

Self Esteem: Low, but it's a work in progress. (This is more mental than physical. Hopefully becoming more active will help fix that).

Have a good week everyone!!

-Kala

I'm back!!!

Hello all,

So, everyone who doesn't have my facebook or twitter is probably wondering what on earth happened to me? Yes, I've been gone for awhile...

Honestly, I've gone back to this post about 3 or 4 times now...trying to bring myself to post it and actually stick to my word about working out again. I think I'm stable enough now to do so, but why was I away for so long?

Well, what I never told anyone on the blog was that my dad was suffering from cancer. Shortly after I started my blog, he just kept getting worse and worse. We found out it was terminal and that he had 3 weeks to live the day I made my last blog post awhile ago. I was very close to my dad, and it hurt. It hurt a lot more than I was willing to admit to anyone.

I stopped training. I literally went there every day to see my dad...and he slowly went downhill every time I saw him. He lived up to the 3 weeks the doctor had given him. 

He died in June, and I honestly couldn't bring myself to work out or even write a blog. He was such a huge supporter of me doing it and keeping up on this blog. I knew he read it because he would always comment on something from it the next time I saw him. Even now it's still hard to write....it sucks knowing I wont hear a comment from him again.....

To those who have ever lost someone so dear to them...I know how it feels. And to those who have yet to feel such pain, I almost envy you. I would wish this pain on no one.

But life goes on, whether we want it to or not.

I've become sort of unfit again. I've tried to stay up with it, but honestly it was like without my dad's physical motivation here to support me, I just couldn't find the will to do it.

But I know spiritually he's with me, watching me. And I know he would want me to get back on the horse and do it again. Especially if I wanted to. And truly I do. I loved the way I felt when I was getting fit and active. And of course, it sucks knowing I have to get up to that point all over again. But I'm ready for the challenge!

And if you're wondering if I ever went on my Zombie run??? Well I did!! And I was 'turned' into a Zombie. It stunk because it was right at the last minute too before I crossed the finish line. But oh well. It is what it is.

It was still loads of fun, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to be active but yet still have a good time while doing it.

Anyway, as I start up my training again, I'll try and keep my blog updated every Friday.

But before I go, here are some pictures from my run! :)

BEFORE THE RACE

 AFTER THE RACE

"Any change, any loss, does not make us victims. Others can shake you, surprise you, disappoint you, but they can't prevent you from acting, from taking the situation you're presented with and moving on. No matter where you are in life, no matter what your situation, you can always do something. You always have a choice and the choice can be power."

-Blaine Lee

Have an awesome and productive rest of the week everyone!

-Kala

A little advice goes a long way

After my last, dismal post, I'm feeling much better about all my training.

And I have Lina, our foreign exchange student from Switzerland, to thank for that.

I had been complaining to her last weekend about running and about how I felt I wasn't accomplishing anything with my running. "It's just so hard" I kept saying. And she turned to me and said the simplest thing ever.

"If you really want to run, just do it."

For some reason, that's stuck with me. It's such a simple saying. "Just do it." I mean, it's Nike's logo. We see it everywhere. But thinking about it, it's one of the hardest things to do. Especially when it come's to exercising. We all want to do it. But actually just making ourselves do it, is the hardest part of all. It just all comes down to our motivation and want need I guess. And what we have to work for. For me, it's just wanting to do this run, and be able to say "I can do this."

But everyone has different reasons.

Anyway, I've been running almost everyday this week. And I find myself running farther and farther each time, wondering how my body is doing it. The first time I went running I thought I was about to die. My chest burned, my legs hurt...I seriously wondered how it was possible to do it. How do people run so far without just falling over?

This morning I went running, and I kept pushing myself, wondering why I wasn't loosing breath when just last week I found it hard to run a block without my chest catching on fire. However, I've been on a schedule to help keep up my running. I basically run a block, walk a block. Just to help build up my endurance. And it's worked. Now, for this week, I run two blocks, and walk a block. I run for about an hour, which when your running, never seems that long. I know I run at least a mile, which is only one part of the 5K I have to do. But I'm getting there.

That and I think the whole idea of zombies chasing after me will also help since it'll probably kick my adrenaline up.

I only have a month left till this race. And a month and a week left until the bike ride. And I couldn't be more excited. Hopefully, they both live up to the expectations I have for them. But I'm really not worried that they won't.

I've been checking the RunForYourLives  website on updates on the race and such. Since 2013 races have begun they have been putting up slow motion videos that have happened during the race. Below is just one of the examples. :)

 https://www.facebook.com/run.for.your.lives/app_57675755167

Anyway,

Endurance: Getting very good! :)

Weight: 136

Pant size: Same (Seriously, where am I losing this weight at? Oh well..)

Happy Training!

You can do it! I hope....

At some point I'm sure everyone reaches a point in their training where they wonder if they can even do it anymore...

I have reached that point.

Luckily, I have this blog to keep me going, because I don't want to lie. I don't want everyone who has been reading to suddenly be filled with disappointment because I gave up. To have those that I have hopefully inspired to suddenly quit too. No, I will keep going.

But the main, most utmost, and probably most important reason I will keep going is for myself. Which I believe should be every one's reason when exercising or training. There should be no "I'm doing it for others" or "I'm doing it so I can look good in a bikini". No. While those thing might help motivate you, you should ultimately do it for you. To know you CAN do it, if you just try.

Which, I DO know I can do it. And I want to do it to prove to myself that I can. That anything is possible. And I'm finding it is, but as the old saying goes "Nothing is easy, everything you want or have, you have to work for. And while it might not be easy, it'll be worth it."

Anyway, you might be wondering, "How did you reach that breaking point."

In all honesty my strength training has been going great! But running...UGH! I kick myself for not joining track in high school when I had the chance because I'm sure it would've helped me now. Running just kicks my butt. I always lose breath way too fast it seems. And then of course I end up most of the time doing a walk/run thing. I know I'll get there eventually as long as I keep trying, but unfortunately I have one of those minds set where I want it to happen NOW. And thus I get frustrated when the next time I run, I barely improve. Notice I said BARELY. I am improving. Which is the thing I should focus on.

I also have gotten in the habit of trying to ride my bike every chance I get when it's nice out. So far I've ridden at least 8 miles every time I've gone. And that's great for me because the first time I did it I thought I would be so warn out but I wasn't. So I just kept going. Right now the 8 miles is to and from my parents house. So I do have a set path. I'm hoping to go more soon. I have to if I want to do that LATE night ride this year in Chicago.

As far as the dieting goes, it's still pretty good! I'm eating a lot healthier. I have pop maybe once in a month, if I have any at all, which has greatly helped with the training. I think water might have become my best friend...

Ahh, friends. My friends and family have also been great supporters. Which always makes it easier when you  have that kind of support. Sort of makes you feel like you can do anything....

Anyway, I now weight 136. I usually look back at a past blog and see if I progressed, but we'll just leave it at that now.

Endurance level: Pretty good (minus running)

Pant size: 7-8 (Which is strange...I wonder where this weight is fading away to? It can leave my thighs anytime.

Me since I've been working out. 6 pounds lost! I can not tell the difference in all honesty. But I feel the difference.

 

 

 

And the motivation from this week from tumblr!

 

Happy Training! :)

The bad days and good days.

Well hello all,

So I could update you on how great my training has been going. But that would be lying through my teeth.

The honest truth?

I took a week off of training because I was sick and completely unmotivated, and I'm still trying to get back into my regular routine. With Mitchell being home, it makes it harder. I don't know if it's just me, but I hate working out in front of people.

^The above pretty much sums up what I feel like when I'm running, or exercising in general. Because I have it in my mind where I'm constantly changing my form on new moves to make sure its accurate...and I'm sure the first time I do a new move off the video, I look beyond silly. However, I still do it because I know I have to in order to do these runs and bike rides that I so desperately want to do.

Thankfully, my junk food intake is practically at a zero. I say practically because, I'm human and I have urges that I just can't control sometimes. Especially when it comes to like freshly made cake, or yummy donuts...I like donuts.....and candy.....ugh....darn urges. And, yes I could control them...I just choose not to.

But, I still feel better. I'm capable of running further than what I use to. And I have a bike thanks to my awesome brother and his wife! :) So, I'm all set to ride in the Late Night Ride in Chicago this year. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to ride it this much due to the strange weather Indiana is having (seriously do states get bipolar disorder? I wonder about Indiana with this weather). Just to give a taste of what we have been having, it was 77 degrees yesterday with rain. Today, it is snowing outside with high of 37 right now. And more rain. So, biking/running haven't really been the most willing things I want to put myself through.

However, I will hit on this: We all have reason to run now. When I'm out training, and when I go to Knightsville to the Zombie Run, I will push myself even more. I will do it for the victims of the Boston Marathon. To die or get injured doing something you love, is unimaginable. I pray for those that we're effected by that horrific attack. I dont know why they attacked a race, of all places, but they did. And if they think that will hinder us...well they're wrong. If anything they have given me the power to push harder for those that got hurt. To support them. I hope to make a shirt that says "I run for Boston". Maybe people will take it the wrong way, maybe they wont. But other than just saying I'm praying for those victims affected by it, it's my way of showing support for them. That we haven't forgotten them.

One last thing I want to hit on before I go, is I think I found a new race to enter in. Of course not till next year, but it looks so awesome. I think I might need to train a lot more than what I am this year for the zombie race. I mean...you jump over fire in this one. CRAZY! It's called........The Spartan Race! Check it out!

http://www.spartanrace.com/

Pushing the Limits

Hello all,

So, the good news is that I have only two more days until I am done with week one on my training video! (I'm actually done with a week of it, I'm just doing two more day to ensure my body is use to moves before going on to week 2).  Visually, I'm only showing small amounts of change. My legs are just a tad bit smaller, my stomach is slowly becoming more tone than what I had seen before, my arms are beginning to show the slightest hint of muscle. They may not be noticeable to everybody else, but to me, I grant even the smallest change as a big accomplishment.

But that is not my biggest. The way I feel, has changed drastically. I'm having so much more energy now at work and when I get home. All I want to do is skip around and just DO something now, where as before just sitting at the computer was good enough for me. My self confidence is beginning to grow. People compliment me and I believe it. I hold my head up, knowing what I've done the night before, feeling it in every stride. My muscles don't ache now, but rather rejoice in the movement. It's a feeling I can't really describe. I guess I just never knew I could feel this good after working out. And feel like I actually WANT to work out.

......and all of this, is just after a little over 2 weeks....actually a month if you count what I did beforehand. But I'm pretty sure my form was so flawed on those routines, that I'm wary to count it.

However, I don't want everyone to think that it's easy. It's still very hard. I'm sweating like a pig after I'm done every night. Even if I find the routine easier, it's still burning calories and you're still rapidly increasing your breath, sweating, panting, craving water, feeling your muscles tighten....pretty much all the things in which are the reasons people don't exercise.

In fact, the other night, I ate and then almost directly afterward, worked out (and I made more food than what I've been eating. Carb load!). I don't know if I've said this before, but I did read you should wait at least 30 minutes after you eat before you exercise. Well, Monday, I was just so hungry and mostly because it was that wonderful time of the month for me (I just love being a girl at this time). So of course, I was bloated, wanted food, was a tad moody, and was beginning to get a splitting headache. In my mind, I knew I should've used this day as my break so that I could let my body recover from the hormone change. But, I have this bad habit of not listening to myself. So, as soon as I ate, I felt even more bloated than before, and the need to work out just over whelmed me because I hadn't felt so bad in awhile. I thought it would help.

...I was so wrong....

I ended up working out for about 15 minutes before I ran to the bathroom and puked up every thing I had for dinner and I'm pretty sure lunch. My headache had got so bad from working out and sweating that my stomach just couldn't take the pain, which in turn made me sick. I just turned off the video, took a shower, and went to bed that night.

So, my lesson learned is LISTEN to your body. It knows better than you what it can and can't handle. And it will let you know, if you don't listen to it. Sometimes in the worst possible way imaginable. Don't push those limits so far that you'll harm yourself in some way. It's not worth it.

But as I said before, DO push yourself to get that motivation to get up and exercise. Make that first step. Take that first stride. I read somewhere someone said, "One minute of exercise is better than none". It's just all up to you. Your body will do it, if you make it do so.

And by the way, even walking for 10 minutes in one day burns up 90 calories. In one week, every day thats 630 calories burned. And in 30 days that's 2,700 calories. That's about 2-3 pounds per week. So about 6-8 pounds you could burn. If you aren't physically inclined at all and want to lose wait. If you are working out and fit, I doubt you'll be able to lose wait like that.

Below I've attached a Calorie burn calculator to help everyone see what calories their burning doing daily activities.

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

Anyway, stat time!

Weight: 139

Pant size: 8-9 (Still no real change in that besides that I can fit in 8's more now)

Endurance: Slightly Mediocre (Still got a long way to go running wise, but weight lifting wise it's pretty good).

 

Everyone have a good week!! :)

Working out-YOU are in control

So, I didn't post last week. Mostly because I was just too busy with work and coming home and being with my family and friends. Which in turn also meant I didn't exercise as much last week as I had.

And, in all honesty, I didn't mind. My work out routine was really just raw. I didn't have any structure to it, and I wasn't even sure I was doing half the moves with the correct form to really enhance a full workout experience. I mean, I really want to engage my muscles. And the exercises I was doing, while they did make me sore and feel better, didn't necessarily engage in the kind of technique that I actually NEEDED for achieving my goal. So, this past week, I went out and bought an exercise video. Jillian Michael's 30 minute workout.

It has phases you do in weekly period. Week 1, is obviously the easiest (but my body tends to disagree). Then week 2-4 just get harder and harder. Obviously I'm only at week one, and I'm actually a little scared as to what week 2 through 4 will bring. But, I'm loving every second I do it. Mostly because I feel what I wanted to feel when working out before. My core muscles burning, working on getting my body into shape. I feel every muscle tingle from the sensation of working out, and doing it in the correct form....or at least starting to become correct.

I admit when I first started doing it, I HATED the way you were suppose to do it, because it was so hard and I felt that even when I was trying, I was still doing it the wrong way. But I pushed myself to do it the correct way, wanting to better myself more than anything and knowing in my heart that I CAN do it.

And now, with each day I'm doing it, I find myself saying after each round, that it wasn't as hard as the first time. It's getting easier and easier for me know to do the moves she does. Which makes me excited to move on to week 2, because I know it will just improve me even more.

As for the dieting, I was bad last week and ate way more than I should have. However, I've still stuck to my diet I have. I'm actually kind of on a vegetarian diet. I eat very little meat, and have stuck to eating vegetables, fruits, breads, soups, and pasta (I know pasta isn't technically good for a diet, but I LOVE spaghetti!). And in all honesty, I haven't felt this good in a long time. I feel motivated to do more thing now and I'm beginning to not feel as tired. It's a great feeling.

Also, I OFFICIALLY registered for my 5K run!!! I'm so excited. In fact they actually just updated their website. Check out what I'm going to do by clicking on the link below.

http://www.runforyourlives.com/

Be sure to watch the video that plays, and check out the obstacle course page. AHHH!!! I get more excited every time I go to it. :)

But anyway,

It's like I said the other day to a friend. The exercising and dieting isn't hard at all. In fact if you think about it, its quite easy. It's finding the motivation to actually DO it that is hard for anyone. And keeping that motivation, especially when you feel like giving up. You have a brain, use it. You control your body, your body doesn't control you. So make it work for you.

My stomach vs my fitness: Mind over matter

Am I the only one who finds exercising easier than dieting?

I swear, dieting is more painful than any pain I've felt exercising so far. In fact, since exercising, it seems I've been more hungry. Thus I eat more. And sometimes, its not healthy.

It's like putting a starving man in front of the most delicious food and saying, "Now you can't eat any of this, but you may look and admire it as much as you want". Its like a delirious request. I. DON'T. LIKE. DIETING.

But, I am...

The junk food at our house has been cut down majorly. We are replacing it with healthy fruits. I, personally, like vegetables more than fruit. (Broccoli, yum!). That, and my pop in take is almost diminished. The only time I seem to drink it is when we go out to eat.

Food is like the love of my life, and my worst enemy. Ugh!

Aside from that though, I pushed myself this past weekend and I was so sore at work. Usually I've only been working out for 30 minutes, taking break when needed, and kind of taking it easy because I just couldn't push myself to do that. Well, last weekend, I went about an hour exercising, doing exercises I used to do in school (I used to do 100 lunges, 100 sit ups, 20 push ups, 50 jumping jacks, running in place for about 15 minutes, and jump roping for 5 minutes). I used to do all that like it was nothing. Now I can barely do any of it. But I did that an some more on Saturday and I paid so much for it Monday. It hurt to move.

Anyway, I took a break and let myself recover a day. Then I exercised again Tuesday, Wednesday, and now today. And amazingly. I'm able to go the whole half hour without stopping. That seems pathetic to some. And maybe others might even pity me for being so out of shape. But to me, this is great improvement. And my body is actually starting to enjoy it. I start to feel run down if I don't exercise. It's amazing. I am proud of myself.

The only problem with today's exercise, was that I decided to have some ice cream before I went to exercise. And it was almost exactly after I ate the ice cream. I don't know why, just a slip of the mind perhaps? I just wasn't thinking fully that "Hey, gotta exercise, maybe you shouldn't have that delicious ice cream" But nah. My stomach won that round, and now I'm sort of paying for it. I actually looked it up online (although I don't remember the site). And it said that you should wait at least a half hour after you eat a full solid meal to exercise and give your body time to digest it. For lighter snacks, at least 15 minutes. And the snacks shouldn't be ice cream. Don't follow my example. It should be something like yogurt, or a fruit smoothie. Something HEALTHY!! Once again not ice cream. Hey, I said I cut down on the junk food at the apartment, I didn't eliminate it entirely.

But lesson well learned from it. I wont be doing that again.

Anyway:

Weight: 140-142 (one pound!!!)

Pant Size: 8-9

Endurance: Still sucks, but definitely improving,

My inspiration for the coming week. ^^^^

Week one-Finding weakness but staying tough

It's been almost a week, and I'm having a hard time trying to find exercises I like. That, and Mitchell was suppose to exercise with me, but he got placed on 3rd shift. So that threw off our schedule of what to do, because we wanted to train together. Which, we still can, it just kinda shortens our hours since he leaves at 8 now. Luckily, he should stay on 3rd for just a month. So, hopefully next month our workouts will be more rhythmic.

Aside from that, dieting is the killer. I just want to point out that it seems every time I go on a diet, food suddenly becomes all the more appealing to me. I guess I have one of those minds that hates having limitations, thus it wants to have whatever it is that were not suppose to have. Such a sad rebellious habit.

Anyway, I haven't exactly ran either. At nights when Mitchell left I've been doing lunges and situps, and just 100 of those alone were enough to make me beyond sore. But, I LOVED that feeling. It was the best feeling in the world. Just because I feel like since I feel the soreness, that means its working. And lucky for me, I have a job where I just sit on my but for nine hours a day. I have never been so grateful for that in my life. I also didn't ran due to the fact that we got almost 10 inches of snow, and its cold out. I know, thats not really an excuse, but I dont have a gym pass so I can't exactly got out and run on treadmill. So that leaves me with the wonderful outside to deal with. I know though if I wait for weather, I'll never accomplish my running goal.

I just gotta make myself go out there an do it, I just hate the cold so much. Especially running in it. I believe the cold just makes me unmotivated for that.

I'll get there though. I already have a route in mind of where to go, I just somehow have to force myself out there to go and do it.

Anyway, stats of my week:

Weight: 140-143 (It fluctuates)

Pant size: 8-9

Time I can go running without stopping: Maybe 2 minutes (I know, its pathetic)

Endurance: Sucks

 

And Above is what I look like right now. I'm on the left. Hoping to look toner and fitter as time goes on.

 

 

 

This is gonna be tough...

Well,

Although this isn't my first time blogging, it IS my first time blogging about something that I actually am doing FOR MYSELF...

This year, I have decided to sign up for my first 5K ever! It's a 5K Zombie Apocolypse run. I know, it sounds a little cheesy, but looking at thier website and facebook page, I couldn't be more excited to do it! I will also be participating in a LATE night bike ride, which I did last year in Chicago. It was about a 25 mile bikeride. Which also sounds insane, but it was more fun than I've ever had on any bike ride.

My problem is that I am so out of shape. The winter, holidays, and my new job have really taken a toll on my fitness level.

At my job I sit at a desk for 9 hours a day just filing paperwork, working on insurance claims, and working on production at our factory. I rarely move, although lately I've been trying to find ways to, if not from standing up more and walking around to just tapping my foot purposely to feel SOME sort of movement in my body. Never, have I been so aware of how much I DON'T move.

That, and I JUST moved out on my own. So my cooking skills aren't the best...

Which in turn leads to bad eating habits...

Which in turn leads to me just LOVING junk food.

I know, that is a terrible habit to get into. And an even harder habit to break.

No, I'm not saying that I'm overweight and I need to do this because I have just way too much fat on me. I'm actually a very healthy weight for my hieght. I'm 5'6 and weigh 146. I could lose maybe 3 or 4 pounds to be better, but in all consideration doctors consider that healthy.

I'm saying that because with this training I'm either bound to gain some and lose some because of the training I plan to put myself through. Diet and exercising....they're such harmless words, that take the most effort to actually do. Let alone stick with. But up until I'm through all of my triathalons, I have to do this.

And not just that, but I want to know mentally that I can do this. I want to have that sense of pride knowing I was able to stick with something. I'm one of those people that has a really hard time sticking to just one simple thing at a time. But, I'm planning on doing this the whole way through. And I know I'm gonna gripe and complain the whole time, but I just want that sense of pride for myself knowing I did it.

So here's my schedule that I just laid out today:

Monday: Strength/Weight training (as soon as I get some weights).

Tuesday: Leg Strengthening (Indoor Workout)

Wednesday: Running

Thursday: Strength/Weight Training

Friday: Leg Strengthening (Biking)

Saturday: Running

Sunday: RELAX!!!

........Is it bad that I already think Sunday will be my favorite day? Hmm...

Anyway aside from that schedule, I also have to start drinking lots of water and cooking healthy food...along with learning to cook. Anyway, here's hoping I can do it!!

Below are links to the facebook pages of both the events I want to participate in:

http://www.facebook.com/katyrhobbs?ref=ts&fref=ts#!/run.for.your.lives?fref=ts

http://www.facebook.com/katyrhobbs?ref=ts&fref=ts#!/LATERide?fref=ts