.....(And How to Get Thin Forever) Jackie Warner Cliffnotes, Part 2

Ok, yesterday I told you about the 2 week jump start portion of the book “This is Why You’re Fat, and how to get Thin forever” by Jackie Warner (read about it here).  Today I’ll tell you about the 2^nd part of the book, the 5-2 “lifestyle”.

 

You should be eating the “superfoods” mentioned in yesterday’s post every day by the end of your 14 days.

Now, you’re ready for Jackie’s 5-2 plan:

·         Eat “clean” (defined as no processed sugar by Jackie, or under 5 grams per serving) for 5 consecutive days, then allow yourself 2 treat meals per weekend, at no more than 1500 calories each.  This is the most important part, and helps you "detox" the sugar from your system for 5 days straight.  You should not have a cheat meal until you've gone 5 consecutive days without a cheat, and your cheat should not exceed 1500 calories in order to prevent going overboard on calories.  You should not combine your treat meals on the same weekend day, so space them out and have one cheat on Saturday, one cheat on Sunday.  Monday through Friday should be 100% clean.

·         Eat five times a day.

·         Always pair carbs with a protein

·         Eat your “super foods” every day (2 eggs, 1 cup oatmeal, 1 whey protein shake, 3 cups detox veggies, 2 whole fruits)

·         Each day should include:

o   4 proteins

o   3 veggies

o   2 grains

o   2 fruits

o   1 fat

·         Sample Meal Plan:

o   Breakfast:

§  Protein (IE, 2 eggs)

§  Grain (IE, 1 cup oatmeal)

§  Fruit (IE, 1 cup fresh berries)

o   Snack:

§  Protein

§  Fruit  (IE, protein shake with water and fresh fruit)

o   Lunch

§  Protein (IE, 4 oz. lean poultry or meat)

§  Vegetable (IE, 1 cup of broccoli or a baked sweet potato)

o   Snack

§  ¼ avocado or 1 cup chopped fresh veggies

o   Dinner

§  Protein (IE, 4 oz. lean poultry or meat)

§  Grain (IE, 1 cup brown rice)

§  Vegetable (IE, I cup steamed broccoli)  

In addition to this meal plan, you should take the following hormone balancing, fat burning supplements:

o   Multi-vitamin-mineral tablet (Magnesium, Zinc, B Vitamins, Niacin, Biotin, Vitamins A, D, E, and K) (1 pill daily with food)

o   Omega-3 Fatty Acids (1 to 3 grams daily with food)

o   Vitamin C (Ester-C) (500mg per day)

o   Free form Amino-Acids; complete and balanced blend of aminos, including isoleucine, leucine, and valine (the BCAAs)

o   Glutamine

o   Creatine: creatine ethyl ester HCL (not regular creatine monohydrate)

o   CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) (1 to 3 grams with breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

That’s the food part in a nutshell.  The remainder of the book focuses on fitness, where she emphasizes shorter, higher intensity training methods in lieu of long cardio sessions (IE, HIIT).  She outlines several “Power circuits”, and tells you to do 5 days of interval cardio (30 minutes a day) with 3 of those days adding a power circuit (another 25-30 minutes).  The last chapter of the book focuses on the power of positive thinking…think you’re always going to be fat? Well then you will! Turn those thoughts into positive ones, and you’ll start to see positive changes in your life.

So how does this fit into my journey?  I can tell you that while I’ve been trying to incorporate these “super foods”, I haven’t been perfect by any means.  I am having 1 protein shake daily, and I do get my fruits and veggies in.  I also eat 6 times a day (3 meals, 3 snacks) because that's what works for me.  I haven’t had a chance to batch cook a bunch of eggs, so I’m not doing that yet, and I did try oatmeal yesterday, but I am not crazy about organic, sugar free, tastes like cardboard oatmeal.  I’ll try it again with a serving of fresh fruit to see if it helps, but so far I’m not sure that’s one I can do daily. 

And on that note…I got to thinking..thinking about the super foods that I HAVE to eat 5 days a week for the rest of my life in order to do this plan, and I decided it’s all too complicated for my liking.

So I’m modifying this program to my own version…this is based on what I know works for me, and what hundreds of health and fitness experts have said in the past.  I’ll call it the “BB4B” plan ;)

o   Eat 5 to 6 times a day to keep your metabolism up and your hunger at bay

o   Eat 1 serving of protein with every meal/snack; one of these protein servings should be a whey protein shake

o   Eat at least 3 cups of veggies every day, fresh or cooked

o   Eat 2 fresh fruits daily

o   Eat 2 whole grain servings daily

o   Eat 1 healthy fat daily

Always combine 2 things from the list above, since food digests better with a buddy J

(For example, since you’re eating a protein with every meal snack, pick something else from the list to round out your meal!)

Veggies are the only thing you should double up servings in one sitting on, since double protein won’t absorb and double carbs (fruit or grains) will be stored as fat.

 

Whenever possible, eat whole, unpackaged/processed foods.  If eating packaged foods, try to stick to the 5 ingredients or less rule (I break this rule if I can recognize all of the ingredients and they are all healthy!) 

That’s it.  I’m not going to limit myself to eating certain things at certain times of the day, nor am I going to be worried about specific protein sources, other than a whey protein shake.  I'm not going to say certain things are totally off limits (though I will limit "white" products like bread, bagels, etc).  My big focus here is protein…a serving with every meal or snack. This should help me level off my macros to a 40/30/30 balance as I’ve been trying to do lately (carbs, protein, fat).

IMHO, it’s not as important if your protein comes from an egg or a non-meat source, so long as you’re getting it, right? And I’d rather make sure I’m getting my grains instead of dreading the thought of choking down cardboard oatmeal for the rest of my life.  The only exception I make to this rule is the whey protein…I look at that more as a supplement….like taking a daily viatmin, so I know that by incorporating that as a protein source I’m getting a lot more bang for my buck.

That’s my plan for now anyways…I think it’s more realistic to have a frame work rather than specific foods I NEED to eat every day…..I’ll chat more about this after my weigh-in on Friday!

This is why you're fat (Cliff Notes, Part 1)

So I’ve been reading this book by Jackie Warner called “This is why you’re fat (and how to get thin forever)”.

I think it makes some great points, and while I don’t agree with every single thing in the book, I’ve been trying to follow her basic principles/guidelines and incorporate them into my every day routine.

I’m going to try to give you the cliff notes of what I’ve learned, but there’s quite a few things to cover here so this might be long (I’m highlighting the items that I’m trying to incorporate here…she says some things in the book that I don’t entirely agree with, like “It doesn’t matter how many ingredients a packaged product has, so long as it has under 5 grams of sugar per serving”.  While I think the sugar thing is a good idea, I don’t think packaged/processed products are all created equal, and sometimes low sugar means extra chemicals!)  In a nutshell, Jackie says that Sugar is the devil, and is the reason we are fat.  So, to fix this problem, here’s what she says:

First, naturally raise your “good” hormone levels to bring your body back into balance by doing the following:

·         Cut back on carbs at night (protein and veggies at night, but not carbs like bread, pasta, or potatoes)

·         Get a good night’s sleep (can eat casein-rich or protein rich foods like low fat cottage cheese before bed, don’t drink caffeine after 3pm, keep the TV off)

·         Eat HGH (Human Growth Hormone) Building Blocks (whole grains, legumes, vegetables, proteins and protein rich food)

·         Go Organic wherever possible

·         Train Hard (intense bouts of exercise increase the production of HGH

·         Eat Testosterone builders (yellow and orange vegetables, green leafy veggies, beef, fruits, nuts, and legumes, amino acids in eggs, poultry, fish, and meats)

·         Watch Fat intake (limit red meat to 3 servings per week and eat more poultry and fish, get fats from nuts, olive oil, avocados, and fatty fish)

·         Watch Caffeine and alcohol (no soda, limit 2 cups of coffee or tea per day, avoid alcohol as much as possible, limit to one day per week with cheat meal)

·         Eat lots of B vitamins and magnesium (beans, meat, poultry, fish, bananas, avocados, spinach, tomatoes, organic dark leafy vegetables, almonds, eggs, meat, seeds, and nuts)

·         Stay under 5 grams of sugar in packaged food

·         Eliminate sugar, MSG, and highly processed foods, especially white bread products including crackers and bagels, and “Fat-free” products which usually replace fat with sugar

·         Buy hormone free chicken, meat, and dairy products

·         Watch out for BPA, especially in microwavable containers; the number “7” usually means no BPA

·         3 liters a day of water (100 oz)

·         Incorporate these Cellulite busting foods: apples, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, parsley, green peppers, turnips, parsnips, celery, kale.  Avoid fried and processed foods which interfere with blood circulation and lymph drainage.

So, a few of these are repetitive, but this is how the book is written.  On top of these basic principles, she asks you to follow these guidelines:

·         No sugar-free juices, soda, or treats (including diet sodas)

·         No sugar in clean products like water, tea, or coffee (including crystal light)

·         Eliminate sugary foods from the house; treat meals should be bought, indulged in, and any leftovers thrown away immediately

·         Buy apples, pears, berries, and citrus foods for sugar cravings

·         Use Truvia as a sweetener

·         Exercise Regularly

·         Graze on healthy snacks throughout the day

·         Drink lots of water (2 to 3 liters per day)

·         Cut back on caffeine (no more than 2 cups coffee per day)

 

She recommends you do a 2 week jump start by adding the following foods into your diet everyday (don’t change anything else you don’t want to, just add these “super foods” in, and you’ll find that you’ll be less hungry and unconsciously eliminate more bad food over the course of the 14 days):

·         2 eggs daily

·         1 cup oatmeal daily

·         Hormone-Balancing detox vegetables, 2-3 cups daily (artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, collard greens, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, garlic, green beans, kale, lettuce, ions, parsley, peppers, radishes, scallions, spinach, summer squash, tomatoes, watercress, zucchini)

·         2 servings of 2 whole fruits daily (apples, apricots, bananas, berries, cherries, citrus fruits, kiwi, melon, pear, pineapple, watermelon) Juice does not count, but you can use any of these in a smoothie

·         2-3 liters water or lemon water daily

·         8 oz Whey Protein Shake daily

·         Herbal Tea for late night cravings

After eating like this for 14 days, you’re ready to move on to the 5-2 “lifestyle” that she promotes with this book (NOT a diet, a way of life!).

(*Please note all information listed above is paraphrased from the book "This is Why You're Fat (and How to get Thin Forever" by Jackie Warner.  This is not information that I wrote or invented, I'm certainly not an expert, but I sure hope that our pal Jackie is!*)

I’ll stop for now to keep this short…tune in tomorrow to learn about her recommended 5-2 plan and daily supplements, and my whole take on it all!

Wedding Day Link up with Holly and Mel!

Today I’m joining the fun and linking up with Holly and Melanie to talk about the happiest day of my life: our Wedding day!

I’ll spare you the entire backstory of our wedding and try to give you the cliff notes version….my husband proposed on Christmas day, 2009.  We were thrilled when my mom informed me she had a bunch of $ set aside to help give us the wedding of our dreams, and quickly fell in love with our dream venue , a penthouse ballroom in downtown Hartford, ready willing and able to put down the deposit for an October 16^th, 2010 wedding.  Flash forward a month, and shit hits the fan.  My parents are getting a divorce.  My sisters and I have to have an intervention with our mother, who I’m pretty sure experienced a mental breakdown and am still convinced to this day would have ended things if we didn’t get the police involved that awful, awful night in her hotel room.  My mother was subsequently diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder…which pretty much means she’s a master of manipulation and lying.  Come to find out, that money she promised us didn’t exist.  We couldn’t afford that wedding we thought we were going to have…not even half of it! All while this is going on, my health is deteriorating rapidly.  I dropped about 20 pounds over the course of 2 months (but not from diet and exercise)….I was ultimately diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, after months of testing, ER trips, and doctors visits.  This was not our year.

So, on a whim, I entered a deserving couple wedding contest that a local florist was hosting…come to find out, we WON! It was amazing….incredible…words can’t even describe how grateful I am that these people gave us the wedding of our dreams! So far above and beyond what we could have imagined for our special day.  I spent lots of time putting in personal touches, designing the graphics that were carried seamlessly throughout our ceremony and reception.  It was everything we wanted and more, and I will be forever grateful for these people that showed us such generosity on our special day.  So now, without further ado…the details!

April 30, 2011 (a Saturday)

 

Location—Ceremony at a beautiful Chapel at Wesleyan University (we wrote our own vows, used a JP, kept the ceremony to about 25 minutes with 2 readings from friends).  I walked down the aisle to “Just Breathe” by Pearl Jam, hubby’s favorite band J

Reception followed at the beautiful Sarah Porter Memorial, a stand-alone gorgeous piece of architecture in Farmington, CT, near the historic Ms. Porter’s School.  Cocktail hour was outdoors.

 

Bridal Party—My 2 sisters and my best friend (all my MOH, I wasn’t going to pick!).  He had his cousin as his best man, and 3 closest friends as groomsman.

 

Colors-- My bridesmaids wore purple dresses that they each chose their own style (I just told them I wanted them to be knee length and purple, they got to pick the rest).  The groomsman wore suits with charcoal grey vests and fun argyle purple socks.  My flowers were purple, the girls’ flowers were white.

 

First Dance—“You are the Best Thing” by Ray LaMontagne.  I LOVE this song, and I still get a little teary if I catch it by chance on a random radio station (not a popular song, so I don’t hear it very often).  No one ever tells you how awkward it is to dance for 3 straight minutes with everyone watching though!

 

(The image above is by far my favorite from the whole wedding...I have it framed on my desk at work :)

 

Honeymoon—Aruba! By far, my favorite vacation, EVER.  We spend the day Sunday relaxing with family and left for the honeymoon Monday morning (I was happy to have a day to relax before traveling!).  We loved Aruba so much we got suckered into a timeshare at our resort J

What Would I Change?—This is a tough one…I honestly have no regrets about my wedding day.  I think it went off without a hitch…except for maybe the fact that our amazing wedding planner had 2 dinners packed up for us (knowing we probably wouldn’t eat much that night!), and grabbed all of our late-night favors that were leftover (munchkins with chocolate milk) and brought them back to our hotel for us….but we had no idea they were even there!! We had a full size fridge in our room too….and all that amazing food went to waste because we didn’t know to stick it in the fridge over night!  Oh well I guess, of all the things to be disappointed with, that’s so minor its almost not worth mentioning!

There you have it, hope you enjoyed!

This is why you're fat...

This is how my life goes: kick some major booty Monday through Friday.  Weigh in Friday morning.  Get really excited about weight loss.  Reward myself with bad food.  Continue bad food reward system throughout the day, throughout the next day, and the day after that (it IS the weekend after all, right?). (What?? You don’t do that? I did go to Bootcamp on Saturday morning..so I worked some of it off, right???  I digress…)

I need to break this cycle.

I need to get off the 5 pound tango train, like NOW.  I need to get away from food as a reward.  I want to see a lower number on the scale this week, not the same one (or god forbid a higher one!)

 

I downloaded a book for my Kindle app yesterday called “This is why you’re fat (and how to get thin forever)” by Jackie Warner (I've been thinking about downloading this for a long time now) and so far I’m really liking it…it’s very much about the principals of clean eating, but there’s more science behind it too since she talks about the hormones that make us fat and skinny, and how to fix a hormone imbalance that  has been caused by years of bad eating.

I’m still reading it, so I’m not really into the meat of the book yet, but I’ll be sure to give you my full review when I’m done.  She mentions the idea of 2 “cheat meals” on the weekend…I can totally get on board with that! 

I’m also feeling like I need to set weekly goals for myself…if I visualize a number on the scale, it’s something to work towards, rather than just wanting to see it go down.  Last week I told myself I was going to see 183 on the scale, all week, and low and behold, I saw it on Friday.  This week, I’d really, REALLY love to see 181 on the scale.  I will push myself to work hard and log my calories to make that number a reality!

 

 

What are your goals for the week?

Fit Fab Friday

Weigh in day is never fun.  I wasn’t sure what to expect…I had stayed within my calories all week (my MFP pal challenge on Instagram proves this!), I ran 13 point freakin’ one miles on Sunday, and had a great Bootcamp session on Wednesday.  That being said, I’ve had a crazy busy week with work and travel, and haven’t gotten in nearly enough water, ate out (healthy options, but there’s still the sodium factor) more times than I would have liked, and didn’t get to bed before midnight for the past 2 nights in a row.

This morning I weighed in at 186.2...That’s a loss of .6 pounds. 

Poop.

I know that some of that is water weight, but seriously…I RAN A HALF MARATHON on Sunday, what the eff is going on? This just proves my point a little more that I’m pretty sure long distance running makes my body hold on to weight for some reason.

I was feeling a little frustrated and down on myself, so I decided to turn to pictures instead.

Last year, June of 2012, I was at my sister’s wedding in a dress that I THOUGHT made me look “skinny” because it was form fitting right under my boobs and flared out to cover my “problem areas” (IE, hips and thighs).  I had worked hard since January of that year to lose 20 pounds, so I was feeling more confident than I was at my heaviest.  Looking back, that dress was WAY too tight on me, probably by at least a size or 2, but I was obviously in denial. 

I tried that same dress on this morning.  I’m happy to report that the dress is actually too big on me now…I could easily take inches off the waist.  My arms don’t look as flabby.  My shoulders look more toned.  My face looks thinner.

This isn’t an overnight fix.  This is a journey that’s going to take time.  I need to be patient and remember that I AM making changes, even if they are slow.  This isn’t a race.  I will get there eventually, and in the meantime, I know I’m gaining muscle and doing other things that might not make the scale turn out in my favor.  Sometimes, you just have to say eff the scale and trust the process.  Trust the PROGRESS.

 

Just. Keep. Swimming.

I ran a Half Marathon!!

Before I start, just a quick reminder that I’ve started a Dietbet called “Fit by the Fourth”…it starts this Wednesday and ends July 3^rd, just in time to look hot for your 4^th of July picnics (and so we can weigh in before gorging ourselves on hot dogs and potato salad!) Our pot is at $440 and growing already, here’s the link, sign up soon!!
http://www.dietbet.com/games/16999

(Fair warning, this is a long one!)

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that yesterday I finished my first Half Marathon!

I want to say first that I’m really proud of this accomplishment, regardless of my time or performance.  Considering that Labor Day weekend last year I could barely run the intervals for the first week of Couch to 5k, it’s hard to believe that less than a year later I’d be running 13.1 miles!

That being said, I have to say that my experience yesterday was a little rough, so say the least.

Let’s start with sleep.  I had read that it’s best to wake up at least 3 hours before the gun time for 2 reasons: 1) your natural circadian rhythm means you won’t be at your peak performance levels until 3 hours after waking, and 2) nutrition is more important than sleep on race morning, and you should eat 3 hours before to allow time for proper digestion.

My alarm was set for 4:30am, but I woke up at 2:30 to pee (I was hydrating like crazy all day Saturday because of the hot temps predicted), and well, my mind wouldn’t turn off.  I laid in bed for the next 2 hours, unable to fall back asleep, and finally got up around 4:15 because I realized it was a lost cause.  I had slow digesting carbs for breakfast (Ezekiel Toast with PB), and got in 20 oz of water before getting dressed and heading out to the race.

I got to the race at about 7am, and the gun time wasn’t until 7:45, so I took the opportunity to get in one last pee stop before the start.  I did wait in line for the porta potties about 20 minutes or so, but it wasn’t that bad.  At this point, the weather was feeling really nice.  Low 70s, cool breeze, and the air didn’t feel too heavy.  That changed pretty quickly.

 

I felt really good for about the first 6 miles of the race…looking back, this 6 mile stretch was mostly in the shade, and I think that made the world of difference.  At about mile 6, there was a small hill, so I took the opportunity to walk up that small stretch while  taking my energy chews.  I started running again at the top of the hill, and managed to keep running through mile 8.  This course is a “modified figure 8” which essentially means that you run portions of the course multiple times.  At mile 8, we actually ran past the finish line, which is where my husband, MIL, my Dad, and his fiancé were all standing, cheering me on.  I actually got teary when I saw them because I was really starting to feel the effects of the heat at this point, and was questioning if I was going to make it.  My amazing friend Beccah jumped in with me at this point to run the last 5 with me, and thank god she did because I’m not sure I would have finished without her.  The last 5 miles of this course were in direct sun, by open stretches of field with absolutely no cloud cover or shade.  At this point, it was in the 80s, and I was already so overheated that the direct sun made it almost unbearable.  We ran until about mile 9, when I told her I need to stop for another walk break.  She was super supportive, and offered to set her watch so we could run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute.  I took her up on this offer.  My legs were feeling so heavy, my lungs felt like they couldn’t get enough air, and my heart felt like it was going to explode.  I wore my HR monitor, and my heart was around 179 BPM for most of the race…my training runs had my BPM between 155-163!  I couldn’t drink enough water to make my thirst go away, and every time we stopped to walk, I felt a little dizzy and light headed.  Beccah was my personal cheerleader for the remainder of the race, encouraging me to keep  going when I really wanted to stop.  About 1.5 miles from the finish line, I got determined.  I wanted to finish the race strong, and I told Beccah we wouldn’t be taking any more walk breaks.  She cheered me on and told me I was doing awesome and how proud she was of me, and told me that I could do this, and I knew I could.

Then, about a mile from the finish line, course officials came out and told us we HAD to walk in the last mile. (WHAT!?!?)  The heat was so bad, that people were passing out all over the course, and they ran out of ambulances and medical personal to treat to affected runners.  They asked us to walk to minimize our chance of heat-related illness.  I was really bummed…but I obliged….for about a 1/3 of a mile anyways, until the officials were out of sight. I had been doing walking intervals throughout the last 5 miles, I knew I could push myself safely to run the last leg of that race, and so I did.  I ran the last leg into the finish line, and was so very thankful for my Dad who handed me a bottle of water right before I crossed the line. 

My final time was 2:46:50, which I have to say I was a little disappointed in, because my training runs had me finishing in 2:30 or so.  That being said, I’ve been training in 40 and 50 degree temperatures up until this point, so obviously I wasn’t prepared to run in that kind of heat.  The race course was actually scary at times, there were people passed out all over the course, and the background was constantly filled with loud ambulance sirens or flashing emergency vehicles racing through to get to another fallen runner.  This kind of heat isn’t normal around here during this time of year…in fact, the heat wave broke with some severe thunderstorms last night and the highs today and tomorrow will be in the low 70s…go figure.

 

The setting for this race was absolutely beautiful.  Gorgeous historical houses, large stretching farm land and fields, cute neighborhoods.  But unfortunately all that sprawling farm land meant that the majority of the race was in direct sunlight, which was not a good thing when the temps were in the 80s.  They had volunteers with super soaker water guns every so often, that sprayed you as you ran by to help cool you off, and had water and Gatorade stations every 2 miles or so.  There was a guy that sat out in his front yard the whole race with his garden hose to spray down runners who wanted to cool down…the course looped by his yard 3 times, and I took advantage every single time.  At every water station, I took 2 cups…one to drink, one to pour down my neck.  Unfortunately I got some water in my shoe pretty early on, and I developed a painful blister under my big toe on my right foot by about mile 5.  My runkeeper app, which I had started when I crossed the start line, “skipped” and told me I was ½ mile further than I really was, for the WHOLE FREAKIN RACE.  This is not the first time this has happened to me with runkeeper, and I was really frustrated because each update from the very beginning of the race was wrong.  My mileage, my pace, EVERYTHING.  I think it might be time to invest in a Garmin at this point, because that really threw me off.  Another mistake I made was not wearing my hydration belt; I had been training with it, but figured there would be enough water stations that I wouldn’t need to carry my own.  I could have used every bit of water I could get my hands on, and by mile 9 they were running out of cups so they were only giving runners 1 cup each and asking you to stop to refill once you finished the first cup (I didn’t want to “stand still” to do this, so this didn’t happen for me!)

All of this being said, I’m still going to do this again.  I had actually already signed up for my 2^nd half before even running my first, the Providence Rock N’ Roll half on my birthday, September 29^th.  My awesome pal Liz got me to sign up for this one, so hopefully the weather will be better and training through the summer will help get my lungs used to the higher temperatures just in case.  I am not one of those people who loves running while I’m doing it.  I’ve never gotten the runners high that people talk about.  But I’m pretty damn proud of myself once is over, to tell people what I’ve accomplished.  Call it what you will, but I think I like to run because I like the feeling of accomplishment when I’m done.  I don’t love every second of it, but I feel like I’m proving something when I’ve done it, so I’ll keep on doing it.  Today I’m sore and I’m walking like an old lady, but I survived, and now I guess I’ll have a time to beat for my next race!