I have received some incredible news!!! I am an identical bone marrow match for a woman with leukemia! I am on the national marrow donation list, and they contacted me in August to tell me I was a preliminary match and that they needed to do further testing......they contacted me at work last week to tell me I was her match. They gave me 3 dates to choose from for the donation. Two of the dates were before nationals, one of them is the week after. So I will get back from nationals on a Sunday, and start the process that Thursday (Thanksgiving day). I am so humbled and excited that I could do this for another human being.....they tell me the odds of my marrow matching hers are close to astronomical- they said I should go buy a lotter ticket:)

Training is going well, I am doing a run through of my "week of contest" prep this week. Today was my first zero carb day......yuck! I will be no carb tomorrow too, then reload wed, thur, fri. I needed to jump start my fat loss this week anyway:) Still holding on to a bit of a layer around my butt.

Halloween was great for the kids tonight! They totally made a hall! We went to a harvest party that their school puts on.....they had a total blast. Then we went to a friends house to hang out and play games.....hand out candy....etc. I have to say that taking in NO carbs on Halloween HAS to be against the law somewhere:) I swear to God, I felt like I would die without a tootsie roll tonight.....(no, I did not give in). The candy was calling to me.......eat me, eat me. I am exhausted- going to bed now. Take care and keep training hard!

Tami

SO SORRY, I haven't written in over a week. I've got low carb brain- what can I say? So has everyone caught my picture in this month's Ironman Magazine? There is a pic of Karen Patten and I backstage at Team Universe!!!! It is actually a great photo (taken by Ruth Silverman), who is a really fun lady in person:) This is my first official magazine photograph!!! So exciting even though its not much.....just the beginning right Karen?
Nationals prep is going well. I had my body comp done on friday- 6.2% in the dunk tank @ 127lbs.....My legs still need to lean out a lot! I am now cycling my low carb and high carb days. My last cheat meal was Sunday night ( we'll see if one is appropriate next week, but I don't think so at this point). I have to get SO lean so that my legs will rip out.....that whole pear shape thing you know?

Both of my kids have been home from school sick the last 2 days. My son was sporting a 104 degree fever tonight.....just what I need before nationals!!! Oh well, being a mommy comes first in my world:) I have to work the next 3 days.....which sucks when I am dieting!!! It's a little hard to be in the middle of a delivery and have my watch alarm go off (telling me it's time to eat). It's not like I can say, "Listen, could you stop pushing for a minute so I can eat some chicken and green beans?" Well everyone, take care, I promise I will try to write more in the upcoming weeks about my nationals prep. Train hard! No excuses!

Tami

Only 4 1/2 weeks till Fitness Nationals!!!!! Training is going very well, I started a new phase of the diet 2 weeks ago, and I am very pleased with the results so far. I went shopping this weekend (with birthday gift certificates), and had so much fun! I had to keep reminding myself not to buy things too small, because I certainly don't live at this size year round......I did buy a tiny little pair of jeans at Old Navy, and designated them "pre-contest" jeans :) I start the next phase of the diet this Friday. No more oatmeal, and only one cheat meal this weekend, then no more cheat meals until the night of the finals!!!! These last few weeks make such dramatic changes in my physique. It seems to change daily- so its really fun going to work out (where you can see the changes). It also fuels my workouts! I threw my routine yesterday, and my lower back ached for the rest of the day......and my right hamstring feels like I have a slight "pull" in it. Boy it sucks to get older! I am trying to balance my routine practices with my body's ability to stay injury free. If I feel any pulls or soreness- I usually wait another day to practice it. But there comes a time when you don't have time to spare before a contest. I am at that time now. So I take Ibuprofen and cowboy up! Well, I must go, it's almost time to pick my daughter up from school. We are going halloween costume shopping today:) Wish me luck!

Tami

Alright, it's official......I am 30. My birthday came and went with a quiet but meaningful weekend. I had a nice dinner with my closest friends on Saturday, and then a quiet dinner with my family on the night of my birthday. I have come to the conclusion that my age is not what is bothering me.....it is how fast my life seems to be flying by. Your age is just a reminder of that fact. I love where I am at in my life right now.....I feel very content. (which for any of you that know me, I am not a content person- always striving for something bigger and better) Training for nationals seems to keep me quite busy and content in my life otherwise. My marriage is strong (as always), and I feel very connected to my kids. Boy, I sound like a sappy old greeting card! Anyway, on to other news. Soccer season is officially over as of tonight! I started crying when the team presented me with a "thank you" plaque with the team picture on it. It was totally precious.....all of the girls told me thank you and started crying. (me too) It really was an awesome experience, but I don't know if I will do it next year. It was very time consuming and it will depend on what competitions I have going.

I opened up the new Oxygen at the gym tonight, and there my name was- listed for Team Universe! I know, I know, it's just my name.....but it's a start. Next time it will be my picture! Getting excited for nationals, I am now 5weeks 3 days out! I tried on my suits and did posing today.....yuk! I hate being in my comp suits when I am not below 7%, can you say MOOOOOO? In all seriousness, I don't look that bad. It's hard to fight the body dysmorphia at this stage of the game. Well, I must go to bed. I'll write soon. Train hard everyone!

Tami

OK, 4 days and counting till my 30th birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When I mention my upcoming birthday, everyone younger than me says "I'm sorry...." Everyone older than me looks at me like "shut up you infant." I know it's really not that bad.....I'm just being silly. I am really having so much fun in my life right now.....my fitness career is starting to take off, I'm starting to train others and share my knowledge, my husband and kids are awesome! I am so "comfortable" with myself and where I am in my life now.

I would like to congratulate my nutritionist Pete Grubbs and his wife Apple on the birth of their beautiful new baby girl Savannah.......Apple said the baby could come anytime after the WA Ironman- she just wanted to get through the show. Well.......Savannah was born 9 hours after the show was over! Way to go Apple! I can imagine that big sister Sam is ecstatic.

I am on a low carb day today....I can almost feel my body burning the fat. I had no gum today at work, and it was agony! On my low carb days, orbit gum is the only thing that gets me through the day. Cardio is becoming more of a chore when my energy gets so low. I worked all day today, it was insane! It was like we had a revolving door on our department. It's not even a full moon......my legs are so sore. Well, tomorrow is another work day, so I must go to bed. Good night everyone.

I got my new gorgeous competition suits today!!!!!! They are royal blue, and as always Merry Christine did a wonderful job. I suppose I have to forgive her a little for not getting them to me before Team Universe when I originally ordered them! You see, I won them by winning the overall fitness at the Emerald Cup this year- so they were freebies. So, even though I told her I wanted them for Team U, I was not a "paying" customer, so she fulfilled orders from paying customers first. (Even though I gave her 12 weeks notice......but who's counting) Water under the bridge......I have them now, and I am so happy with them! Now I just have to get my fat ass leaned out to look stunning in them!

My dear friend Rebecca got 4th in her height class at Ironman this last weekend! She is adorable, and the nicest person you will ever meet. I do think she deserved at least 3rd though, but I wasn't there in person, I am judging that by the pictures.....Great job my friend!

OK guys, the countdown is on! It is 6 days and counting until my 30th birthday!!!! Age is just a state of mind right? I keep telling myself that.....ha ha ha. Well, I must go. The sink is overflowing with dishes, and this new phase of the diet is kicking my butt! I am actually going to try to be in bed before midnight tonight! Tomorrow is a cheat meal day!! whoooooo-hooooo!

Happy training friends,

Tami

Hello everyone!! I am disappointed to say that I did not get to go to the Washington Ironman last weekend........I was SO incredibly sick with the flu. I ached from the top of my head to the tips of my toes! I did not eat for 2 whole days....which for me is huge!!! (anyone who knows me will tell you that I LOVE my food!) So, I lost 4 lbs, which I was fearing was all my hard earned muscle, but I had my body comp done today and got some good news. I actually lost 2 lbs of fat, and only lost a tiny amount of lean. Most of the loss was water. My weight is 127lbs now, and my bodyfat 8% (per the underwater dunk tank). I actually calipered out at 7.6%, which I always am less on caliper because they don't do the pinch test on your butt!
I have some great news! I was chosen as one of the fitness competitors of the week on bodybuilding.com!!!!! My profile will be posted in the next 6 to 8 weeks. I have always wanted to send my pics to them, but never got around to it till now. Hopefully that will give me some good exposure right before nationals:)
I started on a new diet the day I got better from the flu....this one is tough! I have low carb days mon,tue, thurs, fri. Then higher carb days on Wed, Sun (both of those days include cheat meals before bed- which is awesome!) I have already started to see great results. I will keep you posted on the diet and my progress. My goal is to have my body comp done again in 2 weeks (which will be 4 weeks out from nationals) then it will be done weekly. Starting to get excited! Oh, by the way, my daughter won another soccer game tonight- scored 3 goals herself! I'm not proud or anything.....hee hee hee. Have a great day tomorrow everyone- I will write soon.
Happy Training,

Tami