I went to the Oprah show yesterday to watch a taping of "Extreme Weight Loss stories." I had called in to tell them my story and the producer was interested enough to get all of my information, my pictures and a link to the TV profile that was done in Madison in September.

They also were talking about sending a crew to the marathon to tape me....which I am now very pleased didn't work out! It was fun to watch all of my team members jump up every time my phone rang, though, while we were down there.

I didn't get on the show...and I really think it was for two reasons: One my story was quite similar to two of the women who were already booked on the show--actually, my story is a combination of the two!!-- and many of the people on the show had lost more than I have! (There is one man who lost FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS! In TEN MONTHS!! He had gastric bypass and only eats every other day or something like that.)

But, my sister and I did get to sit in the second row. Right down in front of Oprah (who is much smaller than I thought that she was....both in weight and height). We were sandwiched in between the guests and some of the families, so I am guessing that we will make it onto the show by virtue of the camera angles.

Also, a couple of the stories made me cry. (Hitting a little too close to home, maybe??) And you know how the Oprah directors like to take close-ups of weeping audience members!

We don't know when the show is going to air yet. But I can let you know when I know. Also, they taped an After the Show that is going to be on Oxygen. But we don't know when that airs, either.

It's worth watching just to find out what the guy who lost the five hundred pounds did with all of his extra skin. Really.

I am back, too! (Actually, I've been back since late Monday...but things have been Cuckoo Crazy here...)

I didn't have the bestest, most magical Disney experience, either. But it was still a lot of fun.

I didn't finish the full marathon, as I had planned on doing. But I did finish the half--and I got a Donald Duck medal that rivals anything Mister T has ever come up with! I also learned that I didn't train nearly hard enough...that if they say that there is a time limit, there is really a time limit...and that it's very hard to feel sorry for yourself when you finish the race that you are walking for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with a 20-something gal with boundless enthusiasm and energy who has been through seven rounds of chemotherapy since August because she just found out that she actually HAS leukemia.

I am still unclear on how the timing or the official pace or the timing chip on my shoe all worked together, but I do know that when I reached Mile 13 our pacer came back to tell me that they had "closed the full course" meaning that I couldn't go on past 13.1. While I was sad that I wouldn't be able to finish, it was also very nice to cross the finish line of the Half Marathon at 3:58 and go sit down. (The way that I understand it, the official course time started when the first runners took off and we were supposed to make up that time to finish the course in the alloted time period. We were corralled at the very back and didn't even cross the START LINE until nearly 35 minutes into the race! So that's why I am all confused. Did Mickey think that I was going to be able to make up a half hour on the guy who finished the whole thing in 2 hours and 9 minutes??)

Frighteningly, we've already started to plan for our next race. The Green Bay marathon in May. Then the brand new Arizona Rock and Roll Marathon next year at this time. What the hell has happened to me? When did I become the kind of person that would look forward to walking until I puke?

Hey, everyone. I wanted to check in with you when I got home from Florida, but came down with a stomach bug .. and now that I seem to be on the road to recovery from that, I'm coming down with a cold. If I wait until I'm completely healthy to post here, you might not see me again until July!

I did.. okay. There's more in my fitness journal about that - I don't want to clutter things up here. I DO want to say that I'm so sorry I couldn't meet up with you, Ericka! Your e-mail didn't arrive in my inbox until after I'd left work - and I got home, only to remember that Thursday was the day that we gave up the cable modem (stupid @T&T). And I bet that you were one of the people to discover, only too late, that my cell phone wasn't working in Orlando. Gaaaaaah.

I'm already looking forward to next year. I'm hoping it's even better than this one was.

Oh, and welcome, Lisa!

So how is everyone doing today?

I'm exhausted. I just took a 15-minute nap in my car to stave off crankiness. I got enough sleep -- after triathlon training last night, I passed right out. I think I fell asleep by 10:30. I got about 8 hours of sleep, which I've figured out I need, without fail, each and every night. But last night's class just wore the hell out of me. And it's funny because I'm not the "sleep-deprived" tired; I'm the kind of tired where my body would just like me to lay down for a while and not be disturbed!

Anyway, this led me to thinking about sleep -- how much we do or do not need -- in terms of our lifestyles. I remember not too long ago when I could get away with five hours of sleep a night! Now, if I don't get my eight hours, I'm of no use to anyone! Since I've started working out so regularly, the nightly eight hours of sleep is a must. But I'm starting to think that I might need extra with the training.

How about you? What are your sleeping patterns like? How much do you need?