November - Already?

Well look at that. The 11th month is already here.  I had high hopes for this year, including making it back to 150. 

However, over the course of a year, I have done some pretty amazing things.  I have run my 5th half marathon, my 4th 10K, completed a 12 week lifting program and done 1 full (and 2 half) Whole30s.  I have tested some new things to see what I can do to make myself better and healthier. I have dragged my family through most of it (they are great sports!)

So I am not where I want to be with my weight. And I honestly haven't had my body fat tested lately, although it's on my list of "Things to Do" next time I go to the gym.  But I feel like I have a greater understanding of my body, what makes it tick and what makes it sloth... 

I am in a fitness group that will start reading It Starts with Food as a group this week.  The plan is to do a GROUP Whole30 starting January 1, after reading the entire book.  I haven't committed to it yet, I just haven't decided if I am in the right place mentally. But the more I talk to people, the more I find myself saying "Oh, that wasn't a problem for me during my Whole30!" or "Whole30 fixed that in me!" and wonder why I wouldn't do another one?  It will have been 4 months since my last attempt and will probably be a great time to go for it.  I know Paleo is NOT for me as a lifestyle, but a good kick-start never hurt anyone. 

My weigh in on November 1 was a wakeup call (166). I'd been drowning myself in candy for a good week. I knew my October weight out was going to be HORRIBLE. Things can only go down from here.  So I recalled my first goal of the year - to fit into that Believe shirt. I still have time - my goal is to wear that shirt as much as possible starting the day after Thanksgiving. What does that mean? That means I have to clean up my food for the rest of November. I have to be spot-on with my working out and my water intake (I STINK at drinking water!! Coffee until it's time for wine, people!) 

I am definitely reevaluating the weight goal of 150 that I originally had for myself. I no longer think there is a magical scale number that will make me suddenly "healthy." Instead I am going for fitting in certain clothes and a body fat percentage as close to 22% as I can get.  I think I've mentioned this before, but the lowest I've ever gotten my BF% was during the clean eating phase we did last year. We still eat pretty closely to that, although I have never found a whole wheat or rice pasta that tasted worth eating so we still eat white pasta.  But I have homemade spices and sauces now for a long time and will continue to do so.  

So sorry for the rambling post. Nothing earth shattering today, just trying to get all of my thoughts out on what the last 10 months has brought me - almost right back to where I was at the start of the year...    

I can smile - AND RUN!

This was posted by Go! St Louis today.  Finally! Proof that I am a HAPPY runner!!! 

GO! St Louis Halloween 10K, 2014 Edition

This morning was the Halloween 10K, one of my favorite races of the year!  We were out late last night, I had a few minor tweaks to make to costumes then went to bed by about 11:30. My kiddo has her seasonal allergy cough right now, so that woke me up around 1am. Alarm went off at 5:35am. Needless to say, I was TIRED!

It was raining on the drive downtown. Sprinkling, pouring.... we had it all. It cleared up when we pulled into our parking spot, but started again on our walk to the starting line. As you can see, I was soaked before I even started!

I love having the Arch in the background!

I told myself before the race - I just wanted to be better than last year. Last year's results were 1:01:44, so my goal for myself was simply a sub-1 hour 10K. That would require my pace to be even faster than last week, but since I had such an awesome time last weekend at MO Cowbell, I figured I could push myself. This is my last race of the "season" so I knew I could leave everything on the road today.

Crossed the start line and hit the button on my Garmin and started RunKeeper (yes, I use both. I'm ridiculous.)  I kept checking my pacing - I couldn't remember the EXACT number I needed to get to PR the race, but I knew it was faster than last year's 9:57 average... Until about a half mile in when I realized that my pace was there, but my mileage wasn't! I never actually hit START!! I just hit the button that wakes up my Garmin. UGH! So I started that up and hoped that RunKeeper was having an "on" day.

The weather wasn't awesome like last week (Cowbell weather was PERFECTION) but it wasn't awful either. The rain had stopped before we started running and if I recall correctly, it didn't start up again.

One minor annoyance was that they didn't take down the signage from the 5K, so when we were around 2 miles (who knows, my Garmin was wrong! *weeps*) we ran past the sign for 1 mile for the 5K!!  I think they planned the route so that the water station at 1.5m in the 5k was the 2mi water station for the 10K/half marathon. But between that and the Garmin error, I spent the first four miles having NO idea where I was. I just tried my hardest to keep my pacing below 9:40. Obviously, I did ok.

I started rationalizing with myself around mile 5 - I can slow down and still PR... I think. I did the math quickly, I was at 48 minutes at approximately 5.2 miles and got nervous - a 10 minute mile would get me there JUST under the wire - and that's if Runkeeper was still on target (which it rarely is!) Instead of easing up, I gave it all.

Finishing the race with the clock time under an hour was awesome. Finding out my official time was 58:04 - spectacular!!  Such an awesome feeling. FURTHER awesome? Look at the stats - 40th in my age group, 369 overall? That's top 30% of the racers! I've never considered myself fast (and I'm still not ever going to "win" a race) but I know that I can keep improving.

2011

2012

I love comparing how far I've come.  This one - this one is making me a happy camper tonight. 

2013

2014

Costumes all came together. I think my costume only made sense when I was standing with my family :-)  but my little people looked like ADORABLE little Lego characters. The fun run was great (once my daughter stopped crying that her costume broke in the first 100 feet...) I usually run "fast" with my daughter while my husband stays with my son. This year, since hubby was actually a registered runner, I let him take the fast one and I held back. My little guy (3 1/2) did an awesome job. I'm thankful for the mom with the stroller behind us who encouraged him - "You have the piece of resistance!! Run fast, Emmett!!"  My son was thrilled, gave me a high five and ran his heart out. It didn't last long, but it was so much fun <3 We walked a lot of the mile and found my speedy family members waiting just shy of the finish line so that we could all finish together.  I am so proud of my little runners. They are troopers for going out in this weather! And I'm so thankful to my husband that he supports this crazy hobby I've picked up in the last few years.

T-14 Days!

It was a good week for me to be a runner! 

Thursday I headed to the park for that "no more than 4 mile" run I mentioned when I last posted.  I have found that I am better with out-and-back runs - the certainty of knowing where I stop, the "run home" that always gets me moving - they just work for me. So with four miles in mind, I started running. I hit 2 miles, though, and was making such good time and felt good, so I said what the heck, let's go for 2.5 before the turnaround. 

I ran most likely my FASTEST 5 miles EVER on Thursday!! I felt good! I know I can SPRINT that fast, but I can't usually go for longer distances with that pace. I was on a such a high knowing I had it in me to run that! 

Sara has having some foot and leg pain so she was unable to do our first taper run this week. Hoping she rests up and gets better (only TWO WEEKS until the MO' Cowbell race!) in time for the race!  I seriously considered just not going this morning.  My family was out late last night seeing our favorite Beatles cover band, I had a few drinks, stayed up late to finish some laundry, etc.  Sara and I have been meeting at 6:30! That means I've been setting an alarm for 5:45 (and getting up around 6 ;-).  I told myself last night I would "sleep in" and set my alarm for 6:30.  I contemplated rolling over as "Sunday morning" started playing, but I got up anyways.   I was running a little behind my own schedule but still forced myself out the door.  

I despise the first mile, mile and a half, two miles of a run. Is that just me?! They are SO hard, drudgery and if it were up to me, I would quit during that part every time (is this why I see so many people RUNNING before RACES??). I feel heavy, clompy, slow and in pain for easily that long. Once I pass through that, I can ease into a rhythm.

  

Apparently, I excel at "the turnaround."  If you look back at my runs, especially recently, more often than not I get faster the further I am into my run!  My "turnaround mile" is usually one of my fastest (my last few runs my last mile has been my speediest of all.)  I love having my Garmin and being able to analyze the data from my runs. It gives the number-geek in me a chance to shine. :-) 

Total stats for today looked good! I cut 4 minutes off the 8-miler time from August 31st, so that gives me a small hope that I am improving, even slightly.  

I took Terrie's Friday morning cardio class this week and didn't fall to the back of the pack like I have been in recent months. THAT felt good too! The class had the equivalent to **34** flights of stairs on Friday - it's an amazing workout! Another "NSV" on my journey. 

My IT band has been acting up today, so I am going to scale back this week. Yoga and a run around my neighborhood (slow and low mileage) on Tuesday, hopefully a quick run Wednesday and Thursday will be Yogalates and another quick neighborhood run. Sunday I am planning on a 6 mile run as my *gulp* LAST taper run!! I can't believe the race is coming so quickly! I can't believe how excited I am for this race!! 

Now to make myself a Uni-Kitty costume for the Halloween 10K! 

HALFWAY!! Oh, and a long run.

HALFWAY DONE WITH WHOLE30!! 

I had a rough weekend (see this post) so I did slip, but not as much as "old me" may have.  More on that later. First off, Sara and I met up for another long run on Sunday! 

We both had 9 miles on our training plan, so away we went. It was a GORGEOUS morning with almost perfect running weather. I was severely dehydrated and probably under-nourished from Saturday that I felt like I was running with lead legs. I honestly wasn't sure I would make it to 9, but we did it!

The pace is about 40 seconds off of my average mile/min that I will need in order to PR the race, but after the week I've had, I'll take it. I am going to go on at least one "longer" run this week (hoping for 6 miles tomorrow morning) and go for a speedy run on Thursday (after my new "yogalates" class!) to get some more mileage in. Then Sunday, we'll aim for 10!! After that, people - it's TAPER time already!! What the what?!?!  This training season is going SO QUICKLY!! 

Day 11! 

Breakfast: Eggs, bacon, blueberries.

Lunch: Leftovers. Salmon, carrots and an orange (Lunch brought to you by the color orange obviously!) 

MIdafternoon: Lara bar, roasted rosemary almonds. 

Dinner: (This was my daughter's plate! I was so hungry I ate quickly so my daughter got seconds of everything so I could take a picture  Dry rubbed grassfed beef roast, mashed potatoes (no dairy) and green beans.

This was day 12!! I was off by a day!

Day 12: 

breakfast: 3 egg muffins

Lunch: 3 hb eggs (only the whites, I don't like the yolk). olives. cucumbers. peppers. blueberries. 

Dinner: again made pizza for my family and I ate sausage, onions, portobello mushrooms, peppers, on zucchini noodles with a homemade marinara.

 Day 13: 

Today was bad for emotions. I was so nervous for the vet appt I only drank 2 glasses of coffee & ate a Lara bar. I had lunch at 2:30 (hot dogs and pickles) and a glass of wine with dinner. Dinner was a seafood stew with tomato-saffron broth. The menu didn't say rice but there it was  thought I was staying mostly compliant. My poor pup, I miss him desperately.

Day 14:

Woke up, ran 9 miles. Came home and was too nauseous to eat. I ate about 1/4 sweet potato with cinnamon. 

Lunch: Chipotle. I am still so out of it that I ordered CORN SALSA! WTHeck?!?! So I spent the first 5 minutes of lunch picking individual corn off of my barbacoa salad. *duh*

Dinner: Omelette with onions and peppers, homemade hash browns and Pederson's bacon.

Day 15: 

Breakfast: Banana & coffee

Lunch: peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and onions sauteed with chicken sausage. grapes.

Dinner: balsamic crockpot chicken, giant pile of zucchini.

The last few days I have walked numbly through, barely eating. Mostly because all the things I wanted to eat (pb&j, mac and cheese - comfort foods really) aren't compliant. So instead of completely derailing my progress, I have been doing the opposite - barely eating at all. I am trying to get better about forcing myself to eat, but it's just so hard right now when all I want to do is fall face first into a cake. 

*************************************************************

Soooooooo stayed mostly compliant through a very difficult time, which makes me pretty proud. I'm usually a severe stress eater, and it would have been easy to get something sometime in the last three days. It would have been easy to just throw back a few beers to numb the pain.  I did have wine, but ONE glass (one Saturday, one Sunday) instead of half a bottle. 

My knee felt AWESOME on Sunday, which was the one bright shining moment (aside from the wonderful company, of course!). Even at our turn around I didn't feel the pain like I have been feeling, which was SOOOO encouraging!! 

I wasn't THAT off diet on Saturday night but I could FEEL the difference in my run on Sunday.  Now, to be fair, that may be a result of dehydration, low calorie intake etc. But it was enough that I am definitely staying on track with my Whole30 through my races, even though I will technically be "done" by September 23.  I will add in a few things once my 30 days is up, but I will largely remain grain- and dairy-free until after my 10K on October 12th! 

Checking in

Halfway through day 2 and the only thing I am feeling is EXHAUSTED. My heart RACED last night from the time I got into bed at 9 until I finally fell asleep at 1am.  Then I woke up at 3:00 for another 45 minutes and was up for the day by 6:45.  I don't remember this from last time at all.  Just hoping to stay focused enough to get things done today so I can move on. 

I remembered how physically bankrupt I was the first few weeks so I plan to take my runs easy - not shorten them but definitely go a little slower and stay inside until the INSANE heat strike is over here in St. Louis!  Yoga today wasn't a high calorie burn but I needed the stretch in my hips to loosen up that darned IT band!

So day 1 under my belt. I am breaking a few rules this time -
* using half and half *I know from my previous Whole30 that I do not have a reaction to dairy. I am limiting myself to 2 cups max, but I know from the last time that by day 14, I will stop requiring coffee for the most part.
* logging my food - ONLY to ensure I am eating enough carbs to sustain my half marathon training.
* weighing myself. Because I like it. 

I learned a new trick!

I mentioned last time I posted (geez it's been awhile, sorry!) that I was going to start running again. I've been doing well with distance, just not my self-maintenance. 

Run with Sara

Fastest Mile Ever (treadmill)
- was actually completed in 9:03!

Thursday run while my little guy was at school

So then last Sunday I was scheduled to run 10 miles.  My knee was bothering me, but nothing too severe so I just went on with my run. About 3 miles in, I realized that my knee wasn't going to make it 10 miles this week.  I aimed for 7, which is an improvement on the distances I've been going (6 miles three times in a week!) but not ridiculous. I know that when my knee hurts, it's my IT band at work. I had planned to roll it out this week and just never got around to it - my bad! 

When I came home, I took an epsom salt bath and rubbed my DoTerra Deep Blue into my knee. I put a heat pack on it and went about my day. Babying it, however, just wound up straining other muscles, namely calf and the back of my knee. I have been resting it ever since. I found a video about foam rolling that was a GAME CHANGER for me.  I linked to it below. The KEY point - your IT band isn't a muscle - it's a tendon. So foam rolling ON your IT band will actually stick it to the muscle behind it MORE making it less flexible. The key and game changing information - foam roll your hip and upper knee on a 45 degree angle, the places where the tendon attaches, because THOSE are the muscles that need to release to help the pain. 

As SOON as I was done with this, the IT band pain was almost non-existent.  GLORIOUS!  I went to yoga on Tuesday to try to further open my hips and stretch myself out. I am going to attempt a run tomorrow morning (although we have "record high temps" in the forecast, so I probably won't aim for millions of miles, just a test on my knee!).  I NEED to get out. I am going NUTS here this week. My anxiety is freaking through the roof and I am combating it by BAKING!  At least today's recipe wasn't TOO terrible (Weelicious Granola!) for us!

So here goes nothing as I try for a shortened run tomorrow and HOPEFULLY a good long run on Sunday!

Running, running!

I have been really focusing on running lately, which has changed my general workout schedule. Plus it's the last week of summer !!  My kiddos (BOTH OF THEM!) head back to school next week!

I've gotten a few shorter runs in but now that school is starting, I am going to be hitting the longer runs hard!  My son will be in preschool 2 mornings a week so I'll be running Tuesday/Thursday mornings, plus a long run on the weekends.

This week I ran 2.5 on Sunday and 5 yesterday. I figured out the way to make the miles fly on the treadmill - my Kindle!!  I never thought I could run and read but the Kindle kind of changed all that. I don't have to move physical pages, I can change the font size and the time SERIOUSLY FLEW! I looked down the first time and had already been running for 28 minutes!

So Sunday I'm running with Sara and we are going to get in a 60 minute run.  Sometime next week I'll post the training schedule I hope to follow.  

Starting around Sept 1st, I will be starting another Whole30. I have been following macros for the last few weeks and I'm liking it so far. Except days like today where I TOTALLY miss the mark and have no clue where I screwed up! Yikes!

So here goes nothing. Ramping up the running to get a few PRs come October!!

Molly

I THOUGHT I could beat the humidity yesterday. I was out of the house by 6:45, drove to the lake and started my run by 7:11.  The humidity? It BEAT me there!  I had planned to run 6-7 miles, but after a few short moments, I knew I couldn't go that far without water (and I hadn't planned to bring my water belt because I didn't think I would need it on a 6 mile run!) 

I struggled through my first two miles, adding in walking and there wasn't a MOMENT of delightful running feeling. Between the humidity and the cotton I was chewing (seriously, it was ridiculous of me to think I could run without carrying water!! I know that now!) I decided to JUST make it around the lake - if I could JUST make it around the lake that would be approximately 3 miles.  

While I was struggling, I started thinking about my races in October (MO Cowbell and the Halloween 10K!) How I am absolutely determined to PR these races. How much I want to feel that "runner's high" feeling when I cross the finish line, instead of the utter despair I was feeling currently.   I thought back to a time when I felt great working out - when it seemed to come "easily" (although let's be honest, it doesn't come easily, we work harder and it gets easier). 

And I landed on a time I remember DISTINCTLY during my Whole30.  April 23, day 25 of our Whole30. I was on day 58 of the Jamie Eason LiveFit Training.  

I remember doing the preacher curl then getting down for my (dreaded) pushups. And then, I remember being SHOCKED that 12 REAL pushups - you know, on my toes and coming down to 90 degrees - were actually manageable. Forget manageable, it was - dare I say - easy?!

 That moment is the ONE that I look to with fondness during my Whole30.  The fuel I was putting in my body was actually helping me - making me stronger!  I was able to lift heavier, feel less pain afterwards and my whole performance was increased. 

Fast forward to this past week:

• Emotional highs and lows. 
• Exhausted by afternoon (requiring either more coffee or a nap!). 
• CRABBY. 
• Body aches and pains. 
• Binging. 

The dreaded "daily life" symptoms of a poor diet.  

So as much as I DESPISE (and boy do I despise it!) doing Whole30, I think I need to find a way to get there. ASAP.  

I have these races that I have paid for coming up. I paid good money, I am beginning my running training.... but why on this good green Earth would I waste time training if I don't bother to put the fuel in my body that I KNOW will help me perform my best?   

I don't suspect it will help, I don't wonder. 

I KNOW. 

Because I've done it. 

I wish I could be one of those people who understands and thrives on moderation, but it's just not a concept that I understand.  I'm rules, I'm a black and white guideline person.  

I haven't decided if I am going to do a strict Whole30 or just "clean eating."  If you've been following along, I was at my lowest weight back when we did clean eating (lowest body fat % too!) but lately it's just SO HARD for me to put that much effort in. In that respect, Whole30 is easier. Here are the foods you can eat, eat them.   So I'm going to spend the next few days talking with my husband, figuring out what I want to get out of this (increased athletic performance!! emotional stability!) and go from there. 

So to get to where I want to be - what do I want to do? What am I willing to do?  I've given up sugar and wine and pasta for a month before, what's stopping me now?? It's all me, all in my head. And now it's time to get OUT of my head!

Until then, drink up the wine! 

Sloth.

Seriously in a phase of sloth in my life.  I haven't worked out in over a week. I haven't watched my food intake *at all.* It's birthday week for my daughter and I have been in crafting and food purgatory. The parade was Friday, which means my house is FULL of Tootsie Rolls and banana Laffy Taffy.... 

but I'm sick of it. I'm sick of myself! I am going to give myself through to slip and have treats, but come Sunday? I'm doing a short Whole30 before a quick road trip with my kiddos. I need to get back to the gym (that will probably not happen until Monday but I'm going to try to make it happen this week).  I have joined a few new fitness motivation groups, but I'm feeling all guilty because I just.don't.care this week. 

I still struggle with binging. And self image. And moderation. Ohhhhh moderation, you are SO elusive to me!! I thought my Whole30 would help, but it obviously hasn't. 

I have been intending to up my cardio work, with two races coming up in October, but I haven't yet. After we get home from our road trip, it's on! Cardio rat here I come. 

The week we return, my kids are both in summer camp. I am going to try - regardless of the weather! - to get running again. OUTSIDE. This fall, both kids will be in school on Tuesday and Thursday - I will have those days for long runs (oh Heavenly fall long runs!!).  I intend to PR in a SERIOUS way on these races! 

My plan is already to do another Whole30 for the month before the races. It's not a sustainable lifestyle for me, but I can definitely manage it for a month if it's going to get me that PR!! 

So for now, S-L-O-T-H. I am going to get back to it, I really am. This is NOT who I am (except for birthday party week :-)  I'll post about that on Monday because who DOESN'T need to see pictures of another Frozen party ;-) 

Final Stats from Whole30

I learned today that PEAS aren't allowed on Whole30. I truly had NO idea. So if you're looking to do one, don't eat peas!  

Aside from the whole "no peas" thing,  we finished a successful (as far as we knew) Whole30! 

Here are my stats ! 

 I've had more energy, I have successfully weaned myself from an antidepressant and I feel stronger. I didn't have the amazing results I've seen around the forums and Whole30 sites, but to be honest, I didn't have a ton of weight to lose to get to goal. I hoped to get closer to my goal weight, but I can't turn my nose up at a 6.5 lb loss in a month. 

I think I've said it here before, we won't be paleo after this - it's just not sustainable to us. Unless we find that someone in our family reacts poorly to something during reintroduction, we will return to "clean eating." My husband and I agree that this is an excellent "reboot" and we will try to complete 2 Whole30's per year. 

I won't even go so far as to say everyone should do this. It's NOT for everyone. But if you feel that you need a good body reset, if you feel like you have inflammation or AI issues, if you feel like you need CONTROL of it for awhile - this is for you.  I didn't hit my goal weight. I didn't even lose as much as I hoped, but I also am a lot closer to my goal than someone coming from a SAD (standard American diet) because of the small changes we've gradually made over the years. It's been hard for me not to compare my results to ALL THE OTHER people who have completed a Whole30. "Why didn't I lose that much?" "Why didn't I get the tiger blood feeling?"  But I can't do that. I am not them. They are not ME! 

I can only go so far as to be proud of my 6.5 lbs, my 1.1% body fat loss, the teeeensy tiny abs I see in my "after" pictures. The fact that I am off an antidepressant I've been on for as long as I can remember. That I don't NEEEEEEED coffee to get me moving in the morning (in fact, most mornings lately, I FORGET to make a cup until around 10am!) 

It's completely embarrassing to put these pictures out publicly, but I am proud of where I am now. I admit, the fact that there are baby abs pushing through in the bottom left picture is a little addicting and I want to keep moving in that direction.  We are a few days out now and I've been adding in "prohibited" foods - I feel them. I have been more bloated-feeling and I miss the feeling of thinning out. I am going to try to start making a conscious effort to get back to tracking macros (without such a RIDICULOUS number for my protein!) and go back to a "clean" approach - with whole grains and lots of starchy carbs instead of processed stuff. 

I've missed a few days of the Jamie Eason plan - and I'm ok with it. It was getting to be a LOT of time spent at the gym, when I really needed to be spending more with my kiddos (you know, the reason I left my job?).  So I'm spacing out the workouts a little more. I am going to complete day 61 tomorrow, which is the 5th day of week 9. Today is technically the 2nd day of week 10, so I am only 4 days behind. 

I am going to start adding some running into the mix too. I registered for the Halloween 10K (fourth year in a row!) and the Mo' Cowbell Half again for this fall, so I need to get my butt in gear! I registered my expected finish time for the half to be 2:15!! 6 min shorter than my last! So I have a lot to prove - if only to myself. 

So as always, I finished up one thing and I'm on to the next. We will revisit the Whole30 concept again, hopefully a few times a year. If NOTHING else, it's a good reminder that I DO possess will power. I CAN control my eating, I can accomplish what I set out to do. 

Go! Halloween 10K 2013

Sunday was the Go! St. Louis Halloween 10k, maybe my favorite race of the year! I love love the 10k distance - it's far enough to be a challenge but not so far that it kills me. 

This year they changed the course so that it went along the riverfront, down to the Arch grounds. It was neat, aside from spending most of the race running into the sun!

I started out, trying to pace myself. I felt

Work out before the mile mark and thought "well great, this can't be good." Took a peek at my pace on run keeper and realized I could slow it WAY down and still meet my goal of finishing in under 1:10. I had run the race in 1:27 (2011) and 1:08 (2012) but after a half last weekend and only 1 run the week between, I wasn't sure how to expect my body to perform. 

Turns out, it did just fine!

I kept trying to slow down but my pace felt good! My splits were ridiculous and I wish I had picked it up a tough around the corners to come in under 1 hr. But, I wasn't far off at 1:01:40!! 

It just felt GOOD! It made me want to come home and sign up for more races, which is an awesome feeling. 

After the 10K, my kiddos were signed up for a 1 mile fun run. It was more fun for me than E (she burst into tears when someone encouraged her to keep going) and AJ than Daddy (who was wearing jeans and long underwear haha).  But in the end, both of them got their shirt and medal and were happy. :-) 

Guess I should do something more official with all these bibs now!! 

Word of the week: Awesome.

AWESOME fitness week.
Not so awesome food week.

It all evens out, though, right?

That 10 mile run today was in the POURING rain. It was DELIGHTFUL. 

I may only run when it rains from now on. <3

Some awesome things this week: 

I fit into a dress I've had hanging in my closet since 2006. No kidding - 2006. Tags on and everything. I've tried it on a few times a year since then, no go. But Wednesday? Finally, it fit!

Saturday, I got to snuggle the sweetest baby boy ever. He's a teeny peanut and I ALMOST tried to convince my friends to let me "borrow" him. Babies make my heart happy! 


Saturday when I came home and got the mail, I had a package from a FitNut friend.  We were paired up in my first challenge and have kept up with each other ever since. She sent me a freaking HRM!  Today's run was scheduled to be 9 miles, but I went a whole extra mile because I was so excited to see my burn with the HRM! Thanks, Jenn!! 

Color Run next weekend. Vacation right around the corner. Halloween 10K in mid-October. I turn 32 next month.  Big things on my horizon, people. Big things!! Must.keep.focused!

Virtual FitNut 5K! Errr.... 10K....

Sunday I had a virtual 5K to complete for my August weight loss challenge.  I haven't gone on a "long" run probably since my (tragic) half marathon in April. I went out knowing that if I just ran a loop, I would quit when I finished my 5K. Instead, I stranded myself!

So I ran my 3.1 miles away from my car. I sprinted when necessary. I went slower than I thought I should be going. I am proud to say it was ALMOST a sub-30 5K, even though i have been averaging 10:45 min/mile when I run the hills in my neighborhood. 

Midway through my run - I was actually feeling GOOD!

But, shock, it's like the hills have made me STRONGER! 

Midway though the run I stopped at a little gazebo and just looked at my surroundings. How lucky am I to be able to run? To take 30 minutes, an hour, to myself to run and listen to good music and take in nature? 

The second leg of my run I took my time. I was definitely losing steam and decided right then that I was NOT going for a PR. If I needed a moment to walk (which I did) or if I stopped for a drink of water, it wasn't the end of the world. And surprise? I finished in only 1:04!  Not my very fastest time, but faster than my last official 10K last October!

I think if I could clean up my eating (omg gummy bears are my downfall right now!) and stick to running every morning before work (my snooze has been working over time this week!), I could get to goal weight in no time.

That's my goal. There's a beach vacation in my not-so-distant future and I would LOVE to be at my goal weight by then. Not so much to ask, really, it's 5-8lbs!

6/13