2 Belated NSV's to share...

Hey ladies!!! What a week its been... and I realized I haven't posted in a bit! So here is a quickie... I have two HUGE victories to share... plus a bit of a bitch session.

1. I ran with my buddies on Tuesday at 5:45AM... I decided to do the 2 mile loop and see how far of it I could run, considering I did 1.3 on Saturday. I thought maybe I could manage 1.5.... Guess what?!?!? I did 1.8 of the 2 miles without stopping! ROCK F*&%ING ON!!!! I'm going to set my clock to run tomorrow AM before the snow hits the south, and see if I can make it the entire 2 miles tomorrow.
2. I got done with an appointment (out of town) early today and had two hours to kill, so I stopped by a mall... I had a gift card to Macy's from X-mas that I hadn't used.... Guess what (#2)?!?!? I fit into a SIZE 14 skirt! HOLY F*&%ING CRAP! I mean, it actually zippered and was COMFORTABLE in the waist! Granted, it isn't a pencil skirt, but the waist fit!!! And I also fit into normal size XL pants that weren't too tight and zippered easily! I also bought a size MEDIUM shirt... because you know what? It looked good, being all tight and showing off the girls a little bit!!! :D Oh - and it was all 75% off... even better!

Although the scale is NOT BUDGING, it's been an okay week... Food-wise, I don't think I'm even getting in over 1000 calories a day, so I can't figure out why the scale isn't moving. Emotionally, it's been a tough week - These "V's" are definitely needed... I got rear-ended in a parking lot on Tuesday (I'm fine - my bumper needs some work) and we had to share some bad news (nothing major in the grand scheme of things) with my daughter tonight, and it broke my heart to see her just sob. She'll move on, but I'm ready for the good stuff to come back to roost... so these little victories today are great motivators. Even if the scale is stalled tomorrow (my official weekly weigh-in day), I fit into a size 14 today. YIPPEE!!! And life goes on. We're healthy, happy, and life is overall good!

I need to start my day by eating a frog.

Huh? Yes... I need to "Start my day be eating a frog".

"Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day." ~ Mark Twain

Essentially, the premise of this article is that (DUH!) we shouldn't put off doing the thing we hate the most... we should just do it first. Rocket science, right? Well, it wouldn't hurt me to go ahead and follow that advice! Work has been crazy these last few weeks, and it is looking to continue the craziness through February. I work in HR, and have been auditing a number of our employing locations. I actually like it, but the travel (day trips) is getting a bit old. The worst part is the report write-up afterward... I am behind a few reports and that is my "frog"... just have to do it! Like maybe I should be doing it right now instead of posting this blog (sigh). On the homefront, my frog is laundry and filing paperwork. I just let it pile up - both things... I hate both (but at work I love paperwork - go figure)... So, time to really focus on the frogs in my life!

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On the WLS front, I need to re-group / re-start / re-fresh / re-whatever... I am just stalled out at this 206.2 (207 this morning) mark. So, back to the basics... tracking my protein, watching my portion size, upping the water, keeping on with the exercise. I see so many of you getting to (or close to) Onderland, and I am cheering every one of you on - but I want to be there, darn it! (sigh again). I know. It'll come. And Monday will be over in 8 hours!

My naivety got me again... but I did have a "first"!

Yesterday was week two of the YMCA 10K training team... and I dutifully showed up for the 8AM run, which was supposed to be 2 miles for us "novice" runners... I mentioned before that last Monday, I ran a mile straight without stopping for the first time... so I was completely ready to run half way yesterday, and do that mile again... and I did! Yipppee! It was really hard - I kept thinking to myself, "man - this feels a lot longer and harder than Monday", but I kept pressing on... I made it to half way, and then walked about 5 minutes, and started running again... made it to about 1/4 of the way 'till the end, walked a few more minutes and finished running. Here is where the naivety comes in - I am a person who completely believes what I am told, so I just thought that because the schedule said we were running 2 miles, that we did! When I got back to the Y, I heard someone saying that we had actually ran 2.6 miles... WTF?!?!? So I went up to one of the trainers, an older man of about 65-70, and asked how far we ran. He said "how far do you think you ran?" and I answered that I thought we were supposed to do 2 miles... and his response? "You always can do more than you think you can, if you don't let your mind think about it too much and talk you out of it... Yup - you just ran 2.6 miles!" HOLY $H!T !!!! I ran 1.3 miles straight without having to stop to run yesterday! What a rush... I had the BIGGEST grin on my face getting ready to drive home! A great accomplishment! And how true a statement. It was hard, but I did it because I thought I could.

And last night, I had a first... I actually put on as close to a costume as I have in over 25 years! I hate dressing up... but one of my really good friends' wives (follow that?) had her 40th birthday yesterday... she is just finishing up radiation and chemo for breast cancer (at 39!) and decided to have a celebration to say "ta-ta" to her 30's and welcome her 40's. The theme was "Flip your Wig"... and everyone had to come "wigged out"... so thankfully I have a great neighbor who loves dressing up, and was willing to lend both of us wigs for the evening... What I realized last night (somewhat bittersweetly, if that is a word), is that I have ALWAYS AVOIDED DRESSING UP IN A COSTUME OF ANY KIND - because I have always been been so afraid to draw ANY attention to myself. But you know what? I was so comfortable in my own skin last night - even with the blue, Marge Simpson, wig on! Hell - I danced all night with it on! Marge was gettin' down!!! It was a real accomplishment for me... in fact, the whole day was! I am SO THANKFUL to have had this procedure - what an amazing journey it has been, and you know, as great as the weight loss is, it is these little NSV's that are more valuable to me in a lot of ways.

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It's going to be busy week for me at work, but I will do my best to check in with all of you - just wanted to share those two accomplishments! Hopefully too, I'll see some movement DOWN on the scale this week...

Up.

And I'm not talking about the Movie, darn it! I am up about 2 pounds this week... to 206.2... ugh. The 100's are seeming a lot more elusive! However, in an effort of full disclosure, I did partake in a wonderfully yummy peppermint milkshake (small) from Chick-Fil-A on Wednesday, and I enjoyed every sip! I have been running again though... (sigh). If I can just get to under 200 by February 20th, which is my 1-year bandiversary, I'll be very, very happy. 4 weeks to do that, but a trip down to WDW sandwiched in there... however, on the other side, I also have a 5k in 2 weeks too... maybe it will all balance each other out!

Guess what???

OK - this may not be a huge deal, but it is to me - because I RAN A MILE, STRAIGHT, WITHOUT STOPPING THIS MORNING! I've been able to do 6/10, 7/10, even 8/10... but never quite made it to a mile. I did this morning! Whoo Hoo!

Ukrops / Monument Ave 10K training schedule

The picture above is a scanned copy of my training schedule for the 10K race... I was supposed to do a mile yesterday, but never got around to it so I did it this morning instead. Hopefully this is helpful to some of you who are training for other races - it is for "novice" runners... enjoy!