Friday Fave!

Who do YOU run for?

God gave me the gift of mobility. Others aren't as fortunate. I run for Paolo. Who do YOU fun for?

My Friday fave today is a very special one.  IR4 is an organization that matches runners with people who cannot run.  Many of them are children with physical disabilities.  Once matched the runner dedicates their miles and/or workouts to their buddy.  I've had the privilege of being matched very recently. The group is experiencing tremendous growth, so it can be a long wait to be matched.  I was on the list for several months. Runners post at least 3 times a week to the Facebook group tagging their buddy's parent.  Most of us send race swag or little gifts periodically. My buddy is a little boy in Washington who has Down Syndrome, Autism, and Global Apraxia.  I have already come to adore him and his dear family.  The pictures and videos his mom shares with me absolutely make my day.  It is such an honor to get to run for this beautifully special little boy.  If you are a runner, I strongly encourage you to check out the group.  I can't imaging anything more rewarding or worthwhile.

Marathon! (Well, 1/2)

I am so excited!  I signed up for my first half marathon.  I still can't believe I'm actually going to do this.  No, I'm sure I won't run all of it, but I definitely will complete it.  I'm planning to run the Rock -n- Roll half marathon in Savannah this fall.  Its actually my birthday gift from my grandmother.  If you had told me two years ago I would want registration in a half marathon for my birthday, I would never have believed you.  Its completely official.  I'm registered and everything.  Wish me luck!

Inspiraton=Responsibility

I've reached the point in my journey where people have started viewing me as "successful".  Its not uncommon now for me to be told by someone that I inspire them.  That they stayed on the treadmill when they wanted to quit, that they're beginning to make changes in their diet.  It always excites me, and I'm so thrilled for them.  Let me be perfectly transparent, though.  I don't feel like a success.  I'm still fighting to drop another 30 pounds.  There are so many days when I don't want to get off my couch and exercise.  Days when my runs feel like epic failures.  I guess in my view, a person who is inspiring hits their goal without setbacks, wants to go run instead of doing it even though they don't, never falls off the wagon. That's probably not the case at all.  It just looks that way from the outside.  In essence, being told I've inspired someone inspires me.  It makes me want to do better and to do more.  As much as I don't want to fail myself, I want even less to fail someone one else.  So it turns out being someone's inspiration is a big responsibility.  Thanks for making me want to keep going.  I'm not quitting on me, and I'm sure not quitting on the people looking at my story with hope for their own.  Just keep  moving forward!

Weekly Wrap Up

Since, I never seem to get this done on Sunday, it is now the Weekly Wrap up which will be posted either Sunday or Monday :)

Monday - Ran/Walked 3.1 miles.  Should have been 4, but the humidity was terrible, and I was feeling Sunday's 10 miles.

Tuesday - Ran/Walked 4 miles

Wednesday - Hot Yoga

Thursday - Ran/Walked 6 miles
Friday - Ran/Walked 5 miles
Saturday - Hot Yoga. I also did the grocery shopping.
Sunday - Ran/Walked 8 miles

I weighed in down 1.8 pounds on Wednesday.  That still leaves me up 2.8 from where I was before Spring Break, but at least I went in the right direction this week.

Sunday Wrap Up!

Sorry for posting late again.  I got busy with Mother's Day yesterday and forgot to post :)  Hope all of you mom's had an awesome day.

Monday-Rest Day
Tuesday-Ran/Walked 5.42 miles (Should have been 6, but I literally ran out of daylight)
Wednesday- Hot Yoga
Thursday-Ran/Walked 5 miles
Friday- Ran/Walked 3.25 miles (Should have been 4, but my right knee was really bothering me)
Saturday- Rest Day/Grocery Shopping
Sunday- Ran/Walked 10 miles

Wednesday Weighed in up 2.4 pounds

I'd say this was kind of a rough week.  I'm still struggling with my runs since the temperature and humidity have increased so much, and I'm still discouraged by my recent gains.

Today begins a new week.  I'm planning to make it great.  Hope you are too!

Sunday Wrap Up

Still struggling to get back on track.  We had a sleepover for my son's birthday on Friday, and Birthday dinner on Saturday.  I've had too much junk food for sure.  Probably going to be looking at a gain again this week.  I've got to get my discipline back.  My running mojo also seems to have taken a leave of absence, and I've really been struggling lately.  Still not giving up!

Monday- Ran 4 miles
Tuesday- Ran 5 miles
Wednesday - Rested
Thursday - Ran 2 miles (with my youngest son)
Friday- Ran 5.25 miles (fell short of the 6 miles I had scheduled)
Saturday - Rest

Look Up!

I'm not sure if all of you have seen the blog post that has gone viral titled "To the fatty running on the Westview track this afternoon".  I'm not providing a link, but its easy to find.  I don't care for some of the language in it or even the term "fatty" which is why I'm not sharing it directly.  I do; however, love the gist of the post.  Essentially, the author is addressing a woman on the track who is much heavier and is struggling with each step, never making eye contact with the fitter more experienced runner. Saying that there is no need to be ashamed that you're heavier, but should be proud of the effort your making.  I've found this to be true folks.  The fitter more athletic people out there aren't condemning those of us starting later.  Most of them are cheering us on and respecting our efforts.  We all started somewhere.  Some of us just took longer to catch on. I've joined a mom's running group, and you wouldn't believe how supportive the more experienced runners are of those of us just starting out. Don't be afraid to meet the eyes of the people around you when you're out there, and don't be afraid to encourage someone else either.  We can all use it. Just look up!

The right thing at the right time

I'm sure any of you who have, at any point, tried to or succeeded at losing weight know there are days of frustration that come with the process. I've been having some of those days of frustration lately. Sometimes, I'm tired of having to be so careful about what I eat, sometimes I just don't want to get off the couch and run. Sometimes, I'm just plain tired. I've been tired recently. It starts to make you wonder why you're doing this at all. Obviously, I can look in the mirror or my closet and see why I'm doing this. I can appreciate the fact that I'm able to run at all is it's own reason for doing this, but hard as it is to imagine, its easier to forget than you might think.

My first "right thing" this week came as a result of Sunday's church message. Which you should definitely check out here. At any rate, the point of the message was about pursuing holiness in marriage, and one of the major points was that husbands should pursue their wives. He instructed the men to go out Monday and buy flowers for their wives. My husband, knowing I've been looking into a small camelbak for my longer runs that are coming up, surprised me with one of them instead of flowers yesterday afternoon. Totally made my day. It said to me that he believes I can take on those long runs even when I'm sometimes not so sure.

My second right thing happened last evening. I'm participating in a weight loss challenge put on by one of our local personal trainers, and I go to a workout class there every Tuesday night. Last night, I was having one of those "I still see the fat girl" kind of nights. Which was a little strange, because I was feeling good going in and weighed in with a good loss, but while working out in front of the mirror, all I could see was all the things that are still not where I want them to be. As I was leaving, as I was walking out with one of the other girls, she mentioned that she had squeezed her car in kind of close to mine, but felt like it was ok because she was parked next to someone skinny. I, of course, scoffed at the suggestion that I was skinny, and she made eye contact with me and said hey, you have to know that when I met you (we met during this program), I never saw you as someone who was fat and lost a lot of weight (she has since seen my before pictures). She said I had never looked that way to her, and even though she knows I still see the fat girl, that's not who other people see. Wow! If there hadn't been a car between us, I think I would have hugged her on the spot. I just have to believe that the Holy Spirit gave her those words. They were so exactly what I needed to hear.

Don't get my wrong, I'm still tired today,(Have I ever mentioned how much I hate time change?), but my hope is renewed, and I feel like I can keep going. There are still going to be some difficult days, and this week may be a bit tough. We'll be going out for both my husband's birthday and our 18 year anniversary this week, so there will be a couple of blips in my diet. Its ok though. I'm not going to stop celebrating the good things in life. It took a lot more than 2 meals to put me at that previous 243 lbs, and 2 meals won't put me back there.

I think my real point here, though, is that God is so good. He knew exactly what I needed and gave it to me exactly when I needed it. How great is that?

Renewed and Refreshed!

I was away on a girls weekend this past week.  A few friends and I rented a lake house where we just hung out together. We do them twice a year, and I enjoy them so much.  We take turns cooking the meals and all pitch in to clean up.  Our primary activities are sitting on the deck watching the water, eating brie, and watching girly movies.  Often, we each bring any projects we are working on (Scrapbooking, basket weaving, etc.)  This time, one of my good friends, who knew I wanted to learn to crochet, brought me a bag of supplies and helped me get started.  The cabin we stayed in this time had no internet access, which turned out to be such a blessing.  It was a great time of disconnect from all the electronics that sometimes seem to rule our lives.  I love getting to gather with these Godly women and just pour into and encourage each other.  It awakens such a spirit of gratitude and peace.  Its also a blessing to have husbands and families willing to make the sacrifice of allowing us to do this twice a year.

The area was far more hilly than what I'm used to, but I put in my longest run/walk ever (5 miles) on Saturday and logged 11 miles over the weekend.  The weather was so perfect! I'm hoping my regular runs on the flatter ground I'm used to will be super easy this week.  We'll see :) Even with having to walk frequently, though, it was encouraging to put in that kind of distance.  It makes my goals seem more achievable. 

Hope you had a wonderful a weekend as I did!