Isn't it nifty?

Isn’t it nifty?  I’m FINALLY down 50!

And man ‘o man those last 5 or so pounds were killer.  I sometimes thought I would never get to this point.  I’m now half way to my goal.  Let’s all bow our heads in prayer that I will get there!

Speaking of getting there, will I ever get to the point that this running deal gets easier?  I mean, it is supposed to get easier, right?  Tuesday I felt like I was about ready for the undertaker when I finished my scheduled run!  My calves were more than “mooing” they were screaming.  A friend of mine that is a die-hard runner said she hated it at first.  Although when she said it she said HATED, yep, all caps.  Another runner friend said it was all good as long as I kept moving. Moving?!?!!?  Is he kidding me?  Tuesday the only moving I felt like doing was falling to the ground and wallowing in my agony. 

I try to tell myself as long as it doesn’t kill me and all that jazz.  Although at some points during this journey to run a 5K I’ve felt like turning up my toes.  The funny thing is that I can briskly walk that amount fine.  Just call me “Speed Walker”!! You would think that if I can walk it I could run it.  Not so fast!  *Pun intended* Eventually I know I’ll make it and accomplish this goal.  I’ve just got to keep moving forward even if it is baby steps.

This week has been full of challenges in my weight loss journey and life in general but I have managed to plow ahead and not get too far off the path.  That is what really matters isn’t it? Like one of my buddies said, just keep moving.

Speed bumps

Speed bumps are an annoying little fact about most parking lots, shopping centers and life.

When I went in for my weigh in on Friday I was down a total of 48.5! Saturday was our group run and while it really kicked my butt, I felt satisfied that I’m making progress. Later that afternoon the kiddos and I went swimming. Sunday I had my long walk and we road our bikes that afternoon. All in all a fantastic and satisfying weekend! I felt great!

Then came the speed bump called Monday. This is where we all have a collective Monday groan. *groan* I went in for a weigh in and was up a stinking ½ pound! Grrrrr! One of my girls at MRC said that she feels this is my body adjusting to my new exercise regimen, which makes sense since my regimen before the beginning of my 5K training was basically nonexistent. Still, the gain is hard to accept.

The next speed bump arrived shortly after arriving home from my visit to MRC. My mother called and was having a medical emergency regarding her eyes. I quickly went to pick her up and we were off to the hospital in Nashville. After a long, grueling, stressful and nerve wracking afternoon and emergency eye surgery my mother and I arrived back at her house after 7pm. As you can imagine I was worn mentally and physically out. I didn’t make a good food choice. I ate the first thing that came into reach; two left over pieces of pizza from the hasty supper my stepfather picked up to feed my children. The thing about the pizza speed bump is that I didn’t even register the bump.

Tuesday was somewhat back to normal. I made my usual good food choices, checked on my mother (she is doing well, by the way) and ran according to my training schedule after work. No speed bumps. Yeah!

I’ve gained some perspective on that ½ pound and made a decision. I’m doing all the things I need to in order to have a healthy lifestyle. I’m loosing weight and exercising. The little ups and downs, or speed bumps, are part of life. If I’m doing the right things I’ll have the right results, eventually. So I just need to learn to slow down when I come to the speed bump and realize that I can get back up to speed after I get across. I’m also going to stop going for a weigh in on Mondays. After all my activity on the weekends perhaps I also need to use my day of rest (Monday) for a day of rest from the scale.

Until then I’m looking out for those tricky and annoying speed bumps.