August 26, 2013

Motivational Monday #30


This is the last Motivational Monday of August... can you believe it's almost September already?! I feel like the summer just flew by way too fast. But I'm very much looking forward to fall. Fall means settling into a routine, which makes it much easier for me to stay on track. I've been struggling all summer long, but thankfully, have kept the damage to a few pounds (rather than the 15-20 I've gained per summer in the past!).

I think the thing I am most proud of this week is my 16-miler yesterday. I was so nervous about it, but it went SO well, and I felt really strong through the whole run.

Lots of great motivation from readers this week, too!


Brittany ran her first 5K! She'd been running about a 14:00/mi pace during her training, so she surprised herself (in a good way) when she ran a 12:30/mi pace at the race.



Dave's story gives me chills. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may remember when my From Fat to Finish Line Ragnar team was looking for a twelfth member, and people "applied" to be on the team. We eventually ended up choosing Meredith to join our team--her story is VERY motivational.

Well, Dave is Meredith's husband, and I had the pleasure of spending some time with them both in Key West. Dave has quite the inspirational story of his own! About five years ago, Dave was a severe diabetic, on pills four times a day, and very close to being put on insulin. He was also on high blood pressure meds and high cholesterol meds.

This past Saturday, Dave reached a HUGE milestone--he hit his Weight Watchers goal weight, with 180.4 pounds lost!! In the "before" pic below, Dave weighed 429 pounds; in the "after" pic (holding his EIGHTEENTH 10-lbs lost ribbon at WW), he weighs in at 249. Dave's main form of exercise was walking (he always posts on Facebook how many steps he walked that day, and this guy walks WAY more than I run); but he's now training to run a half-marathon. Best of all, he's off ALL of his medication!



When I first saw this picture from Heather, I thought, "I can't post that--it's too dark!" But it actually makes her post that much better. Heather and her neighbor have been meeting up for a run/walk around the neighborhood each morning... at 4:50 AM! While most people are still sleeping, they are up and at 'em, getting in some exercise to start the day, before the sun even comes up.



In February, Katina decided that she'd had enough--she was ready to make the commitment to lose the weight. She'd tried to lose weight before, but always focused too much on the number on the scale. This time around, she decided to set mini goals to look forward to instead of worrying about the numbers. She listed things like, "Walk a 5K", "Stop using a seat belt extender on an airplane", "Complete a zombie run 5K (including the obstacles)", etc. Since she started her new lifestyle, she's lost 72.8 pounds, and she completed her first goal of walking a 5K. She's also a size 18/20 now, down from a size 30!



Leesa set a New Year's Resolution this year to run five 5K races. She ran her first on January 6th, and this past weekend, she completed her goal by running her fifth! She ran the race with her daughter, and the rest of her family cheered from the sidelines.



Liz ran 15 miles yesterday--her longest distance ever!!



Liz ran her first 5K this weekend! This was a huge accomplishment for her, because she's signed up for races before, but she was too nervous to show up on race morning. She was afraid of not being fast enough, or good enough, or thin enough... but this time, she showed up (even though she isn't at her goal weight, and even though she didn't train as well as she'd hoped) and she finished the race! 

The race was a benefit for Gigi's Playhouse, a Down's Syndrome awareness organization, that benefits Liz's soon-to-be stepdaughter, Joy. Joy told Liz that she wanted her to win the race ;)  While Liz didn't win, Joy shouted with glee that Liz had won when she crossed the finish line. Liz is happy to set an example for Joy about health, perseverance, and overcoming fears!



Melissa had been chasing a PR since January in the 5K, and this weekend, she did it! She finished in 31:17, which also meant she placed third in her age group. There was a man behind her the entire race, yelling encouragement to everyone, and Melissa said that it really encouraged her at the end to push hard and get that PR. Her father (in the picture) just started running a year ago, and at 69 years old, he won first in his age group this weekend!



After losing 45 pounds, and completing the Couch to 5K program, Naomi was feeling pretty happy with her accomplishments. Then IronMan Canada rolled into her town, and she started to feel inadequate--what's a 5K when these people were swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and then running a full marathon? She started to feel down about herself, but then she started thinking about how far she'd come. Several months prior, she was 215 pounds and could barely walk a flight of stairs without getting winded, and now she's dropped quite a bit of weight and is able to run 3.1 miles pretty easily! Watching the IronMan competitors cross the finish line this weekend inspired her to set some new goals for next year--she's going to run the half-marathon in her hometown, and after that? Maybe she'll set her sights on becoming an IronMan herself ;)



Rachel spent her entire life overweight, and never really gave much thought to how it affected her health. Sure, she wanted to be "thin" to look good, but it wasn't until after she had her daughter that she had an epiphany: she wanted to become fit and healthy to be around for her daughter. In the past, her goals were things like, "Lose X pounds", "Do a 5K", "Don't eat junk food",  "Don't drink soda", etc. This time, all she wanted to was to be healthy and fit to be a good mom. She started attending Zumba classes, and making healthy changes in her diet. She's not yet at goal, but she's lost 82.6 pounds, and is fitter than she's ever been! Wanting to inspire others, she just recently became a Sweat Pink Ambassador.



Emily began running just two and a half years ago, and since then, she's completed six half-marathons, several 5K's, 10K's, and 15K's, and four Ragnar Relays! I think it's safe to say she's addicted ;)  She's currently training for her first full marathon, which takes place next month. This past weekend, she had a half-marathon planned, but days before the race, she hurt her knee. She was determined to finish, even if it meant walking the race, and she ended up finishing with her third fastest time yet, despite the run/walking she did! Now she's going to rest up until her knee is better, so she can finish her marathon feeling just as strong. 



After losing 40 pounds, Kim is now able to fit into the same size pants she wore as a sophomore in high school! She's been counting PointsPlus and started running, which has helped her to drop the pounds as well as 25 inches.




Don't forget to check out more motivation (and share your own) on the Motivational Monday Facebook post!


2 comments:

  1. Dave is always "getting some!" LOVE him and Meredith!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Inspiring as always. Amazing how these keep rolling in every week!

    ReplyDelete

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