Motivational Monday #123

Happy Motivational Monday! This week has been an exciting one for me, because I've been able to get back to running. I've done a few short runs (2-3 miles) and I feel really good. It's nice to run without an agenda right now--just to get some exercise, rather than "train for" an event.

I've also stuck with my calorie counting all week, and I'm still doing really well with it. I'm now 62 days binge-free, which feels amazing. It's been a very long time since I've had a streak that long.

I have some inspiring stories to share this week... enjoy!

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In January, Judy chose to sign up for a half-marathon to celebrate turning 70 in July... and on September 20, she walked the World Alzheimer's Day Run for Heroes Half-Marathon! She and her daughter walked the race in under four hours. (I have to say, this is one of the best finish line photos I've seen! Love it!)

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Like many of us, Ashley has struggled with her weight most of her life, and had yo-yo'ed a bit through the years. Over the last year, she made some serious lifestyle changes that she could stick with for the long haul, and she's lost 75 pounds! A couple of weeks ago, she reached a big milestone in her journey, when she completed a half-marathon. She even took over two minutes off of her mile time! She said it's an amazing feeling to be an active person these days--in the spring, she hiked the Grand Canyon (18 miles) in a day. She's gone from run/walking her first 5K (photo on left) to running a half-marathon at a 10:30 pace (photo on right)! She said the small changes she made really added up, and that people shouldn't get discouraged if it takes a while to see results.

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Marine ran her first official 10K race! She did the 10K Paris Centre race--the weather was gorgeous, and the route was scenic. Her sister's boyfriend, who runs 10K in 36 minutes(!), offered to run with her and pace her to finish under an hour, which was her goal. She ended up finishing in 56:38! She is proud for staying mentally focused throughout the entire race.

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Lianne recently completed Canada's Army Run in Ottawa, Ontario. It was her fourth half-marathon! She had been planning to run with a running buddy, but her friend was injured over the summer, so Lianne ended up doing the race alone. She started out in front of the 2:00 pacer, and hoped not to see the 2:00 pacer for the rest of the race ;) She had lots of support on the course from her husband, her kids, her boss, and her boss's kids. She ended up crossing the finish line in 1:58:37, a new PR!

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About eight years ago, Suzanne was driving behind a car that had a 13.1 sticker on it, and she was inspired to start running. She started the Couch to 5K program, and ran her first 5K with a friend. She then decided to earn a 13.1 sticker as a "bucket list" item, something she thought was nearly impossible. She was having problems with getting injured over and over, so she decided to try the Jeff Galloway run-walk-run method. She was finally able to break the three-mile barrier she kept hitting, and through training, she's even lost about 40 pounds! On September 26, she finally earned that 13.1 sticker that had inspired her so many years before--she ran her first half-marathon. She says the sticker is more to her than a symbol of running a half-marathon; it's a reminder that nothing is impossible if you want it badly enough.

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Congratulations to all of you! You have every reason to be proud. Don't forget to check out the Motivational Monday Facebook post for more stories (and to share your own accomplishments!).

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September recap and October goals

I don't have much to write about, but I keep forgetting to recap my September goal and set a goal for October! So here goes...

In September, I had a goal to ride 100 miles on my bike. Since I was doing the Tour de Troit ride, which is 30 miles, I figured I'd have to do 70 on my own. Well, we all know what happened during the Tour de Troit ride (I had to drop out due to flat tires), so those 30 miles weren't a "given" after all. Here is what I did, though:

9/3- 30 miles
9/7- 12 miles
9/8- 24.5 miles
9/14- 11 miles
9/17- 12.5 miles
9/19- 10 miles

TOTAL: 100

Holy smokes! I hit 100 miles on the nose, and I didn't even realize that until just now when I added it up. I did start a ride last week when my sister was home, because I was going to bike while she ran; but her hip was really bothering her, so we ended up calling it quits just after we started.

I'm really happy that I got in so many miles! Looking back, I wish I had been more consistent and rode a few times in the late part of September; but regardless, this is (by far) the most I've ever ridden my bike in a month. I probably didn't even ride 100 miles in all of 2014, haha.

Something else that I am very happy about is that I learned to change my bike tire tube. That was something that always weighed on my mind when I would ride my bike. I knew it was inevitable that I would get a flat one day, and it kept me from going too far from home. Now that I know how to change it, I'm not worried about it at all. I feel more freedom to ride much farther! I'd like to go for a long ride on Monday, so I'm hoping the weather will be good.

Other exciting things that happened in September:
*I dropped 8.5 pounds!
*I didn't binge at all (today is day 60 of a binge-free streak)
*I was able to wear my first goal outfit
*I went for my first run in 6 weeks, and managed a sub-10 pace!
*I started coaching cross country, and I love love love it
*I really reconnected with my friend Andrea, and I've been spending more time with her
*Nathan ran his first ultra marathon
*I took Joey to the wave pool
*I booked a boudoir photo session for next Friday!

For the past couple of months, I've felt like I'm in a MUCH better place mentally than I've been for a very long time. I went through a very tough bout of depression for about 18 months. I didn't write much about it at all on my blog, because the last time I opened up about it, I received some hurtful comments.

I've had depression since I was very young, and it goes through different "waves"--sometimes I feel very normal and happy, and other times I feel sad and hopeless for no reason at all. It's hard not to feel ashamed of it, because I have such a great life and no reason to feel depressed; but it really is something that I have no control over. Sometimes it lasts for a couple of days, and sometimes it lasts months. This particular bad bout lasted longer than ever before, though, and I was starting to think it would never end.

Anyway, I didn't intend to get too detailed with all of that; I just wanted to say that I feel like I'm in a very good place right now--I've been spending more time with friends, and being social; I've been taking care of myself physically; I've been working on bettering myself and my relationships with others; and I finally feel like the bad feelings are behind me. It's a great feeling!

Now, for my October goals...

I want to continue with the calorie counting, because it's working so well and I actually enjoy it.
I want to stay on track with the calorie counting while Thomas is visiting, which will be difficult.
I want to run three days per week (just 2-3 miles each time).
I want to ride my bike 50 miles.
I want to complete a 10-mile walk before I walk the Detroit International Half Marathon (I have plans to do the 10-miler with Jessica next week).
Now that I'm running again, I want to continue to focus on exercising for fitness, and not get too focused on numbers or "training" for things. Only goal is to enjoy being active!

Over all, September was a great month. I almost didn't write a post today, but I'm glad I did--I like doing the recap, because it makes me feel like I really accomplished some things last month. Hopefully, October will be even better!

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Almost forgot... here are the winners of the Purina Waggin' Train treats giveaway. Congratulations to all five winners! Purina will be sending you (well, your pups!) three bags of their new Waggin' Treats. I've emailed all of you, so please respond with your shipping address if you haven't already. Thanks!
The winners are: Brandi, Kelly Knaak, Genny, June, and Laura Jacobson. Thanks for entering!

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I may not write a post tomorrow, so just in case I don't, please send in your Motivational Monday submissions by tomorrow night if possible! I'll be working on the MM post early Monday morning. Here is how to send it in. Have a great Sunday!

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Kindred reunion

We have had a drastic change in temperatures the past few days. Last week, it was hitting 80 degrees, and today, it's barely 50. It makes really great running weather! And thankfully, I can take advantage of it again :)

Yesterday, my legs were still feeling sore, but I decided to run anyway. I decided to see if I could do three miles. It was really cold (in the 40's), so I dressed in running tights and a long sleeved shirt. I wore the Eddie Bauer tights and top that I reviewed last year, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the top is actually quite large on me now. It's really comfy, though, and one of my favorite long sleeved running shirts. I wore the Brooks Ghost shoes again, because I felt so good on Monday's run.

When I started running, my legs definitely felt a little stiffer from being sore. I ran at what felt to be a sustainable pace for three miles, guessing that it was around 10:00-10:30/mile (I didn't want to see my pace, so I switched my Garmin to just show distance). After seeing such a great pace on Monday, I didn't want that feeling to be short-lived, so I just didn't worry about my pace.

I made it all three miles without any issues, which made me feel so good! And I was very surprised to see my pace when I got home:

I managed a 9:36 pace for three miles, and I really didn't feel like I was pushing it that hard. It feels so nice to really enjoy running again. When training for a longer distance race, like a half marathon or marathon, I was dreading each run. Now, my only real plan for the moment is to run for fitness (2-3 miles, 3-4 days a week), and I find that I actually look forward to it. I don't have any long runs to worry about, and I like that!

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Last night, Jerry and I went to McGeady's, a local bar, to see Kindred's reunion performance. The summer before my tenth grade year in school, my family moved about 20 minutes away, which meant I had to switch schools. I started tenth grade at my new school, and became friends with a super fun group who referred to themselves as the "Kindred Klan". I learned that Kindred was the name of a band that five of them had formed several years prior.

When I first saw Kindred play a gig, I was very impressed with how good they were! They made an album during our junior year, which I listened to all the time; and I went to their gigs, of course. Everyone thought that one day, they'd be a super famous band ;)

This was Kindred in probably 1998 or 1999

The last time they played together was about 15 years ago, so quite a bit has changed. A couple of the guys live out of state, and we've (obviously) all aged quite a bit since then. It's interesting, because Kindred is actually the reason that Jerry and I are together... Mike, the keyboardist, went to Jerry's school, and they were friends. I was friends with Mike because I hung out with the band a lot. Anyway, one day, Mike had a party at his house, and Jerry and I were both there. We went on a date the very next day, and we've been together ever since! (Mike is the friend that we recently spent some time with in NYC).

Paul (on guitar), is getting married tomorrow, so he's in Michigan for his wedding (he now lives in Denver). Since the guys were all going to be in town for the wedding, someone brought up possibly getting together to play some old Kindred songs. Eric (drummer) asked McGeady's if Kindred could use their upstairs area to play, and promised to bring in a bunch of customers. And the whole idea of a Kindred reunion was formed.

It was SO much fun! I saw a few people that I hadn't seen since high school 15 years ago, so it was fun getting to chat. I actually hadn't even seen Paul in probably 12 years, so it was really good to see him and meet his fiance. Everyone has changed quite a bit, but at the same time, they are the same old friends that I remember.

Adam, who I see pretty often; and Matt, who I haven't seen since 2000!

Once Kindred started playing, it was like they had never had a 15 year break. It all sounded just like I remembered, and I even remembered all the song lyrics.

They played all of their original songs from their album, plus a couple of others. Here is a song that I'm sure you may recognize:

Normally, I feel pretty awkward at social things like this, but with this particular group of friends, I always feel so comfortable--love them! Jerry and I both had a blast, and I certainly hope that it's not the last time we see Kindred play.

Tonight, I have wine club at Renee's house. She does a bonfire for Winers each October, and normally it's great weather. Today, however, is FREEZING and really windy. I hope that the wind dies down before I go over there. I'm going to have to bundle up for this one!

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Week 7 weigh-in (and new undies!)

I was SO sore all day yesterday! It's odd how a two-mile run can make me feel as sore as if I'd run a marathon. We had cross country practice last night, and I was walking around so stiffly. It was raining all day, so we didn't have many kids show up for practice (probably half the team), but it was PERFECT running weather. The rain stopped about 20 minutes before practice, but it was very overcast, nice and cool outside.

The grass was really wet, so instead of doing the hill game, as I'd planned, we just had the kids see how many laps they could run on the paved trail. The kids get pretty competitive when we do that! To try something new, I divided them into groups based on pace, so that they would have other people to run with. I wanted them to help encourage and push each other (and maybe drive up the competition!). They ALL got in 2.5-3.5 miles! Normally, they get about half that distance, so they were pretty proud.

This morning, I was planning to run again--and really looking forward to it--but I was still crazy sore. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be good to try another run, even if I am stiff and awkward ;)

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Today was my Wednesday weigh-in, and I had another great week...

I was 142.5, so I lost 2 pounds this week (it's getting so predictable now!). My body fat was 26.3%, which is down 0.2%. My waist was down about half an inch, too (a little less than that, but I rounded it). I am now less than 10 pounds from my goal weight, and I am so close to being back in the 130's!

The only thing that was different this week was that I didn't have my very high calorie day like usual. Normally, I choose one day to eat a high number of calories--about 2,500--but this week, my highest calorie day was only 1,800. On Saturday, we went to Anson's (our favorite pizza place) in order to try their stuffed burgers (my brother said they were awesome). I planned on that being my high calorie day, so I ordered a stuffed burger (it was stuffed with cream cheese, jalapeños, and dried Michigan cherries, which sounded fantastic).

When I took a bite of it, I wasn't crazy about it at all. I adore dried cherries, but they just tasted odd with the meat. So, rather than eat the burger anyway, I decided not to. I had that one bite, and then I was done with it (I didn't want to order something else, because Jerry and the kids had their food already, so I just ate when I got home). I had a busy few days, so I didn't have a chance to do another planned high calorie day. But, as you can see, I lost the same amount of weight without the high calorie day as I have been losing with it. This weekend, I definitely plan to do it!

I decided to go weigh in at Weight Watchers this morning, too. I'm still going to count calories, because I really like it, but I miss going to meetings. And, I think that weighing in once a week will help keep me accountable. I was very excited when I got on the WW scale to see that I'm a "free" Lifetime member again (I don't have to pay for meetings or e-Tools anymore! ...As long as I weigh in once a month and I'm not more than two pounds over my WW goal). It was nice to sit in my old meeting, and see all the familiar faces.

After the meeting, I went to Victoria's Secret to use some coupons. I had a coupon for 7 panties for $27.50, a coupon for free panties, and a coupon for $10 off a bra. I'd never bought a bra from Victoria's Secret before, but I wanted to get a cute one for my boudoir photoshoot; and, I felt like treating myself for getting my weight back down to a "normal" range.

I'd also never been measured for a bra, so I had no idea if I was even wearing the correct size. I asked someone to measure me, and I measured at a 36B, which is what I've been wearing (which means I probably should have been wearing a bigger bra a couple of months ago!). I picked out a bunch to try on, and ended up choosing two (I couldn't decide between them). I was surprised at just how much more comfortable the bras were than the cheap ones I usually wear! Considering I wear a bra every day, I am going to start wearing a good one. (And Jerry never complains when I spend money at VS! haha)

It's kind of funny how wearing nice underwear makes me feel so much better about myself. Nobody but Jerry sees them, but something about wearing a cute, matching bra and panty set makes me feel prettier and more confident. If that's all it takes, I really ought to do it every day :)

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Paige and Caitlin, both from my Sole Mates Ragnar team, had a trip planned to come visit me tomorrow through Sunday. We've been looking forward to it for a couple of months! Unfortunately, Caitlin's dad is very ill in the hospital, so today, we decided to reschedule the trip. I'm disappointed I won't get to see them this weekend after all, but I totally understand Caitlin wanting to stay with her dad. Hopefully we'll get to do it in the next month or two!

I do have some fun plans this weekend, though. Tomorrow, I'm going to see my friends' old band from high school play a reunion show. They were locally pretty famous back in the day, and hanging out with that group is how Jerry and I got together (Jerry was friends with the band, and so was I). Anyway, I haven't seen them play a gig since high school, so I'm really excited about it! They're playing at a local bar, and I'm sure it'll probably be like a high school reunion in there, which should be fun.

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Weight loss and running

I went for a run yesterday! The first run in six weeks. I'd felt a few twinges in my ankle last week when I was walking across the grass for cross country, so I was a little nervous to run; but even if it was fractured again, after six weeks of no running at all, it should have been okay. My physical therapist had told me that twinges were normal, but pain was not.

Anyway, I decided to try and run two miles. I didn't want to mess with the run/walk method that I did last time, because I have no intentions of doing runs longer than six miles (at least for a very long time). I don't have a "deadline" that I am trying to hit (like an upcoming race), so I can take my time and build up mileage slowly. I figured I'd just run what I could.

After I got the kids off to school yesterday morning, I decided to head out for the run before I chickened out. I wore the new Brooks Ghost shoes, because they were so comfortable when I tried them on and wore them to cross country practice. I started my Garmin and began running down the street.

I couldn't believe how DIFFERENT it felt. I'm going to try to describe this the best that I can... 

The last time I ran was six weeks ago, when I was 155 pounds--and even then, I was doing the run/walk method. The last time I really ran a couple of miles straight I was probably 160-ish. I stopped running for six whole weeks, and in that time, I've dropped down to 144. Normally, when you run to help with weight loss, you don't feel the difference that the weight loss makes, because it's so gradual. You continue to run as you drop a pound or two each week, and you have no idea how the weight loss really affects your running.

Because I started losing weight right when I stopped running, I didn't have that gradual adjustment. I ran a few miles at 160-ish, and then ran again at 144. Holy smokes! I felt like I was FLYING yesterday. Imagine running around holding two gallons of milk (16 pounds), and then setting them down and running again--that's what it felt like to me. My feet felt like they were barely touching the ground, and like I was running on clouds. I'm not really sure how else to describe it.

It was awesome. I was tempted to run farther than two miles, but I didn't want to overdo it. The last time I ran at least two miles without walking or stopping was probably in April for the marathon relay. My pace was 11:27/mile, and it felt SO hard. I really wasn't even sure I could make it through my leg of the relay. 

Yesterday, I didn't want to look at my pace, because I didn't want to get discouraged; so I'd set my Garmin to show just my distance. When I got home, then, you can imagine my surprise to see that I'd run a 9:47/mile pace! The first mile was 9:54 and the second was 9:39. This was after six weeks of not running a single minute.

I'd read in numerous places that weight loss can make a difference in your pace, and there are ways to calculate about how much of a difference it can make. I read the book Racing Weight (Amazon affiliate link), which talks about your ideal weight for running, and I do believe that dropping weight can make you faster. But yesterday was all the proof I needed! I'm not even back down to my ideal racing weight yet, but I already feel a million times better when I run. 

Best of all, I didn't have any ankle issues the entire run, so I'm very happy about that. Later in the day, I felt a few twinges, but no pain. I'm hoping that's normal. I'm going to make sure to only run every other day (I won't do two days in a row), and keep the distances short--right now, 2-3 miles is good for me. 

I was extremely sore when I woke up this morning! I never used to get sore from running, because my body was so used to it; but this past year has been so out of the norm that I'm not surprised. I felt a runner's high all day from that simple two miles. And now, knowing how much better it feels to run at a lower weight, I'm even more motivated to get back down to my ideal running weight. I would love to work on PR'ing my 5K and 10K next year, and I don't think I can do that without dropping the extra weight. 

Anyway, that simple two miles yesterday really fired me up again into an "I love running!" mode. Haha, we'll see how long that lasts ;) I still plan to ride my bike for the rest of the season, and then I'm not sure what cross training I'll do during the winter. Maybe I'll take swimming lessons to learn how to swim for real (ha! Not likely, but always a possibility). 

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Motivational Monday #122

Happy Motivational Monday! I have had a very busy couple of weeks, and this month has absolutely flown by. I'm thrilled that I'm still losing weight, and I'm now about 10 pounds from my goal :) The last few pounds that I lost have made a world of difference in my clothes. Yesterday, Jerry kept saying, "I can't believe how skinny you are!" and he started calling me "Sticks", haha. I wore a pair of jeans yesterday that I hadn't worn in AGES. It feels good!

Anyway, I have quite a few motivating stories for you today. Enjoy!

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Darby (on right in photo) recently ran a very unique race in Prince Edward Island. First, the backstory:  In 1980 a young man named Terry Fox set out to run across the country to raise money for cancer research. He was 21 at the time and had been diagnosed 3 years previously with bone cancer and had one leg amputated above the knee. Unfortunately, he didn't make it across the country before succumbing to his disease, but during the months that he ran, he ran upwards of 25 miles/day. Since then there has been a fundraising run in his memory every year. To date, the Terry Fox runs have raised 700 million dollars for cancer research. This year, the run was held on the Confederation Bridge (the longest bridge in the world that spans a body of water that freezes). Darby ran the entire length of the bridge--13K! She and a friend trained all summer, and finished in 1:46:37.

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Amy hit her goal weight in May, and has been adapting to maintenance ever since! She'd been overweight since about 2000, and topped out at 126 kilos (278 pounds). She said she put some real effort into loving herself--she took control over her binge eating and began to love working out. She reached her goal of 79 kilos (174 pounds) in May, and is now working on maintenance.

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Emily (far right in photo) recently ran her first race in a very long time! She is part of a running group called the Sunset Coast Striders who meets three days a week to run. Emily ran the whole 5K race without stopping, and finished in 32:03--a personal best! (Emily's Blog)

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Amanda is thrilled that she was able to run her first half-marathon! It's something she's wanted to do for years, and she finally did at the Brewers Mini Marathon at Miller Park. She didn't set a time goal--she just wanted to finish--but she did great, crossing the finish line in 2:34:52! She even celebrated with a margarita afterward :)

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Cathy started running over the past year, and decided to train for a half-marathon. Many pounds, and 953 miles later, she did it! She ran the Chicago Half Marathon in 2:27 at the age of 51 years young.

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Tiffany completed her first full marathon this weekend! She's lost 113 pounds, and started running just over a year ago. On Saturday, she ran the Mill Race Marathon, and is now proud to call herself a marathoner!

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A huge congrats to all of you! Thank you for sharing your success :)

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A day of baseball and cross country

Yesterday, we had our second cross country meet; but first, the boys had a baseball game. Thankfully, Jerry was off this weekend, because we had a lot going on. At around 8:30 yesterday morning, we all got in the car to head to the game. I brought Joey with us, because I brought him to all the summer games and he really likes going.

Yesterday's game was at a different park, which was about 30 minutes away. The kids had practice before the game, so we were there an hour before the game started. When we began walking to the field, someone who works at the park came up to us and said that dogs weren't allowed. I had no idea!  So, I had to drive Joey all the way back home, and drop him off, then drive all the way back to the game. I made it back just in time.

Their first game was two weeks ago, and I wasn't able to go because I was at Nathan's 50K. Last weekend, their game was canceled due to rain. So this was my first time watching their fall ball game. I always get nervous watching them play, but yesterday, I learned that they are allowed to steal bases now (they have never been able to do that before). Noah was the starting pitcher, and every time someone would steal a base, I felt really bad for him. Noah throws good pitches, which always makes the game interesting, because kids actually hit the ball (the worst games are the ones where everyone is either walking or striking out).

My nerves were totally shot while watching him pitch, because it seemed like the other team was constantly rounding the bases. Our team didn't do very well at batting this game, either, and the final score ended up being 15-1! It was hard to watch. ;)

After the kids' game, we went home to have some lunch. Jeanie was just arriving in town from Illinois, so we stopped at my parents' house to see her for a little bit before going to the meet. The meet was at the State Park, and I was shocked to see cars backed up for a couple of miles out onto the main road! I didn't remember the meet being so huge last year. Thankfully, I still made it in time, but not as early as I would have liked. I LOVE the back of my cross country shirt, by the way:

"Our blood, our sweat, your tears"

This meet had the boys and girls running separately. The girls started first, and then 20 minutes later, the boys lined up. I stayed at the starting line with the boys, while Renee went to the finish line to cheer on the girls as they came in. We could see the girls from where we were standing, so I got all of the boys to cheer for them as they ran past.

The boys lined up, and I had them do a couple of strides (running out about 20-30 yards and then running back to the starting line). They had seen the older kids doing it, so I think it made them feel cool ;) The gun was fired, and the boys took off. I quickly made my way over to the finish line, because the race was only 1.15 miles, so it wouldn't be long before they finished. Jerry, Nathan, and my mom were there also, so we lined up to cheer.

A couple of minutes after we got there, we saw a girl finishing up her race--she was crying, and she had her coach (I think) and maybe her dad with her as she moved through the chute. We started clapping for her, and then the whole crowd started clapping and yelling words of encouragement. Of course, I got all emotional watching it.

Just a couple of minutes later, the boys started finishing. The first boy came FLYING past, and I was just amazed at his speed and his running form. He looked like an elite, and his feet were barely touching the ground. Renee's son, Ben, was the first boy from my team to come through (her whole family is really fast!). Each time I saw one of the boys from my team, I started reminding them, "Cheetah! Cheetah! Cheetah!"--because I'd told them that once they see the finish line, they should run like a cheetah (sprint) to finish. It was really fun to watch, and I was super proud of all of them!

Noah hit a big milestone, running an 8:56 pace! It was his first sub-9:00 mile. Last year, his pace for this same meet was 9:38. He really improved a lot, especially considering he didn't train all summer ;)  Eli did really well, too, finishing in 13:58 (a 12:09/mile pace, about 20 seconds per mile faster than his first meet on Wednesday).

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Don't forget! Tomorrow is Motivational Monday, so if you have a photo to submit, please get that to me tonight. I will be getting the post ready tomorrow morning, because I have a busy day tomorrow.

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Friday night bullets

I haven't done bullets in a while, and I love reading/writing bullet posts! This weekend is a super busy one, so here goes:

• Our cross country team had their first meet on Wednesday. All the kids finished and had fun! 

• It was Eli's first cross country meet, and he did awesome! He was really nervous, but he ran about a 12:30 pace, and did his best. I let him wear my Garmin, but he forgot to start it for a while, and then he forgot to stop it ;)

• I ran a little at cross country practice yesterday, and it went well. I just did a slow jog with the kids for about 2/3 of a mile, so I could check their running form. I think next week, I'll incorporate a couple of short runs for exercise. I'm kind of excited to do it!

• Speaking of running, I haven't missed it nearly as much over the last six weeks as I did the whole first half of the year. I think that's because I finally really started to enjoy bike riding, and finding ways to stay active without sticking to a rigid schedule. Before, I was so focused on what I couldn't do that I didn't even want to think about what I could do (that totally sounds like a line in a commercial or something).

• Yesterday, I helped my friend Andrea move across town. I've been seeing her quite a bit lately, and it feels good. We are very much alike in a lot of ways, and she is one of my most trustworthy and honest friends. 

• I'm having a hard time getting hooked on another book. I've started several in the past week, but they haven't really held my interest long enough to want to finish them. A lot of the newer books that were recommended to me are on hold at the library

• Likewise, I'm not watching anything on Netflix right now, either. I need a new series! (Well, I really don't *need* a new series to suck me in, but I kind of wish I had a go-to favorite show that I could watch in the evenings.

• Yesterday, I got a fun package (a "blogger box") in the mail from Shape magazine (and Brooks, the shoe company). I'm still amazed at all the doors this blog has opened for me! I've gotten introduced to some really great companies. This was in the box from Shape and Brooks:

• When I saw the Brooks Ghost shoes in the box, I thought there was no way they'd fit, because I have wide feet. But they fit perfectly, and I really like them (I LOVE the color)! I wore them to cross country practice yesterday, and they felt great. I still love my Altras, of course, but one of the things I learned from Golden (founder of Altra) is that it's good to have different shoes to rotate so that your feet don't get used to the same ones.

• Today, Jerry and I did a lot of yard work (well, mostly Jerry did it... I just kind of got in the way when I tried to help). After building the garage last fall, our yard looks terrible. We have piles of dirt that has to be spread out, bare patches with no grass, a TON of weeds, and broken up concrete from the driveway that has to be disposed of. 

• Jerry got creative with the concrete, and built a really big fire pit! I was very impressed.

• My job was to spray all the weeds with a weed killer. A tough job, but one of us had to do it ;)

• We really need to paint or stain our porches and deck, but that is a huge project. It may have to wait until spring.

• Today, I booked a boudoir photo session (insert "shocked" emoji here) for October 9th. I'm so nervous, but it's something I've been wanting to do since my early 20's. I've always thought I'm not thin enough or my skin isn't clear enough, or whatever... but I'm not getting any younger, and I'm feeling pretty good about my body right now, so I might as well just do it. Eek! 

• Tomorrow, the boys have a baseball game in the morning, and then a cross country meet in the afternoon. It's a busy day for them!

Anyone want to sum up your week/plans this weekend with a single bullet? :)

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Week 6 weigh-in and calorie counting check-in

Well, I made it through six whole weeks of calorie counting! When I first started this experiment, I honestly wasn't sure that I'd make it through the whole thing. I like doing little experiments for short periods of time (six weeks is about perfect) to see if I like it and if it works for me. I'd counted calories in the past, so it wasn't new to me; but I was feeling desperate to get back to my goal, and I was willing to give it 100% effort for six weeks.

Today's weigh-in was the best one yet, believe it or not:

My weight was 144.5, meaning I lost 2.5 pounds this week! My body fat was down by 0.7%, and my waist measurement was down nearly half an inch from last week. I felt a big change in my clothes this week, also, fitting into some jeans I couldn't wear just a couple of weeks ago. I didn't do anything differently this week (average daily calories were 1527); but I was super excited to see that my BMI is now in the "normal" range again.

For my six week totals:
I lost 11.5 pounds.
(I didn't take my body fat or waist measurement from Day 1, unfortunately; but from the weigh in after the first week, my body fat is down by 2.8% and my waist is down by 2 inches.)

As far as calories go, I basically tried to keep my calories under 1500, except for one day a week, where I would have a lot more (typically about 2,500). I like having the high calorie day, because then I can fit in things that may not fit in otherwise--like pizza Friday with the family, or a restaurant meal.

One thing that really helped me to stay on track is that I didn't actually have a "target" number of calories. I usually wound up eating about 1400-1500 per day (except for the high calorie day), but I wasn't actually aiming for that number. I just ate three meals and one snack a day, with "normal" sized portions, and that's what the calories usually ended up being. By not having a target, I never felt like I went "off plan" when my calories came in over 1500. And even on my high calorie day, I didn't pig out all day--I still had three meals and one snack, but they were higher calorie choices.

I find it easier to think of the calorie counts per meal rather than per day. Breakfast ended up being about 300-400 calories; lunch and dinner are approximately 400-500 calories; and then snack is typically 200-300. This helped, because when logging my lunch, for example, if it was 600 calories, I knew I should probably plan a lighter dinner. Or, if my lunch only ended up being 300 calories, I knew I could eat a heavier dinner.

As far as exercise goes, I haven't been following a routine. I've just been trying to find opportunities to stay active. I've been riding my bike, which I've written about, and I've been walking quite a bit. I've also done the stair stepper about once a week when I want to do something quickly. Sunday will mark six weeks since my last run, and I think I may start to incorporate some running again next week. I still feel twinges in my ankle, but my physical therapist says it's normal to feel odd twinges (not pain, like I'd experienced six weeks ago). To be safe, I may give it another week or two, since stress fractures usually heal in 6-8 weeks.

Anyway, like I said, I'm going to continue to count calories so that I can get back down to my goal weight. I really like having just ONE number to worry about when choosing what to eat (going out to eat is much easier, because a lot of places list the calories on the menu). A few people have asked if I'm tracking macros, and I'm not. The calorie counting appealed to me because it's just one number to think about, rather than trying to hit several numbers (carbs, fat, protein). I'm not saying that one way is better than the other--but for me, personally, I prefer to just keep it simple with the calories. And it's working well for me :)

I know there were several readers who mentioned they were going to try a six week challenge as well... anyone else want to check in with your progress?

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Scavenger hunt, tire change, and pecan pie

We had another good cross country practice yesterday! Sorry I've been writing so much about cross country lately--it's been consuming a ton of my time, and I really enjoy it, so I've been thinking about it a lot.

Yesterday, I went to Dollar General to buy some hula hoops before heading to practice (I thought it would be a fun game to put four kids in each hula hoop and have them race the other teams while the hula hoop held them together), but they had gotten rid of the summer stuff. I had to head to the school, so I came up with a different game on the fly. I bought 10 small buckets and a package of plastic toy food items (50 food items in the package).

For the game, I wrote down the names of the food items on index cards (one item per card). Then I put a few of those items in each bucket (there were 26 kids there yesterday, so we used 26 items--about three items in each bucket). We put the buckets in the field where we practice, spread out from each other. Then we divided the kids into four teams, and handed each kid an index card with a food item written on it.

The object of the game was to find their toy food item as quickly as possible, relay-style. The first runner on each team ran off to look in the buckets (running from bucket to bucket) to find the item written on their cards. Some of them may have gotten lucky and found their item in the first bucket they looked in; and some of them had to look at several buckets until they found it. Once they found their item, they ran back to their team, and the second runner got to go search.

The kids were allowed to tell their teammates what they saw, so if they knew their teammate was going to be looking for a potato chip, for example, maybe they saw a potato chip in the red bucket while they were looking for their green apple. They could tell their teammate where it was. The first team to get all of their items was declared the winner.

It worked out pretty well, although there are a couple of things I'd do differently next time. I would put the buckets closer together (they were spaced pretty far apart--we had a quarter-mile loop marked off with cones, and the buckets were spread throughout the whole inside of the loop). I would also have more teams with fewer kids on each team (we had 4 teams of 6-7 kids each, and I think it would be better to do 6-7 teams with 4 kids each). Anyway, it was a fun game.

Before they played the game, we had them run easy laps around the 1/4 mile loop, with the goal of running four laps. Normally, we have practice on Tuesdays as well but the kids have their first meet tomorrow! I'm excited (and a little nervous) to see how it goes. It's a 1.3 mile race, and it will be for K-6 graders from several schools. Lots of kids running at the same time!

I don't know if I've said this yet, but I really love coaching this team! It's fun to see some of the kids get excited when they do something they thought they couldn't, or when they hit the laps goal that I give them. I also like getting creative with games that keep them running, but are fun to play. Lots of the kids tell me that they had fun, which makes me happy. Even though Eli will be at the middle school next year, I think I'd like to continue to coach this age group if I can!

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I taught myself to change my bike tire tube yesterday! I watched some YouTube videos, which made it seem really overwhelming, and I wasn't confident going into it. I bought a few spare tubes, and when I got home, I changed out my flat front tire. I took a time lapse video (the video is 24 seconds, but it took a lot longer than that to change it out! I'm not sure exactly how long, maybe 15-20 minutes?)

I spent a lot of time trying to find the leak in the old tube, but I never did figure it out. I saw on one of the YouTube videos that I should try to find the leak, and then line it up with the tire so you can find out what caused the flat (to see if there was still an object embedded in the tire). I eventually just carefully felt around the inside of the tire to feel for anything that may have caused it (I didn't find anything).

I was surprised at how easy it was to actually change out the tube! It was a little time-consuming, but I imagine with practice, I'll get faster at it. Joey was hanging out in the driveway with me, and kept coming over to check it out, which you can see in the video ;)

After I changed out the tube, I decided to practice taking off my back tire (something I've never done before). That was much harder than I thought! The chain made it a little confusing, especially when putting the back tire back on. And my hands were covered in grease when I was done! But again, I imagine with practice, I'll get better at it.

Even having just changed the tire once yesterday, I feel a million times more confident about being able to do it during a ride if needed. In a way, the flat tires on Saturday were a blessing in disguise, because now I know what to do when it happens again.

Last night, after we got home from cross country, the kids and I made my dad a pecan pie for his birthday. I'm not sure when I started the tradition of doing this, but pecan pie is his favorite dessert, and I make him one for Father's Day and his birthday. It's the one thing that I am really good at baking!

I decided to calculate the calories in it, just to see what the damage would be if I decided to have a piece. Uh, yeah, 1/8 of the pie has 571 calories! If I had really been craving a piece, it would have been worth it; but I wasn't feeling very good all day, so I decided to pass.

Today was the last day of my six-week experiment with calorie counting. I don't plan to quit counting, because I really like it and it's working well! I'll write more about that tomorrow :)

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