I'm having a hard time starting...

Work has been insane.  Only a week and a half in and I'm losing my ever-loving mind.  It doesn't help that the temps have been over 100 every single day so I haven't been out to run.  I haven't been exercising as much as I should because I am so tired.  And when I mean so tired I mean, I get home, do some things around the house, make dinner, shower and sleep.  Last week, Tim had to put me to bed.  It was only 8:30pm.

This weekend I went to WA to surprise my friend for her birthday.  Well, her husband had me surprise her.  It was awesome.  We laughed so hard we cried, we ate some yummy food, drank some yummy drinks, and celebrated.  We celebrated being healthy.  We celebrated the birth of my friend.  We celebrated life. 

So since I'm all trying to be motivated and should be training for a 1/2 marathon in now less than 4 months, I will start tonight.  Strength and stretching.  It may feel really good being as I'm SO tired.  Then tomorrow- 2 mile run.  We have back to school night tomorrow so I'm debating waking up and going at 5am.  That's nuts.  We know I won't.  I'll do it when I get home around 7.  It shouldn't be nearly as hot.

I hope you all have a great week.  And I leave you with this picture.  You, too, can start today. 

Recommitting and Ramblings.

In the last month I fell off of the diet/exercise bandwagon and was dragged behind it.  Any resemblance of the normalcy I created is gone.  I didn't have a schedule and did whatever I wanted to do.  Which is obviously not good for me.

The school year started on Wednesday and kids start back Monday.  Which seems like the perfect time to catch up to this bandwagon again.  I don't think I can be as strict with my diet as I was before but I know I cannot be as lenient as I have been lately.

I look at my body and I don't think the 4lbs that crept back on is too noticeable, but I notice it.  I see it in the way I carry myself.  I feel my stomach protruding and my neck feels fat.  I know a lot of people trying to lose weight feel this way so I'm just going to lay it out here:  I am so pissed at myself for stopping even though I know I needed the break to refocus and adjust.

All of that being said:
Tomorrow I'm starting this 15k training program.  I'm totally okay if it takes me longer than 10 weeks seeing as how the measly 2 miles seems daunting.
Tomorrow I will make a meal plan for the week and go stock up on the healthy foods so I can be prepared for the stressful week ahead.

AND- exciting news... my friend S is going to be a guest blogger!  We are going to get through this together, just like we've gotten through so much together already.  We will work out our reward for when we meet whatever goals we set.

My goal?  I'm thinking the final 25-30 pounds by the end of the year.  Part of me thinks that 30lbs is incredibly unrealistic.  Another part of me thinks knows that if I follow my diet and stick with the training, I should be able to hit it.

So there we are.

My Current FB Status Says it All...

Things I learned this morning:  #1: I'm not ready to run in shorts yet... no one wants to see that.  #2: Running in the morning without eating is a bad idea.  #3:  I need to run more.


Yep. 

::sigh::

Whoa. Sorry, folks!

An entire month (and 4 days) without posting?  I suppose the last month just got away from me.  I apologize.

I haven't been as strict with my diet or exercise as I know I should be.  Which is why I'm turning back to the blog and South Beach phase 1 to help me.  I've also decided to work toward the half marathon that I'm going to train for a 15k.  I found a training program that I will do to help me focus.

Everything else is going really well.  Tim and I were approved to start taking fost/adoption classes!  Our first one is this Thursday!  We should be certified and ready to start taking placements by the end of October.  Holy smokes. 

I also acted as a doula for one of my best friends.  That was, by far, one of the most amazing things I've ever been a part of.  It was a long, insanely emotional and beautiful experience.  I can't begin to even put into words how wonderful it was.  And to see her as a mother?  One of the most heart warming things ever. 

So that's where I'm at now.  I'll update more as to how the training is going once I start at it again. 

My First 5K!

Well my 3rd, but my first actually "training" and in 3 years.  All in all, it went really well!  My friend and I have been training (somewhat) over the past month or so.  The longest we've jogged was about 1 1/2 miles without stopping.  Today?  She went the entire way!  I had to stop a few times mainly because my foot went numb.  (Side note:  my shoes weren't too tight, I had a slight cramp, but what can I do to make this stop?  Keep running?  Stretch more?  Get the funky toe shoe things?  HELP!)  But the results?  I'm pretty happy.

I finished in 36 mins 26 seconds with a pace time of 11:44.  I think our times would have been better if it wasn't so congested at some points of the race.  BUT.  I'm still really happy.

Remember my friend Emily, she did the 15K and finished in 1:40:32.  Isn't that awesome?  I'm so proud of her!

So now, I have an appt tomorrow with Dr. W.  I'm kind of thinking I won't see her as often anymore.  I don't think the vitamin shots are helping my diet and I think with running I'll be able to do it all on my own. 


Not running related- thank you all for the support on my last post.  Tim and I are very excited for this next step in our life.

Moving Forward.

I've sort of hesitated posting this because it's not about weight loss or my diet.  It's about moving forward in a different way.  And part of this process, like many others, is being open and honest not only with myself and my husband, but with our family and friends.

After much discussion and a little tear shedding (for the good), Tim and I are moving forward with foster/adoption.

When Katie died, we talked about having one more and adopting one.  After Matthew was born the thought of having another one was (and still is) incredibly frightening.  We also thought it would be selfish for us to potentially lose another baby when there are so many children out there who need stable, loving families. 

The bottom line is that we want to be parents.  We want to be exhausted from chasing our kids around all day.  We want to be woken up in the middle of the night because one of our kids had a bad dream.  We want to support, mold and just love some of the children who need it most.

The next few months will be filled with interviews, classes and inspections.  It's all very exciting and overwhelming and a tad emotional.

So there you have it.

Oh also- first 5k is on Monday.  I'm guessing since I haven't been running a lot lately (long stories) that it'll be longer than wanted.  But at least I have a friend to run with me!  I'll let you know how that goes.

k's, 1/2's and What in the World am I Doing?

The short version:

• I'm running a 5k in July.
• I'm running a 1/2 marathon in January.

The medium version:


A friend talked me into doing a 5k July 4th weekend.  My sister-in-law then emailed me about doing a 1/2 marathon with her in January.  And we, not so slyly, talked my mom into doing it, too!

The emotional stuff:

I've never been a runner.  Weighing what I weigh and being the size that I am, I have this HUGE mental block about running.  I don't didn't think I could do it, so I just didn't do it.  Well newsflash- I can do it.  Step by step (ohhh baby), I will do it. 

So runners- what advice do you have for me?  I need all of the help I can get!