Been a long time since I posted, but felt the need.

This post is for purposes of a huge shout out and thank you to Joanna Chodorowska at www.nutritioninmotion.net. As some of you know (and many do not) I have been suffering with Charlie Horse cramping issues in my feet and legs which has progressively gotten worse. It became a concern to me recently after the problem kept me awake at night for a week straight in the days leading up to Escape the Cape Triathlon. After discussion with my doctor, it was determined that this was a problem with electrolytes and dehydration. She recommended that I stay hydrated and make sure I replenish my electrolytes even on days that I don't work out.

But how do I properly do that? Where do I turn? Yes, I eat bananas. I drink plenty of water and Gatorade (I thought). I take magnesium and calcium supplements. Even the occasional shot of pickle juice! But I must be doing something wrong. Thankfully, I turned to Joanna. After a long conversation with her, she was able to make suggestions, steer me in the right direction, and make suggestions of products which may better help me stay hydrated and replenish electrolytes. We also talked about different things I could add to my diet to help with potassium, magnesium, and calcium levels.

And I am feeling better, back on track. The cramping has diminished and each day, I feel better. And as a result, I think I'm getting stronger in my activities, running, riding, and swimming.

Again, Joanna Chodorowska, I am so glad I reached out to you for help.

My Love of the RunBucks Series and the Delaware Canal Towpath

First, let me preface this by saying I am just a girl who loves to run.   In August, 2012, about 3 years after I discovered my love of running, I made a big decision.  I was ready to move to the next level in running and run a full marathon.  I began searching the events and found what I felt was the perfect fit for me.  Turned out to be a decision I’ll never regret, the Bucks County Marathon by RunBucks. www.runbucks.com

This is where the marathon starts:

The Bucks County Marathon takes place along the towpath trail of historic Delaware Canal State Park from Washington Crossing Historic Park north through New Hope, Pennsylvania.

I wrote more about that first marathon experience here.  What an amazing journey that was.
http://journey2succeed.blogspot.com/2012/11/my-first-bucks-county-marathon.html

Since that first marathon, I have returned to run many of the RunBucks series and it has become my favorite. Now I'll tell you why.

History - The RunBucks events start at Washington's Crossing Historic Park located in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, a town full of history.  Formerly known as "Taylorsville", it is most famous for Washington's crossing of the Delaware River on the night of December 25-26, 1776 during the American Revolutionary War.

There is much to visit and learn about on return trips, so consider an extended stay in the area for a weekend visit.  From wonderful shopping villages to restaurants, there's lots to explore.

The scenery and wildlife is beautiful.

Whether enjoying the bright green lush colors of spring and summer, listening to the birds sing, watching the wildlife, running on the towpath along the canal in the spring and summer is so refreshing, especially after a tough winter full of cold, ice, and snow.

As summer turns to fall and the colors of foliage begin to change, the views along the towpath are still  spectacular and there is still some color that remains as the marathon approaches in November.  

I'm told that even in the winter, after a dusting to an inch or two of light snow, there is a wonderful calm and peaceful feeling to running along the towpath.  Unfortunately, with the heavier snowfalls we had this past winter, I was not able to experience that.

In addition to the beautiful scenery, the Bucks County Marathon Series, has so many other positives in my opinion:

Smaller group of runners - Avoiding the hectic rush and anxiety of race morning that you see with the bigger races is a huge plus for me.   Since the RunBucks events are limited to a field of 500 runners, the prerace anxieties are reduced and it is a much friendlier atmosphere.  Shorter potty lines, less transportation and parking chaos, and just an easy feel to race morning.  This leaves time to relax and stretch, meet up with friends, a chance to say hello to runners I've met at past RunBucks events, and to shake off any prerace butterflies.

A welcoming feeling from staff - the staff of RunBucks are very friendly and welcoming, always available to answer questions about the events, the trail, offer suggestions, and the volunteers are there along the towpath at water stops, directing us around a turn, or just to cheer us on.  I had the pleasure of volunteering for the first time this past year for Chasing the Unicorn race, a race organized to provide runners an opportunity to qualify for this year's Boston Marathon after the bombing.  I loved volunteering.   It gave me a new perspective to distance running, seeing it from the other side, and I plan to volunteer more this year.

Variety of races, distances and themes - There is such a variety of events throughout the year, 5ks, 10k,
10-miler, 15k, half-marathons, 20-miler, full-marathons.  There are also themed events such as Run the Lights (Christmas) at Shady Brook Farm, New Year's Eve Midnight Run, and Christmas in July.   I am looking forward to participating in a few of these this year as well.

In addition to all of the above, the runners of the series events receive beautifully designed finisher's medals and tech shirts.

My opinion is that the RunBucks series is not just for the elite runners.  These events are for runners of all levels. Everyone is made to feel welcome.  I love the out and back course.  I love that as I am making my way to the halfway point, the runners in the lead are on their way back.  It's an exciting part of the marathon for me to be able to cheer them on as they FLY past me, but the cool thing is the wonderful feeling I get when some of those runners are actually cheering us on as well!

It’s always a great group of runners.  I have met so many wonderful people along the towpath while running during the events and look forward to meeting many more.

So for me, although I do enjoy the excitement of the big events and will  continue to participate in them as well, my heart belongs to RunBucks, and that's where I will return this year to complete my second full marathon.

Maybe I'll see you out there on the towpath this year!

Rocking Towards the Next Goal!

Hello!  I'm still here.  Yes.  Yes.  I know.  I've been so quiet, but I'm here.  My last post was all about whether I should go ahead and cancel my gym membership or actually use it and go back to the gym.  I am happy to report that I am USING IT and LOVING IT!

I am still fighting to get these few pounds off to get me back to my goal weight. It was only 5 pounds, but just a battle to get there, but getting very close; one pound to go.  I've had some little health issues over the past 9 months, dealing with migraine headaches, what the doctors call daily chronic headaches, but I am feeling much better now, more and more myself every day.

Started training.  Training for what?  Well, first up, half-marathon.  In May, I'm running the Wild Half in Wildwood, New Jersey, and in addition, there are events in the Bucks Marathon series that I'll be running leading up to hopefully my second full marathon, the Bucks County Marathon in November.

This time around, I am handling things differently.  Not only running but I am trying to institute other cardio and cross training, swimming, biking, and elliptical.   I feel stronger already.  I am so far straight running now without walking intervals, which is a huge change for me.

So we move on from here.  Day by day, doing what feels good, eating as healthy as I can, each day, each situation, making smart choices, and just being happy with where I am.

I am not an elite runner.  I am not a fast runner.  I am not a young runner.  I am a woman who loves to run and who loves to feel good!

To Gym or Not to Gym

My blog postings are far apart these days, but not because I don't want to post.  Just so busy with work and planning for the approaching holiday, training for my half marathon last week, and getting through a lot of appointments.  Crazy!

I feel like I am finally starting to feel better.  After 5 months, the migraines are no longer every single day and the intensity isn't as much.  Fighting those migraines for 5 months together with the medications really took a lot of my strength and it was very difficult for me to continue with the training to the marathon.  So I made the decision to switch to half-marathon and so glad that I did.  On November 16th, I ran my third half-marathon, Delaware Canal Half Marathon, which takes place on the towpath along the beautiful Delaware Canal, starting in Washington's Crossing in Pennsylvania.

I had high hopes going into this race.  My training had been great for the past few weeks.  I felt I handled the carb loading properly over the course of 10 days rather than the night before.  I tapered leading up to the race.  I had my mind set that I was going to GO OUT SLOW.  I was ready.  But things don't always go as planned, and I did go out too fast, and I did struggle at the end, but I finished.  So I'm going to take pride in that.

I want to now take the next few months to build my strength back, get stronger physically and mentally, not just in running.  So my question comes back to what do I do?  My love is running, but I know that I should not run every day.  That's all I want to do though.

I have a membership to the YMCA that honestly, I have not used in a year.  I ask myself if I'm not going to use it, why not cancel it and save myself the money.  For our joint membership, it's about $600 a year.  When you're living on a budget, that's a big dump of money that could be used somewhere else.

But am I sacrificing my own well being?  Yes, it does take a little more time out of my day to get to the gym and work out versus just throwing on the running gear and getting out for a run, but the gym is perfect for cross-training and core.  I know that, yes, and I constantly battle with it.  Once I get into the routine of going to back to the gym, it's kind of addictive.  It's just that one giant step to get me going back, and it's really bad timing with the holidays approaching and work being so busy.

What do I want?  What do I really want to achieve over the next few months to help me do better in the next half-marathon, which is in May?  Well, I think that dropping another 5-6 pounds would definitely help, as would building core and upper body strength, neither of which I have.

But is there a way for me to attain these goals in another manner and still cancel the Y membership, save the $600 bucks a year?  I guess that's the answer I'm searching for.

So it's time to make a decision.

Football Sundays Now vs. Football Sundays Then

So I got to thinking today how much things have changed.  Who knew back then that it would change so drastically, but sadly, it has.

These days, my perfect football Sunday consists of hanging out in my kitchen, preferably after a good run on a cold crisp morning, dressed in fleece pants or jammies and a sweatshirt, cooking something yummy for dinner, prepping some meals for the week, and watching the games while I enjoy a glass or two of wine or a martini (or two) at happy hour and hanging out on the internet.

But my football Sundays of the past were a WHOLE DIFFERENT BALLGAME!

Beer, lots of beer, of course!  In fact, I so clearly remember my orientation when I joined Weight Watchers and realizing that I was going to have to give up all that beer on Sundays!  Horror of Horror!  No!!!!!  But I did.

Then there was the FOOTBALL FOOD.  Those memories came back to me today and I couldn't stop thinking about it.  I can't even imagine eating today the way I ate back then.  No way.  Hot wings.... I can eat one or two occasionally now, but bowls of them, as an appetizer, with all that blue cheese dressing!  And  how about the nachos that we used to make!  The homemade beef topping, the two or three kinds of cheese topping, refried beans, the sliced jalapenos, sour cream, black olives and salsa.  Actually, I would still enjoy that, but would be afraid I couldn't stop and how I would feel after.   Better to stay away

Chili with cheese over pasta!  That was another favorite for Sunday football.  Oh, THEN THERE WAS THE FRENCH ONION SOUP!  Oh, my god, I could go on forever.  How did I ever survive?

Well, at least I have the memories.  Some of those foods I can modify but will never be the same.  They will never be the same.  I remember my Weight Watcher leader telling me one time about "The Burger in Her Mind".  She never had another burger, because no burger would ever be as good as the one that she had dreamed of.  That's kind of the way I remember football Sunday.

So I'll stick to my new way, and leave the past behind.  I'll enjoy the occassional wing or two without the Pepcid or Tums.

I Miss This Thing....

I miss blogging.  I miss writing posts daily about how I'm feeling, what I'm struggling with, my successes.  I miss reading what everyone else is doing and dealing with, their successes.  Blogging helped me to focus, helped me to get through, helped me get where I wanted to get, helped me be where I wanted to be.

But it took up a lot of my time, and I don't seem to have that time now.  Training for marathon #2 takes a lot of time, along with work, of course, and having a rough summer with unexplained daily chronic headaches, tests, doctors appointments.  It's all been a little overwhelming.

   

#WYCWYC Thanks for Reminding Me!

I have once again been reminded that it's not always about the long run, the hour workout at the gym, etc.  Anything you do throughout the day is activity and is better than nothing at all.

Thanks, Roni, for reminding me.

http://ronisweigh.com/2013/09/the-wycwyc-challenge.html

So I am inspired now to just try every day to add some little bit of activity here and there.  I have been suffering with migraine headaches since the first week of June. It had really taken a toll on me.  I was tired, and struggling to follow a healthy lifestyle, and although I am starting to feel better and have managed to continue marathon training, my heart is only half in it.    But I feel like I'm on my way.  Thanks to a lot of wonderful bloggers out there who have inspired me to just keep moving, I think it's all coming together.

Begins Again Today - One Step In the Right Direction

Been a long, difficult summer, full of migraine headaches with no apparent reason but hopefully, we're on the road to feeling better with a combination of a few medications that seem to be helping to control the headaches.

In the meantime, I realize that I absolutely HAVE NOT been tracking what I eat.  I have not been binge eating or overeating, have not been eating cake, candy and ice cream every day, but I've let go a lot of my healthy eating habits, and today I'm taking one big step in the right direction to gain control once again.  I'm over my goal weight by about 7 pounds AND IT IS NOT GOING TO STAY!

So today is the day.  I woke up this morning and just decided it's time.  Stop procrastinating.  Stop using the migraines as an excuse.  Just Do It!

Just get back from a short run.  I'm going to hit the showers, throw some shorts on and my "Just Do It"
t-shirt  as a reminder and get this day started.

One day at a time, one meal at a time, one healthy choice at a time.  I am going to turn this thing around!

Still here...just quietly

So I've been kind of taking a break from blogging.  It's been kind of a lousy summer for me.   I've been battling with headaches/migraines since the first week in June.  Been on antibiotics, steroids, antibiotics, and now found a new doctor who has me on a headache/migraine medicine and muscle relaxer.  She believes they may be tension headaches.

So because I sit in front of the computer all day long for work, it becomes a struggle to look at the computer screen any longer when my work is done.  Hopefully, this will resolve soon.  Once I'm feeling better, I hope to get back to blogging more often.

For now, I'm just reading all my favorites.

Comfort Zone Breakouts

Not adding any fluff to this post.  No time to drag it out, but wanted to get this post written while I had a minute.

Body Image has ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS been an issue for me.  Even now after maintaining my goal weight for four years, it's still an issue with me.

And as a runner, I see many other women/girls out there running, of all ages, and admire all those that are running on these hot days clad in what I call "shortie shorts" and a sports bra.  For me, that was just not in the cards....or so I thought.   It had always been longer running shorts and running shirts with some sort of sleeve.

Slowly, I started to change.  First came the sleeves.  These summer runs are hot, humid.  I decided I didn't care about showing the flabby arms while I ran.  So in came the sleeveless, tank type running shirts.  Oh, my gosh, so much better!

Then I went shopping one day last year for some new running shorts and came across a pair of "shortie" compression shorts.  Me?  I don't think so, but tried them on anyway.  Not so bad.  I still was not convinced that I could wear them out in public but I bouth them, and eventually, I got up the nerve to wear them out running.  I was still self-conscious about it.  I may have lost 75 pounds, but the top of my legs still have a lot of "jiggle" hanging around.  Then I realized that no one was really analyzing that while I ran past them, and if they were, that's their problem.  These shorts are comfortable and cooler!

Now, the last remaining barrier, the sports bra.  Of course, I have sports bras, but would never wear it without an additional running shirt over it.  But why?  There are certainly plenty of women out there with similar body shapes as mine who are.  Why do I have such a problem with it?  Body image.  It's been a problem since I was a child.  Again, even though I have lost the weight, I still have not lost that feeling that I needed to hide my flaws.  But everyone has flaws.

Yesterday, I took a baby step in right direction.  It was not a big step, but one in the right direction.  I had just returned from a run and had already taken off the top shirt, trying to cool off before hitting the showers.  But I wanted to check out the garden before I did that.  I headed right out the back door, belly in the sunlight, and had not a care that all the neighbors would see me out there.    WHO IS THIS PERSON?!!

Will I take another step in that same direction and actually free myself of that fear, go for a run with my belly showing?  Absolutely, although maybe some tummy toning work first.   Might be a reason to get me back to the gym and add it into a strength training routine.

A new goal has been set.

Still Fighting Back!

Hello folks.  I have been struggling lately.  Struggling to stay on program, struggling to get through the day sometimes.

I have not been feeling my usual self since the first week in June, persistent daily headaches.  The doctor has been treating me for sinus infection, allergies, but that didn't work.  Now they're running more tests to see if there is anything else going on.

In the meantime, the scale did go up.  I admit when I am not feeling well, it's very difficult to focus on the healthy choices for our meals.  I have tried to continue to eat fruit and fresh vegetables and with the Jersey corn and tomatoes coming in now, that's getting easier.

The headaches seem a little better right now.  In fact, I don't think I took anything for pain yesterday.  THAT'S  a good thing.

Also, I made the decision to try to give up artificial sweeteners such as Sweet & Low, Splenda, etc.  I am now using Stevia for my coffee and iced tea.  It's a little more expensive, but I think in the long run, it can only do good things for me.  From what I understand, artificial sweeteners aren't doing us any favors at all.

And I've still been out running, in first week of marathon training now.  Hopefully, these headaches will go away.

So that's the scoop.  I'm fighting back, getting in lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and trying to drink more water.  I've also started drinking a little Gatorade each day.  I don't know if it's really helping, but I think it is.

Weigh-In Shocker/Comfortable with the Maybes

I am writing this post before I get a chance to talk myself out of it.  Got on the scale this morning and was ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED  at the number I saw.

What happened?  I don't know.  Well, MAYBE I know a little, but not that much damage!  I had a nice weekend, enjoyed a little more than the normal limitations, but don't feel I deserve THAT NUMBER!

Now, honestly, I have not been feeling well at all for the last four weeks, and for the last two weeks, I have been on antibiotics AND A STEROID.  Could that have something to do with it?  MAYBE.  I don't know.  I was worried about a gain when they put me on the steroids, but didn't want to use that as an excuse, just throw my hands in the air and say oh, well, I'm going to gain weight.

I've been eating a lot of fruit lately, which is  a good thing, but am I eating too much fruit?  MAYBE.

Have I been weighing and measuring?  Well, not completely, but at the same time, I didn't think I was that off track.  But was I?  MAYBE.  How do I know?  How do I know how far off track I am if I am not counting?

MAYBE  it's a fluke, a fake number.  MAYBE it will drop dramatically next time I get on that scale, but maybe not.  I don't want to .... I WILL NOT rely on the MAYBE's.  I want to rely on what works.

What works?  Eating sensibly, weighing and measuring, exercising, drinking water, MAKING GOOD CHOICES!

So we restart here.  That number is GOING DOWN.  I refuse to see that number on the scale.  No way!

So we're off, off to have a better day and off to get it started by going on a run.

Post Vacation Weigh-In - How it All Went Down?

In the four years since I've reached my goal weight, every trip to Florida to visit my mom has resulted in a gain at the scale upon my result.  So this time, I was pleasantly surprised upon weighing in this past weekend to learn that the number went down!  Really?  Really!

After thinking about it, I attribute it to the following.  Past vacations have had a lot of focus on food and cooking, snacks and cocktails.  I would go down there and every day, we would cook one of our favorite dishes.  If we're down at the holidays, there's the addition of candy and cookies, holiday treats, and then, of course, cocktail hour at 5:00 p.m. sharp (sometimes a little earlier).

This trip was definitely different.  We did not focus on the food as much.  We did cook, but not every day.  Sometimes we went out for lunch and then had a snack or sandwich for dinner.  Sometimes we went out to dinner and ate light earlier in the day.  Sometimes we heated up leftovers.  The time was not spent cooking and filling up too much, but instead, was spent relaxing and enjoying time with mom.

I was able to get out and run more this trip as well, and my total weekly mileage was more than the usual trip.

I ran to the beach....

 I ran over the bridge...

 I ran in the park at the base of the bridge...

We strolled along the beach and did some treasure hunting....

Finally, I have been trying to focus a lot more on properly hydrating and keeping away from diet sodas and beverages.  So on most days, I stuck to my routine of making a pitcher of infused water to drink throughout the day.

Now, since my weigh-in this past weekend, I'm a little unsteady.  I have not been tracking and, honestly, not paying as close attention as I should to what I'm eating, but hey, it's my birthday week, and as long as I'm not going totally overboard, I'm enjoying a little and will pay the consequences if necessary.   Went to a picnic this weekend and enjoyed a piece of fried chicken (which I NEVER get) and chips (which I NEVER get), and a few other little treats.  But the upside is that do to being on certain medications, I have avoided alcoholic beverages and will have to continue to do so for another week.  So there's some saved calories right there!

Restarting the Engine

It's back to reality today.  Back from my trip.  Time to get back to life as usual and work.  Blahhhhhh!

The routine is always so difficult at the start, but once the engine is started and I begin moving forward, it becomes easier.

So here I go, turning the key, engine started, warming up, and off I go.  Now I just have to keep my eye on the road and keep moving forward.

This analogy refers to many aspects of my life, not just the healthy eating.

I am also ready to set some new goals, one of which is to look ahead to a start date for marathon training AND to focus more this time around on the nutritional aspects as well as the mileage aspects.

Something In the Water....

Infused water is big now.  I've been seeing it all over the blogs and internet lately.  I actually started making it a few months ago at the suggestion of my cousin and not from anything I was reading about.

I'm going through a 2-quarter pitcher a day.  I make it late morning and leave it on the kitchen counter, just adding ice when needed.  By leaving the pitcher out in full sight, it reminds me every time I go by to refill my cup.  

Each day is a little different, depending on what I have in stock. This was yesterday's water:  orange and lemon wedges (rind removed), cucumber, strawberries, and a spring of rosemary.  

I've also been using A LOT of fresh mint, and I've been using blueberries or watermelon too.

Here's A GREAT post about tips for drinking enough water, published today on one of MY FAVORITE SITES:

http://www.skinnykitchen.com/recipes/23-tips-for-drinking-more-water-each-day/

The benefits of drinking water, of course, are huge.  For me, I feel so much better when I'm getting all my water in.  Here are some benefits listed on WebMD:

"1. Drinking Water Helps Maintain the Balance of Body Fluids. Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature."

"2. Water Can Help Control Calories. For years, dieters have been drinking lots of water as a weight loss strategy. While water doesn't have any magical effect on weight loss, substituting it for higher calorie beverages can certainly help. "

"3. Water Helps Energize Muscles. Cells that don't maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel, which can result in muscle fatigue.  Drinking enough fluids is important when exercising."

"4. Water Helps Keep Skin Looking Good. Your skin contains plenty of water, and functions as a protective barrier to prevent excess fluid loss."

"5. Water Helps Your Kidneys. Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells."

"When you're getting enough fluids, urine flows freely, is light in color and free of odor. When your body is not getting enough fluids, urine concentration, color, and odor increases because the kidneys trap extra fluid for bodily functions."

"6. Water Helps Maintain Normal Bowel Function. Adequate hydration keeps things flowing along your gastrointestinal tract and prevents constipation. When you don't get enough fluid, the colon pulls water from stools to maintain hydration -- and the result is constipation."

My New Favorite Sauce

Not a lot of time to post today, so I'm going to try to make this short.  I love cooking pasta sauce on the weekends.  I LOVE PASTA!  I also try to have lots of veggies to have either with my pasta or on the side.  With this sauce, you get it all in one pot, chock full of lots of great veggies.  This sauce comes out so chunky and thick.  I loved it.

So credit goes to David at http://keepitupdavid.wordpress.com/.  This guy has done a fabulous job of getting healthy and taking off A LOT of weight.  It's a wonderful blog full of interesting information on his adventures and discovering different foods.

For the recipe and pics of this fabulous sauce, follow this link.  http://keepitupdavid.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/macrae/

For a sneak peak at the sauce, here's a pic from his post.  In this particular shot, he paired the sauce with roasted brussel sprouts.



 I am definitely going to try this.  I also plan on grilling up some eggplant and zucchini and serving the service over that with a bit of shredded cheese.

Weekend Check-In and Weigh-In

For some reason, these days, I'm only making it to my WW meeting every other week.  Since I'm a lifetime member, I only have to go once a month, but I'm normally there every week.  It's just what works for me.

So I went this morning and the result is I'm the same, one pound above goal, which is okay.  I can be 2 pounds above goal and still not have to pay.  But I am on a mission to get back under goal in the next 2 to 3 weeks, for a few reasons.

Reason number one, in less than three weeks, I will be celebrating 4 years maintaining my goal weight and living this healthy lifestyle.  I am very very proud of that.  Being overweight has been a battle I struggled with my entire life, until this last journey.  I was able to lose all the weight I needed to and have now maintained it for 4 years.  So I desperately want to see that number back under goal when I celebrate my 4-year anniversary.

Reason number two, I will be going on vacation in less than a month.  I ALWAYS gain a few pounds when I go.  So I'd like to be under goal before I get there.

Reason three, I want to once again wear my goal ring!  I have a ring that I bought prior to reaching goal, and then put it in my jewelry box and didn't place it on my finger again until the day I reached goal.  Recently, I took that ring off and put it back in the jewelry box again, promising myself that I would wear it only after I got back to goal.  So close.  I want to wear that ring when I leave for vacation.

So there it is, in writing.  Now to continue what I'm doing to get there.


It's cold and windy here today, great day for cooking.  I am trying out a new recipe today that I am very excited about!  Got it from one of the blogs I read.  Hope to share it with you in the next few days.

Feeling like a Loser Blogger....but not a "loser" blogger.

I am feeling really bummed about my blogging lately.  I love blogging and it has definitely been something that has helped me maintain my weight loss.  But life sometimes just gets in the way.  Too much going on, too much to do, not enough time.

This is what I've been up to....

Cleaning out all the flower beds and then laying two yards of mulch has kept me crazy busy, plus working, plus running, plus other obligations.  But now it's done.  I even got the veggie garden planted pretty much except for a few plants that will go in later this week.

On weightloss/maintenance topic?  Well, good news is that the last four weight-ins, the number has dropped slightly each time.  That's a good thing.  Bad news is that according to my home scale, the number has gone up a few pounds since last weigh-in.  I have this week to get it back down before returning for weigh-in on Saturday.

Back to making up a big pitcher of water each day flavored with lemon, mint, and fresh ginger.  I leave it out and just keep through ice in it.  By leaving the water pitcher on the counter during the day, it's a much better signal to me to keep refilling my glass.  Yesterday was a successful water day.  Got it all in by the end of the day.

This is exactly what the maintenance journey is all about for me, little ups and downs.

We've have a trip coming in the near future to Florida.  I'd like to shed these "few pounds" before I go so that my summer clothes will be nice and comfy.  THAT'S a big motivation, comfortable clothes.

10-mile run vs. Running After the Ice Cream Truck

So today I ran a 10-mile race.  I was trying to beat my time from last year.  Missed it, but not by much.

Checked my splits on Runkeeper and then posted this on Facebook:

"Just checked my splits on Runkeeper. Had a GREAT PACE for the first 5 miles. Then I kind of fizzled. Guess that means I went out too fast."

A friend who has known me for many years, knew me when I was overweight, posted this in response:

"Who cares about the splits on the runkeeper......damn you completed the run not once BUT twice.....something you would have never said 20 years ago. I am so proud of you!!!!"

I immediately started to respond, and then thought, wow, she really did hit the nail on the head.  I responded as follows:

"Thanks, but not quite. Today was 10 miles. The full marathon in November was 26.2 miles" (Didn't realize at the time that she was probably referring to the the fact that I ran 10-miler last year and this year.). "BUT either way, I would have NEVER done either of those 20 years ago. Hell, I wouldn't have run a quarter mile 20 years ago unless I was chasing the ice cream man. LOL!"

But seriously, that is so so true.  20 years ago, 75+ pounds heavier, I would have NEVER EVER thought of running AT ALL.  Now look, I'm comparing my time from last year to this year and analyzing what went wrong that the two runs were about a minute or two difference total time!

CERTainly can!

Been a busy week.  Been a tough week.  Been a great week!  My husband and I have been taking classes for CERT - Community Emergency Response Team - and this week, we graduated!!!!

It had been a long time since I took classes for anything, and honestly, it was difficult for me.   I sometimes felt overwhelmed, but it was something I wanted, and I drew on my experiences in my journey to get healthy to get me through these classes.

What were those experiences?

Keep trying.  You can do this.  Let others motivate you to continue.  Relax.  Have fun.  LOOK FORWARD.

It has been a busy couple of weeks between Bob's surgery, work, community commitments, work.... oh, did I say that already?  

I saw a number on the scale at the beginning of the week that made my eyes pop.  I was not ready to see that number ever again!  So I decided to try a few of the old tricks.  Think before eating.  Are you hungry?  Why are you eating?  Is there an emotion attached to this choice?  Are you tired?  Are you hungry enough to eat an apple?

I also made a big picture of water every day with the goal of drinking all of it by the end of the day.  Most days, I did, or came very very close.  I found that by adding a few lemon slices, some fresh mint or lemon balm and a few slices of fresh ginger, that I was enjoying the water.  This is a habit I'm going to try to continue.

So tomorrow I'll return to my meeting and weigh-in (I've missed two in a row) and see what the "official number" is.   But no matter, I feel good and IT'S BEEN A GOOD WEEK.

So can I continue to live a healthy lifestyle, be active in my community, be happy?

CERT-ainly can!