Check it out

Jon found this picture while cleaning out the shed last week. 

It is not my favorite but it sure helps in the motivation department.  Cause it is proof that I was once thin.  I really thought that this picture was from high school but when I looked at the date it was actually taken a month before Jon proposed, so February 2003.  The sad/funny thing about it being from '03 is that I remember feeling chubby and thinking that I had a spare tire around my waist, I sure don't see a spare tire now.  I was in a friends wedding in March of that year and I definitely remember thinking that I was big.  I wish that I could go back in time and tell my self to shut up that I looked great.  I hope that I love myself when I actually get there again, I really don't want to always feel like if I just loose a little more I'll be perfect.  I am trying to work on my self inside while working on the outside.   

Lacking in motivation

Actually, I guess I would say I am not lacking in motivation, just lacking in time, sort of.  I gave myself the day off yesterday which I don't think is bad.  But I also stayed up late last night watching the Olympics, I can't resist watching the women's gymnastics.  So this morning I could not bring myself to get out of bed when my alarm clock went off at 5:45, yep that is when I have to get up to run before Jon leaves for work.  Anyway, my alarm clock went off and I hit snooze, so now it is 8:30 and I would love to go for a run but my four little babies at home keep me here.  Maybe I will be able to fit it in this evening. 

6 Months

This adorable little guy is six months old today.  He is the sweetest baby ever, EVER!  I seriously don't think there has ever been a sweeter baby.  He has the best temperament, he lets all of his siblings love on him all the time and never fusses about it. He has more patience then any of my other babies, doesn't mind waiting his turn which is great since he is the youngest of four.  I love him so much and can't imagine, or remember, what our lives would be like without him. 

But him being six months means that i only have six months to complete my goal.  I will do it. 

10:31:19

That was my time for my mile run this morning! 

 I am so excited about my almost ten minute mile, I don't think that I have ran faster then a twelve minute mile since high school, actually, I may have never run one before.  Woohoo!!  I know that I didn't pace myself very well, I would realize that I was going really fast and slow down, then realize I was going really slow.  But when I reached that mile point my timer said 10:31:19 and that is ok with me.

Wednesday: weigh in day

Well, I lost two pounds this week.  Not bad, not bad I know.  I am not very excited about it because it I keep loosing these two pounds then gaining them back the next week.  My numbers have been 181 183 181 183 for over a month now...frustrating. 

On a happier note, my feet are still feeling great.  I am loving the new shoes.  And I completed my run today feeling fabulous.  The three minute intervals were nothin' today.  It felt great!  I ran inside on the treadmill today instead of my normal outside run.  I like changing it up sometimes.  A benefit of running on the treadmill is that I can watch my pace, I don't have a pacer. (is that what those watches that track your pace are called?)  Anyway, I have no way of tracking my pace when running outside so I enjoy occasionally running on a treadmill so I can see if I have improved.  Which I have, I ran all of my intervals at 5.8 mph today.  When I started I thought I would die if I ran any faster then 5.4 mph.  Improvement totally motivates me to keep going. 

Today's run...

was HARD.  It stunk booty.  I was inspired after last nights run with the kids, that was the first time that I had attempted to run a mile non stop since starting my 5k training and I ran it with ease.  Naturally, I thought that I would be able to do today's training run with ease also.  I had to run 90 seconds then walk 90 seconds run 3 minutes then walk 3 minutes and repeat that twice.  The 90 seconds was a breeze but when I got to those three minutes yuck, I thought that my legs were going to give out or my lungs might explode.  I think that I run at a much quicker pace when I do intervals then when I run the straight mile.  I guess I think it is only a short distance so I should be able to do it faster.  I don't know, but my legs are killing me.  Hopefully tomorrow will go better. 

My feet hurt!

My feet have been killing me the last week or so.  I am not sure if it is because I am getting older or if I am heavier or if I need new shoes.  Well, the only one of the reasons where I could make an immediate change were my shoes.  So I went and bought myself a new pair of shoes, lucky for me Costco had a very nice pair and I got them cheaply.  I ran in them for the first time today and my feet already feel so much better.  I do think that my current weight and age have a factor but these shoes seem to be helping immensely.  Time will tell though. 

My kids are AWESOME!!!

For the past few weeks Jon and I have been running in the morning before the kids wake up.  I love these morning runs.  We don't get to go together because obviously someone has to be home with the kids but we are planning on running a 5k together soon.  I have been making effort to eat healthy and make changes that help our family become healthier.  The kids have noticed and are always full of questions about why we are doing these things.  Recently they have wanted to go running with us.  I haven't taken them because I've been being selfish, I LOVE my morning runs, it is the only me time I get all day.  Plus I thought that they would slow me down.  Today I decided that I should be taking advantage of their desire to run, I should be doing everything I can to nurture their ambition.  So the older two and I went for a mile long run tonight. 

They were AWESOME!!!

 I had no clue what they were capable of, I completely misjudged them.  We ran at my pace and they ran the whole time, non stop.  They rocked it!  William could have kicked our butts to but he was being nice going slow with Jordan and me.  I am so proud of them.  Maybe that 5k Jon and I were going to run is going to turn into a family affair.  Can't wait!!!

My new running partners

plus an adorable two year old who wanted in on the picture

A-Mountain 5k

     Like I mentioned before, my sister-in-law and I are following a 9 week couch potato to 5k training program right now.  We are currently on week three.  We should finish up our 5k training on September 7.  I looked up all the 5ks scheduled in Tucson and of course there would be one on September 3, and then nothing until October 14.  Well, I am already supposed to participate in a relay triathlon on October 14, so we aren't able to do the 5k that day.  The next 5k scheduled is TMC Get Moving Tucson Event: A-Mountain Half-Marathon, Tucson Lifestyle 5k & Cox Charities 1-Mile on October 21.  We are going to take the plunge and go for it.  I think we might be a little crazy having our first 5k be a hilly course but the next option wasn't until mid November and I didn't want to wait that long.  Plus a couple of my friends are running the half-marathon so we will sort of be running together. 

      The organizers of the race suggest a hill training program if you are not used to running hills.  Melinda, my sister-in-law and I are going to start that program as soon as we finish the couch potato one.  Conveniently the hill program is a five week program so it fits perfect into our time frame.  I am excited but nervous.

GOALS

I want to list my goals so that I can reference them easily and be held accountable for them.  They are in no particular order.

1. Run a 5k

2. Weigh 150 pounds by the time the baby turns one.  Which is the end of January.

3. Complete a triathlon by myself.

4. Run three times a week


For now that is it, I will probably add more as my weight loss journey continues.

This picture...

This is the picture that is motivating me.

This is the picture that has me thinking.

This is the picture that is making me realize that I need to change.

Change my mindset and my lifestyle.

  This is part of a family picture taken at my sister-in-law's graduation. I know that I should be happy about this picture, and I am, but part of me hates it. I love it because we are all there, even my brother-in-law's two boys are in the picture.  But I hate this picture. The way I am standing makes me appear even larger then I already am and I hate that.  This picture was put up on Facebook for all to see and I hate that. And of course, everyone in the picture was tagged on Facebook so it is being seen by like a zillion people and I hate that. Then to make it even worse over 70 people liked the picture and there are at least 45 comments on it and I hate that. To sum it up, this picture, where I noticed just how awfully large I am, has been seen by a lot of people. Great. To top it off, I hate that I feel this way. I want to love this picture even though I am big right now. I know that this is just a moment of my life but I am struggling with getting myself to think that way. All I see is a gross overweight me and not the happy to be around family me that was there celebrating that day. I need to change my mindset.

Do other people feel this way? 

I think they must also feel this way, it must be somewhat normal, normal but definitely not healthy.  I have an amazing friend, Linette, who has recently changed her life by getting healthy.  I never would have called her fat before but she is in great shape now.  I am so inspired by her dedication to getting fit.  She looks awesome, I mean she is HOT!!  But she still must have some of the same body image issues that I do because earlier this week I was checking out her blog for motivation and noticed that she hadn't updated her current stats picture in a long time.  So I sent her a text asking her, ok, if you know me then you know I didn't ask I told her that she needs to update her current stats.  Her text back was, "My current stats...fat still.  Ugh maybe next month I'll update."  Fat still!!! This girl is anything but fat.  She rocked a size 0 dress at a baby shower last weekend.  I love Linette and I want her to change her mindset too.  So whats the trick?  How do we work to be happy in the body God gave us?  I am a little afraid that I might reach my goal and still not be happy with myself.  Ugh. 

(Sorry I cropped the picture, I don't have permission from everyone to post their pictures on the Internet so I cropped it to just show you me)

Here I go...

Alright, here I am, starting a blog in order to hold myself accountable and help get myself motivated.  I need help. 

      I remember before having kids when I put on a couple pounds all I had to do was up my workouts just a little bit for maybe a week and boom...the weight would just fall off.  Ha, I wish that were true now.  Four amazing babies later and I am up to an insane 183 pounds and I can not get that number to budge.  I struggle with eating the right foods, I just LOVE junk food.  I actually really enjoy working out, it makes me feel great but finding the time to consistently do it is hard, especially in the summer when our schedule is much more sporadic.  I started a couch potato to 5k training program two weeks ago.  My sister-in-law and I are doing it together. 

      Anyway, I already lost my train of thought, I like blaming the baby for this problem but I think I am just loosing it. I hope this blog can help keep me motivated and help keep myself accountable.  I am ready to get back to a healthy weight and have my energy back.  I plan on using this blog to track my progress. 

Thanks for reading!

My four beauties that I wouldn't trade for a perfect body.