Yo yo!

Happy Friday, all! The weather has made a fabulous turn towards fall and life is good. I don't feel like I'm going to immediately keel over from heat stroke from walking outside! Hooray!

We're even eating outside tonight. (assuming the mosquitos don't try to suck us dry...)

I like to do updates on Fridays, so here ya go...

Weightloss: not much progress, but I was sick last week and really, really hungry. I guess my body needed some extra calories to get better, so I'm cool with it.

Running: I've signed up for an Oct. 1 10k and a Thanksgiving 5k. Half Marathon in March?

Gymming: I joined the YMCA at the suggestion of Alisha. She has enjoyed it there. I liked Planet Fitness fine, but there are no classes, and they upped my membership to $20 which was too much for what it was. The Y is further away, but I can shower there before work and there is a pool. There are also TONS of classes. I'm hoping to incorporate yoga after our Saturday runs.

Eating: Well, with the exception of the pizza I had for lunch today (it was a work party!) it's going great! We ate in most nights this week and I've been taking my lunch. Also, hooray for chobani and Kashi go lean crunch. Regan's been telling me it was a "party in your mouth" and she's right.

Kittens: ARE ADORABLE. My life is like one giant cuddle puddle. I'd upload a picture, but something's not working right with blogger and I'm too lazy to picture. Next time. Promise.

NCRC run group: THEY ARE AWESOME. Group C rocked out some 4:1 intervals yesterday and killed 3 miles. Race preview for them tomorrow - looking forward to it!

Off to get dinner ready! Happy weekend all!

Sarah

Reset progress...

Well, it's been 2 weeks since I "started over," and it's working! I'm down 2 pounds - a considerably larger weight loss than I've had since May. Being vigilant, going into the weekends with a plan, running a little more, and weight lifting seem to be working. Labor day will be a good test - can I stay on track? I'll be heading to the River armed with fruit, carrots, and greek yogurt.

Speaking of the River, we are fortunate that it fared pretty well during the storm. We went down Sunday to assess the damage and start the clean up.

Here's a before shot.

Those are big granite rocks that washed up onto the shore, and a big branch fell on my mom's swing. Lots of overwash, but hey, we were seriously lucky.



And, we got it all cleaned up! (at least the front yards!) Here's an after shot...

There was a lot of raking involved and some serious chainsaw action. We worked really hard for about 6 hours and felt great about our progress. We also heard that whole houses were lost down the way. We got lucky. Really, really, lucky.

Running group continues to go well - I do so love hanging out with my ladies. If only there were job called "professional encourager." I love this stuff! My favorite part is dropping back with the folks that are struggling and getting them to keep up with their intervals - even if we go very slowly. I remember when folks did that for me last year - it made all the difference. That probably was about half of the reason that I kept going.

My next race is a 10k with Alisha. I haven't run more than about 4 miles since the half-marathon, so we're going to start training on the weekends. I imagine we'll get up to about 7 miles. The race is Oct. 1, so we've got some time.

I don't think I'll do a fall half-marathon. Frankly, I don't have the time to devote to training right now. I'm thinking I'll do American Tobacco or Wrightsville Beach in early-spring.

Hope everyone fared well during the hurricane! Let's hope they stay far off the coast the rest of the year...

Sarah

I remember...

That just a year ago I could barely run two miles.

How hard running for 2 minutes straight was.

That volunteers saved my run more than once.

That I started from scratch, and didn't think I could do it. (And with the exception of some awesome volunteers and my husband, neither did anyone else)

And this year, I hope I don't sound crazy telling the ladies in the NCRC program how far you can go even when you don't know you want to. Trust me, last summer, I didn't even know I wanted to run a half-marathon. It's pretty wild to look back on.

This year, as a volunteer, I have a totally different perspective. This year, I'm the expert. People ask me questions and, as it turns out, I usually know the answer.

Best socks? Smart Wool PhD. If I could wear them to work, I would.
How's my time? Awesome. Get off it. You're running. That makes you awesome.
Am I going too slow? Seriously. You're fine. You're awesome.
What if Zombies are the fast, chase you down kind? Well, then we're all screwed. Hope for the slow, moaning types.
Why am I not losing weight? Because you're probably overcompensating by eating more. No biggie. Fuel your body, learn to run, then work on weight later. For reference, you burn about 100 calories/mile - I wish I could tell you it was more!
Where do I get an awesome headband like that? Stay tuned. I've been known to get crafty.
Does it get easier? Not really, because once you get into it, you'll spend a lot of time challenging yourself, so you're always working on the next thing - next race, better time, further distance, whatever. But, that's OK.
How can you have so much energy? I run. Which means I sleep really well, and the running really helps my stress level. You'll get there.
How do you stay motivated? For me, blogging helped. Also, telling everyone I know. And my family is amazing. Besides, there was this whole, "I didn't think I could do it, but I'm stubborn, so damn it, I'm going to" thing.

So, to my ladies out there, you're killing it. You are doing an AMAZING job. I hope you are as proud of yourselves as we are of you. We've literally been there - and recently. If you stick with this, and continue to challenge yourself, running can open all kinds of doors to challenges you don't even know you want to do.

Sarah

Reset!

Today I reset my weight watchers tracker. My current weight is now my "starting weight."

I'm trying to look at this as starting over. Being more vigilant about weighing and measuring food. Being honest about what I'm eating (hello - coffee creamer counts!) and how I'm tracking it. And trying hard not to go ape on the weekends. I'm going to take new measurements (something I wish I'd done the first time around.)

My next goal weight is 153. If I get here, I'll be beneath the "obese" line. For the first time in a while.

My final goal weight is 125. That's a long way away, and it will probably take a while. But, when I get there, I'll be at a "normal" weight. Not overweight. For the first time, well, ever.

So, here's to a fresh start. Here's to starting over, but not starting from scratch. I have the tools, support, and knowledge to kill this. So, I'm gonna.

Sarah

oh, hai!

I've whined about board meetings here before - well last week we had another one. It feels like they're every other week! And, my godfather passed away last week so we had the funeral on Monday. Plus, we had the Association of Fundraising Professionals conference and my boss' new assistant started Friday!

So. I'm taking today off.

Tomorrow, too.

Because I need a nap!

I ignored weight watchers last week pretty much, but I did say "no" to some easily accessible goodies, so it was still a WIN in my book. I hit the gym pretty hard Friday and Sunday, so I think I got a little boost - hopefully Wednesday's weigh in won't be so bad.

Also, we got another kitten this weekend! This is Lucy! Not a great picture, but she doesn't sit still very long. Wheezy is still a little bit unsure, but in the grand scheme of things, they've been pretty chill around each other. Where Wheezy is on wide open ALL THE TIME, Lucy LOVES to snuggle. It's a fun balance if you ask me!

The beginners group is still doing really well - they are up to 2:30/1 intervals and 2.5 miles. This morning, the ladies in group C killed it! (Bonus that it was 66 degrees - the coolest it has been in a while!)

I've got some pain in the side of my foot - same I had during half-marathon training. I'm probably going to see a doc just in case. It could be nothing, or it could be something. Who knows. It took a few weeks after the half for it to feel better, so I'd rather learn how to prevent it from happening than to keep having to rest. (which is irritating! I probably shouldn't have gone today, but I'm stubborn!)

Off to play with kitties!
Sarah

Oh weekends.

Y'all. I'm totally struggling on the weekends. Using up all of my weekly points in 2-3 days. UGH. Going crazy. During the week, I do so well, and then BAM. Hello Friday Funday. And Saturday Funday. And Sunday Funday.

We end up out with friends, and even though I make pretty good choices (I mean, for restaurants), I still end up eating WAY more than I would on a normal day. Also, drinking doesn't help. Not necessarily because of the calories, but because then I don't have any willpower, and want food!

(But in the summer, what is better than sangria? What, I ask you???)

(OK, maybe ice cream.)

(or beer.)

Anyways. I need some strategies, STAT for getting through these fun-filled, "special occasion" weekends.

Sarah

Stressssssss

So, running, and working out, and eating well has really helped my stress level. And attitude in general. It takes a lot to upset me.

But gang, I'm barely hanging on at work this week.

I have a cool job. A great job, actually. I get to raise money and do marketing for a nonprofit that, well, helps other nonprofits. We have 1,540 nonprofit Members all over NC and we do training and have resources to help them run more efficiently. I get to hang out with people who are extremely passionate and, quite literally, saving the world.

But my job has gotten a little bit big of late. I just can't seem to get ahead of the workload. Or keep my head above water. So much so that on Tuesday morning I was so stressed out, I woke up at 5 am and went downstairs to do work rather than lay in bed worrying about it.

I worked for about an hour and then hit the streets for a run. I did feel better, but not exactly relaxed.

Let me say that if I was having the same problem at work a year ago, I would have been borderline inconsolable. I would have been extremely angry about the whole thing. Like, almost offended that I was overwhelmed.

So, at least I'm not there. I think my husband is glad I'm not in that place, too.

I am thankful that I have a physical outlet for my stress now. It makes things much more reasonable.

OH and let me mention, if you want an instant endorphin rush, start weight-lifting. I always feel AWESOME afterwards.

Anywhoo, I'm not one to whine about work since I do genuinely love my job. But, since I've been seriously mellow for about a year, it's a bit of a strange feeling to be this wound up. Maybe I should up the mileage? Ok, might have to wait until it's not 102 degrees for that one...

Sarah