To say I'm exhausted would be an understatement, but I'm also still basking in the awesomeness of the last few weeks... specifically the MO Cowbell Half Marathon that I completed on October 4th. Surprisingly, this was actually not my first half marathon. Back in October of 2010, I ran/walked the Nike Women's Half Marathon as part of the Team in Training program where I trained with a group of people for eight weeks while also raising $2100 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
The difference between the last one and this one is astounding, really. Back in 2010, I was looking for something extreme that would catapult me into losing weight. I found Team in Training and decided training for a half marathon would totally result in just that, getting skinny! Man, was I wrong. I didn't train as much as I should have for that race, but I did finish it with a time of 3 hours, 10 minutes and 30 seconds.
Ever since then I felt that I needed to redeem myself a little and actually run an entire half marathon. For some reason, in my head, it didn't feel like I really completed a half marathon because I walked a good portion of it. But when I started training several months early for the MO Cowbell, I again talked myself out of running the whole thing by thinking I needed to run/walk it because there was no way I could run 13.1 miles without walking. (I told myself.)
In early September, I got the urge to run one night and didn't stop until I ran seven miles straight. That night kind of changed things for me. I realized that if I just stopped saying I couldn't and started saying I probably could that I would come very close to reaching whatever goal I had in mind. My new goal was to run nine miles before we left for vacation. If I did that, I knew I would be able to run the entire half marathon. And you know what? I did! I ran the nine miles before vacation, ran a few times while on the West coast, and then on race day, I ran the entire 13.1 miles without walking. I have to admit, the last two miles of that race were the hardest and worst of my life, but I never would have forgiven myself had I stopped.
Official time: 2:39:18. That's almost six minutes better than my goal time and 31 minutes better than my first half!
You can see in these pictures that even though I "ran" a half marathon back in 2010, I was far from healthy and I went straight back to not running or working out at all after that. And while on the right, I am still not as healthy as I want to be, I am well on my way and happy with everything I've done to get here. I mean, I ran for 2 hours and 39 minutes straight, hello!
Non-Scale Victories:
I've mentioned before that I've had quite a few non-scale victories throughout this past year and a half... from comfortably riding all the rides at Six Flags to wearing clothes I haven't been able to fit into for years, I continue to surprise myself and get that revalidation that I am on the right track... even if the scale doesn't always reflect it.
One of the things I was most excited to do once I lost weight was to wear rompers... here's a picture of a slightly sexier romper than I usually wear that was perfect for our trip to Vegas. Another thing this picture shows and that I've realized this past year is that weight loss is slow.... like crawling slow.... but you know what? That time is going to pass anyway. It's up to me to make choices every day that will continue my progress... it's a continuous fight through plateaus, gains, and then finally down another pound. It's an ongoing battle, but one that I'm destined to win.
Another non-scale victory actually happened on vacation. Two years ago, when Spike and I went on our honeymoon to Riviera Maya, Mexico, I remember an extremely embarrassing moment on the plane when I realized that my seatbelt was almost not going to buckle. Seriously, one more inch and I would've had to ask for a seat belt extender (which I just learned about recently). I remember being mortified and hoped no one, including my husband, noticed how tight my seat belt was or that I took it off once we were up in the air.
I am happy to post the below picture from our flight a few weeks ago, where I obviously have no need for a seat belt extender with plenty of room to move and breathe. Losing weight has so many benefits, and I've realized that it allows me to travel a lot easier now, too!
More Progress & PRs:
While the Cardinals may have ended their season last night, there was one good thing that did happened... I PRd my mile by 54 seconds! My husband has been encouraging me now that my half marathon is over to start working on my mile time and pace. So we laced up our running shoes and decided to see where I am with my mile time and I was pleasantly surprised with my progress.
Last Attempted Mile Time: 9:37
New Mile Time: 8:43.
New Mile Goal: Sub-eight minutes
I am also very close to meeting my other fitness goals for the year. I have officially ran 300 miles so far and completed 155 WODs at the gym. That means I have 100 miles and 45 WODs to get in over the next 2.5 months. I'd say it's going to happen!
As far as weightloss goals, I kind of stopped worrying about it. I do keep my eye on the scale and am almost back down to onederland again, which I'm so ready to be there and never see the 200s again (unless it happens during a pregnancy). But I will for sure post some new transformation pictures once I get to 190lbs. And with my husband cooking my healthy meals and joining me on my runs, I'm hopeful that will happen by the end of the year!
Here are some more progress pictures to hold you over until my next big milestones are met. Thanks for checking in!
July 2013 versus September 2015: I still love to drink beer, but just do it a lot less often.
It's not just that I look and feel healthier, but now when I have a cheat meal or eat unhealthy (like on vacation), my body starts to crave healthy, paleoish meals and hard workouts.
My adorable niece was not impressed at my half marathon.
Thanks to Spike, Reggie, Chelcy and Brynlee for coming to cheer me on at the "Worst Parade Ever." Love you guys so much!
A couple face side-by-side pics exactly two years apart. I definitely not only look healthier, but I feel SO much better.
