So on Saturday I ran my first 5k, the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure, and I had a blast!  There were so many things that I learned and noticed that I really did not expect.  The experience was so new and so different for me, that I almost felt like a kid running around with that child-like wonder. 

Let me start out by saying that there was a ton of people there.  The website states that there were at least 23,700 people registered participants but they don’t have the official numbers yet.  A LOT OF PEOPLE.  Very cool.  So it took me awhile to get up to the starting line because there were so many people packed in waiting for the race to start.  It actually started before I made it up there! 

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So last night Hubby, Aly, and myself went out to the mall where they were having packet/t-shirt pick-ups for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.  Wow, did I feel cool walking into the mall for that reason!  I was so excited to get my shirt and my cool number to pin on my shirt while I run!  I get to wear a number!!!  I will really look like a runner now!  (Okay so they give them to walkers to but hey, don’t burst my bubble!) 

The race I am in, the Open Recreational 5k, is set to start tomorrow morning at 9:00am.  Apparently there is supposed to be 30,000 people there in the morning and we will all be taking shuttles from the RBC Center over to Meredith College, where the festivities are.  That will be interesting!

I am drinking plenty of water today to prepare for running in the heat.  Earlier this week I was able to run the complete 5k on my treadmill without any problems.  It felt great!  So my goal for tomorrow is to run the whole thing.  I am not so much concerned with the time at this point as I am with just running the whole distance. 

I will make sure to post pictures tomorrow after we get back!  I’ve asked Hubby to make sure he gets some shots of me actually crossing the finish line. 

I can’t believe it’s finally here!

Okay, now I know this is for real.  Check this out:  This morning on the treadmill, I ran for 21 straight minutes!  Unbelievable!  Crazy stuff going on here!  And the really amazing part is that I’m not sore or tired.  I feel invigorated!  Although as soon as I dropped to a walk after the 21 minutes, I started walking crooked for a second.  Not sure what that was all about!  Probably delirious excitement.  It translated to 1.75 miles.  WOW!

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Each week I allow myself one splurge.  I call it my “treat”.  My diet has always included a treat because I feel it is very important to still act like a human being while on a diet.  Seriously, I think that sometimes people cut out so much so fast and they lose it all so quickly that they forget that it’s not just a diet that we are on, but that it’s a lifestyle change.  I’m not knocking their strategies for losing weight but this is how I have to look at my own journey.  I found this article that helps explain this theory and why it’s important not to cut everything out completely.  It also provides tips on successful splurging.

I’m not just in this to lose weight so I can wear the clothes I like and look cute.  Don’t get me wrong, that is a huge reward, but it’s not my motivation.  My goal is to be a healthy person and make my older years a little easier than they might have otherwise been.  I don’t want to learn how to cut out all my favorite foods only to never have them again; I want to learn moderation.  My other goal is to teach my daughter how to live a healthy lifestyle through mine and my husband’s actions, not just our words.  I want her to grow up eating healthy foods and being active, and our hope is that with a solid foundation, she would continue that on her own. 

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Something amazing happened yesterday on the treadmill.  I ran for 10 minutes straight!!!  As in non-stop, 10 solid minutes!!  This is an absolutely amazing feat for me on so many levels and for so many reasons.  The main reason being that I used to hate running with a passion. 

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The other day I was running on the treadmill and having a particularly difficult time keeping up with my routine.  Some days I feel like I can run forever, but there are other days (particularly those back-to-back cardio days) where I feel as though I am running in quicksand.  Do you know what I mean?  It’s those days where you have to fight the entire time you are working out and each minute can feel like an eternity.  Those are the days where it feels like giving up might just be the best way to go, right? 

Well, I was in the middle of one of THOSE days when it occurred to me.  This is what tough love is all about.  Think about it.  What are the things we tell our kids when we are practicing tough love (or perhaps you remember your own parents telling you)?  Here are some I could think of:

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The website I have chosen as the Useful Website of the Week is one that I have found to be incredibly informative and, well, useful!  The website for iVillage’s Healthy Living Program is what I am referring to.  This program is the most comprehensive online weight loss program I have found and the part that surprised me the most is that it’s FREE. 

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Those are words that used to make me cringe!  I’ve been high and low more times on the scale than Oprah… maybe.  I was always on the chubby side growing up and I could give a very detailed tale of each way I would lose weight and the reasons I would put it back on. 

Let me just put it like this:  I never lived a healthy lifestyle that included owning my body and being responsible for my choices. 

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