Today's Workout
45 minutes tempo run (2 min. w/ 2 min. recovery) PM - 3.24 miles

Well, that didn't suck.

I'm still dreadfully slow, but that's okay. I am making progress and, while still slow, I'm faster than I imagined I could be this time last year. Huge improvements in endurance are evident also.

It's about freakin' time, folks. I guess the consistency thing really does pay off.

Speaking of consistency, Sandra has suggested that the two of us begin running at lunch twice a week. That means that instead of my evening run, I'll be getting in 30 minutes during the day. I might still be able to add a bit at night, but I don't want to overdo it. It will be nice to have someone to run with again, and Sandra is great company. It won't hurt that I'll actually be OUTDOORS running, which I desperately need practice in doing. I love my treadmill, but it's not the real thing, ya know?

In talking with another fitness/nutrition specialist (btw, I do still <3 Trainer Lisa but a girl's gotta tap all the resources she can!), he commented that this business about doing the right things to lose the weight and improve fitness (i.e., consistent yet varied cardio + resistance training + clean eating) is much like buying a new car. I know what the cost of fitness is. Do I want to pay that price in order to obtain the body I know I can have again?

Do I?

This has definitely triggered some new (and a resurgence of old) thoughts for me. I have some decisions to make and they're the same ones I've wrestled with making a million times over the past 4 years.

Either I accept myself at this size and this sub-par level of fitness and continue with the unhealthy eating and sporadic exercise, or I suck it up and make a change. If I don't do it now, I'll just have to revisit this decision later. Hell, even if I do it now, I'll still have to revisit it again and again in order to keep the motivation.

Tonight's run (again on the treadmill) was excellent! I set the Nike+ to prompt me through a 5k and off I went. 36:53 later, I had completed 5.03km! Consider the .03km the time it took me to figure out how to undo the hold thingie and turn the Nano off.

I'd imagine that if you're just reading this blog and have never seen a picture of me, you might consider me blonde. That's okay. I can live with that.

I realize my time is still really slow, especially considering it was run inside, but the big win here is that I ran the entire thing. NO WALKING BREAKS. For me, and considering I'm still about 40lbs overweight, that's huge! It's even got me thinking that maybe, just maybe, I could do the half-marathon this year. Maybe with some well-timed walking breaks, I could do it in a reasonable period of time. Sure, I know I can take an idea in its infancy and run miles with it! That's part of my appeal! Well, that and the fact that I pretty much just talk to myself on this blog.

I'm still in the headspace that's content with being a slow runner. I don't expect that to change, and I'm good with it. What I would like to see change is for my distances to increase. I want to see big increases ~ not all at once, of course, but sooner rather than later. I know I should set goals, sign up for events, etc. That thought still paralyzes me and I think I do better, for now, in not doing that. I must be having serious commitment-phobia or something.

On an entirely different note, the team I am facilitating on LeannessLifestyle for 6 weeks is beginning a challenge with another team tomorrow. The challenge is for each participant to eat 4 cups of vegetables per day. In order to score maximum daily points, each veggie must be of a different color. By the end of the week, each person should have eaten 10 different veggies and they'll get a bonus if they have.

Sounds like fun?? Sounds like a way to trick ourselves into eating more veggies? To me, it sounds like a step in the right direction. Onward and (hopefully) downward on the scales!

And about challenges, I'm in a 20-miles per month challenge for August through Nike+. I'll hook up a link somewhere once I figure out if there's one I can actually share. It seemed like an easy enough one to begin with, and one which I can't find an excuse for not doing.

To all my Minnesota friends out there, I hope you are safe. To those I don't know who were affected by the tragedy this evening, I wish the very best for you and will keep you all in my prayers.