Hello all!  I'm checking in again, and I'm happy to report that I finished up Week 3 on Thursday!  It was my best run to date, and I think it was because I had a partner.  My nine year-old son came with me.  He was too funny, and he told me he was going to be my partner fulltime.  He said, "Mom, I'm going to help you succeed and reach your goal!"  How sweet is that!?!

I haven't noticed any big changes on the scale since I started this program, but I have noticed a definite difference in my clothes.  In fact, a fellow teacher yesterday told me that my pants were looking too big.  Whoot!  I also took measurements this week, so I could track progress that I might not see on the scale.  I can't help it, I still like numbers. 

I also started keeping an online food journal this week, which has been a REAL eye-opener.  I realized I wasn't eating enough calories each day.  I would have never guessed that!  I knew I wasn't eating poorly, with the exception of our weekly trip to our favorite Mexican restaurant.  However, everything else is not bad.  Now I am more aware of what I'm doing, and I think that will help a great deal in my weight loss.

I did have minor(hopefully) setback.  My right knee was starting to bother me a bit while I was sitting in a meeting yesterday.  I found it weird, since it wasn't an issue during my run or afterwards.  So, I went to our trainer (I teach at a high school, and we have sports trainers), and I got some ice.  I have continued putting ice on it all day and night yesterday, and it feels pretty good today.  Whoot!  I hope it's good for me to start Week 4 on Sunday.

So, I've had a lot of positives this week and one minor setback.  However, I look forward to continuing this journey.  This forum has been fantastic, because reading everyone else's journey reminds me that I can do this too.  I love to see all this progress!!

Yea! I finished my 5K race.  The day started just as forecast: 44, breezy, drizzles.  I was really worried about what to wear because it JUST got cold, and I did not get a chance to train in cold to see what works. Plus I could feel a cold coming on. So I wore my normal running gear under a grey-with-pink-trim jog suit. Just before the start, I took off the pants, and just wore the jacket. This was our regional breast cancer run - the largest event in N. Alabama. A record 4500 participated, 2400 men and 2100 women, to run and walk the 5K event.  There were 169 teams there, with many "interesting" t-shirts.

I started the race 2/3rds of the way back because I knew I'd be passed by many.  I started off at a good pace, but it is amazing how slow you feel when so many people pass you, including faster walkers. After a quarter mile, I removed my jacket, & tied it to my waist. I kept chugging along, up slope and down, and I was really surprized to pass the 1 mile marker at 16:00 mins - I've never done that before.  But on the next incline (not really a "hill") I walked for 1 min, and started up again.  After that I gave myself permission to walk for one minute if I had run at least 4 minutes, if I had to, and then only on inclines. I passed 2 miles at 33:20, and had a hill and and 2 inclines left to go.  I did what I had to, to get thru those, and by then, it was a light rain.  But it was at least 1/2 mi of decline to the finish, so I alternated strong pace with recovery, and a sprint at the end.  Finish time, including 8 mins of walking: 51:48 (by my watch).  I placed 1500 out of 2100 women. (Yea! not last!)

Now I'm going to bundle up with a snuggy, a hot cup of soup and a book, and baby myself to fight of the chest cold that seems to be coming on, & not helped by the race conditions. Like it or not, I'm calling this W6D3.

Welcome pureredwhiteblue!! Great reasons to be here!  I tried to watch your video and no sound!

And me and my husband are New England Patriots fans even though we live in southern Indiana which are all Peyton Manning Indy fans.

HEY EVERYBODY!!!

I'm back with a vengence!! Leg is doin' much better finally!! It took about 9 days to get back. Grrrhhh.... I was soooo bummed about being sidelined for a whole week that I pigged out on food and started feeling sorry for myself.... and then, I was like " F this, I've worked too hard". I'm still a week behind, but whatever, I need to get over it. So I'm in San Francisco right now keeping mom company on business. Business is a fancy word for her high school reunion by the way.

Anyway, so I picked up where I left off on W5D2 last nite... and I was soooo nervous. I thought oh great I'm gonna be stuggling and I gotta do 8 mins this time!!  And then 20 mins straight the next! Oh brother! I must have had uber God given energy bcuz I did the little warm up walk for 5 mins and then ran for 21 minutes straight!!! I just didnt wanna quit after 8 mins! I kept runnin' like Forrest Gump! And then today I finished W5D3. But today was a lil different... I couldnt wait to get off that treadmill! Even with the view of the bay in front of me!

So long story short - HOORAY ME!

Happy Running!!

P.S.- WHERE'S CARRIE??? I think I'm going send the Royal Mounties after her!!

Ovenfried, that's really tough situation, but I think it's perfectly within your rights to say that he should stand downwind and make sure the smoke isn't going into your breathing space while you're cooling down from a run. (Actually I think that's reasonable for ANY time, but especially relevant to exercising and all that deep breathing).

In my neighborhood there's a certain outdoor bar I have to avoid when I'm out there; the smoke is just too much for breathing. Usually I just choose the other crosswalk and corner.