Sunday, July 14, 2013

PROGRESS!!!! And 'Rest' Day?

Happy Ready-For-The-Race Face!

 Finishing face!
Yesterday I ran my first 5k in 2 years, and my first color run ever. It was fun, but I'm not sure if I'd do a color run again. I liked the fact that every mile they had a color station, but I think I would rather have run through paint than the colored powder they throw on you. Chalking powder and breathing in order to run really don't go well together. So that took a while to get used to BUT I made it! And I made great time! 34minutes! A new personal record (could have probably shaved 2 minutes off, if I hadn't been stuck walking due to people jams in the beginning too). I couldn't believe it when I looked at my timer.


BUT I was VERY happy with my time! It just goes to show that all that training is paying off (in ways that don't involve shoving around heavy bags of river rocks).

Today is my "rest day" from working out. However, 'rest' is very loosely defined around this house. The dogs let me get about 7 hours of sleep (disturbed by My Sailor leaving around 4:30am - he got to 'sleep in' too).  Then it was up early, cranking some classical Disney music while I did dishes and made Protein Pumpkin Pancakes for breakfast (delicious!) and sat down with a cup of tea for a few minutes to edit the pictures before I start the day. What's on the to-do list today? Housework (dusting vaccuming - a daily thing with Odin shedding, laundry, dishes, bathroom cleaning), yard work (namely poop scooping, lawn mowing, weed killing, mulch and stone laying in the yard), and replacing the mail box pole again (which involves digging up the 10lbs of concrete I laid earlier this week, removing the mail box from the pole, attaching it to a new, adequately high pole, and laying concrete again to get said pole in the ground while using rocks for added reinforcement). Needless to say I've got my 'rest' day work cut out for me. Sometimes, I'm grateful for the long hours of summertime sunshine up here. I can work outdoors until 8 or 9pm before the light starts to give out.

I decided today would be a good day to take some new progress pictures. I can feel the progress I've been making, but sometimes it's not that easy to see changes when you look at yourself in the mirror every day.

My self-esteem used to live and die by the scale and my clothing size. Even when I was at my lightest, I still was a size 14/16 in most pants - the same size I am now. They just fit a little better/differently depending on my size. It takes a LONG time for me to really change clothing sizes. I was going to use a tape measure to measure my progress, but I realized with weight lifting, that's probably not a great measurement. In some places, I could be 'bigger', but that could just mean 'stronger' not flabbier.

These photos are proving incredibly helpful in gauging my progress in a visual way. (Of course, the thicker weights on the end of my bar when I lift is an excellent gauge too.) The fact that I've gone this long without illness or injury is pretty awesome, and I'm inclined to believe that it means I'm hitting the right balance of training, sleeping, and working. Not to mention, the stress relief from working out hard has become an essential part of my life now.

Here's the crazy thing - as you look at these, remember, I'm actually 5-7lbs HEAVIER on average now than I was in December.

So, without further ado, here they are!

December, March, May, and July

December, March, May, July     


















2 comments:

  1. You're doing great! Your back and shoulders are looking especially toned. Keep it up lady! :)

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  2. wow girly! You have come a long way on the inside and out. I admire your strength and how no matter what you continue to surpass your goals!

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