Life is Good

Monday: I was perfect on my diet. Although, who doesn't survive day one!?...it's every day after day one that the diet seems lame. I rocked "Pump It!" and a 3 mile run in the morning, and then did an hour of circuits in the afternoon when Wyatt was at "Kid Fit".

Tuesday: I survived the diet. I worked (at my paid job, lol) in the morning, so no workout for me then. And then in the evening, when I was about ready to leave for the gym to do my 4 mile run (and then an hour of Zumba), I looked at my calendar and realized that the distance of the run had increased yet again...I needed to run 5 miles before Zumba! :0( I remember early-on in my marathon training, that my girlfriend would want me to meet her at Zumba...and I would always tell her, that if it was a long run day (anything over 2 miles at that point) I wouldn't be able to go with her. But a lot has changed in 4 months...both in ability, and in confidence. I had successfully completed Zumba the 2 previous weeks, having just ran 4 miles, and so when I saw the 5 mile requirement, I cringed, but then said, "OK, lets do this!" My 5 mile run went great, but I was pretty spent afterward. When the Zumba music started, I was SO NOT feeling it. But I told myself that I couldn't leave during the first song. And then when the first song was over, I remembered how much I LOVED the second song. When the 3rd song came, I was BEAT, but I told myself to stay for just one more song. I told myself "to stay for just one more song" for the next 25 minutes! I was struggling. And then...the music DIED! There was technical difficulties with the stereo equipment, and while we stood there for about 30 seconds while the instructor fussed with the system, I decided that this was an answer to prayer, and I bailed! As I was leaving the gym, I could hear the music blaring again, and I just smiled. God is good to save me from myself. No more Zumba on Tuesday nights. :0(

Wednesday: I managed to stay on my diet...3 days straight baby! We had our MOPS leadership meeting that morning, so luckily I wasn't faced with our typical MOPS Breakfast Buffet...however, at our leadership meetings, there always seems to be a little something to snack on. Its been 5 days, and I can still remember the beautiful slices of Strawberry Shortcake Loaf Cake that I did not touch...but could smell...but again, did not touch. Wednesdays are my rest days from the run, but before our night at Awana, I squeezed in an hour of cardio at the gym.

Thursday: I survived the diet for a 4th straight day! I even had a sugar cookie order due, and I didn't touch any part of it...the dough...extra cookies...the frosting...ZERO! :0) I didn't have time to workout in the morning, but in the evening, I did my 3 mile run, and then had a great Zumba workout right after that. Here are the cookies I worked on...







Idea for Father's Day???...



Friday: When I weighed myself on Friday morning, I had lost a total of 8.5 pounds since Monday's weigh-in...pretty exciting! Too bad I wasn't perfect on my diet this day. :0( I was great ALL DAY until dinner. I did crazy-Friday-Bootcamp-Style-"Pump It!", and a half hour of cardio in the morning. But this was the day of the Brumbaugh-Edwards Sleepover Swap! After I had picked up Zachary from Escondido in the late afternoon/early evening, traffic was a nightmare on the I-15. We had to pull off the road for a toddler potty stop at Jack in the Box, and the kids asked if they could eat dinner there too. Eh, why not? I completely forgot that I wasn't supposed to eat fast food (HONESTLY!), and I ate dinner with the kids. HOWEVER, I was still calorie conscious, and I ordered this snack wrap thing that was INCREDIBLE for like 300 calories. After I took 2 bites, I remembered that I wasn't supposed to be eating fast food...AT ALL! :0( The right thing to do would have been to stop eating it. But I didn't. I finished my food...and the remaining fries that the kids didn't eat. I suck. And then, when we fiiiiiiinally got home, after a couple of hours, my mom came over for a visit and she suggested we take the little ones out for ice cream! I had a sundae. I told you...I suck.





Saturday: I was SOOOO excited for Saturday! This was the day of our big run! Jenni drove down to my house at 7:45am...she took Zacky with her, and I got my Wyatt back. :0) Even though we were no longer together, Jenni & I had the same mission...10 Miles baby!!! Instead of running on the treadmill this week, the weather had been GORGEOUS, and I decided to do the loop around my house. It's a 3 mile loop...so I did it 3 times, and then did the smaller 1 mile loop around our neighborhood also. I felt AMAZINGLY STRONG! I ran the ENTIRE 10 miles non-stop...steep hills and all! It took me exactly 1 hour and 45 minutes, and I spent that 1 hour and 45 minutes rocking out to Taylor Swift, and praying 2 continuous prayers...1. "Lord, PLEASE help me do this!"...2. "Lord, you are an AWESOME God! I'm doing this!!!" I was a bit sore after the run, BUT this 10 miles gave me the confidence I needed for the upcoming 1/2 Marathon in less than a week! I am stoked!

Here is a goofy picture Jenni took of me before the run...



One of my favorite parts about these long runs....CARB LOADING! When the runs get even longer, we will need to carb-load for days in advance. But on Saturday morning, I enjoyed a big bowl of Frosted Flakes...DE-LISH! After the run, I continued my carbohydrate in-take by eating a savory sub sandwich at Subway...the Pepperoni Meatball Sub...amazing!

Sunday: I wasn't as sore as I expected...in fact, barely at all. Unfortunately, I wasn't good on my diet on this day either. :0( After church I continued my carb loading (obviously it was no longer necessary, LOL!) and I made our family a delicious chocolate chip pancake breakfast with eggs and sausage too! After eating, I spent most of the day doing my next favorite thing...SHOPPING! I cashed in on a $50 "Groupon" I had to a running store in La Mesa, and then I did some online shopping at Road Runner Sports...it turns out that I couldn't pay for my items online becuase about half of my funds were via gift cards from my birthday...but that made today (Monday) fun too...I got to pick-up and try on all of my new purchases in the store! My purchase included 2 heavy duty sports bras, 4 pairs of special running socks, 1 pair of special running underwear (let the jokes begin...but seriously, for $20 these babies better do amazing things!), a pair of running pants (SOOOOO excited about these!!! They look and feel incredible!), 2 running tank-tops, 1 running T-shirt, a stick of "Body Glide", 5 packs of GU (it's glucose gel/jelly that you consume during your long runs...it gives you energy and repairs the glucose that is depleted from your muscles during the long runs...I will need to purchase more, but I wanted to try these flavors before I bought the GU in bulk. Regardless, I have been told they are nasty, but necessary), and FINALLY, I purchased my final pair of running shoes for this journey (I don't need them yet, but they were on sale, so I picked them up now)! I can't believe the marathon is literally 3 months away!!!

After all is said and done...I am down 2 pounds for the week. Not terrible, but it could have been SO.MUCH.MORE.