Back to the Grind

Do you ever get off a day and it seems like it takes you multiples days (for me, weeks) to get back on track? That is what happened to me. Although I was more than happy to help my grandpa move a couple of weeks ago, not having that time set aside so I could work around it really threw me off from my blogging streak' however, I maintained my running and eating which is what is really important (if I'm being honest.)

Here are a few highlights from the past couple of weeks that I have been silent..

STUTZMAN BIGGEST LOSER

On Sunday, July 7th, my family gathered for the results of our biggest loser competition. Some of my family I had not seen since Easter so their loss was noticeable. I did my best but wasn't able to pull off the win. My uncle Dewayne came in first, followed by my uncle Terry, and I placed in third. Overall, I can't be disappointed in my performance because I am 25 pounds lighter than when we started! Here is a short video that my aunt put together.

RUNS

My average pace on my runs have decreased, which is exciting! Well, I guess more than exciting, it's unbelievable! I was running my long run on Saturday and when MapMyRun would say my split pace, I was shocked. I was holding a pace that I would have never imagined I could do for one mile, let alone for 6 miles. It just goes to show that hard work and dedication does pay off.

 

Training Plan

I am still making changes to my running plan as I need to. Because I have been feeling stronger and that I need less time to recover, I have added a an additional day of running during the week. Additionally, I am still going to use my split timer for my run/walk but am only going to use the walk time if it is absolutely necessary. I figure, if I can run 6 miles and walk less than 2 minutes of it, I really don't need to be walking 4 minutes on short runs. Here is this weeks plan:

Week 8Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday

• 3 minute warm up
• 3 minute run x .5 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 7/20 - 6 miles
HEALTHY SURPRISE

I had placed my Healthy Surprise box in my pantry and kind of forgot about it. I figured I needed to start eating some as my next box will be arriving soon. Here are some of the treats I've tried:

Sesame Ginger Journey Bar: It wasn't like a flavor explosion in your mouth but it was still good. I would eat another one. It was 200 calories with 7 grams of protein. It is all natural, gluten free, non-gmo, soy-free, and vegan. They have other flavors and I would really like to try the Pizza Marinara. You can buy them online through the website and it breaks down to $2/bar. Not shabby!

Mango, Pear, Pineapple Fruit.0: Although the flavor was good, it was like eating baby food... or drinking a warm smoothie. It may have tasted better if it were cold but I'm not sure. If I get another one in a box, I will have to try it that way. It was 100 calories for the whole pack and you can purchase them online from their site. Cost breaks down to $2.50 a pouch. Maybe a good snack to pack for kids..?

Apples + Cherries That's it Bar: I loved this bar. It was soft and chewy and filled with flavor! I hope I get another one in my next box! One bar is 100 calories and only contained apples and cherries. Seriously! They have three other kinds, Apples + Pears, Apples + Apricots, and Apples + Mangoes. If you would like to try them, you can try all 4 flavors for $6.99 ($1.75 a bar) by going here.

Home Free Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies: These crunchy, bite size cookies were delicious! They took care of the cravings for crunch and sweetness all in a 100 calorie pack! The bits of chocolate were surprising soft and creamy compared to the crunchy cookie. The 100 calorie packs go for $1.50 on their website. That's about the cost of a candy bar, only these are a bit healthier.

SunBiotics Original Almonds: They're almonds. You either like 'em or ya don't; however, I saw on their website that they have Cheesy Almonds which I would LOVE to try! I absolutely love cheese! I wasn't able to find a store locator or a place to purchase these through their site, so I'm not sure how you can try these or how I will get the cheesy flavor... I guess I'll just wait.



Running Perks and June Recap

SATURDAY

I woke up in the morning feeling like p diddy and had a tablespoon of Justin's Maple Almond Butter and a Pomegranate Blueberry Pistachio Kind Plus bar. This was my first time having a Kind bar and it was really good. I had this to eat because I planned on running about 30 minutes after...

...but the 30 minutes turned in to over an hour before I actually hit that pavement. Oops!

My phone recently had an update and ever since then the GPS has not been working properly. I was running along and hit the one mile spot waiting for MapMyRun to read my total time and distance.. and I waited... and I waited. I thought maybe I had forgot to start it, but when I looked at my phone it was only reading .70 miles. Ugh. Frustrating. But I continued and said I would just have to guess by the total time. These are the split times they gave me, none of which I am trusting because it obviously didn't take me almost 38 minutes to do two miles.

 

I did some stretching when I finished and then found this weird gross thing on my shirt. I wonder how long he was along for the ride.

I hopped on MapMyRun.com to fix the map as best as I could to see what my total distance was. I planned to do 5 and ended up doing 5.45 with an average pace of about 11 minutes/mile. I guess that just means that I will have to do 5.5 or 6 this coming weekend.

After I freshened up, I headed to IHOP for some delicious breakfast! Yes, I had bacon and waffles. My lovely aunt gave me some grief for posting this photo on Facebook but I explained to her that running has its perks. I ran over 5 miles and burned more than 800 calories, and the day was just getting started. The meal was about 660. It was probably less than that because I didn't get butter and I used sugar free syrup instead of regular. So, of you ran 5.45 miles, you could eat like this too! Well, technically anyone could have this but you can have it with less guilt if you ran first. Oh, and it is a fact All my running buddies know that we run so we can eat. :)

I then headed off to Tiffany Nails to get in the 4th of July spirit.

After the nail salon I headed to get my hair done. It was desperately in need of a cut but was talked in to just a trim as everyone said they liked my hair long, so long it stayed. I think I am going to chop it all off when I hit my goal weight but we will see.

When I got home from running around all afternoon, I was in the mood for something salty and crunchy. So I took a look into the Healthy Surprise box I received a few weeks ago and found some Sesame Dijon Zucchini Chips from Just Pure foods. These were really good and I was sad when the bag was gone! The whole bag is one serving for 170 calories and 5 grams of protein. I can handle that! But I just checked out their website and one bag is $7! Yikes! Not sure I will be buying more of these after all.

SUNDAY

I kicked off Sunday with a smoothie made of pineapple, orange, ginger, kale and protein powder and then headed out to see my friend Britni.

After spending some time with her I headed to the grocery store to get all the fixin's for the week. I didn't have that much on my list and ended up filling the cart (and my cupboards) with things that were not necessary like chips, protein and other healthy bars, zero calorie flavored waters. I guess I was a little hungry.

When I got home, and after everything was put in its place, I made breakfast for lunch. Just a couple of eggs seasoned with Mrs. Dash, an orange, and a half of an Ezekiel English Muffin with a Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb wedge.

I was getting ready to relax when I noticed I had a voicemail from my mom asking me to come help her, my dad and brother move my grandpa. So much for relaxing. It was up off the couch and ready to work.

When we got there we had to pack everything up and load it, take it to his new home and unpack it. We got the major things done first, the kitchen, bath, and bed rooms. I had to leave at 8:30 pm because I was exhausted and I had things to do to get ready for work on Monday.

JUNE RECAP

Question: What do you like to eat after a run or workout? Do you splurge every once in a while or stick to the diet?

Busy Bee

Yay! The weekend has arrived! Wow, this week has flown by and as you know I've been M.I.A. Sorry! I finished up training on Tuesday afternoon and I am back to working a real schedule and as you know I've been doing more cardio, trying to burn off as many calories as possible so I can win the weight loss competition.

I'm just going to do a quick summary of what I have had to eat these past few days along with what I've been doing to burn off those calories!

Breakfast

Tuesday: PlantFusion protein powder, banana, celery, romaine lettuce, water and mint smoothie.
Wednesday: Smoothie of strawberries, orange, spinach, coconut water, mint and protein powder.
Thursday: Pineapple, mango, cucumber, water, and mint with a scoop of PlantFusion protein powder.
Friday: Strawberry, mango, spinach, mint, water, and PlantFusion protein powder smoothie.

Lunch

Cauliflower, broccoli, ground chicken, Fountain of Heath Roasted Garlic Hummus and Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning. I have also made this with rice in it but left it out for a low-carb option.

Snacks

Tuesday: NutThins, cheese, with roasted garlic hummus.
Wednesday: Apple and cheese.
Thursday: Rice cake covered in Justin's Honey Peanut Butter with a banana.
Friday: Apple with Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.

Dinner

Tuesday: Veggie burger with a Thousand Island and red onion dressing, topped with mozzarella cheese and pineapple, served on a bed of spinach. Delicious!
Wednesday: Egg white omelet topped with red onions, mushrooms, bell pepper, and cheddar cheese.
Thursday: Cumin rubbed chicken breast served with a cucumber relish (cucumber, tomato, onion, garlic, lemon peel, and lemon juice), topped with a greek honey yogurt dressing served on a bed of spinach. Yum!
Friday: Honey BBQ salmon served with a blueberry-nectarine salsa (blueberries, nectarine, and oven roasted pecans). Holy Yum!! This was soooo good!

Activities
Tuesday: I had intended to go to spin class but on my way home I stopped by a friends house to see if she wanted to join me and we ended up talking right through it. Oh well, time with her is more important.

Wednesday:  I completed my run in the morning with an average pace of 10:41. After work I dashed off to spin class. I was, once again, the only person in the class. But that's ok with me. The instructor is super nice and she actually remembered my name, which really surprised me.

Thursday: Another morning run? Sure, why not?! I've been good about getting up and getting it done. But I have noticed that when I work out in the morning, I feel more hungry throughout the day. My run on Thursday had an average pace of 10:30.

My GPS got funky and all of a sudden decided that I could run like Dash from the Incredibles:

Friday: Rest Day!! I did go for a little walk with the pup to warm up my muscles so I could do some stretching but that was it.

Article
Although I have been doing my runs in the morning, they seem harder and I'm more willing to give in to walking. I was wondering what the difference was and like magic I ran across an article from Runners World. Here are a few of the tips they suggested that I'm going to have to try:

Give your blood sugar levels a little pick-me-up prior to running by eating half a banana, 6-8 ounces of juice or a toast and jam 15-20 minutes prior to your run.  Your body will tell you what it can handle and what it prefers.  It may mean waking up a few minutes earlier, but it will pay off because your mind will wake up and you will have plenty of energy to get you through your run. 

Walk for at least 5 minutes to properly warm your body up before you run.  It takes a little longer to warm up in the morning so start with an easy walking pace and gradually increase it to a brisk walking pace.  Walking for five minutes will make all the difference in allowing your body to more efficiently prepare for the transition to running. 

After the five minute walking warm up, run easy for 5-10 minutes.  Your body will reward you with a strong performance if you gradually bring it up to speed.  Like warming up a car in the winter, your body needs time to wake up, warm up and run!  You won't believe the difference!  If that doesn't help, alternate running for a minute or two and power walking for a minute before you hit your running tempo.  Run-walking works wonders in transitioning to running, especially in the morning.

It may mean waking up earlier (ugh!) but if it will improve my performance I'm game.

Question: Do you run in the morning? What are some things you do before you hit the pavement? Share with me in the comments below!

Running for a Cause

Hi everyone. I want to introduce you to someone that is very inspiring and is pretty special to me. Her name is Stephanie.

I met Stephanie in 2009 when I signed up to participate with Team in Training (TNT) to complete my very first mini-marathon. Signing up was was a big deal for me at the time as I was not athletic and I was definitely not a runner. (I actually hated to run and now it's more like a love-hate relationship.)

When you sign up for TNT they don't just set you free. They give you a coach (Shout out to Nathan!), a training plan, and a mentor to help you with anything you may need. I was blessed to have Stephanie as a mentor. She not only encouraged me in my running but was also there to help with my fundraising. I had thought about bailing not thinking I could finish or raise the funds, but she was right there to encourage and even help with whatever I needed. She helped me cross that first finish line.

2009 - Morning of the Indy Mini
Stephanie is on the far left in the black hat, Coach Nathan is opposite in a white hate.

I had such an amazing experience that I signed up with TNT in 2010 to run the Indy Mini, and again in 2011 to run a full marathon in San Diego.

2010 - Morning of the Indy Mini
Once again, Stephanie is on the far left in the black hat, to the right of her is my friend Erika and Coach Nathan.

2011 - At breakfast after a training run. We were more of a "I run to eat group"

Christine, Me, and Stephanie

2011 - Stephanie's going away party.
Erika, Stephanie, Me

Stephanie continues to inspire me with the drive and passion she has. Knowing her, she is inspiring others as I type. She is one of a kind. One of the nicest and most caring people I have ever met, and I am happy to call her my friend.

Stephanie's Story

My name is Stephanie. I’m a runner. I didn’t used to be a runner. I used to be a person who really didn’t do much of anything but walk once in a while. I used to be a person who liked to think of herself as being ‘athletic’, but really never got out and did anything.

Then I lost my oldest sister to cancer – Acute Myelogenous Leukemia… the one you really didn’t want to get because the survival rate was pretty slim. She was 42. She had a 13 year old girl and a 10 year old boy. She had a husband. She had two sisters, and a mom and a dad, and cousins and aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews. She was not perfect – who is? But she was pretty amazing. And in a 14 month time warp, we lost her. Just like that. I can safely say that we all pretty much miss her a LOT.

In the spring of 2008, when I got yet another postcard in the mail for Team in Training, a fundraising arm of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, I looked at the events being offered and realized one of them was in San Francisco (one of my sister’s favorite cities) and that this event was being held on what would have been her 50^th birthday (October 19, 2008.) I think I was getting a wake-up call from heaven to get off my butt and do something. I decided that maybe it was time. Time to stop making excuses:  of having babies and small children, of not enough time to train, of too much work to do, and “how in the world can I raise a few thousand dollars?”...pick a reason. So I signed up for the Nike Women’s Marathon. And if you’re going to go at all, you might as well go big. So I bypassed the half marathon and dove in to the full marathon – 26.2 miles. Me. The not-really-so-athletic person.

Do you know what I found out? Everyone can be an athlete. Not only did I train, and successfully (well, there were some unexpected knee issues along the way during that first race) complete a full marathon – and it did take me a while - but I realized that runners aren’t all tall, thin, muscular people. Along the course I ran with, I passed and I was passed by all shapes and sizes; fast and slow; wheezing and singing; joyous and pained; walkers and sprinters. And everyone celebrated everyone else for being out there and giving it a shot. And everyone celebrated the efforts being made by so many to help fund the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Five years later, I’m training for my seventh Team in Training event (one Olympic length triathlon, one 100 mile bike ride, and now six full marathons.) This will be my third Nike Women’s Marathon. I’m probably stronger and healthier than any time in my life (short of my kid-hood perhaps.) I’m 48. I’m six years older than my sister was when she died of blood cancer. I guess I owe it to her to make the best of it, and to continue the fight that she is no longer around to participate in.

I would like to raise at least $3000 this time around. What does this money fund? Why would you want to spend money on something you may have no connection to? Is it worth it?

Here are some stats:

THE POWER OF YOUR MONEY:

$1,000           supports one week’s salary for a medical researcher who may discover key information to developing curative treatments for blood cancers.

$500              allows 10 patients to log on to a web cast and hear the latest information in treatment for their disease.

$500               is the cost of a CT scan.

$200               provides a Family Support Group Program for one year for a patient and their family.

$150               allows 5 patients to make a First Connection with a trained peer volunteer.

$150               provides a blood cancer patient with financial assistance for one year.

$100               provides 3 patients access to an information teleconference.

$75                 is the average cost of tissue typing to become a bone marrow donor.

$40                 is the cost of sending a comprehensive packet of information for children with cancer.

$35                 pays for transportation expenses for a patient living in Northern California’s most rural areas to treatment at a comprehensive cancer center.

$25                 covers a single prescription co-payment.

$5                   is the cost of sending a newly diagnosed patient information about support and their disease.

And here’s the really cool stuff….did you know this?!

Targeted therapy RESEARCH
Discovering the molecular abnormalities that cause particular types of blood cancer has been useful in diagnosis and risk stratification, and as foci for new “targeted drug” development. LLS-funded investigators have helped advance molecularly targeted treatments that can selectively kill blood cancer cells versus normal cells. Many of these new treatments benefit not only blood cancer patients, but also patients with other diseases. For example:

Ø  Gleevec® was developed and FDA-approved for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), including children. It is now also approved for the treatment of patients with Philadelphia chromosome positive cases of acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), and for patients with a rare form of stomach cancer. Gleevec is being tested for patients with other cancers, including breast, nerve, brain, prostate, lung, thyroid and ovarian cancer, as well as mesothelioma and melanoma. Related, even more potent drugs, Sprycel® and Tasigna®, have now been approved for patients who do not benefit from Gleevec and are also being tested against a wide range of cancers.

Ø  Rituxan® was the first FDA-approved, anti-cancer antibody drug, developed for patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), including diffuse large B-cell and follicular B-cell lymphoma. Rituxan is now used to treat patients with many forms of lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), ALL and myeloma. It is also approved for treating patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis, and being studied as a treatment for other types of autoimmune diseases and cancers, and for chronic graft-versus-host disease, a serious long-term complication of bone marrow / stem cell transplantation.

Ø  Velcade®, Thalidomid® and Revlimid® were developed and FDA-approved for patients with myeloma and are also helping patients with some forms of Hodgkin and NHL. One or more of these drugs are now being tested for patients with CLL, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and ALL, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), colorectal, head-and-neck, kidney, thyroid, liver, lung, pancreatic and prostate cancers.

Ø  Dacogen® and Vidaza® are revolutionary new drugs that target small chemical, “epigenetic” additions on cancer-associated genes. These drugs are approved for MDS patients, can be safely used even in the frailest patients, and are also being developed for patients with ALL, AML, CML, CLL, and NHL, as well as for patients with kidney, colorectal, thyroid, head and neck, lung, prostate and ovarian cancers, other advanced solid tumors  and melanoma.

So you are not just helping blood cancer patients and researchers. You might be helping any number of patients with any number of diseases by funding ground breaking research. It might be one of your own relatives that you are helping. It might be yourself. It might be someone you don’t even know.

So help out. Get off the couch. Make a donation. Get involved. Do it because you have a personal connection. Do it before you have a personal connection. Become an athlete. I did.

If you would like to help Stephanie meet her goal or give to a great cause, please go to her Team in Training website and consider donating. No donation is too small. 

Additionally, if you were touched by her story, please consider sharing this post with your friends and/or family. Thank you all so much!

How Much is Too Much?

Week 5 Plan
Run/Walk: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday

• 2 minute warm up
• 2 minute run x 1 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 2 minute cool down

Saturday 6/29 - 5 miles

I am in the home stretch of the Stutzman Biggest Loser - a family competition to see who can lose the highest percentage of weight. I am currently in first but have some tough competitors on my behind. So I'm really watching what I eat and ramping up some non-impact exercise classes that will include spin and my first pilates class. I've never done pilates before so I'm not sure what to expect.

On this note, I was talking to a friend and telling her how much I plan to work out over the next 8 days - the final weigh in will be July 3. Which prompted a question. No, it's not if I am crazy because I already know that I am. The question was: how much is too much when it comes to cardio?

Speaking of cardio... I was a good girl yesterday and woke up early so I could beat the heat and get my run in. While I was getting ready I munched on a Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin protein bar. I only ate half of it before my run as I just needed a little something to eat since I wasn't going to be gone for more than 30 minutes.

 

The run felt a little rough as I was having some pain in my knee and hip. But I pushed through it and made it to the end.

I did some stretches when I got back and then packed my lunch and made breakfast so I could leave the compression socks on for a little while longer. Breakfast consisted of blueberries, strawberries, spinach, mint, coconut water and PlantFusion protein powder. I only used a half scoop of the protein powder since I already had part of a protein bar.

This week for lunch I combined broccoli, cauliflower, ground chicken breast, Fountain of Health Roasted Garlic Hummus, and some Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning.

I was still a little hungry after lunch, so I ate the other half of that oatmeal protein bar. And then later I snacked on an apple with some cheese slices.

When I got home, I intended to go to spin class but I ended up taking a little nap and didn't wake up in time. So I got up and made a Fajita-Ranch Chicken salad for dinner. Mmm... so good!

I shouldn't have munched before I went to bed, but my tummy was rumbling so I at some Mango Crunchies that were in the HealthySurprise box. They weren't horrible but they weren't amazing either. They were ok for 20 calories.

After I ate them, I realized that I didn't drink that much water so I was probably thirsty and not hungry. I blame it on my tired brain.

Questions: Have you tried any new eats lately? Was it a good choice or bad?

Is there such a thing as doing too much cardio?

Please leave your comments/thoughts below!

Rocky Weekend Recap

SATURDAY
Before I made the disastrous attempt to run on Saturday, I made a smoothie with protein powder, banana, blueberries, kale, cilantro, and coconut water.

The afternoon was spent running around making some returns. I was good and didn't buy anything, only because Target didn't have my size in the shorts I was looking for.

Since I was out and about, I stopped by Subway and picked up a 6-inch sub made with honey oat bread, pepper jack cheese, oven roasted chicken, lettuce, spinach, tomato, green pepper, onion, jalapenos and a little southwest sauce for lunch.

Later I went to say bye to my friend that is deploying to Afghanistan for the next 12-18 months. On my way there I snacked on a LiveSmart Chocolate Suicide Raw Bar from the HealthySurprise box I mentioned last week.

The bar was delicious and a perfect snack at 196 calories and 6 grams of protein.

I was busy visiting and didn't take many photos. Here are the ones I managed to snap before it got too dark:

Charlie, Lilly, Me, and Kade

Me, Kade, and Lilly

The only picture of Johnny (far right) before he deploys

SUNDAY
Sunday was all around an "off" day for me. I had to get a run in since I didn't finish it on Saturday and I wanted to do it before it got too hot. So when I woke up I grabbed a Chocolate Chip Cherry Torte Larabar and then got ready for my run.

When I left for my run it was only 73 degrees but already felt way warmer than that due to the humidity.

By time I had completed my 4 mile run (I lost my GPS connection at the end), it was 76 but felt like 81 with a 67% humidity. I was dying and so was Roxie, so after I did some stretches we hopped in the car and headed to Starbucks for some cool goodness.

Roxie had a "puppy latte" aka whipped cream and I had a trenta unsweetened Passion Fruit Iced Tea.

I wasn't really in a smoothie mood but I was hungry, so I had an egg, half of an Ezekiel english muffin with The Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb Cheese Wedge on it, and served up some strawberries on the side. Mmm.. I haven't had eggs in what feels like forever and it was delicious, especially the muffin with cheese!

Later I grilled some flank steak and served it with green beans and a cauliflower puree. I had never had cauliflower puree before and I was pleasantly surprised. I seasoned it with a bit of butter, cream cheese, and garlic powder.

While I was cooking up lunches for the week, I felt a little hungry (probably due to the fact that my meal times were all out of whack) so I made a green smoothie with pineapple, orange, cilantro, Naked coconut water, and spinach. I didn't add the protein powder since I wasn't using the smoothie as a meal replacement.

Question: If you have an "off" day, do you find it hard to get back in to the groove of things?

Past Days Highlights, Halfway Goal, and Attitudes

So, I just got in from a run disaster. I went out for my 4 mile run today. It was almost like any other day. I had my tunes on and Roxie with me. The difference was someone else wanted to go with me. Let's just say that this is the second time this person has attempted to go with me and each time I was left frustrated. The last time, I finished my run. This time, I was so annoyed that I couldn't get back into the running mindset. So I walked home. I am disappointed in myself for allowing that and not pushing through but it happened. So, I will attempt to do my 4 miles either tonight or tomorrow.

Let's get on with a few highlights from the past few days...

On Wednesday, Cosmo wanted to share my breakfast made with PlantFusion protein powder, water, celery, cucumber, cilantro, banana and lemon.

I snacked on some strawberries filled with a banana and greek yogurt filling. The filling wasn't very thick so I prepared this on Tuesday night and placed it in the freezer. They were really good!

After my run that night, I decided to make a little watermelon drink to sip on while I was cooking. It's just coconut water, lime, lemon, and watermelon. It was good, but not as pretty as Pintrest made it look. 

I guess Wednesday night turned out to be a "try this pin" kind of night because I also made these grain free cookies I found on Pintrest that was pinned from Texanerin.com.

Thursday I hit my halfway weight loss goal! In just under four months I have lost 25 pounds and 16 inches off of my body! I am super excited about this. Here are a few before and after pictures (I apologize about the closet, but this is the only full length mirror in the house):

Thursday also came with a splurge dinner. Not to celebrate my weight loss but to see my recently engaged sister that was in town from SC. I had dinner with her, her fiance and his family at Chappell's Coral Grill. I had a house salad, almond crusted walleye that was served with a jalapeno tarter sauce, and then a turtle cheese cake that my sister helped me eat. (Sorry, no pictures!) It was all very delicious and it was great getting to spend a little time with her.

Friday was just a "blah" day. I had quite the week in training and my brain felt like it was in overdrive with all the information we were given. So when I got home, I just wanted to veg out. I think I was passing out on the couch around 9:30/10 o'clock. Yes, I am like an old lady.

It's now Saturday and as y'all read, it isn't exactly starting out the best. So I'm off to clean up, maybe run some errands (aka shopping), and then say good-bye to a good friend before he is deployed to Afghanistan. 

Question of the Day: Have you ever had a bad running day? Did you push through it or did you give up?

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? Helpful Tips? Talk to me in the comments below! I would love to hear from you!