My love and I

My Hubby and I enjoying a high carb, pre-race meal.  I love running for many reasons, but one huge one is that I can eat more.  Food is fuel.  I like that. My husband is a huge motivator for me.  He asks the hard questions and puts a mirror up to my face when I need it.  He has helped me immensly and I have really changed some habits thanks to him.  He keeps me going.  He is my Jillian Michaels.

Our Race

Cousin TJ, Me, Sister Amber, and Sister Lindsay.  The coolest nuns around!  This is us after our half marathon on April 1st.

My fitness pal

One key to my success has been the app myfitnesspal. It is fantastic! It is like Facebook for dieters. Not only do you log in your daily calories and exercise, you also get to motivate your friends and be motivated by them. One of my favorite things about this app is that it keeps a memory of the days you consecutively log in. I will be hitting day 200 in five days and I am so excited. Do you have this app? Be my friend. My username is hgrgich. I'd love to see you there and read about your journey ;)

Obsession

I am in love with drinks lately. No not those fun alcohol laden ones, but good post workout low to no calorie treats. My favorites include coconut water, vitamin zero, and sparkling flavored waters. I usually only drink water, so the addition of these fun drinks is so exciting. I literally visualize one of these drinks to quench my thirst and boredom of water as I am working out. How else do you think I got through my half marathon? It was the drinks made by Body Armor I knew were waiting at the end for me. PS I helped myself to 12. Hey I worked hard and deserved them. What low or no calorie treats do you enjoy? What gets you through those grueling workouts? Leave a comment. I love new fun things!

Journey

I kind of hate the word journey as it is greatly overused, but I cannot think of a better word to describe this battle I am undergoing with my food addiction and body image. On this journey, I have realized that it is filled with ups and downs. I'm talking not only about the scale, but also mood and motivation. I am trying something new though...... I'm not stopping. I have had many weeks during the last year and a half where I gained, took a week (or month) off. What I am learning is to not be so hard on myself. To focus on how far I have come, but not just in pounds lost. I've made great improvement at the gym, on my runs, in the kitchen, and the list goes on. I have made great improvements, and I need to remember those. What have you improved on? What are you still working to improve?

Weigh in day

I am down another two pounds! 154.2 is my new number. I haven't been this light for a while. Feeling good and hoping to get out of the 150's by the end of April. This next week is my spring break and one of my goals is to get a new pair of work pants. I have been feeling so frumpy in my baggy pants. Time to get smaller ones. A good problem to have. new York and Company, watch out for me!

The Race

Today was the half Marathon in Santa Cruz. The weather was excellent. I was feeling pumped. I forgot my stopwatch, but was not going to let that stop me. We warmed up before and I felt great until mile 9 and 10. I ran the whole time and slowed down and sped up depending on how I was feeling. My goal was 2:25 and I finished in 2:13. So excited! I got a fatty burrito and chips and salsa. I have been relaxing all day and I just feel so good. I am encouraged to continue to lose weight and run farther distances. Possibly an 18 miler with my sis in May. I also weighed in on Friday this week and was 156.2. That is my lowest weigh-in weight thus far. I am excited for what is to come. I have 2 1/2 months for Spain. I want to be 146. Let's see if I can do it.