Strength

The TV is turned off and the iTunes is turned on.  It's time for some great writing!

I think Jen over at Prior Fat Girl must have been reading my blog last night and stole my idea for my entry tonight.

Running has made me feel strong. I feel stronger physically.  Sometimes I feel strong mentally (I wish this happened more often than it does now).

Physically, my legs don't hurt as much as they used to when I run. When I started this endeavor, I couldn't jog without shin splints. I would have to stop every so often and stretch my muscles with the hope that it would make the pain go away. It usually did for a little bit before I would have to stop again to stretch.  At the end of my walk/jog for that day, my shins would be so tight that I couldn't even point and flex my feet to stretch them. I don't have these problems anymore. Now it is more my breathing that is difficult during my runs. It's like my lungs just can't keep up with the rest of my body. Anyway, after getting home from my runs and when I am done stretching, my legs feels strong! I mean, I actually want to torture myself with squats and lunges. I want to point my toes like they do on So You Think You Can Dance, and lift my leg up gracefully.

I don't wake up in the middle of the night any more with painful charlie horses.  Some people had told me to eat more bananas to get rid of cramps but I can't, because they make my throat swell up.


I really think I can only get stronger, especially if I start working in some more strength exercises. If I already feel so much stronger, I can't even begin to wonder how much stronger I am going to feel soon?


My mental and emotional strength hasn't been quite so strong. I came to the realization, like Jen, while peeing that I haven't been making the best food choices over the past few weeks. I really just NEED to get back into the mindset that I want to do this for myself. I have the opportunity to make the great decisions but something comes over me, my loss of control. My mom just tells me I really have to want it.


The plan is to get up tomorrow morning before work to get a run in, make great decisions during lunch (by staying out of the damn snack box at work), maybe get a walk in during lunch (since it's supposed to be nice), and then make good food decisions at a customer appreciation dinner I am going to tomorrow night. I just have to get through one day at a time, right?

Women Empowering Eachother

I've been at a standstill as far as entries lately. Maybe it is pure laziness to take the time out of my evenings to sit down and write. But I think it is more a lack of motivation to find something to write about. I have to blog ideas in my head, tomorrow night I will write about how much stronger I feel since I have started working out.

Tonight, I will write off a comment made my Becky at The Fab Miss B. She commented on my last entry about everybody loving my Prior Fat Girl shirt. She said "I love to hear stories about women cheering each other on and being inspired by one another's successes. Way to go Amy!" I wanted to expand on that comment.

This is really quite a bit more thinking than I usually put into my posts. I think it is really important that women support one another! When I first started trying to run, over a couple of years ago, I was worried that I wouldn't be any good at it. I was worried that there were expectations and standards that I would never meet. After a while, I figured out those standards were in my head.  I figured out that everyone starts someplace and that is something that I have to keep in my head every time I want to just stop running. I have found support from other women! Some from my friends, some from the Prior Fat Pack, some from even my family.

My mom and my sister have always been a great support system for me. Even though my sister is an accomplished triathlete, she still pushes me and cheers me on every time I reach a personal milestone, even if it is just running a 5k. My family keeps pushing me and supporting me towards my goals. I thank them for that. I don't know what I would do with out them. I really wish I lived closer to them!

I attended college 2.5 hours from where I grew up. After breaking up with my high school boyfriend, I was at a complete loss at what to do with my time outside of school. I found support from wonderful women after joining my sorority, Sigma Sigma Sigma. There sure was a lot of drama but it lead to meeting some of my closest friends to this day. I get their support, even after college. This also includes the women that weren't in my organization but in other Greek organizations.

My friends, old and new. Even just a passing, "hey how's it going" means a lot to me. My PFP friends and join me in 5k races around the nation. My friends in Madison, that volunteer to drag me out for a workout. It really means so much to me.

Women should support each other. It maybe be something so small as an unexpected card (this is some thing I really enjoy doing, it often makes someone's day). It may come from a great friend or a complete stranger.

Eleanor Roosevelt, activist You Learn by Living
You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

I Love Your Shirt

Today I ran the Verona Hometown Days 25th Annual 5k. All the proceeds from this small race benefited the high school's girls and boys cross country running teams. It really was a small race. I don't think there were more than 100-150 participants between the 5k and the 10k races. Most of the runners were students from the cross country teams. My friend Michelle was going to do the race with me but with a four month old, life is a bit unpredictable. I ended up at the race by myself, although I did have my Prior Fat Pack members there in spirit.

The weather was gorgeous this morning and even a little bit cold. After the EF 1 tornado that came through town on Wednesday, we welcomed the calm and cool weather. I made sure to wear my PriorFatGirl tee shirt. I was a bit overdressed with that and a long sleeve cotton shirt under it. It was really chilly this morning, really! My hubby was there to start me off at the starting line. We had friends in town for a wedding and he had to go back to the house to see them off for their 10 hour drive home.

While I was in the process of getting to the starting line, I had a woman tap me on the back and say she really liked my shirt. I thanked her. Later, she was the first woman to finish the 10k race. I had two more women pass me on the route that liked the shirt. Both of them, I stepped up my pace to keep up with them and tell them about the PFP. Both women were older than me. One of them, this was her first 5k in a number of years. She was running so fast! The other, she was an avid runner before she got married. After her wedding, she got sedentary and gained 50 lbs. Now she's trying to work the weight off through running. Both of these women, strangers to me, were cheering me on as I passed the finish line. One of them came over to me to ask me what my time was, and she cheered me when I told her I had set a new personal best.

New personal best! I am taking off 15 secs for fumbling with my watch at the end of the race.

I just love the comments and compliments I get from people just for wearing that t-shirt! I am waiting for the day when someone says, "I read that blog". I like being a little bit of inspiration for someone.

Ps: I got on the scale after many weeks of not getting on it. I lost 2 lbs. I feel good about that.

PR

PR a photo by miss_amy1 on Flickr.

New personal best...I'm going to subtract off fifteen seconds because I was fumbling with the watch after the finish line.

A Great Vacation!

I was wracking my brain tonight trying to find something to write about. Why not write about my vacation away from work over the past 10 days?

This was one great vacation and I didn't have to shell out a lot of money to buy a plane ticket to sit on a beach somewhere! Although the vacation included the unplanned funeral of my uncle Jim, it also included time spent with my family, the Glee concert, meeting new friends, and reaching personal goals. I really did get a lot done in just those few 10 days.

I headed up to the Twin Cities, where I grew up for those who don't know, on Sunday morning. I had to make sure I was going to make it to the Prior Fat Pack Potluck. After forcing myself into an uncomfortable situation because I was alone in a group of people I had never met, I am so glad I did it. The next morning, I got up bright and early to attend the Challenge Hearts and Minds 5k. It had been storming just an hour before we left the house. (Storms are another thing that scare me, and always have but that is for another blog post, another "dead end" I've slowly overcome) We really lucked out on the weather. Although the sky was very, very dark at the start of the race, we only had a little bit of water come down on us during the second lap around Como Lake and at that point it was welcomed! I finished with a personal best and right at my goal of 40 minutes or less and I was able to run the first 7 minutes of the race without walking. I had not been able to run that long prior.  I am looking forward to my next 5k on Sunday.

Tuesday consisted of some time planted on the couch. It was much needed because I was on vacation and I deserved some time being lazy and my legs hurt really bad from the day before. I did get my hair cut in the morning. I was going to go for a bike ride but the 40 mph wind gusts deterred me. Instead my dad and I went for a four mile walk in the afternoon. We got in some much needed father/daughter time.

Wednesday included some much needed shopping time. I learned of my uncle's passing the night before and had not brought any funeral appropriate clothing with me. I really hate trying on clothes, especially since I have gained weight. I was pleasantly surprised when I found a great dress at Macy's in a size 0x. I realized that I am right on the edge of clothing that is classified for the Plus-sized department and clothing that is regular sizes. Thursday morning I found some black dress pants and a shirt in the regular clothing section. I was beyond elated about that and they were on clearance. One pair of pants was marked down to $4 at Macys! I'm hoping that I will never have to step back into a Lane Bryant, except maybe to buy Spanx.

Wednesday was also my 29th birthday. In celebration, my mom had purchased tickets to Glee Live! It was a pretty good concert but I really didn't enjoy the screaming teenyboppers around us. I really don't think the performers heard them from the top level of the Target Center. Dinner before the concert was quite yummy at Red Stone. If you are looking for great rotisserie chicken in the Twin Cities, go there!

The rest of the week was spent doing some more shopping for the funeral and driving to Winona to see my extensive extended family. I saw some cousins I hadn't seen for three years. I wish it were under better circumstances. Friday afternoon, I headed back to Madison. I did have to make one last stop in La Crosse, WI at Caribou Coffee. Since then, I have been relaxing with my two kitties and my hubby. We did some gardening and week puling. We watered our veggie garden a couple of times. Yesterday morning I got up bright and early to volunteer for the Komen Race for the Cure. I need to buy a cowbell. And then Saturday night was spent with friends Keith and Kinsey relaxing in the warm summer evening at a bar patio. It was a great night with great friends!

Tomorrow it is back to work...Goodnight!