Praying to the "weather gods"

Not that long ago I posted a glorious forecast for the half this weekend. It seems that we may not get so lucky now - as of right now, here is our forecast:

I am praying it somehow gets better between now and then because I don't want to even consider running 13.1 miles in the 50s with rain!  Please, rain and half marathon gods, have pity on me? haha

Tonight is our last official half marathon class and I am super bummed about it.  I have grown very fond of our  weekly meetings.  Its been a great way to get out of the house and have some adult time and get to know other people who have similar goals as me.  I knew I would meet people, but I didn't realize that I would make such good friends with the people in the class.  We will apparently have a "mixer" after the half where we get together with the North class and go out to eat and discuss how the half went.  I am really looking forward to that.  Should be a great time.  

I am volunteering at Natalie's preschool today, my family gets here late tomorrow evening, and then starts the countdown to my first half marathon!  

Ready or not, its less than 70 hours from now!!! ahhhhhh!  Can't wait...

Fantastic Friday?

Not much to report here - went to the zoo with my kiddos this morning.  It was a very nice cool outing and we enjoyed the previews of fall! So much fun!  I am glad we have a decent zoo in town that we can just go walk around for a few hours.  Its not a huge zoo and we dont even typically do all the exhibits each time, but its a nice way to get out and enjoy the outdoors! For your "viewing pleasure" a photo of me and my daughter (don't mind her, shes not into getting her picture taken)!

I got so overwhelmed with my half marathon stressing yesterday that I forgot it was weigh-in Thursday. I have been watching what I eat but I haven't been dieting so to speak.  I weighed in at 184 this morning.  According to the BMI charts, at 5'11" - I am still 9 pounds overweight.  I really hope to see 175 (or possibly lower) someday but I am not going to stress about it.  Yes, I know BMI is outdated and typically not the best indicator, but its something concrete that I can strive for.



And last but not least, this DEFINITELY makes for a fantastic Friday... extended forecast, check out the weather for Saturday Sept 24 - my half marathon date!  Yes, I know it can change, but let me be ecstatic for at least a few days! haha

A confession...

Time for a confession, I have lacked motivation the last few weeks regarding my weight loss. I haven't lost a pound in weeks and actually was starting to creep back up a bit - I weighed in Sunday at 193.8. I am not sure why it happened, but something snapped, I had a major binge day yesterday. I ate anything and everything that sounded good. I probably ate at least twice the calories I should have. And this morning, the scale made me pay for it.... *gulp* 198.8 (I am sure some of this is water weight from all the sodium)!

I have come so far, I refuse to get back over 200 pounds. It just cannot happen. So, I decided after having a splurge and eat whatever I want day yesterday I am going to get VERY serious again. I haven't been directly logging the foods I eat - I have relied more on a mental list and we all know how easy it is to cheat on those! To get myself back on track, I am going to start using livestrong.com again. I used their dailyplate feature for at least the first 6 months of my weight loss journey. It was a great way for me to keep track of not only the calories I should be eating, but also what I ate (sodium, fat, and calories) as well as my exercise. I am excited to start using it again and think that it will be extremely helpful for me.

I was late getting to bed last night - I think I went to bed just before midnight. But, I think my body realizes this is not the week to challenge me - I actually woke up before my alarm at 4:45 am. I went swimming for an hour (first time in several days I have swam over 30 minutes). The weather this week is supposed to be crazy hot and humid, so that means I need to do my runs in the morning when at all possible. So, at just after 7:00 I set out for my run. Almost immediately I could feel the effects of the humidity but I was determined to run the 3.5 miles I needed to run without stopping. It wasn't a pretty run or an easy run, but I am happy to say that I managed to successfully complete the mileage. I would LOVE to know why mother nature decided to pick this week to get hot and humid. This is the week that I have to increase my daily mileage a half mile every day. Not a big deal to most runners, but for someone like me who isn't a great runner and struggles to not push herself too hard, the humidity is killer.

I have been SUPER careful today with food. Here is the rundown:

2 starburst (post swim, pre-run -- was feeling like I needed some sugar) - 40 cals
1 Crystal Light Pure Fitness - 30 cals
1 serving chocolate mini wheats - 200 cals
1 serving skim milk - 90 calories
Salad (Romaine, broccoli, cheese, salad dressing, 4 oz ground turkey - 280 calories
1 slice of light potato bread - 35 calories
navel orange (afternoon snack) - 80 calories
4 oz Honeysuckle White Lean Ground Turkey - 130 calories
3/4 cup Potato Leek Soup - 146 calories
9 bottles of water
Total Calories: 1031
Calories Burned Exercising (per livestrong): 1287

I know this is generally too low calorie wise, I don't plan to do this on a regular basis. I find that doing this once in a while is a good shock to my system and get me motivated again. I CAN DO THIS, I will get back on track and get to 175!!!

Anyone have any helpful words of advice or motivation for someone who has fallen off the wagon?