Hold The Bus

Well, this morning a dose of reality slapped me in the face. I had WEIGHT GAIN!!!!!  EEEEKKKK -- did it throw me into a tail spin?  NO!  Why not?  Because, I have goals I am BOUND and DETERMINED to reach. Today's slap in the face was nothing but a great wake up call that I need to be more in control of my Journey. I need to be more focused. I went directly to the grocery store and filled my cart with my favorite healthy foods. NO JUNK!

Happily, I'm back to my regular workout schedule and now back to eating healthy and journaling. My goals are within reach, I just need to stay on course! No need to beat myself up over the gain... just need to remind myself I'm worth the changes and worth the effort!

SHAKA STAYS WITH VCU!!!

OK, so you may wonder how the title of this post has ANYTHING to do with my journey. Hang with me and you'll see!

I have a deep admiration for Shaka Smart, head coach of the VCU Men's Basketball team. Just in his third season, Coach Smart has changed VCU Men's Basketball from a sub-par mid-major team, to a mid-major team that can take on ANY other team with a very good chance of winning, no matter who the opponent. Coach Smart has taken the team to the Big Dance two years running and even made a Final Four appearance in 2011. This year he lead one of the youngest teams in the NCAA to the Big Dance where they beat a number 5 seed and then came just 3 points shy of moving on to the Sweet 16.

Now, my admiration for Coach Smart actually has very little to do with his success here in VCU Ramnation, but rather more to do with his style of coaching and his obvious love for his work. If you watch college basketball, chances are you've seen puffy, red faced, older gentlemen losing their temper, throwing their hands up in frustration and screaming at the refs. If you watch Shaka Smart during a game, that's not at all what you see. Coach Smart has a coolness about him. He carries himself with poise and with quiet resolve. He doesn't blow up when a needed shot fails to drop or when a unnecessary foul is called. He does not yell in the face of his athletes. He does not scream at the referees. However, he is passionate. In intense moments, you will see him bend at the knees, lean forward on the line and look like he may, himself, jump out on that floor for an assist! You will see him smile in a moment of frustration. You will see him hug a player who just missed his foul shots. You notice Coach Smart, because he is different. You notice his grace and his poise. You notice his positivity and his humility. You can see genuine love for his players and for his job. He has a heart. He cares for more than a pay check. He cares about people.  He is authentic.

For a year now, I have been on my journey to become healthy and fit. I'm half way to my weight goal. I run 3 miles with relative ease. I can do full sit ups for a minute without stopping. I can jump up onto something with 2 feet (for me, this is a monumental task). I knocked over 3 minutes off of my 1/2 mile run. I did not do this without help. Just as the VCU Men's Basketball Team did not make it to the Big Dance without help. Like the Rams, I've been coached on my journey. I've had 3 coaches on my journey. Two of my coaches embrace the same style of coaching as Shaka Smart. Rather than brow beat me, put me down, belittle me, they build me up. They remind me of my strengths, they help me push through my weaknesses. They empower me. They do not instill fear in me, but rather build respect by respecting me and working with me and for me. There are moments when they may want to strangle me or when they have to get tough on me, but it comes from a place of genuine care. I know that they want to see me succeed. They aren't just trying to get me through that class, they are helping me build a healthy life. They are giving me tools to succeed in life, just as Coach Smart mentors his team.

With coaches like Smart, Rachel Pustilnik and Kelly Connors, I am inspired to work harder. I want to learn more. I want to take their style of coaching and apply it to my parenting. There is so much we can learn from this type of authenticity and integrity. Coach Smart turned down a reported $2.5 million job in bigger city and better conference, to stay here at VCU with his team. That, folks, is what it is all about. Money does not happiness make. And Coach Smart, once again, showed the world that sometimes having less is more in the grand scheme of things, and that people matter more than an indulgent paycheck. He showed his team what loyalty is and that he believes in them. My coaches believing in me has been a HUGE part of my success. What he has done for his players by staying at VCU will be monumental in their personal successes, not just in basketball, but in life. He has taught us all a valuable lesson.  Thanks Coach Smart, for being such a great example to all of us.

Thanks Kelly & Rachel for believing in me, for putting up with my excuses, for reminding me I'm worth it and for never giving up on me. I could not have made it this far without you!

A Beautiful Morning Run

I love starting my day with a run. This morning it was nearly 60 degrees on our run. Short sleeves and capris were required for this morning's run. We cut back to 2 miles for time's sake today. We ran them pretty quickly (by my standards), we were definitely under 12 minutes per mile, or close to it! We finished with a nice walk and some stretching. You know there are mornings when I don't want to run, but the saying is true... "You'll never regret a run." I love the post run high.

This week I have worked out 5 consecutive days. This is the FIRST time in THREE weeks that I have done that! It feels so good to be back in the swing of things. Now let's hope I drop those last 13.5 pounds to get me under 200 lbs. THAT is the goal. 199.5 by the middle of April. I'm pretty sure it is doable!  MUST FOOD JOURNAL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have an AMAZING weekend. I sure wish I was doing the 8K this weekend!!! I hope all of my friends who are running it have a great time!!! <3

It's been a year...

A lot has happened in 1 year. I started this journey on March 1 2011. I didn't know exactly where it would take me or what would happen. I had no idea if I would stick with it. I had no idea if I could be successful with getting healthy. I just knew it was time to try.

Here we are one year later. On March 8, I did my weigh in... happily, I can report that in 1 year, I lost 75 lbs. and am half way to my weight goal. I weighed in at 213 lbs. down from 288! I had wanted to be 100 lbs. down by March 1, however, I am THRILLED to celebrate 75 lbs. gone!

Looking forward, I have to set some goals and recommit myself to my journey. My goals vary in nature, but I'll post them here and I ask that you help keep me accountable!

Goals of 2012:
Blog at least once per week.
Food Journal DAILY (all day EVERY DAY).
Meal Plan for the week with a grocery list.
Cardio Exercise at least 45 minutes 5 times per week, six if time permits.
Get my FAMILY in the gym.
Participate in family walks and games in the yard (basketball, frisbee, soccer).
Daily Devotional, time with God... this should be my #1 goal, with my fitness & food goals following close behind.
GET OUT OF 200!!!!!!!!! (FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!)


OK, those are my goals. And I ask for your help in seeing these goals met. Your encouragement is so helpful to me along the way. I rejoice in the goals I have met and look forward to the goals I've set to achieve. My life is so blessed and I need to spread those blessings to others. Let me know how I can pray for you and help you with accountability in your own goals!

Thanks for walking this journey with me and seeing me through. Please continue on with me and I promise to be better about keeping up with my blog! I'll post menus/recipes and other things a long the way. You all ROCK!!!  My 18 faithful friends!!!  Thanks for all you do for me! :)

Beautiful Run

So happy I got up and ran this morning! May not have been fast, but it sure was enjoyable! I love having a running partner who goes with me on my runs. It makes it even more fun!

Tomorrow I RUN!!!

I am so ready to put my head on my pillow, so that I can drift off to dreamland!  Sweet rest before my early morning run.  It has been a week since my last run. That is entirely TOO long! My legs seem to be looking forward to this run as well. I love the route we take on our 3 mile loop.  If I'm feeling strong and our time is good, I may push it to 4 miles tomorrow. It will probably be icy cold in the morning, but I don't even care. I have come to love and appreciate running. I'm not fast, I'm not trying to win any races. I just want to get out there, breathe in the air and move my body. I love the high that I get following a run. It is like no other feeling I've felt before.

I'll be honest. I'm NOT looking forward to my 1/2 mile run on Thursday. I REALLY hate pushing it on my runs. I've trained myself to enjoy running and thus I want to run at a pace where I can breathe and talk easily. Doing my assessment 1/2 mile is a PUSH, it's very uncomfortable and I usually head into an asthma attack (due to running fast in the REALLY cold morning air). Rachel, my trainer, has been having us sprint more in class recently. I'm finding that I like the powerful feeling I get when I push my sprint... granted, we are INSIDE for these sprints I am speaking of... the 1/2 mile is outside in the elements.

I'm ready for warm weather to return. I'm looking forward to running with less clothes on. I'm especially looking forward to running at the beach again this summer. I am so thankful that I have finally discovered the love behind running. It is truly wonderful!  NOW, when my alarm goes off at 4:40, I pray I remember these sentiments!

Good Night, folks! Sweet dreams!

Missed 2 days in a ROW!

So I missed group work out yesterday morning, due to exhaustion. We went to a VCU basketball game, and got an unexpected workout. We pulled into the parking garage across from the Seigle Center and drove to the top floor... there were ZERO parking spaces! This was AFTER we paid to park in that garage. So, we drove down, got a refund, dropped off our passengers and we drove around and around and around looking for a spot to park. Keep in mind, I have on BOOTS with a HEEL! We parked about 1.5 miles away from the venue. Thus I got an extra 3 mile workout in on Wednesday (after an early morning run). In order to make up for the missed class, I did a 100's class of my own... my husband my witness! OH MY GRACIOUS, I was soaked in sweat when I was done! :) I felt good that I took the initiative to work out. However, I was mad that I did not hold my plank for more than 1 minute 45 seconds.

So, last night was a rough one. We didn't get into bed until late... as soon as we did get to bed, one of the kids came into our bed sad and congested. Meanwhile, the youngest was coughing her croupy cough all night long! Then my son ended up in our bed. I did NOT make it to Booty Blast this morning. My goal is to get in some sort of exercise today (maybe Zumba), to make up for my missed class. Tomorrow is a crazy day, so I don't know that I'll get my 3.5 mile run in... I HAVE to make time to do that this weekend!

Sometimes I feel like my life is SO busy I just can't fit it all in. However, I also find that a blessing, my life is THAT full!!!