heather's Food bLog: New goals for July!

Hello, my readers!!! I'd love to tell you that I'm pumped and ready to write and feeling good...but it just wouldn't be true. I'm very tired and would rather go to bed. BUT, I want to write. I don't like missing a day of writing.

Anyway, today is a weird day. I can't really tell WHAT my body is doing...but I'll get to that. First, my race and completion of goals for June!!! Actually, we'll talk completion of goals first...for June, my goals were to have 1 purely social activity per week, boxing class on Friday and 1 run per week. I think that there was only one very rainy week that I did not make two work-outs in one week...and I did have a social activity each week. I'm chalking that up as a glowing success! Time to think on goals for July...

So, my race. Well, I finished and I did not die. My time was 1:09:53. I can live with that. It was a VERY difficult race for me. A friend, A, ran with me and I made her walk a lot. In fact, I'm shocked that she stuck with me and extremely grateful that she did. Ya know, I can get down on myself for walking, or I can choose to look at the accomplishment that I did live up to! I ran that damn race in the heat and humidity of June in New England and I did not die!! I finished with a better time than my last 10K (back in October). AND, I ran with some of the fastest people in the world!!! Yup, elite runners, the current fastest men in the world ran this race with me. AND, I did a heck of a lot better than anyone who didn't get off the couch. Five weeks ago, I could barely run 3 miles, and look at me now!!!

OK, so now that I've accomplished this goal, what's next?? Well, I've got another 10K coming up in October. I'd like keep running so that I'm ready for that one...without walking. Given that it's in October, there's a good chance that the weather will be on my side...So, fitness goals...I haven't looked too closely at my next classes syllabus, so I reserve the right to alter these goals:

Maintain a minimum of 1 social activity per week
Go to boxing class on Saturdays (but not on the weekends I have class....)
Run at least once per week, preferably 6 miles
Go to either Monday night abs class, or Wednesday night strength class

On the weekends that I have class, ideally, I'll fit a different cardio workout in on a different night. And I'd like to go to both Monday and Wednesday class, but it takes a ton of time to get there and home and I do still have homework to do. OK, so basically, 1 social activity and 3 work-outs per week.

Now, on to my body and how I have no clue what it's doing...last night I went out for a run. Nothing big, just under 4 miles. Well, I had to do number 2 so bad that I couldn't stand it and ducked into a Panera to use the facilities. What I found was a bloody mess...that was a cuss word, but descriptive as well. Needless to say, I was grateful that my running pants are black. Anyway, when it's that time of the month, my body just hurts and I eat Advil for a day like it was candy and I was back on sugar. I'm retaining water and my weight is disturbingly off and everything is uncomfortable. That's what I mean when I say that I don't know what my body is doing. I'm sure some of you girls know what I'm talking about. Luckily, these feelings usually only last a day or so. Tomorrow should be better.

Feeling yucky or not, here's what I know: feelings are not facts and do not give me license to over-do the carbs or to hit 'the sug'. Eating healthy will help me feel better long term and has helped to keep my moods even. Healthy eating has helped me shed a total of 16 pounds in 3 months. It's helped me shed almost 4 inches total from my waist. It's helped me fit back into jeans that I haven't been able to wear in years. It's given me a confidence that allows me know that I'm living in a solution rather than adding to the problem.