March Madness. And No, I Am Not Talking About Basketball

It has been a month since my last post and lets be honest --- the last month has been madness.

My grandmother Collett passed away on March 6th. Danny and I flew back to Southern California on the first weekend of Spring Break for her funeral. It was a beautiful service and a wonderful chance to see the Collett family. If only it had been under different circumstances. While we were at home, I was able to see my friend's brand new baby, grab tacos with our best friends, and spend incredible quality time with the Collett family. 

The day after the funeral, Danny and I caught a flight from Los Angeles to NYC for our already planned Spring Break trip. We met up with Jordan and Cheyenne (Danny’s siblings), who drove up from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, and Jordan’s girlfriend Lauren, who flew in from California. It was a fantastic Spring Break. We stayed at an apartment in Brooklyn, celebrated Cheyenne's 19th birthday, and laughed---a LOT. I was even able to catch up with a friend from California who is currently doing her grad work at NYU!!

Danny and I flew home from New York on Thursday of Spring Break, and on Friday morning I left with Orientation for 3 days to attend the NODA Regional Conference in Terre Haute, where I presented an educational session and participated in the case study competition (which I won!). It was a really great experience, and I was able to begin developing relationships with the student leaders in that office. (And I bought some super dope Canada mittens!)

It was an amazing month. But now, it is the beginning of April, and I am still at 15 pounds lost. I have spent the last month floundering --- saying I was going to exercise, saying I was going to eat better, saying I was going to be the healthy person I want to be --- but not doing it. Weight Watchers was a great start for me, but I have decided to move on to a more intentional and intensive program.

On Monday I start a boot camp at Next Generation Personal Training and Fitness. A colleague of mine has lost 50-something pounds over the past few months going to their center and following their diet plan. She eats healthy, she exercises hard, and she has seen results. Now, it is my turn.

I thought it might be a good idea to get moving BEFORE my boot camp starts so I don’t look like a total fatty. Danny and I worked out with one of my RAs this week doing circuit training. All I will say is this: my fat ass is waaaay out of shape, and this boot camp is going to WORK ME OVER! Lets do this!

Oh, and one final note --- I completed the 30 Day Water Challenge successfully!! I didn’t have any Diet Coke for 40 days (I did more than the planned number of days to support my husband’s choice to stop drinking alcohol) and even now, I am still avoiding DC for the most part. My water intake has stayed high, not a gallon a day but well over 64 ounces. And I feel great.

I can’t wait to get moving on Monday! Wish me luck in my next steps!

Finding A Way

My recent obsession with Pinterest has led me to find a adorable outfit combos, ideas for vacation locations, and new motivational and inspirational quotes (as well as laugh out loud ridiculous images of crazy animals and children). The quotes have been my favorite part so far, and the image below represents my new motto.

My life has been filled with excuses. Excuses for why I am not exercising. Excuses for why I am not going to church. Excuses for why I am not doing my homework or eating healthier or putting everything I have into getting what I want. I’m busy. I’m tired. I’m hungry. I don’t want to miss my show or get up early or work harder. These excuses have ruled my life, and yet I still wonder why I am not thinner or happier or accomplishing what I want.

If being fit, and thinner and sexy is really important to me, I will do what it takes to get healthy. And it IS important. So, it is time to get rid of the excuses.

In the spirit of “finding a way,” I have identified the fact that I thrive under pressure and when presented with a challenge. This only way to ensure that I will actively pursue my goal of getting healthy is to create a challenge for myself. And here it is: I will run a 5K this summer.

It might seem too simple. But as a healthy and fit high school cross-country runner, my fastest 5K time was 23 minutes. Training to get back to that is going to be HELL, especially considering that I am 10 years older, 40 pounds heavier, and incredibly sedentary (plus, I have tootsie roll sized legs that cause me to move incredibly slowly). But this is something I want to do for me.

I am currently trying to decide between Outrun the Sun (outrunthesun.org) on June 2 in Indianapolis, and the Midnight River Run (wvrr.org) on July 27 in Terre Haute. Obviously I would have more time to train for the Midnight River Run, but July 27 is right in the thick of Indiana humidity, while the June 2 Outrun the Sun race might still be fairly cool but I lose almost two months of potential training.

Who knows if anything will become of this? I may absolutely hate this experience and determine that running has never and will never be for my shorty legs, and pursue cycling instead. Or I may be so in love with the experience that continuing to train for future marathons might become a hobby.

Either way, I will be actively pursuing better health and happiness.

On a completely separate note, I turned 25 today! Officially, my year of fitness has begun!!!