Last Day. Move Day. Missed Run. Guest Post?

I can not believe how busy this past week has been. It has definitely affected the way that I typically go about my average day.

Last Day of School.

Yesterday was the last day of school for me. It was sad because I will really miss those kids. I had some of the best students that anyone could ask for - hope for - wish for. They seriously were the best kids. I will miss them, but will see them from time to time.

I did not realize how invested the teacher becomes with his/her class, classroom, and school until you leave it. I had to take a couple trips (and that was with one trip from my wife) of stuff out of my classroom. I had a lot of stuff there! It was fun and has been a blessing. It's hard to understand unless you have worked in the atmosphere that I worked in.

Move Day.

As yesterday was the last day at school (half day), Carol and me also set that day to load everything up onto the truck and trailer. With the help of my parents we finished loading at 12:00am. It is amazing how much stuff you accumulate in such a short period of time. My wife and I will be celebrating our 2nd anniversary in August and in that short time we have gained so much stuff (and some of it is crap!).

We spent today moving and I was pretty happy at how well my truck pulled the HEAVY load. I hadn't yet had the opportunity to pull a trailer packed down with that truck and was surprised at how well it moved right along and at the ease of travel I had.

I will tell you though - I am beat! There has been a LOT of lifting, setting down, lifting, and moving taking place and it is letting me know that it's not quite use to this much.

I miss running.

With the busy week I have not had the chance to really get a good run in. I miss it. Is it weird that I think about my workouts and miss them dearly? :)

I really do miss it though - as I've said before, working out is a way to get away from everything else. It allows me to let everything else go and just do something for myself.

I am worth taking the time and investing it into myself.

This upcoming week looks like it'll be a little easier though. It will be my easy week in June. I am working at two different weeks of camp at a local church camp. I am teaching a class at one week along with being a group leader and working as Recreation Director at the other. I'll have other responsibilities, but those are primary.

Guest Post?!?

This makes me think though - I'm not sure how much time I will have to be able to post. I've seen it done on other sites, but am not sure if anyone wants to here on Fit With A Purpose --- guest post anyone??!??

Are you up for a guest post?!? If you want to do a guest post for either one of those weeks, let me know. You can comment here or email me at -- styler [at] cccb [dot] edu

How do you fit in your workouts when life gets so chaotic and busy?!?

Challenge Information. Half Marathon. Training Questions.

Are you up for a Challenge?

I told you all about the weight loss challenge that I hosted and took part in. I told you that I lost 17 pounds total in 6 weeks!!!

Today, I’m telling you that you have the chance at joining the 2nd weight loss challenge that I am hosting!

It is a solid atmosphere focused at losing weight healthily and for good. Discussions are held, questions are asked and answered (to the best of our ability), and struggles and successes are shared.

The 1st weight loss challenge had a total of 13 participants. Those 13 challengers combined lost a total weight of 133 lbs!!!!!

Can you believe that?!

I love those results.

The entry fee is 10 dollars and the person that loses the most percentage of body weight – wins all of the entry fee money. It’s a pretty solid winning! I will be capping the challengers off at 20 participants this time around.

Do you want to take part in this challenge?! You need to go HERE to the Facebook group and become a member. Roam around and see past challenger’s successes and struggles and see if it’s something you want to be a part of. Remember, only 20 people are going to be entered into the 2nd challenge! Don’t delay for too long.

The challenge starts on this upcoming Monday. There are specific rules and weigh-in procedures to be followed each week. It is six weeks long and can be the jump-start that your weight loss needs!

I will not be participating in this challenge, nor will the last challenge’s winner. We would like to help out with encouragement and any insight we may have for the challengers. The group will be turned private at the start of the challenge – so no one will see your weigh-in pictures unless they are a member of the group.

Are you up for it?! Go check it out here!

Half Marathon - here I come.

In other news, I’m going to start training for a Half-Marathon! I’m pretty excited about it. A few questions for you to answer for me.

1. Should I continue with the p90x while training for the Half?

2. Do you have a meal plan I should follow?

3. Any tips or suggestions from you all that have ran a half marathon or marathon?

Let me know what you all have in mind. I need all the help I can get too!

What is the greatest Work Out/Fitness thing you have accomplished?!

Final Challenge Weight Picture. 120.9 Miles. I am Busy.

I’ve got a lot to get too today – so I hope that you are ready.

I am busy.

Life has been busy these past couple of weeks. My wife and I are in the middle of a move. I am trying to close down the school year and get my things cleaned out of my class for the next teacher to be able to get in there this summer. I started the summer semester with my Master’s program and then on top of everything else -- I work out. (Working out and running is actually a way that I can get away from all of the work - do you feel the same way?) I get busy, but I think I strive on busyness.

If you have not seen me stop by your blog in a couple days it is not because I don’t want too.

You guys fuel my fitness tank like no one else. Keep it up.

Can losing weight mess up your game?

I think yes it can. I think a mixture between weight loss, strength training, all the running, and lack of playing has messed up my basketball skills. I use to pride myself on being one of the best.

I’ve been humbled.

I can run all day around the guys, but that does nothing for me if I can’t make a basket. I’ve been over-shooting the basketball, under-shooting the basketball, and there was an air-ball or two in there, but let's not talk about those. I’ve got to figure this thing out. I’m hoping that it is just like riding a bike and it comes back to me real quick.

Weight Loss Challenge Final Results

I did not win the weight loss challenge that I hosted. I lost a total of 17 POUNDS in six weeks! I am very proud and happy with that and have worked my tail off to get it. I have accomplished a lot in the last six weeks.

I have…

…Entered into OnederLand!
…Ran and Placed 1st (my division) in my very first 5k race!
…Placed 12th overall in my second ever 5k race!
…lost 17 pounds through a weight Loss challenge I hosted!
…have watched my wife lose 9 lbs in that very same challenge!!!
…have spent many hours running!
…run a total of 120.9 miles in six weeks!

I’ve also been changing a little bit of the layout here at Fit With a Purpose and am trying to make it more interactive for you. I hope you approve and enjoy!

I’m going to end with my Final Weigh-In Picture!

I will be hosting another weight loss challenge that will start on this upcoming Monday. Everything takes place on Facebook. It's a pretty neat atmosphere that we have there too. I will post about it again with ways for you to enter. I just thought I’d plant the seed into your brain.

If you could follow one of your dreams and have nothing get in your way.......what would you be doing right now with your life?

BlogRoll Update?! Thursday Run. Picture from the Past.

I like to keep this site up to date. One of the ways that I stay on top of things is through my blog roll.

Do you want me to put your site on my blog roll?!

Tell me that you want on and why you should be on the blog roll?

Let us know why need to be on there.

---

Today, I ran my Thursday 2 mile and more. I ended out with what turned out to be an easy 2.8 mile run. The runs continue to feel good. I'm trying to hit it really hard this week as it is the last week of the weight loss challenge. It's going pretty well - I still feel like I could be doing more. I think it's just me wanted to do more than I should. It's hard to put on the brakes sometimes, but I've had too.

---

I thought I'd end this post with a picture from the past!


I look so unhappy there.

10k Run. Wellness Wednesday. Rainy Run.

Today was my Wellness Wednesday run.

Wellness Wednesday is just me running for no specific time or distance. It is running to simply run and enjoy myself.

I ran more than a 10k today! 6.41 miles.

That distance is longer than any other distance that I have ever ran at one time. I’ve included a map of the route and a picture of me after the run.

I felt pretty good for most of the run. There were a couple times where I could feel my stomach tightening up, but other than that – it was good! Oh yeah, I forgot to tape my nipples (you women don’t have to do that b/c of the extra support you wear, but some guys have too), and I paid for it about ¾ of the way through the run. Ouch! Painful. (TMI?)

Despite that annoying pain…

I now know that I can run the entire 10k.

Oh yeah – did I mention that I ran my longest run to date today in the rain?!

It poured, it sprinkled, it spit, and poured a little more – and I smiled. I smiled because never would I have even imagined that I would be running that far at one time and do it willingly in the rain.

I am so happy that I made this change in my life.

It’s changed everything.

I am living now.

How has the decision to become fit & healthy changed your life?

Day by Day. Race Pictures. Weigh-In Picture.

Closing down a school year is a lot of work! It takes a quite of bit of time and a lot of energy. I have a few things that I want to post about today. I’ll break it day by day.

Saturday: I ran in my 2nd 5k!

I ran in the Hot Dog 5k Run. This course had about four or five different hills – which is something that I am not use too. I rocked those hills! I finished my second 5k race in 26’53”. That is 29 seconds slower than the first 5k run, but this one was hilly and weather conditions weren’t as great! I’m super stoked about that time with the different elements taking effect. Very happy! Here’s a picture of my run, me in my race shirt, and race number!

I finished 12th overall! It was smaller than I thought it'd be and there were many fit people! I am happy with my race completion!






















Sunday: I ran an easy follow up 2.4 miles and played basketball for the first time since breaking my ankle! My shot was waayyy off! It’ll get better though; yes it will.

Monday: I did nothing. It was glorious. I’ve really noticed that I tend to not take breaks and sometimes I just have to force myself into breaks. It’s necessary that we realize that rest needs to happen. We only grow when rest is allowed to do it’s part.

Today: I took a group of middle schoolers to Worlds of Fun amusement park. I love amusement parks, but I have a few different tips for you to hopefully follow.

Tip # 1 - Don’t ride the super spinny ride first!
Tip # 2 - Don’t skip lunch to ride the coaster called Boomerang! It was fun, but lunch is too.
Tip # 3 - Wear sunscreen.

Another thing that happened today was that we got Carol a cat. Carol volunteers at the local animal shelter and we found a cat that she liked a lot, I do too, named Kizzy. If you want to see our new cat, you can check her out at Carol’s blog here.

P90x starts back up tonight now that the next race is a little ways off. Week 3, day 1 tonight. Yeah!

Monday also served as the Next to Last Weigh In for the weight loss challenge I am hosting. So far, in five weeks I have lost 12 lbs. I believe that to be pretty solid numbers. This past week was not exactly stellar on the weight loss, but I wasn't expecting that to be. I tapered for my races and took it a little lighter than normal. It was an intentional let-up. This week, I am hoping to kill it as I start the p90x again and get some longer runs in. I'm excited about it!

Here's a picture of the weigh-in. I lost .4 lbs. I love that loss. I lost while preparing for another race just one week after the other.





On Saturday, as I normally do, I got my weekly Starbucks coffee. Carol resisted. That is one thing that she really has trouble resisting. She was successful. It makes me wonder what everyone else has trouble resisting?

I really like Subway cookies. I have trouble resisting them!

What is the one thing that you have trouble resisting?

How do you do it?

The "Purpose" in Fit With A Purpose.

I was given this as a comment on a post the other day and wanted to respond to it.


"I guess I would like to know what is your specific purpose. I see fitness written in many places on your site. Perhaps you could provide the qualitative and quantitative goals."

As for the qualitative and quantitative goals - those are subjective and temporary. I write on this blog about myself and my life, but also try to reach beyond the tangible in front of me. I do have a Goals page immediately under the header for those goals. I will however, do my best to give what my purpose and mission is as I become healthy and fit.

My journey is for me. I understand that part, but I know that my journey reaches far beyond me. I'll get into more of that later.

I have many life goals and things that I want to achieve that were being threatened by my weight. I have a gorgeous, caring, and loving wife that I want to be there for. When I looked into the future as an overweight, exhausted, tired, and temperamental man - I did not see what I wanted. The future looked grim, tiring, and not a lot of fun. How could I give my wife all that she deserved when I couldn't even give myself what I needed? There came a point that I needed a change and the change was for more than just myself.

That's not it though.

My sister was diagnosed with small-cell cervical cancer on June 10, 2006. She passed away of small-cell cervical cancer on July 16, 2006. That fast. It caught us all off guard. It hurt. As some of us get older, we recognize the importance of being healthy and making decisions that will not only have a positive effect on ourselves, but on others as well. No one knows what is in store for the future - but we do know that the future will come with every breathing moment. I strive to be prepared in the best way possible for whatever comes mentally and physically. It is not easy; no one said it would be. It is important though; I say that.

That's still not all of it.

My wife and I want to have kids some day. Actually, we've wanted to have kids yesterday. It has not happened yet. Not many people know this, but we've been trying for over a year now to get pregnant. It hasn't happened. It takes a while sometimes. It's been mentally challenging for us, but we are not defeated. God will provide when He does. When that does happen - I want to be able to teach them good from bad. I want to show them by example how to live a positive life and make positive decisions. I want to out-play my kids. I want to run with my kids. I want to show my sons how to be men of Godly character. I want to teach my daughters how to show up the boys on the basketball court; and also to give them a positive example of how a man is to treat his bride.

Becoming fit and healthy does not guarantee these things to happen, but will definitely help these dreams become reality if given the opportunity.

That's still not all of it.

Many people think that what we do on Earth is all that we do. That is their decision to make. That is not the conclusion that I have come to. God has blessed me in so many ways and way beyond my level of deserving. I attempt to live a life worthy of that call to go and make disciples. America is overweight and lazy; so are the churches. There are a lot of church goers that go on Sunday, leave, and fail to practice what they preach in their "real lives". They call out against those that are caught up in negative addictions, greed, and/or gluttony of some kind. Those are the ones that give the church a bad name.

With that being said, I want to let you know my take on becoming physically, spiritually, and mentally fit in regards to what I believe and live by daily.

2 Timothy 2:3-7 tells me that I need to take a look at three different people. (1) A soldier, (2) an athlete, (3) a farmer. I'm not going to go in lengthy detail as for the reasons, but will give you a brief idea behind it.

1. Dedicated, Focused, Devoted like a soldier...
2. Disciplined, Obedient, and self-controlled like an athlete...
3. Diligent, Hard-working, and motivated like a farmer...

If you have been a follower of my site for any period of time - you should be able to tell that this is the message that I want to convey to my readers. These are the things that I try to live out daily. It is not easy all of the time and I fail often, but I am not defeated when I fail.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:26-27:

"I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified."

Everything we do - we must do it with purpose.

It may be the fitness goal of being able to jump higher than anyone else, lift more than your neighbor, and/or run the fastest mile. Whatever it is, have reason behind it.

This is my journey on becoming fit and staying fit - and it is driven by purpose. At some point I will be able to say that I am fit with a purpose. Right now, I say, I am getting fit with a purpose.

It drives me to become who I am meant to be.

We are only restricted by our negativity. I want to provide a positive outlook on fitness for those that are overweight, in trouble, and struggling to get their life back. This is how I am doing that.

I hope that this answers the question that was given. It may have been more than you asked for too. I believe that Fit with a purpose is not just a blog, but a place - an environment - where we can be pushed further than what we see as our limits, but create new heights both physically and mentally.

That is what this is all about.

Thank you for the question.

Running. Living. Believing. Finishing.

running.living.believing.finishing.

It seems that as of late – I’ve been getting a few questions about running. I intend to answer those questions in detail at some point or another, but today’s post is directed at the source of the issue with running.

I must note that I took up running just this year and that there are many more experienced runners out there that know much more information about running.

What I give is what I know to the extent of what I know about it.

I love running. It’s refreshing. It’s relaxing. It’s a sedative for the chaotic world around us. It does not change. It’s challenging. It’s freeing.

But it is not all of those things for everyone…yet.

It can be.

The source of the issue is that people simply don’t think that they can do it. This can go beyond running into a variety of life’s situations; the fact is that people do not believe in themselves enough to follow through. I can’t count how many people have started their weight loss journey only to give up already. They felt that what they had deprived themselves of had something more to give them. That’s their story and it doesn’t have to be yours.

When I run – I believe that I can finish. I believe in myself knowing that I can do it. I exercise follow through. I believe with everything that I have that I can complete the task at hand. If it’s one mile, two miles, five miles, a zillion miles – I believe that I will give my very best effort to complete what I set out to do.

And I follow through.

It’s not always easy. It’s tough sometimes. It’s physically and mentally challenging. My vision gets clouded. My path gets crooked. But I believe that no matter what gets in my way – it will not stay in my way. I can push through the pain. My body and mind work together on one front – believing and knowing that I can do it…and I do it.

Running is the exercise of freedom. It tests you. It pushes you. Only you can run for you. Believe that you can do it…and you will.

8.5k Run. Run Picture. I Need Your Help!

5.3 mile Run (8.5k)

Today is 5k Tuesday.

Why stop at a 5k though?

8.5k would be better.

I decided that today was a great day to go for the longest run to date. After Saturday's 5k race - I knew that I could go further than I ever have. The decision was made. I would run. One minute into the run I think I swallowed a bug. Other than the bug - my run was smooth. I tried to change my stride a little bit in order to make what could be a long, painful run into a long, pain-free run. I shortened my stride and lowered my impact point (make sense?). It allowed for less of a harsh landing. Whether it did anything or not - I completed the run and didn't stop running. It felt so good. My breathing has been very smooth while running as well. I tried to guess at the distance that I was going because I didn't map out my route (as I have suggested before to do). Here's a map of today's route for you to see. I completed the run in 1 hour 48 seconds.

I Need Your Help.

Fit with a purpose is a place where you know what you are going to get. It's been set up so that you can come and know what to expect and hopefully leave with something positive.

Today, I need your help. I want to know what you want on this site? Is this site missing anything?

Let me know what you think. I would definitely like and consider your suggestions. Thanks!

Challenging Day. Race News. Weigh-In Picture!

Challenging Day.

Today has been a mentally challenging day. It's been raining all day and Carol and I made a hard decision yesterday in regards to our moving (which takes place in just a little less than a month). I currently teach and work part time at a church. We have been offered a full time position with the church and I accepted. We have been searching for a house and thought that we found one twice - but each time something has prevented it. The first house fell through because of the inspection - the second because of pride. We are moving to plug into the community and we found a house that was really cool and we liked it, but it was far out of town and not the best fit for us now. I know I may be crazy to pass on that house, but getting that house was defeating the purpose of reaching the community. My ego would have definitely been puffed up with this house - but that house would consume our purpose. I am crazy. :)

The decision to pass on the house mixed with the gloomy, rainy day has produced a gloom attitude. It's been a long day. Something else will come up though!

Moving on to some better news.

I will find out tomorrow where I placed overall from the 5k race where I set my PR and placed 1st in my division. I am pretty excited to see how I did with everyone's time. It's all still new to me. I have some more pictures that will be uploaded that were taken of me with a couple of students of mine that also ran the 5k. They both beat me! An 8th grader ran the 5k in 21'30" (exact second?) and a 7th grader in 24'53". Both of them placed first in their division as well!

Hopefully, I will have that information for you tomorrow!

Now for the weigh-in this week. It was a success. I have consistently lost the weight with a healthy downward trend. The best part about this week, besides the 5k race, was that my father in law saw a picture of me and he didn't recognize me. He asked Carol who the two guys in the picture were (one was a guy from church and then me) and she said, "That's Seth dad!"

He said, "Thaaat's Seth?!"

We don't get to see them that often as we live in different states. I liked that compliment. Made me smile!

Back to the weigh in. I weighed in at 195.6 lbs. That's a loss of 2.4 lbs. I'll take it. I wasn't sure how this week would turn out because I tapered my running and workouts for the race. Apparently, the change in my workouts confused my body and it has responded with weight loss.

Enjoy the picture!

What is your favorite part of your body?

Tell me. Take a picture of it and post it on your blog.

Embrace your body.

My First 5k! Crazy Runners. Satisfaction.

The race came and went. I was nervous about it because I had never ran an official 5k race. I didn't know what the whole environment would be like.

I thought to myself, am I crazy for letting someone put me on a bus and drive me out 3 miles so that I could just run back in?

Yes - I am crazy.

This is probably the only time that I would not be upset that someone drove me out to a spot and told me to run home -- and I did it without complaint. Ha! We runners are crazy. Some more than others.

Of course, after completing my first 5k today - it makes me reflect on what this past year has brought.

How about some 'Before' Facts?

I had never participated in any type of organized race.
I was 60 pounds heavier one year ago than now.
I ate whatever I wanted.
I gave advice to people on how to lose weight, but failed to follow that advice myself.
I got tired after one pickup basketball game to 15.
I couldn't run 5 minutes without stopping for good.
I gave up often, but disguised it as generosity to let someone else play.

I sweated in the winter.

Some 'Now' Facts.

I have placed in my first 5k.
I am intentional with my eating.
I am 60 pounds lighter.
I live my advice.
I outplay the teenagers in a pickup basketball game.
I can run 43 minutes without stopping.
I don't give up - I push forward.

I still sweat in the winter. :) (I am actually doing something now)


AND NOW FOR THE RACE RESULTS.

I finished my 5k with a time of 26'24".

In my age division - that was good enough for FIRST PLACE!! I won a gold medal in my first 5k ever! I'm pretty stoked. I know that with more competition that the 26'24" would not get me a gold -- but I am stoked about the time!

I pushed, I pushed, I pushed!

I succeeded.

Enjoy the pictures!





Thanks Jess and Ashley for sending me the awesome signs...I'll post what I can tomorrow! To all the others that wished me luck - THANK YOU TOO!

Awesome Non Scale Victories. Search Worthy.

Search Worthy.

I have to start out with what I found on my Feedjit live stream. Feedjit is the thing that you see on the lower right side of my page that shows me where people are coming from. This is one of the ways that I can track and see what parts of the nation, continent, and world people are coming from to visit fit with a purpose. It's fun to see some of this. I don't check it that often, but love to see how and when someone gets there from a search in Google.

Google has been my friend lately.

I copied and cropped three of the searches that are pretty recent so that you could enjoy them with me. Check them out below. You may have to click on the picture to see it clearly.



If you are the owner of any of the searches -- Welcome! It's great to have you. Fit with a purpose is a relaxed environment. You won't be seeing a very skinny man doing push-ups though, but rather a man that is getting skinny by doing push-ups. :)

Awesome NSV's.

I had debated as to write a post tonight due to being tired. I got to bed late last night and today has moved by rather slowly. That is what we are usually wanting though isn't it - for it to seem that we have more time? That just registered - I had a nice long day. Moving on.

Today, I just wanted to send you all in the direction of a few people. I don't have any Great Non Scale Victories of my own, but these people do. Go send these people some of the encouragement that you get from all of us!

Kelsey over at fatgirlconfessions2.0 has been having a rough time lately. As for the NSV - she might not realize it, but her determination to keep going through the rough times plays huge in her success. She is rather new to the weight loss world and could really use the encouragement. She needs you all right now to show her some lovin.

Jer over at Jer is Losing it... just found out not too long ago that she is going to be featured in a magazine! It is the KC FITNESS magazine that I love so much too! How crazy is that? She has lost 100+ lbs on her journey and just got some photo shoot pics back. Go check her out and show her what encouragement looks like!

Last one today.

Mac at Get Fit Slowly. I've mentioned Mac a few times on this site and you may already read him, but if you don't -- go check him out. He just ran 26.2 miles. He ran a marathon. This guy had trouble going up the stairs in the beginning. Go look at him now!


I hope you all had a great day!

What is it about the blogging community that you like the most?!

Inspiring Wife. My Make-Over Pictures.

It seems that most times we, who are or have been previously fit, knew or know the proper way of eating and the different avenues of exercise. We do, did, or use to love to talk about the way, but failed with the follow through. I do feel though that we get better with follow through when we stick with our plan and reach for our goals. What does this have to do with my wife being smart? Let me tell you.

Inspiring wife.

My wife has tried before with sticking with a weight loss/fitness plan, but like many of us have done – we exited that strategy when we didn’t see instant results. My wife is becoming successful and is sticking to it with me this time. It’s great to have that by the way. Someone asked her what she was doing with food. She gave a reply to that person and I wanted to post it up on here too.

“Thanks Megan! I have been eating about 6 small meals a day. breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner and maybe a snack if I'm hungry later. My snacks are either an apple or a banana. My regular meals are smaller portions than I used to have. I don't get seconds. And I allow myself one sugar snack a day so I don't feel deprived and binge. So mostly it’s portion control & keeping my metabolism up. Other than that I make sure I workout to either my Jillian DVD or I do yoga with Seth on his P90X. And If I don't feel like it was enough I walk a mile on the treadmill. I feel more comfortable with the 1 to 2 pound loss a week. I would get discouraged if it was up one week and down the next you know? Haha. This may have been more than you asked for but there it is! Nothing fancy :)”

I really liked this reply because it is simple, doable, and it works. My wife is inspiring and helping other people on their route to weight loss success too! I love it. I do.

Make-Over Pics.

I really enjoy “Make-Over” week on the Biggest Loser. After seeing tonight's episode, I felt inspired to give myself a makeover as well. I had fun with it. By the way, I couldn’t believe that Sam reached his goal weight on campus with a couple weeks still yet to go on the campus. Crazy. Enjoy the pics. Yes, that is the same shirt that I wore in a pic the other day. I like it, I feel good in it, it works for me.

I normally end with a question for you – but not today. I want you to do your own make-over.

go crazy!

You may ask why? The answer is because you deserve to see how far you have come! You are worth every bit of the hard work that you are putting into bettering yourself…and I want you to show everyone your hard work. Let’s see it.

Be sure to come back and let us know where to go to see your makeover pics!!!

Race. Iny Mini Miny Mo. Weigh-in Picture.

I posted earlier today about my energy and how motivated I was just to enjoy the day. It carried on through the rest of the day. I still need to do my P90X Yoga-X tonight (which is 1 ½ hours long), but still feel really good. There are a few things that I want to hit with this post tonight. Let’s start with the upcoming race.

Race.

I am feeling pretty good about this race. If you have followed my blog for any span of time, you know that I enjoy running. Approximately 70 days ago I added a countdown timer on the right side of the site. It’s exciting and scary at the same time. There were many times that I did not even know if I would be able to participate. We have been able to fight and bounce back from injury and the mental games associated with running. I say we, because I really do feel that you guys are a part of this journey with me. We are all getting fit together – and the best part is that we are doing this intentionally. Don’t you just love that you are able to accomplish what you set out to accomplish. Crazy cool huh?!

The race is on Saturday. I’m pretty excited. I saw a comment somewhere on another post and the person said – “why not be in it to win”. If it was you that said it, tell us. I have pushed and pushed myself to be able to complete this 5k with no stopping and have surprised myself with endurance. Why not be in this one and try to place? This takes nothing away from our other goals to simply finish the race - (that was my original goal before I started training for it). I am a competitive person and I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t want to win. As for my time – who knows what it could be – I’m shooting for under 30 minutes. Any time will be my personal best. I do know that I will give it what I have and leave it all out on that course. :)

Iny Mini Miny Mo

Sticking with the running theme of the post – I ran 4.31 miles in 43’18”. That's a pace of 10'03".

I did not look at the watch until 39 minutes. I was trying to guess where I was on time and had guessed 45 – 50 minutes. To my surprise it was only 39 and I kicked it up a notch b/c I only had a little left. During my run, I just went where I pleased. I tried to make it simple, but just ran. It was nice. I actually got behind the “runner” around town. I’ve talked about him before where he is always running and never looks tired. I was behind him and tried to sync pace with him. His pace worked with "iny mini miny mo". Each step is the beginning of each word. It may sound weird…but when you say it smoothly as when you read it…that was his pace. I used that for the duration of my run. I did not do it the whole time -that would drive me crazy.

Weigh In.

I managed to produce another loss this week! It was not quite as large the loss as the previous weeks, but it was bigger than any number below it!!!

I lost 1.2 pounds. I am starting to see a pretty good difference in definition in my body. Check for yourself. Go here to see a pic like this from January.

Give me ONE word that summarizes your workouts!

Mine is…"Mental"

Awake. Energetic. Definition.

All of the Above.

I am awake today. There is nothing sluggish in me right now. My body woke up naturally with that aid of an alarm clock on time and feels good. I have already weighed in for the weigh-in post tonight – that went well. :)

I have been struggling with keeping up with reading all of the blogs lately; I am busy. This post is just a precursor to what is coming later. I don’t normally do multiple posts during the day, but have decided that today – with my excellent energy level – deserved an extra post.

The heightened energy may be in part because of the upcoming race on Saturday. Maybe it’s the continued weight loss I am seeing. It might be because I am starting to see definition of muscles in my pictures. Or, it could be because it’s teacher appreciation week at our school – so that means goodies! I can’t quite pin-point the reason – but to be honest, don’t really care too; I’ll just take it and run with it.

Check in later for an expanded post!

What is one thing that has brightened your day on this Awesome Monday?!

April Review. May Goals. One Thing.

The Past Month in Review.

April was a pretty good month overall for me. I continue to push myself more than I ever have. I pushed myself more than when I was playing basketball in high school. I pushed more than when I was lifting weights four times a week my first year of college. I pushed myself this month into a new level.

I was happy with how my ankle held up this past month considering March’s misfortune. I definitely caught up on some of the missing miles that I received once I hurt my ankle. This past month – I ran like crazy.

To any of you that have given me an award - I will try to make some time this month to post those. I am very appreciative that you find my blog enjoyable, readable, and "come-back" worthy. So appreciative.

April Recap.

Starting Mile Balance: 804.67
Ending Mile Balance: 712.32

Starting Mile Month Goal: 125.87
Ending Month Mile Achieved: 92.35

Miles off pace to reach year pace goal: 33.52

Days in April: 30
Days worked out (walk/jog/run): 30
Days no workout: 0

Avg workout per day by 30 days: 2.85 miles
Avg workout per day by Workout: 2.85 miles

Starting Month Weight: 205.0
Ending Month Weight: 199.2 (4/26/2010)
Month Weight Loss: 5.8 lbs.

Total weight Loss in 2010: 36.8 pounds
Total Miles traveled in 2010: 297.68

Miles Until Year Goal Achieved: 712.32

Happy.

I'm really happy with how things turned out this month. I personally think that this month has been the best yet in terms of fitness and mental health. I really think that I broke down some weight loss walls that I had set up the past few years. I did have an April goal of reaching 1,010 push-ups. It did not happen. I ended April with 745 push-ups. Still no easy feat.

MAY Goals

• Continue to prepare for the 5k that takes place in less than a week – I would love to run the 5k in sub30 fashion. I’ll be happy with whatever though.
• Reach 200 readers on the blog. (weird goal? Maybe)
• Learn how to do pull-ups. I seriously stink at these. I’m learning through p90x, but I am still a ways off due to lack of pull-up bar.
• Continue with the goal of 1010 miles.

These are my goals. These can happen.



If you can change ONE thing in this next month -
What is that one thing?