Less than a month till another 13.1...

And man are my legs sore.  For some silly reason, I thought getting in 8.6 on Monday would "catch me up" (only did 7miles total the week before - on a long run... hello maintenance runs... where are you) and all I have (thank goodness and no surprise) are sore legs some 3 days later.

Everyone has bumps in their training calendar... but I need to seriously put my feet to the pavement and smarten up over the next few weeks to avoid injuring myself.

Note to self: run for fun.  Say it again, run for fun.  Don't worry about keeping up a crazy pace, finishing in the upright position is a win. 

My girlfriend is running her 2nd half this weekend a few thousand miles north of me - Go Mel Go!  I signed up for mine (Ft. Lauderdale 13.1) because I was motivated she was gonna go for a second one.  My third 1/2 marathon will be the Disney Princess Half in Feb. 2013 - it is my "real" race.  I feel like I trained well for the Princess last year, and plan on following almost the same calendar.  I have to keep reminding myself that the one I am doing (in less than a month) is really a glorified training long run. Yeah, right.

I run because I can - 93# ago, I could not.
I run because I know those who cannot.
I run for me.
Run for fun.  Because running is fun - and quiet.  Ha!

Muckity mucking around...

Happy Summer...the few days left here in August.  Soon all my boys will be in one form of school or another (off to preschool for the baby! and a first grader and a VPK'er (pre-kindergarden)). And I'll have a full 2.5 hours to get some order in my home.

I am a bit melancholy about the whole process...no longer having a baby at my side (at some point I will stop referring to him as a baby, he's almost two and a half and going off to preschool...). I am planning on attending at least one Boo Hoo Breakfast and trying not to completely do the big ugly cry.  But I am hopeful that some of those long term projects (that have been neglected because they need too much attention and use alot of dangerous chemicals and/or require a long time without little finger/foot prints) will get started.  Not to say I don't look fondly on all those finger and footprints!



Super-perky new WW Leader! Moi!

And my life is entering another shift change...as I completed the Weight Watchers leader training in June and have really had a blast subbing for other leaders for the past few months, I am eagerly anticipating having a meeting to lead of my very own on a regular basis.

Leading meetings is such a rewarding experience. The members are such a rich source of inspiration for one another and myself.  I got into this to give back (hopefully) some of the good stuff I got by getting to my goal weight. The meetings are filled with magic. REALLY. The gems of insider info from a room full of kindred souls all wanting to live life healthy and to the fullest. 

So here it is, on the verge of a Wednesday dinner (some delish WW sour cream/parm chicken leftovers!), and we are finishing up our school supply list and prepping for this Saturday's meetings: "If Only"... banishing that stinkin' thinkin' and using the inner treasures within reach to achieve our goals.  All good stuff.

Goal & Goal...SCORE!

In the past couple of months I hit my Weight Watchers goal... losing over 93# - and making lifetime (for those not versed in WW-speak- that is completing 6wks of paid maintenance after hitting goal)... and in between - finished with flying colors in a tutu - my first 1/2 marathon the "Disney Princess Half Marathon" amazing.

I finished in 2:28 and change...and and and - I made it up from Corral G. The Corrals were only through H...that is running past a lot of folks, on a lot of sides of roads, and running in general. I never walked - and when I look back at my old posts that recognize I was so excited to run over 20minutes - my longest training run was just 10minutes shy of three hours of running. Pretty darn good for a gal who has only been running slightly over a year.

Having made all these big life goals - losing weight & getting healthy - and then running my half-marathon (which I will be doing again next year)... there is a bit of a "now what" going on in my inner dialogue.

My personal opinion regarding the weight loss - is that keeping it off is a real challenge and skill to be worked on every day. And keeping active is going to be crucial to my continued success. However - I am up for this challenge. I have come way to far to go back. And I love my healthy, active life that only comes with being responsible and accountable for my body. SCORE!