Latest Before and After Pictures

It's so important in my journey to take pictures of my body. I forget how far I've come, or how much I really did weigh before. I, like all of us sometimes just don't have a realistic view day to day of my body. Pictures help me see the outside reality.

What I see now, I've done a lot of work that I would hate to undo. I have what I've worked for so I don't need or want to blow it now!

I've come along way baby!

Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot!

Yeah, I'm back! I feels so good to be back with my challenge.

Way back on October 19 my hubby experienced a serious car accident. After 2 surgeries and a 2 week stay in the hospital he is now in a rehab facility until his bones are all healed.

Needless to say my time to meet my challenge has been cut down to nothing. Lucky for me and my challenge I'd already done the October 5k (I had a second on planned but missed that one). When I started my challenge really all I wanted was a Turkey Trot to do! but then got this hairbrained idea about one every month to stay in shape!

Today was my Turkey Trot! I had been talking to all of my family about joining me since the entire name of the is "Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5k/Family stroll" but when the accident came around I realized that it was just going to be my youngest son and me!

Here is our before .....

it was a chilly breezy 43ish when we started the race

but warmed right up as the breeze stopped and it got to 50.

Our after picture ....

Notice son's bib number?

We were not alone!

I couldn't believe the mass I crossed the finish line with!

We were both pleased with our unofficial times ~

son somewhere around 35 minutes

Me stuck right where I left off with the last race (6 1/2 weeks ago) with 40 minutes!

and that's with not training, or working out for the past 5 weeks!

yeah me!

it was crazy, it was fun

There were customes, there were turkey hats, there were feathers, there were tutus?, there were kids, grandmas and pa, parents walking with their kids, Young adults running with their parents. There were generations strolling together!

it was a blast!

we'll be doing this again next year!

My story ~ part 2

if you missed part 1 you can find it here !

I went into that Slim Down with a focus and a drive! I learned to eat healthy and how to workout. Over the next few weeks of that challenge I lost 15 pounds. I didn't win the challenge I came in 3rd place! That was a great challenge for alot of us!

When I finished that Slim Down, my personal trainer (provided in the Slim down) pulled me into her office and asked "What is your next goal?" I can remember telling her that I'd just keep going with what I was doing. She pressed alittle more about a specific goal and I kept telling her I was fine and I didn't really have a goal, "I'd just keep doing what I was doing."

She was firm on that I really needed a goal, and left it at that!

I ended up losing another 15 pounds last summer, but I think I only saw that number for a day!

My oldest son moved back home from college for the summer. He and I have the same food weaknesses, that means that we love the same sorts of food. I used him being home as an excuse to bring some of my favorite foods back into my home. Not only did I bring them back into my home but I started enjoying them also .... it was a slow progression but I fell back into my old ways of eating.

My workouts began to be effected also. I hurt my shoulder in a couple of minor incidents (non workout related) that started the process of it freezing up! I began to be consumed with the pain and my arm last fall. By this time last year, my shoulder was almost totally frozen, I wasn't working out and I was eating everything and anything I wanted. Gaining weight again.

I can remember attending a church meeting last November 13 wearing a skirt that I'd wore all summer that night .

this skirt in the summer

I just knew I was going to bust when I sat down! funny (aka sad) thing was I stopped by a fast food place on the way home and got a burger, as if my skirt wasn't already tight enough.

By Christmas I was up about 15 pounds, and by Spring I'd gained 20 pounds of the 30 I'd lost!

I had surgery on my shoulder and switched physical therapist and things began to look up with my arm. I started working out again slowly! BUT I couldn't get a grip on my eating. I knew I had to be accountable to someone with my eating.

About that time the Y put up notices about their next Slim Down! I signed up. During the Slim downs you have a personal trainer that works out with you and you submit your daily food journal to them! AH, there was my accountable.

Fortunately, it all fall right back into place......
I lost 14 pounds and won this challenge, but when it was over, I remembered those words of my personal trainer from last year's challenge.... "What my goal?" I knew she was right and I had to keep a goal in mind this time.

Stay tuned for the Healthy Adventure challenge.....

Before and Current pictures!

what's gone ... in numbers!

Since May 2, 2011 I no longer have .....

25.3 pounds and 18 inches
-4 chest -5.5 waist
-4.5 hips -4 thing

there are GONE, GONE, GONE!

there was alot of
work, effort, planning, and sweat
to get rid of them but it has all paid off!

My story ~ part 1

I'm sorry for the funky spacing, gotta love blogger ??

What made me decide it was time to

become healthy!

I'm not athletic, I've never been but then a couple of years ago I found myself in the middle of an athletic family.

My husband was a wheelchair sport athlete, until his body said "no more"! Now he still works out by lifting weights, and riding his bike.

I had a naturally athletic son. Everything he decided he wanted try, he worked until he succeeded at, physically. After High School (the time of the picture) he was working out with the goal of setting records in Powerlifting!

Then my youngest son was taking off in swimming. He was a fish! thankfully he was taking after his father and brother and not his Mother!

Just a few days before this picture I had decided that I needed to just love where I was at, size wise, health wise, and look wise. So I was 'enjoying' life with the attitude of "this is who I am"

When I got these picture back (along with all the Christmas pictures) I realized I was the weakest link in my family. weakest athlete, weakest in being healthy, I was not setting a good example in fitness, or healthy eating

and I was not really enjoying my life at this size,

I was just making an excuse.

I didn't really want to look like this

This was not who I wanted to be!

So I needed to change it!

On February 14, 2010 I signed up for my Y's

Slim Down Contest.

this was my BEFORE picture that I took that day!

that day when I walked into the Y,

I remember saying to my self ....

I'm going to do something about my health so

BODY DON'T FAIL ME NOW!

and the adventure began.....

Jared Coones 13 Memorial Pumpkin 5k Run

This morning was my 15th 5k,

and my 5 5k race since starting my Challenge.

This was the biggest so far, there had been alot of communication about parking that I was nervous and didn't sleep well last night worrying about the distance parking. I got up and out the door early (6:30am) and was able to park in the parking lot I wanted to ... yea for small blessings. Instead of riding the bus shuttles I walked the just under 1/2 mile to the race start. I really didn't understand the need to ride the bus, I mean PEOPLE if you're able to walk, jog, or run the 5k you could surely walk the 1/2 mile to get there! I will give credit to some they had small children and that may have been too much.

I knew that walking would be an option yesterday when I went to pick up my packet. I drove from the startline to the parking places and knew I could walk it!
My before picture

It was a great morning, 68ish, sunny, but strong winds.

This race takes place in the subdivision, Jared Coones subdivision. It starts at the school he attended and winds around this community. When I say Winds around that's just what I mean. Have you ever been lost in a subdivision?? I have! just winding around and around not ever finding a way out! I felt like this was happening as I was wogging! the great thing was I was with 4000 others winding around too! They even had a drum line for us at one corner! Oh there were plenty of corners ... hence all the winding!

My after picture by the course Map!

Yes, you read it right there were just under 4000 participants for this race. This was my biggest thus far! We started in 2 waves. Depending on your pace time you choose your wave. I was in the second wave by choice.... well I don't wog a 9 minute mile (slowest time for the 1st wave) so it really wasn't be choice was it!?!

Start line ... Wave 2

I was in the wave with the slower joggers, walkers, strollers, and the kid's running clubs. I appreciate that all were included BUT it did take some getting use to wogging with kids around. They are all over the place! I believe some of them ran several more miles since they were zig zagging all over the place. It was wild! I don't believe the zig zaggers were in running clubs. Those kids knew how to run straight lines and pace themselves. They were impressive!

Once again I went into today without much time to work out this week. I worked 4 out of the 5 days this week, it was frustrating for me! My new CardioTracker says that my pace was 12.11 and that would make my time a bit quicker than the last race. I started at a nice pace and was able to jog much longer than usual.

Then I walked the 1/2 miles back to my car!

Official time is 38.54.1

Not my overall best but it was my best for this race!