It’s All Going Away

Here we go again!

After hurting my Achilles Heel while training for my 5K last year, I’ve had a really hard time getting back on the bandwagon for permanent weight loss. Even worse, those wonderful eighteen pounds that came off in the three months of training for the 5K have also returned.

And then some. Yuck, huh?

I started back at the gym with some healthy goals in mind this past January. I did really well for several weeks and even lost a few pounds.

Then I got sick and spent a week in bed. And since then I’ve had the darndest time getting the motivation back to be really good and healthy-minded again. Easter candy has not helped in that regard. Neither has being on the road so much. Sometimes, it can be hard to find ways to work out and eat healthy.

I was grateful to be home Monday, so I headed to the gym for a wonderful workout. I spent forty-five minutes on the elliptical machine, which I love, and which is also low-impact and doesn’t hurt my apparently-permanently-damaged Achilles. It felt great! On my way out of the gym, I stopped to read their inspirational stories of members who have lost weight with the help of a trainer.

While I was reading, mostly not bothering a soul, a nice trainer named Lindsey came up to me. She was so friendly and not intimidating in the least. She asked if I wanted to do my free trainer session with her. I hesitated at first, and then I decided to do it. Why on earth should I be afraid of something that could help with my health improvement goals?!

So I met with her yesterday for a fifty-minute workout session. She spent some extra time with me in the beginning to get a feel for my goals and desires. She is so sweet and understanding. She played sports in high school in a small town, too. I feel like we have lots in common. Rather than feeling inadequate around her, she made me feel good for my goals and wanting to change! Lindsey is awesome! And she made me feel awesome!

We had a great workout. She taught me some neat exercises that I can also modify to do in the hotel room when I’m away from the gym. My legs and arms were certainly feeling the burn, and it was a great feeling. She was so uplifting and supportive. I really enjoyed working out with her.

So I bought a trainer package with her. Eek!

We are going to work together on my weight-loss goals these next several months. I just want to get me back and be healthy and happy and satisfied. I think that having a trainer throughout that process will only be a good thing. Nothing else has worked, so this has to be the trick. And I am tickled to get started.

She will be a motivator and someone to help me keep track of my progress. She will help me get through those plateaus and find new ways to keep the weight coming off. She will challenge me and push me harder than I think that I can do. She will help me develop the new me that I’ve been wanting for years.

No more excuses. No more regrets. Only doing something about it and loving the results!

It’s going to be great, and I’m so excited to start this new phase. I’m keeping track of my daily exercise and food using Lindsey’s recommended MyFitnessPal.com. Follow along, if you want! Even better, join and keep track with me! You are three-times more likely to succeed if you have friends helping you along the way. I have previously been using loseit.com to track my progress, but MyFitnessPal is a little more comprehensive in tracking exact workouts, like reps, weights, etc. It will make it really easy to see my improvement! I recommend either tracking tool, if you’re looking for a way to start being more healthy.

Once it comes back in stock, I am also going to get The Basis fitness tracker watch, which will also help my weight-loss goals. I hope this happens soon…I’ve had my eye on it since January!

In these next several months, whether I’m busy at work or have a few days home, I’m excited to see these weight-loss goals come true. It will solve so many aspects of my life that I’ve been wanting to change!

The journey has already started and is wonderful.

Back in the Saddle Again

You, like me, have probably noticed that the number to the right representing my weight loss goals hasn’t changed much in the past few months. But I, unlike you, have been wracked with guilt over such an observation.

It was one year ago this month that I began my journey to looking and feeling better about myself. It tapered off for a few months until my friend, Jari, suggested that we begin training for a 5K in December. I avoided her texts for a few minutes until I finally realized that it would be a very good thing to have an end goal in sight to help me keep on track with losing weight!

So I did it. We trained for 13 weeks to prepare for running a 5K. I had never participated in an organized run like that before, and it felt great to be so consistent with my training. I’m no superstar by any means, and you runners out there may scoff at my race time. But I met my goal and finished the race faster than I aimed. And it felt great.

Weight loss happened the entire 13 weeks. It was wonderful.

I don’t think that I’ve mentioned this, but along the way I acquired quite a fun little injury. About four weeks in, my right heel started to hurt. It wasn’t debilitating by any means, so I continued to train and ignored the pain. The unfortunate part is that I was doing enough damage to impact me in more than just running. I now feel my hurt heel with every step taken.

After I finished my race with my sister and sister-in-law on December 17th, I decided to give my heel some rest. Through careful research online (who needs a doctor’s opinion?), I discovered that I had several micro tears in my Achilles Heel. And it hurts ALL the time.

I have to be careful when I first get out of bed, because that is when it feels the tightest. Or after sitting for a few minutes without use (shame on me for ever sleeping or sitting!). Basically, the heel needed to heal by giving it a few months of rest.

So I did. And Valentines candy and Easter candy pretty much ruled all of my decisions for a few months. I enjoyed it at the time, but that nagging voice in my head said that it would come back to haunt me.

When April rolled around, my heel still was no better. But my lack of consistent exercise and my healthy diet of chocolate had taken its toll. I had not only forgotten to lose weight for a few months but had started to gain some of it back. All of that hard work for months last fall was going to waste!

Here I am today, seven pounds heavier than I was when I finished my 5K in December. My self-esteem has plummeted once again. Not so much because I don’t like how I look, but more for the fact that I haven’t done anything about it for almost six months!

I attempted to run a few weeks ago for the first time, and it was a mistake. Even with my new shoes and insoles (which would have prevented this injury in the first place, by the way), the running was too painful on my heel. It’s the lift-off motion, like rolling off it for a layup in basketball, that hurts the worst. And that motion is used a lot in running. Yikes!

Taking my still-prevalent injury into consideration, I made a new goal to reignite my weight-loss goals again this morning. I will simply find low-impact exercises to avoid damaging my heel. I have a doctor’s appointment for later this week, and my heel will be looked at then. I need to overcome the pain so I can get back on track.

Most people work out and then feel better about pigging out. “I worked out this morning, so I can totally eat that container of ice cream!” I am the complete opposite. When I work hard in the gym, the last thing I want to do it waste it on eating unhealthy. So, for me, working out is a necessary part of losing weight! I know that eating healthy is about 80% of the battle, but exercising is what motivates me to eat healthy and keep consistent. So I need to do one to be good at the other. Does that make sense?

Hubby helped me devise my plan, though it all had to come from me first. I would love to be 15-20 pounds lighter when I see my family in the next few months. And that would keep me on track to lose my original goal of 50 pounds by the end of this year.

In the dark last night, Hubby asked what I was going to do to avoid being derailed this time. I told him that I need to be healthy and happy before we can start a family, which is scheduled for 2014 after my student loans are paid off and we are in a good position financially to bring little monkeys into our situation.  Scheduling when to have kids is completely normal, right? I want to be happy with myself before little ones are added to the equation. I need to be healthy (body and soul) so I can raise them in a great environment.

And I want to look and feel good in my clothes. I’m so tired of being self-conscious of my poor appearance all the time! I’m tired of not being able to feel good in half the clothes in my closet!

So it all begins today. It helps that I am home from work for the next few weeks while Gladys is in maintenance. I won’t have any excuses to avoid working out every day. By eating healthy and doing exercises twice a day, I think the weight will begin to melt away, and my self-esteem and happiness level will only increase!

Doing something goes a long way with me.

Do you want to join with me? Become a better and healthier you? I’m starting today, and you can, too! I’ll make progress reports and would love to hear from your happy results.

Take that, Achilles Heel.

Back to Albuquerque

What, you might ask? A return trip? I haven’t been here recently for work, that’s for sure. I only say “Back to Albuquerque” because I used to live here. A whole six years ago. And it was really fun coming back here for work.

Last time I was here for work, we were busy and didn’t even stay a night. I flew in a Beechjet with Big Boss to take delivery of an Eclipse jet used for my former company. It was a neat day, and I got to visit with wonderful people who had been a great help to me over my year working as Customer Care at Eclipse Aviation. But it was all a whirlwind of activity, and before I knew it, we were back on our way home.

This trip, however, meant a longer stay. I left my house around 6:00 AM on Monday morning for a half-hour drive to Williams-Gateway Airport in southeastern Mesa. Our airplane was in the maintenance facility at Embraer for a tire change and a few software updates.

It looked beautiful as I picked it up from the hangar on the west side of the airfield. We then flew it for a whole ten minutes to Scottsdale to pick up some folks for our day’s work.

 

Is took just under an hour to arrive at Albuquerque Sunport International. My ears were acting kind of funny and were a little harder to equalize pressure as we descended. Luckily, since Albuquerque is 5,300 feet above sea level, there wasn’t much of a difference from our cabin pressure to the field elevation. My ears were a great indicator of what was coming just a few days later…

We borrowed a free crew car to grab some lunch. Authentic New Mexican food…oh, how I’ve missed you. When we got back to the airport, we decided to get a rental car for the week. We were to be here through Saturday morning, and it didn’t make sense to be without transportation.

Monday night was a lovely evening spent with friends. I know some very cool people in town, and I am tickled that they wanted to eat dinner with me! Though I saw them just four months ago during my visit to ABQ, it was great to catch up with them and their busy lives. We ate at a new Asian kitchen, and I tried some new foods that I wouldn’t normally try. Peer pressure is an incredible thing, isn’t it?! Dinner was delicious, and I feel so very blessed to know such good people.

Tuesday morning, I hit the road on foot. I walked back to Nob Hill from my hotel to see some usual sites. I ate lunch at the historic Frontier Restaurant, right across the street from the University of New Mexico. I purposely grabbed a seat by the window to watch people as they left campus. Verrrrrrry interesting folks in Nob Hill, Albuquerque.

Then I continued my walk down Central Avenue. This street is known for its, um, colorful nightlife. So I made the most of it and grabbed a Cold Stone ice cream. Oh, how I love ice cream. It made me all warm and fuzzy inside. After making me cold and shivery inside, of course.

I hurt my Achilles heel when I was training for my first 5K last fall, and it has given me constant trouble ever since. My heel is what led me to head back to my hotel about three miles away. It was a long walk with pain literally nipping at my heels the entire time. Silly heel.

Wednesday morning, I awoke with a tickle in my throat. I felt sluggish and kinda puny. It didn’t stop me from meeting some friend for a nice lunch. You can’t really go wrong with a Tower of Onion Rings, right?

 

Since I had the rental car for the afternoon, I wanted to check out my old hood. I went to my dollar theater to see a movie. It was fun, except my whole body was aching at this point. It was hard to sit for two hours through a movie that wasn’t that great.

Just another mile up the road on Montgomery Boulevard let me to my first encounter with TJ Maxx. This was the very store that changed my life forever. It is still my favorite place to shop, and it all started at this location. Though it was fun to visit the exact store where it all began, I was really starting to feel awful by now. You know I must be sick if even TJ Maxx isn’t fun!

After a quick drive-by (not that kind) of my old apartment, I made the long drive back to my Sheraton Hotel near the airport. Where I wouldn’t leave for the next three days.

 

I was one sick kid. There is really nothing worse than being sick on the road. Luckily, I didn’t have to fly until Saturday. And I don’t think I would have gotten out of bed for any other reason.

I was medicated with what I had in my suitcase. Note to self: refill that thing with current meds! And then on Friday, a teddy bear and piece of chocolate pie was delivered to my room from my local friends. If that doesn’t show how awesome they are, nothing does. It made me cry, and also made me feel a little better.

 

Saturday morning was really hard for me, since I knew I didn’t feel well enough to get out of bed. I was worried about my ears hurting during the flight, and swallowing with my sore throat was just plain miserable.

The flight was bumpy, thanks to a cold front moving through entire southwest United States. We dropped off some passengers and then flew over Sky Harbor to Williams Gateway again for some scheduled maintenance.

We’ve been gone so much these past two months that even three days spent in maintenance is heaven-sent. They will get lots done before we fly again this week.

Meanwhile, I am still sick.

Sick enough that I went to an Urgent Care facility yesterday. It was a waste of my money with no help given except a prescription gel mouth pain reliever for my sore throat. The only downside is that I can’t get it down to where my throat hurts since it can’t be swallowed!

I woke up crying at 3:00 this morning because my throat was hurting so badly. It’s nice to be home where a loving Hubby can try to help me. Man, I’m blessed. He is so wonderful.

And I am proud to relay that the ice cream IS indeed helping my sore throat. I thought it would…

The week was off to a great start in my old hood, until I got sick and spent the majority of my stay in bed at the hotel. I was able to catch up with friends and miraculously avoided getting any of them sick. I’m just glad to be home for a few days to try to knock this out once and for all.

My First Race

So I done did it. This morning. I ran my first official race ever. And we can just ignore that small children ran the race faster than me. I'm so tickled that I did it, but even more elated about training for the whole event! I've really worked hard these past thirteen weeks preparing for my first 5K, and other than the time that I had to work, I was in the gym every single day. 

By the way, running outside is easier. It seemed much faster than running on a treadmill. I kept busy trying not to fall on rocks and such, which made the time just fly by.

Speaking of time, I met my goal! I wanted to be under forty minutes (I know, I know. You official runners are choking on your granola as you read that petty goal. But it was a big one for me!). I actually came in with a time of 38:57. Yippeeee!

Luckily, I had company for the race. Our original team of twelve got widdled down to me, my sister, and my sister-in-law (six months pregnant, too!). And my sister only agreed to it this past week, so it was looking pretty scarce for a while there! It was so neat to have my own little cheering squad and support group. I ran ahead of them, but they finished just eight minutes after I crossed the line.

For those of you who couldn't make it, you were missed. Maybe next year?

While I was afraid these past few weeks that I would cry at the end, I only teared up when Megan and T'liese came around the corner. Luckily, they were giving out bananas, so that stifled the tears until I could wade through the crowd to greet them.

The best part? I'm going to keep training and do some more races this coming few months. They may make a runner out of me yet.

It feels great, and I am very proud of this accomplishment. Yes, I kept my race number. And yes, I very well may frame it and add it to a wall somewhere! What of it!

Micah running at all IS quite an accomplishment!