Happy Thanksgiving Mom!

Dear Mom,

It's hard to believe it's been a year and eight months since you passed. I miss you every day.  Today is Thanksgiving and I'm so thankful that I had a wonderful mother like you.  I think you would be pretty proud of how I am (finally) starting to fulfill my promise to you, mom.  At this point I've lost about 27 lbs since the spring.  It took me a while to get going but I don't think I've ever been more committed to exercise than I am right now. Beyond the weight loss, I just feel good!

This morning I ran the Race with Grace 10K!  It was by far the longest I've ever run and I am so excited to tell you that I ran the whole thing.  Dad came out to cheer me on. As I ran through the finish line I thought of you and what you would be thinking of this whole thing.  I know you would be proud and perhaps a little surprised.  I know I am surprised.  There have been a few things in my life that I have really set my mind to and accomplished something amazing. This is one of those times. 

Whenever I get tired or discouraged and think I can't keep going, I think of you mom.  Not only how doggedly you fought your disease, but also just how doggedly you lived your life. You had a lot of loss and tough things happen and you just kept going, picking yourself up and moving on.  You left us all a wonderful example to follow.

I miss you tons and wish more than anything I could drive to your house and tell you this in person, but I guess I'll have to rely on the heavenly internet. 

Happy Thanksgiving Mom!

It wasn't pretty...

It was a beautiful, sunny and surprisingly warm March day. I was laying on my couch reading the paper. Suddenly I had a thought.  I had been meaning to look up the "Couch to 5K" program for a while now, but life (as it always does) had gotten in the way.  Today was a rare and wonderful day where I had absolutely NOTHING on my schedule.  I grabbed my iPhone and a few minutes later had downloaded the "Couch to 5K" app and was on my way.  I popped up and started to get ready, shortly thereafter I was out the door and on my way.

It wasn't pretty I'm sure, but the important thing is I did it! I completed the Week 1, Day 1 (W1D1) workout and I feel pretty good.  The theory is that anyone can run a 5K with 9 weeks of careful training.  You basically alternate running and walking until you are able to run the whole 3.1 miles. 

So hopefully this is just the beginning of a new workout regime.  Actually, I have also been doing some yoga in the last few weeks too. I am hoping to alternate that with the running workout.

People have been asking me about my goals and how I am doing. Why hadn't I updated my blog? Was I still working to lose weight? Had I given up?  The short answer is that life got in the way.  I had a stressful fall, and then bought a house this winter and so my time and attention was diverted for a while.  Did I give up? Well, no not in my heart but I admit that I had to take a break from this while I focused elsewhere.  I'm hoping to be a bit more faithful in posting now (and in my workouts).

But here I am, back at it.  For some reason, buying a house seems to have spurred me on to doing things I never thought I would do, such as becoming a neat freak. ;-)  All I know is that it's one step and one day at a time and if I continue to work hard, I can do this!  Thanks for the support!

Welcome!

It is with a little trepidition that I enter into this world of blogging.  I am doing this for myself mainly and the accountability that making this public will provide.  This is really going to be a journey for me. A journey that will last at least two years and will be undoubtedly marked by many successes (hopefully!) and a few failures (hopefully very few).  If I can accomplish my goal, I believe that this will make for a very compelling story - one full of good old fashioned hard work and dedication!

So what is my goal exactly?  Nothing more or less than keeping a promise I made to my mom before she passed away only 4 months ago.  Really, the original promise was made 2.5 years ago but mom reminded me of it in several conversations we had only weeks before she passed.  A deal is a deal and I can't renegotiate the terms of the deal now (not that I want to).  She kept her end of the bargain and I didn't.

More will come in the days ahead. I'll tell you about my plan, my exact goal and a little bit more about my wonderful and amazing mother, Judy!  Oh, and I will soon explain the design behind this blog.  It was all designed purposefully!  Wish me Godspeed on this journey I'm about to embark upon!