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!

A Small Victory...

Brr! It's starting to get chilly outside which means as much as I don't want to admit it, summer is ending and fall is beginning.  I actually love fall -- don't get me wrong, but I'm not so much looking forward to another long, dark winter. I was just starting to get outside and exercise!

So tonight I went to pull on a pair of jeans for the first time since May and guess what?  They were loose!  *happy dance*  They aren't exactly falling off yet (perhaps another 15 lbs or so) but they are definitely not tight. They were very tight when I last wore them so this is an improvement.

Tonight I walked another 3.5 miles and am up to 120 crunches.  I also went back to Weight Watchers (finally!) this week.  I'm still hovering right at 12 lbs lost. I'm not sure I'll quite make my goal of 18 lbs for this first quarter (which is at the end of September) but since I started later in July that is okay.  As long as I continue my trend of losing weight I am good with that.

Somehow, I know my mom is proud of me.

Game - Set - Match

So last weekend I continued my foray into getting more active.  I walked over 3 miles twice more and continued doing crunches. I also took advantage of an offer from my cousin to go and play some tennis. It felt so good to get out on the court and hit the ball around for a while. We ended up playing for 2.5 hours which made it great exercise as well.

I played tennis in high school but haven't played very much since then.  I'm not very good but I did manage to keep up with my cousin, who is a far better player than I will ever be. (Especially my backhand!) 

I share this to say that it is making me think about what other ways I can change up my exercise program. In the past when I try to exercise I have tended to get in a rut, doing the same thing every time.  Clearly, walking (and eventually running) needs to figure prominently since I am also training to trek in the mountains.  However, I'd also like to work in some alternative exercise such as tennis and yoga to keep things a little more interesting. 

I'm still struggling with my crazy, crazy schedule right now but I'm trying to work in the exercise when I can. I certainly feel better on the days when I can exercise and I also find that I'm sleeping better.

I also went back to Weight Watchers (finally!) tonight. I'm pleased to report that I'm up to a total of 12 lbs. lost so far! 

So how do you like to exercise? What motivates you to keep working out?

Smart Choices...

If I am successful in meeting my goals it will be the result of a million good choices that I made along the way. I wish that it were as easy as making the decision once, but I know that it is more than that. Undoubtedly I will make a few bad choices along the way as well.

Tonight, however, I am celebrating a couple good decisions that I made today.  I had a huge work event yesterday that left me feeling very physically exhausted. I got home at a normal time tonight and instead of laying on the couch (like I wanted to) I decided to lace up my new sneakers and go for a walk. I walked for an hour, did some crunches and push ups and then went for a quick swim.  That was a great set of decisions for a couple reasons.  First, it got me moving. I've been making healthier eating choices this month but I haven't had the time to start any exercise regimen.  This was a terrific start. I always feel better (and sleep better) when I've done some exercise.  Secondly, it was a great decision as I also strive to get a better sense of balance in my life. I'll share more about that in the coming weeks but as I've said before, this isn't just a physical journey for me.  Another piece of it is restoring this work-life balance that I seemed to lose at some point.

My second wise choice today was pretty simple, I ate the lunch I took to work. I was temped to go out for a quick bite when I was running errands (and that was definitely something I used to do often) but I stuck to my original plan. In fact, I've been making and taking my lunch to work pretty regularly all month.

I know I don't weigh in officially until Wednesday but I can usually tell when I've lost some weight. I've been feeling that way for a couple days so I let curiosity get the better of me tonight and I have indeed lost weight!  From July I am down a total of 6.4 lbs and from March a total of 11.4 lbs!

That's a great way to end the day. One decision at a time!

Nepal...here I come!

So this is a photo from base camp and approximately where I will be going in November 2013 if all goes according to plan (keep in mind that the top of that mountain is roughly where a jumbo jet cruises - 29,000 ft.).  While it isn't a technical climb, it is 14 days of treking between roughly 8,000 ft and 18,000 ft.  The altitude will be a huge challenge in and of itself (and that's with Sherpas carrying our belongings).  However, I also need to begin building my endurance and ability to hike long distances without tiring.

I played tennis and softball in high school and actually think that if I stick to my careful plan I should be able to do this.  The leader of the trek said the most important thing is the ability to walk for long distances for many days.  So here's my plan of attack over the next couple years:

2011 - before I can start any serious training I need to lose roughly 40 lbs. so I'm focusing on that this year.  I will also begin walking 3-4 days per week and once fall comes I plan to try hiking on some area trails (I am shocked at how many there are) just to get myself used to the journey a bit.

2012 - In addition to continuing to lose weight and weekly walking/hiking I have a couple other goals.  First is to run three 5K's (one each season: spring, summer, fall).  I might not be able to run the whole way at first but I want to start to train for them over the winter.  This will help me with endurance.  Additionally, I plan to hike the tallest mountain in NYS: Mt. Marcy.  It's 5,344 ft. so only a quarter of the way I will be going but still it's a days journey and great training.  It's also special because my mom climbed it back in 2006 (more on that in the future).

2013 - In 2013 I hope to be able to climb a couple more Adirondack high peak's during the summer as well as continuing hiking, walking and running.  If my running goes well I may attempt a 10K. That's a big goal since I'm not a runner by any stretch.  Again, with hard work and dedication the majority of my weight should be off by then so running should be a bit of an easier prospect.

I may try to go out west a little bit in 2012/13 to start to figure out how I do with the altitude. I was in Colorado Springs 10 years ago and that was no issue for me, so perhaps a fun trip like that might be thrown on the schedule but it isn't a must.  The company paces everything purposefully so you can acclimatize along the way.

I get really pumped up planning it all out and thinking about what it will be like.  I am not always the most patient person in the world so having a plan that spells out how what I am doing now will help me achieve the end goal is important. 

Thanks for all the encouraging comments. So far no one has told me I'm absolutely crazy so that is a start! :-)  By the way, a great song to get me pumped about this trip is the new Coldplay single "Every teardrop is a waterfall". You can listen to it here.