Warmly Welcoming the New Year

Weekly weight report: 301, down a pound from last week. I didn't meet my sub-300 by new year's goal, but that's OK. I'm heading in the right direction. I haven't yet been back to logging my food in My Fitness Pal, but I am going to make a fresh start of that tomorrow (well, technically later today since it's post-midnight already). Generally I have been trying to eat intuitively, i.e. eating when I am hungry, and it's been working out well enough so that I didn't have gains over the holiday week(s).

I ended up having a great workout at the gym yesterday even though I'd had a tummy ache the night before and still wasn't feeling 100% that morning. I started out taking it easy and doing an easy 25 minutes on the treadmill, which was followed by a most excellent weight training session – more on the trap bar and some other stuff with upper body. I felt powerful!

I'm now regretting not having taken a screenshot of us, but for lunch today I spent a good hour Facetiming with one of my oldest and best friends, Carin, who is also a runner. We met our first year at Purchase College together (then known as SUNY Purchase) and became closer in the following years, eventually starting a band together along with her then-boyfriend now-husband, Angus. They now live in Maine but are still like family to me.

The impetus for our call was to talk about this 6-, 12-, 24-hour Ultra race* we're considering doing together this summer. It's taking place in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, about halfway between us, and I think it would be the perfect girls' weekend out. She's still on the fence but I am really hoping it will happen.

We ended the conversation with the decision to have a lunch date every first weekend of the month – we actually ate lunch together, almost as good as sitting at the same table! Anyway, we also thought it would be a good chance for us to check in with each other about our health and fitness goals, too! So this month, I decided I wanted to focus on getting back into the food logging habit, as well as adding on the second running day each week. Carin wants to do intermittent fasting, eating just once a day, and run/walk 3-4 miles each day. When we Facetime in February, we can talk about how those things went and where we want to go from there. I'm really excited about it! It'll be so nice to be in touch with her on a more regular basis, and to have yet another way to stay accountable and give/get support.

Well, today is Sunday, and technically I could have/should have gone for a run. I didn't! Instead, I slept in, lounged around, had my Facetime date... and then spent the whole rest of the afternoon in the kitchen cooking. Is that the same as running a mile or two? Mmmm... maybe? Maybe, but not really, I know. I'm giving myself a pass today but assured that this week is the week. I am going to be running Sunday mornings with my friend Janice, and also considering Friday mornings on my own as well. But first things first, gotta get those Sundays into the routine.

I also took the time tonight to peruse the coming year's races. I've already registered for a few and plan to do several others – it'll probably end up being about a dozen or more for 2017 if all goes well. I'll continue to focus on finishing any distances, as my trainer Rick suggested, and only start even thinking about improving pace once I hit the 250 pound mark. I have 50 to go but hearing this from him somehow helped me actually own it, envision it for myself. That's something that's been a problem for me in the past and I am sure has prevented me from progressing further. I mean, if you can't imagine yourself looking any different than you do now, how can you get there because you don't ever think you CAN get there?

I can get there. I will get there!

Happy new year!!!

* This is the kind of race that is a loop and where you can take as many breaks as you like during the time period you sign up for. It has the 6, 12, or 24 hour option. You can run as few or as many miles as you want/can. Perfect for a runner like me!