I have decided to become a Jedi

Last Tuesday I finished off another set of miles to complete 13.11 and earn another medal.  I have been anxious to open the first medal of the Jedi Training Academy set and add it to my wall.  Full Medal Runs offers a set of 4 medals that are Jedi themed.  You start with Jedi Initiate followed by Jedi Padawan.  I also have this medal waiting in a mailer for me to earn it.  The last two medals are Jedi Master and Jedi Quest.  Being a fantasy and gaming nerd, this medal set really appealed to me.  Full Medal Runs seems to cater to the Sci-fi nerds.  They also have a selection of Star Trek medals as well as various Star Wars themes.  I am really impressed with their selection and quality.

I proved to myself that virtual runs are good motivation for me.  It was very hot last week, but I pushed myself to get in my miles so I could feel the joy of opened that mailer and putting the medal around me neck.  Work will not be as crazy and hectic after this next week.  I hope to get back to eating better and working hard every week on being active like I was in the spring.

I also realized last week that walking 2 miles isn't a big challenge for me anymore.  I'm going to have to step up my game.  Either the miles to earn each medal will need to be higher or I will have to walk a certain distance each time.  It was a great feeling to realize that my legs no longer ache and my lower back doesn't both me.  I may not see the big changes yet, but the small changes are proof that I'm on the right path.

Color Run Fail

I was supposed to walk the Color Run in Columbus this morning with a friend.  The key words here being supposed to.  Ohio weather has a way of changing on you at the last moment but Ohio sure fooled me.  With a 100% chance of rain and thunderstorms, I was sure we would get to the start location and find out they were cancelling the event.  I made the decision to not go.  As I climbed back into bed, a storm came through.  Hard rains and thunder.  I was certain I had made the right choice.  As it turns out, my friend sent me a picture later that morning that the rain stopped 15 minutes into the start of the race.  The event had gone on and it appears she had a great time.  Now I just feel silly for not going; for at least not taking the chance.  Fortunately, my money will not go to waste.  I already had my race packet with shirt, bib, and sweatband.  I contacted the support team for the run and they told me if I pay minimal shipping cost, they will send me the medal.  I feel much better now.  This at least means I can still earn the medal even though I missed out on the fun of being at the event.  Next year.  I promise regardless of the weather outlook, I'll take the chance.

I Decide

I sat down a half hour ago to write a blog titled, "Summer Slump."  I was going to write about how bad I have done this summer walking, riding my bike, and overall not being as active as I was in the spring.  As I began to compose the first couple of lines I stopped.  I realized that the point of writing this blog, while it is to capture the ups and downs of being more healthy, was to inspire me and catalog my overcoming my unhealthy lifestyle.  I would have nothing intelligent to say other than some lines of woe is me.  And ultimately I realized I really didn't want to write it at all...

In a split second, I got out of my computer chair, started to strip out of my nightgown, and find clothing suitable for taking a walk around the neighborhood.  Too often I make excuses for my poor health choices; I'm tired, I have had a stressful week, it's getting dark and there's no time to drive somewhere...I decided tonight I would have victory over the slump.  A week of regrets over my eating and activity level was not going to defeat me.  We spend too much of our time wallowing in regrets instead of actively seeking a positive future.

This upcoming weekend, I am walking a 5k Color Run race with a friend and her friends.  It will be my first official race I have entered and the fact it is a fun run with no time restrictions and multiple stops with activities is a positive step toward doing better for myself.  Plus, there is race bling at the end.  Who doesn't want race bling?!  I have three medal right now sitting unopened in a drawer waiting for me to earn them.  Sitting at my computer writing about how bad I have done will not bring me closer to achieving any of my goals.  Slumps are important because they give you opportunities to learn about overcoming.  They are excellent lessons.  But slumps should never be the topic of  what should be your inspiration.

This time around, I am approaching being more healthy in a new way.  It's not about changing habits and lifestyles overnight like I tried to do before.  Like all things, it's not possible to change everything that makes me an unhealthy person overnight.  Life doesn't work like that.  It's one goal you work on until you are ready to add another goal to it.  I used to feel like a failure when I didn't work out every day.  If I missed taking one of my medications I would get so mad at myself.  But I missed those things because I was trying to change too many things at once.

I have been listening to a speaker named Simon Sinek recently and his thoughts on leadership are profound.  One thing he mentions is that when you decide to step up and be a leader, you can't change things in that moment just because you decided to be a leader.  They take time and most of the time, you will only grow by picking on thing to focus on.  He also says that being a leader doesn't take vision or excellent people skills.  More than anything, it takes one thing.  Courage.  It's no different for a person like me seeking to change my life.  All I need is the courage to pick one thing to work on.  Soon, if I really work on that one thing, other things will come into play.

When I got up from my chair and put on my shoes, I didn't know how far I would end up walking tonight.  I picked a direction and started.  A loop and a half later, I learned one loop is a half mile almost exactly.  It's a perfect track for days like this when the slumps start to get me down and I need a victory on my tally chart.

July 1, 2017: end of month results

It's hard to believe another month has come and gone again.  This hasn't been a good month for me.  I have been working late, stressed out over work and money, and have spent less and less time being active.  Because of my work schedule, but more so because of the summer heat, I have not been taking walks at lunch.  I know this has impacted my weight loss in a major way.  I saw the biggest changes when I was walking both at lunch and after work.  Because of the late working hours, my after work walking schedule has also suffered.  My job may not be physically demanding, but it is definitely mentally draining.  After a long day of critical thinking, it contributes to my physical exhaustion.  I have come to realize that lack of movement has certainly not helped my stress at work.  I have one more really bad month ahead of me and then I'll be able to breath easier when one of our girls on maternity leave is back.  Regardless, it's become very clear that I have to step up my game and figure out how to get more exercise in July.  The only reason the heat keeps me from walking at lunch is because I work in an office where we dress business professional every day.  I do not have the time to change my clothes, walk, and then change back into my work clothes again.  I wish I had an indoor space to walk in, but our office is not that big.

There are several things I have decided have to happen in July.

1.  I know from past experience that my body holds on to weight if I'm not on Metformin.  Every day in July I need to be taking the dosage like I should.

2.  I need to pack clothing changes daily.  If the heat doesn't allow for walking at lunch, I have to be active after work.  Whether this is walking or packing my bike and riding.  As many days as I am able to be active after work, I need to be.  If the rain keeps me inside, I have to be determined to come home and do something like strength train, Yoga, or start doing kickboxing again.

3.  Eating.  While my eating habits are already 100% better than they were, there is room for improvement.  I need to ensure I'm snacking more during the day and keeping cheat days to a minimum.  Fortunately, I'm still working on meal sharing with PJ, so this is helping me stay on track.  I think my eating habits are routine enough now that I eat a lot of good things instead of the carbs and sugars that don't process well.

I am also instituting another item to my monthly check in.  Since progress can be hard to see sometimes, I'm going to do a facial selfie every month so I can do side by side comparison pictures.  I think it will be exciting to look over time at the difference.  My measurements were not disappointing, but they were also not as exciting as I was hoping.  My weight essentially stayed the same; hanging around 312.  All of my measurements stayed the same except my stomach and hips which were down an inch on my stomach and a half inch on my hips.

I have purchased two more medals to work toward during this month.  I continue to put miles toward my 200 mile challenge.  The bike miles also count toward this medal and I want to look into medals for biking as well.  My current medal series I'm working on is Star Wars based.  The first is Jedi Initiate followed by Jedi Padawan.  The third is Jedi Master and lastly, Jedi Quest.  The last two medals are sold out on the website and I hope they intend to order more so I can complete the medals.  I will be really disappointed if I am unable to.