Start of Holiday season!

So the holiday eating season has already started with a bang today...

O turkey and stuffing....

We had our first "holiday dinner" at the farm today.  There was the typical- turkey, gravy, vegetables, rolls, apple pie for desert, o yeah.....and STUFFING.  I love stuffing.  Like....I secretly dream of this time of year for THAT reason.  When we lived in South Dakota and ate like crap on a regular basis we had stuffing all year round because.....we could.   It's not like it is only on the shelves in November.  So yes....stuffing is one of those foods that I have no shame in measuring in front of family and friends.  Because if I don't measure it I easily dish out 2 servings and try to convince myself it's barely 1 so I should have some more.

Well, of course the food was awesome but what was better was before dinner.  My aunt Brigid was in town from Kentucky so we met up with her and my uncle Rob, aunt Debbie, and two cousins- Alex and Kelsey at their house in Wilmington.  It was really nice to see them, especially since we haven't seen them since January when pop-pop passed.  On a cool note, turns out Debbie runs (and does everything else in) Merrell Dash Gloves as well.  She pointed out my shoes immediately. Turns out she used to have plantar fasciitis....that is until you started wearing these shoes.  She's been going minimalist for 2 years and hasn't had any pain since.  Another amazing story about going minimalist- I love it!

Speaking of the best shoes to ever grace my life....I've been SLOWLY working up the time so now I am running 7 minutes at a time.  I know, exciting.  But what is exciting- I am so much faster than I was a couple months ago! I think it's the combination of the better form and shorter distances but for whatever reason I am so proud of myself for getting my speed up! I still remember a time when I would start my run at about 4.0 mph speed.  Now I start at 6.0 mph (10 min/mile) and have been gradually building up over my run to 7.0 mph (8.5 min/mile).  Holy awesome, I am so proud of myself for this progress!! :)  I am also glad I made the decision to do this correctly and gradually build up while pretty much ditching my other shoes completely.

Goodbye my friends

So, goodbye to my Asics 2170s.  You were fantastic and I loved you through my half marathon training, but I have outgrown you and now have shoes that won't keep causing me pain via terrible form.

DOCF Teal blue ribbon 5k race recap

Yesterday was awesome. Plain and simple, it was amazing actually.

Yesterday was the Delaware Ovarian Cancer Foundation's annual teal blue ribbon 5k on the Wilmington waterfront.  My family walked or ran in support of my mom, who was diagnosed 3 years ago and is the strongest, bravest person I know. <3 There was quite a crowd there supporting DOCF, it was awesome to see!

I thought overall the race was well organized except for one minor issue- our registration was missing.  We later discovered the problem was they had put us in the walkers qualification even though we had both registered as runners.  All was fixed and we got signed up and got our chips and t-shirts.  And then....we waited.....and waited.  My mom had told us that start was at 9am- it was actually 9:30am.  In my infinite wisdom I didn't check the registration so us getting there at 8:15 am for a 9:30am start was kinda boring, but we had fun hanging out, warming up forever, and of course it's ALWAYS better to arrive early than late. DUH!

So we had plenty of time to take pictures....

My family complete with the Hughes family and the dogs!

Aren't we awesome?  The Hughes family really is- I'll give you some concrete examples later.

Mom and I hanging out before the race. Much love! <3

The runners waiting at the starting line!

Can I just pause to let it just sink in to my brain that I was one of the runners....

I'm still trying to get over the shock of enjoying running and not just suffering through it because it's good for weight loss. It's pretty incredible. 

I really enjoyed this run! It was pretty flat and had some nice scenery because it was on the Wilmington waterfront most of the time and I ran with my wonderful hubby!  It was actually the first time Adrian and I have run together and hopefully not the last.  We both listening to music so only talked when I was encouraging him or updating him on our pace- I don't even know if he heard me half the time.  At first I thought this would be awkward because any other time I have run with somebody we talked....but it worked for us.

My goals for the race were to A- PR, B-get sub-36 minutes, C- have negative splits (so faster in the last mile than the first).  My previous PR was 42-something so that was going to be cake to beat, but goal B would be pushing my typical pace of 12:00- 12:30 over 3 miles, but I thought it was reachable.

So....I finished at 35:37.4 which was a 11:30 pace!  That obviously KILLED my previous PR and.....I had negative splits, sort of, lol.  My middle mile was a little bit slower, but mile 3 was faster than mile 1....barely. lol.  Also, it took me a bit to remember to hit my watch after we finished, hence ignore the final time (these are the stats from my garmin forerunner). But, look- I did punch the end with a half decent push! :)

Split	Time	Moving Time	Distance	Elevation Gain	Elevation Loss	Avg Pace	Avg Moving Pace	Best Pace
1	11:27.1	10:55	1	0	0	11:27	10:55	9:11
2	11:37.4	11:35	1	0	5	11:37	11:35	10:39
3	11:21.4	11:00	1	3	0	11:21	11:00	10:08
4	01:24.7	1:21	0.14	0	0	10:13	9:46	7:28
Summary	35:50.6	34:51.0	3.14	3	5	11:25	11:06	7:28

 My cousins KILLED it!! They both got PRs and Johnny got 1st place in his age group, Genny 2nd place in her age group! Medal winners!! So proud of them!! :)
  So in conclusion- awesome race with awesome people!

Do you have a plan?

"A goal without a plan is just a wish"

Wow, what a powerful statement from this week's weight watcher weekly bulletin. So, have you set your new years resolutions yet? I know some people have given the increased numbers at the Y and weight watchers in the past couple weeks. Today it was packed at weight watchers, which I love seeing- I just hope people can stick with it.

And that's what is so hard for so many, and was so difficult for me until I gave up all my excuses, looked myself in the mirror and admitted that I needed help. Thank God for weight watchers and support I have received from it and my loved ones. But the reality is...I AM DOING THIS. Not weight watchers, or my friends and family, but ME. Just as the all wonderful Jennifer Hudson says- you have to Believe.

So, do you Believe? After my weigh in today... with a whopping 3.6 lb loss- I have to believe! I'm in shock that I had such a good week with so much other stress going on. On New Years day we lost a great man, my grandfather- Joe Mulrooney. So Adrian and I packed up and drove down to Louisville, KY to mourn his loss with my family. It was very difficult because not only was Joe a great man, but it seemed like I couldn't help but re-open the wound that my father's death has left on my heart. My uncle Rob and his wife Debbie were there which was comforting. Seeing uncle Rob always seems to transport me back in time to Christmases in Kentucky where I would be on Papa's knee and Rob would play with us and my cousins in the basement while the "boring adults" socialized upstairs. In my eyes he was always such a cool uncle because of the silly things that kids care about when they are 5- barbies and toys.

And of course, it was great to spend time with the Crush family (my Aunt Brigid and her family), they are always so warm, fun and loving. It was wonderful spending time with them last time we were in Kentucky to see my dad when his health was failing...it's just a shame that we usually spend time together during difficult times because they are so full of life and love. With family far away, sometimes that's just the reality of life. I love that I never feel pressured to eat extra around them like I often feel around other family members and even some friends, in fact I feel just the opposite. Their healthy life style makes me feel at ease and like I am in my own house- which showed on the scale this week despite fewer total workout days and some of the most delicious desert I have ever tasted (but in moderation). If you have never had Derby Pie you obviously haven't lived. Also, chocolate chip pumpkin bread is so delicious it might have been created by the devil himself- it was the only thing I really "splurged" on and enjoyed two slices with no guilt because it was 100% worth it.

But fate stepped in again to throw us a curve ball...after the funeral on Thursday and a relaxing afternoon with the Crushes and uncle Rob, Adrian got the hard news that his grandmother died.....just 4 days after we lost Papa. Talk about a bad start to 2012...

Sometimes life is just hard. But all you can do is pick up and keep going.