Race Season

I am very excited that my personal "Race Season" is starting this week!

I'm starting out with a 10k race on March 1st, a local trail race that I was talked into doing by some friends that I run with. Apparently you get medals for all races (5k, 10k, half marathon) and the company that puts on these races always has really good food. We're talking pizza, Its-Its, gels, the whole thing. We know I love good food, and I just got this fantastic medal and bib display for my birthday, so another medal would add to my small collection that I've started to accumulate.

My awesome display!


The next race that I have coming up is a local half marathon on March 15th, which is partially going to be run on a paved trail that I frequent. The best part about this race is that it's St. Patrick's Day-themed, so I'm going to go all out with the green! I found some gems in the Target dollar bins, which I am very excited to wear.

Finally, I'm off to San Francisco on April 6th for the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon! This will be a good friend's first half marathon, so I'm very excited to be there for that and do the race with her.

And then I'm going to REST. My plan is to take at least a month and a half off of distance running before beginning to train for the final event of the summer. (I'm not sure what I'll be doing in the fall yet. We will see!)

I was very excited to hear that a good friend from college would be in San Francisco working for a law firm this summer. He is a runner, and told me he was thinking of doing the first half of the San Francisco marathon this summer. And since I was like ZOMG ME TOO, we decided to do it! I'm officially registered! It's the first step for me in doing the Half it All Challenge, and HOPEFULLY, the first of three steps in joining the 52 Club in 2016!

So for this upcoming March and April "Race Season," I have a few goals.

1. Set a new half-marathon PR, and hopefully get a time of 2:20 or under
2. Beat my previous 10k PR (58:57)

And then when I do a 5K in June, I'd love to get a new 5K PR as well. Very exciting!


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I also hit a new milestone in my yoga practice this weekend as well. Previously, I was struggling with wheel pose. When done correctly, it is like this (image is from myyogaonline.com):

I generally have no trouble getting into the pose fluidly, and in my head, it feels like this:

But coming out of the pose for me has always been like this:

No really. One time, doing yoga in Boston ages ago, I came out of a wheel pose so hard on my right shoulder that I had a giant bruise for a week. Generally I come out of the pose about halfway, using my arms to gently let me down... then freak out and fall down on one side or just come down hard in general.

Finally, this week, I successfully got into a wheel TWO times, then came down from it twice! I kept telling myself to trust my arms, trust that they were strong enough to let me down twice - and I made it!

Totes all this, all the time:

And in terms of food, I had a very successful first meeting with my therapist. I'm kind of starting to leave Weight Watchers by the wayside, as a result. I still believe it's a great diet - but it is just that. A diet. It helped me to lose weight, but now, I need something that I can maintain and will not feel restrictive.

I'm working on feeling my body's hunger and fullness signals, feeling satisfied, and not depriving myself. I'm also starting to read a book called Intuitive Eating, and I'm hoping that it will help me in the process to figure out what my body needs. It's strange abandoning the structure of Weight Watchers, but I think instead of wanting to trust points and a program, I'm going to have to learn to learn and trust my body and its signals. I will let you know how it goes!

xo
S

Asking for Help

I know it's been awhile since I last wrote - there are a bunch of reasons for this. One, honestly, is that I've been busy. Despite the luxury of having two three-day weekends in a row (awesomeeeeeee), somehow I always manage to fill the time.

Another reason I haven't written is that there hasn't really been anything food-wise inspiring me. I don't want to go into great detail on a public forum, but I've continued to struggle with certain food issues. Everyone has their stuff to deal with, I realize that. And I have mine. As I've stated, maintenance has been hard - I've done it, I've managed it, but mentally, it's different from weight loss, less clear cut. And, as I've said, it's scary! I have never done it before. I do know that this time is different, but I want it to continue to be different, and successful.

So, after some discussion with a friend and A, I've decided to start seeing a therapist. I have my first appointment tomorrow - and I'm really excited! My insurance can cover sessions, and I found a person, who I spoke with on the phone today, who I think can really help.

This is the first time I'm seeking help on my own, which is a big deal. Sometimes you just can't manage everything by yourself, and I think this is one of those instances. I don't want to fall back into bad habits, unhealthy habits and ways of thinking. I know I have changed a lot of things, but there are many things that still can be changed. And I know things will never be perfect - but I think they can be better.

So, I'd like to close with something that one of my friends, the one who I talk to about weight-loss related stuff, told me about therapy, and asking for help. She said:

I'm really proud of you for realizing that you needed help. That's one of the hardest things to ever admit to yourself -- trust me, I've been there! I know you know this, but I'll emphasize it for you: asking for help makes you a strong person. Asking for help does not mean you are broken, or weak, or anything negative. It means you're smart enough to know that something is wrong and you need help in fixing it.

So I hope this can help you all to know - we all have our struggles. It hasn't been a cake walk since I've decided to lose and maintain weight, despite the success that I've had. And I do appreciate those successes. I also have the issues that I need to deal with. But - I'm strong enough now to realize when I need help with something, that I am capable of finding that help. I hope if any of you do, you're able to ask whoever it is that can help. (And I am always open to talk with anyone who needs it, too! Always let me know if that person can be me).

xoxo
S