So far so good...

Well, 2 successful days of tracking my calories and staying at the low end. Actually, at the very low end, as low as I can get and still be within my calorie range! I didn't really mean for it to work that way, but it has.

My parents are here, and I'm going to try to keep tracking and eating well. It's usually not too hard, since I'm spending time with them instead of snacking.

Leif and I ran together for the first time last night, and it was fun! I'm still not sure that I can do the full 5K running on Saturday, but I will try and I will have fun with it!

I was supposed to go for a run with Taylor this morning, but I haven't heard from her yet, and Ellie's already awake, so I don't know if we'll go. Even if we don't run, I'd still like to take Ellie for a good walk this morning so we'll see.

Right now I need to go eat some breakfast.... fried eggwhites and Flax and Fiber toast. Maybe I'll combine them and eat a fried egg sandwich... Mmmm!

I don't think I realized...

Just how caloric almonds are. I recently bought the prepackaged nuts from Costco thinking they'd be a nice way to get some protein and variety in my diet, and give me something salty and crunchy to snack on when I get a bit peckish. They do, but a little bag of 2 oz of nuts is almost 400 calories! not exactly a "little" snack!

Back to recording....

Yesterday we didn't end up swimming in Yellowstone, as all the swimming holes were closed due to high water. But we did get in quite a bit of walking up and down steps at the Mammoth Terraces. I'd never been there before, so it was fun. We always just drive right by it and never stop. Lots of steps, though! We parked at the top and walked down and around to the lower terraces, then all the way back up, down another section, and finally back to the car. Maybe a mile and a half to two miles by the time we were done. My legs were pretty sore from running the night before, so I felt it for sure!!

This morning we "hiked" on the trails around River Rock and Cobblestone subdivision. All told I did a 4 mile walk, since I started from and returned to my house. Not a run (my shin hurts, so I'm going to give it another day before I try to run again - don't want to hurt myself and not be able to go on Saturday!) but it was at least a good walk and I got some exercise in.

Today I've got a ton of things to do in preparation for my parents' arrival tomorrow, but I started recording my food already (recorded yesterday, too) so I'm off to a good start! Recording, exercising... now for the laundry!

Oh man....

I weighed myself this morning. Bad idea. I'm up. Waaaaay up. It doesn't help that I'm bloated and hormonal, so I know that is some of the weight, but probably only a couple lbs.

I haven't been tracking my food. I haven't been paying a whole lot of attention to what I'm eating. I have been exercising, which is good, but apparently not enough. And I haven't been drinking any water. And I KNOW that affect my weight, especially since I've indulged in some full calorie soda over the past week. Ack!!

It was nice while I was in denial, but now I'm probably past that. I have GOT to get back on the bandwagon and I am just having a hard time being motivated to do so! My parents are coming into town on Tuesday, so we'll see how that will affect my ability to track calories. It's summer! I want to be free! I don't want to be tied down to calorie counting!!

Ugh. So we're headed to Yellowstone to do a little hiking and maybe some swimming with friends. Yes, that means I'll be in a bathing suit, in public, with other people we know (but who have never seen me in a bathing suit before and who are fitter than I am!)... Kind of a terrifying prospect. But hopefully there will be some hiking so I can get some exercise in.

Still not ready....

... for Saturday's run, that is.

I ran outside tonight (once it cooled down a bit) and ran 2.15 miles in 21 minutes. And that's as far as I could run. Pretty much felt like I was going to pass out or throw up if I went any further, so I walked the rest of the way. Still, it was a 10 minute mile, and it was double the furthest I've ever run outside, so that's improvement! Still, though, I need to be able to run 3 miles by Saturday and I'd like to do it in 30 minutes.

I haven't weighed myself in over a week. I keep meaning to, and manage to get in some breakfast or something to drink first. And I'm not to keen on the idea of weighing after I've consumed anything, so I haven't weighed. No idea where I am in that department. Pretty sure I'm not going to make my July 19 goal of 110. I'll probably be lucky just to be at 115 (no loss, no gain) at that point! My parents will be here Tuesday, so I am not even going to make any promises about this next week. Except that I will be training for Saturday, and that means at least 2 more serious outdoor runs, and maybe even a few endurance (not so much speed/distance) runs in between.

and THIS is me...

after I ran...

(are you ready?)

...30 MINUTES STRAIGHT!!!!

It's true! I started out determined to run 10 minutes, more if I could. But I was going to do week 6 day 2 (run 10 / walk 3 / run 10) and hoped beyond hope in the back of my mind that I could make it to 21.5 minutes, which was my previous record. I got to 10 minutes, then 13, then 15, and I pushed myself to 20. At that point I just kept going and went for another 10 minutes, finding myself at 30 minutes, running 2.5 miles in that time. WOW! I need to step up the speed a little bit to make it to 3 miles in that time, but I'm pretty darn happy with the run tonight!!

I hope I can run outside on Thursday. I could use the outside practice and I need to work on regulating my speed so I can go further and for longer. I'm taking tomorrow off from running, but hope to get in a walk, at least, and hopefully some DDR.

As a sidenote, my run tonight burned 450 calories. Woohoo!

This is me....

... sitting here in front of the computer, not having run yet. I'm dressed for it, I just didn't feel well earlier today. Now that I'm starting to feel up to it, Leif is trying to finish work and I'm watching Ellie. I think I'll see if he's ready to take her now.

Now... do I want to watch a show while I run, or just listen to music? Hmmm....

(picture taken with our brand new webcam!)