Every Good and Perfect Thing Comes from Above...And From Running

James 1:17 "Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow."

1 year ago I ran the country music half marathon for the first time as a runner. This Saturday I will run it again for the 2nd year in a row. As I am preparing for the race this weekend I cant help but reflect and think back on what a crazy running year this has been. I realize that pretty much everything good in my life I owe to God and running. As cliche as it sounds, I truly believe now that me running is part of God's plan for my life. 

I have a really awesome job! I am blessed to work for some of the kindest and most caring human beings on the planet. If you met them, you would be hard pressed to find people that are nicer or cooler than they are. How did I come across this really awesome job? Running buddies of course! I didnt get into running for networking, but when you run with people a few times a week for several hours you learn about their life and what they do and they learn about your life and what you do. I work with my running buddies! How cool is that!! 

If you follow me on instagram (@sml145), you might have noticed my ridiculously good looking and incredibly wonderful boyfriend. How did we meet? We met in our running group! We were in the same pace group for the Country Music Half Marathon training group last year. Funny thing is, we didnt really know each other during the Winter/Spring CMM training. We didnt get to know each other until we started Fall half marathon training (much smaller group). We started running together and became close friends and had an instant connection. Now were dating (and I can out run him :D). I owe my really wonderful and amazing relationship to running! Dating a fellow runner is fun! He's my automatic running partner! I owe my relationship to God, for putting this really wonderful GODLY! (<---Ladies this is the most important trait to look for in a man youre dating!) Man in my life. Had I not joined a running group and started running and trained for the 1/2 marathon last year, I might not have ever met this really great guy who is really good to me! So all of that to say! Thank you Jesus for putting both of us in the right place at the right time in that running group!

Recently, ive been struggling, ive gained quite a few pounds back and have been struggling to stay on track lately. When I start to get discouraged for getting off track, I look back at where I started and realized ive come a long ways. I also look at everything good in my life and how running has literally changed my life for the better! That keeps me going, and brings me back up when I start to get discouraged.

Major victory this week: We have this park full of hills here in Nashville (who am I kidding, all of Nashville feels like one giant hill!). This park is called Percy Warner. For the longest time I have let Percy Warner get to me. Running Percy Warner Park is HARD! Its a challenging 5.8 mile loop thats pretty steep. I have struggled with this run! I hate Percy and all its hills with a passion. Last week I ran there and got lost :( . So Percy has always gotten the best of me. After last week, I realized that Percy Warner is all mental. This week I set the time on my phone to run 5 minutes walk 1 minute. Do to the nature of this park and the number of hills, most of the time I didnt get lucky and end up with a hill during a 1 minute walk....Unfortunately I had to run those hills! But you know what!? I made it up those hills! and I didnt die! I conquered Percy Warner Park today! I crushed Percy Warner Park today! 

I am ready to conquer 13.1 miles on Saturday!

Just Say No to Body Shaming

Warning: This is my rant, and its long, but its worth reading. 

Body shaming definition: Body shaming to me is when someone  makes you feel about 2 feet tall and makes you hate your body. Body shaming is where someone makes comments about the way you look or makes comments about your body that make you feel terrible about yourself.  Most time adults (usually, and normally directed towards young women) that "body shame" others, don't really understand what they were doing. They think that comments such as "you'd be so much prettier if you were skinnier" are motivation to loose weight, but instead those comments tear people down. This needs to be changed!  A healthy body, and a healthy mind are connected! 

The reason for this blog post:

I was out and about in public the other day, and I witnessed a mother making comments to her pre-teen daughter about her body. This mother basically called her pre-teen daughter fat. Which infurates me! This girl was no older than about 11 or 12. Yes, this girl was overweight for her age, but that's not the point. In my opinion, children, teenagers, women, men, boys, of all ages should be made to feel wonderful and beautiful no matter their size. My other issue is that yes, the girl that was the victim of body shaming, was overweight, but body shaming her is not the answer. If this mother continues to cut down her daughter and make comments about her size, that is not going to help, its only going to drive her to make more unhealthy choices! This girl is at one of the most important times in her life. That girl is at the age where she is learning about herself and who she wants to me. Kids these days are even meaner than they were when I was pre-teen. I am almost positive that if she is being picked on by her mother, kids at school are picking on her as well. She is just starting to make her mark on the world, and she shouldn't have to do it feeling bad about herself or her body!

My solution: Instead of cutting this girl down and making her feel bad about herself and her body, lets build this girl up! Why can't we give her positive attention and teach her healthy eating habits and teach her how to have a healthy lifestyle. Let's teach kids to be active, and find fun things to do to where they get physical activity and exercise. Let's teach them & love them. I can't help but wonder if this girl that I saw is overweight due to the emotions from the way her mother treats her. Lets Love on kids and teens and teach them to have healthy lifestyles rather than cutting them down and making them feel bad about their bodies. Lets treat them in a way that gives them confidence about themselves and their bodies. Adults need this too. Always remember Psalm 139:14 :I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Last two major points:

1) Adults: lets remember that our bodies are a temple, so lets treat it as such. We should be the example for kids. We are constantly watched in this day and age with social media everywhere. If we try to make better choices and those watching us see it, then maybe they will be encourage to make better choices too!

2) God made you the way you are for a reason, but its ok to make healthy changes, but always remember he made you the way you are for a reason. If you want to make changes, do it for yourself, not for others.

Thank you for reading my rant!

Happy New Year! Hitting the Reset Button and Goal Recap

Happy New Year Everyone! 2015 was a great year! Its time to hit the reset button and get back on track for 2016!

The holidays were great, but it was a time of resting and indulging. The holidays are over now, its time to get back to serious running and healthy eating.

I have kept this little blog up for a whole year! I'm pretty excited! Last year at this time I set a few goals for myself! I am proud that I have crushed my goals! I didn't meet all of them but i'm very pleased with my progress. Here were my goals from last year and how I did:

1)  Reach my Goal Weight --> The recommended weight for my height (5'5) is 114-144 I would like to be about 140.  I have around 50 more pounds to go, give or take a few. --> I haven't reached my goal weight yet but I am still working and am getting closer. I am probably close to 20 lbs away from my goal weight! I am pleased!

2) I want to RUN!! (not walk) the Country Music 1/2 Marathon at the end of April! Running 13.1 miles ahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!  --> I RAN!!! 3 half marathons!! No 1, not 2, but 3!! I conquered Country Music 1/2 Marathon, Savannah 1/2 Marathon, and Vegas 1/2 Marathon! Each one of these races had their own challenges but overall i'm pleased with my time for them and the memories made in the cities those races were held in!

Last year at this time I was worried about being able to run 5 miles at the beginning of half marathon training! the farthest I had ever ran was 3.5 miles! 1 year later, I have completed 2 half marathon trainings and 3 half marathons!

I am walking talking proof that you really can do ANYTHING you put your mind too! I had it in my head that I wanted to run a half marathon. I put the time, work, and effort into conquering that goal and I did it! So that's my advice to you! If you want something work for it! 

Its a new year! Happy 2016! I HATE! new years resolutions...no one ever keeps New years resolutions, its entirely too much pressure. So instead I set small achievable goals for myself. These goals are simple and achievable ones that if I don't meet them I don't beat myself up about it, but they give me something to work towards. Here are my goals for 2016:

1) Meet my goal weight sometime in 2016!

2) Run 3 half marathons and improve my time! I would like to finish at least one 1/2 marathon in 2 hours, but would be perfectly ok with a 2:30 finish. Here are the 3 half marathons I want to run this year:

                                                                          1) Nashville Country Music Half marathon 

                                                                          2) Chicago Half marathon

                                                                          3) Destination to be determined!

All 3 of my half marathons will be rock n roll series, b/c i'm a nerd...I really want the big medal they send out to participants who have completed 3 of their half marathons! Its super giant and would look really nicely hanging on my wall!

         

Here are pictures from my running adventures:

I have really awesome co-workers who encourage my running habit. My boss created this meme of me after I ran the Komen 5k in October here in Nashville!

Finished Savannah!

Ran past this sign in Vegas!!

This is my friend Mal...her face says it all...how we all feel after running a 1/2 marathon..."I hate running..I love running..I hate running...I Love running"

 

The Vegas Medal was a slot machine! How cool is that!

Too tired to smile after finishing Vegas

Shout out to my running group Happy Running People! There is no way I could've achieved my goal of running a half marathon, and then adding 2 more, without their constant support & encouragement. When you spend countless hours running with people you get to know them and they truly become family! (and the handsome guy on the right is my favorite running buddy (aka thats my boyfriend) )

This is my most recent before and after. The picture on the left is from December of 2013. The picture on the left is December 2015.

Thanks for reading! Ill post again soon to update on this years half marathon training!

13.1...times 3

Its been quite awhile since I have posted anything! Where have I been? Well, I've been training for, and running half marathons!

I did it! I reached my goal of completing 3 half marathons in 2015. It wasn't pretty...but I did it. The half marathons I completed are:

1) Country Music Half Marathon
2) Savannah (Ga) Half Marathon
3) Las Vegas Half Marathon

My favorite of the 3 races was Savannah. It was such a last minute spur of the moment (expensive) decision. I was home in GA helping my mom and decided, that I was so close to Savannah, why not run it!  Even though I ended up in the medical tent needing an IV for dehydration because it was so stinking hot, Savannah was my favorite because that's the race that I PR'd on, and I am super competitive with myself.





Post-Race Savannah (& post medical tent/post IV) picture!


Vegas was my least favorite race! I loved the scenery of the Vegas strip and loved running Vegas with one of my best friends, and it was so much fun to watch her succeed at running her first half marathon, the odds just weren't in my favor in Vegas (pun intended). I am so competitive with myself my personality doesn't usually let me just be happy with completing a race, I have to have done my best to be happy. I wasn't really happy with myself when I first finished the Vegas 1/2. Looking back though, I actually am happy with myself for just completing the race. This race was a disaster for me! This race was on a Sunday night. Sunday morning I woke up throwing up every where (TMI I know). I was fine by Sunday afternoon after a good breakfast and lots of water, but I was still not 100% by race time.  Any normal person probably would've backed out...but I am not a normal person (we've already established this). I am also cheap and didn't buy race insurance (lesson learned) so I had no choice but to run the race... Most of running is mental...I was mentally and physically tired! When I run a race, I try my best to stay off my feet/legs as much as possible the day before and the day of the race. That wasn't possible in Vegas. There was so much to see and so little time. So I started out the race already tired from a day of sightseeing in Vegas, and run down from being sick that morning. This is the first race, I am thrilled to have just finished and not given up or quit!

I am so blessed to have the support of so many people! There is no way I would've made it through 3 half marathons without the support of my running buddies who are some of the most special people to me. I am also super blessed to work with great people! It is so nice to work with people who understand my need to take personal days to travel to and/or prepare for a half marathon! My really awesome boss created a meme of me, using a picture from the race for the cure 5k back in October:

I also received so many encouraging text messages and comments on Facebook. This collage is just a sampling of some of the awesome messages I received. When I started my running journey, I did it for myself and no one else (I know it rhymes). It has been a neat experience to hear from others that say I have encouraged and inspired them!  I have learned so much from each half marathon that I have done! While "winning" in a half marathon is finishing, I have learned some races go great, and others not so much. So the quote that sums up my Vegas race is sometimes you win and sometimes you learn! Also! How cool is the Vegas finishers medal! Its a slot machine that says 13.1!!  So awesome! I can't wait to get my "heavy" medal from the rock n roll company that says I completed 3 half marathons!!

I am so incredibly blessed to have this awesome community of running buddies! They are so awesome! Especially when they send me Ryan Gosling meme's to congratulate me on finishing 3 half marathons! :) 

Also a great big shout out to my Vegas running partner and BFF for putting up with my whining about the crappy Vegas weather (40+ MPH winds & rain) during the race. You're the best!


I'm ending this post with my Vegas finisher picture. (Yes it is a screen shot from the photographers website bc i'm too cheap to buy my post race pictures :) )



Thanks for reading! More to come when I figure out what i'm doing next!..and when I hit my goal weight! Which is only like 25-30 pounds away! Woah!! So close!!

Happy Fall Y'all!

I just looked at my blog! Can't believe the last time I posted was August! I've been busy! Too busy to blog! (I guess that defeats the purpose of the blog since I guess you're supposed to blog about whats going on in your life and that type of stuff, so anyways..I digress). What have been busy doing? Running of course! (and starting a new job, and traveling, and trying to get back on track with my eating, after eating too much junk food while traveling, and just trying to keep up with life in general).

 After the potato to tomato 5k training this summer I decided that I would keep running and train for another half marathon. I have been training to run the Las Vegas 1/2 marathon in mid November. I'm super excited but nervous at the same time. I've never run Vegas before, nor have I ever ran a half marathon at night! This past spring when I ran Country Music 1/2 marathon, I had run that course so many times I knew it like the back of my hand! Vegas is going to be completely new! So look out for the post Vegas 1/2 blog post! I may be crazy...but im considering running the Savannah GA 1/2 marathon the weekend before, I would really love the giant blingy medal that comes with doing 3 rock n roll series half marathons, but we'll see. Why do these dang runs have to be so expensive! Running 1/2 marathons is hard to my budget! Geez!

I have had a love hate relationship with the half marathon training so far. I don't know why but the pace of this training and the number of miles we do each week seems very challenging! I have had a few runs that haven't gone really well. However, last weekend we did 12 miles I felt really strong! Long distance runs are hit or miss for me! Im learning a lot in this training! Not sure how this is different than the other training, but im learning that what I eat on Friday nights before the run has a big effect on me! If I eat something healthy and light early in the evening on Friday nights and go to bed at a decent hour on Friday, then my Saturday long runs go so much better! All of these things are easier said than done...

I read two really great articles today! Credit goes to my running buddies for posting this in our little running FB group:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2015/10/08/crossing-the-finish-line-25-pounds-lighter-guilt-and-all/?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/20/running-as-therapy/?_r=0

These article basically sum up how I feel about running. I used to say that Im not one of those people that runs for mental health or that running doesnt make me feel better or help me de-stress, but after I read the article on running as therapy it dawned on me that running really does help me clear my head and keeps me level headed!  I also really like the other article on running and weight loss, since I owe a lot of my weight loss to running!

My most recent non-scale victory, besides the clothes that continue to be too big, came when I went to Holiday World. In the past when I went to an amusement park it was a struggle to get the harness on the roller coasters to shut over my stomach, or it was cutting it close to get the seat belt to stretch across my waist. It was such a nice feeling to get on the roller coaster and effortlessly be able to close the harness without needing assistance or having to squeeze myself in the seat! It was nice to not feel to big for the roller coaster!  Its the little things that I notice like these that remind me to keep going and that i'm not that far away from my goal weight!

Thanks for reading! More to come after I run (and hopefully survive) Savannah (maybe) and Vegas 1/2 marathons!

What a Difference a Year Makes!

I started my workout/weightloss journey in Feb of 2014. I started running in June of 2014. The first time I had ever run a 5k without walking was the annual Tomato Fest 5k in August! My time was 39 minutes and 19 seconds. I was thrilled with that time because I had never ran that far without stopping! I trained with a group all summer leading up to the race, we followed the Couch to 5K program. This group was called Potato to Tomato! Potato to Tomato consists of running 3x's a week for 8 weeks. Everyone is divided up by pace group. Last year I chose the 13 minute mile group because I wasn't sure I would be able to run a whole 3 miles!  I loved that experience so much last year that I decided to come back and train for a 5k again this year! This year I chose the 10 minute mile group in order to reach my goal of finishing the 5k in 30 minutes. That meant shaving 9 minutes and some change off of my time from last summer!  I knew I could run a 5k this year without stopping because I ran an (almost entire) 1/2 marathon without stopping! but I wasn't quite sure I could finish a 5k in 30 minutes (it seemed so fast!). This past Saturday was the race. I finished in 29:27!! That was faster than my goal of 30 minutes! I am so excited that I did so well! A year ago a 10 minute mile would'v never crossed my mind! This summer I really fell in love with the Potato to Tomato program & the awesome coaches that volunteer their time to push their groups & make sure they hit their goals. I can't wait to return next year to attempt a 9 minute mile! Below is a picture of me running last summer, and a picture of me after the race this summer. What a difference a year makes! What a great summer its been! Potato to Tomato & Tomato Fest are now my favorite things about summer & definitely the highlight of my summer thus far! So all of that to say find a running group! Make running friends! It will change your life!

Things that Weigh 100 pounds

In honor of reaching the 100 pounds lost mark, I decided to make a fun list of things that weigh 100lbs so that I can compare! (Most of these are not original I have borrowed them from other sites)

Things that weigh 100 pounds:

 A 2 month old horse! 

400 Sticks of Butter

A baby Hippo

A very large pumpkin

100 Pound Hamburger

Doe, a Deer, a Female Deer (are you signing that song yet?)

2 Giant bags of sugar (that's a lot of sugar!)

An Everlast punching bag (Holy cow these things are HEAVY)

And last but not least, things that have lost 100 pounds:

ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These are my LinkedIn pics, taken almost exactly a year apart! You can really tell the weight loss in my face

 This is my work in progress picture. I still have some work to do, but a few months ago, there's no way I would've been able to fit into this tank top! so that is a definite non-scale victory.