Contrary Action

It's taken me over 6 months, but I managed to lose 25 lbs since July by eating tons of veggies, avoiding sugar and all processed foods and staying accountable for my food choices by emailing my food journal daily to a friend. I looked good and felt great. 

Awesome sauce, right? Right. Except that I've fallen back into some bad habits (not drinking enough water or eating enough vegetables, eating sweets, and frequently getting take-out food). I stopped emailing my food journal to my friend, because 1) it was a hassle, and 2) I felt like I couldn't email her forever. 

I have gained back 5 pounds over the last month. Not only are my clothes tighter, all I want to do is eat the house down. It was so hard to lose weight the first time. And trying to give up sugar again totally sucks it.  

I want to eat what I want to eat. WHICH IS ALL THE THINGS. Right, Scooby?

A lot of the weight gain also has to do with my erratic exercise schedule. In my last race, my training consisted of running only a handful of times over three months. I do not recommend this. It doesn't make for an ideal half marathon experience.



I decided to get out of my comfort zone and I joined my first running club this week with the goal of training and running a half marathon* in May. Although I've run two full marathons and 15 half marathons (I think? I'll have to go back and tally those up), I have never worked with a coach. We will run each Saturday as a group, gradually adding more mileage each week - and then run on our own for 30-45 minutes twice during the week.

And then, I decided that I would register for a shit ton of races:

April 5 - Warrior Dash (San Dimas, CA)

May 18 - Bay to Breakers 10k (San Francisco, CA)

May 25 - Mountains 2 Beach* half marathon (Ojai/Ventura, CA)

July 3-7 - hiking the Grand Canyon (down and out, approx 26 miles round-trip)

August 31 - Disney Half Marathon (Anaheim, CA)

What was I just saying about getting out of my comfort zone? Jebus.

My trip to the Grand Canyon (which will be a whole other post of it's own) is not a race. Regardless, I am going to have to train for that like nobody's business.  

The first and last races on my schedule will be with Girldoll. I am so excited to run these events with her, especially the half marathon in August! It will be her first half marathon...and I know it will be the highlight of all of mine.

ETA: Is it obvious that I am suddenly obsessed with GIFs? I would like to acknowledge Danielle at The T-Rex Runner for all of her help with the nifty GIFs you see in this post. I can't thank her enough for her kindness or support!