Hi all! Yes, this makes two posts in two days. It must be a new record :) Today I'm linking up with OliveToRun and completing this fun running survey! I love these so much so if you ever come across any, send them my way!

#1. Would you rather run in a thunderstorm or a snowstorm? 
A snowstorm, although I'm not a big fan of running in the cold yet. I prefer to snuggle up and watch a movie during a thunderstorm.
#2. Would you rather breathe through your nose or breathe through your mouth?
I'm pretty sure I do both but I prefer through my nose because my mouth gets dry. Breathing through my nose also calms me down and keeps me at the correct pace.

#3. Would you rather do 100 squats or 100 crunches? [Now take a break and go do them. ;)] 
I could do squats for daysssss! Crunches don't do anything for me - I already hate working my abs directly so crunches are usually a no-go for me.

#4. Would you rather have a baked good for dessert or an extra serving of your favorite entree?
Probably another serving of the entree. I certainly love sweets but I'd much rather have something savory, salty, crunchy, etc. I love comfort foods like BBQ, meatloaf, pizza, etc. with yummy sides like mashed potatoes. I could probably live without cake and cookies for the rest of my life.

#5. Would you rather run on a treadmill for an hour or run around the same street block for an hour? 
I'd rather run outside, even if the surroundings are less scenic. I HATE the treadmill. I get so bored and I don't think it mimics true running conditions. I've started only using it for incline walking and sprints during my lifting workouts.

#6. Would you rather have a headache during a run or a side stitch?
Headache - I can fix that with a little OMM. (Well, I could probably work on the side stitch too) but side stitches are by far more painful for me.

#7. Would you rather have a rest day on a work day or a day off? I kind of neutral about this but I end up taking a rest day on weekends when I'm busy or go home for the weekend. I like breaking up going to class & studying with a workout just to get out all the pent up energy. (I try to do this but usually I'm pretty hungry by 5pm).

#8. Would you rather be a race director or a race volunteer? I really enjoy volunteering at races! Before I started running, I volunteered at quite a few races including the (half) marathon I'll be running in May. For cheerleading in high school, we would go downtown for the Flying Pig Marathon to cheer on the runners. I really enjoyed it (and every year after I said I would run it one day)! Now hopefully they will be cheering for me :)

#9. Would you rather spend your money on running gadgets [HRM, GPS watch, Headphones] or running shoes? Running shoes! I do want a GPS eventually but I love running shoes. There are so many crazy colors and styles! Thankfully I can usually find size 13s if I order through zappos or amazon. My favorites are the Ascics Gel Blur!

#10. Would you rather run in a relay or do the run portion of a distance triathlon? I want to do both one day! I think both would be fun because I could do it with friends. So far I haven't really had anyone to run with at some of my races so running with friends would be more motivating and enjoyable!

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Hello everybody! Welcome to Weigh-In Wednesday!

Please go check out my sweet co-host!

Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

If you're new to the link-up, please leave a comment & say hi!

Hola, friends! I finally fixed the darn button so here's hoping it worked! (Let me know if not...) No one ever said I was a tech guru...I still can't type to save my life and we've had a computer since I was 6 years old.

So things are looking up. I lost 3.4 lbs this week which brings the total loss to -21.5 lbs. I'm getting close to Onederland!!! My goal is to get there by Valentine's Day. I was at this weight BRIEFLY in November so this is officially the lowest I've been in years. 

I've been doing a pretty good job of limiting gluten and dairy in my diet. I've had a few slip up - wheat and dairy tend to sneak into things unexpectedly. Admittedly, I did have a slice of pizza my roommate made last night as well. 

Over the weekend Nick and I had our food and cake tasting so gluten and dairy obviously snuck in there as well but those were special circumstances. I'm probably eating about 70% clean - still room for improvement but I'm getting there.

Who makes the best eggs and bacon? Me! I made the bacon in the oven and it was UH-MAE-ZING

My workouts were a little sporadic last week, especially with going home to do wedding planning. I think I only worked out twice...OUCH. This week is off to a much better start. My roommate and I woke up at 5:45 this morning and made a trip to the school gym. 

I'm trying to find a good lifting plan - anyone know of any? 

Awkward working out selfies

This was how I felt trying all our yummy wedding food and desserts (Nick's puppy!)

A few other updates - yesterday was our 7 year anniversary! And we have 5 months until the wedding! Life sure does go fast.  

My half training starts officially on Thursday. I picked up my packet last night and it comes with a training plan in addition to club runs on Tuesday nights. I'll try to at least document all my long runs during the program and show how I improve. Right now i'm trying to decide on a few races to run to gauge my preparation before my half on May 4. I'll probably do a another 5K, 10K, and 15K before then.

Have a great week! How are you doing on your resolutions?

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Please go check out my sweet co-host!

Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

If you're new to the link-up, please leave a comment & say hi!

Here's to a fresh start in 2014! I hope everyone had a relaxing Christmas season/New Year/any other holiday you celebrate but now it's time to get back on track! For the past few link ups, our numbers have been down so I'm hoping everyone was just busy with the holidays. If you love WIW, please share us with your friends. I'm going to fix the link up button finally so hopefully that will help as well!

As for me? I gained a few pounds over the holidays and now I'm back to where I started again and losing. What is my plan for the year?

Right now I'm pursuing a gluten-free & dairy-free clean eating lifestyle change (I hate the word "diet"). You may remember when I did the 10 Day Advocare Challenge back in the summer. I ended up losing about 8 pounds (and kept it off) and I felt great! As soon as I was done though, I had a whirlwind of events that included lots of alcohol, fried & otherwise unhealthy foods - the wedding, trip to Atlanta, baseball games, etc. Then I went off to school. 

So why do this if it appears to be unsustainable in my life? I have a lot of reasons. I know that the proteins in wheat products and dairy products often cause inflammation in our bodies - even if you don't have a full blown intolerance or severe allergy. I also know from experience that I feel better when I'm not consuming these products - I feel full of energy, lighter, more regular, etc. 

I've also read and researched a lot of anecdotal evidence that suggests giving up dairy may reduce or eliminate my acne and keratosis pilaris (those red bumps on your arms and legs...). This is REALLY important to me with the wedding coming up.

Pumpkin oatmeal Pancakes!

This is an experiment. I'm going to eliminate these products as much as possible for as long as possible and see how the results stack up. I'm pretty confident that I will never, ever completely give up dairy products. I think I will always allow myself to indulge in cheesy goodness once in a while. I will probably never totally 100% give up wheat products either - it sneaks its way into sooooo many products that you wouldn't even guess contain wheat. But I will do my best to limit their consumption.

So what do you eat instead? All the things I SHOULD be eating more of! TONS of veggies! I can get almost all my nutrients from a plant-based diet. I'll also throw in some lean meats, fish, eggs, and lots of beans and nuts. (I would be bad at Paleo - I love beans & legumes!). 

I'm cutting my alcohol intake WAYYYYY back. When I look back at Winter Break, I probably drank half of those days. I really don't need it slowing me down while I'm training - or ever. Again, I'm still going to enjoy a drink or two once in a while but I'm really limiting myself. I just don't need it. And those darn craft beers are loaded with calories!

My last bad "meal" - Yes that's a cup of garlic mayo

Long story short, it's all about clean eating! I'm trying not to focus on the things I "can't" have and instead on what I can have and what will make me function at my highest level. 

It's been rough at school so far - we've been piled under a foot of snow so I haven't been able to get my car out yet (I don't have a shovel at school). Therefore, I've been living on whatever I had in my apartment which is pretty much just soup, canned vegetables, a few frozen meals from trader joe's, and exactly ONE apple. I'm all out of fresh fruit (except a jar of prunes & applesauce) and I'm hopefully going to figure a way out of here so I can go grocery shopping!

I start half training officially next week. Until then, I'm just trying to get some type of activity in daily. Starting the day with some stretching/easy yoga and progress from there.  

Time to go study! It's my first day back to school. I'll do a Wedding update later :)

How cold is it where you are?

What's your goal for the week?

<center> <a <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">href</span>="www.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">prettystrongmedicine</span>.com" target="_blank"><<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">img</span> alt="Weigh In <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Wedneday</span>" <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">src</span>="http://i52.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">photobucket</span>.com/albums/g30/cheerxflip9/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">weighinbutton</span>-1.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">jpg</span>"/></a></center>

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Please go check out my sweet co-host!

Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

If you're new to the link-up, please leave a comment & say hi!

Happy New Year!

I do not like that 2014 starts in the middle of the week. There is something about starting the year off on a Sunday or Monday that feels more motivating. As such, I'm not "officially" starting to measure my progress until Monday Jan. 6. I need to move back to school, enjoy a weekend in Bloomington, and get settled before I go HAM on these goals.

I didn't weigh in today. Frankly, I forgot it was Wednesday and I was feeling umm....peaked this morning. 

Every single year I feel like I start with the same goal: lose X amount of pounds. Basically this goal is always so vague and so open ended with little to no thought or planning that I usually lose interest or give up.

Of course I still have that magic number in my head but saying "I'll lose 50 pounds this year" NEVER works. What's motivating about a number? It doesn't mean I'm any healthier or happier or able to run longer. It's just a number. 

This year, I want to do things differently. 

I don't want to define my year by a certain number of pounds to lose or some vague unattainable concept. Instead, I'm choosing a theme to incorporate in my life & choosing some specific goals so reach for.

2014 is going to be the year of STRENGTH and GRATITUDE. 

I think by challenging myself physically, mentally, and spiritually, I will continue to grow stronger in all areas of my life. I am capable of more than I know so it's time to get out of that comfort zone! 

I also have so much to be thankful for in my life. I think by focusing on all the great things in my life, I will stay humbled and happier during this stressful time instead of complaining and being a grump.

Goals for 2014:

1. Volunteer somewhere meaningful to me in Indianapolis

2. Continue to be active within school organizations.

3. Finish my half marathon. 

4. Stay focused on WHY we're getting married & not get caught up in the details.

5. Get some type of physical activity daily.

6. Focus on learning because I want to be a good physician, not because I want a certain grade.

7. Make an effort to call my family & friends more often.

8. Blog three times a week.

9. Reflect daily on the things I am grateful for, the progress I've made, and the tasks that still need to be completed.

I will try to do a monthly check in on these goals to see how I'm doing! 

Tomorrow I'll talk more about my training schedule and dietary changes I'll be making this year!  I'll also have some WEDDING updates!

Best of luck with your goals for 2014! 

What will be the highlight of your year? 

What will be the hardest part of 2014?

How fitting that on New Years Eve 2013 I'm writing my 100th Post! I would've reached this milestone months ago had I kept writing during school as I did during the summer but oh well, here we are!

What a year 2013 has been! I turned 23 years old, cared for the elderly in a worthwhile but grueling job, got engaged to my best friend of almost seven years, started medical school, planned a wedding, lost 20 pounds, made amazing new friends, moved to an entirely new city, and started this blog!

Here are five of the best lessons I learned in 2013: 

Medical school was absolutely the right decision for me. 
There were some many times during college, during the application process, and during the past semester, that I wanted to give up & do something else. Why am I doing all this while everyone else is living their lives, making money, and having fun? I've learned that all that hard work really does pay off. I just need to keep going!

Don't waste your time on people you don't respect.
This year I realized that it's time to remove the toxic people from my life. Everyone has those certain people who seem to leech energy and happiness from a others. Instead of constantly feeling awful about yourself when you're around these people, kick them out! Stop talking to this person, texting them when your bored (or intoxicated!), and move on. I know I'm way better off without people in myself who are rude, inconsiderate, or treat me poorly. 

But also forgive people who are worth keeping in your life.
I wouldn't advocate kicking people out of your life just because you've had a disagreement with them or you've lost touch. One of my biggest realizations and a resolution for 2014 is to learn to forgive people and move on. Stop focusing on negative events that happened with someone years ago, accept them for who they are today, and make tomorrow better. If you can't accept them and forgive them, then it's time to revaluate and see the lesson above. Life is too short to hold grudges and be miserable over things you cannot control.

I am way stronger than I ever imagined & I am capable of far more than I hold myself accountable for.
This time last year, I had no clue that I could run a mile, let alone 6 miles or even the 13.1 I'm preparing to run in May. I didn't think I could do hot yoga or lift heavy weights or even go to the gym looking the way I do because people would judge me. I didn't think I was worthy of being healthy, happy, or strong. I was dead wrong. I am capable of so much more than I've ever held myself accountable for.

This realization extends far beyond fitness. So much of my life has been based on what I can do naturally. I never really pushed myself to be excellent. I've always done well in school but I never went the extra mile. I always stopped when I felt uncomfortable... That leads me to another lesson.

Being uncomfortable is a good thing!
Being uncomfortable leads to growth. If you consistently stay in your little comfort zone, you'll never achieve more than what you've always achieved. You'll never known what you're truly capable of until you push yourself.

I hope everyone has a safe & happy New Year. I've never been so excited for a year to start - tomorrow I'll share with you what's in store for me and my goals for the year ahead.

See you all in 2014!

What was the highlight of your 2013?

Remember that time I said that i would start posting again once break started and I didn't have school to worry about? Well....it's been over a week and still nothing. I've found an excuse not to write every single day and I finally figured out why.

I don't enjoy blogging.

I don't feel like I'm doing it for myself. I feel like I have to be extra funny or cater to a certain audience with my posts. I don't want to seem whiny or too sarcastic or put something out here that will offend or otherwise draw negative attention to myself. So that pretty much sucks all the joy out of writing... (and let's face it, it's more work than a twitter post or an instagram)

I care too much about what others think. I always have.

I've seen so many bloggers be affected by negative comments and judgements from others. From small bloggers to the large, well-known Pinterest goddesses of the blogosphere...I haven't been affected yet but I know I will take it personally when it does happen. 

On the other hand, I know I want to have this blog to look back on throughout my medical education. I want to see the growth. I want to see how my life changes. In order to do that, I gotta write.

From now on...I have to be Heather. Just Heather. I'll write when I want, about whatever sounds good at the moment. I hope you all will still be around to read it! 

I'm done with worrying about numbers, social media, sponsorships, and anything else extra. I just can't take it! It makes me miserable. I want to write and interact with you all and be done with it.

Enough with the excuses...if you don't like how things are going, you have to change it or you'll keep getting the same results! This goes with everything else in my life too: school, getting healthy, relationships, etc. 

I have lots of updates for you all in the next couple days. I just wanted to get this off my chest and start fresh.  Here's to a year filled with more blogging and progress!

Shameless selfie :)

<center> <a <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">href</span>="www.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">prettystrongmedicine</span>.com" target="_blank"><<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">img</span> alt="Weigh In <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Wedneday</span>" <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">src</span>="http://i52.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">photobucket</span>.com/albums/g30/cheerxflip9/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">weighinbutton</span>-1.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">jpg</span>"/></a></center>

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Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

If you're new to the link-up, please leave a comment & say hi!

Not much to say today. Two exams today & one more on Friday...then I'm FREEEEEEEE! Hang in there, I'll be updating a lot over Christmas Break and getting back to a normal place.

Still maintaining with no gain. I'm sleep-deprived and feeling quite awful, though. I really hate drinking coffee but it's the only thing that can give me the jolt I need to keep studying.

 I hope you all had great weeks though! I can't wait to catch up on all your posts over break :) 

My life in pictures:

This is the only thing getting me through these long study sessions.

Snowy snow at school.

Study time!

Here's a sneak peak at my engagement photos! More to come soon.

Have a great Weigh In Wednesday!

What are you strategies for staying on track during the holidays and stressful times?

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Hello everybody! Welcome to Weigh-In Wednesday!

Please go check out my sweet co-host!

Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

If you're new to the link-up, please leave a comment & say hi!

1.5 weeks of school left and then I'll be a normal human and able to update you all about my life! 4 more exams to go - two written, one practical, and one OSCE (playing doctor for a grade). So far, I've passed THREE classes in med school - three more to go! 

Weigh in today: a measly 0.2 pounds! Whenever I have an exam on Monday, I never get workouts in and I've been eating less than stellar. A certain roommate (along with our two friends) convinced me to grab Taco Bell last night after we got our Hematology Exam grades back (I actually did a lot better than my previous exam...and I studied less! Weird.). I can't wait to get a few weeks off to reset and work on creating better habits. 

The goal these last few weeks is to maintain, maintain, maintain! If I can just get through the holidays and exam week without gaining and making the best choices possible, I'll be happy.  

Some updates on the wedding planning front. Nick and I finally took our engagement pictures after having to postpone them twice because of weather. On Friday it snowed so we had beautifully snowy pictures on Saturday. Hopefully we will get them back soon and I'll share! I hope they turned out well...Nick and I both hate getting our photos taken. 

Sample Gates - The perfect Bloomington 

I have a bunch of appointments set up over Winter Break to meet with photographers, caterers, DJs, etc. so I'm counting on break to do the bulk of the planning since we have less than 7 months to go! 

I'm going dress shopping on Dec. 30! 

Thanks all!

<center> <a <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">href</span>="www.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">prettystrongmedicine</span>.com" target="_blank"><<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">img</span> alt="Weigh In <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Wedneday</span>" <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">src</span>="http://i52.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">photobucket</span>.com/albums/g30/cheerxflip9/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">weighinbutton</span>-1.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">jpg</span>"/></a></center>

Hello everybody! Welcome to Weigh-In Wednesday!

Please go check out my sweet co-host!

Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

If you're new to the link-up, please leave a comment & say hi!

AAAAnd the box code still doesn't work. I know. I suck at html. 

Post to follow later after class is over - I wanted to make sure you could link up this morning :)

*Update*

Ok - well this took me longer than expect. The life of a med student....

Surprisingly, I'm literally at the same weight as last week which I'm chalking up to the running and not completely gorging myself like usual at Thanksgiving. 

I'm giving myself a break from running for a few more days but in the mean time, one of the hospitals my school is affiliated with was nice enough to give us two free weeks of gym membership during December! Needless to say, I love to take advantage of FREE fitness classes so yesterday I went to Body Pump and tonight I went to Turbo Kick!

Body Pump wasn't all the great last night - there were only three others in the class and I prefer to do circuit training for strength - not whatever that was. I guess it's high rep but I barely broke a sweat! 

Turbo Kick, on the other hand, was NUTS! I've done Turbo Jam and Turbo Fire many times before but our instructor was off the wall cray cray. I pretty much hated the entire experience but was so happy to get my butt kicked HARD! Sometimes you just need to be PUSHED even if every bone in your body wants out of there. I also took advantage of my friend's yoga session during lunch at school today. I love getting to relax my mind in the middle of the day and hang out with a few classmates and faculty! 

I'm slowly cleaning up my eating, as well! Tomorrow I desperately need to go grocery shopping for produce, eggs, etc. I'm trying to make it the rest of the semester on the food I already have (lots of tuna, organic soups, turkey burgers, and quinoa) and just supplement with fruits and veggies! Loan money is running LOW.

That's all I've got for now! I feel like I don't know what to write about anymore because I don't take pictures as much anymore.  I need to do any update on school soon so look out for that!

How are you doing post-Thanksgiving?

Any tips for the holidays?

Happy (late) Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you all had a terrific holiday with family and friends! 

I survived my two exams today! Now five more to go in 3 weeks and I'll finally be freeeeeee! 

I made a quick trip home Wednesday afternoon, studied until dinner time, and had dinner with my family. On Thanksgiving morning, I had my big race! That's right - 6 WHOLE MILES! (6.2, to be exact!)

When I woke up for the race, it was COLD. Like 19 degrees cold. I layered up accordingly and then my aunt drove me downtown to meet up with some other people we knew who would be running. 

Eventually I made it to the start line and I was ready to get this thing over with! I love training for races and I love signing up for them but I'm never very excited once I get there (really, just waking up early is rough!) 

Ready to go!

The race began with a healthy hill followed by a pretty flat stretch. Speaking of hills - that is the BIGGEST difference between Indianapolis and Cincinnati - it's so hilly in Cincy! I definitely wasn't prepared for the amount of hills and bridges that I encountered. In the future, when I start doing my training runs again I'm going to seek out some less flat courses around here...

As far as how the race went, I knew I would be able to finish because of my run last week (at least mentally) but I wasn't anticipating all those darn hills! I started to struggle probably around mile 4.5-5. I started to get those thoughts about walking. (But I didn't give in!) Surprisingly, my foot didn't hurt me much at all the entire time. I had a twinge or two of pain here and there but I was fine throughout the race.

One BIG problem I noticed is that my GPS on my phone is WAYYYY off. I used the RunKeeper app for this race and at the end it said I had run 7.18 miles (at a 9:38 minute/mile pace). Imagine my surprise when I thought I had almost reached my goal and still had another mile to go! GRRRR...anyone know how to fix this or calibrate the GPS? 

 Going into the race, I really didn't have a specific timing goal in mind - I just wanted to finish and not walk! I ended up running it in 1:09:07 - 11:09 mi/min which is right on par with my last 5K (11 min mile). Slow and steady, right?  I was pretty sore after the race - mostly my left foot. It never seems to bother me until about 30 minutes after a run. This time it was my ankle that didn't want to bend for about 2-3 days - just very stiff and painful. Not sure what's up but I'm hoping I can rest it for a few days and then start strengthening it again.

Nick & my aunt met me at the finish! 

The rest of turkey day proceeded as usual - Nick and I ate with my family for lunch and then we went to his family Thanksgiving for dinner. I'm glad I ran to make up for having two meals!

 Other than getting to see friends and family, it was nice to take a little break from studying and be a "real" person again. I didn't allow myself to study at all on Thursday...not that it took much to persuade me otherwise. Plus, there really wasn't time. We will soon see whether that was good idea or not in a few days when I get my grades back...

Everyone knows the best part of Thanksgiving are the leftovers!  Stuffing balls are a family favorite!

So what's next?

Now that my first 10K race is over, it begs the question: What next? For starters, it's back to eating clean and really focusing on weight loss after the holidays. Right now I'm just trying to maintain my weight and get through these last few weeks of the semester. After the New Year, I start MINI MARATHON training. I've decided I'm going to join a running group here in Indy so I will have people to train with - specifically the long run portion. Just like with studying, I don't really need someone to "talk" to while I run but it helps to have someone THERE. It can be really lonely and unmotivating to plug along on your own - especially when I starting getting up there in the mileage. 

I have to admit - I'm really scared about this goal! I was scared about the 5K and the 10K but there's something that seems really "elite" and intimidating about running 13 miles. And 26 miles. (although I have a hard time picturing myself EVER running 26.2 miles). At the same time, it just seems really bad-ass! I know I'm not fast or particularly athletic but I feel like I've finally found a sport that I can keep improving in and strengthen myself in many different areas. I've found something that I enjoy and that no one has to push me to do - unlike all the other things I've ever done (softball, soccer, basketball, etc.). I actually want to keep improving and getting better

May 4, 2014 is the next BIG date I'm shooting towards (Nick's birthday and followed soon after by an ever bigger date - June 13, 2014!) A few of my bridesmaids might even run it with me which I'm uber excited about!!!

Stay tuned and don't forget to meet back here on Wednesday for another Weigh In Wednesday (guessing I gained after exam week pizza and Thanksgiving!).