Whew! I Found It.

My mojo has returned. 

Day Seven of the 5km Daily Challenge: 6 out of 7 runs are in the books!  Woo Hoo! 

Here are my workout stats for the week:

Monday: 3.18 miles and Jillian Michaels' No More Trouble Zone DVD
Tuesday: 3.14 miles and setting up the bike trainer (which took me 25 minutes and seemed like a workout)
Wednesday: 3.14 miles
Thursday: 5.04 miles
Friday: 0 miles
Saturday: 4.08 miles
Sunday: 6.0 miles

Weekly mileage:  24.58 miles

I know it wasn't a 7/7 effort - but I got a pretty bad virus that had me in the fetal position most of Friday.  This also accounts for a few less miles than I had hoped to get in over the weekend.  But I feel like my good running routine has returned. 

I capped things off in grand style this morning by hitting up a favorite trail - Apex/Enchanted Forest with Mariah and her puppy Indigo.  I wore my trail shoes for the first time since my 50km and my Nathan hydration vest - which I really like for carrying larger quanitites of fluids.  Even if Mariah picked on me a little bit for carrying so much water - however she took us on a little "variation", so the water was necessary!  It was tough to be back out on the trails (about 1500 feet elevation gain)...but sweet at the same time (what goes up must come down).  We also had September-like weather that makes it all that much more enjoyable.

So that's the running update.  And now onto the eating part...

I eat too much.  I eat pretty well.  But my eating too much of even good food has forced my weight up.  I.Am.Fat.   And not by some arbitrary fashion magazine standard.  Or by comparing myself to all those skinny runners in my running group or the elites who ran the NYC marathon this morning.  The good old Mayo Clinic can vouch for me here. 

And trust me, this isn't an increase in muscle mass.  It has nothing to do with the fact that I'm on the pill.  Or that I became a vegetarian. Or that sometimes I don't get 7 hours of sleep every night.  Nope, it's just that I eat too much.  I'm 10 pounds over what is considered "normal."  Perhaps more disturbing is that I am just 20 pounds away from being obese.  I've never wanted to be more normal than I want to be right this minute.  Not only do I need this for my mind and my wardrobe, I know it will mean positive returns in my running.

I have two goals.  To start January 2011 at 145 pounds - that would let me start the new year "normal."  And on May 1, to start the Collegiate Peaks 25 mile race at 130 pounds (a reasonable racing weight goal - I think).  So between now and January 1, my focus is to limit my calories to about 1400-1500 calories/day for 6 days each week.  More calories on one day/week, lest my body think I'm trying to starve it or I go a little crazy.  And I kicked this off with Kari who checked on me first thing this morning! 

I've never wanted this blog to be about weight loss.  And I still don't.  I'll be updating my progress from time to time here - who doesn't need a little support...However, if you want to see the daily weigh-ins and calorie updates, you won't find it here, you'll need to check it out under the Weight Loss Journey tab. 

OK, time to go outside again before winter realizes that it is running late!  Maybe next time I'll have a little dating news to share...

Laura