Meet Bear. His full name is Bear Meat Reginald Cavanaugh. He's a Siberian Husky and is now dog #4 in our house. We are overflowing in our little shack, but he was the perfect final addition to our crew. He's going to be a daddy's boy, and he's going to be my running partner. I can't think of a better companion (when he's old enough) to hit the road with me. ...and you can see he loves his daddy too.
Sorry to pull you away from whatever you're doing, but I have something to say. I am not the girl who's going to lose 100 pounds in 6 months or anything close to that example!
To me, this whole journey is about creating a new life. New behaviors. New habits. It's not about how fast I can lose a bunch of weight, or how much I can torture myself to get there. (Not to say that some days are downright awful) Yes, I think it's awesome that you lost 20 pounds in 2 weeks eating nothing but canned tuna and water with lemons and cayenne pepper in it. I also am excited for your niece (or friend, momma, aunt Fannie....) who recently went on a baby food diet (Slim Fast, cleanse, insert other food replacements here...) and lost 60 pounds in 2 months. I think it's awesome that you lost 30 pounds in a month going to the gym 3-4 times a day. -But that's not me, sister.
Those quirky quick-fix diets are interesting solutions, but they are temporary. The faster the pounds fly off, the faster they can come back. People tell me about all of these "success" stories when I'm having frustrating days, like recently when I keep hovering around 50 pounds lost! Yes, I could grab of these solutions and sail past 50 this week....but it'll be back next week as soon as I put down the cayenne pepper. I'm a slow and steady kind of girl. And that's working for me. I know I'm approaching a year and there are folks who have lost a lot more weight in less time, but I'm doing this slow-jam style so it sticks! I would love nothing more than to be able to go to the gym for 1/2 a day every day but I am not fortunate enough to be able to do that. -More power to those of you who are.
Just remember that it's not fast; it's not easy.
But that way, it's permanent.
I know I'll get there.
So don't rush me.
Now. I did say slow-jam, up there somewhere. So I have to post one of my all time favorites! (Woohoo, 1995!) Jon B. (Featuring Babyface) - Someone To Love.
So I washed off the funk of weigh-in day with my next 5k. We did the Color Run in Richmond and had a ball. Not only did we get to get messy, (My armpits are still green and I'm still digging purple out of my ears.) but it was our best 5k yet! There were a few little victories had:
1. Ran 2 miles, no stoppage.
2. Only stopped (and was walking briskly) for a brief moment on a hill but got back to it immediately.
3. PR!! We did the race in just over 40 minutes! Big deal for these girls!
Yesterday's race makes me feel better about jumping to 8k and 10k soon. We are going to do a zombie run next month and then I'll be starting to train for a longer distances. Wait. Who am I?
Weighed in today. Up almost 2 lbs! And I've been good! Eff you, cankles! I reserve the right to NOT be a Sally Sunshine tonight. So there. I'll return to optimism tomorrow.
Making friends at Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle,WA
Intrigued by the gum wall at first.
Ew! Too close to the gum wall!
I'm back from our little vacation (for a few days now) and I still keep looking at my pictures and videos. If we could have had our dogs and cats come out there I would have stayed in the Pacific Northwest forever! Only having a few days, he had to cram a lot in a small amount of time and got little sleep but it was so worth it! Seattle is a great city and the Seahawks fan base is crazy dedicated, even in the pre-season! Even at 75% stadium capacity at a Thursday night pre-season game, their crowd was by far the loudest crew I've ever experienced at a sporting event. I can't even imagine being with the 12th Man for a playoff game on a cold January night. Oh man! I am a die hard Redskins fan, but do love Russell Wilson. I have followed him (through both sports) since early in college. I LOVE FOOTBALL.
My try at a panoramic view of The Gorge Amphitheater - Quincy, WA
Now - Dave. Carter. Boyd. Stefan. Jeff. Tim. Rashaun.
Me with perma-smile at what's in the background.
That guitar usually means one thing - Gravedigger
Dave Matthews Band at The Gorge was simply awesome. Jaw dropping, tears in my eyes awesome. DMB has always had a special place in my heart, and seeing them at The Gorge as always been on my bucket list. Those of you who aren't Dave fans (and I totally get it and don't judge if you aren't) may not share the same feelings about seeing his crew but you have to see a show there. I don't care who it is. It is an amazing venue. It's hard to describe. My pictures don't do it justice. When we crested the hill after the hike to get in the gates, I was just awe -struck. To be able to listen to music in the middle of the mountains and by the water like that is just so cool for me. We saw two nights of shows and I seriously could have sat there on the side of the mountain for a week straight. I could seriously keep typing about it for days. WW. With vacation and our busiest work week of the year intertwined, it had been almost two weeks since I weighed in at WW when I went this past Thursday. Sometimes you can find satisfaction in nothing. I maintained my weight - no gain/no loss! No movement. That's a win for me! I'm still itching for 50 though! Soon. Very soon. I'll update this weekend about what results I see this week. Gym sadness. Now the tough part about this week and the next couple, is that I am without Big A. This will be a big test for me to try and make some progress with out him with me on training nights at the gym. I told him he's my "fitness security blanket". He's gone for good reason, though, fulfilling his U.S. military requirements, so I can't be mad. Though I know he and his family will always remain a part of our lives it just makes me think about the day, a while down the road, when I won't have or "need" my Big A blanket three or four times a week. It's a little scary. I have many, many more pounds to go before we have to worry about that though. Hurry back, Big A!
Our Saturday home from Sept.-Nov.: Camp Wahoo
College football is back kids! If you follow college football, you probably saw that #2 Oregon railroaded some east coast team on Saturday. Yeah, that was us. Virginia lost on Saturday but I am not worried. We have some very talented young men and some of that shined through. It's tough to play a west coast team who happens to be about the best there is in college football right now. It was such a good learning experience for our kids. Wahoowa! Loss aside, we had a great day with our friends tailgating and catching up (before work duties called, that is). We have a great crew of people that we see each game day. Many of them I hadn't seen in a year or even a little longer. I wasn't even really thinking about my current self-improvement project Saturday morning but I was so encouraged when quite a few of my friends took me aside and said two sweet words to me: "I noticed." It was nice. It seems as though more folks than I realize are keeping tabs on me. Very cool. There are 12+ weeks of football season and I'm hoping to make some more visible changes by the end.
With my adorable husband on game day.
Beautiful Scott Stadium on a September Saturday in Charlottesville, VA
Well, it's time to get ready for another week. Where do the weekends go? I'll leave you with one of my favorite moments from our DMB weekend. This was the encore from night one- Ants Marching with a quick transition to Halloween (both 'old' favorites of mine!) It's not my video though, because I couldn't sit still or stop sining long enough to film that long with my phone, and this was the night we were sitting at the tippy top!
(Credit to YouTube user SoCalMusicLover for this!)
What's on tap for this week?
-Getting back on track with properly timed meals (and not eating vacation food).
-Kicking my own ass in the gym.
-Doing another 5k with my girl Jaime - one where they throw color bombs at you!
So before I hunker down for a busy few days at work, and then a cross-country flight I need to stop neglecting TFGL. -Especially since I realized that I'm almost at 11 months of this! I don't know that I've ever stuck with anything this long, except for my husband. I finally had a break through with the scale this week. If you've been reading, you'll recall that I had a couple pesky pounds sneak back in on me over the past three weeks. Thank God - This week I was down 4.6 pounds! That got rid of the creepers, plus a little extra for good measure. This is definitely is not typical and I won't continue like that, but it is nice to be back in the right direction. I think I had tired a bit of my structure loosened the strings a little too much, especially since I had some time away from my training sessions during those weeks. Now we're good-to-go. It felt really good to have Big A push me a bit last week. I was even frustrated, which means I was working hard. Speaking of Big A- I am so proud of him and his Mrs.! They really do inspire me. They have small children, a business, other jobs and have made the time over the past couple months to complete a training program for a fitness/bodybuilding competition. That competition was this weekend and they did great! It's amazing how food and certain training can shape your body in a short period of time. I know it was tough - I'm so proud of my friends! Way to go, y'all! I'll be able to get some training time in this week before we take off and I need to make the most of it! I will weigh in before vacation and I hoping for good results. It'll be hard to stay on trip during our trip because I can't make/take all of my own food so I'll just have to make the best choices possible. Great news though; Seattle = seafoooood!! Thanks to all of you who continue to check in on and encourage me; even when I'm not reporting all kinds of exciting break-through news! I guess that'll wrap it up until I get back from the other side of the states. Except for this:
This is a couple of years old, but it still in heavy iTunes rotation!! I'm excited I get to see them next week.
Ruby Pearl Cavanaugh, my trusty blogging assistant showing the world what she thinks of my work.
I wasn't planning to post this week because of my beef with my scale and my bit of laziness, lack of good sleep, and a broken fridge issue over the past week. But, alas, something nice came about and ruined a perfectly good pissy attitude so here I am; laid back blogging with the dog and the laptop.
Construction of a Wednesday crappy attitude:
Layer 1 GDD. Gym Deficit Disorder. If you recall, I had a tiny increase on the scale last week and my trainer was on vacation. While I did mostly keep up with cardio on my own while Big A was away I barely hit the gym for over a week. (We started back, thank God, this Monday) I put in some good miles on the road but I could definitely tell a difference in my energy and attitude. I'm sure my husband did too. -Love you, boo!
Layer 2 FF. Fridge Fail. Our refrigerator died and we were without one for a a little over a week. Do you know how hard it is to eat healthy foods, that you generally have to cook, without cold stuff? Of course it was much easier to just eat out that take extra steps to eat all of the healthiest choices. It got ugly. Italian restaurant ugly. This lead to layer three even though I've been back on track for a few days with food.
Layer 3 WWF. No, not Words With Friends- Weight Watchers Fail. I'm further away from 50 lbs lost than I was last week. That's no shocker given the events leading up to my weigh-in today. What was a shock was my open-mouthed Napoleon Dynamite "GossssH" when I saw the number. Really? How was I shocked? I knew what was going to happen! The good thing is it wasn't damage that isn't reversible and I'll have that number back where it needs to be by the next time I show my face in there.
There it is. -Three layers of piss and vinegar. A few other things also didn't go my way between the time I left work and the end of my 25 mile commute and made me want to drive right by Anytime Fitness and go straight to the end that road to the BBQ joint for buckets of mac-and-cheese. But I didn't. My evening plans had changed so I went in for Big A training and of course felt great after.
My attitude was starting to turn around when I went to our neighborhood Subway after my workout. Usually about once a week we 'treat' ourselves to Subway. I always go sweaty and in my soaked gym clothes. I'm sure those people get tired of seeing me in lycra. Anyway. There is one lady who is always there at the same time as me. I don't know her and she never speaks. Tonight, she did. As I ordered she said "Honey, I just don't know why you even get that sandwich when you're not goin' to put no cheese or mayne-aze on it! Wouldn't be worth it to me. Nuh uh! I love mayne-aze too much!" She was so cute! I told her I was working on my health, etc. She said she had noticed me come in and out of there for while and she thought I was always coming from the gym or somewhere- and that she had noticed a difference in the way I looked and that I should keep up the good work and not go to Subway too much! How sweet was that!? I thought that was thoughtful and encouraging. She cracked me up! It really did wash the stank right off of me!
So things are turning around.
What else?
The yard sale was great and I re-homed a lot of clothes that don't no longer fit me.
We're 23 days away from football kick-off and less than 20 days away from soccer season!
I. Can. Not. Stop. Singing. That. Song. (Sunnnnny days, everybody loves them. Cannnn youuu staaand the rainnnn?) It's mostly because it was in a movie preview (Oohh Taye Diggs, I can't wait until Christmas time. We'll be reunited soon.) I saw this weekend but it also rolls right in to this week's blog post.
So last Wednesday we weighed in at WW - up 0.4 lbs. Really? 0.4? Grr. That's ok. We'll get that straightened out this week I hope. After that buzz kill I really was ready for our Downtown Mile run with Jaime and my friend Amanda. As the day went on, other hurdles (other than that blasted 0.4) kept popping up. Stupid me let lunch time get away from me so I opted for a protein smoothie and a banana for lunch before heading downtown after work. Big mistake. Big. Huge! Let's just say the natives got restless in my digestive tract. It was game on with every bathroom I crossed (and I have a HUGE public bathroom phobia. Ugh. Ew.) for the next hour and a half. As we trekked up to the park for our race start we hit another hurdle- a giant, close-by, lightning strike followed by a hellacious thunder storm! That lightning strike really did almost make me poop my pants!
Post race wet t-shirt girls- Amanda, Me, Jaime.
Note that my boobs kept the rest of my shirt dry.
Who needs an umbrella?
As the storm went on, the thunder and lightning calmed down. The rain did not. -But the race must go on, so off we went for our best mile time try in the pouring rain. I might add, here, that our friend Missy (bless her heart) was waiting on top of a roof bar in the weather so she could video us running by! She showed up with cute flat ironed hair and everything, and we repaid her with a thunder storm and a soaked cell phone. Some friends we are, huh.
We ran in the rain. Jaime kept me going along, only stopping for a few little shuffles, and were able to finish in 13 minutes! Big deal for these girls and we weren't last! It was a blast and I'm proud of our time considering I was basically praying not to poop my pants for the second half of the mile. I know. TMI, but you'll all get over it. After the race in our soaking wet running clothes we had a great dinner with dear friends, old and new and it was just an awesome night! {I recommend The Whiskey Jar if you're in downtown Charlottesville!} I really appreciate the support these girls give me and my other friends on the new lifestyle train with me.
Leroy Jenkins too proud of
his self after blocking my run.
I haven't had Big A training hour at the gym since last Tuesday. He's on a much needed family vacation until later this week and I've been trying to keep up the good work in his absence. We'll see what happens we he gets his paws on me this Friday. I've been doing mostly cardio - walking, running intervals, inclines on the treadmill, etc. and keeping up with our 100 squat challenge. It's my off-day for that today but I'll be on 85 tomorrow! I'm almost there. I'm not sure what we do after 100. I guess we'll see. I had a great day out today - 2.92 miles in 47 minutes doing 30-60 intervals; running as fast a possible for 30 seconds and then walking for 60 seconds. It was such a perfect evening for it with the lack of overkill Virginia humidity. It was much better than my outing yesterday, which ended after about 1 mile and 1/2 with my dog lying down in protest in the middle of the street until I picked him up. He's such a mess and he was too proud of himself.
What's on tap for the next week?
Back to beast mode training.
More running outside.
More deep breaths as our busy season at work gets going. All of our student-athletes are coming back to school and we're gearing up for fall sports; starting with our football team which reports for training camp this weekend. Fall fun is fast approaching!
Hopefully I'll be a loser rather than a 0.4 gainer.
A yard sale at my momma's house - because I can actually get rid of some clothes that are too big, rather than too small!
WWF. No, not Words With Friends- Weight Watchers Fail. I'm further away from 50 lbs lost than I was last week. That's no shocker given the events leading up to my weigh-in today. What was a shock was my open-mouthed Napoleon Dynamite "GossssH" when I saw the number. Really? How was I shocked? I knew what was going to happen! The good thing is it wasn't damage that isn't reversible and I'll have that number back where it needs to be by the next time I show my face in there. 
