I'm Starting To Click My Heels....

Let's begin with this:

Yep, you read that right. 571 calories burned. I am damn proud of what I did tonight. I don't usually run that late in the day, but I had the kids at home with me all day, so I had to go when I could. I also don't usually go for an entire hour, but I had the time and I had the energy tonight. From now on, if I have the time, I'll be going for at least an hour because seeing those kinds of results is incredibly motivating! I'm gonna be honest here. I felt that I had to do more tonight because I had a bit of a slip up today in my eating. I won't say what I ate, but just trust that it wasn't in the plan. I feel much better about having done more tonight in order to reverse whatever effects could have come from that. These are the kinds of thoughts that I use to have once upon a time last year and I'm so glad that I've gotten back to that kind of mindset. No feeling sorry for myself or feeling incredibly guilty. Just getting out there and working extra hard to run it off and fix my mistake. Now, I didn't run for that entire hour, but I would say that I ran approximately 80-85% and I'm proud of that. I did longer bursts of running with walking in between. The walking intervals were definitely shorter than the running. Yes. So much yes.

When I heard her say "distance: 4 miles", I smiled and I did an imaginary victory dance. Speaking of "her", I'm going to give her a name. She deserves a name. She's my running partner and she keeps me going. I will call her Trudy. I don't know why that was the first name that came to mind, but from now on, when you see me refer to someone as Trudy, you'll know who I'm talking about. So, as I was saying, Trudy's voice was not an annoying reminder of what I was doing tonight, Trudy's voice was keeping me motivated and keeping me on top of my game. I think Trudy and I are going to have a long and happy relationship. Tonight, instead of feeling tired and down on myself, I felt like the farther I was running and the longer I was going, the easier it was getting. I normally stop myself when I've reached the 15 minute mark in one direction then turn around and make my way back. But this time, I kept going until the 30 minute mark and I found that I was getting more done and building more and more stamina. I'm improving, y'all, and that's what I'm the most proud to say. I'm getting better each day and more confident in myself to do work. Despite any pain or discomfort. Pushin' through.

So, my shoes are still being broken in and I'm still having some pain in my knee, but I'm doing fine with it all. The only problem I'm having with my shoes is that I have really wide feet and the outer side of my right foot is getting cramped up when I wear them. They're still being stretched to fit my feet's curves and movements and until they're there, I'm going to have to work through the pain. They don't hurt so much while I'm wearing them and moving, but when I take them off at the end, the release of the pressure on that side is somehow keeping a cramp in place until it's loosened back out. It takes a few minutes for those muscles to relax and release that pressure, but it will get better the more I wear them. No worries here. None of this pain is too much to hold me back right now. Even though I haven't lost any more of those pesky pounds, I can see the inches coming off. It would not surprise me to find that I'm gaining muscle back, so I'm not so worried about the scale. I'm working hard and doing the right thing (99% of the time) and I feel that I'm doing my best. 

One week from today, a little bit later in the evening than this, I'll be landing in Birmingham for my two week visit and I just cannot express to you how ready I am for this. I'm not only ready to be home, with my family, and sleep in my old bed, but also because I really, really need a vacation....I'm so over this week, y'all. The past two weeks, as well. I've only worked one evening and all day today, but I'm already ready for this week to be done. There's a good chance that I'm off on Friday, which would begin my vacation, but I might have to work. If I don't, I'd be so incredibly happy...If I only have to work two more days this week, I might cry. It's like having senioritis, but worse. These are the last few days of work before I go home for the first time in 6 months, see my friends for the first time in 6 months, see my family (except Mom, Dad, and Hannah who I saw in May) in 6 months, and the first time being back in the Southeast in 6 months. That's half of a year. I've never been away from home for longer than a few weeks at a time. Half of a year. Wow. Sometimes I still look around me when I'm out driving or running and marvel at the beauty that is California. I still get excited when I go into San Francisco, even though John and I go pretty often. I just still can't get over being here or over doing what I did. Every day is special. Every experience is special. But there is no place like home....And I've already begun packing... :)