All Systems Go!

I’m getting ready to leave here in a short bit (waiting for my husband to get home from his over night outing with friends so that I can say goodbye) and head south to Olympia to stay with my friend, Heidi – who is also walking the 1/2 marathon tomorrow.

• Hair looks fabulous (check)
• Massage was fantastic (check)
• Over night bag packed (check)
• iPod charged (check)
• Registration packet picked up (check)
• Good cry had (check)

Today has been one of those days you just want to wrap up in some fine cloth and tuck away  so it can be pulled out and reminisced upon for those days that are not so great. I had a tremendous weigh-in this morning. I was able to go back to bed after weigh in and stay there until nine (which NEVER happens). I got up and treated myself to a cup of coffee at Starbucks, got pampered while getting a hair cut and then had the most amazing deep tissue massage ever.  My massuese is a runner as well (he’s participating in the Rock and Roll marathon here in a few weeks) so when I go in and say “I hurt because of running” he knows what to do. His technique is to do what he thinks he would like to have done to him but never able to explain to those giving him his massages. I told him next time if he wanted to film the massage he could to show other professionals. I wanted to punch him in his face and hug him at the same time that’s how awesome it was. My legs are still sore but they feel flexible and by tomorrow will be ready to walk those 13.1 miles.

13.1

No turning back now. I’m alive and ready to take this journey to another level. I think it’s pretty freakin fantastic that I am crossing over into the race realm just as I’m also crossing over the 50 pound mark. The half way point. The point where I finally feel like I can do anything physical with some determination, a desire to succeed and a will to not think of myself as a failure if I must attempt something several times before I feel I have accomplished what I came to do.

All of you will be with me tomorrow. Whether you come here everyday or for the first time today. Whether I’ve met you in real life or just through the words you put out to the Universe. You have all helped me push forward even in times when I couldn’t push myself. When I cross over that finish line tomorrow, you cross over too!

KEEP MOVING.

 KEEP LIVING.

KEEP FIGHTING!

 

OWiS #20… A Dear Tara Letter

Dear Tara,

First off, thanks for all the nice notes and mentions here on your blog. It feels really nice to know you are thinking of me everyday. I know I’ve always been around but this is the first time you’ve really made me a priority and I just can’t tell you how heart warming that is. I don’t know why it took you so long to realize my importance but now that we’re on the same page I don’t dwell on what was. I have to tell you though, I was a little leary in the beginning. I know you had your doubts and you worried a lot. But I told you from the beginning, just let me do my job and I’ll get it done.

Sorry about last week’s “mishap”. I did that on purpose. Sometimes you have be stopped dead in your tracks to get you to realize something is not right in your world. I kept telling you things were getting more intense than what you and I were ready for. You stopped making me a priority and now that we’re in this journey side by side, I can’t let you do that anymore. But you caught on quick and I was able to really show you what I’m made of.

I held on to a few pounds but as soon as I knew you were letting go and moving on, I too let go and started moving on. Did you see me on the ArcTrainer yesterday? How about that 11:55 mile? I KNOW RIGHT!!!! It was stupendous! I know you’ve thanked me before but today I need to be the one to extend my gratitude to you. You didn’t believe in me for the last 40 years. I know it’s not all your fault. I’ve listened in on those therapy sessions of yours (I hope you don’t mind). I grew fat and complacent and I held a grudge against you for a long time. You said you wanted to lose weight and you said it would be different this time. I needed you to prove that to me before I really got into this game. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this was a Life Changing Journey for you and I knew it was time for me to get involved. You whispered to me every night how I was going to be an athlete and every night I cried in hopes you weren’t going to break that promise to me again. Here we are almost 5 months later and I am about to wear my first number during this weekend’s 1/2 marathon.

You kept that promise.

As a thank you, I shed a crap load of pounds for you this week.

How you like them apples Tara? A -7.6 pound loss just for you! Next time life starts to get a little stressful I hope you’ll remember that there are two of us in this fight. We need each other, now more than ever! Oh and thanks for the sessions with Superman this summer, it’s going to totally ROCK!

Love,

Your body!

(p.s. – thanks for the haircut and massage today I’ve been looking forward to this for a while).

(p.p.s – Thanks for letting neck come home, I’ve missed her something awful)

The numbers:

Week 0 = 263.5 (-0.0)

Week 1 = 257.4 (-6.1)

Week 2 = 255.0 (-2.4)

Week 3 = 254.6 (-.4)

Week 4 = 253.8 (-.8) *I started c25k

Week 5 = 248.2 (-5.6)

Week 6 = 247.2 (-1.0)

Week 7 = 246.2 (-1.0)

Week 8 = 244.4 (-1.8)

Week 9 = 241.0 (-3.4)

Week 10 = 240.6  (-.4)

Week 11 = 238.0 (-2.6)

Week 12 = 234.8 (-3.2)

Week 13 = 232.8 (-2.0)

Week 14 = 230.0 (-2.8) *graduated c25k

Week 15 = 227.8 (-2.2)

Week 16 = 225.6 (-2.2)

Week 17 = 222.4 (-3.2)

Week 18 = 219.2 (-3.2)

Week 19 = 221.4 (+2.2) *the brother situation

Week 20 = 213.8 (-7.6)