NEW 13.1 PR!!! Savannah Rock 'n' Roll 2013

Sorry for the lack of blogs this year, life gets hectic. What else can I say. I'm not a writer, so this stuff doesn't come natural to me. As my BFF Shonna put it, I'd much rather be living it than writing about it!!

Anyway, this race certainly deserves a post.

Long story short, I ran my ass off at the Savannah Rock 'n' Roll Half and I achieved my ultimate goal of getting a sub 2-hour half. Something that last year, I didn't think I would EVER be capable of doing. The closest I have ever been was at the Palmetto Bluff Half at the beginning of this year when I came in at 2:03 - but even that course was short (12.8 miles), so it probably would have been more like a 2:05 or 2:06. My goal for this race was to beat 2:05 at the very least.

First off, I have to apologize to MRTT – I didn't really participate in very many group runs this time around. I was very selfish in the way I wanted to train for this on my own, in my own way. I ran mainly on my lunch breaks because I didn't want to get up so early to drive somewhere to run (I am very spoiled since we moved to a house next to an awesome park. I got used to running alone again, but I didn't mind. Now that my big race is over, I hope to be more active in the group runs. :)

The week before the race, I had just completed a Whole Life Challenge with my awesome gym - the FTC. It was an 8 week lifestyle challenge. We did baseline testing and the final testing was a week before the race. My numbers didn't change THAT much in terms of weight or inches lost. The only significant improvement was that I was able to add 10# to my 1RM back squat (new PR of 160#). I'm proud of that, but the area that I thought I would improve on the most was the 1 mile run. I got a new PR, but only by 8 seconds (7:20). :( That was a bit discouraging as the race was approaching.

So since the challenge was over, I pretty much did what you should NOT have done after changing your diet... I ATE CARBS! You know, the BAD ones! It was glorious! I told myself that I'm just fueling for the race. Pasta, rice, white potatoes - in various forms. Oh baby. Shonna and her family came down Thursday and we had Mellow Mushroom pizza. YUMMMM. Then the night before the race we had ribeyes and potatoes. Oh and birthday cake and ice cream - it was Scarlett's birthday (Shonna's daughter)!

Birthday girl Scarlett, photobombing my flat mama!

On race morning, I ate an English muffin with peanut butter and chia seeds. I also had half of a banana on the way there. It wasn't as cold as I was anticipating. We took photos with MRTT and then went to get in a long port-a-potty line. We made it just in time to run over to corral #6, which was where the 2 hour pacer was. A couple minutes later, we were off! Woohoo! Then, oops, I forgot to start my watch... good thing it was only late by a few seconds.

just a few MRTT that were running this race of 18,000 runners!

Shonna and I ran together, following the 2 hour pacer as best as we could. The pacer was a fast little lady! A 2 hour half marathon pace is about 9:10 pace. My first mile was 8:35! WTF? I think I psyched myself out thinking there was no way I could keep up with that pace. The pacer did slow down for the 2nd mile - never quite to 9:10 though. It was so crowded with people all over the place that short lil me could barely push my way though people. I felt like I was saying "sorry" a lot to other runners that I bumped. Shonna managed to stay close to the pacer, but I was struggling to keep up for a while.

At about mile 5, the course entered downtown and the lanes opened up a bit, thank goodness. Shonna and I managed to run ahead of the pacer! I knew the downtown section would be fun with all the spectators and energy. Right after we crossed the 10K mark - the pacer caught up to us and eventually faded away into the distance. I swear, I think she was on pace for a 1:55, not 2:00. I ran into Shiloh's son who started in the same corral. I told him I'd try to follow him since we lost the pacer, but we eventually ate his dust too!

When the course left downtown around mile 8-9, I looked at our pace and we were still hitting high 8 minute miles - even without the pacer. I was surprised by this. I felt fine and thought I could keep that pace until the end. But it was here that I parted ways with Shonna. Though we didn't run the whole thing together, I don't think I would have been able to make it so far and keep that pace for that long. Thanks girl!!! xoxoxox! So from then on it was up to me, myself and I to make my goal!

The last 3 miles of the race was a blur. I remember grabbing an orange slice from someone, stopping for a split second to ring the Gordonston bell "for power" and seeing someone run to the side of the road and puke. Miraculously, I felt great, never had to breathe very heavily - but I told myself that I would push it on the last mile. On the final long straightaway, I knew there would be small hills (hills that I cursed last year!) but then the turn to the finish wasn't far after the last hill. When I crossed the 12 mile mark I looked at my time and realized that even if I ran the last 1.1 miles in a 10 minute pace, I would still get a sub 2!!! I think I got a bit verklempt for just a few moments thinking that I was about to achieve something I thought was impossible.

Once I reached the last turn to the finish, I knew I was golden. I ran it in pretty strong with a huge smile on my face. After I crossed the line, stopped my watch, looked down at it and saw this:

1:57... OMG!

I screamed a scream of joy and badassness, the guy next to me did too and we gave each other a high five! His hand actually slipped off of mine and he kind of slapped my face, but I didn't care!! I was so damn excited!!! I found Joel in the madness of the finish line and he PR'ed too - a redemption for his run last year. Shonna came in shortly after with a shiny new PR! PRs for everyone!

Me, sandwiched by my BFFs!

In this race, I hit a 10K PR as well as 10 mile PR!!!

Things that made this possible:
1. Fueling at miles 4, 7 and 10 (thanks Hammer!)
2. Running with a pace group and running buddy (thank you Shonna!)
3. Fleet Feet Savannah CREW's intermediate half training plan (Thank you CREW!! I ran 3x/week: speedwork one day, tempo day, long run one day)
4. Strength training and conditioning with crossfit at the FTC!!! (Thanks FTC!! I cross-trained on my running off-days)

Holy crap, how'd I do that?

With all those things, I knew I could trust my training and just go for it. I knew my lungs and body would be able to handle it because of crossfit -- I've pushed myself to what I thought were my limits, but realized I had more power in me to dig deeper. I actually never really got to the point where I wanted to quit. The only thing I was really worried about was my feet. I knew the pounding would kill my feet. Luckily they didn't really start hurting me until mile 12. I also knew that I'd probably have to hit the bathrooms pretty hard after my running effort. I was right. As soon as I sat down to rest my feet, the cramps started and I had to take my wipes with me to the port-a-pots! LOL I never forget to pack my Immodium!!

So what's my new goal? I told myself that if I ever hit a sub-2 half, I would start training for a marathon. So Marine Corps Marathon 2014, here I come!!!

Update: Yep, I'm still here!

After my awesome 10K PR last month (which I still need to blog about... which brings my total races UNblogged to XX...I have no idea...), I got injured. I guess I ran so hard that I messed up my knee. It's runner's knee on my right knee. I also got the hip soreness again. :( Ugh. I took 2 weeks off from running. I have not run over 6 miles since July 4. I'm still dealing with it but, am definitely keeping my runs short (3-4 miles during the week, MAYBE a 5 or 6 miler on the weekends) as I recover and build strength on my right side. I hope I can get back to the 13.1 distance by the Diva in September!! I really don't want to push it then if I am not ready, because I am still determined to make a sub 2 hour half at the RnR this year!

In the meantime, I have continued to strength train. I joined a crossfit gym/box whatever you want to call it. I went for the first time a couple weeks ago and got my a$$ kicked. I could not raise my arms for about a week after that first class! Another goal of mine is to be able to do at least ONE unassisted pull up or chin up by the end of the year!

I'm maintaining my weight loss for the most part. I try to keep the scale under 130, but would like to be more in the mid 120s. I hope to build a lot more muscle and trim the fat! I am currently doing a 10-day Advocare cleanse, so we'll see if I have trimmed don a bit in a couple days when it's over. I had a few cheat meals here and there... I hope I lose something!

Weight Loss – 12-week Challenge

For the past 12 weeks, I have been participating in a weight loss challenge that was organized by my friend (and fellow mommy of a December 09 baby) Tiffany of Mommy's Losing Rolls. The challenge ended yesterday.

This was taken maybe 2-3 months after I had Liam (early 2010) - the first time I went running after baby. I probably weighed 165 lbs.

I have always wanted to lose my baby weight - just never really made much of an effort. I made it back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I still had areas that I felt needed work - mainly my midsection. I figured with my half marathon training last year, it would have just melted off. Not the case. In December 2012 (my month off from running), I dabbled a bit with the 17-Day diet and got results from that, but I found that I don't like to follow any real plan. So with my food, I took ideas from the recipes from the 17-day diet and just modified and ate what I wanted (or felt like making - I am not a great cook by any means).

June 2012 - probably around 145 lbs.

Instead of following a real diet plan, I started counting my calories with My Fitness Pal and made an effort to eat cleaner. I even bought a Polar heart rate monitor to track my calorie burn with my workouts - WHICH I have learned, that my calorie burn is not quite as much as I had been estimating. I always thought that generally 10 minutes of exercise equals a 100 calorie burn. Nope. I'm lucky to get 70 calories burned in 10 minutes. I'm thinking maybe it is because my heart is just working more efficiently? For instance I ran my fastest half marathon in February, but I only burned 999 calories in about 2 hours of running at a pretty consistently moderate effort.

It's not all about the diet, though. I have been going to a bootcamp class twice a week, running, rowing on my rowing machine, doing planks and other exercises that I can fit in at any given free moment. :) I feel abs under my baby belly!!! Like I mentioned in previous posts, and as you can tell from all my new PRs, I am becoming a faster runner - as well as one who doesn't suffer from as much hip pain as before!

Anyway, it's been quite a journey. Here are my results from the 12-week challenge, starting on 2/14/2013, ending 4/29/2013 (Note: I am 5' 1" tall):

Starting Weight: 137.2 lbs / Ending Weight: 126.8 lbs (-10.4 lb, 7.58% loss)

Starting Measurements / Ending Measurements:

Chest: 35" / 33.5" (-1.5")

Waist: 30" / 29" (-1")

Hips: 38" / 37" (-1")

Thigh: 23" / 21.5" (-1.5")

Right Arm Flexed: 11.75" / 12" (+0.25")

I came in 8th out of 32 participants! I was surprised to be a part of the top 10! Woohoo! Thanks so much to Tiffany for the challenge and motivating me to lose the weight! :) I feel great, look great and I am just SO DAMN PROUD of myself for accomplishing this!

So what's next? I plan to maintain this weight loss, maybe try to lose a bit more. I want to get stronger and gain more muscle! I'm already signed up for another fitness challenge, oddly enough organized by another Tiffany! I'm going to be pushing myself pretty hard again this time. I can't wait!

Half Marathon #5: Blue Ridge Half Marathon

I know I totally am behind on my race recaps (as well as yet ANOTHER 5K PR 3 weeks ago...), but I wanted to immediately write down my thoughts on the half marathon that I did this past Saturday, April 20, 2013: The Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon and Half in Roanoke, Virginia!

I signed up to be an official blogger for this race, which sounded like a dream race to me: to run in the Blue Ridge mountains!? Who could pass up that opportunity!! Where I live (in Savannah, GA) and where I am originally from (DC), there are no mountains, let alone hills at all in Savannah. I've always dreamed of building a house in the mountains. You can have your beaches, give me mountains!

Anyway, I signed up for the half and my husband also signed up as well. The drive up to Roanoke from Savannah was not bad at all; very scenic and took about 7 hours. We stayed at a hotel near the airport and mall (Hyatt Place), which was very convenient because there was a race weekend discount AS WELL as a free shuttle to and from the race. SCORE! Not to mention free hot breakfast and free WiFi! :) Plus Downtown Roanoke was just a quick 10 minute drive away!

The night before, we went and picked up our race shirts and bibs at the Market Building and then went and met up with my fellow Moms Run This Town members for a carb loading dinner! I had a couple beers which I probably shouldn't have, but this weekend I allowed to be a cheat weekend so I had to go a bit overboard! :)

When we got back to the hotel, we got our race clothes ready for the morning - checked the weather: mid 40s at start time (7:35am)! Burrr!! So glad I remembered to bring my running sleeves! I took a "flat mama" pic to share on various social media sites and then hit the sack.

We woke up to some WIND howling outside our window... and I was having St. Augustine Half flashbacks! LOL It wasn't too bad, though. When we got to downtown, the Market building was open. We met up with my friends and took our "before" photos - Shelli, Kelli, Katie, Natalie and me! This race was a special one for Kaite and Natalie, as it was to be their FIRST ever marathon!!!

Savannah Moms Run This Town!!

Husband and I

 After hugs and bathroom breaks, we all went out to the start line. I started my Garmin inside, but the damn satellites never synched up until after the race started! :( It was a cold, windy start and after the gun went off it took a while still to warm up. But as soon as we passed mile 1, the ascent onto Mill Mountain started!! Woohoo! I won't forget that sight of people running straight up a super steep road! At about 1.5 miles in, my Garmin FINALLY synched!

I tried my best not to walk until I absolutely needed to. Many people were walking already. I felt like I was going super slow, and I was, but I wanted to at least keep the motion of running with my legs. It was a killer uphill for the next 2 miles! I was trying to keep up with a guy that was ahead of me, but then when we got to about mile 3.75, I succumbed to the mountain and had to take my first walk break (of many to come, lol). The entire way up the mountain was absolutely GORGEOUS. The road was lined with green trees and pretty purple trees popped up to add in some spring color. That, along with the sun peeking through the leaves was just a breathtaking experience. I LOVED IT. It's what I had hoped the course would be.

After my first walk break, I continued on and what do you know, here comes mile 4 and the STAR at the top of Mill Mountain!! With such an AWESOME view of the city!! I had to stop here and take photos at the overlook. Did I just run up this mountain?!?  Hell yeah I did!!! It was such a great feeling!

"I can see my house!"

The Mill Mountain Star!

Me at the top of the mountain! It was windy!!!

After instagramming and FBing this photo, I grabbed some gummi bears at the aid station and made my merry way. I was so HAPPY to now be going DOWNHILL!! But let me tell you, this descent was no joke either! I was so afraid that with one slight slip of my foot, my injury-prone self could be rolling down the mountain!! I took it easy, yet kept a good pace. I passed a few people, but didn't let the momentum get to me too much. Plus, I knew my knees were not loving this part of the course. At least my heart rare got to go down for a bit.

We entered the city and made our way through some beautiful neighborhoods. There was an awesome Fleet Feet aid/cheer station that I remember filling up my water bottle at and high-fiving people. But honestly after that, I can't really remember where the course took us for the rest of the way. There were so many turns and hills that it kept me wondering what was coming next!! I loved it!!! So much better than the normal straightaways in the halfs I have done in the past. I like not knowing whats coming next, what could be around the next corner, etc.

There was so much change in the scenery that before I knew it, I was at mile 12!!!! Woohoo! The hills started to flatten out and I just put my legs in autopilot and flew to the finish line!!! I think my last mile was around a 9 minute pace, which I didn't think I could even hit because I figured my legs would have been super tired from the mountain and hills. But nope! I had so much energy left in me that when I crossed the finish line, I felt like I could keep on running!

And speaking of the finish line, I loved how they pronounced my name correctly AND they even did a shout-out to my Moms Run This Town!!! It was on my shirt! When I heard my name and my running group and had the finish line in sight, I know I have must have had the biggest smile on my face! I finished strong and felt like a badass to boot!! ;) I crossed the line with my right hand over my heart as a tribute to the Boston Marathon. I received my medal from a pretty girl with a tiara

My 5th Half Marathon Medal!!!

My official time was 2:21:28! My slowest half marathon to date, but I was not expecting to PR on this. I was glad that I finished under 2:30! I knew the mountain was going to be rough. It was certainly challenging, but I enjoy a good challenge. I am tempted to try to do it again next year or at least again in the future to see if I can improve on it. My score for the Blue Ridge Half Marathon: A!!

There are also a few important/cool details that I didn't mention:

• Race bibs had names printed on them!
• The course was marked VERY clearly - I knew where to turn even when there was no one directly in front of me!
• Instant race times displayed on a large screen at the finish line!
• The weather was BEAUTIFUL!
• Pete (the race director) and the social media team was very helpful in answering all the questions I had regarding the course before race day
• Lots of crowd support in the neighborhoods!
• Awesome water and aid stations! (Loved the gummi bears!)
• They gave out cool Boston bracelets and stickers to wear on race day to keep the Boston Marathon in our hearts as we ran the race

The only bad things I can think of (which are not even that bad) were the size of the expo/packet pick-up - it was small, not many vendors there. No swag bag, other than the cool Boston bracelets and shirts. And no free beer at the end ;)

{ EDIT: Thanks to Heather who commented that there WERE, in fact, some pretty cool swag bags with noisemakers and stuff! Darn, we got in too late and missed them! }

Thank you Pete and the city of Roanoke for the awesome race!! Hope to see you again soon!

Determined!

I just PR'ed on a 5K this past Saturday. A new PR by 19 seconds. My goal is to break 26 minutes at my next 5K on April 6th. Which means I need to cut at least 25 seconds off this new PR. Doable? Surely. I just need to convince myself of that. I just did some speedwork yesterday and plan to do more next week too. I wonder if that will help me get there in 2 weeks?

A race recap will be written for it, but I wanted to brag because I actually WON my age group. Albeit, it was a small race with only 129 participants - it is a great confidence booster for me! I came in 34th, and 7th female to cross the line. Woot! :)

Race Recap: Enmark Savannah River Bridge Run (December 1, 2012)

There was a lot of build-up to this race. First, I was excited to do this, as it is my MOST FAVORITE RACE evar – being the one I have done the most – 2006 (5K), 2007 (5K), 2008 (10K), 2011 (5K); and second – This was my first DOUBLE PUMP 15K!!! Woohoo!!

I remember back when I first started racing and saw the runners with the different color bib starting on the 5K side of the bridge [10Kers start on the opposite side, 45 minutes after the start of the 5K], thinking, "Man, those people are running over the bridge 3 times?! They must be hardcore runners!" And now flash forward to today and I am one of those "Hardcore" runners!! By no means would I consider myself a hardcore runner, but compared to back then my running and fitness has improved by leaps and bounds.

I also got my running group - Moms RUN This Town (MRTT) - involved with a fundraiser that took place in conjunction with the Bridge Run. I formed an MRTT group through crowdrise.com to fundraise for the race charity: The Nancy N. and JC Lewis Cancer Research Center and Pavilion here in Savannah. I set a goal for us to raise $500. Posted it to my FB page and everything, but 3 days before the race we were not even close to making the goal. I decided to do something drastic and crazy and pledged to shave my head if we met our goal of $500 by the day of the race. Once I had posted it and shared on FB, the donations came ROLLING in. We actually met the $500 goal only 3 hours after I had posted this photo!

And the donations KEPT coming in! We made a little under $1000 in just 3 days!! On the day of the race expo, I was asked by the PR manager of the Cancer Center to do an interview with one of the local news stations. We also worked with Fleet Feet and the Bridge Run director to make my head shaving a public event a the race after party!

Well, my nerves were all over the place the morning of the race - first to survive running over the bridge 3 times and then getting my head shaved right after!

The race itself was pretty rough. I think it was the most challenging race I've done so far. I had a personal goal of completing the 5K in under 30 minutes (which I have never done on this course's 5K at that point) and then feeling good enough to do it all over again 2 more times after that!

I had to race conservative, yet fast enough to make it in time, and once I rounded the corner before the finish line, I saw the clock and knew I had to sprint. I think it said 30 minutes, but I knew my chip time would be less than that and once I finally crossed the line, I checked my watch and it said: 29:46!! I did it!!!

Next up was the 10K. I felt my hips already getting sore. Stopping for an extended period of time in between hard runs is not ideal for my hips! I met up with fellow MRTT members Shiloh and Emily and I started off with them for the first part until their first walk break and then I kept going. I tried to take it easy since the first 2 miles were flat. I caught up to a lady who had a St Augustine Half Marathon (a race I did in November) shirt on and chatted with her about the St Augustine Half and Savannah's races, then I went ahead and soon met up with Ginger (another fellow MRTT!) and ran with her a bit until her walk break... and then the TOUGH part came... the incline back up onto the bridge. On this side, it is REALLY steep. I kept running, as much as I wanted to stop and walk... albeit slow at some points, but I kept a steady pace on up until the decline. I was super thirsty because I didn't bring my water bottle. There was a water stop on the loop back around to the other side of the bridge. I took a short walk break and began my ascent up the FINAL round of the bridge! Still rough, but I kept the steady pace and caught up with Katie and Ashton (more MRTT!) and stayed with them for the rest of the bridge. We came to the final water stop and at that point I was so PARCHED (it was really sunny on that bridge)... I called out for a water and they had just given out the LAST cup to the person in front of me!!! ARGH!!! I was so pissed! But I used that as motivation to finish up strong and get this race over with! As I made my way to the final straight away, I saw Joel and his dad on the sidelines which made me smile and happy to be finishing my first DOUBLE PUMP!!!

My 10K time was 1:07:08 - a course 10K PR for me (by about a minute), making my total time for the 15K: 1:36:54... a new Double Pump course standard to beat!!

Now that one thing was completed, I had to do the next thing --- get my head shaved! It was a fun and exciting moment for me, I hope everyone in attendance got a good kick out of it. I love doing things for charity, whether it's helping to raise money for a good cause or public humiliation in order to raise said money... I'm all about it!!! I'm glad MRTT was out there to support me/laugh at me... and I am very happy that we were able to raise the funds!

I don't know how I can top this crazy antic, but I am always up for some crazy stuff -- so long as it's for a good cause! Maybe we can come up with something for next year's bridge run!! Actually, MRTT already has something REALLY fun planned for this year's Bridge Run!!! I can't wait!!!

an article from the Savannah Morning News (savannahnow.com): http://savannahnow.com/sports/2012-12-01/bridge-run-notebook-runner-jacy-vergara-loses-hair-good-cause#.UT-y7xnB1KZ

another article from the local news that interviewed me WTOC.com: http://www.wtoc.com/story/20232586/savannah-woman-shaves-head-to-raise-money-for-cancer-awareness

Just wanted to say...

I have had virtually no time to update with race recaps - yet another race has happened - but I really want to record these moments for posterity, so maybe I'll get one up this week...

But I just wanted to say that my year in running and fitness so far has been amazing. Focusing more on my diet and other forms of fitness than just running alone has helped me SO much in terms of getting faster and smaller!

I have also seemed to find my perfect stride - by using more lower leg power, as opposed to quad power (which is how I normally ran). I tried it out one day when my hips were achy, but I still needed to get a run in - so I had to adapt my form. I went out for an easy 5K training run and that "easy" 5K ended uo to be only a couple seconds off of my 5K PR (at the time)! I was so surprised by my results of just changing up the way I power my legs. Ever since I made this change, I made a sub-27 minute 5K race PR and new half marathon PR yesterday - a 6 minute improvement from from my last half marathon just one month ago! Additionally, my hips are not as sore! I love self-discovery!

I've already hit a new half marathon PR TWICE this year - making my goal of being able to run a sub-2 hour half marathon even closer than I had imagined (I was giving myself 4 more years to do it, but now I'm only minutes away from it!!!) And a couple weeks ago, I've also made a new 5K PR - my first one since 2009 - and it was by 1:11!! Huge!! I just don't think any of this would have happened had I not changed my eating habits and kept up with strength training (specifically CORE) and trying to get at least some form of physical activity done each day.

I've lost nearly 7 pounds since the beginning of the year, putting me SO CLOSE to being in the 120s... something I have not seen since I started college... It's just amazing what these changes can do for you.

Dieting is so hard for me - especially now since I have to make/prepare everything... I hate cooking. But I make it work. I do indulge in crap food every now and then, but nothing too bad. Not like before. I've become a calorie counter - using My Fitness Pal to track everything and I even purchased a Polar heart rate monitor to track my calorie burns (which are much lower than what my Garmin or rowing machine reports). I've gotten used to the tracking, but still need to work on my eating... I'm a work in progress!

More updates coming soon!

Super late updates.... coming soon

So the procrastinator in me has delayed updates of many major races and events. Starting with the Savannah Bridge Run (my first Double Pump and public head shaving!), the Reindeer Run (first race with a stroller), the Tybee Run Fest (not a participant, but cheered for my inspiring friends), the Hilton Head Half Marathon (new 13.1 PR!) and the 26.2 Run with Donna Relay (my first Relay!)

I've also been trying to get stronger and lose weight and overhaul my diet. It's a challenge, but I want to get down to the 120s, dammit! And I want to be able to run faster!

2013 Check In

Happy New Year!

2012 was an awesome year! I met some really awesome new friends and I ran the most miles EVAR in this one year than I have from 2006 through 2011 combined! Here is an overview of my year from Daily Mile:

I think this mileage report includes walking and rowing, though.

As far as 2013 goals, I would love to hit 700 running miles this year. I would also like to slim down to 120 lbs. Or maybe 125 lbs - with lots of muscle. I also want to get faster on my half marathon time, hopefully break 2:10 this year. I don't have many opportunities to do it, so I need to work all year on this one.

I started a diet mid December (during my break from running) called the 17 Day Diet and successfully lost 7 lbs in the first 17 days. But then I fell off the wagon and deviated from the diet a bit and now I'm back up 2 lbs. I think if I just continue to use the diet plan as a guide and not eat like a ravneous college kid, I will be fine. I have already cut out one of my favorite foods (pasta) and do not crave it. I'm eating more veggies and drinking more water and green tea. I don't think I'm quite at "clean eating" status, nor will I ever be, but I can live with that. I have to take this one step at a time. I really never have tried a diet plan until this one and I've gotten great results, so I might have to stick with it!

I really want to do a write up on the Bridge Run from December 1, as well as the Pooler Jingle Jog from December 22 (my first 5K pushing a stroller), but it will have to wait. December was such a hectic month with the holidays and my son's birthday (and mine too) and various fundraisers, plus traveling everywhere... ugh. I am glad it is over!

Hope everyone has an AWESOME 2013!!!