Weekend up & downs...

My weekend was full of kids - driving my daughter to soccer 300+ miles away - then driving home the same day and driving another 60 miles to my son's baseball tournament. Driving is a binge trigger. I tried to prepare - I packed snacks and lunch, we ate at Subway (Club Salad for the win!) and generally I did "OK". I ate some candy though. I was tired, I was sick of driving, I was frustrated with the 3 girls we took with us - I had HAD it.
So I had a bag of M&M's. That was my reward. Better than the past. And I really didn't see it as a binge. But it wasn't on the plan. I'm stronger each time. And that's a GOOD thing.

I didn't have time to run on Saturday - 4 miles was in my training plan but there was just NO WAY to do it. I left the house at 6:45 in the morning, got all the way across WA state by noon, took a much needed nap for 60 minutes, watched the soccer game (we lost, bummer), then piled everyone back in the truck and headed west. Fed the dogs, packed some clothes, and turned north for 60 more miles. Arrived in Bellingham at 10pm. Nowhere in that schedule was there 50 minutes to run. Oh well. I forgave myself pretty easily. And the training schedule is modified.

Sunday morning however, I awoke before the alarm clock (go figure!) and we had some breakfast and headed for the baseball fields. The area we were in was GORGEOUS and I had preempitvely put on my running gear and brought a change of clothes with me. I used the odometer to see how far it was from the highway to the fields so that I could try and put in my 4 miles by running out to the highway and back again. It was 2.45 miles. So I planned on running 4.9 miles. See - I can be flexible! :)

I stopped at the fields, said good morning to everyone, soaked up the compliments about "dedication", being "impressed", and just general stares as I set out to run. External praise counts for more in my score book.

I'm still running 3/1 intervals: 3 minutes running, 1 minute walking. The weather was perfect, warm, light breeze, clear sky.

I got to the halfway point, crossed the street (I prefer running on the oncoming side of traffic), and started my jog again. I let my mind wander and it wandered to a challege - the one to push myself more. At the 3 minute mark, I kept running. And running. And running. I ran all the way back to the fields!! My time for finishing 4.9 miles was 1:04. Certainly a personal best. I felt awesome. The whole way back I felt like a RUNNER. The voices inside my head were cheering me on, supporting me, it was different. For that alone...the run was a success. I didn't even let my shadow tell me how fat I was (running with the sun at my back, I could watch which parts of me jiggle when I run - you would THINK that would be a bad thing!):

I was in such a positive mood that all I could hear was how I was CHANGING my shape - and how that jiggle would be gone eventually!! This is such a monumental shift for me. One that I've been trying to tap into. I hope I can continue...

My eating was pretty good - I've gotten away from logging my foods, I'm just frustrated with that - but I'm staying within my limits - logging the foods that I don't know the calorie counts off the top of my head.

We had BBQ at a friends house - it was perfect, she fixed shish-kabobs and I was able to pick and choose what was on mine. And a chopped salad that was delicious!!

Tonight's run: 8 miles. I think I'm going to try and find a more interesting route that running "laps" in my neighborhood. We'll see how motivated I am tonight!!

Here's my husband reading to our friend's youngest - a picture that just tugs at my heart strings!!