Put the forks and knives away, and wipe that chocolate off your face. The Eating Season is finally Over! Hooray!!!!!!! And not a moment too soon. Whew, it’s been a long two months. It started with those butterfingers at Halloween, continued through the turkey, gravy and biscuits for Thanksgiving, Peppermint Bark and way too many cookies for Christmas, and finally, finally….those pigs in those darn blankets with a champagne chaser on New Years Eve. In my house, it goes even one week longer, because January 6th is my birthday — so can we squeeze a little more cake or pie into those jeans? I ask ya!!
Ok, lets all open the top button on our pants and let out a collective sigh of relief … The Eating Season is Over! Amen! The End!
Ok, well the damage on this end was 5.4 pound, uh – that would be a + plus. Yes, up 5.4 pounds from Halloween to New Years Day. Not quite the under 200 pounds goal I was shooting for, but But BUT we’re not going to dwell on that, or beat myself up over it. It is what it is, and lifelong brainwashing to eat eat eat over the holidays is going to take some time to wash away. So, this year was a “chipping away at it process”. Are you asking, “hey Diane, if you gained 5.4 pounds —- um, what exactly did you chip away at?” It’s Ok – go ahead, Ask Away.
The answer is pretty simple really. It’s not that I failed that measures my effort. It’s the fact that I tried. Let’s sum this up quick, and move on to my Week 3 running update. If I hadn’t reined it in….kept trying NOT to eat that Peppermint Bark….kept measuing that stuffing….kept counting those Christmas Cookies. IF I had just Let Go…….and Enjoyed the Christmas Season the way Whitman’s Sampler and Sarah Lee wanted me to — I’d be up 10 pounds, 15 pounds. Oh, STOP GASPING AT ME IN SHOCK. You KNOW it’s possible, rather likely really.
So, the nobility in the effort is in the trying. It’s the trying that measures the value of your work, NOT the outcome. The scale is just one indicator. So, if you are still struggling to get back on track. Be still. Relax. Close your Eyes. Breathe deep. Go into your closet and put on a pair of those old, huge pants that used to fit — and remind yourself of how far you’ve come. I have this wool winter coat from just two years ago, that I kept because I thought I would wear it to shovel snow this winter. When I want a laugh, I go put it on. It is so huge on me now. Crazy part is — it used to fit, a bit snug even.
Keep trying. Really try. It may take you a week. No worries, it took me two. The only failure is in quitting. Don’t. Period.
Week three of training for the Rutgers Unite Half Marathon wrapped up on Sunday with 15 miles underfoot for the week. 15 miles. Wow, that’s like a mile for ever pound I would have gained during The Eating Season 2011 if I had not tried! Hmmm, just realized that. Powerful stuff.
My week day runs were all 2.5 miles each. I did them all on the treadmill because it was really cold outside with a bitter wind this week. I like running outside in the cold, it’s the wind that’s my enemy. I liked the treadmill OK. I ran at a 2.0 incline and it simulated outside fairly well. My long run on Sunday was back to 5 miles. So I repeated my run to ShopRite. The run felt AWESOME. I finished in 58 minutes. That was 3 minutes faster than the Week One 5 mile run I completed on Christmas morning. I could feel my stride was longer. I was moving more swiftly. I felt Strong. Who would have thought I could feel Strong? Feeling Strong is addictive, in a good way. I’ll take a second bowl of that please.
I spoke with Marathon Brian today at work. Like Pavlov’s dog, I’m conditioned to check in with him on Mondays to give him the synopsis of my Sunday long run, and to collect his little nuggets of advice. This week, he was asking me how I was feeling. I complained (a little) about my sore left knee and my stiff lower back, but it was nothing bad really. Just my muscles complaining about being awoken out of their 46 year coma. Brian laughed and said, no worries Diane…..from here on out, everyday something’s gonna hurt. [Crickets, crickets]. Uh, O-K- Brian. Way to Encourage. Way to Motivate.
But, he’s right. There’s an amount of pain and soreness that comes with this journey. It’s not all sunrises and tranquil mornings. Sometimes it’s sweat, and stiff knees, and sore backs, and broken toenails. But it’s also Strength, and Peace of Mind, and Weight Loss. My first January Weigh-In was a 2 pound loss. And for the past three weeks — Sunday Night has brought me the best night sleep of my life. Exhaustion can be delightful.
Ciao for now…….Diane