My Running and Weight Loss Journey Part IV

By August of 2012, I had lost 24 lbs and was weighing in at 168 lbs - just 5 lbs from the goal weight I had set for myself in January. After recently completing my first 5k, I was feel confident and strong. My husband & I had our weeknight routine down. When he got home, I was off to the gym to hit the treadmill. Things were rolling along smooth as could be...

Until football season.

Now you're probably thinking college or pro season ... nope. I am talking about Western Irish youth football. The boys were playing tackle football for the first time through our church. They've never played in that league before and we didn't know what to expect. We were used to 1 hour practices one night a week & games on Saturday mornings. We were in for a rude awakening...

Practice was 2 hours a day 4 or 5 days a week! My husband LOVED it... He loved watching those boys struggle and sweat as they ran drills and did up and downs in the late afternoon August sunshine. And, I've got to admit, I enjoyed watching them as well - my little men. ;-)

Still... it cut into my workout time!

MY time!

Now I was rushing home from work, picking up two big boys wearing full football gear, one baby boy who needed his own gear (stroller, diaper bag, sippy, snack, etc), and loading them all in the car to get to practice by five! My husband would meet me at their practice between 5:30 and 6 pm. Now, I could leave and head to the gym, but you moms know how important it is for your kids that you watch their practices. Not to mention that these practices were in several different location, some of which weren't that close to home.

Ugh.

What was I supposed to do?

After an internal debate, I resigned myself to what I knew I had to do... run outside. If I changed to my  running gear before heading to the boys' practice, I was able to watch the first 30 - 40 minutes before my hubby arrived. Then I would pass the little one off to him, get my run in (usually in an adjoining neighborhood), and be back to watch the last 30 minutes or so of practice. It was challenging. And forced me to face my fear of running outside. But it was worth it... for so many reasons.

First and foremost, it allowed me to watch a good portion of the boys' football practice. I also learned the many joys of running outside. I learned to run without worrying about pace. Or distance. Or calories burned. I learned to soak in the scenery. To enjoy the warm weather. To relax and let the stress of the day melt away.

I learned to LOVE running.

My endurance increased. My speed increased (although I am still a slow runner).

And I continued to lose weight.

In September, my work held their annual health evaluations. We have this program at work designed to assist employees in getting healthy or staying healthy. As part of the program they provide annual health assessments. They take your blood pressure, review your blood glucose levels, weight, cholesterol, etc.

Guess how my I weighed on the assessment day?

163 lbs!

I had finally reached my weight loss goal and was officially in a "normal"routine BMI range! I was ecstatic.
Aside from my weight, my good cholesterol was high and my bad cholesterol was low - so low that it didn't even register on their machine! And my blood pressure was 110/70! WOW! Look what running did for my health! I was truly amazed and more motivated than ever to keep on running!

So I signed up for another 5k... the Thanksgiving Wattle. I ran that race in 30 minutes and 32 seconds!
Around that same time (Thanksgiving) I slipped into a pair of size 10 jeans - a fete I hadn't accomplished since my Sophomore year in high school.

2012 was quite the journey for me - by the end of the year I was down to 157 lbs and feeling better than ever! My total weight loss to date has been 35 pounds and I am maintaining at 157 lbs.

Now what is a weight loss success story without the before and after photos?

Before 11-11-11

After 12-8-12

This journey will continue... 

...because I will keep on running!

My goal for 2013 is to run my first half marathon. 

Read My Running and Weight Loss Journey Part I 

Read My Running and Weight Loss Journey Part II 

Read My Running and Weight Loss Journey Part III