The 20k: Challenge Accepted

A week ago I did something crazy and I asked my readers via Facebook and Twitter what I should do should I receive the immeasurable honor of getting 20,000 unique views on the blog. This happened.

It was all fun an games until you guys were crazy enough to keep reading this darn blog! Last week I I did pass 20k unique views on the page and then I was at an impasse. Should I accept the challenge? If I did, would I even be capable of completing it? 

Honestly, it seemed like a terrible and possibly dangerous idea at first, but I'm not one to back down from a challenge and the gauntlet had been thrown down pretty publicly and definitively. 

The most I've ever run is just under five miles. I didn't feel like I had to stop at the end of that, I was just under time constraints and at my current speed, that was about a 45 minute workout. This challenge will be a serious event. I've done a little research into it just to make sure I'm not agreeing to something that will kill me and I'm fairly confident that if I don't worry about speed, but just worry about continuing to jog/run without stopping, that I'll make it through relatively unscathed. 

I'm not one for signing up for actual running events. I'm not competitive with anyone but myself. I can measure and track my distance on my phone. Plus, I don't really see the point in spending money to enter an event and run. Obviously, there are some great fundraising events out there and that's wonderful. I just don't have a lot of money to burn and if I'm going to raise money for something, it's probably going to be a creative venture. I have a lot of friends who love these things and maybe one day I'll sign up for one, but for now I'm really way happier just doing my own thing.

So that creates an issue. If a runner runs a 20k to escape from zombies without any witnesses, does it count? Well, dear readers, if I'm going to run this thing, I sure as hell want it to count! That's why I'm employing the help of my father to film the whole thing and coach/antagonize me for your amusement. He'll be either biking a driving along with me (we're not sure which yet!). The details are going to be worked out when we get to North Carolina for our yearly family reunion and I'll be running the 20k sometime midweek. 

So yeah! Look what you made me do, people! I'm really nervous, but I'm excited to complete the task and on an emotional level, I could really use some "achievement unlocked" endorphins to encourage me to stay on track. Ugh. This is going to suck in the best way. Once I have the video edited, I'll put it up on the blog for you guys to enjoy! 

It's My Birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday and my weigh in day! I can proudly say that not only am I 27, but I've FINALLY broken into the 180s! Over 60 lbs down and so many aches, pains, and swollen feet eliminated. Needless to say there was much celebration on all accounts. I was surrounded by friends I love and we laughed the night away playing on the WiiU and carousing till the wee hours of the night. I can't believe how far I've come in such a short time and to top it off, I'm nearly halfway to my goal weight! Just gotta keep putting one foot in front of the other :)

As far as eating for the day, I pretty much had breakfast, my coffee with skim milk and Splenda and then had low sodium ramen for dinner and the fattest most delicious cake known to man. My best friend made me a Mint chocolate Icecream cake. People. This cake. Holy frak. So good, but here's why I fasted for the day: This cake= two layers chocolate cake, a middle layer of mint chip Oreo fudge swirl ice cream, and thin mint/dark chocolate icing. It was my birthday, so I can hardly be faulted for the indulgence, but clearly I didn't want to derail my progress completely- hence the fasting. WORTH IT. Heehee! I weighed myself this morning out of curiosity and I'm down half a pound so that worked out nicely! Now it's back to the plan and full steam ahead. No cheating till Christmas!

Lately I've been down on myself about this plateau I've been trying to push myself over and at the recommendation of friends both on Nutrisystem AND in my everyday life, I've been doing my best to find other ways to measure my achievements in weightloss besides the scale. I really think it's one of the healthiest things I've done in this whole program. I got out my measuring tape as so many of your comments suggested, I really tried to challenge myself at the gym to see how far my fitness level has come, and of course I kept track of comments made by friends and coworkers. Sometimes when we don't believe in ourselves, someone else comes along who does.

I work at Radio City Music Hall, and let me just say, when a Rockette doesn't recognize you at first and then says, "OH MY GOD Anne! You look incredible!" while dripping with 3,000 Swarovski crystals and glowing with glamor for the Christmas Spectacular, it feels pretty damn good! Someone else at work mistook me for a skinny co-worker and then was surprised to find it was me. I've also received a bunch of Facebook messages and Tweets from people who have been inspired to make a commitment to their own fitness and health because of what I'm doing- many congratulatory, but some calling me an inspiration! That seems so nuts to me, but it feels really good to know that what I'm doing for myself is helping other people face the same struggle we're all dealing with. It's always nice to know that you're having a positive effect on people and I'm grateful for that.