Back to Basics

So I, just like most other people, slacked over the summer.  I didn't exercise as much as I usually do.  And I ate way more junk food that I usually do.  I'm OK with it all, I had a great summer with my family.  And I did accomplish my goal...I weighed in on 5/29 at 218 and weighed in again on 8/21 at 218.  I went up and down some in the middle but I am really pleased that thru it all I maintained my weight.

But now, I'm on a mission.  I HATE seeing that 2xx when I weigh in and I want to get to one-derland.  So how am I going to do that??  Get back to basics!  I saw a challenge on one of the blogs I love to read, Brooke not on a Diet, to get back to basics in the month of Sept.  She follows the Weight Watchers program so a lot of the program will focus on those principles, but anyone is welcome.  I've done WW in the past & believe in the system, it's just not the right one for me at the moment.  But I follow a lot of their advice so this works out perfect for me.

The first part of the challenge was to set a goal & reward for Sept.  My goal is to lose 8 lbs this month, putting me at 210.  I lost 3 this week so I'm well on my way.  My reward will be fitting into the 2 new workout shirts & 1 new pair of capris that I bought.  My second goal is to get under 200 by the end of the year.  I'm counting down now and it will happen!

The other challenge I've started is a virtual race series called the Fall 5 and 10 Mile Race Series.  I did the same series in the spring from the same blogger, Mommy Run Fast, but it was 5K and 5 mile races.  The rules are you do a 5 or 10 mile run/walk in the first 5 days of the month.  I like the increase in miles this time around.  I will only be doing 5 miles, unless I can do 2 back to back (on a weekend) then I'll get 10.

My plan for Sept was actually 10 miles.  I was going to meet my walking buddy Dana this past Sun and Mon at 2 different places for walks of around 5 miles each.  Then Adrian was offered a place in a golf tournament on Mon so I had to cancel on Mon.  And then the yuck hit our house and I was exhausted Sun morning & texted Dana that I needed more sleep.  We decided to meet 3 hours later and do our walk.

We met at Hoover Dam (no not in NV, there is one here in OH too) and set off with a plan of 5ish.  We started walking & talking & even though I was struggling a little, I thought the miles were flying by.  After what seemed like forever we looked at how far we had walking...1.5 miles!  Are you freaking kidding me??  I really though we had gone twice that far.  Wow!  We kept plugging and talking, but it was super hot & after a while I was having trouble breathing.  I actually had to stop to catch my breath.  We finally got back to the car & I had done around 4.5 miles.  I had a bunch of water, watermelon & cooled off on the ride home and felt much better.  I did a lap around my block to finish up at 5.08 miles in 1:22:32.  Not my best time, but I was really just happy to survive.  October will be harder to get a walk in since the 1st-5th are a Tues-Sat, but I'll figure something out.

Dana & I at the Lady Tutu 5K - we didn't take a pic this weekend

I'm so glad to be back to it and shooting for this big goal.  I feel like I've been going after it for a while and I'm happy to be so close to accomplishing it!

Anyone else have a goal they are trying to reach by the end of 2013?  Anyone back to basics now that the summer is over & school is back in session??