December 2018 – Sweat & Sparkle

10,000 Little Moments

Well, 2018, where did you go? I can’t believe we are mere hours away from 2019. This year flew by disturbingly fast!

I signed up for a special New Year’s Eve Spinning class today, and I am glad I did. I not only got in a great, sweaty workout, I got a lot out of things the instructors said. There were two instructors, which I’ve never seen before, but it was fun.

One of the instructors read a quote (I wish I remember who said it, or where she got it from), and the gist of it was, change is rarely made in a single, dramatic moment. Change comes about in 10,000 little moments. Every time we make a choice, no matter how small it seems at the time, to work toward a better, healthier us, we are creating one of those 10,000 little moments that adds up to positive change in our lives.

I like thinking about it that way. And it’s true. I am ending this year much slimmer, much healthier, than I started it, but it didn’t happen with one decision or one moment. It happened each time I made a food choice based on how many calories I had consumed that day. It happened each time I sipped unsweet tea instead of soda. It happened each time I laced up my sneakers and chose to work out instead of flop on the couch.

Yesterday I met up with another running group, and I ran 11 miles. I expected to be so sore I could barely walk later, but I was pleasantly surprised. After stretching, my legs really weren’t all that sore. Guess my legs have gotten stronger.

My foot complained a bit, but I iced it, massaged it, and wore my fancy-schmancy compression socks for a while after my shower. I barely feel any tenderness at all in it today. I’m thrilled about that! Maybe, just maybe, I can get back to my distance running now.

Well, time to enjoy the last few hours of 2018 and ring in the new one. Happy New Year, everyone! Here’s to creating 10,000 (or more) little moments in 2019 that lead us to our goals.

New-Year-2019-Unique-bg-picture

Goals for the New Year

The minute Christmas was over, I dashed off to work out, immediately returned to diligently logging all my food and drink, and got right back into my routine like a good little dieter!

Yeah, okay, right. Not quite.

I have stuck to my workouts, but my eating has been swinging from “nice, healthy breakfast” to “oh my god, how many calories were in that?” Being off schedule makes it very difficult to stay disciplined. And I guess I’ve had a few things going on, like my friend’s daughter’s death, which is understandably still very much on my mind.

So I will cut myself some slack for this week. But this week only. Let’s get real, life happens. It’s not an excuse to stuff my face and gain back weight I’ve busted my butt to lose in the first place. Time to suck it up, pick up the pieces, and move forward.

My goals for 2019:

Reach goal weight.
Maintain goal weight!
Run a half marathon (and get that medal!)
Run at least 450 miles total (check out the miles tracker I added to the top right of my blog).
Buy cute new clothes!

I have laid the foundation for all of these goals during this year. I’ve lost the majority of the weight I want to lose. I built a good running base. I’ve learned all I ever wanted to know about treating plantar fasciitis! (I could have done without that one, though, to be honest).

I am excited about the new year. I think I will accomplish quite a bit.

Searching for motivating images today, I came across this:

Sparkle

Of course it reminded me of my friend’s daughter. And of course, at first it stung. But I decided to save it here, because it’s right: the upcoming year is my year to sparkle. It’s my year to finish what I started this year. It’s my year to impress myself, to push my own boundaries, to reach goals and to raise the bar and to soar.

When I put it like that, how can I not be excited? Bring on the new year. I’m ready!

The T-Shirt

holiday-sale-image-1024x765 At risk of coming off as somewhat Scrooge-ish, I am quite relieved that Christmas is over. There was simply too much going on this year for me to really get into it.

Don’t get me wrong: I enjoyed the time with my family, and I was excited to watch my husband and kids open presents that I put a lot of thought into. But I’m more than ready to pack away decorations and focus on the new year now.

At the beginning of 2018, I wrote this: ” I am finally fed up with starting a new year with the same damn blasted goals I have had for the past endless, countless years, and I just can’t tolerate the same old, same old anymore.” And I meant it. Okay, I spun my wheels for a while, but once I finally took off, I covered a lot of ground.

This past year, I have lost over 50 pounds. I have gotten back into running, into Spinning classes, and back to weight training. I am not at my goal weight yet, but I see no reason that I can’t reach my goal in the first quarter of the new year.

One of the Christmas presents from my husband was a funny t-shirt, and I smiled a little when I saw the shirt was a size XL. I guess I need to break it to him that it’s been several months since his lovely wife wore a size XL! The shirt is two sizes too big, but I adore it because it’s from him. (It’s just extra comfy and roomy, ha ha.)

Gone

MPj04387560000[1] Several months ago, I wrote about a good friend’s daughter, who was maybe 8 at the time, and a glittery cross she gave me as a gift, insisting that I “need to sparkle” (you can read that post here). That was at least 15 years ago, but I loved the gift and her comment so much that I still have the necklace, and I still think of her every time I wear it. How could I not, after a heartfelt compliment like that?

That little girl grew up and became an adult, as kids tend to do, no matter how much we want them to stay small. I still talked to her mom, even after they moved to another city, and I kept up with her daughter’s teenage years, graduation, and young adult life from pictures and long-distance conversations with her mother.

A few days before Christmas, that little girl, now 24 years old, went into cardiac arrest and could not regain consciousness. The day before Christmas Eve, she died.

I am still in shock that she’s gone. I feel sick at the agony her mother is going through. I vividly remember a strong-willed, gentle, lovely little girl who followed me around when she was small, who grew up into a smart, independent young lady who is gone way, way too soon. I can see her crooked smile, imagination dancing in her eyes, hear her quiet laugh, as if she is standing right in front of me.

I sat at Christmas dinner with my husband and kids last night, and as they laughed and joked and had fun, I laughed too, but I was also just watching them around the table, taking them in, feeling everything about them and holding onto all of it as tightly as I could.

I took out that cross necklace and polished it and shined it until it sparkled like it is supposed to, like she said it should. Like she said I should. But I couldn’t wear it. I hung it back up for now. I will be able to wear it again someday. Soon. Just not yet.

Christmas Eve Run

The beautiful weather today practically pushed me out the front door for a run. Thanks to this aggravating, persistent plantar fasciitis, I haven’t run outside in over a month. I wasn’t sure what to expect from my poor body, but I figured I’d take it slow and just see what I could do.

I love trail running, so I headed for a close-by trail. As soon as I hit the leaf-covered path, surrounded by trees, I felt at home.

I really missed distance running. I covered 10 miles today. I stretched really good and iced my foot afterward, just in case. I wanted to just keep going, but I didn’t want to push too much, too soon.

Today has been a great day, and not just because of my run. It’s nice to have all the kids home, safe with us, for Christmas. We have been having fun, picking on each other, decorating cookies, joking about taking my husband’s presents back to the store since he’s bad, ha ha.

Hope everyone has a great Christmas!