**Day 231**

Weigh-in today:

Did not happen!  Stepped on the scale, and it was, completely, dead!  And , of course, I don't have a 9 volt battery in the house, so there will be no weigh-in today.  I do have an analog scale but I always weigh much less on that scale so I would totally be cheating if I used that scale!  Anyway, I'll get a new battery today, and probably weigh-in tomorrow.

Unfortunately, my back is only a little better, so I've decided to skip the 5k race tomorrow.  My back, obviously, needs complete rest, and it's stupid of me to keep working out, which could, possibly, lead to further damage.  I am going to rest it today and tomorrow, and, probably, on Sunday.  There is a 5k race next Sat. the 27th:  http://www.bolingbrookparks.org/Latest_News/News_Items/Parkie_s_5K_Family_Fun_Run/Walk.aspx
So, I'm going to aim for this one!

Have a great weekend!

**Days 229 & 230**

My back is out - I'm so upset!  I can, barely, get around - it hurts to walk, sit, and lie down.  I knew a little something happened when I had that fender-bender on Tuesday, but I ran that night anyway, and I probably shouldn't have, BUT I felt okay the next day (yesterday).  My back was a little sore, but it wasn't terrible pain, so I got on my treadmill last night and did a pretty slow 2 mile walk....I only did about 5 minutes of running:

I did the whole workout at a 2.0 incline, and I wore brand new running shoes.  When I woke up this morning my back was very sore, but it wasn't "out".  First thing this morning, we had to drive 45 minutes to take our dogs to the vet (I take them to a vet in my hometown where I grew up because it's SO much cheaper than here in the suburbs where I live).  Anyway, when we arrived at the vet, I went to get out of the car, and there was a major pain in my lower back, and every step I took was a major effort.  So, I don't know, exactly, what caused this episode.  The fender-bender?  Running after the fender-bender?  Working out at 2.0 incline in new running shoes (which were really comfortable in the store, but not so comfortable during my workout)?  It's, probably, all of the above.  I've been icing my back all day, and, obviously, I won't be working out, at all,  today.  This is terrible timing because I have my 5k race on Saturday, and I really want to be able to run it, but I may have to walk it - we'll see.   I'm going to continue to ice my back, and, hopefully, I'll feel much better tomorrow.

**Days 227 & 228**

Does anyone else out there NOT feel rested even after getting 7 or 8 hours of sleep?  No matter how much sleep I get in at night I never feel rested in the morning, and it's so frustrating!  What is it?  Bad mattress?  Sleeping in the wrong position?  Stress?  Or is it just old age??  Okay, I'm not old, but I'm almost 40, so I'm....older.  And it's not that I wake up with an achy body - this used to be a problem, but it's not anymore, after losing 30 pounds.  It's that I'm exhausted when I wake up, no matter how much sleep I get - 6, 7, 8 hours - I still feel so tired!  It's frustrating!  I just want to feel rested!  If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

Well, I might wake up with an achy body tomorrow.  I was in a little fender-bender today.  I was sitting at a red light, and a teenage boy nailed my car in the back (he was probably texting!), and he hit me good!  I felt some major pain in my lower back on impact, and when I got out I felt a slight shooting pain down my leg. I came home and, immediately, took some Aleve, but I'm still have some pain.  I probably shouldn't do a  run tonight, but I hate to get off schedule, so I'm going to give it a try, but I may end up walking more than running.  My next 5k is in 4 more sleeps, so I want to get all my training in for this week!

I'm so behind on reading blogs, but I'm going to try to get caught up tonight.  I hope you are all doing good out there!!

**Days 225 & 226**

We enjoyed a nice weekend at our cabin with friends, but I won't lie - I ate like crap.  And I didn't exercise, at all.  I'm falling back into bad habits - eating bad on weekends, and not exercising on weekends.  I'm allowing myself to think - oh, it's the weekend, and it's only two days, so it's okay.  But it's not okay.  I'm just being lazy.  I can't allow the weekends to be an excuse for me to eat junk, and skip exercising, so I'm going get back to planning out a healthy food and exercise schedule for my weekends.

Goals for the week:

*5k workout Mon., Tues., & Thurs.
*Shred workout Mon., Wed., Fri.
*96 oz. water/day
*1200 calories/day
*Bedtime 11pm

**Days 223 & 224**

Today's weigh-in:

1 pound lost.  I'm, actually, happy with this loss because I went out to eat at P.F. Chang's with friends Wed. night, and I had some very tasty (but high calorie and high fat) dishes, and I had an alcohol drink, AND I had a medium Caribou cafe mocha another day, so I was thinking I was going to probably just maintain my weight from last week - so I will take the 1 pound loss!

Also, I didn't exercise yesterday.  I'm dealing with a couple of these:

I know - pictures of toes are gross!  Anyway, I have two of these blisters going on, and they may be small, but, oh my gosh, they freaking hurt - even with a band-aid on, so I skipped working out yesterday because I didn't want to wear socks and shoes!  But today I'm going to wrap the blisters up good, and try out the treadmill.

Next Saturday is my next 5k race.  I'm doing it w/ my hubby, and my girls, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Have a great weekend!

**Days 221 & 222**

It took me almost 50 minutes to walk/run 3.1 miles outside last night.  I was struggling right from the start, and I wanted to turn back so many times, but I kept pushing myself.  I was determined to do the whole 5k - no matter how long it took me.  I walked the last 20 min., but, at least, I finished it.  By the time I got home I had a blisters on top of two different toes.  I have no idea why that happened - I never get blisters ... let alone there.  Anyway, by this morning the blisters were raw, so I covered them with band-aids before I got on the treadmill tonight, but it didn't offer much relief.  The blisters were really burning, so I only walked on my treadmill for 20 min. - not much of a workout, but it's something.  I'll be back out tomorrow night doing another 3.1 miles, and, hopefully, it will be a better workout than last night's 5k.

I hate to post another disturbing article, but I haven't been able to get this woman out of my mind:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/11/sports/triathlon-swimmer-is-remembered.html

So, so scary.  Here's a seemingly healthy woman - worked out, was active, probably ate well, but she died anyway.  They don't know if it was a heart attack yet, but they think it might have been.  It boggles my mind. And it's so sad - she had three young children.  My heart goes out to them.

**Day 220**

This article is so disturbing:


http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/08/08/tweens.anorexia.parenting/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

But, sadly, I'm really not that shocked by it.  I remember the summer before my 4th grade year I started thinking I was fat.  I started puberty very early (started having to wear a bra at 9 years old, got my period at 10!) and put on a little weight - I was never a skinny kid, so the weight gain made me look chunky, and I knew it.  I was a competitive swimmer, but I felt I needed more exercise, and I remember I would do jumping jacks in my room at night when I was suppose to be in bed because I wanted to lose weight.  I didn't like my body, at all, and 30 years later I'm still dealing with this issue, but I know I need to set a better example for my girls.  And I need to pay attention to what they are looking at and listening to and how they are feeling about themselves, so they won't have to deal with the issues mentioned in the article.  I just want my girls to love themselves as they are - always!  But with living in the kind of world we live in I wonder if it's realistic to think that they can, or will.