17 days and beyond

The 17 day diet works. If you can follow it 100%, it works really well. I have done the first cycle and then half of the 2nd cycle, started the first again, got super sick, and then took a break. Starting the first cycle again tomorrow, yes on Turkey Day I. don't care that it is the biggest eating day of the year. I need to start tomorrow to prove to myself that its still just food whether it is Feb. 3rd or Thanksgiving Day. It is still just a day, and I will still give myself 3 good meals, and the next day when I wake up I will get 3 more meals plus some healthy snacks. Its just food..
Its funny how when we are on a diet suddenly it feels as if we will never get that Oreo again if we do not grab it right then, well the Oreo will always be there tomorrow, the next day, 5 years from now, double stuffed even. We teach our bodies what to expect, and what to crave.
Take for example my friend, who happens to be a super healthy runner/vegan. She continually amazes me with her creative vegan dishes, which she honestly craves, and you would to if you saw how great they were. Now I'm not ready to give up my chicken, but we are creatures of our habits. Our habits become our reality and our reality defines us, but we can change our habits and thus create and define our own reality, and our families. ANY. TIME. WE. WANT. I believe this.
http://www.the17daydiet.com/

SoJo Half Race Recap

Here is the race recap for the South Jordan half which Hillary and I ran in October. We both wanted to at least do under a two hour mark (9:07) pace. After our training together since July (and both of us running before that) , we felt like it was  an achievable goal. I met Hillary the first week of church, I said  do you run, she said yes and the next morning we met at 6:00. Since then Hillary has been out running every morning at 5:30 (rain, snow or shine) , and I'm about a 80 percent show up rate, usually missing one day a week. I am so grateful for a great running partner. She is a therapist, friend, confidant, and we live on the same street. Yes I am blessed. So here is the race recap from my perspective.....

• Wake up 4:30, give myself a good hour before leaving for the all the unmentionables, 
• My husband dropped us off at the bus, and we had zero wait time, just the ride to the start, that was nice. 
• Once we got to the start line we had a little bit of time to wait, there were heaters so that was helpful, 
• Porta Potties were visited twice, but that still wasnt enough to clear out my apple cider (at mile 5) 
• The race started and we began a little fast around an 8:30 pace, this is so typical of me, have a fast first half of the race, and bomb in the end. I really wanted a negative split so we slowed down and tried to conserve. 
• I felt great, then at mile 5 or so I knew I had to use the bathroom. Now this wasn't a forested race, we ran entirely in an urban area, so it was Porta Potty or bust. 
• It was so sad to watch Hillary fade in the distance as I waited in line, loosing almost two minutes- truly heart crushing. 
• After this I was determined to catch my friend, I did two miles at an 8:20 pace, until I hit an uphill stretch at mile 7 or so, that's when I spotted her " back" ahead. 
• It felt great to reach her, or at least the sight of her (she never knew I was there) because at that point I fell back to a 9:15 trying to recover from the extra exertion to catch Hillary (dang potty break). 
• Mile 8 or so was a hard mile and then we started down a straight away (which I love) and a gradual down hill ++, so I was a happy girl.
• Really the rest of the race was a breeze until I hit mile 10.5 or so. I don't know what it is, but I have such a hard time keeping speedway on switchback trails (aka I can't see more than a hundred feet in front of me) Mile 10 was ugly almost a 10 minute pace
• This is what happened, we went straight into the wind on switchback golf course, zero visibility trail. I have such a hard time with this 
• The Garmin read almost 12, but for some reason I couldn't find my last mile sprint anywhere, since I couldn't see anything. 
• Frustrating, how my running is so mental sometimes
• I had planned on sprinting the last mile at a 7:30 pace. 
• I finally rounded the corner and could see the finish line with a half mile left. I found a little kick and went for it, 
• 10 feet from the finish line my Mom let my son run to me (so sad I was trying to get under 2 hours and he just wanted Mommy to pack him across the finish line) 
• Needless to say we weren't on the same page and had a slight crash (ie, heartbroken son gets left in my dust)
• I crossed at exactly 2 hours. And turned around to see my son running arms stretched behind me. Cutest and saddest thing ever.

Now I realize that this time is slow for my fast friends, but this slow runner is getting faster, and that's all that matters to me. I really want to do a half at 1:45. Great Goal for Me. 

My friend finished around 1:51 something I think, she did awesome, and I loved loved running with her. 

My Mom and son who I mentioned were at the finish line (Lee was excused since we had an emergency car issue) I appreciate all my family who put up with my training and love me through my races.