Wimpy!!

Wow......What a crazy week!!   Where to begin...with the fun?  The serious?   The Good?  The bad???

Ok, lets start with the fun...then we will get to the weight stuff......or maybe I will intersperse it all together kinda chronologically.....Yeah, that's the plan!

Last week I really struggled with my eating.  My weight was up on my weigh in day (mid week) and I just struggled to get my eating lined up!  I started to think about it and vowed that the weekend was my new start!

On Wednesday afternoon/early evening when I got off work (and the technical beginning of my mini vacation, I headed out and went hiking.  The locale?  Gambril State park near Frederick, MD.   I'll go back...parts of the trail was pretty and overlooks are always fun to visit!

I was off some days last week and headed to Charleston, SC for the Cooper River Bridge Run.  I did this last year with my friend Sue.   I ended up walking it last year and I vowed that I would return and conquer it!     My best laid intentions failed me this  I wasn't ready....it had been a weird downward spiral for the last six months with illnesses and injuries.  Excuses really...but I was NOT prepared.  Yet I packed my gear and headed south for my girls weekend.   I decided to wake up super early and drive six hours early so that I could eek out a full day of site seeing.  I pulled out at 3:50 AM and arrived at my first destination at 10AM.  

I had some deep thoughts while I drove.   LOTS of deep thoughts!   I won't go into it...but I had a total epiphany!  I had already thought about the need to lose weight....based on the fact that I want to be 70 years old and still able to hike up a mountain....or site see all day long.....or run a marathon....or ride a bike!  But as I drove, I was thinking about some things happening in my life and I discovered another HUGE motivator.  I'm TOTALLY motivated now!  This weight is coming off, there is no question about it!

Averasboro Battlefield (Tiny little battlefield....the graveyard and slave cabin intrigued me most)

Transportation Museum (evolution of transportation in the area)

Geocaching in Historic town

Museum of Cape Fear (shows the history of people in the area from native Americans to the Antebellum Age)

Poe House  (Built by Edgar Allen Poe...not the poet....beautifully preserved/restored and the artifacts that are directly tied to the house that they have are incredible examples of the Victorian era)

I headed a bit further south to where my hotel was.  I searched and found a little locally owned BBQ place to eat named Tommy's.  

As I was pulling out of the parking lot an older gentleman ran toward my car and motioned for me to wind my window down.  Turns out that it was Tommy...the owner.   He was an ex cop who opened this business in his retirement.  He wanted to make sure that I liked the food and that I was not leaving hungry!.   I assured him and talked to him a few minutes.  I didn't tell him that I saved room to head out to Cook Out for a milkshake for dessert!   Ha ha ha

I relaxed and slept well.  In the morning I headed to Charleston, SC

I hit up the Run Expo....then headed to the Fire Museum of Charleston. (More geared toward kids, but it was still cool)

A quick lunch at McAlister's Deli (Yeah, a chain, but not one I can get at home!)

and then I was off to Charles Towne Landing and zoo (museum about the first settlers of South Carolina)

By that time my friend was arriving so I went to meet her.....lots of talking, laughter all evening.

We started to talk about our weight and some goals.....We worked up a plan!  (more on that later)

Saturday morning....calling for thunderstorms, lightening and rain.    We totally wimped out.  (I didn't fight at all when she said she wasn't running!).  And lets be fair....if I had been trained and ready to run, nothing would have stopped me from going.  I would have told her "great", get your butt to the race course and take some pictures of me as I run by!  But I wasn't ready.    Instead we went site seeing and spent the day talking and catching up!

Drayton Hall (TOTALLY worth it!)  This is an old plantation.....that is being preserved NOT restored!   Quite neat actually!

Why yes, they are real alligators...

The Angel Oak Tree (really old tree)

Charleston Tea Plantation (apparently a tea farm/plantation in North America is rare...especially one that processes their own tea themselves!)

Some more geocaching..... 

Then Sullivan's Beach

And we ended our evening with a late evening Ghost tour in downtown Charleston.   

It was a full day!  

I drove home on Sunday.  I was sad to leave Charleston.   I was sad to say goodbye to my friend.   I was utterly excited and maybe even a bit giddy to get home to see Jason.  I am utterly motivated and ready to lose this weight!

So Sue and I sat down and created some goals for each of us.   We are already planning to go CONQUER the Cooper River Bridge Run next year!   My goals for the next year are as follows!  (she has her own goals)

My Goals

1.  Beat personal record for 10K which is 1:19  (all running...no walk breaks)  
2.  Weight at or  below 180 pounds (51.6 pounds)
3.  Exercise consistently 3x's a week
4.  Track food each day
5.  Stay accountable all year long...checking in on Wednesdays
6.  get totally off diet sodas (again)
7.  take a picture of progress every 10 pounds
8.  large reward will be something fun (extra day, neat site seeing venture, something) at Charleston next year when we smash the 2017 Cooper River Bridge Run

I may not have run the 10K...but I did get a fair amount of walking/steps/miles in on my trip!   

March 30  7.34 miles

March 31  3.26 miles 

April 1   6.08 miles

April 2   8.16 miles

April 3   1.45 miles (not bad because the traffic was horrible and the 9 hours in the car ended up to be 12 hours in the car!)

The verdict on the scales from the weekend?  I'm down about 2 pounds from where I was last mid week weigh in....so MAYBE this week will look nice when I do my official weigh in!  (and that would give me a REALLY nice start to my years goals as I based my numbers on my last official weigh in!!)