{Motivational Goals}

Before you read this, I want to warn you that this might be a little on the TMI side of the fence for some of my dear family and friends. If you choose to continue reading this, you are doing so at your own risk and you can’t say that I didn’t give you a little heads up =)

Are you still reading?

You have chosen to cross the other side of the fence.....

I am officially in my 5th week of a consistent running routine. I feel like I am finally getting my groove back. I don’t know about other runners out there but for me, the first couple of weeks seem to be the hardest to get through. It’s hard to find the motivation to get going. Reaching your first goal can be exciting but it can also be a little daunting.

My first week back, I felt like I had a bit too much jiggling going on especially in the areas where things aren’t exactly supposed to be wiggling AT ALL. Talk about being self conscious in room full of mirrors and with a bunch of people you don’t know. Did I mention that I am running on a treadmill these days because the weather in the south hasn’t gotten above freezing this winter?


I was so mad at myself the first couple of weeks back. I was struggling to run 3 miles. I felt completely out of shape. I have to admit that this was a little hard to handle. Just over a year ago, I was in the best shape of my life. I had quite a few races under my belt, which also happen to include two 1/2 marathons and the Laguna Peak Challenge (this in itself has bragging rights if you live in Southern California). When you run all of these challenges and then get to a point where you struggle to run 3 miles, it can be a little disheartening.


Getting back to a little motivation.


Motivation is a huge factor for me. If I don’t see results right away, I tend to get really discouraged. Needless to say the first couple of weeks weren’t the best but, I forced myself to keep going. I had already signed myself up for a challenge and I wasn’t going to walk away from it. So here I am in week 5!! Exciting right? I track my miles every day. I sign on every week and log in my miles under my Running 101 page. Eventually I will be able to mark off the entire 912 mile journey from Louisiana to Disney World.


This morning I got myself ready to go to the gym. I almost talked myself out of it because it's so dang cold outside. I don't know about you, but I would much rather sit by a nice warm fireplace with a cup a coffee in my lap and my Kindle in my hands. However, I had already missed yesterday due to the non-existent snow day that shut down our whole city so, I decided it would be better to just hit the gym. I got to the gym and the place was empty. Did I mention it was 25 degrees outside this morning and everything was covered in slick ice? Anyhow, I hopped on the treadmill. Usually I have others to keep me distracted while I run but today it was just me and the me in the mirror. Not a big fan of the me in mirror. There is just something about looking at myself during a workout session that really creeps me out. I had to find something to focus on so I decided to focus on my legs. Don’t laugh! This is exactly why I prefer to run outside. But, you gotta do what you gotta do because there is no way in HECK that I am running outside in 25 degree weather! Anyhow, watching my legs actually was a good thing this morning. I realized as I was running that I reached one of my motivational goals, MY LEGS NO LONGER TOUCH WHEN I RUN!!! Okay so I know you are probably thinking that I am crazy and I probably am but seriously how cool is it that I have the cute gab? You know the one where you stand with your feet together and your inner thighs don’t touch? Yep I have that again!! You are still probably thinking that I am some obsessed crazy woman so here is a better goal. However, I have to warn you that it ties into the whole cute leg gap thing because after I saw that in the mirror, something in my brain just clicked. I got a little bit of a “runners high”. This morning I was able to run a full 5 miles in 50 minutes!!! No stopping, no slowing down, no turning back!!! This is a huge step for me. I have been wanting to reach this point for 5 weeks and today, I accomplished it!! 


I had a little bit of confidence in myself this morning and decided to take these pictures. I’m pretty sure My Jay is the only one who will appreciate them and that’s okay. If I can bring a smile to his face while he is away in that crap hole of a desert then it is totally worth the embarrassment I will feel later on.

I don’t like to weigh myself very often. I thought to myself this morning what could I use as a new motivational goal?.....And then I remembered I had these!

These cute size 5 Hollister Jeans will fit with room to spare before My Jay gets home. Yes it will be 100 degrees with 100 percent humidity outside but, jeans with a cute shirt and flip flops are always a part of this CA girls style.