Loads to be happy about

This morning I weighed my self and I am now officially 180lbs! Bringing me to a total of 15lbs weight loss since January.

It has been a hard struggle and this puts me approximately half way to where I would like to be.

The hardest part for me has been doing this with out the aid of diet pills.

I may have alluded to this before but I have in the past been very dependant on what I called ‘caffeine pills’. I called them that because that was the number 1 ingredient. But to be honest they were diet pills. They were highly habit forming and were a way of life for me. I mean, I lost 100lbs in approximately 4 months! It was amazing and to this day I have no regrets on this.

It has been over a year since I took one. To be honest each day when I weigh myself I think ‘if I had been on the caffeine pills I could have doubled that number’. It is a little self defeating if you really think about it. I should be very proud of what I have accomplished 15lbs loss with little modification to my diet and increased activity. I have earned each foot fall and each pound with no assistance from any substance. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been worth it.

In January I could not run a solid block with out stopping to gasp for air. Now I can run a solid 5 miles – I just prefer to run it in intervals (I can go faster).

Also tonight marks the start of Fall.

Fall is bar none my favorite season. Last nights run on the river you could feel the weather stating to change. The humidity was lower the temp slightly cooler. I felt up to running further and thoroughly savored my 5.25 miles at a much more brisk pace than I logged during the summer months. (14:35 last night v. 19:34 in July). Ahh fall! On the return of my out and back I was thrilled to be treated to a brief sprinkling and a rainbow.

Ahh.

Now I don’t need the group to run. Don’t get me wrong I love running with my group but now I also love running alone. Just the music, my feet pounding pavement, and the air. Ahh. I have often thought of Darcy in What Women Want while she was creating her ad for Nike.

She's running. It's early, it's quiet. Just the sound of her feet on the asphalt. She likes to run alone. No pressure, no stress. This is the one place she can be herself. Look any way she wants, dress, think any way she wants. No game playing, no rules. Games, sports, rules. Games, sports, rules. Playing by the rules. Playing games versus playing - Playing by the rules. Playing games versus playing.

Who would have thought when I started the couch to 5K program in January that I would fall this in love with Running?