Happy 5K Mother's Day!

Well, it's been a while!  Sorry about that!  I haven't had much going on to blog about until this past weekend.  Yesterday I accomplished something I only dreamed about a year ago.  I did my first 5K run!  It was The Color Run in Michigan.  I had a blast with my friends.  I'm glad we did a fun run for my first one so that there wasn't so much pressure to reach a certain time or anything like that.  I woke up yesterday morning with a bad chest cold and was nervous about being able to breathe while running.  So I ran as much as I could and then my chest would tighten up due to the cold.  So I would briskly walk until my chest loosened up and then I'd BOOT it again.  It was an awesome day and even though 5K is not a huge run, it's cool that a year ago, I could not even walk to my mailbox because of all the aches and pain in my back and heavy breathing.  This year I did a 5K race!  Here is a visual to point out how much my physical abilities have changed this year.  In the first picture, point A is my house and point B is the mailbox.   The second picture is the race route I did yesterday!

Here are some more pictures from the run yesterday:

 Considering I was about to do something that was completely foreign to me, I was pretty happy!

Me and my running buddies!

Some of the 15,000 people in the race!

Just a few people!

Me and Barb after finishing our 5K!

 
It certainly did feel good!

 Our friend Becca made our tutus!   

Me lookin' all beautiful at the after party!

 Here we are holding up our friend Sherry's shirt.  She was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer just after signing up for this race and wasn't able to attend due to her aggressive chemo treatment.  But she was with us in spirit!

We love you, Sherry!

YAY!!!  Here I am walking backwards towards the finish line.
What a great sense of accomplishment!

And this is me at home, just before getting in the shower then the bath! haha

I realized during this run that I am NOT a runner.  I don't mind walking - actually, I enjoy it even!  But my knees hurt when I run and with the extra skin I have due to the quick weightloss, it makes running hard.  But I'm not going to stop doing it.  Just don't expect to see me running the Boston Marathon any time soon! haha

Well since it's mother's day, I wanted to take this time to give my mom a tribute.  My mom has been my best friend my whole life.  She is one of the most giving and caring people I know.  Yes, I'll admit that I didn't always feel this way... while growing up, especially as a teen and young adult, I thought she was in my face too much and didn't trust me to be out late with my friends.  Now, as a mother, I realize it was because she cared and was worried about me.  My mother has been one of my biggest supporters during this weightloss journey.  She even started her own weightloss journey and has lost almost 50lbs! I'm so proud of her!!!

I want to apologize to you, Mom, for all the disagreements we had while you lived in here in Windsor.  I was often quite harsh with you because you drove me crazy telling me to clean my house more, wash the kids face more, keep up on the laundry, etc.  But you were right... I didn't do these things as much as was needed.  And the reason is because I was too big to function.  Seriously, just getting off the couch to get a facecloth to wash the kids' face was a big chore.  I couldn't clean my house.  I couldn't go up and down the stairs to do the laundry.  Mom, you put up a lot with me over these years.  And I often took out all my anger about my weight on you, without even knowing it.  Mom, I'm sorry that you had to put up with the worst of me.  I'm so sorry that you're not here to enjoy the best of me, the healthy me, the one that would have the house all clean and laundry done BEFORE you got here!  And the one that would love to go for walks with you and be active with you!  I dedicate my first 5K and my new active life to you on this Mother's Day.  You are an amazing mother.  I love you SO MUCH and am so proud to have you as my Mommy!

The past month has seen me become A LOT more active.  I ride my bike to the gym, we ride bikes to school when the weather is suitable, and if we need to go the mall, we ride bikes there too!  I am trying to instil in the kids that riding bikes, walking and other physical activities are fun!!!  I never want them to look at it as exercise or a chore.  I try not to ever say the "D" word - diet!  I want good health and fitness in our vocabulary!!!

So this past Thursday marked 10 months since I had my surgery.  Here is the updated picture of my monthly progress (I'm posting every second month because the picture is too long to post every month).

Since the last time I posted, I've lost 2lbs for a total of 145.5.  The weightloss is slowing down considerably now but that's to be expected.  I am able to eat more now.  And I HOPE I'm gaining muscle mass.  I LOVE weight lifting and could pass by the cardio all the time... but I don't.  I know I need that too!

Thanks for following my journey, friends!  And thank You, God, for giving me the strength every day to make my body as healthy as I can!

Total Loss: 145.5lbs