Epsilonx2

Nice!!! Congratulations!

Better not to go if you're feeling really sick. Don't want to risk making it worse and knocking yourself that much further off track! No shame in taking an extra rest here and there if it's needed. Good luck getting there today!

The progress you've made is absolutely awesome! Your dedication is a shining example to those of us still trying to figure out a routine that works as well as, I'm sure, those who are chugging along on their own fitness journeys. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkq

Great job!! One of the hardest parts of being social as a full-time volunteer has been the copious amounts of beer. I admire your self-awareness and discipline! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkq

Yay!!! Congratulations!! It took me three tries as well, but now I'm here to stay. Keep up the awesome work! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkq

All riiiiight!! Nicely done. You recognized you weren't getting the results you'd hoped for, adjusted, and knocked it out of the park! Go you! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkq

Yeeeeeaaahhh!! Congratulations! Well-deserved recognition of an awesome Ranger!

Hope you're feeling better soon! Congrats on your progress so far! You're killing this challenge!

How are we doing, people? Now that it's getting warmer (YYYAAAAAYYYY!!!!), maybe we could plan something? Group run, happy hour, yoga in a park, someone could lead some other kind of workout... Lots of options! I was also wondering if people have guest passes to their gyms? I really enjoy going to the Y, but the free weights section isn't quite what I'm looking for and I'd be interested in finding a new gym (maybe one that put more emphasis on lifting?) once my contract expires. I believe I get a few guest passes, so I'd of course be willing to return the favor if anyone was interested. If anyone wants to go for a run, I'm totally up for it. I could use some extra motivation as the half-marathon I'm training for draws near. The links below are the races I'm doing next month, in case anyone's interested: YMCA Curwood Festival Dirty Dash

Fantastic!! It's wonderful that you've achieved such amazing improvements to your health already! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkq

This is so awesome! You should definitely be proud!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkq

W4D7: Just a brief update: My community went camping this weekend with one of my housemates for her birthday. Her parents and maternal grandparents took us to an RV resort (so no, not real camping) and showed us an amazing time. We played mini-golf, raced go-karts, nearly got blown away by sudden winds, and sat around a fire singing, playing games, and eating s'mores. We returned home this afternoon and got a long run in in the evening. I went by myself because I knew the other two were going a shorter distance at a faster pace. I ran 10 miles and am pretty convinced I'm never going to do this to myself again. I'll keep running and I'm totally still doing the half-marathon, but I don't know if I particularly want to go past the 10K range moving forward. Also, I went through like three episodes of Zombies, Run season 1 because I just didn't care about tracking my time and nearly starting crying halfway through. That app is quite possibly the main reason I continue to run. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkq

Oooh, boot camp sounds like really intense fun!

W4D3: By far, the most difficult part of this challenge is the running. Meditation and working on web design stuff feel like second nature at this point, but running is so HARD! I wasn't feeling running through cold rain today and briefly flirted with the idea of putting the run off. I'm already so behind, though, that I just couldn't do it. When I found out one of my housemates had wanted to work out outside and had also been thwarted by the rain, I was just like "Wanna go to the gym?" I hopped back on the treadmill for the first time in quite a while. I broke the distance (4 miles) up into three parts and kept a constant speed for each one. The first two parts (6mph) were definitely faster than I'm used to going for any real distance and the last part (5mph) felt considerably slower. It was interesting to experiment like that, but I made sure to get the distance in that I was supposed to. I think I'm also still feeling that ridiculously long run on Monday night... Ugh, and I have to do it all over again AND MORE on Sunday!

Well, since I'll probably be preoccupied on the actual day, HAPPY ONE MONTH TIL YOUR BIRTHDAY!! And that's understandable. I have no idea what my work schedule will be like after my year of service, so I just bought the ticket and am going to arrange other things around that weekend.

I'm so glad to hear this! And I think I'll take that writing tip back to my housemate. Hope it works for you! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkq

Fantastic job!! And happy belated birthday!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkq

Yeeessss!!!!! I'm so excited for Camp NF! It sounds like SO much fun and I've never met any rebels in person. Are you going, Primeval? And to answer your question, the half is June 7th! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkq

You go, Bera! I'm glad to hear you're focusing in on something that hopefully won't be so overwhelming. And it's wonderful that posting here can provide some relief instead of more stress! I'm sure those baby steps are going to get you where you want to be. For now, enjoy the journey!

W4D2: Success, friends! I'm back in it. Last night, I was once again frustrated with myself for not getting out for a run. We were supposed to run 9 miles on Sunday, but it just didn't happen. We had people visiting, there was a Cinco de Mayo parade, someone was shot a couple blocks from my house... mess. I told myself I'd make up for it the next morning and I slept through two alarms. Then I said I'd do it after work since we were doing our own thing for dinner and wound up talking to my college roommate for an hour. I was beginning to feel convinced that the universe didn't want me to run any farther. By the time we hit 7pm, I didn't feel like I could leave because we were supposed to have a community meeting. It was shortly after that that I remembered one of my housemates was working really late and wouldn't be back until around 9:30. I hopped up, changed my clothes, and ran out the door. I'd only planned on doing 8 miles, the distance of the first run we missed, but by the time I got to 6 or 7 I was like "Well, why not?" Unfortunately, Zombies Run crapped out on me twice! I just plotted out what I think my route was and it looks like I did 9.37 miles in roughly 110 minutes, give or take. I didn't stop or walk at all, which is what I'm more concerned with anyway. I actually had trouble stopping at the end... I don't know if that's normal. My legs just kept moving without conscious direction for half a block or so. Took a while for me to feel like a human being again after that, but things are good now!

Thanks a lot! I really appreciate it. My dad's situation is part of why I admire all the dads on here so much. I can't think of anything better you can do for your children than to just be there, fully present. I want him to walk me down the aisle and know my children, but I've been afraid that won't happen since I was a teenager.

Woooo!! Awesome job keeping up with the training and the diet, despite temptation! Hooray for shorts! I'm noticing the very same thing. I've always had strong legs, but my thighs were definitely much pudgier than they are these days. It'll all come in its own time. I know on an intellectual level that my waist is smaller, for example, but I still have what feels like stomach for days. I'm sure your arms will get with the program soon!

I can't believe it's already week 4! I was struggling hard with my training schedule. There's just a lot going on at home, at work, in my family... I felt like I was taking my life back into my own hands when I went running yesterday. I banged out 9 miles, half again as far as I'd ever gone before that. I'm feeling a lot more in control after getting that done and a lot more like I might actually finish that half-marathon.

W3D5: This week has been rough... I haven't had my running partners with me, plus people are visiting, plus we've had to have a few really tough conversations in community. I'm trying to run during my lunch breaks, but there are other things I absolutely have to get done... Good thing I work down the street from my house! I did make a new chicken recipe this week. I thought I was responsible for making dinner on Wednesday, but hardly anyone wound up eating it. Having a different work schedule from everyone else is definitely weighing on me lately. I have to wake up around 5:30 if I want to have enough time to get to the gym, do what I need to do, shower, and get back with a car in time for everyone else to go to work. Then I don't get off work until 6, at which point everyone else is ready for dinner and then we do dishes for an hour (lots of dishes and no dish washer) and then there's often some sort of meeting... And now I'm just ranting. I truly love my community, but I'm feeling lazy and just want the freedom to structure my own schedule. On top of everything else, my dad started dialysis a couple of days ago. He's in his mid-50s and will likely be on it the rest of his life. I can't say I'm totally surprised, they'd been preparing for it for a while, but it definitely shook me. I feel completely helpless when it comes to my dad's health and this... It's just one more thing I don't know how to deal with.

W3D2: This past weekend saw some of the highest highs and lowest lows of my JVC year, which is why I really haven't posted in the last few days. My challenge is still going pretty strong. I forgot to mention last week that we made a simple curry that I ate without rice. So delicious. We all missed our long run (8 miles) because of the craziness over the weekend. The other JV house threw a party and one of my housemates chose not to participate. What we didn't realize was that she was going through some very intense feelings of worthlessness and isolation on top of other issues that are just constantly pressing on her. No one was there for her when she needed it most and she spent the next two days completely shutting us out until we all finally sat down and talked about it last night. It was a lot of sitting in silence and wishing I'd done things differently and trying to think how I could have... I honestly have no idea how to deal with any of it, how to help her, how to repair the relationship, how to even get her to look at me, how to let go of my own frustration and anger and sadness... It's by far the worst situation we've ever been in as a community and I'm a little afraid we won't come out of it intact.