Hello November

I have never been a huge fan of November.  There's nothing exciting happening outside.  Yes, we get 2 extra days off for Thanksgiving, but really there's nothing else exciting that happens.  The weather gets colder, everything just seems grey and dreary.  Western Washington is even worse because it really gets grey, the rain starts (well, it often starts sooner) and it just is pervasive.  The rain here is more of a mist than a rain.  I have actually walked around outside thinking it wasn't raining to go inside and realize my hair is soaked.  I hate it.  A friend of mine posted this on Facebook today and I liked it.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still not excited about November, but I do like this post.

One thing that I've been a little excited about is . . . a run streak!  I've been thinking about it a lot, and I'm going to do it. In fact, I don't think I'm going to wait for Thanksgiving.  For some reason, this weekend I really wanted to start it, but I decided to wait for November 1st (today!).  I don't normally subscribe to the belief of waiting till Monday, the first of the month, the first of the year, but this time I decided that's what I wanted to do.  I am going to run every day for at least a mile for all of November and December.

Well, last weeks running . . .

Only 2 runs.  7 miles on Sunday, which I already posted, and 4 miles on Tuesday.  I was crazy busy every day after work last week and only got those 4 miles in by running in Marysville while waiting to meet a friend after work.  That was a fun one.  I don't know Marysville (a town between my home and where I "officially" work).  I found a park on Google Maps and drove there. I changed in the restroom (yuck) and ran in a straight path 2 miles out and turned around and ran 2 miles back. 

Friday I went to my dad's house.  Sunday was the Tri-Cities marathon, which I did not run.  I did tell my brother-in-law that I wasn't running and he invited me to do Crossfit with him.  I did a 40 min session and it didn't feel extremely hard in the moment but the next day I couldn't lift my arms.  I did a 4 mile run on Sunday after I got home.

Tuesday I did another 4 mile run and I am going to run at least 1 mile today. 

I realized the other day that I am 4 months away from going to Hawaii.  My sister and her husband started doing a diet plan, 30/10 Fitness for Life because my brother-in-law needs to lose weight (dr's orders).  They are losing a lot of weight, although I don't recommend their diet.  You can only have food once a day, otherwise it's smoothies or some sort of snack that they provide.  I guess they can eat vegetables (not all, no carrots) and no fruit at all.  It's a completely carb free diet.  My sister has been pretty worried about what happens when they are done, but she's doing it and hoping for the best for my brother-in-law.  He has a great track record of losing the weight, but always gains it back within a few months of reaching maintenance. 

What does this have to do with Hawaii?  Well, my sister is losing weight . . . she's been slightly (not a lot) heavier than me since I started running, if she loses weight and I don't, then I become the "fat sister."  That sounds really terrible, she isn't/wasn't fat, but I picture myself being fat . . .  It's not about competition, it doesn't bother me that she'd be thinner than me, but I just don't want to look fat in comparison to her, which is why I need to lose weight as well.

So, I need to get serious about my eating.  I've been comfortable with how I look for awhile, but I know that I can be thinner.  I loved the way I looked in 2015 right before my first marathon.

2015

2018

Not quite comparable pictures, but as close as I can get.  You can definitely see that my boobs are bigger, and my stomach is poochier now.