Amazing start to 2017!

It's been a while since I posted - time flies through the holidays!

Very happy to report that StrongerU has been working well for me! In the 12 weeks since starting in October, I lost 22.5 pounds, and brought in the new year in the 180s for the first time since my late teens! Granted, that 22.5#did include a bit of bloat right at the beginning, but it was still a solid 16+ pounds of loss. My last day on the program was to be Christmas Eve, although I stopped tracking the day before to enjoy the holidays. Overall, I was very good about following my assigned macros. There were only a handful of days that I went over by a bit, or chose not to track (Thanksgiving, 3 Christmas parties, and one other day that my head just wasn't in the game - chalk it up to PMS!). And I only had alcohol 3 times during the whole 3 months (including a few dry nights of socializing)! But despite those days, I'm still so pleased about my loss. Toward the end, my macros were 130 carbs, 40 fat, and 130 protein for 1400 calories, which was still enough to keep me full most days. I had a little struggle to stay within the fat goal, but found some ways to cut some fat out of my meals to meet it (primarily cutting out whole eggs at breakfast, and eating more chicken & pulled pork than steak).

What really impressed me was that I continued to lose even after a knee injury just before Thanksgiving. The same knee that has occasionally given me grief since my Zumba days 5 years ago started acting up on the Tuesday morning before Thanksgiving, despite feeling fine during my first 9 mile training run on Sunday (my longest yet). However, I was just starting to feel like I was getting back into the swing of CrossFit after taking a couple months off during the summer from my toe sprain, so I decided to hammer through the WOD of deadlifts and DUs anyway. Big mistake. I limped out the gym, and could not bend my left knee behind me to walk in the morning. I dragged my foot behind me for 5 days until I could get a PT appointment on Monday with the same therapist who worked on my toe. Krista at Integrated Rehab is a miracle worker! She got me walking after one session! My knee was very sore for a while though, so I was still doing limited walking (nevermind CrossFit or my half marathon training!) for a couple weeks. But even while I was just going to PT appts 2 days/week and doing limited walking, I was still losing weight! Eventually, I was able to do some short runs outdoors on nice days (I joined the YMCA to use a treadmill, but it really hurt to run on a treadmill vs the road - weird). I worked my way back up to a 6 mile run, and had to call that enough training for the half marathon.

Celebrating at Hollywood Studios
after the race!

One crazy day
for my Fitbit!

I took a break from Christmas Eve through 1/16/17. The main reason for prolonging the break was my trip to Orlando to run the Disney Half Marathon with my friends - it was finally time! We flew down on Thursday morning and hit the parks hard Thursday and Friday...and then found out our race on Saturday morning was cancelled due to thunderstorms in the area. I was devastated after all that training and working through injuries, and feeling so guilty for what was turning into just an indulgent girls' weekend in Disney without my family - we were supposed to earn the weekend by running the race! Then Disney announced that they would allow half marathon registrants to transfer in the the full marathon on Sunday instead, so after much internal debate (and trying unsuccessfully to get all the girls to join me), I decided to do it - I came there to run a half marathon, and I was going to do it! I woke up at 3:15 am and waited in 39 degree weather until my corral finally got to run at 6:30am - brr! But once I started, it went by quickly! I could definitely feel the effects of my training trailing off after my injury, but I was still able to jog intervals of 3:1 jogging/walking through the whole race (although I tended to walk a little longer toward the end, and stopped to take a lot of quick pictures of all the entertainment along the route). I was so excited to reach the 13.1 marker in the middle of Animal Kingdom! Except that it was a little anti-climactic since there was no finish line or anything...just another 13.1 miles ahead. So I hopped on the Everest roller coaster to celebrate. I thought I might try to walk to the finish line, but my legs and feet was just too fatigued by 16.5, so I caught a bus back to the staging area at mile 17. However, I was so happy that my knee held up perfectly - no pain at all! They gave me a full marathon medal when I walked off the bus, which I felt a little silly accepting (although I did walk the length of a full marathon by the time the day was over). So, while I'm happy I ran the race and completed my goal, the "first half marathon experience" itself was a little unfulfilling. My friends are all going back in November to run the Disney Wine & Dine - not sure yet if I'll be joining them. However, I am planning to run the Hartford Half Marathon in October.

So, back on the StrongerU program this week...until my legit Girls' Weekend in Cancun in 4 weeks! I'm going to be super strict until we leave to make as much progress as possible (would love to see 179 on the scale!), and maybe get up the nerve to wear a (skirted) 2-piece on the beach! I'm taking a break from running until the weather improves in the spring, so I'm focusing back on CrossFit. Once again, I've lost a lot of strength and stamina from being away for almost 2 months while I focused on rehab and running, but I'm determined to get back at it! I registered for a Festivus competition that's right after this 2nd round of StrongerU wraps up, and to be in the intermediate division, I will need to master toes-to-bar...another challenge to overcome! Also started a pull-up progression program - I'd really love to finally get that strict pull up this year!
So, thrilled with how 2017 is starting, and looking forward to some amazing progress this year!