Sitting on the bench

I was signed up for another race today, but ended up sitting on the sidelines because of a back injury I've been dealing with.  It's the same pain I had when I was pregnant - I think it's my sciatic nerve.  It's a very strong pinching feeling in my right cheek and lower back that hurts like crazy.  I have a doctor's appointment Tuesday to confirm. 

So today I watched my friend Lindsay PR with a 27:something minute time, (Randi's out with an injury too) and while I was SO proud of her, it made me a little sad that I feel like I'm regressing instead of moving forward.  I'm ready to get over this injury, get finished with this stressful school year, and have the summer to train for my 10K in September.  It just seems like every aspect of my weight loss/exercise is one step forward and two steps back. 

Hopefully my doctor will have a solution for me on Tuesday - I am ready to be back on the wagon!

Weight Loss Update

I've been doing Weight Watchers since February of 2011.  To date, I have lost 25 pounds, but most of that was in the first six months.  When school started back up in the fall, I had a hard time staying on track, and spent months gaining and losing the same few pounds.  I feel refocused and motivated now, and things are finally heading back in the right direction.  I have about 18 pounds left to get to my goal weight, which I have never seen before...except maybe in like 5th grade. 

I'm still going to my meetings every week to keep myself accountable, and now I have some friends who are going through the same thing to keep me accountable as well.  Lindsay and I started working out together in October - she invited me to Bootcamp, and I loved it.  From there, we started running together, with her friend Randi (who is now my friend too!), and we've run three 5Ks together, with another one coming up this weekend.  Having running buddies makes a huge difference, and makes me keep going even when I don't want to!  I've even cut about 8 minutes off of my first 5K time, and I have hopes of cutting off even more.  We're talking about signing up for a 10K in September, and maybe a half marathon in December.  I'm going to have to stay focused and train really hard to be able to complete these!

Our last 5K was on St. Patrick's Day, and I finished in 35:41 - a great improvement over previous times, but not where I want to be.  I struggled with the heat and humidity, as well as painful side cramps that I have a hard time getting rid of.  One of my goals for my very first race was to run the entire thing without stopping, and I still haven't met that goal.  Every race I've done, I've walked at least a little bit.  Our next race is this Saturday, and assuming I get over my current lower back injury, I'm hoping to finally meet that goal!

I'm so thankful for my running buddies.  I know that I would have given up on this weight loss journey months ago if it weren't for them, and I would be back where I started.

Me, Lindsay, and Randi