Roses and thorns

I wanted to write "Roses and roses and more roses" for the title, but I tried to contain myself. This week has been amazing. Everything has been, for lack of a better term, coming up roses.

Week 2 of the Couch-to-5k went really well, though I think I might repeat it next week. The first day, Sunday, was great, and Tuesday and Thursday weren't extremely difficult, but I just don't feel entirely ready for Week 3 yet. I think working a full day before running on Tuesdays and Thursdays makes it a little harder. The mp3's with the intervals have totally made a difference - I'm not obsessing over the stopwatch, I just focus on the running. And - I love running. Propelling my body forward feels just as amazing as I hoped it would. I am challenging my body to do great things, and it is exceeding my expectations. Every step feels like a victory for the sad little kid I was in gym class, always walking, always finishing last.

I got an e-mail from the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum with official race times from last Saturday's 5k - apparently the clock started before I crossed the line (which makes sense, because the runners went first) - I thought my time was 54m26s - and I was thrilled, since my first 5k walk was 1h10m.


WOW! I was so excited to see that! I'm really excited to try and beat it, even by a few seconds, at my next 5k walk (which is this Sunday - the Trick or Treat Trot!).

There were a few pictures from the Go Go Green race in the e-mail as well:


Yours truly, making moves.

And speaking of pictures, the other night, I was feeling particularly lovely, so I took a few quick pictures with my webcam to capture this incredible moment.


I am a lady who, after 23 years, 11 months, 1 week, and 2 days, is finally learning to love the girl in the mirror. I am someone who enjoys what she looks like and is proud of her successes. It's a nice feeling - a new one, and a strange one, but one that I am truly enjoying.

I feel like after all this wonderful news, my numbers for this week are really secondary. A big loss this week (because of the 5k, I think): I'm down to 286. Down another six pounds this week, for a total of 59 pounds gone. It's unreal to me. My body feels so different - I haven't weighed this little in five years, and the last time was achieved by completely unhealthy means - I'm much fitter this time, and it feels amazing.

Somewhat less awkward than it sounds: I can't stop touching myself. I keep touching my collarbones, since I can feel them for the first time. My hands are always on my stomach or my chin, amazed at how they're shrinking. And I love feeling the muscles in my legs work when I'm walking down the street or working on the machines at the gym - they feel strong, and they're working hard!

Some of it is taking some getting used to, though, and I hope I'm not alone in this:

• My pants not fitting seems great, but they've always been too small, never too big - having a lot of extra room in there feels funny!


• Since I take public transit and teach college students, I tend to fold my hands a lot. When I fold my hands, since my fingers are a little thinner, it kinda feels like I'm holding someone else's hands.


• A little strange, I know: I expected my shirts would get baggy and my pants would loosen up, but I hadn't really considered underwear not fitting. 59 pounds ago, these were stretched to their limit. Now they don't fit right and they slide down sometimes - so awkward! So, for the first time ever, I need to buy smaller underwear.

They aren't complaints, per se - just things I'm (gladly!) going to have to adapt to. It's just fascinating to me how, with every pound I lose, even the day-to-day feels different.

How was your week?