"A journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a single step"

title quote by Lao Tzu.

Someway, somehow this weekend I got a wild hair and decided that I am running one of the most popular 5Ks in Lexington: A Midsummer Night's Race on August 11, 2012...Umm wow! I am sooo excited and soooo nervous ALREADY lol.

I know that this type of challenge is necessary in my weight loss journey and for my life.I have had some experience in overcoming obstacles (especially those unforseen ones). This race would come at a great time symbolically and practically in my life. Symbolically, it will be right around the time last year that I began my weight loss journey. Practically, it's a couple of weeks before school starts and I can corral my family and friends to come out and support me.  Now, I am setting myself up purposely for a huge challenge. Mentally I am ready, physically it will take ALL of the next 2 months to get there.The training begins this week.

I have Google'd "running a 5k for beginners", "running a 5k for fat girls" and a plethora of other queries. I have found some great info and very positive encouragement. There is still a part of me that thinks I'm nuts.This is my inner fat girl. She's screaming out #girlbye lol. But this is something I truly feel compelled to do.

My goals for this race are simple: 1) to RUN the whole time 2) to finish 3) to survive it lol. I don't care about placing, I sure as hell am not trying to win the thing. I want to do it for me, for Liam, for everyone that reads this blog, for my friends, for anyone on a weight loss journey, for my future clients when I become a nurse personal trainer/health & wellness  nurse.

When this year began I said I wanted it to be different than last year. I made my dream board. I kept vlogging about my weight loss journey to be held accountable, even when I gained weight. I told myself and envisioned this year as different and better than ever before. I said I'd give love (well at least dating) another try.  I wanted to be fearless, determined, dedicated, finally make some dreams come true. I am doing it! Struggling and slipping sometimes along the way, but I am doing it. Since January 1 (not counting Aug-Dec 2011), I have lost close to 30 lbs. I started doing my prereqs for Nursing school knowing that this is the path I was meant to take. I started working on being a better mom and being more present in Liam's life. This is a great feeling. I can't wait to look back on this post, my future 5k and see how far I have come.

There is a quote that has been especially inspirational to me as of late: "We must let go of the life we had planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us" - Joseph Campbell.

My Own Self-Proclaimed: Hot Mama Body Challenge

Today marks day 1 of a 90 day or about 3 month challenge I am doing for myself. I still can't believe I have lost 44 lbs in 9 months. I lost a toddler (literally! - Liam weighs 42 lbs). I have a very specific goal and that is to lose 35 lbs during this time (May 1-August 1). I want it bad! When I lose this weight, it will put me at 30 lbs to goal. I will treat myself with a photo shoot and I will be at a total weight loss of 78 lbs. What the challenge will consist of:

*Working out AT LEAST 4x/week. Even with school, I am trying to bump it up to 5x (maybe not 5 days, but I will have to do some 2a days if I can)
* Having 2 cleanse days with Isagenix per week. They will have to be hybrid cleanse days (i will eat only fruit and veggies along with the Cleanse for Life powder that day)
* being extra diligent with the calorie counting
* water, water, water - I have fallen off with my water consumption. Need to pump that back up in a hurry
*limiting any sugary drink to 1 8oz serving a week or less
*put more variety into my workout. I don't want my body to get stuck in a rut and neither do I! :)
*I will do measurements and weigh ins (today, Day 15, Day 30, Day 45, Day 60, Day 75, Day 90)

This is me day 1 of challenge 285.2 lbs

Any suggestions on what to do? What not to do? I'm really trying to jumpstart my body and my routine again and blast this fat! Leave your comments and ideas :).