Non-Scale Victory Linkup!

Hey Heyyyyy!  It's Non-Scale Victory Thursdayyyy!  Time to celebrate our healthy achievements that have nothing to do with that dang scale.

I'm continuing to try to master this whole running thing.  Since last week, I've gotten in two great runs but I've really wanted to do more. It has been unbelievably hot here in the Mid-Atlantic region...blehhhh...I normally workout right after work when it is basically at its hottest so instead of running, I've had to come up with different workouts.  The problem with this is that I HEART running...and I like running outside so the gym/treadmill is just not calling me.  Sooo, I've been going home to ellipitcal it while watching RHOC...I used to love my elliptical and my reality TV watching time, but I just don't love it anymore.  The weird thing is that even though I've been working out, I feel like I'm struggling.  I guess maybe it's because I'm not feeling challenged enough?

Does anyone else ever feel this way?

Anywhoo...back to the two runs I DID get in!  On Saturday, I got up and set out to get a good long run in.  I told myself that I didn't need to push for another 5 miles, but that if I felt great enough I'd just keep going until I didn't want to anymore.  Remember how I said it was HOT?  O.M.G.  Saturday was miserable and I was out the door by 8:00am!  As I was headed out, Hubs said, "You want to take some water with you?" and I was all, "No...I don't feel like carrying it."  Yah, I should have listened to him (shhh, don't tell him I said so...)  By the time I got home, I had gotten 3.5miles in but I seriously felt like I was going to puke.  And not figuritively, like...uh, oh...

Side note:  I have emotophobia...the fear of vomiting...stop laughing, it's a real thing...no, no, really, look it up...#bigbaby

In case you were wondering, I didn't throw up.  But I will probably pay more attention to my body when it's hot out and get my ass home next time..orrrr, maybe bring some water with me.

My 2nd run was yesterday and here's the NSV part:  I got up EARLY...like before work...and rocked a quick 2.5 miles in 29 minutes!  I say quick, because that's quick for my wogging butt.  It was nice and cool out there - wayyy better than 92°.

Afterwards, I got ready for work and jumped in my vehicle and I felt this great sense of accomplishment...that happens EVERY single time I work out in the morning...so I got to thinking...WHY don't I work out in the freakin' mornings???  Welll...because I despise setting my alarm earlier than I absolutely need to.

But this whole morning workout thing?  I kinda loved it.  I felt such a sense of freedom thinking about the rest of the day and how I didn't have to rush home and work out...and you must understand:  I will make the time to work out after work...it's what I've been doing for 18 months and I never have an issue with other things because it is my priority and everyone knows it.  But what I'm saying is that I really, really need to consider this other possibility because one of the things I think about a lot is that I have other things in my life I don't get to do because I don't have time for them.  For example, in the Fall I'm going to be a Grad student...I cannot comprehend going home, working out and then making a healthy dinner and thennnn sitting down to work on school work.  So, I gotta get this morning thing down now, you know?

http://regularrunner.com/dont-think-about-it-just-get-up-and-run/

So, my goals for the next week are to get up and run in the morning at least 3 times.  And tomorrow is my first challenge.  Wish me luck!

If you're not a morning person either, check out these morning running tips.

What were your NSVs this week??

Don't forget to check out this week's Healthy Recipe at A Healthy Makeover!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders - Mmmmmm!

Non-Scale Victory Linkup - June 20, 2013

It's time for NSV Thursday!  Hello, Hello!

I absolutely love this linkup and I cannot say that enough!  Let's celebrate all of the little things we conquer that are NOT scale related.

This week, I had just a few:

1)  I traveled for work for 3 days and while I did not eat the best...okayyyy yessss, I pretty much ate like they were paying me to...but I digress...what I DID do was to get in as much activity to counter-balance said eating as I could.  Including lapping the green room when I wasn't walking to and from anywhere.  I even got up EARLY on two days to workout...if you don't know this already - I will workout until midnight in order NOT to have to set my alarm to workout in the morning, so this was pretty hard for me!

See, even Jillian agrees with me...

2)  Throughout the week, I was able to get in a lot of different workouts to keep things exciting.

3)  Lastly, it's been about 2 months and I decided to take my measurements and I was really happy with the results (last measurement was 4/17):

I'm down in the following areas:

Bust:  -1/2"  (Seriously??  I cannot afford to lose here, boo...)

Chest:  -1"

Stomach:  -1"

Butt and lovely tummy tire:  -1 1/2"

R thigh:  -1/2"

L thigh:  -3/4"

R calf:  -1 1/2"

L calf:  -1"

(My thighs and calfs {or is it calves?...okay, looked it up and the web says either!} made me laugh since they are clearly going at their own paces; never mind, what the other one is doing...)

Word.

So there you have it!  Hope you all had some great NSVs of your own!

Workout Wednesday - June 19, 2013

Hey Heyyyyyyy!  It's time for Workout Wednesday with Skinny Meg!

This week I traveled for 3 days but I still tried to get in some workouts.  On Thursday morning - this is a biggie, folks - I got up at 5:45 in the A.M. to get in a little Jillian before I headed out of town.  I am SO not a morning workout person...don't get me wrong, if it's the weekend, I'm all about waking up and getting in a workout...but I despise setting my alarm to workout.  So, this was a huge accomplishment for me!

Saturday was our University's Commencement ceremonies and although I was going to be on my feet for the entire day, I still got up early and went for a walk on the Potomac River/National Harbor here in DC...it was a gorgeous morning and I just couldn't resist!  This is the 2nd year in a row that my buddy Missy and I got out there to walk & enjoy the sunrise.

The Potomac at National Harbor, MD

I logged almost 1,500 workout calories that day - I decided to leave my HRM on all day and I vowed that I would not sit down except to eat...I even did laps around our Green Room during the ceremonies.

On Monday, a few friends and I decided that we'd try the MoveStrong class at our gym.  Have you seen this thing?  Here's a pic I found online and it's the exact same thing that my gym has:



MoveStrong - Google Image

 So, the great thing about this class is that it's a circuit of many of the apparatus's you see above.  Each person sets up at a station, the trainer times us and we do 1 minute of each exercise.  Between the stations, the trainer had us doing chair lunges, and weighted pliés.  We finished by doing 1/10 squats - Ohhh.Mah.Gah, I cannot tell you how amazing and awful I felt at the end of this 30 minute workout!  I literally walked away from this bizarro cagey thing with my shaky legs whilst they screamed, "What are you doing???  Stop!  Can't you feel us shaking!??  Um, please, stop???"

I cannot wait to own that Bitch again.

Last night I was starting to get sore from that contraption so we decided to just hit the gym and treadmill.  I thought running would help to keep my muscles warm, etc.  Yah, I think that worked, but by the end of the night, I put Hubs on Toilet Recon because I was sort of afraid I wouldn't be able to get up off it.

Today, I can barely move and for every step I take, I let out a little whimper...but, I love it.  Does anyone else love this feeling??

Can't wait to read about my linkup buddies' workouts!

Don't forget to check out this week's recipe at A Healthy Makeover!  A great Summer recipe!

Non-Scale Victories Linkup - June 13, 2013

So many of our victories come not from the scale but in every day things that we do to be healthy; it's time to share those Non-Scale Victories!

I really feel like I have some good ones this week.

First off, one of my really great friends surprised me with this awesome necklace after I ran my first 5K on June 1st.  It really touched me and it means so much:

This is from The Run Home - check out the artist's website!

This next victory is huge for me workout-wise:  Saturday, I went out to run and I ran FIVE miles...no stopping...no walking...just 5 glorious miles.  I say, "glorious", because I felt amazing, no sore joints, my breathing was perfect, the weather was wonderful with the perfect temps, and it was great!!  I have never done that before.  It was almost like I needed to redeem myself from my "performance anxiety" at the 5K...and I guess I definitely redeemed myself!  Still as slow as a turtle but I don't care!

Bam!

Another thing I feel is a noteworthy victory is more of a great find...I finally tried powdered peanut butter. I couldn't get any PB2 around here, but Hubs found Betty Lou's Just Great Stuff Organic Powdered PB at Wegmans and I am SO pleasantly surprised at how good it is!  Yay!  It tastes really good, just like PB and with a hint of sweetness which I guess comes from the coconut sugar.   "Coconut sugar is produced from the sap of the coconut palm flower and does not taste like coconut. This 100% organic, sustainably harvested natural sweetener has a lower glycemic index that cane sugar and contains essential vitamins and minerals."  All I know is that I can now NOT feel guilty when I want to have 3T of PB (only 45 calories for 2T!!).  I've heard PB2 is also really great so I'm here to tell you that they are worth trying if you're looking to cut some nut butter calories.







Okay, so finally, I know that this linkup is NOT about the scale, but I've gotten to the point where I'm only weighing once a month and I have some noteworthy details about this specific weigh-in.  Hubs and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary this past Monday.  I don't have the greatest memory about some things but I do remember how much I weighed when I got married...probably because I remember that when I returned from my 10-day honeymoon, I had gained 10lbs.  And for the next 16 years, I never looked back...the scale just climbed and climbed and I gained a total of 74lbs in those years.  Four years ago I joined Weight Watchers and lost 37lbs, but when I quit WW, I gained 27 of it back.  Finally, two years ago I began my TRUE healthy journey and this past Saturday, I weighed.  And I'm SO excited to say that I am back to my wedding weight...exactly.  This of course, was the perfect opportunity to try on my wedding dress.  I was shocked:  my dress was big.  Wait, wha????????  Yup.  I had to wear this crazy-ass sucker-inner thingy on my actual wedding day and on Saturday when I put my dress on, it was loose.  Isn't that insane??  My body, at the same weight, is NOT the same body I had 18 years ago.  It has got to be from the strength training I'm doing?  I can't explain it but maybe it's because I'm toning parts that weren't toned in my 24-year old body?  Anyway, it goes to show that that stupid EM EFFER the scale doesn't know what the hell it's talking about.

NOTE:  Please excuse the awful pictures, we had no money when we first got married and couldn't afford a professional photographer...I literally have ONE picture of Hubs and I on our wedding day that is somewhere in a box (I'm old, people, no digital photos back then...what I have here is courtesy of my wonderful Mother-in-law and a quick call to scan me some pics for this post from her photo albums - thanks, Mom!)



So the picture on the left is current - the pics on the right are from 2005 - Same weight / not the same look, eh?  Not sure why I'm making that face in both of these - my only guess is that my sucker-inner thingamabob was compressing my lungs so much that I'm gasping desperately for breath...

 

2013 - Where my Girls at??????



2013 - Not a great view (do you love my humidity hair??)
but I'm holding the dress up in the front.



Also, side note on this same victory:  I weigh less than my hubby now - yippppppeeeeeee!  Technically, I could be like one of those commercials where the girl runs down the beach into her honey's arms as he swings her around in circles...okay, okaaaay...I don't weigh THAT much less...yet.  But it's SOOO on.

Hope everyone had a great week, as well!

Workout Wednesday - June 12, 2013

Hello there!  It's time for Workout Wednesday with my girl Skinny Meg!  I love this linkup because I get so many great workout ideas to try!

This week, I've been really good about keeping track for you and even taking lovely sweaty pics to share - lucky, lucky you!

Wednesday - We headed to a great local park that has an actual rock/paved track and this cool station where you can do other exercises like situps and pullups and such.  We hit the trail a couple times around and then headed back to kick some trees....yes, you read me right.  What follows is the conversation I had with my Hubs (who won't even let us have a real Christmas tree because he can't stomach the thought of 'killing a tree'...) when he called me during..."You're kicking trees!????"  "Hell yah, you gotta problem with that??"  "Um, hayuhhhh...that's a crime against nature!!!"  Okay, so we didn't actually kick any trees...but we did tap some sweet tree ass.

This is a really great workout for your backside, flanky area, legs and abs.  Basically what you do is balance on one foot (like you would for a side kick in combat or kickboxing) and with the other, tap the tree (or solid object) continuously for one minute.  Then switch sides...and, daaaannng...you're gonna be sore.  I love this!

Thursday - I decided to try Fitness Blender - everyone's been talking about it and it was super rainy and yucky outside so I headed home to try it out.  I have to say, this might be one of my favorite new workouts.  It's free and they have great videos where you can choose a body part to focus on or just do a full body workout.  I ended up trying three of them (cardio, abs, butt) for a great 50+ minute workout.  And let me tell you, I was sweat balls after only 10 minutes.

 

Love my AppleTV!



Mmmm...pretttyy...



Reeeeeeeeeeeaccccccccccchhhhhhhh!

Saturday - This is the workout I'm MOST excited about - I ran 5 miles!  I cannot express to you how much this run meant to me.  After not being able to run my entire 5k, I was kind of defeated so I set out on Saturday just to redeem myself. I didn't have a plan to run a specific amount of miles, I just wanted to get out there.  What I really wanted to do was prove to myself that my 5k performance was a fluke.  I had run the same distance before many times but that dang 5k was haunting me!  So out I set to just do what I could.  The weather was perfect:  overcast and cool and I just went for it.  I was feeling really great and decided that I would try to push myself a little - when I got to 3.1, I decided 4 would be great...then when I got to 4, I was like why not just go for 5??  So I did!  I was so pumped, you have no idea - when I hit 5 miles, I just stopped...I could have kept going, but I didn't need to...I laughed though because I honestly squealed my excitement in the street.  I don't even give a rat's ass if anyone saw me.

I am seriously loving this running thing.  Even though on Saturday night, I was pretty sore - I'm old!  But, it was so worth it.

Yah, Baby!

Monday - I was ready for some weights and it was Hubs and my anniversary so I didn't want to be at the gym for a long time.  I did 150 weighted bar squats, 75 Russian Twists, 100 Jumping Jacks and front jacks, 100 crunches, side crunches, two :30 planks, handweight fly's, and lunges with handweights.  I was getting ready to leave when Hubs called me to tell me to stay put because there was a Tornado Warning in effect.  Now, even though I love Hubs with all my heart and was excited to get home to see him, I never mind being at the gym, so I jumped onto the Stairmaster to sweat some more and wait the storm out.

Excuse the fuzzy - hard to take a pic while you're climbing moving stairs...but check out my lovely sweat pool...heh heh...why does it feel awesome when it's your own sweat but gag-worthy if you came across someone else's sweaty nastiness?

Tuesday - More Fitness Blender!  This time I enlisted my running buddy and sweat our asses off for 38 minutes and I burned 338 calories in that short amount of time!

I need to remember that not all workouts have to be a certain amount of time - you can still get a really great workout, if it's the right workout, in a shorter time.

So, that's my week!  I'm headed to the National Harbor in Maryland for our University's Commencement Ceremonies for the next 3 days.  I have my workouts already planned so even though it's going to be super busy, my plan is to get out there and sweat a little before my days begin.

Check out this week's healthy recipe - Monterey Chicken - SOO yum!!








Random Tuesday Ramblings...

Hey there...

I don't normally have the time to write an extra post in the week (honestly, I struggle sometimes coming up with blog-worthy posts during the two linkups I participate in), but I wanted to do a little bit of complaining - please bear with me...I need to whine and vent.

Some days, I am so overwhelmed by all that I still have to do to get to my goal.  Most days, I'm just goin' about my bidness, doin' what I do and all is fine...but it seems like when I get to the weekend, I breathe this huge sigh of relief that I made it successfully through another week, then I think, "Fu#*, I gotta turn around and do it again next week..."  It's so damn daunting!

Yes, I know this is now my life, but I dream of the day when what I'm doing is maintaining...not always trying to lose.  And, yes, I know that I will always need to be on top of things to be sure I don't do this to myself again.  It's just that I'm so impatient sometimes.  I know that I will get to my goal - I have no doubt - but I feel like I'm in a race to get there, even if it's slow, and some days I just need a rest...

The thing is that I can't rest...I don't get the luxury of rest at this point.  I have to be sure that I'm doing what I need to do to get to where I want to be.  My motto is every. single. day.  Whether that means something huge like an extra long workout, or something as little as drinking all of my water.  I have to do something every single day to be healthy.

I have absolutely no idea what it will feel like to get to my goal weight - or exactly what I will need to do to maintain...but right now, whatever it is, sounds good because at least I will have climbed that mountain and gotten to the top.  Right now, all I see is the tip of the top of that mountain and lots of other big ass hills to climb to get there.

Why did I waste so many years being fat?  I don't know the answer...I just know that I never wanted it as badly as I do now.  I'm willing to put in the time and effort and blood, sweat (so much sweat) & tears (even more tears!), to get there.

Listen to me, peeps - if you are in your 20's or 30's and you even just THINK you want to do this - take it from me - do it now!  I wish I had had someone to tell me emphatically not to waste another minute!

Google Images - Get to it!

So, on my toughest days, I need to remember why I'm doing this (corny alert:  to be the me I was meant to be!) and why I began this journey.  If you haven't read what the final straw was for me, please check it out here.  One of my dear friends from high school passed away from ALS and I think about him a lot.  He'd give anything to be here to fight and I can honor him and life by fighting, too.

Okay, enough of the boo-hooing - I just needed to vent and I'm not one to linger on negative feelings, so OFF I go - another week ahead and another week to end and be proud of!  Thanks for listening!

Google Images

Non-Scale Victories, June 6, 2013

 

Hello!!  It's time for my favorite post of the week - Non-Scale Victories!  Time to celebrate all of the little things we do that are NOT scale related but are still just as important to our health.

 

I missed last week's linkup because things are just crazy around here, and you'd think that would mean that I have two weeks worth of NSVs to brag about...you'd THINK that but you would be wrong, ha!

 

It's not that I've not done anything to be victorious about, it's just that I feel like I'm gonna say the same things.  Oh, well, I'm going to list them anyway:

 

• I just completed 397 days straight of logging food into My Fitness Pal (hit me up:  jennlefebvre08)
• I completed my first 5K
• Even though I was sore from running said 5K (hazy, hot, miserable and downright blech!!), I have continued to workout and I was able to run yesterday for a mile and felt really great!
• This one is interesting to me:  I've made a conscious effort to eat less carbs this week and last night when I checked MFP for my week, I've been able to stay at about 35% carbs...my normal weeks are about 45%...so I've dropped about 10% in carbs this week
• Which made me wonder about this so I had to check:  I have only had ONE bagel in the past 13 days - hawhaaaaa???  That's crazy!!  Man, I love me a freaking bagel - Icouldeatoneeverysingleday.
• I'm continuing to try new workouts and tonight I'm going to check out Fitness Blender - anyone else using this?  A fun workout I did last night with some friends was kicking trees...don't worry, no trees were harmed in our quest for fitness.  I'll be posting about it next week on Workout Wednesday with Skinny Meg.  Basically, what I'm getting at is that I'm really digging finding new ways to workout in addition to my traditional cardio routines.  I LOVE mixing it up!
• I'm also continuing to add more and more weights to my workouts - I want to be strong!
• This coming Monday, the Hubs and I will celebrate 18 years of marital bliss and it's been 18 years since I was this size.  I gained 10lbs on my honeymoon and never looked back for 16 years!  You can bet your sweet buns I'll be trying on my wedding dress this weekend.

So there you have it - what were YOUR NSV's this week?

Workout Wednesday - June 5, 2013

Hello lovelies!  It's time for Workout Wednesday with Skinny Meg!  I love this linkup because I love getting new ideas for workouts - I like to keep things interesting and changing all the time.

This week has been great because I finished my FIRST 5K! and it was amazing!  I was so excited that I could do it and I am even more excited to do my next one.  Since I ran in the GAWD awful heat this weekend, I decided to walk on Monday instead of my usual run...I was still a little bit sore from Saturday but it was nice to get out and keep moving...we walked about 4.5 miles and included all of the hills in our neighborhood, which are A LOT.

Last night I lifted and today, I'm SO sore - does anyone else LOVE that feeling??  I went to bed with my muscles burning and even though it was uncomfortable, I loved it.  I only had time for a quick session last night so I ended up doing the Quick 20 at my gym but apparently it was worth it because I really am finding it quite hard to wave at people today.

I'm VERY much looking forward to tonight's workout because are going to this really great "workout park" near here.  Apparently, they have trails to run and then these stations to do cross training - I'll definitely take pics because I'm not sure I'm explaining it very well.

I hope everyone is having a great week and I can't wait to see which workouts you are doing!  BTW, you have to check out Skinny Meg's post from yesterday titled "I Weighed Myself", what an amazing inspiration and another reason NOT to focus so much on the number on that damn scale!

Check out today's recipe of the week - Roasted Cherry Tomatoes - Yum!  Be sure to sign up to receive updates or follow me on Pinterest!

My First 5K

Well, I did it.

9 weeks of training and I actually did it.

I ran my first 5K.

And I'm here to tell you it was the worst and one of the most amazing experiences of my life at the very same time.

The weather leading up to the race last week was STIFLING...it was in the 90s and SO humid, we were completely dreading the run.  The only good thing was that the race started at 8:00am and it wasn't going to get any cooler than that so we sucked it up.

My buddy, Roslyn and I got to Registration early and since it was our first time, it was great to not feel rushed about picking up our packets and goodies.  We had my veteran running friend Missy there to guide us along the way.  She even brought bug spray - so smart, that girl!  We bug sprayed ourselves and drank a little bit of water and warmed up. 

Pre Race Photo Op - We're all still pretty...

My nerves at that point were completely rattled.  The race was put on by the company I work for which meant that I knew a lot of the runners as well as the spectators.  I wasn't expecting that I'd feel so anxious about that, but I definitely was.  

We made sure to hit up the potty room right before the race and as we were walking back, our families and friends got there and it made me so happy to see their faces that I started to cry a little bit.  They even made a great sign for us - that meant so much!

Cutest Cheerleaders EVER - right???!

The race folks called us to the start line and my heart began to beat really, really fast.  I remember looking down and seeing that it was at about 136...then they blew the starting horn and we were off.  I had my music going, and my handy RunKeeper running...I knew I could do this.  I began running and was doing okay, except that my nerves were still completely out of whack...I kept trying to calm myself down but it was not working.  I was excited because my friends were doing so great, I could see them ahead of me and I was so proud!  This was a first for us!  Then, at about the 1/2 mile mark, my new handy dandy arm band holding my iPhone began to hit the start button which triggered the music to stop and start and the Siri beeps to begin...I swear to GAWD it did that the whole rest of the race...

So, I live in a part of the country that is very hilly...and I mean, you can't go 20 yards without there being some sort of hill.  But that's okay because my training is on hills, so I was alright.  However, at about mile 1 my heart rate was so high and I was so hot from said hills that I literally had to stop running and walk a little bit.  My heart rate monitor said my heart rate was at 189.  That is high.  Like way high...my usual high HR is about 178...that's when I know I need to slow my pace down.  Well, there was no slowing this pace down.  So I had to do exactly what I didn't want to do and that I swore I would NOT do:  I had to walk.  I cannot tell you the disappointment that I felt at that moment.  Everything that I had envisioned for this race went out the window.  I was defeated...I realized that I was last...I wanted to cry...and I was M. A. D.  You cannot imagine the thoughts that ran through my head.  I was mean.

When I could, I began running again and as I came around the turn for the first lap, my dear, sweet husband was waiting for me with water and a cool towel.  I just jogged up to him as he ran along side of me and I said, "I'm last...and I had to walk."  He said "Who cares, you are doing great, you keep going."  So I did...I kept going, and I ran for most of the way but by the time I got to the 2nd lap, I still could not get my heart rate down...I was dying...And at that moment, I honest to goodness thought about quitting.  You don't know me, but I am competitive...I am not a quitter...but I wanted to walk to my car and drive away.  I started to cry thinking about how far I still had to go...and then I saw my husband again and he knew exactly what it had taken me to get to this point and he just said it again..."Keep going, Jenn...You got this."  So, I did...I kept going and as I rounded the last bend, my buddy Roslyn (who had finished and was waiting for me), and another co-worker came to finish with me.  I finished at 44:46.

I ran across the finish line and apparently the words that I uttered were:  "I'm never fu$#%ing doing that again."  I say apparently because I truly and honestly do not remember saying that, but about 10 witnesses have confirmed.

Last Runner In :)

Anyway, that's the description of the "worst" part about it.  I've had time to think about things and go over what went wrong and what I did not anticipate was that my nerves would get the best of me.  I'm so upset with myself about that.  I had run almost 4 miles so many times without needing to stop and walk and I never imagined that I wouldn't be able to do it at the race.  That was the most disappointing part about it...

But here's the "amazing" part about it.  I am so stinking proud of myself.  I ran a FREAKING 5K...and no I didn't run the whole thing, but I estimated that I walked for about 5 minutes total...that's nothing!  And afterwards, my friends and I all just spent hours talking about how much it sucked...how hard it was for all of us (even experienced runners!)...how each one of us was feeling at any given moment during the race...what we felt like when we got to certain points in the race...and I loved every single moment of that bonding experience. 

We did it!  And look, I'm smiling....

Anddd...I can't wait to do it again.

Even though it sucked...even though it was hard...I cannot wait to do it again.  Next time, I'm gonna own that bitch.

I'm a runner ya'll.