Week Nine: Pictures speak louder than scales

Sometimes you don't realize how much your body is changing until you see a picture of yourself. This is especially true if you are constantly weighing yourself or looking at your body way too closely in the mirror. The truth is, that scales are not always accurate and can vary up to 3lbs from day to day. Also, you should never look at yourself that closely in the mirror. You are only going to be checking out the tiniest of flaws that nobody, but you is ever going to notice. (Remember, nobody is ever going to be looking at you that closely and if they are, you should probably call the police.) This is why I've decided that pictures are my new mirror because they catch you from the perspective of other people's eyes.

As you know, I ran in the Seattle Torchlight 8k race a couple of weekends ago. Like I had mentioned, it was 80+ degrees outside and there were over 6,000 people racing, so when I got to the starting line, I felt like I was in a sauna! This is not a good feeling when you're about to race a five mile hilly course. So I made the very difficult decision to race just in my sports bra (and shorts, of course - this wasn't Fremont). Even though I know that my body has changed significantly for the better since I improved my eating habits and started a vigorous running program, I still feel a slight bit self-conscious about my body. When they blew the whistle to start the race, I swear, I could feel my tummy giggling with every step I took. Maybe just wearing the sports bra wasn't such as a good idea afterall, but oh well, I was already running and wasn't about to ask the sweaty guy next to me if I could borrow his shirt. However, this whole giggling thing must have been all in my head because I just got my race photos back and this is what I saw. For the first time ever, no love-handles and no thunder thighs!! I was astonished on how in-shape and athletic I looked. I have never been overweight, but I have been really out-of-shape, so seeing this reassured me that I am making great progress toward good health. Please all know, that changes will happen if you work hard enough and have the right mindset.

Week Nine Training
8/3 - Rest day
8/4 - Run 5 miles
8/5 - Speedwork, 8 miles
-One warmup mile
-Four miles sprinting with 1/2 miles in between each interval
-One cooldown mile
8/6 - Run 4 miles
8/7 - Run 4 miles
8/9 - Rest day
8/10 - Long run - 11 miles

Total miles for the week: 32