Training went pretty well this past week.  Sunday’s trail run (4.6 mi) at Big Creek was really fun, and I felt good about my pace (12:23).  Time and distance were a bit of an estimate.  I forgot my watch at home, and I did the full creek trail, but only part of the tower trail (the grass was too long and I felt like I was going to fall down the hill!)  There were a couple of difficult spots where I did a short walk up part of a hill because it felt like my HR was too high.  I would love to get a Garmin so that I know for sure when I need to back down!

I snapped a picture of one of the shorter hills just as I finished one of my walk breaks.  (I'm not sure why my phone makes everything look pinkish!)  This park is only about 4 miles from my house.  It felt amazing to make it to the top of some of these hills.  I was feeling happy about the progress that I’ve made so far.  It was definitely a runner’s high! 

The trail was a bridle trail, and I realized when I got to the creek that means no bridge to run across – horses don’t need a bridge!  There was no choice but to run through the water, since I hadn’t gone far enough yet and that part of the park does not have many other trails.  It wasn’t as bad as I expected to do most of the run with soaking wet feet. 

Hopefully tackling these hills and running over gravel and mud will make the 5 mile race on October 2^nd seem like a piece of cake!  I’m a little worried about the distance.  I will have to be sure to start off slow so that I can finish the race on a high note!

On the weight loss side of things, I am up to 46 pounds lost so far!  I just realized over the weekend that I am more than halfway to my weight loss goal.  I don’t really have a firm number in mind, but I think I’ve got about 35 more pounds to go.  People ask me if I’m excited about losing so much weight, and I guess part of me is excited, but I still feel like this is a work in progress so I’m not celebrating too much yet.  I want to be sure I can keep heading in the right direction and maintain a healthier lifestyle permanently. 

I took my suit in to the seamstress to have it taken in for our law school photos next month, and it felt pretty good to have her say that she didn’t know if she would be able to alter the pants, she thought they were so big it might not work!  In the end, she decided she could do it, it would just be a bit more difficult.  I will be happy to pick up the suit and try it on – I don’t have a ton of clothes that fit me really well right now.  I guess that’s a good problem to have!