The Sleep Number Bed is definitely helping with the soreness in my hip and knee. I have finally been able to start running more often. Saturday I ran 9:00 miles pretty easily. In February I need to run a real race to see how I am doing. My midway goal will be to run under 8:30 per mile, a little high considering the eventual goal of 7:30s but not bad since I really only started running regularly last week. With some hard work I still should be able to get close to 8:00 miles by the end of February.

WEEKLY WEIGH-IN:
Start: 157
Last week: 150
This week: 148
Goal: 137

I wish I could find my real “before” picture of the basement. It was worse than my office. Every square foot had something in it, boxes, tubs, blankets, camping equipment. You could barely walk around down there. Now it looks like this:     
    
In the left corner there will be a wet bar. That side of the room will have a nice foosball table and a treadmill. On the dark wall is a projector screen for our little home theater and a couch will divide the two sides of this very long room. There will also be a small guest bedroom and bathroom.

I ran for the first time in months this morning. It was on a treadmill which was really boring. I would so much rather run outside. I barely finished 3.5 miles in 37:40, about 10:45 per mile. That is a long way from the goal of 7:30s. I should have no trouble getting back close to 8:00s if I run consistently. The really tough part will be pushing through to 7:30 per mile at altitude.

WEEKLY WEIGH-IN:
Last week: 157
This week: 152
Start:  157
Goal: 137

This week’s featured amazing person is The Beautician: Deb Rodriguez. What does a beautician have to offer women in Afghanistan who cannot show their face in public?

http://blog.changemyselfchangetheworld.com/?page_id=371

Yesterday, I promised to reveal what made me choose the specific diet I have been following since New Year’s Day. The answer is another goal I have set multiple times but never followed through with. I have officially signed up for a before and after photo competition. Last year I registered 3 times and never make it past week 5 of 12. So in the spirit of finishing what I set out to do, I am having another go at it. Finishing the whole 12 weeks without quitting will be the ultimate accomplishment. But I also want to find out what I am capable of when I put a consistent effort into it. The downside, of course, is that if by some miracle I DID win they would post my before pictures on the internet. Maybe I didn’t think this all the way through…

My husband once called me a paradox. I live a long list of inconsistencies that need sorting out starting with this one. I love health and fitness, nutrition, sports, being outdoors, and anything active or adventurous. Sometimes I even think about making a career of it some day.

The irony is that I am also the worst junk food monger you’ll ever meet. Fast food, cookies, candy = yum. I am also wearing out my spot on our couch in front of the TV. In college I felt guilty and fought against these tendencies with some pretty bad behaviors (a story for later).

The older I became, the more free I felt to do whatever I wanted without worrying about the consequences. I thought “I am an adult now so if I want to have Double Stuffed Oreos and a Diet Coke and watch a movie for breakfast that’s my prerogative.” And so I did.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) doing so makes me feel like crap – even more so than the average person (another story for later). It also means that when I am not active I gain weight quickly – which has led me to my current weight and all time high: 157 lbs

SEVERAL PEOPLE have pinged me to ask what my resolutions actually are. The answer is… all of them. The following is a list of what appears to be the 10 Most Popular Resolutions and I am going to tackle them all on some level during the next 12 weeks:

1. Eat right/ get fit / lose weight 
2. Get better organized
3. Accomplish something major at work
4. Better contact with friends and family / reconnect with old friends
5. Tackle a health issue
6. Learn a foreign language
7. Learn something (else) new
8. Volunteer or do charity work
9. Follow through on a childhood dream
10. Follow through on New Year’s Resolutions 

A few others are also very popular but do not apply to me:

1. Quit smoking – I have never smoked.
2. Quit drinking – I stopped drinking excessively several years ago.
3. Finances – Todd stays on top of that.

If you see any obvious popular ones I have missed please let me know!

I RECENTLY READ that 92 percent of all New Year’s Resolutions are not kept. For mine it is probably worse. It stands to reason I would recognize the uselessness of continuing to make these promises…

On the contrary, I am more resolved than ever. I will make them over and over until I succeed regardless of the time of year. I don’t believe you can try too many times or that it is ever too late. My dad had a friend who graduated college and retired from the workforce on the same day. “Why bother?” you might wonder.  I say, who cares “why” and good for her.

Whether you are 8 or 80, it’s January 1st or August 28th, Sunday or Thursday, your 1st attempt or your 1000th, never let someone talk you out of trying to better yourself, including you.

Each week I will feature an amazing person I have read or heard about. The feature this week is Dr. Extreme:  Geoff Tabin. You won’t believe what he does! Check it out!

http://blog.changemyselfchangetheworld.com/?page_id=172

I finally I slept last night (courtesy of NyQuil) but my only life altering experience today was to go to urgent care for drugs. The most interesting part of my day was watching the tech write my symptoms on a real piece of paper instead of typing it up. It was like time travel.

Anyway, I have a regular run-of-the-mill virus. The doctor said to take Advil, strangely. Makes sense though since my worst symptom is the rug burn in my throat. *Sigh* if only my sleep number bed was already here…