The Johnnycake Jog went great. I finished in 51:18 and did not have to walk at all. That was right about my goal so I am very pleased. It does not matter that I am not the fastest. What does matter is that I set a goal and I accomplished it.

We are almost done with this program. Saturday is our final weigh-in and this will probably be my final blog post. Since this was my second year participating in the program, I am ready to be done. I think I have done well. I have lost about 45 pounds in the two years and am happy with where I am at now. The main thing from here forward is going to be to maintain and continue with a healthy lifestyle. I am sure that I can do that and have a happy, healthier life!

There are less than two days left until the Johnnycake Jog. I think I am ready. Sarah and I ran 5 miles Wednesday morning in 51 minutes. Not too bad! We had to walk just one time and not for very long. It was hot too. I think the heat is supposed to break a little bit before Sunday so that should help some. I am worried about getting too tired on the first hill. After that it is just staying motivated and keeping your feet moving. It is going to be very important for me to drink a lot of water tomorrow. I need to hydrate before the race so I will not feel so bad when I am running. I definitely plan on stopping at the water stations this time because I need to keep fluid in me for sure. We will have to see how it all goes. Wish me luck!

I have been half-heartedly training for the 5 mile Johnnycake Jog. Actually my heart has been in it but I just have not had the time! Add to that being out of town and the heat and training has not been going so well. This will not deter me on Sunday from doing my best. The fact that I am even attempting a 5 mile run is something to be proud of. In January I could barely run for 20 minutes at a time and now I can go for close to an hour! That shows that hard work and dedication do pay off. Even if I am not fast enough to ever win a race, I can be pround of the fitness level I have achieved. I will say that I am please by the silhouette my shadow makes when I am running!

When the scale at the weigh-in said I had lost 4 pounds, I will admit I was very pleased. I was worried that I had gained! I think I lost it from pure exhaustion. Moving, painting, packing, worrying, and stressing over the last month have not improved my eating habits to say the least. They have kept me busy and up to all hours of the morning so maybe that is how I lost the weight. Or perhaps it was all water weight that I lost because I do think I was a bit dehydrated. No matter how I did it I am happy! I did not think I would even get this low. My goal is to maintain where I am now for the final weigh-in and to continue to train to run 5Ks and the 5mile Johnnycake Jog. I want to be healthy, not a bean pole!

The weigh-in on Saturday went surprisingly well for me. I was pleased with my loss of 4 pounds. I will admit that I still have not been eating real well. This past week we have been moving and I have been painting until the wee hours of the morning. This usually resulted in me eating whatever was handy and sounded good at midnight - McDonalds, ice cream, pizza, etc. I think with all the energy I burned staying up late and painting and moving boxes I managed to hold off any weight gain that this type of eating usually results in. For this last month I really need to strive to eat correctly in addition to my exercising so I can be at my best for the final weigh in.

On Sunday I am running the Ahuja 5K! I am a little worried about this because when I ran earlier in the week I had a lot of trouble. I cramped up immediately and had to stop at one point to walk. I am not sure why or what was different. Hopefully that will not happen on Sunday morning. I am excited because I am going to get my kids involved with exercise as well. I signed them up for the 1 mile fun run. I am not sure my daughter can do it, but just encouraging her to try is worthwhile. She will be excited to be a part of it and will have fun with whatever she gets done. It is supposed to be hot though so fluids are essential!

Lately I have been very busy, very tired, and stressed. The end of school, preparing to move, and other things have made a crazy schedule. When I am stressed or tired, I compensate by eating. I feel like I have just been eating like crazy and it is not healthy food either. The worst part is I have an "I don't care" attitude about it all. I have already gained 2 pounds since the last weigh in! Not good at all. The problem is the stress is just toing to get higher before the next weigh in so I am not sure how to get this back under control. I need to find the self-discipline that I started with last year. Do they sell that in a store?