by Jaime

I was in a really, really bad mood this morning. I knew this week's weigh-in was going to be a tough one, so I geared up for it. I put more miles under my feet this week than ever before, including two runs over 9 miles each, and 7.5 miles last night. Almost 40 miles total. The results? My lowest weight loss to date - 0.6 pounds. Just over half a pound.

Mid-week, I saw the writing on the wall, and quickly switched from the shorter, more speed oriented runs I was doing (in preparation of an upcoming race) and went back to long, easy-paced, good fat burning jogs. But it didn't help, at least not in time for today. There's some good news:

• I still lost at least something.
• Counting my 6 pound loss a couple weeks ago, I'm still averaging good progress.
• According to our fat-measuring scale, every ounce of this week's weight loss was fat.
• I broke the 34% mark for bodyfat, and I'm now at 33.7%.

Despite all this, failing to meet a goal after so much effort was really frustrating, and I just sort of let myself soak in it all morning. I knew I'd bounce back, so I don't mind the occasional pity party. Talking to Morgan really helped. A simple phrase like "these things happen" carries enormous weight (ironically) when coming from someone who has truly been there.

This afternoon started a new burst of excitement, however. I signed up for my first half marathon ever! The closest I've come was a 5-man marathon relay about 10 years ago. I know I can do it, because I can handle 9 mile jogs, and I'm certainly not looking for speed. Part of the reason I'm so aggressive in my weight loss efforts right now is because I think the best thing I can do to improve race day is to lose weight.

So I'll be running the Olathe Half Marathon (13.25 miles) on March 29th. According to last year's results, I'll be fighting for 2nd to last place with a gentleman twice my age. Man, I sure hope he shows up, because the next guy up the list had me beat by at least half an hour.