I know this is the second time I am visiting this subject, but here it is:

I am T-Minus 10 days until I am no longer “just 40”.  I will then be a woman “in her forties”!  UGH!  I am still not sure why this bothers me.  How am I going to deal with this “getting old fear”?  Worrying that I will run out of time before I become GREAT?  Thinking “Is this REALLY how a ‘woman in her forties’ should act?”  Wondering, “Did I wait to late to reach for this or that particular goal?”

Well…I have decided to remove all negatives from my vocabulary.  The word “CAN’T”  does not even EXIST!  I may try and fall short of success, but there is no failure in doing MY BEST!  I will be the healthiest, fittest, focused, most goal-oriented, hard working, and determined 41 year-old former “fat-chick” you will ever find!  I will demand Excellence of myself!

I saw a Tweet from female MMA fighter, Rhonda Rowsey, yesterday where she mention how as you get older, you need to drive faster because you have less time to get where you are going.  HHMMMM!!!  OK…so in the vehicle of life, it is time to put the “pedal to the metal” so to speak.  I have a LOT  to accomplish in this life.  I may have taken the slow boat to “Motivated” by way of “Rock Bottom”, but I am here now!

As Mr Jackson of http://www.rulershipnow.com says……

“MANDATE EXCELLENCE”

It will take a lot of hard work and determination, but I WILL continue to reach for my goal and beyond!

Why is it that whenever I get close to a Birthday, I start thinking of all the things I WISH I had accomplished in the past year?  However, I hardly ever think of what I DID accomplish???  HHMMMM!!!  Well, today I am going to reflect on the past year for a few moments.

I have to start with March 23rd, when I took part in Biggest Loser Club/Pound for Pound Challenge that aired on April 19th!  Got to spend the day with the wonderful Jackie Joyner Kersee and Carrie Kimber and the rest of the QMG crew:)

Turned 40 on April 9th – LIVED to tell about it:)

Celebrated Tony and I’s 8th Wedding Anniversary on April 19th by watching the Quincy PFP/BLC spot during The Biggest Loser!

April 30th, I ran my first marathon in 4:50:19.

2 weeks later on May 14th, I ran the Bridge the Gap half marathon for a PR of 2:11:20.

July 29th, I was the Race Director for my first race as a member of the HRRWC, Run For The Cross!

August 6th, took part in my first Back to School Help Fair with Jackie Joyner Kersee to promote health and fitness to children.

September 17th, I met up with a FABULOUS group of people from the Biggest Loser Club and NovoWellness in Asheville, NC for a 5k and a Wellness Seminar that was a great inspiration as to WHY I want to live a healthier life and promote healthy living to others.

October 15th, started a 90-day challenge at Legacy Martial Arts, which would be a HUGE changing point in my health and fitness goals.  I had never worked out in a group setting, and I found it to be VERY inspiring and give me that extra “push” that I needed to keep me going strong.

By the end of 2011, I had laid out a plan for a wonderful year of fitness year in 2012.  So far it is going pretty well, despite still dealing with a hip injury that started back in August of 2011.  I have been working more on building muscle, and have put on quite a bit of muscle in the last 3.5 months.  I am now working on leaning back out.  I have found Pauline Nordin’s Fighter Diet to be very helpful, and think it seems to fit my goals of being muscular and lean ALL THE TIME, so will continue on with it even after I take my after photos for the current bb.com challenge I am in and see where it takes me.

So, all in all, I guess being 40 has turned out to be a pretty darn good year!  And I plan on making 41 just as good if not BETTER!

Got a pretty good mental “Smackdown” yesterday.  Finally went to see Dr Biggs last week about my ongoing hip and hamstring pain.  Went back yesterday for a follow-up, and he benched me.  For a girl who spent most of her life doing anything she could to AVOID being active, NOW…being told to NOT run for 2 weeks was tough!  And on top of that, I am on a 12 day round of steroids, which scares me!  It is mentally hard to be a “fat girl”, and be put on a prescription that can possibly cause weight gain.  I have set my goal to be VERY meticulous with my diet over this period to see if I can avoid it, but I know what is possible.  Here is my new motto:

So….for the next 2 weeks, I can swim, cycle, or use the elliptical, and only light/body weight exercises on the lower body.

I also had to swallow hard and switch my registration at the Illinois Marathon from the Full to the Half.  I am trying to use my head on this one.  Better to run shorter distance now so I can run longer!  Yeah…OK….For those of you who know me, can you imagine me calling 13.1 miles a “shorter distance” a few years ago????  LOL!

Being called a “smart athlete” for making this decision feels good though:)

Realizing that I am nearly 41 years old, is hitting me kinda hard right now.  I think back and REGRET so much of wasting my “young” body:(  I wonder what I could have done had I started my journey when I was 28 instead of 38.  But looking back in regret will get me nowhere!  So from here on out….it is FORWARD WITH CONFIDENCE!!!!  No looking back.  I will do whatever I can for as long as this body will let me:) IF long-distance running is not in my fitness future, that does NOT mean I don’t  have a lifetime of fitness ahead of me.

In the words of the inspiring Ashley Johns…from here it is only “FIERCE FORWARD!”

This post is inspired by two things I saw on Facebook this morning that got me wound up.  Most of you who read this blog know that my journey to health and fitness started at Rock Bottom!  I was 38 going on 80!  I had 3 back surgeries between the ages of 22 and 29 which had me in so much pain, that I felt like I had the “right” to be the Queen of the Couch Potatoes!  I had been overweight for most of my life, including being obese for 15 years.  I had high BP and was borderline diabetic.  I drank WAY TOO MUCH, as in about a 12-pack of beer a DAY!  Smoked 1.5-2 packs of cigarettes EVERY DAY!   And was poisoning myself by eating quick, highly processed foods that had little, if any, real nutritional value.

So, if you tell me you are too far gone, or you are too old, or you just don’t have it in you to exercise because of aches and pains from this and that….for the most part, it will fall on deaf ears!  But starting at Rock Bottom means there is NOWHERE to go but UP!:)  THAT in a way, for me, was VERY freeing!  Yet at the same time, it seemed like starting the same old thing for the umpteenth time.  I just figured IF/WHEN I failed again, no one would be surprised!  But then I realized that NO ONE thought I would REALLY do it.  So I set out to prove them all wrong.  BUT THEN…something AMAZING happened.  I actually started to feel GOOD!  And I wanted MORE!  That desire for MORE, and to be better, and look better, and have the body I have ALWAYS wanted, AND most importantly to help others get this feeling for themselves are the things that inspire me to keep going to this day.

I am NOT saying it is easy!  Every day, I have to make the HARD choice to eat a salad over a burger, or go to the gym on a Friday night instead of my favorite bar or simply my garage to chillax and tip back a few with my hubby.  It is HARD!  But ultimately, it comes down to the choices YOU make!  ONLY YOU can do this for you!  I can give tips that worked for me.  I will try to help anyone I can in any way that I can.  But YOU have to do the hard stuff!

And NO!  You will NOT be “DONE” tomorrow!  You will not wake up tomorrow and be the “All New YOU!”  Unfortunately it does not happen that way.  Each day you will wake with new challenges.  Some WILL be more difficult than others.  And some days you WILL feel like a complete and utter failure!  But remember….as soon as that moment is over…it is the PAST!  Let it go!  You can not change it, but you can make better choices in your next moment:)

So…I will leave you with those things to think about and the motivations from Facebook that inspired this post.

Have a GREAT weekend!

This week I found myself dealing with injuries.  Started last Thursday by cutting the bottom of my right foot.  Had to cut my 12 mile run on Saturday to 8, and by then, my foot was pretty much a bloody mess:(  So I decided to just lift really heavy this week and cut back on my runs to let it heal.  UM…my Left elbow had different plans:(  It has been really sore all week, and is requiring rest itself.  So I was VERY happy to work on core in FIT class both Tues and Thurs this week.  Mr Jackson and Mr Bentley both have been putting forth some pretty fierce workouts lately.  I LOVE IT:)

I reacted to some of this stress by overeating a few days.  Not horrible foods, but too much of it.  We all have “off” days.  I am a work in progress and will continue to work to be the Best Me I can be.

What are you doing to make You better today?  If you are having an off day, even a simple SMILE can help by bringing positivity to your life!

Train Happy!

Just wanted to post my progress pics from the last 9 weeks to help me keep my head in the game.  Workouts have been great, diet….NOT SO MUCH:P  I have gained a few pounds, but my BF% has gone down a bit.  Biceps are up nearly an inch on each arm, upper back and legs are MUCH tighter.  Core still needs A LOT of work!  I think Mr Jackson’s ab exercises at Legacy will be helping with those….WOW!  Tough, but great.  I keep saying…Legacy FIT class!!!  It keeps your body guessing and it is tough to get bored when you are never doing the same workout twice.

So here it is:  Three weeks left in this particular challenge….Can I stick with it and lean out enough???  I think YES!:)  Time to BE the BEST version of ME!