Jenn Week 16 (I think)

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mommas out there in blog land!  This is off topic for our theme of this blog but my heart is always torn on this day.  I am so happy and excited for all the mommies out there who are celebrating with their little ones.  This year feels extra special as it is my first Mother's day and also the first for many of my friends.  It has been an amazing day and I am a blessed woman.  On the other hand my heart aches for all those who are longing to be mommies and it hasn't happened for them yet or they have lost their little ones all too early. (Your kiddos will always be your little ones no matter their age.)  There are those out there who are missing their own moms and wishing heaven had visiting hours.  Yes, this day truly brings mixed emotions for me,  I found my self all wet eyed on many occasions.   

Not quite sure how to gracefully transition from that to updates on my weight-loss and fitness goals  so I am not even going to try.

I have had two major wins over the last two weeks that I want to share.  As I have mentioned I tore my left calf muscle a little over four weeks ago and I have been very limited in the exercises I could do.   With that obstacle I still managed the following success;   I bought a pair of jeans right around the time I was injured.  I did not try them on at the store and when I got home I found out they were too small.  I had intended to return them but never got around to it.  Well last week I decided to try them on and see how much progress I had made and if they were any closer to fitting.  To my surprise the FIT!! Win # 1 all thanks to focusing on my nutrition.  I did not use the word diet there on purpose.  I am not on a diet and I plan to never go on one again. In my opinion diets don't work long term.  I focused on putting whole and healthy foods into my body.  And it worked I lost weight while I had physical limitations.   

Next I went to they gym yesterday and decided to try out a short run.  I had been told by two doctors that I shouldn't run due to knee injuries.  At the least not until I did some rehab and then maybe I could work back up to some short distances.  Add to that the whole calf muscle problem and I wasn't too optimistic.  Long story short I ran a 5k in 29 mins 45 seconds and I felt amazing the whole time.  My leg was a little tender but I was in the groove the I have greatly missed.  Win # 2!  I give credit for this win to doing the rehab exercises diligently and never putting the brakes completely on while my leg was healing.  I swam, I did core and upper body I worked other parts of my legs.  I did whatever I could to keep moving.  Once upon a time I would have taken the injury as an out to sit on my tush, but not any more. 

I plan to continue with the 5k distance as long as my knees still feel OK and as long as my calf continues to heal.  I trust doctors and their opinions but not running was very painful for me, it's what I love to do.  I am going to listen to my own body and trust that it will tell me if I need to take a step back.

Well there you have it.  Hope everyone has a great week! And just for fun here is a family pic from today.  It's nice when you can start to see a difference.