I have a coach!

What a week it has been!  My only day off was Friday and I went back to my old stomping grounds for a few days to start the week.  I've only been gone for a little less than 3 months from Bethesda but it was nice to be back and see some familiar faces.  I finally didn't feel like such a newbie there - I felt back in my comfort zone.

Surprisingly ALL of my log in information for the computer system and the medication Pyxis worked with no issue.  That was hurdle number 2.  I say number 2 because I was considering number 1 to be the scrub situation when I got there.  We get scrubs provided for us so that they know they are properly cleaned to be back in the sub-sterile environment and definitely one of the perks to a job in the OR.  I was worried about which size I should get and what was going to fit me with my weight loss since I've been gone. I immediately needed to size down my jacket from my previous XL to a L (yay!) and I stuck with my normal sizes from before for my scrub top and pants.  The pants had to be tied pretty tightly to stay up and I didn't want to burst my own bubble trying to go down in sizes because I felt pretty darn good in those scrubs for the first time.  Everyone was super welcoming and glad to see me.  I felt missed, loved and appreciated.  

Of course within my first 15 minutes of getting my room assignment I was switched someplace else then back to where I was originally supposed to be.  Not surprising and it's funny to see how things haven't changed.  My two days were enough to keep my skill set fresh and back to Children's I went on Wednesday.

I had one of my critical care classes to start my time back and then I flipped back to night shift Thursday night.  I missed my awesome preceptor, Emily (hey girl heyyyyy!) and it was good to get back in our groove even if it was only for just a night again.  I was off for my only day Friday and I slept part of it since I worked the night before.  I was up at 2pm and hung out with Penny and we took her to the dog park since Kyle got home early.  We went out to dinner at Bravo for my last "hoorah" as I start with my trainer this week and got my meal plan.  We ended the night at Kroger to get all the food I needed and watched The Incredible Burt Wonderstone from home which was pretty funny.  I love Steve Carell so that was always a plus. Speaking of, I totally am like 3 seasons behind on The Office and now that it's over (sad!) maybe one day I'll finish watching them.  

I got up around 5:30 yesterday morning for my long run of the week.  It was in the low 60's temperature wise since it rained Friday evening and it was perfect for an outside run. I was seriously debating treadmilling it again if it was too yucky but I'm glad I didn't.  Besides, after an hour the treadmill automatically goes into "cool down" mode and it takes a minute to get it going again and I kind of lose momentum.  I ran from my house, down and up the dreaded hill that I fell and injured myself on back at the beginning of training.  I was honestly pretty nervous about that portion of the run just because I did NOT want that happening again.  Not this far into it and not with starting the rest of my new training plan this week.  I paid extra attention, shut off my music while I was going down and up that hill and was happy when it was over with on the way out and back.  I ran from our apartment down Bethany Rd into a housing development that hits Mason Rd on the other side and kept going past and actually ran into downtown Mason for my 3.5 miles out and then backtracked home to finish the 7 miles.  Oh yeah, did I mention that part? I RAN the 7 miles.  In my goal time frame for the 1/2 marathon in August of 12:30-13:00 min/mile pace.  When Kyle's sister Carrie agreed to run the 1/2 with me she asked a goal pace so she could train to that as well.  She's a much better and faster runner than I am but she's been on a bit of a hiatus with having our nephew (notice how I didn't say just "having a baby" or "having her son" or anything like that... OUR nephew lol) so she wanted to train to my tune I think this time.  The run really felt great - the best I've had so far.  The weather was perfect, my music shuffled to all the best songs on my playlist and I said "Hi!" to about 50 other people out running and walking yesterday morning.  That's a big thing too because when Carrie and I were training for my first 1/2 marathon I hated everyone who spoke to me on the runs because I had a hard time keeping my breath and saying it back.  I hated being so much more out of shape than these people who were older and faster than me.  So talking and jogging a comfortable pace is a big accomplishment for me.  

I ran some errands and came home and took a nap before work last night then I did my 12 hours and came home and passed out this morning as soon as I hit my bed.  It was awesome.  I finish my crazy work week tonight with a princess 8 hour shift from 7p-3:30AM (weird coming home in the dark!).  Tomorrow starts my next phase of crazy awesomeness by starting my meal plan and supplemental training (to my marathon plan) with my trainer.  Everyone, meet my coach, Sara Willis! (http://wonderfullymadephysiques.webs.com)

Sara is a mom, wife and NPC bikini competitor.  She's also a personal trainer and had actually lived about 4 miles from me at one point before she moved to South Carolina where she is now.  

This concept of "online training" is really taking off and I thank Instagram and all the awesome people I follow and get motivation from on there for finding someone who cares about me and my goals to work with (and at a truly affordable price - she can't be beat guys, go check her out!).  I don't have 100's of dollars to spend on someone to tell me what to do plus have the access to the equipment and meals I need to eat to get me to where I want and need to be.  Sara understands this and is realistic about helping people who might not otherwise reach their goals with a trainer, myself included.

I've got my meal plan, my running schedule and 5 days a week of supplemental weight training to get myself as ready as I can be for this marathon and beyond. Maybe (probably! hopefully!) into summer next year and maybe I'll wear a bikini for the first time in my life.  That's really the end goal in all of this.  I want to feel amazing and confident in my own skin 110% for the first time in my life and a plan like this matched with the drive I have right now is a recipe for success as far as I'm concerned.  It's going to be hard with my work schedule being crazy and flip flopping all the time and working 12.5 hour days plus an hour of driving between coming and going to work but it's something I want to stick with and I'm going to put in the work.  I'm literally going to have to break it down every week to see what days I need to get each workout in and plan my meal schedule and prep so I can eat every 2.5-3 hours as I'm recommended to do.  This can only help with my weight loss and improve my running by building muscle everywhere (including legs and core for that purpose).  No more counting calories but knowing what I'm eating is healthy, clean and full of things that are good for me.  Thank you Sara for coming into my life!  I'm so excited to see my transformation continue with you!

Another exciting piece of news is that this coming week I will be FEATURED on the Sweat Pink website!!!  My "ah ha" moment post will be published on www.fitapproach.com on July 3rd (that's this Wednesday, people!!) and I hope it turned out well.  I wrote it and didn't 100% proof read it not thinking it was going to make the main page!  I thought it was just shared among other Sweat Pink ambassadors and I feel honored to be highlighted this week.  Please, if you have a moment to check it out that would be awesome.  Thank you Fit Approach and Sweat Pink for this honor!

I have to finalize my plans for the coming week before I get ready for work so thank you all as usual for your continued support and I promise a full body progress picture shot this week on Facebook and instagram!  Stay tuned!