Getting my workout on!

As I have started to get into the swing of things with working out & eating healthy, I am feeling great. I've already noticed a change in my body and my limitations. I'm doing things that I never thought I would be able to do.

As I shared on my FaceBook page yesterday, I started some HIIT training with my best friend Michelle, which she learned from her trainer Christopher Sasha. On Saturday my best friend Michelle and I hit Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville, IL and conquered Mount Hoy. It was such an accomplishment for us, and I don't think we realized the scope of what we accomplished until we were leaving the forest preserve and could really see the hill.

Sunday and Monday we didn't walk (different work schedules), but Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday we did. Tuesday we did our walk, but we added more in Wednesday and Thursday. For the first time in over 10 years I jogged on Wednesday. So we jogged a bit, then hit the hill for our walk. Today we did the same, and added in some kickboxing moves once we reached the top of the hill.

This is me pre-workout :)

Michelle showing me some wall kicks she learned from her kickboxing trainer Carrie :)

Me getting ready to throw some punches. 

Usually I would be embarrassed to post the photo right above (the one of me getting ready to throw some punches), but honestly.. I can feel and see a change in my body already. I'm approaching the 50 lbs lost mark (21 since January 13th, 2013), and I can tell in the way that my clothes fit me that I've dropped weight and inches. For example, I wore a pair of jeans to work today that I have NEVER been able to wear. So that was a victory ALL in itself.

Michelle has been kicking ass too. She has honestly been showing me a lot of new things to do. She was the one who suggested we do some jogging, and I'm glad she did. When she first suggested it, my initial thought was "no way, I can't do this." But, I DID do it and I felt amazing. There really is no way to describe how awesome it feels to do something you thought you couldn't. I hadn't jogged in well over 10 years, so that accomplishment was amazing. 

Another awesome thing that happened today was the biker training for a 100 mile race. As we were working out on top of Mount Hoy, this gentleman riding his bike up and down the hill came up and headed down the hill. He saw us working out, but left us alone. Sometimes it embarrassing when people bust in on your work outs, mainly because I have a lot to work on with my confidence. As we worked out and made out way down the train, he lapped us a couple times on his bike. As we reached the bottom of the trail he had already lapped us and was heading to ride up the hill again (this guy was a BEAST!). When he saw us at the end of the trail, he turned around and came over to us. He was honestly the sweetest man. He said the following: 

 "I'm not sure how often you ladies do this, but I just wanted to come over and say hi and show my support and encourage you to continue doing what you're doing. All the hard work will be so worth it in the end. Good luck to the both of you." 

He congratulated us on our effort and really just wanted to motivate us to keep up our plans, and encourage us. Honestly, it was just really awesome for a complete stranger to feel moved to give us some encouragement. I tell ya, God sometimes sends people your way to show you you're on the right path. We got the message loud and clear. I hope we run into him again so we can hear how his training is going. He is truly inspirational.

So, I can't wait for weigh in day. I can't wait to see my progress for this week. Weigh in day is Sunday and I'm really hoping to hit the 50 mark (I'm at 48 right now), and I will be SUPER stoked. Also, I have the Color Me Rad 5K on July 20th that I'm starting to train for. I know I won't be able to run the whole thing, but if I keep up the way I'm going I should be able to do a pretty decent amount of jogging. I'm super excited about that!

The plan for tomorrow (Friday) is to get up early and get my walk/jog on with Michelle at Blackwell. Our friend Kristin is joining us, so I am super excited about that! After that I'm doing a photoshoot with Michelle. For those of you who don't already know, I'm a photographer. :) If you want to see some of my work, let me know and I'll post the info. Then, later that night I'm hitting the gym with my friend Katie! I'm SUPER excited and I've been feeling SO accomplished.

Honestly though, I couldn't do it without all of you. I don't think anyone realizes just how much support from those around you means. It's hard when you're trying to do things on your own. You could have all the willpower in the world, but knowing that you have an army of support behind you makes life easier. It makes you want to succeed not only for yourself, but for the people who are supporting you. Knowing you have people behind you who WANT to see you succeed makes all the difference. I couldn't imagine doing this without all of your support. So THANK YOU all SOOOOOOOOOO much! I can't say thank you enough!

And I wanted to leave you all with a quote from Tony Robbins that my friend Jenni tagged me in recently. This quote has been on my mind a lot lately. So here it is.

"You're in the midst of a war: a battle between the limits of a crowd seeking the surrender of your dreams, and the power of your true vision to create and contribute. It is a fight between those who will tell you what you cannot do, and that part of you that knows / and has always known / that we are more than our environment; and that a dream, backed by an unrelenting will to attain it, is truly a reality with an imminent arrival." -- Tony Robbins