the famous idaho potato half marathon

 the day i'd been training for finally came

nothing like hardly sleeping because you have anxiety

only to wake up at 5am and get ready to run 13 miles

 my sweet hubby dropped me off which was the best so i didn't have to ride the shuttle

and so nice he could since his parents were here

 all ready to go 

 at the start line

 michael was the sweetest and stopped to wait for me at the first water station

it was between mile 2 and 3

 it was so sweet and supportive of him

and i loved getting my water from him

despite knowing i was super ready for the race physically 

it still felt hard and hot and long

but it was good

 spotting the fam :) 

 almost done

 phew! my legs totally cramped afterward

 seeing these cuties at the end was the best

 aren't they the cutest with their signs?

 and this guy!

michael is the most supportive husband

we were both bummed he couldn't run it with me but it was good to run it by myself

for the first time

and seeing him at the finish line couldn't have been any better

he's the best

i love him and i'm so grateful for how well he supports and loves me

i had been considering a full marathon lately

but then the half felt hard enough

my legs cramped, my hip hurt 

i walked the rest of the day like i was 10 months pregnant

and i think i'll take a little break

it was hard and i'm not fast

but i did it! after 5 kids, i did it!

hooray!!!

my 2015 goal to get healthy

consider these "before"  pictures

it may seem a little late to be talking about new years

and my goals and plans for 2015

but i needed to give myself a head start

and get focused before i wrote it all down here

.....

first of all, i turn 30 this year

that's a little weird and scary but it's happening

and by my 30th birthday (hopefully MUCH sooner)

i hope to lose at least 30 pounds

i am already well on my way and i've been replacing bad habits with good

and making progress

i am excited to lose accumulated baby weight

and feel better about myself

.....

michael and i are running another half marathon in may

i'm really excited to run another race with michael

we start officially training next week

....

we are planning to go to hawaii this summer

or another equally awesome location

just the two of us

we haven't gone on a real trip together since our honeymoon

and other than a night or two each pregnancy for a nearby babymoon

we haven't really left our kids much

i'm excited to spend some time alone with michael 

....

i need to focus on me a little bit more

i am coming out of the fog of having my 5th baby

we're wrapping up a lot of projects on our house

and i need to get healthier so i can feel better about myself

being a mom is hard

being a mom to a lot of kids is even harder

there's hardly a chance to eat some meals let alone exercise

but..

in 2015 i have the goal to not drink soda/slurpees

i am drinking a ton of water instead

more than i ever have in my life

and i have been running consistently for a couple weeks

this week before we start our training schedule 

i'm running 3 miles monday through friday

i am not eating in the evenings and eating smaller portions all the other time

and as of this morning i'm down 10 pounds!!!!

.....

i am not an obese person by any means

and it's natural to gain weight during pregnancy

but i've found it's easy to gain more and more weight with each pregnancy

and then being a busy mom, buying a house, renovating it, wanting to use food as a stress relief

it makes it super easy to be overweight

and having 5 kids gives you the perfect excuse, too

but i don't want to be

i currently fit in size 8 jeans and size small/medium shirts

but i'm so excited to get back in my size 4 and 6 jeans

and small/extra small shirts

i'm only 5' 1"
when we got married i weighed around 125
and it's gone up and up and up
maxing out with baby henry at 200 lbs
and now i started this little journey at 161.8 (boo!)
as of this morning i'm at 151.8 (woohoo!)
but hope to get to 130 if not better

holding on to a bunch of extra weight makes me feel crappy

and i don't like looking 5 months pregnant all the time

i am excited for this year 

to focus on my health

i don't know if we're having any more babies

but i'd like to be in better health and shape either way

rather than just waiting to get even bigger

and trust me, the weight is way harder to get off each pregnancy

i held it together pretty well for babies 1-3

then when eleanor had her milk protein allergy and i suddenly had a lot of kids

it's never been as easy

i couldn't find the motivation to care or really try and i was nervous i never would

but now! i've found it and it feels so good!

one major thing that has made it so much easier is that olive finally gets to go to preschool
4 days a week rather than 2 and it's given me such a good structure
not to mention 2 hours ALL BY MYSELF while she's gone
and henry and eleanor nap at the same time
it's glorious
and i usually eat lunch, run and watch a show while she's gone
it's been life changing
finally a little relief after all these steady hard years
.....

here's what i looked like right after michael and i got married

no double chin! no looking pregnant!

i'm excited to feel like me again
even if the new me has a different body shape than the old me

even if it takes a lot of HARD work!
trust me...it's been really hard
breaking bad habits is really hard
but we're doing it!!!
(michael's joining and supporting me. love him)

PS this is not to say anything about anyone else
or their weight or size
this is just for me
and my own journalling purposes