I’ve been hesitant to write these words, as I have an outsized fear of jinxing myself: I’m making progress!

After Badger Mountain Challenge 50K, I told myself I’d take a break from racing to give myself the chance to focus on strength training, core strength, and possibly even lose some weight. And then came the knee issues. And then I needed to get ready to ride the CFF Cycle for Life. And then I ran out of excuses. 😉 At the end of July, I started a small-group core-focused class at the club. I was surprised how some my shoulders were – we did a LOT of push-ups! My goal for the 6-week session was to be able to do a legit push-up. Spoiler alert: I still cannot do a legit push-up. I debated signing up for another 6-week session, as it costs about $140 (in addition to my club membership). But, if I count the two free sessions in the trial week, that’s $10 per session with a trainer, I felt stronger, and The Hubs said he could see the difference in my arms. 😀 So I signed up for the next season. Even better: the next season is focused on joint stability & strengthening, which this tired old body needs!

I’ve been making a concerted effort on the nutrition end, too. I cut my base calories from 2000 per day to 1540. I’ve drastically slashed highly-processed grains. I cut waaaay back on dairy in an effort to see if it would make a difference to my digestive system. (I did, but I narrowed down the particular culprit, I think.) It’s making a difference. This morning, I weighed 170.8 pounds, body fat percentage 41.8%. That gives me a body fat weight of 71.4 pounds. Truth be told, I don’t put much faith in that particular number as it fluctuates too much, but as long as my body fat percentage is trending down or stable-ish, I’m happy. (A lower body weight with a higher BF% means I’m not as hydrated, not that I’ve lost weight.)

Because of the knee issues, I’ve decided to only run on trails (I did promise the orthopedist) and I’m staying away from running down hills until I know the knee is stable and can bear it. I signed up for the Chamna Chase half marathon, and I’m currently training for it. Lots of running at Chamna! The core training is helping with the running. I can feel the difference in my stride when I engage my core, and it’s easier to do now. I’m still not doing it consistently, but we’re getting there!

This weekend, I’m visiting my parents. I tend to drink too much beer and eat to much not-so-great-for-me food when I’m at their house. I’m hopeful that writing this blog will help keep me accountable, as I don’t want to edit this on Monday with the sad notation that I gained weight over the weekend.