Freakin' Out

Hey y'all! So I'm leaving for New York in less than 24 hours. And I'm about to pee my pants. Part of me is really excited about this adventure. I'm going to one of the most fascinating cities in the United States--I'll see all the sights, travel like a New Yorker in the subway, eat way too many calories, and see some fantastic plays.

But I am also running a 9.5 mile obstacle course, and I can't think of anything more terrifying right now. I keep telling myself I'm prepared. I mean, I have run 7, 8, 9, and 10-milers to prepare. I have lifted, sprinted, and squatted to get into my peak physical condition. But what if I can't do it? What if I die on the side of the road? What if I give up (gasp!)? I'm doubting myself mentally right now.

Anyways, thanks for listening me be a baby. I can do this, because I can do hard things. nbd. ;)

See you in the Big Apple!

Love Your Body

Every year the Women's Resources program at my school puts on a challenge called "Recapturing Beauty". It is a campaign designed to help women to reshape their attitudes and opinions of their own beauty, physically and spiritually. It is designed to help women learn to "develop a greater love and appreciation for who they are as divine beings". I didn't hear about the campaign this year until the last day, so I was unable to participate in the 10 Day Challenge (or receive a free t-shirt, dang it!).

October 19th was also NOW's National Love your Body day, so I guess I've been a little bombarded this week with reasons to love myself and my new body. I'm not gonna lie, its been difficult to transition my mindset from a "fat" girl to a healthy girl. I still look in the mirror and see "fat Sammi" some days. But I have also learned to appreciate myself in a new light. And I want to share that with you.

**All photos courtesy of Tilt Photography**

 I love my smile. Its not perfect, its not even "real", but I love it nonetheless.

 I like my eyes. I like the way they change colors depending on what I'm wearing. Some days, they are a rich green. Others, a murky green blue. And once in a while, they almost look grey.

 My legs are strong. I have thunder thighs and I'm not afraid to admit it. I thought that once I lost weight, I would automatically have small legs. But I don't, and I like them this way. I have muscle definition. I can run 10 miles. Who doesn't want to be able to say that?

 I like my small waist and big hips. I'm curvy and I always will be (once again, another trait that I though would go away but didn't). But I rock my curves. And apparently boys find curvy girls more attractive...and that's always a good thing. ;)

I like my feet. This sounds weird, but hear me out. I used to have really nice looking feet. Now my feet are calloused and "veiny". My mom's feet have always been like this, and now I know why: we are runners. I have runner's feet (although hopefully I will never get runner's toe...). They aren't pretty, but they define who I am and what I do. I couldn't do any of the activities I love if I didn't have strong, calloused feet.

I like my laugh. I sound weird, my nose crinkles, and sometimes I squeak. But it means that I'm happy.

I still have fat days. I sometimes doubt myself. But I'm getting better. We are all amazing people, regardless of our physically condition, because we are made in the image of a God who loves us tremendously. We have been blessed with strong bodies and minds, and hopefully y'all can realize how amazing this is.

Have a great weekend!

Healthy.

Sometimes people frustrate me. They tell me I exercise to much or that I eat weird vegetables. They think I'm trying to hard to be skinny and that I should stop dieting. But those that say that to me just don't understand. I'm not dieting. I'm appreciating the beautiful body my Heavenly Father gave me by taking care of it. By filling it with good foods and pushing it through exercise. And I feel better than I have in years. I'm not the skinniest girl on the block, nor will I ever be. But that's ok. I am healthy and happy.

Source: foreverfit.tumblr.com via Sammi on Pinterest

Rockin' It

Holy cow this has been a big week for me! Meeting goals is the best feeling ever...especially because it means you get to set new ones! I hope you don't mind, but since this is my blog I'm going to brag a little about what I have done the last few days... :P

First off, eight miles. Nailed it. New York is so close I can almost taste it. Its truly amazing what your body can do. Actually, its truly amazing how your body can adapt and become stronger. I'm loving that I can push my body hard and it responds.

P.S.--JCPenney is totally having a fantastic sale on workout clothing! Inexpensive, good quality stuff. I went a little crazy and bought three shirts and two pairs of running tights (for only $70!). I always need most stuff right?...right??

In other news, I also hit another goal this week: 30 pounds lost! Its been really difficult to reach this point because I'm mostly just working off extra fat (ew). I'm still pushing to get another 5-8 pounds before the race, but its definitely going to slower than this summer. And that's ok. I realize that I'm almost done--its scary and exciting. I'm terrified that I'll gain it all back. I don't trust myself that much. But I also am so excited to prove myself wrong--that I can be healthy and fit the rest of my life. I cannot thing of anything more wonderful than being healthy forever. 

P.S (again).--I'm too pathetic to hold this up which is why its sitting happily on the weight rack. Need to work on that arm strength...

Goals

Today, I accomplished something huge.  I ran SEVEN miles. SEVEN freakin' miles!

I can't believe how far I've come. I remember when I first started running. I decided to run up to the temple and back--from my apartment at the time, it was a little less than three miles. It's uphill the whole way, but it gets even worse right before you reach the temple. The road becomes steep half-mile climb up around the temple, where you can then loop around and head home. Last April, I couldn't even get halfway up the hill. I went home, satisfied that I sorta ran two and a half miles.

Don't get me wrong, two and a half miles was great for me at the time--the problem was, I settled. I didn't care if I got up to the top.

Today, not only did I run all the way around the temple, but I ran two miles uphill before I hit the steep hill. I pushed to the top without stopping, and then ran another four miles.

I have been pushing to reach six miles for a while now, but I kept running (excuse the pun) into problems. I've had digestive issues. This week, I developed knee tendonitis. It's been frustrating, but mostly scary. I have been terrified that I won't be able to run the Urbanathlon--I was afraid I just wasn't strong enough, mentally or physically, to reach that goal.

Today I proved myself wrong, and it felt great. My knee still throbbed, my mouth was dry, and I felt like puking part of the time, but I knew that I could keep going.

Although I have not met all of my goals yet, I'm going to keep pushing. Because I can do hard things.

New York, you better watch out because here I come!

Getting Started!

The first post. My first blog. Talk about pressure! It's a little weird writing to nobody...hopefully this will change soon. :) Seriously though, I canot tell you how excited I am to begin sharing my journey with you. I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. last night working on it, and then I was too excited to fall asleep!

I never thought I would start a blog. I couldn't picture myself starting a "journaling" blog--I'm just too private of a person to bring myself to discuss every intimate detail of my life across the world wide web, where anyone and everyone can read about that time when I was super awkward (in case you were wondering, that time when I was super awkward is all day, every day).

I couldn't picture myself starting a "fashion" blog--jeans and a t-shirt. Exciting.

I didn't see myself as a "food blogger"--especially when compared to the likes of people like the Pioneer Woman or Perry's Plate

And before this summer, there would've been no one in their right minds that would've read a "health" blog written by me! Oh man, that idea actually makes me giggle a little!

Ultimately, it came down to the fact that I never thought I had any skills that could compare to all of the amazing people of the current blogging community. Maybe I still don't. But then again, I never thought I would become a health/fitness junkie and a runner either!

And now that I've gone through all of the reasons why I shouldn't be blogging, you are probably asking yourself, "So what in the world is this girl gonna bring to the table?"

I asked myself the same question, and this is what I came up with: 

1) Passion. I have a passion for living life to its fullest, accomplishing goals, and reaching my potential. 

2) Youth. I'm and young and inexperienced, but that just means that you get to learn along with me, instead of listening to me impart my impressive advice from years of practice.

3) Knowledge. I may be fairly new to the health world, but I sure do know my stuff. You don't lose as much weight as I did without picking up a trick or two. :P

Ultimately, I am just beginning my healthy journey. You will get to see my struggle and triumph as I work to develop a lifestyle that will literally last me a lifetime. Hopefully this is as exciting for you as it is for me! :)