Week in Review (March 15 - March 21)

Tuesday (29,273 steps) - Have I mentioned the wind is back? Oh, and now that it's daylight savings it is the darkest EVER in the mornings? After taking Monday off I somehow was motivated to get up at 4 something and ran 9+ miles in the basement inferno. Finally finished re-watching Breaking Bad so that I can start on Better Call Saul. I finally downloaded the Tokyo Joe's app on my phone. I'm so tired of waiting 15+ minutes for takeout! I set the pick-up for 7:38 and hoped that it would be ready right after A's archery class.

We walked in the door at 7:38 AND IT WAS READY. Totally worth the 25 cent convenience fee. I've been given the gift of time!
Wednesday (23,268 steps) - Another treadmill run in the basement inferno. This time of year is just the worst. The wind and the darkness... Got started on Better Call Saul - fun so far! After work/soccer we went down to Runner's Roost for run club. Heather is still injured so we just did a slow and easy mile.
Thursday (25,097 steps) - So I'll just post a copy of what I posted on Instagram/Facebook for this day's run:

This morning I didn't want to run. Then I remembered what day it was. March 17. A day that changed my life forever. 2004 was one of the toughest of my life. One day I was partying with my friends and I had this realization. I was obese. A fat, borderline alcoholic, chain smoking, unhappy woman. At just 25 years old I thought... This is it. This is my life. But then I thought about it. I can be better than this! I don't want to live like this. So I started eating better. I started exercising. I lost 45 pounds. My husband and I started fighting. A lot. He saw my weight loss journey as a motive for finding someone "better." I started sleeping in the spare bedroom. One night, in December, I woke up with pain so awful that I was hunched over in pain, crying hysterically. I hobbled upstairs and asked my husband to take me to the emergency room. After a night in the ER, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. MS. There were lesions found on my vertebrae. WTF. I spent a year of my life getting healthy, for this?? The next few months were a blur. Fighting with my husband, going to the doctor, seeing neurologists and discussing treatment options. And then, on March 17, 2005, I found out I was pregnant. I opted to wait on treatment, not wanting to jeopardize the baby. So long story short (too late), why do I run? For me. For Ariel. Because I can. I know this disease will take over me someday. Today is not that day. I run to feel alive.

So have I really never posted about being diagnosed with MS? Maybe I've talked about it on my blog, but I was a tad surprised at the number of people (including people I've been friends with for decades) that didn't know... I don't talk about it a lot, and I guess that is because I don't like using it as any sort of excuse. I know that it is a lot of the reason why my body is sort of falling apart, why I am a lot slower than I used to be, and I just refuse to accept that it is going to get worse. I mean, I can hope, right?

Anyway, thanks to the snow A's soccer practice was cancelled. I picked her up and we headed over to Tigar Gymnastics to have an skill set evaluation done so that A can start taking gymnastics classes again. It's been extremely difficult to find a gym that has classes at a reasonable time so I can get her there.

We both loved the facility and she will be taking a free class in a week to make sure she likes it before we commit. We stopped and got Pho on the way home.
Friday (18,196 steps) - Rest day! Did a quick yoga video. A was late to school and I was late to work because it snowed way more than forecasted and the roads were a mess. A and I had dinner and watched some TV before I took her over to a friend's house for a sleepover. Because I lead such an exciting life, I watched the Barkley Marathons on Netflix and was in bed by 10:30.
Saturday (38,661 steps) - "Long" run, 14 miles, with Runners Edge. I did NOT know it was supposed to snow so much overnight. The highway was a disaster. With Heather being injured I ran alone for most of the way out. It was lightly snowing, windy, and a bit icy. By the turnaround, the snow had stopped and it warmed up a bit. I ran the way back with Alison. Nice to have someone to chat with.

Drove over to Rangeview High School to meet up with A's scout troop to "help" box up the cookies that the girls were donating to the troops overseas. The district donated over 7,000 boxes, with A's troop donating 1,400 of those (I guess you could say our 5 girls are overachievers). Spent most of the rest of the day vegging.

All the boxes that are being shipped overseas. In addition to cookies, there are magazines, books of games, cards, and other items for deployed military

Sunday (14,687 steps) - A and I did a quick run around the neighborhood and then went to breakfast at Sweet Tomatoes.

With nothing on schedule today we decided to go to Boulder so I could check out Lululemon. Happy to say that I pretty much hate their clothes now. The fabric of everything I tried felt stiff and scratchy. I've always been a size 6 and in some of the styles even an 8 made me look like a stuffed sausage. On the way back to the car we headed into Lucy and I tried on a few things and loved it all. Got a cute tee, a few long sleeves and a down jacket. Excited for a warmer jacket to wear overnight during races. We headed over to the City of Westminster rec center and went swimming for a few hours, then headed home for relaxing. I also did an upper body video and a butt/thigh video. #motivated.
Monday (18,868 steps) - Winter storm coming again, so I didn't take the day off like I have the past few Mondays. I only had 6 on schedule but ended up running 7 - and it was GREAT. Like seriously the best that I have felt in AGES.

Yoga stretching after. Nothing in the evening since A is on spring break.

Stats:

• 168,050 steps
• 48.8 miles (uh. how did this happen?)
• 0 minutes of cross training
• 55 minutes of strength/stretching

Everything Else:

• So I've been selling a lot of my "classic" INKnBURN on eBay. If you are friends with me on Facebook, you saw the insane amount of cash I was able to get for my Lust jacket. A handful of items left that I'm selling. Will keep my tights, pullovers, and a handful of tops (mainly holiday tops - those are fun). If anything, I can thank INKnBURN for saving me a ton of money this year - and actually making me some back.
• We have had a few attorneys leave the firm in the last few months. Found out that the "restructuring" has begun. Sad that one of my original attorneys is being moved to another secretary. Hope we get some new people in here!