Overall, this was a pretty great week for my Operation Melt journey. The weather was nice, which made outdoor exercise possible, I got some good press and I had an epiphany moment. So, not a lot of complaints from me about week 45!

Good press for my journey

This week, The Fitness Loft (my gym) in Columbus featured my Operation Melt journey on a member spotlight on their blog. This gave me a chance to start telling my story in another way to help other people with their journeys.

Hopefully, this is the first step of several upcoming things that I am going to potentially be working on with the fitness loft. They are helping me help people with my story while getting more experience in the coaching space. Plus, I am going to help tell their story along the way. Talk about a win-win!

Click here to read the Fitness Loft blog post.

Spring time in Columbus

The weather in Columbus is finally almost consistently spring like – it is almost May, it is time! This means that I can do way more outdoor workouts and not always have to be in the house or in the gym. But, I can enjoy the sun and the fresh air and the changing scenery.

This week, I went outside every day for walking or running. This included a day when I did a 2-mile run through the neighborhood before returning to the park where I slowed to a walk. I ran into my neighbor in the park and we ended up doing another 5 miles in laps around the park. How’s that for a good workout?

Then, on Friday, I decided to go for a run at one of Columbus’ Metro Parks. I went to Scioto Grove in the southern part of Columbus, almost to Grove City. I ran around the park where there was plenty of nature and beautiful sights. Here is an example of one of the spots along the running trail.

Continued progress with weight loss

I hit a new low weight this week at a total loss of 107 pounds. That brings me to a total weight loss of 33% of my body weight in 10 months. While I continue to fluctuate up and down nearly daily, it is great to see a consistent downward momentum.

When I hit my 100 pounds mark, I set a new, adjusted goal of losing 125 pound by 6/15. At 125 pounds lost, I will be under 200 pounds and that is where I planned to stop focusing on losing weight as my primary goal. Based on where I am today, I am not sure that I am really going to meet that revised goal on time.

You know what… I am completely ok with that. I did make my first goal and I am still making progress. I will hit the 125 pounds lost mark eventually. Plus, the work I have been doing with my trainer and the ongoing weight training is causing me to add some additional muscle weight. Plus, I am really seeing the visible results, so I am still making great progress!

Half marathon “remorse”

On Saturday, the Cap City Half Marathon was run through the streets of Columbus. The German Village area was mile 1 and 2 of the course, so I went to watch. I had many friends running the race so I got to cheer them on and show support. I even had a friend who was walking it and I jumped out and walked a few blocks with her.

Watching the race, I kind of kicked myself a little bit. Lots of people were suggesting that I sign up for the 5k or to walk and walk/run the half or quarter – I have not desire to run a quarter, half or full marathon. But, I decided I wasn’t ready. Then, as I watched the people run and walk by, I figured out that I am in as good of shape or better than many of the people I saw.

I should have signed up to walk the quarter or half, but I talked myself out of it. I convinced myself that I am not in that type of shape or not good enough to do it. It is really taking time to adjust to the new me and I need to get my brain out of my way.

Getting my brain out of my way brings me to my last point for today.

Operation Melt First Time 5k

I want to run my first 5k, but I have been struggling with convincing myself that I am ready and finding a race that I want to be my first. Everything seems big or at a time I don’t like or a million other excuses. So, I needed to figure something out.

I returned to the basic tenants that I used when I started my journey. Don’t overthink it, start small and do not let panning get in my way, leverage friends and family as support and try to give back along the way. Plus, the most important strategy, do it my way, not somebody else’s way!

That led me to an epiphany, I need to host my own 5k to be my first and run it with friends and family! That is just what I am going to do. I have decided to host an “informal” 5k run with my friends to commemorate the anniversary of my Operation Melt journey. Plus, I will use the race as a fundraiser for Central Community House to help give families the support they need to break free from poverty just like I did.

I am not going to over-think or over-plan the run. I am going to keep it basic and just do it. It may be a disaster and I might get nobody to sign up to do it with me. I may get way too many people that want to do it. There may be another competing event. There may be tons of things I am not thinking about.

But, if I learned one thing when I started my journey, it is that the most important thing to do is to get started and don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. I am just going to put it out there and see what happens.

Click on the image below to see the flyer for my Operation Melt First Time 5k.

Check back next week for more!

Last week’s stats (4/16 – 4/22):
Distance walked/run: 46.2 miles
Total calories burnt: 26,191
Total calories consumed: 16,214
Weight change: 1.7 pounds lost