Beginning of Week 8

I never updated about the timed mile: I cut down about 40 seconds of my mile from 9/19. CRAZY. We'll see if there is any improvement next month (can there be with that big of a jump after just one month?).

NT and I ran the Scream Scram on Friday night, which was a good time -- a bit slower than I wanted, and a bit more walking than I wanted, but we completed it under 45 minutes, which I should be happy about.

And so, I will do my best to be happy about it.

Is it time for a Before/After (erm, progress?) picture? I think so.

This is called Before -- this was December 2010.

And this is called "After/Progress":

Any differences?

I've joined a second league of racquetball -- so I'm now playing Sunday afternoons and Thursday nights. Pretty freaking excited about that, too. :)

Eating, Running, Playing

I'm now a bit over one month of eating Paleo-esque, and I feel fantastic. I'm about to reach the 15 pound mark, as well. It would be nice to reach this by the end of the weekend.

A few recent wins:
1. Ordering pizza in our house for a friend and M-I-L, and not eating any (instead, tomatoes, a grilled peach, and a grilled banana).
2. Taking a field trip today and still maintaining Paleo eating (they had a station in the cafeteria specifically for non-wheat, gluten, and sugar eaters!).
3. Running for 20 minutes straight without any issues (breathing, leg pain, or otherwise). No inhaler needed before, during, or after.

Tonight was Week 1, Day 2 of our 10K running program. 10K. Can this really be possible?

Racquetball starts soon; not soon enough, but soon. I can't wait to get back into it and see how these gains in strength, endurance...and loss of weight...show on the court.

It's My Birthday!

29 years young.

We went for a run tonight because I wanted to time my mile (so that I could have a way to compare to 30!), and I ran it in 11:54, which was 6 seconds faster than I hoped for...and probably 1:30 - 2:00 faster than I've ever run a mile before. CrossFit & Paleo are working...

Major and Minor Updates

I'm about a week from my 29th birthday, so what better way to finish up year 28 than with a blog post?

Major updates:
* Well, I bought a house. My credit score had improved dramatically, I had the cash on hand (though not what Suze Orman would approve of...), and there was a perfect house. So, at the end of June, I closed on a house. I have one credit card left to pay off, which will be done in/by November.
* I sent in the paperwork to have (hopefully) up to $5,000 of my student loan forgiven -- being a teacher in a Title I school can have its ups, that's for sure! We'll see how much is ACTUALLY forgiven, though. Still waiting on that part...
* I started eating a Paleo diet last Monday. So far, I've maintained the "rules" fairly well (I DO still have cream in my coffee in the morning, though). Right now, I have 5 steaks thawing so that I can grill them and save them for the week...

Minor updates:
* Cyst burst this week, which was, to put it mildly, alarming. And excruciating. Ultrasound yesterday, so I'm not sure when the results will be in. I seriously doubt surgery is an option, though.
* I have picked up CrossFit workouts again -- very seriously. Same with running. And racquetball -- I will continue to be in racquetball leagues, as well, since I use the games each week as a "benchmark" of sorts with how the diet / running / lifting is working (am I getting stronger? am I able to jump in game 4? game 5? am I able to hit the ball as hard in game 4/5 as game 1/2?).