1,000 Miles

This past Monday, Ryan and I completed our first ever fitness goal. We rode 1,000 miles on our bicycles. It feels so great!

I also have The Proclaimers song stuck in my head. You know the one? "I would walk five hundred miles, and I would walk five hundred more." Except I sing it with "bike" because. Seriously. I rode a thousand miles! My sore ass can prove it. 

It felt so good to accomplish a goal and I can't wait for the next one. We're on target to run our first 5k on November 8th. 

Perhaps the best part of Monday was when we got home and I found this package...

My crispy M&Ms! Nearly two weeks early! I was downright estatic. I danced the happy dance and earned a few weird looks from my husband. It's probably because I looked like this...

With this candy in hand, I'm happier than a pig in mud. 

What's the last goal you reached? What's on your to-do list?

Every Single Inch

I can almost pinpoint the exact moment I started to be self-conscious about my weight. It was at an amusement park where a vendor would give you a prize if he guessed one of three things incorrectly. You chose what he had to guess on, birthday, age, or weight. I figured the hardest one is weight, and I was looking to win, so I chose that. The saint he was guessed something like 135. Granted I weighed less in high school, but still. I stepped on the scale and it ballooned to over 180. 

I'm convinced he did something to the scale but since then I've compared myself against these rail-thin girls envying their bodies. 

Then, at the beginning of this year, I started seriously exercising and improving my overall fitness. Compared to the beginning of my "fitness journey" (which is a ridiculous name for it) I've dropped about twenty pounds. My weight's leveled off and I haven't seen it change much in the last two months.  

I can't be mad. I eat pretty much whatever the hell I want. I'm burning the calories riding my bike, running, or playing racquetball four to five times a week. I'd even go as far as to attribute some of the weight plateau to muscle. Because I'm definitely putting it on. My legs are leaner and my face is thinner. It's not like you can see this huge bulk, it's just toned. 

As a result, I love my body just a little bit more. I'm more confident in the way I carry myself. 

Then I hear awesome songs, like Meghan Trainor's "All About That Base" which reinforce the message that perfect comes in all types of sizes. So, while I may not be a size two, I'm still rockin'. 

Every Inch Is Perfect

Every woman goes through days where they nit pick areas they hate about their body. I'm convinced it's normal. At the end of the day though, there's no reason to not love every single inch of it. It's yours. To cherish, to love, and to change if that's what you want. I know I'm strong. I know I'm healthy. I know I'm loved.

What more could you ask for?

The printable is formatted to fit a 4" x 6" piece of paper and features the following fonts: KG Flavor and Frames, Pinto NO_04, Indy Pimp, and Autumn. I used textures from this pack: Bokeh Textures.

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, Down the Ditch We Go

At the beginning of the summer, Ryan and I set a goal to hit 1,000 miles of cycling by November 1st. We're making good progress, with a little more than 730 miles under our belts, including today's ride. Which ended a little bumpy.

You can see our route here:

You see that climb right around mile 30? I think that's what just about did us in...

Our goal today was to hit 41 miles, which would be our longest ride to date. Ever. We started off really strong with our best pace yet going up the hills in miles 2-3. Most of the pauses in the beginning are due to us getting stuck at lights. Although after the initial hills, we did take a break. 

We took plenty of water and a few snacks. One of which I'll be sharing sometime soon. I can't wait to share it, because lordy is it good. After reaching Route 40, we took a break and had our snack, which may have also been the problem...

Anyway, 40 has rolling hills which are tough after huge hills right before it. And as you can see, we had been riding for nearly three hours already. In reality, we'd been on the road much longer (probably about three and a half hours because of stops and lights. 

Just after mile 36, Ryan was tired and struggling on the last of the hills on 40 until we hit the downhills that led the way home. We were coasting down a hill after going up the other side. Rye turned around to see where I was, because I normally pull up the rear, and he always, ALWAYS, goes right when he does it. Well, he turned right and jumped off the pavement onto the grass just off the road. Trying to over correct, he turned right (like you would do before swinging back left) and his right turn was down a 10' deep ditch. Well, he was about 3' down the hill before he ditched his bike and did a somersault down the rest of it.

Scary? Sure. He get hurt? A little bit. He okay? Thankfully, yes. And I thank the Big Guy, my parents live right down the road (like two miles from where we were) and just happen to have a bike rack. 

My dad graciously picked us up and brought us the five miles home. Ryan's gotten babied since he got home, with multiple concerned calls from my family, quad rubs from me, and icy hot on his shoulder and neck - which got the brunt of the somersault. 

We finished our day with pizza. Because after earning 1,800 calories, why not?

What are you doing this weekend? Is fitness on your to-do list?

In case you were wondering, here's my splits for the ride. Even though I'm really slow on hills, I'm proud of them because I freakin' did thirty-six miles today and didn't give up.