Week #4:

Well good morning to my fellow fitness challengers! I hope your fitness goals are well on their way to being accomplished! Week #4 has been an accomplished one for me, but it has seen its fair share of ups and downs.

I have stuck with my weekly workouts but have been funneling most of my energy into running. My brother is big into cross country running so on Saturday, he and I participated in the 22nd Annual Red Flannel Run in Des Moines. We competed in the 3 mile run and I finished 209th out of over 2,000 participants! My brother, who is 14, actually won his age division in the race, so that was very exciting!

Today, I ran 6 miles. It is the farthest I have ever run and I feel so accomplished! I’m really hoping I can continue to keep increasing my distance and keep up my momentum!

I have had some issues recently relating to knee and hip pain. Sometimes when I run, I get a hefty amount of pain in my hips, knees or both. I’m hoping that I will be able to fight through this setback, and continue to pursue my goal.

Another minor speed bump I encountered this week was once again, the weekend. My parents left for Hawaii last week so my aunt, who is in charge of playing “mom” for my younger brother, took us out to dinner on Friday.

[I will warn you in advance, if you like the restaurant Macaroni Grill, you may want to skip a couple lines because this will be a reality check you do NOT want to hear.]

My favorite dish at Macaroni Grill is Pasta Milano and in case you didn’t know, because I sure didn’t, this dish is a whopping 1,100 calories! Can you say daily limit overload? Holy cow!

What I want to know is how they pack that many calories into one little dish of deliciousness.

I guess weight loss is a game of give and take because my butt was right back in the gym on Monday.

My goal for this week is going to be to try to keep eating a healthy diet.

I encourage all who read this to comment about their fitness struggles and triumphs. Having motivation from others is just another way to stay positive about your fitness goals.

I also encourage you to find me on Facebook. I would love to hear about your own fitness goals and challenges. I would like people to send me tips about what has worked for them (exercises, good diet tips, yummy foods that are healthy too, exercise ideas, etc.)

Until next week, Stay Healthy Iowa State! Stay Strong!