Monday, July 23, 2012

Sequoia - July 2012

Our friend from back in Florida flew over to see us for a week or so.  While he was here, he wanted to see the giant redwoods...so we were Sequoia-bound!

Josh and Trav in front of the General Grant tree, the 5th biggest tree in the world!
My fearless rock-climbers and hikers!
Dad and boys in front of the General Sherman tree, the biggest tree by volume in the world!
Deklan on the fallen largest branch of the General Sherman...this branch was as big as a large tree!
See Trav beside the branch?  It was taller than HE was, for some perspective on the size of this "branch"...
My all-time favorite pic of the day
We had a great time enjoying the cool forest air, a nice departure from the intensely dry heat of the valley floor.  We hiked all around the General Sherman tree and General Grant tree, and everyone was in awe of the size of these ancient trees!  There was a fallen tree that was sawed for a cross-section and was found to be 2,210 years old by ring-counting!!  This tree was smaller than the Sherman, believe it or not.  That tree was alive before the birth of Christ!  Such a crazy thought...



Only half-way

This post is really about two things.  The first is my half-way point in weight loss.  I've been hovering there for the last long while, which I'm sure is why I feel like I'm ONLY half-way there.  Don't get me wrong, I know this is a huge accomplishment, but I just feel stuck.  It is nice to have people compliment your pics, though...like this one that I posted on Facebook from our trip to the Sequoia National Park this weekend:
Great family pic, no?  It makes me smile, looking at our little family.  It also makes me smile that I wasn't huffing and puffing up and down the trails, even with 25+ lb baby on my back (much love to my Babyhawk) because even with him tied onto me I still weighed less and had more endurance than when I started this fitness journey.

This brings me to part two, the long and yucky part, of this post.  I've been doing this half-way for about 2 months now.  I've been maintaining my weight, even lost a stray pound here and there and am definitely toning up, but I'm just not trying 100%.  I've been doing CrossFit 3 days per week (not this last week though, since we have a friend in town) and was actually running 2 days per week as well, until I got tired (after a couple of weeks) and started having a shin splint flare up again.  Now my shins are better but I haven't run.  I eat Whole30 all day until night comes, then snack on crackers and peanut butter.

So now that I'm thoroughly discouraged by my half-way behavior and the results of it, now that I'm owning this flaw, I'm prepared to move forward.  No more half-way.  I'm running again starting tomorrow, CrossFit 3 days per week again starting Wednesday.  Whole30 again starting today (hello, Day 1!).  Additionally, I've felt for a while that I've probably been overdoing it in the fats department, even though they're healthy fats.  So I'm going to use my SparkPeople account (which I haven't opened for months) for tracking for a week or two until I get my proportions straight again.  I just think it'll be helpful for me to see what I'm consuming throughout the day.

I started this in September of last year, in earnest.  My 30th birthday was a huge reality check for me, and was just the thing to kick me in the butt and get me moving.  But I'm creeping up on my 31st birthday now and I'm only at the half-way point when I should really be close to my goal.  I have to start training religiously for the half-marathon in November or I'm not going to be able to finish it.  I need to keep up with CrossFit because it makes me incredibly happy and tired and I like seeing my arms lose the jigglies and gain some definition.

I'm making a determination RIGHT NOW.  I will be at my goal weight before my 32nd birthday.  If it took me a year to get half-way there, surely I can finish the other half in another 14 months.  I desperately want it to be much before my birthday, but one thing is for certain:  I will not have another birthday pass with me being unhappy with my state of fitness.