The little things...

Well it's Saturday and I just got home from work. After a very stressful week I am reflecting and digressing as I have grown to do on my weekends. Tonight I worked an extra long day because of all the school bills I have acquired over the past week. I need the extra cash and it was only a few extra hours. It was however a VERY long day out in the sun and I am exhausted.  Some people may laugh at me and say I have it easy working as a lifeguard on the weekends but being out in the sun all day is exhausting!  

Yesterday was a great day. I went and helped at my mom's school for field day and I had a blast working with the students of her school. It was a small field day and the kids were young but it was fun being around them. Even the simplest activities are exciting for them and watching them have a good time is great for me. Sometimes it's the little things in life that are the best and that's what this post is all about. 

After field day I came home and cleaned some things up around the house. I wanted to go to yoga so bad yesterday morning but unfortunately the timing just wasn't there. We moved the start time of field day up so that the students weren't outside in the heat of the day. I cleaned my room and handled various other chores around the house before heading to work. I was supposed to have a handful of lessons but people canceled and I only ended up teaching two. To say the least I was a little annoyed but that's just part of life. 

After work I showered up and headed out for the night. I went into West Chester for some sushi and had an awesome time. The sushi was delicious and I highly recommend Kooma if you are from the area. I really couldn't have asked for a better dinner, it was AWESOME!  I went to dinner with an old friend of mine. Same old friend as before and we had such a great time. Honestly after this week, it was exactly what I needed. When I was walking back to my car I came to my floor on the parking garage and I looked at the pillars that they have by the steps. I always wished I could jump over one of them like I had seen my friends do a million times. You know where you run up and put your hands on the top and then swing your legs around. I had never had the courage to try it but last night I figured heck, let's go for it. So I tried it...and I DID IT!! It felt awesome. You may think this sounds so little and so silly but to me, it was huge! Again, sometimes it's the little things...

After dinner I went back to my friends house. After some back and forth I decided to go in and I am also super glad I did. We hung out for awhile and I saw her new house which is super cute. It's funny because after all of the time that has passed, we can hangout as if there has been no time whatsoever. It was odd to be laying in her arms again yet so comforting at the same time. When we were together the ENTIRE world was against us. It was a giant storm around us at all times but when we were together none of that mattered. We could come together and just forget it all. That's exactly what I did last night. We came together and had such a great time and I forgot about all of the things that were stressing me over the past week. I forgot about everything and just enjoyed my night, isn't that how life is supposed to be?

Where does that leave me now you ask? Scared, lost, confused, mad and a million other emotions. We were messaging back and forth today and right in the middle of the conversation it just stopped. I found myself sitting, waiting and wishing for a message that never came and I don't like where I am now. I can feel myself boarding the emotional roller coaster I was on before and I can't go back there. I have shut off my Facebook and I just need to take a minute to reflect and really think about what I need. I need so much right now and I don't want to force ANYONE into giving something that they aren't capable of, including myself. Not to mention I don't really want to talk to anyone right now. People who don't ACTUALLY care about what I have been doing have found me and want to connect via Facebook basically just to check up and see what I have been doing. I don't have time for it to be honest nor do I really care to connect with them. If we haven't talked since high school or even better yet didn't talk in high school, I have no interest in being your friend on some stupid social network so you can creep on me.  Tomorrow is the service for my uncle who passed away and I know it's going to be a day filled with emotion and I am not excited about it. 

I have been slacking on my training and I can feel it. Not physically but emotionally actually. I hate skipping workouts and I don't feel good when I do. I get very down and very emotional. I know it's proven that my exercise helps me and I need to just make it work and keep doing it for myself. It's funny because even after putting this all into words I feel better. I love that I started this blog and it has helped me through so much. My bike should be arriving very very soon and I am excited to get out there and start riding. I know having my bike and being able to train in the evenings and go for a ride will get my activity level back up to where it needs to be. I thank everyone for reading and the continued support. It's amazing and great to know there are people out there going through some of the same challenges. You may consider it hypocritical because I connect with people via blogging whom I have never met but don't want to connect with people who I went to school with, don't judge me. I am going to lay down and attempt to forget the emotional day I have on tap for tomorrow. I hope everyone has and enjoyable and relaxing Sunday and a great start to their week. Until next time....

All for now 

Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself

A true test...

As I sit here and reflect on this weekend I can't even begin to put it all into words and get my thoughts together. What an INCREDIBLE weekend it was. I was surrounded by good friends, good food, pretty good weather and everything was just fantastic!

My weekend started on Friday. I am super blessed to have an incredible aunt who is a VERY gifted yoga instructor. I went to her class on Friday morning and it was fantastic. It was an awesome workout and it really helped me clear my head from the past week and get zoned in for the weekend. I then jumped in the pool and knocked out some yards for my race before I had to go to work for a few hours. I went to work and had a blast with my students, they were extremely well behaved and it was so much fun. I always enjoy going to work but when my students are well behaved and I can really have some fun with them and loosen up a bit it's a blast!  I then came home and knocked out some dinner. I made chicken burgers using a sweet potato as the roll with a little squirt of BBQ sauce. Quite delicious if I do say so myself! 

Not too much going on for Friday after that. Saturday I woke up and I was just off. I could feel it but I didn't know why and it was annoying me. I packed my bag and headed for the gym to do a brick workout. The entire way there I just didn't want to go SO BAD, but I forced myself to get there. Even when I started my bike I kept saying man I don't want to do this today!  I got through my hour long bike ride(longest I've done to date) and jumped straight on the treadmill. It ended up being a great workout and I was so happy I went. Then the TRUE TEST came. We were supposed to go out to the bar for a friends birthday. I decided I could continually run away from the bar or just accept it and go. So I went and just like my gym trip I was so glad I did! I had this image in my head of me going off the deep end and ending up getting arrested and all kinda of craziness. None of which happened. I went out with friends and had a good time just like I used to and it was PHENOMENAL. I am so happy that I went with them I can't even describe it to y'all. 

I woke up Sunday and decided to take the day off. I went to church in the morning with my brother and sister and then decided instead of working out I was going to head down to the boat to see some more friends. I got down there with my cooler full of food and we took a little ride to a beach. We hung there for awhile and played some beach games and just enjoyed the weather. When we got back to the dock my friends mom was there and I have not seen her since last summer. She about lost her marbles when she say me for the first time. She even went as far to say that I looked SPECTACULAR! Boy was that a great feeling, but it didn't stop there! There were more people who I haven't seen since last summer and they all gave me wonderful compliments. One guy in particular, Brian, who I have only met a few times came up to me before he left and said "hey man, you're doing a great job, keep it up!" It felt awesome.  I have only met this guy a handful of times but I felt like this was a true and Sincere comment and it made me feel awesome!

This is a shot I took playing one of my favorite games, Polish!

It did not even stop there though! It just kept getting better and better.  I left the boat that night because my family was having friends over who I have not seen in a long time so I really wanted to make it a point to come home.  I came back and enjoyed and awesome dinner and some great conversation with this family.  I have know them ever since I was a kind and what truly great people they are.  Paul had wrapped his arm around me multiple times and told me how great I looked.  Just before they were leaving his wife shared something with me that was very powerful and she probably didn't even realize it.  She said "I found your facebook and I was going through your pictures.  I saw your picture from the Broad Street Run and I was just in awe.  I just started working out not to long ago and I have since lost 20lbs.  I ran for 8 minutes straight for the first time not to long ago and when I saw that picture I though, if Ian can do this so can I."  What an inspiration that was.  Just knowing that I had an impact on someone helps me keep going and doing what I am doing. 

I went to sleep feeling great and woke up this morning with the intention to do a fasted cardio workout.  I have been reading up on it and figured I would give it a shot.  I laced up my kicks and went for a jog with absolutely no food or anything in my system, hence the name, fasted cardio.  It was very different.  I felt super slow although I had a beautiful run through this trail in the park around the corner from my house.  I came home and showered to head back down to the boat.  Today was supposed to be the best day of the weekend so I figured why not enjoy it down at the boat again!  I got down there and we were just hanging around the boat.  A few of my friends were fishing off the dock and I had my swim gear in the car.  After talking with my buddy he said I would be good to jump off the dock and go for a swim.  I figured this would be a great chance to get some experience in open water.  For those of you who have never swam in open water let me just say WOW!! You can jump in the pool and swim two miles with easy but getting into rough open water where you can't see your hands is a completely different ball game.  There were MULTIPLE times where I freaked out and wanted to quit.  I felt like I was learning how to swim all over again.  I finished my swim though and climbed back on to the dock.  We hung around for a few more hours and just shot the breeze.  There is a bar down the river so we motored down and grabbed a beer.  We actually towed someone down the river because their boat broke down so that was some good karma points for us.  We then threw the lines back in and had a little gentleman's bet on the fish.  My friends were laughing at me because I am not the outdoorsy type.  They told me I would never win....Man was THAT a mistake. I may not be a fisherman but god am I competetive.  I ended up winning the race to catch five fish and I caught the biggest one!

Here's a snap shot on the monster I reeled in.

  All in all I had an incredible weekend and I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I spent time with amazing friends and I couldn't have asked for more.  It was exactly what the doctor ordered as they say.  I hope all of you got out there to enjoy your weekend and remember what it is all about!  Thanks for reading and thanks for the incredible inspiration.  Keep doing what you are doing!


All for now
Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself.

And so it begins...

Where to start where to start? The million dollar shot so to speak for all of my posts. So much to say and yet no idea how to put it all on paper, or computer screen I guess is what this is. I am sitting in my house with no power due to this wonderful storm ripping through Chester county PA. This is the storm I was waiting for all day sitting at work, but it never came. Go figure it arrives now when I would like to head to sleep but I can't being as I am like the princess and the pea when it comes to sleeping arrangements. I need a tv on, something sports related preferably, fan blasting right on my face, iPhone sleep app which plays songs and a few other planets to be aligned to have a good nights sleep. All which require a power source... Being as I can't have the previously mentioned I decided to take to the Internet to reflect on the days events. It was a fairly mundane Thursday for me. I went to work at 9am sharp and was there until somewhere around 8pm. Yes there was a lot of coffee involved to get me through this shift. 

This is our last week of group swim lessons before we get things kicked off for the summer and it has been a bittersweet week for me. If you go back through the archives of the blog you'll learn about my terrific day mid week and about how I lost my uncle. That hasn't helped but it also hasn't truly sunk in yet. Along with that it is the closure to my first year of school long lessons at my current club. This was something I needed to get used to. At previous clubs I worked on sessions that only lasted somewhere around 8 weeks. After that 8 weeks was over, I wrote report cards and said my goodbyes to some students. Most would return and others would not. At this club however I have had the same students since the fall when school started. This has been a great opportunity for me on many levels. It gave me a taste of what it will be like when I am teaching physical education in a school setting. I will have the same students for the length of the school year. So I had a great chance to build some relationships with students and parents. On the other hand there are always students you have difficulty reaching. I am sure any teacher will agree with this statement. You have students that it seems no matter how hard you try, they just don't want to be there. This can be challenging especially when it comes to teaching a life saving skill such as swimming. It was a great opportunity for me though and I am happy that I had this experience even with some of the challenges it brought forth in the day to day teaching. 

As I sit here with no power I find myself reflecting yet again. A lot of my friends are in town and they decided they wanted to, well you guessed it, go to the bar. I suggested a little joint that only charges $3 for whatever drink your order and has free shuffle board. Shuffle board brings back some great childhood memories for me and I'm not one for a huge bar scene anymore. They decided to go for a more college feel and so I declined to go. It's not my thing anymore for multiple reasons as outlined in previous posts and I am ok with that. I just surely wish there were other activities that were an option to see old friends that weren't centered around drinking. While I was away last weekend someone had brought up going out and my buddy said his "social life significantly struggled" since I had made this decision. Although he said it jokingly, part of me feels like it might have a little truth behind it. I have no interest in going to the bar and getting slammed only to wake up the next day wonder, what the heck happened last night?? However I don't want to hold people back from going out and having a good time. So I hope that is not the case by any means.  

One of my buddies walked across the street to say what's up and the conversation just felt awkward. I felt like I didn't know what to say and it seemed as though he may have felt the same way. I don't want to lose good friends because I don't have an interest in going out, but I also don't want to give up on the goals I have set for myself. I just wish there was a road in the middle that made this a little easier. 

Tomorrow I have yoga on tap in the AM probably followed up with 2,000-2,500 yds in the pool. My focus is on my race in September for right now. I have decided that I want to place in the top tier for my age group and I think it is a realistic goal for myself. (Power is back on so that's good!) It is funny because when I mentioned something about placing as a 23 year old in my race, someone responded with "they didn't care about competitive swimming as a 23 year old" which is fine but a little support would be cool. I have my goals just as anyone else and I don't think they need to be the same for anyone, actually they should be quite different from individual to individual but help a brotha out!

Memorial Day weekend is on tap and I don't have to work which is a great feeling being as I have busted my tail a bit this week. I say I am going to do yoga but I need to bite the bullet and head to the bank tomorrow as well before I have to go to work. I have decided I need to throw on my big boy pants and take out a loan for these summer courses. I don't really have any other option and I can't ask anyone else for the help. Not do I have anyone who will give me the cash I need to get these classes out of the way. 

I feel stuck in a rut here that I can't shake. I find myself thinking of the past when I need to focus on what's current and the future. It's a little more easier said than done though. Being as the power has kicked back on I am going to try to take this golden opportunity to try and get some sleep. I am going to bed with an open mind that tomorrow WILL be a better day and I will get everything figured out for this summer. Hope everyone enjoys there long holiday weekend! Thanks again for reading. 

All for now

Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself

When it rains it pours...

If you read my post from yesterday afternoon you would have thought that I was on top of the world. Well just as fast as I went up, I came back down. It's been a hell of a day that's for sure. 

It started yesterday when I got home from work. There was a bill from school, which obviously I knew was coming. I have to take two classes this summer so that I can graduate in the fall and pursue my dream of teaching physical education. However, it is going to cost money to go to school in the summer and that isn't covered by financial aid.  At this point you may be thinking, you're still young, why not ask your parents for help. You're right, I am and my family isn't wealthy by any definition of the word.  Cue more bad news... My father is out of a job right now and I don't know where I am going to get the money to get these classes out of the way. By taking class that limits my work schedule which in turn limits my income. I have no clue where I'm going to get the money to cover this and it's causing me sooooo much stress. Not to mention it's making my schedule for summer a nightmare. 

Just as you thought it ended there, it doesn't. We got a call last night that my uncle had passed away. So just pile it on. The emotion train is rolling and it ain't stopping there.  I thought that more people would be here for me during this time, but I think I have gotten a total of 2-3 texts from friends sending their condolences.  I woke up this morning, in a terrible mood and just wanted to put everything behind me and get a solid workout in. Without even thinking I grabbed a bottle and took what I thought was my morning supplements... and then I realized I just took a freaking sleeping pill instead of my supplements that I usually take. Genius right? Yeah I know...

It's just been one if those days where it feels like if there is something that could go wrong, it did. My heart was literally pounding out of my chest and I needed to get to the gym. I feel at home in the gym but I feel even more at home in the water. I just jumped in and started going. Water is amazing and it cleanses me of everything going on and it's just me and the water at that moment. It's funny how it all works. 

After my swim I was still feeling off but I had to go to work. I got there and gathered all my equipment and got my happy face on. Working with kids has taught me that you can't show them anything but happy and you have to stay on your A game. I'm not saying hide all emotions but you need to leave everything at the door. It's incredible what children can do for you. As soon as I started they completely changed my mood around. They are AMAZING and I have the best time in the world with them. One of my parents actually came up to me after his son's lesson and shook my hand. He said "thanks for everything that you've done, we really appreciate it." Talk about an amazing feeling, when you touch the life of a child, you just can't compare it to anything else. My student gave me an awesome card that he made with a picture of me on it! It was just an irreplaceable moment all around that I really needed. 

My pretty crappy day turned around slightly but I'm just trying to maintain at this point. I gotta find my spot again, that place where I can live care free for awhile.  It is my absolute DREAM to move to California.  I want to live there and teach physical education. I want to have crazy long hair and surf everyday and compete at a competitive level in triathlons. I want to teach parents and students about the importance of being physically active and healthy. I know you're reading this and I want to thank YOU for bringing this back into the forefront. I will stop at nothing until I reach this goal.  Thanks for letting me vent. Hope y'all had a better day than I did, sure wouldn't take much. Keep it up and thanks for reading. 

All for now

Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself

A little of this and a little of that

So this post will probably take me awhile but I want to make sure to get all the things out there that I have in my head. As you probably already know, there's a lot going on up there! Haha

So it's Monday May 20th. I am coming off an awesome weekend away! Had a blast with my buddy all weekend, yeah the same one who left me high and dry on the run! Haha just kidding ;) I was showered over with compliments and boy did it feel great!  I'm not someone who goes fishing for compliments or needs them just to get through the day. HOWEVER I will have you know, I do love me a good compliment now and again :). Other than that, it was a pretty standard weekend away. A hell of a lot of  NOTHING to do in Chambersburg PA that's for sure. 

Today is a pretty standard Monday for me, got up and made breakfast. Decided I should probably go green smoothly to detox some of the crap that was in my system. I only cheated twice, but my theory is if you're going to cheat, ya gotta at least make it count! So I had a big ole burger one night and some chicken wings the other. Nothing too crazy though. I have learned through this little journey that for me if I have a craving for something, I eat it. If I want a cookie I have one, or ice cream or candy, etc. If I deprive myself from things like this then all I do is think about it for the next three or four days.  Cue the downward snowball effect now and next thing you know I'm eating and entire box of cookies as opposed to just eating one when I had the craving for it. As I have said before I'm not the best out there, hell I don't even know half the things some do, but I have experienced it, I have lived it, so hey maybe I know a little something. 

Here is my delicious smoothie from this morning:

1/3 cup each of avocado, strawberries, and blueberries. 1 green apple and a little bit of water BOOM!

After I devoured this deliciousness I headed out the door to work. I jumped in the car and poked around my radio stations, then comes Teenage Dream by Katy Perry and I about lost it. It's incredible how one song can take you back to this spot in your life where you were and you feel everything you felt in that moment. I hate it and I love it all at the same time. This song was probably one of the first songs someone said they thought about me when they heard and so they would sing it to me or text me the lyrics, blah blah blah, I won't sit here and bore you with the details of it. It's just crazy how the words took me right back to that point. Now why am I telling you about this you may ask?  I am not really sure, I just need to get it off my chest to be honest and this is my outlet for one. For two its the third or fourth time in less than 24 hours something has happened and I've immediately thought of...well yeah you can guess by now. 

I guess the other reason I bring this up is because it ties in to what one of the guys said to me this weekeend in a way. If you'll remember he said "don't let anything or anyone get in your way!". When it comes to something like this, something that takes a lot of focus out of you sometimes it can be hard to not let thing get in your way. Especially when you're talking about feelings. Like I said before I'm taking everything careful but I'm certainly not brushing it under the rug, everything happens for a reason. Along with that I came to the conclusion that with this sport, it is about 10-20% training and probably 80-90% mental. It takes a huge toll on you mentally to stay on track and stay dedicated to what you want. But when you want something as bad as you need to breath you will make it happen!

This weekend was a reminder that I am doing great things and I CANNOT and WILL NOT give up!  The motivation that I got to keep going was incredible and I loved it. I needed it and it was absolutely the perfect push. This game is so mental and when someone gives you that push by showing they care, it amazing. I would love to have the effect that these people have had on me on someone else. That would make me successful. That would be just absolutely amazing. 

Well I am done work and done what I think is everything I had to say so it's time to pack it in and go hit the road for a little run!  Thanks for reading, come back again :)

All for now

Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself

Weekend Warrior

So I am sitting here in my hotel room in Chambersburg PA, ever heard of it? Yeah didn't think so....  I am here for the weekend, well was kind of, I am going home tomorrow.  I came here to see some people who I haven't seen since this time last year.  It weird to look back because a year ago at this time I was in a very different spot.  The people who I see everyday or just about everyday can see some changes and are amazed and support me fully in what I have been doing.  These people haven't seen me for an entire year and had no idea that I have embarked on this journey. 

I got here Friday and the response from most if not all of the guys was just complete amazement.  They wanted to know the who, what, when, why, where and how of everything.  Just about every hand I shook, they said that I looked great and completely amazing.  Now let me side track for a minute and reference a blog that I had posted a little while back on this comment.  I know I went off about it, but for some reason it was different this time.  It was sincere and it was a compliment and it made me feel AMAZING!  They actually seem to care about what I am doing and why and that makes me feel good.  On Friday one guy who came up to me really motivated me and gave me a nice push and he probably didn't even know it.  He made it a point to come over and say that I looked really good and he thought it was awesome what I was doing.  He was asking what I had been doing and was legitimately INTERESTED in what I had to say.  it was magnificent and I loved every second of it!

Today, Saturday May 18, I woke up and had some breakfast.  As you can guess no it was not hotel breakfast.  I brought tons of food with me for this weekend, which I of course was laughed at for, so that I did not get off track.  I cooked plenty of chicken, brought my snack mix, natural peanut butter, rice, the whole nine.  After scarfing down some breakfast I strapped up and decided to head out on the road for a nice little run around town. 

My buddy was here with me and he was in the room as I laced up my kicks.  The guys around the hotel were cracking beers and laughing at me as I walked out the door for my run.  I headed out and did this 1.5 mile loop to find a neighborhood.  Neighborhoods are definitely my friend when running in areas I do not know well.  I do not like running on the road where there is next to no shoulder.  The neighborhood has some absolutely BEAUTIFUL houses and it was a nice little loop to hit as well. 

After I put in about five miles and some changed I decided it was time to head back to my room and get cleaned up for the day.  I had to laugh a little when I got back because my buddy was taking a nap and I just finished up a five mile run!  As I walked out on to the balcony I got some looks like what is wrong with this dude?!?!  Most of the dudes had blood shot eyes and were moving a little slow to say the least.  So I stretched out and got my shower to clean up for the day.  As I stoop on the balcony I thought to myself holy cow...I never thought I would be that guy who woke up and went for a run as everyone else was still asleep nursing their hangover or up starting to drink again.  Let me tell you thought as they looked over at me with amazement, I felt just as awesome as ever because it felt like I had succeeded yet again!

The trend continued for this day, more questions and more people who were interested in what I was doing and why.  It's funny because I have learned along this journey that there are people who knew the old you(I feel like I can say I have and old me and a new me at this point) and people who see the new you.  Most people ask what you have been doing, why, how, etc.  Then there are people who ACTUALLY care about what you have been doing.  To me there is a huge difference, there are people who care about what you have done and then there are people who actually care about what you have been doing.  There are people who want details so that they can turn around and gossip about it and then there are people who actually want to know.  I am not sure if I am making the difference clear but you will see along your journey what I mean. 

It has been a VERY long year since this all started but I wouldn't change it for the world.  I have gained some new friendships and really strengthened some old ones.  For the first time I feel and can see that there are actually people out there who care, which in a way I didn't see before.  When you start making changes for yourself there are people who will laugh and talk and gossip to try and keep up.  On the flip side of the coin there are people who will care and support you in what you are doing and those people will become your ride or die crew.  The best piece of advice I can give you is one don't give up.  Someone said to me today "keep doing what you're doing and don't let anyone or anything get in your way!"  Man was that powerful!  Set a goal and don't change it! Make it a realistic and achievable goal, don't go crazy and make it something where you will ultimately fail because that will set you back so far.  However, don't short change yourself, make it something that you have to fight for.  The best things in life aren't going to come free!  Whatever you do, don't ever give up and don't stop chasing what you are after.

I am going to turn in and get some sleep, I have a long day tomorrow.  Thank you for reading and I hope that you are taking steps to get closer to whatever it may be that you are doing.  I may not be able to help you and I may not be the best but don't give up.  Take it from someone who never thought they would be that guy who would run, lift, and be obsessed about what they are eating.  Just don't ever give up!

All for now
Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself

Going Down!

So here I am hanging out on a Wednesday night.  Not much is going on today.  I ran some errands, got some new clothes and did my workout before work.  I hit vitamin shop because I needed some more BCCA's and I was a little confused.  I have been using USP Laps BCCA and I just felt like I was going through it so fast.  I did my homework when I bought it and knew it was the best bang for your buck and it had the highest ratio.  Training for my tri leads to a lot of cardio and so I do not want my body to become catabolic which is why I use a BCAA.  After talking with the employee there I stuck with the same product I have been using.

After My vitamin shop trip I ran over to Kohl's because I needed an orange shirt for this weekend.  When I grabbed my shirt I picked up a size smaller than what I usually wear which was an XL.  I grabbed a size 36 pants and went on my way to try them on.  I slipped on the new stuff and look in the mirror.  Still....TOO BIG!! It was an incredible feeling.  I went back out and still grabbed another size smaller!  At this point I was at a large shirt and size 34 shorts.  It was incredible, I can't even describe how amazing it felt.  AGAIN all that hard work paid off!! When little things like this happen it just makes you feel amazing.  It's funny how it all works but I love it to be honest and I wouldn't trade these little moments for anything!

I had an incredible workout today and I am so happy that I discovered this plan.  It kicks my butt every single day that I try it.  I thin a huge part of this is that I have the drive to go in and get every single thing I can out of my workout everyday.  It is a huge success to walk out of the gym feeling like you gave it everything you had. 

Last night I got a text regarding my bike which is a work in progress.  The guy who is putting it all back together for me rides for a local shop and I am so blessed to have his help through all of this.  His shop has donated a brand new set of tires for the bike and they are allowing him to use his team discount to order the necessary parts to get it road ready.  I CANNOT wait to get my hands on this thing and start riding.  For some reason I am just so incredibly excited to be the person I used to make fun of.  No I will not allow myself to become the guy who wears cycle shoes to spin class but I will be riding on the road so i have tried to become more understanding when I come up on a biker on the road.  I just can't describe how blessed I am to have people like this in my life and I am going to do anything I can to give back to people the way they have given to me.

I don't have much to say today, I still haven't taught myself how to jump rope, but I did but a jump rope.  That's a step right!?!?  Tomorrow I have a long day ahead of me but it is the only thing standing between me and the incredible weekend that is on tap.  I hope all my readers have an awesome weekend and I'll see you next week!

All for now

Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself