100 Days of No Soda–DONE!

Today is the day is the day! I’ve finally completed my 100 Days of Summer Challenge–No Soda!

IMG_20140909_090715

Did I celebrate by drinking a Coke? Well….

I did take a sip lol!

I honestly didn’t wake up with an urge to consume 6 cans of Coca Cola. While I was going through this challenge, I’ve had a lot time to reflect on what I’ve learned.

I am a lot stronger than I think.

When I would shock friends by declining a Coke, they were always impressed by how serious I was taking the challenge. Self-discipline is something that I continuously struggle with but one thing I gained during this challenge is the knowledge that I am in control of what I put in my body. I know that I could have cheated or “treated” myself to a drink, a sip, a can, whatever but each time I made the decision to not to.

I make the decisions.

When things are 100% up to me, I feel like I have the responsibility to make the best decisions. I will have no one to blame, no one that I can say put me up to it.

It kinda makes me feel powerful.

One of the reasons I wanted to do this (and many people asked me why I was doing it) was that I was genuinely curious to see if I could do it. I knew myself. I knew that I succumbed to excuses very easily and this would be something legit challenging.

To me, going 100 days is such an accomplishment. I chose a number I knew would be difficult. A month, I could’ve done no sweat. But I knew I wouldn’t feel/see a significant difference. One hundred days makes me feel like a badass. Each day, saying no became so much easier. I remember going to a Pizza Hut Express and ordering a pan pizza and breadsticks and the server telling me that it was only 30 cents more to upgrade to a meal and get a soft drink. I told him, “Nope! All good!”

I’ve changed.

I definitely feel like my confidence has soared because of this challenge but the biggest thing is that my overall perspective on drinking soda has changed. Not only have I become more comfortable declining something I once felt I needed, I truly feel like I don’t anymore. That’s not to say I’ll never, ever drink it again. I know that’s just not realistic. But, I do feel like I’m more conscious of when I really want it. With a meal I feel goes great with a soda? Sure! Just because it’s there and I want something to drink? No.

My body has changed.

The summer weather hasn’t really let me see how the challenge has helped me with running but I think being able to maintain decent paces (for me) despite the heat is a definite win. I know that I would have been dehydrated drinking soda through summer trying to train for a marathon. The extra water intake has been a huge factor in me staying healthy and hitting my targets.

I absolutely feel like it’s prepared me for the upcoming fall season. That I set up my body the best that I could for the races to come.

I’m not going to lie. I was really curious to see how/if my body would change.

It has.

The scale says I lost 7 pounds. I went down a pant size. I’m the thinnest I’ve ever been. But, even then, the biggest difference is just overall health. I don’t feel as sluggish or tired or weighted down. When I once felt that soda gave me energy, I feel like I’ve had more without it. While there were days where I’ve felt like a soda would give me an extra boost, I would remind myself that the challenge was mental. Could I think of other ways of getting that extra energy?

People notice.

It kinda became contagious. When I would decline soda from friends and ask for water instead, it wasn’t rare that they would change their minds and put their own soda away.

At restaurants, I would always order water (with no lemon!) and my husband would follow suit. Then whoever we were with would go with water too. This wasn’t always the case, but we saw it happen more often than not.

My husband was completely on board with the challenge and went the 100 days with me. The person we felt noticed the most was our daughter. Because we drank a ton of water, she would often ask us for it herself. Lauren has always been a fan of water and preferred it more than anything–she must be the only toddler who doesn’t like apple juice!–but I think seeing mommy and daddy constantly drinking water really contributed to her love of it. We smile every time she finishes her sippy and says, “All done agua!” Or when she says, “Mas agua!” (more water!)

I know that she will continue to be an influence in me keeping my soda intake to a minimum.

Overall, I feel like the challenge was worth it. I know that I can hold myself accountable for something, that I can stick to a goal if I set my mind to it, that I can do things that are difficult.

What I’m excited for the most is not so much that I can drink soda now but the fact that I’m just so much more aware. I’ve seen how my mind and body has changed and it makes me feel like I don’t want to ruin the hard work I’ve put in. That is what I think will keep me from going back to my regular drinking habits. I know that I will drink a can or two here and there, but I can confidently say that my days of drinking 6 a day are gone.

I will keep you posted. Thank you for sharing this challenging journey with me ❀

helly

–What is a health related accomplishment that you’re proud of?

–Think you could go 100 days doing something or doing without something? What?

Why taking a racecation is the way to go {a Guest Post}

Hi guys! I’m having a local blogger buddy/runner guest today. She’s been on some pretty neat race-cations and I have to say, I’m quite jealous on some of them. I’m a visitor on her blog, The Sunny Side, so if you’re itching for some Helly, head on over to her page πŸ™‚ I hope you all have a fabulous Friday!

——————————————————-

Hi! I’m Emily and I’m a runner in the Phoenix area who loves to travel, eat, drink and RUN!

I must admit, I’ve always had the travel bug, ever since I was a little girl. We took plenty of family vacations growing up, and I have never gotten tired of it.

When I decided to do my first full marathon back in 2000, I will totally admit that the reason I did it is because it was in HAWAII! That was all the motivation I needed to get me through 26.2 miles. I fundraised over $3,200 for the Leukemia Society with their Team In Training Program.

maui01

Of course I had been bitten by the marathon bug, so the next marathon I chose was in Cozumel, Mexico. That was a unique experience for sure. Not one I would recommend, but it was still very cool to be down in Mexico for a race. I even got my hair done in braids (like Bo Derek in 10) so the beads in my hair were making a lot of noise while I ran. Then my next marathons were back in Honolulu and Rock n Roll San Diego.

I frequently travel back to my home state of Michigan for some of my favorite races (Charlevoix Marathon and the Crim 10 mile). Great excuse to experience cooler weather and see family.

lighthouse - Copy

crim2

I decided that the combination of running a race and traveling was the perfect marriage. I will take ANY excuse to travel just about anywhere. Luckily I have a partner in crime who will go with me on some of these adventures. Our next one together will be in Hilton Head, SC in February. Woo-hoo!

Hawaii race

The only downside of being in a beautiful resort town and running a marathon is having to act like a saint the day before. No drinking, not too much walking, no sunburn, and watching what you eat. Aside from that, it’s really ideal.

Next up is the Detroit Marathon next month where I get to meet up with one of my new buds, @jennvoss.

 

Keep Calm and Travel On!

Follow Emily on her travel and running adventures:
Blog: http://azsungoddess.weebly.com
Twitter: @azsungoddess1
Instagram: @azsungoddess
Facebook: #/emilysattlerwhite

————————————————

Thanks for visiting Emily!

–What’s been your favorite race-cation?

–Where in the world would you like to run?

Whoa lateness! Week 10 marathon training recap

The day off this past Monday through me for a loop! Anywhoo, here’s last week’s numbers:

I took off last Monday since I had done my re-scheduled long (short) run the day before.

But I was back at it with my run club on Tuesday going for 5. This run felt so good! I started off at a good warm up pace, not going out too fast. I kept it easy the whole way through and at the end, felt like I could’ve kept going or gone faster. It’s funny because this pace seemed like such a struggle in previous runs and today felt so comfortable.

20140826_200615

I skipped the track on Wednesday and caught up on grading. This English teacher business is no joke.

Thursday, I headed out for a run in the ‘hood and got in a great amazing 6. I wanted to push myself and whoa nelly! My splits: 9:41, 9:34, 9:18, 9:21, 9:19, 8:07

Yes, that last mile was AWESOME. I wanted to channel my inner Kristina and finish with a fast mile. It did wonders for my confidence πŸ™‚

20140828_193840

Friday=REST.

Saturday, I woke up even earlier than usual (4 a.m. anyone?) since I knew I was going long. I had 14 on my agenda.

Several of my run club friends were going at this earlier start time and I joined up with them. Like a newb, I forgot my head lamp so I stayed with two that had lamps to help me not fall over myself.

We kept a nice and steady pace and before I knew it, we were 5 miles in.

At this point, we had gone back to the start to meet up with those who running at the usual start time.

After a quick pit stop, we were back at it and this time I joined some other friends for the next 9. Again, a steady pace that felt oh-so-good. I have no idea what was becoming of me but again, I felt like I could’ve kept going or done the run faster (I’m glad I didn’t do the latter though as I didn’t want to ruin what had been an awsome run).

Isn’t it funny how running plays with us emotionally?? It reduces me to tears, anger, and frustration one week to complete euphoria the next. Oh running, how I love thee.

20140830_071943

And Sunday was a rest day πŸ™‚

Total miles Mon-Sun: 25

How was your past running week?

Ever been on the emotional running train?