High Five For Friday, v1...

Many of my blogging friends post a top five list for Friday and I'd like to do a little more blogging so I'm going to join and make myself take more pictures and such during the week.

{It's finally Friday!!!!! insert tune and dance}

1. We ended our Junior League year Monday with a fabulous dinner at Ground Round in StJoMo. Lots of recognition, good food, good drinks, great friends...good times. 

2. I earned a $996 commission check from Mary Kay this week! Thanks to a pretty awesome Mary Kay team in April, I was able to pay off another student loan. I love free money!

3. We are spoiled at work with goodies, all the time. Hence why I gained 20 lbs. the first time I worked at Second Harvest and why I struggle to say no to any kind of food. The Amish from Jamesport brought in these goodies to share from the apples we shared with our Members. Todd and I have yet to try it, but I'm thinking it might be on the menu tonight. It's Friday after all!

4. I received the email from Mary Kay that I was officially on-target to finish Queen's Court of Sales this year. That is $36,000 in retail sales, which I have never done before. I am beyond excited to pick out a prize, walk across stage at Seminar like a celebrity, and celebrate another amazing year!

5. I don't have a photo for this one yet, but I get to go hang out at Shatto Milk Company in Osborn, Mo., all day. We are taking a farm tour and having lunch there. I am pretty stoked to have on my boots and casual clothes today. While most of my farm tours before have really equaled getting dirty, I don't forsee that happening today, but I do have my boots on for good measure! :)

Hope ya'll have a great weekend!

On to the next thing...

After my marathon, I already had plans to take a break from hard running training. I walked on Tuesday after my marathon and ran on Thursday and was still a bit tender, but I made it through. I've been talking up a new weight training program for weeks with my husband. I think we should do something together. La, la, la, la...you know us women.

He has been less than thrilled to be as gung ho about it as I am. I said in my fitness goals that I would step up the strength training because I've hit a plateau with my weight loss and body changes. I am happy with the way I am, but want to keep pushing for a more toned, smaller-sized body. Yes, I am gunning for the size 4 clothes (all the while in the back of my mind I know that's not going to stick around long if I have a baby)!

I have followed Skinny Meg and Mama Laughlin for over a year now, and I LOVE them. I mean, like some of their other followers, I am a bit stalkerish. I read their blog daily, laugh hysterically at their Keeks, follow them on Instagram, look for their posts on Facebook, etc. They are moms I aspire to be. They both have struggled much more than I have with weight, but have busted it out to lose after children AND look better than me now for it. Such an inspiration  truly among the many other things they are awesome at while being working mothers.

So with a little bit of their inspiration to lift hard or go home, I have developed a little weight training program for Todd and I. We started on Sunday, woke up as part of the 5 am club on Tuesday and have another round of the 5 am club tomorrow. I plan to run as my cardio to keep that going, and try a longer run on the weekends (5-10 miles). I am posting our weight plan below, but feel free to add any ideas to mix it up. We would love that as we are sticking it out for 8 weeks. I'll also post measurements and updates we we go through it.

138,336...1,943,040

My official time was 5:12:57. 

Showing off my first marathon medal. 

I put one foot in front of the other 138,336 times on Sunday. I can't help but be a little emotional about it.

• I don't know what made me sign up in December for this race. But I did it. 
• I don't know what kept me from making excuses every time I didn't want to run. But I ran.
• I don't know how many days I wished I would have never signed up for it because I didn't know if I could do it. But I did it.
• I don't know how many times people said I can't believe you're doing this. You don't have to. But I did it. 
• I don't know what caused me to get sick multiple times during training. But I pushed through.
• I don't know how many times I saw people pass me and think why even try. But I put one foot in front of the other. 

There are hundreds of reasons I could think of why I didn't want to do it, but I can also think of a hundred reasons why I wanted to do it.

• I want to do something hard. 
• I want to do something others can only dream of doing. 
• I want to feel alive. 
• I want to feel like an athlete for one of the only times in my life. 
• I want to prove to others you can do anything you set your mind to. 
• I want to be proud of walking in my first 5K two years ago to running a full marathon.  
• I want to prove to myself that I can do anything. 
• I want to put all my trust in Him because there were times I wasn't sure how I'd do it. 
• I want to beat my genetics. 
• I want to be my best self ever to have a baby. 
• I want to love doing something for life. 

And a hundred other reasons why I did it. I finished. I ran my own race.

I wasn't fast. I was disappointed in my time. Hundreds of people were ahead of me. But I have to remember I put one in front of the other, not just 138,336 times but 1,943,040 times throughout the training of 20 weeks to get to hold up that finisher's medal with pride.

I teared up running into Memorial Stadium. I just couldn't believe I was done. Done with the race I never thought would actually happen.

As far as the actual marathon, I'll get into that in another post this week, but I wanted to capture my thoughts just a few days after the race so I can look back on how I felt.