HysterRunner

I have been trying to write this post since last week Monday, the day after the race.  However, every time I try to write this recap I remember the week after last year’s race.  It was the week I found out that I would need to have a hysterectomy.  Even now as I write this finally, I am having difficulty focusing on writing this year’s recap without thinking about last year.  I’m going to give this recap in mostly pictures as a result.

Black Girls Run Group Picture in the Baltimore Times

There were more than 400 of us running in this year’s Baltimore Women’s Classic 5K.  Truly, a takeover.

Twilight Tuesday’s Hysterrunners! It was M’s first race!

Being silly before the official group picture.

Post-race smiles – I love my medal!

July Goals & Challenges

Today is also July 1st.  I have accepted the #ScaleFreeSummer challenge from Erika at Black Girl’s Guide to Weight Loss.  I weighed in yesterday and will not be getting back on the scale until July 31st.  I have been making good progress towards my fitness goals.  However, although I can see the progress in pictures, sometimes the scale does not feel like it’s moving fast enough.  Sometimes I get discouraged when I don’t see the difference in the scale.  For me, this challenge is a way for me to focus on my clean eating and fitness goals without worrying every few days about the scale.

As a part of my moving towards my fitness, I am doing the 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge over at Simple Green Smoothies.  I’ve been incorporating smoothies into my diet pretty regularly. I hope to replace one meal a day with a green smoothie on my rest days and light exercise days.  On heavy training days, I will have a salad or light fare with my smoothie.

The second challenge I’m doing for this month is for my fitness.  As you know I’ve been slowly rebuilding my core strength.  Ab work with my BGR ladies and Bikram Yoga has been a big part of that.  I also have been struggling to regularly do upper body strength work.  I found this great July challenge on Pinterest which focuses on abs, legs, arms & cardio.

I will be splitting these daily workouts up across the course of the day.  Most of it will be done in the morning before I wake up.  The other half after work around my workout schedule in addition to my running and yoga schedule.  Also instead of Bikram, I will be doing Vinyasa yoga for my crosstraining this summer.  Swimming, hiking, AquaZumba and other summer activities will also happen.  I’m loving my summer body that was built with running in the Winter and Spring.  However, I know that I will love it more once I focus on my fitness and not the scale.

Are you doing any challenges this month?  How do you keep up with your fitness goals during the summer?