Encouragement Wednesday

Sometimes Wednesdays can be a drag... you know, it's middle of the week, and all you really need is a good pick-me-up.  Well, lucky for you, I am here to institute "Encouragement Wednesdays" (pending name change/re-branding)... I'll try to mention something that has been encouraging me, and you can live vicariously through how good I feel.  What a deal.

(Yes, I apparently am drawn to theme days... this is sort of a combo of Fat Fridays and "The Culprit"... but with a more positive note).

First up?  Big props to my Mother-in-Law who sent an Easter Care Package (which, coincidentally, also put her on a potential "The Culprit" list).  Included in the package was a bunch of easter-related candy, and a shirt... yup,  just a button up shirt.



wait, what size is it?



...and there it is!  Wednesday encouragement!  My uplifting Mother-in-law is so confident in my ability to lose weight that she is sending me MEDIUM shirts... just so I have something to wear when I slim down.  Thanks, Kathy!  (no need to worry about sleeve length).

Kelly later found that the entire package was intended for Joey, Kel's little bro who is a freshman at Wheaton College.  That probably makes more sense... except the mailing to Kelly part.  (college students are still allowed to get mail at college--it's not Kanakuk Kamp... plus that way ... ahem... someone wouldn't have stolen several of his Reese's peanut butter bunnies).

Speaking of mailing it to Kelly... it was addressed to "Kelly Linn".  With all due respect to her egalitarian sympathies, it's been 3 years... let's get with the program.

The runner-up for "Encouragement Wednesday" goes to my co-worker Liz who told me "you look like you lost like... 80 pounds", which I think is just enough to make it not a compliment.  Thanks Liz!

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Good run today.  Kelly came with me for the first couple miles, and then I went a little longer... ran a good (Illinois) hill on Blanchard Road, and finished strong on the way home (for more info, click on the picture below).  I ran at just under a 9:30 pace which I would say is "comfortable" at this point.  I felt as though, if not for nagging injuries, I could have kept it up for much longer.  We'll try some interval work later this week to build some speed.  Knee felt fine while running, but not so great afterward... threw some ice and ibuprofen at it... we'll see how it is in a couple days.  Distance: 4.1mi



Food was good.  Granola bar for breakfast, small amount of cheese and crackers for lunch with a fruit smoothie for an afternoon snack.  And then Kelly made this for dinner:


What we have here is Mango-Chicken-Sausage (which is even better than it sounds) sauteed with red pepper and broccoli on a bed of jasmine rice.  Pretty outstanding.  The only improvement would be...


to throw some mango-pineapple salsa on it.  Now, THAT is delicious.

Food: A

Weight: 222 lbs ... and for some "real" encouragement on Wednesday, here is what that looks like in real-life belt sizes: