so much gratitude...

Friends, this will be my last post on MFP since the blogs are going away as of tomorrow! If I haven't told you already, I truly appreciate your encouragement and support in all the comments. Every comment and message was significant, to me, so thank you!

So this week... I ran a LOT. I did 4.5 miles with the tri club last Tuesday, then a 5.2 mile run last Sunday, then a 5.3 mile run on Tuesday night, again, with the tri club. This past Tuesday it was FREEZING, like 20 degrees... we run at night in a park that needs the lights replaced, there were none. So I'm running, in the cold and dark, and basically by myself just because of the way the workout was structured -  I'd pass other runners every minute at least, but no one really ran with each other at all. I was like "What are we even DOING out here?"

And then on one of the sets, as solo me was trying to push myself up a gradual hill in the frigid blackness, I saw a HUGE fiery meteor with a blazing tail streak across the sky. It was magnificent. I will take my frozen meteor memory with me to Oregon. ;) 

And the gratitude there? After all that running, nearly 15 miles last week, still no pain in my joints. What. A. GIFT. Definitely tired legs, but no joint pain. I took 2 rest days, one active, one just OFF, and then I was all good. I really am grateful for my healthy body. 

I am also super grateful for Caroline Girvan and all her free YouTube workouts. If you haven't checked her out, head over to CarolineGirvan.com for the rundown. This year I completed her Epic Beginner series (three times before I got brave enough to move on) her 10-week Epic 1 program and the 30-day Fuel series. This month I started her 10-week Epic 2 program. You can do the workouts at home, with whatever dumbells you have, or even no weights if you want. And the workouts are TOUGH. The point is to do QUALITY reps, whatever you can do, and to challenge yourself to do the best you can. Truly, THE BEST.

OH! The best! So, I always say "oh my God, it's THE BEST" or "YOU are THE BEST"... many years ago (like, DECADES), this was a huge joke with everyone I know, now it's more just an accepted routine part of my dialogue ;) Well, last month my nephew signed my birthday card with "Liz you are the best." He wasn't born back in the days of joking about that, or maybe my brother told him to write that (doubtful, but ?) but I really loved seeing it. And I realized that I am on a mission to be the best human, and the best triathlete, that I can possibly be [I ask God for help with this every day]. And so I ordered a cuff bracelet on Etsy (from Betsy Farmer Designs) and had "the best" stamped into it. It arrived last night and I love it. I see this serving as a constant reminder for me to give whatever I'm doing the best effort I can, and also to remind me that my nephew loves me and I really can be the best! :)

This week the WW plan changed (for the better, IMO) to the WeightWatchers plan. The workshops were awesome, lots of great discussion and generally most members are happy with the changes. I really have a lot of gratitude for my members, and their insight and everything they share. The members MAKE the meeting, us leaders just facilitate the discussion and provide some education. One woman gave me a very nice Thanksgiving card, it was so sweet and her note was so full of heartfelt appreciation for me. It was so touching, and really nice of her to do that. I am grateful for her, and for all my members. 

I'm also grateful for my dober loves, we got them some dober jammies so they won't be cold in the house. They are so cute snoozing on our laps right now.  Thank goodness the weather is warming up, we didn't get above freezing (and were WELL below it) most days last week. Today it's going to be 50 degrees so we'll grill burgers for dinner, yippee! We'll also give the dogs a good walk, get a swim workout in, pick up the bike trainer I ordered (merry Christmas to me!) and prep the couple dishes that it just ISN'T Thanksgiving without. DH decided we should go out and have a nice date for Thanksgiving dinner - initially I thought this was crazy but now I'm so excited. 

I know this is long. I just have so much to be grateful for and this is just scratching the surface. I love Thanksgiving week. I'm grateful for my wonderful supportive husband, he is a GEM. I'm grateful for MFP, and this community. I'm grateful for Joel Osteen (listening to him while I write this) - he's talking about speaking faith, favor and abundance into your life and silencing the doubts. The message, which I agree with, is that your life will be propelled by your words. Negative thoughts will come, but pay attention that you don't speak those thoughts into existence, as your words will set the direction for your life. This is one step further than one of my focuses in my Holidays Challenge, to stop negative thoughts and replace them with a positive. I can expand that "not even one" negative thought concept to be "speak not even one negative thing." That may be a hard habit to break, but I will work on it. 

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you for all your support here on MFP, and I hope to see you over on my external blog. If you follow me over there, please leave a comment to let me know. Have a GREAT healthy week, everyone!