Astonishing

Well it looks like we're going to take photo #1 and crop out some of the background stuff and turn that into the photo contest. Thanks for all the input! It was a huge help.

I've been hitting my workouts on target pretty well for the last week or so. Cleared 14 miles on the treadmill thursday night even though I was barely prepared. Swam a ton last week. I had a pretty good weekend too. Kelley's sister came to visit with our niece. Got to hang with the kids a lot. Went to a friends kids birthday party (it was cold - pony rides? in january?) and had a blast getting to hang with them for a while.

Then sunday afternoon something amazing happened. I was driving from greenville back to raleigh. I remembered how my jeans had not been fitting correctly for a while now. They have just been loose, baggy, and generally unattractive. So I pulled into the place just to try some on.

I like Bass jeans. I tried some on. And it turns out I have dropped a whole pants size. I bought those pants.

I thought it was a fluke at first, so I hit up J Crew next. Their stuff tends to run a big snug anyway, so it was worth a shot. I bought another pair of pants.

Then I remembered how much I love Banana Republic. And I found it. And I bought another pair of pants. Those were actually a bit loose. This is not real. This is not actually happening right?

They all had a 34" waist. I have not been able to wear a 34 since long before I got married 11 years ago!! Shall we take a quick trip back in time?

• 1993 Graduated high school 135 lbs size 32
• 1998 Graduated college 145 lbs size 34
• Nov 1998 got married 165 lbs size 36
• 2000 been married 200 lbs size 38
• 2002 crazy weighlifting 210 lbs size 36
• 2004 too fat to have babies 225 lbs size 38 and holding on for dear life
• 2005 lost weight had baby 190 lbs size 35
• 2007 had another baby 235 size 38 but would have been comfortable size 42
• 2008 started working out got down to 200 lbs size 36
• Freakin sunday size 34 - 203 lbs?

Yes that's the strange part. The last time I could wear pants this size I was 60 lbs lighter. WTH? I think all the running has increased my bone density and made my organs heavier. I know body composition stuff, muscle weighs more than fat, yada yada. I think this is proof that the scale is just a number. It's still mind boggling that I weighed in at 203 at the gym today.

This is a direct result of swimming. If you have never considered swimming as a body toning tool, you really should. And check out Total Immersion swimming. Using those techniques engages your core in some really cool ways. TI has let me up the yardage that I swim and my abs always feel sore after I do it right.

Even today I did 1000 yds in the pool. I did 10 by 100 yd sets really hard - a 1:40 avg - with 1 minute rest in between sets. Before I learned TI it would have been over 2:00 per set and I could have only done 5 like that. After the swim it was time to nom nom nom eat it up and good. I get so freaking hungry after a good swim. When I went back for my 10k run after work I really started feeling my abs about 3.5 miles in. Again the mantra came back into my head: "This is where 6 pack abs come from". So regular swimming has directly reduced my waistline and will make me a stronger runner in the future.

I can see this playing out over the course of the year where my abs finally come out to play. I'm considering documenting that reveal by posting regular ab pics here. Right now that would be quite embarrassing. And if they never come out of the fridge then I just posted a bunch of pics of my fat belly for no reason. gotta churn that idea around for a while. You might remember last year where I had a goal to where white pants?

I have a goal for the summer, and it's ok if it makes you chuckle. I want to wear a pair of white pants this summer. As soon as I say that, Kelley corrects me and says "cream colored pants". whatever. I want white pants, no shirt, and heads turning so fast they snap off. you can't have the little bit of beer gut I've still got and make that happen. you can't have a waist bigger than 34" and pull off that look. the "skinny" jeans I'm happily wearing now are a size 36. So it's not a weight loss goal. it's a reshaping goal. Remember i work from home, so I can then just throw all of my shirts into the goodwill pile. try and make me wear one.

That was in February of last year. I have been reaching for this 34" size for a long time now. I did not expect to see it again ever, really. So this is quite astonishing. This year's goal is to run a summertime triathlon with no shirt on without looking out of place. The same "white pants" standards still apply. only now it actually seems attainable.

There are a few other updates:

My friend Catherine had her baby this weekend. I talked about her in this post a few weeks ago. Her husband is doing better but still waiting for a bone marrow transplant. The baby boy came a few weeks early but is really healthy. I am so happy for them!

I got featured for my career at Girl With the Red Hair. Amber is absolutely one of my favorite people in the blogosphere, and I was honored to be able to answer her questions. I tried to show how smart people really just have a high tolerance for boredom and can get really detail oriented. Still it's a very cool blog to be featured on. And I thought my writing was insightful and tasteful. horsefeathers. check it out for yourself.

Got my first trail race coming up this weekend! should be a blast.