News for today's 2018

Oh Hey, I'm Back

7:22 AM Tukiyooo 0

I've been absent from The Big Weight.  I'm also pretty good at stating the obvious.<br /><br />I haven't had a lot to say these days, as I've gained/lost the same +/- 5 lbs.  As I had been stating for several weeks now, I've had an incredibly hard time getting my mind back in the healthy eating game since about February. I eat out of boredom, and that's the bottom line.  BUT, I'm not giving up no matter how many failures I have.  I'm going to lose this weight no matter how many "re-starts" it takes.  <br /><br />I had a brief email exchange with fellow blogger <a href="http://www.nothankstocake.com/" target="_blank">Kelly @ No Thanks to Cake</a>, and she reminded me that she blogs for her, not for others (thank you SO MUCH for your encouragement Kel!).  As much as I agree with this, clearly I was in the mindset of thinking about what my readers would want to see.   Does anyone really want to keep seeing someone fail who had been on quite a roll previously?  That doesn't sound very inspiring.  But The Big Weight, at the end of the day, is for me.  The more I document my journey here, the more beneficial for  me whenever I do have these stumbling blocks along the way.  I can go back and see what worked before and try to apply those methodologies again.  But if I'm not here writing it down, then I don't have a point of reference.  So hey, here I am again... stumbling around aimlessly or not!<br /><br />Rarely am I able to do both things well on my weight loss journey - I can either eat perfectly (which is rare), staying within my PointsPlus every week, OR I can get in my allotted goal for exercise.  As is typically the case, I've been tearing it up at exercise!  During the weekend of April 28, I <i>ran</i>, not walked, <i>RAN</i>, two 5K's!! <br /><br />On Saturday, I attended the Civista Health & Wellness 5K, which caters to both runners and walkers.  I typically try to run some of the 5K, but I've never been able to do the entire thing.  As the race began, I found this lady who was running at a good pace and I thought, "I can do this.  I'm just going to follow her as long as I can."  And so that's what I did.  I just paced myself according to her and I ran the <b>entire </b>time!  I gave myself positive self talk throughout, reminding myself to breathe, relax my shoulders, and to pace myself.  I did <i>so well</i> and I was incredibly proud of myself!  I also let that lady know what an inspiration she was to me at the end - and she was just as grateful for my kind words to her as I was to her pace-setting. <br /><br />Needless to say I was rather sore after that 5K, but I tried to stay active the rest of the day (by going shopping :) ).  I got this suit for a work function.  I am a very anti-black suit person.  That's all women seem to own and I like to go against the grain.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nIusXljs1fBifeEGfbTVht3DPpvtIYxvc3Y9qj_bHvomFv2AlQcfkier5r3TQnZ8jun0KOmsji_1_uP2GxAaYJB0T5ErNQtLOsYBE5cbtQG-DHPS3sO15KOnDp5vThB5l8pxx7Eqb80/s1600/white+work+suit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nIusXljs1fBifeEGfbTVht3DPpvtIYxvc3Y9qj_bHvomFv2AlQcfkier5r3TQnZ8jun0KOmsji_1_uP2GxAaYJB0T5ErNQtLOsYBE5cbtQG-DHPS3sO15KOnDp5vThB5l8pxx7Eqb80/s400/white+work+suit.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just call me Dr. Pritt</td></tr></tbody></table>Anyhow, the very next day I had the March of Dimes - March for Babies.  This was a 5K that is geared toward walking (and I raised $225 for it).  As much as I wanted to say "I ran my first two 5Ks every back to back in one weekend!" I knew I had to be reasonable about it.  I was very sore when I woke up Sunday morning, but as we lined up for the walk and the adrenaline started pumping, I knew I wanted to give this run a shot.  So I did, and I went about the same method: set a nice, reasonable pace and kept encouraging myself that I could do it.  I wasn't out for speed, but for simply finishing without stopping.  I'm not gonna lie though, it was tough - I was sore and also the entire last mile of the race was uphill!  BUT, I did it!!!! I ran the entire thing and I had tears in my eyes <strike>walking </strike>running (I just remembered!) back to my car. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy5JOCKlZnAEntyePrMq3oy-uCqxGL3hE_PVv8XLTcPrgWqn_TpC3iQBBnvT6sh5HPkLJzdKqdI3z_ZRhDfcJgl1S2z27t9iS-_JtNrU58UrXBp9ljEb7GGKL-BKVSg-zBEr6jKsOjk4A/s1600/march+of+dimes+race.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy5JOCKlZnAEntyePrMq3oy-uCqxGL3hE_PVv8XLTcPrgWqn_TpC3iQBBnvT6sh5HPkLJzdKqdI3z_ZRhDfcJgl1S2z27t9iS-_JtNrU58UrXBp9ljEb7GGKL-BKVSg-zBEr6jKsOjk4A/s400/march+of+dimes+race.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">after the March for Babies</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"> <b style="color: #674ea7;">I ran two 5K's the entire way through in 1 weekend!!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I <i>do </i>have a LOT to be proud of on this weight loss journey!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe bordercolor="#000000" frameborder="0" height="200" hspace="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adi/N7433.148119.BLOGGEREN/B6533663.591;sz=200x200;ord=[timestamp]?;lid=41000000026530730;pid=48363;usg=AFHzDLswlymL68hwQrdIDtArGhJ6C4BHKQ;adurl=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.abt.com%252Fproduct%252F48363%252FNikon-25472-.html;pubid=541254;imgsrc=http%3A%2F%2Fcontent.abt.com%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2Fproducts%2FBDP_Images%2Fbig_d3100.jpg;width=200;height=158" vspace="0" width="200"></iframe></div>

I've been absent from The Big Weight. I'm also pretty good at stating the obvious. I haven't had a lot to say these days, as I&...

Weigh In Friday & Other Successes

12:06 PM Tukiyooo 0

I've finally gotten around to updating my stats on the left sidebar.  I'm now down 29.9 lbs as of today!  I'm working on getting back down to my lowest weight yet, of 227.1 lbs (during Terrible Awful) so that I can feel good about wearing my weight loss bracelet again.  But I'm not going to discount my recent success - it feels good to be at <i>almost </i>a 30 lbs loss!  This week I took off 2.3 lbs - go me!<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVa7f_q6xPnd1K1M8weaVtAA3KB8v-qbcHENDDzXJUJrLNt-PllZRX0GPAEYIQ7xV4sQfLadHmb6IHA2o_wNwFzcnWtM5JrN-quOSVqiXhHZkEqvn4m7cJ6DdkPc52k-OfYil0RbTMldc/s1600/Pansies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVa7f_q6xPnd1K1M8weaVtAA3KB8v-qbcHENDDzXJUJrLNt-PllZRX0GPAEYIQ7xV4sQfLadHmb6IHA2o_wNwFzcnWtM5JrN-quOSVqiXhHZkEqvn4m7cJ6DdkPc52k-OfYil0RbTMldc/s400/Pansies.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">spring is in full swing in VA!</td></tr></tbody></table>A few weeks ago I <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2012/03/two-upcoming-5ks.html" target="_blank">wrote about the upcoming 5K's</a> I have for April and May.  I'm so excited to report that the donations are rolling in!  While the previous blog post only spoke of two 5K's, I've since enrolled in the Walk for MS (click on the badge on the left for more info) - another event that I wanted to participate in last year but couldn't due to a conflict with another walk.   To those who have donated, please know that they are much appreciated by myself and these organizations!  And to those who may still want to donate - there is still plenty of time!<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKJOIsLgEkr3fOoWRalI_iTN5qR6irCfBZGUMge-rhb54d3QyJFUmwtdgeiPALX7VoU2b_zH4p4pKB8rUYk9YOIdLlj8EyBVWJBOUB3tbW_CVL8PcPBM8_nzqHZG8wncn7YdSsKU1FzmM/s1600/Tulips+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKJOIsLgEkr3fOoWRalI_iTN5qR6irCfBZGUMge-rhb54d3QyJFUmwtdgeiPALX7VoU2b_zH4p4pKB8rUYk9YOIdLlj8EyBVWJBOUB3tbW_CVL8PcPBM8_nzqHZG8wncn7YdSsKU1FzmM/s400/Tulips+2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnaIT4T49uYSAO9lkywwNlc84SgwSXJkJHI9Y3I0o_KpWCa8aUOR-5VxNisYfK7HYWRDIt4sotldv1fK-t5Uu5f34lb0aJHWmbf6T7UkEKfRINrVB7eT3fQJd_yWsGGIQ86NfWM0vxVyg/s1600/Tulips+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnaIT4T49uYSAO9lkywwNlc84SgwSXJkJHI9Y3I0o_KpWCa8aUOR-5VxNisYfK7HYWRDIt4sotldv1fK-t5Uu5f34lb0aJHWmbf6T7UkEKfRINrVB7eT3fQJd_yWsGGIQ86NfWM0vxVyg/s400/Tulips+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I don't know about you, but I sure am looking forward to this weekend.  Heck, I'm looking forward to the entire month of April!  For starters, April is my birth month (April 4 to be exact!), Easter is just around the corner - my favorite Sunday, and lastly, every single weekend we have something planned.  I'm going to just pretend that those are all birthday celebration events :).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ88l81_9OysIZqOIGrQ5SgQiJAn7xkYmddkorY06R8takb9oQxwT2FyVKajfIezyBgbwX5J74qEbUm-mdpfktdpLma-dqgaEMCo3tFyAnaag3jElyKq3lIYW1isP_ewfE2IJh9_Bbi9k/s1600/Tulips+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ88l81_9OysIZqOIGrQ5SgQiJAn7xkYmddkorY06R8takb9oQxwT2FyVKajfIezyBgbwX5J74qEbUm-mdpfktdpLma-dqgaEMCo3tFyAnaag3jElyKq3lIYW1isP_ewfE2IJh9_Bbi9k/s400/Tulips+3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="color: #351c75;"><b>Do you have anything planned this weekend?  Are you an April baby?  If so, what day?  </b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuDWgwiQUCtcnvV-V6KQeOnw47Nfvr8gXxFRiSyGVmd2jaE4V-ikYe-6F095LGpThdRSmZmBan96wCxA-YEyNe4_RKG0nXwFjq8wyZUnZoSQl228jKe192CxBi9_HPHqx8yAbB3Ij-OQ/s1600/Tulips+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuDWgwiQUCtcnvV-V6KQeOnw47Nfvr8gXxFRiSyGVmd2jaE4V-ikYe-6F095LGpThdRSmZmBan96wCxA-YEyNe4_RKG0nXwFjq8wyZUnZoSQl228jKe192CxBi9_HPHqx8yAbB3Ij-OQ/s400/Tulips+4.jpg" width="317" /></a></div><br />Have a great 'on plan' weekend friends! <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #999999;">*All pictures were taken with my Blackberry Torch outside of my office just this past week!*</i></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

Great Strides Loss March for Babies March of Dimes Success Walk MS weigh in Weigh In Friday & Other Successes

I've finally gotten around to updating my stats on the left sidebar. I'm now down 29.9 lbs as of today! I'm working on getting...

Two Upcoming 5K's

7:42 AM Tukiyooo 0

For those of you who read The Big Weight in a Reader, you may not have noticed that I added two new “widgets” to the sidebar recently.  If you're able, please click through now to see them :).<br /><br />The two new widgets are for the <a href="http://www.marchofdimes.com/" target="_blank">March of Dimes</a> – <a href="http://www.marchforbabies.org/hilaryjp248" target="_blank">March for Babies</a> benefit walk and the <a href="http://www.cff.org/" target="_blank">Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s</a> <a href="http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/dsp_DonationPage.cfm?walkid=7701&idUser=464368" target="_blank">Great Strides 5K</a>.  I did both of these walks last year and was definitely inspired to make them part of my annual routine.  <br /><br />The March of Dimes is near and dear to my heart, as this was a foundation that the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) heavily supported.  I was a very active member of FBLA in high school and learned the mission of the March of Dimes then.  The mission, by the way, is simple:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="color: #674ea7;"><b><i>We help moms have full-term pregnancies and research the problems that threaten the health of babies.</i></b></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohokAq7gDBBVVMLrIJtkcL2Nz-O1LQnCPy1TGx6HwNeYP_a959yTE1QmWUxYy1deT91UozQH3tgF1KJgVJu9Y5VHrfY-O7PRqzUDlGyEd5Fc82Gor0JQNyEa1IzzpvyUMY1CS5hVgrrY/s1600/dimesmarch2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohokAq7gDBBVVMLrIJtkcL2Nz-O1LQnCPy1TGx6HwNeYP_a959yTE1QmWUxYy1deT91UozQH3tgF1KJgVJu9Y5VHrfY-O7PRqzUDlGyEd5Fc82Gor0JQNyEa1IzzpvyUMY1CS5hVgrrY/s400/dimesmarch2.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/05/march-of-dimes-march-for-babies-5k.html" target="_blank">Last year’s walk</a> provided some very emotional moments.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpevr9P7aXKDBHUoLpxzEMWxlHeIcSWMYzbej7Hn6uGBlT4KVYI049f9UWgINpE1f8UFOWXXsoXNT40aaSZuDTqGfTqEBlZ4XBAF-l4oZPiel4zNGeoGHlNtkpS6cnYiK_RF7-Rs5h0U/s1600/dimesmarch4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpevr9P7aXKDBHUoLpxzEMWxlHeIcSWMYzbej7Hn6uGBlT4KVYI049f9UWgINpE1f8UFOWXXsoXNT40aaSZuDTqGfTqEBlZ4XBAF-l4oZPiel4zNGeoGHlNtkpS6cnYiK_RF7-Rs5h0U/s400/dimesmarch4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/05/great-strides-5k.html" target="_blank">Last year</a>, I chose to walk for the CFF for no other reason than I wanted another 5K to enroll in.  However, when you go to events like that, you quickly realize how it’s more than just a walk.   You see firsthand how your money benefits those affected by cystic fibrosis.  In high school I worked at a locally owned pharmacy.  We had a customer who had CF.  He was just a child and was such a joyful little kid everytime he came in with his mom to pick up his prescriptions.  At the time I didn’t even realize the magnitude of his disease.  As an adult, and someone who is pursuing a nursing degree, I have started to understand and appreciate the challenges involved with such illnesses. <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3goM43505i5XzO2w3ZFHHptDIRr0wjirOTXjcM6DT3OfFxNNjqE7551jmkkyQy7DO_BugccED1C-N_oaZI1W8p7WBdlwquzqhvg1jzfyF2xAVGBd9nbHWquMnwab16E9rVxN3PeShEMs/s1600/CFF+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3goM43505i5XzO2w3ZFHHptDIRr0wjirOTXjcM6DT3OfFxNNjqE7551jmkkyQy7DO_BugccED1C-N_oaZI1W8p7WBdlwquzqhvg1jzfyF2xAVGBd9nbHWquMnwab16E9rVxN3PeShEMs/s400/CFF+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />If you can find it in your heart to make a donation to one of these organizations, know that it will be put to good use.  There are plenty of children/parents out there who really need the help that each of these organizations provide, and even $5 can make a difference.  <br /><br /><span style="color: #999999;">{Clicking on the widgets will take you to my campaign page where you can make a secure online donation.}  </span><br /><br />Thank you in advance on behalf of the March of Dimes and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for those of you who are able to contribute!

5K Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Great Strides March for Babies March of Dimes Two Upcoming 5K's

For those of you who read The Big Weight in a Reader, you may not have noticed that I added two new “widgets” to the sidebar recently. If y...

March of Dimes - March for Babies 5K

8:44 AM Tukiyooo 0

The mission of the <a href="http://www.marchofdimes.com/">March of Dimes</a> is simply stated:<br /><blockquote style="color: #674ea7;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 11pt;">"We help moms have full-term pregnancies and research the problems that threaten the health of babies."</span></i></b></blockquote>Though the actual mission itself is nothing short of being simple.  I'm sure that you know someone who has had a miscarriage or has had a child born prematurely - I know several women who have been affected by this.  Participants in the walk on Sunday who have directly been affected by the issues mentioned above wore beads around their necks - purple beads signifying that their baby was born prematurely and had to fight for their life early on, and white beads signifying that their beloved child did not win the battle.  My heart went out to those people wearing the white beads - how tragic, how sad, how life shattering.   <br /><br />Even though I'm 99.9% certain that none of my donors are reading this blog, I'd still like to let it be known how grateful I am for their generosity toward the March of Dimes-March for Babies walk that was held this past Sunday (May 1) in La Plata, MD.  I successfully raised $455, which was $255 over my goal!  <b>THANK YOU!!!!!</b><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpevr9P7aXKDBHUoLpxzEMWxlHeIcSWMYzbej7Hn6uGBlT4KVYI049f9UWgINpE1f8UFOWXXsoXNT40aaSZuDTqGfTqEBlZ4XBAF-l4oZPiel4zNGeoGHlNtkpS6cnYiK_RF7-Rs5h0U/s1600/dimesmarch4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpevr9P7aXKDBHUoLpxzEMWxlHeIcSWMYzbej7Hn6uGBlT4KVYI049f9UWgINpE1f8UFOWXXsoXNT40aaSZuDTqGfTqEBlZ4XBAF-l4oZPiel4zNGeoGHlNtkpS6cnYiK_RF7-Rs5h0U/s320/dimesmarch4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />I was pleasantly surprised to learn a few days before the walk that we would have two options for the race course.  We could either do the standard 5K (3.1 miles), or actually go ahead and do 5 miles.  I knew ahead of time I'd being doing 5 miles - there's no reason why I couldn't!  <br /><br />I've also learned enough by now from the last two 5K's I've done that I wanted to position myself near the front.  When a race starts, it takes a few minutes to get your own momentum going because of the shear number of people clustered together.  And afterall, this was a noncompetitive walk, so there was no harm in me plopping myself within the first few feet of the start line.  It took me a few minutes to get around the slower people, but I finally did and was on my merry way.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9VVIHNqkBBv1FoUKlHWaDhn9e0vAFqklqO9JkDNGLaD-QZe6EoLYPTstUbimC2rG2OTqeCLgUpBPUz6N05HqdQXUCfQVrruLfrsTBQzbc9PuZs_tcurKDGChUKGh1-c5sHbtQ9oBIpAY/s1600/dimesmarch5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9VVIHNqkBBv1FoUKlHWaDhn9e0vAFqklqO9JkDNGLaD-QZe6EoLYPTstUbimC2rG2OTqeCLgUpBPUz6N05HqdQXUCfQVrruLfrsTBQzbc9PuZs_tcurKDGChUKGh1-c5sHbtQ9oBIpAY/s400/dimesmarch5.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The starting line</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXivXjT6G9HzMnxEPihJZgKDVdLdBCxM2AW45DW3M1LXZlduoUIp_hcFg_plATPGxrlPHTTAhrhQflC8LPGuoNN9pzhdv7JIn8luIQ6EfUVkzbuDLZ2Y1KF3yeJv_JkHWFZrDnviSdwNk/s1600/dimesmarch1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXivXjT6G9HzMnxEPihJZgKDVdLdBCxM2AW45DW3M1LXZlduoUIp_hcFg_plATPGxrlPHTTAhrhQflC8LPGuoNN9pzhdv7JIn8luIQ6EfUVkzbuDLZ2Y1KF3yeJv_JkHWFZrDnviSdwNk/s400/dimesmarch1.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">look how cute this team is with their pretty outfits!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />There were about 7 people in front of me for a long time and then a few people started running and subsequently passed me.  Running was not an option for me Sunday due to the recent back pain I've been experiencing, and I definitely wanted to do the entire 5 miles - pain free if at all possible.  But I husseled in my 5 mile walk.  There was this one lady who ran ahead of me in the beginning.  I ultimately caught up with her and I wanted to finish in front of her.  That ended up being my little race goal - I wanted to beat this lady who had actually jogged for parts of the walk when I only walked the entire thing.  I was able to pass her with about 2 miles left!  <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohokAq7gDBBVVMLrIJtkcL2Nz-O1LQnCPy1TGx6HwNeYP_a959yTE1QmWUxYy1deT91UozQH3tgF1KJgVJu9Y5VHrfY-O7PRqzUDlGyEd5Fc82Gor0JQNyEa1IzzpvyUMY1CS5hVgrrY/s1600/dimesmarch2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohokAq7gDBBVVMLrIJtkcL2Nz-O1LQnCPy1TGx6HwNeYP_a959yTE1QmWUxYy1deT91UozQH3tgF1KJgVJu9Y5VHrfY-O7PRqzUDlGyEd5Fc82Gor0JQNyEa1IzzpvyUMY1CS5hVgrrY/s400/dimesmarch2.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">signs posted along the route to help you understand what your donated money goes toward..</td></tr></tbody></table>As I was coming in to the final stretch, my right heel started hurting and I felt like I had a pebble in my shoe beneath the front of my foot.  Then I realized - crap!  I'm getting blisters!  I was shocked - these shoes are not brand new and I was wearing my typical cotton socks.  Sure enough, I developed an inch long blood blister (gross!) on my heel and 2 blisters started to form on my other foot.  Oh well - the exercise was well worth it!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoapanYiFZlY_YLjReKFZNYrHt24hDjcQiF_YxxiFHee26xf1UziL711EdfsQTz4a51e8yVgFG5Fyooxvdro8APrWN9u_KbPbmq4lLn111gdJBk1tKEDAqa8VTdhs-KYPrTW7HWgiqCao/s1600/dimesmarch3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoapanYiFZlY_YLjReKFZNYrHt24hDjcQiF_YxxiFHee26xf1UziL711EdfsQTz4a51e8yVgFG5Fyooxvdro8APrWN9u_KbPbmq4lLn111gdJBk1tKEDAqa8VTdhs-KYPrTW7HWgiqCao/s400/dimesmarch3.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I estimate I was in the top 20 of walkers at this point - I was actually passing a huge crowd of people on my way back as they were still on their way to finishing this part of the course.</td></tr></tbody></table>It was on this leg of the course (pictured above), as I was personally feeling proud for staying ahead of this entire crowd (from a fitness standpoint), when I passed a lady who was walking by herself pushing an empty stroller.  My first thought was "Her child must have ran ahead to join the other dozens of children" and almost as soon as that thought ended I saw her white beads and I knew.  I knew that this woman was pushing the stroller of her child that did not win his/her battle for life.  This woman and I made eye contact, and I felt like she read my mind and the expression on my face as I pieced together what I was seeing, because she gave me a sympathetic nod and kept going.<br /><br />That, folks, is why <i>we </i>walk for the March for Babies.