Struggling and Overcoming

Here I am trying to get this blog up and going, and got some very bad news a couple weeks ago and it threw me off. I needed to take a little time off to collect my thoughts.

After a year and a half of battling MEPS, after hours of community service, hours of studying..... after all the enormous effort of applying to Officer Training School for the Air Force... I was a non-select.

Ok, so now that I've made peace with it, here's a cool video to lighten the mood and make you laugh a little. Also, A-10's are awesome. :)  Here is a demonstration of how I felt when I got the news.

I have to wait another 6 months to reapply. I need to go through all the medical stuff again because my medical waiver expires before then. Furthermore, my recruiter told me not to bother applying again because I'd "never be selected" based on having a non-technical degree. I have a Business Degree, and there were several people picked that had similiar degrees. I have been told my mentors (one of which is an officer) not to give up, that I have a solid chance and to at least try one more time.

I'm on the hunt for a new recruiter, but Officer Accessions recruiters are far and few in between. I don't fall apart easily, I don't lose my nearly obnoxious level of enthusiasm easily. This got me though. This hit me hard. It made me feel low. I can't find a good civilian job in my location, and the military doesn't seem to want me either. Ouch.

I wallowed. Because I was in the privacy of my home, I just let the emotion come crashing down on me and I let myelf feel it. Sometimes allowing yourself to feel human is what lets you move on and heal.

Now it is time to pick the pieces back up. It is time to find a way. I am still looking for a new recruiter, someone who will sign me up for the dual-track program. So if I don't get selected again, I immediately enlist. I like this, because my ultimate goal is to serve our country. All the other factors, rank, benefits, position, etc. are not as important to me as serving.

Because of the holidays, I haven't been able to get a hold of an enlisted recruiter. I've emailed, and called two different phone numbers. One number has no voicemail, the other is full. I'm going to give it a couple more weeks before I start going to other recruiting offices. I'm not ready to throw in the towel. I am an excellent candidate for military service and I'm not going to give up until I'm at a dead end that's out of my control.

So here I am, feeling a little lost. I need to figure out what is next. I've begun studying for the ASVAB. It's not terribly difficult, but after studying for the AFOQT, I am used to rushing through the questions at full-speed (because you have to in order to finish each section). I need to train myself to slow back down a little, focus on each question and read carefully.

Fitness needs to remain a priority as well, so I'll be focusing on that big time. I'm currently finishing up Insanity Max 30 (amazing by the way) and starting up Hammer and Chisel. I'm excited to jump into something new, and excited for a much-needed outlet for feeling rather frustrated. Exercise is the best therapy. When you're upset, frustrated, or even sad, you can pour all of your emotion into the workout. Rather than punishing yourself, you're rewarding yourself with a stronger body AND a stronger mind.

So here I am, back at the beginning, wondering where I'll go next.

I hope in 6-8 months I can say that one way or another, I'm an airman in the U.S. Air Force. I am going to do everything in my power to make it happen.

A recap of surviving my second half-marathon!!!

***Brace yourselves, this is a lonnnngg post.***

I signed up for his race not knowing a single person who was signing up for it. I was in this all alone. A couple of years ago, I wouldn't have even done a 5K alone. I wasn't brave enough, I needed someone next to me, ANYONE, to make me feel like I wasn't alone.

Now I'm ok with doing something alone, even though it's still scary. I have enough confidence now that I can stand on my own two feet. It would have been nice to have a running buddy, but I wasn't going to choose not to do it just because no one was doing it with me.

My husband and my two boys dropped me off at the starting point. I had about 15 minutes, and because I'm a shy person, I just piddled around on my phone pretending to be busy while I waited.

People think New Mexico is always warm, but it isn't. It may not get as cold as the northern states, but I assure you that it still gets plenty cold. It was actually warm this morning (by warm, I mean 50ish), but a wind was kicking up and a cold front was moving through right during the race. Ominous clouds hung out on the horizon and the weather indicated that it was probably going to rain soon. It seems a bit cruel since rain in NM is rare, and today is just not a good day for it.

Thankfully, I was dressed in a ton of layers, bundled up to keep warm, and I lightly jogged in place to stay warm and ready to go.

FINALLY, it was time to begin. Right as the MC started talking, someone I had met recently noticed me and said an enthusiastic "hello!!!" and we kind of reintroduced ourselves. I can't even describe the feeling of relief at just knowing one other human being in this race. It felt nice to know someone, even if we weren't running together.

The horn finally blew, and I was standing way at the back because I'm not a fast runner. It's kind of as a way to be courteous of the faster runners who are competing, I stay out of their way knowing that they are just going to have to go around me if I start in front of them. You kind of have to walk forward for a while until people spread out and you can break into a jog. I always start off slow anyways. I feel like sprinting in the very beginning is not a good idea, you want to pace yourself and take it easy and steady.

The first mile was brutal. Almost all of it was up a steep hill going up the base of the mountainside. I had not trained on hills at ALL. What was I THINKING??? Lesson learned: you should always consider the terrain and the incline of your run, not just the distance. That was a rookie mistake, and not one I'll make again.

I hit my stride through the following miles. There were a lot of hills but they were manageable. I kept a fairly steady pace, and kept up easily with the people around me. I actually got to enjoy a lot of it at this point. People's Christmas decorations were cheerful, and the houses and yards on this street are fun to look at.

And then.... I hit about 4.5 miles. I wanted to DIE. It went from gentle hills to a constant upward hike. We were climbing higher into the mountains. Thus far I had run without stopping to walk. I was so determined to keep going without walking but I had to walk at this point. My poor legs were SCREAMING. Not only were we in a constant and unrelenting upward climb, but we were also running into a harsh New Mexico wind made even worse by intermittent bouts of light rain.

I just focused on getting halfway. I would take it one step at a time, and I vowed to make it to the turnaround point, and that was my immediate goal. I try not to think about all the miles I have left, I just think, "almost halfway...." or "almost 3/4 of the way", it helps break it down into manageable pieces.

When I hit the turnaround point, it was all downhill for a while and it was glorious!!!! I cannot even begin to say how nice it was to just build up some momentum and run down the slope. I tried to use it to get some speed but without losing good form or putting too much pressure on my legs. It was amazing though, I was able to run another 2-3 miles straight without stopping, a welcome reward after running uphill for so long.

We proceeded to run through the mountain park in which we get to see the iconic "Lady of the Mountain". It really does look like a woman lying on the horizon. This was my favorite part of the entire run. The mountain park is so pretty, a paved pathway with scenic picnic areas and pretty cacti all along the path.

The last 2 miles were awful. I felt like nomatter how far I ran, At the same time though, I felt so proud, I made it this far and I was going to finish. My husband and my sons kept stopping along the route to cheer me on. Seeing three of the people I love the very most cheering and my little boys saying they loved me.... words cannot describe the happiness that gave me.

Finally, I was headed back down that steep hill I ran up in the beginning. At this point I didn't get a lot of relief from the descent. My body was about spent. I was ready to stop but I could see the finish line now. No stopping, I told myself to keep going.

Finally, FINALLY FINALLY..... I stepped through the arc and heard the little chip beep as I made my way through at 3:03:53. A woman handed me my finishers medal. I didn't even put it around my neck, I just smiled, thanked her and headed towards my husband and kids. We got into the car. Relief. Warmth. I'm done.

I went home, took a long, hot shower, ate a huge salad (yes, that's what I was craving; a giant salad with grilled chicken), and took a four hour nap.

It has been over 48 hours since I started my race at this point, and I am still sore. I feel like I got hit by a bus, but I also feel a little badass. That feeling of pride hasn't faded a bit and it reminds me of what I'm capable of doing.

There was a time I couldn't even run a single block. Now I can run 13.1 miles (with some walking sprinkled in). That is a major accomplishment, and made all the good moments and the difficult moments totally worth it.

I am an average person. I'm not very tall, I'm not thin, I'm not a stereotypical runner. If I can do it, I would venture to say that almost anyone can. If you can dream it, you can do it.

Now I need to figure out what's next. Immediately, I want to recover and start "Hammer and Chisel", and hopefully train for Air Force PT testing. Ultimately though, I want to start leaning out and building up muscle. I am done being flabby. I'm done feeling weighed down by the extra fat hanging on to my frame. I am ready to get it off, and that is going to take a lot of dedication and work, but I WILL do it, just like I finished this Half-marathon. One step at a time.

Half Marathon tomorrow!!!!

Tomorrow I am running the "Lady of the Mountain" half-marathon!!! This will be my second half-marathon. My first was the "Run then Wine" half-marathon and they mapped it wrong and we ran almost a mile longer than we should have!!! Not cool! So for this half, I'm not worried about a particular goal time, I just want to finish and set a benchmark for future races.

I mostly signed up for this so I would have something to keep my mind off of waiting for results from the Officer training school board. I applied to Air Force Officer Training School in September and I've been waiting ever since to find out if I made it in!!! I *should* find out on the 18th!

Meanwhile, I need to keep working on fitness and just stay busy. It could be months before I leave for training so I need to keep working on mental and physical preparation.

I'll post tomorrow what my results are, I'm so excited and nervous!!! It's apparently a really hilly run, so its going to be a tough one!!!

Wish me luck!!!

Is it sad that I'm particularly excited to go back to my normal fitness routine? Today is rest day number 3 because I wanted to make sure I didn't overdo it. I still walked a lot and did normal activities, just no crazy strength or intense cardio.

I'm excited to start Hammer and Chisel soon. I need it!!! I especially need the chisel, haha, I have a lot of muscle under this flab, but the last bit of flab needs to go!!!

More to come, stay tuned! 

New Program!!!!!! Hammer and Chisel! BRING IT!

My husband and I have been wanting to do a program together. I have applied to Officer Training School for the Air Force, and my husband is in the Air Force. Fitness is naturally very important to us! I need to shed a little more weight, and I need to work on my upper body strength. My husband gets very high scores on his PT tests but as we both get older, it is necessary to keep working hard to keep our fitness levels up.

Problem was, my husband wasn't terribly into Insanity. He's not into that fast-paced, cardio-driven type workout. We were struggling with what would work for both of us.

And then came along Hammer and Chisel. It's a new program just released December 1st! My husband saw the video and a promo photo of a test group, and he was sold. He's excited to start this with me, and I'm excited to have a workout to do with him. We have a fantastic marriage, he is truly my best friend, and this is just one more of many things we can do together.

I have a friend whose coach is the woman in the green top in the top right. These are not models, these are REAL people who chose to be a part of the test group. What amazing results!!!

Sometimes it's intimidating. I know I feel like, "They look amazing but I'm not really sure that could be me." I am going to chase the fear away, and we are going to do this. I'm ready!!! I'm ready to switch up my routine, lose a little more weight and build up some lean muscle. 

Check out this video! 

Pretty exciting, right??? Anyone want to join my challenge group and give this a shot? Do NOT wait until January to start getting healthier. A month from now, you'll either be glad you started now, or regret that you waited. Which decision are you going to make? Think of it as a gift for yourself, the kind of gift that will keep giving and keep rewarding you long past the holidays. 

If you're interested in taking on this program with me, my husband, and other people just like us, send me an email at Megan.Keyser@gmail.com. You can also peruse my personal site here.

Let's do this together, I'm so excited to try this!!! :) As soon as we get our program in the mail, I'll post our "before" photos!!! 

Introduction

I'm Megan, I'm 28, almost 29 and the mommy of two beautiful boys (each of which were very big babies!!!). I used to weigh just a pound or two shy of 170 and I'm 5'2" tall. I am now down to 142 and counting thanks to a lot of hard work and a commitment to living a healthier lifestyle. My story is a lot like most people's. I have always been a little bit "husky", but I gained a lot in college, and I have gone up and down over the years through pregnancy.

I have faced a lot of self-esteem issues, as many overweight people do. I have cried in fitting rooms because I had to go up ANOTHER size. I have dreaded having to go somewhere because I felt like I couldn't look nice. I have felt ugly when I saw my reflections starting back at me.

My story is kind of a long one, so I'm going to keep it short and sweet. I am on  weight loss journey, 28 pounds down from my heaviest. I started out with just running and lost the first 19 pounds on my own and I hit this frustrating plateau. I FINALLY broke out of that plateau when I started Insanity at my local gym, and have lost an additional 9 pounds. I sincerely believe I needed the intensity and change of pace that Insanity offers. I LOVE the classes, both live and on dvd!!

I still have about 15-20 pounds to go to be at what I believe will be my idea weight. I am so stoked to be seeing progress again though! It's hard to stick with something and "trust the process" if you can't seem to budge. Insanity and Shakeology have changed my outlook.

I started out as just a beachbody discount coach. I wanted to lose weight and focus on my own journey, but as I've seen success, I've realized how amazing it would be to help other people have their own success in their journeys. I decided I was all in, I want to help other people meet their goals while I finish mine.

These are incredible products!!! With so many fun and engaging programs to choose from and an amazing nutrition shake called shakeology, you WILL see success too. It's not a gimmick or a quick fix, it involves commitment, hard work and dedication to reach your goals. You will need to learn to eat healthy. You will need to work hard and challenge your body to change. You will need to make sure your body gets the nutrition it needs.

I will continue to be living proof that these programs work. I WILL lose the rest of my excess weight and get in peak physical shape. Do you want to join me? What have you really got to lose? You are worth taking the chance on. You are worth giving it your best shot. If you HATE the programs and you drink all of your shakeology and it does nothing for you, return them for a money-back guarantee.

There is NOTHING standing in your way except yourself. You have the power to change yourself. If you commit and you give it everything you've got, you can change. I have hypothyroidism (metabolism like molasses and an uncanny ability to pack on pounds in a short period of time), I'm nearly 30 and I've had two kids. If I can see success, so can you!!! 

Follow me on my journey, read as long as you wish. It is YOUR choice to contact me or not, but I invite you along to just read and see what I'm doing. Find out if it's going to work or not. Watch me commit, watch me struggle, watch me shrink and watch me change, and if you decide at some point that you're ready to commit to yourself, send me an email at Megan.Keyser@gmail.com or visit my beachbody site.