By Ashley Herrick

In the last two weeks, I have lost another 4.1 pounds which has brought me to a total of 142.6 pounds dropped. I am grateful for every ounce that I lose. But I know someday soon that it is going to slow down. And that is a huge fear for me.

Knowing that in the back of my mind, I have actually "stepped up" my exercise. I have picked up a new running buddy. Actually she is a friend of mine that I have known most of my life. If you remember in my last blog, one of my tips was to have a buddy. It is so much easier to have someone to go with. We make each other accountable. I actually have two friends that I go with regularly and I am so grateful for them.

This past week I did something that I have never done before. My friend and I started our run on the Riverwalk. We finished our run and were walking and we were about two miles out when it started to rain. We just looked at each other and laughed and said, “Oh, well,” and kept going. There wasn’t much we could do at that point, because we were two miles out

However, 140 pounds ago, I would have made every excuse in the book not to have started that walk/run if I even thought there was a chance of rain. I was so proud of us. Now I know that no matter what obstacles are thrown my way, I can still do what I need to do to stay on my "to-do" list. What a great feeling.

I have committed to run another race with Dr. McLelland in December. Hopefully my time will be a little better than it was in August. A little better each time is what I hope for.