Needs Unknown.

It is nice when you get things you don't know you need.

Last night I had to face the reality that I had to pack again for 12 days away from home. I had been home for just a week, getting into a routine and sticking to the no cheat challenge and training for the half marathon. I was not excited to leave again. I was not excited for the challenge of 12 days away from home, very busy work days, workouts in hotel fitness rooms, creative healthy meals, no cooking... The scale is moving and I don't want it to stop!

Today I received a few gifts to encourage me as I go into these 12 days away from home.

1. The man at the rental car counter looked at my driver's license (the worst picture on the face of the planet) and then looked at me. "You've lost a lot of weight," he said. "You look beautiful."

2. I was running my 4.5 miles (yes, my 'short runs' are now 4.5 miles) on the treadmill after a full day of travel. Biggest Loser was on and encouraging me to push through the run even though I hated doing it on the treadmill. I handed the remote over to the other guy who had been in the room with me as I was preparing to leave. "I should probably keep watching it," he said. "We're doing the Biggest Loser at work and although us guys started out strong the women have taken the lead." We had a casual little chat about the difficulty of losing weight while traveling and ended the conversation by saying we'd see each other again since we're both here for the week.

3. I found a new favorite airport food at Chicago Midway. Potbelly Turkey sandwich with hot peppers. YUMM. Just thinking of it makes me happy. Typically, my travel days are filled with food temptations but today was a huge success. I ate my favorite sandwich, found a subway next to the hotel for dinner and when I tallied up what I had eaten I was at the exact place I was supposed to be! I'm getting pretty good at this whole 'choices' thing.

4. The hotel has free Exercise TV. 15 minute workouts great for a hotel room. A good way to get in some strength training without weights.

5. The hotel room has a rain shower head. This doesn't make workouts or eating well easier (although the microwave and mini-fridge do) but it sure did make me happy. Oh, and I look forward to a post-workout shower so maybe it does make me want to workout!

So those were a few gifts I received that I didn't know I needed but they made the first day of 12 a pretty good one.