"Don't Cry Because It is Over, Smile Because It Happened."

Title quote by the late Dr. Seuss. :)

Today we said goodbye to ZTT over lunch at Cosi. Yum. And ZTT picked the place so he was really to blame for the large chunks of mozzarella that I ate. I repeat, YUM.

We brought him an amazing gift and I, of course, took pictures.



Yes, that's correct. We ::heart:: ZTT so much that we bought him a New York Yankees shirt, with ZTT #1 on it, of course!!! The gift box was also amazing. It had a cut out Yoda on it! I kind of love this picture (and so does Zak, I'm sure...):



I also took an after photo for him to put in his testimonials book. I will be writing him a testimonial when he gives me the topics he wants covered, but I figure I will write a first cut here and if it is good enough he can just take it. In short, this is an Ode to ZTT. First, before and after pictures.

Before (June 2009):



After (Front view):



After (Side view):



What difference!!! Now for my ZTT wrap-up.

I worked with ZTT in some capacity from April 22, 2009 to December 29, 2009. In those 8 months, I:

Lost 68 pounds.
Lost 27% of my body weight.
Went down 4 clothing sizes.
Worked out between 3-6 days per week, giving a reasonable estimate of 144 workouts.
Ran five 5Ks, one 10K and a 1/2 marathon.
Lowered my blood pressure from 140/90 to 118/70.

Additionally, there are some things that cannot be measured in numbers, but are still so worth noting. I:

Feel amazing.
Have more energy.
Am proud of myself.
Feel like an actual athlete, not a poser (like I previously did).
Am more willing to try athletic feats since I believe that I could actually be successful at them.
Have inspired the "facebook nations" as well as many, many of my friends and family.
Can see somewhat defined muscles when I flex in front of the mirror (which happens every morning).

I am sure there are so many more things that I am not including, but I think the gist is clear: I worked HARD to get where I am today, but I am confident that without Zak, none of it would have happened! Zak knew how to handle me--how to pick me back up when I didn't want to do it anymore and how to celebrate with me when I had great successes. I'll miss you, ZTT...I'll especially miss chatting with you about all of my crazy life drama (and you *know* you'll miss it too!) but you suggested Devon and I am confident that he can *try* to pick up where you left off and take me that last mile... Thanks for everything!!! ::tear, sob::