I am starting this blog in the hopes that it will inspire me to keep going with the journey I've been on for the past year. I decided last February to run the Chicago Marathon. While this may not seem like that big of a feat for some people, I had never run a day before in my life! In fact, when I started running in February of 2010, I couldn't run 1/4 mile without being out of breath and needing to walk. But I kept at it, I found a great group of running companions (some seasoned, some newbies like me), and I accomplished my goal of running the Chicago Marathon on 10/10/10. Unfortunately, it was an extremely hot day and I didn't do it in the time that I wanted to. Based on my training, I thought under 5 hours was a reasonable goal. My official finish time was 5:24. So, of course, I need to do it again (and, in fact, am signed up for this year's marathon already).
Okay, so that's one of my goals for this year, but I have many! Let me back up a little. I am 42 years old, I am 5'9" and, up until I turned 40, could pretty much eat anything I wanted and not have to worry much about exercising (and still maintain a size 6). However, after 40 that all went downhill (along with my weight, my figure, my self-esteem, etc., etc.). So, last January when I went to my doctor (at my top weight of 161) and begged her to give me prozac and she refused, saying that this was the beginning of pre-menopause and that I was just going to have to find a way to deal with it. That was a real wake up call for me. I decided I couldn't possibly live the rest of my life this way (for one thing, my 4 kids and husband would likely all leave me because I had turned into such a bitch), and decided I needed to do something about it. That's where the running comes in. So, during training the pounds began to come off, I began to feel so much better about myself, and everything really turned around for me. After completing the marathon, I had officially lost 25 pounds and I have managed to keep most of it off. My weight now fluctuates between 137-140 and I am down to a size 2 or 4, depending on the cut/fit/etc.
Several of the ladies in my running group started serious strength training over the winter, so I joined in. I have been doing strength training about 3 days a week since November and have really noticed the difference....both in my body and in my ability to run faster! So this is a good thing all around! I am not only signed up for the Chicago Marathon in October, I am also signed up for 2 half-marathons...the first one is May 1st and the second is August 29th. My goal is to complete at least one of the half-marathons in under 2 hours. Another goal of mine is to get serious about how I eat. I need to start eating clean and I know I will see the difference once I start, but I just can't seem to get there. Hopefully this blog will help, as I intend to start blogging about my food choices and their impact that I see and feel.
So that's me...kind of...I promise my next blog won't be so long, but I felt there was a lot I needed to get out there initially.
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