Well ok, I'm exaggerating a little. I had one friend ask me to post an update. I honestly forgot I had a blog until she asked. I figure that while I sit here at 8:30 at night, waiting for the plumber to come and replace my 2 1/2 year old, $700 sump pump that died, I might as well write something.
I just read my post from January, and not much has changed since then. I am still running, and now have a 10k under my belt. Right after I hit that 6 mile mark, I just started running longer distances, because I realized that I could. After doing 9 miles 2 weekends in a row, people were saying to me that, if I could do 9, I could do a half marathon. I found one sponsored by CHAD (Children's Hospital at Dartmouth) at the end of October, and signed up. This one will be very special to me for a few reasons. First of all, it supports a wonderful cause. Secondly, I graduated from Dartmouth in 1995. To say that I was not athletic during my college years is an understatement (if you look back at my before and after picture, the before picture was me in college.) It seemed like everyone else on campus was always running or going to some sports practice. The idea that I will go back there 19 years after I graduated and run 13.1 miles is incredible to me, and makes me very proud! I'll also be running the race with my best friend, who now lives in Massachusetts, so I don't see her often. She is getting back into running after a serious hamstring injury about a year ago. We are treating ourselves to 2 nights at the Hanover Inn, delicious dinners, some drinks, and then we will go back to her house and I will visit with her, her husband, and her 2 adorable dogs for a few days. I cannot wait! I realized though, that October is 6 months away, and I was worried that my motivation would wane. I found The ODDyssey Half Marathon in Philadelphia on June 8th, and signed up. My first half marathon is only about 5 weeks away!! I started a formal training plan, but started at week 6, because that was the distance I was up to, and it worked out well, because that's how much time I had when I started. I've become a fan of Epsom salt baths, and am looking into buying a special kind of tape to tape my IT band...who am I, and when did I start speaking this foreign language??? It is so amazingly bizarre!!!
I continue to work with my trainer twice a week and do yoga 2-3x a week. My yoga studio hosted an 8 mile hike a few weeks ago along the Appalachian trail, which I did, along with 15 other people I did not know. That was all so outside my comfort zone, including going out to dinner together after, but I had an awesome time (and ran 9 miles the next day!) I am enjoying this new, active lifestyle more than I ever could have imagined. My trainer is pushing me harder now, but also listens to me if I tell him that my legs are dead, and we need to focus on other areas. He does not run, and is impressed with my progress. That's nice, coming from a very strong, fit guy! Now, he's not just happy with me doing push-ups, he shows me how to do them correctly, and when I'm done says, "Those were 10 quality push-ups!" I think my face will break from smiling so hard!
I recently joined a running forum on Facebook, and have found so many supportive, outgoing, optimistic, helpful people! I love having my newsfeed full of people's accomplishments and questions, and having somewhere to go to get my many questions answered, as well as to brag to people who really get it. Running is not just exercise to me anymore. I won't say I enjoy the act of running (although it has it's moments), but I LOVE that I CAN run, I love that I'm a runner, I love the way I feel when I'm done, and I love the way running is changing my body, and my mind. It is really hard to believe, and I wouldn't if it weren't happening to me.
One challenge has been what to eat, and how much to eat, to fuel my body. On WW, I get a certain number of points a day, extra for the week, and still more if I earn them through activity. My focus has typically been on how much I eat, meaning how many points, with little thought being given to WHAT I'm eating...if I want it, and can "afford" it, I can eat it. I also had this idea that running would earn me tons of points, so I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted. While I am definitely able to be more lenient and not gain, or not gain much at all, I wasn't losing, I was fatigued, and I was hungry. I've changed things up over the past few weeks, focusing a lot more on protein. I have also tried to divide my 49 points evenly over 7 days (which gives me 36 per day), rather than using them all during the weekend. 29 points is just not enough food, especially if I need to eat before and after a run, and then a few times during work so that I'm not a hungry, headache-y bitch by 5:00, when I still have 2 hours to go. 36 seems to be perfect. For weekend splurges, I use some of my activity points, and I like this, because I have truly earned them, and therefore, the splurge. I weighed in today, and am down 2.4 lbs!! Some would argue that I don't need to lose weight, and technically I don't, nor do I really think I do. However, I am now 1.2 lbs away from my original WW goal...a number I don't think I've seen in about 2 years. If I can get there, even if it's just for a week, I will be ecstatic!!
Life is really good right now. I became an Aunt for the 5th time a few weeks ago to a beautiful, healthy baby boy. I have a colon cancer 5k coming up this weekend, which I will do with my sister-in-law. She lost her sister to the disease, and my Dad is an almost 30 year survivor. I got to pick my bib number, and chose his birthday, 210. I will frame it, and give it to him for Father's Day...it will mean a lot to me to give it, and I know it will mean a lot to him to receive it. In about 2 weeks, my Mom and I will head up to New Hampshire for our yearly trip to Dartmouth. A few of the highlights for me, other than trips to Lou's, Molly's and Lui Lui's, as well as 3 glorious nights at the Hanover Inn, will be our massages, going for a run around Occum Pond, and meeting a friend I met through my FB runners' forum who lives up there, and who will be doing the CHAD half as well. Shortly after I return, I head to Philly! I pick up my bib, t-shirt and goodie bag at a runners' expo, where I'm sure I'll find lots of cool stuff I "need" to buy. Then I'll spend the night in a fancy hotel, and be up bright and early to take the bus to the starting line. There, the young girl who couldn't walk around the track once in high school without getting shin splints, will RUN 13.1 miles. It's my version of a fairy tale, and it's going to come true.
