My New Journey

I got up this morning and put on what used to be my favorite pair of jeans. I took one good look at myself in the mirror and gave out a big sigh of disappointment. Yes, I was able to put them on, button them, and zip them up without lying down on the bed. Yes, I could still manage to breathe after I buttoned and zipped them up, but they were a bit to snug on my backside and I have to say, if I’m going to have a little junk in the trunk I’d rather my junk be cute and on the tight side rather than on the saggy side. Sometimes you just have those days when nothing in the closet seems to fit the right way. I know I have those days and unfortunately for me, I seem to be having those days more often than not. Feeling discouraged and just plain yucky about myself, I did something I NEVER do. I pulled out the scale from its hiding place. The layers of dust are proof that I never use my scale. Ironically enough, I only weigh 5 pounds more than I did when I finished training for my first 1/2 marathon. The numbers on the scale don’t matter to me because I wasn’t happy with how I looked or how I felt. This is why I never rely on a scale. I taught myself a long time ago to stay away from the ugly cycle of weighing myself on a scale. Today, I went against my better judgement and guess where it got me? Searching my closet for my "backup" clothes. Backup plan number one = a baggy sweatshirt to cover up the not so cute assets.

Two years ago, I decided that I wanted to do something life changing. I was getting ready to turn 3o and I really wanted to do something just for me. I decided to sign myself up for the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon. This came as a shock to many people, especially me because I hated to run. I played volleyball throughout my school years and the only part I ever hated about practice was conditioning because I despised running. So why on earth would I sign myself up for an event the required me to run 13.1 miles? The answer, I needed something for myself. Training for an event like a half marathon requires the work of one person, that person was me. I couldn’t ask anyone for help. I couldn’t ask anyone to do it for me. The only person that could get me through one more day of running was me. Please don’t confuse this with support because I wouldn’t have been able to get through each and every day of running without the support of my family and friends.

I started my training by using the Couch-to-5K running plan. A friend of mine recommend The Non-Runners Marathon Guide for Women by Dawn Dais. I absolutely love this book!! I followed the training log and pretty much used the book as my “runners” bible. I am proud to say that I completed the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon in 2 hours and 44 minutes. My goal was to finish in less than three hours and to run without stopping or walking. Somehow, I managed to accomplish all of that. After that, I went on to run a few 5K events, a 10K event and another 1/2 marathon which I completed in 2 hours and 17 minutes.

Since we moved from California to Louisiana, I have become a little sluggish in my workout ways. Adapting to the humidity took its toll but I managed to get myself through the hot summer months. I kept up on my running, logging in around 15 to 20 miles a week. I thought it would be fun to try something new so I joined Shaun T's Insanity Challenge. After a couple of weeks, I hurt myself pretty bad. Since then, I have really slacked off. Somehow I have convinced myself over the past couple of months that I am too busy to work out. I have to be at the kid’s school. I have to study. I have to clean, do laundry, or get things ready for dinner. Ok really? I had to do all of these things before but I still managed to put my running shoes on every day.

So here I am. We are heading right into the holiday season and I am going to get back to my healthy ways. I figured blogging would be a great way to make sure I keep myself on track. I found this great little gadget that will record my mileage and post it on here daily. If this isn’t a motivational tool, I don’t know what is :-) Most of us look at the beginning of the New Year as a way to start fresh. I read somewhere once that losing weight and exercising more usually tend to fall right into the top 5 resolutions for the New Year. I decided that I don’t want to wait. A few short months ago I would have never hid under a sweatshirt. I would have put on my favorite jeans, found a cute top to match, and walked away from my closet feeling confident in my own skin. I don’t want to lose that. I worked too hard the first time around to hide under some backup plan that doesn't make any sense.

I am on a new journey for myself. I want this journey to be more than just about an event. I will admit that the reason why I chose to run the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon was well because it's Disney and because I had the opportunity to run through Angel Stadium (literally my two favorite places to visit). My new challenge for myself will require me to focus on myself and my health every day for the rest of my life.

The perks of my new journey:

This is a forever kind of thing
Yay for a healthier sleeker me
Setting a healthy example for my kids
I get to enjoy running again (or as I like to call it "me time" ) 
I get to find new running events to train for
(Disney World Marathon here I come Jan 2012)



So here's to my new journey in life. An improved, healthier, more confident me!