Lead By Example

My goals for this blog is to help inspire women to not only run but to challenge themselves and grow in their own confidence that they can accomplish a task that seems impossible. Believe me, a year ago, if I told myself that I would be running 4 miles for fun I would have laughed at myself but wondered if I really could do that. I know I can, not only because I want to but I have pushed myself and have done it. (Today training run is 4.5 miles so I know I can do it!)

But I also want to lead by example for my son. I want him to beat the odds in this 1 out of 3 kids are obese nowadays. That is such a disturbing fact. 1 out of 3 ARE obese. When I was 12 I was bigger than all my string pole friends. I remember I weighed 125 lbs at 12 years old. But I was not fat. I in fact did have more muscle on my body than any of my friends. My son is proof of that because he inherited my muscle mass and he is solid and stacked! I struggled with self confidence issues and thought I was fat to the point that in my junior year in school that I was barely eating. I lost 20 lbs in 7 months. I got down to 145. I looked skinny but it was a bone sticking out everywhere kind of skinny and was very unhealthy. When I started eating again I gained all the weight back. Thus started my yo-yo dieting. But in high school I was never fat. I was bigger but I was stocky. I actually had a flat stomach, just a tiny little pooch. And I thought I was the fattest girl ever. I do not want my son to feel like I did, EVER!

Couple things to think about. I couldn't run a mile. I was weak in that regards. I didn't push myself activity wise. I pushed myself in other areas but didn't do sports. Didn't think I could. I would use the excuse of I couldn't breath and had asthma but that was because I didn't exercise. I hated to. It wasn't fun and I could have done more than I attempted.

I am so strong now. I might not be high school skinny but I think I am in better physical shape. I can push myself farther. Eventually the weight will come off. That I do know. But for right now I am just going one mile at a time. Here is a great article I found for childhood obesity.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body/overweight_obesity.html

Also here is the website to the Let's Move campaign by Michelle Obama!

http://www.letsmove.gov 

So let's lead by example together! Let's show our kids it is fun and amazing to exercise! Happy Running!!!

Rainy Days

It is so hard to roll out of bed sometimes when it is just dark and cloudy and rainy. Do I really want to go to the gym today? It is just my recovery day. My bed is so warm! These are the things I think on a rain day like today. We as humans are naturally lazy. We really are. It is hard work pushing our bodies and minds to physically push itself beyond where it is comfortable which is a somewhat inactive state. But on days like today, especially since I don't have to do my training run, and shouldn't it is still a great day to work on thighs and do a little light cardio. It is only for an hour or so. Then we can rest the rest of the day. We can do it!!! So lets roll out of bed and lets get going! See you on the flip side!

QOTD: How do you motivate yourself to roll out of bed on gloomy days?

Pretty in Pink

In 2 weeks I will be running in the Women's 4 miler. The benefits are donated to the UVA Cancer Center Breast Care Program. The running color for the race is...PINK! My whole life, my mother taught me never ever ever should a redhead wear pink or peach for that matter. I have never ever liked the color anyways so it was pretty easy to avoid the color for most of my life. For the first time in my adult life I actually want to wear pink. My husband thinks I am crazy and is mildly amused that I am going against my dislikes to support a cause.

I just purchased my pink shirt (oldnavy.com) and WOW is it pink. I think that it glows in the dark it is so pink.

Do not let this photo fool you. It looks like this shirt should be a soft salmon color. WRONG! Is is the most florescent neon pink I have ever seen let alone ever worn. It is a mesh like material that has a little static cling but I don't think that the static will matter when I am pouring sweat all over it. My husband will not have a problem finding me in the sea of pink in 2 weeks time as I will be the neon sign running amongst the other 4,000 women! Proud to show my support even if it means for me to wear pink. 

Charlottesville Women's 4 Miler: http://www.dominiondigital.com/womens4miler/

QOTD: Have you or will you purchase a specific outfit for a race? 

Welcome!

Welcome to my new running and all things fit adventure blog. I know I don't look like a runner. Not yet at least. But I am getting there. I am new to the running world learning and running more and more everyday. (Maybe not running quite everyday)

My back story. Why I wanted to run.

I have always wanted to run. I remember back in the 7th grade that I ran 1 mile without stopping. 1 mile. It also was at 4:30 in the afternoon in the blazing heat of Arizona and I wanted to get back inside. I knew the faster I ran the sooner I would be back inside. So I high tailed it around the track and finished super fast. That was my first and only mile run until I was 28 years old.

At 28 my husband was deployed and I needed something else to keep me busy. No kids yet and teaching piano was fun but I needed something for me and needed to get my big butt in shape. Got a personal trainer and after about 6 months of personal training I started running. I lost 30 lbs and got below 200 lbs. It only lasted for a few months because we became pregnant with our first son through the help of fertility treatment. I only walked during the pregnancy because it took 8 years to get pregnant and I didn't want anything to happen. So walk I did.

Husband got deployed to Iraq when our son was 3 days old and I didn't have family around so no more gym. It took 2 more years and heartbreak to get my big butt again back into shape. May of 2013 I suffered my second miscarriage in a year and I had made it to almost 12 weeks pregnant. The pregnancy was so stressful. Went to the doctor all the time for blood work. Husband was in AZ for training the entire time I was pregnant. Day before Mother's Day I miscarried. Broke my heart, my faith, and I became angry. Plus I gained 12 lbs. So I had the 12 lbs plus what I was still trying to lose from my first son. NOT GOOD! I was not happy.

There were signs up all over town about a local 5k on June 1st. 3 weeks after my miscarriage I walked my first 5k. 2 weeks after that I joined the local Women's 4 miler training program. 1 week after that I signed up for my first 1/2 marathon and 4 miler.

I am now 2 weeks away from the Women's 4 miler and rocking it. I am run/walking 4 miles comfortably now and look forward to signing up and joining the 10 miler training program this fall. So that's my story. The rest from here on out is going to be my amazing journey of self discovery and motivation. I hope I can motivate you in any way to change your lifestyle and try out a new sport!

QOTD (Quested of the day): Why do you run?