Well Hello!
I was challenged by several people in my life to keep a running blog. It's kinda like a running log, but I don't have to just post numbers and I can let some of the stuff that crosses my mind when I run spill out. I'm not really sure why i'm doing this, but here goes.
I'm a later to the game runner. I didn't get hardcore into running until last year. You see, I started running in 2014. I'd run a few races every year, then every late fall/early winter I'd pack on the pounds while hiding from running. Then I'd get "hardcore" back into it....Then the cycle would keep going and going...
So what produced the change? What made me decide to run wild, run free, and run often. Well that is the part of the story that still stings to talk about. In August of 2016, one of my friends commited suicide. The text that told me the news changed me in ways I wasn't sure I could handle. At first, I did the total me thing and I drowned my sorrow in every ounce of junk food I could get my hands on. I packed back on somewhere between 60-70 lbs of the 100+ I had lost, and I just didn't care. I'm not really sure what broke me...but right around Christmas something broke in me. So I did the dumbest thing I could come up with. I signed up for a mud obstacle race with my best friend. Yup, 60+ lb fattie me thought it would be a good idea to heave my body over obstacles while running through mud. Now, let me explain. I have the grace of a bull in a china shop. This was a dumb idea kids.
Well, once I signed up I went back to strength training and running. I started again with C25K. (I HIGHLY recommend this program.) I started to think about what I ate and tried to make reasonable choices. (I love ice cream way to much to totally quit on it, but I really began to work on portion control.)
Well that mud race got cancelled....but somewhere along the way I ended up signing up for 10 races last year. Yup, 10. I guess my motto has always been GO BIG OR GO HOME :) Along the way I began to get faster, better, and stronger. I began to believe I could do the hard things, and I did them. I started lifting. I started cycling. I kept at it and I can proudly say I've lost all of the weight I re-gained and then some.
So why am I writing this? To share what I learn along the way. To let my brain dump all that goes on during a run. I'm writing to let go of past regrets, to gravitate to better choices, and to let go of all the junk that tries to bring me down.
This round is for me. I hope you stick around for a few miles and enjoy the journey with me.
Blessing,
Jess
