Life's Milestones - Running a 1/2 Marathon (Pics Included)

This is my life. I refuse to call this a journey, because it isn’t. It’s my life and it will only end when I’m dead and buried. I used to think when I reached that “ideal weight” my “journey” would be done. I would have reached that goal and I’d be finished with this “weight loss” journey that I had been on since 2004. It took me 8 ½ years to finally figure out that there is no endpoint. Losing weight, getting fit, running races, and generally kicking *kitten* is my life, and it’s one that is filled with successes, disappointments, stumbling blocks, and accomplishments.

In 2005, I weighed almost 200lb. I was on anti-anxiety medication, binge drinking most weekends, and generally letting life pass me by in a blur of poor decisions, questionable situations, and emotional turmoil. In all honesty, I don’t remember much during that time and I am extremely thankful that things didn’t turn out worse.





I went through some health issues in 2008 that continued until April 2013. I was in the hospital a number of times due to crippling stomach pain and suffered numerous cases of food poisoning (some of which I know are food poisoning, whereas others could have been a result of other issues). I lost some of the weight I had initially gained, but it wasn’t because I was active…it was because I was too afraid to eat.



I joined MFP in 2011, not initially because I wanted to lose weight, but because I needed something that was easy to use to track my food in an attempt to pinpoint the cause of my stomach pain. I was never active on the forums until late March 2013, and that is where I found my niche. My inspiration. My support. I met someone special on there, and he encouraged me to run a 10km race with him in April on a week’s notice. I had already signed up for the ½ Marathon by that point, but didn’t feel nearly ready enough. But I did it. We did it, and we finished it. I realized after that race that I found someone who I didn’t want to let go (or I guess he found me since he sent the friend request!). To date, we’ve run two races together. He’s been there to support me in the races he hasn’t run with me in, and I’ve been to two of his Spartan races. We’ve gone on hikes, 50km long bike rides, and I’m planning to run the Spartan Sprint with him and a whole bunch of other MFP people in 2014. We push each other, we laugh with each other, and we motivate each other. I couldn’t be happier.

Every once in a while, something big happens in my life that makes me take a step back and reflect on just how far I’ve come. Sunday, September 22nd, 2013 was one of those moments. I ran in my first ever ½ Marathon. And not only did I run it, but I ran it in a faster time than I thought was possible for me. When I did my practice run for the race, I ran 20km in 2hr, 7min. I finished the ½ Marathon in 2hr, 2min…1.09km longer than my practice run and 5min faster.



I also met a lot of really amazing women on MFP…ones that have helped me realized that it’s okay to lift heavy things. My body is now starting to do things I never imagined it could and look a way I never thought was possible. I’m in the middle of a lifting program and I look forward to going to the gym every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning at 6:00am sharp to do my routine.



What’s next? More races! I want to run another ½ Marathon next year and get my time under two hours. I want to complete the Spartan Trifecta. I want to complete a Triathlon. The racing season in winding down around this time as it’s gets closer to winter, so the focus will be on lifting and training. The feeling I have when I think of getting up at 5:00am on a cold winter morning is not one of dread, but of excitement. What can I challenge my body to do next? What can I challenge my mind to overcome next?

Bring it on! :drinker: