Change of Life

Usually when you hear the words “change of life” you think about that time in a woman’s life when she moves past the childbearing years.  For some ladies it is a banner day, for others a sad time.  I want to talk about a happy change of life, the day my life changed.

August 2010

A year ago I signed up for a running program on a whim.  I was on my weight loss journey and P and I began to toss around the notion we might sign up for the No Boundaries program with Fleet Feet to train and complete a 5K.  It was only 12 weeks to give up, only 3.1 miles total and only this one time, or so I promised myself.  I could do it!  Then the whim became reality and I wondered what in the H-E-double hockey sticks had I gotten myself into.  It was HORRIBLE!  August in Tennessee is not the best time to begin any type of physical activity when you have been a black belt couch potato for 20 years.  Thank heavens the NoBo’s program is designed for beginners.  It takes you from no physical activity to successfully completing a 5K without injury.  I could wax poetic about my love of this program for hours on end but I will not bore you with all that here.  Suffice it to say NoBo’s is the absolute BEST at what they do. 

The program went on and I had no intentions to do anything further after completion of the race in October.  You can ask P, my mentor or my coach and they’ll tell you the same, nope, not doing it.  I’m going to be One and Done!  Remember I was quite a bit heavier then, had some knee issues, no real family support and really just didn’t enjoy it.  But I hung in there.  Now that I look back I am so happy that I did!



Our first 5K - October 2010

One and Done!

After completing my first 5K in October 2010 I still insisted I was done.  Stick a fork in me!  Yet I continued to train with P.  I’ll pause here and give her tons of credit.  She fell in love with running long before I did and kept after me to meet and run.  We stuck it out over the holidays, cold, ice and snow and went on to compete in a few 5Ks and fun runs.  Then February 2011 rolled around and somehow in a moment of feeble mindedness I agreed to sign up for the 10K training program.  What the heck?!?!?  The 10K program was also spearheaded by the same group and coach.  It was a lot more difficult for various reasons but we hung in there.  Gradually, I began to notice something about myself.  Whenever I wasn’t able to run or on my rest days I began to miss running. What?!  Miss running?  You have got to be kidding me.  I began to actually find enjoyment in pounding the pavement, sweating my guts out and fellowshipping with my fellow crazies….erm, I mean fellow runners.   I had made lots of great new friends but I had also finally made friends with myself.  It was really during the 10K program that I began to like me, the person I was – the runner girl that was hanging in there and getting it done. 

13.1 miles to Crazy Town

As the 10K program began to wind down there was a lot of talk about the next step.  What did we want to do?  Did we even have the desire to go further?  If we did, did we want to train on our own or sign up for the Half Program?  It was also the beginning of the long hot Tennessee summer…bleh!  P and I continued to train on our own after we finished up with the 10K program.  We never slacked off and let’s face it, it would have been easy.  Then we made the decision to jump in feet first with the half training program and we’ve never looked back.  I am totally in love with this program.  I enjoy it, the coaches, the change up in venue and the fellow runners. It was also around this time I finally admitted something crucial to myself.  I love running.  It is hard, don’t get me wrong!  Last Saturday was brutal in every sense of the word.  Hot, muggy and the long distance was a test of endurance.  I did it though and afterward felt a huge feeling of accomplishment. 

Last Saturday night we also competed in another 5K.  Crazy to have a long run and then a 5K at night, I know, but sometimes that is how it works out.  Thank goodness for an easy restful afternoon!  The race that night was so much fun.  Yes, it was still blazing and humid but it was fun to meet up with friends and just have a good time.  Who would have ever dreamed that I would be doing something so “crazy” a year ago and consider it “fun”?  Not me, that is for sure.

As I look back on the past year I realized it was in August 2010 I had a change of life.  Oh, I would have still continued on my weight loss journey but I wouldn’t have been as physically and mentally healthy as I am now.  Running has opened up so many doors for me.  I have made friends, enjoyed my life and most importantly I’ve made friends with myself.  That is an awesome accomplishment!  I also realize something else as well.   It is a vain thing but hey, I’m still going to say it. P and I are smokin’ hot! 

Latest 5K - July 2011 -- SMOKIN'!

A change in life doesn’t have to be scary or hard.  It is a learning experience and can sometimes be the silver lining you have been searching for all along.  I know it has been mine.  I look forward with anticipation completing my first, and not my last, half marathon in October 2011.  Wonder what changes I’ll experience next?