Hi everyone,

I am starting a series today that I’m SO excited about.  I’ve gathered some stories from friends, family, and colleagues about their real life experiences with health, diet, exercise, natural weight loss, disease, and all sorts of health related things.  I always love reading stories from “real” people who have overcome being overweight, have started a successful new exercise routine, or who have always been really healthy and just can share with the rest of us some of their natural weight loss tips or “keeping healthy” tips or anything similar.

So, today is the first in the series.  I’ll aim to put one new story up each week (and yours could be included if you feel like writing something to me!)

Today is about a friend of mine who, despite a hatred for running, did her first marathon this year.  It is amazing, funny, and inspiring!

I hope you really enjoy reading these and I want to extend a huge thank you to all the people who have been willing to contribute!

To your health,

Kimberly

Marathon Diary of the Anti-Runner

My journey started on August 23, 2009.  I was a running neophyte.  I received a Nike + Ipod for my birthday. I decided to start running.  Number of miles I had run prior to this for the sole purpose of running?  ZERO.  In fact, prior to this I would use the word “hate” to describe how I felt about running, and “never” to describe when I would be running a marathon.

While my goal was to run a ½ marathon by March 2010 and a full marathon by October 2010, ultimately I decided to go for the full in March (LA Marathon).  I posted my intention on facebook and the immediate feedback I got made me realize there was no going back!

My first run was for 3.4 miles and I ran at a 12:37 pace.  I knew it would get better.  Between August 23 – March 20th I had gone on 78 runs, for a total of 454.74 miles and 57,872 calories burned.   My last long run before the marathon: 10 miles in 88 minutes.  I dropped about 15 pounds, but definitely noticed that I had gained muscle in my legs as well.  Luckily, I was in living in San Diego for most of my training and thus was able to wear shorts often to show off my accomplishments.

On race day as the sun was coming up I lined up in the 10 minute mile group with thousands of my closest friends… My Dad gave me a hug and told me to get ‘em.  After a couple delays and a report that people were abandoning their cars on the freeway to get to the start line… We were off!! We came off the start to “I Love L.A.” and I was taken back to the GW Forum with my Dad watching Showtime in the late 80’s.

The course was great, I felt like I was taking a tour of some of my favorite LA memories.  Home stretch was down Ocean Avenue.  Sprint (comparatively speaking) to the finish…. Finishing time 05:27:31.  Not 4 hours, but for my first one… I’ll take it!

Here are some thoughts I had while running – because let’s face it; you have a lot of time to think:

1.        Apparently lining up with your mile time is like filling out an online dating profile: People are either delusional or outright liars!!!  It’s probably somewhere in the middle, but really? Lining up with the 8 minute milers to start the race WALKING?!

2.       Did you know Gordon Ramsey (Hell’s Kitchen) has done 10 marathons?  Go Chef!

3.       Favorite signs I saw along the way:

• CHUCK NORRIS NEVER RAN A MARATHON
• IF THIS WERE EASY WE’D BE DOING IT
• 26.2 MILES… BECAUSE 26.3 WOULD BE CRAZY
• WE HEARD YOU FART
• WE’RE DRUNK…KEEP RUNNING

4.       Things I dreamed about while running: a pedicure, In-N-Out burger, BEER, a nap….

5.       Things I was thankful for while I was running:

• my family and friends who were unbelievably supportive and always believed that I could cross the finish line;
• The Ta-Ta Tamer (yes, that’s what it’s called) Sports Bra from Lululemon – CHANGED MY LIFE!!!

Post Race Thoughts:

1. I was pretty sore after the race, but I started running again within a week.  This told me that I could have probably run a bit harder during the race.  However, while I still believe that to be true, this was my first timed race, period.  I think every runner would benefit from at least a 10K or ½ marathon as part of your training regimen.
2. Listen to your body.  Burnout is real.  I got back into the saddle too soon.  I also ignored a nagging injury, which I am now taking care of and has set me back so that I am not doing my second marathon in December as planned (doing a ½ instead).
3. Having a Buddy Helps – for me it’s about accountability.  Yeah, I like being fit, yada yada… but I’m also a busy person, who can let exercise become less of a priority than say, Happy Hour, or working all weekend.
4. Take this opportunity to help others.  I didn’t run my marathon for charity and that is something I would change going forward.  Find something you are passionate about (or someone you are close to is) and do some good!!
5. Two words: Strength. Training.  So important!! All I did as far as training was run.  I won’t make that mistake again.
6. “Eat to Win.”  My friend’s Dad used to say to her in high school.  Back then I thought he was encouraging an eating disorder.  But food is fuel, in order to perform properly, fuel accordingly.  I definitely notice a difference when my diet is made up of mostly cheese and wine, as opposed to veggies and water.  This also means get lots of sleep!!
7. You have to start somewhere. Don’t mentally take yourself out of the game.  Every day is a new day to start training.  As the saying goes, Just Do It.  Happy trails…..