A few weeks ago I celebrated my 27th birthday. With each birthday I like to take time to reflect on the previous year and what has changed about my life and how I've changed along with it. Looking back, 26 seemed to be a pretty big year for me. Of course, every year seems to be a pretty big year as I find that I am constantly changing and growing as a person.
I think one of the biggest changes for me this past year is how active I have become. I don't think ever in my life I would have imagined that I would want to run a 1/2 marathon! In all honesty, it still shocks me most of the time.
For those of you who have not been keeping up with me on my physical activity journey, I will start at the beginning. I believe it was mid-October when I was housesitting for my cousin Bunker while he attended the Texas/OU game in Dallas. Upon his return we were chatting and he mentioned that he had started attending a boot camp that his personal trainer put on. It sounded really interesting, so I told him I'd like to go with him some time. That next week he called me and I joined him that Friday evening for my first ever boot camp with Sam Houston (yes, that's his real name... only I would have a personal trainer with the same name as a very famous historical Texan).
9 months later, you can find me at boot camp on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings doing all sorts of physical activities that you'd never imagine. We do a lot of running, of course (Mondays are now deemed Marathon Mondays, which have replaced Run for your Life Fridays), ab work, weight training (I use 10 lb weights because I'm cool like that), and whatever Sam decides would be fun for us. It's a lot of hard work and at times exhausting, but I have so much fun. I've expanded my social circle to include people I would have never associated with otherwise, and look forward to our time together each week that often includes dinner after our workouts. In the last few months my good friend Andrea has also joined us in the ranks at boot camp, and I'm always looking to invite more friends to do so.
In January, Sam left 24 Hour Fitness where he worked as a personal trainer and opened up his own studio. I began training with him at 7 am on Thursday mornings which has really helped me see more results, even if it's not always easy to drag myself out of bed at 6:30. Around the same time I developed an interest in running. I still remember how excited I was the first time I completed a mile run, I think the last time I had run for a mile straight was in Elementary school when we would run around the soccer field in P.E.
In March, my friend Lauren asked if I would come run a 1/2 marathon with her in San Diego in May. I had never even contemplated such a thing, but it sounded like fun and that it might just be the challenge that I needed. I began my training and was shocked at how easy running was becoming: a 6 mile run on Easter Sunday hardly phased me! Unfortunately the 1/2 marathon did not come to be as it sold out before Lauren could register us (Who knew marathons could sell out?!?), which was probably for the best since the marathon would have been sandwiched in between two wedding weekends. Even though I did not participate in the 1/2 marathon, I did run in my first ever 10k in April when I participated in the Texas Round-Up in Austin... and was impressed that I was able to finish in under an hour and a half.
Now it is July and I've got several races coming up in the next few months that I want to participate in. I'm trying to decide if I want to go home for Labor Day or participate in the Nike Human Race 10k that Sunday... who knows, maybe I'll do both. I've also recruited some of my running friends to participate in the Silicon Labs Marathon Relay in Austin on September 21. I think it will be fun to run a race as a team and have some fun with friends (the course is broken into 5 parts: 10k, 11.1k, 11.1k, 5k, 5k). The main event is the Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon in San Antonio on November 16. Sarah, my manager at Bath and Body Works, is running this as well and I think I've got Andrea interested in participating, too.
I've been a little discouraged lately because I've lost a lot of my stamina since the spring as I have not been running as much due to life (travel, work, etc.). Andrea and I went for a 2 mile run on Saturday and I had to take it slow because I almost suffered from a heat stroke on Friday evening at boot camp. It's so frustrating to not be able to go at the pace that I had gotten used to, but at the same time I have to step back and think of how much of a change this is from where I was last year. Running really is a mental game, and it's just a matter of getting over these first few hurdles to get back on track. It will also help once the temperature starts to drop, my fair skin and my ability to overheat easily does not appreciate this 100 degree weather!
My friend Elizabeth writes a blog and details her marathon training (she's linked as Satiety from my page). I don't think I will do that here, although there will probably be periodic updates since it is a big chunk of my life. I just wanted to share with everyone how far I've come over the last year and hopefully others will realize that if I can do it, ANYONE can!
Andrea, Christie and Me with my very own birthday cake!
Molly and Jack on National Jamie Day
Royals at Marianne's
Out with former Intern Kaylee
Me and Cal on my b-day
Former roomie Ashley and me at Baby A's
Lufkin friends Andrea and Phillip and me
Jennifer, Cristine and Bunker at my belated bday dinner
Andrea, me, Michelle, and Jennifer at Ranch for my bday
