A Transformation from the Inside Out

I sort of explained that I was not much of a runner before I graduated, in my about me section, but there is more to the story than simply not being a runner one day and being a runner the next. That is the really simplified version of the story.

became

I graduated from Lasell College in May 2011. Finding a job right out of school was not going well and the end of a relationship that was almost a year long led me to decide that I needed something I could control.  I decided I was going to run. I bought a pair of shoes and that was just the start.

I started running on September 14, 2011.I know this due to the app on my iPhone I used to track my run. My first run was 1 mile in 14 minutes and 16 seconds. I was really excited. First, I wanted to complete a mile. Second, I wanted to run the mile in under 15 minutes. I accomplished both goals.

After running the first mile, I would eventually push to be faster and push to go further. It has turned into a way to test my limits, but I started out running because I could. I wanted something that I did not need to depend on someone else for. It was also time where I could be focused on running and not worry about anything else. It is still that today.

I will say, when I started running I was extremely nervous and well extremely out of shape. I started running on the paths in a cemetery. I know that is probably a strange place to start, but there was no one around to judge me or for me to feel uncomfortable around. When I started running I weighed over 200 lbs.  I do not know the exact number/ I was too embarrassed to actually see the number on a scale even if I was the only seeing it.

After, I started running I decided I was going to start paying attention to what I ate, especially the portion sizes.  That was very important. This was a big part of me changing.

That is where I started.  Where I am now is worlds different.  I now weigh around 145 lbs.  I have an average mile below 9 minutes. I have run 17 races of varying distances and I am planning to run a marathon!The cemetery and those extra 50+ lbs seem like they belong to a different person.

 I have learned quite a bit along the way. The biggest thing though, is that nothing is really impossible. Hard work and dedication are the keys to achieving anything.  I went from feeling helpless and lost to knowing I am the person who decides what my future holds.