Standing out.

This past Tuesday, a day of rememberance, also marked my seven year anniversary of running.   Little Diva was approaching her second birthday and I had dropped 45 pounds post pregnancy through a healthy transition in my diet, through Weight Watchers..  But, I had no excercise routine.  The weight was slowly creeping back up.  Little by Little.

 

I've wrote about this before ... but I will share again for my new readers.

I attended Ironman Wisconsin 2005 and was in awe by a friend's commitment to triathlon.  It wasn't only the miles that the athletes all traveled that day.  It was the journey that they (and their families) endured over the nine months prior, that got them there.  The experience motivated me to lace up my "running shoes" the very next day and hop on the treadmill downstairs - that was literally collecting dust.  I never could run down the street, prior to this.  I would get winded chasing Little Diva down to the neighbor's driveway next door.  But, the racing experience gave me a whole different viewpoint on running.  It actually made it seem kind of fun. 

I went and got professionally fit for real running shoes and followed an expedited couch to 5K program.  I signed up for my first 5K that fall and then my first half marathon six months later.  And I've never rarely looked back.

Like most of my current couch to 5K clients, I think I initially started running to drop some more weight.  Weightloss was my original intention.  I hear this all of the time.  Actually, it has just helped me maintain my weight loss (for the most part).  I actually gain some weight with marathon training (though my body changes).

But, over the past seven years, I've continued running because of several of the same reasons my couch to 5K clients continue to sign up for races, beyond the program.

It's not all about weightloss. (Though, these pictures make me realize just how far I've come -- somewhere I never want to go back to)

It's something for myself.
A new passion.
The friendships that I've made.
It's making me all-around a healthier person.
The time for myself.
A way to relate to other people.
I get my family active.
I inspire others to run or try something new.
A reason to travel.
You get to experience your town in a new way.

A big one ...
It's given me self-esteem.

I look back at old pictures and can't help but notice how much I was hiding before. 

I use to wear big hair (I had set my hair in hot rollers, every day, for almost ten years) and lots of bright makeup.  I thought it made me more bold, more attractive, more noticeable.  I got dressed up every day and chased Little Diva around in high heels.

Soon, after I got really involved in the running industry, my confidence soared.  I cut off my hair, wore it straight, and lightened up on the makeup a bit a lot.  I even run around town sometimes, with a makeup-free face.  I sludge around town in stinky, sweaty running gear and take pride in the fact that I just worked out.  I take pride in the fact that I am me.  That I do what I do.

I was hiding behind all of that hair and make up.  That fat person was hiding behind all of those layers and fluff. 

Now, the runner in me just stands out all on her own.  (sometimes with the aid of some brightly-colored running gear!)