After giving birth to my second child, Lillian, almost one year ago, (February 14, 2009) I've struggled with my weight and body image. If you've had a child, then you know what I'm talking about! Loose skin, muffin top, flat boobs, stretch marks, just blame it all on motherhood. Before getting pregnant with Addison I weighed 112 pounds. I was 18 and skinny, weight had never been an issue for me. I gained 40 pounds during my first pregnancy and lost 23 leaving me at 129. I then got pregnant with Lillian and gained another 40 pounds during my second pregnancy. You do the math! I decided to do something about it! Today, I'm happy to be just one pound away from my pre-pregnancy weight with Lilly, weighing in at 130. Since Mark left for deployment over 8 months ago I've worked super hard in the gym and have lost a total of 14 pounds! I'm excited for him to come home to a new me! I'm starting to feel like myself again! I want to live a healthy lifestyle, feel good about myself, and be a good example to my girls.
Spending all that time in the gym really inspired me to do something that I never dreamed I would actually have the guts to do. Not because of weight but because I want to challenge myself while getting into the best shape of my life. The goal I made for 2010 is to run a Marathon. 26.2 miles! I kicked my training off the first full week of January and am now entering the 4th week of training. I'm not going to lie to you... it's hard! There are times I want to quit and make excuses but I just keep pushing myself. I'm happy to report that I'm ahead of my training schedule. Last Sunday I ran 10 miles! It's amazing what your body can do when you focus, train and have a "can do" attitude. I'm also lucky to have a brother and friend that are willing to train with me! At first I didn't want to blog about this. It honestly makes me nervous talking about my personal goal. I don't want to let myself down by not following through but I decided that I NEED some accountability. Does that make any sense at all? Any advice, tips, help you have to offer me would be greatly appreciated. Even if you're not a marathon runner, what motivates you? What are your goals? How are you doing on your New Year's Resolutions? This is a huge commitment on my end. For the last 3 weeks my life has revolved around training and it's only going to get more intense. Okay, that's not all my life revolves around but you get the idea!
I'm doing the Rookie Marathon Training Program from Runner's World. So far, I'm ahead on the long runs. Instead of doing 6-7 miles in the third week I did 10! YAY!
My brother took these pics on his iphone during our 10 mile run! :) Too bad my dslr camera is too big to carry on a run...
