I Did It!

I see the Finish line!

Jumping for joy across the line 48:06

My youngest son and I after the race

I ran my very first 5K! I have never run before let alone raced in my life! I tried once in High School with my friend who was on the cross country team and no go. Not even close. Now in my (ahem) 40's I decided to give it a go. Crazy but I am very surprised that the best age group in times was the 50-60 group! There was a lady 78 and one 71 and I am ashamed to say they beat me LOL! I did it in 48 minutes which considering I have only been running for 8 weeks now I am quite pleased with.

I have been on a mission to get fit. I was 60+ pounds over weight and hated exercise, ate bad for you foods and looked it. So after seeing some pictures of myself taken by my BFF when I visited her I got the motivation to do something. So I joined a gym. I had some free sessions with the personal trainer and she recommended a book called "Younger Next Year". Oh did that book inspire me! I have completely changed my diet, I exercise 6 days a week and got a heart rate monitor and keep my HR at 65% (of max) or better for an hour each time! I have lost 36 pounds in 6 months - oh my I lost 50 pounds in 6 months before with exercise only 3 times a week and same amount of calories (1200) when I was younger. Boy does the metabolism change in your 40's and I hear worse in your 50's ladies! This Summer I was surfing online and saw the couch to 5K plan and decided to try it. It works! I followed it exactly as it said and even though it is a 10 week program I did my 5K in 8 weeks of following it. Slow mind you but did it just the same. I am going to work towards a Triathlon, it might take a while but hey I plan on being around for a while!

Here are the pictures of the finish line. I don't look too pretty, my hair pulled back and my face all red plus an over-sized shirt but no matter, the point is I did it :) Thanks for reading my story, I usually post cards but once in a while like to add bits of my life :)