Where It All Began
November 2, 2009 at 8:39 pm | Posted in Looking Back, The Journey | 12 CommentsI have been keeping this blog for just about 10 months now and in the spirit of looking back and moving forward, I thought I would finally tell my story. Plus, my “about me” section, is lame at best.
As I have mentioned many times in the past, I was not born a runner. Athlete, yes. Runner, no.
I never had plans to be a runner. And I definitely never had plans to be a triathlete. Ever.
But plans change.
Like I said, I have always been athletic; from the time I was small I was active in swimming, gymnastics, skating and softball. I toyed with some other sports like karate and cheerleading, but they just weren’t for me. Because of my athletic nature I basically spent my life being one of those people who could eat whatever they want and still be in shape. Of course, once high school ended and sports ended I had to find other ways to stay in shape. I joined a gym and for the most part, stayed in shape.
And you know what…I thought I was healthy.
But I smoked. I drank more nights than I didn’t. I ate anything I wanted.
A few years ago I got into a relationship with someone who was equally as “healthy” and I ate a lot more than I worked out. But I was happy. I was really, really happy, so being out of shape became okay with me. It was a serious relationship, we were in love and I was in deep. And then, for reasons I still do not know, it ended. Just like that. And I was a wreck. It was a dont-move-off-the-couch-cant-function-drink-a-lot-of-wine wreck. For weeks I would wake up, get through my day in a daze, come home and just lay on the couch. It was not pretty downright ugly.
Then I got my act together.
I decided one day that I was better than that and couldn’t live like that anymore. I rejoined the gym and slowly got into a routine that involved less food and wine and more working out. Then one night while I was at my parents house, my mom took a photo of me and I was horrified. I had really gained a lot of weight. And a walking on the treadmill a few days a week was not going to cut it.
The very next week I joined weight watchers and hired a personal trainer.
Over the course of a year I lost 23 lbs and eventually I stopped smoking too.
Tomorrow it will be two years since that horrible break-up.
And today….
…I am healthy. I am happy.
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Nice to see that you were able to turn your breakup into a motivating change. I have a similar story that I hope to blog about someday. Thanks for the inspiration!
Comment by andygoose— November 2, 2009 #
Good for you! It is hard to turn your life around at that point, but you’ve built the healthy habits and stuck with them!
Comment by kilax— November 3, 2009 #
Gah what is it about break-ups that motivate us to get our acts together? And again, how are we so similiar?!??! LOL! I’m glad you got out of the dul-drums and turned everything around. You are an amazing girl and you’ve come a long way! Congrats on being a HEALTHY, TRIATHLETE, RUNNER!
Comment by Morgan— November 3, 2009 #
GIRL! Thank you for sharing this!
How great it is that you guys broke up and you became who you are!!!!!!
Comment by Ulyana— November 3, 2009 #
Awesome post Jillian. Not only are you healthy and happy but you are an inspiration for others. Keep up the great work in training and on the blog.
Comment by Andy Campbell— November 3, 2009 #
transformation!!!!!!!!!!! healthy and happy, can’t ask for much more. good for you!
Comment by Lacey— November 3, 2009 #
Thanks for sharing Jillian! Amazing what other people by their actions can do to us, isn’t it.
I’m really proud of you how you got yourself together and started working on a really healthy life! You’re really a runner and an athlete!
Comment by Fran— November 5, 2009 #
thank you for sharing your history! i’m glad you ‘snapped out of it’ that one day and haven’t looked back since. hooray for health and happiness
Comment by lindsay— November 5, 2009 #
This is a great post. Its always amazing to me what running, or any athletic endeavor, can do for a person physically and mentally. Being a former smoker myself, and of course having had my fair share of bad relationships and terrible heartache, and making just some overall foolish decisions and doubting myself over and over, running literally changed my life, and I applaud you for posting this, for changing your lifestyle and sticking with it. You are very inspirational!
Comment by Carolyn— November 6, 2009 #
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