Where It All Began

I 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.