A Year Ago Thoughts Before My Second Philadelphia Marathon

A year ago this weekend I was preparing to run my very first marathon. What a difference a year makes.

As I sit and wait to run my marathon tomorrow I am thinking back to everything I have gone through since then. It was nice to be able to come back here this weekend and kind of celebrate being back to where it all began.

In Philadelphia last year I learned a lot about myself and about my running. It is where I really fell in love with the marathon distance. It was a weekend of firsts for me in many ways. It was my first really big race in a big city. It was my first marathon. It was the first time I traveled out of state for a race. It was amazing. I remember that weekend being a blur of mixed emotions and stress and anticipation of that race.

I learned a lot about my running then in that weekend. I learned that my body loves to run, and I am a better distance runner than I ever anticipated. I really fell in love here in Philadelphia with the sport of marathon running. The crowds cheering, the people all running together, and the sheer mental toughness that completing the distance require, it all moved me. I loved every single second of it.

I also learned that running can relax me in a way not many other things can. It was a tough weekend for me emotionally, we found out our dog had passed away back home. I remember crying myself to sleep that Saturday night and thinking that I might not run in the morning. I remember how many people were cheering me on and encouraging me not to give up and to do it. It helped me get through.

I ran that race strong that morning. Despite every single thing that stood in my way, I over came it and I completed my first marathon here in this lovely city. I learned that running can take away stress and pain and for a few hours all that matters is me and the open road. I will never ever forget that first marathon. Crossing that finish line, I felt victorious. I felt so alive. I knew after I completed that race that I would be unstoppable. I knew in my heart that I had finally found something that would make me feel complete.

I found it here in Philadelphia along the historic streets, I fell in love. I am so glad to be back here this year, in this city where it really all began. I am looking forward to going out there in the early morning tomorrow and once again running through the city. It is like a celebration, one that took me a whole year to get to. There have been many highs and lows for me this year, but now that it all behind me I can smile and celebrate. I am grateful to have the chance to be here again to do it.

So this year, I sit waiting patiently for my next Philadelphia Marathon, I am not nearly as nervous as I was last year, and I am a lot more relaxed. But I am just as excited and happy, maybe even more so that I was last year. I know I can run the marathon distance, I completed a 50 miler 2 weeks ago. But I know that running is fun and it is something I enjoy to do. So I am not going out to set any new PRs tomorrow, or race for a specific time. I am going out to celebrate the ending of the year, in my favorite city to run through :)

How I spend My Spare Time

I had to write an admissions essay for a school application and the question is: How do you spend your spare time?

I really enjoyed writing it, more so I liked reminisching about how my journey has changed the way I spend my spare time as well. I thought it would be a great place to share it here :)

                In the last three years how I spend my free time has dramatically changed. My life changed and so did how I spend my spare time. When you are morbidly obese you spend most of your time sitting down on a couch, watching television or movies and being lethargic. I did not spend much time outdoors; I was not motivated to do anything else. Then I had my daughter, and I began to realize I was digging an early grave for myself. I loved her more than anything, and I wanted to make sure I would be alive to meet her children.

                More than that, I had a new found inner strength. Becoming a mother, it makes you tough; it gives you a responsibility over another person other than yourself. It forces you to become a role model. I knew when she was a baby that I had to make changes to secure her future. The biggest change I committed to was to lose weight and become healthy. At the age of 25 being on 7 medications a day and morbidly obese is not healthy. I was determined to lose weight, get healthy and set a good example for my daughter.

                I lost 120 pounds over the course of 16 months. It changed my life. In the beginning it was just about losing weight and doing some exercise to help the weight come off. Over time it became so much more. I began to transform my body in ways I never thought possible. I became fit and healthy and then one day I started running. I ran a 5k about 8 months into my journey and something happened. I fell in love. I felt like I was becoming not only fit and healthy but also an athlete.

                I was never healthy in high school. I was never athletic. I never imagined that I could become that girl, the one who was excited to workout, who enjoyed being outside and the desire to be her grew stronger.  The more my body transformed so did my habits. I began getting out and getting active. My daughter was becoming a toddler and so I would look for activities we could do that kept us both active. I enjoyed taking her out in her jogging stroller too, and she enjoyed it as well.

                My spare time became my workout time. And even that evolved over time. I kept running and I trained for a marathon. I ran my first marathon when my daughter was two. She was there at the finish line, I knew that day that my life had transformed. I was a runner; I was a mother and a good role model for my daughter. I am more confident now, and I have more motivation and dedication in my daily activities as well.

                My free time is spent running and being active. I have kept running and intend to run as long as I am alive. I just completed my first 50 mile race and am already training for a 100 mile one. My life has transformed, I went from being a couch potato to an ultra marathoner. I never imagined it would be possible, but it is. My spare time is spent running and being healthy, and my life has become so much better because of it.