Progress Over the Years

 

I was going through pictures today and came across the ones in this post. The above picture is from my honeymoon in 2004. I was between 210 and 225 pounds. I actually do not know because I avoided scales. This was before I found running. In fact, it is several years before I started working on developing a healthy lifestyle and found running. I look at this picture and it makes me sad because I know that girl was not happy. Here I was on my honeymoon with the love of my life and best friend and I kept thinking about how I looked and what people might be saying (or thinking)…including my new husband. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy spending time with my new husband and visiting the island but I struggled with just letting go and completely enjoying myself because of my own insecurities.

 

This second picture was from The Human Race 10K in 2008 and I am about 158 pounds. This was approximately a year and a half after I started getting “serious” about my running. I use the word “serious” loosely in that I ran a couple times a week (usually around 3 miles with a couple longer runs no more than 6 miles thrown in the mix) but I was not consistent. Between 2004 and 2008, I learned a lot about myself and gained a lot more confidence. I definitely enjoyed life a lot more and had learned a lot of things about myself and what I was capable of. The lifestyle that I was developing helped me when I became pregnant in 2011.

 

The third picture was from the Jog’r Egg Nog’r 5K in 2011 and I am about 195 pounds. This race was a milestone for me because my baby boy was born in October and I had only been released by my doctor to run for 3 weeks. I had had a relatively healthy pregnancy. I ran and biked until it was uncomfortable and then I walked. By the end of the pregnancy,  I had gained about 35 pounds. After AMC was born, I was excited to get back to my running and back down to my pre-preggo weight. This race marked the beginning of that journey.

 

The fourth picture was from my sister-in-law’s wedding in September 2013 and I am 164 pounds. Almost 2 years to the day of my son being born, I was finally at my pre-preggo weight. While it may have taken me 2 years and several trips to my doctor to get my thyroid medicine back to the correct levels, I DID drop those 35 pounds because I did not give up and kept putting one foot in front of the other. I have become serious (I didn’t use quotes this time!) about my running and have accomplished some amazing milestones. I still have about 15-20 more pounds that I would like to lose but I do not focus as much on that number as I do the numbers on my watch when I am finished with a run. I have come a long way from that timid girl with all those insecurities. Do I still have some? Sure I do, but they do not consume me as much as they did! I am definitely healthier and much happier.