An extra day off – President’s Day – seemed like the right day to start a.g.a.i.n.   So, I’ve entirely accepted, that I am one of those people, for whom weight will be a lifetime pursuit.  I’ve spent the greater part of my 52 years focused on that.  Lamenting that.  HATING THAT.   This year, I’m trying to commit to saying – F* THAT — and begin the second half of my adult life on a new pursuit.

The Relentless Pursuit of Forward Momentum!

I first heard that phrase when I was training for my Marathon.  Somewhere in late 2012.  All of us “first time” marathoners were anxious, and asking….”What’s the secret?  How do we keep going after we hit THE WALL?”  The answer….well —  I liked it then….and I like it even more now.

This morning, I found my old running gear at the bottom of a pile of clothes (that don’t fit anymore, UGH) on a high shelf in my closet.  You know, up high, out of the way…so shame has to work harder to make eye contact….to touch you every day.  Well, I found them, pulled them on over my new extra pounds, laced up my Nike running shoes (bright pink) ….and was pleasantly surprised to find my Ease Into 5K app still alive and kicking on my phone.   Out I went into a misty, chilly February morning.

By the 3rd cycle of RUN…I had run-OUT of stamina.  Committed to finish, I converted to a brisk power walk pace.  Even more committed not to SHAME myself, I began to calculate.  Calculate.  I always l.o.v.e.d. doing math while I ran.  Yea, I’m weird.  Talk to runners.  It’s common.  We’re weird.  We do fractions.  And percentages %.  1/2 done, 60% complete.  10% left.  Yea — it’s Math_For_A_Purpose.   The kind where even those who struggled to pass Freshman Algebra became proficient.  Math For The Purpose of figuring out how much longer until the torture will be over.  It’s a form of negative punishment……But…it’s still Math!

Ok, back to Calculating.  Word Problem:  How did I get here? in 2018…so out of shape?  Extra Credit:  How do I get back?  Back to my own personal best?  It’s possible…..we were there….once.

Begin: Fill the blue book.

Baseline…..So how long did it take me to get into Marathon shape anyway?  First dot on the page — I ran the Disney Marathon on Jan 13, 2013.  A day I will NEVER forget.  A Personal Best Life Moment , kind of thing.  Ok, work backwards Diane.  How did you get there?  For that great day

• Marathon – Jan 13, 2013.  What got me there?
• 16 week training program that started in Sept 2012.  And how did I get there?
• Decided to run the Marathon after my one-and-only Half Marathon – the Rutgers Unite Half in April 2012.
• Side bar — Girl — you had balls!
• Ok, and how did I get to the Half?
• Another 16 week HM training program that I started in December 2011.  And before that?
• Signed up for the HM after the East Brunswick 5K, when my friend Lisa said — Let’s do the Rutgers Half together!, and I said WHAT?  Are you crazy?  And then it got into my head.  And I signed up.  And Lisa….didn’t .
• Ok Lisa, you know I love you like a sister, and — I forgave you Looong ago, but that day I learned you weren’t running…my blood ran cold.  In the end, you were such a wonderful catalyst for this time in my life.  Thank you, girl.
• In October 2011, I ran my first 5K – my very first race, ever.  The East Brunswick 5K.  LOL, that race is so clear in my mind.  The buzzer to start went off, and I felt like I was in some dystopia world, where everyone took off in front of me, and I ..was..moving…in…s.l.o.w…m.o.t.i.o…n…   But I finished Dammit!
• Diane — what made you think you could run?
• Well, I began Couch to 5K.  I did 2 9 week cycles.  First, inside on the treadmill.  Then another 9 weeks, out on the road.  They were two completely different skill sets!  It was wild how much I had to learn. This was late summer 2011.
• What REALLY started it all was..Walking.  In the spring of 2011, in Denise’s 8am Weight Watchers Meeting, she was encouraging us to Get Active.  I “think” she set a date for us to meet her in a park, and walk a 5K together.  To prepare,  my husband and I began walking together after dinner every night, and we walked until we could walk a 5K easily, after dinner every night.
• So I think — i just earned the extra credit.  Solving the word problem, taking myself back to the beginning…..showed me the beginning again.  The exciting part?  I’m going to start a daily walking habit again.  Until I can walk a 5k every night.
• From there…I’m throwing out my old path.  I’m not going to try to replicate the years 2011-2013.
• Instead, I’m going to try to set a new path, a new series of adventures for the years 2018 and beyond….and if that takes me back to my personal best, and to another Half Marathon….I’ll be pleased as punch.

I’m on the path of Relentless Pursuit of Forward Motion!  Destination, Unknown.

Ciao for now….Diane