Farewell 2013, On to the Next One!

Good evening dear Friends,

It's about 9:00pm on the last night of the year. Looking back on 2013, it's been a good year. It's been my most active year to date, between the gym and my races, I'd say I was actively easily 75% of the year. I started going to the gym in the mornings in March, and it was the best thing I'd ever done. I've never been a morning person, but this just WORKS for me. Plus the morning ladies are AWESOME. I've been getting a pretty virulent case of tonsillitis, so it's been almost a week since I've been to the gym, and I MISS my ladies! I'm super excited to get back in there tomorrow for our New Year's celebration!

In April I did my first 10k, and it was great! Beautiful day, beautiful course, and just an amazing experience. The last mile was a doozy, but I got through it and I was so proud of myself for finishing. The best part was finding out one of my best friends had waited around after she finished to watch me cross the finish line!

A couple weeks later I did my second Ashland Railroad Run 5k. Another great day, this course is so pretty, out in a scenic portion of Ashland. I PR'd the course, taking five minutes off of my 5k time! Great day! I did the race with Elizabeth and her son, even though they are much more experienced runners, so they finished way ahead, it's great to have someone to go to these events with.

The top two are from last year and this year's race. The bottom is my 10k bib!

I did a little two-miler called Moovin' and Groovin' with some ladies at the gym. The summer was pretty quiet. Mom and I did take a girls' long weekend to Nag's Head, our third annual trip and had tons of fun! I'm so lucky that I can have that kind of relationship with my mom.

 I pulled a hip flexor, so I missed The Color Run in September. We lost our kitty in October, that was pretty rough. Then we ended up rescuing a a 14-week old kitten. We named him Jean-Luc. At this point he's five months old and 10 pounds of fun!

Sue

Jean-Luc

In November I last minute signed up for the 8k portion of the Richmond Marathon. This race ended my streak of nice race weather. It was cold and wet, so I was more proud of finishing this race than I was the 10k- even though it's a mile shorter! Elizabeth did her second half-marathon, so I hung out until she finished, it was a great day!

And finally, in December, we did the Tack Light Run. Once again, cold and wet, but it was still fun! And oh yeah, I was Richard Simmons for Halloween!

\I'm really looking forward to what next year has to bring. I've registered for the next 10k already, and even the half-marathon in November! I've got 11 months and 15 days to get my butt in gear! Wish me luck and thanks for all your support!

Spread the love, not the hate

I was flipping through Facebook on my lunch break, and I run across this status from Molly Galbraith on my feed:

 

"When we have grace and compassion for our own bodies, then we afford that same grace and compassion to others. We don't need to insult anyone's body to feel better about our own."

 

I love this. So I shared it with a shorter version of what this will probably become. Spark even recently highlighted an article that Molly wrote on this topic, which is what led to my following her on Facebook.

 

All of these thinspo, fitspo, etc. posters and memes and how they claim "real" women (or men, for that matter) look need to stop. I'm sick of being told I'm less of a person because I don't have a six-pack (and I never will without surgery, even after the weight is gone) or my thighs touch and my belly wobbles. There's some girl out there in Facebook land, she's overweight and has pink hair and she works out with just a sports bra on, sans shirt. And I think she's brilliant. I wish I had half her guts. Because it doesn't matter what she looks like. She's getting it done.

 

We're all different and we need to stop shaming each other into a certain size or appearance. Lose weight for you and your health. Get fit for your heart and that glorious sense of accomplishment. Lift for your bones and your metabolism. Not because some airbrushed model on a poster told you you're less of a woman because you don't. But because you love yourself.

 

Don't get me wrong. I still struggle, daily, with my outward appearance. I know in my soul that it doesn't matter how I look. My mom, husband, friends all love me for me. I know that my real reason for getting healthy is because my family's history of dying young scares the bejesus out of me. Also, because when we do make that leap to parenthood I want the best chances of having a healthy, uneventful pregnancy and birth, and I want to teach my kid to have a healthy relationship with food by leading through example. But there's always a mirror, window or other reflective surface somewhere that I pass that catches me the wrong way, or some article of clothing is fighting with me and making me feel like the world's ugliest oompa loompa. I also have days (like today, surprisingly, even though my dress is making me uncomfortable because I swear its getting shorter by the hour!) where I think that maybe I don't look so bad after all. I had a thought today that my legs are starting to actually look good! Tomorrow may be a totally different story. But ultimately, I'm not doing it for my legs. I'm doing it for my whole body, especially the bits inside that you can't see and can't be measured by a dress size.

 

My point is this. We need to empower each other for a change, and stop having pissing contests to see who is the "most woman". We compete so hard with each other. What if we spent that energy in building each other up? I'm not saying you have to like everyone, but you also don't have to tear down anyone. I wouldn't have gotten even this far if it wasn't for some of the unconditional love and support I've had from my family, friends and fellow gym members.

 

The people who insist on calling me a runner, even though I'm just jogging short intervals. Folks who ask me how much weight have I lost now, when there's no possible way I look any different at that moment. The ones who insist on calling me pretty when I know they're just biased cause they've known me half my life. Hearing someone is impressed or inspired by me, when I still have so so far to go in my journey. This is the positive reinforcement we need to start embracing. I forget sometimes, but I try to tell at least one person everyday something positive. Even if it's just that I like their shirt. Positive breeds positive, and when you are surrounded by positivity, you thrive. We all do. And the world gives back what you put into it.

 

Thanks for letting me rant. Now go out there and spread some positive karma! Love you guys!