I freaking LOVE running!!!

So I was looking at motivational running quotes and, seriously, some of them brought tears to my eyes. Yeah, you might laugh at me, but this ish is real! I freaking love running and it makes me feel amazing and at the times I get that runner's high I feel on top of the world! When you get that runner's high there is a moment of clarity where everything seems so beautiful and you realize that life truly is beautiful as long as you make your world a beautiful place.. Do the things you love! Do the things that make you and those around you happy.
Nothing makes me happier than knowing that, just by my doing what I love -running- that I inspire other people to want to become active and start living a healthier lifestyle.
Surrreee, people can get high other ways. I know, I'm from Ann Arbor :-D ...  BUT with runner's high you get no negative side effects! Only positive results!
Ok, so what's your excuse? Start moving!!! Well, not right now cause it's 1:30 am EST, but tomorrow, or even now.... I mean, I've done P90X and Tae-bo at 2am, so I guess now is better than never. The point is, there are no excuses. If you want it, you can get it, you just gotta work for it. This is what I look like when I'm super happy... I rarely smile big for pics so this is a rare caption...

I got more than I bargained for

When I started running it was so that I could get back into shape, but I got more than just "my body back." I also got a different perspective on how to face roadblocks in life and I definitely learned discipline. 

When I first started running I saw results almost immediately, but after a couple of months I hit a plateau that I was stuck on for over a month. This is usually the time that people give up on their efforts - when they stop seeing the results. As frustrated as I was that I was putting in the work and not seeing results, I made a choice to keep at it. I kept working out, but I re-evaluated what I was doing and looked to see where I could make improvements. I decided to cut things out of my diet that I knew were working against my goal, like pop, and I made my workouts a little longer than I was used. Soon after, I started to see results again.

Hitting a plateau is part of the cycle with working out and fitness goals. Every time I would hit a plateau I would make a change where I saw fit. The point is I never stopped running and I was looking for places to make necessary changes. I've achieved my goal of becoming physically fit, and I'm always setting new goals for myself.

All of this can translate into anything in one's life. Now I know, from experience, that when you set a goal for yourself and you keep that goal ahead of you and you are patient, persistent, and determined that you can and will accomplish that goal. Also, I know that there is ALWAYS room for improvement. Once you've achieved a goal you can always look forward to how you can improve. Someone once told me that we are our truest selves at the moment we die. As long as we are living and working towards being a better person tomorrow than we are today, then when we die we will be our greatest. It takes discipline, but it is well worth it.

I wasn't always a "runner"

Some people think that being a runner is in your genetic make-up, but this is not true! I was definitely no runner when I started out. I took it one day at a time and set small goals for myself. My first goal was to be able to run one mile without stopping. The trick was that I would run and if I felt winded, or tired, I wouldn't walk, rather I would take it to an extremely slow jog. Once I caught my breath, I would pick up the pace again. The key is to not walk when your tired or else you will never train your body to run without stopping. When you do slow down your pace to a very light jog you want to take in nice, deep breaths. In through your nose... out through your mouth. Breathing properly is extremely important!!! Although we breathe without thinking, breathing the "correct" way takes effort and doesn't come naturally for most people. So starting out you want to

1. Run at a comfortable pace
2. When you feel tired, take it down to a slow jog
3. Make sure you are always breathing in through your nose, out through your mouth! Nice, deep breaths
4. Pick your pace back up

I did this until I hit the one mile goal. After my goal of a mile, I made a two mile goal and so on. Once I was able to run 3-4 miles without stopping I started to truly feel like a runner. I didn't need to take the breaks of going into a really slow jog, I could just keep running until my goal was met. The first ever group run I participated in was the Big House Big Heart 6k on 10/04/09 in Ann Arbor, Mi. My time was 1:03:15.4 I started running in October of 2008. After one year I ran my first 10k in a little over an hour! I was very proud of myself, needless to say. Today I run full marathons and I run about 5-6 days a week. With patience comes progress and results!

First Post

I never really understood blogging and what it is that bloggers do, but like I always say... Never say never! So here I am creating my very own blog.
I decided to make a blog because I found myself repeating the same story of how I got into running to everyone who asked. With this blog I can talk about my journey of living a very active lifestyle and maintaining it.
I am a mother of two, and after my second child I realized that I was not happy with the transformation my body made. I have always been an active person but I decided that I wanted to dive into the world of fitness and bounce back to the person I always vision myself being (a slim, fit, active woman!)
It was not an easy task to commit myself to working out regularly and finding the time to do it, but I was persistent and was determined.
I'll write another post with all the juicy details, but it's 2 am right now and I haven't even changed out of my gym clothes or showered and I'm pretty tired.
To be continued....