The mission is not accomplished, but a mission is.
I started this whole journey because I had an incredibly hard time getting back into running after all the open-heart surgery jazz.
Last year, I started getting more active again. Doing events made it easier because you absolutely have to get up. You have to do the amount of mileage you said you will. Events are not the optimal way to train, but for me, I felt as though I needed them.
This journey of 52 races was supposed to make half marathons normal for me again. They’re not scary. They’re not impossible. And I think the project did what it was supposed to do. I’m not overwhelmed by the though of doing half marathons anymore.
During the Santa to the Sea half marathon this year, it was fun to think about the difference between that weekend a year ago and present day.
A year ago, my dad and I were wondering how I’d feel after two 5ks in one weekend. Whoo! 6 miles. (The Santa to the Sea 5k and the Pomona Holiday 5k the day before it).
This year, I did two half marathons on that same December weekend. As you may have read in #49’s entry, I debated doing the first one ’cause I was sick. When I was deciding to do it, a thought that crossed my mind was, “It’s only a half marathon. You can push though.”
It’s only a half marathon – this from the girl who in December of 2011 was all “Oh… 6 miles in a weekend… This is gonna be a rough one.”
I’ve barely (if ever) mentioned weight on this blog, because that’s not what this blog is about. There are plenty of other places on the internet concerned with weight loss, and this isn’t one of them.
However, I will say between November ’11 and August ’12, I lost about 30-35 pounds. (Truthfully, it was more November – January I lost 30-35 pounds. January – August, I maintained that weight loss through a ton of travel and eating new foods with friends.) I didn’t concentrate on weight. I think sometimes it’s healthy to concentrate on weight (since it is important), but sometimes that brings added stress.
My philosophy on health (which sometimes I follow and sometimes I don’t) is to take a lot of (metaphorical…though sometimes literal) steps forward, even if they’re small, and make a lot of good decisions even if you make some bad ones. Maybe I need to (and maybe I will at some point) take a much stricter approach and get a rocking body. We’ll see.
After August, I got pretty busy wrapped up in a day job, and I made some very drastic changes in my diet because of some eating challenges for my charity. I gained a little doing that. I’ve lost a good chunk of it now that I’m back to my normal diet. And I’m somewhat maintaining-ish where I am. A little up, a little down.
Off the weight and back to the subject at hand of endurance and improvement – It’s sometimes hard to see the forest through the trees – to see the progress as it happens. I think humans adapt pretty quickly. When a half marathon is the general weekend routine, it’s easy to feel like that’s the way it’s always been.
But it hasn’t always been that way. So, to be back in December when I started doing 5ks last year and to really think about how far I’ve come – it’s very cool for me.
I’m thankful for the ability to be active. I love that I am now, I would say, an active person. I’m excited to continue to get more active!
I still have a long way to go. I want to do Ironmans, and those 7-day bike rides, and Ragnars and all that jazz. And I will. So, this isn’t even close to the end. But it’s fun (for me at least) to see the progress.
Thanks so much for coming along on this journey!
And just ’cause I’m talking this way, it’s not the end of the journey. I’m definitely not saying goodbye! (I still have two more races, and plenty of blog posts.) I’m just taking a moment of reflection, and a moment to say thank you!
You’re lovely blog readers, and thank you for reading!
In the words of Michael Jackson, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”