Running every day for a year

I’m Kym and I’m 37 years old. Physical activity has always been a part of my life. Living on the shores of Lake Erie meant swimming in the summer and an amazing 13.1 mile trail (they do hold a half-marathon there every year) for biking, walking or running. As I got older, though, other things took precedent.

Fast-forward to 2008, that’s when things spiraled and donuts and cheesecake were my favorite foods and I ate them with no regret every chance I could. A coworker and I tried every fad diet to lose the weight, although I knew I needed to be physically active as well; I just couldn’t bring myself to do it regularly.

My A-HA moment came when I was helping a friend clean up her eating habits and my boss scoffed at me. That was IT! I told myself things needed to change so the next day I got on the treadmill and ran.

Two years later, I’m still running. Eleven 5Ks, two 10Ks, a quarter marathon, a half marathon, a full marathon, and a Polar Bear Plunge.

My co-worker started running too.

 

This is us at a local 5K. She won third in her age group; I was SO proud of her!

Now, I am training for my second half-marathon (halves and I have a score to settle. I injured myself in my first and I am NOT keeping it as my PR) while training for a triathlon (yes, at the same time) and am on a mission to run every day for a year.

Along the way, I have managed to clean up my eating (although those doughnuts find their way back occasionally) and learned that I am stronger than I give myself credit for and being active is fun (I never thought I’d say that). I have not yet lost that weight but people always comment on how thin I am getting. I prefer to say HEALTHY but po-ta-to, po-ta-to, I guess.

You can find me on Twitter at: @agirlrunner and I blog here. Pinterest and Tumblr as well.

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Tags: change, fitness, fitness aha, healthy living, making changes, motivation, running, Why we run