2007 Year in Review

One year ago yesterday, I began this blog. I started off with the goal of losing weight and becoming a runner.

I have been up and down with my weight all year. I am a few pounds lighter, but nothing much. I failed in that respect.

I have to say I am proud of myself for my 1 year of running. I fulfilled that 2007 resolution and I am so excited about that. I have ran when I physically could. I ran my first 5k in February. I was so proud of myself. Even more than the race, I was proud that I was logging 16-18 miles per week with a torn ACL.

In March, I had my ACL reconstruction. Recovery was frustrating, as I felt my conditioning slowly slipping away. Four months after surgery, I was allowed to slowly start running again but it was difficult and painful. I have since learned that I have a meniscus tear in the same knee. It is what caused my recovery to be so painful. I am very on the fence about what to do about it, as I can run nearly pain free now, but I can't do a quad stretch very well.

In August, I dealt with a bout of posterior tibial tendinitis. I ended up taking a few weeks to give that a rest as it was making everyday life painful. In September, I started back up again and the pain slowly reappeared. In October, I picked up a pair of Asic's Gel Nimbus 9's and my tendinitis miraculously disappeared! (I had been wearing Nimbus 8's.)

In early October, I joined a Couch to 5k running group. The first few weeks were cake, but then it started testing me mentally and physically. It has been much harder building mileage this time, but I haven't quit. Last week, I ran my 2nd 5k. It was 2 minutes slower than my first, but I was still proud that I did it.

I've taken the last week off to finally allow a blister to completely heal that I started ripping open back in September. I really feel like I am FORCING myself to sit out a week. I can't wait until my next run! I am excited that I feel this way.

I believe accomplishing my running goal was the first resolution I have ever kept to. Of course, every year for the last 10, my goal has been to lose weight. Either way, it gives me new hope that I CAN lose the weight. My 30th birthday is in September. For many years, I have always said to myself that I want to be skinny in my 20's. Time is running out!!!

So here it is:
2008 New Year's Resolutions
-Get down to 200lbs by my 30th Birthday
-Beat my Feb 2007 5k time (34:00) at this year's February race.
-Break 30:00 by the end of the year
-Be injury free...if that is even possible LOL!!!
-If I do have meniscus surgery...I want to bounce back ASAP
-Leave Guam in Nov 2007 and start out at the next duty station with no-one knowing me as overweight
-Not be so hard on myself.

In conclusion, I want to mention something that has been on my mind recently. People are quick to place judgement on people who are overweight. Unfortunately, our addiction is very visible and much harder to hide than other addictions. I always pictured my husband as being WAY more healthy than myself just because he is skinny. I don't smoke. I don't drink much. I don't have a lot of caffeine. I exercise regularly. My blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol are all good/great. My only major bad habit is my eating. My husband, on the other hand smokes some, drinks WAY to much caffeine/coffee/energy drinks, and probably drinks more than he should. He has more strikes against him than myself...LOL. I am not defending my addiction, I am just saying to be careful who you judge. The skinny person sitting next to you may have way more bad habits than the fat person on your other side.

21 Dec 2007 - Grab Bag 5k - 36:07