Welcome to Week 15 of Project 52 with The Bloom Forum!  Our topic this week…………….SHOES!

This week has been an important one for me because I became a Weight Watchers Lifetime member!  I started my weight loss back in September, and it’s taken me since then to lose 25.6 pounds.  When I first started out, I was researching recipes and came across a blog site for a girl who had a goal to run or walk 1000 miles in a year.  This idea really grabbed my attention, but I didn’t think that I could complete 1000 miles.  It just seemed like an unattainable goal.

So, I opted for a goal of 500 and asked if any of my Facebook friends wanted to join me.  There are over 300 people in the group, and it has been a wonderful place to share ideas and support one another.  We have walkers and runners of all ages and ability levels.  The crazy thing about it is I’m going to hit 500 miles at the end of this month!  As of today, right at this moment, I have logged 447 miles this year.  Not only that, I’m now able to run for longer than I’ve ever been able to run without stopping.

In the past, I ran with intervals.  I would run for two minutes and walk for two minutes.  I had convinced myself that this was the only way I would ever be able to run any kind of distance.  But, today, I ran seven miles without stopping!  The only reason I stopped is I had to get a shower to pick the boys up from school.  Once I hit my 500, I’m going to shift my focus to working on my speed.  Right now, I’m good at a 12 min mile, which is slow.  I think this strategy will help me be successful in my goal to RUN a half marathon in Nov. and complete the Disney Marathon in January of 2013.

I am so thankful for our the Facebook group and being able to read about other people’s challenges and abilities and goals.  It really helps put things in perspective for me and makes me see that I can do more than I think I can.

If it’s possible to love a pair of shoes, I love these.  I will not run in anything else.  Ever.  These are the Brooks Pureflow, from the Brooks minimalist shoe line.  I love the cushion they provide.  They are just “springy.”  I’ve never had a pair of running shoes I’ve loved as much as these.  I tried running in my old shoes and felt I had cement blocks on my feet.  These shoes make me want to run.  Once again, it’s thanks to people in our group that I discovered these and gave them a shot.  Can’t wait to see how far they will take me!

I’m married to a wonderful Marine who has always been focused on being fit for his job.  I completed the Marine Corps Marathon in 2004 as a tribute to him while he was in Iraq.  I figured if he could live in that environment, I could push myself to do a marathon.  I “trained” for the marathon.  I use the word trained loosely because I pretty much just did long runs on the weekend.  Still, I was able to finish, and that was a wonderful feeling.  Regardless of having done the marathon, I wouldn’t call myself a runner then.  I also completed a half marathon in Hawaii using intervals.  I wanted to be a runner there, but I still felt I had to rely on the intervals.  Now, however, things are different.  I’m running regularly.  I’m running without stopping.  I’m running because I can.  I’m running because it’s a challenge.  I’m running because it makes me feel better.  I’m running because it makes me feel happy.  I’m running and I want to keep going.

In the past few weeks, I also feel like I’m running for someone else.  My dad has been diagnosed with lung cancer, and when I’m running I think about him and ask myself if I really need to stop or if I just want to stop.  We are still early on in his diagnosis, so there are still many unknowns ahead for him and for our family.  So while I run for me, I also am running for him.

My biggest hope is that through the changes I’ve made this year we can model an active lifestyle for our boys.  I love it that they ask me if I’ve ran my miles for the day.  I love that they think exercise is just something that you do every day.  I think that instilling these values in kids while they are little helps make it easier for them to choose to be active in their own lives.  I wasn’t an active child.  I danced a bit, played softball a bit, but once I hit middle school, all sports pretty much stopped.  I never saw myself as athletic.  I want our boys to see the value in being active their entire lives.  I want them to believe in their abilities.

So, what started out as a goal to lose weight has led me to something even better……….finally feeling like I’m a runner.  Feeling healthy.  Feeling strong.

 Now head on over the the wonderful Melinda Meredith and check out her interpretation of this week’s theme HERE.  Join us next week when we take a look at “expressive”!