Happy Blogversary to Me!

And there you have it everyone...

It's my blogversary!

I'm very happy that I kept up with the blog quite faithfully.  There were definitely months that did not get much attention, but I stuck with the blog and more importantly the running! 

There is so much I have been thinking about as I neared "April 2nd".  I have so many things that I want to write and directions that I could take this post.  Here goes...

Reflection:

Last year Easter was on March 31st.  We attended church and I could not find ANYTHING that looked nice that I fit into.  Typically I was wearing "nice" jeans and a nice top to services.  It isn't a fancy church, but I did want to look nice for Easter.  My typical go-to outfit when I want to look nice is my power suit.  If you have seen me in my power suit you know I mean business.  HA!  This is the suit I gave my Ph.D. thesis presentation in, I had job interviews in it.  It's a significant piece of powerful clothing to me.  I feel great and professional when I am wrapped up in its layers.  The pants to my suit used to be quite roomy and comfortable.  I wore control top hose and I could barely get them on and I was so uncomfortable and embarrassed.  Being "locked out" of a powerful piece of clothing is distressing.  

I spent April 1st last year in a depressive Easter candy binge feeling sorry for my lost anxious self.  Sigh, it's true. Thankfully the last of the Easter candy went into the trash that night.  What I remember about April 2nd is that I got both of the boys down for a nap and in a moment of inspiration decided that I was going to go for something, and not just anything, something downright amazing; I was going to run that marathon I had always dreamed of running and I was going to blog about it.  I started the blog page, I invited people to read it and I took a nap.  When I got up the old sad self was back and I lamented, "what have I done?".  But you know what happened next?  This is the part that is the most important.  People wrote back that it was a great idea.  "Go for it", they said.  "You can do it", they said.  I really cannot explain to you how much this support meant to me.  

For those of you that know me, I'm a really social person.  I love to help people and I enjoy the love and support I receive in return.  I just don't know a different way to be.  So if you are tired of reading my blogs or if you have never read one, that's ok, this is just who I am -I like to share my life with other people.  No worries.  You never know who you are helping when you reach out and tell people about your own life.  Thank you to the faithful that have been here for the past year cheering me on.  I'm so excited to tackle this marathon beast!  

Things that have changed over the past year:

1) I can run!  I ran 15 miles last week?  WHAT?  Seriously that is far! 

2) I have mad crazy muscles in my legs.  There is some serious tone on those puppies.  YAY

3) I have lost lots of extra baby chub.  I have not discussed the nutrition and weight loss part of my journey on this blog, but I will say that I have lost ~20 pounds in the last year and I'm right around my pre-pregnancy weight.  I am eating much better too.  I'm focusing on eating "clean" and I do eat a lot.  I'm sure if I tried to limit calories I would lose weight, but right now I'm more focused on going the distance and for me that takes a lot of food. HA! 

4) I have awesome balance.  I'm pretty sure this is from all the Zumba.  I still go twice a week.  It's still amazingly fun :)  

5) I have exercise friends!  This is really important when you are a stay-at-home mom.  Running races I see familiar faces at the start and it's nice to catch a 2 minute conversation and also, before and between songs, Zumba is just a crazy social hour for ladies. 

6) When I'm sick I get better really fast.

7) I still have occasional days where I feel anxious, but really compared to how I used to be I would say I'm  ~99.9% cured by exercise.  Only VERY rarely do I feel depressed.  I think they just call that "the blues" because it isn't persistent.  

8) I feel more confident. 

9) My suit fits! YAY All of my pre-baby clothes are in the closet and I fit in them.  

There you have it, a year well spent.  Thank you for spending it with me!