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Thursday, March 4, 2010

50 Mile Milestone!

I'm so excited because I reached 50 miles with the Lululemon run club tonight!  That's by going there every Thursday night for a 6 mile run.  I started in December last year.  We took a few weeks off during the holidays.  So finally I was able to reach it tonight!  They have promised me goodies for reaching this milestone which I will find out next time I go in.  I'm hoping for some cool Lulu gear or gift card!  The only damper to it was my boyfriend had been going with me weekly, but he started a new job this week so he can't make it there at the time we start running anymore.  He's only 6 miles away from the prize!  I wish he could have been there to reach it with me. 

On top of reaching the milestone, I also ran at a very good pace tonight without huffing and puffing at all.  It was actually the easiest/lightest I ever felt.  I think it may just have been my best run yet!  I averaged 8 minutes a mile, that's including some uphill and waiting at traffic lights!  I love it.  I have never been a runner (still don't enjoy running that much, just do it because I know it's good for me) so this is big for me.  I can't believe how a year and a half ago, I couldn't even run at all.  My cardio was wayyyy worse, and I had a meniscus problem in my right knee, and because of it, I couldn't do any high impact activities for a long time.  I couldn't even do a proper squad since I couldn't put too much weight on my knee.  I think I always overcompensated with my left side.  When I got a massage one time, the masseuse told me that my left butt cheek seemed to be bigger than my right!  Ugh... so that got me to finally go visit a doctor and get knee surgery, as silly as it sounds.

A month after my knee surgery, I decided to train for my first 10k!  I started running at level 4 on the treadmill (about 12 min a mile), and my face would turn bright red, and I would usually get a cramp a mile into it.  It was so hard to run even 2 miles, so 6.2 miles was unthinkable to me.  When I ran the actual race, I was dead at the last mile, and walked most of it.  I finished in an hour and 20 minutes or so.  What a difference from tonight!  I remember my legs were so done afterwards and I was sore for days.  Nowadays I run at 2% incline on the treadmill at a speed of level 7-8 (7 min - 8 min a mile) for at least 1 mile a day.  Obviously Thursdays are my big run days.  My face never turns red anymore.  My breathing and heart are so much better so I don't get cramps (unless I eat right before I run).  When I trained with a great personal trainer who kicked my ass, he told me repeatedly how surprised he was at what good shape I was in!  He said that I was the best he'd ever had at their first time with him. 

Just a mere 1.5 years later, I really am in the best shape of my life.  I run at least 10-15 miles a week, spin once a week, go to boot camp, boxing, kettlebell and weight training at least 3 times a week, and I do yoga/pilates at least once a week.  I also walk minimum 2 miles a day!  It's such a huge difference in my life.  I guess I never knew that having one bad knee was holding me back so much!  I'm very glad I decided to do something about it and kick start my exercise routine and in turn changed my lifestyle.  Now that I know what it's like to be fit, I will never stop!  If I have kids one day, I will teach them to lead an active and healthy lifestyle, with lots of exercise and eating well!  I know I'm still "young", but I really wish I could have started earlier.  The last 10 years of my life would have been way different.

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