Running is good for me….if I keep telling myself this I’ll believe it.
Like a lot of people, I’ve decided that my New Year’s Resolution is going to be to get in better shape. I’ve never been a big person (unless I’m pregnant) but I definitely could use a little shaving down and toning up for sure. My big motivator has been my son’s 5th birthday that is coming up in June. We have decided to do a joint birthday party with his best friend and it’s going to be a swimming party at the base pool. At first I kept telling myself that I needed to lose a few pounds and tone up or I wasn’t going to be able to swim with my son and then I started thinking about that statement and changed my mind. I WAS getting in the pool no matter how I looked in that bathing suit so it was up to me to make the decision. Did I want to wear the mom suit with the skirt? You know, they have the material that is made for some ridiculous space mission purpose that I’ll never understand and will hold in all my bulges and rolls. Like astronauts have some kind of weight problem that they need to wear under clothes made of super elastic material than “tones and lifts”.
Well I decided that I wanted to wear a real bathing suit. Even if it is a tankini, it will be a bathing suit that does NOT necessarily scream “I’m a mom!!” I wanted to be comfortable when I get out of the pool and not make the mad dash for the cover up or the towel. I started a work out and running routine and I’m here to tell you I was horrified when I started. I’m prior service and one of the things that I prided myself on was my ability to hang with at least some of the boys when PT time rolled around. I could push out 50 push-ups in a minute and I was struggling with girl push-ups. Who took my muscles and left these limp noodle arms instead??? I’m proud to say I’ve been serious with my routine this time. I was over it. I ran my first competitive 5K a few weeks ago and came in second in my age group for women. I was proud, even if there may have only been like 5 women in that age group. I’m not sure to be honest because I didn’t count. I’m liking the results and starting to feel good about my body for the first time in a while. I’ve got some amazing women who support me and push me and want to see me succeed. We run races together and we are doing the Warrior Dash in North Florida later this month. I’m looking forward to getting dirty and getting my fitness on with some great friends. I love seeing their success and knowing how hard they work, and to be honest they do almost make running fun. If nothing else they definitely make it bearable.
I’ll keep you updated on the bathing suit/birthday party issue. Who knows, maybe I’ll even be brave enough to post a pic J . Maybe….