10 Reasons You Might Suspect You Are A Runner

I am a runner which by my definition means that I run as my hobby and one of my sports and that I enjoy it.  I am a slow and overweight runner with no style form or pizazz, but I am still a runner.  I have been known to be passed at races by people walking, by men and women older than 80 and once by a woman who was running on crutches with only one leg, but I do consider myself a runner.  It is also always easy to find my standings in any race I run, just go to the bottom of the results and start from there, you should find my name within the first 3 names, but alas, I am still a runner and PROUD OF IT!

Are you a runner?  Here are the top 10 Reasons according to me, that you mights suspect you are a runner.

10.  When doing your taxes, you add up how much money you have spent on races, running sneakers, GU, Band aids, Running clothes, sunglasses, hats, hydration belts, ect. and gasp when you realize it all totals in the thousands.  You remember when you convinced your partner and friends and family that you were picking up running as a hobby because it was an inexpensive hobby that required no equipment.

9.  When driving or walking if you see another runner go by you stare at them to the point where you almost walk into a tree or veer or the road; checking out everything about them from their gait to their sneakers.  You wonder what their pace is, which training plan they follow if they cross train and if you have seen them before at any races.  Yep, admit it, you have done this if you are a runner.

8.  When you hear a new peppy song on the radio, you envision yourself running to that song and go download it from itunes onto your ipod.

7.  In your spare time, you visit the site http://www.coolrunning.com/ and plot out and register for your next races.  You also check for races in other towns you might be visiting, just in case you can squeeze one in.

6.  You know what PR means and you can easily tell someone what yours' is if asked.

5.  You can hold a conversation for 30-45 minutes on the art of hydration!

4.  You are constantly thinking about your next run and do things like take drives, just to map out and measure new routes.

3.  You have a ridiculous number of t-shirts in your closet from races you have collected.

2.  You dream about medals.

1.  You do crazy things like get up at 3am to go run in the dark, in the cold, in the snow, in the rain, in the heat in the humidity and you like it!

I would say that if you said yes to any of the above you are a runner in my definition, now get out there and go run!

This is a lot harder than I thought it would be!

2 years ago, I made a life altering decision.  I realized I was obese, unhealthy, a couch potato.  I had let myself go.  To my credit, it was not like I had nothing to do.  I had had 4 children in 6 years, one who is severely disabled by Autism.  My husband was finishing his residency board requirements and working full time, so I was essentially a single parent. All of this stress and toll led to me being 100 pounds overweight.  I signed up for the Disney 2010 1/2 marathon, joined an amazing running team, Team All Ears Running with Purpose and starting working on changing my life. 

If you had asked me 2 years ago where I would be today, I would have told you that I would be a pixie by now and running sub 10 minutes miles and probably have done about 2 iron mans by now.  Well, I have made incredible progress, lost 40 pounds, gained 20 back, run countless races including 1 marathon and 2 half marathons, changed my family's entire eating habits and gotten us all more active in general. 

Here is the big Question.  Am I a pixie? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  It is very frustrating. 

This is so much harder than I thought it was going to be! 

When I cam up with the blog name  A Journey at that time I really thought it would be more like a quick skip or a run, but it has in fact turned out to be a journey. 

Am I giving up?  No Way!  I am more determined and resolved than ever.  I know that due responsibilities for my children and family and my career, that sometimes, well actually a lot this past year, my exercise has had to take a step back.  However, with spring here and my frustration level high, I am going to continue this journey and focus on my progress and the progress I have made on my journey.

Please keep sending me support and I promise I will be more accountable with consistent training, more weight loss and more blog posts!