The top 2 pictures were taken in July 2012, a few days apart.
The bottom 2 pictures were taken in December 2012 on the same day.
Here’s to show that there’s always room for progress!
I’ve always been in shape and have never been overweight. But that doesn’t mean I was always healthy! My parents fed me well and I have always lived an active lifestyle. I played soccer growing up well into my teens and started running once I entered college. My freshman year at VCU was when I noticed I was gaining weight. This was primarily due to the lack of healthy eating options available on campus. I went to the gym regularly about 3x/week but my poor eating habits were basically cancelling out all exercise I had been doing.
My second year of college began at Virginia Tech. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Hokie community, let me just tell you.. OUR FOOD IS AMAZING. Campus food is very, very hard to resist, especially with a dining plan that lets you buy all food with a 50% discount. So, as a sophomore, I racked up the pounds. I still went to the gym and ran a bit, but again, my lack of healthy eating was winning. Whenever I went home for breaks, people would always tell me I looked better than ever. This was primarily due to the fact that everyone always said I was too skinny. Keep in mind that I have always been small boned and am only 5 feet tall… so I’m automatically small.
But I wasn’t really comfortable with the way I felt. My size 0 jeans were a struggle to button and I could feel my tummy peeking out of the bottom of my shirts.
Simultaneously, my parents were looking into a more healthy and fit lifestyle. This is to say the were never completely unhealthy or fat. Yes, there were points in both their lives where they were overweight. But after my mom had my youngest brother (who is turning 7 this year) she decided to get back into shape. It was then that she started running and eventually became a marathoner.
I’m now sure if she’s aware of the fact that she’s my inspiration for running and being a fitspo.
My dad, also, focused more on of what he ate and did some research about living better lifestyles. As a family, we learned about proportioning carbs, proteins, and fats within our meals, we learned about the different effects cardio and weightlifting had on our bodies… we learned a lot.
My parents also got into yoga. And let me tell you, they are damn good at it. At one point, I think I was jealous of how toned their muscles were becoming and how strong their bodies were.
So, I started running. I joined my mom’s running group. Eventually 5 miles became 7 miles, 7 miles became 10 miles. And then I registered for my first marathon - the 2012 Marine Corps Marathon. My marathon training changed my life completely. It changed my eating habits, my sleeping habits, my mentality, everything. But in a good way! Being in Blacksburg away from my family made training a little difficult, because well, my family is my biggest support group. But I did it! I set my mind to my goals and eventually 10 miles became 15, 15 became 18.
I finished my first marathon at 4:30:44.
But that’s a story for another time ;)
Now it’s off season training for me, so I regularly run every day and do some training at the gym every other day. If my schedule allows me and my body isn’t too stressed out, I go for a long 10 mile run on Saturday.
Training never stops. Whether it’s for a race, for a competition, for a photo shoot, for tomorrow, for yourself… training never stops. I decided today that I’m going to fully dedicate myself to this blog. If you’ve taken the time to read this post to the very end, thank you so much. I can’t wait to share the rest of my life with you!
