May 20, 2013

Motivational Monday #16


Funny story from this morning at my sister's house...

Shawn's friend came over to pick up Shawn to go to breakfast. While Jeanie went to get Shawn, I chatted with him for a minute. Making small talk, he said, "Oh, I met your other sister a few years ago." I must have looked confused (I don't have another sister, just Jeanie), because he started to explain, "She came out here to go camping; she brought her kids, and you all went camping for a couple of nights..."

Then it hit me. He was talking about ME, when I was still 253 pounds, and he just didn't recognize me now that I've lost the weight! Hahaha, I think I embarrassed him when I told him it was me, but that totally made my day :)

I'm working on this while I'm waiting for Jerry to pick me up from the airport, so I'm going to get right to the good stuff! I hope you all had a great week, and even if it wasn't so great, maybe you will find some motivation from today's stories...

Amber just ran her second 5K race, and she says she was the last runner to finish, followed only by a couple of walkers. She said a lot of people were trying to console her by saying, "Hey, at least you finished!" but Amber says she just smiled and said she is very PROUD of her time. She says, "Three months ago, I would have been dead last, and four months ago, I would have been on my sofa!" She followed her training schedule and felt great through the race.



When I read Colleen's e-mail, I really couldn't summarize it without cutting out a bunch of important stuff. So I'm just going to copy and paste what she wrote about this picture. It's a GREAT story, and the picture is awesome!

"I've been dying to send you this email. Today, I ran my first 1/2 marathon and killed my goal of sub 2 hours. Some background- when I lived in Chicago, I ran a lot. I ran the 2006 full marathon and various other Chicagoland area stapes (Shamrock Shuffle, etc.). When I moved to Denver, the elevation change was tough on my running. I've always struggled with getting my breath under control and I never felt like I could check out and just run because I was always gasping for air. Cut to living on the front range for five years and slowly building my endurance back up. 

When I started to get back into running last September, I found your blog and started to mimic your interval training and some of your work outs. It was really encouraging to see myself get faster and stronger. I ran the Running of the Green (7k) in March and attempted to maintain a 8:30 pace. Turns out, I ran it with an average 8:17. I was still afraid to take the plunge and sign up for a longer race until my work challenged us to do so. My boss, Vince DiCroce, is an avid marathoner/triathlete. He was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer 8 years ago, and made the choice to not only survive, but be better than before. He ran over 30 marathons and PR'd most of them. He also competed in Iron Mans. He's a super hero. Recently, the tumor came back and was more aggressive. We decided to Run with Vince to push ourselves to go beyond what we think we're capable. (http://www.9news.com/rss/story.aspx?storyid=332359 and  http://www.denverpost.com/running/ci_23235866/colfax-marathon-just-another-way-vince-dicroces-life)  He signed up for the half, but ended up running the full today because his last chemo treatment wasn't that aggressive (!!!). He finished in 3:57.40. I know. Superman.

"Anyway, I knew I could run 10 miles. I knew it wouldn't be that big of a challenge, so I sucked it up, and before I could change my mind, swiped my credit card for the 1/2 with a goal of sub 2 hours. I continued to do speed interval work and added in long runs all while reading your blog. Today, I crossed the finish line in 1:51:30. I've attached some pictures of my elated ass because I just couldn't believe that someone like me could be "fast." Thanks for writing and continuing to motivate your readers. I know some days it is hard to open up and be honest, but I appreciate it so much, and I know others do to. Congrats on your race today and for helping out your sis! I'm sure she has her own MM post to write. You go girl(s)! "



Felicia has a shiny new 5K PR of 30:31, which also earned her third place in her age group! Over the past year and a half, she's lost a whopping 82 pounds, and has run at least one race each month since October.



Jen and her 15-year old son just completed their first 5K! She has been training 3-4 days per week, and has a goal of running the whole distance soon. She finished about two minutes faster than her "practice" times! She's also down 20 pounds since January--she decided that slow and steady was the way to go, and she's seeing great results :)




Jennifer just finished her first 10K. She's a few weeks into half-marathon training now, AND has lost 42 pounds!


Julie's daughter (shown in the pic) just ran 6.5 miles in her school's jogathon... and she's not even nine years old! The kids have to be in third grade to participate, and she was very excited that she was old enough to do it this year. The jogathon lasts 90 minutes, and she insisted on running the whole time! (I love that proud smile on her face!)




Katie surprised herself when she ran a 5K in 26:01! She's used to running 9:30-10:00/mi pace, but she gave it all she had and got a shiny new PR. She's also lost 35 pounds since January, and she credits that partly to teaching Jazzercise. Here is a comparison pic from November and from last weekend.



After completing the Couch to 5K program, Kylie just ran her first 5K! Her boyfriend raced with her, and her parents cheered her on, despite the rain. Her goal was to run the whole distance, and she did even better than she expected, finishing in 33:48!



Laura (in gray) ran a 5K with her sister, Allison, and finished with a 3-minute PR. She's lost 52.6 pounds since October, when she started running!




Lesleigh just ran her second 5K, taking a full 10 minutes off of her first from August! She's come a long way on her journey, losing 55 pounds and lots of inches. She said her husband was folding laundry, and said, "How did one of the boys' skinny jeans get mixed up in our wash?" She looked at them and realized they were HER jeans he was talking about. ;)




Sara just ran her first 5K race in 33:12... she says that last summer, she couldn't even ride a stationary bike for 15 minutes, and now she's getting ready to start 10K training! She's come a long way in less than a year.



Jen ran her third 5K, and finished with a 2-minute PR! Her kids, Ryan and Liam, each ran the 1K after being inspired by their mama to run. Ryan got her face painted at the after party :)


Don't forget to check out this week's Motivational Monday Facebook post, also! Here is a snippet:


10 comments:

  1. That story about your sister's husband's friend is so funny, but flattering! How awesome! And I love motivational Monday! It is so awesome to read everyone's stories! (Including my own, but that is not why I love it!) :)

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  2. Wow... these people are awe inspiring. The story about Vince is just amazing.

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  3. Just what I needed to read today. Thank you! And congrats to all of Monday's motivators!

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  4. It's nice to hear the compliments still. It helps!

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  5. Wonderful stories today!! High-fives to all of them!!

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  6. Thanks, Katie! Made my day!

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  7. I love that story of your "other sister"! You are amazing! And everyone's stories are so inspirational. This is such a wonderful blog. Thank you and thank you for including Sasha. She is going to be beaming with pride!

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  8. So many inspirational stories! I like yours best ... "your other sister!" I lost 40 lbs, and when I greet people I haven't seen in a while, I have to prompt them as to who I am. They're just floored. Congrats to all!

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  9. Congrats to everybody. Love all the PRs. :)

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  10. i love your motivational monday posts. thanks!

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