1 Year With Gold's Gym and the NSL 5K

My neighbor, Susi Mabey, and I just after running the NSL 5K this morning

June 28, 2008 at Taylorsville Dayzz with Mallory, my sister-in-law, and Jan, my mother-in-law (2 days after I started working out at Gold's Gym)

Yesterday was my one year anniversary of starting at Gold's Gym. June 26th, 2008 I had my first session with my trainer. I remember Kenton pushed me so hard I thought I was going to puke. My arms were shaky afterward and I had a hard time putting Josh into his carseat after the session. I felt completely out of shape, but 100% motivated. Since then it's been up and down but thankfully there have been MANY more ups than downs. Working out is apart of my life now and I couldn't imagine not being active. I love pushing myself to the limit and sweating (something I don't think I've ever said my entire life.) I've ran a 10K and a half marathon. I've lost 35 lbs. and dropped tons of inches. My energy level most days is sky high. I can wrestle with the kids and not get winded. I can race Ben across the yard as many times as he wants and I don't break a sweat. I love to do hard exercises and when I feel like I'm done, I like to push myself an extra couple seconds, just because I know I can. I feel strong physically and mentally. The great part about all of this is I've realized there is no limit to what I can do. My entire life I thought the smallest I could be was 140 and in a size 10. I never thought I could have muscle definition in my arms or legs, or that my stomach could shrink to a normal size. It's been amazing, mentally, figuring out that I can break barriers. It's all about how hard I want to push. If you work at a mediocre level you get mediocre results. You push yourself harder and eventually you will see results that you never thought were possible. I'm so glad I joined Gold's last year and glad I finally decided to take my life into my own hands and make the change I've been dreaming of for years.

I ran a 5K this morning with my sweet friend, Susi Mabey. I actually remember last year seeing a flyer for this race and wanting to do it, but at that point I was SO sore from my first session with my trainer I knew there was no way I could go run 3 miles. I vowed that next year I would do it. The last official 5K I ran was in May 2004. I believe my time was 31 min. My goal today was to get under 27 and my time was 26:54. I was excited that I reached my goal but afterward I felt a tad disappointed in myself because I realized I could have pushed even harder than I did. Oh well... a goal for next time. :)