3, 2, 1... Half Marathon!

So yesterday was a huge milestone for me. It was 3 years ago yesterday that I joined Weight Watchers because my weight was creeping back towards the 200-pound mark (I had previously gotten all the way up to 240 and then lost 100 pounds on my own). Shortly after joining WW, I found and joined SparkPeople, though I didn't really take advantage of all the wonderful tools there until much later.

2 years ago I reached my goal weight of 114 pounds :)

1 year ago I completed the Couch to 5k (C25k) program and never looked back! Since then I've ran 5k, 10k, and 10-mile races. I ♥ Running!

6 months ago I registered for a half marathon. During (what was supposed to be) a 10-mile long run, I kept going and actually ran 13.1 miles on my treadmill. I think I just wanted to be sure I could do it.

4 months ago I eliminated all meat, dairy and eggs from my diet and switched to a completely Vegan lifestyle. I had already achieved a healthy lifestyle prior, so my reasons for doing this were/are completely based on the horrendous treatment to farm animals. I'm now an advocate/activist for Farm Sanctuary, and even adopted a duck named Preston :)

P.S. Without even trying, I've lost another 4 pounds since going Vegan. I have more energy than ever, and have never felt better!

So this brings me to yesterday.  I (along with 24000 others!) ran the Philadelphia Rock n Roll Half Marathon! I think there was only about a 10-minute period where I wasn't grinning ear to ear.

*Note for anyone currently training for a race: As Coach Nancy has mentioned several times- do NOT alter your diet around race day, even in the slightest amount. After grabbing and downing what I thought was a cup of water around mile 6, I was stricken with indescribable stomach pains and had to stop 3 times over the next couple miles at the port-o-pots! Turned out it was something called Cytomax (I think is similar to Gatorade?)- Ugh! I could have had (if not super close to) a sub-2 hour time if not for that! :(

But anyways, I finished strong! And because of all the people and having to weave in and out, my Garmin showed that I actually ran 13.64 miles, and I did it in 2 hours, 16 minutes, 34 seconds! Woohoo! And I got my first medal :)