Healthy Transformation: My Journey to Getting Healthy

One's destination is not a place, but a new way of looking at things.
~Henry Miller

I was always an active person. 15 years ago, at the age of 11, when my dad was training for his first marathon, I would get up at 5:30 in the morning on a Sunday to ride my bike along with him on his training runs. Read his version of the story here. I started playing soccer at the age of 7, and before that I danced. In high school I made the varsity team my freshman year. In 2002, I went off to Gettysburg College. It was the first time in over ten years that I was not playing soccer, or officially doing something active. I played on an inter-mural team my freshman year to stay active and went to the gym a few times a week. I would run on the treadmill, use the elliptical, and do some free weights. I also did tons of crunches. I thought I was doing everything right. Without even realizing it, I was gaining weight.

Junior Year of College:

2004

2005

I continued to go to the gym, with the intention of losing weight. I ate poorly and drank too much. I did not get enough sleep and I wore too much make-up. I had toxic friends and a bad attitude. I was not happy with myself. In order to get happy, I tried to have more fun. This of course, meant less sleep, more drinking, bad food choices, etc.

When I was home for the summer between my junior and senior year I did not have my school's gym to go to. I did not have any gym to go to, so I ran outside. I ran by myself and occasionally would run with my dad. When I could keep up, that is. He went for much longer runs than I could ever hope to. Or so I thought.

By my senior year, 7 girls and I lived in an off campus house. We ditched the meal plan and started grocery shopping. I signed up for a nutrition course and I cleaned up my diet a bit. This definitely helped. Living in a house with 7 other girls proved to be stressful and I would often need a break from the house. I started to run outside by myself. Running in Gettysburg was beautiful. There were many rolling battlefields to run on. You could run forever out there, and I wanted to. There were times when I dreaded going back to my house. In order to stay away, I would run longer. At first I would run, then walk when I needed to. Eventually I was running for hours. Literally. I would run for an hour and a half in the morning, go to class, eat lunch, and go out for another run in the afternoon. I could not get enough. I was bitten by the bug.

Post-College:

2008

2008

2010

Once I got healthy, things fell into place. I was happier. I was glowing, I felt stress free. You can see that in these pictures.

After graduation, I continued to run. My dad and I started running more together because now I could keep up. We ran a couple of races together, but it wasn't until last year that I truly got bit by the racing but. In September of 2008, I won my first race. I think that is when I got serious about the sport. I thought, Wow, if I can with this race without even trying to, I wonder what I can do if I train a little harder. Last year, my dad and I joined our running club and started racing more frequently. I ran 12 races last year, including my first marathon.

This year, I qualified for the Boston Marathon. I started this blog in August 2009 to document my training and hold myself accountable. I became a certified group fitness instructor and joined a gym. I now supplement running with Pilates, yoga, and strength training. I am studying to become a certified personal trainer, and plan to teach boot camp soon. I hope to continue to improve my speed, endurance, and attitude in order to become the best and healthiest person I can be starting from the inside out.