I have some great Motivational Monday stories to share today... enjoy!
Schellen (far left in photo), along with some friends, her sister, and future sister-in-law, completed the Dirty Girl Mud Run! Schellen used to put things off until she was "skinnier", but recently decided to do what she wants now--there is no reason she can't do it. She said this race is one of the hardest things she's ever done, but also the most rewarding and fun.
Four years ago, Elena decided to change her lifestyle and drop her excess weight. Starting at 250 pounds, she made a lot of progress over the next few years, even throughout a pregnancy. This past February, she decided that she was going to start running and drop the last 20 pounds. Last weekend, she was ready to run her first half-marathon. She'd done the training, having run a successful 12-miler two weeks prior. When she got to the starting line, there were only about 200 runners total; and by mile 1, Elena found herself running alone at the very back of the pack, with the pacer motorcycle behind her. She hung in there until mile 11, when severe back pain forced her to stop. She felt defeated, but was still proud of the fact that she'd lost over 90 pounds, weighing in at 158. Yesterday, Elena decided to prove to herself that she was capable of running a half-marathon. She didn't have any spectators, or a medal when she finished, but she ran 13.1 miles in 2:35!
Meredith has been battling her weight on and off for 15 years; then in April of 2014, she decided enough was enough. She started by working on portion control and walking for exercise. She was able to drop about 25 pounds before hitting a long plateau. She decided to switch things up by doing clean eating and BeachBody workout programs. She became a health and fitness coach to help others as well, and she's since dropped another 20 pounds! (Meredith's blog is iamfeelingalive)
Andréa recently ran a very meaningful run, the NH Run for the Fallen. Rather than try to aim for a particular time goal, she stopped along the way to look at the photos and read the names of the servicemen who lost their lives, as well as shake hands with their family members. She says, "I think that sometimes as runners we get caught up in the numbers, PR's and stats, but I think it's important to remember that sometimes we can run for more." The run was a total of 12 miles, with everyone stopping at mile 11 so that all the runners could finish as a group. Andréa's husband and five-year old son participated as well! She said the run was overall a very moving experience.
On Saturday, Lisa completed her second half-marathon! It was her first half-marathon since having her son; and during training, she managed to drop 43 pounds with Weight Watchers. Her previous half-marathon time was 1:57, and she really wanted to beat that time. She smoked her goal, finishing in 1:42!
Marine ran La Parisienne yesterday, a women-only race around Trocadéro and the Eiffel Tower. Last year, she ran the 6.7K race in 44:23, and she decided to set a goal to finish under 40:00 this year. She ended up finishing in 37:08! Next up is the Paris Centre 10K in three weeks.
Congratulations everyone! Keep up the good work!
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