Now, don't let that title fool you too much, especially if you were at dinner with me Saturday night while I gobbled up a cheesy burger with a side of fries. But, this weekend did have a health angle to it, and that turned out to be something I really needed.
First, I FINISHED MY 10K AND RAN THE ENTIRE TIME.
HELL YEAH.
Well, jogged the entire time. Definitely didn't walk any of it. But if you saw me around mile 4.5, the word run might not have popped into your head. My final time was 1:19 and that gives me a nice time to try and beat the next time I run the same distance.
(And there will certainly be a next time.)
It was an incredible accomplishment, and I'm so glad I got to share the day with some of my best friends who ran with me (well, ahead of me) and with my mom who cheered me on from the finish line. The first four miles weren't super easy, but they were quite manageable. The course was nice and flat and easy, which helped. But, those last two miles. HOO BOY. They were rough. I kept hoping my second (third? fourth?) wind would take over and carry me through, but it never came, and I had to dig way down deep to finish.
(And here's where I get super-duper cheesy even though I sort of hate myself for doing so.)
I also thought of writing this post and the thought of being able to write I FUCKING DID IT! I RAN THE WHOLE TIME! was worth pushing through the pain of those last two miles.
So, thank you for motivating me when I needed it most (even if you didn't realize you were doing so) and for virtually cheering me across that line. This space is so healing and so supportive and that's because of you. If it weren't for you, this would just be one step above a word document.
One last time: I FUCKING DID IT! I RAN 6.2 MILES!
***
Then, today, I woke up (really, really ridiculously early, stupid Daylight Savings) and eventually headed out to a gathering put on by Nintendo and The American Heart Association. Brand about Town asked me to co-host this event, and I said sure for a couple reasons: 1) I thought it would be a great opportunity to meet local bloggers I hadn't met yet and 2) I thought it was a nice chance to talk about so many of the things I've learned this year. Namely, how to incorporate healthy living into busy lives.
It was a really nice time, with tasty snacks and a delicious lunch and great speakers talking about the importance of positive thinking for meeting your health goals and also meeting those aforementioned local bloggers I'd been wanting to meet (Erica and Julie, specifically), but it also reminded me of something I've been learning all year and it's this: I'm the only one who can change my own life.
Ultimately, the day was about using some of the Nintendo Wii (Fit, Sport, Resort) products to get healthy (and they are fun and they are easy to use and you can use them right in your own living room, and I think that's great), but it was nice to take away even more than that from the day.
One thing I've learned this year -- especially through running -- is that you have to be nice to yourself in order to get and stay healthy. You can't meet goals and kick ass and take names while telling yourself you're worthless and fat and lazy. And for a very long time, I thought that's what it would take to get my ass off the couch: hating myself. But, no, that never worked, and it's so obvious to me now that the only way to accomplish anything in life is to dig deep whenever the situation presents itself and be nice to myself.
I left the hotel with new friends (and plans to get together with them again) and a refreshing reminder that meeting my health goals and crossing whatever metaphorical finish line is in front of me is only possible if I get out of my own way and let myself rise to the occasion.
***
(I rarely accept free things from anyone, let alone from someone because of this blog, so I don't have a real grasp on the whole DISCLOSURE thing. I could be doing this all wrong, so let's just go with my gut, that hasn't failed me yet: Brand about Town and Nintendo were both kind enough to send me a thank-you package for participating in this event and for inviting some of my contacts to it. I received a Nintendo DS, a Wii game, and a personal training arm-band thing. [That's the official name, I'm sure.]
I wasn't asked to write a post or tweet about my experience, and I wouldn't have if I hadn't been so happy with the way the day turned out. Everyone at the event got a Wii Fit Resorts package, a Nintendo sweatshirt, and a book from one of the speakers.)