You Look GREAT for Having TRIPLETS!

Over the past five years, my weight has gone up and down. I lost all of my pregnancy weight plus 15 extra pounds by the time the boys were 6 months old. To top it off, I was eating McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese sandwiches all the time. I was always on the go. For the first few months the drive-thru was my friend. I went back to work after my 6 weeks of maternity leave. I raced between school and the hospital and home. Who had time to make food?

Once the boys were home, I was caring for three babies, a four year old, and working full time. There was no time for rest. When the boys were about 14 months old, I switched them from breast milk to regular milk. Unfortunately, my eating habits were the same. My body could handle the calories I was consuming when I was pumping 100+ ounces of milk a day. When I stopped, the pounds started creeping back up.

Last Christmas I hit my all time high weight. I wasn't happy with myself, but I wasn't doing anything about it either. One of my friends had started running the year before and had dropped a bunch of weight. She was running half marathons and it intrigued me. I decided to jump on the treadmill and start working out.

In January of 2009 I entered a 5k race with a group of my friends from school. I had been running 2-3 miles on the treadmill a few times and thought that this would be an easy race. Boy was I wrong! Running on a treadmill is way different than running on the streets. At the end of the race I was dizzy and ready to pass out. I remember looking up at my friends and telling them that I didn't think there was any way I could ever run a half marathon with them. It just seemed so inconceivable. I had never been so out of shape and I was just not happy with myself.



I can't even count how many times I have heard people tell me, "You look great for having triplets!" It's frustrating. To me I felt like people were saying I was allowed to be heavier because I had three kids at the same time, certainly not that I looked great. I was 22 lbs heavier from what I was AFTER having the boys.

A friend of mine had recently started a fitness kick so that she could be stronger for her daughter (read about Rachel Coleman and Lucy Coleman). Things started clicking in my mind. I started working out and watching what I ate. After a little over three months, I had lost 20 lbs. I won't say it was easy at first. I literally slept in my workout clothes so that I wouldn't talk myself out of working out in the morning when the alarm clock went off.

In may I committed myself to the Disneyland Half Marathon, over Labor Day weekend. That was the motivation I needed to keep running. If I didn't run, I would pay for it when it was time for the race. For the month I spent at my parents' house, I was able to get out three days a week and run. It was great! By the time I got home, Noe returned from Japan so that I could continue to run outdoors. I was ready to run my first half marathon!

On September 5, after Leigha's race, my friends and I headed over to the Expo to get every ones' packets. It was an exciting time for me!



It was a lot of fun being with a group of friends.



We had a great dinner at Olive Garden and then headed back to the hotel for the night. I felt like a little kid, getting all of my clothes and running gear ready for the morning.



The race was at 6 a.m. and we were planning on leaving around 5 a.m. to line up in our corrals. I loved the fact that we could walk to the start line from our hotel, it made it a lot less stressful. We were all excited and ready to go!



Since this was my first marathon, I was in the last corral. I felt a bit overwhelmed with how many people were there.



I was frustrated in the beginning of the race with the sardine effect of runners. I was back with a lot of people who were walking, socializing 5 people wide, etc. I was used to running on my own, not trying to dart between people. When Shalis pointed out different parts of Disneyland that we ran through, I was clueless. The only parts I recognized were the curbs and the sidewalks. That's were my eyes were until we exited the park. I would be running full speed and then have to basically stop because there was no where to go. Luckily, we were only in the park for a mile or two before exiting to the streets.

During my training I had learned how to drink from my water bottle without stopping. I was happy that I didn't have to carry my water bottle during the race, but I wasn't thinking too clearly when I thought that I could drink from a pixie cup while running. That didn't work out too well, I think I was wearing more than I had drank. Wouldn't you know that one of the best photographs they took of me was right after that water station. You might think that was a picture taken towards the end of the race and I was sweating, but no, that was just my first experience running through a water station.



I was extremely happy to see the finish line! I finished my first half marathon with a time of 2:06:18. (The time on the clock was from the start of the first corral.)



I will admit it, this time I am just plain sweaty!



Many thanks to my friends who kept me motivated throughout the year. I couldn't have done it without them, especially Ron. Ron is Julie's husband and my PT that has helped me numerous times with my injuries. Ron and Julie were the ones that got me motivated to start doing the races and much more.

Front row: Julie, Cathy, Shalis, and Joni
Back row: Ron, Wendy, Matt, and Chris



I am proud of myself for making the effort to get in shape this year. However, this is just the beginning. I am hooked!