I first off need to apologize for not keeping up with my blog at the end of the challenge. I finished up the challenge last week, and ended up losing about 12 pounds. That is a pretty good number for me, but I really like how much energy I have lately and also I feel great about how my diet has been. The 24 Day Challenge does not end after 24 days. It is a way to get on the right track with eating right and also being able to look at the food you are eating and know if it is good or bad for you.
I recently also just took part in the Dam to Dam 20K race. My goal was to finished in under 2 hours and also not to stop along the way. I achieved both goals and had a great time running! Its amazing to see how inspiring it can be to be running with 8,000 other people and also have people cheering you on along the way. That is really what kept me going and made me want to achieve my goals. I will be honest that I did cheat on my diet Saturday after the race as I had my first Mountain Dew in about a month to celebrate me finishing. I know Mountain Dew seems like an odd way to celebrate finishing a race, but that is just what I wanted after the race.
I ended up having so much fun during the race that I have decided to start training for a Marathon. The Marathon that I am going to register for is the Des Moines Marathon and it takes place at the end of October. I am excited for the challenge of training for an actual marathon and will begin training next week. Since the 20K on Saturday I have been experiencing pain in my knees and hips. I am going to take a few more days off to try to recover, then will hopefully start to run and lift normally again. I am excited to get back to lifting, as I have not really lifted since I started training for the 20K.
I really hope to continue blogging about my training and also about things that work for me when running and things that do not. My hope is to inspire others to get into running because I have found that it really is a great stress reliever and something you can feel really proud of!
Until next time...
