Thanksgiving Day 4 mile Run

On Thanksgiving morning I ran in a 4 mile race. This was HUGE for me because I have never done anything like this before in my life. I really don't like running. It's definitely not my favorite form of exercise. So why did I do it you ask? ....I don't really know. 1-Some other girls from my ward were doing it so I thought why not? and 2- because I knew it would get me out of my comfort zone and force me to work off this extra baby weight I packed on.
In September about a month after I had Joshua one of the girls from my ward told me about the race and asked if I wanted to do it with her. I agreed and started getting myself into shape. At first I went a little slow (come on I just had a baby!) then I started to do really well in my training, then I stopped for a few weeks when my family came to visit, then it was hard to motivate myself into wanting to get up early, so finally when it came down to the race I didn't feel ready. I was expecting to walk most of the way and the fastest I had been able to run a mile was 12 min running the whole time. I didn't know exactly what to expect but I decided to do it anyway. I had to push myself out of my comfort zone to it but I'm really glad I did. Sometimes it's good to force yourself to do something you wouldn't ordinarily do. The picture above is Lori, Jeannie, me, and Esther (and John making a guest appearance in the back) right before the .

The first mile was definitely the hardest part for me but then surprisingly it got a lot easier after that. I must have found my groove because before I knew it I was passing the half way mark then 3 miles then I was rounding the corner to the finish line. I ran, then walked, then ran, then walked pretty much the whole time. I started out running and finished running. My time was 50min 6sec. I was SO proud of myself. I definitely thought I was going to take over an hour and I exceeded my own expectations. This is Esther and I right after the race. I'm proud of myself for thinking outside my little box and doing something I wouldn't normally do. I'm glad I did it and the best part about the whole thing is I lost a total of 12 pounds from the time I started getting myself ready until I did it. I gained 42 pounds over the course of my pregnancy with Josh. I lost 20 pounds within the first 2 weeks and now I'm down 12 more. 10 pounds and one chubby flabby belly to go. I'll get there slowly but at least I'm starting.