Run like you mean it

"I ran until my muscles burned and my veins pumped battery acid. Then, I ran some more." - Fight Club

The thing about running is that it never gets easy. Sure, it becomes much more enjoyable. And I would say that smaller distances definitely get easiER as training goes on. But is running easy? No. At least, not for me.

I was not born a runner. Even after my first (and currently only) marathon, no one would look at me and say, "Wow, she must run a lot." I ran my first marathon in October of 2005 with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. I ran for people I knew with the diseases, and for people I didn't. With the help of family and friends, I raised $3800 for LLS and ran the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco, and I finished in 5:38...a long time, I know, but I finished.

When I ran the marathon, I was also around 30 lbs overweight as a result of something called "college" and "pizza," with quite a bit of "Ben & Jerry's."

After my marathon, I ran the Baton Rouge Beach Half, and after moving to Texas, the Big Tex 5K. Wanting to finally lose the weight I didn't lose during the marathon, I joined Weight Watchers in July 2006, before my wedding, and have lost 25 lbs. I'm going for around 35 total. Thanks to Weight Watchers, I now know what to eat, and how much of it to eat, and I'm developing healthy habits that I can pass on to my future family.

The Big D Texas Half Marathon will be my first race with my new family: my husband David, his brother Chris, and Chris' wife Cassidy. It will also be my first race at a healthy weight, and hopefully the first of many to come. My goals are to a) finish; b) beat my PR; and c) make this a permanent lifestyle change. I want to be ready and willing to run the Dallas White Rock Marathon next year, and hopefully the Allisonkrewe team will be so pumped after their first half, they'll want to do it with me!

I read this on the back of a shirt at the Big Tex 5K, and it made me laugh, cause I agree with it completely: "In my mind, I'm Kenyan."