I ran a 5K! *And other thoughts on working out/being healthy*

Here's a picture of me in all my sweaty, tired post 5K glory :)  I still can't believe that I did it, but I actually ran a 5K!  I'll get into the race in a minute, but first I'm going to explain how I even ended up running it.

I started working out really hard at the gym 6 days a week about two months ago.  I was in TERRIBLE shape.  The worst in my life.  I would (and still do) work out for 1.5-2 hours each day, and I really pushed myself.  It hasn't been easy, but it's been ridiculously rewarding! 

In the past two months I've:

*Lost 32 pounds (thanks to the exercise and changing my eating habits pretty drastically)
*Gone down two jean sizes
*Yesterday I got to order a pair of jeans from American Eagle in a size that I haven't worn since early high school!  I'm just getting into the lowest size I currently own :)
*I can run after my kids without feeling like I'm going to collapse
*I can go up multiple flights of stairs without feeling winded
*I can run!  5.5 mph for 3 miles!
*I actually like going out with friends again...I'm not completely ashamed of the way I look
*My mood has been 100% better

Honestly, that list could go on and on.  There are a ton of things that have improved since I started exercising more regularly, but I want to get on to the 5K.  I started jogging about two weeks ago.  I have never been a jogger/runner.  Even in High School when they had us do the mile run test, I would speed walk and when the gym teacher would look at me, I'd add a bounce to my step ;).  In June, my sister-in-law ran her first full marathon.  Her knee went out on mile 3 and she kept running. I couldn't believe it.  I decided that if she could finish a marathon with a bum knee, I could at least try to jog one full mile!  So I went to the gym and made myself jog a full mile at 4.5mph.  Will was running next to me and he was cheering me on, which was so great!  From there I started trying to add distance until I finally got up to jogging 3 mph without stopping at 4.5mph. 

Friday morning, I got a facebook message from a friend saying that a race that was supposed to be a 10K was changed at the last minute to a 5K.  At first I wasn't going to run it, but I changed my mind when we pulled up to the gym.  I'd only ever jogged on a treadmill, so I was a little nervous.  Luckily, my friend was there and we were able to run the race together and encourage each other.  She was so great at getting me to push myself!  I finished the race at 33 minutes and 29 seconds which is about 5.5mph!  That's a full mph better than I have ever done on the treadmill.  I'm planning on running more 5Ks as the come along and hopefully working up to 10Ks soon.  I want to run the Dublin marathon in October of 2012, so I'm working my way up to that!

I think this blog will probably be a mix of cooking/baking and a way to keep myself honest about weight loss and exercise.  I've been so busy working on getting healthy that I haven't had a ton of extra time lately, and I wasn't sure that anyone would be interested in a blog about exercise.