Inspiration: Your Health is Wealth

On Sunday night, at dinner with my parents, we talked about how lucky we are to be in good health. This is an obvious statement but I think it's something that many of us, including myself, take for granted too often. Today, on the one year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings, we've been reminded how suddenly a person's life can change and how important it is not to take anything for granted.

I got a little bored on my treadmill tempo run this afternoon. I had chosen a machine right at the front of the gym so I could watch the rain pour down out the window - but I regretted not having a TV view or music in my ears. Then I remembered the news coverage I'd overheard in the locker room about victims of the bombing. About their prosthetic legs, the months they spent in surgery and the hard battle they're still fighting to recover. I realized how lucky I was to be pushing my body and sweating during my lunch hour.  Surely, there were too many people out there who would give anything to be in my shoes on that treadmill. So I changed my attitude and had a blast.

Today, and every day, let's be reminded to appreciate and embrace good health, if we're lucky enough to have it.

Until the next 26.2...

It's funny... I left off my Vermont City Marathon (VCM) recap with "Until the next 26.2..." and apparently I wasn't kidding. I left you hanging for eight months and here I am picking back up while training for the same marathon a second time.

The 2014 VCM isn't until Memorial Day weekend but the fact that I'm running it is an important piece of information as I pick back up with this blog. Training for it is a big part of my life and it will motivate much of what I do for my health and fitness over the next two months.

Since this is my second marathon, I felt confident in my ability to run it and was a little less committed to my training early on. I was also nervous about increasing mileage too quickly and getting injured. I had spent the fall and early winter focused on getting a new husband, walking around Europe together and then settling into life as a married couple, which didn't change much. Either way, running was not a high priority of mine last fall and I probably began marathon training with too few recent miles under my belt. I've dealt with nagging IT Band syndrome, ankle pain and was sidelined for a few weeks (one week completely off, three until I felt 100%) with a bad cold and cough.

These disruptions have motivated me to try and take very good care of my body for the next two months. And forever. I am working hard to incorporate effective strength training, stretching and cross-training exercises. I am also eating better, while still maintaining an "everything in moderation" motto.

I hope to share with you the ups and downs of training, as well as new exercises, activities and foods that I try. It's go time!

Back to Blogging

It's pretty weird to begin a blog post for the first time in eight months. Before I could type the first word, I had to look back at all the posts I've done since Bike America to see where we left off. Sadly, there weren't many.

A lot has happened since I last posted and since I last posted regularly. I am a married woman now. There are things I could try to catch you up on, most notably my wedding and honeymoon, the most perfect days of my life. In time, I may do some flashbacks but, for now, it's time to move forward.

I have found myself busier at work since I started a new job in August of 2012 than I was pre-Bike America and that, coupled with wedding planning, made for less time to spend blogging. Now that one of those things is through, I feel ready to reignite the passion that I once had for this blog. I would like to be more deliberate about the things I share, focusing on living a fit, healthy and happy life.

There will be lots of sweating. I hope you'll join me!