Former Couch Potato

Hello Dear Reader,

Let me properly introduce myself....clears throat...Hello, my name is Dani and I'm a former Couch Potato. In high school, which was not too long ago that's a lie, I used to be very engaged in sports; especially softball and lightly competitive horseback riding. And let me tell you...my body was so right!

The college years...well, let's just say that I was more focused on partying, boys, everything else getting good grades and being a star student. My body was sooo right metabolism still functioned like a teenager, so I incorrectly assumed that I could eat what I wanted and would continue to be fit, despite what my older friends told me. They would always say, "Things will change in your 30s."

Fast forward to grad school and my life's focus at that time was figuring out how to pay off my student loans ensuring that I became a productive member of society. Participation in sports completely fell by the wayside.

Between 2006 and 2008, I served in the Peace Corps (South Africa). My lifestyle changed with increased movement (read: not allowed to drive and relied heavily on the ankle express) and more access to fresh foods. Fit, however, I was not!

In March 2011, I turned the BIG 3-Ohhhhh, with a focus on freaking out the "Ohhh". As I move into this new life stage (i.e. being a real grown up), it is clear that I need to re-evaluate my priorities. One major priority is making "fitness" a lifestyle choice rather than just a word in the dictionary...somewhere between "fat" and "flabby". As a birthday lifelong gift to myself, I ran my very first marathon, the Publix Georgia Marathon,which took place on March 20th, 2011. With my family and friends cheering me along the whole way...from blogging about my goal to witnessing me cross the finish line...I completed the race in 4 hr and 58 min- 2 minutes under my goal of 5 hours.

Now that my goal...my dream has been realized...I know that in order to make running part of my bigger goal to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle, I need to keep it movin'!

As my boyfriend in 10th grade always used to tell me, "Don't talk about it. Be about it." Sure, I'm going to talk about it, but I am about it.

So...lace up your sneaks, get off the couch, and join me in my run, as I transform from a pumpkin to Ms Goodbody self-proclaimed Couch Potato into a marathon runner extraordinaire.

One foot in front of the other...keep it movin'!

Yours in (marathon/life) training,

Dani