Turkey Trot and Beyond!

Race number of the 2016 Turkey Trot

I know it has been a while since I have posted. Since Thanksgiving life and work have been a bit busy but I do have a lot to share. I am currently at the Chicago O'Hare Airport waiting for my flight to depart. We have been delayed for two hours and it doesn't look good. I was planning on writing this blog post once I arrived home from Chicago but since I have time to kill I thought I would get it started.

We now have an update on our flight and it has been cancelled! I am now spending an extra night in Chicago. I was able to get a room in the hotel at the airport and now I can continue to work on this blog tonight. I was in Chicago for the past four days hosting a retreat for a group of alumni volunteers from the college where I work.

Prior to my surgery I set three goals for myself that I wanted to achieve as a result of the surgery. The first goal was to get off of all of my diabetes medication...check. Second goal to get off of my blood pressure medication...check. My third goal was to be a faster runner ... so far things are looking good.

On Thanksgiving morning I ran in the 5th annual Stuffing the Pantry 5K in East Longmeadow, MA. I have run this race for the last five years and I truly enjoy the course and the event itself. This year I completed the race in 35.26 minutes. This time is broken down to be 11:30 per mile...yes that is correct I completed this race running faster than a 12 minute mile.

I was so excited when I crossed the finish line. I felt strong the entire way and I know I could have kept running longer than the 3 miles. As I was running I saw the group ahead of me and the pack of people behind me. I was consistently passing people along the course and I thought to myself, so this is what it feels like to be in the middle of the pack!

I have another 5k scheduled for next weekend in Seneca Falls, NY. I will be running the It's a Wonderful Run 5K, which is one of my favorite 5ks. It is so fun to run the neighborhoods of Seneca Falls at night. This race is based on the It's a Wonderful Life movie and starts on the Bridge (Bridge Street) similar to the one you see in the movie. The neighborhood Christmas Lights, light the way on the course and it is so much fun. The last time I was able to run this race was in 2013. I completed the course in 39.42 which is broken down to 13:10/mile and I would love to beat that time. Let's set the goal to PR this course!!

For those of you who would like an update on my weight loss I am down a total of 58 pounds since my surgery. Which means I am down a total of 85 pounds from my heaviest weight over two years ago.

The journey continues.