On October 3 I ran the farthest I have ever run: 14.5 miles. OK so I actually only ran 13.1 and walked the last mile because my piriformis was bothering me, but I still went the distance!
The M23.1k run was hosted by Ottawa County, the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Grand Haven Running Club, Robinson and Crockery townships, plus the offices of Senator Arlan Meekhof and Representative Amanda Price to provide a preview of the new highway that will be open at the end of the month. There were only 300 runners so it was sort of a lonely run. To make things worse, it was really windy and kind of boring since we were so spread out. It’s funny, I used to hate talking to people when I run, now I kind of get bored running by myself, especially long distances when there is no crowd.
Since we were running on a highway, there were MDOT trucks stationed along the route. I was towards the back of the pack as per usual, trying not to inflame my piriformis any more than necessary, when one of the MDOT workers looked at me and said, “Hey, are you all right?” I was surprised and said, “Of course.” Then another worker said, “Now you have to bring her McDonald’s.” I was shocked and hurt. “Uh, I would like some coffee,” I joked, and picked up my pace to get away from them.
“How rude,” I thought to myself. “Just because the fat girl is a slow runner they wonder if she’s OK and think she would want McDonald’s?” But then I realized . . . I’m not fat any more. And I wasn’t at the back of the pack. So the perceived slight was probably just that . . . a misperception.
It’s weird, I still think I look fat in some pictures. Like the one above of me at the finish line. But according to BMI I’m normal weight. I had been stalled out for a couple of months, but last week my weight started going down again. I have no idea where I’m going to end up, and it’s actually kind of scary. I don’t want to look anorexic. But I also don’t want to regain. It’s such a tough balance! I’m always hungry now that I’m running so much and I feel like I’m eating all. the. time. But I guess as long as the scale doesn’t show an increase I should be fine. I’ve now officially lost 115 pounds.
When we meet people we haven’t seen in awhile, they usually recognize Troy first and comment on how much weight he’s lost. Then they look at me, and sometimes hesitate to say anything in case I’m not me but a girlfriend. Which is kind of funny but also kind of disturbing. I tell you, this whole weight loss thing is such a head trip!
I have the Grand Rapids half marathon on Sunday, then the mileage REALLY increases as I look forward to my first full marathon on December 6. Wish me luck!
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