Who is Mrs. Marathon?

In November 2012, Mr. Marathon did a post explaining who he is (read it here).  Now, it's finally my turn.  So, who am I?

How I Started Running

Mr. Marathon had been running since high school.  When we started dating back in high school, he tried to get me to go run around his high school track and I though "Ew, why would I want to do that???"  He was all into fitness and whatnot, but I was starting to get away from fitness.  I did gymnastics when I was way younger.  I tried some exercise classes, like yoga, Fit Ball, and kickboxing.  I was on the swim team in high school, but I slowly faded away from being healthy and fit.

Me, weighing about 117
I keep this picture as a reminder of how fit I can be.

And it was starting to show.  I went from 115 pounds in high school to almost 140 pounds.  I thought to myself "That's it.  I've gotta do something about this."  I was stumped though.  What in the world could I do to lose my extra weight?  I had no idea.  So, I started using My Plate on livestrong.com and began to track my calories daily.  The weight started coming right off!  I got to 125 pounds and then the weight loss stopped.  I needed something else to keep me going.  I kept racking my brain trying to figure out what I was missing.

Then I thought, hey... my husband runs marathons.  Um, maybe I should try running!  So I did.  I set a goal to run my first 5K, the Great Goblin Gallop.  I set that goal in August 2011 to run the race in October 2011.  I trained and trained, and met my goal!  I wanted to run it in 45 minutes or faster, and then when the time came I ran it in 39 minutes!  I was so proud and addicted to running!  I kept running 5Ks, and then tried a 10K, and kept on loving it.  Thanks to all this running, I had met my goal weight of 120 pounds, and kept losing weight until I reached 117!

Disney Princess Half!

I decided to try a half marathon when I stumbled upon the Disney Princess Half Marathon on Pinterest.  I thought "OMG there is no other race that could possibly be more perfect for me!"  because I love Disney, and let's face it, I'm obviously a princess.  I signed up, and started training, and completed the race in February 2012 (read part 1 here and part 2 here) .

Girls on the Run 5K, December 2013

Since my first half marathon, I have completed three more half marathons, a few 5Ks, and some 10Ks despite physical and emotional challenges, including (but not limited to) a hurt knee, slight Achilles pain, breathing problems, (suspected but never diagnosed) plantar fasciitis, feeling unmotivated, anxiety, and so much more.

Where I Am Now

Currently, I am a rookie third grade teacher and full time wife.  I started teaching in August, which of course has been my #1 priority since then, not leaving a whole lot of time for running.  Also, being a wife is pretty time consuming too, with all that cooking and cleaning and stuff, but I'm getting pretty used to that since Mr. Marathon and I have been married for over 3 and a half years!

Post-run selfies... gotta love 'em

Anyway, I have decided recently to take myself one step further.  I have done 5Ks, 8Ks, 10Ks, 15Ks, and half marathons, and I would ultimately love to tackle a full marathon.  It will be difficult, I know, but I feel like with some serious training and continued motivation from Mr. Marathon, I will be able to achieve it... eventually!  I want to run a full marathon for many reasons.  First and foremost, it is very embarrassing for me to admit after bragging about my awesome weight loss, but I have gained weight again.  I have hit 130 once again, and that is the weight that I promised myself I would never get back to.  I need to get it under control because it is not only affecting my body image and wardrobe, but it's also affecting my running.  I feel the extra weight while running and it is really slowing me down.  A lot of things have made it difficult to eat right and exercise as much as I should, so I hope that setting this goal will help kick me outta my funk!  In addition to the weight thing, I want to better myself overall.  I have been searching for something to make me feel good about myself for a long time now, and nothing feels better than finishing a good run, or hitting a PR, or accomplishing a new distance, so of course, a full marathon is the only logical thing to do, right?  Not that running a full marathon is ever truly logical! Haha!

Things that I Love and Cannot Live Without (besides running, duh)!

Adorable coffee mugs and delicious flavored coffee

All things chocolate... I have a terrible sweet tooth.  Might explain my frequent weight fluctuations....

I lovelovelove motivational pics I find on Facebook and Pinterest!

Seriously, love them.

What, did you think I was kidding?

They really keep me going when I'm in a funk.

And last but not least: Mr. Marathon, of course!  I love being silly with him!

Well, anyway, there you have it.  All about me, Elizabeth.  Or Mrs. (soon to be) Marathon.  Hopefully one day I will live all the way up to that title.  I hope you will all follow my journey to 26.2.  I will need all the support I can get!