A Fresh Start

Inspired by my lackluster performance at the Shamrock Shuffle, I am declaring a fresh start -- on my running and weight loss efforts. When I started running last year at this time, it was a way to finally lose the "baby" weight. (My kids are um, 6 and 4 years old) And I did lose weight, was just under 20 pounds down come Marathon day. Only problem was that after the Chicago Marathon last October, I took a brief break from running, then winter began, then the holidays, then the brief running break turned out to be a long break. All the while I continued eating pretty much like I was logging 10 and 12 mile runs. Oh, and there was a little bit of stress eating involved too. Bottomline, the weight started creeping back up. Or in my case, sprinting back up.

So, with a training run calendar developed for the Soldier Field 10 Mile and a new attitude (also some inspiration from my friend Marina) I joined Jenny Craig. I'm not about to bare down to a bikini on Oprah, but being able to wear a bikini before I'm 40 would be nice. A goal recap:

1) Complete the Chicago Marathon before I'm 40 (on track with two years to spare)
2) Raise $3,000 for the American Cancer Society
3) Lose 35 pounds (and back to pre-babies, wedding day weight) by Marathon day

Wish me luck!