The Beginning

Hi there! 
So I have basically no clue where to begin...
It's been a while since I've written anything for pleasure and now I'm beginning to recall what a luxury this is. And to be able to use conjunctions! And write the way I speak! Whew! I could do jumping jacks...

Let me begin by saying my name is Rachel, I'm 24 years young, and I recently attained my Master of Social Work degree from Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work. There are still a few steps that need to be put in place before I can call myself a true social worker (such as getting licensed--which I will be doing this summer). But for now I have decided to take a month off from it all. I just worked my ass off for the past two years. Busted my butt in a full-time graduate program with a 24 hour per week internship and two part-time jobs on top of that. 

If you've ever wondered what true exhaustion feels like, I've just described it to you in the aforementioned paragraph. 

So anyway, in a nutshell I was not taking very good care of myself about 9 months ago. I ate chocolate allllllll the time. I drank probably 2-3 cups of coffee PER DAY! And every night was not complete without a bowl of ice cream in front of my face. Or a chocolate bar being shoved down my gullet. How's that for some fatty imagery? =P And worst of all...I DIDN'T RUN! *cowers*
I had such a love-hate relationship with fitness. I rationalized my lack of motivation by telling myself that climbing the escalator every day on my commute to work was enough of a work-out. And, by the way, this escalator was the escalator from hell! It literally took you from the depths of Boston, probably close to the earth's core, to street level. I'm being dramatic obviously but anyway...

That was my life nine months ago. And I have GI issues on top of everything, so add that to my stress level and boom! I was miserable.

And then... my boyfriend's mother asked if I wanted to run a 5k in Davis Square with her. For those of you in the area this was the Jingle Bell run. It was around the second week of December. At first I thought I couldn't do it... I thought to myself, "train and run in the freezing cold of winter? Ugh, who would do such a crazy thing?!" But then I took a look at my life and thought... "yeah, I probably should be doing that."
So I did what any typical American would do, I started a blog! I told myself I was going to stop eating so much damn chocolate, work out for a change and write about it! Because that would hold me accountable for the changes, right?

I didn't keep up with the blog, graduate school restricts the amount of pleasure in your life like that. However, I kept up with the fitness regimen and I don't eat ice cream anymore. If I have chocolate, it's always dark and if I ever have ice cream--which I very rarely do, it's dairy-free.

On November 4th 2012 I went for a 10 mile run. My first run in months and the longest distance I had ever run. It took me 2 and a half hours! And I couldn't walk for days after. But I told myself that I had done it. I had broken myself in and made the beginning steps to a long-term fitness journey. There was no going back. No flaking out of the running world like I had in the past. No excuses. 

I was slow in the beginning, really slow. But we all start somewhere. It doesn't matter necessarily how long it takes you the first time, as long as you complete that goal you set out to accomplish. What an incredible feeling that is, by the way. As a true procrastinator, it feels great to just get out there and GET SHIT DONE. Runner's high is a real thing, and there's nothing else like it. 

I completed my first 5k in December 2012 in 36:14 with an average pace of 11:05 minutes per mile. Then I did another in January 2013 in Lexington. I finished that in 29:21 with an average pace of 9:11 minutes per mile. Then I did a third 5k in March 2013 in Southie and completed that in 27:19 with an average pace of 8:48 minutes per mile. 
Now I can run a 5k in 25-26 minutes and I'm still improving. But the point is we all have to start somewhere. So don't beat yourself up over the fact that you may not be capable of what you want to be in the beginning.The bottom line is that you. are. capable.

After all of those 5ks I wanted more, something bigger. So on May 5th 2013, 5 days before I graduated from Simmons, I ran my first half marathon in Gloucester. 

Boy, was that one hilly son of a bitch of a run! 

I finished in under 2 hours with an official time of 1:59:42. But I know I can do better. The body will carry you as far as the mind is willing to take you. Running is a mental sport. With the right training and copious amounts of water, your little legs will keep moving. But it all comes down to whether or not your mind is willing to continue. My second half marathon is in Hyannis on May 26th. It's a flatter course and I'm going to run harder than the last half. 

A good friend once said that if you remain ignorant of your limits, you'll reach new heights that you never knew you'd be capable of. So I'm going to stay ignorant of my limits. Because as far as I'm concerned, there's no limit to what you or I can achieve. 

So this is where I'm at now...I run A LOT. Or at least a lot more than I ever have in my life. And if I don't run it shows in my mood. Running is so cathartic for me. It allows me to release negative energy and replace it with clean and clear energy. Running is a full body cleanse. There's no other work out that does that for me. Maybe to certain degrees, but not to the degree that running does. 

Now that running and I have maintained a solid relationship--it's been a wonderful 7 months--it's time to up my nutrition game. As previously mentioned, I have some GI issues and I've struggled with these since I can remember. It runs in my family. My mom has Crohn's disease and I've been blessed with IBS. (Yes, that is sarcasm.)

So I really need to be careful with what I eat. And if I don't, it can truly be handicapping. But it doesn't have to be. As I've begun my own healing process, I'm entering a space where I feel an urgency to love and respect my body as my temple. It deserves that love and respect because I deserve that love and respect. I owe it to myself, as we all do, to take care of my body. What goes into your body nourishes your mind, and what your mind generates nourishes your soul. 

Thus, this blog was born! And here I will log my experience as I embark on a journey to eat better and take care of myself. The changes will most likely happen slowly, but I will carry on nonetheless. And hopefully I can inspire others to make steps in similar directions. 

So this is where I'm starting. I'm going to stop telling myself that I can't and start telling myself that I will. Plain and simple.