All or Nothing?

This picture was taken as Ken and I headed out for our 8th wedding anniversary date, January 4th, 2005.  We were digging our way out of a major crisis and I was trying to get my priorities straight.  My self-focus had caught up with me and wreaked havoc on those around me.  Thank God I have a husband who was willing to stick with me through it all.

After that year, I gave up weight training at the gym, but kept up running. I truly loved it and looked forward to heading out to meet the sun every morning.  I had an awesome running partner and dear friend I would meet many of those mornings. Even in the bitter cold (yes, Vegas is bitter cold in the winter, especially before sunset), I’d bundle up and I’d see her dark figure under the orange street lights, running up the hill to meet me.  My heart always skipped a beat, preparing in my mind what I’d do if the dark figure WASN’T Beverly.  But it always was.  I relished running and saw daily improvements (because I was so slow to begin with) in my pace and distances.

My winning day

At one point, I even placed third in my age group during a 5K.  Don’t ask me how many runners there were that morning.  It doesn’t matter.  I got third in my age group!  :)

Despite the running, I began to eat freely and often.  The weight slowly started creeping back.  Once the weight began coming back on, my running slowed down.  After a 13-mile training run, feeling worn completely out and disappointed by my pace, I stopped being so excited about running.  My running partner had been expecting and had just delivered her sweet baby, so I had less motivation (and no accountability) to get out of my comfy bed every morning.

By June 2007, when we moved to Texas, I had gained almost 15 pounds.