Just overweight & a trip down memory lane

A quick update on the weight loss - I'm now "just" overweight instead of obese. With today's weigh in, my BMI dropped into the overweight range. I'm still at the very top of it, but small steps, right?

I think that deserves a little celebration so maybe I'll dig up my running shoes. I haven't used them since July 4, 2005. Almost 3 years. I can remember well that day because it was my last time running the Peachtree Road Race. I remember it well because David & I signed up before we found out we were having Matthew. I am not sure if I would have signed up if I had known I was pregnant, but we just made a good time out of it. We knew we would be slower than normal that year, so we decided to take it easy and really enjoy ourselves. We arrived early so we could watch the wheelchair racers speed by. Then we watched the beginning groups of runners. Those guys (and gals) are fast!!

One of my favorite spots of the race is when you pass the Sheperd Center. It is just past the half-way point of the course, and on probably the hardest section. You see, the course is mostly downhill, but this is a nice long hill that has been fondly nicknamed Cardiac Hill. So here I am, my first year doing the race, I let everyone else's momentum at the start get me carried away, instead of controlling my pace like I did when I trained, I let them dictate my pace. So I wasn't ready for the hill. As I neared the Sheperd Center, I was really tired. I wasn't sure I could go on. But then, I heard the cheers of the patients there. It was overwhelming how supportive they were of all of us who were able to be out there running that day. A lot of the patients are up early to cheer on the wheelchair racers, but they stay out there for us runners too. When I think about how bitter they could be, but then they choose to get out there & cheer for us, I can't help but be overcome with emotion.

A couple of years that we ran the race we lived in a condo just a block from the finish line. It was fun to get finished, go home & shower, then go back to hang out & enjoy the rest of the race. You see, it takes over 2 hours for everyone to START the race, so if you're in one of the first time groups, you can be finished before others even start.

Another favorite memory is from 2002. The race rules state that no costume or headgear is allowed, but there were several firefighters and military personnel who ran the race in full gear. Pretty amazing - I probably couldn't run one mile in all that garb, much less 6.2!

I would love to run the Peachtree again - it was kind of a tradition that we planned to continue even after we moved here, but as you can see we haven't. That year I was pregnant was the last time we followed through with our plan. Logistically it's just hard...David has to take vacation the week of July 4, so we end up visiting family or going somewhere for a "real" vacation, and getting to Atlanta for the race just isn't easily set into those plans. Hopefully we can pick the tradition up again someday. I do miss it.