Once upon a time, there was a girl

Two paths diverged in a wood, and I

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

I was never a runner growing up.

I was never an athlete, unless you count my brother making me join the swim team in my last year of high school because he was an assistant coach – or joining the swim team in second-year university because I saw a sign-up sheet that said “All skill levels welcome” and believed it.

Just so you know, I wasn’t a good swimmer. But the one thing I had, even then, was perseverance. I didn’t give up. I stuck it out both of those years…and I had fun, because in swimming you are competing against yourself and your times don’t affect the times of others. I got better compared to me – even if I was miles (lengths, technically) behind everyone else.

In the years since then, I’ve kept busy. I spent a couple of great years working for the government, and then almost seven working for a large firm - first in consulting and then in marketing/communications. I loved every minute of it, but some of that work was at my own expense. I gained weight (like you do), didn’t exercise much (surprise, surprise), and ate a lot of meals on the go (okay, that last one was because I hated cooking more than anything).

I was successful and productive at work - but I wasn't paying enough attention to my body and my health.

And then, November 2011 came along. With a month left to use my annual fitness allowance at work, I suddenly realized I was sliding down a slippery slope. I was thirty-three years old, and if I didn’t get my health and fitness sorted, I'd have a much harder problem to solve in five years.

I knew I needed to fix things, so I made a decision right then to become healthy and fit – not that I knew what that meant. All I knew was that I couldn’t do it alone. So, I asked around and found a personal trainer in Toronto named Chris Cecile (www.trainlikeasuperhero.com) who was supposed to be good.  I sent him an email mentioning my decision and asking for help. I had no idea why on earth he’d want to work with me, but I still asked.

His answer was simple: “When do you want to start?”

…and that’s when I found myself standing at a crossroads.

 Two paths diverged in my life that day and I veered off the one I’d been travelling down for thirty-three years. I forged straight into the unknown with the same persistence that had me on the swim team way back when.

I knew I needed to change, so I changed.

What I didn’t expect was for the changes to be fun. I expected hard work, pain, and a whole lot of hating every moment of training. And yes, it was (and still is) hard work. Yes, there was (and still is on occasion) pain from sore muscles and the like. Yet, after a month or so, once I started to get over the sheer exhaustion of working so hard... I found myself loving it.

Sure, I felt horribly embarrassed just walking into the gym where I was meeting my trainer. Sure, I didn’t know what a squat was when I started. But you know what the best part of being a beginner is? There is nowhere to go but up!

About a month after I started, Trainer Chris (I need to differentiate because I know a few people named Chris) dared me to run a 10k. He said “being fit” wasn’t really a goal and I needed to pick something measurable. He suggested I sign up for the Sporting Life 10k in May. Having never run around the block, I suggested a 5k, thinking 10 was a bit ambitious. Somehow he convinced me that a 5k would be harder…because 5k races are more about speed than 10k races.

In hindsight, I know that argument makes no sense at all…but it worked at the time.  I signed up for the Sporting Life 10k and, despite spraining my MCL (a miss-step on a trip, not as a result of training) in February, I was healthy and at the starting line on that gorgeous day in May. Mother’s Day. I remember because two of my brothers entered the race to provide moral support and my parents came up to watch us. It was a family affair.

Emailing Chris might have been my first step down the road less travelled…but running that first race was my point of no return. I smiled the entire way, often remembering that just six months earlier, I would have laughed if someone had said I’d be running a 10k race. I kept thinking, “I can’t believe I am here.” The fact my family was there to share in the experience? Priceless.

I realized that if I could run a 10k, I could do anything. And so began my quest to prove it. Over the next few months, I finished a Spartan Sprint, the Fit Factory’s O Course (which I signed up for to train for Spartan – only to find out the training was harder than the race!), and the Loaring Triathlon (the beginner version).

In the fall, I ran the Run for Heroes Half Marathon and the Scotiabank Toronto Half Marathon...three weeks apart. And then, in December, I finally ran my first 5k (even if it was un-timed). A bit after the fact, but so much fun. I got to run fast.

So here I am now in 2013. I am fifty pounds lighter than when I started my journey, and in the best shape of my life. What's even better? I haven’t lost a single once of my joy and excitement from 2012. In fact, in 2013 - I want to raise the bar. I want to see what other once-impossible things I can do. Because now I know I can.

I’ve already signed up for the Run for Heroes Marathon in September 2013. I’m also planning to sign up for several triathlons. There will no doubt be more adventure races, running races, and a properly timed 5k. And who knows - maybe some surprises, too.

And that’s why I am here.

Recently, one of my friends suggested I start a blog so I could talk more broadly about my training, racing and everything I’ve learned (or will learn) along the way. She figured since I was writing about my journey anyway, I should write about it in a forum where more people could share the adventures, get inspired and, in turn, inspire me.

So, come along as I explore the road less travelled. Outside of a few big goals, I have no idea where this road is going to lead...but that's the fun part of any story: the journey.