Wednesday Winner - Meet Alison!

Happy Wednesday, everybody!

It's time to meet another running/blogging buddy....

 

This week, I'd like to introduce you to a gal whose weight loss journey is another  'nothing less than amazing' story... the kind I find soo inspirational, and I believe you will, too.  Check out her before and 'most recent' pictures to see how beautifully vibrant this lady looks... through healthy eating and a positive, committed relationship with running.  Her blog features  fabulous food photography (and recipes), along with running stories.  Friends, I'd like you to meet...

Alison, of

Waisting Duxie

How would you describe yourself as a runner?
§ Slow and steady


Ageless and Beautiful…. Are you:
§ Thinking through the Thirties


Are you......
§ I'm a back-of-the-pack ‘better-late-than-not-at-all’ runner



How long have you been running and why did you start running?

A:  I started running in January, less than six months ago. I started running to kick up my weight loss. In 2009 I dropped over 50 pounds, I was walking 4-5 miles a day and could no longer get my heart rate up at a 4.5 mph. So I figured that I would dig into the depths of my essentially lazy soul and give couch to 5k another try, I had tried it in the past (5 years ago or so) and given up because I tried to push it too fast, this time I followed it almost exactly and look where it took me.

Favorite running gear and why?
A:  My Enell bra, without it my girls would be bouncing a foot or more each step! :P



What do you listen to when you run?
A:   Heavy Metal and 80s hair bands with some random Abba thrown in there.



What is something you cannot run without, and why?

A:  Garmin Forerunner, I noticed I always went out really fast and fizzled. So now I keep my pace to something I can maintain, it makes me enjoy running more when I don't feel like I got hit by a truck, and I'm such a gadget girl in every part of my life that a running gadget was a must.

What race distance is your favorite and why?
A:  I have only run 5k races, I'm slowly working up to the longer runs (with mention of a summer 10K on her blog!)



What time of day do you usually run, and why?
A:  As soon as I get back from taking my husband to work, otherwise I put it off and make it into a big deal and it feels like it looms over me.



Treadmill, streets, or trails, and why?
A:  I did the couch to 5k on the treadmill, it was easier to maintain a steady pace and know when to run and walk, now I run on the streets or trails, I like being outside, Mother Nature calls to me and I get to unwind mentally outside.



What has been your most significant running-related learning experience to date?
A:  Don't push yourself too far too fast, taking it slow gave me a new love of running.



What advice would you give to someone new to running?

A:  Take it slow, there is nothing wrong with slow, trust yourself and listen to your body. I still have 45 pounds to lose (I started running needing to lose 60 more) and I can run, but only because I pay attention to the extra stress I put on my joints by carrying the extra weight.

Short-term and long-term running goals?
A:  Short term: Up my mileage,    Long term: run a half marathon



Mileage goal for 2010?
A:  500 miles, I'm a member of the Pay it Forward 500 mile club  (Yay!!) 



Do you have a blog, blog(s), or a website you’d like to share? If so, please list them.
A:  http://waistingduxie.com It's more of a food and weight loss blog than a running blog, although running seems to consume many posts these days.

Any additional info you’d like to share??

A:  You can do anything you put your mind to. Losing weight this time has been easy. It is still slow, but I am not struggling. The diet portion fell into place quickly, it's not a diet it's just the way we eat now. The exercise took longer, the first year I worked out almost every day, an hour or more, but I hated it. Hated it but I did it. Running started that way too, then it started to feel good, and fun, and a stress relief and I was hooked.

But the whole losing weight thing it just felt easy, I think it was easy because I was truly doing it for me and my health. Not looks, not family pressure, not medical reasons but for me, I owed an explanation to no one but myself. I also thinking blogging really helped since I was laying it all out there for the world to see.

Thanks so much, Alison!  :) 

Happy running, friends.....

Robin
Own your journey.  One run at a time. ™