About Me

Hello and welcome to my blog.  I started running (well walking) in February of 2013.  My daughters became fans of TobyMac and while I was checking out his website, I came across a running group he puts together each year for the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, TN.

Powered By Hope is group of individuals who not just run in the race each year, but they raise money for New Hope Academy, a Christ-centered community school reserving 40-50 percent of its seats for children from low-income families.  The money raised goes to scholarships for those students. You can learn more about New Hope Academy here – http://whatpowersyou.org/the-cause

So I decided to take on this cause and join Powered By Hope.  I started fund raising for New Hope Academy and training for the Country Music Marathon.  The Marathon had an option for a Mini-Marathon instead of the 1/2 or full course options.  The Mini was basically a 5K and this was definitely for me.

I initially started walking a few miles each day and that turned into walking followed by a short jog.  After a few weeks of walking/jogging I was into a full jog.  I signed up for my first 5K in April of 2013 just a few weeks prior to the Marathon later in the month.  After that first 5K I never looked back.  I finished the Mini-Marathon a few weeks later and continued my running.

I was running 5-6 times a week and signing up for a 5K now and then (even ran my first 10K in 2013 and my first 15K in early 2014).  I have since traded two of those running days in for group fitness training at Main Street Strength & Condition which has been a blast.  I am signed up again as part of Powered By Hope and this year I will be running in the 1/2 Marathon.

Over this time I’ve lost upwards to 110 pounds, dropped 3 pant sizes and went from 4XL to XL sized shirts.  I went from running a 5K in 40 minutes to 27 minutes now.  I’m not sure how much faster I plan on getting, but I’m looking to get down to 220 pounds and we’ll see how things go from there.  I don’t see myself running a full Marathon as 26.2 miles is a lot, but you never know!