My Journey With Weight Loss – A New Milestone

Let’s recap my goals to lay out this new milestone. Last year it was to walk 10,000 steps each day, that has long since been surpassed. I then wanted to lose a total of 82 lbs but somehow it ended up being 102 lbs. Finally, when I turned 55 I set a goal of being able to run 10 km by the summer and I hit that goal 3 weeks ago. Being the over achiever that I am even that goal has been stepped up.

As I have mentioned I do what my coach says without questions, whatever she says goes. She had her own goal to get me to a 10 km injury free and her strategy obviously has worked because here I am having done 3 10 km runs without an injury.

Each week I message my coach with how training for the week went. She then provides me with what I am to do for the next week. Last Sunday I sent the weekly message letting her know I had done a 5 km, 8 km and 10 km run along with a day of interval training. She responded that I was doing fabulous and that this week I was to do a 5 km and an 8 km but for the long run today I was to do a 12 km. Wait, what?? No, my goal was a 10 km run and I am doing that, there is no way I can add 2 more km’s.

Needless to say there was a phone call to my coach who was very encouraging and reminded me I am already basically doing this with my interval training. So this morning I set off at 6am (I had a slightly bigger breakfast to help my energy level). It was a good day for a run with the temperature perfect. I hit the 8 km mark and thought there is no way I’ve got another 4 km in me. I struggled to the 10 km mark and realized there were no more inclines or hills left and I only had about 9 blocks to go and for the first time I thought I just might be able to do this. I started counting down the blocks in my head and when I got to the last 1 I kept chanting you got this! Yes I Gwenne Farrell, the formerly short fat chick, just ran for 12 km’s!

Today I offer a huge shout out to Coach Kelly for always believing that I can do it even when I am convinced I can’t. There is not a challenge you have given me that I haven’t met. I think I am now finally going to start referring to myself as a runner.