Today, I ran two miles.

It was tough but felt good at the same time. Especially finishing.

I know that their are tons of runners in the blog world. I’m definitely a beginner. Last spring I got very serious with training and made it to 8.6 miles on a trail with Ashley. That was the most amazing feeling.

My whole life I’ve wanted to be an “athlete”. Anxiety and my weight held me back often. I was either too scared to try out, or too out of shape to return to try-outs. I remember driving to the basketball courts of a local league and being so scared I begged and pleaded with my mom to drive us back home. We left.

I moved to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts my freshman year of high school and joined the freshman field hockey team.

[source]

It was my chance to start afresh, no one knew me and I could be an athlete if I wanted to be. During practice, I was always the last one running and as supportive as my team was I was eventually told be an older player that “we only cheered you on cause we had to”. Yep, that’s encouraging. After running “suicides” daily for a few weeks(and after only one game) I developed tendonitis and was barely able to walk. I then became the team “recorder” and kept records during the game(we ended up moving back home a couple months after 9/11).

[source]

My junior year, I wanted to be a soccer player SO much that I would practice in my backyard, kicking around a soccer ball in my field hockey shin guards and cleats. I went to the first try-out for soccer in high school and was the last one running, barely able to keep up let alone breathe. I didn’t come back the next day.

I’ve always wanted to be an athlete. Like I’ve said before, I’ve wanted (and want) to be many things. I came to realize, once I graduated high school, that maybe that wasn’t in the cards for me.

Then I met running.

I actually dated a marathon runner my sophomore year of college and went to a few races. A desire was set in my heart. Maybe I could do this. When it came down to it, running seemed to be the main problem in mission: athlete for me. In field hockey, soccer, even volleyball(you had to run under a 9 minute mile). I started running occasionally as a form of exercise but not seriously. It wasn’t until I ran the Miracle Miles 5k in September(and met some amazing blog friends before I even started my blog) that I was determined to race more and to run further.

That’s also where I met Ashley and Caitlin, who are two of my biggest inspirations (thank you both for that).

Somedays I fight with the label “athlete” or “runner” but I honestly love running. Even when it sucks, and I think that makes me a runner.

All this to say that, on my blog, you will be seeing me build up mileage again. It won’t always be fast, fun or easy. But it’s real. Hopefully somewhere in sharing my running struggles and victories you can find your inner athlete as well. I will always be honest in how I feel and they won’t always be the best runs but this is my mission to become the athlete I’ve always wanted to be. I’m not scared anymore. I may still be in the back of the pack, but the only one I have to prove anything to is myself.

Edited to add: If you have a story of working hard to become an athlete, I’d love to share it! Feel free to e-mail me, katy (at) balanced foodie (dot) com.

_________________________________________________________

If you’d like to join me on my journey and aren’t subscribed yet, be sure to subscribe and keep up to date with the ups and the downs of running! You can also get my posts sent to your e-mail now. I always tweet often. Thanks for reading.

So last night we went out to celebrate the birth of my beautiful and amazing friend Joy!

Adam and I headed over to Kobe Steakhouse to enjoy a really fun and delicious meal with friends.

Kobe’s is great for birthdays. Why not get all of your closest friends around a large table for a really fun dining experience? Sounds good to me!

We started out with a delicious soup and ginger salad.

The soup had fried onions in the broth which gave it such a great flavor, I loved it!

Now, onto the awkward part. Meet our chef. Who shall remain nameless.

He took the whole “creepy, uncomfortable, make fun of you” route which didn’t pan out so well.

Onion volcano!

Our chef kept singing things like “I like to move it, move it” and “you say my name, I say your name” and hitting on the men at the table. Sometimes the women. He literally called all the guys “baby” and told them he loved them constantly. Then when we’d laugh he’d laugh back in a really high pitched-annoying way totally making fun of us for laughing. Which made me not want to laugh! Weird. He told me I scared him. I said, “It happens, I’m quite scary.”

Not cool, awkward chef. But you do know how to light giant hibachi tables on fire without killing yourself or the people watching and catch spatulas in your giant hat and for that, we salute you.

I ordered the chicken. I probably should’ve ordered just veggies, because when he placed the chicken on the table to cook he made chicken noises, lots of chicken noises. Loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear. Yep, that’s enough to turn me vegetarian. Yikes.

The food was delicious though, and the vegetables perfect cooked!

We definitely had a great time and an experience like that is so much more fun when you have great friends around!

Happy birthday JOY!!

Another late post! I’m just exhausted these days and feel like I’m running around like a crazy woman. Onward we go!

Last night, after my super heavy lunch, I was looking forward to a super light meal!

I had two spring rolls with tons of veggies and avocado as well as a few grilled shrimp dumplings. Honestly, I wasn’t even hungry yet!

But, you know what they say..there’s ALWAYS room for fro-yo!

Notice my “fruit” side and my “decadent” side. The decadent side had cake batter fro-yo with butterfinger. The fruit side had pineapple and peach fro-yo flavors with lots of fruit, mochi and yogurt chops! Must have the mochi and yogurt chips.

This morning I woke up with three miles on my mind. I was excited because this was my first official three-miler on my training plan! I’m not training for anything specific yet, I’m waiting for a few details to be worked out and to see how my knee feels through training before signing up for anything. Anyway..I set off on my three miler and had an incredibly difficult run. I know that you can learn a lot from a tough run, but during the run I just felt so frustrated. It also felt like it took way too long. Once I got home, I mapped the run again and realized I had done over 3 1/2 miles! Hopefully friday’s run will feel better, I also think I’m going to stick to the 2-3-2 miler week for next week to get my body used to the mileage before I add in a four miler. I do not think my body is ready for that yet.

I came home and dove, head first, into a delicious yogurt bowl.

About 1/3 of a cup of frozen strawberries, granola, oatmeal and a whole banana.

Lunch was made through desperation.

A whole wheat wrap with mixed greens, two slices of Applegate Farms turkey and two carrots with some honey dijon.

A side of roasted garlic potatoes and peas.

I’ve been feeling really stressed lately and spent time reading my bible which always helps! I also began to get some goals down on paper. (More on that tomorrow. )

I also looked through some old pictures that thought I’d share. It’s baby me!

Hi, my name’s Katy. I love giant sporks.

I also love cake. Look at those eyes. I either wanted to grab the candle or the cake. I’m going to go with cake, I see demolition about to happen.

I’ve also always loved animals and attempting to strangle(?) hug cats. Plus, flipped up visors are COOL!

I’ve also been practicing yoga since I was about three. Here I am about to go get into lotus.

These days..

I just like to kick butt.

Okay, not really..but I hope you enjoyed a little blast from balanced foodie past!

This morning I woke up, had a warm and cinnamony(yes, it’s a word..okay, in my world..) cup of coffee.

As well as a beautiful breakfast bowl..

I love having different textures in my yogurt bowls.

I topped the yogurt with raw oats, cranberry granola, fresh blueberries and bananas over some plain yogurt. This is my new favorite breakfast, so amazing! The fresh burst from the blueberries, the chew of the cranberries, the nuttyness of the raw oatmeal. Yum!

I just loved all of the colors!

Then I headed to yoga! I felt like I got my butt handed to me, but in the best way. I was SO beat after this class!

Luckily I had plenty of energy to head to lunch with my friend Jamie at Mellow Mushroom. She’s getting married in a month so the one-on-one dates are rare but wonderful!

I started with a delicious tossed salad with a balsamic vinaigrette.

We also shared these garlic bites. SO GOOD!

I also had a slice of their amazing pizza. Seriously, this pizza crust is unbelievable. Maybe it’s all the parmesan cheese? Mmmmm!

Okay okay, not the healthiest post-yoga meal but it was worth it. SO good!

I’m now waiting for the hubs to get home so we can figure out plans for tonight. Perhaps a date night? Maybe. But definitely some fro-yo! Fro-yo is much called for tonight, my friends.

Thanks again for your amazing input on my “Waking Up To Workout” post! I added a bunch of your tips to the list, so be sure to check them out.