TTBT: Three Things Before Thirty

It's my 30th birthday!!  These “0” birthdays seem to always generate a certain amount of interest.  Quite a few people have asked me how I felt about it, if I was feeling bummed about entering into another decade, etc.

Honestly, not really.  J  I think this is in large part because Mark and I started our family and careers so young, I still often feel like my age is playing “catch up” with my life. 

However, 30 is kind of a big birthday and when 2011 started, I was thinking about my birthday quite a bit for some reason.  Perhaps because I knew I was shortly leaving my 20s behind and I knew I was not taking care of my body. I did not want to hit my 30^th birthday as heavy as I was, as uncomfortable and unhappy as I was. 

(feeling BIG)

I did not make particular goals at that time, but I made a commitment to myself. I started eating better and running.  As the months passed, I decided to make 3 goals for myself to hit before I turned 30.  At that time, one was easily attainable, one was more challenging, and one felt nearly impossible.

(1)  Lose 30 pounds – I did accomplish this and then some.  I am not at my goal weight, but already I am feeling such a difference. 

(2)  Run a ½ Marathon – I did it!  I tentatively considered this goal back in April – after running consistently for about a mile!  It was such a wild dream at the time.  I abandoned it for quite awhile and did not push my training forward as I originally planned.  I decided to go for a run on Grace’s birthday and randomly decided that I had to run 10k (because she turned 10 of course!).  And I did it! And felt great.  All the sudden, I realized that a half marathon was actually possible.  I jumped into the latter part of a training plan in September, determined to run the race before my birthday.  It was tough!  I think it would be much more fun after training properly.  J

(3)  Run a sub-30 min 5k – This was my nearly “impossible” goal. Although I have been running for a number of months, my pace is not particularly fast.  I ran my ½ at an overall 12 min/mile pace.  Since then, I have shaved my shorter runs down into a 10:30 min/mile pace fairly frequently.  However, I need to shave nearly another full min/mile off that pace to run a 5k (3 miles) in under 30 minutes.  I haven't had much time (or made much time) for my running since finishing my half, so I gave it one last try tonight.  It was not ideal conditions – Mexican tamales with salsa for dinner (plus a couple snack size candy bars…).  But I had to try.  And it felt hard from the start. I started out too fast and had to really push at the end. I nearly gave up 4 different times, sure I wasn’t going to hit it anyway.  But I did it.  

     With room to spare:  28:50.  For me, this is HUGE.  I ran my first 5k in May at over 36 minutes. That’s nearly 7 ½ minute gain in six months.  I’m thrilled.

All in all, I am happy with where I landed on my goals. I also realize that I need concrete goals to work toward.  Now to begin working on personal goals for 2012!