You're right, I'm NOT built like a runner

I had a flashback this morning to a hot, Chattanooga day in May of 2000. I had just finished a tough 18-mile run in preparation for the San Diego marathon I was running the following month. I went to my parent's house for lunch feeling sore, dehydrated and tired. My dad looked at me and said, "I don't know why you're doing this to yourself, you're not built like a runner so you shouldn't be running marathons."

It was right then when the thought popped into my head, "Listen here (explicative), fat girls can run, too!"

Back then, my goal was to run a marathon by the time I was 30. And even though I wasn't "built like a runner", I still finished. Not only that, I was on top of the world. In the year-long process to get ready, I had quit smoking, trained hard, lost weight, and never felt better. Two years later, I ran my 2nd marathon in Chicago.

Flash forward to the morning of March 8, 2010 ... one husband, one child, two mortgages, one new job, one move to a new state, countless beers, and a whole lotta stress later ... I'm standing on the scale and hyperventilating at the number. 207. 207? How in the hell did I get to be 207 pounds? That can't be right. Step off. Step on again. This time is says 208. Great. (and, yes, I just revealed my weight to anyone who's reading this. I'm hoping it will be therapeutic.)

After a short pity party and impatient snap at the husband, I decided to take matters back into my fat girl hands. Girl Power is now Fat Girl Power!

I'm pulling up my oversized running shorts and hitting the pavement. First stop, a 5K run on April 17th (which might be more like a 5K crawl). Beyond that ... we'll see!

The big goal, another marathon by the time I'm 40.

Gotta run!