I remember the day that my life changed forever. A friend of mine encouraged me to take a run with her through the park.  I told her that there was no way that I could!  But her encouragement that day and my persistence made me realize that I could accomplish great things in life by taking it one step at a time and by believing in myself.

It represented SO MUCH MORE than ‘going out for a run.”

It represented A PHILOSOPHY. The realization that I really could accomplish the unthinkable. And it continues to shape my life and my dreams to this day.

My only wish?  That I had learned it sooner.  I want to pass that spirit along to MY CHILDREN and TO OTHER CHILDREN. I want them to find their power NOW.

That is why I’ve chosen to raise money for the “Run for Something Better” charity in the New York City Marathon. They are changing children’s lives through fitness. R.F.S.B. (@orangelaces) encourages healthy lifestyles and the prevention of childhood obesity. They fund running and fitness education programs in schools to show kids how exercise can help achieve good health and positive self esteem.

Won’t you please consider supporting me in this endeavor? Your support will empower kids and make an important impact on their life. You will be there with them in spirit as they work to achieve their dreams.  (Hey, even JLo and her hubby support this charity!)

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN HELP:

• Donate now at my Active.com page.

OR

• Via PayPal to jlgerlock@comcast.net
• Via check (email me for more info)

We have until OCTOBER 1 to raise the funds.  CAN WE DO IT?

HELL YEAH!

(Please also help spread the word via social media!  Tweet, Facebook, Stumble, Digg, Link it up!  Remember – ANY help is completely appreciated!!)

Yeah.  You read right.

I’M RUNNING THE NEW YORK MARATHON IN NOVEMBER.

I signed up this morning as a charity runner.  Oh. My. Gosh.  The charity I am raising funds for is “Run For Something Better.”   Please take a moment to read more about this charity and why I chose it here. Because, quite frankly,  I’m gonna need everyone’s help to raise funds.

I’m going to be honest with you – there are virtually a thousand reasons why committing to this marathon is a stupid idea. There are a thousand reasons why I WON’T BE ABLE TO DO IT.

Why don’t we just get them out of the way right here and now, okay?

• I am not in shape to run a marathon.  Hell, I haven’t run more than 4 miles consecutively in months.
• I am fairly certain that my IT Band issue is just lurking there.  Waiting to become inflamed again and derail my efforts.  That petrifies me.
• I am in the beginning stage of launching a new business with my partner.  Me? Busy?  Only if you consider working until late into the evening and uber-early in the morning busy.
• I have two children, a husband and a household to manage.  We are in soccer mania people!  And call me crazy but I would like to actually spend time with the hubby once in awhile.
• I am a good 15-20 pounds over my ideal weight.  And by “ideal” I mean healthy marathon weight. I have a lot of training to do.  I’m not even on a strength training program yet.

OKAY.  DONE WITH THAT NONSENSE.

You wanna know why I will succeed? I have a passion for it. It has been a goal of mine since I was a small child.  I vividly remember living in Fort Wadsworth (Staten Island) at 10 years old when marathon time came around.  Runners would camp out overnight in our back yard.  I just remember thinking to myself, “What are they DOING?! Why in the world are they running so far?!” I was intrigued. I didn’t start running myself until about eight years later and didn’t pick it up as a sport until I was in my thirties.

I’m not fast. I’m not slow.  I’m just an average mamma runner with a dream.  The NYC Marathon has been on my “bucket list” since I can remember.

I’M GOING FOR IT!!!

I hope you will support me.  Perhaps some of you will give financially so that I can raise money for the charity. Perhaps some of you will cheer me on via Twitter or hang out here more often on my blog as I chronicle the journey.  Perhaps some will support me on race day…

Whatever you do, know that I will need you and that I appreciate you.  I hope that you find inspiration in this everyday, normal, trying-to-hold-it-together, working mom’s journey!

BELIEVE.

I don’t know if it is the weather or the fact that I am helping produce a 5K next week but I am INSPIRED lately to run.  I’ve hit the road a couple of times this week and although they weren’t the distance or pace that I used to be able to hammer out, hey, at least I hit the pavement, right?

I also think my motivation is tied into the fact that it is Spring and I can’t hide under sweaters, scarves and big coats anymore.  Nothing more motivating then the thought of squeezing oneself into a bathing suit to get your butt moving.

As I detailed in this post, I am on a new quest!  So, as I learn more about diet, fitness, and a healthy lifestyle, I will share it with you, my bloggy pals. Here are a couple of tidbits I came across yesterday:

NO HASSLE WAY TO LOOSE LBS: To lose an additional 4 1/2 pounds in three months you need to DRINK 16 OUNCES OF WATER before each meal.

EAT WITH A MAN: Didja know that studies show that if you dine with a man instead of your girlfriends, you will eat 250 fewer calories?  That is what they say, anyway.

JAVA UP THE METABOLISM: The caffeine in one cup of coffee delivers a 16% metabolism boost!  Researchers also suggest drinking 2-3 cups a day to halt emotional eating.  Coffee drinkers are 34% less likely to feel blue.  Personally, I’m thinking that I might want to pass up the cream and sugar. I am fairly sure that coffee consumption is part of my overall issue.

Blogging is making me fat.

Yeah, you heard me.  WIDE.  LARGE. BURSTING OUT OF MY CLOTHING.

I’m in a new place in my life.  A place where my clothing is limited and my self esteem is non-existent.  I wish I could say that I haven’t been here before but, alas, I have.  I am a classic yo-yo girl.  Usually it is 5-7 pounds and it never goes above a certain weight threshold.  There is a certain number on the scale that I never let myself go beyond.  That is to say, I USUALLY never let myself go beyond.

Until now.

And I blame it on blogging.

Well, kinda.

You see, I LOVE to blog.  I love to find new blogs and I love to read them.  I would rather spend my time doing that then anything else practically.  And that is my problem. I have let my blogging get in the way of my healthy lifestyle.  Oh sure, it is not the only thing that gets in the  way, but I know that I make certain choices over fitness.  I blog late into the night thus making it impossible to get up early enough to fit in a morning workout.  I check in with other blogs when I should be stealing time for a quick jog or walk. And on and on..

Obviously it is not just the blogging but the fact that I have an imbalance in my life.  I’m not using my time wisely. I’m not planning out my menus. I’m not watching what I eat… I know all of this.  What I also know is that I have been spending too much of my time on a chair in front of the computer rather than making fitness a priority. <sigh>

I don’t know about you, but when I am overweight I feel miserable. My confidence fades.  I am just not the same person.

So what are my choices?  What am I going to do about it?  Abandon the blog?  Buy a new, larger wardrobe?

NEITHER. I’m going to combine the two – blogging and fitness.

Not sure if you noticed but up on the navigation bar I have added a new page called “fitness.” That is where I will be blogging about all things fitness.  I expect that it will be largely personal and will chronicle my journey back into my old clothing.  And by old clothing I mean the stuff I fit into in April of last year… NOT IN HIGH SCHOOL. (I expect that I won’t be getting into a pair of size five jeans for awhile, if ever.)

So if you are interested in fitness and my before/after journey, frustrations and training, fitness products, diet plans and all of that jazz… be sure to check that section of my blog out.  (Feel free to cheer me on or give me a pep talk too.  I’m sure I’ll need the inspiration!)