What's Weight Got to do With It

I would be lying if I said that the prospect of losing weight came to my mind when my aunt first asked me if I would be interested in training for a half-marathon. Since I began my quest to become a runner, several people have commented on how great running must be for weight loss. I had already started making changes in my eating habits before I started running consistently. I lost some weight due to the better diet and settled back into my most consistent adult weight. But once I was running more frequently and longer distances, I noticed that my body settled into its new routine. The changes in my muscles and endurance slowed. My body was growing more and more efficient the longer I ran. I could feel it.

Though my main reason for running was to accomplish something new, get in better shape and stick to a difficult habit, there was still the thought in the back of my mind, "Shouldn't this make me hot?" When I was running, this thought never crossed my mind. It only hit at other points during the day or after someone would mention that running must be great for weight loss. Many people still believe that if you run, you can eat what you want and still manage to lose weight. Though there is plenty of accessible research and news articles on fitness and weight loss research, it seems most people still don't grasp that weight management is all about calorie input and output. Yeah, blah, blah. You know. Running does make you hungry. Your body needs fuel for running any length of time but especially on those long runs. So what do you do? You eat more. What's my point? Running is great for weight managment but not necessarily weight loss.

Yes, I have lost weight. Yes, my body is different, better. But most importantly, I feel good. Weight shouldn't be your reason to run. The time to clear your mind should be a reason. Increased strength should be your reason. A fitter, more capable body should be the reason. It's not about aesthetics. The beauty is learning that you are capable of more than you could've ever dreamed.

I want to be an adventurer!

In addition to running, I've been reading. Yes. Reading. That's what I do. Once I become interested in a topic, I must learn more about it. So now I'm a proud subscriber of Runner's World and Outside magazine in addition to the subscription to Women's Health, which I already had. That brings me back to the title of this blog post: I want to be an adventurer. The more I read these magazines and look at photos of these super humans doing amazing thugs like running ultramarathons in Canada and climbing Mount Everest and hiking the Amazon, the more I want to take part. No, my next blog won't be about how I decided to trek the farthest reaches of the world. Yet, I can't help but wonder what it must be like to create adventure in a world where there are few or no undiscovered places. And to get to the bits of adventure coveted in these magazines, one must have an endless supply of money or be willing to live poorer than poor. Sure, I would love to go run the marathon in New York and a trail run in Vancouver. Biking across New Zealand sounds like a blast. Climbing and hiking in the Himalayas sounds simultaneously challenging and peaceful.

Instead I'm stuck in Texas with barely enough money to spare to sign up for an occasional road race near home. And it's not exactly like Colorado with seemingly endless outdoor possibilities. It's all flat land and highway and dried up rivers in the summer. So, dear reader, I want your input. What kind of adventure can I find close to home? Save me from the doldrums of treadmill running and running on busy roads near my apartment. I have an active imagination. Maybe if I find a big enough hill, I can pretend I'm climbing Everest.





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