By: Alejandra Negrete
Joining the Lopers in 2007 was best thing I did to help me achieve my ultimate goal of completing my first marathon. This past year was a year of both sadness and happiness. Having had a baby and losing my mother to breast cancer were events in my life that got me motivated and made me stronger to believe in myself. After having had a baby I was sad and upset of not being able to fit into my old clothes. So, I challenged myself to lose weight. With the help of Weight Watchers and working out I began to see results. Within 3 months I lost 20 lbs. In January 2007, when I lost my mother, I was so upset and stressed out that I started my old habit of just eating whatever came my way. I eventually gained a some of the pounds that I had lost. After accepting my mothers passing I began to run, having always loved to run I realized that running took my mind off my loss and found it to be therapeutic.
It all began, when I started with running 5k’s, 10k’s, and soon came the half marathons. Being a newbie to running I had no idea that all the running required training. My adventure began with the Loma Linda Loopers every Sunday morning at 0630hrs. Running with the 10 minute group was hard for me because I had always ran on my own rather than with a group. At times I found it to be challenging, learning to pace myself, enjoy the scenery, instead of worrying about the time. I remember one time my pace leader Rhonda told me, ” You must think we are crazy because we never follow the route we are suppose too”. I remember telling Rhonda, that I was grateful for the Garmin “Forerunner” for pacing us and the strong running group we had because we always stayed together. Thanks to the training I have received, I have cut my time in my most recent half marathon from 2:20 hrs to 1:54 hrs. I know for a fact that my training has paid off, and so I told myself I could complete 26.2 miles. So on March 2, 2008 I did it with help of my leader Rhonda, Eva, Isabel, Trina, and Carl we crossed the finished line in 4:31 hrs.
Having met my goal of losing 50lbs and completing my first marathon, my next goal is to tone up my body. Thanks to the “Looper Gram”, I have met Karla Adams. With her motivation and guidance I have begun to see results within a few weeks. Today, when I get asked what I have done to lose weight I tell people that I discovered running and healthy eating. And if they’re ready for a challenge they can also be successful like I have …..
