In the Beginning ...

Well, this is it. I think it’s time to start the blog that I’ve been waiting to write. I’ve been itching to get myself established in the blogging world for some time now, but haven’t found the topic that would be worthy of my time and yours. But I think this is it.

With that, welcome to my blog, More to Love Running.

My name is Beckey and I recently started running. What’s the big deal, right? There are running blogs spattered all over the Internet, few of them more special than the next. The big deal this: I’m what MySpace flippantly refers to as “more to love,” or what the fashion world calls “plus sized,” or what old ladies in this country call big boned, heavy set or plump. Meat on the bones, junk in the trunk, squishy, fluffy, stout. My doctor calls it “obese.” Ick! Sounds horrifying. Whatever you want to call it, the truth is I’m fat, and how often do you see fat people running, enjoying it and sticking to it.

I haven’t decided how much information to disclose at this point, mostly because I’m embarrassed. The only people in the world who truly know my stats are my doctors, my former trainers, people who are really good at guessing and me. I will say this much, though: I’ll be 30 years old in 18 months and I don’t want to enter a new decade the way I am now. I’m 5’10” and, as I said before, medically obese (Blech! Yuck! Boo!), but I “carry it well.” I’m not a full-blown couch potato. I love being active; I just don’t do it as much as I should. I also love food and eat more of it than I should. I’m knowledgeable about nutrition and enjoy healthy foods, but I like the bad stuff too. Sound familiar?

Here comes the tricky part. I’m not one to set hard, fast goals for myself. Never in a million years would I say, “I want to lose X pounds by X date.” It’s not my style. I don’t like to set myself up for failure. However, I did recently commit to one extreme diet change and started enjoying a form of strenuous exercise.

Hello. I’m Beckey. I’m a vegetarian and I just fell in love with running.

“Hi, Beckey!” Go ahead and clap if you want.

Thank you, thank you. Okay, whew. That was tough.

This being the first installment of a blog that will hopefully live long and prosper, I don’t want to go spouting off into too much detail. I have a huge list of topics I would like to explore and I’ll save them for later. I do feel there are a few things to say right off the bat.

First, allow me to define a few key terms as they will be used in this blog from this point forward:

• Vegetarian – I eat fish, I avoid milk and eggs, and I’m suffering with a decision about cheese
• “Running” – Used lightly to refer to the earth-pounding mini-strides I take in VERY short doses between long stretches of walking and wheezing like a freight train

Also, I’ll probably refer to these two things frequently, but here’s what you need to know:

• The Couch to 5K Running Program (C25K) – This is it, folks. This is the genius step-up running program that started the mania. I’ve been following the plan for a little over a month now and I’m doing well. Yes, I stretched the first week into a first month, but I’m moving at my own pace and the future is bright.
• Skinny Bitch – I got this book for Christmas this year and it’s a big reason I decided to become a vegetarian. It’s not the sole reason, and I’m certainly not following the authors’ suggestions rigidly, but it’s been a great resource so far.

Finally, I’m sarcastic. I don’t know how much more I need to justify that, but consider yourself forewarned.

That’s it for now, folks. I appreciate your time and I look forward to sharing my journey with you! Please check back soon.