Stacey's first marathon running story. From really fat loser smoker to below average marathon runner in less then 360 months.

IN THE BEGINNING

Six months after the liar loser had quit smoking and tried to stop eating like a fat pig,  I was ready for my first race, a large 5K in Chicago that started immediately after the start of the Chicago Marathon. I was excited to be doing something like this. I had lost weight, quit smoking and started living a healthier lifestyle (YEA) and this race was a treat to myself. I savored the ritualof pinning my number on and "carbo loading", things that were previously so foreign to me. I can still recall the first time I wrote "5 miles" in my training log and felt like I had slain a dragon. Five miles! Whew!

I had no idea how much my life would change on that chilly October morning. I only hope that I can convey to anyone who reads the following story a small portion of how magical the experience has been for me. On that October morning, there was a death and a birth. My negative, insecure self died on the streets of Chicago and in its place a dream was born!  Yawn.....