Celeste's Mission and Inspiration

I am running the New Jersey half marathon!

Depending on how I feel with the training, I may consider the full marathon. For now, though, this is what I plan to do. I am running because Scott made me I got in shape this past year and want to take it to the next level. I am also running to lose weight, make friends, and help a fantastic cause.

Though we will be training together, Scott and I will not be running the race in the same place. But we have good reasons. Just as Scott needs to run with his mom in Providence, I need to run with Jennifer Giamo in New Jersey.

Who is Jenn? Besides being super awesome, Jenn is my trainer and she changed my life. Here's how:

I reached an all-time high in my weight in the summer of 2008. I was miserable. My weight is a lifelong issue that I will probably discuss further over the course of training. In short, if it was a diet, I tried it. South Beach to Jenny Craig to diet pills (yes, I know). I have lost tremendous amounts of weight and I have gained tremendous amounts of weight. And I've always focused on the food element only. The one thing that I was never able to incorporate was fitness. This is where Jenn comes in.

In July 2008, I decided that I needed help and I was put in touch with Jenn. I remember our first day when she put me on the treadmill for ten minutes just to get a sense of my fitness level. I huffed. I wheezed. I walked. I thought I was going to die. Over the coming weeks, we slowly worked up to running the entire ten minutes. Then it was running a whole mile. Then a mile in ten minutes. Then under ten minutes. Then we took it to the park. Then we upped the mileage. On good days, we have run up to 4-5 miles (with walking intervals) and I can now run a full loop around the Central Park reservoir without stopping. I definitely whine and negotiate my way through some all of the runs but Jenn keeps me going. She gets just as if not more excited than I do when I reach a running milestone. I never thought I could be a runner. I hate running, I still do. But it makes me feel great. So I am running the half marathon with her because she got me this far and inspired me to go further (she just did the NYC marathon!).

I also have her to thank for my sick Michelle Obama arms.

Work it out, Michelle.

Stay tuned for a report on tomorrow's first training run!