About Me

Hi I'm Anna. I am not your typical marathon runner.

That's me after the 2013 LA Marathon.
Look how big that smile is, that's training.

I ran my first marathon in 2001. I joined the Train to End Stroke Marathon Training Program because I received a card in the mail. Mind you, I was not a runner, I was attracted to the idea of doing a marathon in Hawaii, yes Hawaii. It also offered a walking program, and because I was not a runner, the walking program was a big attraction to me. So not completely understanding what I would be getting my self into, I recruited my friend and roommate and asked them if they would like to join me in training for this marathon. You could say that the three of us did not have that “typical” marathon body.

They agreed.

Every weekend, I met up with Train to End Stroke and we walked, and we walked, and we walked. Finally we were at Kona, Hawaii, and it was one of the most exciting times in my life. We woke up long before the sun and stood out in the night air, it was not too cold, it was Hawaii in the summer time. It really was a profound time in my life, you learn so much about what you can do with your body and how it responds to extreme physical efforts. After this marathon, I was hooked and I wanted to do it again, but this time I wanted to run. I joined Train to End Stroke for the second time and ran the Las Vegas Marathon in 4:27.  I also had another goal, to lose weight. I cannot remember if I lost any weight in my first marathon, but was determined to do so for the second one.  I was able to get down to a size 2. This was through reducing calories and running a ton. I think I thought I learned how to be skinny.

Fast forward 10 years and I am back to where I was before my first marathon. The weight has returned and I was no longer a runner. I was in a drastic mindset to get healthy and that began with my addressing my weight. I recalled how I was able to lose the weight and lower my cholesterol when training for a marathon. Having always wanting to run the LA Marathon, especially the new course to the beach, it was a no brainer. I signed up. I was also approached by friends that recently came back from the Holy Cross Dandora Parish trip, that wanted to begin a marathon fundraising program. So not only had I decided to train for the LA Marathon for my own health, I was training for Race 4 Veronika’s Place. I could not have asked for anything better. The energy behind completing a marathon is great, add to that a cause bigger than you, it becomes even greater. Our team met it’s financial goal raising the annual budget for food to 400 men, women, and children with HIV/AIDS. The support we were able to give literally saves lives.

I also lost 26.2 pounds – no joke. It's true. Unfortunately, I gained it back and once again addressing my own health in this second effort in deciding to run another marathon. In this blog, I will be looking not only at training programs but also nutritional programs to help me be at my best, while also motivating my team and sponsors. I named this blog, Racing and Saving Lives, my hope is that racing will save my own life by adopting a healthy lifestyle, then spread to my family and friends, racing can be walkers and runners. Already, my husband has committed to training for my next race. Then soon we will be teaching a community a healthy lifestyle. My goal is to spread the good news on healthy living. Thank you for reading.