Day 1 (or Day 13,140)

Written By Vielka Hoy

I actually started running competitively when I was about ten years old. My dad was/is a pretty avid athlete. One day he returned from work and saw my brother and me on the couch watching TV. He said, “I’m not raising lazy Americans” and took us on his six-mile after-work run. I think he was a bit more gracious with the miles that day but that’s what I’m remembering now. At one point, I had track practice after school, PE each morning, and then training with my dad in the evenings. I definitely wasn’t lazy.

By the time I finished my college track career, I was a pretty avid runner. I trained for a few marathons even. And when I was in the Peace Corps, I discovered some interesting places that I probably wouldn’t have known if I wasn’t so into putting those miles on my legs. Looking back now, I would say that my favorite places to run are probably some cliches like Central Park and Van Cortlandt Park and even up and down 5th Ave. And they are the woods I ran through in Moldova, the trails in the Bay Area, and the beaches of Hawaii where I left my shoes on the beach and just ran.

Chicago, on the other hand, was an absolutely terrible place to run. I don’t know how they do it.

So that’s why this is Day 13,140 give or take a few months.

But it’s also Day 1 because I’m not that runner any more. I’m a lot older and I’ve had a child. I don’t have hours to spend on training every day. But I’ve found that the things running did for me are more important now than ever, so I’m wanting to get back to that place where I could destress, sleep well, and practice self-care.

Other than being older, I don’t weigh what I used to. But, as any female athlete will tell you, everyone is just as obsessed with my weight now as they were when I was working out six hours a day and suffering from exercise bulimia. Then I actually had numbers that were concerning. Today, I don’t. By this I mean, I don’t have weird heart issues, anemia, or amenorrhea like I did then. But strangers still offer unsolicited advice about how I should spend my days and what I should be eating. The other day, someone decided to tell me about this thing called brown rice and vegetables.

I do weigh too much though. I know this because my knee hurts for about the first mile of my runs. I can feel the pounding every time my foot hits. I also have plantar fasciitis that comes and goes. It gets so painful that I limp when I’m walking sometimes. So I want to lose some weight so that I can enjoy running again.

And that’s where this blog comes in. I want to hold myself accountable and be a resource for other forty-somethings who have lives and fitness goals.

I also have to share that I’m a beast in the weight room. I’m not even humble about that one. It’s why I weigh more than other runners and it’s why I’ve gone relatively injury-free all these years. So when I talk about losing weight (and why I’m not giving you a number) it is knowing that I will still prioritize the weights. I've also been vegan for quite some time. I did take a break for a little bit at the start of the pandemic because why be stuck in your house and not eat cheeseburgers. I’ve recovered from that thinking too. I think it’s a myth that anyone has to eat that much animal to get the protein they need, even if they are like me and spend a good amount of time with weights. And my lifetime athletic goal has been to do an IronMan. I still think I can so let’s see.

So that’s it. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I will enjoy sharing.

Goals for This Week:

  • Run outside once (in addition to indoor daily workouts)

  • Incorporate eggs and yogurt back into my diet (so I’m vegan-ish)

  • Give myself permission to eat desserts

  • Continue working in therapy on understanding my value

Vielka Hoy