First off, my name is Ashley. I am a 42 year old female who has decided to run a 1/2 marathon in each of the 50 states. In my free time away from training, I work as a Nurse Practitioner in Critical Care and Pulmonary Medicine. I have a now adult child who is starting college this spring and I recently got engaged to the love of my life, Brett.
I don’t think there was ever a time in my life where I decided to “start” getting in shape or being fit. My senior year of high school I was quite skinny, though this was not secondary to me being very physically active. I just didn’t eat much and I had a high metabolism. I joined the military right after I graduated and gained about 15 lbs in basic training, most of which was likely muscle weight. In basic training, I learned that I really enjoyed running. This progressed throughout my 4 years in the army and I used to complete my two mile run in under 15 minutes. I could only hope to accomplish that time again. Although, for now, this is not my goal in life.
I had my son right after I finished serving my four years and was divorced ~ 3 years after I got married. I lost most of my pregnancy weight, but the divorce put some back on. I would occasionally workout in the gym but was not consistent. I was able to keep my weight down by dieting. While I was in college earning my nursing degree, I had fallen in love with the human body and learned that if you take care of it, it will take care of itself, for the most part. I joined the local YMCA so that my son could be on a local swim team and while he was swimming, I started jogging on the treadmill, killing some time until he was finished. After a few weeks, my classmates noticed that I trimmed down. That was so nice to hear. I started working out, though not on any consistent basis for any extended period of time. I ran a couple of 5k’s and felt accomplished. I even had a plan to run a 1/2 marathon.
Some years later, I decided to get my master’s degree. I was an ICU Nurse at this time and wanted to further my education and increase my earning potential. Getting accepted into a graduate program put an end to my training to run my first 1/2 marathon. I was up to running 9 miles on my longest run. I never even realized how close I was at that time to accomplishing that goal. What I did manage to accomplish was obtaining my Masters Degree and becoming a Nurse Practitioner. I also accomplished gaining 40 lbs! I was massive. I think I might have gotten up to 185-190 lbs but refused to look at the scale to verify at that time.
After graduation, I moved to Atlanta GA to be close to my family and decided after a couple years of being unhappy in my heavy body, that I needed to make a change. I downloaded MFP and started counting calories. I lost ~ 30 lbs! I started working out on a regular basis in the gym with weights and was feeling pretty darn good about myself again! I started dating Brett, who I saw for a time while I was getting my Master’s Degree and who also was very in shape. Being with someone who valued exercise encouraged me to continue running and I decided to accomplish the goal I set so many years prior of running a 1/2 marathon. I set up a training schedule and followed it religiously. My love affair with running began again! I ran my first 1/2 Marathon on Skidaway Island, Savannah GA. It was beautiful and I was so happy I did it.
My weight still fluctuates and I have had ups and downs and inconsistencies with my training and body, but I am hoping I can continue to keep myself healthy and accomplish a newer goal of running at least a half marathon in every state in the USA by the time I turn 50. At the time I wrote this, I had run in 7 states; Georgia, Alabama, Washington State, Colorado, South Carolina, and North Carolina. I just turned 42 years old. 43 states left and 8 years to accomplish them. Wish me luck!
