Let me share a little about me as I begin on this new journey. I am a mom of 3 with a baby in the oven. As far as my education, I have been working in health care for many years, many as an EMT-Paramedic. I always knew I wanted to help others in the medical arena. I owe a lot of this to my mom, a nurse of 40+ years who also spent quite a few years as an EMT herself. I first became CPR certified at the age of 10 and knew how to take a blood pressure shortly after that. I was also blessed to go on my first EMS call around that time with my mom and stepdad. I have my Bachelors in Biomedical Science and a Master's Degree in Healthcare Administration. After working in Healthcare Administration for a few years, I fell in love with teaching and am currently pursuing my Ph.D in Public Health. I definitely agree that education is important and love learning about health through research.
As far as experience is concerned, I have always been athletic. Part of that is genetics. My mom thought I was going to be a boy and so she got a very competitive and determined baby girl. The other part is my love of sports. I played basketball for MANY years. Since I wasn't very tall at 5'8, I decided to skip college hoops and focus on running instead. I was a sprinter for a Division 1 school in the midwest. This is where I learned many tough lessons as I decided to train for the Heptathalon my Sophomore year. After that experience I learned a few things about myself. First, I can definitely heal fast after wiping out on the track learning to hurdle. Second, I don't give up easily and thirdly, I LOVE proving to myself that I can do things that I thought were never possible! After 4 years of running at the college level, I smashed ever record that I set for myself and realized that this goes for life goals as well.
I am most proud of my current achievements. I fell in love with running after being away from competition for several years. This time it was with running LONG distances. After I had my 2nd baby, I started going for runs to get out of the house. I would run 3 miles at a time usually and one day wanted to run more. Then I would start running 5 miles and still wanted to run more. Next thing I knew, I was running 8-10 miles and LOVED it. Not sure why or what switch went off but I loved being free. I loved running outside. I also loved being able to think without any child, baby, husband, friend, or co-worker bothering me.
Shortly after this love of running, I took a leap of faith and decided to train for a marathon. For me, it was a CRAZY idea. I blame God for planting the seed to run this absurd distance. Who really runs 26.2 miles. Maybe old people with nothing better to do, right? I decided to take one day at a time (my motto for everything) and just get 'er done. Three weeks before my first anticipated marathon, I discovered I was pregnant with my 3rd child. Oops! Especially since I was also training with my baby sister at the time. At this time I decided to back away since I had a bad history with getting sick early in pregnancy. BUT, I was determined to train again after the baby and owed my sister a marathon. Paybacks are a bitch!
Less than 9 months after giving birth, I crossed the finish line of my first marathon. I have to give special props to a dear friend that decided to run with me after also having a baby that same year. We trained together and just did it. If you know anything about training for this, it takes lots of time. Time that most new moms don't have. Luckily I had quite a few hours of sleep that I donated to the cause. We all know that it's overrated anyway!
So here I am, pregnant with number 4. Later this year, I will have 4 kids under 4. [Insert your own crazy/insane comment here]. I am very excited to run another marathon again. These events are highly addictive. I am also trying my best to stay in shape throughout this pregnancy. A couple of things about me. I LOVE working out. I LOVE to sweat. I try to eat healthy but as many women know, (especially while pregnant) it can be a challenge. I hope to inspire you through my motivation, stories, knowledge, and encouragement. I am living testament that if I can get it done with all the obstacles in my way, so can you. Just make a decision and step out on faith. Thanks for reading my blog and I look forward to sharing more in the future.
God bless,
Cindy
Great first post! I am looking for an activity to kick start a more active lifestyle. Hearing that you are still active during your pregnancy is encouraging. I look forward to your insight and hope to find inspiration to jump start a more active life.
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