For the second year, I decided to take the month of April to reset and realign myself mentally and physically. Exercising, working and just generally getting myself out of the unhealthy habits that I normally have. Add to it the Bronx Zoo Run for the Wild 5K, and there is the potential to get healthy again.
Unlike last year, I actually arrived early to check in to the Zoo this year. With the extra time, I was able to get checked in and spend time with friends before the race. With moments to go, I found my family members who were running the race. The race started 10 minutes early, but with a jump, we were off. After a year of training, the race felt completely different. I wasn’t feeling or tired as winded as I did the year prior. Having run a half marathon and training longer and harder than just the Couch to 5K previously, the race was a much more relaxed affair. Ultimately, I came in at 24:17, beating my previous time by about a minute. I’m also very proud of my almost 9 year old nephew who was able to run the entire 5K in 33 minutes.
With the detox, I spent a month avoiding sugar, alcohol, fatty foods and any other generally unhealthy behavior. Focusing on my caloric intake and following a marathon training regiment, I was able to work my body into even better shape than I was before. While it was tough to follow at times, I did my best to watch what I ate and trained hard, but I did take the holiday of Passover off to celebrate with family. I feel that Passover became stop gap and I had to recover again from the things I ate to get my body started again. I don’t know how I would have ended up had I not stopped for a day and a half. My weightloss goal was 10 pounds, to lose the five pounds I had gained since the previous April and to lose five more. As I weighed myself in the final week, it looked like it was going to be close, but I ultimately lost 11 pounds, beating my goal by an additional pound.
Now that the Bronx Zoo Run for the Wild and the April Detox are over, there is no place to go but up. I have two half marathons already scheduled this year, in addition to whatever other races I choose to run. April has made me feel good and I want to keep it going, but slowly reintroduce things I miss in my diet to a degree where I can maintain my April results and be able to have a more normal diet.
