Sister’s race ignites fire to change life
by Megan Mazurek on Oct. 08, 2007, under Body, Local
Kim Hornberg has lost more than 40 pounds and run a marathon in the past year.
Name: Kim Hornberg
Age: 28
Occupation: freelance writer
Height: 5’7″
Weight: 214
Weight when starting the program: 256
Fitness accomplishment: Ran a marathon, quit smoking, lost 42 to date and learned to accept and manage my obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Background: I was a former athlete who had become sedentary and who had started a two-pack-a-day smoking habit.
What finally got you motivated or led you to make a change? I felt like I was dying. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t take two steps without feeling tired. My cholesterol was through the roof, and worst of all, I wouldn’t leave my house for fear of being judged.
I knew for a long time something had to change as I’ve been fat most of my life, but I was hitting bottom this time. I want to live to see the children I hope to have some day graduate from college, so I knew I had to change.
In August 2006, I watched my sister partdo a marathon. I wasn’t ready then, but something inside me sparked. I wasn’t prepared for the emotions that come with just watching a marathon. Little did I know how that spark would turn into a raging fire about running and life in general.
How did you do it? What steps did you take? First, I visited with my doctor to find out about losing weight, quitting smoking, what exercise I could and couldn’t do, and how to manage my OCD. She prescribed me a medication to assist me in quitting smoking and I picked a quit date.
Fortunately, this medication also works in managing OCD. Then she helped me find a therapist who could teach me some skills and management ideas for my OCD. We also discussed healthy eating and what I was doing wrong in that department. After the doctor gave me the clear for exercise, I signed up for a Running 101 class put on by Fleet Feet – a local running shop – which started in January. The rest is history.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in reaching your goal/the hardest thing to overcome or give up? The biggest challenge is that the old way of life is easy.
Running, eating properly, going to therapy, taking my meds are all a bit harder. Change is hard. Sometimes I just want to sit in front of the TV, prop my feet up, smoke a couple of cigarettes, eat a pint of ice cream and veg out.
However, just because something is easy doesn’t make it right. I would rather work hard and be happy than take the easy road and be dead. But that is a challenge I struggle with every day.
What lessons did you learn in reaching this goal? I’ve learned so many lessons along this journey.
First and foremost, make friends with all the nice folks at your local running shop. They don’t mind if you chatter like a monkey when you talk about running. They also know what they are talking about and without properly fitted shoes, you will hate running. If your feet aren’t happy, then you won’t be happy.
Secondly, I’m learning that every day is a new day. Just because one day is rough, doesn’t mean that the rest of your week or month or year has to be bad. Little setbacks are just that: little. Tomorrow is a new day.
After the marathon, I gained about 10 pounds back. I started to get depressed. But then I realized I ran a marathon! In the big picture, that’s more important than a piddly 10 pounds. And finally, a big lesson I’m learning is that unless I own my journey and put it out there for everyone, it is too easy to go back to my old ways. So I started a blog. I have only one rule: I must be completely and totally honest.Now, people from all over the world hold me accountable when they read my blog! It’s awesome!
How would you encourage someone else to get started/do the same thing? I would encourage people to start off slow. I’m prone to burning myself out at the beginning of a new exercise program, but the group I joined with Fleet Feet started us out slow. The first meeting, I think we ran a total of eight minutes.
Because we started out slow, it forced me to take it easy. Not only does it prevent injury, but it also allows for a gradual progression instead of trying to run 26.2 miles your first day of exercise.
What habits did you have to change and how did you do it? I had to change a lot of habits. One of the biggest, of course, was that I had to quit smoking. I used a prescription medication and the patch to help me quit. I picked a definite quit day and wrote it in big block letters on my calendar. I told everyone I knew that I was quitting so that I would have nowhere to hide. I quit drinking, because to me, drinking and smoking are one in the same.
I also had to stop using fad/crash diets to lose weight and stop using the scale to measure my self-worth. Instead, I try to focus on my next race. Training for a race forces me to eat healthy foods and allows me to focus on my body as a tool for running a great race.
What is your new goal? The Nike+ Virtual Half Marathon in October, the TMC Fleet Feet Old Spanish Trail Half Marathon and the PF Chang’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon in Phoenix in January. Long-term goals? A 100-mile run. An Ironman. unning across the country. The possibilities are endless!
How does it feel? It feels great to have accomplished something that so many people thought I couldn’t do. And, although unexpected, it feels amazing to have inspired others to find their path to better health through my online blog. I feel like a whole new person on a whole new path.
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KIM’S SAMPLE DIET
Breakfast: Raisin bran, banana, skim milk
Snack: Granola bar
Lunch: Sandwich on whole wheat bread, applesauce, V8 juice
Snack: Sliced apple with sliced pepper jack cheese
Dinner: Grilled chicken breast, rice, salad
Dessert: sugar-, fat-free chocolate pudding
HER SAMPLE WORKOUT
Sunday: Long run, anywhere between six and 22 miles
Monday: Total rest
Tuesday: 40-45 minute run
Wednesday: Speed run (anywhere between 20 to 60 minutes)
Thursday: Active rest (yoga, biking, swimming or weights)
Friday: 40-45 minute run
Saturday: Active rest (yoga, biking, swimming or weights)
