0 to 41.32

I want to start my blog today by nothing that I am by no means a personal trainer, nutritionist or a runner. I am just an ordinary normal girl who works 8-5 at a desk job and dread working out just as much as the next person. Now, let's get started on the significance of 41.32.

41.32.. When I see 41.32 I now think of miles.. 41.32 miles ran in 30 days to be exact. 41.32 miles ran in 10 days less than my 40 day goal. I guess I s/Fuld back up here and tell everyone why I was trying to run 40 miles in 40 days..

It all started on a Sunday last February. My husband, Curt, and I were sitting in church when our priest was talking about the signficance of Lent. Curt and I try to make it to church on Sundays but I wouldn't consider us the most religious people on earth. We try to set good examples of ourselves but we are not the people you see knocking on doors to hand out flyers or walking around carrying a Bible everywhere you go. We normally gave something up like candy or soda for 40 days but it was nothing major. I may need to have a little insert here so my non-catholic readers can know what Lent is for us. It is the 40 days before Easter in which you are supposed to give something up or do something which causes you to remember the suffering Jesus went through for us. That is pretty much Lent in a nutshell. Back to that Sunday last February, the priest was talking about how he was going to give up radio in the car and that struck us on how hard that would be to do that for 40 days.. Curt and I were getting married that July and we needed a kick in our butts to get back in shape. We decided on our way home from church that we would do something for Lent which had to do with working out. We first kicked around going to the gym everyday but we both realized that was unrealistic and then Curt said why don't we run 40 miles in 40 days and that is the beginning of the story..

Last Lent I was able to run about 45 miles in 40 days. It took everybit of effort and determination to get through the 40 miles last year but I did it. However, I committed the worst runners mistake and stopped running after all of hard work. We didn't stop completely going to the gym but we didn't make running a priority. I actually tried to do anything to keep from running so I wouldn't have to face the fact of how much of my conditioning I had lost. I would make up some excuse on why I should do the elipitical or bike at the gym instead of hopping on the tredmill and running. Everybit of my training was completely leaving me and I was sitting back and making excuses for it to happen..

Let's fast forward to this February.. I knew I had to do my 40 miles and kept meaning to start training but never really did.. Ash Wednesday (start of Lent and February 22nd) was quickly approaching.. I remember getting on the tredmill on February 22nd knowing there would be no way I could possibly finish my goal and getting through my mile that day would not be possible. Once I started my run, I realized that I was in for a long, long 40 days. I made it through my entire mile that day and realized that I had to reach my goal. I had read that the best way to reach a goal is to write it down and tell people. Curt and I decided to use our white board in our house, right by our doorway, to keep track of our miles. We had to see this everytime we come home and all of our guests see it when they come visit. Next, I decided to update my Facebook every Wednesday on my progress so I can keep myself accountable for my miles. I also told everyone at my work and all my family so they knew of my goal also. I normally don't use books to figure out what to do but I must say that this worked completely! I managed to meet my 40 mile goal in 30 days which is 10 days better than I ever expected!

As I mentioned earlier, I am not a personal trainer but I am someone who went from not running at all to running 41.32 miles in 30 days. Here are a few words of advice I have for people.. First and foremost, set a goal. I NEVER would have been motivated to run if I had not set a goal. I can guarantee you that I would keep doing the minimum just to get by. I feel now that if I miss a day of running that I am missing something vital in my day. I feel like I am missing out on a mile of exercise that I could be getting. I don't make excuses anymore on why I can't run. I will have to admit, that some of my miles this year have been on the elpiticial since I was having some tendinitis in my leg but even then I push myself as hard as I can so I get a complete workout in. Second, I would recommend telling everyone about your goal so they can help you keep yourself accountable. Just make sure you don't annoy everyone around you by talking about it too much :) I am sure the people I work with can't wait for Lent to be over :). Third, I would keep motiviated goal and not stray to far from the goal. You will notice that I have not mentioned one time my weight. I actually try and avoid weighing myself through this whole process because my goal is about running 40 miles not about losing a certain amount of weight. Let's face it girls, our weight fluctuates every hour and it is hard to keep a constant evaulation of the results from a scale. Also, weight is something you may not have complete control over. You can't always control when your body is collecting water weight and all that jazz but you can control how much you are running/exercising. I have noticed that since I am running everyday, I am way more conscious of what I am eating because I know exactly how much work it takes to burn 200
calories and don't really want to add the calories back so fast with just one small glass of soda. I have noticed my pants fitting better and my stomach getting smaller and that is all I need to know.. I don't need a number to define me! Finally, I would recommend a way to keep yourself going and not get burnt out. Once I met my goal last year I had no reason to keep going. I have already taken steps to continue my running. I thought of maybe enrolling myself in some races like a 5k but I don't think that will keep me motivated so Curt and I decided to set our goal of 100 miles in 100 days. When we make this goal, I have decided we are going to have a big party lol.

41.32 mles is a big number to me.. It signifies a number that I never once thought I could reach this year. I can't wait for this number to keep getting bigger and bigger.. As always, thanks for reading!!

H

Random Facts

Okay so I am a tad on the nosey side and always like to know what people like and don't like. I remember being in about 5th grade and getting those surveys which people used to fill out and then forward to everyone and loving all the interesting things you learn about a person. I think one summer my friend Jill and I probably filled out a hundred of those silly surveys and forwarded them to each other. I was thinking about what topic to blog about next and decided a post about random facts would be fun, so here goes nothing..


Random Facts about H. Byrd used to be H. Schiermeier:

I am completely right hand dominant.. My left hand really serves me no purpose.

Winking is not my best thing at all. I am not able to close my left eye and keep my right eye open at the same time.. I know, very weird..

I have extremely small hands and toes. I get asked all the time how I can balance myself with having such tiny toes..

Speaking of toes, I have two partially webbed toes. Very, very weird.

I grew up in a small, country town and I absolutely despise country music.

Since I hate country music, I will admit that I love, love, love 90's pop music.. I still love The Spice Girls, NSYNC, and Britney Spears.

I am completely clueless when it comes to maps and directions. East, West, North and South have no meaning to me. I work by left, right, straight or back. This random fact drives my husband absolutely bonkers.

I am obsessed with the weather. I check weather.gov probably 25 times a day to see if there have been any changes.

I eat ketchup as its own dish.. It may be one of my favorite foods... Like ever..

My dream job would be naming other people's children as I love baby names.. I don't even want that many children or am I pregnant but I frequently google baby names.

I like ducks and my dog Ava like a fat kid loves cake.
Here is a picture of the best doggie, Ava

I am a little self conscious especially around new people and with people at work.. I guess I am a normal girl after all..

I love Wheel of Fortune.. Me and the retired folks all tune in at 6:30PM to guess the puzzles and I wouldn't change it for anything because Wheel of Fortune kind of is the da bomb.. (sticking with the 90's reference) ;)

I don't like my drinks or fruit warm. I mean I don't discriminate that much against food so I will still eat it but that is my preference :)



Okay.. Enough random facts for one post.. I am sure I will think of some more stuff to enlightening you with about me.. Thanks for reading as always!

H

March

March... A little known fact about H. Byrd is that I have an unbreakable love for this silly month.. It brings much anticipation after February and January since not much exciting events happen in those two months. I will admit that I do love Valentine's day so that day gets an exclusion (good insurance word) from my rant about the month. I know, I know single ladies are cringing about this exclusion but being married is not always puppy dogs/kittens/lollipops and gumdrops and this is one day in which are men are forced to show how much they can't live without us publicly. Okay enough with Valentine's day, I'll try and focus for the rest of the post. :)

Here are some reasons on why I wish my January and February away each year. First, they both contain this thing called winter. Winter is not my best thing to say the least. I am a HORRIBLE driver in snow/ice. I am the person going at least 15 MPH under the speed limit in flurries. I try and bribe my husband with anything so he will drive me to work and I can avoid this stressful situation driving situation. However, while I am a passenger I have to close my eyes while saying Hail Mary's a thousand times an hour. I believe this is a severage negative side effect of my work. I read auto claims all day long where people are in accidents because of snow. In summary, if you are Columbia during inclement weather and see a black Toyota Corolla (aka the black jaguar) going extremely slow on the road wave and politely go around.

Second, I don't really like starting a new year. I am used to writing the old year on my papers/work and I don't like having to change up my routine. Also, if I had a good year the year before then I get extremely sad about leaving it behind. It is things like that that make me sure I am completely crazy.

Third, I have no fun days off to look forward to after New Year's day in both months. We don't celebrate MLK day at my work (sorry Jesus) or President's day (sorry George Washington) so I am envious both of those days of my friends who get to sleep in and do whatever they want.

March brings many fun events in which make this duck very happy. I guess this will be a good time to also explain why I referred to myself as a duck. I like to have a little giggle by finding animals to assign to people in which I feel are appropriate. For example, my little sister is a good runner and goes non-stop so she is a roadrunner. I also like to call myself a puppygirl if I'm sleepy because my dog is always tired and we call her puppygirl. I would completely understand if you stopped reading after sharing that because you think I am crazy. I would too but I like to do this because it usually lightens the mood and makes people laugh a little.. Okay back to March now. I love March because usually it is the first month in which you can check the weather and not cringe for the fear of snow. It is usually starting to be 60 or 70 during the day, which makes everyone in such a happy mood. I have noticed people usually are nicer/happier in March because they can go outside and are not cooped up in the house. March is usually the first month in which Curt and I can go out and grill too which is something we both really love.

March brings extra light to our world. As mentioned in my previous post, this duck LOVES sleep. It is probably one of my most favorite things in the universe. Daylight savings time is happening this year in March and after about 2 weeks of grouchiness, I decide that I can live without that extra hour of sleep and start to enjoy the extra sunshine in the evenings. I love being able to go for walks when I get home and seeing all the kiddos in my neighborhood out and about in the evenings.

The last, most important, even March brings is March Madness. I love, love, love college basketball so this is pretty much Christmas for me. I love all the games going on all day long and frantically checking my bracket to see how good or bad (usually bad) I am doing this year. The competitiveness and intensity of each game is a sport's fan dream. It is exciting seeing every fan wearing their team proudly each gameday during the tournament. It is so exciting seeing the Cinderella teams and seeing the big dogs getting knocked out each year. Each team in the tournament has a chance of winning the big dance. I hope my Missouri Tigers this year advance very far. We have such a vested interest in this team since we go to each game with our season tickets. I almost feel as if I am playing in the dang tournament.

The word March right now is usually followed by the word madness. To me, march is not madness at all but the beginning of the best part of the year and is a month filled with happiness and excitement. I am ready to enjoy everyday this Month has to bring. I hope you enjoyed my post and as always, Go Tigers!

H

Me

Me..
Let's see where I should begin.. I am completely new to blogging so I should apologize in advance if I don't have a cool, entertaining blog... I want to blog so I can look back later and remnant on my life..

First, I am Hannah Byrd formally known as Hannah Schiermeier. I was married to Curt Byrd on 07/30/2011.. Here is our smiling picture below..

I live in the thriving city of Columbia, Mo and I actually really love it.. My roots are from a small town of about 628 people so moving to a place of 100k plus people has been an adjustment.. I couldn't move to a place where everything I need isn't within a 5 minute reach.. I am what people call citified now I guess.. I'm lucky to have my two brothers and my sister in-law also all living here.. Lucky for my mom and little sister, I am only an hour away.

I work as an insurance underwriter in Columbia and actually really like it.. I know most people HATE insurance people but don't worry, I am not trying to sell you anything so you should be good to go.. Curt works as a fish biologist with Asian Carp... As you can imagine, most people are way more interested in his job than mine.. I am the exception as fish do not do much for me.. We are a great match, obviously.. :)

Next it is extremely important to know my love for sports, especially the St. Louis Cardinals and Missouri Tigers.. If you are my friend and you are reading this and did not already know this, we must be defriended on Facebook.. Speaking of Facebook, I am slightly addicted to it along with Pinterest.. I like being social.. Some people hate on it but I am a lover and not a hater..

I guess I should sum up my first ever blog post with some of my likes so you can make a decision on whether to waste your time reading my blog or not.. I really like sports as noted earlier, I like board games and cards, and tv shows.. Some of the shows in which you will probably hear me write about later are the new girl, teen mom, jersey shore, wheel of fortune (I know I am so old), all of the bad reality shows on E!, secret life of the american teenager, big bang theory and how I met your mother among some.. I love the letter H and secretly wish sometimes I went by H instead of boring Hannah.. I love hanging out with my favorite people and just relaxing.. I also love sleep and don't ever feel like I am wasting a day by sleeping...

Okay.. This is good for day one.. Peace out A town..

H