With some additional encouragement from her family, Sandy decided to train for a 5K run — 3.1 miles — to help her advance her fitness goal and defeat that pesky weight loss plateau. Of course it took some extra convincing from her niece, but Sandy understands that this challenge comes with great rewards and feelings of achievement.

It’s nice to have my family behind me,” said Sandy. “And yes, my niece really did talk me into it (participating in the 5K).”

The payoff was sweet! Sandy crossed the finish line and left her plateau in the dust — she now weighs 148 pounds! Last time we caught up with Sandy she had run into the dreaded “plateau,” and she was stuck at 152 pounds.

“It did move me to the next goal,” said Sandy about training for and running a 5K. “I finally got below 150 (pounds).”

Training for the 5K helped Sandy kick her cardio workouts into the next gear; it was a drastic change that her body needed in order to curb adaptation — the body’s ability to adapt to movements or exercises and thus burn less calories. Sandy’s personal trainer, Anna, added interval training on the treadmill which prepped Sandy’s musculoskeletal base; by doing this Anna was able to seamlessly add in progressive distance runs in order to get Sandy’s body ready to run her first 5K race. All of the training that Sandy did for the race led to her crossing the finish line…and losing more weight.

Like many of you, Sandy had her reservations about running in a 5K race. The task seemed daunting to her and she was not entirely convinced that she would make it to the end. She only trained for this event for three weeks, and yet subsequently conquered all of her doubts. Sandy knew that this race was not about beating the other runners; it was about doing something that she never thought she could do.

“I did something that felt huge,” said Sandy. “I didn’t know what to expect. The most challenging thing was finishing…and running uphill!”

So what’s next for Sandy?

“I am planning on a 4.2 mile run (event),” said Sandy.”I am excited for my next adventure.”

Sometimes when you doubt yourself it takes the people closest to you to recognize what you are truly capable of accomplishing. Sandy keeps herself open to listening and trusting the people around her, and she is a wonderful example of how you can obtain even greater things when you are surrounded by great people.

Have you lost weight, overcome an injury, ran your first or fiftieth 5K? Let us know about your accomplishments and become part of our Living Healthy community comment section today!