Numbers are very important to me.

On this LCJ they’ve become the way I measure my success and my failures. They’ve become my constant reminder that I am trying to make some changes in my life that will hopefully get rid of the fat that I’ve carried around for most of my life and get rid of it for good. Numbers have become both my saving grace and my worst enemy.

Here are some of those numbers:

270 - my highest weight ever.

28 - average hours spent per week playing World of Warcraft before starting this LCJ.

263 - my weight on Dec 29th 2009, when I decided enough was enough.

40 - the age at which I decided I couldn't let my life slip away from me.

1800 - my initial daily calorie intake when I started counting calories.

15 - the amount of minutes I could go on the wii before being out of breath in January.

3 - how many flights of stairs I started walking when I decided that I wouldn't take the elevator in January.

1.3 - daily average amount of times I cry every day fighting for my life.

12.9 - number of points off my BMI

5 - daily average amounts of time I stepped on the scale up until 3 weeks ago.

37 - number of weeks I've been on the journey.

2.3 - average weekly weight loss

84.8 - total weight loss as off Sept 10th 2010.

15:36 - how many minutes it took me to run my first mile.

8 - pant sizes lost

I let these numbers control me. I let them make me or break me. What I need to do is focus on some other numbers. Numbers that not only define me as a person but as an athlete and most importantly as a runner:

1469 - My first racing number. Capital City Half Marathon walk. Official time = 3:27:23 (May 13th)

179 - My second racing number. The Great Kilted 5k run. Official time = 37:40 (May 23rd)

6605 - My third racing number. Sound to Narrows 5k run. Official time = 37:00 (June 12th)

410 - My fourth racing number. Bill Burby 10k Memorial run. Official time = 1:08:43 (July 17th)

I'll be adding another racing number to this list in a matter of days

469 - My fifth racing number for the Trek Triathlon. 1/2 mile swim. 12 mile ride. 3.1 mile run. I am ready. Sunday September 19th 2010 I will become a triathlete in the truest form. Me, Tara Martin. The girl who 8 months couldn't imagine going a day without entering a fantasy world in order to forget the world in which she was living. The girl who couldn't run a block. The girl who never thought the word athlete would pertain to her. The girl who thought she'd never cross a finish line and more importantly never step up to the starting line. The girl who for 40 years prior never liked what she saw in the mirror now sees someone she loves and is ready to not only step up to the starting line on Sunday, but ready to take on the world.

Are you ready?