Why I Want to Run

Welcome to my first ever blog! For those of you that don't know me, I am from Kailua, Hawai'i and am currently a student at Oklahoma State University. GO POKES! I love dolphins, Pinterest, dance, anything pink, my sisters, spending time with friends and family, the beach, Cowboy football (no, not Dallas), and glitter! Obviously I did not include running, but that is what I am going to add to my list in 2013!

This year, I have decided to start a blog to track my progress in becoming a runner! As a dancer by heart, I have never felt the joy or satisfaction that I always hear people talk about from running. To me, it's not fun and I would much rather be in a nice brutal 2 hour ballet class than go sweat outside for a run. Now I do enjoy the cross-trainer from a nice air-conditioned gym, but only because the minimal impact doesn't bother my knees (thanks to Osgood-Schlatter syndrome). 

I am in no way shape or form an "athlete", but one could say that the rest of my family is. As the least known member of Team Clemons, as they are known as in the running world, I am going to start my road to becoming a runner in 2013. Now you're probably thinking "Why would Kiana want to run?" Well, I have a couple of answers for you:

1.To accomplish something that seems impossible for me. 
2. To become healthier.
3. Feel better about myself.
4. Have something in common with the rest of my family besides a last name. 

I won't go into the boring details now, but a few years of misdiagnosed health issues kind of turned my life upside down. Although I have a correct diagnosis today I'm still trying to recover from those years. Since I started going through my medical ordeal, I have gained a significant amount of weight and it has been impossible to lose. My confidence and self-esteem took a direct hit as a result and I haven't felt happy in my own skin since then. 

My parents have recently started their own running blogs because they are crazy people who find joy in running (shocking!) and have shared stories with me about other blogger's personal stories. I came across one blog in particular about a woman who had dramatic weight loss and serves as an inspiration to me and to many other women. While reading her posts I kept thinking "If she can do it, I can do it!"  Even though I have been mentally preparing my 2013 goals for some time now, reading about her journey was what pushed me to start a blog. I figured that blogging is a way to hold me accountable for my goals and maybe one day inspire someone who is like me to want to change. 

Wish me luck!

Oh, and I didn't tell anyone that I was starting a blog, so this is a mini contest to see which one of my friends or family members can find it first :)