I guess the most appropriate first time post would be introducing myself. My name is Jamie and I'm from Cincinnati, Ohio. If I could describe myself in 5 words, I'd say I'm active, energetic, outgoing, adventurous, and bubbly. I have an awesome family, fabulous friends, and an amazing boyfriend named Ray. I am a part-time student at Ohio University, working as a student manager (or "student leader" as they now call us-kinda' silly, I know) at the food court in the Baker University Center. During the summer, I'm a counselor at Camp Otterbein in Logan, Ohio.
My favorite activity ever is running. I got into running during my recovery from an eating disorder. I used the running as a way to deal with all of the anxiety I felt and a way to develop a better sense of self confidence. I started reversing the "reward system" I'd always used for myself with exercise and eating. In a nutshell, the more I ate on a given the day, the more I'd be allowed to run the next day, using exercise as the reward. My mom was very skeptical (among many other people) when I decided I wanted to train for a half marathon in 2007. Soon, running became my healthy addiction and my weight increased steadily as I started building muscle. I ran my first half marathon in April 2007. The following year, I did my first 2 full marathons. I've been healthy and relapse-free ever since I started running regularly. I've done tons of 5ks, several 10ks, a couple 15ks, 2 half marathons, and 5 full marathons.
I am also a triathlete. With the wear and tear long distance running puts on the knees, combined with the fact that I destroyed my body for about 5-6 years, I started getting injuries way too often and decided I needed to start doing more low impact activities. In the summer of 2008, I did my first triathlon, became hooked, and then joined the OU triathlon team. I've done 6 triathlons so far and am registered for a crazy event called the American Triple T (4 triathlons, 1 weekend: you do all of them and then collapse! :-p). I'll be doing that event in May and training my butt off this winter harder than ever before.
My career goals, life plan, etc. have changed so much it's ridiculous. I majored in psychology, getting my B.A. last spring and have a minor in biology. I'm a bit behind schedule though, because I decided my senior year (my 4th year I should say; I ended up being a 5th year/"super senior" last year) that I didn't really want to be a clinical psychologist. I wanted to go to Medical school. Recently however, I've decided that Physical Therapy school is a better fit. I'm sticking to it and will be done with the pre-requisite classes at the end of the school year. Next year, I get to take a year off from classes and will be turning in applications, working full time, shadowing, etc. I'm also hoping to take classes and the exam for getting certified as a personal trainer this upcoming year.
One more thing: I absolutely love kitty cats! :-)
