For one woman, small weight-loss steps led to a marathon

Published 10:49 pm Monday, January 26, 2009

It began with a thought Cara Heiner had all her adult life: “I’m tired of the weight.”

But in November 2007, something just snapped into place.

This time, she said it with more than just resolve.

Heiner, who is 5-foot-7, at the time weighed 218 pounds.

Her goal wasn’t just the plain vanilla “I’ll lose a little weight.” It was to accomplish what for many is the ultimate proof not only of fitness but of lifestyle change: running a marathon.

Last November, Heiner, 32, crossed the finish line at the Seattle Marathon in 5 hours and 22 minutes, eight minutes faster than the goal she had set for herself.

To adults who say they could never get back into shape, or think it’s just too hard to take up more nutritious eating habits, Heiner has some advice: Make one small change that will make things better.

“Baby steps,” she said. “You don’t need to lose 70 pounds in three weeks.”

The importance of adopting healthy eating and exercise habits was underscored in a recent Snohomish Health District report. It found that common habits — tobacco use, poor diet and physical inactivity — are responsible for one-third of all deaths in the county.

Too often, Heiner said, people want quick fixes to these problems, get discouraged, and quit when it doesn’t happen.

The 55 pounds she dropped were shed over the course of a year. Making a lifestyle changes requires a daily commitment, she said.

Even now, she still pauses before she eats, to consider whether the food she’s looking at is a wise choice. She makes a point of getting five servings each day of fruits and vegetables. She drinks lots of water.

And her commitment to workouts remains as steadfast as ever, five times each week — weight training, step aerobics, running an indoor track at the Marysville YMCA and Zumba classes.

Heiner, the mother of four children, said working out “gives me time for me on the to-do list,” away from the kids.

Her goals this year are to lose another 10 pounds and to participate in her second 26.3-mile race, the Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon on June 27.

Heiner said the inspiration to run a marathon came in part from seeing her sister-in-law do one.

As Heiner ran into Memorial Stadium and headed for the finish line, she realized that nothing had prepared her for the feelings she had.

There to cheer her on were her parents, some friends from high school, her husband Kent and her children — Emily, 9; Christopher, 7; Rachel, 3; and Ella, 1.

“It was overwhelming,” she said. “So many times, I had set goals and didn’t meet them. This was one time when I set a huge goal — and met it.”

Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.