A Running Story

Alright, let me give you the background to my running history.


Everyone remembers in middle and high school the physical fitness test. It began with how many crunches could you do in a minute, moving to the bar for pull ups, doing some kind of stretch exercise, and then finally the dreaded mile run. Yea, I wasn't bad at most of it but I absolutely hated the idea of running. The idea of me at 175 lbs (in middle school and a little more in high school) running just was not what I wanted to do. So, I did the bare minimum which actually wasn't even enough. The girls were suppose to finish a mile in no more than 13 minutes. I finished my mile in 15 minutes, sometimes if I was lucky 14 minutes. So, as you may tell, I wasn't keen on the idea of running.

Fast forward to ten years later, and you will find a different type of runner. Still on my weight management journey, I began to feel a little stale. The contest was over and my workouts began to get bland. It was like go, workout, eat, and sleep. I needed a challenge, a goal of some sort. That's when I became friends with Leigh. Leigh is the yoga instructor and leader of the runner's club. She also was a coach in the biggest loser. So, she saw my transformation. At the last challenge of the biggest loser, we had to sign up for a 5k Run/Walk. Well, here was my challenge. I could either sign up for the 3.1 mile run or I could walk it. It intrigued me. Could I really run 3.1 miles the whole time? So, I decided to take on this challenge. I wanted to see how losing weight had affected my health. Was I strong enough? The week before the 5k run I decided to start training on the treadmill. I started with just seeing if I could run a mile. I did. The next day I tried running 1.5 miles without dying. I was so surprised that I could run that long and not feel out of breath. Then, I did two miles. Still, I didn't feel out of breath. This was awesome. I was so excited. Well, by now, it was time for the 5k. I stretched, got myself some water, and then headed towards the start line. All I could think about was just keep running. I knew I could do it and didn't even care what place I finished in. I just wanted to finish. I began running and I just kept telling myself, catch up to the next runner. Soon, I passed a whole bunch of runners and I was feeling good. Next thing I know, I could see the finish line. Seriously? I'm going to finish this race and I'm not even out of breath. That adrenaline gave me the push to finish the last tenth of a mile and I crossed the line at 29:31.



That was the beginning of something.....



I was hooked on running. Leigh saw my finish and she invited me to join the runner's club. In the runner's club, I met some new faces, Carol and Julie. These ladies are regular ladies who just want to run. We ran a couple of nights a week and once the summer hit I could run in the morning with Leigh. One day, we were all running together and decided we should run a half-marathon. Now, this was a challenge. I knew I could run 2 and 3 miles, but the idea of running 13.1 miles was another story. So, we began training. We ran 3 days in the week and a long run on the weekend. With each week, I could feel myself getting stronger and healthier. Soon, we were running 7 and 8 miles on our long runs. I couldn't believe that I was running for more than an hour. To think that in high school, I didn't even want to run for a mere 13 minutes. Then, our last long run came up. 10 miles. I have to admit I was nervous. With the girls by my side, we started in on our run. To help you understand what it's like to run 10 miles, it goes a little like this. You start out with the idea of just get through the first mile. Miles 2 through 5 are a breeze because you're getting into your stride. Mile 6 you start to feel your energy drop so you take your gel-pack (nothing but sugar kinda taste like frosting) and keep moving. Miles 7-8 felt like Forest Gump, I just kept running and running. Then, at mile 9, the gel-pack kicks in and I feel like I can do this. We cross our own finish line after one hour and 40 minutes. I couldn't believe it. I just ran ten miles. I was on cloud nine.


Now, it was time for the half-marathon. We geared up at 5:30 am and traveled east to Greenville where we would get all of our gear (our number and chip to clock our time). The race began at 7 o'clock. I was ready as ready could be. We started the run like normal. The first few miles went fine and at mile 7 we took our gel pack which gave me enough energy to get to mile ten. At mile 11, I could feel my body start to ache. I did different running tricks to ease the pain but nothing really seemed to work. On top of the pain, I couldn't see mile 12. It just felt like I would never finish, but I couldn't give up I had come too far. So, like any good runner, I pushed through the pain and soon I could see the end of mile 12. As we got closer to the end, I could hear the crowd of people cheering and I knew I was almost finished. Leigh and I had stuck together throughout the whole race. Julie and Carol were already finished. Then, all of a sudden, I saw my dad and he was taking pictures of me. He was so proud of seeing what I had done over the last few months and even now. Finally, the finish line was in sight and I sprinted. I crossed the finish line at 2 hours and 26 minutes. The lady took my chip and I stopped moving for just a few minutes. All of a sudden, there was an immense amount of pain rushing through the bottom half of my body. Luckily, Dustin was there to hold me up and help me walk around. Mom and Dad were so amazed that they told everyone they knew about their marathon runner child. Of course, I kept telling them it was only a half marathon but they didn't care they were proud. I was amazed and totally accomplished.




So, that's the beginning of my running story.....


It continues to this day. I'm still in the running club and we still meet. We haven't met in a while because of the winter season and then Christmas happened. But, I just got a call from Carol and she is having running withdrawals. I'm in the same boat. I need to run. So, I'm setting up another goal. I am going to be running in the Crystal Coast half-marathon at the end of February. I can do this. If you think you can't run, I say that you can. All you need is the proper shoes and a willing attitude. Just try it, you just might like it.