my story of running

some of you may think i was born running. untrue. in fact, i haven't even been running half my life. hard to believe, i know. allow me to share my story...

i was a normal kid when it came to sports and all. never stellar at any of my chosen activities, but i enjoyed them nonetheless. in high school, i played basketball, volleyball, and, yes, i was even a cheerleader. no laughing, please. looking back, i see how running was a part of my life-- i enjoyed the sprints in basketball practice more than the drills-- who likes standing around while you talk about who's going to pass the ball to whom? BORING! i distinctly remember running suicides in my driveway during the summer "to start training for the basketball season"! dork alert!

i went to college and inevitably gained the freshmen 15 (which was actually a good thing for me). in the spring, a good friend encouraged me to run with her. ha! i tried and was pretty terrible at it. but it was fun time with her, so i gave it a whirl. i received a phone call one afternoon from the Converse cross country coach. she said, "i hear you run". i almost laughed out loud. she asked if i wanted to consider running on the cross country team. i ignorantly asked her how far i would need to be able to run. she said a 5K (3.1 miles). i thought, well it can't hurt to try! thus began my training. i ran every day that week for 10 minutes, with walking breaks. yes, i had to walk to complete a 10 minute run! that summer, i began official CC training and by the end of the summer, i ran 4 miles without stopping! i remember that day like it was last week-- i was SO proud of my accomplishment! in august, i joined the team for pre-season training and never looked back. 3 years of cross country competition and i'm hooked. i have run several half-marathons (my favorite race distance) and one full marathon in 2004. i ran throughout my pregnancy (even if it was just around the block by the 3rd trimester!) and hope to continue to run for years to come. running isn't just about training or competition or burning calories-- for me, it's a mental release and an outlet. i definitely recall seasons in life where running kept me sane (Master's degree round 1, wedding planning, PA school, etc.). i am thankful for health in my body and strength in my legs to run and be active. who knows what the future will hold for this hobby of mine?

all i'm gonna say is that it's a LOT harder to run while pushing a stroller!