How I started running

I'm taking a 'cross training opportunity' on the stationary bike to also update my blog. Multitasking like a pro.

I wanted to talk about what got me hooked on running in the first place - my first race. First, I'll give you a little background on my running experience prior to that day, which wasn't much.

I had dabbled very sporadically prior to joining the military, while I was in high school. But that really consisted of running a mile every so often, with no real schedule or pattern. I just knew I wanted to lose weight and thought that would help, and it does, if you're a bit more consistent and don't eat like a little piggy in between.

After I joined the military, a mile and a half was my distance because that was what the Air Force said I needed to do. So, I'd go out there and rock those 6 laps around a track and call it a day. Time for breakfast! I dabbled with 2-3 miles at a time when I was in training, but again, not consistently.

For a little over a year, that was where I stayed. I'd go for a run around my neighborhood, or run up to my sister's work to say hi, but usually kept it around 2 miles, and never over 3.

Then the day came, I remember it well. It was in March of 2009 and a friend of mine took me to a local running store, Pacers, so she could get a new pair of shoes. While we were there, a slightly overweight sales associate started talking to us about doing races. Up until that point, the thought had never crossed my mind, but at the time I thought, 'if she can do it, so can I!' Seeing how it's been 4 years since that day and I have seen the backside of every size and shape as they going zooming past me, at the time, I didn't know not to judge someone by how they look on if they're a runner. So, me and my friend looked at her talking about her recent half marathon and were like, 'we can totally do a full marathon.' Just like that. Boy, were we foolish. Two people who had never ran more than 3 miles at a time thinking that it can't possibly be that hard to run a marathon. People do it all the time, right?

Now, I'm talking we wanted to do a full that year. Luckily, that sales associate talked us into starting with a 5k. You know, work your way up. So, we signed up for our first race! I don't remember the name of it, but I know it was in Crystal City, Va. and took place on Mother's Day and I remember I kept thinking, 'where's the finish line?!' And was dead exhausted afterward. I didn't want to do anything else that day except eat and, obviously, brag. At the time, none of my other friends or family were really runners, so naturally I felt superior. But wait a second. Um, a marathon is 23.1 miles longer than what we had just done. Yeah. We realized that our initial goal was a little high. But we stuck with it!

Before our first race

Next, we did a 4 mile twilight run (again, exhaustion, light headedness, and feelings of even more superiority flooded my system), then we did an 8k, and a couple 10k's, including a trail 10k because we didn't realize that was a completely different beast. And while we weren't quite ready for the coveted marathon, I did make the jump into double digits that year and signed up for the Revenge of the Penguins 10-miler. Where is that damn finish line?!

I stagnated there for a year, my weekly mileage being a 10-miler on Mondays, 8 on Wednesday and 6 on Friday. Then da momma made the leap past that mile and a half mandatory run and joined the ranks of recreational runner. I was so happy to have someone else to talk to for hours about running tips and tricks and complaining about logging miles when tired and how much we thought we deserved to eat because, hey, we did a 4 mile run that morning. The usual.

Now, my initial excitement had worn off, so while I did a couple 10k's and the Army 10-miler that year, my mom was just ramping up. She signed up for a winter series to keep her motivated throughout the cold months and the difference between her and me when I started running races, was she signed up for that marathon for the following April, and brought me along for the ride. I was not ready! It came too soon! I think I changed my mind about doing an actual marathon! I'm perfectly happy just riding the 10 mile high! Nope.

We were so stupid. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, especially because our first marathon was a trail marathon. Do not do that to yourself. Take my word for it, I bit that bullet for you.

Now, do you realize how much training goes into a marathon? Let alone a trail marathon?! We didn't. And we also lost interest pretty quick, but that marathon still came, ready or not. I'm not going to explain every race I've ever done, but I will say that one was terrible. It's the same one we just did for the third time a couple months ago because we haven't learned our lesson, but that first year when neither one of us had ever done more than 12ish miles, it broke us. Sun burn, scrapes, blisters so bad we couldn't walk, lost toe nails, the works. And I've never eaten so much food in my life. After the race, I had a bowl of chili, a large Jimmy John's sub, Italian sausage, spaghetti, cheesecake and then I woke up in the middle of the night STARVING, but my sun burn and aching body won out and I stayed in bed. Seriously, we did this race two more times after this and we still haven't learned to train for it. We just do it, then it's like opening day to start training for fall marathons. It's a sickness.

After that frightful experience I did actually sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon that fall and actually trained for it. Novel idea!

We were dead to the world after that first trail marathon

Since then, we've done a handful of races of all distances and had made the decision to throw in the towel on marathons after this past April. Ha! You don't just quit! It's like a drug. You hate it how it feels, you hate how it takes up all your time, but you just can't quit. I jokingly mentioned that we should do a marathon in every state since we've already tackled Kansas and Virginia. Seriously, it was just a joke because we were quitting. So, now we're signed up for Ohio and have Texas, Missouri, Hawaii and Nevada planned out.

During our most recent trail marathon

Before our most recent half marathon

Gotta love it.