Becoming a Runner

Running was a sport that looked like fun but I could never get started. 

One determined day, I laced up my shoes and headed out the door. Today was the day I would become a runner! But after 30 seconds of running, I was so winded and tired. I thought I was crazy to try to start running and I better head back inside before anyone witnessed my failed attempt at running. 

After I was married, I was determined again! I was working at Starbucks and my awesome manager, Josh was a runner. We also had a lot of regulars who were runners and I wanted to be a part of the elite club! So again, I laced up my shoes and went with my handsome guy out for a run. 

James was being a good motivator and tried to push me to run further and longer than I wanted to. It was good for me! We would run about 1.5 miles. But after a few weeks of running, I would slowly quit. It was too hard! 

Then in February 2012, we received the most exciting news- we were expecting! In my second trimester, I wanted to start some light exercise. I thought I could power walk for a mile. I could do that- it's not running but it's better than walking, right? Yet again, I laced up those tennis shoes, and headed out the door. Little did I know, I was about to run my first of many many miles, a journey of no return! 

There I was power walking in Rogersville, Missouri, (home of my awesome sister, Heather!). But after about a minute of brisk walking, I was bored. This was taking too long. So I decided I would run for a little bit to help speed up the process. I ran for about 30 seconds and then walked. After I caught my breath, I ran again. I did this for the whole mile. And once I finished, I was so excited! I RAN 1 MILE! Haha 

I wanted to work up to the point where I was running the entire mile and not walking. And I did! It took me awhile to work up to it but I did it. I remember being able to keep up with James the next time we ran together, it was a huge accomplishment for me! 

Throughout my entire pregnancy (up to two days before I went into labor) I ran 1-2 miles, five days a week. When I was tired or sore from running, I would make sure to go the next day. This helped stretch my legs and made me feel much better. At this time, I wasn't doing distance so I didn't need to rest days in between. But if you need a day of rest then take it! Don't burn yourself out but don't take the easy road either. :) It's okay to push yourself a little bit at a time! Only you know your body so listen to it! 

Running while pregnant isn't for everyone. I know many women have health conditions that don't allow it but the majority can exercise moderately! They say to never start something new while pregnant. But if it's light moderate exercise it's okay. Don't train for your first marathon or anything crazy like that but one mile a day is safe. Just make sure it's okay with your doctor or midwife. Running for me was great for my pregnancy. It helped with all the aches and pains and with delivery! 

Don't use being pregnant as an excuse to not exercise. Rather use it as a motivation to start! Do it for that sweet growing babe inside of you. Or if God has already blessed you with children, do it for them! You owe it to them and yourself to be healthy! I promise you won't regret it. 

For those of you who are interested in starting your running career, simply start. Every runner started off somewhere. I started pregnant and traveling on deputation! Nobody woke up one day, rolled out of bed and ran a marathon. Okay I'm sure there's someone but he's crazy and I'm sure never did that again. Or if your like my courageous sister in law, Hannah, you sign up for your first marathon after only running for a week and have only five months to train. But she will tell you more on that in a future post! She's awesome!

It takes time to build up to it. Start small and work your way up. Download an app and get started. I've heard a lot of beginners like Couch to 5K for a starting plan. Also download a running app to keep track of your progress. I love the Nike Plus running app. It keeps track of miles, calories burned, and you can write notes about your run (which is great if you're training for a marathon of half marathon.) it tells you your average pace and you can review all your miles in your run to see fastest and slower times. Currently, I've run 1,266 miles since Jacob was born, 211 runs and an average pace of 9:26. 

For those who have already begun your running journey, stay consistent! Consistency is key. Exercising one day a week won't result in much results if any. And challenge yourself! If you've never ran in a race sign up for a 5K! If you only walk 5K's work up to running the entire race. Sign up for a half marathon if you're comfortable running 3 miles. Most training plans are very doable. You'll be surprised what you can accomplish if you try! 

My next running posts will be on How to Stay Motivated and How I got started in Running Distance. I hope to write a running post at least every other week. And also have guest posts from other runners- their best advice and their journey into running. Stay tuned! 

Running my first race!

My journey into running began when I was in the second trimester of being pregnant. Yes, I know you're not suppose to start anything new while pregnant but my doctor and midwife were okay with it. I was only running a mile at first then worked my way up to 1.5-2 miles. It felt great!! It really took all the aches and pains out of being pregnant. I had tried to run before but would always give up after a week or two of running. I tried doing too much too soon and it wore me out. As I began running while pregnant, I gradually worked my way up. I think that was the key for me. Starting small and building on that. Four weeks after giving birth, I began running again. By the end of the first week I was running four miles without stopping! I decided a race would be a fun thing to do! So I signed up for my first race- a 10K (6.2 miles) on St. Pete Beach. The week leading up to the race I was so anxious about making my time. My goal was to do it in under an hour. I had run the distance about four times, so I knew I could do it, but didn't know if I would make my time. So here is how my race went...

Morning of the Race:

Well Jacob decided he was hungry at 2am and 5am last night. He has been sleeping through the night from 9:30pm-7:30am for a whole week now! But of course the night I could use the sleep the little booger keeps waking up! I still feel pretty well rested! I rolled out of bed at 6:30am and got myself ready. I was feeling pretty anxious and decided I would eat a little oatmeal and half a banana. I thought it was light enough that I would feel fine as I was running. I usually only eat a Kashi fruit and nut bar before I run, but I thought since my race was a good two hours away I would be fine. That was a mistake... (I ended up pretty sick to my stomach after the race but at least it was after the race!) 

We pulled into the Sirata on St. Pete Beach at 8am. We had a good 45 minutes before the race. After killing time by taking photos and stretching, I made my way out onto the street with some of the other runners. Everyone else around me seemed to have a running buddy or someone they knew, so I awkwardly stood there pretending my “date” was in the bathroom. It was awkward since I wasn’t sure what to expect because it was my first race. So I did my best to act like I knew what was going on. A lot of the runners around my had on shirts from previous races- “Women’s Half Marathon; Iron Man; Meatless Runner (I think I saw her eating some grass along the way); ...etc” Some of the runners had on some serious gear for their 10K run, all decked out in name brand gear. My shirt was from Target...but it was a pretty pink color and it matched my shoes- so there! Alright so back to the race...

The weather was perfect, 60 degrees. A little chilly at first but I decided to not wear my jacket which was a good choice. I turned on my music, pulled up my Nike running app, set it for the 10K and waited for the race to begin. I made some small chat with a nice fellow next to me as we waited for the start. That was the last I ever saw him too, he was either super fast or super slow. Before I knew it the people in front of me began to run. I didn’t hear anyone signal to start but I went with the crowd! 

I ran in between some people and made my way to the side of the road. This way others could pass me and I could pass them easily. I paced myself and remembered to not go too fast at the beginning of the run. My throat was really dry as we began and I had to go potty (nerves I think haha). I thought mile one and two would feel like a cake walk and I would push myself to get through miles 3 and 4 then I would be golden for miles 5 and 6. Finally, I hit mile one and my time was 8:21, my fastest mile ever. Oops, so much for pacing myself. So I thought I had slowed down some to pace myself but by mile two my time was 8:45. Okay now to get to mile three, I can do this! And what was before me but a group of angels passing out water! I grabbed a cup and tried to drink it while still running. Bad idea. I was almost choking and decided to slow down a minute to get a sip of water down my throat. One sip successfully down, and off I went. I thanked the Lord for my water and then passed the three mile mark. At the 5K mark my time was 27:37, my fastest 5K to date also. My goal was to get to the 4 mile mark, I knew once I got there the last two miles would be great! Another water stop, so I walked for 20 seconds to drink and then off I went. I felt pretty good, my legs were going in a groove, my breathing was in a rhythm- I was going places! Running to the five mile mark, I started feeling pretty tired. 

To play a mean trick on all of us runners, we had to run past the start line an additional half a mile and turn around and come back through the finish line. (So just when you think you’re done you have another 1.21 miles to go.) It was kinda weird at the five mile mark everyone is there cheering you on like you’ve finished the race. But I tried to soak up the encouragement and use it as motivation. As I was running one way, I kept looking at all the other runners who were running the other way on their way back to the finish line.  Oh how I wanted to be on that side of the road with them! The last mile was a killer. I kept looking and searching for the turn around point but it seemed endless. Would I ever be on my way back to the finish line?!! So I decided to walk for about 30 seconds. My time was good enough that I had a little cushion to walk. I felt better when I saw some macho guy also walking for a few seconds. Okay back to running, and there it was the turn around point!! The hallelujah chorus went off in my head at that moment. Then I kept making little goal marks for myself to get to. I heard the sweetest words from my Nike running app, “You’re almost there, keep it up!” Which means only .21 miles to go! So I pushed myself to pick up the pace. I hit the 10K according to my GPS about .25 of a mile before the actual finish line. My time was 57:44, my fastest 10K to date! A little bit further to go, I can do it! I sprinted towards the finish line to victory! I did it!! A total of 6.44 miles in 59:22!! 

My accomplishments for the day: Ran my fastest mile 8:21, fastest 5K 27:37, fastest 10K 57:44- and barely broke a sweat, thanks to the nice weather! 

Me with my favorite guys! 

I came in 103 out of 272 women runners! And 6th out of 15 in my age division. Not too bad for my first race!

"My mom is fater than your mom" It was suppose to read "My mom is faster than your mom" but Jacob decided to change that. 

My favorite part was seeing my husband all proud of me at the finish line and being able to kiss my little boy! After the race though I was exhausted!! But Oh what a great day!!