I read a blog today about an older man running (http://oldmanrunning.org/) and it inspired me to change my blog. Mostly my blog has been about my complaints about my job, my husband, and various other things, but that's all about to change. Today I decided I'm going to blog about my journey back to running. Here's some history:
Freshman year in high school (2000): I was going to join the cross country team with my brother, but I chickened out. He told me their races were 3.1 miles long, and at that point in my life I thought it was a long ways. We had been running together all summer; I usually only ran about a mile or mile and a half round trip, not much, but better than nothing. So instead of XC, I did volleyball (I had played it for a year in junior high and enjoyed it). Occasionally during practices we would do the mile run or run downtown. I was always at the front. I remember one day in particular. All of the volleyball players, varsity included, went out to the track to run the mile. I stayed right up front with the older girls, finishing second or third overall, with the top 3 all running next to each other. My time was about 5:30. The XC team had been stretching and warming up the whole time we were running. The XC coach was impressed, or so my brother told me later. I finished the volleyball season determined to not do it next year but to join the XC team.
Sophomore year (2001): I joined the XC team, and much to my surprise, 3 other girls did. (There hadn't been a girls XC team in a few years.) I was the fastest out of the 4 of us; however, my best time was around 24 or 25 minutes. The season ended with only 1 guy going to State. The following spring I played softball (I had played since I started in tee-ball and was a pretty good catcher). However, the season was different. It wasn't fun, so after practice I started going up the track to learn how to pole vault with my brother. On Saturdays before my practice, I would run with the track team. (I never ended up pole vaulting once I did join track.)
Junior year (2002): I was excited for XC. We were supposed to have a really fast freshman girl on our team. I knew this would help me become a better runner. Sure enough, my time improved. My average time dropped about a minute by the end of the season. It was nice having someone to run with who could push me. That year, only my brother Josh (the same one mentioned twice above) went to state. He placed 5th at state. The spring began and I joined track. Instantly I knew I was happier. I ran the mile, 2-mile, and the 4x4. (I am not a sprinter, so the 4x4 was hard for me.) At our regional track meet I placed 5th in the 2-mile, which allowed me to go to State as the Regional Alternate. I was excited to go, even if I was most likely not going to compete. Sure enough, I didn't compete, but I was there.
Senior year fall semester (2003): This was my year I had decided. My fast "freshman" teammate was on the team yet again and we decided it was time for a girl to go to state, so we pushed ourselves. My teammate always ran faster than I did, but it pushed me, and she told me I pushed her (usually with my words more than my speed). We were a great pair. She won several races that season and placed in the top 10 almost every time. I didn't, but my time did get better. Finally we were at a meet that determined district teams (not that the teams really matter, it was more for ranking purposes), and it was on our home course. (I'm getting butterflies just thinking about it!) We ran hard with her finishing 1st and me 7th! Not only that, but we both ran under 20 minutes. She ran 19:27 (or something like that) and I ran 19:59! Yes, it's only 1 second under 20 minutes, but under is under! We went to the District race, the one that determined who would go to state. Only the top 10 in our race went to state, and we were determined. Running hard in 30 degree weather in shorts and tank tops, we both placed in the top 10, her placing 2nd and me placing 9th if I remember correctly. State was two weeks later and we were pumped. We were the only 2 from our school who made it, but our teammates were extremely supportive and encouraging. At state, my teammate ran my time of 19:59 and placed 10th. I ran 22:02 and placed 47th. Overall, it was a great race and a great memory.
Senior year spring semester (2004): The 2-mile became my race. Again, I had a teammate who was a freshman who was very fast. All season long I ran around 13 minutes for a 2 mile, my best was 12:56. At our regional track meet my coach told me to run with my freshman teammate up front. I did. I followed right behind here all 8 laps finishing in a time of 12:06, beating my best time by 50 seconds! I was astounded and my coach was excited. I didn't know I had it in me. State was the next week. I went in ranked 9th and only the top 8 podium/get a medal. I kept a pretty good pace and ended up in 8th place. I didn't let anyone pass me and yet I didn't pass anyone either. I remained in 8th place. I finished in 8th place, but I finished with a time of 12:04! My personal best in the 2-mile. My freshman teammate placed 1st. But that didn't bother me. I was excited we both placed. It was kind of humorous, she was first on the podium and I was last on the podium, but we were both on it. It was a great way to end the season and my high school running career.
College (2004): I began college anxious like anyone else, but excited too. I met a couple of my xc teammates; I even shared my Cheerios with one girl. We were excited to being our college running careers. The first day began with a morning run. The girls ran a hilly dirt trail on campus. It felt good when we were done. Later that day we had another run. At some point during the run, my right knee started to hurt. I didn't think anything of it because with running you're bound to have a little pain every now and again. By the end of the run, I could barely run on it. The next day I went to the trainer's office only to find out I had injured my illiotibial band (IT Band). As a result I spent the rest of the season in the trainer's office getting deep tissues massages and training to exercise on the elliptical. Finally the decision to take a year off running was made, and it broke my heart. Running had been my passion; I loved it, and now I wasn't able to do it.
The rest of college I didn't run except every now and again when I decided I was going to start again. I used the busyness of life as an excuse not to run. It was no longer a priority. As a result I gained weight. I'm no longer the 120 pound girl. As of last night I was 146.8 pounds, which does not look good on a 5'4" woman.
Now it's time to begin again, and this time it's going to stick. I'm going to run every day regardless of what is going on. I need to get back to a better weight and back to a fast pace. It's my goal to run a 5k again in under 25 minutes. It's my goal to run a half-marathon. It's my goal to run a marathon. It's my goal to restart my running life.
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