I have never been an athletic person. My parents tried really hard to get me to like sports as a child so I've actually done quite a few sports.... and hated them all. I have had brief gym stints as an adult but I mostly controlled my weight through diet. But that all changed in 2017.
After landing my first full time desk job in 2016, the pounds started creeping in and by December, I knew I needed a change. A lot did change! I started lifting weights and totally changed the way I eat through Whole30 and paleo. (But that's a story for another time.) By the end of 2017, I was the healthiest I'd been in my entire adult life. It was amazing!
But I still hated all forms of cardio. This is where my husband Will comes in. He'd been on his own journey to lose 100 lbs and he was inspired to get back to his cross country roots after training for and completing a Spartan obstacle course race in late 2017. When he found out that our work held an annual 5k each January, he some how managed to convince me to do it with him.
So I diligently started a Couch to 5k treadmill program even though I started too late to finish the entire program. And I hated every minute of it. But I'm type A and when I decide to do something, I do it. Soon enough, the morning of the 5k arrived and I ran on the road for the very first time at that race. I made it almost to mile 3 before needing a walk break but then finished strong at 41:22 (13:19 min/mile).
While I wouldn't say that I had fun at the race, it did give me a real sense of accomplishment so I decided to start my Couch to 5k over and give running another chance. I still hated the treadmill but I kept at it. My running interest got another boost when Will and my friend Melissa participated in the runDisney Star Wars weekend in April of 2018. I might not love running but I love Disney and I had so much fun spectating that I knew that this event had the potential to motivate me to become enough of a runner to maintain the 16 min/mile pacing requirement for the event.
Will started running with me once a week outside for 2 or 3 miles and that really helped. Running outside is amazingly better than running on the treadmill! I made it my goal to be good enough at running that I could do my runs outside in the morning before work by the end of summer.
Towards the end of May, I discovered Jeff Galloway's run walk method and that totally changed my running game. Taking those walk breaks allowed me to not feel like I was going to die while running and it actually became sort of enjoyable! After some experimentation, I did a 1 min run 30 sec walk interval and that's still what works really well for me today. And I even got to meet Jeff Galloway in person later that year!
When the runDisney registration came around later that summer, I jumped at the chance to run at Marathon weekend 2019 and even decided to run the Star Wars Challenge 2019 as our 10 year anniversary celebration! I still hadn't run any race longer than that 5k at this point, but I saw how Will had trained for his race and I knew that even if I had to walk a substantial amount of that first half marathon, I could do it.
So I downloaded Galloway's training plan for runDisney and signed up for a 10k that would give me a chance to have proof of time for Marathon weekend. I stuck to my training plan through the pre 5 am wake up calls during the hot, humid Florida summer and successfully completed my first 10k in September at 1:19:17 (12:46 min/mile). To be honest, the race was hot and miserable and I was really disappointed that I didn't meet my time goal.
But after I refueled and rehydrated, I realized that, even in the very last corral, I would still have an amazing time at marathon weekend. And the pretty medal made me feel like a real runner! So I signed up for two more 10ks that fall for more race practice and for a shot at a proof of time for Star Wars weekend.
By this time, running felt normal to me- even fun at times. And as the weather started to cool, I began to see time improvements that I never experienced slogging my way through summer runs. When my next 10k arrived, I PR'd easily with a 1:12:47 (11:43 min/mile). As a bonus, it was good enough for a runDisney proof of time for a half marathon! I decided to take my last 10k of the year as just a fun run since it was our running group's first team race and I was so happy with my last time. And then I PR'd again with a 1:12:31 (11:41 min/mile). Whoops!
So now I stand at the cusp of my first half marathon and first runDisney event. I've learned how to build a race strategy and how to change when conditions don't go right. I've made running friends and fallen into the rabbit hole of running costumes. I successfully stuck to my running plans and have worked my body up to milages that still boggle my mind sometimes. For the first time in my married life, my husband and I have a hobby that we do together. And most of all, I have a lot of fun doing it.
