How I Became a Runner…
I get asked a lot if I have always run, and the truth is I used to HATE running! When I was younger, I was a cheerleader for 8 years. We had a coach at one point who would make us run as punishment if we messed up! I can hear her now….. “If y’all don’t get this right, you’re fixing to run the soccer fields again!” (Can you tell she was from Texas? “Fixing” to run! Lol) Anyway…. I think because of this, I associated running as a punishment.
The turning point came for me in college. I was going through a bad breakup and remember making a “man hating playlist” on my ipod. (Yes, I really named it that. I was 18 years old okay?!) I remember one day putting on that playlist at the gym, while getting on the treadmill after lifting. (I was usually an elliptical girl at this point) I pushed the speed up to a jog. Twenty minutes later, I had listened to a few of my “man hating” songs and worked up a good sweat. I pushed stop and instantly felt SO GOOD. (Endorphins are a real thing y’all!)
After that little experiment, I continued to add running in a few times a week. I never went longer than 3 miles, but I did start to go outside a bit. I found that the combination of the endorphins from running, plus the endorphins from being outside, were even better than the treadmill! I was hooked. I did a few 5k’s here and there, but distance running was never something I really thought much about.
Fast forward to several years later, I found myself wanting to have some “goals”. I was a young mom, wife, and a teacher, but wanted something outside those things. I was still running a few times a week, 3-4 miles at a time…. Usually pushing an orange jogging stroller with Noah bundled up in it! Right around the time Noah was turning one, I saw that my husband’s cousin was in Disney to run the Princess Half Marathon! I casually mentioned to my husband that the Disney Princess Half Marathon was a “goal” of mine someday. Even though I had never ran more than 5 miles in my life, I figured eventually I could work my way up to 13.1 miles. I figured YEARS down the road, that would be a good goal.
Fast Forward about 7 months to my birthday in September…. Mark hands me an envelope with a printed confirmation page in it. He said “I know the Disney race is a goal of yours, so I signed you up for this year! You are going to run the half marathon in February! “ Um….what? Fear and excitement instantly ran through me! Could I really run 13.1 miles all at one time? Did I really have time to train for a half marathon with working full time, a 5 year old and 1 year old at home, while working on my master’s degree?!
To Be continued….