I'm excited about this new chapter in my life! My name is Beth and I'm a runner. That didn't sound right. I. am. a. runner! There, that's better! After life of 39 years, I still have a hard time convincing myself that I run. Hmmmm, maybe I should explain...
At Christmastime, I knew I was unhappy. I mean, I love the holidays, I have been blessed with a wonderful husband and three fantastic boys. However, I was still holding on to tons of baby weight from my pregnancy. From 2008. Yep, 2.5 years earlier. (I am one of those people who endured several painful miscarriages, thought I could never give birth so we adopted two wonderful boys, thought our family was complete, got pregnant and nine months later gave birth to a healthy handsome little boy!) I had no energy and had three little princes to keep up with, ages 5, 4 and 2. I knew there was more to life than the way I was feeling. I had a touch of depression as well. Nice mixture, huh?!?
Fast forward to January of this year. My husband was running in a relay race. Not just a quick race with a few people, but THIS race. We live in the West Palm Beach, FL area, so the second day of the race, I drove down to Key West and volunteered for 6 hours at one of the exchange points. I had a BLAST. I saw runners of all ages, shapes, some in outlandish costumes, some limping into the exchange, but the common denominator was that they all seemed to be in good spirits. These were people who had been running for almost 30 hours, traveling in a van with 5 other people for the past day from Miami to Key West, who were sleep deprived and ready for a beer. I was amazed at their attitudes! So many of them thanked me for my time, smiled and included me in their team pictures! It was then and there that I decided I wanted whatever high they were on!
So, I started walking two days later. I walked and walked and walked. I was determined to get my endurance built up. I was determined to BECOME A RUNNER. I wanted to be HERE with my husband next year, running, not volunteering. *DISCLAIMER: There is NOTHING wrong with volunteering at events and not running or walking them. Without the hard work of volunteers, we would not have races to participate in. End of disclaimer.* Finally, after finishing a 5 mile walk one night, my husband turned to me and said, "How much farther are you going to walk before you start running?" Ouch. He was right. It was March. I had registered for my first 5K for the end of April. What was I waiting for? I was scared. Scared of failing.
I started the C25K program. Some days were a cinch. Empowering. I'd feel like a million bucks and was on top of the world. Other days just plain sucked. One really hot day I puked 1/2 way through my run. That was the lowest of lows for me. The difference in my life? I KEPT GOING. I ran my first 5k. Well, I ran, walked, ran, walked some more, jogged, etc, but I crossed that finish line. My pace was pathetic, but I FINISHED. Here I am after my first race:
I also registered for the 2012 Florida Keys Ragnar Relay! (By the way, our team still has three slots available. Relaxing for a day or two post race will be amazing right after the holidays!) In addition, I a
m involved with Team in Training and will be running the Walt Disney Wine and Dine 1/2 marathon on October 1st. Running is becoming a part of who I am and I could not be more excited about it!
I wanted to start this blog to share experiences, get advice, build commorderie in the running community and meet some new and interesting peeps! If you have a running blog, please let me know - I'd love to add you to my blog roll.
Thanks for stopping by - I'm off for a run. Today's 1/2 marathon training is a 42 minute run. I might be a wild woman and push it to 45 minutes! :) Hold me back, I am a rebel!
Happy Running!
At Christmastime, I knew I was unhappy. I mean, I love the holidays, I have been blessed with a wonderful husband and three fantastic boys. However, I was still holding on to tons of baby weight from my pregnancy. From 2008. Yep, 2.5 years earlier. (I am one of those people who endured several painful miscarriages, thought I could never give birth so we adopted two wonderful boys, thought our family was complete, got pregnant and nine months later gave birth to a healthy handsome little boy!) I had no energy and had three little princes to keep up with, ages 5, 4 and 2. I knew there was more to life than the way I was feeling. I had a touch of depression as well. Nice mixture, huh?!?
Fast forward to January of this year. My husband was running in a relay race. Not just a quick race with a few people, but THIS race. We live in the West Palm Beach, FL area, so the second day of the race, I drove down to Key West and volunteered for 6 hours at one of the exchange points. I had a BLAST. I saw runners of all ages, shapes, some in outlandish costumes, some limping into the exchange, but the common denominator was that they all seemed to be in good spirits. These were people who had been running for almost 30 hours, traveling in a van with 5 other people for the past day from Miami to Key West, who were sleep deprived and ready for a beer. I was amazed at their attitudes! So many of them thanked me for my time, smiled and included me in their team pictures! It was then and there that I decided I wanted whatever high they were on!
So, I started walking two days later. I walked and walked and walked. I was determined to get my endurance built up. I was determined to BECOME A RUNNER. I wanted to be HERE with my husband next year, running, not volunteering. *DISCLAIMER: There is NOTHING wrong with volunteering at events and not running or walking them. Without the hard work of volunteers, we would not have races to participate in. End of disclaimer.* Finally, after finishing a 5 mile walk one night, my husband turned to me and said, "How much farther are you going to walk before you start running?" Ouch. He was right. It was March. I had registered for my first 5K for the end of April. What was I waiting for? I was scared. Scared of failing.
I started the C25K program. Some days were a cinch. Empowering. I'd feel like a million bucks and was on top of the world. Other days just plain sucked. One really hot day I puked 1/2 way through my run. That was the lowest of lows for me. The difference in my life? I KEPT GOING. I ran my first 5k. Well, I ran, walked, ran, walked some more, jogged, etc, but I crossed that finish line. My pace was pathetic, but I FINISHED. Here I am after my first race:
I also registered for the 2012 Florida Keys Ragnar Relay! (By the way, our team still has three slots available. Relaxing for a day or two post race will be amazing right after the holidays!) In addition, I a
m involved with Team in Training and will be running the Walt Disney Wine and Dine 1/2 marathon on October 1st. Running is becoming a part of who I am and I could not be more excited about it!I wanted to start this blog to share experiences, get advice, build commorderie in the running community and meet some new and interesting peeps! If you have a running blog, please let me know - I'd love to add you to my blog roll.
Thanks for stopping by - I'm off for a run. Today's 1/2 marathon training is a 42 minute run. I might be a wild woman and push it to 45 minutes! :) Hold me back, I am a rebel!
Happy Running!
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