I AM RUNNING THIS!!!
No really. This is my first 10k, and I am running this. The whole thing. Except maybe a few feet after that water station. And a tiny portion of that hill after the water station. It is, after all, 80 degrees with 94% humidity on June 2nd in New England, and no one is used to running in the heat. Definitely not me, who is barely used to running at all. But I am running. I am running this. I am going to run 6.2 miles, and I am going to finish without walking, no matter how long it takes me or how slow I run.
And I did. It took me one hour, seven minutes, and forty eight seconds. I ran the whole time, except right in front of the water stations where I walked and sipped before tossing my cup in the trash and getting right back into my slow jog.
I was so happy to finish, even four minutes slower than expected, that I crossed the finish line with my hands in the air screaming “FIRST 10K!!!” while spectators laughed. The heat, the hills, the intense, nagging urge to just give up and walk was so fresh in my memory that I knew for certain that I had just accomplished something great. I was in a great mood the entire rest of the day. Not a good mood, a GREAT mood.
Less than a year ago, I couldn’t even run a mile. I started the Couch to 5K program in July of 2012, and ran my first 5k that September. After running sporadically in fall and winter because of family illnesses and lack of motivation, I buckled down this spring and started running consistently 10 – 12 miles a week. Last weekend, I ran my first 10k, and I am signed up to run my first half marathon in September, the day before I turn 30.
This blog will be about my path to the half marathon, about running and loving (hating, loving) it, and about my discoveries along the way. (There have been many, already.)
I am a beginning runner and an enthusiastic runner. I am more positive than competitive, but I like having a goal and working hard to achieve it, too. I still remember what it felt like not to be able to run more than sixty seconds without taking a walking break. I love encouraging other new runners, learning from more experienced runners, and writing about running.
This blog is born in part from my realization that running posts were taking over my other blog, “My New Normal” which started as a parenting / stay at home mom blog. Recently I realized that half my readers were runners and the other half were parents, without a lot of overlap. Time to separate it out.
I’m going to re-post some of my most viewed running blogs here for the sake of convenience, and from now on, I am going to blog guilt free about running here, and post my toddler craft projects there.
Here are some links to my most popular running posts on my regular blog:
It’s time to start! Tips for New Runners from a New Runner
The only way to run faster is to run faster, drat.
Running with a double jogging stroller
I hope other new runners especially will subscribe to my blog, send me comments, send me photos, share your running stories with me, and, most importantly, keep on running.
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