A Second Chance

My friend Terra decided to give running a second chance. Here's what she has to say about it:

I will be honest, I used to run in high school and I hated every minute of it. I always much preferred the "sport is exercise" philosophy.

Last fall after my second child, I had those last few pounds that I wanted to shed post-baby. I started to run. I ran my first 5K in September and dabbled a bit on the treadmill after that. It was easy to get 3 runs in some weeks, and then the next week would go by, with no running activity. January was when I started running with Staci and Alicia. They were running a solid 5K by this point, and I wasn't sure if I still had the stamina after my post-Christmas hiatus. I gave it a go, and found it was so much easier to run when we had conversation to kill the time. That was when it began ... how far could we go? Do we dare sign up for the 10K at the Sk Marathon in May? Once the distances got further, it was easier to do. I felt refreshed. I felt fit. I was happy with my body. I felt like my old self again. I had more energy than ever!

I have a bucket list. Complete a Half-marathon is on that list. I thought now was as good a time as ever if I was already at the 10K point .... we were almost half way there. We talked about it a lot. It would have been easy to bail, had we not held each other accountable. We switched our Nike+ apps to miles, registered for the Half Marathon at the Mogathon, and the rest is history.

I wasn't all glorious, let me tell you. I really enjoyed our long runs right up until about the 9 or 10 mile point. That is when my body was telling me that I may be overdoing it. My feet ached for days after long runs. My legs never completely recovered from run to run. My lower back throbbed from pounding the pavement. I lost two toenails due to the pressure and swelling your feet undergo, and now have deformed black nubs in their place. I was exhausted. At the end of my long runs at the very end, I had overwhelming nausea for the rest of that day. That being said, by the time I was to this point, I was too far invested to back out, and I was going to do it!

We ran it! We succeeded! I checked it off my list! I was so proud of myself, and my partners!

After the Mogathon, it would have been easy to say "did it! done it!" and fall back into the habit of not running at all. After religiously running a few times a week for 8 months, it has become a routine. I like it. We were all in agreement to cut back the distance and keep up the 10K. I enjoy it. It makes me feel fit. It makes me feel like I am active. I love that I can do it anywhere. I also love that I can enjoy myself over dinner and drinks whenever I want, and never feel any guilt!

Thank you Terra! Happy Running!