I had a friend who I knew ran all the time and I knew she actually did races, which I wasn't really interested in. I asked her if she ever thought about coaching and she said she was actually taking a course to get her coaching license in January. So in January 2011 she gave my first schedule. Remembering that makes me laugh because the schedule I had then is NOTHING like the schedule I have now! When I started I just wanted to get to a 5k, that was my goal. On March 12, 2011 I ran my very first 5k with my coach Lesley, Emily, Caleb and my friend's daughter Macey... well, Macey blew us all out of the water so I can't really say she ran "with" us. LOL!!
After that of course I wanted MORE!!!! So I started training for a 10k. On May 1, 2011 I ran my very first 10k with my good friends Heather and Jennifer.
On September 25, 2011 I ran my very first Half Marathon. Crazy since I figured 5k would be the most I would ever do!!! I was going to run a Full Marathon that December, but I think I got nervous and scared and was looking at all the hours of training I was going to need to put in and decided I needed more time. It was a big commitment and I had four kids whose needs came first. Being a mom always trumps anything else! So we decided that in April of 2012 I would run my very first Marathon. My friend Holly and I trained our long runs together every Monday. I can't lie and say training was awesome and was a breeze.... the company was great but training was MISERABLE!!!!!!!! But...... we did it!!! On April 15, 2012 I ran my VERY first FULL Marathon. Everyone always asks me how many miles is that exactly and I love the looks on thier faces when I say "26.2" Love the "you ran THAT many miles, all in one day?" You bet I did! I will post that story later because it needs a post all by itself. That was one day in my life that I will never ever forget!
Since I started running I have ran 3 5k races, 3 10k races, 9 half marathons, and 1 marathon! By the end of 2012 I will have THREE Marathons under my belt!!!!!!! With running along with eating healthy I have lost most of the weight that I wanted to and have done very well at maintaining it! But my love for running is much deeper that losing weight and maintaining it. It's something I enjoy doing and don't see myself stopping anytime soon. My hope is that I inspire my kids and others to go after the things they want in life. Before running, I was just a mom and a wife. I didn't really have a hobby or anything. Now I do, this is me and this is what you get! I am a wife and mom first and foremost and then I'm me and I love to run!
