How did you start running?

Last night I thought about this question, when on earth did I start running? Running has seemed to be in my life for a long time now and it has always been my go to exercise. But why?

Well, let's see. When I was in grade school my parents signed me up for summer track. I don't honestly know whose idea it was for me to run track, it could have been mine, my dad's, or my Mom's. But let's be real here I am sure my dad said "hey Jessica there is a summer track team that you could run on and I think it is a good idea." and I jumped right on it. I was (and still am) a daddy's girl. So whatever my dad said I did, until I became a teenager and even then I HATED to disappoint him.

So I ran track in grade school and I don't honestly remember liking it, but I don't remember hating it either. What I do remember is loving the track meets. If I am anything, I am competitive. So I naturally loved the track meets. Was I any good? Not that I remember. It wasn't the sport that I stood out in. Yeah I was pretty good on a basketball court, volleyball court, and on a softball field. The track field isn't where I stood out. I was pretty average.

Then middle school track came and I enrolled in that. I ran all through my 7th grade year (it was the only sport you could participate that wasn't inter mural, track was the real deal). So what area did I sign up, long distance. What on earth was I freaking thinking?!?! I ran the 800 most of the time (half a mile). Once again I don't remember loving it, what I loved was the social aspect of it. Back in the day I could run and talk. I BARELY do that today.

8th I went out for track again and this time half way through the season I quit. I was bored and even the competitive track meets couldn't keep me interested through the practices, plus I wasn't blowing the doors off of any of my competitors. Once again I was pretty average.

So that was the end of my track career. I did try out for cross country and I quit the first day. Ugh, I could barely finish the course on the first day and I sucked. I think I might have came in last place. Yeah, I wasn't about to look like a loser all season long. So that was my cross country career.

But I do remember in middle school calling up my friend asking her if she was interested in running over to my then boyfriend's house. UMMMM WHY DOES THIS SEEM LIKE A GOOD IDEA, I HAD A PERFECTLY GOOD BIKE! But we both ran over to his house, but I am pretty sure we had one of our parents drive us back home after hanging out at his house all afternoon.

In high school I remember running around Vet's lake. It is an over sized pond in the middle of town. I think I did this to get in shape for what ever sport I was getting ready to try out for. But what I remember about those runs is that they were hard, but I did LIKED it. I remember feeling good about myself because I could always push myself a little harder and end up running further than I thought I could. This is something I still enjoy today.

I remember running across this bridge with Jed when we were training for soccer try outs.

Then in college I was excited to find out our dorm had a treadmill. So I would randomly run a mile here and there. And then in the spring I would drag some of my friends to go run with me outside. It would usually end up being a long walk. But I never really pushed myself to see how far I could run or how fast I could run. I would seriously just wake up one day and say, well today seems like a good day to run. Or I would get bored and basically get dressed and go run and then come back to the room and call it good.

When I moved to Salina I found myself really lonely and bored, so once again I would put my running shoes on from time to time and go for a run. Eventually I joined a gym and started to run on a treadmill. It was about this time that I started to think about a half marathon. Yeah, skip the 5k & 10ks, I wanted my first race to be a half marathon. Okay I also had just set a date for our wedding and really wanted to lose some weight. So I started this program Hal Higdon Training Programs. You have to be able to run 3 miles and I don't remember that being a problem. I got up to running 6 miles and then I got sick and had a horrible cough. Also I had already bought a dress shortly after I started training and then when I went back to try it on, it was getting too big! Eeeeekkkk. I was excited about that, but I didn't want to lose anymore weight because I didn't want to pay to get it altered. So I stopped. And to this day, I wish I hadn't.

WEEK	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
1	Stretch & strengthen	3 m run	2 m run or cross	3 m run + strength	Rest	30 min cross	4 m run
2	Stretch & strengthen	3 m run	2 m run or cross	3 m run + strength	Rest	30 min cross	4 m run
3	Stretch & strengthen	3.5 m run	2 m run or cross	3.5 m run + strength	Rest	40 min cross	5 m run
4	Stretch & strengthen	3.5 m run	2 m run or cross	3.5 m run + strength	Rest	40 min cross	5 m run
5	Stretch & strengthen	4 m run	2 m run or cross	4 m run + strength	Rest	40 min cross	6 m run
6	Stretch & strengthen	4 m run	2 m run or cross	4 m run + strength	Rest or easy run	Rest	5-K Race
7	Stretch & strengthen	4.5 m run	3 m run or cross	4.5 m run + strength	Rest	50 min cross	7 m run
8	Stretch & strengthen	4.5 m run	3 m run or cross	4.4 m run + strength	Rest	50 min cross	8 m run
9	Stretch & strengthen	5 m run	3 m run or cross	5 m run + strength	Rest or easy run	Rest	10-K Race
10	Stretch & strengthen	5 m run	3 m run or cross	5 m run + strength	Rest	60 min cross	9 m run
11	Stretch & strengthen	5 m run	3 m run or cross	5 m run + strength	Rest	60 min cross	10 m run
12	Stretch & strengthen	4 m run	3 m run or cross	2 m run	Rest	Rest	Half Marathon

This is what I will be doing for the next three months!!!!!

So see, running has been in my life for a really long time. It shouldn't surprise me that I have committed to running a half marathon, but it still does. I still have regrets from quitting before. I really want to make it this time, but this time I am going to do things a little different. I want to do most of my training outside and not on a treadmill. Also I am going to still lift weights, my weight training is what has kept me going this whole time. If it wasn't for lifting weights I couldn't run 3 miles after weeks of non running. And I am going to go back to good ole Hal's training. It was working great before I quit and I know a lot of people who use that program. The race I am interested in running is on November 24. This gives me a little more than 3 months to train which is perfect. It is also 6 days before my birthday, what a great way to end my year. Here is the link to the race Half Marathon | The Williams Route 66 Marathon. If anyone is interested in running with me please let me know.

How did you start running? If you aren't a runner, what is your go to exercise?

 

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