Words of Wisdom

We're 67 days away from the Martinsville Half-Marathon, 5K & Relay and my personal goal for today was to run 1.5 miles during my lunch break. In the past two weeks I've picked up lots of great tips but the absolute best piece of advice that I can give anyone interested in running is to find a veteran runner that you can connect with. Training for a race is intimidating but hearing from others that they once had the same concerns and challenges as you is very motivating.

Today, all of the advice that I've been hearing from veteran runners really helped me out. I seemed to have a million excuses not to run. I knew I needed to run and I wanted to run but doubt can creep in telling you that your stomach doesn't feel good, you have a headache, there's more work left to be done, I might get cold, etc. 

When the time came for me to go I reminded myself of advice from Theresa, a veteran runner: "On those days when it's hard to get yourself motivated to run, try putting on your running clothes." I did and she was right. 

When I hit the streets to run, the temperature was a nice 55 degrees but the wind was harsh. The first two-tenths of a mile I was hesitant but soon got in my groove. As I approached the one-mile mark, I recalled advice from Sharon. She told me that the first mile is often the hardest part and that it get's easier as you go on. She was right. I felt great going into my second mile. I wasn't breathing as hard as I had been in past days and felt stronger. 

As I reached my goal of 1.5 miles, I felt so good that I continued running. It made me think about a silly quote that made me smile. 

"I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road, and when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County." - Forrest Gump

I ended up running 2.04 miles today on a route with 171 feet of elevation gain. My pace was a new personal best record of 9:42 per mile. I felt GREAT afterwards. All of those excuses suddenly seemed so silly and the run really gave me a great boost of energy and happiness for the rest of the afternoon. 

For everyone that thinks they can't run a half-marathon, a 5K or even a mile, I challenge you to take that first step out the door and try. Start small and set attainable goals - it will get easier. 

I'm excited to begin the YMCA's training program tomorrow and learn as many new things about running as possible. My next personal goal is to run the same 2 mile route again this week and add on another half mile. 

Keep Running! #WeCanDoThis