I began running my freshman year of high school. I signed up to join the cross-country team, not really knowing what that meant, but knowing that I wanted to get involved somehow. I showed up on the first day and was a little shocked, but loved it. I could barely run a mile on that first day – by the time the season ended, I could run 2.5 miles in about 20 minutes. For me, it was a huge accomplishment!
Running cross-country was both a struggle and a huge accomplishment for me. After the season ended, I went right into basketball, and was really surprised to find I was one of the fastest people on the team. When we ran suicides, I would typically finish in the two 2-3; looking back, that was awesome, and I would kill to be back in that sort of shape now. But then, I was a 15-year-old girl and so used to thinking my body was disgusting and was so used to being the “fat girl,” that I couldn’t really understand what a good place I was in.
After my sophomore year of high school, I really stopped running and participating in sports. We’ll call this time the “dark time.” I started working at McDonald’s and gained at least 20 pounds. It was horrible.
When I left to go to UW-Madison in the fall of 2005, I really wanted to use my time in college to reinvent myself. To me, this meant to lose weight – I mean, how else does one reinvent themselves?! I would go to the gym and would run periodically, but never really focused on running consistently.
During the summer of 2009, I joined Weight Watchers with one of my best friends. In addition to beginning to eat better, I also began to go to the gym regularly. That summer, I worked up from only being able to walk around the track to running 3-4 miles daily. I was focused and had really found my running groove again.
Unfortunately, during that fall I stopped running and ended up gaining back a lot of the weight. Then, during the summer of 2011 things changed and have finally clicked for me, both food and exercise wise. As you may have read in my About Me section, I changed my eating habits. I also began exercising regularly. When it’s warm (or above freezing, at least), I enjoy running outside. I also utilized a local gym in my area, though I don’t love running on the treadmill (I’m not actually GOING anywhere). So, since 2011 I’ve begun running regularly and haven’t looked back. I’ve participated in a couple of 5Ks, and am now debating setting my sites higher and signing up for a half marathon. We’ll see!
Me, my aunt, and two friends after the Race to Wrigley 5K in 2012.
Overall, I love running because it allows me to compete with me. As someone who has struggled with self-image and confidence, it can be a huge challenge pushing to keep running when your brain and body is yelling that you can’t do it. But when I finish a run and see how far I ran, or how I maybe took a little time off my mile splits, I feel awesome and invincible. And really, is there a better feeling than that?
Racing Bananas 