running
The goal:
30 Day Running Challenge: Day 5
What’s your favorite distance to run or race and why?
My favorite distance to run is 10 miles + because I feel like my best runs have been at 10 miles, and anything over 9 always sounds so bad ass to me (even though I frequently struggle through 5 or 6 depending on the day).
My favorite distance to race is 26.2 because to me it is just such an awesome challenge. I always meet so many different sides of myself while running that far. I start off strong, and then at some point, I have to meet and conquer the weakest, most insecure parts of myself. And it is great every time I do.
30 Day Running Challenge: Day 4
Tell us about your first race or when you plan to start!
My first race was a Susan G. Komen 5k in downtown Lansing, and I personally believe there is no better place to start racing than an event like this. I have been doing this race for 8 years now, and it is such an amazing experience.
An event like Susan G. Komen is so welcoming to a new or inexperienced runner. The whole point is to be there, supporting a cause, rejoicing with survivors, celebrating the lives of those who have been lost, and to champion the hope for a cure, and the run is just an added bonus. But it is just a very friendly, supportive place to run I feel.
I didn’t realize this until I went out to my first non-charity run, which was a 10k. I felt so out of my element and so intimidated. The runners were there to RUN, get PR’s, crush previous times, and beat out as many people as they could. I ended up running a great race that day, but it was just a different feel than I had been used to. ( I must note that I do feel much more comfortable at all races now that I have a few under my belt).
But, there will still be nothing like that feeling of your first race, and it was just extra sweet for me that I was running for a cause 🙂
30 Day Running Challenge: Day 3
What ultimate running goal would you like to accomplish?
This is one thing that I love about running, the fact that my goals are forever changing. I never thought completing a marathon would be one of my goals, or to do a triathlon, but alas they were/are.
So, at this point, my next goal would be to shave some serious time off of my marathon and half marathon time (under 5 hours and under 2 hours, respectfully).
My ultimate might be to one day complete an ultra-marathon… that would be AWESOME.
30 Day Running Challenge: Day 2
Why did you continue to run?
At some point, I feel like you can’t really stop. Each run became a chance to be better than I had been on my last run. A bad day could easily be washed away with a good run (unfortunately, a bad day could be worsened by a bad run, but let’s focus on the positive).
I guess I continue running because I worked so hard to become a runner, and nothing can beat that feeling of accomplishment after a great run 🙂
30 Day Running Challenge: Day 1
When did you start running and why?
I started running officially the summer after my sophomore year of college when I was 19, about to turn 20 (2004).
I have always been very active and thrived on playing sports in high school, but adjusting to college life when I had no organized sports to keep me moving really shook up my lifestyle. I would rollerblade and go to the gym with my roommate, but it just wasn’t the same.
I somehow missed out on the freshman 15, but was hit by the sophomore 25. I saw a picture of myself at a party with a friend and could not believe what I saw! How could this be me? I’m an athlete! Alas, I was an athlete with no athletic activity.
That May, I moved into my first apartment as a sub-leaser, and as luck may have it, my new roommate was a dietetics major who was an avid runner. She ran 6 miles every day without fail and was running a marathon at the end of that summer.
For me, it was easy to pick up an active lifestyle while living with someone like that. I went out and moved every day for at least a half hour. Rollerblading, riding my bike, walking around campus, it just became a part of my daily life, and the weight started to roll off.
I loved running when I was in elementary school. I was one of the best runners in my class, but somewhere in middle school I started to HATE running, and that mindset had stuck with me. But in my mind, the fittest people were always runners. It represented discipline and determination, so one day, I went for a run. I only made it about 3 blocks (this was right before I realized I had severe asthma). But the next day, I made myself go 4 blocks. Soon, I was running for 5 minutes, then 7, then 10, and before I knew it, I was doing 2 miles without thinking about it.
I still remember the day I ran 4 miles for the first time, and the time I ran for an hour straight for the first time, my first double digit mileage run. I was suddenly a runner. A day didn’t feel successful unless I ran.
I realized that I was completely in love and addicted.
Healthy Buddha: 30 Day Running Challenge!
Borrowed from an amazing blog that I follow here on tumblr, the 30 Day Running Challenge!!!
- When did you start running and why?
- Why did you continue to run?
- What ultimate running goal would you like to accomplish?
- Tell us about your first race or when you plan to start!
- What’s your favorite distance to run or race and why?
- To you, what’s the hardest thing about running?
- Who…
Not having the best of weeks…
I don’t know how else to put it other than I am struggling. My weight doesn’t seem to want to budge (in fact, it has crept up a few pounds), and it is just deflating.
I pulled up my official race photos from my last half-marathon and was almost instantly brought to tears. I hated what I saw. It was one of those moments when I felt embarrassed to be me, to be walking around looking like this every day.
I get mad at that, and then I get even more mad because I just don’t get it. I understand that everyone is different, everyone is built different, and we all gain and lose weight differently, but I try SO HARD. I lead an active, healthy lifestyle, and it seems that even maintaining my current slightly over-weight figure is hard. Losing seems IMPOSSIBLE!
On Saturday alone, I took a group coaching class at the gym (a.k.a. a total ass kicker), rode my bike and then swam laps. This was after more bike riding and a killer strength training session on Friday.
I run a very fine line between keeping a healthy mind-set about it and sliding into a very negative and unhealthy mind-set. At the end of the day, I will always do right by my body and not jeopardize or compromise my health, but it is a struggle to keep my head up about it.
On today’s agenda, I have a bike ride, a run, and a strength training session at the gym. The workouts will help make me feel better. And next week, I will be at my cottage all week where I can run, bike ride, and swim to my hearts content. It is such a relaxing place where I can refocus and get some positive energy flowing again.
One thing that I struggle with in regards to this whole thing is that I am in the bestconditionof my life but not in the bestshapeof my life.
So, today I will try and focus on the fact that I am healthy, I am strong, and hopefully soon the rest will fall into place.
Adventures of S 