To understand how far I've progressed in my running, is to know where I've been.
I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio with two younger brothers. Most of the time, my family did not own a car. So, we walked or ran everywhere we went including back and forth to school. It was our normal. We literally walked everywhere we went.
I remember when running became something special to me when I was about 7 years old in 2nd grade. We had a100 yd dash and other running challenges in PE. I was not first, but I did quite well beating nearly all the boys in my class and that's all it took! I found something that only I could do and it was awesome. It set me apart somehow and it became "my thing". All throughout school, I LOVED the competition of running against my classmates.
I moved to GA in 1985, when I was 14. I still ran periodically but walked a lot still. We had a 4 week session in PE where all we did was run on the track. I spent the entire time running by myself. It was just for me, and I loved it. I remember passing 3 girls walking and they were talking about me, but I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they sure did jump a mile when I passed them! They were embarassed probably because we were friends, but I didn't care what they said. I ran for me. I'm sure they thought I was a show off or something, but really I wasn't and never have been really. I am just a girl who loves to run.
In my last 2 years of high school I joined the track team and then in my senior year was on the first cross-country team for my high school. I really enjoyed the competition. I am highly competitive. Always have been and hope I always will be, even if it's just with myself. Which 99% of the time it is! In track, I was the 2nd best long distance female on my team. This was good for me to NOT be the best because it made me work harder, and I did my best. Running in a competitive environment taught me early on that there is always someone faster.
I grew tired of running on a track after 2 years and became "spoiled" by cross country running. I loved it. This is where I needed to be... out in the open. I'm not a hamster in a cage! Running in circles seems pointless although it's good speed training and you will sometimes find me on the track still...but it is not my love. I love being able to run free.
I ran periodically through my 20's. I was really burned out from "track" and competitive training, but I also became very busy with my life. I met my husband, finished college, and started my career as a nurse. Worked alot, travelled alot, and had a great time with Lee in my 20's. I joined the local aerobics class and later a gym.
In my 30's, we settled down to have 2 children...Mitchell and Megan. I planned my workouts around my family life to stay in shape. I was basically a gym rat for about 13 years.
In 2006, two years after my daughter was born, I still had some unwanted weight despite my workouts. I had 30 minutes to kill at the gym after I dropped Mitchell off at school before my group fitness class started. So, I decided to start running, yet again, on the treadmill before class started. It was hard to start over again. IT was VERY hard. Even though, I was in good physical condition, I was not in running condition. That is a different beast. But, I stuck with it. I trained really hard for 6-8 weeks before a local 5k race. It had been years since I had actually raced. So, now I had a goal that I was excited about. I did some outside runs, but quite honestly at the time I hated HILLS. Don't laugh. I ran a lot of intervals on the treadmill, I did some hill intervals on the treadmill. Before I knew it, my 30 minute struggle on the treadmill turned into 4 speedy miles. I would nail 4 miles then go workout for an hour. I was a treadmill machine!
Gold Rush 5k 2006. It's freezing cold outside, and I'm in shorts. The first mile was uphill. I hate HILLS. However, I finished in 25:34 and won first in my age group. I was 35 years old. I was in complete shock that I won my age group. I was so sore after this run that I could barely move for 4 days! I hadn't been this sore in years. I'm sure my freezing muscles had alot to do with that. But, running outside is much harder than running on a treadmill! Running REAL hills is harder than my piddly uphill sessions on the treadmill.
Fast forward to 2009..I am still on the dreadmill with the few rare outside runs and still at the gym. Lee, the kids, and I move ten miles away to another county. I live in a much bigger subdvision with paved golf trails and roads. I see this as a huge playground. In Feb. 2010, it's time for me to renew my gym membership, but I am now working more and have less time to go to the gym. I decide to run outside and do P90x on my own. I know what to do...I just never had the self-motivation to do it before now.
I quickly learned that running in my neighborhood is hard. IT has HILLS. I hated the Hills. I said bad words for 4 months on every hill I climbed. I cussed every hill in this neighborhood. However, I continued as I was not only determined, but really re-discovered my love of running. This time around I really appreciated what running meant to me. When I was younger, I just took it for granted and then something funny happened. I began to love the hills. I was finding harder and harder hills to climb. I was slowing building my distance. Three to 4 miles was typically good for me before I started the "real" workout. I gradually got up to 5 miles. I stayed at the 5 mile mark for a good while with an occasional 7-8 mile push. July 2010, my knees began to hurt, mainly my left knee had severe tendon pain, but also both knee caps were not happy. I stopped running for 3 weeks in an effort to heal, and I backed down with my mileage for about 9 months when the pain finally started to subside. In hindsight, I should have taken more time off. It taught me to stop sooner and heal faster. So, in March 2011 I began to build again with my mileage. It was kind of like starting over again.
It was just over a year ago, when I had recovered from my knee pain. I remember my first 10k training run last Spring and my longest distance since I started to really run more. I was climbing a tough hill in the very last stretch of my run. I remember that run being so hard. I remember I felt like I could cry as it was so painful and such a struggle. I cannot ever remember crying from physical pain in my life. I'm sure I have in childhood, but I don't remember crying as an adult from pain. Although, I have cried from sheer exhaustion.
One morning in May 2011, I went for a 5 mile run and came home to meet Lee as we planned to ride 30 miles on our bikes. In mile 11, my chain popped while down shifting and I couldn't release my feet quick enough from the straps to plant them on the ground. I fell and broke my elbow. That was by far the worst painful injury I ever had. So, I did what any good runner would do...I took a 4-5 day break and ran. I could barely use my left hand and arm, so I just ran harder, faster, and longer. I couldn't lift weights or do much of anything else. I tried one handed pushups...trust me that was not pretty! So, I ran all last summer and really that became my focus.
Last summer, I ran in several 5k's. I placed or won my age group in nearly every single race. I ran my first 10k and won my age group in that race. The only good thing about turning 40 last year was that I now qualified for the Master's award! I was breaking my own records and was now faster in longer distance than I was in high school. My one mile time was only 30 seconds slower than my high school track time. I am not really impressed all that much except I never thought I'd actually get better with age. Now, I know that I am really NOT that fast. I just run a lot more than most women my age and probably more than the average gal in general. But, I also know how to compete. On race day, it was game on, or at least, that's how I felt at the time.
My whole point in sharing this lengthy and probably boring story is that my entire running life focus has been on running hard and fast. I ran like a demon in heat everytime I went outside. Running outside made me a better runner. I liked the shorter distances of 3-6 miles where I could go out and kill it in an almost all out sprint. But, after doing several races which were all different and fun, I realized something. The only real challenge was just running against myself. I discovered that I didn't have much competition in local North GA races or much of a challenge. I wanted to run with serious runners and enter more serious competitions. But, I just didn't know how to find them. I also was wanting to get off the road and pavement.
This was all about to change, but I just didn't know it....yet...!
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