My Running Story

My running story:

When I started running, I weighed 185lbs, probably more on bad days. A year ago, this week, is when I started running, well- maybe not running but doing something.

I have never been a baby steps kind of person, I’m a person who wants everything done within seconds of saying it’ll happen. I’m also a very stubborn person, so when I say something will happen, it will. I decided to run a 5 mile race a year ago.

I stood in my shower sobbing one day, there was no reason other than the normal depression- I hate my life- melancholy stuff that comes with being me, but for some reason this cry fest was different. Ireally believe something snapped in me, I had cried so many times before that without any outcome, but this was different. I called my dad and told him I was running the Turkey Trot, he told me I was crazy and hung up, but that lit even more of a fire in me. I went out and walked the canal, I walked forhours, until I was burnt like a lobster and couldn’t walk anymore. Then my dad called again. He had decided to take me under his wing and get me to do a walk/run for the race. I agreed, but I knew I wasn’t going to walk any of it.

The next morning I crawled out of bed at 6 am, put on my 10 year old sneakers from high school gym and went to my dads. I thought we were gonna run out the door and not stop until we were done, I mean really- how hard can 5 miles be? Well, I was wrong, we went to the track and I could barely make it around once.

Running was harder than I thought.

I had 5 weeks to be able to run 5 miles. Every single week the mileage increased- and every single week I had a battle in my brain about whether I enjoyed running or hated it. Running is not just an easy exercise, it is a sport that takes time, and practice to become good at it. I had watched my dad run for so long, that I didn’t realize that he struggled with it at all, but the fact is that most people do when they start off.

I ended up running the full Turkey Trot- the full 5 miles. I ran slow, but I ran. The feeling after was overwhelming, I felt like I won, I beat all of the people who looked at a 185 lbs girl and laughed when I told them what I was doing. I felt like I accomplished something I never believed I would have. I don’t know if I have ever been prouder of myself.

Now, I’ve ran 2 half marathons, and a 200 mile relay race. These things are possible, for anyone, it just takes a fire being lit. The best part of running is that it never becomes easy unless you let it, there’s always something to work on, a new distance, a new speed, I am constantly working to better myself.

A lot has changed in a year, I don’t run in my 10 year old sketchers anymore, but you can bet that I haven’t thrown them out. I don’t struggle as much to wake up in the morning. I don’t dread walking up stairs, or being windehttp://thechocolatemile.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpd walking up a hill. I’ve become healthier, and fitter, and prouder of who I am.
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Product review:

For Reach The Beach, one of our amazing sponsors was Nuun, if you haven’t jumped on this band wagon yet, you should. I had tried it out before the race because I was nervous of how my stomach reacted and I liked it then, but now, I love it.

They sent each member of our team an official Nuun water bottle, and a variety of different flavors to try.

I drank a lot of the fruit punch flavor because it was delicious, but my favorite is still the Strawberry Lemonade.

When I was first hearing about Nuun, I had no idea what it was, other than people were raving about it. It’s a little tablet (not a powder like I thought), that you drop into your water and it dissolves, it has a tiny bit of fizz- but nothing to be concerned over. The best part is; it has no sugar, unlike my beloved blue Gatorade.

This weekend solidified the love of Nuun in me, and I’ll be drinking a lot more of it from now on. It really is delicious! If you haven’t tried it yet, I recommend it!

Obviously, I don’t let sponsors skew my opinion, they gave the product to our team for honest reviews, and honest I am!

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