How much do you run?
In my most recent marathon training, 35 - 40 miles week. Once I've recovered from Marine Corps, I'm hoping to move closer to 50 miles a week.
In my most recent marathon training, 35 - 40 miles week. Once I've recovered from Marine Corps, I'm hoping to move closer to 50 miles a week.
How long have you been a runner?
Since the summer of 2009.
Since the summer of 2009.
How did you start running?
I joined Weight Watchers, thanks to a good friend's encouragement, in my late-20s. That summer they had a 5k challenge that got me started. The goal was to run an August race. We picked a really fun one that went over the Brooklyn Bridge and back again. It was pouring rain that day and I had a blast!
We had a coach who showed me that running is not just running as fast and far as you can in order to loose weight. She showed me that there is a structure to it.
Having a race gave me a purpose. I knew I needed to exercise in order to feel better about my body but that didn't motivate me from the same place. That difference makes exercise fun.
I joined Weight Watchers, thanks to a good friend's encouragement, in my late-20s. That summer they had a 5k challenge that got me started. The goal was to run an August race. We picked a really fun one that went over the Brooklyn Bridge and back again. It was pouring rain that day and I had a blast!
We had a coach who showed me that running is not just running as fast and far as you can in order to loose weight. She showed me that there is a structure to it.
Having a race gave me a purpose. I knew I needed to exercise in order to feel better about my body but that didn't motivate me from the same place. That difference makes exercise fun.
Best running experience
What brings me out to go for a run is that I get to call the shots in my own training. That feeling propels my training. So much of life is about doing what other people want you to do. I am the one who decided to start down this path. I am the one who started running. I am the one who decided to run a marathon and did the work it took to complete it. Running is something that I do for myself so the pride taken in my running accomplishments has a special place.
Unexpected benefit of running
I have to say it is the friendships I have made as well those I have deepened. There is something to be said about the way a friendship is accelerated on the run. When you go out for a two to three our run with someone you don't know well, you come back with a newfound knowledge of their entire life, hopes and dreams. That is a pretty cool thing.
Running-induced crazy story
I would definitely say the decision to run marathons. I was pretty out of shape growing up. I had good genes but was never rail thin like the 'popular' girls. I 'danced' as part of various musical theatre productions (I wasn't coordinated at all) and rode horses, but I didn't play any sports. So, to now, be training for my third marathon 16 years later, feels pretty crazy. I can guarantee if you had asked 17 year old me if I would ever run anything, let alone a marathon, I would have laughed in your face.
Advice for new runners
Talk with other people who also started running later in life. They have been there and understand the process in a different way. People who ran high school track, or even just played sports and had to run as part of their conditioning training, don't approach the process in the same way.
Check out her blog. http://www.therunningcookie.com/
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