How it all started

“I can’t do it.”

“I am not a runner.”

Those were my responses when my older sister asked me to run a half marathon with her.

To give you context, I started playing sports when I was 3, but long distance running was never my thing.

I never understood why my friends would join the cross country or track team. It made no sense to me. Why would you want to run for fun?

Meanwhile, I chose to play lacrosse and volleyball because they required less distance running and more short sprints. Let me tell you - I dreaded running the mile before tryouts. 4 laps around the track was enough for me.

...

Fast forward to college.

My freshman year was a hard transition for me. There were a lot of adjustments that needed to be made, which caused me stress and I quickly became overwhelmed.

In times of stress and frustration, I surprisingly turned to running. And when I say running, I really mean I would run at most 2, maybe 3, miles if I had it in me. It was a great way to let out all my stress, and running on campus even seemed fun because it’s so beautiful and there are so many different routes to take.

Two summers ago, I was challenged to take on something that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do.

My older sister has been a runner for years, and I mean she is always running half marathons and even full marathons, for that matter.

When she came to visit, she (somehow?) convinced me to train and prepare for my first half marathon. I think I let my competitive self say that I would, but I was so in my head to tell myself that I would never be able to cross the finish line.

“I am not a runner,” was all I could hear myself repeating over and over again.

So, being competitive and not willing to give up, I said let’s try this thing. I had no idea how I was going to do this, I didn’t even know where to start. Running 3 miles was so brutal - how in the world would I get to 13.1?

I decided I needed to start from zero; there was no other way.

I kid you not, I googled so many different plans for how to start training. I finally found one that seemed to match my “skill level”.

When I say I started from the bottom, I wasn’t kidding.

Week 1:

Monday: 4 x 5 min (break 2 min)

Tuesday: Rest day

Wednesday: 4 x 5 min (break 2 min)

Thursday: Rest day

Friday: Rest day

Saturday: 4 x 5 min (break 2 min)

Sunday: Rest day

I couldn’t believe that I was running 5 minutes at a time. It felt silly, but it truly worked.

As the weeks went by, I was running farther distances and taking fewer rest days, while shaving time off my mile.

While some days were harder than others, I needed to find something that would push me and keep me motivated for the longer distances. I quickly found that I enjoy listening to podcasts while running, which has been a game-changer.

I wanted to accomplish what I told my sister I would do.

November 25, 2018, was finally here.

I ran my first half marathon in Montpellier, France with my sister alongside me.

I had trained all fall and couldn’t believe it was really race day. I was so nervous; I didn’t believe that I would be able to do it.

That morning was a chilly one, and rain was in the forecast.

The buzzer went off and off I went.

I never thought I would be here saying that I crossed the finish line, but I had done it.

One time and only once, I said.

From that day forward, I have fallen in love with running and continue to set goals.

One year later, I had done it again. October 26, 2019.

I thought it was a one and done thing, but I began to enjoy competing with myself and beating my times. In fact, this day was an exciting one. I had convinced one of my good friends, Erin, to train for her first half and run it with me. Not only did Erin cross the finish line, but we both set new PRs.

That definitely won’t be my last half marathon, but my ultimate goal is to run a full.

I believe everyone can run - it’s a mental game.

You, too, can be a runner. Don’t let your mind tell you differently.

I started out running for someone else, but now I’m running for me.