December 31, 2011
Well I am of course, a little late in writing my introduction. I am not much of a writer, but I would love to share a little about myself.
I am 31 years old and I have never felt so alive for many reasons. I have been married for 9 years to my soul mate and best friend, John. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband. Our relationship has evolved into such a splendid thing, especially if I look back to where we started.
I have been a 2nd grade teacher for five years now. We are planning on trying to get pregnant soon, so I am not sure how that will change things, but we will see. I love to spend time with friends and family, dance, run, read, watch movies, and learn new things!!!
I never thought of myself as a runner. I was not athletic growing up and I was never involved in any sports. I was always too self-conscious and shy to do anything like that. I always wanted to “work out” to stay fit, so I started working out when I was a teenager and young adult. My work out regiment included a lot of indoor elliptical machines, stair steppers, and weights. Then, I met Courtney and we joined a gym together. We started to take group exercise classes like spin class, yoga, abs, and weight lifting classes. We did this on and off for years. Then, January 2011, I overheard Abbie and Courtney talking about how they were running. Within seconds, I was in!!! I wanted to run so bad, I could taste it. I have never been a runner. I always hated running, so I am not sure what came over me, but Abbie and Courtney inspired me!!! J So, on January 30, 2011, I started running (which was 10 days after Abb and Court started running).
I still remember how we started out. We could barely run a ¼ mile. We would wake up super early and meet at 5:45 a.m. to run at a local park that marks each ¼ mile. We would call out different things to run to: “Ok, run to the 2nd light pole!” “Ok, now run to that bench” and then we would walk. Then after a few days or week or so, we decided to run a whole ½ mile. Wow!!! I vividly remember running it. Now picture this, the sidewalk is marked with every ¼ mile. So, we are running along in the early morning and it is really cold. We pass the ¼ mile and it wasn’t so bad. Then, we keep on running and it is starting to get really hard for me to keep going, but I press on. I know the mark for a ½ mile is coming up, but I can’t quite remember where it is. I am so tired that I am not thinking straight. I just want to stop. Then, very dramatically I either say it or think it (I honestly can’t remember which one), I say/think “Where is the half mile mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”. Then, shortly after I said/thought that, there it was. It looked so perfect in my mind because it meant I got to stop running and walk again.
This memory is very humorous and heartfelt to me. It reminds me how far we have come and it reminds me where we started. You have to start somewhere, so whatever it is that you want to do or accomplish, go ahead and start; you might surprise yourself!!!
Courtney, Abbie, and I have run several 5k races and one 10k race now. We have grown so close through running together. I love having my running buddies and wouldn’t be running without them. We are very supportive of each other in running and in life. I have learned a lot about them and myself from this experience. We plan on training for and running many more races together. We are about to start training for our first half marathon and I am so excited!!!
That's really good,Missy!
ReplyDelete