How I Learned to Love Running

Growing up running was never my thing.  I played tennis and swam all my life but could barely run a mile around the track.  For tennis we were forced to run a mile every day before practice and this just about killed me.  I can remember watching my sister who is ten years older than me run cross country races throughout high school and college. I thought she was out of her mind.  I didnt start running until my junior year of college. My roommate Leah was a runner and she made it sound appealing enough.

(My roommate for 3 years Leah)

 I started out very very slow.  I could barely run for 10 minutes straight and every time I ran my stomach would have a horrible reaction to it and I would be stuck in the bathroom the rest of the night. Because of this I never really got addicted to running in college.  When I graduated I was searching for some sort of hobby to keep me occupied and help me forget that all my best friends were miles and miles away from me.  I joined a gym and signe up for my first 5k.  Once I ran the 5k race I was hooked.

(my first 5k in Wilmington. finished in 29.11)

I started runninng longer distances and I succeeded in getting Matt hooked as well.  Since then we have done a handfull of 5k's. 

(NunRun in September. Finished in 26.24 my Personal Best!)

 We also joined the Pike Creek Running Club and run with the group once a week.  We recently signed up for our first 10k at the end of November.  Right now I'm at about a 9:30 pace and finished my last 10k practice in under an hour. Matt can kick my butt with an 8 minute pace, but it's still nice to have someone there to motivate me to go.  I'm hoping to eventually run a half marathon, but until then I'm just enjoying the challenge and the health benefits of it.  The best thing in the world is a long run after a rough day at work!

I just finished a 4 mile run and tomorrow is my rest day.  :)