How it all began...

So here goes, my first post....

Back in January, my roommate and I decided to start running. I'm not 100% sure why other than wanting to get into shape, but nevertheless we began with a half a mile around the track. Let me tell you, that was the longest half mile! I was out of breath when I finished. I realized that I had to change that! One day I would like a job with a government agency, and I know they are going to require me to run, so I wanted to be able to!

Truth be told, I always hated running, but I envied those people that did it. I was jealous of their passion, strength, willpower and that "runner's high" they would talk about. So once my roommate and I started, I was determined to love running!

Every week we added a quarter of a mile (2 laps on the track at the gym). By the time we made it to a mile and a half I was so proud of myself that I was talking about it at work. One of my co-workers, Joe, challenged us to run a 5K on March 31st. When I filled out that registration form it was like I felt a rush of excitement. I was suddenly more motivated. I am a very competitive person, so having him challenge me just made me work harder. I was going to prove that I could do it!

We trained by running around the track at the gym. My goal was to finish the race without stopping. Eventually the race came. Rather than getting a good nights sleep, I went out with some friends to a party, had a bit to drink (not too much, I was still well hydrated), and only got about 2 hours of sleep. I'm sure the only reason I was able to accomplish my goal and finish without stopping was because it was my first race and I was so psyched. (Of course I'm not going to make that pre-race night mistake again!) I ended up finishing in 30:38.3!!!! Not under 30 minutes like I had secretly hoped, but hey... I was yawning while running. After the race, I was so pumped-up! It really motivated me to want to keep running! My only regret was not having a camera that first race. But man, getting that first 5K shirt was GREAT! At this point I decided I wanted to train and run a 10K! We made a goal to run 6.2 miles by July 1st. We went to RunnersWorld.com and printed a training schedule and the closest date for a race was August 4th, so we signed up for it! (We still wanted to run 6.2 miles by July 1st though!)

The second 5K occurred on April 21st on campus. We found out about it the day before from the campus e-mail. This time I was pumped and ready to beat my previous score, and I did! 29:33.14!!! I even made it under 30 minutes! A week before our 3rd 5K (which was on May 26th), we got sick of counting all the laps around the track and decided to try the treadmill. We both thought that running on the treadmill seemed more difficult, probably because we had to keep a constant pace. We decided to stick with that for the week leading up to the 5K.

That same week we also discovered spinning!!!! WOW!!! I absolutely love spinning!!! I have never had such a work-out in my life! I never knew I could sweat that much! No no, not glisten, I'm talking about SWEAT! My legs got such a work-out! And the CARDIO! WOW! Of course we were addicted and went 6 days straight! I think that it actually helped with my 5K! Not only did my legs feel stronger already, but I could tell a difference in my endurance! I finished my 3rd 5K in 28:35.4!!!! I improved by almost a minute!!!

Now we are doing spinning 5-6 days a week and running 3 days a week, according to the RunnersWorld training schedule. This past Monday I ran my longest distance... 6.2 miles! That's right! I completed my goal already!!!! The running schedule said we were supposed to run 6 miles on Monday, but what's 0.2 miles more... It's so funny, because I compete with myself. When the schedule says run 3 miles, I have to add that extra 0.1 miles to make it a full 5K.

Well, I have much more to say, but I have to get ready to head to the gym for spinning. You have to get their early if you want a bike. LOL