In October, I was daunted by the idea of even running for 60 seconds. It was difficult. And just a few months later, I ran my first 10k.
That's right, on January 24th, one day after my 29th birthday, I ran my first 10k. My time was 01:13 - way faster than I thought I'd run, because I hadn't trained for that distance AT ALL.
I decided the day before the race (my 29th birthday) to register. My husband was running, and so I'd be there anyway - why not also run? I hadn't run any more than 3 miles at that point, but I thought I'd give it a shot and see how it went. My plan was to walk if needed, and just finish the race.
So, imagine my surprise (and elation) when I was able to run the entire distance! I didn't take any walking breaks. I was so pumped, so that I decided that same day to begin training for a half marathon.
And so, imagine my disappointment when I injured myself during my first run after completing the 10k, which was just 2 days after the race.
That's right, while I don't regret running the 10k, the lack of training caused me to develop an overuse injury - Achilles tendinitis. It was painful, and I limped for several days. In the 3ish weeks since the race, I have only ran a handful of times.
But - not to worry! My plans of running a half have not been derailed. Instead of training for half marathon on April 23rd, as originally planned, I am now training for a half that is on May 14th. That means that I don't technically begin my training until Monday, which gives me more time to prepare.
Back in October, I could have never imagined that running would take me on this journey, teaching me so many valuable lessons in just a few months. I've learned about hard work, preparation, and persistence.
In short, running is awesome and has done a lot more than just increase my physical fitness.
