Hooked on Running, works for me!

How I got hooked on running. Well, let’s see…

The company I work for sponsors several charitable events, such as biking races and running races, throughout the year. I was completely oblivious to any of these kinds of events before moving here. I always knew my mom and sister did the Race for the Cure in Salt Lake, but I never knew what it was all about and had never done it with them. When my company sent out the email inviting employees to enter the annual RedBud and OKC Memorial race, I thought nothing of it. That is, until my friend Michelle suggested we do it together. It was no cost to me, so I figured, what the hell.

I had this vision in my head that by the time I did both races, I’d finish thinner than I ever imagined. Yeah, it doesn’t work quite like that. In fact, not only did I not lose any weight, I ended up gaining weight due to my “I can eat whatever I want now, I’ll work it off” attitude: but that’s another story.

RedBud race day finally arrived, and it turned out to be a lot harder than I expected. I think I made it half a block before having to stop and catch my breath. I walked most of that race, but I finished, and I even got a medal (everybody got one, so I kinda felt like I was in the Special Olympics, but a medal’s a medal). My time was 43:03. Now, at the time, I had no clue how long 5k was, and the fact that the word “Marathon” was used in the OKC Memorial title meant that it was long! I honestly thought I had run a marathon! I was so proud of myself! Then I realized how short a distance that really is and what a horribly slow time that was.

Anyone who knows me, knows what a competitive nature I have. The OKC Marathon was coming up a few weeks later, and I was determined to beat my RedBud time. I did. By about a minute. At this point, it was on. I started looking for different races to sign up for and run in. Michelle and I were each others’ motivation and we tried to push each other, but it wasn’t till after my 3^rd race that I realized that I didn’t have to wait for her anymore. We still run every race together, but now I leave her in the dust right out of the gate and we meet up at the finish line.

Since then, I’ve run in 8 sanctioned 5k races. In fact, the only way I can keep track of how many races I’ve run is to count the shirts I received for running each one. My time gets faster with each race I run. My best time to date is 32:30 and I’ve managed to build my endurance so that I don’t have to stop and catch my breath anymore. I can run a 5k continuously without stopping. What a great feeling that is! It feels so good in fact, that I do it 2-3 times a week now before work.

That's pretty much how I got hooked, and to answer the question Wendi asked, "If I never lose a pound running, would I continue?" I say absolutely! Every day I challenge myself to be better than the day before. Sometimes this makes me my own worst enemy, but for the most part, it makes me my best competitor.