During the move, I took a brief hiatus from running. The former me would have LOVED this break…but the more hyperactive me was dying a little inside to not be pounding the pavement! See, I ran on hotel treadmills during the actual transition phase, when we were staying at a hotel in Orlando our last few nights, then hit the gym at the Marriott once we arrived in Virginia, but after that, the weather took a terrible turn for the worse (read: sheets of cold, incessant rain) and I had no access to a gym. This pattern went on for about a week, until the sun came back out and I had familiarized myself a bit with the neighborhood enough to get back out there!
Fueled by pure adrenaline, I strapped on my bikilas and busted out a 5K run on Wednesday – according to my Nike app, I clocked my fastest training mile, at 7:57. I followed that run with a 3-miler Thursday, then headed to yoga on Friday night, to balance out the muscles and what not…since I was feeling pretty good this week, on a whim, I registered for my first 10K race and ran that this morning, finishing in 49 minutes! I have to admit, I was super stunned to see that time as I rounded out the course and saw that flashing across the screen, since my only goals were:
- To run the entire thing
- To finish in an hour
So hooooray! What a great feeling! This race solidified my focus in running the Walt Disney World Half Marathon in January – super stoked – which lines me up for my other goal, of running the Disneyland Half in September. If I can complete both, then I will be able to earn the Coast-to-Coast Challenger Medal!
Wow!!
This running journey has really taught me that if you put your mind to something, you definitely can reach it. Just a few months ago, I was panting and wheezing just after running for 3-4 minutes – and now…well, I enjoy setting more endurance goals and I am loving my Nike app, vibram shoes, kicking booty and taking names! 
Ryan & I are doing the coast to coast next year too. We won’t be running the entire thing, as we take walking breaks, but we will see you at both!
Hooray! THat’s great =D
Way to go!!!! WOW!!! I am really inspired by you and how great you are doing. You should post some full body pics of yourself and you new runners bod!!!
[...] my5k, 8k, 10k, 10-miler AND first [...]
[...] WAS RUNNING A MARATHON. Me, the person who found it to be a huge achievement just a year ago running a 10K. It all caught up to me and that fueled me through the first few [...]