Not 100lbs lost, not my first marathon...

xenu01

I know that most of the posts here are for HUGE milestones, but I wanted to post anyway. At 30 years old, I have been running regularly for 1.5 years. Only, the way I've been doing it is that I've been running intervals for the past 18 months. I've been working on cutting my walking distances shorter, and recently my husband, who I run with, pointed out that I'm running much faster these days.

And yet, I was so frustrated, because I STILL couldn't go the whole mile around! Then I saw a forum post on MFP where a member was asking for tips around running a faster mile, and it hit me. WHAM. All of that stuff that people say about wanting to run an _ minute mile means that everyone runs at their own pace!

This was world changing for me. Last week, I was able to run a whole lap by concentrating on my breathing and going quite slowly. And today! Today I ran my first continuous mile. EVER.

I've never run a mile before! Not even in PE in K-12. I would "run" a 20 minute mile via intervals. I don't think I've ever even run around the whole track before last week! But I just ran a mile.

Now, I know there are people here and everywhere to whom this is no biggie. I mean, there are people who run ten miles every single day! But to me, it's a big deal. And I just want to say that it's ok if you're taking forever, and it's ok if you're a slow runner, and it's ok if you've been repeating week 4 of a couch-to-5k app for the past four weeks. JUST DON'T GIVE UP.

brittaney0625

AWESOME!!! This is a HUGE deal. Excited for you!

xenu01

Thank you! I am so excited. A 5k doesn't seem like an impossible goal for crazy people anymore!

pollysileo

That's awesome. And it is big deal! And it's great that you've shared it with others because it might help someone else.

By the way. I've run in a few 5ks and there are always people running. A LOT of people do a lot of walking. So you don't need to wait to sign up for a 5k until you can run the full 3 miles without stopping. I've always found it motivating to have the goal of a race coming. You can do it! Good luck!!!!

Betherz82

That's fantastic! It's an awesome accomplishment and you should be proud of yourself!

Runningmischka

This is awesome! And one day you will be able to run 3 miles, or 10, or 26.2! With proper training and right set of mind you can do it! When I started running, I could run for 6 minutes only...6 minutes and I was done! If I can do it, so can you :flowerforyou:

fithealthygirl

That's a great accomplishment! Congratulations!

HM1971

Thank you. I enjoyed your post. I've always been a slow runner. I occassionally see a post on facebook that says "A mile is still a mile regardless if it's 7 minutes or 14...."

And my FAVORITE quote ever is from John Bingham "The Miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." I think of that when I run 5K or half marathons.

I will proudly go out and run my 5 miles this afternoon.....at 12:20 minutes per mile!!

NotGoddess

I understand exactly how you feel. Congratulations & keep going!

squeakyfish

Great success. Way to stick with it!

carliekitty

That's a huge accomplishment! Grats

StrongHealthyPowerful

Great job! That is a fantastic accomplishment. A mile is no small feat, no matter the speed. I think that the post about running faster may have been mine (although I’ll bet it’s a common thread). I was also never EVER a runner and when I started I was practically begging to be put out of my misery after 30 seconds of running. Haha.

It is so true that everyone runs at their own pace and faster isn’t always better, especially for us beginners. Take your time. It would be a shame to hurt yourself by trying to go too fast too soon and took yourself “out of the running” completely (pun intended). I’m trying now to ease off the speed just a bit so I can run for longer intervals, and it seems like it’s working. 

healthyfoxx

WOOHOO! That first mile certainly FEELS like a marathon. I was never able to run a mile until I did the Couch 2 5k, either. I never thought I'd be able to!

Keep going, and keep knocking over more "firsts"!!

Thomasm198

Now, I know there are people here and everywhere to whom this is no biggie. I mean, there are people who run ten miles every single day! But to me, it's a big deal. And I just want to say that it's ok if you're taking forever, and it's ok if you're a slow runner, and it's ok if you've been repeating week 4 of a couch-to-5k app for the past four weeks. JUST DON'T GIVE UP.

Running 1 mile is a big deal. The first time I ever managed to run a full mile, I was bouncing off the walls with happiness. Congratulations.

Abakan

Fantastic work, don't get hung up on speed I use length of time non stop running as my goals. Keep it up.

huntermaz

Great job, keep working at it! You can do anything you put your mind too!!

shirleywjones75

:happy: Congratulations!!! Hang in there!!

shropshirelass79

Well done, that's brilliant

christygb

That is a wonderful milestone to be celebrated!!! Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

xenu01

I came home to so many supportive comments my eyes welled up reading them! Thank you to everyone who posted here. You are all wonderful and supportive people and I wish you all the best as we do this thing together!

JoshNorris79

Wow! This is a big deal! Good job for you. i've never been able to run a mile continuously either but i am looking forward to trying. this was an inspiration.