When did you decide to become a Runner?
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I've been overweight since I was 9, and I've never been interested in exercise. For years I yoyo dieted, then decided that I didn't care about my weight at all! I'd also had random bursts at random fad diets, and occassional spurts at gyms. However, 3 kids, full time shift work, and 1 income soon ate up most of my time and money.
One evening (last january- 1 year ago) me and my hubby had a bit of an argument, and he told me to get some air (but more expletives were used). I was so angry I decided to try and get rid of some of that extra energy by running to the next lamp post. and that's when I became a runner- at least that's when I became determined that I was going to become a runner. My first goal was to run 1km without stopping! And my distance goals have carried on increasing since then.0 -
Truth is I never had that epiphany. It just happened. Sorry if this bursts the concept's bubble. However, I've had plenty of other exercise related epiphanies:
August 2006: I'd been trying on/off for years, and always failed, to get my healthy weight loss act together. This time would be different (as opposed to the countless others). I bought a used treadmill, a copy of "Fitness Walking for Dummies", and I just went for it. Treadmill walked every flipping day, while I reformed my diet. That was almost 6 years, 65 pounds, and endless races ago.
Sometime in late 2006, early 2007: My walks got fast enough that I converted them to running. It was tough at first, but it felt like a natural progression.
September 2007: In an effort to put my new exercising regimen (and weight loss) to the test, I ran/walked my first marathon. Decided I could confidently cross marathons off my bucket list.
October 2007: On a whim, raced my first triathlon. A sprint. I heard you needed to get back in the swing of things after a race to avoid physical and mental collapse, so voila. I biked and swam once or twice before, just to get the hang of things (Crashed the bike, and ended up in the emergency room 8 days out. NUTS! The ER Dr said I probably shouldn't race, which of course meant I HAD to. And thus a baaaaaaaaad habit was born). Raced, got home, and I swear I knew from that day forward I knew I was going to do triathlon till I died.
I still run half marathons or less. LOVE trail races. But, truthfully, my favorite half maries come after swimming and biking for a few hours.0 -
HMMM - I had wanted to run for a number of years, but always seemed to have something happen (foot injury, twisted ankle, illness, etc) that made me quit a training routine after a few weeks or a month in. Last year, joined a weight loss competition at work and started working towards running in March - a coworker and I started a goal of running out first half in early September. Now, when I shared that goal at home, my husband make a comment about how crazy that idea was and that it would never happen... So I had to prove him wrong. Over the spring I walked 2 halves and did run the half the first weekend in September, in spite of a very hot summer and 90 degree temps by the time we finished. my sister, who has run for many years, also ran that race to help encourage us to the end. After that finish, I was hooked!0
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15 years ago I quit smoking and got fat. Got a treadmill, started walking, walking turned into jogging...then my sister signed us up for a 5 k.....and the rest as they say is History.0
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When I quit smoking and had kids. I was an athlete in highschool and wanted to be back to that healthy status again, so I started running.0
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I ran high school track, although not very seriously.
It was not until 5 years ago that I decided to train for a triathlon to get into shape. I enjoyed the running part so much because it was something that I could measure and feel accomplished about. It stuck!0 -
I had moment where I said to myself I could do this. I could be a runner. I was looking for some different cardio things to do other than the dvds I was doing at home. We recently moved near a park. I was like there are some nice trails there I bet I could for a little jog. I amazed myself that I could run a mile without stopping and then I decided I wanted to train for a 5k and the rest is history.0
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The first time was Middle School I beat everyone in PE so I joined Cross Country. I was hooked through high school. After high school I got lazy and then eventually settled down and had 2 kiddos. I have always missed the thrill of a race and have often even dreamed of it although I was not actively running. I have been running off and on the last two years. Now I am only 2 months into running again (nearly every day) and it has really helped me in a positive way in every aspect of my life. I only hope to bring down my time and get fit in the process and not have a break and have to start all over again!0
