What's your running success story?

Options
2»

Replies

  • sevsmom
    sevsmom Posts: 1,172 Member
    Options
    Leigh.....you are my Hero!!!

    :-)

    And, you already know my story.
  • LoveLaughSweatFuel
    LoveLaughSweatFuel Posts: 38 Member
    Options
    In 2008, my mother and I signed up to walk a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day. Not gonna run at all. The gun went off and well so did I. I always detested running. My knees. My breathing. The whole crappy process of it. But vowed to run it the next year. Fast forward to 2010, I talked my brother and mother into trying a half. It ended up being cancelled. What to do? My brother found the Wineglass Marathon in the town he was living. He called and said "I'm all in." OMG! My little brother can't up me. I registered for the full. From 5k to 26.2. Found a program to follow. Bought all the "stuff". It was the best and worst experience. The weather was 38 degrees and rained my frist 15 miles. I was froze, feet in pain, but gonna do something this chubby girl never thought she could. I did in 5 hrs and 38 miserable minutes. Since then I have ran another full and 4 1/2s. My last race was the Wineglass 1/2 on 10-6-13. Leading up.to this race I was injured first my hand which may sound crazy but it was crazy painful to run then I broke two toes and severly bruised my left foot 3 1/2 weeks out. Deferral was not an option. I walked/ran due to the pain. I finished. I learnt more about myself and what I need from running during being injured and that run walk than I have ever. I no longer care aboit my pace per mile, total time, or any of the other junk. My next race is the Profootball Hall of Fame Marathon on 4-27 and I vow not to wear one watch or timing device during my training. I need to run for me. I need to run for the freedom. I need to run for the joy of it. :)
  • aimiekundert
    aimiekundert Posts: 7
    Options
    This is amazing to read! I only started running in June, when I started trying to lose weight, using the 5K101 series (love it!!). Before then, I couldn't run a block, but was walking my dog for 45 mins every morning. One of my co-workers asked "why don't you just run it", and I realized that I had no real answer! So I started running. So far, I've lost 30 lbs and 4 dress sizes, and I can run a full 6 K in 30 mins (I discovered this is better than my dog), which is farther than I have ever thought I could run. Ever. I don't really have plans for any competetive marathons, but if running helps me acheive my personal goals, then a healthy me is better than any placement in a marathon :) It is great to hear all of the success stories - well done all, and keep it up!
  • pkdscript
    pkdscript Posts: 28 Member
    Options
    My story is so similar to yours it's scary. I had previously ran 3 half marathons, all awful times. I convinced myself I could do it although I knew I wasn't really ready. I ran all 3 of them, did terrible times but then in July of this year, I had had it. I was 30 pounds overweight, drank a lot of wine, felt sluggish, etc. etc. I had a neighbor who had started at a fitness studio and looked awesome. She talked me into going in and meeting the trainer. She offered small group personal training (there are 3 of us and her as the trainer) and I've been hooked ever since. Five weeks ago I ran my 4th half marathon and took 30 minutes off my time from my previous one I had done in May. I was overwhelmed and so excited!!!! The guy I have been running with kept pushing me to try a marathon and I always told him he was crazy, until one day...... I don't know what I all the sudden changed my mind but I did! I will be done w/my personal trainer at the end of the year and then we will train for the Marine Corps Marathon which is held in October of 2014. I just felt like it was something I wanted to say I have done. I know I can do it and plan to keep training and working as hard as I've been doing this past 4, almost 5 months. I have dropped 25 pounds and 2 clothes sizes. I am loving it!!
  • thenewmanda
    thenewmanda Posts: 189 Member
    Options
    Starting running July of last year just as a means to lose weight. I've had asthma my whole life and couldn't run if my life depended on it. I was 50 pounds over weight and could barely run for 30 seconds when I started. The C25K program gave me my start but by the 4th week I got bored and just ended up running with a coworker that pushed me harder than that app ever could. I suffered some pretty bad shin splints in the beginning, enough to make me want to give up. Not to mention I was SLLOOOWWW. April of 2013 I ran a 9.65 mile race that was one leg of a tri. I managed a 10:41 mm pace for the whole race. I cried at the finish line, and my mom caught an awesome moment on camera of me literally leaping at the finish line. I've run a half a dozen races this year since then. An injury kept me from running the half marathon I had trained for in September and I'm trying to rehab the injury so I can finally run my half. Running has literally changed my life in so many ways and has shown me that I'm capable of anything I put my mind to.
  • Jess830409
    Jess830409 Posts: 285 Member
    Options
    This thread is amazing and congrats to everyone who shared their stories :-)

    I was one of the ones that hated running, never appealed to me, and I would always run out of breath or get frustrated even trying to run around the block. I started really focusing on nutrition and exercise in January of this year. I knew I wanted to shed 30 lbs but never even thought about running....until I came across C25K.
    Like many others, I almost gave up within the first few weeks. It was hard and I could not even imagine running a full 8 minutes let alone a 5K.

    But after about 4 weeks the running bug got me and I haven't looked back since. It became an addicting feeling going farther, challenging myself and pushing forward. I first set a goal to finish C25K...which I did in 10 weeks. I remember coming home after my evenning run, sweaty and red faced but absolutely grinning from ear to ear. So, my next goal was to do an actual 5K race. I never thought I would even consider running in a race, in front of other people. I was extremely nervous, but the feeling of actually crossing that finish line was just overwhelming. It was also a race for Hospice - which was meaningful because of my Grandmother that had passed about 5 years back. I finished in just under 27 minutes - 6th out of 28 in my age class and 100 out of 400 runners overall.

    But I didn't want to stop there. I downloaded a 10K trainer and kept on. I can now run 60 minutes non stop....longest run is 7 miles to date and I have my first official 10K race on November 17th :-) I plan on training for a half marathon soon after and I am nervous and excited all at the same time.

    The biggest success of this all is that I am celebrating 3 years cancer free this year. At age 26 I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer...and after a bilateral mastectomy, 6 rounds of chemotherapy and 28 radiation treatments, and reconstruction surgery I NEVER in a million years thought I would be where I am. Running makes me feel alive, healthy and like I can take on the world.

    I am participating in a Breast Cancer 5K Bridge Walk/Run this weekend and I plan on running the whole thing - head held high. This race is for me...and I can't wait to celebrate completing it :-)
  • Leigh_b
    Leigh_b Posts: 552 Member
    Options
    Leigh.....you are my Hero!!!

    :-)

    And, you already know my story.

    I can't be your hero... when you are mine... you are the one I keep chasing!! I keep getting faster, but so do you :)
  • Leigh_b
    Leigh_b Posts: 552 Member
    Options
    This thread is amazing and congrats to everyone who shared their stories :-)

    I was one of the ones that hated running, never appealed to me, and I would always run out of breath or get frustrated even trying to run around the block. I started really focusing on nutrition and exercise in January of this year. I knew I wanted to shed 30 lbs but never even thought about running....until I came across C25K.
    Like many others, I almost gave up within the first few weeks. It was hard and I could not even imagine running a full 8 minutes let alone a 5K.

    But after about 4 weeks the running bug got me and I haven't looked back since. It became an addicting feeling going farther, challenging myself and pushing forward. I first set a goal to finish C25K...which I did in 10 weeks. I remember coming home after my evenning run, sweaty and red faced but absolutely grinning from ear to ear. So, my next goal was to do an actual 5K race. I never thought I would even consider running in a race, in front of other people. I was extremely nervous, but the feeling of actually crossing that finish line was just overwhelming. It was also a race for Hospice - which was meaningful because of my Grandmother that had passed about 5 years back. I finished in just under 27 minutes - 6th out of 28 in my age class and 100 out of 400 runners overall.

    But I didn't want to stop there. I downloaded a 10K trainer and kept on. I can now run 60 minutes non stop....longest run is 7 miles to date and I have my first official 10K race on November 17th :-) I plan on training for a half marathon soon after and I am nervous and excited all at the same time.

    The biggest success of this all is that I am celebrating 3 years cancer free this year. At age 26 I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer...and after a bilateral mastectomy, 6 rounds of chemotherapy and 28 radiation treatments, and reconstruction surgery I NEVER in a million years thought I would be where I am. Running makes me feel alive, healthy and like I can take on the world.

    I am participating in a Breast Cancer 5K Bridge Walk/Run this weekend and I plan on running the whole thing - head held high. This race is for me...and I can't wait to celebrate completing it :-)

    Amazing story! Thanks for sharing :)
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    Options
    This may sound silly to some, but the fact that I actually like doing it is my success story.

    I was in the Air Force for four years where I quite often had to run 3-4 mile stretches. I hated every second of it. I was usually the slowest one, and even when I tried to run the entire time, sometimes I just had to stop. The fact that I was being forced to do it made me NOT want to do it. Once I got out of the military, I said I would never run again unless zombies were chasing me. Hehe.

    Fast forward a couple years later, and I've just had a baby and need to get back in shape. I was in good shape before I got pregnant just from doing various other cardio exercises. A cousin of mine asked me to do a 5K with her. Much to my chagrin, I went ahead and agreed to do it. Now what? I did some looking around on MFP and decided C25K was the way to go. Now I'm on Week 9, workout 2, and I'm well on way to running 3.1 miles nonstop.

    The 5K is in December, and even though it won't be my first, I have a feeling it won't be my last. The simple task of making a goal and achieving it is what makes running enjoyable to me now. Well, that and I have a great running companion named Thor. That's my yellow labrador retriever. :-D
  • FitFunTina
    FitFunTina Posts: 282 Member
    Options
    Up until August 2013 I had never run more than a minute in my life. I hated running. Why? Because it was hard, and I felt that I just didn't have the body to do it.

    In May I finished recovering from having my last baby, and decided to get back into gear to being healthy. (Note: I've always been overweight/obese). I started with nutrition, trying to work out but finding it impossible with two small kids!

    In August, I joined a gym with babysitting, and my fitness story began. I wanted to do a variety of things to keep me interested, so I decided somewhere that maybe I could try C25K again. I had tried it a couple of times in the past, but could never get past the second week. I always gave up. It was too hard.

    With a gym, I had a treadmill, and forced myself to not touch the speed, no matter how much I felt like stopping. And I did it. I was slower than snot, but I was getting through the program. During week 3-ish, I had stuff come up, and went 1 too many days between running. I couldn't complete my run, so I had to repeat my workout. Again, I made a commitment there to not have to repeat workouts (at that time, I saw it as more work lol).

    A week and a half ago, I came up to the last day of the program, but due to my snail-pace I hadn't gotten near a 5k. So I decided to see how far I could go regardless of time. I ended up running 5K in 41:30! Since then, I have run the full distance 2 more times, and my first 5K is this Saturday. I've also signed up for a 5K Turkey Trot, and another 5K in December.

    I haven't decided yet if I like running, but I don't loathe it nearly as much as I used to. I'm now 27 lbs lighter, and in terrific shape (under my layers of fluff, of course!) I'm working out 5-6 days a week (3 of those days are running), and the workouts are a lot easier than they were a couple of months ago.
  • Leigh_b
    Leigh_b Posts: 552 Member
    Options
    Up until August 2013 I had never run more than a minute in my life. I hated running. Why? Because it was hard, and I felt that I just didn't have the body to do it.

    In May I finished recovering from having my last baby, and decided to get back into gear to being healthy. (Note: I've always been overweight/obese). I started with nutrition, trying to work out but finding it impossible with two small kids!

    In August, I joined a gym with babysitting, and my fitness story began. I wanted to do a variety of things to keep me interested, so I decided somewhere that maybe I could try C25K again. I had tried it a couple of times in the past, but could never get past the second week. I always gave up. It was too hard.

    With a gym, I had a treadmill, and forced myself to not touch the speed, no matter how much I felt like stopping. And I did it. I was slower than snot, but I was getting through the program. During week 3-ish, I had stuff come up, and went 1 too many days between running. I couldn't complete my run, so I had to repeat my workout. Again, I made a commitment there to not have to repeat workouts (at that time, I saw it as more work lol).

    A week and a half ago, I came up to the last day of the program, but due to my snail-pace I hadn't gotten near a 5k. So I decided to see how far I could go regardless of time. I ended up running 5K in 41:30! Since then, I have run the full distance 2 more times, and my first 5K is this Saturday. I've also signed up for a 5K Turkey Trot, and another 5K in December.

    I haven't decided yet if I like running, but I don't loathe it nearly as much as I used to. I'm now 27 lbs lighter, and in terrific shape (under my layers of fluff, of course!) I'm working out 5-6 days a week (3 of those days are running), and the workouts are a lot easier than they were a couple of months ago.


    Just wait until you finish that first race... then you'll LOVE it!!

    Congratulations! Well done :)

Categories

Do you Love MyFitnessPal? Have you crushed a goal or improved your life through better nutrition using MyFitnessPal?
Share your success and inspire others. Leave us a review on Apple Or Google Play stores!