All of my life I have hated running, and i mean hated running. I played soccer in high school, and I was seriousl one of the slowest girls on my team, if not the slowest. I tried running for pleasure, i tried to make myself like it, but it never worked. Running was punishment for wearing the wrong uniform or for missing shots, not for fun! I have always admired runners, wished I could be like them. A few months ago i decided I would try running again. I downloaded the couch to 5k podcast and started running. I didnt follow the training to the letter, or train every day that i was supposed to, but I actually kind of enjoyed it!

In the end of April, I ran my first 5k, Run Forrest Run. I loved it! I didn't run the whole way, but I loved it! A few weeks later, my coworker Megan, another nonrunner, told me about Team In Training and asked if I was interested. It's always been a secret deep down goal of mine to run a half (and later a full) marathon. So we went to the informational meeting and I signed up!!

My next run after that informational meeting was fantastic. I had so much energy, and so much more mental strength. I finally figured out that I have never been able to do the whole mind over body thing. But when I signed up for Team In Training, I signed up to run for something so much bigger than myself and my aching shins. Before, every time I would run, I couldn't think about anything except for how badly I wanted to quit. Now, I think how extremely blessed I am to have my health, and how easily it could be taken from me! Our honored teammate, Amber Sabala, lost her battle to cancer when she was very close to my age, and after fighting it for only 28 days! Every day we have is such a gift, and every step I run is a way to embrace that gift!

Last Friday I did my second 5k, the Greek Fest 5k, and I ran the whole thing!! I was so excited when I finished!! My time was even slower than the first one, but I didn't care! Even better than running the whole way, I helped someone else. About half way through, I saw a woman ahead of me with a Team In Training shirt on ahead of me. I sped up to catch her, and asked her if she was doing Team In Training. Turns out, she is doing the same race as me, AND lives just 2 blocks from me!! This was only her 3rd day of running, but we ran the last half of the 5k together and never stopped! It was great to get to know her, and to have someone to run with! Afterwards she told me she wouldn't have finished without me, which made me feel great, but she helped me too!

Welcome!

I am going to use this as my training blog. I recently joined team in training, and will be running the Nike Women's half marathon in San Francisco in October!! I am excited, but nervous. I know this is going to be a journey that want to not only remember, but also share with others. I'll be updating everyone on how my training and fundraising are going, so keep checking back, and visit my fundraising site and donate some money to this worthy cause!!