Number 11--Rediscovered Passion

Ah, running. I did not always love you. Back when I ran track, I was a sprinter and hurdler--and a lazy one at that. I was always getting shin splints, missing meets and trying to come up for excuses not to do the distance training one needed to be a decent sprinter. My favorite mantra? I could never be a distance runner. Times how they do change.

Sometime around the age of 26, I decided running would be a good way to lose weight. I had not done it in a few years, as I was more the stairmaster and stationary bike kind of gym-goer. But I started adding treadmill workouts into my routine. And soon, it was all I did. I could not get enough. I started training. I ran my first 5k in 21: 30 (May 2004--#11), not bad for someone who had barely run since they were 16. I was hooked. By the time I was pregnant, I was running 35-40 miles a week and hoping to start training for a marathon. I have run countless races of varying length, but the big one still eludes me.

I almost certainly plan to run the Boston marathon at some point in the next decade, but I also plan to treat my body a little better than I have been. I am going to need it if running is going to remain a part of me for the rest of my life.