I was a swimmer through high school and college. After my collegiate career I took some time off, but quickly returned to the water. I participated in the master's swim program. It was during that program that I became good friends with some good runners. Somehow they convinced me to sign up for a local 5k race in the Spring of 2009. So I started running a little here and there. I registered to run the Pocono Run for the Red 5k.
I showed up that morning, intimidated. I had no idea what I was doing, how to warm up or even how to run a race, period! I remember telling my friends and family that my goal was to finish in 30 minutes. I would be happy with that. My parents and sister were there to cheer me on, which calmed my nerves a little bit.
The race started and I went running. This race was neat because the finish line is located in the high school football stadium. You run about 3/4 of the way around the track to the finish line. I entered the stadium and saw the time clock out of the corner of my eye. It was in the 26th minute! I crossed the finish line in 26:57. I couldn't believe it. My goal was 30 minutes and I beat that by 3 minutes. It was at that point that it all started, my desire to train and run. I always knew that I need something other then swimming in my life. I knew I wouldn't always have a pool to swim in, but I would have two legs to run at any time. Also, I knew competition was a huge part of my life. I have always been competitive in everything that I have done, from school to sports. I no longer had swim meets to attend, so I need to channel my competitive edge elsewhere.
And from that day forward I kept running. I joined a local run group every Tuesday and Thursday at 6pm and ran with them. I also tried to run one day on the weekend by myself. I then immediately developed the goal of running a marathon. That goal did not consist of any planning, or registering for any other races. I justk kept running. It wasn't long before I found out that increased run mileage, along with a poor diet would lead me down injury lane.
One morning in June of 2009, I woke up with extreme pain in my lower left leg. I couldn't go up and down the stairs. In fact, I couldn't even get out of bed. I went to my family doctor who ordered me to undergo a bone scan and blood work . Now this was all foreign to me. I have never been to a hospital for anything at this point. I laid on the table and watched as my bones shimmered in the computer screen. All of a sudden I saw a huge white spot on my left leg, along with little white cracks up and down my shin bones. I remember the tech looking at me and saying, "You really were hard on your legs!" No kidding, I thought. I then had to take my results to an orthopedic doctor where they determined I suffered a stress fracture on my left tibia. I was on crutches with an air cast for 3 weeks. At that point I had no desire to ever run again...
I finally laced up the sneaks again in the early spring of 2010. I started training for a 5k after my boyfriend decided he wanted to run one. It was a local race for a police officer killed while on duty. I told him I would run it with him, but wasn't really interested in hardcore running, I didn't want to get hurt again! Little did I know that running that race would lift my spirits and bring back my competitive edge! I felt the desire to run again. After barely training for it, I still ran a low 26!
Since then I have ran many 5k's during the summer and fall of 2010. I ran my first 5 mile race in October of 2010 and another in December of 2010. With each race I gained more confidence that I could race longer races. And it was at the start of 2011 that I became determined to compete in longer races. With the proper knowledge, training, nutrition and rest.. I began my journey.....
No comments:
Post a Comment