I'm excited for the 2011 running season! I am registered for a few races and wanted to share that with you, but first I want to share my relationship with running so you know where I am coming from.
After college I really got into running, and pretty quickly. Where before I would run for 30 minutes just for cardio exercise, after college I began training for races and tried to get faster. My co-workers at my summer internship encouraged me to run and train during our lunch breaks, and honestly without them I don't know if I would have ever started running in this way. My first race ever was the Human Race 10k in August 2008. I ran my first half marathon shortly after in October 2008, the Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon remote race in Portland, Oregon, which Nike allowed other cities to participate in through Nike plus even though the race was held in San Francisco. I totally killed it--running through Portland's springwater trail and beyond at an 8 minute pace, faster than I've ever run a full race to this day. I ran my second half marathon in April 2009, the Portland Race for the Roses. That summer I trained for my first full marathon! I trained with a running group in Portland as well as a friend from high school who I ended up running the entire race with up until the last couple miles. During training, I ran 3-4 days a week and then a long run on Saturdays, getting up to 20 miles in the final weeks of training. In October 2009 I ran the full Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. My amazing boyfriend traveled down there with me and cheered me on along the course. It is my proudest accomplishment to date. Read about it here and here. Unfortunately, shortly after running the marathon, I suffered a pretty intense injury in my left posterior tibialis (basically left ankle tendon in plain English). I didn't run for eight long months. The recovery was painful and expensive because treatment on that area is considered experimental and therefore not covered under insurance. After injections, physical therapy and plain old time, I came back just in time for Hood to Coast in 2010 and have been back at it ever since!
This year I am SO READY to run more races! I ran in the Shamrock Run in March and I am now registered for Hood to Coast, The Oregon Wine Country half marathon and have entered in the random drawing to run in the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco. So many people want to run in the NWM that they have to do a random drawing of about 25,000 people. I really hope that I get in!
I don't consider myself an excellent runner, just because I never really ran until about 3 years ago and am still not very fast. I do it just for fun and because I love it. I love the feeling I get after running, and I love how it has changed my body. I don't run sprints although I have been told it will make me faster. I prefer to run at the same 9 minute pace throughout my entire run. I run to sweat, to be fit, to be free and to be healthy. I run to please myself, and nobody else.
After college I really got into running, and pretty quickly. Where before I would run for 30 minutes just for cardio exercise, after college I began training for races and tried to get faster. My co-workers at my summer internship encouraged me to run and train during our lunch breaks, and honestly without them I don't know if I would have ever started running in this way. My first race ever was the Human Race 10k in August 2008. I ran my first half marathon shortly after in October 2008, the Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon remote race in Portland, Oregon, which Nike allowed other cities to participate in through Nike plus even though the race was held in San Francisco. I totally killed it--running through Portland's springwater trail and beyond at an 8 minute pace, faster than I've ever run a full race to this day. I ran my second half marathon in April 2009, the Portland Race for the Roses. That summer I trained for my first full marathon! I trained with a running group in Portland as well as a friend from high school who I ended up running the entire race with up until the last couple miles. During training, I ran 3-4 days a week and then a long run on Saturdays, getting up to 20 miles in the final weeks of training. In October 2009 I ran the full Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. My amazing boyfriend traveled down there with me and cheered me on along the course. It is my proudest accomplishment to date. Read about it here and here. Unfortunately, shortly after running the marathon, I suffered a pretty intense injury in my left posterior tibialis (basically left ankle tendon in plain English). I didn't run for eight long months. The recovery was painful and expensive because treatment on that area is considered experimental and therefore not covered under insurance. After injections, physical therapy and plain old time, I came back just in time for Hood to Coast in 2010 and have been back at it ever since!
This year I am SO READY to run more races! I ran in the Shamrock Run in March and I am now registered for Hood to Coast, The Oregon Wine Country half marathon and have entered in the random drawing to run in the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco. So many people want to run in the NWM that they have to do a random drawing of about 25,000 people. I really hope that I get in!
I don't consider myself an excellent runner, just because I never really ran until about 3 years ago and am still not very fast. I do it just for fun and because I love it. I love the feeling I get after running, and I love how it has changed my body. I don't run sprints although I have been told it will make me faster. I prefer to run at the same 9 minute pace throughout my entire run. I run to sweat, to be fit, to be free and to be healthy. I run to please myself, and nobody else.
4 comments:
thank you for this running story!!!!!!!!! for me it never gets old reading about how people came to this sport. that injury seems intense so i have so much respect for you that you stuck with it! amazing! xoxox
Like your blog and your pictures ! def. following you now! when you get a chance by by my blog and check it out and hopefully my writing will send you sparks so you can also become one of my followers too!
http://lifemadness-linhy.blogspot.com
It's great to hear that you kept going even after your injury. I just ran my first 1/2 marathon in Feb and loved it. Now, I am doing a 5-STINKIN' K later this month and I'm dying. My mojo is gone. Any tips? I know it's prob about 95% mental. ;-)
Oops- this is Nicole @ Sea Lillie
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