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Monday, January 25, 2010

Ready to Run

I am getting the itch to train for a race now that the weather has calmed down and I think my body can handle it. I thought I would be running sooner, but who was I kidding! Recovering from having a baby is no joke. But, we are sleeping through more of the night (still up at least twice), I am feeling rested, and my body doesn't hurt anymore when I jog for over five minutes.
I started running when I moved to Dallas for nursing school. I needed an emotional outlet and Highland Park became my running haven. I could run for hours and get lost in the beautiful mansions and lavish landscapes.
My dad was always a runner and he became my inspiration to run a full marathon. I always thought, "if he can do it, then I know I can." We decided to run the Chicago marathon together in 2007. He ended up backing out of the training early, but Sarah jumped right in! It was amazing. She and I spent so much time running and we NEVER ran with iPods - we would talk the entire time (between huffs and puffs)!
Here we are in matching outfits before the race:
I had a wonderful fan club travel with me! My "Supper Club" girls from college ran all over Chicago with Edward to see us at various spots in the race. I later found out they thought Edward was going to propose that weekend, so they were all waiting with anticipation at every corner :)
Post-race with Edward. It was a tough race, Sarah and I both had our rough patches, but we stayed together the whole time and were able to finish strong.
While we were dating, I traveled to Austin a lot, so I started running some of the races they offered there, I think I ended up running over 10 races in Austin. Edward was always so sweet and thinking about all the times he took me to races, sat through them, and met me at the finish line, makes me smile. Those are some of my favorite memories. I can't wait to see both of my Edwards smiling faces after my next race!
This is the first race I ever ran. 8/26/06 the Keep Austin Weird 5K. I finished 9th in my age group and was immediately hooked.
10K 10/21/07
20K 12/7/07
I have signed up for the Capitol 10K in Austin (4.11.10) in honor of my dad (join me if you want)!! He ran this race several times when my parents lived in Georgetown, and my mom even painted a picture of the race from her hotel room. This was the first race we ran together and I intend on running every year now. Who knows, maybe we will run it together again someday.

3 comments:

Kathleen said...

ML- This is going to be awesome! I'm so excited for you and your training!

Wynne Elder said...

that is awesome ML. I am so proud of you - you were a huge part of my inspiration to run. knowing someone else can do it makes you want to prove to yourself that you can too! I was actually just talking to a friend in austin about that race & just sent the link to stephen! I might be joining you :) that is so special that you can run that every year in honor of your dad. you are amazing. just put something in the mail to you yesterday - be on the look out! love you

Jordan said...

What a great passion to have. I have some questions for you. I have always been a "runner" as a means of exercise (can't get into pilates/yoga, but enjoy a good run). In college I usually did a 6 mile jog at town lake as part of just a random day of the week jog, but post college have gotten way out of practice/shape. I'll still jog a mile or so, but nothing like I used to. Anyway, what are the best shoes in your opinion? I have wide feet and if I'm going to get back in the saddle I want to have the right equipment. Also, do you have a good jogger? Ours is not very good and I find it very difficult to jog behind/push it. I know the Bob is supposed to be awesome, so do you have/use that or a different one?
I probably won't be going full force sicne I've got #2 growing now, but maybe next fall/winter I can get back to running.
Glad you are feeling good and ready to start again!