For Nicole

I've been writing this post for my friend Nicole for a long time in my head now. See, Nicole is doing something both incredible and difficult at the same time. Nicole has decided to start running - and I am so excited for her. Although I've not had the pleasure of meeting Nicole in person, our stories are so similar that it is amazing our paths haven't ever crossed.

Her story has gotten me thinking back to when I first started running and how much hard work it was. So, as a little encouragement, I thought I would share the short version of my own running story here. So here it is!

I started running the summer after I graduated from high school. Previously, I was not not anywhere near athletic. I did not participate in sports and my motto was (I know someone else famously said this, I'm shamelessly stealing it) "Why run when you can walk, why walk when you can stand, why stand when you can sit, why sit when you can lay down, in fact why get up if you don't have to." To sum up, totally uninterested in athletics and not a participant in any way if I could help it at all.

I'm not sure why I started running the day after graduation. And really, using the word "running" is a stretch. In the beginning I struggled to run for any stretch over 1/4 of a mile. And honestly, that might be a stretch. But, I started and I kept it up even though I felt stupid chugging away on the streets in my neighborhood. In the fall, I started my freshman year of college.

Here I am with my fabulous roommate and best friend Jessica on the first day of school. (posted without permission from her). As a note, I am currently about 10 pounds heavier 9 months pregnant than I am in this picture*.

Throughout that year, I worked really hard and I achieved one of my first goals just before Halloween: I ran my first mile without stopping. It took me four months to accomplish, but I was so SO proud of myself when I finally did it. By May, Jessica and I registered and ran in a 5K run. In a little over a year, I went from being totally nonathletic to being able to run 3.2ish miles in a row without stopping. (Please note: still completely uninterested in sports)

Jessica and I post 5K run

It goes without saying that running increased my confidence in myself and pushed me to take on new challenges. It changed how I viewed my body and took care of it. It also really made me see how taking time for myself and only me made me a more giving and happy person. Taking up running was a monumental, life changing decision.


After my first year of college, I kept up the running, although my dedication came and went as my class schedule and other life commitments changed. I do want to point out that I've never been anywhere never the competitive level of running. I am neither graceful nor swift as I jog around the track. However, I've never run for anyone but me. And I'm proud of that. Running is hard. It requires work. I'm not naturally good at it and I do it anyways. While writing this post, I've also realized that I've now been a "runner" for over 10 years. That is a major accomplishment.

After William was born, I renewed my dedication and hit the track at our local Y hard. It was hard to start over. I had to work again to run that one mile without stopping. But I did it and grew stronger. I made it my goal to train and run another 5K. Again, so proud to have accomplished that goal. After NewBaby makes his/her appearance, I'm sure you'll find me back at the track again.

Ready to run 5K, March 2008

*Although I'm sure running helped, I also am an incredibly picky eater. So picky that I went on the all cereal diet part way through my freshman year. I gave up on the cafeteria food because I didn't like it and ate only cereal.