Hi, I'm Kristen, a stay at home Momma to 2 boys and have a little addiction to..... RUNNING. Funny how when I very first started up this blog, it was going to be mostly about running hence the title "love on the run" :) Well let's just say having kiddos takes up most of my time and my little blog ended up being all about them! But here on out I would like to talk running, my training plan, my favorite running products, marathons I've done, tips or things that inspire me. So I thought I'd do a little running recap and I hope to catch up on Cameron's monthly post soon (5 & 6 months!) Can't believe my baby is 6 months old already! I am going to separate by tabs family post, running post and home decorating post. I like to dabble in interior design and may post things occasionally about decorating/organizing but most days I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to get things done let alone blog about them with 2 little ones running around the house, so I may do a house tour post eventually. It is like a juggling act for John and I to both get trained for our upcoming marathon with a baby and 3 year old to care for as well. Anyway I wanted to do a little post on my running journey!
Well it started back in elementary that I knew I loved to run! I think it was 4th and 5th grade P.E. class when I used to beat every boy and girl in sprints and knew this is something I had a talent for. I had a natural knack for sprinting and went on to run track in middle and high school and did pretty well, got a few state medals, got a few college letters interested but picked the college that didn't seem to notice. So I walked on to the WKU track team in hopes of proving myself to the coach that I could be a contender. My dream was lost when I realized the program was mainly about the distance running and seemed to have less interest in the sprinters. There were only a few sprinters even on the team and we were given a workout of the day to do on our own. Didn't work out for me to have little to no structure and to not have anyone to push me in practice. Excuses yep, but this is what made me really want to dive into distance running when I knew I would never be the next Jackie Joyner-Kersey. I joined the Army ROTC program at WKU sophomore year and distance running became a requirement, I also quit the college track team that year. I did cross country back in high school and when I started I was totally the slowest on the team! My goal for my first 5K race was to do it all without walking. Distance running did not come natural at all...in fact at the time I hated it and only did it to better my track seasons! I ended up slowly improving in cross country to be up in the top 3 or 4 of the team by my senior year and gained a respect and a love realationship for distance running as well. Fast forward to graduating college and starting my Army 4-year career, 2 Iraq deployments and miles and miles of running and I was happy as a lar even in a foreign land. I think running truly makes me happy! I would run 50 miles a week and was determined that when I get back to the states I would want my hubby (also a runner) and I to do a marathon in all 50 states! So now I am out of the Army and have done marathons in two in Hawaii and one in Cleveland and have one coming up this Dec...the Memphis Marathon. I am currently a run-aholic! Even though I may be more type B personality wise, when it comes to my running, type A is totally in effect. I started a training program several months ago and must get in my run 6 days a week to feel normal and refreshed. When I start something like this, I hold myself accountable and obsess about getting the mileage in and will do it in the rain, freezing cold, windy days, at night or whatever it takes! Even though some days I feel slow as a turtle on my training runs, I think this is what puts me ahead of the crowd and makes me appear to be a great runner when in fact it doesn't come easy!
"Everyone is an athlete. But some of us are in training and some of us are not" -George Sheehan
"During long slow distance training, you should think of yourself as a thoroughbred disguised as a plow horse. No need to give yourself away by running fast."-Marty Liquori
What running does for me?
Running just gives me a deeper purpose and connection to something bigger than myself. It makes me such a happier person like it is my happy pill everyday. Of course my kids/family time make me most happy but running is like my "me time", and the washing machine of my mind. It lets me escape, clear my head and just think about things that I may not have time to think about during the days. I guess when it comes to distance running, I've always felt like the "underdog" just trying to keep up but coming out on top due to hard work, dedication and commitment.
I never thought I would be able to even run a marathon and in my second attempt in Honolulu(where we were stationed in the Army), I ran in 3hr 32min in Honolulu which was a Boston qualifier time. I do believe that "strength doesn't come from what you can do, it comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't". Ricky Rogers
Before I started my new running program a couple months ago, I had been a total lazy runner. I was preggo early this year for one, but this whole year I just ran when I felt like it and no more than 2 or 3 miles at a time. It just didn't feel important to me with everything else going on but something has felt missing in my life and running was the key to re-discovering myself in a way. I think this is a good analogy on not just running but can be applied to life: "No one is born a perfect runner. And none of us will become one. But through incremental steps, we become better runners.. And that's the beauty of our sport: there are no shortcuts, nothing is given to us; we earn every mile and we earn every result." Pete Magill
Lastly this is total me :)
"Some runs you will feel unstoppable, some runs you will feel defeated, but every run you will become stronger! "Your only limit is you! Being a real runner has nothing to do with how fast you are, and everything with how hard you are willing to work." ~unknown
Each one of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It's our goal in life to find it and to keep it. So glad I am back on track!
I linked up with Running Bloggers.com
