Every Mile Matters

Every Mile Matters
by Carol-Lee Holland

image

When my BF challenged me to run a 5k with her 3 years ago, I had no idea what it would do to my life. Let me set the stage…I was living in a new city with only my hubby. We were learning about the new city by eating our way through all the new restaurants…hence gaining weight along the way. I had never run, felt I couldn’t run, but she wanted me to run a Disney race in February 2013 for a girls weekend, as an excuse to be able to go visit. She gave me almost 10 months to train, and I told her I would try. Luckily, I worked with a bunch of the most supportive people that I have ever met, and many of them are runners. I got advice, support, help, and shoulders to lean on. I signed up for a 5k locally so that I could motivate myself to train, and when I crossed that first finish line, I KNEW I could do it! I called BF and said I would meet her in Disney…she then informed me that we would be running the half marathon, and not the 5k! SHE KNEW I could do it, and that I was hooked! Let the training begin!

 
Since the day I started training for that 5k, May 1, 2012, I haven’t stopped. I’ve changed my eating habits, lost close to 25#, wake up thinking about my next run, go to sleep thinking of my next run. I have injured myself and healed. I have learned what to eat before a run. I’ve learned how to hydrate properly. I have learned that “poop” is a typical conversation amongst runners. But mostly, I have accomplished more than I thought was possible. I have now run 17 half marathons, and I’m not done…I continue to push myself. I have dropped over 30 minutes off my first half, but I am still trying to reach my goal of a sub 2:15…I’m hoping 2015 will be my year, but if not, I will keep trying. I have also decided to run my first full this year, and that is scary! Scary because I know it will be hard and require an amount of discipline that I’m not positive I have in me; however, I feel I am really at a point of giving this a shot and making these miles count.

image (1)When I joined Moon Joggers in December 2012, I didn’t know what to expect. Tina and I talked about it and decided to give it a try…1000 miles in a year? What the heck! Well, I have yet to reach that goal but I’m not giving up. This is where the “Every Mile Counts” attitude comes in. Every mile matters to me because I do not want to go back to that overweight, unhealthy, inactive person. I have watched my mom grow older, and less active, and it hurts me. I do not want to be that way…I have a new  grand-baby, and I want to be active when her kids are born…not sitting in a chair because my muscles and bones will not allow me to get on the floor to play, or take them for a walk, or push them on swings. I will continue to push myself each year to reach the 1000 and when I finally reach that goal, I will make a new goal. The goals keep me motivated, the races (& bling) keep me addicted, and the friendships I’ve made keep me smiling!

My husband, Steve, joined me running about a year into my journey. It is nice having someone close to share the ups and downs of my runs, and he is as addicted as I am. Together we understand what it takes, but we also have our own goals and mind-set. He’s much faster, so we never run together, but he is one of my biggest supporters in this journey.

So my journey of a thousand miles began with one step…and each step counts, as does each mile…Keep moving forward people, don’t go backwards…nobody’s got time for that!

Comments

comments

This entry was posted in Connecting, Don't Give Up, every mile matters, Guest Post, Half Marathon Training, having fun running, Jogging, Lessons learned from running, Marathon Runner, Moon Joggers, motivation, Pictures of Runners, reason to run, Running, running for health, Running in Florida. Bookmark the permalink. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.

We have moved to a new site! Check out all of our virtual events HERE!