Runners Addiction from a girl who hates running.

As I’ve said before, Running has not always been my addiction. In fact if someone told me I needed to go run a 1/2 mile I would get so anxious and want to go hide. I’ve always been an athlete, but running was not my forte.

In May of 2014 I had my 2nd child. I was already overweight and gained over 40 pounds with him, so, as with many women who have just gained a ton of weight from baby and are going through postpardum, I was depressed at how I looked; I knew I had to make a change, and a big change at that.

Jamie, my husband, is an avid runner… not just a small 5K type runner, but a marathon runner; I’ve always told him he’s crazy and I don’t understand how he could love running so much. Although I played a ton of different sports, I NEVER ran, especially long distances. I always have said I hate running; mostly because after a half mile I was bored and thought I was going to die. I mean, why run when you can drive right?

The problem is when you are married to a runner, you don’t see them very often because they are ALWAYS running and they have a ton of friends that run, so they are always doing speed workouts, long runs, pool runs, adventure runs, hills runs…… when you like your husband and want to spend time doing things he loves, you realize that you need to figure out how to run so that you can join him in this separate life he leads.

So, that is what I did. After we had our son I decided I was going to try running. I was going to give it a try. I started small… the couch to 5K app is amazing for anyone who doesn’t run… and I mean, I couldn’t even run a ½ mile without stopping, so for those who don’t like to run or can’t run… start small!!! I signed up for my first 5K and used the APP religiously to train for my run. While I did not even come close to winning the race, I did finish under my goal time and that was huge for me. 

Over the next year I continued to run; I ran at Orange Theory as well as long runs on Saturdays. My goal was a 10K, then a 1/2 marathon.

When I had first started running one of the things that intimidated me the most was not having anyone to run with at my slow pace… and not knowing anyone. I would go to running groups and not know anyone and not know who to try to run with… talk about anxiety for someone who already has a little bit of social anxiety around people she doesn’t know. I learned quickly though that there are a lot of people who are at different paces and I would just throw out in the running groups the pace I needed to go and I would find new people to run with. Thank goodness!!!

November 21st, 2015 I ran my first ½ marathon. My goal was to finish… I just wanted to finish…. ideally I wanted to try to do it in under 2 hours and 30 minutes. Well…. I did it… I did it!!!! According to my watch, my time was 2:28:07. I will take that!!!!!  Wait… did I just say I did it? I did!!! I ran a ½ marathon.

Here is where the title of this post comes into play. I get it now… I get my husbands addiction to running. It’s addicting…. these races are addicting… the friends you meet are amazing and they are all as crazy as you are. They get up early for long runs, they talk about splits, and what they eat for a race, and how they cross train, and the newest goodies and the best races. You run with them for hours at a time and talk and become instant friends. It’s truly kind of cool. When you meet people who run, you instantly bond with them, because you know they are as crazy as you. When you hear about a race you try to figure out how to make it work with your schedule to sign up and do it. If you could do one every weekend you just might.

Running has changed my life. It’s brought me closer to my husband and brought me friends I never would have had otherwise. It’s also brought on an addiction to run races.. no matter how small…. It’s just plain fun being able to run and know that I can.

I wanted to write this blog post because I want YOU to know that it’s possible. Anyone can run…. you might not be the fastest and you might not be able to even run 1 minute right now… but that’s ok. Start small and start…. build yourself up to it. Find people to run with and don’t be afraid to tell people your pace to find people to run with you. You’d be amazed at how many people want to see you succeed and want to help you.

I am officially an addicted runner. I’m looking for my next race and can’t wait until my next run when I get to hang out with my new friends.

Everyone’s journey is different and amazing… share with us what your struggles are or your successes. What has this journey been like for you?