Patch Blogs: My Journey to Being a Runner (Or, How My Daughter Drove Me to Run)

I have tried being a runner since my freshman year in high school when I joined the very first cross country team my high school had. I was the only girl on said team and was so insecure and, well ... lazy that I didn't run a single race that year. I practiced quite a bit but only because there were a few cute boys also on the team. My freshman year was in 1990, so it only took me 20 years to be a runner.

In those 20 years, I tried running on and off. While trying to get in shape for my wedding, while trying to lose baby weight after my son was born, while trying to get back in shape to prepare my body for the second baby, I picked up running very half-heartedly, always on a treadmill, and quit when I hit my goal or it just got too hard.

My beautiful daughter was born in October 2007 and she was ... well ... a challenge. She cried a LOT and we got the dreadful colic diagnosis thrown at us. However, she cried pretty much most of her first nine months of life. We spent time with specialists and I tried dairy-free diets since I was nursing her. We rocked, walked, drove, swayed and bounced our way through a sleep-deprived nine months. During this time, I must mention that my husband, who works at , worked tw0 to three nights a week six months out of the year supervising student workers.

She grew out of it but has remained a high-spirited, quick-tempered, passionate little girl. Going into her second year, my husband was down to two nights a week but I knew that my son, daughter and I couldn't sit around the house anymore while my husband went to work in the evening. In February 2009, I decided to start spending at least a portion of those evenings at the working out. During this time, I also started to focus more on my health (I have a horrible immune system) and watched what I was eating more. I took some fitness classes, kicked a nasty addiction to Pepsi and started running on the treadmill again while my kids played happily in child watch (OK, it took another six months before my daughter stopped crying every time I dropped her off, but my son loved it!).

Thanks to one of my employees, who is also a fitness instructor, I got a lot of encouragement, reassurances and advice about running. She helped me get over that point where I usually quit running. I decided I needed to venture outside but that was really intimidating, so I joined the beginners running group through the North Canton Y and Mike, one of the Y's fitness instructors, helped me get over my fear of being outside while running. 

The first race I ran that year was the July 4 North Canton Y two-mile race. I did better than I thought I could so I wanted to run more races. Second race was hosted by Second Sole and the night before my husband spent the night in the ER with a kidney stone thanks to the Adkins diet (this was his second try at the Adkins diet and subsequently his second kidney stone). Still didn't do too bad in that race though either.

I decided that in 2010 I was really going to start racing a lot more and happened upon the Subway Challenge Series . This gave me the accountability I needed to do more races. As part of the Challenge Series last year, you were expected to run at least five races in the series. I think I ran six races and enjoyed the mid-year picnic and end-of-the-year banquet with other runners. In 2010, I also ran the Race for the Cure, which had been a goal of mine for a long time since cancer has been a part of my life for so long due to my mom's side of the family. My grandma and all of her sisters who have passed away have had some form of cancer with breast  cancer being the most prevalent form so far. Not at all planned at the start of the year, I also ran the Columbus Half Marathon in October and really did better than I ever thought possible.

Don't get me wrong, I am not fast. I don't train as much as I should. And I still eat more junk food than is good for me. My goal this year though is to place in my age group at least once and to run my second half marathon at Stomp the Grapes in Hartville. I also joined the Subway Challenge Series again to make sure I commit to running races. 

I don't run for the glory, that's for sure. My kids were really disappointed to learn that I wouldn't be winning any of these races I run. I usually tell people I run so that I can eat whatever I want and that is a part of it (I love chocolate), but really I run to be a healthier, happier more sane me. 

I kind of love hitting the roads with time in front of me to think, regroup, recover and find some peace and quiet. I have pushed my body to some pretty tough limits and met those limits time after time. When I didn't think I could go further, when I didn't want to go further, I tested what I was made off and learned about myself. I am a better wife and mom because I run, and bless my husband for putting up with all of those days when I come home from work and say, "I'm going for a run." I do this selfishly for myself. I need this time. I need this thing that is uniquely mine. People ask if my husband runs and I say, "no, not at all" but I think, "and thank goodness he doesn't."

Until early this year, I wasn't completely comfortable saying I was a runner. What makes you a runner? Years of running? Distances covered? Did I have to do a marathon to think of myself as a runner? Did I have to stick with it for four years? Five years? Did I need to win something? I spent most of the winter recovering from a running-related injury and really couldn't run much and for a period of time, not at all. When I got the all clear from my chiropractor to return to running, I went back to it with glee and excitement. That was the moment I realized I am a runner and hope to continue to be for a long time. 

So, if you want to be a runner, stick with it. Go back to it. You never know when it might "stick" for you. It only took me 20 years to get there but it is so worth it. I am always so sad for people who say they want to be runners but they can't find the motivation. I can thank my daughter for driving me to run and hope others can find that thing that will help them stick with it too. If you need someone to give you that push, drop me a line, I would be happy to be the thing that drove someone to run!