Runners High

I'm sure most rolled their eyes when they saw the title of this blog. Running is not a fan favorite. It's repetitive, joints tend to hurt afterwards but anyone who has truly let their mind go when they're running knows about the runners high.  

I do have a love hate relationship with running. Lets fly back to 2016 when running entered my life. I started at three very slow miles and then at the peak, I would run 6-7 miles a day just for fun. I liked to zone out and the time would fly by. And I would run on a treadmill (for some, a dreadmill). Arizona heat is no joke. But then I realized I was having some pain walking, everything from my knee down was extremely tight and one of my ankles were swollen. Me being stubborn and craving running, I would run with my ankle braces on. It was helping. The ankle brace lowered the tightness in the one leg but then I noticed it starting in the next. So picture it, I'm running 6-7 miles with two ankle braces on. I would wear ankle braces throughout my work day and would remove them and stretch at night. It was helping but then I was getting sores from the ankle braces rubbing. This was just snowballing. So I started researching. I saw a lot of information about shoes are so important.

Shoes. Shoes are worth splurging on to make sure they fit your style the best. I went to my local Runners World and was evaluated and learned I over pronate my steps. My ankle were loose and that made sense with the swollen ankles. Rolling my ankles while hiking was the culprit of that. They were flexible ankles but that't not fun for running. So I bought the shoes. And my ankle braces fit with the shoes. Woohoo!  But then I learned that I have plantar fasciitis. I had to stop running until everything started loosening up. The wobbling ankles, the heels I've worn to work for the last 10 years of my life, the lack of stretching in my life have all led to it. I figured out a way to keep running but it was reduced down. I focused more on hiking and stuck to running less than five miles when I would run

Fast forward to 2019, I went to the gym with my boyfriend and jumped on the treadmill for my warm-up, like I always did, but I never got off the treadmill. I ran eight miles for the first time since 2016 and it felt amazing. I wanted to start running again. And I had a goal - I wanted to run a half marathon - 13.1 miles - non stop in one sitting. It sounded amazing but then I remembered my feet/leg issues. Well I'm stubborn and since I deceived in May that I wanted to run a half marathon and found one in November, I had PLENTY of time to train and train slowly. I suckered my friend Ashley to run with me for the half marathon so I couldn't quit now. I kept my runs between 5-7 miles for a while and then I started following Hal Higdon half marathon training schedule with the alterations that fit my life. I would run my long runs on either Friday night or Saturday morning. My rest days I would still go to the gym but would focus on weights so I wouldn't lose my muscle mass.

As my long runs became easier and easier with no flare ups, I started looking into half marathon running averages. My goal was to run the half marathon in under two hours. I. WAS. CRAZY!

Race day came, it was an early morning. It was cold but I knew that running in leggings isn't an option so shorts and a long sleeve were it. They sectioned us out by the pace keepers of the race and off we went.

I don't remember the race. I don't remember the miles. I just realized that when I hit the 10-11 mile mark my legs were about done. I couldn't run faster than my pace. I just kept going. I saw the finish line and I found EVERY last bit of energy to sprint across that finish line. I did it. I did it in one hour and forty-eight minutes. I ran it 12-minutes faster than my goal. I couldn't breathe, I was gasping for air, my boyfriend offered his inhaler but I sat on the curb for a few seconds, caught my breath and jumped up to cheer Ashley on as she crossed the finish line too. We did it.

From my Instagram post:

This. Was. Not. Easy. I had a training schedule set because I am prone to injury. I wasn't sure I'd be able to run 13.1 miles, let alone six miles. But after following the running plan, putting in the miles, the short and the long, putting in the rest, I finished a half marathon. I was over running. I wanted to go back to strength training and stick to my normal 3-5 miles. But I already put so much time into this, that I would have wasted the sweat and injuries. Although running is a solo sport, I had a solid team.

Ashley - THANK YOU for signing up to do this crazy thing with me. Busy mother of three made the time to come and run this with me. I appreciate you and your friendship and support. 

Dustin - Thank you for letting me run myself tired, letting me take time those Saturday morning to run long runs and listening to me bitch almost every day about how I was tired, how something hurt, and how hungry I was because of all the damn cardio. Thank you for waking up with me at 6 this morning and being at the starting line when I took off and at the finishing line when I finished taking pictures and cheering me on.

Aubree - Thank you for your knowledge in running these long distances, knowledge in how to fuel for this and also listening to the complaining

Jessi & Kayla - Thank you for being positive when I would say how much I was regretting signing up for this earlier this year. 

Will there be another half marathon in my future? Maybe....

-A