Let me first state that I am not a natural born distance runner. I have never been on a cross country team or track team. I am your typical sprinter who loves to throw heavy weights around, not a distance runner. Running has always been a punishment for me, whether it's running laps around the softball field for errors or extra 400's at Crossfit for being late. I have never had any affinity for running, until this year.
I can honestly say that I began running due to peer pressure (the good kind). My best friend got into running this past summer and kept talking about how much fun it was and how she was so in shape and ready to conquer the world. All my friends started getting into long distance running and I was still super hesitant to dive into something that I absolutely hated.
I started out going on short jogs on the campus trail called the Green Monster. In all honesty I was out of running shape and those 2.5 miles killed me. The first couple of times I went to "run" on the Green Monster it was a mix of jogging and walking. It was quite an accomplishment the first time I ran the Green Monster without walking any of it. I started running with another one of my friends who was like me, athletic but just getting into distance running.
The next big milestone for me was running five miles without stopping. I was so excited when I hit that five mile mark, I felt like I could do anything. I felt so confident that on a whim I signed up for a half marathon. After I paid the $75 dollars, I asked myself "OMG what have I done?" I had only ever run five miles and I just signed up for 13.1 miles.
I started running more frequently and farther every week. It was sometimes really hard to get outside and log the mileage due to northern Ohio weather and the hectic school life of a pharmacy student. But here I am one day before my first half marathon ready to run 13.1 miles.
I am running the 2016 Indianapolis Mini Marathon that occurs every year in downtown Indianapolis. It spans all throughout the streets of Indianapolis and we even run 2.5 miles on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway home of the Indianapolis 500.
It's hard to think that me, who could barely run one mile, is now running 13.1 miles. I look forward to crossing that finish line with 35,000 people!
