In high school I was involved with a number of sports including field hockey, soccer, cheerleading, and even track, so of course running was a regular workout that I had to do with my teams. It was never something I enjoyed though. I always found it very difficult and just thought of it as something I had to do to get better at something else - to be quicker on the field or to have better endurance and stamina.
So once I left for college and was no longer involved in sports teams, I found different ways to stay in shape; I used the elliptical and stationary bikes at the gym and started adding in a strength training regimen.
When I was home last summer however, my mom suggested we join a group of people who were starting the "Couch to 5K" training program, which is designed to ease people who have never run before towards being able to run a 5K race or about 3 miles. It started off very slowly using short intervals of running and walking to create a strong foundation to build upon. The plan was a little easy for me, but it was also nice to take a step back and build more cardio strength, instead of just trying to push too hard too soon. So we met this group three times a week to complete the workouts and at the end of the summer we ran a 5K race.
After that race I was hooked. I loved the adrenaline and excitement of the crowds cheering as we ran by. It was such a cool and fun experience and I couldn't wait to start training for my next race.
When I returned to school in the fall, my running faltered a bit as I became busy again so I searched for a new race that I could train for and run as a way to keep myself motivated. At the end of the semester I found the perfect one: The Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon, located right here in Ithaca in mid April.
Next time, I'll talk about how I trained for the half marathon and the race itself, which took place last weekend.
Thanks for reading,
Rachel
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