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Besides being in the best shape of my life, running has shown me the kind people of the world and restored my faith in people. Runners are SO supportive of each other and are only competitive in competing against themselves. That’s incredibly refreshing in today’s ‘claw your way to the top’ culture! It has inspired me to be more outgoing and encouraging to others, to strike up conversations when I otherwise wouldn’t (#introvert), and to be more adventurous. On a recent family vacation, I jumped from a moving jet ski onto a moving boat in order to go parasailing and never felt more like Jane Bond in all my life. Without the strength and confidence I gained from running, that would have ended in disaster! I also now have completely different types of pain and by that I mean that I’ve managed to get rid of the chronic pain of headaches and knee problems, replacing it with the good muscle-sore pain of a good workout. I dream and accomplish feats that I never would have thought possible even five years ago. When I started running, I couldn’t run for even thirty seconds and now I’ve got two marathons under my belt—who AM I now?!
I kept clicking on articles that a friend was posting and then on other links through those articles and it just kind of blew up from there. I couldn’t get enough info!
I almost never love the actual running itself, but I love the sense of accomplishment I have when I’m finished. I like who I’ve become as a runner: someone with less chronic pain, more muscle, and a bunch of finisher medals, and I’m motivated to keep that person around a lot longer. I take my dogs with me when I run the trail because I want them to be healthy and happy; even my insta handle reflects that (juliemayrunwithdogs). They’re hilarious and love to meet all the other dogs on the trail, so seeing their joy is a great motivator too.
My run is the first thing that happens when I get up. On weekdays, the alarm goes off at an obscene hour and I get it in before heading to work, usually on a treadmill at the local gym because I also work strength training and cross training into the cycle. On weekend long runs, I hit my favorite local bike path that’s only a few minutes from my house for some glorious outdoor time.
Sometimes I make a date with a friend in their neighborhood or local trail, but my go-to is a gorgeous path that borders a river and provides some beautiful scenery and wildlife. I also love dogs (I have four myself) and my biggest problem on a long run is whether I ruin my pace in order to pet the dogs I encounter on the trail. I know their names better than I do their owner’s names and yes, I usually ruin my pace for pats because they’re good boys and girls who deserve the attention.
I am all about my headbands and my pockets. My headbands keep the hair and sweat off my face and all my running tights have deep side pockets where I can stash my phone (in case of emergencies), gels or tissues, and my car key, maybe even a dog biscuit or two.
I’ve experienced a bit of a set back in the last two months because I broke my foot and my ankle in an exercise class, which has knocked me out of all activity for a bit (that first week was the WORST). I had already signed up for a half marathon at the end of March, so my first level goal is to at least half run half walk that one, then run the three-way with extra cheese in May. The three-way is part of the Flying Pig weekend of races where you run a mile race on Friday night, a 5k and 10k on Saturday, then a half marathon on Sunday. Bring on those shiny necklaces! I’ll also do the Flying Fur on Saturday, which is a two mile race with your dog. It is the race that brings so much joy because so many dogs!