About Me

I’ll never forget the feelings when I rounded that last corner and saw the finish line.  Crossing that finish line meant so much more to me than just finishing my first 5k race.  I had signed up for the training. I had made a commitment to myself to do the training.  I did the training.  And I reached my goal of finishing my first 5k.   The entire process was completely under my control and I did it!

Of course, the next thought was … what next?  I wanted to continue running but I was finished with my training plan.  How far and when do I run now?  Coach Lisa had a suggestion…train for the Columbus Half Marathon!  After laughing and saying no way, I started training for my first half marathon.  

One full marathon, twenty-five half marathons and many other distances later, I’m still running!  

And it all started with the simple commitment to train and run my first 5K!

Things I learned while training for my first 5k

• When training for my first 5K I discovered that no prior experience was necessary or expected.

• We received a training plan that told me how far to run/walk and how often. 

• We didn't have to run/walk every day in fact we only had to run/walk 3 times per week and were told not to run more than specified on the training plan.

• Rest days are part of training and we were expected to use them for resting.

• The 1/2 miles and miles gradually go up during the training plan and they even decrease occasionally in order to allow your body to recover.

• The first 1 1/2 - 2 miles of a longer run are the worst!  It appears to take that long for my body to be convinced that I’m going to do this running thing whether it likes it or not.

• I was accompanied on all of my runs with this little voice in my head that continuously told me that I wasn't a runner and who did I think I was kidding!  I didn't listen.  I wanted to cross that finish line of my first 5K and receive that medal!

• I found out that I wasn't too old (at 56) to start running even though I had never been a runner.  In fact, in High School I made sure NOT to participate in sports that had a lot of running. I was on the Bowling team, Volleyball team, Dance team and did the high jump on the Track team.

• Lots of races are chip timed which means that even though there are lots of people in front of me when the race begins it doesn’t matter because my time doesn’t start until I cross the start line.

• People of all shapes, sizes, ages and experience participate in running races.

• There are lots of races of different lengths throughout the year all over the U.S. and the world.

• When I signed up for the 101 training I was hoping for some magic because I knew I wasn’t a runner so it was going to take a bit of magic to get me through it.  But, I set aside the time as specified in the training plan and did the training.

• The 101 walk/run program was the first time in a long time that I had set a goal and accomplished it.  Crossing that finish line meant more to me than just finishing a race.

• Crossing that first finish line was also a bit sad because I wasn’t sure what to do next.  My training plan was finished.  How far and how often should I run now?  Coach Lisa had a suggestion…train for the Columbus Half Marathon!

• Participating in the 101 walk/run program opened up a whole new world to me that I didn’t know existed!  One of the best things about my running journey are all the wonderful people it has brought into my life.

• I often think of my training plan as a recipe.  It tells me exactly what I need to do in order to complete the distance I am training for.  If I skip too many runs then I will probably be disappointed in the results.  There are some valid substitutions available like cross-training but I had to put the time in if I wanted a good result.