an introduction

Welcome to my running blog!! This blog will be so much more than just about my running, but about all things that contribute to it, change it, and whatever else life decides to throw my way. Here I will brag about my personal bests, vent about my struggles, share my learnings, and hopefully educate some. At the end of my running career, I would like to be able to look back at this blog and remember all that it took me to get to where I am (will be). So sit back, get your reading glasses on... and enjoy!

A brief history: I started running back in August 2009 as a way to start losing weight after plateauing. In the beginning it was the most frustrating thing I had ever took on. Before now, any attempt in running was futile and so not for me. I jumped on the interweb and started to research on what to do and what not to do, but it wasn't until I found dailymile that I started to really learn, thanks to all the great people who befriended me. To this day, I rely on my dailymile friends to get me through all of my running obstacles. Six months in I was approached by a friend/co-worker (Robin H.) about being a part of her relay team. I had never really put any thought to actually racing, especially since I had a habit of progressing too quickly and burning myself out. But after some thought, I figured having something to train for could help me, so I agreed to join. I then became a new member of the Herbs and Spices. We will be running our first relay race at the Cascades Lake Relay Race in late July 2010. Seven months in of learning to run (which means, learning to breathe, moving my feet correctly, learning to stretch, etc etc) I participated in my first race, the Shamrock Run 5k. I was fortunate to have a friend, Krystle S., keep me company during the race. She ran when I ran, walked when I walked, and urged me on when I wanted to give up. But there are no words to describe the feeling of crossing that finish line, especially your first time! And so the addiction began...