We All Start Somewhere

I have had so many people talk to me about running as if I'm some great runner and how they'd like to start, but couldn't do the distance I'm doing, etc.  But I like to remind people that we all start at the bottom and work up.  So, maybe not everyone's goal is to run an ultramarathon.  That's okay (and probably the sane choice) but maybe you want to run a 5K or a 10K.  I just found this scribbled notepad with mileage logged back in March of 2011, when I started running again regularly for the first time in about sixteen years.  Take a look for yourself.  I started off running only one to one and a half miles at a time.  In the notes on the side I've written run 1/walk 1, meaning I ran for one minute, then walked for one minute for that entire one and a half miles.  It's not as if I just decided one day I'd run a marathon and started pumping out five milers. I started with half walking half running very short distances and worked my way up.  It hurt a lot more at first than it does now, and new distances were more rewarding than at any other time.  

Anyone can run.  Anyone.  You just have to start at the beginning.

The day I became a Runner

When I was young I ran because I was vain.  I wanted to stay skinny.  I liked running, but I never identified myself as a runner.  I ran off and on over the years, but only very sporadically.  Then, on a whim in March of 2011 I laced up an old worn hand me down pair of Asics and did a one and a half mile loop around my neighborhood alternating walking and running. At the time I think it was merely an attempt to have some time to myself and perhaps attain a bit of fitness that had been long lost after three pregnancies.  Then it turned into something more.
The next thing I knew I could run more than walk. Then I did the unthinkable.  I ran the 1.5 mile loop twice! I did it!  Three whole miles.  Then came 4.5 miles.  I was really starting to enjoy running and enjoy reaching new distances.  I started to love running, and running loved me back.
Fast forward through two 10k races, a 5k, two half marathons, a mudder and a marathon (not in that order) and you'll find me today.  I sit analyzing, reading and re-reading  as I make my training plan for my next running adventure.  The Buffalo Run 50k on March 23, 2013.  For you non-runners, 50k is 31 miles, an ultramarathon.  I am beyond excited for this trail race!
So, when is the day I became a runner? Well, I think it happened over the course of many days, weeks, and even months as I laced up despite the snow on the ground, or the tired legs. I think I became a runner when running became who I am and not what I do.
I started this blog mostly for myself.  I hope to write about my training, my races and my every day experiences as a runner.  Maybe you'll find it interesting.  Maybe it will inspire you to find your inner runner.