The Year of Running

Hello World,

It's me, Kelsey. I don't actually have a plan for this post but I should start by being honest...today's day is actually February 23, 2015. This post is time-stamped back in December but I haven't gotten around to writing it yet. Today's date is significant though...exactly one year ago today I was chasing that Princess Half dream, 13.1 miles down the road. So today seems like a good day to write about my year of running.

To get a clear picture of how this year of running came to be we should time travel back to June 11, 2013. The day that registration opened for the 2014 Disney Princess Half Marathon. A number of my friends and I had decided that we were going to do this. My phone reminded me all week that registration would open on June 11. When that day came, I was completely terrified. I knew I wanted to do it but the reality of it was that I really had never run more than 3-4 miles...ever. I held my breath, typed in my credit card information and hit submit. There it was...a goal. I've never really been fond of goals. They seem hard and can cause disappointment and I'm full of excuses. So I registered and then stored that into the back of my mind for the next 3.5 months. 

My year of running fits neatly into 2014 but that isn't where it started. I had to train for this half marathon. The first thing I did was choose a start date and a training program. I decided to go with the Disney training programs because, well...I had nothing else. I went out for my first run on October 1, 2014. The Disney training program was a 3 day per week program so that's what I did. I ran on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This worked for a while but I decided that I was going to need more of a challenge. I consulted my friend Mary and she found a beginner training plan which would increase my 3 days of running to 5. Five days of running! Three seemed like a lot, but I had a dream. For about a month, I ran 3 days per week without skipping. In late October/early November (I can't exactly remember), I switched training plans. My new training plan was only 12 weeks so I didn't actually need to start right away. I didn't stop running though. I knew I would have two weekends in December where I wouldn't be able to complete a run so I officially started the new training plan 14 weeks out. 

As Winter approached, I invested in some warmer clothes for my training. I decided that I enjoyed running outside way more than the treadmill at the gym. I have known myself for a really long time, so I needed to account for all of my excuses I would make to get out of a run.  I started by packing a running bag for work. Everyday after 3:30pm, I would go change into my running clothes and then I would get in the car. If I hadn't already decided on a route that day, I had to quickly decide because I would not drive my car home until I completed a run. On days that it rained, I would go to the gym. So as the temperatures began dropping, I kept wearing more clothes. By the end of December, so was running in 24 degree weather and I didn't even mind. 

On the 6th day of January 2014, I slipped on some black ice and broke my sacrum.  The doctors initially told me that it would be unlikely for me to run that race just seven weeks out. I cried and cried. I had been training since October 1 for this! They said even if I could run it, I would have missed most of the training in the final weeks. After seeing an orthopedic doctor, I followed his orders to take two full weeks off from running. He said that on the 14th day, I could attempt a short run....so I ran 5 miles. The sacrum isn't affected by the motion of running so the pain wasn't made worse from running. I continued training. I had to skip a few long runs but I caught back up at the 10 mile week. 

We flew down to Florida a few days before the race and on February 23, 2014, I woke up ready to run a final and fierce 13.1 miles towards my dream. I had almost no anxiety and I felt excited! I was in the very last corral but when those fireworks shot up into the sky, I started running. And I didn't stop running until 13.1 miles later. As I crossed that finish line, I saw my dad waving from the stands and tears fell from my eyes. Earning that medal was incredible! 

I was only home from that race for about a month when RunDisney announced a surprise Avengers Half out at Disneyland for the end of that year. Running that race would earn me the Coast to Coast medal. So my friends and my sisters and I all signed up! And then I stored that in that back of my mind until the end of July. The second training period wasn't anything to really write about. I used the same plan as before and held myself accountable for my 5 runs a week. We flew out to California a few days before the race. My first time in California! The day of the Avengers Half, I woke up with a lot of anxiety. I pushed through and ran all 13.1 miles of that race to earn my Avengers medal and the Coast to Coast medal. 

I did it. Two half marathons in one calendar year on both coasts of the United States! The medals don't define me or put me on any type of pedestal. The journey to those medals...that's what  defines me...it changed me. 

When I began this journey I was absolutely terrified! And to be honest, I had that little bit of nervousness before I set out on every Sunday long run! I signed up with no clue how to get to the finish line. I had no plan and no experience with a half marathon. I don't think I have ever challenged myself more in my life than I did during my year of running. I was fierce in my training and I stomped down on stomach aches, headaches, exhaustion, a broken back, and really any other possible excuse that I could have come up with. I ran. I did it one day at a time. In 2014, I laced up my running shoes 84 times and pounded pavement for 380 miles! (That doesn't include Oct-Dec 2013). 

380 miles. I did that. Me...a girl who had never run more than 3-4 miles at a time and certainly no more than like 10 times a year. 

My year of running has challenged and changed me. I know that if I can do that, I can do so many other things in this life. That year was the foundation for the goals of my future. I'm sad that my momma didn't get to experience any of that with me but I know that one day I will get to tell her all about my year of running. I'm certain she is my biggest cheerleader, even from Heaven!

I still don't consider myself a runner. Believe me, I'd rather eat and sleep over going for a run any day! Running is lonely for me but I spend a lot of that time praying to God...so I found that I was never really alone. I still don't love running, but I'm in love with the challenge. The challenge to follow a training plan and see it through for months until my feet crossed finish lines. I'm so incredibly thankful for that experience and the ways in which it will impact my future. 

So there you have it...my year of running. There isn't much left to say. I'll leave you with this...if you have a dream...go chase it! It's okay to fall down, get back up and try again. Ask for help, cry it out, but don't ever give up. I believe in you! 

I guess now would be a good time to announce that my next run will be the Broad Street Ten Miler in Philly on May 3, 2015.