Running Class!

I'm a runner. I decided I wanted to be a runner about 2 years ago. I was trying to lose weight, and increase my fitness level so I thought I'd start running. It started out as run/walks around my neighborhood. I never thought I'd be able to run even one mile without stopping.

But I kept it up. I would go out and run/walk every day. I started to really enjoy it and it became something I wanted to do rather than just forcing myself to do it. I decided to run a race. I ran my first 5k and came in second place in my age division! That's when I realized I was kind of good at it. Then I decided I wanted to add distance, and signed up for a half-marathon. I completed it in November, with a time of  2:13:45.

This picture is hilarious. I was pretty spent. 

This past winter, however, I stopped running as much. It was a very cold, snowy winter and I'm not a fan of running on the treadmill, so of course, my training suffered. At this moment, I can only run about 5 miles at a time, so I'm trying to get back into "half-marathon" shape so I can run the Charleston Distance Run (15 miles) this fall.

One step I've taken is to obviously try to get more running in. This is harder this time around, I have less time to run because as opposed to last summer, I have a full time job and Zach, who I spend a lot of time with. I haven't reinstated long runs on the weekends yet, but I really need to get back into that.

Also, I've started taking a 5k running class, which is really helping me get my speed and endurance back. This class is great. It's taught by two trainers at a local gym, and they are really pushing us.

Finally, I've really implemented (as I said in a previous post) more weight training. More muscle = more power = faster times and more endurance.

Hopefully I'll be ready to run 15 miles in November. I just need to focus on adding distance and training regularly.