How I Started to Run

For those who don't know, I love to run. Not long runs of over 10+ miles, but 3-5 miles every other day. My preference is running at night, after a hard day and emptying my mind of everything except the sound of my breathing and feet gliding over the ground. So, how did this all start?

Summer 2004

My sister came to spend a few days in early summer at home before returning to college. As many of my summers began, I vowed to lose weight and be more healthy. So, I invited my sister to go run with me at the local high school's track field. Little did I know this would change my life forever (haha so dramatic).

After running one mile, I panted my way for the bleachers to rest + stretch before heading home. My sister came up behind me and asked innocently, "How much did you run?" I responded proudly, "1 MILE!" Her response shifted my perspective of running permanently.

She responded, "That's it?"

That's it? Up to that moment in my life the one mile was the pinnacle of cardio activity. Elementary school, middle school, and even P.E. in high school only required us to be tested for a 1 mile run. It had never occurred to me that you could run more. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I never imagined myself running more than 1 mile up to that point. Running more than that was for people who were way too serious about running and needed to realize the beauty of other sports like basketball.

Well, long story short, I ended up running one more mile that night. And for the rest of the summer I ran 2 miles in the morning, 2 miles in the evening. Ended up losing a lot of fat and in the best shape of my life up to that point.

I still love basketball, martial arts, hiking, swimming, soccer, etc etc...but the common denominator in my physical training regimen is running.

Sometimes we need to be reminded that what we think is the limit, really isn't.

That's it.