I have most definitely been MIA on this blog for the last 3 months and I am ashamed of my neglect, especially since it was on my list of 100 goals to write a blog post once a week.
So what's been happening?
Well I went through some personal stuff, ended up finally leaving a job which has been had been affecting my mental health and relationships for some time - a stressful but liberating experience. This was probably the major factor behind my non-blogging, in between the stress of changing jobs, maintaining my training and eating and having a social life - there wasn't much time left to blog!
But I'm back now! And better than ever!! I still love my new fit life (although not so new now) more and more everyday. At the moment, in particular, I have been loving my running and ticked off one of the goals on my 100 list - To train for and complete my first half marathon - just last weekend. I plan on blogging about the race and the lead up to it but I thought I'd go back over my running story and it also briefly re-caps the 2013 Run for the Kids - one of the goals on my 100 list.
I wrote the below testimonial for my Run with Life's running crew in March this year after I completed the 2013 Run for the Kids but it tells my story of where I started from and the next post will detail the lead up and race re-cap of my first half marathon.
How Running Changed My Life
2 years ago I was never a runner, I was never athletic or fit by any means and the thought of running any form of long distance seem ridiculous to me.
I joined Run with Life's running crew in September 2011 with a goal to lose weight for my wedding in 6 months time. I joined with the ability to run for no more than a maximum of 2-3 minutes at a time, having to stop and walk because I was too puffed or had a stitch.
Between September and December 2011, I attended a running crew session once a week and week by week, my fitness and endurance improved. I began to actually enjoy running and really looked forward to meeting up with all the other runners once a week.
In December 2011 I completed my first 10km fun run with a group of running crew members and I absolutely loved it! The atmosphere, the buzz and the sense of pride you get from achieving a goal had me hooked and I’ve now participated in close to a dozen fun runs.
I participated in Run for the Kids in April 2012, a tough 14.38km course through Melbourne and
completed it in 1 hour 26 mins. It felt like quite a longer distance to the 10km’s I’d participated in previously and there were some difficult hills which I really struggled with.
In the 12 months that followed, Run with Life expanded the running crew to 5 sessions per week focusing on different areas such as speed, hills and endurance to really work on improving all areas of your running. Along with these sessions, improving my knowledge of correct nutrition, regular strength training with Mel and the encouragement I received from my fellow running buddies , I participated in Run for the Kids again in 2013 and knocked 7 minutes off my time from last year, completing the same course with an additional 602 metres (15km’s total) in 1 hour 19 mins. (On my 100 list to complete in under 1 hour 20 minutes! - TICK!)
I don’t believe there’s any way I could have achieved this if I went out every week and slogged it out on the track on my own. I highly doubt I would even be running today if it wasn't for the support of the running crew!
I am by no means a fast runner or breaking any records; I run to achieve my personal goals and
compete with no one but myself. I am now setting my sights of completing a half marathon in July, a thought which seemed crazy to me only 3 months ago!
The Run with Life Running Crew is a group of like-minded people at all levels, some of us begin with the same fitness I begun with, some of us run anywhere between 5kms to full 42km marathons, and some of us are slower and just go at our own pace. The environment is encouraging and non-judgmental and we all have the same passion for achieving goals and bettering ourselves along with the guidance and support from the coaches Mel & Bec.
If you’ve ever considered any form of running goal, no matter how big or small, I couldn't
recommend joining a running group, in particular the Run with Life running crew enough. What have you got to lose from giving something a go?
Run with Life are actually taking registrations for new runners to join the crew to train for the 2013 Melbourne Marathon festival. 12 week plans start from 22nd July this year so why not come and join us?
No comments:
Post a Comment