personal best!

Last weekend I ran my personal distance record of 12 miles. HOLY COW. never thought I'd be saying that! From way back when, I always wanted to be a runner but a few things inhibited this innate desire:

1. I herniated a lower disc back in 7th grade in gymnastics and was always told that I shouldn't run as it would aggravate my back problems.

and 2. I hated running.

I always told myself that once I got to college I would become a runner. I had this image in my head of Katie Holmes in Dawson's Creek running along the river at her college in the later years of that show which I was obsessed with. I was inspired by this scene and to a high schooler who dreamed of adulthood and college life, this was the embodiment of everything that I wanted. Running along a river with a huge smile upon my face and everything is content and right with the world.

Not so. I never ran in college. Never ran more than possible around the block or for 15 min. when I got angry or upset and needed to get it out of my system. I want to blame it on my back problems but to be honest I just got lazy!

So Erik got me into running for real. He's always been a big runner and did the Chicago marathon a couple years ago. It all started last October when we were driving through Roslyn and it just so happened we got stuck in the middle of the finish of the Marine Corps Marathon. It was awesome, everyone looked like death but who cared- they just finished a marathon! We decided then and there that he would help me train and we would run the marathon together in one year's time. Great idea... poor execution. Fast forward 6 months later and I still wasn't running if at all, much less training for a marathon! That's when I made the executive decision to make a commitment and join the Team to help me with this goal! Erik is still training for the Marine Corps but I switched to the Nike because I was drawn to the idea of a women's marathon! Plus then Erik and I can be there to cheer each other on for our respective races that are only a week apart from each other!
In conclusion... I ran 12 miles and I am so proud of myself! That's almost a half marathon (13.1) and I can't wait till our next long run to keep beating that personal record!