February Run Streak comes to a close...

I am an avid Instagrammer. I love the support it has for a community of people that share similar interests and are seeking challenges and ideas. The run streak was not a new concept to me, in fact I have done it before. This month seemed different. And I am glad it's over tomorrow.

I have a few theories about running every day, and anyone who knows me knows I typically do NOT advocate running daily. Now, I am not going to get scientific and tell you what you should or should NOT do- but for me personally, running every day sucks. 

I started the month with excitement , like YEAH! lets do this. I was loving it. There were blizzards every weekend- it sort of created an adventure for me. I thought it was great to put on my "screw shoes" and run through 6 inches of unplowed streets. 

As the month kept going I felt less inspired and the times I had to be on the dreadmill , I would see people lifting weights and I was jealous. 

Don't get me wrong , I LOVE to run, but what makes my running strong is BALANCE. Days off from running are KEY for my body to recover properly- and absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? You take a day or 2 off, and you CRAVE the next run. 

I also believe in runs with purpose, versus "junk miles" When you run every day, its inevitable to not have junk miles. I think these are the most important runs: Hill repeats, Speed work (tempo, fartleks), Long run, and recovery run.  For me, lifting has eliminated junk mile days, and built up my strength. Prior to lifting being a strong component in my regiment, I was constantly injured- mostly IT band issue. Since I've been cross training, no injury. (knock on wood)

Anyways, it was fun, I will have 130 miles for the shortest month and snowiest month , but I look forward to more of a balanced schedule next month. Bring on March!

Here are some photos from all the fun. Thank god for my 4 long runs with Tri-State Running- 2 being 13.1's - One being a "virtual half" since Hyannis marathon weekend got canceled.

Superbowl Sunday Long Run (12.39 miles)

The first 13.1 of February 

Twelve mile long run

Our very own "virtual Hyannis" 13.1 

We were built to fall apart , Then fall back together

I was running Tuesday night with my friend Jose and it came up that it's usually interesting to find out why people started running. I don't want to say 100 percent of the time, but more often than not- running was stemmed from something negative. I think that is why running is so near and dear to me, I have watched it transform people- including myself.

I like to ask people what got them running. I've seen weight loss, recovering addicts, unhappy in relationship/marriage, mental health, eating disorder recovery, to be heart healthy, and many other things.

I'm sharing what got me started. For me,  it's a bit two fold, sort of I didn't know it was coming , but I was forcing it at the same time type of thing.

When I was a senior in high school , I started to have some serious body image issues. How I got that point is irrelevant to this story- just know that I was struggling.
I'm terrified of throwing up (thankfully) and I LOVE to eat, so what's a girl to do?
Start working out. Excessively.

It started with a LOT of sit ups - I had the 17 year old mentality that If I did 100 sit ups, I could look in the mirror and see results, and when I didn't- 100 more 100 more 100 more... until I got a hernia. womp womp..... well, 3 hernias later (within a 12 month period) I thought maybe its time to move on from the sit ups.

To the track I went. The dreadful high school track that I had to run the DREADED mile on in gym class. WHAT was I doing here? It took me an entire summer to build up to a mile non stop. I hated it. I ran laps listening to my "mixed tape" CD's that skipped every 30 seconds likely from my terrible running form.

As this grew on me, I started to run in my neighborhood to mix it up- and in 2003 I signed up for a triathlon- I think a week prior to it. Just a sprint, but it would by my first race EVER. First of all I thought of the half
mile swim in terms of driving.  I drove a half mile and thought, that ain't bad! I biked a lot as a kid- and they say if you haven't been on one in a while you don't forget so I figured that was cake. And the run, I'd crawl if I had to.
Race day? My thoughts of "it won't be that bad" became my hardest challenge. I wanted a 2 hour finish, and did 1:59:59. I fell in love with the finish line- the support- the happiness - the feeling of accomplishment, and I needed more.
I did that same race for 10 years with the most recent being 1:31 finish- Not too bad from where I started.

Since 2003 I have done many triathlons, 8 Marathons, 30+ half marathons, too many 5k, 10k, and 10 mile races to track, about 20 OCR races, and other random races. My first marathon changed my life. (Still so sorry for everyone who had to witness that day LOL)

People don't get it, why we run. Running started as a punishment, and I like to believe it ended up saving me. Running is my medication. Not only is it good for my mental health and my physical health, but it has brought to me some of my very BEST friends. When you run next to people for hours at a time, you learn more about those people than you ever expected to. This sport taught me how to accept success, how to handle failure, and many principles apply to my daily life. Commitment, determination, never giving up, good days, bad days, laughing, crying, winning, losing, LIVING.

I'm out of the woods.

My very first Marathon, Hartford 2008

One of the few reasons I love my running pals, don't take life too seriously.