Let me start by saying I was always in pretty good shape. I figure skated competitively for about 10 years which involved pretty rigorous training, both on and off the ice. My endurance and stamina were top notch back then, not to mention my metabolism was awesome…I think it’s working only part-time these days 😉
In addition to skating, way back when, over a decade ago now (wow!), I ran cross country and track in high school. Fast forward about seven years and before I knew it the man of my dreams was down on one knee.
As soon as I got engaged I knew I wanted to get in the best shape possible because who doesn’t want their wedding and honeymoon photos to be amazing? I started running several times a week for 3 to 5 miles at a time. That, in combination with some strength training, yoga and pilates, I was in pretty darn good shape for my wedding day back in September of 2010.
Fast forward a few more years to 2013. At this point we had been married for a few years and thinking about starting family. We each made a list of things we wanted to do/accomplish before we took that next step and running a marathon was one of the things on my list.
I ran my first one in November 2013. I thought it would be a line item that I would cross off my list and move on; however, it was such an amazing experience that I am motivated to do more and improve my time. Everybody says that road races become almost addictive in nature and I think they’re right.
I found the marathon distance to be a worthy challenge yet an easily attainable goal for me. If I can do one, so can you!