Welcome!!!

Welcome to my RUNNING BLOG! And thanks for visiting! This blog is mainly for me to track my running and to provide a separate place to just do the "run" thing. I am a fairly new beginner to running. I took it up in June - just nine months ago. No one is more surprised than I, that I am a runner now. Funny thing is, I honestly don't feel like a REAL runner. More like someone still pretending to be one. I don't know if I will ever feel like the real thing. Maybe I have to run a marathon first! Running is not something I have ever enjoyed. To me it was only a way to get from one place to another quickly! Or as my hub would say, "Why would anyone run unless they were being chased?" I was in the same frame of mind until a few of my good friends encouraged me to start. Even then, I didn't ever think it was something I would end up doing frequently. But I have been running now for nine months (more like seven and a half since I didn't really get out much in Jan. or Feb.) and it has now become something I actually WANT to do.

When my friend Jen, ran her first marathon last May, I was so impressed with her, yet in the back of my mind I honestly thought she was nuts! I just couldn't understand why anyone would want to put their body through that kind of torture on purpose! But when my friend Audrey started to run and confessed how hard it was for her as well, it really made me think I could do it too, especially since she is even older than I am! ;) She said when she first started she would just set a goal that she would run just to that tree or to that stop sign. So when I was out on my walks, I decided to do the same thing. And before I knew it I was able to run a mile without too much pain. I just kept building on that. It was almost as if once I got started, I felt like it was a hidden talent I never knew I had. By that I am not saying that I am good at it in anyway, just that it is certainly not something I would have ever thought "I" would ever be doing. It has helped to have such great and supportive friends who encourage and motivate me to keep going.

I think one of the real reasons I started to do races is because those who registered for the Mantua Dam race got a t-shirt that said: I SURVIVED THE DAM RACE! I really wanted one of those shirts! That was my total motivation! I wanted to wear it around town and at girl's camp. That is really why I signed up for that one. I honestly planned on walking most of it, but ended up running the entire (4.7 mile) route without stopping once! I totally surprised myself and I have had the bug ever since! And I do love that shirt!

Jen is running the Ogden Marathon again this year but is doing it alone and so she challenged me to run in it with her but with a team relay. I thought that sounded like fun (a year ago I'd never thought I'd EVER hear myself say THAT!) and so I have been thinking about challenging myself to run a half marathon as my part of the relay. I know I am not even close to being ready to do the whole marathon. Maybe someday, but not this year. I am not sure I can even survive a half! Everyone seems to have more faith in me than I do myself. I am grateful for that and I guess that is what keeps me motivated. I am still not totally committed to doing the half marathon yet, but I do like to have a challenging goal to strive towards. So we'll see. And to those of you who suffer through reading about my running life, PLEASE feel free to comment! Or if you are a fellow runner, don't hesitate to offer me some tips and hints! I can always use those!!! Happy Running!


This was my first race. It was a lot of fun! We had a great group of fellow runners and walkers. Don't let the photo on the top left fool you! Dave and Kim are making it look like they ran it too... hmm... they actually walked. But it looks good on the photo! There is no way those two could have ran. They both have bad knees...unfortunately! But we were proud of them for walking it and mostly for their moral support! I will have to post a photo of my t-shirt! Because not everyone...oh no- not even!...survives the DAM race!!! ☺ hee-hee ( CLICK on the photos to enlarge)