Running

I rarely talk about myself on the blog, but that's about to change :-).  About 2 years ago I made a commitment to change my life and become healthier.  I drastically changed my diet and started exercising almost every day.  My friend Erica joined me in this effort, and together we lost over 80 pounds in 2013.  One of the ways I chose to exercise was through running.  I started running short distances (5K or 3 miles) and would enter a race every other month or so to keep me motivated.  After I started dropping weight, the running got easier and I got faster.  I still run 5K races, but I've also added two half-marathons (13.1 miles) and a 200-mile relay to my list of accomplishments.  I'm not particularly fast, but I've seen myself improve a little bit each race and have met some of my best friends through running.  This is definitely a lifestyle change I will not give up anytime soon!

My first half marathon! 

March 2014

(Click the video to watch me cross the finish line on LP Field!)

The Country Music Marathon and Half-Marathon: my second half-marathon

April 2014

This summer I set a new PR (personal record) for my 5K and even won first place in my age group! 

It was a small race, but it still counts :-)

The half-marathons were awesome, but this weekend I completed my craziest craziest running event to date: the Ragnar Relay Tennessee.  In this event, 12 people form a team to run 198 miles of back roads from the Chattanooga Riverfront to downtown Nashville.  This includes running up (and down--but that's the easy part) Signal Mountain AND Monteagle Mountain!  Our team started running at 8:30 on Friday morning and finished at 2:00 Saturday afternoon.  Each team member runs three legs ranging from 3.5 miles to 9 miles.  My total mileage was 17.2. In between legs, you hop in the van with half your team and leap-frog your runner until they reach the next exchange point, cheering them on and checking on them along the way.  Running isn't usually a team sport, so this was a refreshing change.  But don't get me wrong, it was tiring!!!  I think I got about 2 hours of sleep, but that didn't come until 5:00am on Saturday.

Team 9! 

My van-mates 

The weather was perfect, the scenery was amazing, the sunset was breath-taking, and the stars were brilliant.

All bling-ed out for my nighttime leg, which I began running around 11:45pm. Ragnarians take their reflectivity seriously.

A sight for sore eyes (and legs)!

How did we make it all those miles without any real sleep? LOTS of coffee. 

Happy to be running my last few miles!

Ready to hand off the baton (actually a slap bracelet) to the next runner on my team

Meeting my reinforcement 

Stick a fork in me--I'm DONE!

Ceremoniously checking off my 3rd and final leg

Saturday morning picture of our team

The finish line!

Our team crossed the finish line alongside our final runner.  She's actually somewhere near the front of this shot as the rest of us could barely move at this point.

Group shot!

My friend Rob who convinced me to do this crazy thing!

My heavy medal which also doubles as a bottle opener!

I don't always love running, but I do love that I CAN run and that I have made so many good friends through running.  I know I am blessed to have the time, resources, and the endurance to run and also a husband who encourages me to always improve and who picks up the slack at home when I'm off pounding the pavement.


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