10 Things I Learned in My First Year of Running

I can't believe it's been over a year since I started running. For some reason last March, I decided that I really wanted to become a runner. I signed up for a 5k and trained with the Couch to 5k program and eventually wound up training for and running my first half marathon in September. My journey to becoming a runner has been full of ups and downs, as any other worthwhile journey is and I've learned some important things along the way that I thought would be worth sharing.

1. Getting fitted for proper shoes is so important! This is one of the first things you should do when you get serious about running. Joe made a deal with me that if I stuck with running for a full month, we could go get fitted at our local running store. I ended up getting a pair of Brooks PureCadence 2s and they are fantastic. I even bought backups once they released the PureCadence 3s and the 2s went on clearance.

2. Not all of my runs are going to be awesome. In fact, some of them are really going to suck and make me wonder why I do this in the first place. Some of those sucky runs will end up being races that I paid good money for, like the Yuengling 5k last week (sad, short recap coming soon). All I can do is learn from it if I can and move on.

3. Signing up for a big race is scary. When I signed up for my first half marathon last year, I was terrified. What if I couldn't finish? What if my family is there watching me and sees me fail? I learned that the saying is true though, if your goals don't scare you, they aren't big enough.

4. Do the training. Seriously... Do. The. Training. Find a plan that sounds good to you and stick to it as closely as you possibly can. I used Hal Higdon's half marathon plan and loved it. It was simple and completely manageable. I skipped maybe two or three of my runs during training for the Pocono Lake Region 13.1 and I had a fantastic experience there. I hardly ran in the three weeks between that race and the Hershey Half and I had an awful time. Put in the time and it will make a world of difference.

5. Runners are the most amazing group of people. I was only about a month into running last year when the Boston Marathon bombing occured. I barely even considered myself a runner at that point, but I found myself glued to the television watching for updates and as the stories poured in day after day, I was amazed and proud of the support that the running communities around the country gave to the people affected by the bombings. It solidified my desire to be a part of it, a part of something so strong and united.

6. People are going to think you are weird. Unless you are really lucky and have a big group of runner friends, which I don't. And you know what? They are right. Running for two hours straight is a weird thing to do. But it's also challenging, invigorating, satisfying, and strengthening.

7. I want to run a marathon. Desperately. I almost signed up for one yesterday. The thought of it scares the absolute crap out of me, but I want to be a marathoner at least once.

8. I can run faster than I think. I almost dropped dead in shock when I ran a 5k with an 8:40 average pace a few weeks ago. But guess what? When you push yourself, awesome things happen! I spent so long thinking that I couldn't run faster than a 10:30/mile pace, but when I actually started pushing myself, I found out I was capable of much more.

9. Hills are my friend. There are literally no flat places to run anywhere near my house, so either way I go, I'm running hills. Guess who isn't afraid of a course with some hills? This girl.

10. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can compare to the feeling of accomplishing your goals. I ran the Scranton Half Marathon at the beginning of April with the goal of running under 2:10:00 and honestly, I didn't really think I could do it that morning. I ran a 2:07:41 that day and I've been on cloud nine ever since. I break into a huge smile whenever I see my medal hanging in my bedroom and the thought of that run gets me out the door on days when I really don't want to.

I've played sports, but I've never taken them seriously or considered myself an athlete until I took up running. I've made huge progress in this past year not only as an athlete, but as a healthy person as well and I can thank running for that. I can't wait to see what I can do in this next year!