Welcome to the running page on Sweet Potato Bites! As you know, this blog is mostly about food, but in addition to eating yummy things, I also love to run. But that wasn’t always the case.
How I got into Running:
Growing up, I was always an active kid. I was on swim team for 10 years, did Junior Lifeguards for 4 years, and loved to bike ride and take dance classes in between. One thing I didn’t do much of? Running. I hated running and always defined myself as a “swimmer” and not a runner. During my junior lifeguard tenure, I was the one would rather swim around a pier than run 2 miles.
Then I stopped swimming and moved onto college where I spent my time in the gym taking your typical spin and body pump classes, and using the elliptical and stationary bike. Basically anything but running.
In 2009, one of my coworkers and dear friends mentioned a couch to 5k program and suggested that we run a 5k together. I was beyond intimidated but decided to go for it. Plus, the 5k was basically across the street from where I lived so I had nothing to lose.
I trained for that race in my tiny apartment gym on an old treadmill, and come race day I was able to run the whole 3.1 miles without walking. I was shocked and proud at the same time, and the running bug hit.
For the next couple of years I stuck to mostly running on the treadmill and sticking to shorter distances like a 5k and one 10k. During that time I got a new job, moved south to Orange County, and the Englishman (aka my fiancee) moved to America. I slowly convinced him to start running with me, and I began to take my runs outside and we ended up running a few 5ks together.
In January 2013 we both decided we would run the OC Half Marathon and spent the next 5 months training for it and slowly building up the mileage. I crossed that finish line in 2:05, and once again was shocked at how far I’ve come since that first race in 2009.
Since then I’ve set a new half marathon PR of 1:47, ran numerous 5K and 10K races, and still love running more than ever!
What was once a sport I hated has now become a major part of my life. I love lacing up my Brooks running shoes and hitting the pavement, even if it’s just for a few short miles. At this point I’m run a few times a week and do crossfit (my second love) and couldn’t be happier!
Race Recaps:
Big Sur Half Marathon on Monterey Bay – November 2014
Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K – November 2013
Current Race PR’s:
1 Mile: 6:54 (6/27/14)
5K: 21:36 (1/24/15 Crossfit Vibe Timed 5K)
10K: 53:37 (11/28/13 Dana Point Turkey Trot)
10 Mile: 1:31:10 (10/27/13 Surf City 10)
Half Marathon: 1:47:42 (11/16/14 Big Sur Half Marathon on Monterey Bay)
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Its funny to me how people who never ran end up running marathons (:
I want to work on running faster myself. How did you push yourself to run so fast?
It was definitely a gradual process – and incorporating speed work helped a ton! Just adding some quick sprints into your daily run workout makes all the difference in the world. I have a few track workouts posted on my training page if you want to check them out!
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