Prodigious life of a little lady.: I am a Runner.

Running:

Four years ago, running = torture & punishment.
Today, running = life & adventure.

Let's face it. I may be described as lots of things, but "runner" was never one of those, until somewhat recently. I never ran track or cross country in school, and I remember Mrs. Chavez yelling at me, "Cook, quit walking, get to running!" every time we had to run laps at the track in 8th grade. But that's the amazing thing about life. You live, you grow, you change who and what you are, whenever you want. Two years ago was the first time I started running. I mean, really running. It started out innocently enough meeting my friend Leigha at City Park on Saturday mornings for a run, typically 2-3 miles. She was always so encouraging, telling me that I kept a good pace, and that I kept up well. I mostly started running, as I felt somewhat obligated. I felt obligated living in Denver, CO; that it was required of people to be physically active. As I started going through this list of active things I could participate in, running seemed the least threatening, and let's face it, the least expensive (or so I thought at the time.....) I got really into our weekly runs, and then the winter months took us indoors to the treadmills in the gym. With dedication and diligence, before I knew it, I was clocking 4+ miles on the treadmill! I was becoming excited at my new found liking to running, and pushing new limits. It was that same year, that my dear friend Alison ran her first half-marathon with her mom. I remember reading all of her training updates on facebook, and being so inspired!

When Leigha encouraged me to sign up to run the Colfax Half Marathon, I told her she was out of her mind. the IDEA of me running 13 miles was ludicrous! But I signed up, and took it seriously. I met every run on the training schedule, and before I knew it, I had accomplished the greatest victory of my life when I crossed that finish line. From that point on, I was hooked. I was a runner. I hadn't really planned on doing any other events, but I just kept running a few miles a day, just because I loved how it made me feel. By the end of 2010, I had completed 3 half-marathons and a 10 mile race! Who had I become?

Later that fall, I suffered a pretty serious hip injury that kept me from running for about 2 months. I knew I was addicted the moment running was taken away from me. I was going crazy during those weeks I was off my feet. But thanks to yoga and an awesome sports chiropractor, I was back in my running shoes ready to hit the pavement. As the winter months kept my mind busy and I was looking forward to the races I would be doing after the new year, I began to toy with the idea of running a full marathon. Although each half-marathon I had done up to that point, had been painful and often ending in tears, the feeling of accomplishment and adrenaline that followed afterward were more rewarding and memorable than the pain and suffering. I began to really convince myself that in a couple years, I just might be ready to run the full distance marathon. Well, a couple years was more like a couple months. In February after my good friend Alexe moved to Chicago for nursing school, she asked me to run the Chicago Marathon with her friend and herself. Surprisingly, I didn't hesitate to say yes, and was registered soon after. As this year went on, it seems like there was never a dull moment, and it was event after event; and if not a running event, my weekends were consumed by my training.

I was in awe as my mileage climbed and then one day I went out and ran 20 miles! By then, I knew I was ready. At this point, there was nothing more I could do, and no looking back. I was a runner. And soon I would accomplish the event that would complete my sport full-circle. The Chicago Marathon. And I did it. TWENTY-SIX.POINT.FREAKING.TWO.