2011-2014 My journey into competitive running

Let me tell you about my journey…

January 2011– I was 19 years old. Weighed about 155. Smoked. I attempted to workout 3x a week for 20 min. I was sick and tired of feeling like crap all the time, but I felt “out of control” and didn’t know how to fix the problems in front of me.

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September 2011: Over the summer/spring of 2011, I decided I needed to really commit to losing weight if I wanted to see results. I lost over 25 pounds, ran my first 5k, then I joined my college’s cross country team without EVER running on any team in my life.

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I could NEVER have predicted this. I had people/friends LAUGH in my face when I told them that I was joining the cross country team.At this point in my life, I had built up enough confidence to realize that I would not fail at this. I was going to be the best runner/athlete I could be. At the time, I set of goal of running 7:30 pace for 3.1 miles. 

PRs set in track & cross country:

October 2011- 22:20 5k     April 2012- 5:12 1500

Spring/summer 2012: I continued to run and want to set goals as a runner. Without ever running over 13 miles, I signed up for a 30k (18.65 miles) and finished with an overall pace of 8:10 per mile. I got my mom to run her first ever 5k (31:30), and I finally broke 22 in a 5k with a time of 20:59!!!

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Fall 2012: Went from the highest of highs, to a INJURY. I was knocked out of running for about 4 months due to plantar fac. I also started working full time while still in school full time. It was hard to stay focused on running/recovery during this time period because I thought I would never fully recover from my injury. I lost a LOT of fitness and gained almost all the weight I had previously lost BACK. It was a hard time for me.

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Spring 2013: From the ashes we rise again. I was able to train and run my first marathon injury free  finishing in a 4:09. I raced my first 5k in over a year in 21:20 (21 seconds off my PR). Things were looking up. I graduated college and got hired at my current job. Things in life were starting to slow down, and I was going to reap the benefits of my hard work in months to come.

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Summer/Spring 2013: This period was essentially a whirlwind of racing. Because I was injured/poor for so long, I was finally able to sign up and run ALL the races I wanted to!

Ending 2013 with these PRs:

5k- 19:56, 10k- 43:20, 1/2- 1:41, full- 3:43

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Afton Trail 25k

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Grandma’s half 1:41 and Jason 1:14

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University of Okoboji Marathon 3:47

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Torchlight 5k 20:55

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Rock n roll vegas marathon 3:43 & 3:03 for Jason

Spring 2014: I buckled down with speed work over the winter and did;t race for 4 months. I qualified for Boston 2x in 4 weeks with a 3:27 and a 3:31. I ran several sub 20 5ks. I ran a 1:35 and 1:33 half

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Wicked Marathon Kansas 3:27

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Brained run for the Lakes 3:31

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Lola’s 5k 19:54

SUMMER/FALL 2014: I ran my first Ultra, won my first marathon with a 3:26 PR, Ran a sub 19 5k and a 40:50 10k. I got injured in July 2014 and recovered in October 2014

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2015 has brought me a 3:19 marathon PR during the Goofy challenge at disney. I am currently training for the Boston Marathon 2015. I hope to set another PR there. If not, it is all apart of the journey.

Cheers to training