Having completed 6 half marathons I finally bit the bullet and signed up for my first full. My best friends have all completed their own fulls so I figured it was my turn now! (The big 3-0 is also approaching so this felt like a good time to try). My bestie Blaney and I signed up for the Disney Full in January so we are now 6 months away from race day!
– I wouldn’t say that I LOVE running, but I love the feeling I get from running. I love challenging myself to see how far I can go. Watching the mileage creep up on my Nike app gives me a sense of accomplishment. Those miles didn’t come easy – or quickly – but have slowly built up over the last 7 years.
– I was never a running growing up – that was my mom’s passion. I competed in gymnastics all during high school and college – I wasn’t great at it, but it was MY thing – my home, my people, my Love. My relationship with running came about when I was in my first year of grad school. My mother passed away from a heart attack at the age of 53, and I decided I needed to get into better shape. I joined our university’s boot camp class and got a good kick in the butt. That first semester I started by trying to finish a mile without walking to my last semester and finishing my first half ( with Blaney by my side!)
– Since graduating and becoming a physical therapist 4 years ago, working and traveling – I’ve tried to learn how to fit running into my day-to-day life. Some months the miles go by smoothly then there are a few weeks in a row when I barely make it out the door. With my first marathon coming up on the calendar I know that I have to take my training seriously and so I decided to start this blog to hold my self accountable.
– I wish my mom was here to share in these accomplishments, but I know she would be proud of the miles I’ve put behind me and would be cheering me on through the ones that I have yet to tackle. So here’s to the next few months of running mile after mile hopefully leading to crossing the finish line at Disney and enjoying Harry Potter world the next day!!
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Dotty Runs 