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| My favorite trail running partner |
There have always been a variety of activities that I have
either been interested in or wildly passionate about. The one thing that has stood the course of time is running,
and running in turn has brought me to a whole new world of movement. I’m not an elite athlete, I’m a masters runner
and I am passionate about no matter who you are, movement will benefit you, in
whatever form you enjoy. You don’t have
to train for an Ironman or a marathon or any structured event. Often walking through the woods on Sunday
mornings with my pup is the best work out of my week, my church if you
will.
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| Could not do this without them! |
I came to running later than some in life. I gave up smoking and picked up my running
shoes. I had run when I was younger,
but always found it more of a punishment than a joy. Or a “I have to” rather than “I get to”. Don’t get me wrong there are some days that
I still revert to “I have to” I’m only human, but most days I like that I get
to run. And of course true to my
personality I went straight to running a half marathon and then directly into a
marathon, with a handful of 5k races thrown in and a Duathlon too. And I had amazing friends that encouraged me
every step of the way; one that was crazy enough to sign up to run with me and
one that was my biggest cheerleader and one has been my best friend for far too many years to count. To
this day I consider all of these women my closest friends.
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| First marathon! |
My family got into crazy too. My parents and my sister, waited for me at
the end of my first marathon. One of my favorite memories of my
sister is the huge bear hug that I got as I stumbled to a stop at the end of my first
26.2 (that or her drinking a beer with me while I took an ice bath back at the
hotel). My parents spent the entire
marathon weekend with me. My Dad drove up with me to the expo and kept me company. My Mom (my
biggest fan, cheesy but I know I'm lucky) got a hotel room for us, and made
sure I was relaxed and comfortable AND that I had Gummi Bears waiting for me at the finish line. Believe me if you have family that will wait
hours for you standing along the streets of a multi hour race, cherish each one of them!
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| First Indoor Championships - Boston |
I also stepped on to the track for the first time in my
life. I was introduced to another group
of people that I would absolutely consider family. TNT International Racing Club. Running the oval is so different than
mid-pack running on the roads; there is no hiding from your goals. You toe the line, the gun goes off and it is
just you and what you are aiming to achieve.
And you spend each left turn chasing those goals. It is scary, raw and one of the best
decisions I have ever made. And by no means do I underestimate the amount of
confidence and strength running that oval has given me.
Without a doubt it bleeds over to all aspects of my life.
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| Kickboxing is a favorite |
I’ve also learned the hard way that cross training is key,
especially as a masters runner. This is
another area that I quickly found out that I had passion for. Cycling, lifting, TRX, kickboxing are just a
few that are my top picks. I will try
anything once, and if I love it I’ll add it in so nothing ever becomes stale. If
you have any suggestions send them my way!
So hopefully, you’ll get a pretty good picture how this all
fits in the life of the average archaeologist from the tiny state of
Delaware. You’ll get come along a few
adventures I have planned for the upcoming year, see the sights of my home
state from a runner’s prospective, and some other local fitness favorites and
chat about a variety of topics!
Until Next Time!
Amy
