I love to run. Running is my time to clear my head, my favorite way to stay in shape and my way to explore a new area. I enjoy running by myself and with friends.
Running began in middle school when it was all about sprinting. I was not the fastest one around, and became quite discouraged running the mile for time in P.E. Fortunately, I discovered another way to run, running for distance not for speed. During my senior year in high school I finally had the courage to join the cross county team. It was my first experience being part of a team sport. That was one of the best times I had in high school. It gave me a purpose, introduced me to new friends and increased my self-confidence. I looked forward to running with my friends every afternoon after school.
I continued running through college and after as my means to stay in shape, stay sane and socialize with my friends. But then the injuries began. I had one knee surgery in high-school, herniated disc in my lower back, yet another knee surgery, bunion surgery and IT band issues. Each of these injuries took me away from running from a month to a year. I would try other types of exercise – elliptical, biking, swimming, pilates, yoga, Blast class, Pure Barre class, bootcamp, and kettlebell, but nothing gave me the feeling that running does. I wanted to dedicate myself to another form of exercise, but my need to run never went away. After each injury I would slowly get back into running, and would run until I was injured again.
Now that I have girls, I not only want to run for myself, but I want to run for them. There is nothing greater than to cross the finish line in a race and see how big the girls are smiling. They are still a bit confused that I don’t win the race, but they still love to cheer me on. I hope to set a healthy example for the girls and I hope to run races with them. There is a great program called Girls on the Run, which begins in third grade and I cant wait to be their coach.
But what do I do about my injuries? I want to run pain free and be able to run for the next 40 years. In January I had increased my mileage, subsequently my knees, foot and IT band began to hurt again. Frustrated, I began to look for answers. Several people had mentioned Jeff Galloway to me. I have resisted learning much about his method, because frankly, to stop and walk during a run was just not in my DNA.
Curiosity got the best of me and I started poking around his website. Then I signed up for his emails. Then I received THE email. Casting call for a pilot TV program – Born to Run. If picked, I would have the opportunity to spend two days with Jeff Galloway. He would evaluate the way I run, my current training and I would have the opportunity to learn about his training methods from him directly.
Oh but wait, I am terrified of being filmed and have no desire to be on TV. Jeff says we are all “born to run” and that it is possible to run pain free, could this be true?
Hummm – fear of being on TV or my desire to run pain free? Well, I sent in an application, I figured there is little to no chance I would actually be picked anyways. And, seriously, once he sees all the injuries I listed, I would not be a good candidate for running pain free.
I got picked, along with 4 other amazing people. I decided to jump WAY out of my box and drive to Lake Lanier Islands to spend two days being filmed.
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