Beginning of my FunRunDay

Unless today is your first day lacing up your shoes, we all have a past as a runner.

Much of our past leads us to where we are now, for better or worse. I fell head over heels in love with sport as a freshman in high school. Thankfully, running seemed to like me a bit too. After graduation, I ran collegiately for the United States Naval Academy. It was truly an incredible gift and I am forever grateful for the experience.

I was lucky.

Many people don’t get the opportunity to run on the collegiate level. Many athletes end their competitive running upon graduating from high school, and many people pick up the sport much later in life.

While at the Naval Academy I ran cross country, indoor, and outdoor track and field. Here is the part I look back on with wonder and amazement. My coach was phenomenal, she tailored workouts to individual athletes and developed a culture that promoted hard work and fun. I never had to guess what I was running that day, I just ran what I was told. The same went with strength sessions, our strength coach created our lifting sessions and was available for instruction. Again, I never had to guess. Like magic, it was waiting for us on a board in the weight room for lunchtime lifting. We also had trainers that would listen to our complaints of aches and pains. They would stretch our tight muscles and pack us with ice or heat, whatever was necessary to help stimulate healing or reduce inflammation.

No thinking involved.

This perfect scenario lasted until graduation. I existed in a constant stream of changes and new experiences, and long gone were the days of being spoon- fed the optimal doses of speed, strength, and recovery.

Well a few years after graduation, and well out of my peak competitive fitness level I was invited to be a member of a long-distance relay race. The process of training and completing this race showed me two things, both equally important. The first, how much I missed running, and the second, how much I didn’t know about running.

Over the next few months, I used this success to springboard back into running. I researched relentlessly online and tried in vain to remember specific college workouts. I trained religiously and did everything to the best of my ability level. However, I eventually suffered an injury. I didn’t make it to the starting line and was emotionally devastated. So much work and nothing to show for it, but doctor bills.

Hindsight being 20-20, I made every mistake most new runners make. Except, I wasn’t a new runner.

I did finally cross the line in my first marathon a couple of years later. I was exhausted and exhilarated at the accomplishment, and the process it took to get there. Sitting on the pavement after the race, my head was spinning with a million things I wish I would have done differently in my training. My husband was giving me water and a sweatshirt, my kids were trying on my finisher’s medal, and I all I could focus on was how much I didn’t know.

That was the moment I decided to find out the answers to my questions. I became a certified running coach through US Track & Field and then I went on to become a certified personal trainer through the American College of Sport’s Medicine (ACSM). I found actionable techniques and tremendous training insight through my personal training, trial and error, and continued education within the sport. In my personal running, I have enjoyed consistently faster times (my 5K time is within 5 seconds of my college PR) and I have enjoyed endurance in race distances I never dreamed about in college except maybe in might nightmares…distance longer than 5K seemed ridiculous to my early 20’s brain. It turned out my coach was right…the marathon was where I was best suited.

I find true excitement not only in running strong but, in helping others achieve their dreams through running.

My past running experiences and the continued intricate journey of training has led me to my present in coaching and writing. I approach coaching athletes like a chess game. Each athlete has a different set of strengths and sources of motivation. It is my job as a coach to recognize and develop these unique attributes and help each athlete succeed. Success is not measured strictly by times run or races won. Success is measured by the joy of running, reveling in the process, and appreciating individual development. Running is fun, full of hard work, and the joy is increased exponentially with the community in which we take part. I coach high school athletes in my local school system. My goal as their coach is two-fold. First, to teach them running is a long-range sport full of joy. Regardless of speed and accolades, running is a lifelong endeavor. The community in which we belong has many distances to explore and ways to contribute.  Second, I believe every athlete can learn and experience success in running with an individualized, athlete-centered approach. FunRunDay is a platform for high school athletes, novice runners, and those looking for lifelong enjoyment of running through fun.