Day 4: ...and we used to hate running too

We didn't always love running, in fact we both kind of hated it. It all started with a little 5K...

KAYCEE: I tried running a few times. In high school, such value was placed on running fast for fitness testing on the mile, and being the straight-A student I was, it killed me that I could never achieve a sub-9 mile, which was an A. I honestly don't know if I could now, even after all of this running. I'm not speedy, but I enjoy distance. I remember vividly coming very close to that mark and almost blacking out. My friends said that I was as white as a sheet after, which is not the best response to exercise. The issue I have with the way that we were prepared for these tests was with fixed run/walk interval training with no explanation or progression.

My next memory of running is trying to impress a guy that I liked in high school. He ran and I thought if I did too, he would like me. That ended with me basically dying in his kitchen afterwards. Oops.

Finally, my last awful memory of running was in a step aerobics class in college. At the end of the semester, the professor thought it would be "fun" to go outside and run sprints after a semester of only doing step aerobics. How does that translate? I ended up with shin splints so bad that I could barely walk the next day. I ended up skipping the last class of the semester, because she was planning the same thing again.

I don't really know what flipped the switch. I stumbled across Couch-to-5k and read so many amazing stories of success that it inspired me, I guess. At the point I started running, I was heavier than I had ever been in my life and knew I needed to change before the trend continued. I'm not saying that I've had the most perfect relationship with running since then, and I'm still figuring it all out. 

KIRSTIN: To be completely honest, I started running in high school for 2 reasons: to lose weight and to appease my then boyfriend (trend here much?). I've now realized he had textbook signs of verbal and relationship abuse but it's okay, he's long gone now. When I quit dance, I needed something to fill the void and I had no idea what else to do. He suggested I run, so I did, but I had no idea what my pace should be, how far I should go, what shoes to wear-nothing. I began to hate it when said boyfriend criticized me for not going further or when I saw the athletes from school running faster on the treadmill next to me. They all made it seem so easy but I was determined to tone up. I only ever ran a mile or 2 at a time but I made myself go to the gym most days of the week.

Even after Kaycee and I ran our first few 5Ks I still struggled with this concept. I was convinced walking meant failure and there was no chance in hell I'd ever run more than 3 miles. It wasn't until I joined my first half-marathon training group that I began to enjoy running and realize it was more than a weight loss tool. It took a real training plan, the accountability of others, and gorgeous routes to get me to that point. If 2015 me told 2007 me I'd ever enjoy running, 2007 me would have laughed in my face.

Something we wish we would have known when we first started is that not every run is created equal. Just because you had an amazing run one day, does not mean you'll go as far or fast or feel as good the next day. Although there is something to be said for proper fuel, weather conditions, and general attitude, sometimes it just doesn't matter. There will be good and bad days but you just have to keep pushing. Consistency is the key but first find what makes it fun for you!