When I first started running, I could not run further than a mile on a treadmill in the air-conditioning. In fact, I refused to run outside and could not imagine why other people would choose the hot Georgia sun and lack of bathrooms (not to mention the beating that pavement puts on your joints). I could easily be talked out of running… and very rarely was it to do some other type of physical exercise. Just the mention of chalupas and a margarita was enough for me to leave my running shoes at home. When I started residency at UVA, I expected my treadmill to become dusty from lack of use. During intern year, most of my running consisted of up and down the stairs at the hospital, usually trying hard not to let the various books, papers and my stethoscope fall out of my white coat. Chalupas and margaritas still had their hold over me, but so did enchiladas, red wine and the Bachelor. Not just because I am a reality TV addict (which, I’m ashamed to admit, I am), but also because of the group of women I got to know when we met weekly to watch this show. One of whom includes my friend, Lindsey. The “L” in Halmarathon, the lover of horses, the taker of breathtaking photos, and the keeper of more hobbies than I can count. Linds is one of the most interesting people that I know (she is also a saint for putting up with her husband, one of my co-workers, but we won’t get into that… heart you, Z!). The first time we ran together, I remember hoping that I wouldn’t embarrass myself by trying to run 4 consecutive miles in her presence. Well, many miles later, we ran the Marine Corp 10K together, and we’ve run even further than that since then! I’m lucky to have such a running buddy in Lindsey, one who runs the same pace and who prefers to listen to an iPod while running instead of talking (thank goodness, because I have a hard enough time breathing without chatting).
I also have a new, live-in running buddy: my beautiful sister Austin. Although, to be honest, most of the time it’s me watching Austin run ahead of me. You see, Austin is taller and much, much faster than me. Which is fine, because that means I can keep her in my sight (I am an older sister, after all). Right now we are in Week 2 of Hal Higdon’s Novice I, so we had to run 3 miles on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We have a 1.5 mile loop in our neighborhood and there is one hill that we have to do twice that I HATE. Austin often runs this hill 3 times because she doubles back around to run with me since it’s often dusk when we run. She also runs slower so that we finish together. This means 2 things: (1) I slow her time down significantly and (2) she loves me.
The 3 of us haven’t been able to run together yet. I’m looking forward to Lindsey and I running behind Austin J As of the marathon Austin, I’m terrified. I’ve never run further than 13.1 miles in my entire life. The thought of running double that distance scares me! Here’s to hoping I can make it to the starting line. The next several months loom ahead of me and right now I’m not entirely sure how training will work out in the winter months. I am still a Georgia girl at heart and I can’t imagine actually running in the snow. We’ll see how this goes! In the meantime, I have 7 more miles to run this week… I’m pretty sure I can do that, right?
-Heather
