Part 1

I never thought I would be a runner. After going to the gym for almost two years, the only use I got out of the treadmill was walking on various inclines. I knew I wouldn’t be able to run, and if I did, I would last 1 minute and then give up and walk.

I was getting a little bored with my current gym routine and decided I wanted to see just how far I could run. I remember when I started running on the treadmill, I could only last for 2 minutes. This was back in June 2008. Slowly and steadily I increased my time and by August, I could run a 5K. I was so excited because I have never in my life been able to run that long before. I signed up for my first 5K race in October, The Baltimore Running Festival and finished in a little over 32 minutes. This was my first time running outside, so I was happy that I finished, even though it may not have been that fast.

I remember seeing the marathoners running and could never imagine running more than 26 miles! I was happy just finishing 3. After that race, I would occasionally run on the treadmill, but haven’t been in a race since. Now, before I get to the next part of my story, I have another story that ties in…

My Running Buddy

This is where the occasional run at the gym, became the almost daily run outside. It all started with her.

My husband and I decided that as a Christmas present to each other, we would adopt a dog. In October, Todd was just browsing some sites and came across her, “Twinkles” (I know, cute name, but it did not fit her at all!), at the Baltimore Humane Society and I knew we had to go see her. By sheer luck, and possibly fate thrown in, we fell in love with her and our adoption was approved the following week.

Just to quickly explain her name, we adopted her before our one year anniversary trip to Mexico. On our honeymoon we went to Hawaii, and Kahlua sounded like a Hawaiian name even though it’s a Mexican coffee liqueur. So we thought, perfect fit! To tie in Mexico and Hawaii, and she’s always so hyper like she’s been drinking coffee. ☺

Part 2

Todd and I took turns walking Kahlua, and one morning I decided to see if she would run with me. I bundled up (it was cold out!) and looked at the map of a walking/running/biking trail that’s about two blocks from our house. I have lived in the area for over a year and have never used it. We started out slow but it quickly turned into a 2 mile run. After coming home, I was so energized (so was Kahlua!) and could not believe in our luck, to not only find the perfect dog for us, but the perfect running buddy for me. She has helped me become the runner I am today, and without her I would never have experienced running 8 miles in 1 degree weather!

Since I have found that I can run longer distances, at a slow and steady pace, I decided in 2009 to run two Half Marathons. One in May, and one in October. Hopefully, with more training I will be able to complete a marathon in the near future.

Looking back now, I am already amazed at how far I’ve come. When I started, I couldn’t even run for two minutes, and now I’m running over two hours.