by Holly Nicole
How I started running:
I remember seeing my friend, Katrina, constantly post about her weekly runs
through an app called runkeeper on her facebook page. I was intrigued by it because this was a mom of three kids and she looked AMAZING. At that time, I was not feeling amazing. My college and work hours made me gain around 25 lbs. I constantly had headaches, and my stomach was causing me a lot of digestive problems.
I started walking on the treadmill in December 2011, and then I did the beginner 5k training on runkeeper which was a lot like the Couch to 5k App. I absolutely dreaded each treadmill run for the first two months, but my friend told me that the more I stayed on my training schedule, the easier it would become. I ran my first 5k in April 2012 at the Chick-fil-a 5k in Athens. I finished around 36 minutes, and wow, was I sore and miserable when I crossed the finish line. However, 15 minutes later, I felt that satisfaction of finishing a race (yep, I was HOOKED!), and while my husband was driving me home, I was looking for another 5k to register and run! In 2013 I ran my first half marathon, while in 2014 I ran my first marathon.
To this date, I have ran 20+ 5ks and 10ks, 14 half marathons, three marathons, three ultramarathons, and other various distances on the pavement and trails.
