A week before the class was due to start I told my husband, who is a huge runner, that I wasn't going to do the class. I thought someone else that really wanted to get in it should have my spot. I had been trying some running to make sure I could survive the class and I just felt like such a non-runner. We were in the store that week before the class and I mentioned to Maria that I was thinking of backing out and she convinced me that I should do it and would be fine. So I did it.
The hardest part was convincing myself that I could do it. When I got to class the energy from our "coach" was so welcoming. In the end I met three great friends in that class; two of them I still run with and the third one moved to Texas.
The two women I run with now have run 1/2 marathons or run/walked full marathons and when it was time to sign up for the Naperville Marathon, one of them suggested that run it together. I initially said no but that I would help train her for it as I had done before. She came back with, "the training is the hard part...the race is the fun part!" So I said, ok...I signed up, along with our other running buddy and within a few hours the race was closed. At this point I was committed. I had friends to train with and there was no backing out.
The most surprising thing to me was when we ran our first 5 miler together during our training, and I told my running buds that I actually liked it! Will I do another 1/2 marathon...I say no and then I think, why not? If it's in Naperville, I will have a tough time saying no.
So much of running is mental and we've found ways of getting through it...together. Running has made me a morning person and I have realized how big the running community is in Naperville; how easy it is to get a run in on a vacation or just anytime during the day and what beautiful things you can see on those runs, to say nothing of the friendships that grow from running with your buddies.