My Life On The Run - By Beverly R

Before I started running, I weighed 211 lbs, and was on diabetes medication. I hated the idea of being on medicine for the rest of my life, so I decided I needed to do something about it. I started running (or I should say run/walking) in July of 2010. Since I had never run before, I joined the No Boundaries group put on by Fleet Feet in Bonney Lake. No Boundaries started us off at a slow run one minute/walk 2 minutes for the first week. I thought, not so hard, I can do this. I was determined to not only finish this program, but to lose the weight, and get off those meds. I would like to say it was easy, but it wasn't I was not the slowest person in the group, but after she dropped out of the program, they pegged me as the sweeper. I had to continually tell myself that it does not matter how fast I get to the finish, it just matters that I finish.

Halfway through the program, I was still struggling, but I did continue. I kept telling my coach that I was determined. Determined to finish, and determined to feel healthy once again. My first 5K was just a week away, and we were running 4 minutes and walking 1 minute. I never thought I could survive that regime, but I did. By my calculations, it would take me about 9-10 intervals of the 4/1 ratio, to finish the race. The day of the race, I ran the Run Wild 5K at Northwest Trek. It took me a little less than 10 intervals of 4/1, and I finished the race, with a time of 43:08. My husband thought I looked like I was going to pass out, and truth be told, that's exactly how I felt. Once the dizziness and nausea wore off, I was elated. The feeling that I had finished what I started was a great feeling, but the big test was yet to come.

I had my diabetes checkup scheduled for the week after the race. My A1C (the method of checking your blood sugar levels for the past three months) was down to 6.0 (my highest had been 6.7), and that was without medication. My weight by that time had dropped by 25 pounds! I was more excited about that news than anything else. This was enough to keep me run/walking through the winter. I then ran/walked the Seattle Marathon 5K in November, with a time of 44:23, as well as the Santa's Run 5K in December, with a time of 43:30. I was also asked by the Fleet Feet staff to mentor the next No Boundaries (which I mentored the next two).

While I was mentoring my first group, I started increasing the distance that I was running. Keeping in mind what some of the Fleet Feet staff had shared with me about the 10% rule. by the middle of May 2011, I had run 5 miles nonstop! What a great feeling! I was soon to learn that runners experience setbacks. I came down with pneumonia, so I had to slow down. But that didn't stop me. I still ran/walked the White River 5K, with a time of 39:19, and enjoyed every minute of it. :)

By that time, I had lost more weight, 10 more pounds. So, of course, I kept running. In August, I was able to increase my distance to 5 miles again, and continued to increase my distance. By the end of the last No Boundaries group, I was running a consistent 6 miles for my long run. Then came the Run Wild 5K, the first race course I had ever run(walk). I ran this race all the way through, with a finish time of 36:50, and felt even better when I finished. I was so excited to have run this, and it was not as challenging the second time. My next race would be the Santa Runs, only this time, I ran the 10K. I did not do as well as I had hoped, but I did finish, with a time of 1:17:07, with a little bit of walking in between.

With the last group, I made some valuable friends, and we continued to meet on Saturdays for long runs. As a group, we increased our distance, and our friendship. These friends decided that they wanted to train for a half marathon. We were already running 7 miles at this point, so they completely bypassed the 10K. However, they did not want to break up the group. They convinced me to join the half marathon training program with them. I had no doubts that I could go the distance, I just wasn't sure if I wanted to run 13.1 miles. Well, so far, I am still training, with my first 13 miles coming up in three days.

As a nice break between "extremely long runs", we were entered into the St. Paddy's Run, 10K, in Tacoma this past Saturday. I ran it, with a friend, without walking at all. My time was 1:13:05! I had so much fun on this run; I didn't even notice how hard it was raining until after the race. :)

Since I started training for the half marathon, I have lost 8 more pounds, and continue to lose. My A1C is down to 5.7, and within normal range, and I have lost 10 dress sizes. I am still determined. Determined to reach my goal weight, (only 20 pounds to go), determined to stay healthy, and determined to finish my first half marathon. :)

I am so grateful to everyone who has helped me along the way. My husband, family, friends, and especially all the coaches and staff at Fleet Feet in Bonney Lake.

Bev

It's Not Too Late for NoBoundaries 5k Training! Come tomorrow Saturday,March 2 and try our class for free and see for yourself if you are ready to COMMIT! No Boundaries 5k Training Try 0ut starts at 9:00am at Tehaleh - 19001 Cascadia Blvd. E Bonney Lake, 98391. We will start from the coffee shop across from the elementary school.