A Runners World

When I tell people how much I love running, they tell me I'm crazy and that they can't understand how people LOVE running.

For me running is the best way for me to relieve any stress, or just clear my mind. I think most people learn to love running when they are older and have lots of things to stress about. But I learned the relief of running when I was 12.

This is my Aunt Laura:

She was one of those reallllly cool Aunts that are closer to being your sister than your Aunt. She was 6 when I was born.

She was the Aunt that was always babysitting & playing house or dress up with me and my sisters , one of those Aunts who would show up to see me at my house just to take me to the store and buy me some oreos, or the one who would take me and my sisters to Lagoon just us, just for fun.

She was also the perfect role model. Like, really.

She graduated high school when she was 15 and was then accepted to go to school at Dixie University, She was only a few hours away from getting her pilots license at 17, She was crowned Miss Teen Dixie at 17, she also learned fluent sign language and used it to do tons of volunteer work with handicapped children.

The list could go on and on.

When she was 17 (I was 12) she came to Salt Lake to compete in the Miss Teen Utah pageant. 2 days before the the pageant she got a headache that she just couldn't get rid of. She took medicine, but just couldn't get it to go away. My grandma could tell something was wrong and took her to the ER that night.

They did some tests, and after doing a spinal tap they found that she had Bacterial Spinal Menengitis. Soon after that she went into acoma.

First the doctors told us she would be fine, and awake by the next morning.

The next morning, she was still not awake..so they did a cat scan (sp?) and found that she had zero brain activity and would be a vegetable for the rest of her life. We knew thats not what she would want so we took her off life support and she died.

At 12 years old I didn't know how to deal with something as big as death, and especially not death of someone that I'd loved so much. After my dad called and told me she wasn't going to make it, I didn't know what to do with all the feelings that I felt. I jumped up and ran out the front door without even stopping to grab shoes. I ran and ran barefoot down the street, until I couldn't run anymore.

When I finally stopped to cry I was shocked at how far and and how long I'd run! I'd never ran that far before without stopping.

And somehow I actually felt good..

It was like running had pushed away some of those feelings I couldn't deal with all at once.

Ever since then I would casually run in the evenings just for fun.

A few months ago I decided I wanted to get serious about running. No more 1 mile here maybe 2 miles there.

So I signed up for my first 5K back on May 1st.

(That makes me a serious runner right!?) ;)

I looooved running a 5K!

(despite the fact that it POURED rain and hailed pretty much the entire time. I was soaked!)

So I decided to signed up for a half marathon on October 17th. It's called the "The Other Half" and it's in Moab. It's going to be SO awesome!

So, if you like running you should do it too :D

Lately my biggest addiction is Runners World magazine. It's awesome. Helps me get prepped for the big race, plus it keeps me motivated. If you're a runner, or want to become a runner, I highly suggest it. It's only $1 a magazine if you subscribe! (That or pay $4 everytime at the grocery store)

Wish me luck in training! Currently I only have 2 blisters on my feet.
Stupid shoes.
Lucky for me the next Runners World Magazine is the "Shoe Buyers Guide" edition!