Kjersti Mersti Muffin: Running

I started running when I was 14 years old. My whole family runs. Both my parents have ran multiple marathons. My older brother qualified for the Olympic tryouts this past year and competed in the tryouts. My older sister has ran many marathons, including the Boston Marathon, and now runs ultra marathons. My three younger brothers all run. My little sister is good at running, but doesn't like to run. So pretty much my whole family runs, it's a family affair. I'm not a fantastic runner, but I do ok.

When I first started running I adored it. I lived to run. It felt good to have wind blowing in my hair, my legs moving fast, my heart pounding, and sweat dripping down my body. Not only did it physically feel good, but I made so many friends running. For a long time it was normal for me to run 7-10 miles a day six days a week. I've participated in multiple 24 hour runs and I can honestly say that the most I've ever ran in a 24 hour period is 33 miles. I've ran to the top of Mount Timpanogos (11,749 feet in elevation). I've ran three marathons, a handful of half marathons and many, many 10K's and 5K's. I don't bring this up to brag, but to show just how much I LOVED running for so long. I think it is safe to say I was addicted.

Since my last marathon in June of 2005 I haven't loved running. I've hated it. I've dreaded going outside and moving my feet. I've been lucky to get three minimal runs in a week. At some point I even swore off running. I can't really say why. I was just tired of it. Even though I didn't feel like running most days, I was really sad I wasn't keeping up with my runs. Last year, because of a good friend, I ran the San Francisco 1/2 marathon...completely unprepared. Although, I did fine in the race, and really enjoyed the course I still didn't feel like running.

However, this May Greg and I moved to San Mateo, CA. For some reason when I moved up here I caught the running bug. For three months now I've been running almost every day, and I've been loving it. for the first time in three years I'm starting to remember why I loved moving my legs fast, sweating disgusting amounts of sweat, and feeling my heart pound inside of my chest. I caught the running bug just in time to start training for the San Francisco Half Marathon again. I ran it on Sunday and did better than I expected. I mean, I've definitely gotten slower over the past five years, but I did great for me. I held an 8:24 minute per mile for 13.1 miles. I was hoping to hold a 9 minute mile, so that's great. Out of 1,984 people in the half marathon I came in at 443rd. Out of 1,145 women in the race I came in at 140th. Out of 377 females in my age category I came in at 59th. Anyway, this post has turned into me bragging about me...that's probably not very fun to read. So I'm sorry readers. I'm just so happy that I'm loving running again. I have another half marathon this Saturday in Provo, UT. Wish me luck!