My name is Anita. I was born and raised in a small town in South Central Pennsylvania. I have a big family who still lives there, including my dad, who has loved to run ever since I can remember. We used to cheer him on at marathons when we were kids. He got me to run a road race when I was 12 years old. I won first place, but only because I was the only kid in my age group! ;)
I wasn't very enthusiastic about running at first; it was more something I did for him. In middle and high school I participated in track and field. My good friend Charlotte and I would goof off during practice and I remember one time we went for ice cream when we were supposed to be going on a long run! Our other good friend Heather was much better -- she was naturally faster and she actually worked hard in practice. She excelled at track and was in cross country too, whereas I was very happy and surprised the few times I won third place in the 800 meters.
I stopped running for the most part in college and only very occasionally made it to the gym. I went to Sarah Lawrence College in New York, known for its arts programs, and I was one of those people who thought I was too cool and smart to be athletic. My dad and my sister and brother were still running, and they'd ask me to go with them when I was home on visits, but I usually declined.
Finally, right after college I was living in Germany and I realized I was overweight! The scale was nearing 150 pounds, which is way too much for my 5' 2" frame. So I started running again as a way to lose weight. I soon found I enjoyed being outdoors and I loved the solitary time it gave me to think and reflect. I also went on the Atkin's Diet, which I don't recommend!, but the combination worked and I lost the extra weight.
I would trace the start of my real love and commitment to running -- and to fitness in general -- to when I moved to Albuquerque in 2003. I moved here for law school and knew absolutely no one. I adopted a little dog named Katie and together we jogged the bike paths of Albuquerque. I love being outdoors here -- I love the mountains, the sunshine, the weather, and the way the city has gone to great lengths to make everything easy and accessible for bikers and foot travelers. (I've read that we have one of the best biking system of any city in the US). I started riding my bike to school, 7 miles each way. I loved that I could ski or run in the Sandia Mountains, where my first apartment here was nestled near the foothills. I also love skiing in nearby places like AngelFire, Durango CO and Pagosa Springs CO. At that point I became active and I actually really loved running and other forms of exercise; it became part of my life. I joined a gym and started weight training and doing aerobics classes.
I have run approximately 6 marathons with my dad and/or sister and/or friends. I usually feel like I'm just trying to survive, except during the Portland Marathon I ran with Kate, my best friend from college -- I felt like I was flying! I think my level of fitness was at its highest and it helped that I had come from high altitude down to sea level. My PR at that marathon was 4:45 and that was "fast" for me. I felt like if I kept training and running marathons, I'd get much faster in no time.
Alas, I did not. For some reason I stopped running. I always thought I'd rather stick to half marathons (where my PR is a 2:09, at the Phoenix Rock n Roll, which I ran with my dad), because they seem more manageable to me, like I could conquer them instead of just survive them. But I stopped doing that too. Lately I've been really consistent about running and other forms of exercise, which is great because in the past it was like train for a marathon for awhile, run it, stop doing anything for quite awhile, repeat. But my runs have consisted of 30 minute jaunts with my dogs. I've been concentrating more on strength and toning; my boyfriend and I joined a gym and I like to go work out on the weights and follow Jillian Michael's strength training book. I have limited time due to my career but I am proud of myself for getting to the point where exercise is a part of my life. If I don't run or work out, I feel stressed, and then when I do, I feel great!!
I've always wondered how fast I could be if I really tried. I'm tired of being mediocre. So in 2009 I am going to train harder, run more, and be more dedicated to the sport of running. I will log it all here, as well as things that I find that help me along the way.
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