October 29, 2013: released an album of 9 songs that showcased my passion for worship
October 29, 2014: preparing to run my 4th 5k.
Here's the story of how I went from hating running in 3rd grade to now wanting to run a half-marathon by the time I graduate college.
My first
run that I can remember was back in third grade gym class. It was a mile run
called the turkey trot. Not knowing much about running, I just took off. The
goal was to run one mile, or 24 laps around the gym. Unfortunately, I wasn’t
able to complete all 24 laps. We only had a certain time to run it. During 4th-8th
grade, I had to run a mile as part of the presidential physical fitness test.
Each year, I always told myself that I wanted to do better. I remember even
re-running it on the make-up day. There was one year in Jr. High that I
couldn’t do the make-up run because I had a bad cough that prevented me from
running. During those years of running, I could never remember all of my times.
The last mile that I remembered was 10 minutes even. I believe that was in 7th
grade. At one point during Jr. High, I considered joining the track team. That
failed because of too much homework and my mom saying that I couldn’t do it
since I was in band.
Fast
forward to freshman year of high school, I didn’t have to run a mile, but I had
to run laps for a certain period of time. I tried to pace myself, but it was
difficult to do it. Since having to run a mile back in elementary and Jr. High
school I developed a small hatred for
running, but yet I loved to race my sister on the beach. My sophomore year of
high school, I still had to run laps, but this time, I changed my attitude. I
wanted to learn about what it meant to be a better runner. I also began to pace
myself better.
When I
transferred to a new high school, the idea of running was dropped. I wasn’t
required to take gym, so there was no opportunity for me to run. It’s now October
and the day after the 2012 Chicago marathon. My physics teacher ran the
marathon while injured. He wasn’t able to get his goal, but he was able to
finish, which made me happy. Anyway, on the day of the marathon, I was actually
coming home from a retreat. I had decided to wear an orange short in support of
the team that he was running for, which was Team World Vision. Later that day,
I posted on Team World Vision’s facebook page saying congrats and that I wish I
could join the team because I wasn’t a good runner. Well, about two weeks
later, that changed. On October 29, 2012, I signed up to join Team World
Vision. My first run would be a 5K called the Hub Run.
Throughout
my junior year, I began my training. I would run through the hallways of my high
school as well as run laps around my yard. Eventually, I had to stop for two reasons.
One, my high school was getting too crowded and two, it was starting to get
cold out and I hated running in the cold. Finally, March rolled around and I
was now on a training plan. The only downside was that I was using a treadmill.
On the longer runs, I would run and watch a movie. On the shorter runs, I would
listen to music. Sadly, at the end of April, I gave up on the plan because I
fell behind. I then decided to just run on my own. I had one goal in mind, run
the 5k in under an hour. I was going to do it, no matter what.
On May 5,
2013, the day arrived. However I had two problems. One, I had to work the night
before, which caused me not to get to bed early. Also, I woke up with my knee in
pain because of reason number one. I was nervous. I even emailed my teacher and
said “Pray for me today, I’m in pain with my knee.” I decided to wear my new
Team World Vision jersey to church that morning. Finally, it was race time. My
phone was ready to go with all of music. My partner was there too. We both
stood at the front of the line, waiting for the start. At last, we were off,
I ran the
first mile without stopping. The rest of the race was a run/walk. I then
finally crossed the line with both my hands raided to “Until The Whole World
Hears” by Casting Crowns. I did it! I had ran my first 5K. My time, which I
checked at home, was 37 minutes and 14 seconds. I was happy that I got my goal!
It’s now June
and I’ve graduated high school. My next goal was to run the Crown Point
Crusader Classic, which was another 5k, in September. Unfortunately, I was not
able to run it. I then decided to take a break. Moving on to May of 2014, I
decided to start running again since I was planning to run a 5K in college. My
first run was a nine minute run to “Assemble” from “The Avengers” and “Lemurian
Star” from “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”. The goal was to run without
stopping for water. Well, I got my goal, but I was VERY worn out. Plus, I had
to work later that night. Make a long story short, I came home work early
because I felt like I was ready to fall over when I bent down to do something.
Throughout
the summer, I would do these small nine minute jogs. My record for running
without stopping that I officially timed was 7:44. I eventually broke that
record. Today, it is 15 minutes. Ok, I’m now in college, my second 5k is on
September 6. The goal was to run it under 30 minutes. Well, I did just that. I
ran it in 29:50. Eight days later, I announced my third 5k. This would also be
my second one this month. I was super happy to male this announcement. My
passion for running was back.
Starting
on September 16, I worked through a seven day training regiment of running and
cross-training. Cross training included swimming and biking. The plan concluded
on September 23 with a 1.67 mile run and a 1.56 mile bike ride. I then took a
three day break. Saturday came and I was ready. I ran almost the entire 5k,
only walking twice. I finished the last part of the race at a hard and fast
run, hands in the air to “Until the Whole world Hears”. My time was 29:10. I
did it again. I beat my goal of running a 5K in under 30 minutes.
After my
third 5k, I decided to take a well-deserved break. I was supposed to resume on
October 14, but ended up not because of homework and poor weather conditions (cold
temperatures). However, I do have an alternative, bike riding. My longest ride
so far is 8 miles in 1 hour. As I am writing this, I am preparing for my 4th
5k. This one will be interesting because I haven't done much running since my
last one. I hope to run it in a decent time. My long-term goal is to run/walk a
half-marathon by time I graduate college in 2018. I am also approaching my 2-year
anniversary of being a member of Team World Vision. So far, 6 people have water
for life. $50 provides water for one person. When I ran the hub run, I raise
$200. On my one-year anniversary, I released an album of 9 of my favorite
worship songs. The album was all about worship and water. I wanted to showcase
my passion for worship. Also, any donations that I received would go toward
World Vision. I raised $87 and then contributed the remainder to make it $100.
As of today, Team World Vision has a copy of my album as well a a picture
collage so they can see what I look like.
I was so excited to sign up for the team. I would like to thank my physics teacher, my running partner from the Hub Run, and TWV themselves for inspiring me to run. Most importantly, I would like to thank God, for giving me the ability to run. I couldn’t have done any of these races without Him!
The picture below is of me outside my dorm room after completing a 15-minute run in the cold.
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