I´m lucky that I have great support from family for my running interest. My sister and I have been running 'together' from the start and my sister in law is also into running, and a couple of my brothers as well. It really is great to be able to share your interest with the people you love. Here is a picture of my sister and I after our first race back in 2010.
It was a great experience, very difficult and it was the first time I ran 10 kilometres, EVER. Back then I would never have thought that I would go on to run several 10Ks and a half marathon or two, or that I would be training for a full marathon! 10 kilometres was un-doable for a long time, I never thought that was possible. Funny how one's perspective changes. For a long time the half marathon was totally un-doable for me and now I've run 2 of them, and planning 2 more this year. It is rather funny though, that I don't feel like this about the full marathon. I feel like that is more than doable for me, a completely reachable goal. I guess you really get to know what you are capable of when you brake your own limitations and reach goals that you didn't think you could reach. Food for thought, right?
In the summer of 2011, I actually participated in four 10K races, three of them around my hometown (one off road race) and then the Reykjavik marathon.
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| Super relieved after my 2nd 10K race, July 2011. |
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| With my niece, sister-in-law, sister and baby brother after our 10K race in the Reykjavik marathon August 2011. |
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| With my sister after our 4th 10K race the summer of 2011 (5th 10K race overall). |
That summer of 2011 was fantastic. The last time I got to spend extended time in Iceland and it really turned my running into more than just something to do for fun, into a lifestyle. Of course, there are always ups and downs, but that's how is goes.
In December 2011, I ran a 7K fun run in Malta with a few of my friends from my MA course. That was really fun.
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| In Attard, Malta, where the race started. It finished in Valletta. Beautiful race :) |
In 2012, I ran two 10K races, in the Reykjavik marathon and later in the Oslo marathon.
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| With my sister-in-law and my sister after the Reykjavik marathon in August 2012. |
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| Just before the start of the Oslo marathon in September 2012. |
My runs in 2012 were not as enjoyable as they had been before. I struggled to keep my training on track and my diet was horrible, mostly because I finished my masters thesis in August, and the last few months of writing were quite stressful, combined with a move to a Oslo and beginning a new life in a new country. I didn't handle it very well, as well as really struggling with some diet-related issues that are just recently resolved. But I pushed through and ran, quite slowly but at least I didn't give up.
2013 wasn't much different than 2012. I don't really know why I still kept on running, to be honest. I was lazy to train, lazy to eat healthy and just lazy. But, it has kind of become an annual event that I run with my sister and sister-in-law in the Reykjavik marathon, and I just couldn't be the one that wouldn't run just because I was lazy. So, I soldiered through. Reykjavik marathon was fine, it is always so great to run that course, the spectators are fantastic and the course itself isn't too hard. And I really loved running in the Oslo marathon, because my sister came over and ran as well. Well, the run itself was horrible, but having something there with you was fantastic.
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| After the Reykjavik marathon, August 2013. |
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| With my sister after the Oslo marathon, September 2013. Our 9th 10K race! |
In 2014, I decided to up my game. I needed a more difficult challenge to keep me motivated to train. So I went for the half marathon. And not just one of them, no! I decided to run two of them, with a month apart, and got my sister and sister-in-law on that goal as well. In hindsight, it was crazy. Way too ambitious. But, I trained and trained, all the way until July, when my knee just wouldn't keep on going. So July, August and September were very difficult and I didn't run much. But I managed to finish my two half marathons in spite of those difficulties. OMG, it was such a great experience. Especially the first one. The high! The feeling of accomplishment! So fantastic. I also ran a 10K fun run in June. It wasn't timed so I'm not counting it as my 10th 10K race.
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| In my 10K fun run in June 2014, to raise awareness for cancer. |
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| After my first half marathon, in Reykjavik marathon August 2014. |
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| Runner´s high! Oslo marathon, September 2014, my 2nd half marathon. |
To run my first full marathon in the Auckland Marathon in November.
To run my third half marathon in Wellington in July.
To run my fourth half marathon in Hamilton in October.
To run at least one 10K race and break the 60min mark.
To run 12 5K park races, and to break the 30min mark and the 25 min mark.
My current PB for the 5K is 33 minutes, and for the 10K 62 minutes. I would love to go down to 2.20, or even closer to the 2 hours for the half marathon, but we will see. I have no time goals for the marathon, just to finish, although I would love to run it under 5 hours. I am very pumped and excited about these goals and how I will fit them into my new lifestyle here in New Zealand. So let's get the party started and let's run!
