I started running not too long ago— 8 months ago to be exact, and I was in your shoes. I never liked running and I never played sports for endurance. In swimming, I always swam the 100m freestyle; in basketball, all I always sprinted down the court. Running for distance was never my element.
Earlier this year, my friend texts me urging me to sign up for the Brooklyn Half Marathon 2019. I did, and my running journey began! I was excited, but mainly really intimidated by the idea of running 13.1 miles. I had never even run a 5k, not to mention a half. I trained and ran 3x a week for 10 weeks until a week before race day.
I was crushing the first 7 miles. By mile 9-10 though… game over. I started feeling exhausted, and the heat shining down the open Ocean Parkway boulevard did not help. I was gassed out and I essentially had to hobble run to the finish. 13.1 miles might have been too much for my 10 week training window.
What I am proud of
I was truly happy to check “run half marathon” off my bucket list, but I still wish I performed better in the end. On the flip side— sometimes I get so caught up on my last two miles, I forget that my 10 weeks of training made my first 7 miles feel like a breeze! There was a point earlier this year when I was intimidated by running 3 miles! I made significant progress on my standards, and that’s all that matter.
Where I’m at now
Two days after the race and somewhat recovered, I confirmed to myself, “running is actually fun. I’m signing up for more races.”
And I did. I signed up for the Queens 10K, 5 Mile Pride Run, the Bronx 10 mile, and Staten Island Half Marathon. I continued to consistently run and began to enjoy the workouts because I no longer feel exhausted 3 miles in my workout!
My next race is the Staten Island Half Marathon in two weeks. I’m hoping I average under a 9:30 pace, 🤞, I’ll keep you posted 🏃🏻♂️.
Ran the Bronx 10 Mile with my girlfriend and mom 
Under the bridge in Bronx 10 mile 
Running in the Queens 10k 
Dying in my first race Brooklyn Half 2019 
My mom finished her first 10 mile race!
