Every Saturday since Dec. 15, I have woken up at 6:30 a.m. I’m sure you’re wondering what could possibly prompt me to get up that early on one of my only days to sleep in. The answer is running.
I have been training for the Washington D.C. Rock ‘n’ Roll half-marathon, which took place on March 16, through Charm City Run. I knew I would never be able to push myself to run 13.1 miles on my own. I needed a program that would motivate me to not give up.
All Charm City Run stores have training programs throughout the year for half-marathons, marathons, and 5K and 10K races. I did my training through the Bel Air store because it is only about a mile away from my house.
My training group was led by a woman named Kelly Machala, and it consisted of about 20 to 25 people. We met at the store every Saturday at 7:00 a.m. for our long run and every Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. for either a track workout at Bel Air High School or hill workout.
Machala loves hills. She would make sure there were plenty worked into our long runs and hill workouts. I hate running hills, but I appreciate the strength I have gained from running them. Running hills and flatter routes has become easier for me because of the hills I was forced to run.
If I had not joined the program, I would have avoided hills at all costs. The program taught me how to train and it kept me on track.
Running with other people also made a difference in my motivation. On the worst days when the wind was howling outside and shaking my house and I didn’t feel like getting out of my warm bed, I would remember that other people were heading to the store and braving the wind and cold. This motivated me to get myself up too.
I also found myself being inspired by the other people in the group, especially Machala. She was already a few months pregnant by the time the program began, yet she ran with us during all of our training sessions until about mid-February when she was eight months pregnant. I imagine that pregnancy can be uncomfortable, especially for physical activity, so I found it amazing that Machala kept running.
Although Machala couldn’t be at the half-marathon due to her pregnancy, she had a runner read a speech that she had written at dinner the night before the race. I was nervous about the race the next day, but her jokes and words of encouragement, and the advice from the other runners at dinner helped to relax me.
The next morning, I took the metro over to the race. The race began at 7:30 a.m., but I didn’t actually start until about 8:10 a.m. because I was in corral 24. There were multiple corrals, each comprised of 1,000 people. Each corral started a few minutes after each other to space the runners out and avoid any trampling.
The race didn’t get too tough until mile ten. I had to walk a bit of the hill at mile six and I stopped at mile seven for some Gatorade, but I didn’t really get tired until mile ten. My feet were aching and my leg muscles felt tight, so I stopped to drink water and eat some energy chews. The next three and one-tenth miles were challenging, but I finished the race in two hours, 34 minutes, and 26 seconds.
After crossing the finish line, all I could think of was “I need water.” The fact that I had run a half-marathon didn’t sink in until I met up with my family and they told me how proud they were of me. I felt proud of myself too.
Three months ago, to run a half-marathon seemed like an impossible goal. But now that I’ve completed one half-marathon, I want to run another.
Running has become a lifestyle for me. It is something that I think about every day and do almost every day. I also think about how my other decisions, such as what I eat and what activities I schedule, will affect my ability to run. Running has helped me to be healthier and live happier.
Without the Charm City Run program, I would have never even known how to train for a half-marathon, and I know that I would have given up on my goal. Charm City Run gave me the inspiration, education, and motivation I needed to be able to complete a half-marathon, and it changed my lifestyle for the better.
Mary Kate Luft is an A&E Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.