History

NOT A RUNNER!
So you know where this all started...I was NEVER a runner.  I was the kid that DREADED the physical fitness testing in school.  I wasn't out of shape, just an average kid, but I never cared for running.  Torture was the day each year we were required to run the mile.  I was always a middle of the packer but was sucking air hard at the end of the four laps and was glad to have it done for another year.  I always felt sorry for the wrestlers when the coach dropped them off at the end of the island we lived on and made them run back to school.

ONE EARLY MORNING
I'd stayed active, teaching step aerobics, working out, and biking as the years rolled on, but I never had a desire to run.  Just didn't seem enjoyable no matter how I looked at it.  Then one morning around 4AM there was a pounding on my door.  I jumped out of bed thinking here had to be an emergency, ran to the front door, and tossed it open to find my 3 year old neighbor standing there.  With big eyes and a blank stare he asked, "Judd come play?"  I quickly determined his parents had no idea he'd left the house and returned him home safely, but I was wide awake.  I couldn't go back to sleep.  Then a strange thing happened...I randomly had a desire to go for a run.  I lived 1/4 of a mile from the track and for some reason I REALLY wanted to walk to the track for a warm up, run 1 lap (1/4 mile) and walk home for a cool down.  I pulled on some workout clothes and sneaks and set off on my walk.  When I got to the track I began my lap.  It was so easy I decided I was going to do a mile.  The second lap was fairly rough but I'd already set 1 mile in my mind so I wasn't going to back down.  I struggled through the third and fourth laps, but felt great as I walked the 1/4 home knowing I'd ran a mile.  A couple of days later I did the same thing.  On my third "run" I decided to add half of a mile.  After 2 runs of this length I realized if I were going to increase my distance it would have to be off of the track because I couldn't handle running more than 6 laps without going stir crazy.

BUILDING "MILEAGE"
After 2 weeks of "running" laps around the track, I found myself back home for a visit.  Without a track I decided to run around the loop in the neighborhood that I guestimated to be about the size of the track.  (Did I mention I'm horrible at judging distance?)  I hadn't planned to run during the visit and didn't have anything remotely appropriate to wear so I donned a pair of jean shorts, a tee shirt, and a pair of old white canvas shoes and headed out.  The first two loops weren't bad, the third loop was kind of tough, but the fourth loop kicked my butt.  I knew it was hot out and my attire (especially my shoes) were lacking, but I couldn't believe I'd had such a hard time.  Afterwards I jumped in the car and drove off the loop only to find I'd just run 2.25 miles!  With a renewed confidence I returned home and took my runs off the track and through the side streets of town, beginning with an out and back course that totaled 2.25 miles.  I eventually build up to 3 miles but never ran more than 3 times a week.

A RUNNER?
Even then I wasn't a runner.  I only ran when I wanted a good cardio workout.  I would go weeks without running, sometimes month, then run 3 miles for a good workout and be happy with it.  Over the next decade I repeated this pattern, likely totaling no more than 50 miles in the entire decade!  I still wasn't a runner.  I just didn't have a passion for it.    

AGAIN WITH THE EARLY MORNING
Then again one random morning I felt like running.  And again, I completely misjudged distance.  I set off for a decent running, just hoping for a good cardio session and decided what course to take (again a series of side streets, this time originating from my parents' home).  I guestimated my loops wouldbe right around 3 miles.  I felt GREAT when I finished and considered going further but didn't want to push my luck.  I jumped in the car and drove it off only to discover I'd just run 5 miles!  Always of the mindset that I could never go that far I was amazed at myself.  I spent the next few minutes pondering a marathon while surfing Facebook...the mental conversation went something like this:
"I could do a marathon.  I really don't have time to train for a marathon.  I could do a half marathon.  That's so not me!  I don't do anything halfway!  If I want to do a marathon I need to just start training for a marathon and not take the easy route.  If I start with a half I'm cutting myself short!  No I'm not.  I'm just starting with a more attainable goal then building to a full.  I'm not good enough for a race.  I'd be laughed off the starting line." 

THEN IT HAPPENED
As if in response to my mental chatter an ad for the Disney Princess Half Marathon popped up on the sidebar of my Facebook.  I stopped dead in my tracks.  I'd never even gone to a running website.  The mental chatter quickly started anew..."Disney Princess...seriously, how cut throat could that be?!  I could definitely do that for a first race!  That would be a good thing to train for!  Then I could consider training for a full."   Suddenly I was looking at the race's website and planning details.