College is a time that many people decide to try new things because for many, it is the first time that they are given a chance to truly be independent. With no one to tell them where to go or what to do, they are finally free to be exactly who they want to be. This can go both ways, bad and good. However, for me college meant picking up a new 'hobby' - running.
I'm inviting you to join me on the next eight weeks of my journey as I train for the most famed run on Notre Dame's campus - the Holy Half.
The Holy Half was started in 2004 when a group of students decided that they wanted to see if they could run 13.1 miles. That year, about 80 people participated and about $1,000 was raised for the Louis J. Acompora Foundation. The race has grown and now in its thirteenth year, it registers 1,500 runners a year and has raised over $150,000 for various organizations. For more information about the race, please visit their website here!
I made myself a promise my Freshman year upon hearing about the race that I would run it at least once during my four years here. Well, it's my junior year and I finally have decided that this goal can wait no longer! Plus, it gives me another year to do it if some sort of injury happens this time during my training.
As previously mentioned, I have never been a runner prior to college and although I played sports, I never thought I would ever want to be someone who ran for fun. Today was the end of my third week of running and I have to admit, I have yet to really enjoy it. It is a bit of my own personal nightmare, being stuck on a treadmill for upwards of thirty minutes, knowing that if I stop I will indeed suffer tremendously when race day finally comes. However, I can actually feel that I'm improving in my abilities and the three miles that I ran today didn't feel nearly as torturous as I would have invisioned it being three weeks ago.
My training plan consists of following the Nike Running Club App which takes all the effort out of creating a training plan. The app is free to download and you are able to start a fully customized plan that prepares you for your race while also working around your schedule. I love it! I set my plan to consist of running 3 or 4 times per week and so far, I've done a variety of runs.
This blog series will be all about my training from here on out! Follow along to see how this goes and I wish you the best of luck on your college growth!
See my next blog, here!