Let me tell you how I started this running experience.  I was about 25 years old (this was the mid 70's)  Remember how the health spas were springing up all over the country?  We lived outside Kansas City at the time and a co-worker and I decided to join one of these spas.  All went well for a few months, took aerobic classes, think Olivia Newton-John.....  One morning we go to the spa and there is a note pinned to the door....went out of business!  Out of luck, lost the money etc.etc...  this was also happening to these spas all over the country.  Anyway, my co-worker was a runner, so she suggested I take it up too.  I decided to give it a try, put on my regular old reboks and off I went....yeah, right, I made it about 2 blocks and thought I was going to die!   Never one to give up, I kept going out day after day until one day I ran 2 miles and I was ecstatic!!!  Entered a 10K with same friend only about a month or so later and thought I was going to die again.  Remember, I was not training, I was wearing regular tennis shoes and have never run over 2 miles, BUT  I finished in under an hour, so felt quite proud of myself.  I Had 2 young children at the time, ages 6 and 3, both could ride bikes, so I would take them with me on my runs.

Throughout the years we have lived in Kansas, Denver Co, Louisville KY, and my home now in Ohio.  I never did long distances and I never worried about my speed or competing.  Just in the past 4 years I have started doing longer distances .  My first half marathon was in Cleveland Ohio, my second was Detroit, which by the way, is my favorite.  I have run the Detroit marathon once and the half 3 times I think...love it!  I believe I have done 16 halfs now, doing usually 3 or 4 a season, but last year I ran 5.

I have never had a major injury and the only time I have stopped running was because of my third pregnancy, due to health issues I had to quit for a few months.  That baby is now 25!  I attribute my lack of injuries to the fact that I run slowly and over all those years I did not run an excessive amount of miles.  Although I do like the longer distances, I am still not into intervals, or speed work, I just run.  Sometimes lately, I do get discouraged reading about PR's and great speed and unbelievable times (at least to me), but Ijust have to keep thinking how fortunate I am to still be running, and running these distance at the age of 63!  Heck I am starting to place in races now, simply because there aren't many of us out there, I love it!   Won, my first, first place ribbon in a  local 5 k this summer!  How exciting!