Today is National Running Day!

I wasn’t aware of this event, but I am happy to celebrate it now. Many of my friends know about my interests in fitness and that I’m currently training for the Nation’s Tri. But talking with my friends about National Running Day was a great way to spark a new conversation about health and fitness.

I will never forget how I felt nearly four years when I started running with the Living Person group at John Carroll University. Running was something I really struggled with during high school. I was the goalie for my school field hockey team and I always dreaded the one time per season that we had to run timed 2 miles. Before high school, I was never interested in running even short distances and could not imagine running a half marathon. All of that changed when I became a part of an inspirational and motivational community, the Living Person. Being friends with Jurell and Craig, the leaders of the Living Person group, allowed me to challenge myself.

My first personal challenge was to run a 5k, the Footprints for Fatima race at John Carroll during Homecoming weekend 2011. I enjoyed that race and decided to take on a bigger challenge, the Peace Race, a 10K in Youngstown, Ohio later that fall. I remember just before Christmas break that semester Jurell and Craig talking about how they were going to try and run their first half marathon in the spring. I thought to myself, jeez I’ve done all these other things I didn’t think I could do. Maybe I can do that too! Sure enough I followed my training plan and March 2012 I ran my first half marathon with my best friend Sarah Castellano by my side every step of the way.

Finishing my first half marathon was a turning point in my health and fitness. I realized that if I put my mind to a goal then I could achieve it – even if it seemed out of reach at first. Incredibly, all of this confidence stemmed from the simple act of running!

It’s important for me to reflect back on where my fitness journey has brought me over the years, especially now that I’m gearing up for some much bigger personal fitness goals. The Nation’s Tri on September 13th will be a race of many firsts for me: my first Olympic distance triathlon, my first open water swim race, and my first road bike race. Along the way I’m hoping to continue to blog about my training, especially tri-specific training.

My other big personal fitness challenge coming up is still about 9 months away. A few weeks ago after talking with my dad and a lot of personal reflection, I decided to sign up for my first marathon! Next March I’ll be running the Tobacco Trail Marathon in Cary, North Carolina. This race was recently recognized by Runner’s World as one of the 10 best new marathons. My dad and my brother ran the marathon together this year. And next year I will be out there running it with my dad by my side!

I truly believe no matter how big or small your fitness goals seem, if you set up a plan for yourself, have a good support system, and put in the work, then anyone can achieve their goals. I never dreamed I would run a half marathon before I could barely run a mile. Truthfully some days I still have a hard time running a mile! Personal fitness is something that is continually being improved and is different for everyone. So today for National Running Day, I encourage you just to go out there and RUN!

P.S. if you’re interested in taking a bigger leap and signing up for a triathlon, join me at the Nation’s Tri September 13th. There is a one day sale today in celebration of National Running Day, no code needed!