My Challenge Year

By Kristy Young

I really don’t know why I took up running. I used to run, when I was 19; I was young and thin, and had joined the Army. In Boot Camp, you had to run... but then I developed shin splints from running in combat boots, which turned into stress fractures that wouldn’t heal because I wasn’t able to get the rest time I needed. These stress fractures caused me to be unable to do the necessary amount of push-ups needed to pass the PT test. I was eventually sent home.

That was all 19 years ago.

Fast forward to 2014. I’m married, have a home, a child, and have to be an adult now. I’ve also gained a bunch of weight from my own unhealthy eating choices, lack of energy, and lack of exercise. It’s a vicious cycle: I was always eating on the go, eating fast food that made me feel terrible and tired, and never made time for myself. I would do the same thing day after day, always feeling terrible and tired.

To try to break this cycle, I started running in early 2014 and feel like I did okay; I was slow, with 15-minute miles, but I was out there doing something! I stumbled across DRC, joined, and watched. I ran off and on with the Couch to 5k app, which is a mixture of walking and running. I did this until around July, when I had an asthma attack during my run and had to quit. I was DONE. I couldn’t do it. I was too tired, too fat, too unmotivated, too slow... I was unable to breathe, so I was just done.

But I still watched the DRC posts. Yep, I Facebook stalked all of you. And I kept seeing all the miles that were going on out there. So jealous, yet unable to get myself off the couch to claim a few miles for myself.

In November of 2014, I decided to join the gym. Club Fitness is three minutes from my house, why not? I started working with a personal trainer, Jamie Driemeyer, who taught me how to exercise properly and, more importantly, how to eat properly. Nutrition was where I was lacking the most and needed major help. First, I had to cut out the fast food and make healthy choices while cooking at home. This alone changed my entire household: we started meal-planning and meal-prepping, which was new for us. We started using MyFitnessPal to track what we were eating—it’s amazing what you put into your mouth and what you don’t when you are forced to think about it. From November 2014 to May 2015, I worked with Jamie and lost 50 pounds! During that time, I was still watching all the miles being posted in DRC.

At the beginning of 2015, The Challenge came out: Run 20.15 miles per week or month, or run 2015k or miles for the year. I thought, “I can do 20.15 a week, that can’t be too tough!” Wow, January was a huge struggle for me, but I scraped by with 21.1. miles! I kept at it. February was tough, too, and really scraped by with 20.7. My miles stayed restricted to a treadmill because of what had happened the previous July.

Then March came and I had a HUGE MONTH! I hit 41 miles! I doubled what I had previously done! And, more importantly, I fell in love! In April, I ran outside for the first time since July 2014 and I was even happier. At this point, I just could not wait to run!

Running my first race, the Mo' Cowbell 5k!

Every week I challenged myself, every day I was so anxious to run that I could hardly wait to get home and get out there! I have read almost everything I can find about running: what to do, what not to do, how to get faster, how to win over the mind struggles. I love reading your advice, your struggles, and your successes! Through the articles and your personal experiences, I have learned what works for me. I have hit 11- to 12-minute miles, a big improvement from where I started my year, an accomplishment that makes me very proud.

PR time of 35:50!

My goal at the beginning of 2015 was to run 20.15 each month, with a total of 240 miles for the year. Well, I hit that in September—that’s right, September! I changed my goal to 500 for the year and am 13 miles from that goal, and will definitely meet it.

In September I met my running buddy, Jolene Toeben. Without DRC, I would never have met Jolene. She and I became fast friends with common goals, I am so grateful to have met her. We run our long runs once a week- or every other week, depending on our schedules- together, but are virtual running partners every day. We support each other through texts and Facebook posts. It has been a joy to find someone with goals similar to mine and who is so supportive in all aspects of my life.

Katy Trail geocaching adventures with my husband and son.

So, DRC, I’m here to thank you. Thank you, all of DRC!! Without you, I would not be anywhere close to where I am now. I would probably still be on the couch. Because of you, I have completed 5ks, 10ks, and am running the Wildwood Frozen Feet half-marathon in January 2016. A year ago, I would have told you that you were crazy for wanting to run that distance, and even crazier if you told me I would run it!

My son Anthony's first 5k!

So again I say thank you! Thank you for motivating me, thank you for motivating my family. My 8 year-old just completed his first 5k, and is more active than ever, always wanting to go running with me. My husband is jumping on the bandwagon as well, starting slowly, but it looks like soon we’ll be a whole family of runners. Thank you, DRC. Without your unintentionally motivating posts, our lives would be so different right now. I would have missed out on all the fun, and the joy of watching myself change into a new person. 2015 was a tough year for me, but it was also so inspiring to see what I can do, if I only want it.

DRC Feature: Emelie Forsberg

Hey DRCers!

In case you didn't know, the holiday season is well upon us! I don't know about you, but I feel knee-deep in indulgent foods made with love, but also potentially causing guilt. I say, be free of that guilt! We were definitely made to enjoy food: it nourishes the soul, brings people together, and is just plain delicious. Even over the holidays, we can achieve a balance between healthy eating and enjoying ourselves.

Check out what ultrarunner Emelie Forsberg has to say about our relationships with our bodies.

http://www.emelieforsberg.com/body-relationships/

The DRC: My Daily Run Community

By Meg McC

A lot of you already know that the Daily Run Club was created to encourage a small group of locals to log at least one mile a day between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. This idea was set in motion by the club’s founders David and Drew Beaty with the intention to stay active and begin or sustain a running lifestyle through the holidays. Fast forward 3 years, the DRC has become something of an enigma within our running community. Here is my personal account of the Daily Run Club’s short but VERY full history.

I begged, I pleaded, I could find no one to join me for a run. I was new to Washington, hell, new to Missouri, and there were no mountains here…but there were floods, rattlesnakes, and freaking tornadoes. I needed a running buddy to contend with all of the potential natural disasters I might encounter. I was a trail runner that knew no trails. I made peace with the KATY and began to consider that home turf as I learned to run on flat land again. Still, I was lonely.  

I started looking online and found a handful of run clubs in or around Washmo.  St. Louis might as well have been a six hour drive; directionally challenged, I was lucky to find my way to the grocery store, I needed local. All those sites were quiet.  I joined them anyway and begged some more.  One club, Daily Run Club, seemed to have occasional action so I just started posting…Every. Run.  I think Jimmy Brooks probably wanted to wring my neck from the onslaught of new notifications, when he wasn’t busy laughing at the stories I would add to my mileage or the stupid memes that I would find to post with my daily run. I am sure he just found me hilarious, didn’t you Jimmy?  We began challenging each other. Then something interesting started to happen. Maybe it was just that we were entering spring and members were starting to stretch their hamstrings and gaze a little more longingly at their running shoes. Maybe it was the mild winter receding and the smells and greens fooling with our senses OR maybe it was time for the Daily Run Club to truly begin to meet its potential.

Week by week, new members stumbled across our club and the numbers have grown from 60 runners to more than 500. At any given time, our active membership might fluctuate, but every day there is motivation to be found in each post. A few of us decided to begin brainstorming about ways to really increase our value to existing members.  We would meet for a run, then bullshit until we had pages and pages of notes about potential DRC ideas.  We still do this once a month.  For us, this meeting galvanizes essential plans that have often been recommended by you guys.  Our “think tank” has grown and nothing is more exciting than being able to implement new concepts to the DRC’s already colorful and successful scope.  A few months ago, I spent a long time scrolling back and finding a few of our most influential member’s first posts.  We have all grown so much, not only as runners, but as people. This club has shaped outlooks on health, humor and maybe above all, our expectations of ourselves. DRC members gain a sense of connectivity when dedicating a small portion of their day to supporting this community, and it happens in such a simple way, whether through a “like”, a comment, or a personal message. If you are one of the fortunate ones, that support transcends to real life encounters and lasting friendships.

And so it goes, members started meeting up with other members… that they didn’t know! No one was the victim of an axe murderer (though there was that one day we found an abandoned axe on the Lewis Trail). We started snapping “runfies” and imperfectly perfect circles of shoes. Third Thursdays were born and have become a monthly staple.  Those are so special as they allow a real life chance to make eye contact and touch the shoulder of a fellow runner that you have known via the group page.  Regular run groups formed or were incorporated and on any given day, you can find a clan, flock, herd (I still haven’t found a measurement that fits us just right), that you can join for a run just by peeking at the Pinned Post. We have run/bowled, run/wined, hit trails and road routes, we have run as a group when the heat was fierce or with frozen faces, we’ve road tripped, we've challenged our speeds, tweaked our form and cross-promoted with other clubs, organizations and businesses. Our members range in level and type and every one of them can call DRC their running community because this club genuinely fills a need for every member that wants to utilize it.

We make mistakes along the way. Sometimes an idea doesn’t really fly. Occasionally an injured member feels left behind when they aren’t checked upon as carefully as they deserve. Often, we bite off more than we can chew on already tired legs. Our recovery isn't always as solid of an example as we’d like. (You guys and your doughnut posts…) But, I was reminded today that our club is young, it is kind of an unprecedented phenomenon and we are still learning, every day.

You guys don’t realize, but I get a notification for EVERY SINGLE POST on DRC. So, if it looks like I am on Facebook all the damn time, well…ok, I don’t know what to tell you. But, I also wouldn’t change it, I love seeing every acknowledgement of perseverance, frustration, elation, etc.  Also, you all probably don’t realize how influential each one of these posts can be to a newbie, someone coming back from a hiatus or injury, or even for someone that just plain burned out. I think that running is always there for you to some extent, whether that is on your feet or not. Supporting the running community is one of the most fulfilling duties I have ever taken upon myself. I get back every bit that I invest. Every PR from you all has me swelling with pride as I understand the work and effort that went into your accomplishments. Cheering at a finish line, meeting up before a Third Thursday, throwing out an opinion on hydration systems, sharing a sweaty post run pic, VOLUNTEERING, all of that strengthens our network and empowers our runners.

Washington has always had a very motivated running community. We have incredible athletic talent, also busy paths/trails/tracks/roads, and regular local races through community centers and charities. There was just no basic forum, our bulletin boards were spread all about and there was no connecting factor to share ideas and information when looking for resources and inspiration. The Daily Run Club that we know today has risen to fill that need and its potential is vast.  How exactly did it come about, that part is a mystery, my gut feeling is that Washmo was finally ready for the DRC.