I Ran 100 miles in April and Here's What Happened

You may be asking yourself, "self, why did she do that?". Well I'll tell you: I have no idea. Kidding! But also not.

In my junior and some of my senior year of high school I had a really unhealthy relationship with running. I ran for 30+ minutes every day and wasn't eating enough to support the caloric burn I was putting my body through. It only started because I was last minute asked to prom and wanted to make sure I could fit in the dress I got because the lady that had altered it brought it in a little too much at the waist. I ended up running myself smaller than the alterations needed and was the smallest I'd ever been. For reference: I am 5' 1" and I was weighing in at about 105 lbs or less. This isn't too too bad, and I'm not judging anyone that may fit those "measurements", it's just the way I went about it.

I am now in my junior year of college, standing at a tall 5'1" and at around 120 lbs. This time however I am actually taking care of myself. I ran away from running for a few years because thinking about it made me exhausted and miserable and made me feel like if I had to do that again it was more of a punishment. Now I am teaching myself how to be thankful for the ability to run, and I have been able to tell myself I'm not running from my insecurities; I am running right towards them. I don't have a flat tummy or toned thighs or slim hips. And it has taken me about five years to accept those things as perfectly me!

I am partaking in this challenge because I want to put myself outside of my comfort zone and accomplish something that is, to me, a big goal. I am a very faith driven person and I know that through this process I will grow mentally, physically, and spiritually. This is my plan: from April 1st- April 30th I will run six days a week (running 4 miles Monday-Saturday) and take Sundays as my rest days.

This post is going to have a months worth of effort put into it which will probably be the most effort I put in to one story so I hope you all friggin' love it.

Physically

Y'all. I am tired. I had many days where I did not think my body could take it. I took a few extra rest days some weeks, and even lightened my mile load a couple times. I have noticed a lot of change though! My calves are insanely toned now. I have never seen this much definition there ever before! My love handles have even gotten smaller, and I've noticed that the little pouch of fluff I carry on my low abs has slimmed down too. My arms also seem to have become a bit smaller as well? Is that a thing that happens when you run? I have no idea, but how wild. My endurance has also increased like crazy. At the beginning of the month I was struggling hard with my mile times and with the actual amount. I wasn't hitting less than an hour of running, and my split paces very rarely fell below 12-13 minutes. But now at the end of this month I am running 4-6 miles in about an hour and I have shaved a few minutes off of my splits! That is insane to me! More than anything I am insanely proud of the change that I can not only see on my run stats but also feel while I'm running. It doesn't hurt as bad as it would in the beginning and I'm not as sore afterwards.

Mentally

I have really had to talk myself up a lot this past month. Giving myself goals during my run such as "don't stop until we hit the 25 minute mark" and trying to gauge how my body is feeling through each new mile I do has been really cool. I am also quite proud of myself for how kind I have been to myself. I don't remember one day where I felt like I was going to fail or felt like I couldn't do it. And there wasn't a day that I was really hard on myself for not meeting the mile goal I thought I would on that day. Truthfully I've been more excited about how far I was getting and noticed myself making plans based around runs or thinking about things after this month and challenge is over but still including running in my day to day life! I listened to a lot of podcasts while I ran and the majority of them were about self empowerment, bettering yourself, pageant things, etc. So I noticed myself not only believing in my ability to run but also believing in myself as a person overall.

Spiritually

Like I said at the beginning of this post I am a very faith driven person. I originally thought I might enjoy having quiet times while I was running but soon found out that the sound of my breathing was really off putting and I preferred listening to podcasts or watching Netflix if I was on the treadmill. But this didn't stop me from realizing the strength that my faith has given me. This was a super hard month. My school was entirely moved to online learning and I wasn't sure how I'd cope with that, like many people I know I wasn't allowed to work, I worried about loved ones and the vulnerable people that I know including myself, and I was tired a lot of the time and feeling pretty lonely. My runs gave me a sense of control and productivity that enabled me to not wallow and slip back into my depressive states that I know is easy for me to do. My God has given me many amazing gifts, and he gives me battles every day. Sometimes the battle is not wanting to get out of bed because I'm consumed by sadness, and sometimes the battle was not wanting to put my shoes on because I knew once they were on I was really going to run. But I am really proud of myself and this months battles because I feel so much stronger on the other side of them.

Overall it was a great month of growth. I was in a group message with a bunch of other ladies that were also completing this challenge and everyone was really encouraging and kind and supportive! It was such a blessing to know I had that for accountability because there were a handful of days where I'd think "maybe I just won't run today!" and then one of the girls would send a picture after their run and I figured if she can, I can. My family has been really sweet through this journey as well, and even they have noticed the physical changes my body has gone through and the changes in my endurance etc which has been great for me to hear!

As of today, April 30th, I have run over 100 miles. (I stopped counting as much after the run that got me to 102). I am so stoked to have done this, and am hoping to continue this trend throughout the rest of this year!

If you're interested here was my mileage broken down day by day:

April 1st - 4.19

April 2nd - 4.13

April 3rd - 2.42 - cut short because it was storming so bad.

April 4th - 4.76 (My longest run at that time!)

April 5th - rest day! Stretching and yoga.

April 6th - 4.44

April 7th - 5! what! 5 miles! (This was actually accidental I got lost in a neighborhood)

April 8th - 3.69

April 9th - no run this day, but I did do a 1 mile walk to get the mail and take the trash out!

April 10th - 4.53

April 11th - 4.25

April 12th - walked 1.8

April 13th - 4.62

April 14th - 5.13! Hello? Over 5 miles? (I did the same trail that I got lost on the first time I hit 5 miles)

April 15th - 4.1 - hit the halfway mark! 54.06 so far!

April 16th - 2.02

April 17th - 5.07

April 18th - 4.17

April 19th - walked 1

April 20th - 5.29

April 21st - no run this day because I wanted to try for my first 6 miler the next day!

April 22nd - 6.2 miles y'all! New record!

April 23rd - 4.15

April 24th - 4

April 25th - 4.1

April 26th - walked 2.5

April 27th - 6.1

April 28th - 4.14 - passed my goal! 102.8!

April 29th - 1.45

April 30th - Did nothing today because I have been tired, but I am feeling so so good.

Thank y'all for reading along with my journey!

Let me know if any of you decide to try this challenge in another month this year, or if you did the 100 miles in April challenge too!