Run, Abby, Run!

By Abby

Staying on any kind of workout schedule (or just schedule, for that matter) is close to impossible in college. With each day comes different classes, meetings, part time jobs, social engagements and perhaps most importantly, happy hours. Trying to adhere to the same gym or running time is an unlikely feat for most of us, not to mention the fact that when I’m presented with the choice between a sweat session or a sipping session, more often than not, the cocktails win. Wah wah.

But, a great way to stay motivated and keep your activity levels up is to train for a race! I know this sounds a bit intimidating at first, but let me tell you from personal experience (I ran my first half-marathon last year), it’s totally doable and well-worth it. Knowing that I was going to be sweating out 13.1 miles at a specific date gave me the extra boost to get out of bed in the morning or squeeze in a run whenever I could. I was able to drop a few lbs, improve my overall fitness, raise money for a charity and still go out with my friends at night all at the same time!

Don’t worry, you don’t need to jump right into a half-marathon. There are a number of distances that are great starting points. Consider a 5K (about 3 miles) or a 10K (6.2 miles) to get the ball rolling. Not sure where to look? Check out Running in the USA, which has perhaps the largest database of available races. You can search by state, month and distance. Most have some type of theme, which adds to the fun and you usually get a free t-shirt. And, I mean, what college student doesn’t need another free shirt (especially Greeks, who are seriously lacking in the themed clothing department)?

In terms of training programs, a few websites I like are womenshealthmag.com which has a wide variety of resources for beginners to the more advanced, and runnersworld.com where you can actually enter in some basic info and get a customized program for free. To find new running routes in your campus town, go to mapmyrun.com where you can enter your own or search through others’ favorite routes.

To be dead honest, I didn’t follow a very strict training regime. I just made sure to run consistently at least three weekdays, and then take a longer run on the weekend. I started out with three miles during the week, and five on the weekend, gradually working up to six miles during the week and ten miles on the last weekend before my race. AND, contrary to what most people think, I never had to give up going out or partaking in a cocktail (or two). Now, don’t get me wrong, everyone is different in terms of training habits, but I just want to stress that training for a race and still having a social life is possible! I’ve done it!

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, I raised over $1,000 for charity while running. If you want to run for a cause (other than operation-get-rid-of-muffin top), here are a few options to check out: teamintraining.org, stjudeheroes.org, and determination.acsevents.org.

Hope you take this information and run with it! Sorry, I couldn’t resist…