How Running Changed My Life: Kirbey's Story

A marriage proposal and a forthcoming wedding motivated this week's Runner of the Week, Kirbey, to dabble in some running. It's been a couple of years since the wedding and she's still running. Read on to find out more about Kirbey and her story. 

My husband proposed to me in December of 2006. Immediately after he proposed, like any normal girl, I began scrambling to plan my wedding. The scariest part of all the stress of planning a wedding was finding the dress. During my first few years of college, I had gained weight and felt down in the dumps about myself. I wasn't happy with my weight, how my clothes fit, and the idea of putting on a wedding dress wasn't appealing. Your wedding day is supposed to be the one day in your life where you feel beautiful. So I made a plan. I knew of one girl that I admired because of how fit she was and I asked one of her friends what she did to stay so fit. She said "she runs... a lot." So I made that my goal.. to run a lot.

I started of running with my best friend. It was winter time when we began and we would bundle up in 30 degree weather and run from our house to the town square. Our longest run was never more than three miles, but I felt like I was really doing something good for myself. In addition to running I began reading about foods that would help me to run better.In general, I was learning how to be a healthier person which in turn made me feel good about myself.

I have not stopped running since. From January 07 until now I run every week. I find that the best way to stay motivated is to set a goal, like a racing distance, and stick with it. I ran my first half- marathon in October 09. I trained by myself the whole time running on country roads where I live. I can't express the feeling of finishing 13.1 miles. It was one of the first times in my life where I voluntarily set my mind to a task bigger than I could imagine and followed through. I love the feeling of accomplishment that running brings. I love upping my mileage and wondering if I can "really run that far" and seeing myself actually do it.

Running really is a confidence booster. I would recommend it to anyone. My next goal is a marathon. I really can't wait to see if I can do it, but I am sure I will surprise myself.