One of the really fun things I get to do as a #RunThisYear Ambassador is introduce you to fun people within the community! I am excited today to introduce you today to Tara Jane!
Tara is new to the Run This Year community this year–but signed up this year eager to do it! With her church and work commitments, she knew she probably wouldn’t be able to do the full 2014km–so she got creative (which is why I’m so excited for you all to get to know her–and be encouraged by her!!). Her goal for the year is to run 201.4km twice. Once she has achieved this, she will then try to do it a third time!
One of the things I am most eager to learn from other runners is what a typical week looks like for them. We all have different things on our plate–so I am fascinated the most by this from other runners! For Tara, she let us know that in a typical week she runs about 10k, 5km on a Saturday and 5km on a Sunday. She occasionally throws in a weekday lunch run. (Who else out there runs on their lunch breaks?!).
Tara is a social runner–so as long as she has a friend or two to run with, she’s out there! If she finds that she is alone for her run she will usually head to the gym for a class. This is still a great way to get a work out in–but she does confess it is not helping towards clocking those km’s!
I asked Tara to share a little bit about her running story. She shared it so well, I thought I’d share it here with her own words….
“Until a year ago I thought running shoes were reserved for Dads in jeans and gym fanatics, two groups of people I never wanted to be anything like.
My running story starts January 2013, in a sweaty tent. I had been married for ten months and working full time for twelve. My life had shifted from single, on-the-go university student, on my feet all day serving coffees, to days on end of sitting and dinner every evening. After a year of living like that, I felt overweight. I felt slow and sluggish all the time. I didn’t like it. And so during my summer camping trip, I made the decision to sign up for the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation (12WBT) – a fitness and food program I had heard about.
I met Rachel’s Runners through the 12WBT community. They ran on Saturdays and anyone could join. I was just getting used to the idea of exercise, and I love socialising, so I thought “Sure, I’ll give it a go!” I started by doing a Learn to Run program, and within 10 weeks I had run my first 5k fun run!
Since then, I’ve run in a few fun runs organized by the group, three 5km runs and a 10km run, and I’m working my way slowly up to a half marathon. I love the Rachel’s Runners fun runs the most because I get to run with the girls who push me to work harder, run faster and get better every week.
If my weekend is normal, I join Rachel’s Runners and participate in Learn to Run training with the new runners, plus half marathon training, and then a distance run of anything between 5km to 15km. Aside from this, I have no regimented training plan.
Running for me is not about strict training and achieving goals. I’ve still got goals, and I still train, and these are great things. Running for me is about exercising in community. It’s about sharing life with each other, and running while we’re at it!”
To close us out, I asked Tara if she had any tips she’d like to share with us! Here are her awesome words of wisdom:
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Get a running buddy – if you’re social like me, a running buddy will make you lace up and get out there.
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Find a local running group – Facebook is super helpful for finding these.
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Start slow, but work on improving
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As the girls at Rachel’s Runners say: Don’t stop!
I am excited about us connecting with one another and encouraging each other on as we #RunThisYear!!! Let’s start by connecting with Tara!
Instagram: @eatinghappy_
Twitter: @thisistarajane
Blog: hellotheretarajane.wordpress.com
Tumblr: hellotheretarajane.tumblr.com
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