The 100th Mile Research Paper

I wasn’t always a runner. Some kids are born into the running cult, but not me. We have a treadmill in our basement that my parents occasionally use when they got on a health kick, but neither of them pushed me to be a runner. During the summer of sixth grade, my mother was talking to our neighbor in our driveway. While they were standing on the blistering pavement, the subject of Cross Country came up. My neighbor’s son was on the high school team and it was doing a

I have always had issues with my body and my weight. This unfortunately started at a very young age for me. In grade school I was the girl who towered over everyone, and was a little more build than the typical girl my age. All the other kids in my grade looked basically the same from my point of view. There was one other girl who was the same height as me and the kids nicknamed us the “twin towers”. I remember wanting to look like anyone but me at that time. Today I am considered average height and can only wish for a pair of long legs. My paper is about my struggles with eating and exercise, and the importance of exercise and nutrition in my life.

In physical education we were put to do the mile I was always second to last if not last I wasnt made fun of but I didnt really good about myself. As the years went on I was still fat couldn’t do anything until sophomore year of high school is where it all changed. I remember it quite clearly as if it was yesterday I was sitting in my math class when one of classmates had large number pinned to his bag and a uniform on that hadn’t seen before. That's when I got curious and asked what sport was all this for he then explained it was for cross country and that I should join it would be fun. It turns out that the season was about to end so it was to late to join so I had to wait for next year so I did. I went my junior in the summer since that's when they practiced and ran for the first time. After this first run I thought I was going to literally die and didn't want to this any more and to top it off all the guy runners who I thought that were slow beat one by one. This is where I decided I wasn't going to be last or lose a race to anyone. I practiced the whole year and did track top it off. Now the summer of my senior year was very motivational since I got up early ran and did this everyday till school started to be the best of my high school. Well the season would begin and I was breaking my school records and receiving medals from invitationals and

Ever since I have been in school I was always the “bigger girl” of all my friends. I constantly wished I could look like them, and fit into the same clothing that they wore. I know that sounds silly and when I look back at it now it was absurd, I was young and did not know any better. I struggled through middle school, and then high school took effect. I pushed myself so hard to lose weight, to reach my goals, to finally be happy with myself. I ended up losing twenty pounds. Back then that still was not satisfying enough for me; I was obsessive about the number I would see when I stepped onto that scale. I wanted more! That was then and this is now. Being twenty years old, I wish I could go back to that weight I was in high school, but not having that negative unhealthy attitude towards myself. A negative mind is never going to give you a positive life. As a college student I am always busy and on the go, I sometimes lose track of what food I am putting into my body, and how I am putting that food into my body. This book put a different perspective into my mind, and made me realize that I needed to change something in order for me to be happy with myself again. One specific part of the book really caught my attention. It is titled,

This summer I attended the Metro Detroit Heart Walk benefitting the American Heart Association. It’s a walk or run race that started at Ford Field and span five kilometers throughout the streets of downtown Detroit preceded by a short informative event. I'd been asked to compete by my godmother Sandy, who works for a Henry Ford hospital, one of the event sponsors. I decided the run the race, even though I’m probably the least athletic person in the world. I wanted to challenge myself and make Sandy happy.

“Someone pushed me. It was my turn. I ran without looking back. My head was spinning: you are too skinny … you are too weak … you are too skinny, you are good for the ovens … The race seemed endless;  I felt as though I had been running for years …

I made the decision I wanted to change. I wanted the freedom to enjoy life without the constant self loathing. I scorned running. I abhorred running. That will never change, but I did. I committed to a new lifestyle. I signed up for my first race, the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon in late fall of 2015. I registered so I could not quit again, making inexcusable excuses.

The weather was glorious. About 90 degrees, with nothing but sun shine! Not even a cloud in sight. I jumped out of bed, and made my way to the bathroom down the hall. As I was finishing with brushing my teeth, I spit in the sink, looked at myself in the mirror with a stern glance and said, “You made it”. After all, I was only 2 short hours from making my way to the Minnesota Vikings first training camp practice of the 2001 NFL season, located near the hotel I was staying in, in Mankato. Although, that wasn’t the only reason why I credited myself. I have been known to struggle with my weight in the past, but I felt good

I have gone on a vast amount of trail rides with several different horse. This ride was the first time I had ever taken D. D. (Deanna's Delight) out on one. This trail ride will not ever be able to forget.

I want to accomplish this goal in my twenties before I have a family. I want to backpack around Europe to become closer to nature and appreciate the different cultures. I want to explore beyond small-town Iowa.

how long does the Iditarod trail sled dog race take to finish? where does it go? what's with all those dogs? these are all questions you might have about the Iditarod.

I told myself that and then my brain thought that oh you’re doing well why not have this donut or this candy bar and I did. The next two weeks were rough. I got down to about 107 and before we left for cedar falls I woke up early that morning and got a run in and couldn’t get the weight off. When we left for cedar falls I was about three pounds over. When we got to Cedar Falls I don’t remember what I weighed exactly but I do remember running in the parking lot of the hotel we were staying at before we went to weigh-ins. I had been running for about 15-20 min and my dad brought me back to the room and we made a homemade sauna in the bathroom. When we left for weigh ins I had no clue what I weighed. When we got to weigh ins I got on the check scale before I officially weighed in, when I stepped on it bounced back and forth between 105.1 and 105.0. I went to weigh in and I stepped on the scale and weighed in at 105 on the dot. The decision to cut down to 105 led to many other decisions that weren’t so good, but were good learning situations. By the end of eighth grade I had placed fifth at the state tournament and had been asked to be on the middle school national dual team. At the state tournament I wrestled 115 and was weighing 120ish. For national duals I had to make 115 again and this was two months later and I was weighing almost 130 pounds. This time we started the cut earlier and the time

Imagine watching an army of runners run by you, and many cars trying to interfere with the race. Younger runners are getting frightened, screaming to find “mommy and daddy.” But, why does this keep happening with no one is trying to keep all these innocent lives safe? “Road Marshalls”, or people directing traffic, were in charge of making sure cars had no entrance or interference with the race. Helping out at the Mikey’s Place 5k Fun Run has helped expand my physical, emotional, and spiritual gratitude for many other “road marshalls”.

The Boston Marathon has always been one of the most popular event that goes on in Boston, now it is also the most remember able event because of the bombing on April 15, 2013. The wounded turned their tragedy into inspiration to tell others. Mayor J. Walsh says they will not be afraid. They will continue having this marathon for this marathon is special to the citizens of Boston.

As much joy as running brings me, it has definitely had its rough times.. The past few years have been a constant struggle with weight and body image. Not only was the effect physically, but also mentally. As an 8th grader I decided to begin running to get in shape for basketball. I wasn't in cross country, and terrible at track. As I kept running, and saw improvements in my PE mile time, I credited this to losing a few pounds. This led to wanting to lose more, because the less you weigh, the faster you are, right? (Not so much). I dropped 20 pounds in a couple months. The picture on the top left was from 2012, I weighed 90 pounds. Throughout high school, my nutrition would get better, I'd gain some healthy weight, look at the scale and immediately