The history behind red faced runner

I began this post a long time ago but life got in the way and I didn't finish it...I deleted it and never returned...

Now, I've decided to start once again and tell the reason behind the name Red Faced Runner.
At 19, I joined the Army, began road marching and running...putting my body through things I never believed possible. I fractured my hips in 3 places and thought I'd never be able to really run again. Well, eventually, I healed and began to run...only for APFT's and never any farther than the 2 miles that were required.

Then 26 came around and I went to Officer Candidate School (OCS), once again, putting my body through some rigorous training that I never dreamed I'd do. Again, my hips fractured! Here, I really thought I'd never run again! I healed and at the end of OCS we had to run 5 miles for time! I ran, I ran fast and I never looked back. I ran that in 34 minutes. I think a combination of sheer determination and the fear of failure gave me enough adrenaline to make me faster than normal! A week prior to graduation, we ran 8 miles...the farthest I have ever run! That was the week of April 2002! I graduated! I maxed my APFT! I never ran any further again...

...That brings me to 2006, my second round in the desert! It was October, two months prior to the Honolulu shadow marathon. My friend came to me and said, you have to run this marathon with me. I thought to myself, is this girl on drugs! I'm not running 26.2 miles...that's just stupid, besides, I have not run more than 8 miles in 4 years...only because I had to, not because I wanted to! But...I relented and she convinced me. I joined her running group and before long I had hit 22 miles! I thought, wow, what an accomplishment for someone who was told she'd never run again! Then I was hooked! It was such a high, made me feel temporarily invinceable! So, I began running and realized it was the best thing I ever did for myself. It gave me a sense of clarity, a way to escape the pain. The pain of what you ask...the pain of what I though of as my life falling apart, the pain of divorce, the pain of loneliness, the pain of feeling unwanted. I escaped through every step I ran. Then I stopped....

Here we are, 2012 and I've only run 7 marathons, 4 1/2 marathons, the Army 10 Miler, a few 10K's, a few 5K's a Mud Run, the Metro Dash and hopefully in the future the Spartan Race! I love a challenge

So, you ask, where does "Red Faced Runner" come from? Well, let me explain...One day, I came home from a long run, stretched outside on my porch, drank some water and went inside to the bathroom to wash my face and have a recovery drink. When I looked up in the mirrior, all I could see plainly were the whites of my eyes! My face was beat red! Not that I had never noticed it before but for some reason, this day, I asked...why do I always look like a beet when I'm done running, I always return home "RED FACED" my next run I ran I was thinking about my face turning red and how it stays red for a while after my runs and I thought...I should write a blog about my running days and....my non running days and the motivation and non-motivation that I have experienced along the way.

So, every day I run, I end up with a red face...hence where "Red Faced Runner" comes from!

If you want, follow me on my journey as I run the streets I find around the world. I hope I can inspire you to run or at least make you laugh at my running rants along the way....

My journey begins today!