Wednesday, February 3, 2016

My Quest to 50-Race to Inspire

I was going through my running blog documents and found this one that I wrote last year and never posted it. Here is how I started running and my journey throughout my races. Enjoy!

RACE TO INSPIRE

My name is Daisy Santana and I live in New York and this is my story on what inspired me to run. I began running in the year of 2009, I lost my job the previous year and I was looking for work for almost 2 years. As I was looking for work I continued working out and staying active, after all I have a passion for fitness and I tried to keep my membership open to stay going to gym and taking classes that I loved. One of my friends from class approached me about a race a 10k to run with her so I said sure why not and I started training. I remember the first outdoor run I had, it was in the middle of August and I went out for my first run in Central Park and after 5 minutes in the heat I was done, I knew it was tough but kept going and finished at least a mile. From there on I started training for my first 10k that was scheduled in two months. In those two months a friend of mine bought me my first pair of running sneakers and continued to train for that 10k (6.2 miles).

 "Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world." - Marilyn Monroe
 
Running gave me a goal and something to look forward to especially since I wasn’t working. Gave me a sense of peace and happiness and loved the way I felt while I was running and when I was done. Race day was here, and it was a chilly rainy morning, I was hesitant to run, didn’t know how to dress so I layered up. I show up at the race very nervous and anxious at the same time, I trained for this I knew I could do it but was still nervous.  Race begins and I begin to run, what an amazing feeling and seeing so many people with the same goal but for all different reasons.  After mile one I was taking layers off, clearly I was overdressed but felt good as far as stamina and my legs felt fine.  I see a friend along the way and we say hi to each other and that gave me some more motivation. Once I crossed the finished line was so happy I completed my first race. From there on I was hooked to running and racing.

After my first race, I signed up for the lottery the NYC Half Marathon that was for the following year in 2010, besides this big race I also finally found a job and met some amazing people that  worked with and were very supportive in my running. I trained throughout the winter and recruited one of my friends that joined me in training. This was a new challenge, training through the winter and for longer distance but I’m always up for a new challenge.  I trained on the treadmill, and in cold weather. Race day comes and I felt great, running the first part of the race through Central Park and that amazing feeling running through Time Square the second part of the race. I finished my first half marathon in 2 hours, not bad for my first half, was very happy. 

I ran a few more races along the way; I joined the NYRR club so I signed up for various distances. I even planned a trip to Las Vegas and recruited some of my friends to join in and run a half marathon over there and it was also another great experience.  The following year 2011 I was running all year and was thinking of running a half marathon in Philadelphia  but it was sold out, I told my friends lets go for the Full Marathon, mind you it was only 10 weeks away and we said hey why not. We trained and were consistent with our long runs and we all did pretty well with our race, I did hit the wall around mile 20 but had a friend push me through.

In the year 2013 I ran the NYC Marathon, this will be my second Full Marathon, I trained 16 weeks for this race that brings out all types of runners, spectators and a supportive city. It was a cold November morning and I waited a couple of hours until start time. There are about 40,000 people running this race so they have different start times. I began the race, still felt the chill in the air but felt great. I ran with one of my training buddies, I call him my running bff for the first 15 miles, after mile 15 we went our separate ways  and I took off, by Mile 16 is when you hit Manhattan and hundreds of people waiting for you to cross the Queensboro Bridge, “wow” is all I have to say. I continued to run feeling amazing, I had my cheer zone at Mile 19 and was so happy and smiling the rest of the way, they gave me second burst of energy.  By Mile 22 I had a second cheer zone, four more miles to go and that’s when the Heart comes in, your legs are tired, and all you have is Heart to get you to that finish to cross that line. I finished in 4 hours and 10 minutes, 18 minutes faster than my first Marathon in Philly.

In 2014 I had some knee pain, my kneecap is misaligned and they shifted, pain started the first time when I trained for Philly then it went away. Last year I taped up, wore a brace and was in pain running on and off. I was worried that my running days was gone and over. I was feeling defeated but kept running but cautiously and went to Physical therapy where they showed me some exercises that I can do to strengthen. After a year of taking care of my surrounded muscles and strengthening I am feeling better, no pain, no brace, no kt tape nothing.

So here we are 2015 and I have completed 20 Half Marathons, and I’m in training to complete my 4th Full Marathon this year again in NYC where I hope to set a personal record. I also have set a goal to run 50 States and to run in Puerto Rico so that’s my plus 1. I was inspired to run 50 States after completing Nevada and Philadelphia, I had the conversation with one of my old bosses and he said if you do this, you have to make it either a Half or Full Marathon. So far I have completed 13 States and I am planning 2 more this year.

 I know I have a long way to go and I will set myself up for new challenges along the way. I love the feeling of racing and seeing how far I can push my body. It’s not about competing and beating other people it’s about competing with myself and making myself better.  I am so happy and grateful for what running has given me a sense of happiness, peace, strength, health, empowerment, new friends-reconnected with old friends, the running community is amazing and supportive.
So I leave you with this quote, I keep it as the heading in my blog

 “The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”
― 
John Bingham

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