About Me

Welcome to Run Shines! My name is Deb and I am so excited to finally get this blog up and running. I am very upbeat, love to have fun and love to share my quirky life experiences. I am hoping that you will share with me as well.

Let me tell you a little about me. I work at a desk job as H.R. and Accounting. I love numbers, math, etc. Makes me a numbers geek (I am the first to admit it). I have a passion for life and love being social and interacting with all sorts of people. Over the years, I learned to Stop and Smell The Roses, but there are a few facts about me you need to know going in. One, I am very passionate about anything that I do. I’ve experienced some devastating losses in life and I have a great respect for all things good. Life is too short to be miserable so I like to have fun and laugh. With that said, I feel deeply when things go wrong. Maybe too much so.

Secondly, I am a Type-A personality. Something I didn’t know until a few years ago. Being Type-A, well, that makes it okay for me to overdue everything that I touch, try or learn. It’s all or nothing with me. If I can’t do it well (or right) then I will drive myself to the brink until I get it right. How that applies to me becoming a runner is enough to drive anyone mad. Alas, a story for another time.

I am a wife, mother to 2 beautiful daughters, caregiver to my parents and an extremely hard worker. I wanted, or should I say needed, something to help me find me and my strength. I needed to lose a few pounds that have been creeping on. I needed to feel strong and accomplished and I desperately needed a way to burn stress and find some peace.

I have always wanted to be a runner. I was not overly athletic in my day but always a tom-boy growing up. If it could be climbed, fallen out of, splashed in or carried home in my pocket, I did it. Running to me was not something I ever thought I could do. Okay, maybe I thought that because I was, let’s say, well gifted on top? (By the way, losing 17 pounds has taken care of the “excess” Hahaha) 

About 2 years ago, I worked with a wonderful gentleman who had a lot of weight to lose. He said that he was going to follow the couch to 5-k program and run a 5k later that year. Me, being the perpetual cheerleader said “I’ll do it with you!” I started the program and found out extremely quickly, how inactive I had been. I probably got to week 4 and couldn’t go any more. I was sure I was doing it wrong (and was). So when the 5k arrived, he had blown out a knee and couldn’t continue and I walked 98% of it with a couple of good friends. We ran across the finish line just because there was a crowd. That was my first 5k experience.

I also tried to run another 5k that year. It was difficult because i had not built up my endurance at all. I ran most of it and promptly hurled at the finish line. Lesson #1 - Patience. Lesson #2 - It takes time. After that 5 k, I stopped running. Honestly could not figure out why I could not do it. Looking back now, I wish someone would have slapped me and told me it would just be a matter of time.

My perception of the running process all changed in January 2013. I had a birthday. I had hit 50. Not happy with my fitness level or my ability to do anything without losing my breath. So I joined Weight Watchers in March. My head was in it, my heart was in it and I was ready to run. Literally. In January I started the couch to 5k program and signed up for my first 5k of 2013. Something happened during the process of hatching from a walker to a runner. I found a new respect for healthy. I found so much pride and strength in running! I was a runner!

My first 5k planned was the Warrior Dash in June. Plenty of time to prepare. In March, I had a good friend ask me to do a 5k close by. I said yes before I realized that it was 3 weeks away in April. Up to that point, I had only run 2.5 mile at the most. Needless to say, I ran the 5K in April and was very proud and felt accomplished. I followed that with a 6K in June and the Warrior Dash in June. Now I have my sites set on a 10K. Bring it on!

In 2013 so far, I've lost 16 pounds, gained a new respect and pride in myself and can't wait for what the future brings. I've only just begun...