What have I gotten myself into....by Amanda Hickman Murphy

Hi, my name is Amanda Hickman Murphy, and I will be 40 this year - this is not making me a happy person but it's better than the alternative! My title is Senior Vice President, Investments at Raymond James & Associates which means that I assist individuals and families with wealth accumulation and preservation. I am celebrating my 11th year with Raymond James this month. I feel extremely blessed to be in this industry, even with all of the negativity of the last few years. I love what I do and can't imagine any other career being as rewarding.

I got involved with RAP River Run three years ago, having no knowledge of 5Ks or running. I could not understand why people would want to get together on a hot morning and run not just 1 mile (which I had NEVER done), but 3.1 miles. I met Jim Simms at a BPW meeting, and he started sending me emails regarding the runaway shelter and this wonderful group of volunteers who wanted to help raise money for the children. The emails touched me, and I quickly signed up to help in any way I could, as long as no one asked me to run/jog/walk or do any exercise!

The first year blew my mind! All of these people came out to sweat together with the only goal to run 3.1 miles. The interesting thing to me was the fact that not everyone was in top shape, but they were out there to participate. Seeing the excitement still couldn’t get me off the couch, however, year two rolled around and I was learning more about this group of really (bizarre) people who like to run in different races throughout the Tampa Bay area. Talking to the individuals and hearing the excitement they had with reaching the finish line gave me a little better understanding of what was so foreign to me.

So, year 3 began, and two of the runners on our committee (Pat and Robin are to blame for my slip into this crazy world) challenged me to try a 5K. I am very competitive with most things in my life, so I agreed to get off the sofa and complete a race before RAP River Run. Since exercise has never been my strong suit, I quickly recruited my 16 year old daughter to assist with motivation. She is nothing like her mother, a strong athlete who finds running to be a enjoyable activity (I didn’t know I had one of the crazies living in my own home)!

The start of this process was extremely difficult, to say the least. I started by walking and quickly found myself in so much pain that I could hardly move. After a month with Dr. Hanson at Tarpon Total Healthcare I was released to start walking and exercising again. If the pain wasn’t enough, my daughter trying to motivate me with no success was more than either of us could take. I just couldn’t do this running thing. It wasn’t fun. I couldn’t breathe, and I would do ANYTHING just don’t make me run. Well, I felt so bad that I was letting my daughter down and holding her back from running at her pace. It was so easy for her, and I just couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t do this. In the back of my mind was the realization that I had accepted the challenge of attempting a race and failure was looking like my only option. Realizing that there are people twice my age doing this, and the fact that I need to lose 25 lbs, I decided I had better find someone who could help me, if this was possible. So, instead of giving up, I started talking to everyone that I knew who is a runner. I told them what I was going through and asked how they started and what keeps them out there. The person I listened to the most was one of my co-workers who ran her first 5k this past year. I figured she would understand where I was coming from and she did. Her advice make it to the first mile without giving up and you will be able to do the rest of it with no problem. DON’T stop on that first mile.

The other thing I quickly realized, THERE IS NO MAGIC PILL…I learned that it’s not that people LOVE to run, it’s the feeling of accomplishment they have when they complete the run. This made sense to me. I thought that everyone who participates in these races are like my daughter and love to run. Thankfully, I now know this is not true!

The other advice that has truly helped was given to me by Pat. She told me to try the Jeff Galloway training method. This has made the training much easier. My daughter does not like this method, so it is an individual thing, but if you are having trouble - please try it.

Stay tuned, this Saturday I will be running in the Iron Girl 5K race in Clearwater. In my next blog I will let you know which tips and tricks worked for me so that you can try them for Rap River Run. This will be my first 5K but not my last! I'm hooked!