I’m Jina. Yep, that’s “Gee-nuh” with a “J.” Pretty sweet, huh? I like it.
I’m a proofreader at an accounting firm by day (it’s better than it sounds) and a burgeoning runner by night. Sometimes I combine the two and proofread signs I see while I’m running.
I grew up in Kansas, and while athletic (or I like to think of myself this way), I was never a runner. OK, I did win the 100-yard dash in sixth grade, but that’s it. It’s also the last time I’ve ever been awarded for being fast.
I’ve always played sports that involve running (softball, basketball, football, volleyball), but I never ran just to run. That seemed silly. Well, silly until I picked it up in college.
I went to Kansas State University (the best school ever, but I could be biased). My roommate and I got the urge to run, so most nights, we’d go out and just try to run farther than we did the night before. And, we actually had some success. In the Kansas winter. In our nylon pants that made the swish-swish-swish sound as we ran (why I thought those things rocked as much as I thought they did, I'm not sure). I'm also not sure why we stopped. Probably studying. Yeah, that's it.
So, after a 14-year break (with a move to Florida in there), I decided to start running again. I started running seriously (well, I use this term loosely) at the beginning of 2011. I credit my friend, Caroline, with turning me into a runner. She’s a super-duper cool triathlete, so I was super-duper nervous to run with her. But, after major ankle surgery, she started back slow, so I could keep up with her. We started doing two-minute running intervals mixed with walking. I kept at it, sometimes running with Caroline and sometimes running by myself. She made me encouraged me to sign up for a 5K in February. And, that’s all it took. I’m hooked.
Since then, I’ve ran a bunch more 5Ks, three 10Ks and 10 half marathons. And, I'm constantly signing up for more races. See? I told you I was hooked.
I’m not fast. Well, I was told I was fast once while playing softball. But, these people were my boyfriend’s family, so they were probably just being nice. If people weren’t nice, they’d call me slow. Even though I’m slow, I’m steady. And, I’m OK with this.
When I’m not running, I play beach volleyball and softball. And, I like to hang out with my family, my boyfriend and my sweet dog, Chloe.
Oh, and I like to dress up as Elvis as often as possible. Try it. You'll like it, too.
