Hi! I’m Devon. I’m a copywriter by day and a runner by night… and weekend, morning and sometimes lunchtime. I’m always chasing after big goals while enjoying life with my family in the beautiful Seattle area.
I fell in love with running at the same time I fell in love with my now-husband: in the fall of 2010.
I was 23, working at my first job after graduating from college and living at my mom’s house. I had just spent six months intensely focused on paying off all the debt I’d racked up from credit cards and student loans, and once I accomplished that, I needed another goal to work toward.
My mom and I decided it would be fun to run a 5K, so I started walking/running on our treadmill, slowly working my way up to 3.1 miles at a time. I had no idea how to train for a race, so I just ran 3.1 miles day after to day, trying to cover the distance faster each time. 🙂
Meanwhile, I met a very cute guy named Aaron at work and we started spending time together. It’s a long story, but we quickly became inseparable. We were both interested in eating healthy and being active, and we supported each other as we pushed ourselves to achieve new goals—me with running, him with cycling.
Once my mom and I ran that first 5K, I went on to run more 5Ks, then a 10K, a half marathon and finally a marathon! I became completely hooked on challenging myself to run farther and faster, and loved the process of training for each race.
I challenged myself in other ways, too. I saved up a year’s worth of my salary, quit my job and traveled solo through New Zealand, Australia and Southeast Asia for four months in 2012. My wanderlust had convinced me I wanted to travel for a year or more, but crippling homesickness settled in—and a badly sprained ankle forced me to return home early.
Traveling made me realize how much I loved my hometown of Seattle, and how much I missed Aaron, whom I’d broken up with before my trip. We reunited immediately upon my return (he literally picked me up from the airport!) and got engaged in October 2012. When you know, you know. 🙂
As I recovered from my injury, I slowly returned to running. I ran a few more marathons, married Aaron in October 2014 and had our daughter, Evie, in April 2016.
I didn’t run at all during my pregnancy, so coming back to it after Evie’s birth was a long and slow process. Along the way, I dabbled in other forms of fitness, like Kayla Itsines’ Bikini Body Guide program, to build strength and lose the last bit of baby weight. My ultimate goal was not just to return to my former fitness level, but to become stronger, faster and more fit than ever after having a baby.
In March 2018, I proved to myself that it was possible when I ran a nine-minute half marathon PR. Prior to becoming a mom, it took a huge effort to break two hours in a half. Suddenly, I could knock out a 1:46. My mind opened up to all the possibilities of what I could accomplish if I worked hard and aimed higher than ever before.
I began aggressively training to run a Boston-qualifying marathon time, which (quite predictably) led to an injury. I spent the rest of 2018 sidelined with a tricky SI joint issue, then very slowly ramped up my running again in early 2019 with the help of a running coach.
This injury changed everything about how I approach running and training. I’m now committed to all the “extras” I previously ignored: warming up, stretching and foam rolling, strength training, core work, cross training and more.
Having built a strong foundation with all these additional elements, I ran a five-minute marathon PR in July 2019. I now feel stronger than ever, and am full of excitement about what the future holds as I continue on my running journey.
I still hope to get that BQ someday, but I’ll be patient, carefully putting in the work to get there in my own time.
Thanks for following along!
Dev on Running 